It’s always been up to you
It’s turning around, it’s up to me
I’m gonna do what I have to do
Just don’t
Give me a little time
Leave me alone a little while
Maybe it’s not too late
Not today, today, today, today, today
– Tomorrow, Avril Lavigne

---

Monday, April 19, 2004

Quartermaine Mansion: Family Room

Jason was more comfortable at the mansion than he used to be, but that still didn’t mean he liked spending time inside. He preferred meeting Lila in the gardens whenever he had to come over, but today, she’d surprised him by insisting on the family room.

He realized why when he came in and saw AJ on the sofa, a cup in his hands. His older brother set the cup on the table, flicked irritated eyes to their grandmother, then he got to his feet. “Jason. I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Oh, did I forget?” Lila asked, her eyes wide. “Dear me, darling. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know AJ would be in town until this morning—”

“I can go,” AJ said. “I have a meeting I should be prepping for—”

“It’s fine,” Jason said, even though it really wasn’t. They hadn’t been alone together since Courtney had filed for divorce and AJ had left for New Orleans. Though Jason knew now he’d never loved Courtney the way she’d deserved, he still felt a measure of guilt for his part.

And clearly AJ hadn’t forgotten where Courtney had ended up after the separation and with whom. The two of them eyed one another warily before Jason came around the end of the sofa.

“We need to co-exist,” Jason said finally. “If you and Carly are serious about all of this, we’ll be around each other.” He reached into his pocket for the packet of pictures he’d brought his grandmother. “She thinks you can be trusted.”

“We’re both taking a chance,” AJ said. He nodded at the photos. “I hear your son is doing well. I’m glad.”

“Yeah.” Jason handed the photos to Lila and sat down so he could talk her through them. “We’re getting closer to bringing him home,” he told her. “And as soon as we do that, we’ll bring him to you.”

“Oh, how darling—” Lila murmured. “Alan said he was in a crib now. And Elizabeth looks so happy. I’m so glad this is behind you.”

AJ gingerly sat at the end of the sofa. “Are you worried about any complications?” he asked after a minute. “Don’t premature babies have to deal with a lot of those?”

Jason tensed, but he saw Lila’s pleading. His beloved grandmother didn’t have much longer, he knew. And if she wanted peace in the family, he could give that to her. For all the times he hadn’t. “We’re in the clear on most of them,” he said finally. “He’s breathing and eating on his own. We might have vision issues later,” he added. “But glasses will take care of it.”

“How much longer?” Lila asked. “Your father said you and Elizabeth spend nearly every minute there now. It must be uncomfortable.”

“We’re doing overnight stays now, so yeah. A lot of time in cots.” He handed her a photo of Edward holding Cameron. “But sometimes Monica talks Elizabeth into taking the sofa in her office.”

“Is that Grandfather?” AJ wanted to know, leaning forward. “You let him near your kid willingly?”

Jason scowled, then forced himself to relax. AJ’s tone was light, almost teasing. He could do this. “It’s important for Cameron to be around people,” he muttered.

“Edward was a great source of support last fall,” Lila told AJ with a proud smile. “With the case and the mayoral race. It makes me very happy to see you taking your place in the family again, my darling.” She touched Jason’s hand. “I know there are things we can’t ever undo. Words that were said. Actions that were done.” She eyed AJ who looked down. “But I believe in second chances. In redemptions. Your grandfather has not always been a fair or kind man. But he’s always been a good one.”

“I don’t know—” Jason shook his head. “I know that’s true in a lot of ways,” he said finally. “And I know that everyone did their best after the accident. Including Grandfather,” he forced out. Lila’s smile was reward enough. “So we’re just going to see how this works out. It means a lot to Elizabeth for Cameron to have a lot of family around him, and she doesn’t really have anyone of her own with Audrey gone.”

“Steve and Audrey would be so proud of her,” Lila said. “They loved her very much, and I know they’re looking down with happiness.” She paused. “I won’t be here forever, my dears—”

“Grandmother—” AJ protested.

“I hope that you both learn how to see each other again. You competed all your life,” she continued. “And battled. And sometimes, you took care of one another. I know that’s behind you now,” she continued when Jason grimaced. “But my hope is that you can do this. Sit in a room and acknowledge who you were. Only then can you truly go forward.” She clutched a photo of Cameron and Edward to her chest. “I would like this framed, darling. So I can look at it often.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Jason glanced at AJ, then cleared his throat. “Elizabeth and I are testifying in the custody case,” he muttered. “For Carly. And—” He paused. Took a deep breath. “I know why she’s doing it. I support it. And I’m…sorry. For my part.”

AJ blinked. “Sorry—” he cleared his throat, then nodded. “All right. Okay. Thank you.”

Luke’s: Office

“Well, Barbara Jean—” Luke smiled as his sister came in. “This is a good surprise. You here to help me with the books?”

“Absolutely not. I gave Kelly’s over to a professional a long time ago,” Bobbie said, rolling her shoulders. “And you should do the same.” She kissed his cheek. “I just had lunch with Lucky—”

Luke wrinkled his nose. “Don’t tell me Cowboy is asking you for old stories—”

“He mentioned you didn’t seem all that interested in talking about Ollie Joyce or the old days.” Bobbie set her purse down on the desk and raised a brow. “I knew him, too, Luke. When Roy worked for Frank. Ollie was a good man. According to Lucky—”

“He was a nice guy, but don’t get it twisted. Good men don’t stay working for Frank Smith for almost two decades.” Luke lit a cigar. “I told Cowboy to leave this alone—”

“Because of what you know or because it brings back memories of another kid learning about the crimes of their parent?”

Luke grimaced, sat at his desk. “It’s not about any of that, Barbara—”

“Lucky thought you hung the moon. Laura had tumbled off the pedestal when Nikolas showed up, but he still thought you were the hero who’d saved the world.” Bobbie paused. “Kelsey thought her father was upstanding lawyer who died in a car accident. Lucky knows what she’s going through. He wants to find her answers, just like he found for himself.”

“None of that did any good,” Luke muttered. “Things are better left in the past. Dragging all that up for Laura—”

“What is there to find about her father, Luke, that’s so terrible?” Bobbie wanted to know. “Tell me.”

“It’s not about Ollie,” Luke said finally. “And I don’t know anything for sure. I can’t be talking about what I think happened. I’m not doing it. End of story.”

Kelly’s: Kitchen

Dante winced when Cruz appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. He caught Lu’s eye in the order window and glared at her. She just kept pushing, didn’t she?

“Don’t blame her,” Cruz said, leaning against the door. “And I’m not staying or anything. I just—” He hesitated. “I wanted to touch base is all. I got your rent payment, and thanks for that, but it’s been like two months. How long is this to keep going?”

“I’m not—”

“And I don’t mean the job. I get your concerns about the PCPD. I still got them, but—” Cruz paused. “You came here to get away from the reporters, Dante. And you stayed after the shooting to get your head together. But now it feels like—”

He didn’t turn to look at his friend, at his roommate. Dante just stared into the pot of chili simmering and bubbling on the stove in front of him. “Like what?” he asked when Cruz didn’t say anything.

“You’re hiding. Running from all of it. I don’t know why you’re still staying here when you’ve got the apartment,” he added. “Is it me? Because I’m still a cop?”

“No—” But maybe it was. Maybe watching Cruz get up and go to work at the job Dante missed like a lost limb. Cruz got to go to work every day. He still got to be part of the dream. They’d had plans after leaving the academy. Lucky and Cruz still got to be cops.

Dante couldn’t figure a way to be one anymore, and maybe he resented them both for it. Maybe that was why he couldn’t go back to the apartment. Why Lu had to drag him out of Kelly’s even for a date. Why he’d barely talked to Lucky or Cruz since the shooting.

“It’s not you. It’s nothing to do with you or who you are,” he told Cruz. “It’s me. I’m still working through things.”

“Should I look for a new roommate?”

Dante looked at him, but he couldn’t see anything in Cruz’s eyes. Not irritation, resentment, or even worry. Cruz could have been asking him to pass the salt for all that Dante could get from him.

“I don’t know,” Dante murmured. “I’ll let you know.”

Brownstone: Living Room

“I’m glad I ran into you,” Elizabeth said, following Carly into the room. “I was looking for Bobbie, but I wanted to let you know that if Alexis wants to schedule me for a deposition or whatever, I’m ready—”

Carly picked up a blanket from the sofa and folded it. “Are you sure? I thought you’d want to wait until Cameron came home—”

“We’re only a week or so away from that,” Elizabeth said. She reached into her purse. “And I know you haven’t been able to see him, so I was going to drop off pictures. You’ll be our first visitor when he comes home.”

Carly smiled. “If I’d known working at the hospital or being on the board would be my only way in, I would have finished the nursing program,” she said. She pulled out the first photo. “He’s bigger.”

“Yeah. We’re having hearing and vision test today, and Dr. Devlin wants to do the car seat test at the end of the week. If he passes all three—” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “But I’m not here to talk about that. I know Jason’s not wild about me being involved because he knows what Alexis will ask—”

“And what Sonny’s lawyer will do,” Carly said. “Jordan Baines doesn’t have a heart. She’s going to go after you anyway she can. I don’t blame Jason for not wanting to do any of that.” She sighed. “I wish this were over, but—” she wandered into the kitchen and Elizabeth followed. “You want something to drink? Water?”

“Sure.” They sat at the table. “Jason said that the judge rejected Sonny’s push for a temporary custody order. That’s a good sign, isn’t it? He’s not getting visitation even without the hearing.”

“Alexis said it was. We filed in family court for AJ’s paternal rights. Which feels weird to say out loud.” Carly dragged her hands through her hair. “It’s been one thing after another,” she murmured. “For years. I’m so tired.”

“And I know this will take time. Sonny will fight every step of the way, but Jason and I are behind you. And it might be weird to have AJ back in this, but that means the Quartermaines are behind you now.”

“That used to scare the crap out of me.” Carly leaned back. “A year ago, do you know where we were?”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Hating each other?”

“Well, yes,” Carly allowed. But also— I was solid and happy in my marriage, overjoyed at being pregnant. Happy that Jason was dating someone who I could get along with, and so sure that no matter what life threw at me and Sonny, we could get through it.” She rested her chin on her fist. “And now—I can’t even remember what it felt like.”

“I had just broken up with Ric for the first time,” Elizabeth murmured. “After learning all the lies and things he’d done to you, to Sonny—”

“I don’t know why the panic room had to change everything so much,” Carly said when Elizabeth didn’t finish. “Why it twisted and broke so many things. Some for the better. Jason’s definitely better off than he would have been. Outside of all of this with Sonny, I mean. That is what it is. But he’s happy with you.”

“Carly—”

“For a long time, I kept thinking I wanted to go back to how things were before. That I wanted to be that Carly again. But what’s broken inside Sonny—it was always there. If it wasn’t Ric, it would have been someone or something else.” Carly took a deep breath. “I will never be grateful for what happened to me. To either of us,” she added. “I know Jason found a silver lining because without it, Cameron isn’t here, but I couldn’t find mine. I couldn’t see what it had brought me except trauma and terror.”

“And now?”

“I’m going to be a better person because of it. It made me look at everyone in my life. To look at who I was and how I reacted to things. I never would have let AJ back into Michael’s life, or God, apologized to Tony.” Carly bit her lip. “I wish it had never happened, but it did. It’s okay to find good in it. To find benefit. Isn’t it?”

“I think it’s the only way we can ever really move on from it. I’m a better person because what happened to me,” Elizabeth told her. “The rape. Ric. All of it. It brought me to this moment, to this life.” She twisted her wedding ring. “I have Jason and we have Cameron. I’m stronger than I would have been, I think. I found the good in what happened to me, Carly. But that doesn’t mean I wanted it. Or that I’m grateful. It just means I’ve found a way to live with it.”

“I guess that’s all we can hope for.”

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Taggert emerged from the diner, pausing when he saw Justus at a table reading over some paperwork. He had never been all that interested in the man but he’d be connected to Justus for the rest of his life thanks to Portia. Portia adored her family, and thought of Tamika Ward as her best friend, not just a sister.

And Justus was a father. Kimi would be his kid’s cousin.

Maybe it was time to put the old feelings aside.

“You, uh, got a minute?” Taggert wanted to know. Justus squinted at him, then nodded. “Thanks.”

“What’s going on?” Justus asked. “Is there something at the station—”

“No, no it’s not about any of that. You and I don’t have a lot of run ins these days as long as Sonny stays away from Carly.” And it went without saying Morgan wasn’t going to show up on Major Crimes’ radar. “Um, I know you know about Portia. She said she told her sister before me.”

“Yeah. Mikki said something.” Justus shifted. “Congratulations. She brought over the DVD. Mikki can’t wait to be an aunt.”

“Yeah, she’ll be a good one. Kimi’s a cute kid, so—” Taggert sipped his coffee. “Uh, I guess this means you’ll be my kid’s uncle.”

“That’s usually how it works.”

Taggert scowled. “Look, I’m just—” He exhaled in a huff. “Portia and I are good. Solid. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me, and I’m gonna be a good dad, but she’s got her heart set on a little girl. That scares the hell out of me.”

“Having a daughter?”

“You know this world. I’ve seen—” Taggert looked away, looked towards the diner where Georgie Jones was visible. “I’ve seen too much. And I can’t stop the world from hurting my kids.”

“I know it. I’ve had nightmares thinking about my little girl out in the world. Don’t think I’d do much better with a son,” Justus added. “Because there are whole conversations you gotta have with your son about walking around this world as a Black man.”

That hadn’t even occurred to Taggert and now his chest tightened. “How old were you when your mom had the talk with you?”

“Maybe seven,” Justus said, after some thought. “I got hauled in by some cops in Philly,” he continued. “I spent too much time in the candy aisle and the owner called in a beat cop.” He exhaled slowly. “You?”

“About the same. Mom told me that I was gonna have to fight harder than everyone else just to be seen half as good. She didn’t want me to be a cop,” Taggert added. “But I’d met a good one, I thought, and I wanted to help. I wanted to be part of a better world.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how anyone brings a kid into this world.”

“We’ve got an okay corner of it here. You’ve done good work at the PCPD,” Justus told him. “And you got good taste. Portia’s amazing. She’s going to be a world-class mother. And you’ve got family here. Whether we like it or not,” he added. “Mikki wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Taggert got to his feet. “Appreciate it.”

“Any time.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

“I swear, if Penny gives me that look one more time,” Georgie muttered as she rounded the counter and flashed an angry look at the equally irritated waitress across the room. “I was gone for six months, and she acts like I’ve never worked a day in my life—”

She huffed and looked at Dillon. “You want the usual?”

“Yeah. Penny’s just mad because she’s always been everyone’s, like, third favorite waitress,” Dillon assured her. “Remember? You told me she thought she’d get promoted to manager when Elizabeth quit last year right after Courtney did.”

“And instead Bobbie just hired more waitresses and does the schedule herself.” Georgie smirked. “Yeah, I remember when Elizabeth trained me. She and Courtney got more tips, and it pissed Penny off. Now, Lu and I get more tips. You’d think she’d figure it out.”

“I think Lucas got more tips and he only worked here last summer.” Dillon flipped a page in his text. “You ready for finals?”

“Yeah, I think. Worried about the chem final. If I want to get into organic next year, I need to ace it. I’ll probably pull all nighter.” Georgie ducked into the kitchen to put in another order. When she came out, “I talked to Lu. She and Dante are trying to put together a movie night. I feel like we haven’t done one of those in ages.”

“No, not since—” Dillon made a face. “Christmas. Lu and I broke up and it kind of soured things. But we should.” He hesitated. “There’s a Joan Crawford movie festival next week at the Harwin. They’re doing Baby Jane and Mildred Pierce on the first night. You wanna go?”

“Aren’t they both black and white?” Georgie asked. “You know Maxie hates those—”

“No, I just meant—” Dillon paused. “You and me. Just us.”

Georgie stared at him for a long moment, and he thought he’d made a terrible mistake. They’d only dated for a few months nearly a year ago and things had exploded. She wasn’t interested, and—

“Just you and me,” she echoed. “Dillon—”

“Hear me out, okay?” he said in a hurry. “We said we’d be friends again, right? But the thing is, Georgie—” He cleared his throat. “We were never friends in the first place, you know? From the first second we saw each other. And I know you were dating that guy for a while, but Maxie said that was over—”

“So you want to go on a date? With me?” Georgie said. “I know you said you forgave me for what happened—”

“It’s in the past. I promise. I’m not that innocent, either, you know. We all could have handled things better,” he continued. “And I just—” He met her eyes. “I just thought we could see if anything was still there. I never stopped caring, Georgie.”

“Neither did I,” she said softly. “And I miss your movies. Yeah, let’s go.”

Spencer House: Porch

Laura opened the door and blinked, stepping back. “Kelsey, this is a surprise—”

“I’m sorry just to drop in like this, but I went to the club, and the bartender said—” Kelsey stepped into the entryway and saw Luke standing by the sofa. “I hoped you’d give me a chance to ask you a few questions.”

“I told Cowboy everything I knew—”

“Yeah, he told me.” Behind her, Laura closed the door. Kelsey cleared her throat. “But he thought maybe you didn’t tell him everything, and if there’s something you don’t want people to know about my dad, I get it. I just—” She stepped down, closer to him. “I hope you’d at least hear me out.”

“He will,” Laura said, glaring at Luke. “He’ll hear you out and answer anything he can. Won’t you, Luke?”

“I can try,” he said, gesturing at the dining table. “What’s on your mind?” He sat across from Kelsey, his mouth tightening when Laura sat next to her and not him.

“I understand if you’re worried about things coming back on you, I really do get it. Lucky said you were mixed up in all of this for a long time.” Kelsey paused. “It’s just—I thought I knew who my dad was. I thought I understood what happened to him and why we left. But my mother’s still scared. Does that mean someone is out there? Still threatening her?”

Luke hesitated, then shook his head. “I’d be surprised if anyone has thought about your mother in a long time. I can appreciate her worry, but I’ll tell you Angela is safe. Even if she weren’t, I can make a few calls to make sure of it. Jason’s a good friend and this is his town now.”

“Okay. Okay. That helps. Did my dad—he was Frank Smith’s lawyer, and I know from the papers I’ve read Frank wasn’t a good guy. I know some of the terrible things he was accused of. They said he was running drugs and women in the clubs.” Kelsey’s eyes burned with tears. “Was my dad part of any of that?”

“Like I told Cowboy, your dad might have known about some of that, but he stayed on the right side of the line. Kelsey, you mean a lot to my boy, so I’m doing what I can here, but—”

“Do you know who murdered my father?” Kelsey asked.

Luke closed his eyes. “It wasn’t me, if that’s what either of you were thinking.” He saw Kelsey’s shoulders slump. “That wasn’t my thing,” he added, “and I wasn’t in the inner circle like that. Frank and me were enemies mostly. What happened to your dad seems like an internal thing, you know? I don’t know who did it.”

“But you know who might have.”

“I know who the players were,” Luke clarified. “And that’s all I know. I could give you names. But none of it would help. I’m sorry your father’s case got screwed up like it did. But the time to do something about it, that’s gone.”

“There’s nothing else you can tell me?” Kelsey wanted to know. “Please—”

“There’s nothing else I can tell you.”

When Laura had closed the door behind her son’s girlfriend, she turned to her husband who seemed already braced for what was coming.

“Secrets and holding things in for years and years is what broke me,” she told him. “I never said the things I wanted to say, and I didn’t deal with all that I’d been through. I can’t let that happen again.”

“Angel—”

“Lucky loves her. And I mean he loves her. This isn’t like Elizabeth. It isn’t young, first, sweet love. Kelsey is probably going to be our daughter-in-law in the next few years. Our first grandchildren will come from her.” Laura lifted her chin. “If you are holding on to secrets about her father, that will fester and simmer. The truth might not come out today. But it will come out. It always does. You need to decide where you want to be standing when it does.”

NICU: Cameron’s Room

Elizabeth’s fingers dug into Jason’s as Dr. Devlin slid the tiny probe inside Cameron’s ears as Nadine held the newborn steady. His little face scrunched up, but that was the only sign of discomfort.

“It’s okay,” Jason murmured against her ear. “We’re almost there.”

“I just—” Elizabeth tightened her grip, then winced when she felt Jason flinch. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Dr. Devlin drew the probe out and said something to Nadine. The nurse laid the baby back into his crib, and the doctor turned back to the parents. “He’s passed with flying colors. Just like all the other tests.”

Elizabeth’s air rushed out like a waterfall. “Oh, thank God.”

“All we need now is the car seat test.” He made a note in the chart. “I’d like to give Cameron a few more nights, so let’s schedule the test for Thursday. If it goes well—” Dr. Devlin looked up and flashed another smile. “Friday, you can take your little boy home.”

So little time
Try to understand that I’m
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody’s changing, and I don’t feel the same
You’re gone from here
Soon you will disappear, fading into beautiful light
‘Cause everybody’s changing, and I don’t feel right
– Everybody’s Changing, Keane

---

Friday, April 9, 2004

The Cellar: Office

“I’m sorry,” Carly said as Jason closed her door. “I never meant to blindside—”

Jason held up a hand to ward off her protests. “You don’t owe me an explanation. Michael is your son—”

“But everything about Sonny affects you. Especially right now,” Carly cut in and he exhaled slowly. “And it’s not like I didn’t have a chance to tell you”

“I knew you were working with AJ—”

“But I didn’t tell you what I was going to do.” Carly folded her arms. “At first, it really was just about getting Sonny out of Michael’s life. Even if Sonny does get better, Morgan’s an infant and he won’t have memories of this time. Michael always will. And I knew there was a big chance Sonny would win supervised visitation. Revoking the adoption was my only way out.”

“I understand all of that—”

“And after Sonny was forced into Ferncliffe, I was even more determined. But then, the bipolar diagnosis came down and I—” Carly sighed. “I told AJ we were still going forward, I just wanted to wait until Sonny was released. It would look better in court.” She paused. “And then AJ tried to talk me out of it.”

“AJ.” Jason stared at her. “He tried to talk you out of the revocation?”

“What’s stopping me from doing this to AJ in two or three years?” Carly asked softly. “How many times have I jerked my son around, pushing him from father to father, Jason? From Tony to you to AJ to Sonny—” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I can justify it all I want, but AJ’s right. I still think of Michael as mine to give and to take.”

She opened her eyes, stretched her mouth into a thin, sour smile. “You’re not going to argue with that?”

“No,” Jason replied. “No. I can’t. Because I’ve always seen Michael as yours. From the beginning. I never cared about Tony or AJ. You were the one who was pregnant. It made sense to me then that you should be in charge.  The rights of the mother—” He paused. “Then I realized what it meant to be a father. I understood what I’d done. It was just too late, and I was in too deep. I loved him too much.”

“You still walked away,” she murmured. “And I wish I’d let it go then, Jason. When you gave up visitation, when you tried to cut ties. You told me to move on, but I clung and I dragged you along, still believing we could have everything.” She sank down, into her chair, her hands on her desk. “And when you didn’t do what I wanted, I tried to hurt you.”

“And you did it,” Jason said roughly. “You and Sonny destroyed me. But you did me a favor at the end of the day. Because I was still holding out for the chance to be with Michael again. I had to let go, and I don’t know if I could have if you hadn’t—”

“You were almost there, Jason. I know what we thought we felt, but it was never love.” She smiled sadly, and he nodded. “But that’s why I have to do this now. I never had the right to cut AJ out. He never, ever hurt Michael. And he was a good father. This isn’t about Sonny anymore. This is about taking accountability for the things I’ve done. I’m sorry if this makes things harder with Sonny, I am. But I have to do this—”

“It’s okay,” Jason said. “I wish you’d said something earlier, but I can understand it’s not an easy conversation to have. I don’t really like going back to that time. I hurt a lot of people,” he continued. “I’ll never regret the time I spent with Michael because loving him, being his father made me a better man, but I hurt Robin. I lied to my grandmother—” He shook his head. “You need to make it right however works for you, Carly. I’ll support it.”

“Thank you.” Carly took a deep breath. “That leads me to why I asked you to come by. Before I could file my paperwork, Sonny got there first. He must have been meeting with his lawyer in Ferncliffe.”

Jason grimaced. “How bad is it?”

“He’s going to drag every wrong thing I ever did through the mud to make sure I’m labeled an unfit mother and blame the breakdown of the marriage on me.” Her throat tightened. “I know this is going to make things worse with him, but I need you. I need you and I need Elizabeth to tell the court about December. I need Elizabeth to talk about all the things he’s done to her, even after he knew she was facing a fatal pregnancy complication. And if it’s possible, if Justus could—”

“That’s—” Jason scrubbed a hand down his face. “I’ll testify, and I can talk to Justus, but—”

“I know. You want to leave Elizabeth out of it. I wish I could, Jase. I really do. But she’s the other target of Sonny’s anger. He never turned on you like he did on us. She can say no. I’ll be okay with that. But I need you to ask her. Or I need to. I just—I have to get Sonny out of my life. And I can’t afford to play safe or fair. He won’t.”

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Dante unfolded the last chair and set it in place by a table. Georgie and Lulu had both argued to set up the courtyard for the day, but he liked the physical labor and they had to deal with customers all day. The least he could do after the first morning rush was give them a break.

He adjusted a few of the chairs, then headed for the diner entrance. He stopped when he heard his name called.

“Dante, I was hoping to catch you before your shift.” Alexis walked through the arched entrance and flashed a smile. “Do you have a minute?”

“I’m on break, actually, but yeah—” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Is this about Capelli or the PCPD—”

“Oh. No. I’m not dealing with any of that, actually. I was just—” Alexis paused. “I’ve wanted to reach out to you since all of this hit the fan, but I thought it might be better if I waited until the press died down. The reporters are gone from the building, and I asked Lu if they were still around here.”

Dante shrugged. “Every once in a while, but not like before.”

“Good. Good. I’m so sorry this came out the way it did. I never wanted anyone to know about Kristina,” Alexis said, “and clearly you and your mother felt the same way—”

“I saw the press conference,” Dante said. “With you and Aunt Lo. I’m glad Ma didn’t go through it, but I guess you and Aunt Lo work for the city, so—”

“But the truth is out there now,” Alexis interrupted. “Whatever you decide to do about your relationship with Sonny—you’ll do what’s best for you. But you have a sister. And brothers,” she added, “but Carly will choose her own path there. Kristina is your sister, Dante.”

Dante stared at her for a long moment, then cleared his throat. “I—”

“She’s much younger than you, of course. Still just a baby still.” Alexis flashed a hesitant smile. “I had a sister once, too, and I was separated from her most of my life. Once she came back into my life, we didn’t have nearly as much time together. I just thought you should know if you want to be part of Kristina’s life, if you want to be her brother, the door is always open.”

NICU: Cameron’s Room

Cameron was out of the incubator when Jason arrived that morning and laying on a table with Dr. Ian Devlin and Nadine on one side, Elizabeth on the other, her arms tightly crossed.

“Is everything all right?” Jason asked, quickly crossing to his wife, a hand on her shoulder. “Cameron—”

“They’re doing a temperature check,” Elizabeth told him. “If Cameron can regulate his own temperature for a longer period of time—” She took a breath, and Jason immediately noted that it was much deeper than before she’d delivered the baby. Her lungs could nearly fully expand now—

She cleared her throat. “It’ll be a big step towards letting him come home soon, right?” she asked.

Dr. Devlin removed the thermometer and studied the results. He grinned, and Jason’s chest eased. “97.7,” he told Nadine who scribbled it down. “Exactly where he needs to be.”

“What does that mean?” Elizabeth asked immediately. “Does that mean we can take him home—”

“Not yet, Mama, but we’re getting closer. This means Cameron can stop using the incubator,” he said. He nodded to Nadine who left the room. “We’ll be upgrading him to an open bed. He can start wearing t-shirts but you’ll need to keep his head covered at all times,” he told them. He lifted Cameron, then settled him in Elizabeth’s arms. “This is a big step. I want him to gain a bit more weight to help him continue maintaining that temperature. I think we can start scheduling overnight stays,” he told them. “One or both of you staying overnight with him to handle the feeding and changes—”

Elizabeth’s eyes glittered with tears. “I can stay now. Tonight—”

Dr. Devlin laughed, but Jason knew she was completely serious. If the hospital gave Elizabeth the opening, she’d move into Cameron’s room. And he’d be right there with her. “We’ll look at that. I think we can start thinking about scheduling the tests he’ll need for release. As soon as he gains two more ounces, we’ll do the hearing and vision tests. And don’t forget about the car seat. He needs to be able to sit for almost two hours in one without any issues—”

He made some more notes in the chart. “Nadine will arrange for the open crib—it should be here in a few minutes. Now that Cameron can regulate the temperature, we don’t want him getting overheated. Congratulations, Mom and Dad. He’s doing great.”

The doctor set the chart aside and left the room. Elizabeth beamed at Jason. “We’re going to be able to bring him home soon!”

“I heard.” Jason ushered her over to the chair. Her health had rebounded but he still wanted her to take it easy. “And as soon as they tell us we can do overnight, we’ll do that.” He hesitated. “I talked to Carly this morning.”

“And judging from the look on your face, it didn’t go well?” she asked, adjusting Cameron again, sliding her fingers over his fuzzy head and tufts of blond hair.

“I don’t know.” Jason sat in the other chair. Before he said anything else, Nadine and a few other hospital techs rolled out the incubator, replacing it with an open crib. He went over to one of the bags they’d kept there, and drew out a t-shirt. He handed it to Elizabeth and Nadine gave them a stash of hats.

“Congratulations,” Nadine told them again. “He can spend as much time as you want out of the crib, just make sure his head is covered and check his temperature every twenty minutes or so.”

When they were alone and Cameron was dressed in his new clothes, Jason told Elizabeth about Carly’s decision to bring AJ back into the picture and Sonny’s divorce paperwork. “She’s having Alexis send me a copy so I can get an idea of what he’s saying, but—”

“It’s terrible. You can’t even blame Sonny’s reaction on AJ because he clearly had this ready to go. He was planning this in Ferncliffe,” Elizabeth said. “Doesn’t that bother you? While he was starting therapy and supposed to be getting better, he was planning how to destroy Carly.”

“It tells me she’s right to get out.” It seemed even colder to him knowing that Sonny had walked into the penthouse the day before asking Carly for another chance. He’d had this paperwork waiting, ready to launch it like a nuclear attack. How could someone claim to love someone and do this?

He paused again, watched as Elizabeth readjusted Cameron from one side to the other, fussing over the hat and t-shirt, making sure they weren’t bunched up and their son was comfortable. Everything outside this room was still a complete clusterfuck, but his family was safe. Happy. Healthy. For the first time in months, Jason felt like he could actually breathe and think clearly.

“She needs me to testify about December,” Jason told her. “And about last summer. She’ll limit it because she knows Sonny can’t afford to go too deep, but Bobbie’s already going to talk about what she saw.” He paused. “She needs you, too.”

Elizabeth squinted. “Why do you say it like that? Of course she does. I was there that night. And I’ve seen how scared Michael is of Sonny. Plus, I’m sure she wants me to talk about the things Sonny said to me right before I got sick.” She stood and handed Cameron to him. “Your turn.”

“I just—” Jason shook his head. “It’s instinct, I guess. After all of this. I don’t want you to have to think about any of that. To think about the panic room and last summer or how sick you were—”

“I don’t want to, either, but this is the right thing to do, Jason. Michael and Morgan need us. I want them to have the best life they possibly can.” Elizabeth bit her lip. “I know all the reasons it isn’t my fault, but I still feel responsible for what happened in that panic room—”

“Elizabeth—”

“For that entire week, we weren’t just working to find Carly. We were trying to bring Morgan home safely, too. And Michael saw what happened to his mother. I wish this weren’t the answer. I wish Sonny could have bent just a little six months ago when it came to the trial. Or maybe I wish Carly and I had felt differently. There were hundreds of little ways maybe we could stopped what’s happening. We didn’t, Jason. I’ll never forgive myself if Sonny ends up with custody of those boys. The man who screamed at me while I was so sick—who locked Carly in that room—he’s not a good father. It’s up to Carly to stop that. She’s asking us for help. We need to be there.”

General Hospital: Hallway

They left Dr. Lee’s office and walked towards the bank of elevators, but Taggert’s head was still back in the room, watching the little black screen and green squiggles. It hadn’t looked like much, but then he’d seen the heartbeat—

A little pulsing squiggle on a screen was the heartbeat of his kid. And it was beating inside of the woman walking next to him, her arm wound through his—

“It didn’t seem real before,” Taggert said suddenly, and Portia stopped, blinking up at him. “I mean, I saw the test and I knew it was, but before—”

“Before it was a concept,” she finished. She reached into her purse, drew out the print they’d been given, the DVD still tucked inside. “Now it’s here. Our baby has a heartbeat.”

“I want to be a good father,” Taggert said. “Not like mine. He took off, and he broke my mother—” He cleared his throat.

“Marcus, you’ll be an amazing father.” Portia leaned up to brush her mouth against his. He cupped her face gently. Delicately. How did women do this? How did they grow a whole person inside of them? And how did people just let them walk around normally? He wanted to wrap her in bubble wrap so nothing could touch her—

“I don’t know about amazing. But good—” He nodded. Good was a realistic goal. “I know this is all still new and we’re figuring things out, but I love you, and I love this baby already.”

Portia grinned. “I knew all of that, but it’s nice to hear.” They resumed walking towards the elevator. “Now, I don’t want you thinking that we’re gonna rush into getting married or anything.”

He frowned. “But—”

“I always wanted to design my own dress,” Portia continued, “and that’s gonna take me some time. We’re gonna have to have two ceremonies,” she decided. “A small one up here in Port Charles for this part of our family, and then we’ll go to Philly—” Her smile broadened. “You need to meet everyone—”

Taggert pursed his lips. “How are you so sure I was gonna propose?” he demanded. “Maybe I wasn’t—”

She arched a brow. “Marcus, this isn’t the time to be playing funny. We both know that you got a ring burning a hole in the top drawer of your dresser. So you’ll go ahead with your plans to ask me properly so one day we can tell our daughter—”

“Daughter—”

“Women just know,” Portia said, “and we’ll tell her about how you asked all romantically. Then—” Her eyes lit up. “Oh, and if we wait long enough after she’s born, she can have the cutest dress—you need to drop me off at the shop. I wanna start sketches. I just know exactly what she should wear—”

She practically danced into the elevator, and Taggert followed, still a bit mystified and overwhelmed, but damned if he wasn’t already thinking about his pretty Portia in a gorgeous gown, and maybe his mother in the front of the church holding a baby girl in her own dress—

Portia did know how to paint a picture in your head.

Spencer House: Kitchen

Lucky stepped into his parents’ house by way of the kitchen door, and stood there for a long moment, enjoying a sight he’d never take for granted again.

His parents were standing by the sink, laughing and teasing one another as Laura washed the breakfast dishes and Luke dried them. He’d watched them do that a thousand times growing up, but he hadn’t seen it in so many years.

Not since his mother had been away, living in London then North Carolina with his grandmother. Lucky had never lived with both of them at the same time again.

“Hey.” Laura smiled broadly at her son. She flicked her hands at Luke, letting the last of the water hit his face. He tried to grab her, but she danced away from him to cross over to Lucky. She hugged him. “I wasn’t expecting you. No work tonight?”

“I have the second shift,” Lucky told her. She kissed his cheek. “Got any coffee left?”

“Sure thing, Cowboy.” Luke reached for a mug and filled it with the last of the pot. “What brings you by?”

“Some questions,” Lucky said. He went to the fridge to grab milk, then joined his parents at the island.

“When I was shot—you know, Kelsey—” Lucky hesitated. “She struggled with it. We’re fine and everything, but her mother brought up her dad’s death and said something that confused Kelsey. So she looked up his case.” He saw his father drop his gaze to the counter. “You already know what she found, don’t you, Dad?”

“Luke?” Laura said when Luke didn’t answer. “What is he talking about?”

“He was shot in the head, execution style.  He was driving home from a meeting, and someone was with him in the car,” Lucky continued. Laura closed her eyes. “He died in June. When Frank Smith was still alive and could have ordered it.”

“I knew Ollie worked at the clubs, but—” Laura looked at Luke. “He worked for Frank? Like that?”

“Dad—”

“I don’t know much,” Luke said, with a shake of his head. “Ollie worked for Frank Smith from the beginning. Low-level stuff. He probably didn’t know what he was dealing with. He did the books for the club,” he told Laura. “The…disco.” Her mouth tightened as she looked away. “When we left town, that’s what he was doing. He was just one of a few lawyers that worked with the Smith organization. And—to the best of my knowledge—it was all legal.”

“Until it wasn’t,” Lucky said. “What about when we moved back?”

“Ollie had moved up. He was Smith’s top lawyer. I still think it was mostly legal. You generally—you have two lawyers. Look at Jason and Sonny. They have Bernie and Justus. Bernie—and his brother before him—was trained in the law and accounting. That’s what made him valuable. Benny worked for Frank Smith, too. He and Ollie worked together. Ollie handled the legal end of the business.”

“But he knew who he was working for.”

“Oh, yeah, no doubt. You don’t work for a man over a decade without finding out a thing or two or crossing the lines at times.” Luke shrugged. “That’s about as much as I ever knew. Ollie handled the legal end of the clubs and gambling—which was all Frank really got into at the time. The smuggling and international stuff—that was Sonny’s contacts from New York and Puerto Rico through Lily.” He winced. “This is off the record, right, Cowboy?”

“It’s not a PCPD investigation. It never was. The cop who handled it closed it.” Lucky lifted a brow. “You ever work with a Detective Case? David Case?”

“I didn’t work with him, no,” Luke said tightly, “but I knew he wasn’t clean. He closed it? No investigation?”

“No. That wouldn’t have raised flags for the commissioner? I didn’t know Sean.”

“You work for the PCPD—you tell me. Mac was a good guy, and still people get away with all kinds of shit.” Luke hesitated. “Look—I don’t know what bringing this up now is going to solve. I don’t know what I can tell you. I wasn’t part of the organization back in ’94. Not after I helped Frank get out of prison.”

He paused. “Maybe Ollie asked the wrong questions. I can’t say, Cowboy. But I can tell you that there’s no point in bringing this up now.”

“I can’t just leave it alone, Dad. Kelsey talked to her mother. Her mother claimed she was threatened and paid to leave town right after. Her mom is still terrified.”

“That poor woman,” Laura murmured. “To lose Ollie, then this?”

“Her mom asked Kelsey to drop it, and she did at first, but Kelsey’s having trouble putting it away. She thinks her dad deserves more—”

“If Frank Smith ordered it, I already got her father justice,” Luke told him flatly. “There’s no point in dragging up ancient history. Does that cop still work at the PCPD?”

“No, he retired in ’97 and died last year.”

“Then why go into it now?” Luke shrugged. “Let her father rest in peace. It was a bad time for us, Cowboy. Leave it alone.”

Lucky studied his father for a long moment, then finished his coffee. “All right. Let me know if you think of anything else.” He hugged his mother, then left.

When he was gone, Laura turned to Luke and raised her brow. “What do you know?”

“What I know, Angel, is not provable in a court of law,” Luke told her. He kissed her forehead. “And some people got enough problems without opening up that can of worms.”

Laura scowled, but Luke set his coffee cup in the sink and left the kitchen.

Brownstone: Front Step

The universe was sending all kinds of signals these days, Carly thought as she approached the front step of her mother’s home and saw Tony Jones jogging down the steps. He stopped when he saw her, his face tight.

“Tony.” Carly tightened her hand around the strap of her purse. “I don’t see you much around here.” Her stomach fluttered. “That’s my fault, isn’t it?”

“Not entirely,” Tony admitted. He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Lucas is old enough to come to me, and we don’t do visitation anymore.” He cleared his throat. “I was dropping some things off. I thought you’d be at work.”

“Early night. Um—wait—” she said as Tony started towards his car. “Can I—” He turned back towards her, his facial expression carefully blank. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’ve…about the things I’ve done. Um, I’ve been in therapy off and on since last summer.”

Tony exhaled slowly, nodded. “I heard something about that, I think. We don’t need to—”

“No, we do. I wasn’t always a good person.” Carly made a face. “I’m not sure I qualify now, but I’ve been working with AJ to get his parental rights reinstated.”

Tony raised his brows. “Really? Things with Sonny that bad?” he said sourly.

“No, well, yes,” Carly admitted. “And that’s how it started. But it’s not why I’m still doing it. I was messed up about a lot of things back then. Why I went after you, why I lied about the baby, the things I did to AJ—I have a lot of regrets, Tony. I’m sorry I lied to you about the baby. About the way I treated you when you found out the truth.”

“Sorry about shooting me?” he asked dryly. She grimaced. “No, that one is on me. I went a little crazy for a while,” he admitted. “And look, we both did a lot wrong, Carly—”

“Tony—”

“Let’s just leave it there, okay?” he told her. “You’re not the same person—”

“You know, people say that all the time,” Carly cut in, “but it feels wrong. It feels like I’m blaming someone else for what I did. I’m still her, Tony. I did those things, and I did them without a regret in my heart for a long time. God, even six months ago—” Her chest tightened. “I’m not sure I could have stood in front of you and felt bad about it.”

He said nothing, and she took a deep breath. “But I am sorry now. Mama forgave me a long time ago, even though I barely gave her a reason, too, and I think Lucas is on his way. Maybe. I hope so. He’s been good to me. To me and to my boys.  You don’t need to forgive me, Tony. I can’t ask for that, and I won’t. I still need to offer the apology.”

“All right,” Tony said slowly. “Then let me give you an apology, too,” he said, and she blinked at him. “Because you did what you did, but I lied to you, too, didn’t I? I didn’t love you. And I nearly married you for the baby. I kept lying to you because I was going for custody. Maybe if I’d come clean, if I’d admitted it earlier, you might have done things differently.”

“I wish I could believe that. You were kind to me, Tony, and for a while, I thought that meant you loved me. I thought it meant I loved you, too. We were both wrong, I guess. But I know I was more wrong. For going after you—”

“Yeah, the reasons you targeted me weren’t right, but I still said yes, didn’t I?” Tony shrugged a half shoulder, but his face had loosened. “I still made the choice, Carly, and I’m not here to give you more blame than you deserve. Thanks for clearing the air.”

“Thank you for listening.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

“Now, you can have this one cookie,” Tamika told her daughter. “But we’re taking the rest home.”

Kimi pouted, then turned her dark eyes on her father. “Daddy—”

“Not a chance. Me and Mama are a team,” he reminded her. His eye caught someone in the courtyard, and he grimaced. “Mikki,” he murmured to his wife. “Stay in here with Kimi. Sonny’s outside, and he just made eye contact with me.”

“Justus—”

“It’ll be fine. We’re in public.” He kissed her temple, then left the diner to find Sonny waiting for him. “How did you know I’d be here and what do you want?”

“I didn’t know,” Sonny said, squinting. “I came to grab something to eat—” He paused. “And maybe see if I could talk to my son—”

“Dante isn’t working right now,” Justus said, “and I doubt he wants to see you. You’re the reason he had to leave the department—”

Sonny scowled. “You don’t know that—”

“I know that everyone was looking at him funny, thinking he knew about his father and was a dirty cop. So maybe you came looking for Dante, but you saw me. What do you want?” he repeated.

“I thought I could apologize—”

“Not interested.”

“Justus, come on—” Sonny said as Justus reached for the door. “I’m trying to do better, okay? I’m doing the damn therapy, the meds. No one is giving me a chance—”

“What makes you think you deserve one?” Justus wanted to know. “Maybe six months ago when Carly walked out on you the first time. Or four months ago after you locked in her a goddamn room. Maybe two months ago when Jason told you Elizabeth was sick. Maybe then you had a right to ask about chances. But no one owes you shit, Sonny. Don’t be mad. It’s called the consequences of your actions—”

“I didn’t know—”

“You didn’t know the diagnosis,” Justus retorted, “but you damn well knew you weren’t okay. But you’re the big bad Sonny Corinthos, right? Can’t go for help even though your family is begging you. You made that choice, Sonny. Not the illness. You’re not going to get back in by appealing to me. Jason’s my cousin. My loyalty is with him. You and me got nothing else to say to each other.”

Hearts are worn in these dark ages
You’re not alone in this story’s pages
The light has fallen amongst the living and the dying
And I’ll try to hold it in, yeah, I’ll try to hold it in
The world’s on fire, it’s more than I can handle
Tap into the water, try to bring my share
Try to bring more, more than I can handle
Bring it to the table, bring what I am able
– World on Fire, Sarah McLachlan

---

Thursday, April 8, 2004

 Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“Thank you,” Carly told Jason as he let her into the penthouse. “For—for letting me do this here. I know you don’t want him here—”

“I need to make things clear to him,” Jason told her.  “You didn’t want to see him alone, and I know you don’t want to go back to the penthouse.” He paused.

“No, that’s definitely not in the cards.” Carly leaned against the desk. “How’s Cam? Do you guys have a date to bring him home yet?”

“Not yet, but the doctor said it might be in two or three weeks. Elizabeth is at the hospital with him now. He’s—” Jason grabbed a stack of photographs. “We’ve been taking pictures. I’m sorry you haven’t been able to meet him yet—”

“No, I get it. Parent and medical professionals only. And apparently board members,” she said dryly. She glanced through the photos and smiled at one of Jason holding Cameron. “Oh, man, look—he’s getting bigger.”

“Yeah, he hit five pounds yesterday.” Jason couldn’t stop himself from grinning again. He’d been there when Cameron had hit that milestone—that was huge. “His lungs are clear, and he’s regulating his own temperature. He just needs more time on the oxygen, and they want him to gain a few more ounces.” He saw her looking at a photograph of Monica and Cameron. “I’m sorry,” he said again.

“They work at the hospital. It’s just…” Carly ran her fingers over a photo of Cameron by himself in his crib. “He’s such a huge part of your life, Jason, you know? This is your baby. Your son. And I haven’t met him. I hate it. I hate that you didn’t get to bring him home yet—” She handed him the photos. “I hate everything Ric Lansing has done to us.”

Jason hesitated, then looked down at the photo —Elizabeth holding the baby, Cameron’s skin against hers, a blanket covering them both. “I do, too,” he admitted. “But—I also—I wouldn’t—”

Carly frowned slightly, looked down at the photo he was holding. “But maybe you wouldn’t have them if not for the panic room,” she murmured.

“Yeah. That sounds terrible,” Jason added quickly. “I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be. If not for me being kidnapped, she might still be married to Ric. You might have married Courtney. It’s not—” Carly forced a smile. “It’s not wrong to look for the silver lining, you know? I’m glad that you get to be happy. I’m working on it.”

“Carly—”

“Maybe I would have stopped your wedding,” Carly offered. “I was thinking about it, you know? I wonder what would have happened if I had just, like, stood up and said, did anyone notice he’s totally miserable?” She shrugged. “We’ll never know.”

“No, but it might have been fun to watch.” Jason put an arm around Carly’s shoulders, hugged her lightly. He started to say something else, but then there was a knock on the door. “You ready?”

“No, but let’s get it over with.”

Carly straightened as Jason went to answer the door. Sonny stood there, Max behind him. His former friend had clearly been home and showered already. He was dressed in a suit, his hair slicked back—

Almost as if this was just another day.

“Jason.” Sonny cleared his throat, looked at Carly standing by the desk. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah.” Jason stepped back, let Sonny in while Max waited in the hall. He closed the door.

“I, uh—” Sonny studied the two of them. “I’m not really sure where to start. After you left last month—” He met Jason’s eyes. “Dr. Winters and I talked. I…didn’t want to go on medication, but she—she convinced me that maybe I needed it.”

“I’m glad,” Carly offered when Jason said nothing. “Really, Sonny. I’m glad that you’ve got a diagnosis and that you’re being treated. I hope you start to feel the difference.”

“Yeah, she said it might be another a week or two before I do. But I know you were both worried. And—Dr. Winters and I talked. About um—what you said. That I maybe I was using my illness as…” He squinted. “She called it a shield, I guess. To…stop from being held accountable.”

Carly traded a glance with Jason. “Okay,” she said slowly. “What do you think about that?”

“It’s, um, possible. I think.” Sonny scratched his chin. He looked over at the sofa, and his eyes darkened. “I don’t remember if—you said she was struggling to breathe.”

Jason’s voice was clipped. “Yeah. Her lungs were bleeding. She nearly choked on her own blood.”

Carly winced as Sonny closed his eyes. “I don’t remember. I’m sorry.” He turned to look at Jason. “You don’t have to believe me. Or accept that. Dr. Winters told me that Elizabeth nearly died at the hospital, but I don’t remember her being that sick—”

“Why does that matter?” Carly asked with a shake of her head. “It happened—”

“Because I think Jason’s right,” Sonny said slowly. “That some of the times I was angry with Elizabeth—that it wasn’t about my illness. And that day—I was so angry with her that I wasn’t even seeing her.”

“None of what’s happened is her fault,” Carly said flatly. “It’s not mine. And it’s not Jason’s.”

“No, it is my fault. At least some of it,” Jason said roughly. Sonny frowned at him, and Carly shook her head.

“Jason—”

“Because I covered for you for years. And I convinced Carly that it was how it needed to be handled. The first time she saw you like that—she wanted to get you help. I said no. You didn’t want it, and I never thought it would get so bad. But I should have done something months ago. Years,” Jason corrected. “For that, Sonny, I am sorry. But I’m not apologizing for anything else.”

“No, I don’t—I get that. And I can—I’m working on accepting that,” Sonny admitted. “I, uh, I know things can’t go back—that I don’t have the right to ask for a second chance. But I still…” He swallowed hard, met Carly’s eyes. “I still want one.”

Carly was quiet for a long moment. Jason wasn’t sure if she’d be moved by his words, but Sonny’s attempt to shoulder some of the blame might have swayed her.

“I’m sorry,” Carly said finally. “I—I still want a divorce. I know you were sick, Sonny. But you were lucid some of the times you refused to listen to me. And you were lucid when you refused to ask for help. I will always love you, but you need to focus on yourself. I’m having Alexis file for divorce.” She paused, saw Jason brace himself. “I’ll be asking for full custody of Morgan and petitioning to revoke your adoption of Michael—”

“What the hell?” Sonny exploded. “You can’t take my boys!”

“Morgan does not know you, and I don’t trust you,” Carly said bluntly. “And Michael—” She traded a look with Jason before staring at her hands. “That’s not about you. At least not anymore.”

“What the hell does that mean—”

“It means that Michael isn’t going to be used by anyone ever again. I’m doing what I should have done from the start,” Carly replied. “I’m joining a petition with AJ to reinstate his parental rights—”

“AJ!”  Sonny hissed. “You can’t do this—”

“I’m doing it. And don’t look at Jason. This wasn’t his idea, and he’s not happy about it either—”

“I never said that,” Jason said, making a face.

“I did everything you wanted me to!” Sonny snarled. He jabbed a finger at her. “I got help, didn’t I? I’m taking the damn meds!”

“You were forced into this, Sonny. Kicking and screaming. Did you honestly think you could walk out of Ferncliffe and have everything go back to normal? Did you think I’d move back?”

Sonny fisted his hands at his side. “I didn’t think you’d steal my kids—”

“I begged for months,” Carly said softly. “I asked over and over and over for you to get help. To get better for them. I didn’t decide to do this overnight, Sonny, but once I got going, I couldn’t turn back.”

Sonny swung around to glare at Jason. “And you? You gonna stand here and let her take my boys?”

Jason shoved his hands in his pockets, offered Carly a long, irritated look that told her they’d be discussing this later, then met Sonny’s eyes. “It’s none of my business, and I’m staying out of it.”

“And the business?” Sonny bit out. “You shutting me out of that, too?”

Jason exhaled slowly. “The Zaccharas know you’re not stable. The men know it, too. They’re not going to follow you. It’s over, Sonny. I’m sorry. You’re not coming back.”

Sonny fisted his hands at his side, his face flushed. “You can’t keep me out of this—Ric Lansing is still out there—”

“He’s not.”

Sonny’s words stumbled to a stop as he stared at Jason. “You found him? Where the hell is he—”

“He went off the grid in November because Anthony Zacchara killed him.” Jason paused. “And then used sightings of him to agitate us. That’s why our guys kept getting all the sightings, and authorities never got a whiff of them. It’s why they started calling you, Sonny. They knew we were having problems internally. The last one? The one about Ric in New York? That never even came through the channels to us. Only you got that call.”

Sonny dipped his chin to his chest and was quiet. “Ric’s dead.”

“Yes.”

“The Zaccharas were screwing with us.”

“Yes.”

He lifted his chin now. “And what are we doing in retaliation?”

“Anthony’s son Johnny is under our control for the next six months. If the Zaccharas step out of line even a little, I told him I’d send their son back in a body bag.” Jason paused. “What I’ll actually do is eliminate Trevor and Anthony, but they don’t need to know that.”

Sonny made a face, then nodded again. “Okay. Yeah. I got it. Can’t really go all out with the kid in the hospital and me in the loony bin. Okay. Okay.” He paused. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t be part of the business—”

“The entire syndicate knows where you’ve spent the last month, Sonny. And so do our guys. They’re not going to follow you. I’m sorry. This is how it has to be.”

Sonny’s eyes darkened. “For now.”

“For good. I’m not doing this in another year—”

“That’s not up to you.”

Sonny stalked out, slamming the door behind him hard enough to shake the framed photos on Jason’s desk.

Kelly’s: Courtyard

“Thanks for helping me,” Georgie said as Dante lifted another table into place. “It feels like it took forever to get warm enough to open up the courtyard.”

“Yeah, spring definitely takes its time up here,” he said, unfolding a chair. “By this time in the city, we’re almost roasting.”

“Do you miss it?” Georgie smiled at a customer who passed them to head inside. “Being in New York, I mean.”

“Sometimes. I miss the Yankees. And the way something is always going on, but this isn’t too bad.”

“Really?” she lifted her brows, skeptical. “Port Charles?”

“There have been downsides,” Dante admitted with a pinched mouth, and she winced. “But it’s not like Bensonhurst would be much better.”

“Yeah, I guess not. It’s hard to be in the papers,” Georgie ventured. “When, um, Mac was getting all that press last year, reporters followed me and Maxie around.” She finished arranging the last set of chairs.

“Yeah, I saw that. They wrote some pretty mean things in the Sun.” Dante touched her arm as she started past him. “I’m sorry about that. You and Maxie didn’t deserve any of it. Mac should have done more to protect Brooke and the others, but you guys shouldn’t have been dragged through the mud because Mac told you to avoid the park.”

“I just wish we’d been nicer to Brooke. I think about it sometimes. If we’d tried harder—” Georgie took a deep breath. “It’s not our fault, but it feels like it. And maybe that’s why I took Mac’s side, you know. Because I didn’t want it to be his fault either.” She flushed. “It was, I know. But—”

“But even if he’d done everything right, they might not have caught Vinnie earlier. Yeah, I know. It’s okay, Georgie.”

“You don’t—I didn’t mean to bring any of this up. I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be. You and I don’t know each other that well,” Dante continued, “but Maxie’s a friend. I’m not sure how that happened—”

“No one ever is.” Georgie smiled. “Thanks.”

“Hey, awesome, the courtyard’s open!” Lulu was practicing bouncing as she and Dillon came in from the parking lot. Her bag was slung over her shoulder. “More tables, more tips!” She elbowed Dillon. “Get us a table, and then you can finish helping me with algebra. I’m gonna go in and grab something.” She stopped briefly to kiss Dante before disappearing into the diner.

Dillon scowled as Lulu headed inside, then focused on Dante and Georgie. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Dante folded his arms. “How’d she get you to help with her algebra? I got fired after she failed the last test.”

“I don’t know,” the younger man said darkly. “Witchcraft, maybe. Georgie—”

“Oh, no. Lulu is untutorable.” Georgie shook her head then went into the diner.

Dillon coughed uncomfortably as he sat down. “Uh, so you know, there’s, uh, no hard feelings or anything. With, uh, Lu. I mean, I hated you for a while back in December,” he added when Dante frowned at him. “But that’s just because I knew she was into you and felt guilty about it.”

“Listen, man—”

“No, no. Nothing happened. I know that. I gave Lu grief over it,” he continued, “but she’s not like that. You can trust her.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway. I hope it’s okay we’re, like, friends again.”

“Not up to me,” Dante told him as Lulu returned outside. “Why don’t you give up on algebra?” he asked her.

She rolled her eyes as she sat down. “I wish I could, but it’s remedial algebra. They won’t even let me take the regular math classes I need for my degree.”

“I’ll be right back,” Dillon told her, then went into the diner where Georgie was behind the counter.

“Oh, hey, did you guys want to order?” she asked as he approached her, smiling hesitantly. “I can—”

“No, no, I wanted to give them a minute, and I wanted to talk to you.” Dillon slid onto the stool. “Um, I feel like we’ve been really awkwardly trying to be friends again since last summer, but I just—” He exhaled slowly. “I don’t know. You were the first friend I made here, you know?”

“I’m sorry,” Georgie told him. “I wish I’d handled things better. I was just telling Dante that. I feel like I let Brooke down, but I didn’t know how to turn my back on Mac. I should have—”

“I get it. Family is family. And I was feeling protective of Ned and what he was dealing with. What we were all dealing with. We were all…” Dillon shook his head. “It’s been eight months. You know? Since that night at the movies.”

“Yeah. It feels like yesterday and a hundred years ago, all at the same time.” Georgie tapped her pencil against the order pad. “I have nightmares sometimes,” she admitted. “I keep going back to that night and reliving it, but like, from outside my body—”

“And you spend the entire nightmare screaming at yourself not to get into a stupid fight or to look around—” Dillon stared down at the counter. “I even see Brooke walking away, and I can’t make any of us look.”

“And what you and Kyle and Lucas went through—the interrogation and the—” Georgie swallowed hard. “For a long time, I was ashamed, Dillon, because I was glad—I was glad it wasn’t me. I thought it could have been if I’d run away instead—and then I was even angrier at myself when we read the transcripts—”

“He knew it was her,” Dillon murmured. “He might not have grabbed anyone else. It was about Brooke. He wanted it to be someone he knew.” His stomach rolled. “You don’t have to feel bad about that, Georgie.”

“I’ll regret for the rest of my life that I didn’t find a way to help Brooke or be a better friend. Or that I wasn’t better to you,” she added softly. “It feels like we should have figured it all out sooner.”

“Yeah, it’s something that’s gonna stay with me,” Dillon admitted. “And that’s why I knew I had to say something to you, Georgie. I should have months ago.” He got to his feet. “I just want it all to be okay again. Or as close as it can get.”

“Same.” Georgie smiled. “Thanks for coming in to say that. I wanted to, but I didn’t think—I don’t know, I felt like it needed to be you, you know? Like I didn’t have the right to bring it up again.”

“We’re good, Georgie. I promise. I better get out there before Lulu comes looking.” He offered her another grin then left the diner.

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

He knew he shouldn’t be drinking anymore. He’d even intended to have the mini bar dismantled as soon as he got out of Ferncliffe. Sonny had spent hours talking to his doctor, and she’d pointed out how often he talked about reaching for the bourbon—

None of that was on Sonny’s mind as he stalked across the living room, towards the bar. His hand was shaking as he shoved the glass top from the decanter and poured it into one of the tumblers that was always there. He dimly remembered sliding his arm across the bar that last night, hearing the glass shatter—

But maybe he was imagining it. Maybe it was like all those other times he’d destroyed it, thrown the glass and the liquor against a nearby wall. There was nothing nearly as satisfying as hearing glass break. Nothing felt more soothing—

Except the burn of the bourbon sliding down his throat. This felt like home, and later Sonny would think about why but now he just wanted to focus. He just wanted to think clearly.

And he needed the alcohol to feel like himself again. He needed to be Sonny Corinthos. He needed to get the control back.

No one stole from Sonny Corinthos. No one threatened him or locked him up or put him in the dark. He’d scraped, dragged, killed, and stolen to get the power.

There was a light knock on the door and Max opened it gingerly. “Uh, hey, Mr. C.” He cleared his throat. “You wanted to see Ms. Baines?”

“Yeah.” Sonny tossed back the last of the alcohol and turned as his lawyer came in, nervous, her dark eyes darting back and forth. He waited until Max had closed the door. “You got my message.”

“Ah, yes, but Mr. Corinthos—” Jordan hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t want more time to get settled—”

“Are you going to do it or do I have to find someone else?” Sonny demanded. “I gave you everything you needed while I was in the hospital.”

“I just—”

“Then get it done.” Sonny poured himself another glass, already feeling more at ease. More himself. “Because if she thinks she’s going to take my boys from me, I’m going to make her sorry she was born.”

Lucky & Kelsey’s Apartment: Living Room

Lucky winced as he hung up his jacket and joined Kelsey on the sofa. “I’ll be glad when I’m done with therapy and off desk duty. The trainer is gonna kill me—”

“He needs to make sure you’re fit to be back on the street.” Kelsey swept her eyes over him dubiously. “The bullet nicked your lung, Lucky. You might have mostly bounced back, but it’s gonna take time—”

“I hate sitting on the desk.” He peered over her shoulder, then frowned as he recognized the file she was working with. “I thought you put your dad’s file back in the archives.”

“I did.” Kelsey ran her fingers over the police report. “But I went back and got it last week. I know my mother is right,” she continued as she turned on the sofa to face him. “I know it’s horrible to put her through it, especially since it’s not likely to do anything. The cop who covered this up is gone, but—”

“But?” Lucky prompted when she stopped talking. “Kelse?”

“But Mom is still scared. And she knows who sent her running. Doesn’t that sound like the guy is still around? Didn’t you say a lot of Frank Smith’s men are still working with Sonny?”

“Uh, yeah. I know Dad was using a lot of those old connections when he was helping with Carly’s thing.” Lucky frowned. “One of the big guys is still around—Tommy, I think his name was. I don’t remember his last name. But he and Dad were friends back in the day. You think your dad’s killer is working for Sonny?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. It just—I get that Mom is scared, but I keep going over these reports—” Kelsey tapped her pen against the paper. “I want to pull more of David Case’s files. I think there’s a chance that could tell us who he was working for. This can’t be the only thing he ever covered up. It was too quick, too simple. He had to have the connections in place already.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. He had the coroner signing off by the time your mom was notified.” Lucky paused. “Let me talk to my dad before we do that, though. You start pulling cases like that, it’ll get noticed. Maybe he can point us in a better direction or at least help us focus. If we start pulling files, especially after everything that happened with Capelli, Anna is going to notice.” He paused. “Are you sure you want to go down this road? Your mom was right. Once we do this, we can’t unring the bell.”

“I want to know who my father was,” Kelsey murmured. “And he deserves a measure of justice no matter what. We might not close it, but Dad shouldn’t be forgotten. Not like this.”

General Hospital: NICU

Elizabeth smiled as Jason entered Cameron’s room. “Hey. I was wondering if you’d be here in time for his thirty minutes.” He leaned over and kissed her softly.

“Sorry, I got held up.” Elizabeth handed him Cameron, and they reversed so that he was sitting with the baby in his arms. “Was the doctor here?”

“Yeah.” Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Cam still needs to be on oxygen for another week, maybe even two, he thinks. So we can’t take him at least until then.”

Jason readjusted the blanket around the baby, then frowned at her. “Isn’t that what we thought?”

“I know.” Elizabeth sat in the other chair in the room and made a face. “I guess I was hoping for better news. I’m glad he’s improving—I just—” She looked around the room. “I know how lucky we are that Cam’s healthy and that we get to have all this time with him—”

“You just want to be home with him,” Jason finished. “I know. I do, too.”

“How was Sonny today?” she asked.

Jason hesitated, shifted Cameron against his chest to change his grip. “He said he’s starting medication.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good, right?”

“He said it’ll be another week before he’s supposed to feel a difference, but I don’t see one yet.” He paused. “He asked for another chance.”

“Another chance?” Elizabeth folded her arms. “Like—with Carly? Or—”

“The divorce and the business. We said no.” Jason met her eyes. “He seemed sorry about what happened with you, but it’s not enough. Carly isn’t changing her mind about the divorce. And I’m not putting anything else on the table.”

“Does he know what happened with Ric? With the Zaccharas?”

“I told him today. He seemed to take it all right, but we’ll see. There’s some other stuff with the divorce, but I need to talk to Carly first about it.” He waited a minute, but Elizabeth didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to say. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She bit her lip. “Yeah,” she repeated. “I’m nervous about being across the hall from him, especially with Cameron coming home. But I also know that he’s a big part of your life, Jason, and I hope that he’s doing better. I want him to be better.”

“He’s not—things won’t be like before. I’m not even sure how I feel about Sonny right now.”

“Right now, knowing that Ric is dead—it gives us room to breathe, you know? I’m not at death’s door,” she continued, “and Cameron is here. He’s healthy. I just told Emily earlier today—I’m okay with giving Sonny a chance to get better. Whatever you ultimately do about him in the business—that’s your decision. I’m talking about personally. The friendship. He was your family, Jason. And if that’s something you want to fix—I’m okay with that. I want to do what’s right for you.”

“I don’t know if we can get that back, but I—” He met her eyes, held them. “Our family is what matters right now.”

“Okay. Then that’s what we’ll focus on.”

Brownstone: Living Room

Carly bounced Morgan on her hip as she stepped aside to let Alexis in. “Hey. Sorry about asking to meet here.”

“No, it’s fine.” Alexis followed Carly into the kitchen, where the other woman set the baby into the high chair. “How was it this morning? With Sonny, I mean.”

“Not great. I told him about AJ,” she replied. “But—”

“That’s why I wanted to meet with you.” Alexis paused. “Jordan Baines filed a response petition in family court, and he’s filed for divorce first. Sonny is counter suing you for complete custody of the boys, and he’s arguing an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.”

“What? He filed?” Carly’s eyes bulged. “He was just released a few hours ago—”

“I imagine his new attorney saw him in Ferncliffe. He has several legal situations he needs to sort out. The assault charges against Taggert, against Ned, and of course, this situation.” Alexis drew out the papers. “Jordan put together a list of your greatest hits.” Alexis set down another stack of papers. “I have copies for you to review.”

“He didn’t tell me he’d already planned to file—”

“He filed these both after your meeting, and we were served about an hour ago.” Alexis paused. “He waited to see what would happen with you and Jason, then acted.”

“So he had these ready.” Carly reached for the custody paperwork first. “An unfit mother,” she murmured. “That’s in the first paragraph.”

“He talks about his own knowledge of your past. Your affair with Tony, the lies you told him. What happened with AJ from Sonny’s point of view, and he claims you sent Sonny to get AJ to terminate his rights.” Alexis tipped her head. “He’s blaming the meat hook on you. It was your idea.”

Carly closed her eyes. “I did want AJ out of our lives,” she admitted. “And I told Sonny to get it done. I didn’t want violence, but maybe I knew he’d do it anyway.” She sighed. “It could have been worse—”

“And it is,” Alexis said gently. “He brings up your abandonment of Michael after he was born and claims you admitted to defrauding the court to get a lighter sentence after shooting Tony. As well as the false charges you almost filed against Jason for kidnapping.”

Carly’s throat tightened. “But I didn’t go through with it—”

“In a custody filing, all of that is admissible. And the court can subpoena Jason to testify.” Alexis waited as Carly continued to skim the papers. “Carly, it’s nothing we didn’t expect. We knew that if we went hard in our petition, which we did even if he doesn’t know it yet, Sonny would hit back.”

She knew Alexis had a point, but, oh, God, it stung to see her worst crimes listed here as a reason not to be a mother. All the things she’d believed about herself growing up—all the things she knew to be true — she hadn’t done that to him. She hadn’t dragged Sonny through the mud. She’d kept to the recent history. Sonny’s mental health struggles and the incident in December.

Was it taking back the adoption? Going to AJ? No, it couldn’t be.  He hadn’t known any about any of that yet.

He’d put this together, then asked her for another chance. Had he even meant it? Had he truly wanted a fresh start? Tears stung her eyes.

“If you decide to continue with the revocation,” Alexis began, and Carly looked back at her. “We have options. Much of what Sonny knows — he knows because of Jason. Jason would have to testify. He could refuse.”

“We need him,” Carly said after a long moment. “Jason has first-hand knowledge of more than I do. And he was there in December. He corroborates it.”

“Jason isn’t the only person we can call on for that. Elizabeth, I’m sure, would put her weight behind you. And so would Bobbie. They’re well respected. Justus was there that night, and it wouldn’t be protected by the attorney-client privilege.”

Carly’s fingers trembled. “This is everything he knows about me. And I can’t imagine the divorce papers paint me in a better light.”

“No, they don’t. He blames you for the breakdown of the marriage. You left on both occasions and refused to return. He claims you blocked him from communicating to repair the marriage and from his children. And that, he claims, is your ultimate aim.”

Carly frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“The petition insinuates that you go from man to man, looking for a meal ticket,” Alexis said, shifting. “And when you’re done with him, you block him from any child created. You’ve done it with AJ, and you’re attempting to do it with him. He says it’s a pattern of you using and deceiving people.”

The weight of that statement slammed into her, and for a moment, Carly couldn’t speak. “I can’t—we can’t defend against that, can we? Because it happened with AJ—”

“It did. But AJ can testify to his alcoholism—”

“No. No.” Carly closed her eyes. “No. It’s not fair to use that against him. It’s not why. It’s not why I shut him out. I did it because I wanted Michael to myself. I was selfish. And I’m trying to fix that now. Won’t that make a difference?”

“It might. It should,” Alexis added. “Having AJ join our petition and petition for his rights will take a lot of the sting out of that.”

“So what do I do?”

“It depends on what you want, Carly. Is there a chance that Sonny’s recovery could make a difference in custody?” Alexis asked. “Because he might be more open if you backed off complete custody—”

“That’s not an option. Not with Michael, at least.” Carly stared back down at the divorce petition. “Can we win?” she asked softly. “If we go into court, and Sonny argues all of this, and Jason has to testify against both of us. Could I still win?”

Alexis leaned back. “You mean, even after Sonny drags you and up down that courtroom? Yes, I think you can, Carly. You have a documented medical history and plenty of witnesses to the behavior of the last year. Whatever Sonny feels about your history, I can make an argument that none of it matters prior to June 2003. He knew all of that and still married you. He renewed those vows on at least two occasions. Sonny isn’t innocent, and he brings it up to scare you. To intimidate you.” She leaned forward. “Kevin Collins can testify that you were suffering from Acute Stress Disorder and that it was exacerbated because of what Sonny did to you in December.”

“That’s all good, I guess—”

“I’m not finished.” Alexis held up a hand. “We also have several witnesses to Sonny losing control in front of Michael. Sonny is on record breaking into the Brownstone and assaulting a police officer, as well as your brother’s boyfriend. He also assaulted Ned while trying to get to me — and I’m your divorce attorney. He knew that. He went after me not just because of Kristina — but because he assumed you knew all along about her.”

“I suspected,” Carly murmured, “but once he decided to believe you, I decided my obligation was at an end.”

“I can win the case, Carly. You’re not asking for a large financial settlement for yourself, only ownership of the club. You’re not asking for a great deal of child support for Morgan, and you’ve asked for nothing regarding Michael. You’ve also acknowledged your mistakes with AJ, and you’re seeking to correct them. All of that weighs favorably. Sonny is going to have to put you on trial to drag you through the mud after you were kidnapped and traumatized because of his half-brother.” Alexis’s eyes lit with a martial light. “You were right to ask me to do this. He’s not the man that either of us thought he was, and I don’t know if medication or therapy can ever make this better.”

“He filed all of this after Jason and I made it clear we weren’t going back to how things were.” Carly slid the papers over to Alexis. “You and I both know I kept things out of that petition that could have sunk him legally in so many ways. I did it because it wasn’t part of the story. Because it didn’t matter. He wanted to hurt me. He wanted to scare me. Just like Ric did.” She shook her head. “I won’t ever be able to face Ric Lansing and make him pay, but I’ll be damned if Sonny gets away with doing this to me. I want to be done with Sonny Corinthos. Permanently.”

Miami, Florida: Cafe de Lune

Claudia slid into the seat across from the dark-haired man with the sour expression and lifted the tequila she’d brought over from the bar. “You’re a hard man to get a hold of.”

Zander Smith just lifted a brow and leaned back, the sourness fading into a smirk. “Not really. You just have to know how to ask nicely.” He took a long swig from his beer. “Javi said you were willing to pay for some information.”

“I am.” Claudia leaned forward, her eyes dancing. “And if it’s good information, I’m open to bonuses.”

Zander set the bottle down, then folded his arms on the table, leaning in as well. “So, ask your questions.”

“Corinthos and Morgan. The organization is in chaos, but it’s hard to know who to approach to get on the inside.”

Zander’s smirk faded. “Corinthos and Morgan,” he muttered. “Fucking assholes chased me out of the business, and then his sister used me like a toy. Yeah, you can barely chip at that inner circle, and believe me, there’s resentment because of it. Most just aren’t irritated enough to do anything about it.”

“And the others?”

Zander hesitated. “Some of my names are going to be out of date,” he warned her, “and I worked mostly at the warehouse. I know some of the security guys who might still be around. Francis Corelli runs that arm of the business, and it’s hard to move up. Most wanna guard the big guys, but Sonny and Jason tend to use the same guards, which makes it almost impossible to get anywhere.”

“So—”

“So, you wanna check on Mikey Balenciaga, Chuck Ulhendorg, and, uh—” Zander squinted. “Richie Kraemer. They made a lot of noise about not being asked to do more when the Sorel crap was going on, and I know Richie was pissed when Marco was pulled for penthouse duty. Me and Elizabeth were staying with Jason for a few weeks, so they needed guards. Marco got put on the door and given the cushy job of following her around. A lot of them thought Elizabeth was gonna stick, so getting the job on her was a big deal.”

“Thanks.” Claudia dropped a few bills on the table. “Any of those names checks out, I’ll let you know. If you think of others, have Javi get in touch.”

Hear the thunder and rain
Feel our heart fill with pain
Travel through time and space
Where did love lose it’s place?
Can we find who we are
If we stare at a star?
And the silence, it screams
There is nothing that is as it seems
– Nobody Listen, Lifehouse

---

Thursday, March 18, 2004

Kelly’s: Diner

Lulu pulled the door open and glared over her shoulder at her ex-boyfriend. “You know, you look like a fish when you make that face.”

Dillon narrowed his eyes, dumping his books and coat at a table, and scowled at her. “The only reason I’m not telling you what you look like is because you failed another algebra quiz, and there’s a twelve hour delay—”

“You make the dumbest rules—”

Georgie hesitantly approached the duo with her order pad. “Hey, sorry to interrupt—”

“Hey, I forgot you were coming back to work today.” She sighed happily. “That means I don’t have to pull doubles anymore unless I really want to.” She waved Georgie closer. “He did that when you were together, didn’t he?” she asked. “Made up stupid rules—”

“Stupid—” Dillon shoved a finger at her. “See, that’s why we broke up—”

“I thought it was because I made a snotty remark about Citizen Kane,” Lulu offered with a fluttering of her eyelashes. They both knew why they’d actually broken up, but it was nice to be back on sparring terms with Dillon after the last few months.

“That, too.” He nodded. “I made a list—”

“Of course you did, nerd.” Lulu huffed. “I’ll have a burger,” she said to Georgie. “And Oscar Wilde over here will have—”

“Oh my God, please do not tell me you think Oscar Wilde directed Citizen Kane.” Looking actually distressed now, Dillon stared at her. “Please. Tell me I did not spend four months dating someone who doesn’t know the difference between Pygmalion and Citizen Kane.”

“Oh, wow, this I didn’t miss,” Georgie admitted to Lulu. “He gets very cranky over this kind of thing, doesn’t he?”

“He really does. No woman is ever going to be good enough for him,” Lulu said with a tragic air.

“You didn’t answer the question. That’s not a good sign.” Dillon narrowed his eyes. “It’s not a crime to have standards—”

“No, but it’s clearly a mental disorder we’re going to need to add to the book. I’m gonna be the first to name it. Citizen Kane disease, inspired by Henry Ford.”

“He didn’t direct it either!”

Lulu snickered as Dillon’s face flushed again. “You are really too easy to wind up. You’re like one of those idiots who listened to War of the Worlds and thought aliens were really invading.”

“Isn’t that being remade? I think they said Tom Cruise is supposed to be in it,” Georgie said, tapping her pen against her pad. “We should go see it. I love Tom Cruise.”

“Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise?” Dillon repeated. He got to his feet, gathered his things, and huffed. “I’m going to go find friends who aren’t insulting me.”

And then he actually left — which, Lulu had to admit— was an impressive exit. “You know, needling him really does perk me up. How long do you think it’ll take him before he realizes I dropped War of the Worlds on him because I know damn well Orson Welles directed Citizen Kane?”

“It’s really too easy,” Georgie agreed. She flashed Lulu a shy smile. “We should, though, you know, go see a movie sometime. I mean, I know—I know we haven’t really talked a lot since—”

“Since,” Lulu agreed.

“How’s your brother?” Georgie asked as Lulu picked up her things and followed her to the counter. “They said on the news that they arrested the guy—”

“Yeah, they did. He’s back at work which makes my mom kind of antsy.” Lulu flicked her eyes towards the stairs, and Georgie smirked.

“He’s not here. He left a little while ago, but he has the closing shift.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Lulu studied the menu, feeling an itch between her shoulders. She and Dante were still in the beginning stages of whatever it was, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready to tell the whole world.

“Uh huh.” Georgie put in her order, then folded her arms with a smirk. “He’s very cute, you know. That dark hair, the dark eyes—I like a New York accent—”

Lulu scowled at her. “Dibs.”

“Oh?” Georgie snickered. “You dated my ex-boyfriend, and, uh, I didn’t see a sign on this one—”

“Ugh, I hate you again,” Lulu muttered. She hesitated. “Okay, fine. We’re sort of dating, even though we never seem to have the same shift off. We’ve been trying to plan a movie date for more than a week. You’d think with my aunt owning the place, I’d get a break.” She bit her lip.

“Is he why you broke up with Dillon?” Georgie asked. She winced. “That’s none of my business—”

“No, but—maybe a little,” Lulu admitted. “I mean, look, Dillon’s great. And we had fun for a while, but it just fizzled out. For both of us. We both had a list of things that drove us crazy about each other. We broke things off before we slid from irritation to hate, which I’m glad about. It means we can be friends again now.” She wrinkled her nose. “You’re not mad because I dated him right after you, are you?”

“I was,” Georgie admitted. “But we only dated for a few months, and I really…didn’t handle everything well. I should have been more supportive about Brooke.”

“Mac’s basically your dad, Georgie. Dillon always understood that. We all did. You stood by your family. I respect that.”

“Didn’t feel like it last year,” Georgie murmured.

“No, I was an idiot last year. We were all messed up after what happened with Brooke, then Dante’s cousin got arrested. It’s put a lot of things in perspective.” Lulu paused. “You and Dillon are friendly again.”

“Sort of.” Georgie looked out the door wistfully. “But it won’t ever be like it was.”

“Nothing ever is.” Lulu glanced down at her phone, smiling as she read Dante’s text. shift covered. Movie tonite. “But sometimes it gets better.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

There was a brief knock on the door, and Elizabeth looked over from her hourly lap around the sofa. Oh, man, everything still hurt, and she was really tired of it, but she needed to move around. “Yeah?”

“Hey, Mrs. Morgan.” Marco poked his head in. “You said you wanted to see Cody when he got back from Puerto Rico.”

“Oh. Yeah.” Elizabeth grimaced, then nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”

“You still need me?”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth said as Cody walked past Marco. “Cody’s not working today.” She waited for Marco to close the door, then looked at the man who’d been guarding her since the day after Carly’s kidnapping.

He’d stood outside her studio every day—had sat in a car, watching over the house—hung out in the lobby of her condo building. Had driven her to doctor’s appointments, to the hospital, everywhere—

She’d felt safe with him—and he’d betrayed them.

“It’s good to see you up and around, Mrs. Morgan.” Cody stood in front of her but couldn’t meet her eyes.

“I was very lucky. Thank you for getting me to the hospital so fast,” Elizabeth said, wincing as she sat down.

“Mrs. Morgan—”

“Take a seat, Cody.” Elizabeth inched back so that he could sit on the sofa. He perched on the edge, as far away as he could. “Jason told me that what happens next is up to me.”

“I know.” But he still didn’t look at her.

“You sold my husband and Sonny out to the Zaccharas who’d be happy if they were both dead.” Cody flinched, but she continued.  “You also rushed me to the hospital the day I almost died last summer and protected me every day since Carly was kidnapped. So I guess I’m having trouble trying to link these two things together. When Jason told me—I couldn’t believe it. I know—I know you work for Jason and Sonny. That you get paid to protect me, but I always—and maybe I was wrong—” She hesitated. “I always felt safe with you.”

“I—” Cody swallowed. “I never took a cent from the Zaccharas. I wouldn’t. And I didn’t do anything until after—” He looked at her. “I don’t want to make excuses. There are none. But if I could just tell you why.”

“I’m listening.”

“When I was a kid, I had an older sister. Um, not that—I mean, I’m older than you, so it’s not—” Cody closed his eyes, took a deep breath. “She had this guy she was living with at college. And he was—he was abusive. I saw him hit her one time, and I was just—I couldn’t stop it. I tried—he pushed me, and I broke my arm.”

“I’m sorry.” Elizabeth tipped her head. “What happened to your sister?”

“She got out of it, and she’s okay. But I just—I never forgot what it was like—I thought maybe I’d be a cop or something. I went into the army—but it just—it wasn’t a good match, and I found out that guy—that abusive piece of—” He grimaced. “He became a cop. I didn’t know how they didn’t see what he was capable of. So when Francis was hiring security, I thought it might be a good fit.”

“It was because of last December, wasn’t it?” Elizabeth asked softly. “What happened with Carly—”

“Sonny pushed you,” Cody said, his eyes flashing, then he looked away and swallowed. “I’m supposed to protect you. That’s the job. And Mrs. C. The kids. Francis made that clear. That Jason and Sonny were good men who stayed good because they had families. And I knew that was true the first time I got assigned to you.”

“The job is also to be loyal to Jason and Sonny,” Elizabeth said slowly. “But I can see—I can see how that might have been hard. Especially these last few months.”

“After what he did to Mrs. C, to you—I just—I thought something would change. But no one did anything. Mrs. C just left, and you were still here, but Sonny—he didn’t even seem sorry.” He cleared his throat.

“How did that lead you to the Zaccharas?” Elizabeth asked. “I don’t understand, Cody. Why didn’t you say anything? To me? To Jason—”

Cody hesitated. “I thought if we could just—if we could just get rid of Ric, it would be better. So I went to Trevor Lansing. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“And Trevor told you what happened to Ric?” Elizabeth shook her head. “I’m just—I’m surprised it was that easy.”

“I—” Cody made a face. “There was an open call for any of us to go to Lansing. For enough money, you know, any of these guys might turn. But Jason makes sure we get paid pretty well. I didn’t do this for money. I told Lansing that Jason and Sonny wanted to find Ric and get rid of him, and I guess—I thought he might help. I told him Sonny was out of control. I don’t know what I thought would happen. I just — I didn’t know what Sonny was going to do next. Mrs. C was gone, and it was just me here with you a lot. I didn’t know if Max and I could stop him, and we almost couldn’t.”

“Jason told me that I could decide what happened because, at the end of the day, we both believe you did it because of that night in December. Because you thought this would protect me. You wanted Jason in charge.”

“Yeah. I did. I thought—I just—thought we’d all be better off.”

“Cody, the only way I can breathe sometimes when Jason walks out that door is because I know the guys he works with—men like you and Max—Marco—Francis and Johnny—I trust the men who are supposed to be loyal to him. Going against Jason? That can’t happen. Because the next time, it might get him killed.”

“I wouldn’t—”

“You know better than that.” Elizabeth waited for him to look at her again. “You either accept this life, or you don’t, Cody. Thank you. For wanting me to be safe. For wanting my family safe. For caring about Carly and her kids. I know that was at the root of what you did. But we can’t go back.”

“You’re firing me?” Cody nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, okay, I get it. I should be lucky it’s not worse.”

“I’m not firing you,” Elizabeth said softly as he stood up. “I’m telling you that you were hired to do a job. Yes, protecting me was part of that. And you did that. But you put my husband in danger to do it. Trevor and Anthony could have used your information to hurt him.”

“I never wanted any of that. I just—” Cody swallowed. “Something had to change.”

“For now, I think maybe you should let Francis reassign you.” Elizabeth slowly stood, wincing. “Whatever Jason and Francis decide. But I can’t have you on our door.”

“I understand.” He started to leave, then turned back. “Thank you for letting me tell my side.”

Ferncliffe: Conference Room

Jason frowned when the door opened, and Sonny entered alone. His former best friend looked better than he had the week before. He’d clearly been sleeping better, so his eyes weren’t red and bloodshot anymore.

Jason cleared his throat, got to his feet. “Your doctor isn’t—”

“I didn’t think you wanted the doctor sitting in on this.” Sonny took a seat, leaned back, and waited for Jason to sit down. Almost as if they were back in the warehouse, and Sonny holding court.

Jason slowly sat back in the chair. He said nothing. After a long moment, Sonny scowled. “Well?”

“Well, what?” Jason asked bluntly. “You called this meeting.”

“Didn’t Carly talk to you?” Sonny demanded. “Didn’t she tell you there’s an explanation?”

Jason closed his eyes. Carly was right—Sonny was just going to use this to pretend nothing was wrong, that nothing had to change. Then he opened his eyes. “She told me.”

“And?”

“And what? What you do want from me, Sonny?” Jason retorted. “Why am I here? I should be at the hospital—”

“Carly said your kid was fine—”

“He’s in the NICU, Sonny. For at least three more weeks, if not a month,” Jason snapped. “And Elizabeth is recovering from a c-section and coughing up blood—”

“None of that is my fault. None of that justifies what you did—”

“What I did? You think I’m sorry?” Jason got to his feet, his chest tightening, his blood running hot. “You should just be glad Carly came when she did!”

“I was sick!” Sonny roared. He shot out of his chair, slammed his fist on the table. “And you choked me—”

“That’s not how this works,” Jason said, his tone quiet. Dangerously quiet. “You think that nothing you did matters because of the bipolar disorder. That Carly and I should pretend nothing matters. I told you to get help. In July. August. November. December. For months. And when you refused, I told you to stay out of my home and away from my family.”

Sonny narrowed his eyes. “I was out of control—”

“Really? The whole time?” Jason shook his head. “No. Not every day. And you didn’t go after everyone. You didn’t go after me. You didn’t go after the guards. You targeted Elizabeth and Carly. Because you blamed them.”

Sonny scowled. “That’s—that’s not fair—”

“You think I don’t know the difference between an episode or when you’re you?” Jason cut in. “The night when you locked Carly up? You were out of control, and I knew it. But on my wedding day when you called my wife a freeloader? When you blamed her for Ric? You’ve blamed her for what’s going on with Carly since the day I told you Elizabeth didn’t want a deal—”

“It’s her fault!” Sonny roared. “She did this to Carly—she made Carly think this was different!”

“Elizabeth didn’t do any of that.” Jason looked at the doctor who came in, her eyes wide and her face a bit panicked. “We’re fine. I’m just leaving—”

“You don’t get to walk out on me, Jason!”

“Why don’t we just start over,” the doctor said. “Mr. Morgan, please—I thought Sonny was ready to do this—”

“He wasn’t,” Jason said flatly. “And I don’t have any more time to waste.” He looked at Sonny. “If you think I’m sorry for putting my hands around your throat and making you feel—for a moment—what Elizabeth felt when she was gasping for air while you were screaming at her—if you think I have an ounce of regret for that—”

Lainey Winters looked at Sonny with confusion. “What’s he talking about?”

“He tried to kill me,” Sonny said, his eyes flashing. “The day I threatened to kill him—because he threatened me first—”

“Is that—” Lainey blinked, looked back at Jason. “Is that true?”

“You want to press charges against me, Sonny? Go for it. You had to be physically removed from my home. My wife almost died. My son almost died. Let’s see who the PCPD listens to.”

He looked at Lainey. “Don’t call me again. He and I have nothing to say to each other.”

Buffalo, New York

Joyce House: Driveway

Kelsey pulled her car in behind her mother’s Cadillac and stared at the bumper for a long moment. She had driven two and a half hours to have this conversation, but she knew if she went inside the house to force the truth from her mother—

There would be no going back.

Right now, only a few people knew what she had found. She could still let it stay buried. What good would it do to drag out another scandal for the PCPD? Would it bring her father back? Would it mean justice?

Lucky had wanted to turn things over to Anna immediately and kick up an investigation. He’d been horrified by the reports and lack of investigation. He still believed that things could be made right. It was one of the reasons Kelsey had fallen for him in the first place —

But since moving to Port Charles nearly a year ago, Kelsey herself was more cynical. Justice was a word that rarely offered anything more than nightmares and more unanswered questions.

She looked at the bag, thought of her beloved father, slumped over the steering wheel, blood trickling from the gunshot behind his ear. Would she be able to erase that image?

Kelsey reached for her bag, then the door.

“Kelsey!” Angela was smiling as she opened the door, then embraced her daughter, but her eyes were quizzical. “It’s the middle of the week—”

“I called in sick,” Kelsey said, clutching the strap of her bag more tightly over her shoulder, her fingers digging into the material. “We need to talk.”

“Okay.” Angela stepped back and closed the door. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“After you came up a few weeks ago,” Kelsey began, setting the bag on the table and flipping it open, “I started to ask myself some questions.”

Angela’s face, framed by her shining dark hair laced with strands of gray, went still. “Kelsey.”

“I went to talk to Scott, but he didn’t make me feel any better, so I went down to the archives at the PCPD.”

“You shouldn’t have done that—”

“It took me so long to find the file.” Kelsey removed it from the bag and set it on the hall table. “It was in the wrong place. Not the first time we’ve had that problem at the department.”

Angela closed her eyes, looking every inch of her fifty-three years for the first time in Kelsey’s memory. “You know.”

“Yeah, Mom. I know that Dad was murdered, that the PCPD covered it up, and that instead of fighting it, you took me and ran. You’ve been running ever since.” Kelsey stepped towards her mother. “And until  right now, I was telling myself that maybe you didn’t actually know what had really happened. That you thought it was an accident—but I was lying to myself. Just like you lied to me entire life—”

“What should I have told you, then?” Angela demanded, her eyes snapping open, anger flashing. “Should I have told my daughter that her father’s mistakes had caught up to him? That a job he’d taken out of law school ended up killing him and putting us in danger?”

“What are you—” Kelsey’s lips pressed together. “Lucky’s dad told me that Daddy worked with some real tough guys, but he said Daddy was legit. That he worked the business side—”

“He did.” Angela fisted her hands at her side. “He never once stepped over the line. He wouldn’t. But—” She took a deep breath. “He knew others did, and he didn’t say a word.”

Kelsey’s chest tightened. “Who?”

“I don’t know. He wouldn’t say, and every time he came close to leaving, something changed.” Angela folded her arms and walked towards the fireplace at the end of the living room, looked at the photo of Oliver Joyce that sat on the mantel. “First, it was just Frank Smith going to prison. Ollie managed the clubs and properties while Smith was gone. The son wasn’t old enough. That seemed fine.”

Angela picked up the photo. “Then the Jeromes came to town. Your father never told me much, but he knew if he lost any ground to them, Frank Smith or his son, Damian, would make him pay. Your father wanted to leave then. When the turf war was happening with Sonny Corinthos and Frank Smith—” Angela looked at Kelsey. “They killed him for it, baby. He knew too much.”

“Who is they?” Kelsey demanded, her voice tight. Her father had been in the mob. Jesus Christ. Even if he’d been a low-level adviser and lawyer like Bernie Abrams or Justus Ward—how could she ever accept that—

“I don’t know. It happened so fast,” her mother murmured. “The police came to tell me that your father had died in an accident—”

“They told you—”

“It was early morning, and that detective—” She nodded at the file. “David Case. I’ll never forget his name. He came to tell me that Ollie had died. Probably fallen asleep at the wheel,” Angela said bitterly. “I couldn’t believe it. Your father never—he wouldn’t have—” She dragged a hand through her hair. “I demanded to see proof. I wanted to know for sure. I needed to see him—so he took me to the morgue. I thought they’d bring me to Ollie’s body, but there was a man there.” She closed her eyes. “Don’t ask me who. I won’t tell you that.”

“Mom—”

“And the man told me that if I said nothing, if I let it be an accident, he’d make it worth my while. He’d make sure that we were taken care of.” Angela looked at Kelsey. “He’d give you a trust fund for college. But if I fought it, if I tried to make the PCPD investigate, he’d kill me. And you’d be alone. And then they showed me Ollie’s body. And I saw what they’d done to him. I knew he was telling me the truth.”

Kelsey’s throat tightened. “Mom.”

“He told me to leave Port Charles and never come back. So I did that. And for a decade, I listened.” Angela set the photo back on the mantel. “You need to put that file back where you found it—”

“Because the men who killed Daddy are still in power?” Kelsey demanded, her voice sharpened.

“I don’t know. But men like that—they never die. Not really. Another one just takes their place.” Angela faced her daughter. “I’m asking you to let it go. Your father would never want his way of life to come back and hurt us. If you push this—if you tell people—” Her skin looked gray and sick. “I lost your father. Don’t put me through this. I can’t do it again.”

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Jason’s Office

Jason scribbled his name at the end of yet another contract, eager to finish this and get back to his family. He wanted to shove Ferncliffe out of his mind for as long as he possibly could.

“Hey, Boss—” Francis tapped the slightly ajar door. “The kid finally turned up.”

Jason clenched his teeth, then got to his feet as Francis pushed the door open further, and Johnny Zacchara finally slunk in, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his dark jeans. “I told your father a week.”

“Yeah, he, uh—” Johnny cleared his throat. “He thought you might be bluffing.” The younger man swallowed hard. “But he got your package and thought better of it.”

The package had been the body of one of the estate security guards. When Johnny Zacchara hadn’t shown up in Port Charles last Monday, Jason had debated how to strike at Anthony Zacchara. Reminding him that Jason could get to the head of the Zacchara crime family anytime he wanted had seemed like the best option.

“You’re here because your father can’t be trusted,” Jason said flatly. “You know what he did.”

“I do.” Johnny exhaled slowly. “But I also know he could only do it because one of your guys turned on you. That’s the business, man. You don’t trust anyone.”

“That’s the way your father does the business, and that’s why he has more enemies than allies.” Jason paused. “My guy wanted Sonny out of the way. Your father was hoping we’d kill each other and save him the trouble.”

“Look—”

“And because of that, my wife and son ended up almost dying, and Sonny’s institutionalized. Ric Lansing has been dead since November.” The words felt like ash in Jason’s mouth because it still felt wrong that everything had ended so anti-climatically. He’d never been able to do more than punch Ric that day in Elizabeth’s hospital room. The monster had deserved more. “This could have been over months ago, but your father wanted to play games.”

“I told you that night I don’t want a damn thing to do with my father’s business—”

“But you’re the only person he might actually try to protect,” Jason cut in. “Yeah, I know he gets fits of rage. Everyone knows that. I know he tried to kill you and ended up murdering your mother.”

Johnny lifted his chin, defiance sparkling in his eyes. “Then why the hell would you demand me as leverage—”

“Because he doesn’t want you dead. People do things in fits of rage they wouldn’t do when they’re lucid.”

“So if my father breaks the truce, you’ll kill me.” Johnny scowled. “And I’m just supposed to put up with that—”

“No. You’re supposed to let your father think that. Your father breaks this truce, he’ll be the next body I dump.”

Johnny furrowed his brow, thrown by that. “Wait, what? I—”

“I don’t attack women and children. That’s your family. Your family sent Ric Lansing here, and he preyed on Carly, Elizabeth, and Courtney,” Jason added as an afterthought, remembering the botched kidnapping and engagement attempt Ric had orchestrated. “I don’t have to go after the vulnerable.”

“No, I guess not.” Johnny nodded. “Okay, fine. What keeps me from telling my father that I’m not in any danger?”

“You already told me. You don’t want a damn thing to do with this business. I don’t want my son near it either. You stay in Port Charles, you stay out of trouble, and your father keeps the truce, maybe you find a way out of this.” Jason reached for his keys. “I’ll send you over to Tommy. He runs the clubs and can find a place for you there. You’re not a warehouse guy, and you wouldn’t want that kind of work.”

“That’s it? I’m just supposed to set up shop here and stay out of your hair?” Johnny asked skeptically. “That seems too easy.”

“That’s your problem. Not mine. I have things to do.”

Luke’s: Bar

Luke raised his brows as he came out from his office and saw his niece at the bar. “Caroline. Haven’t seen you in here for a while.”

“I have my own place to get a drink,” Carly said with a wistful smile. She sipped the gin and tonic that Claude had poured for her. “But I wanted one tonight, and I didn’t feel like checking on the management.”

“Ah. You’re a better business owner than me.” Luke wagged a finger at her, then went to pour his own drink. “I ignore whatever I want when I want.”

“Part of your charm.” Carly swirled the liquid in her glass. “Did Mama talk to you? Have you heard about Sonny?”

“I have. Barbara keeps me in the loop. Bipolar disorder.” Luke let the words roll around in his head. “Makes sense, I guess. The extremes, the mood swings, the dark moments, the high moments—fills in a lot of the holes.”

“It does. I went to see him,” Carly murmured. “And he wanted to see the boys.”

“And you said no.”

“And I said no,” she repeated. “Mama says it was the right decision, and so does Jason. But you know, they’ve got a bias. Mama hates Sonny. Always has, even though she’s tried to hide it,” Carly added. “And Jason’s still working through his anger over what happened.”

“And he may never get there,” Luke told her. “He might have some regrets about not pushing Sonny harder to get help when Sonny might have listened, but the man nearly lost his family. Don’t expect Jason to ever feel that bad.”

“I know.” Carly smiled faintly, just a slight curve of her lips. “I can’t decide if it’s a good thing or not that I do feel this bad. A few years ago—” Her voice was tight. “I was part of the reason Tony went over the edge. I mean, I know it can’t really be on me how bad it got, but it’s wrong if I don’t at least…acknowledge my part.”

“You didn’t load the gun, but you pulled the trigger,” Luke confirmed as Carly blanched. “Tony never got over BJ—”

“Which I knew. And used.” Carly looked away. “That’s what happened to Sonny. I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you. Elizabeth’s guard—the main one who’s been with her since the beginning—he made sure Sonny got the messages about Ric.”

“I did know that. He wanted Sonny gone and Jason in charge. He figured driving Sonny over the edge would do it.”

“He wanted Elizabeth to be safe. And me, too, I think. He was probably there the night I was locked in that room.” Carly shuddered. “Mama said some of the guards helped break down the doors. Probably Max and Cody, I guess. Maybe he saw that and thought…”

“When your job is to protect the family, and the threats are coming from within—” Luke shook his head. “Not sure how anyone would have been able to thread that needle. Sonny was already teetering on the edge, Caroline. This guy just shoved him over.”

“I feel terrible about what Sonny’s going through. About what he’s been through. How terrified he must have been to see Lily—and his mother. I can’t imagine it. And part of me—part of me thinks that it might be worth putting everything else on hold. What if he gets therapy and medication, and he’s that man again? I keep going around in circles. What if he’s the man I loved? Jason’s best friend? What if we can have Sonny back?”

Luke said nothing, and Carly sighed. “Every time I ask myself that question, I have this voice in my head that answers. I don’t want him back. Because he wasn’t always hallucinating or going through psychosis. When he fired Leticia, when he refused to give access to security to let me out of the penthouse last fall—that wasn’t the disease.”

“Probably not.”

Carly picked up her drink. “I used to be different. I used to do what was right for me and screw everyone else. It was easier,” she murmured. “Simpler.” She flicked her eyes to his. “Lonelier.”

“True. I’ve lived that way myself. Then I met Laura and had years of being happy thinking of someone else. I got lazy,” he continued. “I thought I was getting too soft. That family had made me soft. I did what Sonny did. When Laura told us about Nikolas, I didn’t let myself think about her and what she’d gone through. I never did,” Luke added. “Even when we fell apart, I blamed her. It was always her fault. She should have been honest with me.”

“And then she got sick. Like Sonny—”

“And then she got sick, and I lost my mind. My sanity. I lost any part of me that was worth knowing. I wanted to disappear. I nearly did.” Luke paused. “Laura isn’t Sonny in this equation, Caroline. She’s you. Something terrible happened to her. She buried it so far inside of her that she was terrified to let it out. Instead of seeing her pain, I made it about me. About how she was betraying me.” He arched his brows. “Sound familiar?”

“A little,” Carly said softly.

“I came back to myself last spring. I looked around and realized I was right back to where I’d been all those years ago before Laura. A low-down hustler without a person who gave a damn. I had a choice. Just like Sonny. I could keep going down that road, or I could make a u-turn. I went to London, forced them to let me be part of Laura’s recovery. Because I realized that it didn’t make me less to put her first. It didn’t make me weak or soft. Laura and my kids have always made me stronger. I just didn’t see it until it was almost too late.”

“Sonny won’t ever get there, will he?” Carly said with a wistful smile. “He’ll always see me and the boys as a weakness. I tried to put him first, Luke. But he just kept taking and taking until I couldn’t give anymore.”

“One day, Sonny might be the man he was again,” Luke said. “Or even a better version of that man. And maybe there’s a chance one day. But it doesn’t make you selfish or wrong to not to be there for that journey.”

“Still a lesson I’m learning.” Carly finished her drink. “Sometimes, I think of everything I’ve lost since Ric kidnapped me.” She tossed a twenty down next to the empty glass. “But I think I should start thinking about everything I’ve gained.”

“Yeah?”

“I have a better relationship with my mother and the beginnings of one with Lucas. I have my club. I think Jason and I are better friends than we would have been. AJ and I are finding common ground.” Carly paused. “And I’ve liked having you around. I lost Sonny, but I like who I’m becoming. That’s not such a terrible tragedy, is it?”

“No, it’s not.” Luke pushed the twenty back at her. “You don’t pay here, niece. Family drinks free.”

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Elizabeth sighed with happiness as she snuggled against the pillows, then grinned at Jason. “Look at him! I know he’s not smiling yet, but he looks like he might—” She showed him the pictures again. “And you said he’s gained five more ounces? Already?”

“Yeah.” Jason nodded at the stack. “Emily had everyone take a photo every ten minutes for you until around six, and then I picked them up on the way home.”

“I have the best friends.” Elizabeth stared at her baby with bright eyes. A tear slid down her cheek. “He’s being held in so many of these—I hate that I’m not there, and I know Kelly’s right, I know that I need to rest and get my strength back so I can have the surgery—”

“Hey.” Jason slid next to her on the bed, kissed the top of her head. “He knows you love him. You did the hard part. You carried him for seven months and took care of him. It’s our turn to do some of the work.”

“I know…” Elizabeth touched the photos. “And I know he won’t remember this. Gail—” She looked at him. “I called her just like I promised. She’s going to stop by, but she said it was normal for me to be…well, she didn’t say freaking out but to be all over the place. You know, being okay with it in one minute, and then being ashamed the next—” She exhaled slowly. “And you’re right. The most important thing is that Cameron is healthy, that I’m going to be able to take care of him when he comes home until the surgery. He has someone with him all the time.”

“Yeah. I think—” Jason looked at the clock on the nightstand. “It’s Alan’s turn, and then Emily will be with him until the morning.” He looked at her with a half smile. “I talked to Kelly. She said that maybe she was a bit too strict by keeping you at home for a week.”

Elizabeth sat up, then winced— “Oh, man, no sudden movements. I can go sooner?”

“Yeah. She said she’d be okay with you going in tomorrow—just one shift,” he warned her as Elizabeth practically bounced off the bed. “And then, after your appointment with her on Monday, maybe you can go more.”

“Oh, that’s great. Thank you.” She kissed his cheek then looked back at the photos. “This is the best news.”

Then she sighed, her smile fading slightly. “But we have other things to talk about, you know? Um. Cody came today.”

“Yeah, uh, Marco said something about it.” He looked at her. “How was it?”

“Terrible,” Elizabeth admitted. “He seems really sorry, and I get it.” She told him about Cody’s sister, which just made him sigh. “I guess, maybe with hindsight, we should have said something to him after that night. I mean, he and Max helped me with Carly—they saw her up front and personal. I’m surprised that neither of them said anything.”

“What…what did you end up deciding?”

“I trust him to protect me, but I don’t trust him to protect you, so I told him you and Francis were going to reassign him.” She put a hand against his chest. “Is…is that okay?”

Jason cleared his throat, then nodded. “Uh, yeah. I guess—” He couldn’t seem to form a full sentence. “I guess I wasn’t expecting that. I thought…”

Elizabeth squinted. “You thought I’d keep him as a guard? After what happened? You would have been okay with it?”

“I would have tried to be,” Jason admitted. “If it’s what you wanted. But it would have been hard. Still, after today, I can almost understand why Cody would think something drastic had to happen.”

“Today?”

“I went to see Sonny.” Elizabeth didn’t say anything. Just reached over to squeeze his hand. “Carly told me he has bipolar disorder. You know what that is?” Jason asked, and she nodded. “He wanted to see me. I went in, thinking he’d say he was sorry or something.”

“He didn’t?”

“No. He was waiting for me to apologize.” Jason shook his head in disbelief. “He still—he thinks everything can be explained by the disorder, and it’s just—no. It still happened. And he was in control sometimes. The things he said to you, the way he treated Carly—I can understand how some of it was made worse—but no, I’ve known Sonny long enough. Some of it—he meant.”

“Jason—”

“The day you went to the hospital—when you almost died—” Jason grimaced, looked away. She waited for him to gather his thoughts. “I left the hospital and went to the penthouse. When Cody told me that Sonny had been in there, screaming at you while you were struggling to breathe. When Nikolas said they’d needed guards to get him out of there—”

“He didn’t make that happen—Jason—what happened was bad timing—”

“If Sonny hadn’t been there,” Jason said tightly, “then Cody would have been in the room when you started coughing up blood. Not three minutes later. You could have been at the hospital three minutes earlier. You might not have been put on the ventilator. I might not have—”

He dipped his head. Elizabeth slid her fingers through his hair, lightly dancing the tips down the back of his neck.

“I had to sign papers to deliver Cameron first. Even though it meant you couldn’t be treated until it was over. You could have died. Because the guards were distracted by Sonny.”

She wasn’t sure that the extra time would have really made that much of a difference, but she could see how Jason thought so. “So you went to the penthouse.”

“I went to the penthouse,” he repeated. He met her eyes. “I shoved him against the wall, put my hands around his neck, and choked him so that he could feel the way you did.”

Her heart simply broke for him—to be pushed to that kind of violence against a man she knew he loved like a brother. “Jason,” she murmured. Elizabeth touched his cheek again—knew it was important that he didn’t think she was disgusted or repelled by the revelation. “But you stopped.”

“Carly stopped me and reminded me I needed to be with you and Cameron. So I left, and she…took care of things.” He exhaled slowly, closed his eyes. “I might have killed him.”

“But you didn’t.”

“I thought I should feel guilty about it. Learning later about Lily—that he was seeing her—I thought I should feel bad. I didn’t. And then today—when he sat down, and he wanted an apology from me—” Jason shook his head. “No. I almost lost everything because of him. I’m not sorry.”

This he said to her with an air of defiance, as if he expected her to argue. “Do you think I’m going to tell you that you’re wrong?” Elizabeth asked. “Because you’re not. How many times did we tell Sonny to stay out of the penthouse? How many times did you and Carly beg him to get help? You’re right. He wasn’t out of control all of the time. And those times—he chose to think he was invincible. He never understood the damage he did to Carly—the damage he continues to do—I’m just sorry it ever had to come to this.”

“Carly—Carly thinks he’s not planning to take any medication.”

“Probably because he’s afraid it’ll make him look weak,” Elizabeth muttered. Jason sighed, then nodded.

“Yeah, probably.”

“And he doesn’t know you’re staying in charge.”

Jason nodded. “I wasn’t able to tell him. He’s going to get out—”

“And think things should get back to the way they were.”

“Probably.”

“Well,” Elizabeth said with a deep breath. She looked at him, her eyes determined. “He’s wrong.” She leaned closer to him and kissed him. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now—” She picked up her stack of photos again. “I want to look at Cameron again.”

Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything’s okay and everything’s going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out
When you think everything’s gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face
– Ironic, Alanis Morissette

---

Monday, March 15, 2004

Ferncliffe: Conference Room

By the time the doctor came in, Carly had nearly convinced herself that this entire meeting was a terrible mistake and that she should leave before Sonny arrived. In fact, she was actually standing up to make a hasty exit when Lainey Winters walked in.

“Mrs. Corinthos?” Lainey said. She extended a hand. “Dr. Lainey Winters. We spoke on the phone last week.”

“Uh, hi.” Carly winced but shook her hand and sat back down. “Listen, I’m not—I’m not comfortable with this. I called Dr. Collins for the commitment, and I’m the contact, I guess, but I’m actually in the middle of a divorce—”

“I did suggest we contact his sister or father in Buffalo.” Lainey took a seat, set a file on the table. “Sonny insisted it was you or it was his business partner—”

“No—” Carly said before Lainey could offer to contact him. “No,” she repeated, a bit more calmly. “No. If you’ve read the file, you know that’s a terrible idea—”

“Yes. The business partner and friend that Sonny threatened to kill—the threat that caused Kevin Collins to sign the papers.” Lainey tapped a pen against the manila folder, leaned forward. “Do you think Sonny would have carried out that threat?”

“I…” Carly hesitated. “I think that after the last few months, it’s difficult to predict what Sonny might do. You know that he locked me in our bedroom—it’s the reason I left in December. That’s in the file, isn’t it?”

“It is.” Lainey pressed her lips together. “Do you know how the commitment process works?” she asked.

“Yeah, you signed the paperwork to keep him up to sixty more days.” Carly studied the other woman. “Wait, is that why I’m here? Are you not keeping him the whole time or something?”

“That hasn’t been decided yet, but an early release is always possible.” Lainey waited a moment. “You seem surprised.”

“Are you kidding?” Carly’s tone became sharper. “He’s broken into my home on two separate occasions, assaulted my brother and his boyfriend—pushed me. He’s also stormed in on a pregnant woman, screamed at her, and a few months ago, he locked me in our bedroom and pushed Elizabeth when she tried to help. It’s not safe to be around him—”

“These are all aspects of his illness that we will be controlling through therapy and possibly medication.” Lainey shook her head. “But I don’t think his threat was serious. The way I understand it — Sonny was seeing his first wife—his deceased wife — which tells me he was in the middle of a delusion—”

Carly clenched her jaw and fought back the urge to scream. “A delusion? A hallucination? Sure. He’s had them before. How is that not something to worry about?”

“Because other than throwing a punch or one push four months ago,” Lainey said slowly, “Sonny hasn’t shown a propensity for violence. Anger, yes. But not violence.” She straightened. “With therapy and medication—”

“Great. He can have all of that, but why not keep him until you’re sure he’s under control?” Carly snapped. “I have a restraining order against him, and he still came to my home! Jason told him not to come into his home—Sonny knew Elizabeth was ill—and he still went over to scream at her—I don’t—” She shoved away from the table. “I don’t understand why I’m here.”

“You’re here because you signed the paperwork and because Sonny has indicated he’d like to keep you informed as to his diagnosis. Based on the major depressive episodes described by you, your mother, and Sonny himself, along with the episodes of heightened, out of control behavior, I am comfortable with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.”

“Bipolar—” Carly frowned, shook her head. “But the hallucinations—”

“Are characteristic of bipolar psychosis. With the anxiety and fear over your kidnapping and the escape of the man responsible, Sonny was particularly susceptible to this. He sees his first wife—who was pregnant when she died, killed in place of Sonny — and his mother, a woman whom he couldn’t protect from an abusive stepfather.”

Carly cleared her throat. “Okay. That…that sounds fine. I just—”

“I’m sure that the last few months have been incredibly stressful,” Lainey said, more gently. “I understand you’ve struggled with your own mental health. I apologize if I sounded as if I wasn’t taking your concerns seriously, but my priority is Sonny, and based on his history, I can see no reason why I should heighten his anxiety by keeping him locked up.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Carly murmured, even if it was  terrifying. “You said…you said Sonny wanted to see me.”

“Yes. Are you ready?” Lainey got to her feet. When Carly reluctantly nodded, Lainey opened a door and gestured to someone.

A few minutes later, Sonny walked in. His hair was disheveled, and he looked tired, but his eyes were alert. “You came.”

Carly kept the table between them and got to her feet. “I—Dr. Winters told me about the bipolar diagnosis. I’m glad you know what’s wrong. That you can work on controlling it.”

Sonny nodded and looked at Lainey for a minute before focusing again on Carly. “So you understand now—what happened—and I did what you wanted me to. I got help.”

Carly frowned. “What I wanted—you didn’t—Sonny, I asked you months ago to do this. And I still had to force you into it after you threatened to kill Jason and screamed at Elizabeth while she was struggling to breathe—”

“I’m sorry for all of that. Dr. Winters told me she had the baby. Are they okay?” Sonny asked.

She felt like she was in a Twilight Zone—Sonny was acting like nothing was wrong—as if simply being diagnosed made things better and nothing else would matter.  “Yeah. She’s fine. Listen, I need to get going—”

“Wait,” Sonny said as Carly turned to leave. “I wanted to know when I could see the boys.”

Carly scowled, turning back to face Sonny and his doctor. “I don’t know, Sonny, I’m not convinced anything is different. Have you started medication yet?”

“We’re working on therapy first,” Sonny said as Lainey pursed her lips behind him—and Carly understood. Sonny hadn’t agreed to medication.

“You can see the boys when I’m satisfied that you’re no longer a danger to them, yourself, or anyone else. I think I need to understand this diagnosis more before I can make any other decisions.”

“Carly—”

“If you’ll excuse me,” Carly said to Lainey. Then she left, not entirely sure what the hell had just happened. Or what she was going to do about it.

Harborview Towers: Hallway

Elizabeth blinked as she stepped out of the elevator and saw the space outside the penthouse door empty. She didn’t realize how much she’d expected Cody to be standing outside the door until he wasn’t there.

“He’s in Puerto Rico with Johnny.”

Elizabeth looked at Jason, cleared her throat. “Does—does he know that you know—that we know?” she asked as Jason unlocked the door and pushed it open. He set down her bag and waited for her to walk in.

“Yeah. Don’t worry about that right now.” Jason eyed her carefully. “Shouldn’t you sit?”

“Yeah.” Elizabeth winced as he took her hand and helped her over to the sofa. “It was interesting being on my feet again, but I’m done with that experiment now.”

She sucked in a sharp breath as she sat down, her abdomen protesting the movement. She frowned as he sat down next to her and pulled her feet into his lap, helping to slip off the sandals she’d worn home from the hospital. “You’re not going back to the hospital?”

“I talked to Emily,” Jason told her. “I’m going to be with you today, to make sure you’re okay here.”

“But Cameron—”

“Is not alone for a second,” Jason reminded her. “Emily made sure of it. She, Alan, and Monica are taking over for both of us today. I’ll go back tomorrow. I don’t want you to be alone here without a guard you trust outside. Marco is a good backup, but it’s not the same.”

“I don’t want you to worry about me,” she told him. She leaned forward, reached for his hand. “How are you doing? I know you’re worried about Carly going to see Sonny.”

Jason exhaled slowly, stared at her hand, then looked up to meet her eyes, then looked away. “I’m not really thinking about that right now,” he admitted. “After what happened to you, after dealing with the Zaccharas—I just—I didn’t have the room.”

Elizabeth nodded. “All right.” She paused. “Cameron and I—we’re both okay. I mean, everyone was right. Delivering Cameron early was better for my health. Even with recovering from the C-section and what happened—I feel better.” When Jason said nothing, she continued, “And Cameron is okay. He’s gaining weight, he’s developing—his doctor said we might be able to bring him home next month.”

“I know all of that—” Jason stopped. Seemed to take her point. “I know that I can think about Sonny now. I just—” He pressed his lips together. “I don’t know what to think.”

“I’m sorry that it had to happen the way it did—for him to keep losing control like that, but I am glad that Carly finally did something about it.” Elizabeth hesitated. “Did you guys not talk about an involuntary commitment before?”

“It never seemed like a choice,” Jason admitted. “And we didn’t—” He paused. “We didn’t know about Lily. Carly said that it sounded like he’s seen her off and on for months. Between that and what happened with you and at the Brownstone—she was just afraid of what might happen next.”

“With me? Sonny never—” Elizabeth squinted. “Jason, Sonny never put his hands on me. Not like back in December. He came in to complain, but I was already having issues—Cody and Max got him out pretty quick—” She made a face. “Did Cody make it sound worse—”

“No, he pretty much said the same thing, but—” Jason stopped talking abruptly and cleared his throat. “Listen, do you want to be upstairs? Laying down? We have the television up there—”

Any other day, Elizabeth might have pushed him, but she was still tired, and resting in their comfortable bed sounded much nicer than laying on the sofa. So she let the subject drop. “Yeah, but you’re gonna have to carry me.”

Relieved, Jason got to his feet and lifted her into his arms. When they passed the half open door to Cameron’s nursery across from theirs, she put her hand on the door frame to stop him from crossing into the bedroom.

“What’s wrong?” Jason asked.

“Nothing—I just—” Elizabeth looked at him. “I just wish he were home with us now. This is—” Her throat felt tight. “I just—he’s not with me anymore, and in the hospital, I knew we were in the same building. It’s just…It’s just hitting me now.”

Jason lowered her down on her side of the bed then sat next to her. “I’m sorry. I know—I know part of the reason you didn’t want to deliver early was having to leave him behind in the NICU when you were released.”

“I just didn’t want him to have to fight so hard.” Elizabeth traced Jason’s palm with her fingertips. “Not having him here now just reminds me that he’s not strong enough yet. I know—God, I know we were lucky. That I was able to have him at all, you know? I just—” A tear slid down her cheek. “I just want to be his mom, and I don’t feel like I can yet. I can’t even see him—I couldn’t keep him healthy before, and I’m useless now—” Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m sorry. I keep doing this—”

“A few minutes ago, downstairs, you reminded me that Cameron is healthy,” Jason told her, smoothing her hair off her forehead. “That he’s gaining weight, and he’s already doing better than the doctors expected.”

“I know, but—”

“It is not your fault that you had to deliver early,” Jason reminded her. “In fact, you did everything you could to give him more time. You were ready to sacrifice your own health to give him that time.” He paused, brushed some tears from her cheek. “You fought for him every day since the moment you found out you were pregnant.” He paused. “Have you…have you thought about talking to Gail?”

“I really—I thought I was managing it okay, but—”

“Being away from Cameron for the first time like this—this is going to be hard,” Jason said. “It’s hard for me,” he admitted. “I want to be with him, too. But I can go back tomorrow. Kelly wants you to rest for a few days. Let me call Gail. Have her come over tomorrow.”

“I’ll make a deal with you,” Elizabeth said. She squeezed his hand. “I’ll call Gail, but you have to go to the hospital for at least one turn with Cameron tonight—”

“Elizabeth—”

“I’ll call Nikolas. He’ll come over and hang out. You know he feels guilty for being late that day,” Elizabeth said. “I won’t be alone. It will make me feel better if I know you’re with Cameron, at least for a little while.”

Jason sighed, then smiled at her. “All right. I’ll get your phone, and you can make the calls.” He leaned down to kiss her forehead. “And then you’re going to rest.”

“Pinky swear.”

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Taggert frowned when he saw Portia waiting for him in the courtyard, her hands in her coat pockets. “Hey—it’s chilly out. Why didn’t you wait inside for me?” he asked when he stepped up to her. He kissed her lightly.

“Because I can’t stay.” Portia grimaced. “I have to be at the store, but I couldn’t—I know you’re working the second shift, and I didn’t want—”

“Portia.” Taggert lifted her chin, so their eyes met. “What’s going on?”

“Remember Valentine’s Day?” she asked.

He furrowed his brow. “Of course.”

“Nothing, except um…” She drew her hand out of her pocket, and he automatically looked down—and his brain froze.

He saw the white stick in her hand and couldn’t process any more than that.

“I know we’ve only been dating a few months, and this—well, this is crazy, but—” Portia licked her lips, her eyes searching his. “Say something.”

“Can’t,” he admitted, still staring at the pregnancy test. “I, uh, think my brain exploded.”

She huffed. “It’s not like I planned this either, but—” Portia hesitated, putting the test back into her pocket as if to force him to look at her again. “I don’t think I’m mad.”

“I’m not—” Taggert exhaled sharply, still trying to clear his dazed thoughts. “I’m not either. I just—” He cleared his throat. “I don’t know what I am. I’m not mad. Or even—just—I don’t know. I wasn’t—I’m surprised,” he decided finally. “That’s about all I got.”

“Same.” She let her head drop against his chest. “I didn’t plan on babies this soon. But I also didn’t plan on you.”

“Same.” He kissed the top of her head. “But plans change.”

“Yeah.” She smiled at him, some of the anxiety fading from her eyes. “Plans change. I—I wanna let this settle, you know? Talk to my sister. I want the baby. I just—I don’t know what happens after that.”

“Yeah, I should—I should sit with this, too,” he said.” He kissed her again. “But you need to go to work. And I should—I should do something. I don’t know what.” Taggert laughed, nerves dancing beneath his humor. “I’m sure there’s something. But—we’ll talk.”

“Yes. Tomorrow? Dinner?”

“Yes.” Taggert caught her arm as Portia started to leave. “Hey—I meant what I said on Valentine’s Day. I love you.”

She grinned. “I love you, too.”

General Hospital: Waiting Area

Jason frowned when he stepped off the elevator and found Carly waiting for him in front of the NICU entrance. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

“I stopped by the penthouse, and Elizabeth said you were on your way here. I was hoping to catch you before you went in.” Carly folded her arms. “How’s Cameron? I thought you were going to stay home with Elizabeth today—”

“She wanted one of us to be with Cameron every day, so she convinced me to come back—he’s fine,” Jason added. “What happened at Ferncliffe?”

“The doctor has given him a diagnosis,” she told him.  “Um, she says it’s bipolar disorder. I—I think I remember reading about that once, and I’m going to see Kevin about it, but basically—it’s like—his brain chemistry messes with his moods or something. When they’re low, they’re really low, or when they’re high—they’re really high.”

Jason squinted. “It sounds familiar. It used to be called manic-depressive disorder, I think.” Sometimes strange pieces of medical knowledge filtered through his brain—he didn’t always understand it. “But the hallucinations—”

“Bipolar psychosis. Happens during the depressive episodes, she said.” Carly picked at the edge of the chair. “But with medication and therapy, I think she said things would be okay again.”

“Okay.” Jason didn’t really know what to do with any of that—with the idea that there could be a fix of any kind for what was wrong with Sonny.

“I don’t think they’re going to keep him the entire time, but they don’t have a release date yet. She doesn’t think he’s a danger to anyone else.” Carly wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think he’s agreeing to medication, but I also—Jason, I thought if he got help—if we knew what was wrong, I don’t know, I think I thought I’d feel better.”

“But you don’t.”

“No. Do you?” Carly asked, lifting her brows. “I mean, they have to let him out at some point. He’ll be home and across the hall again. Am I supposed to drop the charges? Are Taggert or Ned? Are you supposed to let him come back to work?”

“I—” Jason exhaled slowly. “I don’t think—I don’t know about any of that.” He’d tried to choke Sonny less than a week ago. How could they ever go back to what had worked before? It was impossible.

“He asked me to see the boys. Already,” Carly said when Jason frowned at her. “He thinks that this is a game changer. Like knowing what it is makes everything that happened not his fault.”

“Carly—”

“He thinks none of it matters because he’s sick. Is he right?” Carly pressed her hands to her eyes. “I don’t know,” she repeated. “All those things still happened. He still locked me in my room. He still broke into the house, screaming at me—he went after Ned and Alexis because of Kristina—and everything with Elizabeth, God, Jason, how do we just forget it all?”

“I don’t know if we can,” Jason said slowly. “I can’t—if I’d known he was sick—” But Jason had known. He’d known Sonny had problems—he’d always compensated for them. Had always sacrificed for them.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to dump all of this on you, but—”

“But you’re right. If he’s not going to take medication—nothing is going to change when he comes home. He’ll just have something new to blame.”

“Yeah. I just—you have so much to worry about right now with taking over, and then, of course, Cameron and Elizabeth. I—I don’t know what I thought was going to happen,” she admitted. “I told you I would take care of it—”

“You did,” Jason assured her. He looked away. “I needed to be at the hospital with my family. And with Sonny gone these last few days, I could take care of everything else. But it was never a permanent solution.”

“I’m just scared that you’re right. Nothing is going to change, and it’ll just be worse,” Carly said hesitantly. “I mean—Ric’s dead. Sonny was managing okay before Ric went missing. That’s—maybe we’ll get a break.”

“I’m still staying in charge,” Jason said painfully. “Because too many people know about Sonny’s problems. And—” He looked at her. “You still want a divorce, don’t you?”

Carly pressed her lips together, looked at him, then nodded. “Yeah. I do.”

“Then I guess we’ll see where we are when it’s time for him to come home.” He took her hand in his, squeezed it. “Take care of you and the boys first. That’s what matters.”

“I will. As long as you promise you’ll take care of yourself and your family first. We can’t fix Sonny, Jason. Let’s just make sure we don’t lose anyone else.”

Kelly’s: Kitchen

Dante set the order on the shelf and hit the bell. “Chili’s up,” he called to Penny.

Behind him perched on a stool, Lulu frowned at her algebra quiz. “I really thought I understood this.”

Dante sighed and started cleaning the stove. They were slow now, but he wanted to be ready for the early dinner rush when the shift changed on the waterfront. “You know, some people might call you a stalker.”

“And other people will just remember that I work here, too,” Lulu replied with a smirk. “Plus — you helped me study for this, so this—” She pointed at the large red 53 scrawled across her paper. “This is your fault.”

“I can’t work miracles,” he grunted. He tossed the rag in the sink, then washed his hands. “You worked this morning?”

“Yeah, I opened before I had to go to math class.” Lulu huffed. “Should have stayed home.” She tucked the quiz back in the bag, then hopped off the counter. “Why?”

“Bobbie or Carly usually stop in.” He hesitated. “I was wondering if you’d heard anything about Sonny. It’s not that I want to know—”

“They haven’t said anything, but Lucas did say Sonny’s been hallucinating his dead wife for months but hid that fact from literally everyone until he couldn’t anymore. Which he couldn’t after what happened with Elizabeth. Makes sense. Another pregnant woman who almost died because of him.”

Lulu wrinkled her nose when Dante looked away. “Don’t tell me you’re getting all worked up about blood again. Sonny had a shitty childhood. My dad told me once. He had a super abusive stepfather who killed his mother. The guy used to lock him in the closet. Sonny’s problems are earned. Not bred.”

“Maybe. You don’t know that. Mental illness can be genetic,” Dante muttered as he dried his hands.

Lulu stared at him for a long moment. “Then I guess you’re better off not taking me to that movie, huh?”

Dante frowned at her, turning back to face her. “What?”

“Don’t be stupid. I know you’re avoiding being free at night because I’ll bug you about the date—”

Dante scowled, but Lulu continued. “But if you’re all hung up on shit like genetics, you probably think I’ll end up like my mother—”

“Lu—no—” Dante winced. “That’s not what I meant—”

“Why not?” Lulu offered with a shrug that looked more forced than casual. “She had a breakdown. Was catatonic for months. She’ll be in therapy for the rest of her life. And you know, my brother has had his own issues with the brainwashing. Maybe there’s something in our blood—”

“Don’t be stupid,” Dante said. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“No, you’re right. Mental illness can be genetic. I mean, I’ve read the studies. I know how it works.” She folded her arms, lifted a brow to glare at him. “So if you’re going to hook up with someone, probably shouldn’t be someone else with damaged blood—”

Dante grabbed her arm, jerked her forward, and cut off her words with a kiss that was more aggressive and angry than he meant it to be, but he just wanted her to stop saying stupid shit.

The sound of a bell broke them apart as they both sprang back, panting slightly. They turned to look at Penny standing in the window, a bored expression on her face.

“I need a BLT,” she said. “If you’re not busy.”

“Coming right up,” Dante managed. Penny smirked, then left. He looked back at Lulu. “There is nothing with you,” he repeated. “Nothing.”

“You sound sure.”

“I am.”

“Well, then let me say the same to you.” She jabbed a finger in his chest. “There is nothing wrong with you, either, Dante. In fact…” Lulu lifted a brow and smirked. “From where I’m standing, there’s a hell of a lot right. Which I’d like to confirm if you’re done being dumb.”

He couldn’t help it—he grinned and kissed her again, drawing it out just long enough until she almost stumbled when he drew back.

“Tonight. Movies.”

Lulu licked her lips, then grinned. “All right. Sounds good. Now—get back to work before Penny tells on us.”

Quartermaine Mansion: Foyer

Carly didn’t go home after her visit with Jason at the hospital. Instead, she drove out to Harborview Road and turned up the winding drive of the Quartermaine estate. She knew from her mother that AJ was still in Port Charles, but he’d done as she’d asked and given her space.

They’d talked briefly the week before when Carly had learned Ferncliffe was keeping Sonny, but she hadn’t gone into details, and AJ hadn’t asked for any. Now, she thought he’d earned the right to be part of the next step, whatever it was.

It was always nerve-wracking to return to the mansion, and she’d rarely done so since that last terrible day. Since she’d fallen down the stairs and lost her second son. He’d be nearly four, Carly mused as she waited for AJ to meet her. What would he have been like? What would they have named him?

Would everything be different if that precious baby had lived?

“I’m sorry, I should have asked Alice to have you wait somewhere else.”

Carly turned. AJ stepped out of the back hallway that led to the study. She realized she’d been standing in front of the stairs, just staring at them.

“It’s all right.” She took another deep breath. “It’s all right,” she repeated. “It’s just a house. They’re just stairs.” She folded her arms. “But maybe we could—”

“Yeah, the front room is open—” AJ gestured towards the open double doors, and Carly followed him. “I was going to leave you a message. I’m going back to New Orleans tomorrow, but I have to come back in a month for a meeting—”

“I went to Ferncliffe today,” she blurted out, and he stopped. Just stared at her. “To meet with Sonny and his doctor. He wanted me to come. It was me or Jason, and it can’t be Jason.”

AJ swallowed hard. “Are you here because you’re not going to file the petition—”

“No. I’m here to tell you that we’re moving forward like we planned.” That much, at least, was true. “The timeline has changed, though.”

“You—” AJ’s hands fell to his side. “I don’t understand. You met with Sonny’s doctor—”

“He has bipolar disorder,” Carly told him. “And he won’t take medication. He thinks—” Her eyes burned, and she struggled to force out the words. “He’s acting like labeling what’s wrong with him fixes things. He asked to see the boys, and I can’t—” She broke off, shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m still filing for divorce. I’m still going for custody. He’ll never get it. Even if he starts medication and changes his mind, I know that he doesn’t get it.”

“Carly—”

“Don’t try to reason with me. You can’t. And neither can Jason or anyone else—” Carly threw up her hands when AJ took a step towards her. “I know who Sonny is, and he’s still the man who refused to let me leave the penthouse and fired the nanny and hated that I worked and loved my job and none of that had anything to do with his mental illness—” All of the pent up emotion she’d bottled up and forced away because Jason didn’t need her to fall apart was bubbling up, and she didn’t know how to get rid of it anymore. “I’m never going back, and neither are my boys. I’m getting them out.”

“You need to take a breath,” AJ said. He took her arm and propelled her towards the sofa. “Sit down. I’ll get you some water or something—”

“I’m fine, okay? Don’t—” Carly scowled when he walked away. He returned a few moments later, a glass in his hand. “Don’t tell me what I need, okay? I can handle myself.”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t.” He set the glass down, shoved his hands in his pocket. “I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on. Bipolar disorder can be treated and controlled, Carly. He could be the guy you married again—”

“But I’m not the woman who married him, and that should matter, damn it—” She lunged to her feet. “Stop this! You’re getting what you want, aren’t you? I’m going to sign on the dotted line, and I’m giving you—”

“That’s the problem—” AJ said quietly, and she closed her mouth. “You still think of Michael as something you can give and take. I’m an alcoholic, Carly. It’s not that different from bipolar disorder. I can control it by going to meetings and staying on top of my triggers, but I will always be an alcoholic.” He held her eyes. “What stops you in two or three years from deciding I’m not good enough for Michael again just like you did before? Like you’re doing with Sonny now?”

Carly sank back onto the sofa. Tears slid down her cheek, and her hands trembled in her lap. “Oh, God. Oh, God. What am I doing?” Her shoulders started to shake, and she buried her face in her hands.

She felt the sofa dip next to her as AJ sat down. “I’m sure as hell not on Sonny’s side here. I’m just—I can’t do this dance again in a few years, Carly. And you can’t want this for the boys either.”

“I don’t.” He handed her a tissue, and she blew her nose. “I don’t,” she repeated. “And you’re right. I still see Michael as mine. It’s not like it was before, with Jason and Sonny. I used him to get myself where I wanted to be. Even before he was born, I used him.”

“I used him, too,” AJ offered when Carly didn’t continue. “I used him to get you into this house and demand respect and responsibilities from my family. I used him to get ELQ.”

“Don’t be nice to me. I can’t stand it right now.” Carly rose to her feet. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Morgan’s just a baby. He doesn’t even know Sonny. He’s barely six months old. And Michael—I meant what I said before. He’s scared of Sonny. But you’re not wrong. It can be controlled.”

“You found out today,” AJ said, also standing. “You should give yourself some more time to figure things out—”

“No.” Carly faced him. “Whatever Sonny’s relationship with Michael is going to look like one day, that’s not something I can solve tonight. But I was wrong to take him from you. And you didn’t give him up fairly.”

“Carly—”

“I’m asking Alexis to wait on filing my divorce papers until Sonny is out of Ferncliffe and we can see where we are,” Carly told him. “He deserves the chance to get better without that hanging over him. But I never should have let Sonny adopt Michael. I’ll file that petition, AJ. Because it’s the right thing to do.”

“I—”

“Thank you. For giving me this chance to make it right. For forcing me to take this step. You’re right. This isn’t something I should do to take Michael away from Sonny. This isn’t revenge.” Something unfurled in her abdomen, and she felt lighter now. “I’m not the woman who married him anymore, and I’m not the version of myself who used Michael like a meal ticket. I don’t want to be.”

“No, you’re really not,” AJ said, offering her a half smile. “I’m not who I used to be either. It’ll be interesting to find out who we are now.”

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Jason spent almost a half hour holding Cameron that night, deciding Elizabeth had been right. Their son deserved to have one of them as often as they could manage it, and if she wasn’t able to be here for a while, it would have to be him. He wanted it to be him.

When he came home that night, it was just after eight, and Nikolas was throwing away takeout containers in the kitchen. Jason walked him out, then went upstairs, hoping Elizabeth was asleep.

She was not.

She was propped up against the pillows, wrinkling her nose at the television. “Hey. You’re back.”

“Yeah.” Jason crossed over to kiss her briefly. “Did you get some sleep?”

“Mmm, yeah, Nikolas brought me Eli’s for dinner. I’m glad my appetite is back. I was definitely in the mood for some ribs and a milkshake.” Elizabeth’s eyes followed him as he walked over to his dresser, stripping off his t-shirt. “I miss that, too,” she said with a sigh.

Jason looked over his shoulder and found himself grinning when he saw her smile. “I should get you ribs more often if it puts you in such a good mood,” he teased. He removed a pair of sweat pants and finished changing.

“How was Cam?” Elizabeth asked when Jason stretched out next to her, his back against the headboard. “How long did you get to hold him?”

“Thirty minutes,” Jason reported with another smile. “And I got to bathe him again.”

“Ugh. I always seem to miss his baths,” Elizabeth sighed, rolling onto her back again. She muted the television. “Did Carly find you?”

“Uh, yeah.” Jason exhaled slowly. “Can we talk about it tomorrow?” he found himself asking. He looked over at her. “I just…I just want to sit here with you, watch whatever you’re watching, and not worry about any of it.”

“Well, I was watching Fear Factor,” Elizabeth admitted. “But then the guy started to eat live snails, so I noped right out of there.”

“Live snails?” Jason repeated. “Why?”

“I can’t even make myself try the dead fancy ones.” Elizabeth shuddered and picked up the remote, flicking through the channels. “You sure you don’t want to be in charge of the remote?”

“No.” Jason shook his head. “Whatever you want to watch is fine.” She found some reality show with crazy brides threatening their relatives over appetizers, and Jason relaxed, enjoying the sound of her giggling like a maniac.

Everything else could wait.

Manhattan, New York

Hôtel Plaza Athénée: Luxury Suite

Ric emerged from the bathroom, a towel slung around his hips. “When is your brother heading to Port Charles?”

“Should already be there. I know Daddy wanted to wait until the last possible minute.” Claudia smirked. “He’s scared shitless of Morgan but doesn’t want to show it. He does not like knowing that someone got that close without being detected.”

“Yeah, Morgan’s good for something.” Ric disappeared into the dressing room. “Better if he had just killed Anthony on the spot like he was supposed to.”

“Yeah, I guess that was a little surprising, but maybe he didn’t wanna bring attention to himself with wifey in the hospital.” Claudia examined her nails. “This makes it more fun.”

“For you,” Ric muttered. He buttoned his silk shirt. “I’ve been waiting for months—who knew it would take those idiots so long to figure out your father was behind everything?”

“Who thought they’d believe you were dead so easily?” Claudia shrugged. “It was just like you said. They’re reactive, even with Sonny locked up in the loony bin. Everyone knows Jason’s only taking control because someone has to. When your heart’s not in the business, you’re not as ruthless as you need to be. It’s his Achilles heel. He has to be forced into things.”

That was certainly true. Ric considered the situation as he ran a comb through his hair. He’d enjoyed the high life, living in five-star hotels for the last six months, but he was nearly ready for the final stage of his revenge.

He just needed one last piece.

“Do we know how long the baby will be in the hospital?”

“Hard to say. My contact is kaput. I’ve got the feelers out for someone else, and Daddy’s definitely looking for guys on the inside again with John being in the line of fire. The kid was born too early. Bound to have lots of problems. Morgan will be distracted, especially since I think the wife isn’t healthy yet.”

Ric grimaced. He hadn’t realized that the birth control pills would have such long-lasting consequences. He never should have bothered with them. He hadn’t wanted to kill Elizabeth. Not then. He’d still believed in her. In their future.

He might even let her live if she was properly apologetic for betraying him, but she was going to give him the family she’d promised him whether she wanted to or not.

“Ric?”

“I want some more eyes and ears, too. Get someone else inside,” Ric told her. “Sonny hasn’t paid nearly enough, and I still want your father blamed. Jason thinks I’m dead now. Let’s have some fun with that.”

It seems no one can help me now
I’m in too deep
There’s no way out
This time I have really led myself astray
Runaway train never going back
Wrong way on a one way track
Seems like I should be getting somewhere
Somehow I’m neither here nor there
– Runaway Train, Soul Asylum

---

Monday, March 8, 2004

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Cruz shoved a piece of bacon into his mouth. “I’m glad Dante’s working here,” he told Lulu. “Ever since he moved out, I’ve had to cook for myself.”

Lulu rolled her eyes and grumbled something unflattering about men before heading over to refill coffee cups.

Kelsey sat down next to Cruz and set down a case folder. He frowned at her, then wiped his hands on a napkin. “What’s this?”

“I took your advice. I went to see Scott, and he was so weird about it that I dug up my dad’s file.”

Cruz lifted his brows but then flipped through the folder. His eyes widened. “Holy shit, Kelsey—”

“My dad was murdered.” Kelsey’s voice wavered slightly, and she swallowed hard. “And the PCPD wrote it off as an accidental death.”

“What’s going on?” Lu wanted to know as she returned to toss some new orders in for Dante. “You okay, Kelse? Where’s Lucky?”

“At the doctor,” she said absently. “You know how I said my dad died in a car accident?”

“Yeah. My parents knew him, right? Mom back in the day, and Dad later, I think they said.” Lu tipped her head. “Is that the file? Was it a drunk driver or something?”

“Or something,” Cruz muttered. He skimmed the investigative report. “This doesn’t make any sense. How the hell did they get away with this?”

“What’s going on?” Lu asked again. “Cruz?”

Cruz pushed his breakfast plate aside and flattened the file out. Lu’s eyes bulged at the sight of the crime scene photos. “He was found at the Port Charles exit on Highway 41,” he said. “Passenger side open — the door was dusted for prints—” he showed the notation to Kelsey. “But there’s no follow up. What happened to those prints? Were they able to lift any? Did they run them?”

Lu’s face was green as she picked up the crime scene photo. “Someone shot him from the passenger side,” she murmured. “And look at how the car was left— that’s not an accident.”

“No, no front end damage,” Cruz confirmed. “The emergency brake was on, and the car was in neutral. I’ve been on the job for less than a year, and I can tell you what happened. Your dad was driving,” he told Kelsey, “and someone was with him. They pulled over just by the exit ramp, then the person shot your dad. Bullet wound like this? He’s dead in seconds—” he winced. “Sorry, Kelse—”

“It’s okay.” Her face was pale, but Kelsey took a deep breath. “It’s okay. I know. I’ve seen cases like this.”

“Someone put the car in neutral, and the car drifted down towards the sign, but not at a high speed.” Cruz squinted at the report. “That highway is busy — even at 3 am—”

“Not when I was a kid,” Lu murmured. “Mom used to say how much the city grew after they moved back. The Qs redeveloped the hotel, and a bunch of new businesses moved in. Downtown built up, and traffic got worse, she said. I mean, you’d have to ask someone who was old enough to remember, but I bet that exit was almost deserted at that time of night, especially on a—” She tapped the date. “Wednesday night. Middle of the week. We didn’t have a nightlife. We still barely have one. We mostly head into Rochester for that kind of thing.”

“That’s kind of how I remember Port Charles as a kid, but—” Kelsey cleared her throat. “The PCPD deciding that my dad’s murder was an accident explains why my mom got out and stayed out. She was scared because they covered it up.”

“But how?” Lu demanded. “People had to know—”

“Who, though? Crime scene techs don’t follow up on cases. They file their reports and move on. The investigating officer gets the autopsy report, sure, but the medical examiner doesn’t follow up. It’s not their job.” After a year of watching the PCPD work, Kelsey knew what had happened. “No, it’s not that hard. The guy on the case said it was an accident and filed it that way. And my mom didn’t fight.”

“And the commissioner doesn’t always follow up, either. They’re juggling too many balls—” Cruz looked over the report again. “This guy — David Case. He doesn’t work at the PCPD anymore—”

“I looked him up. He was on year eighteen in 1994 and retired in 1997.” Kelsey took something from her bag. “He mostly worked Major Crimes before the 90s and was here with Anna and Robert during their first run. Then under Sean Donely and Mac. In 1994, Mac formed the Organized Crimes unit after Sonny Corinthos went after Frank Smith.”

“Yeah, things were really bad,” Lulu said. “Guys broke into our house looking for my dad, and my mom fought them off with a rifle. Lucky got shot, too.”

“Case transferred to that unit and finished his career. He died last year. Lung cancer.”

“You know, the PCPD did a lot of bad things, but I don’t think I’ve come across an actual cover-up like this,” Cruz said. “Even what happened with Elizabeth’s case back in the day—”

“No, this was more deliberate,” she said to Lu.  “And I gotta wonder—your dad said that my dad worked for Frank Smith.”

“Really?” Cruz asked as Lu’s eyes widened. “When? Where?”

“He swears Dad was on the legit side of the business, but Dad died June 1994. Wasn’t that the same time all this stuff was blowing up with Frank Smith?”

“Yeah. Uh—” Lu cleared her throat. “Lucky would know better. Have you told him yet?”

“I—” Kelsey pressed her lips together. “Not yet. He’s just back on his feet, and after everything that happened with Dante and Capelli, I guess…” She sighed, met Cruz’s eyes. “It’s another PCPD scandal. Another cover up. How many more of these hits can we take? How many more can he absorb? His mother, Elizabeth, the shooting, and now this—”

“It’s your dad, Kelse,” Lulu pointed out. “And you told us.”

“I know I have to tell him. I just hoped if I showed it to you,” Kelsey told Cruz, “that you’d see something that I missed. Something that explains it.”

“There’s nothing that explains this.”

“Yeah.” She stared at the folder. “What if my mom is right be worried? What if I drag all of this up, and it’s actually dangerous?”

“The PCPD has mostly turned over,” Cruz pointed out. “And the only mob guys still around are Sonny’s guys — who are Jason’s guys now. Do you really think they’re going to go after your mom? When she’s stayed quiet all this time?”

“I’m not sure if it’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Kelsey said.

“Talk it over with Lucky,” Lulu suggested. “He knows a lot of those players better than either of us. He grew up in it.”

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

“Good morning,” Jason said. He leaned over to brush his mouth against hers. “You finally got some rest last night. Every time I checked, you were sleeping.”

“I did. I’m still sore—” She lightly touched her chest— “but the embolization wasn’t invasive, so I only have the c-section to recover from.” She frowned at him. “You’re sleeping, aren’t you? Have you gone home?”

“A few hours here and there.” Jason hesitated, dipped his head. “There’s something else we need to talk about. I didn’t want to bring it up around Carly yesterday.”

“What?”

When Jason didn’t answer her, Elizabeth’s heartbeat picked up. “Jason. What’s wrong?”

“The reason Sonny was so angry on Friday—he got a message that Ric was in New York.” He paused. “This time, though, they didn’t bother giving us the same message. They only sent it to Sonny. It came from the Zaccharas.”

“Which means you were right. They know he’s unstable.” She tried to catch his eye, but his gaze was still averted, looking down at the bed. “How did they find out?”

“Someone told them,” Jason said after a long moment. He finally raised his eyes to hers. “Someone told Anthony and Trevor that they could screw everything up here by making Sonny go over the edge.” When she said nothing, Jason continued, “Elizabeth—Cody fed them the information.”

“Cody—” Her breath seized. “Not—not my Cody—no—” She jerked her hands out of his. “No. You’re wrong. You have to be wrong.”

“He confessed to Justus, but I already—I already had my suspicions. There weren’t many people who knew Sonny was getting out of jail that day,” Jason told her as a tear slid down her cheek. “You, me. Carly, Bobbie, Lucas. Some of my guys—including Bernie and Justus. But Cody knew. You and I talked about it in front of him the night before.”

“He wouldn’t—”

“He would.” Jason picked up her hands again. “He did it to force Sonny out. He thought—he thought if Sonny flipped out—I would take over. Anthony and Trevor didn’t know I was already running things, and Cody took advantage of that.”

“I don’t understand—”

“He did it for you,” Jason admitted. “Because he was afraid that eventually Sonny’s anger would turn violent again and that you’d be in the middle of it, like that night in December. I told him to protect you, and that’s what he thought he was doing.”

“I—” Elizabeth couldn’t quite process that. “I don’t—you sound like—I mean, he betrayed you.”

“When Justus told me he knew who it was—why they did it, it felt like a betrayal. It was a betrayal,” he corrected. “He didn’t think I’d step up to fix things without being forced.” He paused. “He was right.”

She swallowed hard. “You were planning to fix things—you had a plan—”

“That no one else knew,” he reminded her. “And that I postponed after we got word about the house arrest.”

“Jason—”

“I could have done more. I should have done more.” Jason paused. “Cody did what he did to protect you and even Carly. He went against Sonny to do it. There were consequences he didn’t see—”

He closed his eyes. “It was the same thing I did months ago.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “What—when? What are you talking about?”

“I promised you—and Carly—that Ric would go to trial. Even when he jumped bail,” Jason said slowly, “I wanted to keep that promise. I told Ned that I would keep him informed about what we knew.”

“Jason…”

“I worked with the PCPD—not directly,” Jason added, “—but I knew who Ned was passing my information to. It wasn’t a lot—but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have done more, including undermining anything Sonny did once Ric was found. I would have turned him over. You and Carly made it clear that going to trial—testifying—that was how you were going to put this behind you.”

He met her eyes. “And I promised you I would make it happen.”

“Jason.” To know he’d worked with the cops, that he’d done something like that behind Sonny’s back at the same time Sonny had been going over the edge about all of this—she didn’t have the words— “You did that for us.”

“At the end of the day, what happened last summer—it happened to you. It happened to Carly. I don’t care if the rest of the world thinks it makes me weak,” he told her, “I needed you to be okay. Killing him quickly—it isn’t doing that. Carly’s not okay. I can see you’re not either. You wanted justice. Closure. And I want you both to be able to sleep at night.”

He waited a moment before continuing. “When I assigned Cody to look after you—” He met her eyes. “I told him that nothing came before you. That you were the most important person in my life. And I was putting your safety in his hands.”

“You told him that?”

Jason exhaled slowly. “He kept his promise. He didn’t do it the right way, and he broke the rules to do it. But I’m not sure he was wrong.”

“I—” Her throat was thick, and she couldn’t form any words. “Jason.”

He brought her hands to his lips, kissed them gently. “I’ll talk to him. And if you’re not comfortable anymore, I’ll reassign him. But it’s up to you.”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Thank you. For—for even giving him the benefit of the doubt.”

“I’m just—I’m sorry it came to this. To any of this. I’m sorry you’re not going to get your day in court,” he said. “Or that—with everything else going on—I can’t go back to the way it was. With the business.”

“No. You can’t.” She smiled at him. “But we’ll deal with whatever happens. That’s the promise I made you. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Sunday, March 7, 2004

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Dante hesitated as he emerged from the kitchen, a towel over his shoulder, looked first at Lois sitting at the counter, then at Lulu, his eyebrows raised. “My aunt better not be the emergency.”

“Did I use the word emergency?” Lulu’s smile was dazzling. “My mistake. I have tables!”

“One of these days,” he muttered as she flitted away. He sighed, then went over to Lois. “If you’re here to talk about the job or my mother—”

“Neither.” Lois flipped over her cup. “I’m here to support you.”

Dante squinted. “What’s the catch?”

“Your mother is worried about you, and I’m not going to pretend I’m not either,” she told him. “But at the end of the day, you’re an adult. You’re not doing anything crazy, and you’re working. I just wanted to let you know that I’m working on Liv giving you some space, and I hope that you get what you need by doing this.”

Dante rubbed the back of his neck. “I wasn’t expecting that from you.”

“I know. But this is what me and your mom have always done, you know. I mediated for you and your ma, and she stepped with me and Brooke.” Pain flashed in his aunt’s eyes. “I can’t—she can’t help me anymore, but that doesn’t mean I stop doing my part. I’ve loved you since you were a little boy. Brooke was always a little bit Liv’s, and you were always a little bit mine.”

“I know. I never got away with anything with you around—”

“I know that finding out about Sonny, then the world finding out—it’s rocked things. And right after everything that went down with Vinnie—and all the trouble Sonny’s in, you got betrayed by another officer. It’s got you doubting yourself and what you’re meant to do.” She paused. “I hope you don’t believe what Capelli called you. You’re no a traitor. You’re nothing like Vinnie or Sonny.”

“I know—I know that I’m not either of them. That it’s not like that with blood and genes, but—” Dante sighed. “I keep thinking I never saw it coming with Vinnie. Did you with Sonny?”

“The way it’s been in the papers? The things we’ve heard? No. Sonny always had a brood to him, and he grew up real rough, Dante. He was a good guy once. Even though I flayed him for throwing over your ma for Connie.” Lois paused. “But his problems aren’t like Vinnie’s. There’s darkness in Sonny, but there was also kindness. Always good in there. He wasn’t always given the opportunity to show it. He was Brooke’s godfather, you know.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know that.”

“I never would’ve asked him to stand over my baby in front of God if I’d thought there was something wrong with him. Maybe we didn’t know Vinnie was a monster, Dante, but we always knew he wasn’t a shining example, you know?”

Dante pressed his lips together. “Yeah, I used to say he was the least favorite son of my ma’s least favorite sister. And that was putting it mildly. Grandma said I was jealous of him, that’s why I did it, but I never was. Nothing to be jealous of. Even before we knew.”

“Vinnie was always a good-for-nothing, lazy piece of shit. You saw the way he did the job. You saw how he was growing up. It cut me deep to know a boy whose diapers I changed did that to my baby, but maybe the reason we all feel so bad about it is—” Lois sighed, “is because it wasn’t that much of a surprise.”

“Maybe. I just—how do I live with all of this?” he wanted to know. “Vinnie on one side, Sonny on the other. How can I feel anything but cursed?”

“I know, baby. And I don’t know if I can talk you out of feeling that way. Maybe you just gotta live with yourself for a while with all of this.” Lois paused. “But the day is gonna come, Dante, when you can breathe again. Just make sure you don’t burn any bridges you can’t rebuild.”

Dante opened his mouth, but then Lulu came back behind the counter. “Hey, sorry, but we’re gonna get backed up in a minute, and—”

“It’s fine. I’ll see you around, Aunt Lo. Thanks for coming by.”

ELQ: Conference Room

Ned scribbled his name at the bottom of a contract, then slid it over to AJ. “It’ll be a relief to be out of this,” he admitted. “After you take control in June, I won’t have anything to do with ELQ for the rest of my term.”

“Says something about how bad Floyd was if the town still voted in someone from ELQ,” AJ said dryly as he handed the completed contract to the legal team. The lawyers filed out of the room. “I thought they hated us—”

“With everything the PCPD and the mayor got dragged for last year, there was a time Jason was more popular than the cops,” Ned said. He got to his feet. “During the election, Alexis dropped a poll just to see what would happen, and Sonny got more votes than Floyd.” He snorted. “When she gave us those results, I knew I was going to win.”

“I sure as hell hope that’s changed now,” AJ said darkly.

“This is the first time Sonny’s been back in the news in a while,” Ned assured him. “And most of what’s happened wasn’t even known.” He saw AJ glancing at his phone. “They find out today about the 5150, don’t they?”

“Yeah.” AJ exhaled. “I’m trying not to let that be something I worry about, but if they release him, Carly will definitely go forward. If they hold him—” He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“You think she’ll change her mind because Sonny will be getting treatment?”

“Maybe.” AJ jerked a shoulder. “I told Bobbie I’d let Carly deal with it and wait to hear, but it’s hard. I’m so close to everything I wanted, and thinking it rests on Sonny Corinthos—” He looked at Ned. “I’m sorry. For not coming home last summer.”

Ned frowned. “We talked about this, AJ. It’s all right—”

“I wanted to. I talked to my sponsor, and we both thought I could handle it, but I just—” AJ crossed the room to the windows overlooking downtown Port Charles. “What if I was wrong? What if I came here to give you support, ran into Courtney, and lost my damn mind? I was still so angry—” His mouth thinned. “Part of me was happy when I heard Jason broke up with her. He left her for someone else, just like she did to me.”

“AJ—”

“I could have dealt with her leaving me for anyone else, but Jason—” AJ turned. “I stayed away because the last thing you or anyone else in this family needed was the dark sheep getting drunk while you were grieving. I’m sorry for that. That I wasn’t strong enough.”

“I didn’t need you to be here,” Ned said gently, and AJ nodded, staring at the floor. “I learned a long time ago that you weren’t someone I could rely on. I didn’t miss your support, AJ. I’m sorry if that hurts—”

“It does, but I need to hear it. I need to hear how much my family doesn’t need me. Not because it’s their fault,” AJ replied roughly, “but because it’s how I trained them. No one expects better of me. Not anymore.”

“That’s not true,” Ned told him. “I read the reports from New Orleans, didn’t I? I didn’t just bring Carly to you. I came with my own proposal. I didn’t need you last summer, AJ, but I do now. ELQ’s part of my legacy. And yours. It’s part of this family. We need to protect it for everyone who comes after us. Brooke’s gone, but I still have Kristina. You have Michael. Emily will have children, and there’s Jason’s son now. I need to know it’s in good hands so I can do something bigger. You can do this, AJ.”

Brownstone: Kitchen

“If they let him out,” Lucas said, “what do we do? I mean, does Jason have a plan?” he asked Carly.

“I don’t know. I haven’t really talked to him about Sonny.” Carly sipped her coffee. “He’s been with Elizabeth and the baby, and I don’t want this to be his problem right now.”

“That’s all well and good,” Luke said, dropping into the seat next to his nephew. “But it’s not practical.”

“Jason’s got a lot on his mind,” Bobbie said defensively. “His son is in the NICU, and Elizabeth almost died. Not to mention —” She looked at Carly. “I know it’s not what you wanted, but maybe it’s for the best Ric is dead.”

“I know. I know,” she repeated. “I wish we’d known months ago.” God, how different would life be right now if Ric’s body had turned up in November? Would Sonny still be Sonny? Would she have stayed with him?

“Does Sonny know yet?” Luke asked.

“No. Unless Jason told him, and I highly doubt that.” She rubbed the side of her head. Ric was dead. It was over. The nightmare, the terror—it could never happen again.

She was free.

Whatever that meant.

“Who cares what he knows?” Lucas demanded. “It doesn’t change what happened. What Sonny did. He’s crazy, and he’s violent. I don’t want him anywhere near Michael and Morgan.” He paused. “Or you,” he added to Carly, almost as an afterthought.

“It matters because it might go a long way to calming the situation. Sonny went nuclear after Lansing disappeared. Not saying Caroline has to stop the divorce or the adoption situation. I don’t think she should,” Luke said. “But we do want the bullshit to be done and over with. My boy got shot, and I wanna be worried about him. You want be thinking about classes,” he said to Lucas, “and I’m sure Carly would be happy to just go to work and be with her kids.”

“And I want to stop having all this damn security and guards everywhere,” Bobbie muttered. “I feel like we’ve been living in the nightmare that was created last summer, and the fact that Ric being dead doesn’t mean anything is frustrating.”

“But Luke’s right,” Carly said. “Sonny might feel less paranoid about things. I mean, there are other problems that might come up—” Who knows how Sonny would feel when he learned Jason didn’t intend to return power? “—but Ric was the immediate threat that sent him over the edge time and time again.”

The phone on the counter rang, and Bobbie went to answer it. “Hello? One moment—” She pressed the receiver against her chest. “Carly, it’s a doctor from Ferncliffe.”

It was the call Carly had been dreading. Was Sonny being released or—

“Hello? This is Carly Corinthos.”

“Mrs. Corinthos, this is Dr. Lainey Winters—”

Carly listened to the woman for a long moment as the people around her sat in silence. “Okay. Okay, yes, I understand. Yes. Please—contact me when you’re ready to schedule. Thank you.”

She hung up the phone and turned to her family. She gripped the back of her empty chair. “They sedated Sonny the first night, but he continued making threats against Jason and—” She took a deep breath. “Me. And Elizabeth. And he was having hallucinations. Still. Lily, and, um—” Her throat tightened. “He’s still seeing Lily and his mother.”

“Nothing’s changed,” Bobbie murmured. “Same behavior as Friday.”

“Yeah. Um, under the law, the hold can be extended if two doctors sign a certificate stating that Sonny can’t be released because he’s a substantial threat to others. Maybe himself, though she said they don’t think he’s suicidal but that he’s likely to get himself hurt anyway.”

“Sit down, baby—” Bobbie got to her feet and guided Carly into the chair. “Are they keeping him?”

“Yeah. Dr. Collins and Dr. Winters—they signed the paperwork. They’re going to keep him up to sixty days.” She pressed her hands to her face. “Oh, God, Mama. He’s really sick. He’s seeing his mother and Lily, and he has been seeing them for months. That’s what he said that night, do you remember?”

“I do.”

“I didn’t see it. I didn’t know. He was suffering, seeing them, and then not being able to protect us—”

“Carly—” Lucas began, but Luke put a hand up.

“You couldn’t see it, baby, because you were hurting, too,” Bobbie reminded her gently. “And that’s why you had to leave. Because you couldn’t be enough to fix him. And Jason couldn’t see it because he has a family of his own who were hurting. No one, and I mean, no one wanted Sonny so tormented that he was haunted by Lily and his mother. This is not your fault.”

“If he’d gotten help years ago when these dark moods started to take over,” Luke said, “he’d have nipped it in the bud. But Lily’s death snapped something inside of him, and he’s been sliding towards the edge the years.”

“Without diagnosis and treatment, this was always going to happen,” Bobbie told Carly. “This is not on you or Jason. He was never sick enough before to force this. He is now. And he’s going to get help.”

“I need to call Jason. He, uh, he needs to know.”

General Hospital: NICU

Emily’s eyes were wide. “I’m sorry, what did Cody do?”

Elizabeth sighed and winced, readjusting the bottle against Cameron’s mouth. He was having trouble latching this morning, but she was determined to keep trying. “He was the source feeding information to the Zaccharas to set up false Ric sightings.”

Emily sat hard in one of the seats. “But—but he protected you. He seemed so good—”

“Apparently, his excuse was that he was protecting me. From Sonny.” Elizabeth pressed her lips against Cameron’s head. “He wanted to force Sonny out and thought he’d make Jason take action. He didn’t know I was so sick.”

“I guess…there’s a logic to it,” Emily said dubiously. “Jason must be pissed, though. I mean, to have a guy turn that’s so close—”

“That’s the strange thing. He’s not—I mean—he’s upset because of how things unfolded, but he told me I could do what I wanted with Cody. He’s going to talk to him, but it’s up to me if Cody stays as my guard or if he gets fired or whatever.”

“Wait, what? Why?” Emily furrowed her brow. “How can he leave that up to you? I mean, this is the business stuff. The guy betrayed you. Who cares about his motives?”

Elizabeth didn’t answer right away as Nadine came into return Cameron to the incubator. They chatted for a moment about his progress, and then when they were alone again, Elizabeth said, “I think Jason feels guilty. He didn’t do enough about Sonny, and it got to this point. When I think about everything Cody has seen—he heard all the fights Carly and Sonny were having. He knew how Sonny was treating me. And he was there that night in December.”

“The night Carly got locked in her room.”

“He helped break down the door.” Elizabeth bit her lip. “And part of me feels guilty, too. Carly and I set some of this in motion when we wanted a trial—”

“That is not on you! None of this—”

“I’m not saying—” Elizabeth paused, trying to collect her thoughts. “Of course, Carly and I didn’t know what would happen when we turned down that deal. When I asked Jason to let Ric rot in jail. But Jason made us both a promise, and he kept it. Even when it was causing issues with Sonny. That put us on this road. Jason standing by me and Carly against Sonny. And leaving Ric alive made it possible for Anthony Zacchara to kill him and start all of this.”

“But—”

“It’s not my fault, but I also—” She pursed her lips. “I know what Jason’s job is, Em. I’ve always known, and part of me knew that Ric should have had a different ending. It would have been the right way to handle it. And I know Carly only asked for the same thing because Jason had already agreed.”

“You needed it—”

“I did. But I never got it, and I’m okay. Carly—we’re going to get past this. It’ll take longer, and it’s worse now. I’m just trying—I’m trying to do the right thing for Jason this time. Part of me is glad Sonny is out of power. That all of this forced him to get help. And that part of me wants to let Cody stay.”

“But—”

“This kind of thing always gets out. I didn’t think of what leaving Ric alive would do to Jason and Sonny. This is my chance to get it right and to make sure Jason knows that I accept his life. All of it.”

Lucky & Kelsey’s Apartment: Kitchen

Kelsey passed Lucky the bag from Kelly’s and went to get some utensils. “I’m with Cruz — the silver lining of Dante losing his mind is we can buy his cooking.”

Lucky grinned as he removed the top from the bowl of chili, taking in the scent. “Almost smells as good as my Aunt Ruby’s. Maybe he’s found his calling.”

“Maybe. Cruz pointed out it’s better that he’s not wallowing upstairs at Kelly’s anymore. We just need to be patient, I guess.” She unwrapped her own burger and licked the ketchup off her thumb. “How was the doctor?”

“Good, good.” He blew on a spoonful of chili. “I’ll be back on the job next Monday, but I’ll be on desk duty another few weeks. They want me to wait until my ribs aren’t sore. They got cracked during the surgery,” he reminded her. “You okay with that?”

“Not wild about letting you back out there now that you’re one more good cop down,” she admitted, “but that’s just me being antsy. I’m sure you weren’t happy when I went back to work a month after brain surgery—”

“Not sure we can call twenty-three days a month—”

She rolled her eyes. “Semantics.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the file poking out of the bag she had dragged home from work. “Hey, do you remember a cop named David Case?”

Lucky furrowed his brows. “Sounds sort of familiar, but not really. Why?”

“He was around when you were a kid. Retired in 1997. He, um, he worked my dad’s accident.”

Lucky set down his spoon and looked at her. “You looked up your dad’s file? Why?”

She closed her eyes. This was never going to get any easier, no matter how many times she said it. “My dad was murdered, Lucky, and the PCPD covered it up.”

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Jason’s Office

He could have given this task to Justus. Could have asked Johnny or Francis or Bernie — or anyone else.

But Jason knew it had to be him. He needed to look Cody in the eye before Elizabeth decided what was going to happen to him. Maybe it hadn’t been fair to leave it up to her, but Cody had betrayed Jason to save her. She’d earned the right to be part of the decision.

He’d stood in the doorway of the NICU room, watching Elizabeth as she fed Cameron, giving up his turn so that she could have more time. Cody was the reason Sonny had lost his damn mind on Friday, but he hadn’t caused Elizabeth to cough up blood. In fact, Cody had saved her life by getting her to the hospital as quickly as he had.

Because Elizabeth had trusted him enough to let him stay inside the penthouse. Just like she had the summer before when she’d nearly died from the embolism.

What the hell was Jason going to do if Elizabeth decided to let him stay on as a guard?

“You wanted to see me?”

Jason got to his feet as Cody stepped into the doorway, his face hesitant. “Yeah. Close the door.”

Cody swallowed hard but did as he was asked, then turned back to face Jason. “You know.”

“Yeah. Justus didn’t tell me,” Jason added, “but the only person who could have set up what happened on Friday knew Sonny was being released.”

His face ashen, Cody nodded. He remained silent.

“I’m sending you to Puerto Rico,” Jason said. The guard blinked. “Not permanently. You’ll work under one of Johnny’s guys at the casino for a while. Elizabeth will decide what happens when she’s ready.”

“I—” Cody swallowed hard. “Can I—can I say one thing?”

“If you’re going to defend yourself,” Jason began, his blood heating up. He might understand why Cody had done it, but it didn’t change how angry Jason was or how much he wanted to smash in the guard’s face.

“No. There is no defense. I just—I never knew Mrs. Morgan was so sick. I never—I would have—” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“No, it doesn’t. Get out.”

To escape a world so great
Close your eyes now we float away
Close to the brink- oh it’s so colorful
Don’t be scared, just take my hand
As I walk to tomorrow land
Touch the light before
We all fall down
– Tomorrow Land, Leon Else

---

Saturday, March 6, 2004

Zacchara Estate: Study

“I wouldn’t move if I were you,” Jason said casually.

“Morgan—what—what the fuck—” Anthony sputtered.

“You won’t get out of here alive,” Trevor threatened, but then Claudia laughed—she couldn’t help herself.

“What the fuck are you laughing at, Jezebel?” Anthony demanded, his eyes wide with a blend of fear and fury that never boded well.

But Claudia was just too amused by Trevor’s boast to take in the threat. She waved her hand as the giggles continued. John rolled his eyes, tossed his book aside.

“She’s laughing at the idea that he can’t kill us all and get out alive,” John explained as if he were talking to five-year-olds. “He got in here once, he can get back out the same way.” He put up a finger. “If it matters, I don’t care about the two of them. Go for it—”

“You worthless excuse—” Anthony’s words choked off as Jason tightened the arm around his neck. Just a simple flex of his forearm. Claudia’s giggles finally subsided as she licked her lips. She did enjoy watching a handsome man at work.

“Where’s Ric?” Jason demanded. When no one said anything, he cocked the gun once more. “I’m not asking again.”

“Dead,” John said idly. He sat back down, picked up the book, and put his feet up on the desk. “Dad killed him a few months ago—”

“I should have drowned you at birth,” Anthony sputtered.

“Isn’t that how Mama died?” Claudia asked with an arch of her brow. “You goin’ after John? Let’s not pretend you’re father of the damn year.” She looked at Jason. “Dad got into one of his moods—you might be familiar with them with your crazy ass boss—and choked Ric. We dumped his body and deactivated the ankle thing.”

She picked up her wine and sauntered back to her seat. “Next question.”

“Claudia—”

“Then it is you making up the sightings,” Jason said. “Just like my guy said.”

Trevor scowled. “Your guy?”

“The man you thought you turned.” Jason’s lips curved into what some people might call a smile. Claudia thought it was scarier than the blank expression. “Didn’t do your homework on him.”

“Funny, they were just arguing about that.” Bored again, John got to his feet. “Look, can I go? They drag me in here every few months and pretend I’m inheriting this—but, ah, I’d just as soon blow it up.”

“Morgan, we can make a deal,” Trevor said. “Just—just let Anthony go. We—we tried something, but you know, it didn’t work. No harm done.”

Jason’s eyes flashed, and Claudia raised her brows. No harm done?  Morons.

“You want to make a deal?” Jason demanded. “You want me to walk out of here and let the two of you live?”

“What do you want?” Anthony demanded, his teeth clenched. “What can I give you?”

“My wife and son are in the hospital.” Jason clicked the trigger, and Anthony started panting, his face florid. “I should take something from you.”

Claudia licked her lips. She’d let him take her anywhere.

“What do you want?” Trevor demanded.

“Your son.”

John blinked. “Uh, what? Wait. I told you—” He got to his feet, the bored tone gone from his voice, replaced by threads of panic. Claudia hissed. “I don’t want any of this—”

“Which makes you perfect.”

“Morgan—” Anthony panted. “He’s my only boy—take the girl, I don’t need her—”

Claudia scowled. Asshole. She’d known it was true, but damn it—

“I want leverage,” Jason growled. “He comes to Port Charles for six months. Anything—and I mean anything—happens to my family—I’ll make sure you never see yours again.”

John frowned. “Wait—what the hell—”

“I can’t do that,” Anthony began.

“That sounds like a good plan,” Claudia said. John swung his gaze to her, betrayed. “No, John. You hate it here. Go to Port Charles. Daddy won’t do anything if you’re under Morgan’s thumb. And Morgan probably won’t keep you under lock and key.”

Anthony glared at her, but Claudia was unbothered. She needed eyes and ears in Port Charles, and John would be a great excuse for her to drop in from time to time.

She was so close to everything she wanted. Tonight was just a minor setback. She could make this work.

“Fine,” Anthony spat. “I’ll send the boy. Six months. I won’t lift a finger.”

“Doesn’t anyone care that I don’t agree?” John demanded.

“I’ll expect him within a week. Otherwise, I’ll be back, and this time,” Jason said coldly, “I won’t give you a warning.”

Jason shoved Anthony into Trevor, and the two of them went sprawling. By the time they got up and ran to the terrace, he was gone.

Anthony started barking demands to the guards to search the grounds, while Trevor called down to the entrance gate to run a security check.

But he was gone

Jason Morgan had managed to slip in and out of the estate without triggering even one of their alarms.

Kelly’s: Dante’s Room

Lulu leaned against the closed door and arched a brow at Dante as he stripped off his t-shirt he’d worn during his shift. “Should I put on some music?” she quipped. “You could do a little dance.”

Dante’s smile was thin, but it seemed genuine. “You don’t have to check in on me every day, Lu.”

“No, not every day. But definitely at least today.” She sat on the edge of the bed, watching with some disappointment when he replaced his jeans and t-shirt with a pair of sweats. “You haven’t said anything about Capelli resigning.”

“What’s the point?” Dante turned, then leaned against the dresser. “He’s gone, but that doesn’t change how the PCPD feels about me—”

“Yeah, but—”

“I’m glad for Lucky and Cruz. It’s one less piece of shit making their jobs harder.” He exhaled slowly. “I don’t know. Maybe I’d feel differently if we hadn’t found out about Sonny and Ferncliffe right after.”

“I guess.” Lulu waited a long moment. “I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do or say that would make any of this better.”

“There’s nothing.” He sat next to her, drew her hand into his lap. “But thanks for trying.” He brushed his lips against her forehead. “We’ll try the movies another day. You should get going.”

“I could stay—”

“Not tonight.” Dante softened the rejection with a squeeze of her hand. “I just kind of want to be alone.”

“All right. But I’ll be back to bother you tomorrow,” Lulu said.

“I’m counting on it.”

Sunday, March 7, 2004

Corinthos & Morgan Coffee House: Office

Jason cleared his throat, and Justus looked up at him, blinked. He tossed aside the pen and stood up from the desk. “Jason—I thought you’d go right to the hospital—”

“I’m on my way there,” Jason said. He stepped in and closed the door behind him. “But I wanted you to know what happened in Crimson Pointe.”

“Okay.” Justus hesitated. “I…drew up my resignation.” He slid it across the desk. Jason didn’t pick it up.

“The Zaccharas claim Ric has been dead all along, and I made it clear I could get to Anthony at any point if I wanted to. They’re sending the son up here for leverage. If they come at me again, I’ll take it out on him.”

They both knew Jason was bluffing, but Anthony and Trevor wouldn’t.

“Okay, then—”

“I know who it was.”

Justus watched him for a long moment. “Are you sure?”

“I am. As soon as you refused to tell me who it was and why he’d done it.” Jason pressed his lips together, waited a minute. “You and Bernie knew how sick Elizabeth was and wouldn’t have taken that risk. Cody probably thought he’d be there to protect her from Sonny. I don’t think we ever made him aware of how sick she was.”

At the mention of Cody’s name, Justus’s shoulders slumped. “What are you going to do?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” Jason sat, dragged his hands through his hair. “It would have been easier if it had been anyone else. Even Max. Anyone but Cody.”

“He did it for the right reasons, Jase—”

“Does that matter?” Jason demanded. He lifted angry eyes to look at Justus. “Anything could have happened—” He shook his head. “I should dump him in the lake,” he muttered.

Justus took a seat, picked up his pencil again. “He’s loyal to your wife. You told him that his first priority should always be Elizabeth. Maybe he didn’t know how sick she was—but he did know that Sonny was a threat to her.”

Jason cleared his throat. “Yeah.”

“He did what he thought was right, Jase.”

He leaned back, studied Justus. “What if Cody decides Elizabeth is threatened by me? You okay with him getting rid of me next?” He shook his head. “I can’t have it—”

“Don’t say it like Cody didn’t have a goddamn point, Jason,” Justus snapped. “He was on the door. He was with Elizabeth every damned day since Carly was kidnapped. He saw Sonny getting more and more violent—he saw that night in December when Sonny locked Carly up and shoved Elizabeth— Everyone knew this was out of control—you think Elizabeth wasn’t next? You think if Sonny had a few more chances—”

“Don’t—” Jason got to his feet. “I don’t need someone who doesn’t follow orders—”

“He did follow orders. You didn’t act. You didn’t protect your family. What was Cody gonna do?” Justus demanded. “No one was standing up to Sonny. You were letting him get away with all of it. No one believes you were actually going to put him on a damn plane! Cody took the chance to get rid of him. Be glad it didn’t end with Sonny in the ground.”

Jason picked up the resignation, stared down at it. Then looked at Justus. “I should have forced Sonny to get help last year. Or years ago—the first time he had a breakdown. But that doesn’t make what Cody did right—”

“No, it doesn’t.” Justus lifted his chin. “But it doesn’t make it wrong, either. So I’ll ask you again. What are you gonna do?”

Jason looked out the window, out towards the waterfront. “There are worse things in the world than a guard willing to go against me to protect my family,” he admitted. “And—he was there when she nearly died last year.”

“He never forgave himself for going downstairs the day Vinnie Esposito came to the Towers—for thinking they were right behind her—he let Vinnie send him away. He blamed himself, Jason. The same way you did. He took the chance to make it up to her. Don’t throw that loyalty away.”

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” Jason said finally. “But Cody isn’t ending up at the bottom of the lake. At worst, I’ll fire him.”

“And at best?” Justus asked.

“He and I will come to an arrangement I can live with.” Jason shook his head. “Not to mention, I’m not sure Elizabeth wouldn’t agree with you about waiting too long for Sonny to be dealt with,” he admitted.

“She might surprise you.” Justus nodded at the resignation letter in his hand. “You still want that?”

“Not unless you want to give it to me.”

Justus stared down at the letter, then slowly ripped it in half. Jason exhaled slowly, then nodded.

“I have to get to the hospital. I—Carly is meeting me there. She and Elizabeth deserve to know the truth about Ric.”

General Hospital: ICU

Not only was Elizabeth going up to meet her son for the first time, but Epiphany informed her that she was being moved from the ICU to her own room. She couldn’t contain her excitement.

“Your visits will be short at first,” Epiphany warned her as she and Patrick helped Elizabeth into the wheelchair. “But you’ll get to hold him for a few minutes.”

“That’s—even ten seconds will be something.” Elizabeth winced as she arranged herself in the chair. “Oh, man—”

“Yeah, you just had a baby, and your lungs were on fire for a while. Things are gonna hurt,” Patrick told her. “But I’m officially discharging you from my service.” He wagged a finger at her. “I don’t want to see you back here, got it? I mean it this time.”

“Got it.”

It was strange to think how much had changed—and humbling to remember just how far she still had to go before she could honestly put all of this behind her.

But today—today, she was going to hold her son for the first time.

“Hey,” she said to Emily as her best friend wheeled her into the NICU to get washed up and ready to hold Cameron. “How is he today?”

“Actually, his nurse has some good news for you,” Emily said. “But first—” She set the chair at the entrance to the room, and Elizabeth saw her son for the first time.

Cameron was lying on his side in the incubator, his eyes closed and covered with a protective shield, his mouth slightly open. His tiny chest was rising and falling—

“He looks…” Elizabeth pressed her fingers to her lips. “He looks good.” Her voice broke.

“He looks great, Mama,” Nadine told them. She helped Elizabeth sit in the chair that reclined back and arranged a screen in front of the door so that Elizabeth would be able to remove the top part of her gown so that Cameron was against her skin.

“He lost a little weight,” Nadine told them. “He was four pounds, two ounces at birth, and he dipped just below four—but that’s normal.”

“Right, I remember,” Elizabeth murmured as she watched Nadine gently open the incubator. Within thirty seconds, the nurse had laid Cameron against Elizabeth’s chest, then covered them both with a blanket. “What about breathing? Jason said there was a problem with his lungs—”

“We were able to take him off the ventilator today,” Nadine reported. “We replaced it with the nasal prongs—” She smiled at Emily. “He’s a tough guy. The latest imaging shows the leaks in his lungs are healing nicely.”

“I was so scared,” Elizabeth murmured. She touched the top of his fuzzy head, the hair thin and blond. “You know? I just kept thinking about all the bad that could happen. But he’s here.”

“He is. And he’s stronger today than he was yesterday. That’s a great sign. We’ll keep monitoring him, and of course, the family care he’s been receiving—he’s got a lot going for him, Mrs. Morgan.” Nadine smiled at her again. “Now, he’s up to five minutes out of the incubator, so I’ll give you some time.”

“It’s crazy,” Elizabeth said. She looked at Emily. “I loved him from the moment Monica told me I was pregnant. I knew that I would love him. Every day he grew inside of me, kicking and rolling—I couldn’t imagine loving him more—”

His heart fluttered against her skin, and Elizabeth closed her eyes. “And somehow I do. He’s beautiful, isn’t he?”

“He really is,” Emily said. “I’m just—” She pressed two fingers to her lips, then took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how scared I was that you’d never get to see him until right now.”

“Em—” Elizabeth looked at her. “If you hadn’t smacked some sense into me—I don’t know what I would have done.”

“That’s what I’m there for.” Emily smiled down at them. “And just imagine how much fun we’re going to have when you’re recovered from your surgery, and this little guy is running around.”

“I can’t wait. We’re going to have the best life, baby.” Elizabeth gently kissed the top of his head and then sighed when she saw Nadine returning through the glass windows. “It’s hard to give him up.”

“I know,” Emily said. “But Nadine said the time will increase—

“As soon as he can regulate his own temperature,” Nadine promised as she gently lifted Cameron from Elizabeth and returned him to his bed. Emily came forward to help Elizabeth put her gown to rights. “You’ll see, Mama. Time will fly, and he’ll be home before you know it.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

AJ set down a twenty, picked up his to-go cup of coffee, and turned only to nearly run straight into Bobbie. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you—”

“That’s all right.” Bobbie smiled and gestured at the waitress behind the counter. “Picking up an order, Penny.”

“Be right out, Ms. Spencer.”

Bobbie turned to AJ. “Picking up some food to take over to the hospital. I thought you were only in town overnight.”

“I was, but Grandfather wanted me to stay a few more days.” AJ rocked back and forth on his heels. “I’ll be heading back next week, I think. There’s a lot to do before I can come back permanently.”

Bobbie nodded, opened her mouth, then closed it. He sighed.  “Bobbie, is there something you want to ask me?” She pursed her lips and didn’t answer, so he continued. “Because you can. You’re Michael’s grandmother, and any hope I ever have of being in his life has a lot to do with you. I’m an open book.”

“I—” She sighed. “When I saw you just now, and you said you were staying a few more days, I was worried that you’re only staying in Port Charles to find out if Sonny will be held at Ferncliffe longer. We find out tomorrow if they’re holding him.”

“It’s in the back of my head, but it wasn’t the reason, Bobbie. I promise. I want to spend some time with my family.” He paused. “And I wanted to be sure I could be at the mansion again. It’s a lot of pressure. The old expectations. I didn’t manage to hold up before, and there’s more at stake now. If I screw up, I don’t just lose Michael. It’s the last chance I’ll get at ELQ, too.”

“That’s a fair point.” Bobbie put her hands in her coat pockets. “I’m rooting for you, AJ. I am. Even if it’s a bit selfish because I want my family away from Sonny for good. Not just Carly and the boys,” she added. “But Jason and Elizabeth. I don’t want Cameron to grow up like Michael has.”

“Bobbie—”

“So I know that my daughter may not deserve your patience, trust, or even your grace,” Bobbie continued, “but I’m hoping you’ll extend it anyway. For me. For Jason—”

“Jason—” AJ repeated tightly

“Who might not deserve it either after what happened with Courtney,” Bobbe cut in quickly. “But Elizabeth does. Her son does.”

“I—” AJ frowned. “Were things that bad here? With Sonny, I mean? Carly told me some things, and Grandfather’s added on to it, but everyone makes it seem like what happened to Elizabeth is Sonny’s fault.”

“I—” Bobbie hesitated. “It wasn’t,” she admitted, “but he made it worse. No matter what happens at Ferncliffe, I want him out of our lives.”

“I’ll do what I can, Bobbie, but it’s on Carly to keep pushing forward.”

Bobbie squeezed his hand. “I know. But thank you for hearing me out.”

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Carly stepped into the doorway, knocking on the open door. “Hey.”

Elizabeth smiled as she raised up the bed, her eyes tired but more alert than she’d been the day before when Carly had stopped by. “Hey.”

“Glad to be out of the ICU?” Carly asked. She sat next to the bed.

“And in real clothes,” Elizabeth continued, touching the loose shirt she wore. “I’m doing a lot better—I’m off Patrick’s service, and Kelly is releasing me on Wednesday, maybe. They just want a few more days of oxygen therapy and rest for my stitches, and then I’ll have the surgery in a few months. The final one, I mean.” She moved slightly on the bed, then winced from the pain. “Jason called. He told me he was asking you to meet him here.”

“Yeah. I figure—I mean, he told me the Zaccharas were behind the sightings, so I guess…” Carly rubbed her hands against her thighs, restless. “I guess maybe he has good news?”

“I’m not even sure what good news would look like at this point,” Elizabeth admitted. “But—I’m sorry to hear about Sonny. Jason said he’s in Ferncliffe.”

“Only for seventy-two hours. We find out tomorrow what happens next.” Carly smiled tensely. “I’m trying not to think about that.”

“I’m sorry, Carly.”

Carly sighed. “He needed the help. We all knew it. We just ignored it when it would have made a difference.” She was quiet for a moment. “I haven’t been able to go to the NICU, so how’s Cameron?”

She and Elizabeth were still talking about Cameron and his progress when Jason finally arrived. He offered a sheepish smile as he closed the door behind him. “I’m sorry I’m late,” he said. “I stopped upstairs, and—well—they let me bathe Cameron.”

“Really?” Elizabeth’s eyes lit up. She pressed her hands together with a beaming smile. “That’s great! I didn’t think we’d be allowed to do that so soon. I got to hold him for five minutes this morning. It was amazing.”

Jason brushed his lips over her forehead, lingering an extra minute, the expression on his face so intense and full of love for his wife and son that Carly had to look away.

“Nadine said you could have another five minutes in an hour,” he told her as he took a seat on the other side of her bed. “But Edward’s up there, now reading a book to him.”

“I think Cameron’s been read to more in his first two days than I was my entire life,” Elizabeth said with a laugh. “But I’m so glad he’s not alone.”

“He’s a lucky kid,” Carly said. She looked at Jason. “What happened in Crimson Pointe?”

Jason sighed and nodded. He took Elizabeth’s hand. “He’s dead,” he said simply. He looked at Carly. “Ric’s dead. Anthony killed him in a fit of rage back in November. They admitted it.”

Carly exhaled slowly, closed her eyes,  and let it sink in. Then she nodded. “Okay.”

“You’ve wondered that a few times,” Elizabeth said. She squeezed his hand. “The sightings felt wrong.”

“We were never able to verify any of them, but I don’t think—I’m not sure I let myself believe he was gone. I really thought he’d disappeared into South America,” Jason admitted.

Elizabeth held out her other hand until Carly took it. “Hey. What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t seem—” Carly’s voice faltered. “It doesn’t seem like it could be true. It doesn’t—but you believe them?” she asked Jason.

“Yes.” Jason looked at her, and she saw it in his eyes. “Ric went underground in November. I don’t believe he has the patience to wait this long. The sightings were a hoax to drive a wedge between me and Sonny. The Zaccharas thought it would weaken us. They didn’t realize—”

“They don’t know you very well,” Carly murmured with a tearful smile. “They underestimated you.”

“Jason—” Elizabeth waited until Jason looked at her. “Is it over? I mean, they went to all this trouble—”

“It’s over. We made a deal, and we can talk about that later, but they know I can get to them any time. If they’re stupid, then—we’ll see. But, yeah, it’s over. There’s not—Ric’s not coming back. Whatever happens next—you never have to see him again.”

“No trial,” Carly murmured. She closed her eyes. “God. After all that, Sonny gets exactly what he wanted. He wanted Ric to die quickly. Everything we went through, and this could have been over months ago.”

“No trial,” Elizabeth repeated. She bit her lip. “That’s okay,” she told Carly. “We—we’re okay. It’s over.”

“Yeah.” Carly forced a smile, nodding at her. “It’s over.” She squeezed Elizabeth’s hand again. “I’m glad to see you up and moving,” she said. “Let me know when I can see Cameron, okay? But—I need to go. I have to go.”

“All right.”

Jason followed Carly to the door. “Hey—you okay?” he asked as she went into the hallway. Carly turned back.

“I’m not sure,” Carly admitted. “I think—I just—I feel like there should be more. I never got—” She sighed. “It’s just one more thing Ric took from me. My marriage. He stole it from me, and he didn’t even have do it himself. His memory was enough. I’ll never be able to make him pay. Never look him in the eye and get justice.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason told her. “I know you and Elizabeth wanted to be part of that—to take him apart yourselves. I tried to make that happen.”

“I know. And your love and support—that’s what matters. I know how much I matter to you. And so does Elizabeth. That’s—I can let that be enough.” She hugged him fiercely. “We’re going to be okay. Whatever happens next. We’ll be okay.”

PCPD: Archives

Kelsey pulled a box off the shelf, coughing at the dislodged cloud of dust. She set it on the nearby table and reached for her bottle of water. Her father’s file wasn’t in the box listed on the inventory sheet. She’d spent hours combing through almost every single box that had been marked for 1994, thinking it had been misfiled.

She knew now, for sure, that something was wrong. Her father’s case wasn’t even in the electronic database that Mac had started after the serial rapist case blew up. The fact that files weren’t where they should be—

Just like last summer. Misplaced files just triggered all the alarm bells. If it wasn’t in this box—

Kelsey started to shift through the files — then breathed a sigh of relief when she found the file marked Joyce, Oliver. It was thin, which made sense. A single car accident wouldn’t need much. A report from the crime scene investigator, an autopsy report — that wouldn’t take up much space.

She picked up the report from the crime scene, then simply stared in confusion. Victim was declared dead on the scene. “This—this isn’t right,” she muttered. Her father had died at the hospital. Her mother had said so. She tossed it aside then looked for the investigation report from the primary.

David Case. She didn’t know who that was. He’d marked her father’s death as accidental. She could see it right there — the box marked on the form.

But how—

Underneath the report, she found the crime scene photos. Her stomach lurched.

Her mother had told her some of the truth. Her father had been found in his car, alone on Highway 41. The car had crashed into a sign for the Port Charles exit. It had been a single car accident.

But no one had ever told her that her father had been found with a gaping bullet wound in his head.

Execution style.

He’d been found slumped over the steering wheel, the passenger door still hanging open, indicating that someone else had been in the car and abandoned it.

His killer.

Cause sometimes shit don’t go your way, sometimes
And sometimes you gon’ have those days, yeah
And sometimes you’ll feel out of place
You can’t promise me it’ll be the same
Cause sometimes change
Sometimes, sometimes change
Sometimes change
– Sometimes, H.E.R.

Saturday, March 6, 2004

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Cameron’s first night was a long one. Despite his family’s encouragement, Jason didn’t sleep. He preferred to spend long stretches in the NICU, then trade places with someone so that he could sit next to Elizabeth.

He wanted to be there when she woke up, wanted his face to be the first she saw so that he could tell her that their son was okay. That Cameron had responded to treatment — and that Jason had been allowed to hold him twice.

It was nearly seven the next morning when her eyes began to flutter. Jason didn’t even hesitate — he pressed the call button so that someone could take out her breathing tube, then grabbed her hand to squeeze it.

She coughed, her eyes flying open when she couldn’t quite take a breath, looking panicked. Then she found his face—their eyes met—and she squeezed his hand back.

“Hey,” he murmured, bringing her hand to his lips. “It’s okay. They’ll take out the tube in a minute. You’re okay.”

Her other hand flew up to touch her abdomen. She clenched her hand into a fist.

“Cameron’s okay. You delivered him yesterday, and he’s in the NICU. He’s doing well,” he promised her. “He’s never alone. Monica is with him now. He was strong enough—I got to hold him.”

She closed her eyes, a tear sliding her cheek as she nodded. Finally, a nurse came in.

“Good morning, Mrs. Morgan,” she said with a smile. “Dr. Drake will be here in just a moment, and we’ll be taking out your tube.” She looked to Jason. “How long has she been awake?”

“Just a few minutes.”

Patrick arrived shortly after with a relieved smile. “Hey there,” he said. He looked at the nurse. “Epiphany, you ready for removal?”

Elizabeth gagged as the tube was removed, and Jason was ready with water to soothe her throat. She drank greedily, her lips dry and cracked. “Cam—” She said hoarsely. “He’s…okay?”

“He had some issues with his lungs,” Jason admitted. “But it’s common, and Dr. Devlin said that his lungs were already showing improvement the last time I was upstairs. I got to hold him,” he repeated. “They never would have let me do that if he weren’t doing well.”

She nodded, closing her eyes again, squeezing his hand. “He’s okay.”

“You’re okay, too,” Patrick told her. “Do you remember what happened yesterday?”

“I—Waiting for you,” she told Jason hoarsely. “Then…Sonny…and blood. I coughed—there was blood—”

“We stopped the bleeding, and your lungs are also healing,” Patrick said. “Everything went as well as it could, Elizabeth. Good work.” He made a notation on his chart. “We’re going to keep the morphine drip steady,” he told Jason and Elizabeth. “Between the lung issues and the Cesarean, she’ll be in some pain for a few days. Dr. Lee will be by to check her stitches and make sure that’s going well. But we, ah, we dodged a bullet here.” He lifted a brow. “Now, I know you’re jealous because you were my first patient at General Hospital, but that doesn’t mean I need you coming to see me every few months.”

Elizabeth managed a surprised laugh as she nodded. “Won’t—won’t make it a habit.”

“Great.” He flashed them both a grin before leaving.

“You’ll be on liquids for the rest of the day,” the nurse—Epiphany—continued. “But maybe at dinner, we can talk about some solid foods. You know where the call button is.”

When they were alone again, Elizabeth squeezed Jason’s hand again. “Sonny?”

Jason hesitated, but then he nodded. “I left him with Carly and Justus. They handled it. Kevin Collins—he signed involuntary commitment papers to Ferncliffe.”

Her eyes widened. “Jason.”

“Don’t worry about any of that right now.”

She smiled faintly as her eyes drifted closed. “Tired,” she murmured, forcing them back open.

“Sleep,” he said, kissing the inside of her palm again. “It’s almost my turn to go back up to NICU and hold Cameron. I think—I think Nikolas is going to come down and sit with you.”

“Never alone. I remember.” With her free hand, she brushed his cheek with her fingertips. “Never alone.”

“Never,” he promised as her eyes closed again and she slid into a more natural sleep. He watched as her chest rose and fell evenly. He’d never get tired of watching her breathe.

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Kelsey craned her head to peer into the window that looked into the kitchen. “Do we comment on Dante working here or let it go?”

“We let it go,” Lucky decided, stirring cream into his coffee. “Lu gave me the heads up, and if we don’t annoy him—” He stopped as his phone vibrated. “Hold on, it’s Emily—I need—” He stood up and headed out to the courtyard.

Cruz’s eyes followed him, concerned. “He’s still wincing when he walks.”

“Yeah, I know. He got an all-clear from the doctor—” Kelsey picked up a sugar packet and twisted it in her fingers. “I’m trying not to be worried. He won’t like it if I hover.”

“He really won’t.” Cruz sipped his coffee. “You doing better? I heard your mom was in town for a few days. I bet that helped.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kelsey paused. “Sort of. We had another fight about her coming to Port Charles, and she only came because she felt guilty.” She sighed. “Maybe I should be nicer to her about all of this, but am I insane for feeling like she’s overreacting? Dad died in a car accident ten years ago, but Mom acts like it was yesterday, like this town is poison. It’s been comforting for me to be here with people who knew Dad and loved him. To drive by our old house.”

“People react to grief in all kinds of way, Kelse—”

“Yeah, but Mom didn’t even let me say goodbye. I couldn’t go to his funeral, and we moved like five minutes later. Dad died in June, and then we were gone by August.” She shook her head. “It’s not right.”

They looked up as Lucky took his seat again. “Hey, what did what Emily say?” Kelsey asked.

“Giving me an update on Elizabeth. She’s out of the woods,” he reported. “And the baby is doing okay in the NICU. Plus, she wanted me to hear it from her—” Lucky hesitated. “Sonny got sent to Ferncliffe last night. Carly got Dr. Collins to 5150 him.”

“Involuntary commitment.” Cruz’s brows shot up. “That’s a tough sell. He had to be a threat to himself or others—”

“Which makes me wonder exactly what happened in that penthouse before Elizabeth had to be rushed to the hospital.” Lucky shook his head. “But it’s not a criminal case. She just wanted Dante to get the heads up. I, uh, better go let him know.” He got to his feet and headed for the kitchen.

“Man, I hope this doesn’t mess with Dante’s head more,” Cruz muttered. “He’s got enough problems without the sperm donor making it worse.” He focused on Kelsey. “You said your dad died in a single car accident, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Coming back from an appointment with a client or something. I don’t know. It’s all mostly a blur.” She frowned. “Why?”

“I don’t know. Ten years is a long time not to get over a car accident, and I met your mom the last time she was here. When you were hurt last fall,” he reminded her. “She only stayed a few days. You had a brain injury. You’d think she’d stick longer. She and Scott were all tense every time I came into a room with them together.”

Kelsey tipped her head. “She was really angry about me coming here to work. You think it has something to do with him? He wasn’t even in around when my dad died.”

“It either bothers you enough to find out,” Cruz said, “or you can let it go. That’s going to be up to you.”

Kelsey sighed, looked back down at her partially eaten meal and let Cruz’s words roll around. How much did it really matter that her mother had some sort of phobia about coming to Port Charles? In the end, she’d shown up. Wasn’t that what was important?

But would it always be like this? What if they got married? Had kids? Would her mother always refuse to be part of her life as long as Port Charles was Kelsey’s home?

She wasn’t going to be able to let this go.

Brownstone: Foyer

Carly peered through the window next to the door and grimaced. This was the absolute last thing she wanted to deal with today, but —

She pulled open the door and folded her arms. “I thought you weren’t coming to Port Charles until the hearing was scheduled.” Or that he wouldn’t show up here without warning.

“I never said I wouldn’t come earlier,” AJ said. “And I waited until I saw Michael leave the house with Lucas. We made a deal, Carly, but this is still where my family is from—”

“Then come to Port Charles and see them. Why are you on my doorstep?” she demanded.

“Carly—” Bobbie appeared over her daughter’s shoulder, her brows drawn together in surprise. “AJ.”

“Bobbie.” AJ flicked his eyes back to Carly. “I wanted to touch base on the recent developments. Can I come in? Or if Michael’s coming back soon, can we meet somewhere else?”

“No, he’s—” Carly stepped back. AJ had a right to know what was going on, and it was just her own defensiveness, her own exhaustion, putting her on the attack. “Lucas and his boyfriend took him to a movie, then they’re going to Kelly’s.”

“Okay.” AJ stepped inside the foyer, waited for Carly to lead him into the living room before speaking again. “I wasn’t planning on contacting you on this trip,” he told her. “I flew in for some paperwork at ELQ and was going back tomorrow. But when I landed, it was in all the papers—”

“I know.” Carly scowled at the dining table where the pieces of the Herald were scattered. The media didn’t have the whole story, thank God, but it hadn’t stopped them from speculating. The Herald, as always, had taken the more respectful route, merely stating that Sonny Corinthos had been admitted Ferncliffe while the Sun gleefully reported Elizabeth’s hospitalization being connected. They were, but that wasn’t anyone’s business.

“I was worried,” AJ said, “based on what we talked about a few weeks ago.” He tipped his head. “What’s going on? If you can or want to talk about it.”

“It doesn’t affect the petition.”

“Carly,” Bobbie murmured. “Maybe—”

“It doesn’t,” she insisted. “In fact—” She jerked a shoulder. “It just makes me more convinced than ever that I need Sonny away from the boys, and he’s left me without a choice with Michael. If he can do that to Elizabeth—” she told her mother. “We begged him to get help—”

“Elizabeth?” AJ echoed. “I thought the Sun was just full of shit—”

Carly winced, turned back to her ex-husband. “It wasn’t,” she muttered. “Sonny flipped out, and Elizabeth had a health crisis. It’s not his fault, I don’t think. I mean, he didn’t hurt her. She was already sick, but the guards were dealing with him, and time was lost.”

“Is she all right? She’s pregnant, isn’t she?”

“She had the baby yesterday,” Bobbie told him. “He’s in the NICU. It looks okay for now, but it was a close call. And we’re all still a bit on edge.” She touched Carly’s shoulder. “I’m actually going to the hospital now, all right? I’ll call you.”

“All right, Mama.” Carly hugged her mother, then returned her attention to AJ. “Lucas and I are keeping Michael from the papers and from other people the best we can. He doesn’t ask about Sonny much anymore, and I’m going to take that as a good sign—”

“I know you said it doesn’t affect the petition,” AJ cut in, “but if Sonny’s at Ferncliffe—” He swallowed hard. “Doesn’t that mean he’s getting the help you wanted him to?”

Carly stared at him for a long moment, then looked away out the front bay window. She wandered over to it, her back to him. “I don’t know anymore. I can’t think that far ahead, I guess. Not yet. When I asked him to get help, it was right after I left in December. He didn’t do it.”

“But it’s happening now—”

“It’s a temporary commitment,” Carly replied. She looked at him again. “It’s just a 5150. If he stabilizes and stops threatening to kill people—” She cleared her throat. “He could be out and back, and we’re in the middle of this all again. He didn’t get help, AJ. I signed the damn papers after he threatened to kill Jason.”

AJ blinked. “He did what?”

“It’s a long story, and I don’t want to get into it. All you need to know is that it hasn’t changed my mind.”

“Not yet,” AJ added, and she frowned. “He could end up staying, Carly. He could actually get help. Does it matter that he didn’t want it?”

“I—why are you arguing with me?” she demanded. “You’re getting what you wanted—”

“I’m asking you not to make promises you won’t keep,” he retorted. “If you find out tomorrow what the hell is wrong with Sonny and that it can be treated, can you stand there and tell me you won’t take it back? We haven’t filed the damn petition yet, Carly. And if you don’t—” His face twisted. “I don’t know if I can come back to Port Charles, run ELQ, and still not be part of Michael’s life. I’m not strong enough for that.”

She closed her eyes but said nothing. AJ was right. What difference did it make how Sonny had ended up in Ferncliffe? Wasn’t what happened next more important? If he could get help, if they could find a piece of the man he’d been once—

If that happened, would Carly want to undo all of this? Would she still want Sonny in Michael and Morgan’s lives? God, it hurt so much to think about that possibility. It nearly stole her breath.

“I don’t know what happens if Sonny gets treatment and we get a measure of sanity back,” she finally said, her voice softer. “You weren’t in the room last night. You didn’t see—” Her hands were shaking as she brought them to her face. “You didn’t see what happened between Sonny and Jason. I’m sorry. I can’t pretend I have the answers today.”

“Okay,” he said. “Okay. That’s honest, and I can accept that. I have to prepare myself, Carly, for you to take it back. You always do.”

“I know what I’ve done before,” Carly said, flinching. “But I also have to prepare myself for you to start drinking again. You always do,” she threw back at him. “We’re both asking for a measure of trust here, and if you can’t do that, then I don’t know why we’re even bothering—”

AJ put up a hand. “Why don’t we leave it there right now?” he suggested. “You don’t know what’s going to happen with this 5150 thing yet, and I can occupy myself at ELQ with other things.”

“Fine. I’ll be in touch.”

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Elizabeth opened her eyes again and smiled when she saw Jason sitting at her side. “Hey,” she murmured. She fumbled for the controls and raised herself up, wincing slightly. The morphine had been dialed back a few hours ago, and she was starting to feel the pain. “I was hoping you’d be here when I woke up.”

“Hey.” He leaned forward to kiss her lightly, lingering another moment. “I was in the NICU when you were having dinner. I got to hold him again.”

“I’m so jealous,” Elizabeth said with a sigh. “Kelly came by while you were gone, too. She said I can go up to see him tomorrow. And if I’m up to it, I can hold him.” She smiled. “I get to catch up, right?”

“You can take as many turns as you want,” Jason promised, sliding her hair off her forehead with a smile. “You did the work, you should get the rewards.”

“Well, you’ll still get to spend more time with him for a few days. Kelly wants me to take it easy.” Her smile deepened. “It’s crazy, you know? I was so afraid to think about this part. I was sure that something terrible would happen, but I’m not scared anymore. I made it through the delivery, and the doctor said the CTEPH surgery itself isn’t so bad. We—we get to plan.”

“Yeah, we do.” He kissed the inside of her palm. “I—I have to go, though.” Jason hesitated. “I’m sorry. It’s just—something came up, and we—I have to take care of it.”

“What?” Elizabeth asked. Her eyes searched his. “What’s wrong?” He wouldn’t be leaving her or Cameron right now if it weren’t serious.

Jason paused, then nodded. “We know the Zaccharas were behind the sightings,” he told her. “We were right. They were hoaxes planted by Anthony and Trevor to screw with us.”

She narrowed her eyes. “So Ric was never in the country.”

“No. But it needs to stop. We need to know where he is, and we need to make this over,” Jason told her. “If it could wait—”

“But it can’t.” She nodded. “It’s okay. You know I understand. And I’m never alone here. Emily said Cameron isn’t either. It’s not just you and me anymore. We have so many people who love us. I’ll be okay until you come back.”

“I love you,” he told her. He got to his feet, and dropped a kiss on her forehead, then turned to find Bobbie in the doorway. “Hey.”

“Hey, my turn,” Bobbie said. She kissed his cheek. “Now get out of here and let me have my girl all to myself.”

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” Jason told Elizabeth.

“I love you, too,” she called after him. “See you tomorrow.” She smiled at Bobbie. “Have you been with Cameron?”

“Just finished my turn,” Bobbie told her. “Alan’s reading him another book.” She squeezed Elizabeth’s hand. “You did it, sweetheart. He’s here, and he is so beautiful.”

“I get to see him tomorrow,” Elizabeth said. Her eyes drifted closed. “I get to hold him.” She sighed as she slid back into sleep. “I can’t wait.”

Port Charles Municipal Building: Scott’s Office

Kelsey knocked on Scott’s slightly ajar door. He gestured for her to come in. “I should have known you would be here today—” She paused. “Do you ever go home?”

“Needed to distract myself with work. Thought about going to the hospital, but Bobbie doesn’t need me right now.” He sighed, leaned back. “You heard about Corinthos, I guess.”

“Yeah. Lucky’s parents are keeping him in the loop so that he or Lu can warn Dante. The press were at Kelly’s again. Someone leaked the 5150 to them.”

“Vultures,” Scott muttered. He shook his head. “Bobbie’s probably a mess, and I don’t want to think about how Carly felt having to sign that paperwork, but maybe it’s for the best.”

“Maybe. Lucky said Elizabeth is going to be okay. And the baby seems good. Did Bobbie tell you?”

“No, no, not yet.” Scott reached for some paperwork. “That’s good, though. Kid needed a break.” He focused on her. “You didn’t come here to update me on that, did you?”

“No, I came to ask you about my dad.”

“Your dad?” Scott frowned. “Why? What’s going on?”

“Mom left Port Charles so fast after Dad died, and she didn’t really want to talk about him.” She met his eyes. “For ten years, she’s refused to come back, and I’ve had to be almost dead or going through a crisis to get her here.”

“Kelsey—”

“So I guess I’m asking what’s going on. And why my mom doesn’t really seem to like you anymore. I thought it was because you offered me the job, but—”

Scott hesitated. “I think your mom took your dad’s death harder than anyone thought. I don’t know what to tell you.”

“But—” Kelsey shook her head. “That’s not okay. That’s not good for her to still be like this. Dad died a long time ago. She always said it was a car accident, but was that really it? I mean, accidents happen. It’s almost like she’s scared to be here. And she said something really weird when Lucky got shot—how it brought back things with Dad.”

“Kelsey—” Scott closed his eyes. “I’m asking you to let this go.”

“And I’m asking you for the truth. He was my father, Scott. That should count for something.”

He sighed, dragging his hand back and forth across his head. “I know that he was found in his car, I know that it was ruled an accident, and by the time I got to Port Charles for the funeral, the papers weren’t covering it. I never looked into it further.”

Kelsey swallowed hard. “How could you never look into it? He was your best friend—”

“Because your mom didn’t want to get into it. And at the end of the day, that was what mattered to me.” Scott hesitated. “Do you want me to pull reports now? Make  few calls?”

“No.” Kelsey shook her head. “No. I just need—I need to sit with it, okay? Because if I start doing any of that, I can’t go back. It might just make things with Mom worse, and I don’t want that.”

“All right. If you change your mind—”

“I’ll let you know.” Kelsey left his office and started down the hallway towards her own.

She’d lied to Scott, of course. He knew something he wasn’t telling her, and she didn’t trust him not to keep sugar coating the truth. She needed to pull the files on her own.

She needed the truth about her father once and for all.

Ward House: Kitchen

Tamika frowned when Justus walked through the door that evening. She set down Kimi’s dinner, then tightened the strap on her booster seat. “You’re home early.”

“Missed my girls.” Justus leaned down to kiss Kimi, then brushed his lips across Tamika’s. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She squinted, then shook her head. “Nope. That’s not it. Kimi, eat your dinner. Mama and Daddy have to go in the other room.”

“Don’t like mac,” Kimi said with a pout. She poked the noodles suspiciously. “Want cookies.”

“You get cookies when your plate is clean—and if you dump it on the floor—” Tamika said as Kimi lifted her plate. “I’ll just give you more.”

Kimi stuck out her tongue but then picked up her fork and started to shovel the food into her mouth.

“What is with kids today?” Tamika complained as she and Justus went into the dining room. “If I tried to talk back to my mother at three, my butt would be up close and personal with the back of a brush. Mama said I was too soft.”

“She’s eating, isn’t she?” Justus pointed. “Mikki, I’m fine. It was just a long day, and I wanted to be home—”

“It’s five, and you said you’d be working long hours tonight with Jason at the hospital.” Tamika raised her brows. “You wanna try a third time—”

“I can’t talk about it,” Justus muttered. “Let’s just—there’s something I know that Jason thinks he should. I disagree. And I’ll be out of a job again tomorrow because I won’t tell him.”

“Uh huh. Why aren’t you telling Jason whatever he wants to know if it’s bothering you, and you know you’re right?”

“Because I don’t know if I’m right,” he admitted.

“Oh, I cannot—” She sat at the table and folded her arms. “Look, I got spousal whatever, right? So just tell me what is going on.”

Justus grimaced, then sat in the other chair, arranging himself so he could keep an eye on Kimi in the kitchen, still working on her dinner. “We figured someone was feeding someone information about Sonny so that they could use it to make things unstable. The Lansing sightings? All made up. South America, the ones traveling up the coast — all a lie.”

“Well, direct hit then.” Tamika propped her chin on her hand. “You know who these someones are? They got a good reason?”

“Lansing is dead. And has been since November. I don’t know anything else about it,” he added quickly when Tamika widened her eyes in surprise. “But that’s the story. And Anthony Zacchara and Trevor Lansing wanted to use it to drive Sonny crazy because they thought it would make it easier for them to move in.”

Tamika nodded. “Sounds right. But they didn’t figure on Jason?”

“I’m not sure anyone ever knew just how much Jason was running things these last few months,” Justus admitted. “Sonny’s been in charge for a decade, and the only time Jason was in charge, he was a lot younger and got out within the year.”

“So you know who was telling these guys about Sonny, and you won’t tell Jason?” Tamika shook her head. “I don’t get it. That seems like a thing a person should know—”

“I understand why this guy did it, and I know he never ever thought it would backfire like it did yesterday. This guy—he wouldn’t have put Elizabeth in danger.”

“But he did, which is why Jason wants to set him on fire. Well, he sure knew who to dump this on to protect himself.” Tamika sighed. “I don’t envy you. I guess—I guess you gotta do what you think is right and hope Jason will understand one day.”

“Yeah. But I wonder—I think that if you were the one in danger, if it had been you and Kimi’s life this guy played with—” Justus took her hand in his. “I think I might want blood, too.”

“You might want it, baby, but you wouldn’t do it. You already carry enough guilt,” she murmured. She smiled at him, sadly. “You already have Damian Smith on your head. Don’t you go adding no one else, even for me and Kimi. Jason will either get that, or he won’t. You always made your limits clear to him. Don’t back down now.”

“I won’t.” He smiled at her, a relieved expression. “I love you.”

“Love you, too. And hey, I think I can get your mind off of this.” She got to her feet. “Portia came to work today with her own surprise. Kimi’s going to get a cousin in about eight months.”

“A cousin? Portia—” Justus winced. “Oh, hell, does that mean my niece or nephew is gonna be related to Taggert—”

“But don’t say anything yet. She hasn’t told him.”

“Wait, I know, and he doesn’t? Damn it—”

Her laughter echoed from the kitchen as he scowled.

Quartermaine Mansion: Terrace

It was still a bit chilly for afternoon tea, but few things stopped the indomitable Lila Quartermaine. She was bundled up with her hands left free to clutch the delicate porcelain teacup Reginald handed her.

“I’m so pleased you’re coming home,” Lila told AJ. She looked to Edward. “Your grandfather was just telling me how well you’ve done in New Orleans.”

“And we need a dedicated CEO here,” Edward told him. “Ned’s too busy, and there’s conflicts of interest. I’ll be happy to hand over the last of it—”

“You’ll never hand over the last of anything,” AJ said dryly. “But that’s an argument for another day.” He skimmed his eyes over his grandmother once more, reflecting on what Ned had told him. His grandmother had always felt immortal to him before, but his cousin was right. Lila was fading. “I appreciate the vote of confidence.”

“Well, I’m pleased to hear that you and Carly are coming to terms finally on young Michael. It’s a goddamn shame what she’s been through this year,” Edward offered gruffly, “and that insane bastard she’s stuck with—”

“Edward,” Lila murmured.

“I’m sorry, Lila, but after yesterday, I won’t hold back. I spent a few hours at the hospital this morning,” he told AJ. “You wouldn’t believe how little Cameron is or how pale poor Elizabeth is. After all Jason did for that man—”

“You’ve seen Jason’s son?” AJ cut in. “I thought he was in the NICU—”

“He is, but board members get a little bit of privilege. And Jason’s been slowly warming up to us these last few months. Finally seeing Sonny for who he is,” Edward said with a nod. “We were invited to the wedding.”

“It was lovely,” Lila said. “It’s wonderful that you and Alan are finally reconnecting with Jason.” She hesitated, looked at AJ. “I hope that you will find the same peace with your brother.”

AJ wasn’t holding out much hope that Jason would ever let him back in, and AJ didn’t think he really wanted to. Not after Jason had helped break up his marriage— “I don’t know about that, but Jason will have to put up with me if Carly goes through with the custody petition.”

“And after last night, I doubt any family judge will let that man near those boys. He’s not fit to raise a cockroach,” Edward muttered.

“We still need to get in front of a family court,” AJ reminded him. “Carly could change her mind at any point, and as much as I want to be with my son, I don’t want him hurt anymore.”

“I know it’s hard to trust her,” Lila said, “but she really has come a long way this year.”

AJ had no doubt of that. He remembered the shaky woman that had come to New Orleans the month before asking for help. But the weeks had passed, and the Carly he’d seen that morning was as bristly and unfriendly as he remembered. “I’m going to take it one step at a time.”

“And you should,” Lila said. “Trusting someone who’s hurt you before can be quite terrifying, my darling, and I know how badly she’s hurt you. I know how it hurt to lose Michael and be shut out of his life.”

AJ’s throat tightened. He looked down at his own cup of tea, lukewarm and nearly unpalatable. “How can I be sure it’ll be different this time?”

“You can’t, dear, but that’s what makes trust such a fragile and dangerous exercise. Someone has to be the first to offer their hand and ask for help. Carly has done that. You reached back. Now comes that most difficult moment—” Lila paused. “You have to hold on.”

“I don’t know if I can, Grandmother,” AJ admitted.

“Of course you can. Your grandfather hasn’t always deserved my trust,” Lila said, flicking her eyes to Edward, who made a face. “But we’ve held on to each other. When one of us faltered, the other never let go.”

“Carly and I aren’t—”

“It’s not so different,” Edward said. “You may not be married any longer, but you share a son, and there were times when I know you only held on for Alan and Tracy,” he said to his wife, who smiled fondly but did not argue. “It can be enough.”

“For Michael, for the chance to be his father, I can try.” One more time, AJ finished silently. Just once more.

Zacchara Estate: Study

Claudia leaned back in her chair, enjoying the show.  She smirked and sipped her wine as Anthony and Trevor cast blame on each other for screwing up the plans.

“You should have done a better background check!” Anthony snarled. “You’re lazy! You’ve always been lazy! You should have demanded a meeting in person!”

Trevor hissed, throwing up his hands, whirling away from Claudia’s father. “Ah, you’re nuts! It’s not my fault he balked at the last minute! You’re the one that got us into the mess!”

“I’m the one? I’m the one?” Anthony repeated, his eyes bulging. His face was flushed red as he stabbed a finger at Trevor. “Whose fucking idea was it to send your idiot son to Port Charles?”

“It was a good idea—it should have worked,” Trevor retorted. “You’re the one—”

Claudia glanced over at her distracted brother, who had been ordered to sit in on the meeting since, as Anthony always said, this would all be his one day. She snorted. It’d be nice if they noticed that John didn’t give a shit about any of it and was only counting down the days until his mother’s trust fund was released to him. Then he was out of here.

“How much longer do you think they’ll do this?” she asked. John Zacchara glanced up at her from his book and made a face.

“I don’t know. I still don’t know why either of us are here.”

“So they have someone to blame at the next meeting.” Claudia wandered over to the bottle of wine left out to chill. She refilled her Merlot and resumed watching the spectacle. Eventually, Anthony and Trevor would calm down—one of them would figure out how to blame Claudia, tell John to go run an errand—and then they’d come up with a new plan.

Just another day in paradise.

Except tonight—it didn’t go that way. The third time Anthony stalked past the glass double doors that faced their back terrace, she saw his shirt flutter in the slight breeze.

One of the terrace doors was ajar—just slightly pushed open, letting in some of the chill of the March night.

She set the wine glass down, but before she could do or say anything,  a dark figure shoved the door open the rest of the way and grabbed Anthony from behind, jerking his head back.

Jason Morgan had materialized out of seemingly thin air like a goddamn magician, the barrel of his gun at Anthony’s temple, the click of the hammer ominous in the silent room.

They didn’t have you where I come from
Never knew the best was yet to come
Life began when I saw your face
And I hear your laugh like a serenade
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I’m never, never giving you up
– Lullaby, The Chicks

---

Friday, March 5, 2004

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

“Are you sure about this?” Bobbie asked as a guard let Kevin into the penthouse.

“As sure as I can be about anything, Mama.” She smiled hesitantly at Kevin. “Thanks for coming so late. We had to wait until Sonny was—until he was awake.” They’d sedated him after the confrontation with Jason, and he hadn’t stirred until an hour ago. Max and Cody were both standing guard upstairs.

She’d been surprised when Elizabeth’s guard hadn’t returned to the hospital, but maybe he’d figured he could protect Elizabeth better by making sure Sonny stayed away.

“Not a problem,” Kevin said. “You said it was an emergency.”

Luke emerged from the kitchen, sliding his phone into his pocket. “Laura said that Lucas and Felix are taking over for her,” he told Carly. “Morgan’s asleep, and they’ve got Michael watching a movie. He said don’t worry—he’ll take care of them tonight.” He looked at Kevin. “Hey, Doc.”

“Luke,” Kevin said with a nod. He focused on Carly. “What’s the situation? You didn’t say much on the phone.”

“Um, last summer I told you Sonny was having problems.” Kevin nodded. “The hallucinations—they’re back. And what’s—what’s been going on with his violent episodes at the Brownstone—the breaking in, the assault on Lucas and Felix—and then today—he barged in on Elizabeth—” Carly pressed a fist against her stomach, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. “Her guard said she was dizzy and struggling to breathe, but Sonny didn’t seem to notice. He just kept screaming at her—he had to be physically removed.”

Kevin lifted a brow. “And you think this is an indication of a mental illness?”

“Sonny’s had issues for years. He gets into these moods where he’s angry, paranoid—sometimes he loses track of time. He was doing that last summer. The hallucination—um, that was new for me, but Courtney saw them last summer. So did Mama.”

“Jason told me that it wasn’t the first time,” Bobbie said. “Apparently, Sonny has hallucinated Lily off and on through the years, and a long time ago—he saw his mother.”

“Has he consented to talk to me?”

“I’m hoping you’ll sign a commitment paper. I want a 5150.” Carly folded her arms. “Mama said you can do that if you think he’s a danger to himself or others.”

“I can send him to Ferncliffe for up to 72 hours. After that, I’d need two doctors to sign off on a further commitment.” Kevin raised an eyebrow, looked at the trio of them. “Do you think that’s necessary?”

“I think—” Bobbie hesitated, looked at her daughter. “I think we should have called someone months ago when it happened the first time. But Carly was missing, and I left the decision up to Jason. If you don’t agree, Kevin, you can say so. I just—what happened today—what’s been happening—”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it,” Kevin said, holding up a hand. “Carly has mentioned enough during our sessions that I’m sure Sonny would benefit from speaking to someone. And yes, he has acted out violently based on the charges pending against him. In any case, I’ll need to assess him—”

There was a crash from upstairs and raised voices. “Mr. C!” Max shouted. “You gotta—”

“I don’t have to do anything! Where the hell is he? I’ll kill him!” There was more shouting, the sound of someone being thrown against a wall—

Luke shoved Bobbie and Carly behind him as Sonny barreled down the steps, Max and Cody on his heels. Cody dove, tackling Sonny as he reached the door. And still, Sonny fought like a madman.

“Let me go! He tried to—I’m going to kill him! He can’t take what’s mine!”

“Sorry, Mrs. C,” Max said, panting as he and Cody got Sonny on the ground. “We tried—”

“That bitch! She’s next—”

“I’ve heard enough,” Kevin said. He set his briefcase on the coffee table, took out some paperwork as well as a small medical kit. “I’ll give him a sedative, and we’ll get him transported to Ferncliffe tonight.”

Scorpio House: Front Porch

Mac hesitated when he saw Felicia waiting outside his door, swaying gently on the swing he’d installed when she and the girls had lived with him. He paused on the front walk. “Did we have plans?”

“No. But Anna called.” Felicia tipped her head and patted the area next to her. “She said Scott was going to find you about Capelli, and thought you might need some one to talk to.”

“Nothing to say.” But Mac sat down anyway. “Capelli was a thorn in our side and now he’s gone. They’re doing what I couldn’t—cleaning up the department.”

“I know this has been hard, Mac—”

“I heard on the scanner that a pregnant woman was being rushed into the hospital, coughing up blood.” Mac stared out over the street. “Based on the address called in from 911, it was Elizabeth.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“We did the best we could with the Lansing case,” Mac said slowly. “I think, with hindsight, you can look back and point out where we could have done better, but all in all, we found Carly within a week. Elizabeth had refused all offers to help and she’d chosen to stay. She knew she was being drugged more than just that one night. Taggert and the others can see that as being on them, but at the end of the day — she was an adult and she made her choices.”

Felicia said nothing, and Mac continued. “We had tunnel vision, sure. But after everything that had happened with Alcazar the year before, it just made sense to focus on what we knew.” The swing gently swayed again. “But the rapist case — there’s nothing I can do about that. I screwed it up. Things were going south for us already, I could feel it, you know—” He met her eyes. “The Outback was failing, we weren’t connecting, and the Quartermaines were breathing down our necks. Floyd wanted Baker to go away, and the only hold up was was the rape case. It was a weak case, and I didn’t think we’d get anything in a lab report. I believed her,” Mac murmured. “He’d confessed. So when Floyd wanted it to go away, I did it. I thought it was the right thing to do.”

“I know you did, Mac—”

“I was looking for a reason to make it go away. I should have thought about the crime. Baker had no history of sexual violence. He couldn’t even bring himself to hurt Emily or Elizabeth when he held them hostage. I knew that then, Felicia. I believed her,” he said painfully, “but in the back of my head, I wondered. I put it away, I made it disappear. Because it was easier.”

He closed his eyes. “For months, I’ve been trying to make peace with this. Since Brooke was attacked and I thought about the park. Since her statement came in and it matched Elizabeth’s. But I kept trying to hide it. I tried to keep her case from being reactivated. I should have been the one to leak it, not Scott. He knew it was time to get rid of Floyd, but I knew I’d go with him. And I needed to make it right.”

He scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “Vinnie was one of my guys. For years. We’ll never know how many women he hurt. How many he got away with, how many never reported.” His voice faltered. “Because I chose the easy way out and buried that dress in the archives. All those women were hurt because of me. Brooke is dead because of me.”

“Mac—”

“It all leads back to that decision,” Mac insisted. “And now, Elizabeth is fighting for her life. For her child’s life—how much extra stress did she put her on her body because of that case?” He exhaled roughly. “Scott and Taggert—they can dig themselves out of their bad choices. Out of the mistakes. But I can’t. There’s no redemption for me.”

General Hospital: ICU

Shortly after eight that evening, Elizabeth’s final procedure had been completed, and she’d been transferred from recovery to the ICU. Back behind the clear walls that Jason knew she hated.

“The embolization went well,” Monica told him in the hallway as Patrick completed the transfer and spoke quietly to a nurse. “Have you been up to see Cameron?”

“Yeah,” Jason said. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I couldn’t stay—they had to—” He exhaled slowly. “There’s a problem with his lungs.”

She inhaled sharply. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to Kelly after we completed delivery—” Monica turned to face him more directly. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a leak in his lungs,” Jason said. “I, uh, I haven’t been able to—look into it—the doctor said it was common. It’s some kind of emphysema. He’s on a ventilator and medication to help his lungs develop.” He stared into the hospital room, where Elizabeth lay on her own ventilator. “How much longer will she have to be on the ventilator?”

“Through the night. We stopped the bleeding, but the next few hours are critical—not for her life—” Monica added quickly as Jason whipped his head back to look at her. “But to see if the embolization holds without having another procedure. We want her lungs to begin healing, and they can’t if we have to go back in.”

“But—Patrick said she’d be okay?”

Monica gestured to the man in question who exited the room, leaving the sliding door partially ajar. “Patrick?”

“Elizabeth is out of danger,” Patrick told Jason. “We took a full history from the guard who brought her in—the worst of the bleeding didn’t start until just before they pulled up to the hospital, and Monica said she didn’t lose consciousness until she arrived. Those are good signs.”

“Should he have waited for EMTs?” Jason asked quietly.

“No,” Patrick said. “EMTs might have been able to intubate her faster, but she wouldn’t have needed it right away. She got to the hospital within ten minutes, and the massive hemoptysis didn’t cause any lasting oxygen deprivation to the brain.”

“We thought it might have, which is why we prioritized Cameron’s delivery,” Monica finished. “But all in all, Jason, we were very lucky. She wasn’t alone, and Cody acted quickly. She was at the hospital by the time the real crisis happened and was treated right away.”

Elizabeth looked so pale, her eyes sunken circles against her skin. A tube was taped to her face to keep the ventilator in place. Another echo of last year.

“Thank you. For taking care of her.” He hesitated. “Can I sit with her now?”

“Go for it,” Patrick said, marking something on the chart. “We’ll be in and out all night keeping our eye on her vitals. Tomorrow, we’ll do more imaging to make sure the bleeding is taken care of, but all in all, she can be discharged when Dr. Lee releases her from her service.”

“Really?” Jason blinked at him, surprised. “I—”

“It looks worse than it is,” Patrick said as Monica breathed her own sigh of relief. “Yeah, coughing up blood is bad, and she lost some blood she couldn’t afford to lose. But the embolization was non-invasive, and a lot of the time we’d do this kind of procedure with an overnight trip.” He set the chart back in the slot by the door. “I’ll come back in a bit.”

“The ventilator is just precautionary,” Monica reminded Jason after Patrick had left. “Why don’t you go sit with Cameron? I’m off, and I can stay with Elizabeth—”

“Edward is with him,” Jason murmured. He looked at Monica, a bit uncomfortable. “He said Grandmother was worried, so he came to the NICU. He’s up there now. And Emily and Nikolas said they’d stay tonight. ”

“I’m surprised you agreed,” Monica said. “I knew—I knew you were getting along better with Edward, but—”

“Elizabeth likes him,” Jason said. “And I wanted to be down here when Elizabeth came back to the room. I told him I’d relieve him when Emily got off her shift and Nikolas came back from getting them dinner.”

“Well, I’ll go check on my grandson anyway.” Monica hugged him. “This was scary,” she murmured as she drew back. “But we got through it, and they’re both going to be okay. We can start thinking about the next step.”

“I just—I’ll feel better in a few hours,” Jason replied. “When Elizabeth wakes up. Or when they tell me Cameron’s strong enough for me to hold.”

“We’ll get there, Jason.”

Monica patted his arm one more time, then walked towards the entrance of the ICU. Jason went into the room, and before he sat down, took the rings out of his pocket. He sat down, picked up Elizabeth’s left hand, and slid them back on her finger.

“Hey.”

He turned to find his sister at the door. “Em. I thought you were working a few more hours—”

“My resident took pity on me,” she said. She wandered into the room and stood at the foot of the bed, a heavy sigh. Emily brushed away her tears. “I’m glad it’s over, but I was really hoping I’d never see her in another ICU. Not like this.”

“Yeah.” He looked down at Elizabeth’s hand, at her fingernails. They were unpainted because she couldn’t wear polish in the hospital. It felt wrong to see them look like this—without bright reds or golds or any of her other favorite colors.

“I checked on Cameron before I came down,” Emily told him. “I saw Grandfather. He’s telling him stories about Grandmother and about you growing up.” She tipped her head to the side. “You know—his emphysema—it’s common—”

“Yeah, the doctor said that. But he also told me Cameron might need surgery if it doesn’t heal on its own.”

“He’s a strong little boy.” Emily stood behind him, wrapped her arms around his shoulders to hug him lightly, resting her cheek against his. “Think of everything he’s already lived through. Think about who his mother is. That kid could run the world if he wanted to.”

Jason exhaled slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I am.” Emily wandered over to the other side of the bed, took the other chair. “I remember coming home last year for your wedding—having breakfast at Kelly’s. Do you remember that day?”

Jason hesitated, then located the memory. “Yes. You were mad at me.”

“For lots of reasons,” Emily admitted. “But mostly, I was worried. She looked so unhappy, so unhealthy—all the signs were there. I still wish sometimes that I had dragged her with me to California, but I’m glad she stayed, and that she worked with you to find Carly.”

Jason nodded after a long moment. “I am, too. Not that she got sick, but—” He looked at his sister. “It changed everything.”

“Whenever I have that image of her—that day at Kelly’s—I also remember another day. The day Vinnie was sentenced.” Emily smiled at her brother. “I was so proud of her. I mean, she kicked ass at that press conference, don’t get me wrong. But to stand in front of the man who’d done so much evil—and to wipe the floor with him—she looked so strong. Thank you.”

“She did all the work to get there,” Jason said with a shake of his head. “I didn’t—”

“But you were behind her. She felt strong enough to do whatever needed to be done because she knew—she knew she wasn’t alone. Elizabeth hadn’t been able to trust that in so many years, but you gave her that back. She knew you’d be there. Just like you’re here now.” Emily hesitated. “Do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah.” Jason looked at Elizabeth’s face, wished her eyes were open so she could see their son. So that he’d know she was okay. “She did the same thing for me.”

Emily tilted her head. “Yeah?”

“That week. I wanted her to go. To be safe. But she stayed for me. For Carly. Sonny was—” He grimaced. “Sonny was useless, and Bobbie—she was there—but Elizabeth never stopped trusting me. And she made me believe we’d find Carly. I never gave up. Because she didn’t.”

“Speaking of Sonny…” Emily bit her lip. “I didn’t—what happened?”

“It’s done,” Jason said simply. “I can’t trust him. I can’t trust him with his own family, much less mine. I don’t trust him, and neither do any of the men who work for us.”

“Ah.” Emily sighed. “So…you’re in charge again.”

“Yeah. It’s the only way I can be sure my family is protected. Carly said she’ll deal with Sonny.” Jason kissed Elizabeth’s hand and looked at Emily. “Can you stay with her for a while? I have to meet with Justus and Bernie, and I want to stop in with Cameron first. It can’t wait,” he added when she wrinkled her nose.

“No, I guess not. Yeah, I’ll be here.”

Zacchara Estate: Study

Trevor paced the study, tossing occasional glares at the phone that wasn’t ringing, and swore under his breath. Across the room, sprawled at his desk, Anthony wasn’t any happier.

Their contact inside the Corinthos organization had been scheduled to make contact three hours ago. He’d never called and now wasn’t returning their phone calls—in fact, the last one had been blocked.

“This was your plan,” Anthony reminded him as he got to his feet and started to prowl the room. “You thought we should make the best of things.”

“And it worked,” Trevor said, his teeth clenched. “We rattled them—”

“Did we? Because if the fucking mole isn’t in contact with us now, then who knows what’s going on?”

“Maybe Morgan caught on to him,” Trevor suggested. “Maybe he’s lying low.”

“Or,” came another voice from the doorway, “he was never working for you.”

They both turned to look at the woman lounging in the doorway, dressed in a skintight dress the color of blood. She examined her nails, painted an identical shade of red. She looked at them and smirked, tossing back her raven-colored hair.

“Who the hell asked you, Claudia?” Anthony growled at his oldest child.

Claudia straightened and sauntered into the room. “No one. Which is why you’re in this mess. Your mole? Your guy on the inside? If you’d done the slightest bit of research—” She sighed. “You would have known why he’s not calling you now.”

“She’s just bluffing,” Trevor muttered, leveling a malevolent gaze. “She doesn’t know anything—”

Claudia shrugged, unbothered. “Fine. Then don’t believe me. But it’s not a coincidence that your mole decided to go dark when Jason Morgan cut ties with Sonny Corinthos.”

Anthony scowled at his daughter. “How the hell do you know what’s going on? Who’s talking to you?”

Claudia ignored the question. “That’s what he wanted all along. Now Jason’s in charge.” She grinned at her father and his lawyer. “And you’re all going to pay for being stupid.” She sauntered out of the room as slowly as she’d entered.

“You hate to see it,” she sighed as she pulled the door shut. “You really do.”

General Hospital: NICU

Jason hesitated when he arrived at Cameron’s room, surprised to find Alan sitting next to the incubator, reading a book out loud, his voice slightly muffled by the mask he wore.

Alan must have heard his footsteps. He looked up, his eyes crinkled with delight, which was quickly replaced wariness. “Jason. Father had to take care of something with the hospital board, so I took over. I hope that’s all right—”

“Uh, yeah, of course.” Jason tugged at the collar of the yellow gown he’d been asked to wear over his clothes. “How is he?” He stepped into the room, looked down at Cameron. At the tiny little boy on a ventilator.

Before yesterday, Jason had mostly thought of the NICU in abstract terms. He’d read all the available material, understood that Cameron would survive with few complications, and that had been enough for him. He hadn’t been able to picture what it would be like to see their son on a ventilator with a miniature tube that matched his mother’s.

Now Jason understood Elizabeth’s desire to delay this moment—to give Cameron a better chance. He might not have developed the emphysema if he’d been delivered at thirty-five weeks.

“Responding well to his treatment,” Alan reported. “And getting stronger by the hour. Have you seen his doctor?”

“No, not yet—”

“Mr. Morgan!” the bright, cheerful voice of Nadine Crowell, the nurse assigned to Cameron, was almost like a stab of an icepick in his brain. Jason turned to find the blonde behind him. “I’m so glad you came up. I was just coming to tell Dr. Quartermaine that Cameron’s latest test results came in, and we can start skin to skin.”

Jason blinked. “Already? I hadn’t—” His voice was tight. “Elizabeth—she should—”

“She won’t be able to come up for a day or two,” Alan murmured. He set the book aside and got to his feet. “And you know how important kangaroo care is.”

“Didn’t Marcie at the front desk tell you? That’s why we asked you to shower before you came in to visit,” Nadine told him as she directed him to take a seat. “Right now, Cameron can only be outside of the incubator for two, maybe three minutes.”

“What about the ventilator?”

“We’ll be very careful, Daddy,” Nadine promised him. “Now, uh…” Her cheeks flushed. “You need to take your shirt off. We, uh, take the skin part very seriously. I’ll just—” She moved over to Cameron to busy herself getting him ready.

Jason didn’t even think twice. He took off the yellow gown and his blue t-shirt, handing both to his father.

“Ready?” Nadine asked. “I want to be very quick so we can maximize his skin time.”

“Ready.”

With a quick, practiced hand, in less than ten seconds, Jason was holding his son for the first time, the tiny ventilator detached for the moment. Cameron barely weighed four pounds, but at eighteen inches, he stretched across most of Jason’s torso. Nadine covered the baby with a blanket, then stepped back, beaming. “I want to give you some time alone, but I’ll be back in two minutes.”

“I can go—” Alan started, but Jason looked at him, shook his head.

“No, you can—you can stay. If—” Jason hesitantly touched Cameron’s head, felt the flutter of his heart against his own. “This—Elizabeth didn’t want him to go through this.” He met his father’s eyes. “I was angry with her for risking her life.”

“You’re not anymore?”

“No. I—” He looked over at the incubator. “It’s hard to see him like this,” he admitted. “Everyone keeps telling me how strong he is and how much he’ll fight, but I—” Jason closed his eyes, took a deep breath. “I wish he didn’t have to.”

“We always want our children to struggle less than we did,” Alan murmured. “We try to arrange the world so it can’t hurt them. The Quartermaines have a terrible track record at this, mind you, but it’s why my father wanted me to go into business. He couldn’t help me with medicine. He didn’t know anything about that. And why I was so relieved you wanted to be a doctor. Because I could—I could smooth the way. Take care of you.”

Jason looked up at him. “But you couldn’t do that after the accident.”

“No. And every time I tried to take care of AJ, I only made it worse. My children apparently do better without me.” Alan’s expression was wry. “But that’s a good thing. No one pushes around a Quartermaine. Or a Morgan, for that matter,” he added.

Nadine stepped back in, her expression filled with regret. “I’m so sorry, but—”

“It’s okay. I know it can’t be long for now—” Jason touched Cameron’s head one more time, then Nadine lifted him and had him settled back in his bed, the ventilator reattached. “Thank you,” he said as he took the shirt his father handed him. “How often—”

“Right now, we can probably manage two minutes every few hours,” Nadine said. “As his lungs improve, within a week, maybe ten minutes. He’s doing well,” she assured him. “A tough kid.”

Jason put back on the gown and sat back in the chair, looking at Cameron as his tiny chest rose and fell. “Thank you for sitting with him. Emily—” He looked at Alan. “Emily was putting together a schedule. Because I don’t want him to be alone, and I can’t—”

“You can’t be here every second. She said something about it.”

“If you—” He thought of his father’s words and how terrible things had been after the accident. Would he have handled things any better if Cameron had come home one day and not known him? Had been an angry stranger? “If you or Edward want to be…let Emily know.”

Alan swallowed hard, his eyes a bit damp. “I’ll do that. Thank you.” Alan touched the incubator lightly. “He’s beautiful, Jason. And I’m so happy Elizabeth made it through. This—this is the start of something better. For all of you.”

“Thank you.”

Port Charles Municipal Building: Mayor’s Office

Lois peeked around the partially open door. “Hey. Did you hear from the hospital? How’s Elizabeth?”

Ned gestured for her to come in and she closed the door. “Yeah. Yeah. Uh, I just got off the phone with Monica. Elizabeth and Cameron are in the clear, at least for now. It’s the best they could have hoped for at this point.”

Lois shook her head, sitting down. “What day,” she murmured. “Capelli’s gone, Sonny’s in Ferncliffe, and poor Elizabeth is back in the hospital.” She met Ned’s eyes. “I don’t know how to feel about any of it. Sonny’s so far from the man I knew once.”

“He’s not even the man I knew,” Ned said. He leaned against his desk, folding his arms. “Alexis, I think, is a little relieved even though she doesn’t want to say anything. This just helps her future custody case against him. But I definitely feel for Carly, having to be the one to call for the commitment.” He scrubbed a hand down his cheek. “Capelli resigning was a relief, too. I was worried he’d fight it, but Anna said she never even had to bring up Elizabeth.”

“Thank  God for small miracles.” Lois stood. “I’m glad there’s some improvement at the department, and Capelli being gone, I’m sure that’ll help. But I guess I thought I’d feel more closure. It doesn’t fix anything, does it? Lucky still got shot.”

“And Dante still quit. I doubt he’ll change his mind this fast.” Ned went around to the other side of his desk. “You should check in on him,” he told her. “See how he’s doing.”

“Maybe. I’ll call Liv and see what she wants to do.” Lois went to the door, then turned back. “Do you want to grab some dinner or something?”

“No, there’s still some work to be done.”

“All right. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She closed the door, leaving the office dimly lit only by the light on his desk.

Ned picked up the photograph of Brooke that he always kept nearby, taking in the lines of her face, the sly smile and spark in her eyes. Nothing would bring back his little girl. All he could do was protect someone else’s children and hope it would be enough to help him sleep at night.

Corinthos Penthouse: Master Bedroom

“Are you ready to go?”

Carly turned back to look at her mother. “What?”

“We’re all cleaned up here.” Bobbie stepped inside the room, looked around. “And I grabbed Elizabeth’s bag so we can drop it at the hospital on the way home.”

“Oh. Sorry. I got distracted. I haven’t—” Carly looked back at the room. “I asked Sonny once why we used this room as the master. There are no windows—that didn’t use to bother me, but he hates small spaces. Feeling confined.”

“What did he say?”

“He moved into this room after Lily died,” Carly said. She folded her arms. “He told me it was because of the memories in the other room. Between Brenda and Lily—he wanted a new start. But I think he was punishing himself. He’s never forgiven himself for surviving when they didn’t.”

“I suppose that’s why he sees Lily when he hallucinates.”

“He sees his mother, too,” Carly murmured. She wandered over to the closet, sliding her hands over the silk shirts. “He blames himself for Deke beating her to death.”

“Carly—”

“We were happy, you know. I mean really happy. Last year, before the kidnapping. I think about that a lot. He was so kind after I told him what Ric had done to me that night at the club. I was scared he’d throw me out, but he believed me. Believed I hadn’t wanted it.”

“Sonny was capable of great empathy and kindness once,” Bobbie said after a long moment. “But—”

“But something broke in him when Ric kidnapped me. Another pregnant wife. We should have done more. Jason and I. Months ago. Years ago. We knew something wasn’t right, and we knew he’d gone over a line last year. We thought we could drag him back. We thought we were enough.” Carly closed her eyes. “How arrogant we were.”

“You’d always been enough before, Carly, and you did what you thought was best—”

“Maybe. Maybe. But I locked him up, too, Mama. Tonight, I signed the papers that put him in a room that he can’t leave.”

“You did it to protect him—”

“For the first time, I can really understand what he must have felt in some way, you know?” Carly shook her head. “To think that the best way to protect someone you love is to lock them up.”

“This is different—”

“You just—you see a thousand ways you could have changed things. Chosen a different path.” Carly looked around the room one more time. “Did we have to end up here? Did Jason have to nearly lose everything? Did I have to lose my husband? Was this inevitable?”

“I don’t know, baby.” Bobbie took her hand, squeezed it. “Maybe it wasn’t. I wanted him to get help last year, Carly. I wasn’t able to convince him. Maybe I didn’t try hard enough. This might not be enough, either. But all we can do is put one foot in front of the other and hope for the best.”

“I should have let him kill Ric when he wanted to. That might have solved it. I could live without testifying and seeing him rot.” She swiped at her eyes. “Elizabeth would have been fine. And Sonny would be here with us. The way he was.”

“Maybe. But maybe something would have happened next year. Or five years from now. Carly—”

“I did the best I could, Mama. I know that. But it wasn’t enough, and I don’t know if I’ll forgive myself for what happened here tonight. If Elizabeth or that baby doesn’t make it—God, I’ll never be able to look at Jason again—”

“You think he doesn’t feel the same? He did more to enable Sonny than anyone else. He kept hoping and praying that something would change. And look what happened, Carly. This isn’t just on you. It’s not on me. It’s not even all on Jason. It’s on all of us. We all made choices that brought us here. We can’t change them. We can only move forward.”

Portia’s Apartment: Kitchen

She heard the door open, then close so she turned the sauce on the stove down to simmer and stepped towards the arch that looked into her living room. Marcus stood there, his arms limply at his side, his face creased with exhaustion and frustration.

“Hey.” She slid her arms around his waist. “I won’t ask how your day was.”

Marcus dropped his head against hers, and she just closed her eyes, wishing she could absorb the tension that held his body so tight. “We barely got Capelli out of the building before we heard about Corinthos, Ferncliffe, and Elizabeth. I sent a few officers to make sure they could get him out—Christ.” He rubbed her shoulders. Stepped back. “I tried to call the hospital about Elizabeth, but they won’t say anything—”

“I called my sister,” Portia offered. “I knew Justus would keep Mikki in the loop, so—Elizabeth and the baby are okay.”

His shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes. “Okay?” Marcus echoed. “You sure?”

“Yes. She didn’t have all the details yet, but Elizabeth is in the ICU and is in stable condition. The baby’s—that’s different. I mean, he’s in the NICU but Mikki said they were expecting that. You don’t have to worry about them. You will anyway, I know that.”

“Thank you.” He kissed her, lingering. “For finding out. For being here when I needed you.”

“Always.” Portia framed his face. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Morgan & Corinthos Coffee House: Office

Jason closed the door behind him as Justus and Bernie got to their feet. “Hey. What’s so important?”

“I’m sorry to drag you away from the hospital. I just—I didn’t think we should do this there.” Justus cleared his throat, looked at Bernie. “First, I talked to Jordan. She said Sonny got a message on his phone at the PCPD and charged out. She went after him but lost him when she tried to follow. She was afraid she’d be fired if we found out she lost track of him that quickly, so she didn’t say anything.”

“And she didn’t think that would get her fired?” Jason demanded. “Damn it—”

“Sonny’s not an easy client.” Justus took out a phone. “Carly brought me this. Sonny got a voicemail the morning he was released. It was from Frankie Gambino in Manhattan.”

Realized dawned, and Jason closed his eyes. “A Ric sighting,” he said. “And no one called us?”

“Not this time. It seems like they decided not to bother with letting us in on it—this was designed to send Sonny over the edge.” Justus set the phone down. “Only Sonny.”

“It’s exactly what we thought. Someone is exploiting the problems we’re having,” Bernie said. “And the list can’t be that long,” he continued. “How many people even knew Sonny was getting out today?”

“We don’t have to wonder,” Justus said. Both men looked at him. “I had a visit last night.”

Jason clenched his fists at his side. “From who?”

“It’s not important,” Justus began. Bernie blinked at him as Jason scowled. “It’s not. He was approached by Trevor back around Christmas. They wanted to create some tension between you and Sonny. They were hoping it would make things unstable here—make the organization ripe for a takeover.”

“Who—”

“The plan was to push Sonny over the edge. Anthony and Trevor don’t know—or never realized how much you were already in control,” Justus continued. “Because you ran things the way Sonny would, for the most part, it was assumed that even though Sonny was unstable, he was still in charge.”

“We figured that. So tell me who the hell turned on my family—”

“He didn’t turn on you, Jason. He turned on Sonny,” Justus told him quietly. “You knew there was unrest. Men who were unhappy. Most of them signed up with Tommy, but this guy didn’t. He didn’t seek out the opportunity, it came to him. And he never knew how sick Elizabeth was. The important thing is that we were right. All the sightings of Ric—even those in South America—they were all planted.”

Jason narrowed his eyes. “All of them?”

“Anthony and Trevor never confirmed it, but according to my source, Ric is dead. And has been since November. Remember—it’s not like his ankle bracelet left the estate. It simply cut out.”

“Dead,” Jason repeated. He exhaled slowly. “We thought that might be the case, but—is he sure? How can you trust him? Who the hell is it, Justus?”

“I won’t tell you that. And I trust him because he’s loyal to you—”

“He can’t be loyal to me if he did this—” Jason scowled. “This isn’t your decision to make—I have a right to know—”

“Maybe. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you. Not now. We need to neutralize the Zaccharas first. Our guy stopped communicating with him as soon as you took over publicly. That’s all he wanted.”

“Fuck—” Jason swore. He dragged his hands through his hair. “That’s not how this works, Justus—”

“We agreed when I took this job, I wouldn’t be a pushover. You wanted me to be honest with you.” Justus lifted his chin. “I know what you’ll do. And it’s the wrong decision.”

Jason glared at him for a long moment, then stalked across the room, fighting back his frustration. “I need to get back to the hospital. But I’ll go to Crimson Pointe and settle this once and for all.”

He stabbed a finger at Justus. “When I come back, I want a name. Or this time, I’ll be the one firing you.”

“You’ll have my resignation first.”

Jason and Justus stared at each other for a long moment before Jason left, slamming the door behind him.

Bernie, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, looked at Justus with sad eyes. “Who is it?” he murmured.

“I won’t tell you either,” Justus told him. “But just know—he’ll never forgive himself for what happened yesterday. He never knew how sick she was.” He hesitated. “He would have walked through fire for her, Bernie. And for Jason. When I say this man is loyal to the right people—I mean it.”

“Ah.” Bernie nodded. “Cody or Marco?” he asked. When Justus just stared at him, saying nothing, Bernie sighed. “I thought so. If someone wanted to damage Jason and Sonny, there were easier and more direct ways. This person—they only wanted to break Sonny.” He shook his head. “I won’t tell him either, Justus.”

“You agree with me?”

“I think that we were never going to survive with Sonny in charge. Jason had to step up, and he was never going to do it. No matter what he said about putting him on a plane—” Bernie shrugged. “We’re better off. I’m sorry Elizabeth had to suffer, but that’s on Jason as well. He could have done more to protect her. He could have protected us all sooner. He chose not to.”

“That’s—” Justus shook his head. “That’s not what this is about.”

“We’ve all been warning him. Jason refused to listen. Now—” Bernie gestured towards the window as if pointing to the waterfront. “Look where we are.”

I try to face the fight within
But it’s over
I’m ready for the riot to begin
And surrender
I walked the path that led me to the end
Remember
I’m caught beneath with nothing left to give, forever
– Angels Fall, Breaking Benjamin

---

Friday, March 6, 2004

Corinthos & Morgan Coffee House: Office

“No word from yet?” Justus asked when Jason checked his phone for what felt like the thousandth time.

“No. Jordan is supposed to call as soon as they leave the station.” Jason turned the phone over in his hands, unsure why he felt so on edge.

“I could give Taggert a call,” Justus offered, pulling out his own phone.

Before Jason could say one way or the other, the phone in his hand lit up with Max’s name on the identification screen. “Yeah, Max, what’s up—”

“Jason, you gotta get to the hospital right now—”

“What?” Jason lunged to his feet. “What’s wrong?”

“Cody—he’s bringing Elizabeth—She was coughing up blood—”

Jason slapped the phone shut and left the room without a word. Bernie stopped Justus from following. “Call Max back and find out what’s wrong,” Bernie told him. “We need to know what we’re dealing with.”

“Right.” Justus reached for his own phone. “Max? Jason just took off without a word—what the hell—”

“Oh, man, Justus—Elizabeth started coughing up blood, and Jesus, he’s gonna kill the boss when he finds out—”

“Why? What does Sonny have to do with this?” Justus demanded. He looked at Bernie. “Elizabeth, coughing up blood—”

Bernie swore. “What—”

“Sonny came over to yell at Jason and just went after Elizabeth—Christ, Justus. We’re in such deep shit. Elizabeth didn’t look so good, so we—we called other—wait, wait—No, Mr. C. You can’t go anywhere—”

Justus waited a long minute until Max came back on the line, sounding exhausted. “We—we’re keeping him in the penthouse. I was afraid he’d go to the hospital or somewhere else, he said something about the Brownstone—”

“Keep him there.” He hesitated. “Make sure he doesn’t leave that penthouse until we can figure this out. Whatever you have to do.” Justus closed the phone and looked at Bernie. “Sonny forced his way into the penthouse, was screaming at Elizabeth—and while they were getting him out of there, she started coughing up blood—”

Bernie sat heavily in his chair and mopped at his forehead. “What are we going to do?” he muttered.

“I don’t know,” Justus said. He gripped the phone more tightly. “You need to finish here. I’ll go to the penthouse. If—if anything happens to Elizabeth or that baby and Jason finds out Sonny was there—”

He didn’t have to finish that statement. If the worst happened, and Jason could place the blame at Sonny’s feet—Sonny was a dead man.

And right now, that didn’t sound like such a bad idea.

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

The recorder clicked off as Scott stared numbly at the the report in front of him, the black text swimming as Capelli’s voice echoed.

“Fuck that traitor.”

He’d known what Taggert and Anna had suspected, had read Dante’s statement, insisting he’d called for backup but it wasn’t until this moment that Scott realized he’d held out a glimmer of hope that it wasn’t true.

He thought about Laura’s quiet, desperate fear and Kelsey’s tear-ravaged face. And even damned Luke Spencer, with the kind of raw terror that only a parent might truly understand. They’d  buried their boy once, and the PCPD had nearly stolen him again—

And after the shit show of the Rick Webber investigation that had led to Laura’s breakdown–

“Where are we on the union?” Ned asked, drawing Scott out of his funk. He looked over at the mayor, squinting in confusion. “Are they going to back him? Because if they do—”

“Of course, I haven’t heard anything official,” Anna said. “But I put out some feelers. With Officer Murphy’s statement, we were able to pull Commander O’Rourke in.” She gestured at the report. “He stonewalled Taggert’s investigation on a request from Capelli, admitting to changing the Code 8 to a 10-97. He says he never listened to the audio, but wanted to cover for the unit who hadn’t responded. He didn’t know Capelli was in the car, and was worried we’d take it out on a pair of rookies.”

“Bullshit,” Scott muttered. “Bullshit. He knew Capelli was in the car. No way he didn’t—”

“Maybe. But I need him to tie Capelli in, so we’ll accept this statement, and he’s taking the thirty day suspension. With Dispatch on board, and Capelli’s record, the union isn’t inclined to do him any more favors. They took a lot of heat in the press for the Lansing case—”

“Not enough,” Ned retorted. “Capelli is why Elizabeth was assaulted—”

“I realize that—”

“With all due respect, Anna, you weren’t here,” Scott interrupted. “I told Mac and Capelli not to leak the damn story, but Mac thought something in the gossip section might shake it loose. A small item. In the Sun. But Capelli handed them everything, along with a source from the PCPD that Morgan was in the house every damn day. They dragged out those photos—”

“Scott—” Taggert shook his head. “There’s no point in going over this again—”

“There is,” Scott insisted. He shoved himself to his feet. “Capelli’s been a goddamn cancer on this department for most of the last year, and it starts with that case. He should have been fired—”

“But he wasn’t.” Ned looked at Anna. “You know that Elizabeth is having her baby today, don’t you?”

Anna raised her brows. “No, I don’t think I had heard that. I thought she wasn’t due for another month or more.”

“She’s not,” Taggert murmured. “She has to deliver early because of what Lansing did to her. He screwed up her lungs with those blood clots. Capelli and I both screwed up that case, Scott. It’s not all on him. The assault, yeah. But he was able to drug her her for another week because I only saw a chance to get Morgan and Corinthos.”

“That’s all any of us saw,” Scott admitted as some of the adrenaline surge drained and the familiar, hollow guilt sank in. “We all got blood on our hands.”

“The difference is you both realized it.” Ned stood, straightened his suit. “And decided to do better. Capelli just doubled down and nearly got a cop killed. I bring up Elizabeth,” he told Anna, “because you might want to use it to get Capelli to go quietly. Elizabeth could have sued the city and him personally for what he did. A few calls to the press, and that’s back in the news. And it won’t be regional this time. She got national press after the Esposito case.”

“She’s moved on,” Taggert began, “and I don’t like you using her—”

“Why not?” Ned demanded, snapping his head around to glare at Taggert. “No one had a damn problem doing it last summer. I want Capelli gone. He’s a stain on this department. He thinks Dante’s a traitor because of Vinnie. Do you get that? That kid risked everything to get justice for my little girl and this asshole—” Ned closed his eyes, took a deep breath.

“He needs to go,” Scott said. “And Elizabeth is used to her name in the press by now. Anna—”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” she told them. “As a last resort,” she added when Taggert scowled.

General Hospital: Emergency Room Entrance

Monica’s heart was pounding as she waited at the entrance to the emergency room. She’d paged Kelly, she’d called for Patrick and Emily to assist—

“Mom, where are they?” Emily demanded as she and Patrick rushed up. She pulled on her gloves. “What’s going on?”

“One of Sonny’s guards called ahead,” Monica said, keeping her eyes peeled on the light across the street from the hospital. Travel time from the Towers was ten minutes—less if traffic cooperated. “Elizabeth was coughing up blood—”

“I’ll get the embolization treatment ready in the trauma room,” Patrick said, darting backward.

“Mom—”

“Emily, can you handle this?” Monica turned to her daughter. “I can reassign you, you’re an intern and close to the family—no one will think less—”

“I can handle it. Jason and Elizabeth need me.” Emily forced herself to breathe. “First thing we do is get her on a ventilator and oxygen to prevent exsanguination. Then we do imaging to find the bleed and use the embolization to cauterize the site—”

“Good girl—” Monica patted her shoulder as the dark sedan pulled up. Cody flew out and around to the passenger side. Monica and Emily were already pulling the door open, an orderly with a stretcher behind them.

“Monica—” Elizabeth’s lips were stained with blood as her head listed to one side, and she lost consciousness. Monica’s blood iced as she took in the amount of blood on the towel in her hands, on the front of her shirt—

She shoved Emily out of the way so that Cody could lift Elizabeth onto the stretcher. “Get her to the trauma room, get her intubated!”

Emily and the orderly raced ahead as Monica turned to Cody. “Where’s Jason? Is he on his way?”

“Max was calling him. He wasn’t home—” Cody followed Monica in. “Um, she was feeling dizzy before it started—I was going to bring her early—but then Sonny—”

“Sonny?” Monica swore, then took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. I need you to stay out here. Get Jason here now. We might—” She saw Kelly Lee rush into the trauma room. “We might need him to sign some things.”

“I won’t move,” Cody promised. He stared down at his hands, stained with Elizabeth’s blood. “I won’t—I’ll wait right here.”

Monica nodded and then left him standing in the middle of the emergency room.

Brownstone: Front Steps

Luke waited at the top of the stairs for Laura to join him before reaching for the doorknob. He knew Sonny was getting out today, and he didn’t want his sister or Carly to be alone.

“I really hope we’re overreacting,” Laura said. “I hate to think of those boys going through another day like the last time Sonny was here. Morgan is too young, but Michael—” She sighed. “He reminds me of Lucky.”

“Seen too much, I know.” Luke’s phone vibrated in his pocket as he pushed open the door. “Bernie? What’s up?”

“Are you at the Brownstone?” the adviser demanded.

Luke raised his brows as he and Laura went into the living room. “Yeah, why? You lose sight of Corinthos again?”

“No. He’s at the Towers. He didn’t go there first, did he?”

Luke frowned, then looked at Bobbie. “Sonny wasn’t already here, was he?”

“No,” Carly answered. She got to her feet. “What’s wrong?”

“No sign of him today. What’s going on, Bernie? What’s the deal?”

“Sonny got released from the PCPD and apparently went straight to the Towers to scream at Elizabeth.” Bernie paused. “We were hoping to find out why he lost it between the station and the penthouse—”

“Is Elizabeth okay? What’s going on?”

“Luke?” Bobbie’s voice was sharp.

“Cody and Max had to physically remove Sonny from the penthouse, and when Cody came back, Elizabeth was coughing up blood. He rushed her to GH, and I don’t know anything else. Jason’s on his way to the hospital, and Justus is going to the Towers.”

“Hell,” Luke swore. “No, he never came here. Call me when you know something.” He closed his phone. “Sonny apparently lost it with Elizabeth again, and she was coughing up blood—”

“Oh my God!” Carly started for the foyer. “Mama—”

“She’s at the hospital?” Bobbie demanded. “Where’s Jason?”

“On his way. Angel—” he looked at Laura.

“I’ll stay here.”

Port Charles Grille: Bar

“You know,” Scott said as he slid onto a stool next to Mac Scorpio, “I miss the Outback.” The former commissioner eyed him with some suspicion, then picked up his beer.  “Anna said you were hanging around here these days.”

“Not that many places I’m welcome,” Mac muttered. “Or want to go.”

Scott ordered a whiskey, tossing some bills on the bar. “Yeah, I guess Luke’s would be out. Man never did respect the bounds of marriage.” He exhaled slowly. “You shouldn’t have been the only one to take a hit last year, Mac. None of us were doing the job all that well.”

“Yeah, but not all of us falsified records and screwed up a serial rapist case.” Mac leaned back. “Some of us just badgered a mentally ill woman into a catatonic state, then got elected into office anyway.” He paused. “You do something new, Baldwin? I thought you’d turned over a new leaf.”

“I did. I have,” Scott corrected. “It’s not me. This time,” he added. “It won’t hit the news until later, but I know you tried hard to get rid of Capelli last year with the leak to the press.”

“Goddamn union,” Mac muttered. “Blaming me—I told him—” He took long pull from the bottle. “What did he do this time?”

Scott stared into the tumbler of whiskey, still hearing the audio. “Refused a backup call, then tried to cover it up. He’s why Spencer is in the hospital. Why Falconieri quit.” He paused. “I think he’ll be gone this time, Mac. I think we finally have enough. I just thought you should know.”

“Yeah.” Mac was quiet for a long moment. “You were the leak in the rape case, weren’t you? You told Ned about Floyd and the lab reports. About the case being misfiled.”

“I didn’t—” Scott met the other man’s eyes. “Yeah. I was. Couldn’t stand the thought of Floyd winning. I didn’t think you’d go down with it. I didn’t know how bad it was. How much you were involved—” He stopped. “I suspected,” he corrected. “And I didn’t care. Maybe it’s not fair that I got away with what I did and you didn’t. I don’t know.”

“It’s not,” Mac said. He smiled thinly. “But that’s Port Charles for you. Don’t lose sleep over it, Scott. I made my choices, and I can live with them. You were right. This city didn’t deserve another term from Floyd. And the department will be better off once Capelli’s gone.”

“I just hope he’s the last hit. We can’t take another one.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Lulu scowled as she watched Dante fill out the application. “It’s not that I doubt your cooking skills,” she told him. “But I really don’t know if this is a good idea—”

“I need a job,” Dante said. “Bobbie needs a cook. I already live here.” He slid the finished application over to her. “Makes sense to me.”

He dismissed her grumbling as he reached for the nearby newspaper for the movie listings. He wasn’t going to sit upstairs and wallow anymore. He’d gone to see Lucky, and the press hadn’t followed him. Maybe they’d moved on to the next story.

And that meant it was time for Dante to figure out the next step. For him, it was getting a job, and just maybe, Lulu was right about them trying to pick up where they’d left off a few weeks ago.

“What are you in the mood to see?” he asked her.

“Oh, well, it depends on what you want to do afterward,” she said with a wiggle of her eyebrows. She reached for the phone behind the counter when it rang. “Kelly’s, Lulu speaking.”

Dante was considering a Drew Barrymore romantic comedy when he heard Lulu’s voice become strained. He slapped the newspaper back on the counter, startled at the pallor of her skin. “Lu—”

“Where’s Dad? Is he—okay, okay. No, okay. Call me when you know something. I’ll take care of things here. Tell Aunt Bobbie I got it.” With a shaking hand, Lulu gently put the phone back on the receiver, then looked at Dante. “Mom is at Carly’s with her boys. They had to go to the hospital.”

Dante’s brows drew together. “What’s wrong?”

“Sonny got released today, and he was arguing with Elizabeth. She started coughing up blood. Sonny had to be dragged from the room.”

He exhaled slowly. “Is she—”

“I don’t know. Mom doesn’t know, either. Um, I just—I don’t know. I thought it might end up in the papers like everything else does, you know? And I wanted—I wanted to make sure you knew what was up.” She tucked a piece of hair behind her ears. “I don’t think Sonny did anything, but—”

“But he wasn’t much of a help either.” Dante stared at the paper, then closed it. “I guess you’re not getting off in an hour.”

“No, I should probably stick close. Dante—”

“I’ll hang around in case you get busy and need a hand.” When she opened her mouth, he shook his head. “I don’t know what I’m thinking, I just—let’s wait for news, okay?”

General Hospital: Emergency Room

He never should have left her.

It didn’t matter if she wasn’t alone—she hadn’t been alone the last time, and she had still nearly died—

Jason didn’t remember the drive to the hospital and ran at least three red lights between the warehouse and the hospital, but if there had been any cops on his tail, he didn’t hear them. He didn’t even bother parking the SUV in the lot, just left it haphazardly outside the emergency room entrance.

He didn’t even know if he’d put it in park.

Jason had just one thought, one goal, one mission—get to the hospital. Get to his family.

He found Cody standing in the emergency room and drew up short when he saw the guard staring at his hands. Max had said Elizabeth was coughing up blood, but to see Cody with his hands stained red—

Cody turned, saw him, and swallowed. “Jason.”

“What happened?” he demanded roughly, striding forward. “She was fine—”

“Jason—”

His head snapped to the side as he saw Kelly striding out of a room—out of a trauma room. The same room as the summer. For one maddening moment, Jason thought he was back in that moment, the sound of her flatlining echoing in his ears.

“What’s going on?”

“Elizabeth has suffered massive hemoptysis,” Kelly told him. “Her airways were bleeding, and she was coughing up blood—”

Jason’s chest felt tight, and it was a struggle to force out the words. “Why? Is she okay now? What—”

“We had to put her on a ventilator when she arrived to stabilize her breathing. She was—” Kelly hesitated. “She lost consciousness just after arriving at the hospital—”

“Where is she? Is she—” Jason’s voice faltered. He couldn’t say it. Couldn’t even let the word into his brain.

“She’s—she’s alive, Jason, but we’re—it’s not—” Kelly pressed her lips together. “I need to deliver the baby now. Elizabeth wasn’t able to get oxygen until we intubated, which means the baby might already be compromised—”

“What do you need me to sign?” He took the paperwork she gave him and scrawled his name. “Kelly—is she—will she—”

“We’re still stabilizing her—but we have to—we have to make a choice. We can’t treat her and deliver the baby at the same time. If we wait, the baby might not survive or—”

“Cameron could have serious complications.” Complications a thirty-two-week preemie might not survive.

“But if we wait to treat the bleeding—”

“Cameron,” Jason said roughly. Almost without thinking. He knew what Elizabeth wanted. He had to believe it was the right choice. “Deliver Cameron. You know—that’s what Elizabeth—”

“Got it.” Kelly disappeared into the trauma room as Jason tried to collect himself.

This morning, Elizabeth had been tired, a little dizzy, but ready to face delivery. Ready to get on with her treatment and their lives together. She’d been happy, even excited.

And now—

Jason turned back to Cody, who had turned an ashen gray. “What happened?” he demanded. “She was fine when I left—where the hell is Nikolas?” He broke off as the man in question jogged up to them, out of breath and red-faced. “What the hell—”

“The launch was delayed—I got to the Towers just after you left,” he told Cody. “They told me what happened in the lobby—the extra guards are still upstairs—”

Cody closed his eyes. “Damn it,” he muttered, looking back at Jason. “She was starting to feel a little dizzy, and we were going to call you—but then—”

“Then what?” Jason demanded, his teeth clenched. Before Cody answered, he turned to see a nurse and another doctor wheeling in an incubator he recognized from the NICU. He strode forward and reached the doors just as Emily came out, tears in her eyes. “Jason—”

Oh, God. They were dead. They were both gone—

“Cameron—he’s being delivered now—come in—” She grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the sink to scrub at his hands, even as Jason twisted around, trying to find his wife.

Alarms were screeching, the room was insane—but then Jason saw something—someone being lifted toward the incubator—

Emily wiped down his hands and steered him towards Elizabeth. “Mom wanted you to—”

Elizabeth’s face was pale, turned towards him, blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth, the ventilator taped to her cheeks. Her eyes closed.

The world stopped.

“Is she—”

“No, no—they’re going to start the embolization in a minute—she’s on a ventilator, getting oxygen. But—”

“Just in case,” Monica murmured. “We have maybe a few minutes while they sew up from delivery—”

Jason knelt down in front of the head of the bed, smoothed her hair off her face. Her skin felt smooth and warm, and he concentrated on that. Warm meant alive. She was still with him.

This wasn’t like last year. It wasn’t going to be like last year when he’d sat on the floor of that house and watched her chest stop rising. When he’d had to crouch in that tiny ambulance, helpless as the paramedics fought to keep her alive on the way to the hospital. He could still remember the way her body had jerked as they’d shocked it over and over again, trying to bring her back.

Four times they’d used that paddle.

It had been the longest thirty seconds of his life as the alarms had screamed. She’d been dead for thirty seconds.

This wasn’t like last year. He wouldn’t let it be.

He leaned forward to gently press his lips against her forehead. “I love you. You’re going to come back to me.”

“Jason, we had to take—” Emily held out her rings as he stood up. “She can’t wear them—”

He took the ruby engagement ring and simple wedding band she’d only worn for only a few weeks. “Can I see—Can I see Cameron—”

“For a minute, then we need the room,” Monica told him as Emily took him over to the incubator where a neonatalogist and a nurse were arranging wires.

“How is he?” Jason asked, looking down at the tiny scrap of humanity. He was so small, barely visible through the tubes and wires, but Jason could hear soft little sounds that almost sounded like crying.

“Made it through delivery. Apgar score is a four—” The nurse glanced at Jason. “That’s normal for a baby this young,” she reassured him.

Jason nodded. “I know—” His voice was rusty as he tried to take it all in—it had happened so fast, and now—now his son was here. “His name is Cameron. Cameron Hardy Morgan.”

“Cameron,” the nurse said with a smile. “It’s a good name. I’ll make sure it’s on his paperwork. We should—we have to take him up to the NICU. You can see him in a little while—”

“It’s time to go, Jason,” Emily murmured. Jason looked at his wife and son—at his life—one last time before he let his sister push him back towards the emergency room.

“How long until we know—”

“Mom said the embolization should take about thirty minutes. Then they’ll do another imaging scan,” Emily said. “And we’ll—we’ll see.”

“I can’t believe this is happening again. We were—we were checking in today.”

“I know—”

“This wasn’t supposed to—” Abruptly cutting himself off, Jason strode over to Cody and Nikolas and took the guard by the shirt. “What the hell happened? Why did you need extra guards?”

“Where’s Elizabeth?” Nikolas demanded of Emily.

“She’s…being treated. Cameron’s on his way up to NICU. It’s, um, we don’t know enough yet,” Emily admitted.

“Sonny came over,” Cody admitted as Jason released him. “We tried to get him to leave, but Max couldn’t do it on his own, and Elizabeth was feeling dizzy. He was yelling at her—” He swallowed hard. “We called for extra guards, and we had to remove him. I thought—I thought it was more important to get him away from her—I didn’t know how bad it was until I came back—”

“Sonny,” Jason repeated. He felt his blood pounding in his ears as he took that in. “Sonny came in to scream at my pregnant wife. Again.”

“Yes. We tried to get him out—”

“Was she dizzy in front of him? Did you tell him she wasn’t well today?” Jason bit out, his fists clenched.

Cody stared at him for a long moment before reluctantly nodding. “Yeah. We told him.”

Jason exhaled slowly. “Okay.”

Then he turned and stalked out of the emergency room.

“Um—” Emily looked at Nikolas. “That’s—we should do something—”

“What? It’s not like Jason doesn’t know how to hide a body,” Nikolas retorted. “And good riddance. What’s going on with Elizabeth?”

Before Emily could fill Nikolas in, Bobbie and Carly came through the emergency room doors. “What the hell is going on?”

“Where’s Elizabeth? Where’s Jason?” Carly asked.

Emily took a deep breath. “Elizabeth was coughing up blood. It was—” She had to force herself to keep talking. To treat it like any other patient. “When she got here, her oxygen levels were dangerously low, and we had to decide whether to treat the bleeding first or deliver the baby. If we waited to deliver, there was a chance Cameron might have not survived.”

Carly pressed her fingers to her lips. “Oh, God, he had to choose—”

“Elizabeth—is she okay—”

“They’re treating her now. Monica and Patrick are doing that, and Cameron is in NICU. But yeah, Jason had to decide which treatment first—”

“And he chose Cameron,” Nikolas murmured. He scrubbed his hands over his face. “What does that mean for Elizabeth?”

“We think we were able to get her on the ventilator fast enough to minimize oxygen deprivation, but we don’t know how much time she lost.” Emily’s hands were trembling slightly as she folded her arms. “They’re stopping the bleeding. We won’t know until the first round of embolization is done—”

“Did Jason go up to NICU?” Carly asked.

“No, he went to choke the life out of Sonny,” Nikolas bit out. “Because apparently, Sonny decided to celebrate being released by screaming at Elizabeth, who was already dizzy and struggling to breathe—”

Carly reached out—gripped Nikolas’s shirt front. “Jason left—he went to the—” she turned wide eyes on her mother. “Mama, I have to go—he’ll kill him—”

“Who cares?” Nikolas muttered.

“Jason will if he ends up in jail instead of here with Elizabeth. Mama—”

“Nikolas, wait here for news about Elizabeth. I’ll go with you to the Towers,” Bobbie told Carly. “Cody, we might need your help,” she said to the guard, who nodded grimly.

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

Capelli had the look of a hunted man when he came into the office, and whatever color he had left drained when he saw Anna standing behind her desk, Taggert on one side and a union rep on the other. Still, he lifted his chin and sneered at them.

“What the hell is this?” he demanded.

“Andy,” the rep began with a heavy sigh, “you might want to sit down.”

“Fuck that—”

“I’m not sure why you thought we wouldn’t trace this back to you,” Anna said, “but perhaps it’s more evidence of your unfitness to wear that uniform—”

“How dare you—” Capelli roared.

“How very dare you,” Anna responded in her soft, cool British accent, and at that, Capelli fell silent, his eyes burning like hot coal, “betray the badge you swore to uphold. At the moment, I have negotiated that you will not face charges if you agree to resign quietly—”

“You want me gone?” Capelli demanded. “You’ll have to drag me out of here kicking and screaming—”

“Don’t tempt me,” Taggert muttered. Anna cut him a cool glance, and he fell quiet.

“This is a statement from Commander O’Rourke in Dispatch who admits to changing official records upon your request.” Anna set down another piece of paper. “This is Officer Byron Murphy, who took the original dispatch call and relayed the all-call for back-up.”

“Their word against mine—”

“These are statements from Unit 81. Your officers,” Anna added, “who back up the story. And the audio call that underpins it all. You see, Detective Capelli, you have gravely underestimated how well you are liked in this department—”

“Fucking British cunt—” Capelli swore.

“Andy—” the rep said, putting up his hand. “After last summer and the search warrant slap—the union isn’t going to do more than the bare minimum for you. If you offer to resign, this can go away—”

“Kiss my ass! You think you can run this place without me? With traitors like this asshole?” He jerked a thumb at  Taggert.

“I think you have dragged this department down long enough,” Anna said sharply. “You can either resign quietly, or Lieutenant Taggert will arrest you for tampering with official records, and we will begin the termination process.”

“Andy, I’ve been over this case—”

“You’re supposed to fucking defend me!” Capelli whirled on the union rep who threw up his hands in frustration.

“And I did that last summer! I got that suspension overturned,” the rep snapped. “This isn’t going to work! The union is under just as much pressure as the department after Esposito! We can’t be seen covering for a dirty cop—”

“There’s a dirty cop right there!”

Taggert just sneered at him. “You’re the only one who broke any damn laws—”

“Andy—”

“Fuck all of this!” Capelli tossed his badge across the desk. “I’ll go somewhere else and do the job! You can’t stop me—” He stormed out, followed by the union rep.

“He’s not wrong,” Anna said to Taggert. “Even if we tell the papers, it won’t change anything. He’ll get hired somewhere.”

“And that will be their problem. We can’t fix the world.” Taggert reached for Capelli’s badge. “But this is our corner of it, and I’m going to do whatever I can to keep it safe. But I’m calling Jessica Mitchell at the Herald and giving her a heads up. I don’t plan to make it easy for him.”

Harborview Towers: Hallway

The elevator doors slid open, and Jason stalked out, scowling when he found Justus, Luke, Max, and a few other guards lingering outside Sonny’s penthouse. “Where is he?” he demanded.

“Jason—how’s Elizabeth—” Justus held up his hands, but Jason was in no mood to be calmed down. He shoved Justus’s hands away, avoided Luke’s grasp, and pushed Max away from him as he kicked the door open.

Sonny had been sitting across the room, nursing a bourbon. His eyes and hair were wild as he lurched to his feet, slightly unsteady. “Jase. Jase. You gotta—you gotta tell me—is she okay—”

He broke off as Jason started across the room. Sonny backed up, but Jason kept coming, not stopping until the other man was against the wall. Then Jason reached out—wrapped his hands around Sonny’s neck—

And squeezed.

“Jason—” Sonny sputtered, clawing at Jason’s hands. “Jase—”

“Jason, man—” Justus tried to grab at Jason’s arms again, but Jason only had eyes for the man in front of him.

The man he had lied, cheated, and stolen for—he had killed for this man—and the only thing Jason had ever asked in return was a little fucking respect for his family—not even for Jason—for his family—

And Sonny had refused. Over and over again.

“This is how it felt,” Jason growled as he shoved Sonny against the wall harder. “When she was gasping for air while you screamed at her. You feel your lungs burning? No? Not yet? Maybe I should squeeze harder—”

“J-Jase—”

“In a minute, you’re going to feel dizzy—” He tightened his fists as Sonny’s face flushed. “Maybe I can make you bleed inside the way she did—”

“I’m—I’m sorry—didn’t—”

“She could die. My son could still die. Was it worth it?” Jason growled. Sonny’s hands fell to his side as his eyes started to glass over.

“Jason.”

Jason closed his eyes. “Go away, Carly.”

“No.” She came closer and then was next to them. “No. Not this way, Jason. Let him go.”

It took everything Jason had to release his partner and former best friend, but he did it. He let Sonny slump to the floor, gasping for breath.

He looked at Carly, at her own tear-stained cheeks. “Carly—”

“You need to be at the hospital with your family.” She touched his arms, gently turned him away from the man on the floor. “Because as angry as we both are with Sonny, it doesn’t change the fact that Elizabeth needs you with her.”

“Every time I leave her—” His voice broke as he looked at his best friend, the only friend he had left. “Every time—”

“I know. I know—” Carly framed his face with her hands. “I know,” she repeated. “But Sonny didn’t create her health problems. He made them worse, yeah, but he didn’t start them. So let me deal with Sonny. For once—let me be strong.”

Carly took a deep breath. “Go to the hospital. I have Mama and Uncle Luke, but Elizabeth needs her family. She needs you to be thinking about her, about that precious little angel who didn’t ask for any of this.”

“Okay.” Jason nodded. “Okay.” He turned back to Sonny, who was now on his knees, still gasping for air. “We’re done, Sonny. You and me? That’s over.”

“Jason—”

He slammed the door behind him, and Carly turned towards Sonny.

“I didn’t—I didn’t realize—” Sonny looked up at her, eyes bloodshot, his cheeks still flushed. “Didn’t mean to hurt her.”

“No, I’m sure you didn’t.” She looked back at Max. “Get the sedatives. He needs to rest.”

She turned back to her estranged husband and helped him to stand. “Let’s go upstairs, Sonny. You need to sleep.” Luke went to Sonny’s side to stabilize him better.

“I didn’t—I didn’t mean it, Lily—” He gestured towards something Carly couldn’t see. “Lily—tell her I didn’t mean it.”

“I know you didn’t—”

Outside the penthouse, Justus found Jason getting on the elevator. He went in with him. “What can I do? What can I do for you? How is Elizabeth?”

“She’s alive,” Jason said shortly. “So is Cameron. For now. I don’t care what Carly wants. If they don’t make it—”

The doors opened in the lobby, and Jason walked away without finishing his statement.

He didn’t need to.