There’s not enough rope to tie me down
There’s not enough tape to shut this mouth
The stones you throw can make me bleed
But I won’t stop until we’re free
Wild hearts can’t be broken
No, wild hearts can’t be broken
– Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken, P!nk

Wednesday, April 30, 2004

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Office

Jason closed the door behind him, then turned to Justus and Bernie. “It’s been almost two months since Cameron was born,” he said, then took a minute to let that information sink in because sometimes it felt like he was still standing outside the trauma room, waiting to hear if his wife and son would live or die.

“Okay,” Justus said when Jason didn’t continue. “And things have been mostly quiet which is good. Things are getting back to normal.” He tipped his head. “Aren’t they?”

“As far as I know.” Even if the bear was still poking at his brain, Jason hadn’t found a single reason to be sure that it was more than a coincidence. “How many people know what Cody did?”

“Cody?” Bernie repeated. “Uh, well, the three of us and Elizabeth, but I don’t think it really went further than that. Most of the guys think Cody got reassigned because he let Sonny get that close to Elizabeth.”

“What’s going on?” Justus asked. “Are you thinking of putting him on Elizabeth again?”

“Not just thinking about it. I called him back from Puerto Rico.” He sat down behind the desk and told them about the stairwell. “Elizabeth stayed home yesterday,” he said, “and I told Richie she’d be home again today but then I had Marco stay with her. She likes Marco and he’s been trustworthy—”

“Why not keep Marco on her, then?” Bernie wanted to know. “Cody’s a security risk—”

“Not to Elizabeth, he’s not,” Justus said and Jason nodded. “He did the wrong thing for the right reasons, and we were all looking for a way out. If you’d told him how sick she was, he never would have taken that risk. I think we can agree on that. But still—why not Marco?”

“He’s got a kid,” Jason told them, “and he asked us from the start to work nights. He wants to be at home so his mom doesn’t do all the work. He stays with us for the paycheck. He did me a favor until I promoted Richie, and he’s doing me another one right now. But it can’t be permanent.”

“Fair enough. Still—”

“I need someone Elizabeth feels safe with. The safer she feels, the more she trusts her guard, the better off she’ll be. I was going to do this no matter what you said,” he told them. “But I’m glad that what happened with Cody never got out. It’ll be easier.”

“It’s your risk to take,” Justus said with a shrug. “You know that I was on Cody’s side for the most part, but if it gets out that Cody turned and not only lived to tell the tale but got to keep his plush assignment guarding the boss’s wife, there’s going to be hell to pay.”

Remembering the flush of shame in Elizabeth’s cheeks, and the discomfort she’d shown a few days earlier, Jason just nodded. “I’ll deal with that if I have to. It’s worth the risk.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Taggert checked his watch for the third time since sitting down and across the table, Portia arched her brows. “Marcus, you look at that thing one more time, I’m gonna choke with you it.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He focused on her and smiled. “I’m sorry,” he repeated, more genuinely. “I know I’ve been busy—”

“You’re just lucky you’re cute,” she murmured, lifting her coffee cup. “What’s so important about this case, anyway?” Portia asked. “I know it’s your ADA’s dad, but it’s a cold case, isn’t it? Aren’t you just talking to people?”

“Normally, but I’m—” Taggert hesitated. “It’s not just who the victim was,” he admitted. “I’ve been going over every step a thousand times, making sure all the paperwork is right, that I’m documenting everything—”

“Why?” she pressed. “I mean, I’m glad you’re doing the job right, but you usually do—”

He pushed his food around on his plate, wondering whether or not he should explain that he’d been obsessed with Sonny Corinthos to the point he’d nearly gotten two women killed. Was there ever a good time to bring that up?

“I told you I started in the NYPD, didn’t I? In Brooklyn.”

“You did. That’s where you grew up, right?”

“Yeah, in Bed-Stuy. It was just me, my sister, and my mom for the longest time.” He paused. “You’d like my sister, Gia. She’s in law school in the city.” Taggert sipped his coffee, then set down the cup. “I joined the department in 1992, but it might as well as have been 1972.”

“92?” Portia’s brows lifted. “You were only twenty?”

“Did two years at city college like I promised my mom, but I always knew I wanted to be a cop. I wanted to make a difference.” Taggert grimaced, looked away. “It was tough those first few years, but I made it happen. I kept at it, and I didn’t let any of those assholes stop me.”

“What does that have to do with this case?” Portia folded her arms on the table and tipped her head to the side. “I thought the vic was from here—”

“He was, but—I’m sorry. I’m—I’m not doing this right.”

“Don’t worry.” She smiled at him, reached across the table to squeeze his hand. “Just tell me.”

“I was going the wrong way back when I was a kid. When I was fourteen, I almost ended up in a street gang. My mother was so sure I’d end up no good like my father. Then I got hauled in on a vandalism charge—” He snorted. “It wasn’t me, but it could have been. I’d tagged so many damn cars and walls in that neighborhood, I figured they’d grabbed me when they had the chance.”

He rubbed his jaw. “It was a tough time to be a Black kid in New York,” he admitted. “It was 1986, a few years before those kids got arrested for that rape in Central Park.”

“The boys that just got released last year? Did you know any of them?” she asked.

“No, they weren’t from my neighborhood. But I knew kids like them. Kids that were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I hated the cops.” Taggert sighed. “But the guy who pulled me in that night believed me when I told him I didn’t do it. He believed my mom, too, when she gave me the alibi. Ma never would have lied for me, but you know—most of the dicks never believed her.”

“But this guy did.”

“He saw my mom as someone whose word could be trusted. You know what that was like?” Taggert asked her. “For a guy like that to look at me, and take me at my word? He went to bat for me with the other cops, and I got released.”

“One of the rare ones.”

“Yeah. He kept in touch after that. He was married, and his wife came over a few times with him. She was really nice. She had a kid—he was older than me and out on the streets. Deke took an interest in me—took me to ball games, irritated me about school. I became a cop because of him.”

“What happened to him?” Portia said softly, but in her eyes—she could see that he knew.

“The kid—the stepson?” Taggert said. “When I say he was out on the streets, I mean he ran with Joe Scully’s crew. I didn’t know much about him then—Scully worked out of Bensonhurst and we had our own problems in my neighborhood.”

“Marcus—”

“The kid had him killed. Had Joe Scully put a bullet in his brain.”

Portia inhaled sharply. “What? Why?”

“Because he hated him. Hated cops.” Taggert met her eyes. “That kid grew up to be Sonny Corinthos. My mentor—the reason I got off the streets—he was Sonny’s stepfather, Deke Woods.”

Taggert’s mouth twisted as he continued. “People forget what garbage Sonny was back then. He ran drugs and women in Port Charles. He did it in New York, too. He beat his mother when Deke wasn’t looking. He killed her, but Deke said they couldn’t prove it—”

Portia’s eyes widened. “Oh my God—”

“After Deke died, I knew I had to become a cop. I had to join the force and make sure Sonny paid for everything—” He sat back. “I moved to Port Charles to take him on. For seven years, he was all I could think about.”

“But you transferred out of Organized Crimes,” Portia said. She shook her head. “And…you went to the wedding. He—he was Jason Morgan’s best man, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah, well, since he took over for Frank Smith, Sonny’s been trying to pretend he’s some sort of honorable criminal. He doesn’t run drugs or women, and he’s got money now. I couldn’t nail him—” He hesitated. “Carly’s kidnapping last year. The Lansing case. I got tunnel vision. I thought I played it right, and the record reads like I did—but I know better. I know that I saw my chance to get him, and I almost got Elizabeth and Carly got killed.”

He sipped his coffee. “Letting go of this thing with Sonny—I had to. Or I was gonna have to give up the job. But this case…”

“You said it was related to the mob. Is Sonny a suspect?”

“Yeah. The main suspect. I just—I don’t have any direct evidence, just rumors. Part of me wonders if I just want it to be him.” He looked at her. “What if I’m focusing on Sonny because of that? Because of my past with him?”

Taggert leaned back in his chair, shook his head. “No, I got too much going for me. I’m doing good work at the PCPD. Those kids—” He glanced at the kitchen. Dante wasn’t working today, but he’d let him down somehow. “The rookies. I owe it to them to be better than I was. And you. I got you, and we’ve got a kid coming—”

“You think you’re getting obsessed with Sonny Corinthos again?” Portia asked. “Marcus.”

“I don’t know. I thought about passing the case,” he admitted. “After I talked to Luke Spencer—after I realized what I was getting into—” He broke off abruptly.

“This man broke into the Brownstone, attacked his ex-wife and her brother. He punched you. And you offered to drop the charges to make Carly’s life easier.” Portia arched her brows. “Would you have done that even a year ago?”

“No,” Taggert said, after considering the question. “I just—”

“The fact that you’re worrying about it? Thinking about passing the case? ” Portia leaned forward. “That’s not a man obsessed with anything other than doing the right thing.”

Taggert smiled at her, feeling lighter. She was right, of course, and now he was glad he’d talked to her about it. “Thanks.”

“I have to run,” Portia said, getting to her feet. “But it’s gonna be one of those days.” He stood and kissed her. “Call me tonight. We’ll get dinner when I close.”

“Count on it.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Bobbie sighed happily as she strolled around the living room while Cameron dozed in her arms. “I just love having another grandbaby to spoil,” she told Carly and Elizabeth who were sitting on the sofa. “I can’t wait until he’s old enough to run around with Morgan and Michael.”

“Morgan still isn’t old enough to do that,” Carly reminded her mother, then looked at Elizabeth. “I didn’t see Richie outside today.”

“No. You were right. I told Jason, and he immediately volunteered to change the guards. I feel bad because Richie didn’t really do anything wrong—” Elizabeth grimaced, then looked at Bobbie. “Did Carly tell you about Monday?”

“She mentioned it, but didn’t get into the details. Something about the lights and a panic attack.”

“Her guard thought she was crazy, or at least made Elizabeth feel crazy,” Carly told Bobbie. “So Marco’s on days?”

“For a bit. Jason’s going to get me another guard, I guess. I don’t know. I feel stupid because it’s not like Ric was even there.” She sighed and checked her watch. It was almost time for Cameron’s next bottle. “I don’t know why it can’t just be over,” she murmured. “He’s dead. It should be over.”

“I know.”

“And the crypt—God, why am I having panic attacks after almost two years?” Elizabeth demanded. “It doesn’t seem fair.”

“I wish I could say that you’ll get over it for good,” Bobbie said as she sat down in the armchair. Carly rose to go check on Morgan, napping in the portable crib. “But you know better than that.”

“I know. The rape came back and slapped me around again, didn’t it?” Elizabeth grimaced. “It’s like, I resolve one thing, and then the next one comes around. I’m just—I’m exhausted. From not sleeping because of Cameron, and then worrying all the time—and now this.” She shoved herself to her feet and crossed over to the mantel. “I hate that Jason had to reassign a perfectly nice guy because I can’t handle the dark.”

“Elizabeth—” Bobbie began, but Carly shook her head.

“That’s not why he did it, and you know that. And it’s not your fault.” Carly got up. “Do you remember when I came to see you at the hospital last summer? And you told me that you had the same stress condition I did? Why didn’t you tell Jason at the time?”

Elizabeth sighed. “Because I was scared he’d think I was weak and stay away from me.”

“And this time you told him. Were you worried that he’d think you were weak?”

“No. No, not really. I was embarrassed, but—” Elizabeth managed a smile. “I knew he wouldn’t see it that way. I came to see you so that I’d be calmer when I came home. To I could have a minute to think.”

“You’ve both come so far since last year,” Bobbie told them. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t still have a long way to go. You’ll get there.”

“Yeah. Probably.” Carly wrinkled her nose. “Sonny’s been home for like a month. Have you talked to him?”

“Not yet. Jason said he came by on Monday, and they talked. I’m going to ask him over for dinner sometime this week,” she admitted. “Jason said Sonny’s struggling with a reason to stay on the meds, and I guess we’re both going to try to find a way to give him one. He can’t get the business back or fix things with you,” she added to Carly. “But I know how important Sonny is to Jason, and God knows, I know how your mind can screw with you.”

“Are you sure you’re ready to let Sonny in?” Bobbie asked skeptically. “Don’t do it just because of Jason—”

“It’s not just because of Jason. It’s a different sort of pressure for me, I guess. He was Jason’s best friend, not mine. He wasn’t my husband or the father of my children. There’s just not the same expectations, you know? I wasn’t even as angry with him as everyone else because I didn’t have a reason to be. I was disappointed and irritated, but not angry.” Elizabeth took Cameron from Bobbie. “I can do this for Jason. I want Sonny to be better so that one day, he might get more of his life back.”

“I suppose that makes sense, and I don’t want Sonny to stop taking the meds.” Carly bit her lip. “But I hope he gets healthy and stable again for his sake.”

“And that’s all I want to do. Keep him on the road to that stability,” Elizabeth said. “We’ll all be better off.”

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Office

Jason braced himself as Richie knocked on the open door. “Francis sent me over. Said you wanted to talk to me.”

“Yeah.” Jason got up and went to close the door. “I appreciate you stepping in and helping out with guarding Elizabeth for a few days, but I wanted to let you know that I’m reassigning you.”

Richie’s hands curled into fists at his side. “Did I do something wrong? Is this about Monday? I swear—I tried to tell her to take the elevator—we never should have been in that stairwell—”

Jason bristled at that statement, but shook it off. “It’s just not going to work out. Don’t take it personally,” he said. “Cody became available again, and he’s a better match.”

“Cody?” Richie echoed. “I thought he went to Puerto Rico.”

“He did, but he’s back, and he’s been her guard for almost a year.  I talked it over with Francis, and he suggested you could take over the security detail at the Cellar.”

“The Cellar.”

“Yeah. Jimmy was doing that, but he’s going down to Puerto Rico. You’re not guarding Carly—she doesn’t need one anymore—but you’ll be on the building. Making sure it’s secure.”

“Okay,” Richie said. He nodded. “Okay. Uh, thanks for the opportunity. Tell Mrs. Morgan I said goodbye.”

“I will.” Jason opened the door to let him out, and saw Cody waiting. “Hey, Cody. I didn’t think you’d get here until tomorrow.”

“O’Brien said you needed me here, so I thought—” Cody glanced at Richie as the other guard glared at him and left. Jason made a note to keep an eye on that situation. “Um, I didn’t think—I didn’t know if maybe you changed your mind about—”

Jason waited for Cody to come into the office and then closed the door. “I haven’t. You did what you did, and it’s over. I’m satisfied that you did it to protect Elizabeth. She sent you away because she was worried what the other guards would think if I let you stay on as her guard.”

“I know. And I’m still sorry for what I did. I should have come to you or found another way to take care of the situation. Um, am I being reassigned to the warehouse?”

“No. I haven’t talked to Elizabeth yet, but assuming she’s okay with it—” Jason went back to the desk and looked at the stuffed bear that he’d left on top as a reminder to never take chances with Elizabeth. “She needs a guard who makes her feel safe, but I also need someone I know will put her first. Not just her physical safety.” He paused. “You know what she’s been through this last year.”

“I do.”

“It’s why you did what you did.”

Cody swallowed hard. “Yeah.”

“She needs someone who understands all of that and doesn’t treat her differently. I don’t have anyone else working for me who I think fits that better than you. She still has to agree,” he warned Cody. “But if she does, I hope you’ll come back to guard her.”

“You’re—” Cody cleared his throat. “I didn’t—you’re giving me another chance.”

“It’s the last one. Elizabeth and my son are more important to me than anything else. The business, the organization — she’s number one. They both are. If you think something I’m doing is dangerous to her, then you better bring that to me.” Jason met Cody’s eyes. “You get me? You don’t get another chance, Cody. This is it.”

“You told me that I had to make her number one when I started guarding her,” Cody said. “And she made it clear that that you were her number one when she sent me away. I messed that up. I put you in danger by trying to help. I won’t do it again. You won’t regret this.”

Municipal Building: Scott’s Office

“Come in, come in.” Scott gestured for Taggert to take a seat. “You have an update on Ollie’s case?”

“Uh, sort of.” Taggert set a few files on the desk, waited for Scott to sit down. “I talked to Spencer. He added some things to what I already knew.”

“Really?”

“I need to clear up some timeline issues.” Taggert hesitated. “Karen.”

“Karen?” Scott leaned back. “What about her?”

“When did you find out she was your daughter?”

“Oh. Uh—” Scott blinked, then squinted. “Um, sometime in early January of…’94. Yeah, about six months before Ollie died. Rhonda called me—she said she’d been thinking things over, felt bad I didn’t know. And that it might be nice for Karen to have a relationship with me if we wanted that. I think she didn’t tell Karen until she was marrying Jagger. In March, that same year. Why?”

“Because I think this goes back to Karen and the Paradise. Sonny was hired on there as a favor to Joe Scully, according to Luke. And based on what I’ve learned—the Paradise changed under his management. It had probably always been a front for gambling—”

Scott twisted in his seat. “Wait a second—”

“Luke only knew rumors, but he thought Oliver was unhappy about the treatment of some of the girls. That he knew drugs were being used on the premises. Did he know about Karen? Being your daughter?”

“Yeah. Uh—” Scott shook his head. “I’m sorry. This is—this is just a lot. I—are you telling me that maybe he got killed because of what was going on at the Paradise?”

“That’s the rumor,” Taggert said slowly. “Did Oliver know Karen was your daughter?”

“Yeah,” Scott said faintly. “Rhonda said she’d reached out to him—we all went to school together. When Karen was struggling. She’d wanted some help. I never asked why she’d called him. I wasn’t involved then. But if—if he was working at the Paradise, it makes sense Rhonda wanted to talk to him.”

Scott looked at Taggert. “Wait. Wait. Is Corinthos a suspect?”

“I don’t have any evidence,” he said, “but yeah, based on Spencer’s statement, he is. The cop that buried the case—he never worked for Frank Smith. He was always on Sonny’s payroll.”

“Damn it. Damn it. And there’s no way to prove any of this—” Scott shoved away from the table. “Ollie got himself killed because of Karen?”

“I don’t know for sure, Scott. We might never know. I’m driving down to Buffalo tomorrow to talk to Angela Joyce. Now that Kelsey’s brought this to us, her mother might agree to help. I’m hoping she saved some of her husband’s paperwork to see if I can make any connections to Corinthos to pull him in for questioning.”

“Christ.” Scott crossed over to the window, looked down at the street. “It always comes back to him,” he muttered. “Even when we try to get away. I tried to let it go, Taggert.”

“So did I. And I sure as hell didn’t go looking for this case or for Sonny. I thought maybe we’d find some evidence of Smith ordering someone to do it—I never thought it’d be tied to Karen or Sonny. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Scott met his eyes. “Last year—last summer—we made mistakes. And we went after Sonny hard. That was wrong. And we learned from it, didn’t we? I think I did. I mean, I tried to do right by Carly after it went down. And you—you made nice with Morgan for Elizabeth’s sake.”

“I had my doubts, too,” Taggert admitted. “But this case—I’m on even ground here. I crossed all the boxes, and I’m waiting for probable cause before I pull Sonny in.”

“Luke pointed you in this direction? Luke Spencer?” Scott grimaced. “Never thought he’d turn on Sonny.”

“A lot of people are turning their back on Corinthos these days. Even Morgan.”

“I never thought I’d have a chance to get my daughter any justice for what that man did to her.” Scott looked at Taggert. “You’re going to Buffalo tomorrow? Let me move some things around. I’ll go with you. Angie might talk to me.”

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bathroom

“I think this is my favorite part of the day,” Elizabeth told Jason as she carefully washed the soap suds from Cameron’s body. His little fists splashed the water in the basin and his lips curved into what might have been a smile. “He loves the bath.”

“Smart guy.” Jason kissed the side of her neck, and Elizabeth laughed. “I think he likes it better when you do the bath.” He handed her a dry towel so she could wrap the baby in it and quickly dry him.

Once Cameron was double layered, Jason stayed behind in the bathroom to clean up while she went to feed him. Cameron had only been home for five days, and while she hadn’t had a lot of sleep, it was the best she’d felt in months. Maybe even years.

“I have something I want to run by you,” Jason said, switching off the light and closing the door. “You know I’ve been looking for a new day guard.”

“Oh, did you find someone? Marco won’t say anything but I know he’s worried with summer coming — he wants to be with DeeDee as much as possible. Did you know she was almost done with preschool? There’s a graduation, and I want to send a card—” Elizabeth stopped. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

“No, but thanks for letting me know. We’ll do something for him. I asked Cody to come up from Puerto Rico.”

Elizabeth blinked at him, then readjusted when the bottle slipped out of the baby’s mouth and he started to fuss. “Cody. I—”

“I know why you sent him away and I agreed. But it’s been two months, and no one really knows what he did. But before I gave it a green light, I wanted to make sure you’d feel okay with it.”

“I don’t know. I’ve missed him,” she admitted. “I was so angry and upset when I found out what he did, but it’s helped with time. I really would feel—I don’t know. He was there at the house and with the hearing, and—I guess I wouldn’t have felt so embarrassed if he’d been there. But I don’t want to cause trouble. Won’t it be a problem if it gets out?”

“It might be, but I’ll handle it. If you want Cody back on the door, then I’ll tell him to show up tomorrow.” Jason paused. “I don’t know anyone else in the organization who would be a better fit or who would protect you better. He was willing to go against me to keep you safe. That’s worth something to me.” He crouched down in front of the chair and met her eyes. “I can’t be with you all the time,” he continued. “And you wouldn’t want me to be. But I need you to not only be safe but feel safe. You and Cameron.”

“We’ll try it out and see how it goes.” Elizabeth paused. “Thank you. For thinking of this. I wouldn’t have even considered asking for Cody.”

He stood up and kissed her forehead. “I love you. If you don’t end up feeling comfortable with Cody, let me know. He’ll understand.”

“I know he will. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Joe’s: Bar

Claudia sauntered through the door and stood in the entrance for a minute, scanning the dive bar for her prey. Finding him at a back table, slumped over a shot glass with a bottle of tequila nearby, her lips curved into a smile. Drinking away his sorrows. Just the way she liked her men.

She weaved through the crowds of dockworkers, avoiding the stares. Most people didn’t know what she looked like and by the time anyone realized she was from the Zacchara family and that she’d been in Port Charles—

Well, it would be too late.

She tugged out a chair from the table and slid into it. “Richie, isn’t it?”

Richie looked up, his eyes glassy. “Who’s asking?”

“Someone who hears that you’ve been done wrong.”

+22

A broken shadow falls across your face
As you hesitate
Trying to think of all the things you need to say
Bare faced the truth lies at my feet
As you turn away
Sometimes silence has a way of making peace
– A Few Words Too Many, Billie Myers

Monday, April 28, 2004

General Hospital: Stairwell

The lights flashed again, and then the weakened, emergency lights finally kicked in as Elizabeth’s scream echoed in the stairwell. She looked around frantically—

There was no one at the top of the stairs. Her heart was racing as she clutched her son tightly, Cameron’s crying bouncing off the cement walls.

A few feet away from her, Richie was pulling himself to his feet, shaking his head and wincing. “You okay, Mrs. M? You trip or anything?”

“N-No—” Elizabeth sucked in a deep breath. “I was just—I heard you fall, and I—” She closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down. Her lungs were burning and she didn’t have her oxygen with her. She hadn’t needed it since being released from the hospital. “Are you okay?” she finally managed.

“Yeah, yeah. Tripped when the lights went out.” Richie grimaced as he righted the stroller.

The doors above them opened as someone called out. “Everyone okay here? I heard screaming.”

“Yeah, we’re good. Thanks!” Richie called back. He looked back at Elizabeth, his brows raised. “Right? Or did you want me to get someone?” There was something in his eyes. In his tone. She swallowed hard.

“No. No. I just—” It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real. She hadn’t seen Ric. It was just a trick of her eyes. He’d been on her mind, lurking in the back of it since that stupid bear showed up— “I’m fine. Let’s just go downstairs and get out of here. I need to make a stop before we go home.”

Port Charles Municipal Building: Kelsey’s Office

Scott knocked lightly on the door frame, and Kelsey glanced up. When she realized it was Scott, she sat straight and met his eyes. “You’ve talked to Anna.”

“I have.” He closed the door and came further into the room. “I’m sorry you didn’t feel like you could talk to me about it.”

“You wanted me to drop it.” Her eyes burned into his. “Did you know?”

“That the PCPD had covered up a murder? Of course not!” Scott scowled, then dragged a hand over his face. “But I knew it wasn’t a car accident. Your mom told me it was a stray bullet and that the case was cold. She didn’t even tell me that until a few years ago.” He exhaled slowly. “I never even realized your dad was working for Frank Smith.”

“How—”

“We drifted apart after law school, you know that. And I was in and out of Port Charles. I loved him, Kelse, but if I’d know what was going on, I would have said something. I promise you that. I would have talked him out of it, or hell, forced him into private practice with me. I never would have kept that from you.'”

Kelsey shoved back from the desk. “I don’t understand how Daddy had this whole life and no one ever told me. How could my mother lie to me? How could he—”

“You were just a kid when he died—”

“Is that what you’d tell Serena if this were happening to her? If she found out you did something terrible—”

“There’s a whole lot of shame in my past,” Scott said and Kelsey stumbled to a stop, just staring at him. “I married Jason Morgan’s biological mother when he was a baby and embezzled his trust fund. Did you know that?”

“I—”

“And I definitely got up to no good with Lucy a time or two. No one is perfect. And your parents were human. Finding out what Ollie did as a job—that doesn’t change who he was to you, kid. He was still your father and he loved you.”

Kelsey squeezed her eyes shut. “Mom’s mad at me for bringing this up. For turning the case over to the PCPD. I tried to put it away, Scott. I really did, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t let it go.”

“We might not get answers, sweetheart, but your dad deserves his case to be reopened and investigated properly. You did the right thing. Even if it hurts.”

“Maybe. But maybe I’ll just find out more about my dad I don’t want to know.” Her lip trembled. ‘”There’s no turning back now.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason checked the clock on the desk again, frowning. He hadn’t heard from Elizabeth yet. Was she still at the hospital? He’d left her a message to let her know he was done and waiting at home, but—

She was probably fine, he reassured himself. She had her guard, and he knew she’d made it to the hospital since she’d called him before the appointment.  She didn’t have to report to him, Jason reminded himself.

He went to answer the knock on the door, frowning when he saw Sonny there. “Hey. Uh, did you need something?”

“I, uh, thought I’d stop by and—” Sonny smoothed a hand down his shirt. “We haven’t really—we haven’t talked in a few days.”

“No, we haven’t.” Jason stepped aside to let his former partner into the room. Sonny looked around, likely taking in the changes since Cameron had come home. There was a cradle and a changing table next to the fireplace, and a few stuffed animals and other things littered around.

“Is Elizabeth here?” Sonny asked. “I haven’t really had the chance to see her.” He paused. “I mean, if she—I don’t know. Maybe she doesn’t want to see me.”

“We haven’t talked much about it,” Jason said. He closed the door. “But she said she’d be open to it when I was comfortable.” He met Sonny’s eyes. “I’m not there yet.”

“I get it.” Sonny paused. “I’m trying to get it,” he corrected. “It’s been…difficult the last few weeks. I know things weren’t okay before I went to Ferncliffe, but I didn’t know it.” He cleared his throat. “I mean—I knew it. But I didn’t feel about it the same way I do now. That doesn’t make sense—”

“You had the pretense of everything being the same,” Jason said. “You were still in charge even though we both know I’ve been doing everything for months. If you’re here to talk about that—”

“No. I want it back, but then I think about that day.” Sonny looked towards the sofa. “It’s a blur,” he said softly. “If I really think about it, I can remember that she doesn’t look well, but I can’t stop myself. I see her coughing, but then there are arms dragging me back.”

“Max and Cody,” Jason said tightly. “They had to physically remove you because you wouldn’t leave. She was supposed to check into the hospital that day for a safe delivery. Instead, she was rushed in for massive bleeding in her lungs and ended up on ventilator.”

“Did I—” Sonny’s face was gray as he forced out the question. “Did I do that? I know that stress makes the situation worse—”

“No. You didn’t cause the bleeding. That might have happened anyway. But you wasted time. Cody was going to call me when you stormed in. He thought Elizabeth looked sick.” Remembering that, remembering that Cody had always put Elizabeth first even when Jason couldn’t, made him feel slightly guilty for sending the guard away. Even after everything he’d done. “Instead of making that call, he wasted five minutes listening to you scream at her, and then five more getting you out. That’s ten minutes. Enough time to have her almost at the hospital before the bleeding started.”

“There’s no—there’s no apology that can be made for that,” Sonny told him. “Carly will never forgive me for what I did in December, and I know you can’t forgive me for it either. For any of it. I’m trying to be okay with that.”

“I can’t help you get there, Sonny. I spent too much time protecting you. Walking the line to make sure you were okay,” Jason told him. “Stay in therapy, take the meds. That’s all I can say.”

“It’s just—” Sonny looked out towards the window, towards the harbor. “I don’t know what the point is,” he said softly. “I dropped my divorce protest like you asked, but Carly’s still going forward with taking the boys away from me for good. Alexis will never let me near Kristina, and Dante doesn’t want a damn thing to do with me. And there’s no chance that you’ll let me back in. As a friend, as a partner, as a boss—” He closed his eyes. “It’s all gone.”

And with nothing from his life to hold on to, why bother taking the meds? Jason put his hands in his pockets. “It doesn’t have to be,” he found himself saying. Sonny looked at him, opening his eyes in surprise. “The business—I can’t do anything about that. The men won’t follow you. They’ve made it clear to me. I had to fight off a power grab because of it, and the only reason it didn’t go to an all out war is because they felt sorry for me with Elizabeth. That’s it. Her health was the only reason we got a chance to keep it together.”  He paused. “But I’m still here. Elizabeth—she told me that if I wanted to keep you in our lives, she’d be okay with it.”

“She said that, huh?”

“I didn’t know you were seeing Lily and your mother, Sonny. I can’t apologize for what happened the day Elizabeth went into the hospital. Maybe you think I should. But I would have killed you if Carly hadn’t stopped me, and I wouldn’t have regretted it. Maybe you don’t want to be around someone that feels that way.”

Sonny sighed, then looked down at the desk where Elizabeth had set a framed photo of Cameron in the NICU, being held by Jason with Alan by his side. Emily had taken it, and Jason hadn’t argued when Elizabeth had put it on the desk. Sonny picked it up. “I remember how scared you were last summer when Elizabeth was in the coma and they didn’t know if she’d survive the embolism.”

Jason remained silent, so Sonny kept talking. “She’d nearly died to give me back my wife and son. She stayed in that house, ignoring the symptoms, putting herself in danger over and over again to give us a chance to find Carly. She did that for you, I know, but I benefited. And when I think of the way I’ve treated her these last few months—since Carly told me about wanting to testify—” he looked at Jason. “It shames me. The things I said to her. The things I did and said to Carly. I can’t blame the illness. Not all the way. I wish I could. It made it worse, but you were right at Ferncliffe. Sometimes I knew exactly what I was doing and did it anyway.”

He set the frame back down. “You should have killed me that day for what I did to your family, for what I did to my own.” Sonny looked at Jason. “Elizabeth might be okay with me being in your life, but are you?”

“I don’t know,” Jason said. “At the end of the day, Elizabeth and Cameron survived. I have my family. If bending a little on this, if forgiving you helps you stay well, Sonny, and gives you a reason to stay on the medication and in therapy—” he shrugged. “I think it’s worth a try.”

“Thank you for at least considering it.” Sonny touched the frame. “Your kid looks like a fighter. I hope I get to meet him one day.”

“He’s with Elizabeth at GH for a checkup,” Jason told him as he followed Sonny to the door and opened it. “I’ll talk to her and see when she’s ready to have him meet you.”

“Thank you,” Sonny told him. “For at least listening.”

Jason closed the door, then shook his head. He went over to the phone, breathing a sigh of relief. Elizabeth had sent him a text. Cam, a-ok. Stopping somewhere. Be home soon.

The Star Lounge: Office

Johnny closed the door behind him, then answered the phone vibrating in his pocket. “Claudia.”

“Hey, baby brother. You said it was an emergency. Do I have to come and clean up a mess?”

Johnny hissed as he came away from the door, keeping his voice hushed. “Not yet. Are you or Dad up to anything with Morgan? Is he going to break the truce?”

His sister was quiet for a long moment. When she spoke again, her voice was flat and serious. “What’s going on? Is that bastard threatening you? Because—”

“Claudia, don’t bullshit me. Are you up to something? What is Dad planning?”

“First of all, even if Daddy was planning something, he wouldn’t tell me. I only find things out when I screw one of the guards.” The resentment dripped from every word, but Johnny knew she was telling the truth on that score. Anthony only let Claudia in on the family business when he didn’t have a choice — or when she was a witness to one of his rages and had to help clean up the mess.

“Okay, so you don’t know anything.”

“I didn’t say that, just that I’m not planning anything with Daddy. Maybe he’s thinking of calling Morgan’s bluff. I mean, does anyone think that marshmallow is actually going to do anything to you?” Claudia snorted. “Please—”

“He might not, but—” Johnny paused. “What about the guys who work for him and know I’m here for leverage? Jason doesn’t have to do the deed, just look the other way when one of them slits my throat and tosses me on Dad’s doorstep.”

There was silence again on the other end. “I’m not planning anything, John, but I can’t promise Daddy isn’t. What’s going on? I can’t snoop if I don’t know where to look.”

Johnny grimaced. “Something got sent to Morgan’s wife and it’s got him on edge. I’m not gonna say anything other than that. He thinks he can trust me, and he can. I just don’t want any damn surprises, Claudie. If you find out Dad’s planning something, you need to give me a heads up so I can get the hell out of here.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll look into it and see what we find out.”

Luke’s: Office

Luke grumbled and sat up, shoving his cigar in an ashtray. “Claude!” he called, getting to his feet. “Why didn’t you tell me the damn PCPD was here?”

Taggert smirked and walked into the office. “You still expecting Claude to have your back?”

“No.” Luke scowled as he sat back down. “I’ve been expecting you,” he muttered.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Laura told me Kelsey was taking her dad’s case to the Anna, so I figured someone would be along sooner or later.”

He stared at his desk for a long moment. “He’s happy, you know. Working as a cop. Even after everything that’s happened with Dante and all of that. Never could understand it, but you know, Laura likes to help people. Always did. He must get it from her. Lucky’s happy. And Kelsey’s part of it, so…” He shrugged a shoulder, looked at the wall.

“I knew Ollie back in the day—back with the Campus Disco, a club I was running for Frank Smith. Ollie did the books. He was green, just out of law school, and he did not like me.” Luke smirked. “He was Baldwin’s best friend, even though I think they lost touch around that time. Went their different ways.”

“Was Joyce in the business? Or legit?”

“In those days, completely above the board.” Luke grimaced. “You always keep one guy on the outside who can’t be tied to anything. Not saying Ollie didn’t know what was up back in those days, but he wasn’t actively involved. There’s a difference.”

“Yeah.”

“After Smith went to prison, Ollie stayed on with the clubs. Damian took over, but he was a young kid just out of college. I think Ollie helped keep them afloat at first—you know, hiring managers, but the Smiths lost a lot of power and clout without Frank. He still had power inside, but you need someone outside who can make things happen. Damian Smith couldn’t. He didn’t have the same power.”

Luke picked up his cigar, then relit the tip. He took a long puff. “I’m not sure what went on with Ollie after Laura and me split town. When I came back to Port Charles, he was still handling club business and Damian was climbing the ladder. I think there was a power vacuum or something.”

“The Jerome family had fallen,” Taggert told him, and Luke nodded.

“Yeah, that makes sense. Ah, I wasn’t involved mostly at that time, but Frank was trying to pull me back in. He escaped from prison, and I got swept up in all of that.” He looked at Taggert. “I’m a confidential informant, yeah?”

“No one’s looking to get you in trouble, Luke. I know Smith put you and your family through hell. Lucky’s mentioned it.”

“Yeah, well, Damian was taking more control of the clubs, I think, when I moved back. The Campus Disco was gone, but the Paradise Lounge—that, was, ah, Damian’s main front.” He looked at Taggert. “It was managed by Sonny. Frank had known Joe Scully back in New York, and Scully wanted Sonny out of New York after some cop died.”

Taggert tensed. “So he came up here.”

“Yeah, Frank had him take over the club. Damian hated Sonny—hated that his father was still calling the shots.”

“Do you—” Taggert hesitated. “Do you know anything about the cop in New York?”

“Not much. You know, not all cops are great guys.” Luke sat up, leaned forward. “What I heard was Scully was doing Sonny a favor. Getting rid of a cop who’d been beating on his wife, but Sonny was a suspect. Easier to leave town.”

“Beating his—” Taggert shook his head. “That’s—” He stopped. That wasn’t what he was doing here. “Let’s talk about Oliver Joyce.”

“I heard a rumor somewhere, I don’t really remember where now,” Luke admitted, “that Ollie had drifted out of the legit side of the business. He hadn’t meant to, but sometimes—you know, you can’t help yourself. He wasn’t happy about the way the business was run at the Paradise. How the girls were treated.”

Taggert tensed. “Do you think that’s why he’s dead?”

“I can’t tell you that for sure. I wasn’t in the inner circle like that. But,” Luke said, meeting Taggert’s eyes, “I don’t think Frank Smith was paying too much attention to details like that in June of 1994. Ollie wasn’t on his list of priorities.”

They stared at each other for a long moment, then Taggert exhaled on a long breath. “He wasn’t on Frank’s list, but he was on someone’s. Who pulled the job, Luke?”

“I never really knew,” Luke said. “I still don’t. But knowing that Ollie’s death was closed pretty quick, no real investigation?” He shrugged. “When I found out David Case investigated—I knew.”

“Anna said that Case was a dirty cop. He retired in ’97. You know anything else about him?”

Luke waited, then sighed. “The things you do for your boy. Yeah, I know him. He was Sonny’s guy. Sonny lured him in at the Paradise with some girls, got some dirt on him, then paid him off until retirement.”

“Sonny’s guy,” Taggert repeated. “Not Frank’s. You didn’t tell Lucky that. You let him think he was Sonny’s inheritance from Frank.”

“That’s when I thought I could get Lucky to leave it alone.” Luke hesitated. “Sonny told me that he’d wanted a cop in his pocket that was loyal only to him. Not Frank or his kid. He had plans. He thought Port Charles was a good place to get power, and he wanted a hell of a lot of it.”

Taggert scrubbed his hands over his face. “God damn it.”

“I told Lucky—what I know can’t be proved. I’m sorry for it, I’m sorry for Kelsey. She’s a nice kid. But her dad played with some real bad people, and he didn’t get out soon enough.”

Taggert nodded, then made a face. “You said Ollie wasn’t happy about the girls at the Paradise. How? What was the issue?”

“Sonny used to traffic in girls,” Luke told him. “He stopped after the Paradise, at least as far as I know. Fed them drugs so they’d dance with less…” He wiggled his fingers. “They were looser,” he said. “I never liked it either, but I wasn’t in a position to argue. Sonny wanted Smith out of the way, and I needed Smith gone.”  He hesitated. “Karen Wexler worked at the Paradise.”

“Karen—” Taggert winced. “Did—did Ollie know Karen was his kid?”

“I don’t know. I never knew when Scott found out, so I can’t say when or what Ollie knew. I just know he and Sonny didn’t get along.” Luke looked at him. “I know how you feel about Sonny. You think there’s any chance of getting him on this?”

“I don’t know.” Taggert got to his feet. “But I guess we’re gonna find out.”

The Cellar: Office

Carly practically shot out of her seat when Elizabeth appeared in the doorway of her office, holding Cameron in a baby carrier. “Oh my God, is that Cameron?” she squealed. She hurried around her desk, then frowned when she realized Elizabeth was alone and her eyes were bloodshot. “What’s wrong? Where’s Jason?”

“He’s—” Elizabeth closed her eyes and swayed a little. Carly took her arm and with her other hand, took the carrier. She led her over to the sofa, helping her to sit, setting the baby between them. “He’s at home. Waiting for me. I just—I needed a minute before I went there. I’m sorry. I knew you were working—”

“It’s fine—” Carly sat next to her and took in her first real look at the dozing baby. She hadn’t realized just how little Cameron still was. She’d seen pictures, but at the same time—she’d thought— “He’s big enough to be home?”

“What? Oh—” Elizabeth focused on her son, then leaned forward to unfasten the straps. “Here. You haven’t had a chance to hold him, have you?”

Carly lifted Cameron into her arms, her heart aching at just how different his weight felt from the day she’d held Morgan after giving birth. Morgan had been healthy and full-term, weighing almost twice as much as Cameron.

“The doctor said he was doing better than expected,” Elizabeth said, a smile lighting up her face. “I know he still doesn’t look like other babies. I mean, he’s perfect to me, but—”

“No, no, I didn’t mean—it just—I don’t want to hurt him,” Carly told her. “You know? He seems…” Breakable. “Fragile.”

“He’s stronger than he looks. Jason wants to have you over this weekend to meet him. We’ve just been getting him into a routine, and I’ve messed that up—” Elizabeth dragged her hands through her hair and got to her feet, starting to pace. “I just—I need to get myself under control before I go home.”

“Okay,” Carly said with a nod. “And you came to me.”

“I did. Because I know you’ll understand.” Elizabeth turned to face her, folding her arms. “A bunch of the families and business people sent us gifts, and one of them—it was a bear. A bear that looked just like one Ric gave me for the baby last year.” She closed her eyes. “I put it out of my head. I had to. And most of the time, I don’t think about Ric anymore, but it’s hard. Because so much of what I’m dealing with is because of him. I still have to have surgery because of Ric. Cameron was born premature because of Ric. And this bear—” She looked away. “It just came back to me, and I shoved it out again.”

“You told Jason about it?” Carly asked, readjusting Cameron in her arms. “What did he say?”

“We both decided it was a coincidence and he took it away. But today, at the hospital — the storm was making the lights flicker, so I took the stairs. The lights went out, and it was all dark.”

Carly’s throat tightened. Small, dark space. “What happened?”

“The guard—he fell—but it was just—it was all so quick—we were in the dark, and all of a sudden, I felt like I was back in the crypt, and then the lights flashed, and I thought I saw—” She gulped in a breath. “I thought I saw Ric.”

“You thought—”

“I didn’t. I didn’t,” Elizabeth added. “I know it wasn’t him. There wasn’t anyone,” she continued. “Because the lights came back on right away, and there wasn’t anyone there. I imagined it. I thought I heard someone attacking Richie, but he’d just tripped with the stroller and fell down the stairs.”

She rubbed her arms. “I’m okay,” she repeated. “I just needed a minute, and Richie—he wouldn’t understand. I didn’t tell him. He wasn’t there. He’s new, you know. And he hasn’t—”

“He hasn’t been there long.” Carly tipped her head. “I know about Cody. I’m sorry. It’s hard to have a guard following you around, so it’s better when you can trust and know them. I always felt better with Max or Rocco.”

“It’s not Richie. I don’t think. I don’t know. It was just—” Elizabeth sighed and sat down. “He heard me screaming, and he looked at me like I was insane. That’s exactly what it was. Because he doesn’t know me or what I’ve been through. And it’s been months since I had a panic attack. I know I didn’t see Ric. I know he wasn’t there.”

“You had your son with you, alone with just a guard,” Carly said. “A guard you don’t know very well yet. And you’ve got Ric in your head.” She paused. “The first time I came back to the Cellar after getting out of the crypt, I had a panic attack. Because it’s underground without any windows. And then I had a few more after December. I hear Ric in my dreams. And then sometimes I think he’s in the room with me.”

“Still?” Elizabeth said.

“Yeah. More since Jason told us he was dead. I thought it would help knowing it was over,” Carly said. “But knowing and feeling it are different. How many times have you left the penthouse since Cameron was born without Jason?”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Today was the first time,” she admitted.

“There you go. You were already on edge and didn’t even know it.” Carly paused. “You should talk to Jason. If you’re not comfortable with Richie, you need to tell him that.”

“But—”

“No buts,” Carly said firmly, getting to her feet and readjusting the baby who was starting to fuss. She handed him back to his mother. “We put up with a lot to exist in that life,” she continued. “The one thing you absolutely deserve is to be able to trust the man who’s supposed to protect you. And you don’t. If you think Richie’s judging you for what happened today, it’s going to be harder to build that trust. And—” she paused. “If you’re struggling with Ric and all of that, Jason should know that, too. I didn’t tell anyone but Kevin about the panic attacks. I never let Sonny in, not until it was too late. Don’t make that mistake.”

Luke’s: Bar

“Hey, isn’t it a little early?” Dante joked as he slid onto a stool next to Cruz while Lucky wiped a glass behind the bar.

“I’m here for the cheese fries,” Cruz said. “Didn’t think you’d show.”

Lucky set a Rolling Rock in front of Dante. “Thought you’d be busy at work,” he said with a raised brow. Dante rolled his eyes and took a long pull. “You do make a mean bowl of chili, I’ll be honest.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Dante looked at Cruz. “I was thinking about maybe coming back to the apartment. The press is long gone, so they probably won’t bother us.”

“Are we still pretending that’s the only reason you moved out?” Cruz asked, turning slightly to face Dante fully. “Because staying at Kelly’s made it easier for you to make googly eyes at his sister.”

Lucky winced. “Hey, I can be completely okay with Dante dating Lulu as long as we don’t talk about it.” He rolled his shoulders. “As far as I’m concerned, they play checkers.” He paused, then focused on Dante. “But are you serious? Are you done with Kelly’s?”

“Done with living there,” Dante corrected.

“Excellent timing,” Cruz said, “Maxie was planning an intervention.”

Dante grimaced. “Oh, hell—”

“Yeah, I don’t even want to know what that would have looked like,” Lucky said, shaking his head. “What about the department?”

“I—” He paused. “I’m starting to think about it, but like I’ve been saying to your sister—if I do, I gotta be ready for the press to start all over again. I’m not there yet.”

Cruz nodded. “Yeah, that’s fair. I mean, we can say we want you back, and we do. Spencer doesn’t even blame you for getting him shot—” Lucky flicked a pretzel at him. “But if it you makes you feel better, the PCPD’s about to have another scandal that might dwarf yours.”

“Oh, yeah?” Dante straightened. “What’d they do this time?”

“They might have covered up the murder of Kelsey’s father,” Lucky said grimly. Dante stared at him. “Yeah, you’re a little out of the loop. Let me catch you up.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason knew something was wrong the minute the door opened, and Elizabeth maneuvered the stroller through. She glanced at Richie. “Thank you, Richie.” Then she looked away and smiled at Jason. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He brushed a kiss against her cheek, then looked at Richie. “We’re in for the day,” he told the guard. “So you can take off.”

“Uh—” Richie glanced at Elizabeth again. “Sure thing. I’ll hang out down in security for a while if you change your mind.”

Jason closed the door behind the guard and looked at Elizabeth as she took Cameron out of the stroller. “I have a bottle waiting,” he told her. “I’ll go get it.”

“Okay.”

While Elizabeth fed Cameron, Jason folded up the stroller and put it in the closet, along with her coat, then tucked the diaper bag away. “You said the appointment went all right?” he asked, sitting next to her. “Did you get caught in the storm? I didn’t know how bad it was going to get. We lost power here for about ten minutes.”

“Yeah, um, about that.” Elizabeth sighed and let him tuck her into his embrace. She curled into his side, rearranging herself so that Cameron was comfortable, too. “Dr. Devlin said Cameron is doing better than expected. If he keeps the same pace, he’ll catch up by his first birthday.”

“That sounds like good news,” Jason said, frowning. He smoothed a thumb down Cameron’s cheek, reassuring himself that their son was all right.

“It was after. Um, the storm was bad, you know. And the lights kept flickering, even at the hospital. I decided to take the stairs because I didn’t want to get stuck in the elevator.”

“Okay—”

“The lights went out while we were there. Um, I heard Richie fall, but I thought—” Elizabeth closed her eyes. “I had a panic attack. It was really dark, and I just went—my mind went directly to the crypt.”

Jason tightened his other arm around her, drawing her in more tightly. “I should have been there—”

“No, no, it’s not—it was just—the lights flickered, and for a minute I thought I saw Ric.” She blinked at him when he clenched his jaw. “I know I didn’t. No one was there. It was just my mind playing tricks on me, but I guess he’s been in the back of my mind more than I thought, and it was just—it was dark. I’m okay. We’re okay.”

“Okay.” Jason paused. “Then what’s the problem with Richie? You were acting strangely when you came back.”

“You really notice everything.” Elizabeth grimaced. “The lights were out for maybe thirty seconds, you know, and it all happened so fast. When they went back on, I had—I had screamed, and I probably looked upset and a little crazy. Richie—he just looked at me weird, you know? It’s fine,” she added. “He doesn’t know me very well yet, and I don’t know him. So we’re just—it’s bumpy.”

Jason exhaled slowly. He could tell she was more upset about being embarrassed than she was about the panic attack, and it killed him because he knew—he absolutely knew—that she wouldn’t feel that way if Cody had been with her. Cody would have made her feel safe. “Okay.”

“I took Cam to see Carly afterwards. I just wanted to calm down, and I knew she’d understand. I really am fine, it just shook me and I felt stupid, you know? It was just a storm.” Elizabeth leaned her head against his shoulder. “I’m okay.”

“I know, but I’ll talk to Marco. You know him better than Richie. I’ll have him switch to days. He likes nights better, but I’d rather you have someone you feel comfortable with during the day. And I’ll work on finding a new day guard.”

“Oh—Jason, you don’t have to—I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

“You’re not. It’s only been a few days, and it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve changed up guard duty. It’s not a big deal,” Jason promised her. “I’ll make sure Richie understands. He probably isn’t the right guy to be with you.”

“If you’re sure,” Elizabeth said.

“I’m sure.” He kissed her forehead. “Tell me more about the appointment. How much did Cameron weigh?”

+19

And the ever present pit I feel
I’m turning on some spinning wheel
Of faces and the scenes I see
And none of it seems real to me
Just the bleary haze of the morning still to come
I just want to be numb
– Numb, Airborne Toxic Event

Monday, April 28, 2004

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Jason emerged from the bathroom with Cameron already in his first layer of clothes, cradling the newborn against his chest. “I’ll be glad when the weather stays warm,” he said as she dressed him another layer. There would still be another of clothing when she took him outside, but two would be enough inside.

“I know. I’ve barely been able to sleep. I keep coming over to check his temperature.” She wrinkled her nose, zipping up the sweater.

Jason kissed the top of Elizabeth’s head. “A few more months, and we’ll be able to relax more,” he promised. “Why don’t I go with you today? I can put off this meeting—”

“No, it’s okay.” Elizabeth turned to him. “I need to do as much as I can right now because when I have the surgery, I won’t be able to lift him much all summer. Richie will be there, and I’m going to grab lunch with Emily before our appointment with Dr. Devlin.” She handed the fully dressed baby back to Jason so he could feed him. “I already warmed the bottle.”

“If you’re sure,” Jason said, still doubtful. He sat in the chair and arranged Cameron against his chest.

“I’m sure.” Elizabeth took a breath and enjoyed the sensation of nearly being able to expand her entire chest. She’d never take that feeling for granted again. “I can’t wait to be done with this for good.” She bit her lip. “I sent in that acceptance for the grad program. I’m starting in the fall.”

Jason raised his brows, then grinned. “I’m glad you didn’t wait a year.”

“I’m still nervous,” she admitted, “about making it work. But Carly’s running the club full time and she’s got two kids without a nanny now, so I should be able to make it work without a job. Plus, Cameron hasn’t had any complications, so that’s some weight off my shoulders.” She folded her arms. “I can do this. And I miss the support group. I was gonna stop by Gail’s office and find out if they’re still meeting. If they want me back. Or maybe there’s another one she can find for me to work with.”

She sat on the edge of the bed. “It feels so strange to be able to plan for all of this. Like we were living in limbo for so long with the baby, with Ric and Sonny, and all of that—”

Jason glanced up, his fingers wrapped around the end of the bottle, and met her eyes. “But now we get to think about what’s next.”

“Yeah. For the first time since…” Elizabeth shook her head. “God, for the first time in years, honestly. It’s like I’ve just been putting one foot in front the other, scared to look up, but now I can and I like where I am.” She looked down at her hand, twisting her wedding band, then at Jason and Cameron in the chair. “Two years ago, I couldn’t even dream of having this.” She paused. “What about you?”

Jason hesitated. “I told you once that I wasn’t really good at dreams,” he reminded her. “But I liked believing in yours. I still do.”

It was a sweet memory, one of the last good ones before it had gone wrong. Elizabeth smiled. “I remember. I should have told you then what mine were. Maybe it would have been different. I know we said we wouldn’t talk about regrets anymore,” she added when he frowned slightly. “But sometimes I wonder what would have happened. The day you told me that?” She paused. “If I’d told you that my dream was to wake up next to you in Italy and not get out of bed for days.”

“I probably would have tried to get us on the next flight,” he said, and she laughed. “We might not get to Italy this summer, but we’ll go.” Cameron finished his bottle, and Jason adjusted so that he could burp.

“I know. Italy always felt like this far away fantasy that I used to think about when things were bad. When I was unhappy, I’d close my eyes.” She sighed, closing them now. “And I’d think about walking in Piazzo San Marco or taking a water taxi in the canals, or touring the museums in Florence. With that sunlight washing over the buildings.” She opened her eyes. “It was my happy place, but I don’t need it the way I used to.”

“Happy place,” Jason repeated. “Robin used to tell me about that, just the way you described it. When you were unhappy, you’d picture yourself somewhere else. It never made sense to me then,” he confessed. “If you were unhappy, then go make yourself happy. It seemed like the obvious solution.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course it did.” She got to her feet and went over to take Cameron from him so he could go down for a brief nap before the hospital. She settled Cameron in the cradle, checking his forehead again to make sure he was warm enough, but not too hot. Jason’s arms encircled her waist from behind her. She leaned back against him.

“I eventually understood what she meant,” Jason told her. “For a long time, it was being on the bike for me.”

“Going nowhere fast,” she murmured, closing her eyes, resting her arms along his at her waist. “That’s a good one.”

“But this right here. Being with you, watching Cameron sleep. This is my dream. I just didn’t know it until it came true.”

Spencer House: Kitchen

Luke knew even before Laura sat down that he was in trouble. She just had that look in her eye and her jaw was set.

He grimaced and poured himself another cup of coffee. “All right, let me have it.”

“Lucky and Kelsey are going to Anna today and having her reopen her father’s case.”

Coffee sloshed over the rim as Luke fumbled and stared at her. “What—”

“And you’ll probably be the first or second person on the list to question.” Laura folded her arms. “When that happens, I expect you to tell the truth.”

“Angel—”

“Don’t even bother. I know you can help Kelsey more than you are right now, and I’m not going to sit here and let you lie to me one more time.” She lifted her chin. “Who are you protecting, Luke? If you didn’t do this, and I know you didn’t—”

“I sure as hell hope you know it—”

“Then tell me why you think Sonny deserves your loyalty.”

Luke cleared his throat. “What makes you think I’m protecting Sonny—”

“Because he’s the only person left who might have wanted to do something to Ollie. Ollie worked in the clubs, Luke. Did you think I wasn’t listening?” Laura demanded. “The clubs. Sonny worked there, too.”

“I—”

“If Sonny ordered Ollie’s murder or he carried it out, Kelsey deserves to know that.” Laura hesitated. “And Lucky deserves to know that you accept him.”

“I do—”

“He’s a cop now, Luke. He’s asking you to help use what you know to give Kelsey justice. Nikolas told me how you reacted when Lucky went into the academy. You told him he wasn’t any son of yours.”

“I—”

“I’ve asked very little of you over the years,” Laura said, her voice quiet now and Luke just stared at her. “Much less than I ought to have. I’ve forgiven you for what happened between us at the beginning. For what you did to me. I believed you when you said you were a better man.”

Luke didn’t respond this time. He sat at the kitchen table, looked around the room, thought of the house that Laura had set her heart on from the moment they’d returned to Port Charles. The family she’d wanted to build.

The family he’d told himself made him stronger. He was a better man now, wasn’t he? He’d promised himself he’d do better by the people in his life. He’d taken Carly under his wing, and he’d opened his heart to Lucky’s new way of life—

But Laura was right. He was still holding back. Still protecting the pieces of the old Luke.

“I didn’t know anything at the time,” Luke said slowly. “And I meant what I said about only hearing rumors. Ollie worked at the clubs, yeah, and he worked with Sonny. They didn’t get along. Then Ollie was dead, and we were off and running with Frank Smith. I can’t tell you if Sonny had anything to do with what happened, only that—”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Sonny used to talk about what happened when people came for his power, tried to take it from him. And how he needed to put the Paradise behind him. Why he’d insisted on razing the club to the ground and rebuilding. What happened there needed to stay there. When I asked him about Ollie, he told me never to say that name again.” Luke met Laura’s eyes. “So I didn’t.”

“Will you tell that to the next person who asks?” Laura asked. “Or are you looking to protect Sonny?”

“Not thinking about Sonny so much, darling. Thinking about all the people around him,” Luke admitted. “Caroline doesn’t need one more thing dropped on her, and Jason and Elizabeth have that sweet baby home now. Dragging Sonny into another crisis doesn’t seem like much of a favor. And maybe—” He closed his eyes. “Maybe I don’t want to admit that I suspected what Sonny did and still let my boy grow up to idolize him.”

“Luke—”

“I can tell you I’m a better man, Laura, and I think sometimes it’s true. But then I think about the things I’ve done—and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to scrub the red from my ledger.” He got to his feet. “But it’s time to face the music, I guess. If Cowboy or someone else at the PCPD comes at me, I’ll tell them.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Anna ushered Lucky and Kelsey into her office and closed the door. “Lucky said this had to do with your father?”

She gestured for them to sit at her conference table. “I didn’t realize Oliver Joyce was related to you when we met,” Anna said.  “I knew him, of course. I knew most lawyers in town, particularly anyone involved in the clubs back then.”

“I didn’t realize.” Kelsey bit her lip. “Then you knew my dad worked for Frank Smith.”

“Frank Smith was in jail, and wasn’t running much of anything to be quite honest. His daughter had left town, and his son wasn’t really involved with things. If I recall correctly, Damian had kept some of his father’s clubs, but it wasn’t a huge part of the business. Oliver worked for a lot of people during those days.”

“Oh.” Kelsey’s smile was small, but relieved. “So he wasn’t like, actually, a criminal.”

“Well, I can’t say that he wasn’t aware of some wrongdoing,” Anna cautioned, “but no, I don’t think he was actively involved with that part of the business. Generally, most of these organizations have legitimate lawyers working for them that stay apart from the business. I remember your father being more along those lines. I—I’m sorry to hear that he passed—” She gestured at the file in front of Lucky. “What happened to him?”

“Well, my mother told me that he’d died in a car accident in June of 1994, when I was thirteen,” Kelsey told her. “But recently, I found out he’d been shot.”

“We looked up the file in the PCPD archives.” Lucky slid it across the table to Anna. “It was ruled an accident.”

Anna frowned, opened the file and removed the report. “In the head—point blank—” She looked through the rest of the folder, focusing on the autopsy report. “How could this be ruled accidental? Within hours?”

“Mom said she was brought to the morgue the morning after the accident,” Kelsey said. “And she was told that if she fought the report, she’d regret it. She left town.”

“But that’s—that’s not right—I can’t believe Sean would have allowed this.” Anna exhaled slowly. “This was a cover up that went further than just the detective. The responding officers, the coroner—so many people had to be paid off for this to disappear like this.”

“Well, not necessarily,” Lucky reminded her. “The coroner, yeah. But the first responders — if they never followed up, then they might not have known it was filed this way. All they’d think is that it didn’t get headlines.”

“That’s true.” Anna tapped a pen. “You’ve obviously been looking into this. What are your thoughts?”

“My dad—” Lucky winced. “Um, I talked to him because he knew Frank Smith back then. He said that he remembered the cop on that report was one of Frank’s guys. And that he continued, uh,” he scratched his cheek. “His loyalties continued to be divided until he retired.”

“Ah, in other words, he was one of Corinthos’s moles,” Anna said dryly. “Did your father have anything else to offer?”

“He said he didn’t know a lot—he wasn’t really in the Smith fold at that point. He agreed with you that her dad was mostly on the legit side of the business. But that’s all he was willing to say to us.”

Anna sighed, looked down at the file. “And you were thinking maybe we might want to reopen the case?” she asked Kelsey.

“I don’t know. I honestly—I almost didn’t say anything. My mother is still scared,” Kelsey admitted. “And after the scandals the PCPD has weathered, I didn’t feel great about bringing another up. I know from what Lucky’s told me—there’s been a lot of mob turnover—”

“That’s true. The scene faded a bit after the Jeromes fell,” Anna said. “It was all gambling and drugs then. The smuggling—that’s new—mostly because of the fall of the Soviet Union.”

“Wait—” Kelsey frowned, traded looks with Lucky. “Really? That’s why it picked up back up?”

“Well, yes — according to Mac — when Corinthos took over, he brought connections to Puerto Rico and South America,” Anna told her. “Which made a water route to Canada very lucrative for drug and gun runners. There aren’t that many places with a water border to Canada and organized crime as well. You see it in Vancouver on the Pacific Coast. Once something is in Canada, it can be smuggled to Russia more easily—something that was more important once the Soviets fell.” She shrugged. “I had wondered why Corinthos was so important to the syndicate when I moved back. Port Charles had never been much of a power player before.”

She studied the report again. “And since Corinthos took over, they’ve gone through a number of local gangs as well as a few international foes from South America. Most of the men who worked for Smith—if they’re still alive and in the game, they work for Corinthos.”

“Sonny worked for Frank Smith, too,” Lucky said quietly. He looked at Kelsey. “I was thinking about what else my dad would keep secrets about. He never talked about Sonny other than the cop being his inside guy, but Sonny had to know something. He came up in the clubs, too.”

Lucky turned back to Anna. “Sonny helped Dad get out from under Frank Smith, and Dad got caught up in that stuff for a while. Until my mom almost left him. Sonny used to own shares in Luke’s. That’s why my dad wants it to be left alone. He doesn’t want us to dig up dirt on Sonny. Especially now.”

“It’s possible that’s a motive, but we won’t know unless your father divulges more.” Anna looked at Kelsey. “If you’re sure, I’ll assign the case to Lieutenant Taggert.”

“I’m as sure as I can be. I have to know the truth.”

The Star Lounge: Bar

Johnny stepped out from the office, wincing when he saw Jason seated at the bar. “Oh, man. My old man did something, didn’t he? That dumb fuck.”

“I don’t know,” Jason said. He reached into the inside pocket of his leather coat and set something on the bar. “You tell me.”

Johnny stared down at the stuffed yellow bear, then blinked at Jason. “I’m lost.”

“The bear came from Solana Ruiz for my son. Javier Ruiz did a favor for Anthony and told us that Ric Lansing had tried to use them to get back into the country back in January.”

Johnny exhaled slowly. “Which would have been three months after my father killed him. Okay, so that means the Ruiz family is just cruel and insane. That can’t be news to you. You’ve heard the rumors about the youngest son, haven’t you?”

Jason’s glare just grew colder. “That bear is an exact replica of one Ric Lansing gave my wife just before she miscarried last year.” He leaned forward. “You’re telling me that’s a coincidence?”

Johnny looked at the bear with renewed interest. “Someone sent her a bear to remind her of her first marriage and a miscarriage? That’s pretty cold,” he admitted. “And, yeah, I guess sending it through the Ruiz family is gonna make you wonder.” He put the bear down. “If it was my father, I don’t know anything about it. He likes to say he wants me to take over the business, but he’s kept me out of it.”

Jason put the bear back into his coat pocket. “You said you liked it here,” he said. “I know you’ve settled in and started to make a life for yourself. Tommy says the club profits are up.”

“Yeah,” Johnny drawled, skeptically. “I like it fine, so what?”

“Would your family do something like this?” Jason wanted to know. “Dig up something like that to use against me?”

“Would my father use psychological torture by attacking you through your family? Yes,” Johnny said. “Absolutely. But—I mean, who would know about the bear except your wife and Ric Lansing? I doubt Lansing told my dad or his own about any of this. And before you ask—” He held up a hand. “I had the unfortunate pleasure of being in the room when my father snapped and choked the life out of him.”

Jason nodded. “Why did Anthony snap that night?”

“Oh.” Johnny grimaced. “Well, the trial was coming up, and Dad was getting antsy about it. He thought Ric would make a deal, and he tried but your DA refused. Said he wanted to go to trial and wasn’t gonna give an inch. Basically, the only way Ric was gonna get out of this was to disappear or make a better deal with someone higher up.”

Jason’s mouth twisted. “He was thinking about turning on Zacchara.”

“Yeah, I think Dad got wind that Lansing was talking to the feds. I don’t know all the details — Dad just called a family meeting. He was fuming, and I knew he was on the edge. He doesn’t get like that a lot,” Johnny continued, “and when he does, you try to stay out of his way. Ric showed up and said something sarcastic, and Dad lost it. Trevor tried to get him off Ric, but when Dad gets like that—” Johnny shook his head. “Then Ric was dead. And Dad dumped his body. They deactivated the ankle bracelet and tossed it with him.”

“So, at first, the sightings were so no one would look at them for the murder,” Jason surmised. “To keep the suspicion from themselves.”

“Yeah, I think so. Always thought it was pretty cold for Trevor to help cover up his kid’s murder, but he’s always had ice in his veins.” Johnny shuddered. “Like I said, I’m not saying my dad wouldn’t do this — I just don’t know how he’d have the knowledge.”

“Yeah.” Jason got to his feet. “Thank you.”

“No problem. I told you, I don’t want any piece of this. I came here to keep things quiet and to get away from my father. If he’s doing anything to screw up the truce—” Johnny’s mouth twisted. “Doesn’t say much about how much he actually values me, does it?”

Quartermaine Mansion: Parlor

AJ stared at the petition for a long moment before looking at his grandfather. “I’m not crazy for signing this, am I?”

“No, I negotiated in good faith with Alexis.” Edward tipped his reading glasses up, glanced over his copy one more time. “Your parental rights will be reinstated, pending termination of Sonny’s adoption.” His mouth twisted. “This might be my favorite sentence ever put in print.”

AJ agreed but it still didn’t feel real. “And visitation. Carly agreed to it.”

“She did. She’s worried, of course, about Michael adjusting to everything, but your idea about family visitation rights helped.” Edward found the provision. “A supervised visit in a group setting for the first six weeks. At that point, you’ll determine whether Michael is ready for one on one.”

“It’s just—I’m close to getting my son back,” AJ murmured. “I’ve missed so much time with him, but he’s only six. I-I can make up for that, can’t I?” He found his grandfather’s eyes. “I don’t even remember anything before I was six. Maybe Michael won’t even remember any of this one day.”

“Maybe.” Edward slid the paperwork across the coffee table. “So sign it and let’s get your son back.”

AJ scribbled his name at the bottom, and a few minutes later, Alice led Carly and Alexis in from the foyer. Edward handed the petition to Alexis who put it in her bag.

“I’ll be filing it first thing in the morning,” Alexis told them. “I think it should be on the docket in about a month.”

“If not sooner.” Edward lifted his chin. “I’ll be making some calls,” he told Carly. “I think we’d all breathe more easily when this custody situation is dealt with.”

“Yeah.” Carly’s smile was thin and nervous. “Sonny had some sort of epiphany and he dropped his countersuit for the divorce, so it might not be as bad as I thought. At least that part. The custody, I still think he’s going for blood.”

“After what happened to Jason’s family, I fully support getting both those boys away from Sonny,” Edward said darkly. “I’ll be keeping my eye on this—”

“You don’t have to do that—”

“Morgan is Michael’s brother,” Edward said. “Which makes him part of this family. You spent a lot of time running from us, young lady—”

“For good reason,” AJ replied, and his grandfather glared at him. “What? We were all thinking it. And it’s not like Alexis didn’t run screaming from the altar when faced with joining the family.”

“I wasn’t screaming,” Alexis pointed out. “But, uh, yes, there was running involved.” She turned to Carly. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I have to get to the club.” Carly looked at AJ, hesitated. “This weekend, I’m taking Michael over to Jason’s to meet Cameron. I’ll talk to Jason, but maybe we can make that the first visit.”

“I’d like that. Maybe Mom can come with us to make it less obvious why I’m there,” AJ offered.

“I’ll call you when it’s filed,” Alexis reminded AJ.

When they were gone, AJ looked back at his grandfather. “I’ll be going back to New Orleans next week, but I’ll be back June 1 to officially take over ELQ.” He was coming home to Port Charles and getting his son back.

As long as nothing went wrong.

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

“Scott, Taggert, thank you for coming in.” Anna closed the door behind the lieutenant and district attorney, waited for them to take a seat. “I had a cold case brought to my attention yesterday, and I think it’s worth looking at.”

“Oh, God, not another rape we missed.” Scott shook his head. “If you tell me we screwed up one more sexual assault, I’m going to throw myself out that window—”

“I invited you here because you have a connection to this case.” Anna set the file on the table. “And Taggert, I know that there are reasons this case ought to be assigned to Organized Crime, but I think that it requires your eye for detail.”

“What’s going on?” Taggert asked, looking at Scott, then Anna. “What’s the cold case?”

“Oliver Joyce.” Anna slid the file over to Taggert as Scott closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

“Joyce?” Taggert repeated. “Is that—is that someone related to Kelsey?”

“Her father,” Scott said quietly. “Kelsey looked up the file, didn’t she?”

“She did.” Anna watched as Taggert opened the file, skimmed the report, then frowned as he saw the autopsy report. “You see the problem?”

Scott scowled. “What problem? The case went cold, didn’t it? That’s what Angie said, but—”

Taggert passed him the autopsy report and Scott stared at it. “Wait. This isn’t—this isn’t right—”

“You knew he’d been murdered?” Anna asked. “I’ve looked at this — even the newspapers reported it as a car accident. How did you—”

“Angie told me a few years ago,” Scott admitted. “When Kelsey was talking about being a lawyer like her dad. She got into college at sixteen, you know,” he reminded them. “And Angie was worried. She let something slip, so I pressed her. She said Ollie was killed by a stray bullet while driving. This isn’t—” He swallowed. “This isn’t a stray bullet. How did this get closed as a car accident?”

“David Case.” Taggert’s mouth tightened, and he looked at Scott who closed his eyes. “Yeah, you remember that asshole.” He looked at Anna. “Why is this coming up now? I mean, not that Kelsey doesn’t deserve to know what happened, but—”

“After Lucky was shot last month, Kelsey’s mom came to Port Charles, and said some things that made her wonder. She looked up the case, found out he’d been murdered, but held on to it.” Anna hesitated. “Yesterday, she and Lucky brought it to me.”

“A mob case from ten years ago.” Taggert looked at her. “I don’t do mob cases—”

“I know,” Anna said gently. “But I can’t give this to anyone else, and while I don’t know Kelsey very well, I respect her. Robin was only a little older when Robert and I—” She cleared her throat. “Robin didn’t know what happened to us. I don’t want to leave another little girl wondering.”

“Not a lot of suspects left,” Scott said, grimly. “You could talk to Luke Spencer—”

“Lucky did talk to his father briefly, but Luke was cagey. He did say that Detective Case was one of Corinthos’s moles, likely inherited from Frank Smith. Then he told Lucky to leave it alone.”

“Did he?” Scott lifted his brow, scowled. “So he knows something.”

“I think that if all the people who mattered were dead,” Anna said slowly, “Luke probably would have been more forthcoming. I believe Luke when he says he only has rumors. But her mother might know more. She’s just too scared to say anything.”

“But it’s a place to start.” He looked at Scott. “You knew this guy.”

“I did. You wanna start with me?”

“No, I think—I think maybe I wanna get some impressions from Spencer first. He might be willing to talk more now that Lucky’s had the case reopened. And if he doesn’t, well, I’m not sure we can do much without his help.” Taggert closed the file.

Scott looked at Anna. “Thank you. For putting this on the front burner.”

“One of our own failed this family,” Anna said as they stood. “It doesn’t matter if none of us were here then. We carry the weight.”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

“Okay, so I got his schedule.” Maxie laid a sheet of paper flat on the table and looked expectantly at Cruz. “What day is good for you?”

“I think I missed something,” Cruz said, squinting and looking over at Dillon. “What’s going on?”

“I find if I’m quiet long enough, Maxie will keep talking and answer all my questions,” the other man said. He winced at the crash of thunder. “How long is it going to rain?” he complained. “All day—”

“Surprised you came out of your house long enough to notice,” Maxie muttered, still smarting from his earlier comment. “Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted—” She picked up the schedule. “I think Thursday is my best day. What about you?”

“Thursday’s child is full of woe,” Cruz offered. “So no.” He leaned over, then frowned. “That’s Dante’s work schedule.”

“Yeah, we’re planning the intervention.” Maxie made a face. “You’re right about Thursday. It has bad connotations.”

“That’s not what I—”

“Intervention?” Dillon said at the same time. “And wasn’t it Wednesday’s child was full of woe?”

“That’s right—” Maxie slapped his arm. “Thursday has far to go. There’s something to this. Thursday’s back in—”

“I have absolutely no idea what’s going on,” Cruz complained. “I was just eating my lunch—”

“We’ve given Dante plenty of space,” Maxie said in a tone that was clearly exasperated with the dumb boys around her. “Lucky got shot almost two months ago. No one is talking about Sonny anymore. Capelli’s long gone. It’s time for Dante to stop wallowing, go home to Cruz, and back to work protecting and serving. Lulu has let me down—”

“Why is this your business?” Dillon wanted to know. “And maybe Lulu knows more than we do—”

“Impossible. And it’s my business because I decided it was. That’s how it works here,” Maxie told Cruz. “Dillon’s slow on this—”

“Dillon’s going to declare mutiny in five seconds—”

“I run this show,” Maxie explained, patiently putting a hand up when Dillon opened his mouth to protest that. “No one likes to admit it, but that’s just how it rolls. I plan the events, I spread the gossip, and I fix the problems.”

“She’s the control freak,” Dillon clarified. “And we let her get away with it because—” He squinted, then scowled. “Okay, sometimes she’s right. But not this time. This time, Maxie, I think we just need to leave Dante alone.”

“But—”

“But nothing.” Dillon shoved the schedule at Cruz. “Not everyone likes being dumped in the deep end of the Maxie Jones friendship pool, okay? You’re an acquired taste.”

Maxie pursed her lips, trying to decide if she’d been insulted or not. Cruz didn’t think they’d want to find out what happened if she decided on the former, so he jumped in. “Dillon’s right. Dante’s getting closer. I mean, he’s dating Lulu now, and you know she’s not gonna let him sit around much longer.”

“Hmmm, maybe. But I’m keeping my eye on this.”

GH: Examining Room

Elizabeth tried hard not to fidget as Dr. Devlin checked Cameron’s weight and other vitals, then his reflexes. “He’s sleeping well,” she volunteered. “I mean, as much as they said he would. About an hour at a time. And we’re checking his temperature all the time. Plus—”

“Relax, Mrs. Morgan,” the doctor said with an easy smile. He lifted Cameron from the scale and handed him back to Elizabeth. “I know how scary and nerve-wracking the first few days at home can be, but Cameron is progressing very well.”

“He is?” Elizabeth asked doubtfully, checking Cameron herself as if she couldn’t believe it. “Are you sure? I mean, of course you’re sure.”

“He’s gained weight faster than some babies his age, and that’s good,” Dr. Devlin assured her. “He’s a little ahead of where we thought he’d be. It’s only the first follow-up,” he cautioned her. “But if he continues to progress at this rate, then I think he’ll be caught up with other babies his age by his first birthday.”

“Caught up?” Elizabeth echoed. “Like developmentally, you mean. We won’t have to adjust his age anymore?”

“No, you won’t. He could still slow down, and we could have some complications,” the doctor warned as Elizabeth fastened Cameron into the stroller. “But you’re doing everything you should be.”

Elizabeth smiled down at her son who had already started to doze. “You hear that, Cam? We’re both getting a gold star.”

She took down the notes and suggestions, then thanked the doctor before heading out to the hallway where Richie was waiting outside the door.

“You ready to head home, Mrs. Morgan?” Richie asked as he straightened. Before she could answer, they heard the roll of thunder, and then a sharp crack of lightening. The lights flickered slightly in the hospital before coming back on. He frowned. “That storm is getting worse.”

“Yeah. It’s supposed to rain all day.” She grimaced, glancing at the elevator. “Maybe we should take the stairs. It’s only three flights, but I’d hate to get stuck in the elevator.”

“That probably won’t happen,” he said as she started down the other hall towards the stairwell. There was another roll of the thunder, and the lights flickered again. “Then again—”

He braced open the door for her to push the stroller through. “You okay to carry him down the stairs? I can take the stroller,” he offered.

“Yeah, that’ll be the best.” Elizabeth leaned down to unfasten Cameron and lift him into her arms. God, she loved holding him. Her precious miracle. “Let’s get down to the parking garage level and get home. I can’t wait to tell Daddy how good you were,” she told Cameron as they started down the stairs. She went first, and Richie came behind her, grunting a bit from the weight of the stroller.

She reached the landing below, then turned to find Richie still halfway up the stairs. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said to him, seeing how he was struggling from the awkward shape and weight.

“It’s fine—”

The lights flickered again, and then went out completely, plunging the stairwell into inky darkness. Elizabeth heard a grunt and a shout, then the sound of crashing. She clutched Cameron tightly, looking around frantically, trying to get her bearings.

Then the lights flashed and, and for a moment, at the top of the stairs—Elizabeth saw the outline of a man with dark hair. She screamed, then the lights went out, leaving them in complete darkness.

+21

I don’t know
This could break my heart or save me
Nothing’s real
Until you let go completely
So here I go with all my thoughts I’ve been saving
So here I go with all my fears weighing on me
– Sober, Kelly Clarkson

Saturday, April 26, 2004

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Office

“Hey, I didn’t think we’d see you back here for at least a week,” Justus said as he came into the office with Bernie on his trail. “What’s up?”

Jason set the yellow bear on the desk. “Elizabeth went through the gifts last night,” he told them. “How did one from the Ruiz family get through?” he asked Justus. “You said you put those aside.” He flicked his eyes to Bernie who exhaled slowly. “And you had Elizabeth write a baby shower card for Solana Ruiz.”

“I did,” Bernie said. “We can afford to test the loyalty of some of the others involved with Zacchara, but too much of our business rests on the Miami ports,” he reminded Jason. “We have to stay on good terms until we have something concrete to use against them. Right now, all we have is Javier Ruiz. We can’t tie Hector to it, and everyone knows Javi and Manny aren’t trustworthy. Maybe we should have run it past you, but—”

“You don’t have a lot of patience with things that personally affect Elizabeth and Cameron,” Justus cut in, and Jason glared at him. “I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m just saying we’ve been trying to walk a line with all of this. Cameron’s home and has a clean bill of health. I can be more annoying now. Yeah, we gotta deal with the assholes who faked the sightings for Zacchara, but you let Anthony Zacchara keep breathing. So you’re limited on what you can do to other people in retribution.”

Jason clenched his jaw, then nodded sharply. “Yeah. Okay. You’ve got a point. But it’s not just that the Ruiz family sent a gift. They sent this gift.” He nodded at the bear. “Elizabeth had one just like it last year. It was a gift from Ric when they got married for the child she miscarried. She made him get rid of it.”

Justus’s mouth formed an ‘o’ as he reached for the bear. “This has a price tag—”

“And it could be a coincidence,” Jason said. “But I’m not going to write it off. It means the Ruiz family gets watched. If they knew about the damn bear and sent it to Elizabeth deliberately, knowing she’d see it and remember—”

“Jason—” Justus set the bear back down. “That would be suicide—”

“Why go after Elizabeth like that?” Bernie cut in. “It’s one thing for them to fake the sighting. That was against Sonny, but sending a gift that they’d know would hurt Elizabeth after what she’s been through—I’ve seen Solana Ruiz’s handwriting. It’s a genuine gift. I don’t think Hector would go through these channels.”

Jason wanted to agree with them both, but he couldn’t. “I know all the reasons it would be insane for them to use this, but that doesn’t mean we ignore it. Things are finally quiet for the first time in a year. I need it to stay that way. Make sure that it’s not the Ruiz family sending a message. I’m going home.”

The Cellar: Bar

Carly slid the paperwork over to her brother. “I mean, I’m not going to charge you anything,” she told him, “but you’re underage, so—”

“For like another year,” Lucas muttered as he looked over the liability waiver. “I just wanted to throw a party for the end of the semester, and we’re already doing something else for Felix’s birthday.”

“What are you planning?” Carly asked. “Sign here,” she said, pointing. “That protects me from being sued by you morons if you sneak in any alcohol.”

“Some sister you’re turning out to be.” But he signed it. “Yeah, a bunch of us going down to a club in Rochester. Maxie suggested it.” He rolled his eyes. “She’s concerned that she hasn’t done enough to accept me being gay, so she wants to prove she’s an ally by taking Felix to a gay club for his birthday and dragging us all with her.”

“She sounds exhausting.” Carly signed her own name to the bottom of the contract. “But it’ll probably be fun. I used to go to those clubs all the time when I was living in Florida,” she added when he just blinked at her. “Oh, yeah. A lot of straight women like gay clubs. No one pinching our asses.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good point.” Lucas turned at the sound of footsteps on the stairs, then tensed when Sonny appeared in the doorway. He immediately slid off the stool, leveling a glare at his sister’s estranged husband. “The club is closed.”

“I, uh, just hoped Carly would give me a second,” Sonny said, edging around to look at Carly who came out from the other side of the bar to stand beside her brother. “You can stay,” he told Lucas. “If you think I’m gonna do anything stupid.”

“Carly,” Lucas told her, “let me just go call someone—you still have a restraining order, don’t you?”

“It’s okay.” But she handed a phone to Lucas. “In case I change my mind.” She focused on Sonny. “You shouldn’t be talking to me. We should be communicating through our lawyers—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But I just—I didn’t know—” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his suit. “You haven’t been by the penthouse. Jason’s, I mean. He just brought the kid home, didn’t he?”

“He did.” And Carly ached to see Jason’s son, the little boy that had already been through too much. “But I’ll see him when Cameron is strong enough. I went to the penthouse the day you got out, Sonny, and that was hard enough. It’s not my home anymore—”

“No, but I, uh, don’t—” Sonny took a deep breath. “I’m on medication,” he reminded her. “I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, and no one is giving me a break—”

“Giving you a break—” Lucas scoffed. “Do you remember terrifying your kids and shoving me into a wall after punching my boyfriend in the jaw? You pushed Carly that day, too—”

“Lucas—” Carly held up a hand as Sonny’s eyes clouded with a mixture of irritation and shame. “Look, Sonny, I’m glad you’re feeling better. And you look better. But you don’t get to come home and expect everyone to go back to normal. We all went through hell, and we’re dealing with it. No, I haven’t been to see Cameron because he came home yesterday. I’m giving them a little space to get him settled in. You haven’t met him yet, have you?”

“No,” Sonny said shortly. “And I doubt I will.”

“Why the hell should Jason let you anywhere near his family after Elizabeth nearly died in front of you?” Lucas demanded. “You know, this is your problem. You make everything about you, and it’s not, Sonny. Great. You know what’s wrong with you and you’re getting treatment. Well, Jason’s kid nearly died, and Elizabeth still has to get surgery. Carly still has nightmares—”

Carly flinched. “I’m sorry,” Lucas muttered, “but you do.”

“It’s okay. It’s true, Sonny. I’m still struggling. I’m better, but I’m not okay yet. And I might never be. Ric’s dead. But that doesn’t make it over.” Carly folded her arms in front of her. “I begged you to get help months ago after you locked me in our room. You triggered my disorder when I’d already gotten it under control. It’s been harder to put away this time because you’re still in my life.”

Sonny swallowed hard. “I triggered…” he trailed off. “So it’s—it’s me—I mean, I’m—” He took a deep breath. “Ric being dead didn’t make it stop.”

“No. Because it came back after December. I don’t know how much of it you really understood at the time, Sonny, but I had a dissociative episode. I thought I was back in that panic room, clawing and screaming to get out.” Her eyes burned. “You hate small dark spaces because you think, for a minute, you’re back there with Deke. That’s what happened to me. Because of you. I’m not interested in giving you a break, Sonny. I’m sorry. I can’t. I want a divorce and I want you out of my life and away from my boys. Permanently.”

Sonny’s eyes were dark and tormented as they met hers, then he nodded. “Okay. Okay.” He turned and went up the stairs, disappearing.

Carly dragged her hands through her hair. “God, I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing,” she muttered. “He’s not okay yet, and maybe he would be if he had more people supporting him.”

“That can’t be your problem,” Lucas began.

“Well, it needs to be someone’s,” she snapped, then subsided. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay.” He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. “You just gotta remember you did support him. You just couldn’t wait for rock bottom.”

“What if he goes off the meds?” Carly fretted. “What if he feels alone, like no one has his back, and he decides it’s not worth it?”

“That also can’t be your problem,” But her brother’s tone was more gentle as he said it. “Sonny is an adult who knows he has a mental illness. If you take that on now, Carly, you’ll never get out. He’s been home for two weeks. It’s not nearly enough time for anyone to come around and give him a second chance. Stop beating yourself up. You’re doing the best you can.”

“I know, but sometimes, it just doesn’t feel like enough,” she murmured.

Kelly’s: Dante’s Room

Lulu rolled over, then slid an arm across Dante’s chest, burrowing into his side. “How can it be almost May and your room is still cold?” she complained.

He laughed, then drew the blanket in tighter around them. “Because this blanket is about as thin as the sheets.”

“I’m going to buy you a new comforter,” she muttered. “We can’t go to my place because my dad still has a shotgun. It doesn’t matter how much he likes you—”

“Comforting.” Dante stared the ceiling, his fingers trailing across the smooth skin of her shoulder. “Cruz came by earlier this week. He wanted to know if he should look for a new roommate.”

Lulu stilled. “What did you tell him?”

“I told him I’d let him know. I’ve been paying my part of the rent,” he assured her. “So it’s not like I screwed him over, but I can’t keep paying for Kelly’s and my old place. Not on what I make here.” He sighed. “I was thinking I might move back in with him. I only left because of the press, and they’ve mostly moved on.”

“That’s true.” Lulu folded her arm on his chest, then propped her chin on his shoulder. “But you also stayed away from all of them after you quit because you knew they’d badger you about going back.”

Dante exhaled slowly. Outside, he could hear the rain falling softly against the windowpane. “Yeah. I know.”

“Things have really died down,” Lulu said, echoing his earlier words. “I mean, if you went back, there might be a bit of a stir, but it would go away.”

“Until I made an arrest and it got brought up again.” Dante grunted, then rolled out of bed. He reached for the briefs he’d discarded on their way to bed and pulled them up, then tugged on his jeans.

“I guess we’re done with the nooner,” Lulu mumbled. She got out of bed and started to dress. “I’m not saying you should go back, Dante—”

“I know.”

“I just—” She buttoned her shirt. “You’re a great cook, and I love working together. I do. We’re having a lot of fun. But I know it’s not what you want. You told Sonny yesterday being a cop was all you ever wanted—”

“Lu, just drop it—”

“I can’t.” Lulu pressed her lips into a thin line. “Because I care about you, and I want you to be happy. I know you miss your job, and hanging out with Lucky and Cruz and everyone. I just don’t know why we can’t talk about ways to get that back—”

“Because every time I do something, they’ll bring up Sonny—”

“So what?” Lulu demanded. “After Capelli got fired, no one is going to screw you over. They know the department has your back. And it doesn’t matter if they bring up Sonny over and over again, you’re a clean cop. You’re one of the good guys, and it doesn’t seem fair that all the jackasses can chase you away—”

Dante growled. “Drop it, okay?” He glared at her. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to go back to living with Cruz—”

“Cruz isn’t going to bother you about the job. Not if you tell him not to. And I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I just—” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I just want you to be happy—”

He sighed and crossed the room, put his hands on her shoulders. “I know. And you’re right. I’d be happier if I could be a cop. But right now, I don’t see a way for that to be possible unless I sign up to be constantly reminded about who my father is. I couldn’t deal with it before, and I don’t want to go back unless I know I can.”

“Okay. Okay. I know you’re right. But Lucky and Cruz are still your friends. And you should have your own bathroom.”

Dante smirked and kissed the top of her nose. “You just don’t want to use that bathroom when you stay over.”

She scowled. “No. I really don’t. So, if you care about me and our sex life, you should move back in with Cruz.”

“When you put it that way—” He leaned down to draw her into another kiss. “Why don’t we go back to bed?” he murmured against her mouth.

Harborview Towers: Hallway

Jason stepped off the elevator and nearly ran straight into Sonny. He scowled and stepped back, holding the door open. “What are you doing?”

“I’m not going near your penthouse or anywhere else,” Sonny bit out. “I’m going for a walk or isn’t that allowed either?”

Jason shook his head and stepped off the elevator. “Whatever—”

“I’m getting real tired of everyone walking out on me—”

Jason turned back and just stared at his former best friend. “Walking out on you? What are you talking about?”

“No one is giving me a chance,” Sonny snarled. “I’m doing everything I’m supposed to, aren’t I? I got the damn therapy. The meds. I’m doing it all, and I’m not even trying to take back the business—”

“No one owes you a damn thing, Sonny. You don’t get any credit because you’ve been on meds for two weeks.” Jason shook his head. “We begged you for months, and you ignored us—”

“Carly won’t give me the time of day—”

“You don’t—” Jason held up his hands, took a deep breath. “I’m not getting in the middle. Carly’s made her choice, and I’m standing behind her on this. I don’t have time for this, Sonny. I’m sorry if that upsets you, but I can’t clean this up for you. Not again.”

Sonny’s eyes were dark with pain. “I just want a chance. Dante doesn’t want to know me, Carly’s going to take my boys and I’ll never be able to fix things with Michael now—and you’re shoving me out of your life—” His hands were shaking. “What’s the point of the meds if there’s nothing left on the other side?”

He was an idiot, but Jason felt a twinge of sympathy for him now. He cleared his throat. “I’m not shoving you out of my life, Sonny. I just don’t have a lot of room right now. Cameron just came home and he needs a lot of care. We’re cleaning up after all the Zacchara problems. You want to make things better? Have your lawyer back down with Carly. You filed first and went nuclear. The custody — that’s not going to change. But you had no right to blame her for the divorce. You know she did everything she could.”

Sonny closed his eyes. “I can’t stop being angry. I can’t. If she’d just stayed—”

“You always told me you wished your mother had left the first time Deke put his hands on her.” Sonny’s eyes flew open and he stared at Jason. “You’ve shoved Carly. More than once. You locked her up and traumatized her.”

Sonny dragged a hand over his face, then nodded. “Okay. Yeah. I get it. Okay. I’ll—I’ll talk to Jordan.” He turned away, started towards his penthouse, then stopped. “Cameron.” He faced Jason. “He’s doing okay?”

“Stronger every day.” Jason shoved his hands into his pockets. “No complications or major health problems. We got lucky.”

“Yeah. Good. Good. You deserve it. Um—” He paused. “And Elizabeth. She’s okay, then. After…what happened.”

“Best she’s felt in months. She’ll have the surgery in a few months. It’s over, Sonny. Ric’s dead. Carly and Elizabeth are dealing with that. It’s time you did, too. It’s over,” Jason repeated.

“Hard to believe,” Sonny murmured. “But I guess you’re right. Time to move on.”

Lucky & Kelsey’s Apartment: Living Room

“Mom.” Lucky stepped back from the front door, and glanced back at Kelsey in the kitchen. “I didn’t expect you—”

“No, and I’m sorry to drop in like this.” She kissed his cheek, then offered Kelsey a hug. “But I waited until your father was at work.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, no—” Laura bit her lip. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about all of this since you came by,” she told Kelsey. She waited for Lucky to join them at the counter in the kitchen. “Luke knows more.”

“I know he does, Mom, but he’s stubborn—”

“Because he thinks he can get away with it,” Laura said. “Because he’s so sure he’s right.” She reached for Kelsey’s hand. “I’ll drop it if you want me to, but I think we can make him tell you everything.”

“I—” Kelsey licked her lips. “I don’t want to cause trouble—”

“You won’t—” Lucky began, but Laura shot him a look and he stopped.

“There’s no way to avoid that, sweetheart. From what Lucky’s said, your father’s case was covered up by someone at the PCPD. Someone knew he’d been murdered, and they closed him away. They checked off a box like he didn’t matter.”

Kelsey closed her eyes, swiped at her tears. “Everyone just accepted it, but people knew. The crime scene techs. That damn detective—”

“The truth might not make any of us happy, but it’s better than the secret. It’s better than letting your father be forgotten. Ollie was a good man. Good men can work for men like Frank Smith. Luke did—” Laura flashed her son another look. “Don’t start.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“And Jason Morgan is a good man,” Laura continued. “It’s too easy to draw a line and say everyone who follows these laws is a good person, and everyone on the other side is a bad one. Humanity doesn’t work that way. Ollie was a good man,” she repeated. “And you deserve to know why he was taken from you.”

“You think you can make Dad tell the truth?” Lucky said. “How? We’ve all tried—”

“I’m going to talk to him again, but if you make it clear this is going to be public—take it to Anna, Lucky. Reopen the case. We’ll shine a light so bright Luke won’t be able to look away. I promise you I won’t let him.”

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Jason came in just as Elizabeth sat down to feed Cameron. “Hey. I’m sorry, I’m late.” He winced. “I said I’d be here, and then—”

“You were gone for four hours yesterday and two today.” She lifted her brows. “The horror.”

He smiled faintly, perching on the edge of the bed, watching as Elizabeth fit the bottle into Cameron’s mouth. She stroked the side of his cheek to encourage his suction. “He’s already getting so big,” he murmured. “At the hospital, he seemed smaller.”

“It was all the tubes,” Elizabeth replied, the chair gently swaying back and forth. “We have a doctor’s appointment on Monday. The first of many.” She wrinkled her nose. “He’ll have so many tests this first year.”

“We’ll get through it.”

“I know. I just hate the idea of him struggling even for a minute, but we’re doing okay so far.” She met his eyes. “I was thinking about that bear.”

Jason tensed. “The bear?”

“The one from last night. I don’t want it,” she added, “so it’s okay if you already did something with it. But I’ve been working so hard to forgive myself for what happened to that baby, and I think—I think looking at Cameron, it’s easier,” she admitted. “Because I look at him, and I know that I would give my life for him. I almost did. I would have done anything to save that baby last year.”

“I know.”

“I wish I had trusted myself more though, or realized I could ask for help. Instead of marrying Ric, I should have called Emily. I have dreams about it sometimes,” she admitted. “I call Emily as soon as I get the test, and I go to California.” She stroked Cameron’s cheek again. “But if I’d saved that child, I wouldn’t be here with you right now, and we wouldn’t have Cameron.”

“Elizabeth—”

“Maybe the miscarriage was supposed to happen. Maybe there was never anything I could do to save that baby. It’s hard to admit that,” she continued.

“I know.”

“When I saw that bear after the miscarriage, I made Ric get rid of it,” she said again. “Because it reminded me of what I’d done to cause my baby’s death. I’d fallen down those stairs, I’d thought, because I’d been arrogant enough to think I could ask Sonny for peace.”

“It wasn’t arrogant—but—”

“But I didn’t fall. I was pushed. I know. I’m glad Faith Roscoe is gone,” she continued. “She pushed me for no other reason than jealousy. She murdered my child because she wanted my husband. I would have given him to her to save that baby.” A ghost a smile played on her lips. “Faith might still be alive if she’d just asked nicely.”

Jason grimaced. He knew Elizabeth was aware Faith was gone, and that he’d been one to kill her, but it never sat well with him to think about it. Faith’s death had been personal, an act he rarely allowed himself.

He had no regrets, though, and would do it again.

“I might need to go in again on Monday,” Jason said, regretfully. “I’m trying to take more time off, but there’s a lot of cleanup from Sonny and the last few months. And from Tommy. I’ll try to be back in time for the appointment or meet you at the hospital.”

“It’s okay. Cameron’s going to have a lot of doctor’s appointments. You can go to the next one.” She finished Cameron’s feeding, waited for him to burp, then smiled as Jason lifted their son into his arms to put him back in the cradle. “The worst is behind us. Cameron is home and healthy, and I’m going to have that surgery in June. What else can we ask for?”

Manhattan, New York

Hôtel Plaza Athénée: Luxury Suite

“Well?” Ric demanded when Claudia strolled in that evening. “Were you able to make contact?”

“Oh, yeah.” Claudia went over to the bar. “I’ll try remember to thank Zander Smith,” she said. “Not all the names came in handy, but one of them works in the warehouse and saw Jason come in today. He had a gift bag in his hand. He checked with one of the clerks in the offices. Apparently, the wifey didn’t like the gift from the Ruiz family.”

Ric’s lips curved into a smile. “She remembered.”

“Possibly. Or maybe Jason didn’t want anything from the Ruiz family, but if that were true, he wouldn’t have even taken it to the penthouse to show the wife.” Claudia sipped her gin and tonic. “And the clerk was very clear on what he’d heard. Elizabeth is still doing the thank you note, but the gift isn’t staying.”

“She remembered,” Ric repeated with a reassured nod. She’d seen the bear and known. Maybe she didn’t think it was about Ric, but he could deal with that. He’d only wanted to remind her of what she’d promised him.

“And interesting — one of the other names Smith gave us — this Richie guy. Just got the promotion to guard the wife.” Claudia fluttered her eyelashes. “He might not turn yet, but it’ll be worth keeping an eye on him. If we can get to her guard once, why not twice?”

“Why not, indeed? Let’s hope it happens soon,” Ric said. “The kid is home and out of the woods. It’s time for the endgame.”

+22

One after another, they’ve always come and gone
So what if I’m a monster that’s been here all along
They’re dropping like flies whenever I’m around
So used to goodbyes, there’s comfort in the sound
Maybe I’m the monster that’s been here all along
Bending ’till you break and you can’t take anymore
I’m not worth the trouble it seems
I would say you’re wrong, but I’ve been here before
You won’t be the last one to leave
– Monster, Gabbie Hanna

Friday, April 25, 2004

General Hospital: NICU

Elizabeth beamed as Nadine gently placed Cameron in her arms for the last time. She turned to look at Jason whose own grin was bigger than she’d ever seen.

This was the last day Cameron would ever spend in the NICU. Today they were bringing their son home.

“I’m gonna miss this little guy,” Nadine told them with a smile of her own, “but my favorite day is always their last day. I’m so excited to see him leave.”

“Thanks for taking such good care of him,” Elizabeth told her. “And for the tour before I delivered. I was so…” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, before focusing on the nurse again. “I was so scared of what he’d face. But you believe me feel like he’d be safe.”

“Thank you,” Jason offered as Elizabeth handed him the baby. “For everything.”

“My pleasure. You know, we don’t always see a lot of family. Not because they don’t care,” Nadine added, “but for a lot of people—this is really hard. People get scared of getting attached or seeing the machines and wires. But your family—they really stepped up. And it makes me happy to know this little boy is going to have such a great start. Good luck. And, hey, send us pictures! I wanna know how he turns out.”

With another wave, the neonatal nurse left and Elizabeth turned her attention to packing up the things they’d brought to make Cameron’s room feel more comforting. A few photo frames, some stuffed animals—she tucked them into her tote as Jason fastened Cameron into the carrier. The baby swung his hands, opened his eyes briefly, then closed them again.

Cameron had already survived the car seat test the day before to make sure he could breathe without any issues. It had been the longest two hours of her life, but he’d emerged like a champ and—even more important, he’d gained two more ounces over the last few days. He was almost six pounds.

Their little miracle.

“You got everything?” Jason asked.

Elizabeth looped the tote over her shoulder, and he frowned at her slightly. She raised her brows. “It weighs, like, a pound. Cameron’s heavier.”

“I know.” He winced. “Sorry.” He lifted the car seat and she looped her arm around his, smiling at him.

“Nothing can get me down today,” she told him as they left the NICU. She waved at a few of the nurses she’d gotten to know over the last month, and they walked towards the entrance. When they’d exited the ward and started towards the elevators, she blinked back tears.

“Oh, man, he’s really going home. I kept thinking they’d stop us on the way out.” Elizabeth swiped her cheek, then pressed the button. “You sure you’re okay to be at home with us for the next few days?”

“I have a few things to handle today,” he reminded her, “and then I’m all yours. If Justus and Bernie need anything, they know where to find me. Stop finding things to worry about.”

He said this last part with a smile, so she knew he wasn’t really irritated. “I can’t help it. When we go to bed tonight, he’ll be with us. Honestly, I might not let him even sleep in his own room until he’s six. Or never.” She nodded as they stepped onto the elevator. “Never sounds good.”

“Uh huh.”

“You’re laughing at me again. I can tell without even looking at you.” She slid him a playful glare from under her lashes, then pressed the lobby button. “You know, I can make you pay for that.”

Jason smirked. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“Oh, according to Kelly, I can keep that promise in about—” Elizabeth pursed her lips. “Five more weeks.”

“Five weeks?” He met her eyes, held them as her cheeks flushed. “Five it is.”

Lucky & Kelsey’s Apartment: Bedroom

Kelsey sat on the bed and picked at her cuticles. “Maybe your dad is right.”

Lucky drew a shirt over his head, then turned to her. “About letting it go? Kelse—”

“I mean—” She sighed. “If he can make sure my mom is safe, maybe I should just put the file back. I have to do that anyway, but maybe there are things I don’t want to know.”

He sat next to her, reached for her hand. “Kelsey—”

“My dad was a good guy. If I bring this out, the world will find out what he did for a living and maybe that’ll be how people remember him.” She rested her forehead against his shoulder. “Is that what I want?”

“You’re the only one who can answer that, baby. You tell me to drop this, we will. We’ll put it away.”

He would, she knew that. Because she’d ask it of him, and she mattered. Had she dreamed she’d find someone who’d love her like this when she’d sat at his bar last summer and flirted with the cop and his pretty eyes?

Could she live with herself if she buried this again?

“I don’t know. I keep going back and forth on this, I’m sorry—”

“You don’t need to apologize for anything.” He cupped her cheek and kissed her. “This is your family. Your father—”

“It’s yours, too—”

“And I can live with my dad and his secrets. I had to learn that lesson a long time ago.” Lucky paused. “The only thing I can’t live with is if my father’s past comes between us. I believe him when he says he didn’t do it—”

“So do I—”

“But I don’t think he’s told us everything. We’d have to let that go.” His thumb swept over her cheekbone. “Can you do that?”

“Can you?”

Lucky laughed lightly, and it was lightly tinged with bitterness. “I’ve been letting my old man get away with a lot worse, you know. He’s never told me a truth when a lie sounded better. I didn’t always know that,” he murmured. “I used to believe every word out of his mouth like it was gospel. Like he was Moses on the Mountain.”

“Lucky—”

“And then I found out what he’d done to my mother, and I had to accept it wasn’t about me. I was horrible to her, did I ever tell you that?” he asked her. He got to his feet and went over to the dresser to pull out jeans. “Made it her fault that she’d fallen in love with the man who’d raped her.”

“Lucky—”

“Nikolas came along, and I made that her fault, too—because I didn’t know who my father was. I didn’t see him for who he was. I love him,” Lucky murmured. “Maybe that’s the hardest part of all of this. I couldn’t understand how my mother forgave him and lived with him, but didn’t I do the same?”

“You made peace with it, Lucky. And I can see why. Your father—”

“Is still lying to me. Still only telling me what he wants me to know. I had to learn the hard way to listen for the truth inside his lies. He lives his whole life like that—” Lucky scowled. “There’s the truth, the lie, and Luke Spencer is always somewhere in between. I can live with him lying to me, but I don’t know if I can live with him lying to you.”

Lucky zipped and snapped his jeans. “If you want to let this go, I can do it. Because this is your father and your life, and I love you. You matter. Whatever you want to do, Kelsey. I can do it.”

“I know you can.” She wound her arms around his waist and drew him in for another kiss. “And that’s why I love you.”

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Office

Jason walked into the office, impatient to get the few meetings he’d scheduled over with. Now that his son was home, he wanted to spend as much time as possible with him. Cam still required a lot of close attention and constant care, and Jason wanted to be part of it.

He scowled when he found Johnny Zacchara standing by a table, a gift bag in his hand.

“What are you doing here?” Jason asked, frowning. He barely remembered that Johnny was even in Port Charles. The Zaccharas had been quiet and the son had been working at one of the clubs without an issue.

Johnny turned. “Dropping off a gift for the kid.” He nodded at the table. “Bernie put out word that it was okay. You know, people want kiss ass, Morgan. Or maybe people like your wife. I don’t know. It’s just what you do when the boss has a baby.”

Jason walked over to the table — it was stacked with several gift bags, a stack of cards, and a few boxes that had baby-related things on it. He grimaced. “We didn’t do it for Morgan,” he said more to himself.

“I don’t know anything about that, but Tommy stopped by the Star—the club he’s letting me manage,” he added when Jason didn’t say anything. “He said it might be a gesture of goodwill. It’s not from my dad—”

“It’s fine. Uh, thanks. We just—” Jason picked up the stack of cards, sure there were was some hefty cash gifts. He didn’t want to deal with any of this. He looked at Johnny. “We’re not much on the old school stuff in Port Charles.”

“Yeah, Dad used to hate that about Sonny,” Johnny said easily. “Some of that old school stuff kept up the lines of communication. Made it easier to stop things before it got bad. I don’t want anything to do with this stuff,” he reminded Jason, “but I grew up with it, so I guess I gotta say that anything that keeps the peace or at least the crap away from your family is probably worth it.”

“Yeah.” Jason agreed with that, and it made sense now that he remembered Bernie had been the one to talk to Elizabeth about the guest list. She’d played into those traditions and the men she’d invited were probably returning the gesture. He looked back at Johnny. “You’re good at the Star?”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s nice. My sister was right. Coming up here to get away from Dad and do something I actually like—not a bad thing.” Johnny shoved his hands into his pockets. “Course if I try to stick around after the six months are up, I’ll have to give Dad a good reason.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Jason told him. “I’ve got meetings—”

“Yeah, yeah. See you around. Congrats on the kid, by the way. Coming home, I mean. It’s gotta be a relief,” Johnny said over his shoulder as he left. Jason looked back at the table, peering into one of the bags that held a stuffed yellow bear. He’d have to take this stuff home to Elizabeth, and she’d probably have to write thank you cards.

He’d never wanted to be in power, but Sonny hadn’t left him a choice. Jason wouldn’t make the same mistake he’d made six years ago, thinking there was a chance to get out. There was no getting out, so he’d just have to make the world he lived in as safe as possible for his family.

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Sonny smoothed a hand down his chest, his heart beating a bit fast. He hadn’t felt nervous until Max had pulled up in the parking lot and let him out. He wanted to get back to his life, wanted to be normal again but people kept looking at him. Kept waiting for him to flip.

He wasn’t going to do that. He was under control again. He’d agreed to therapy, hadn’t he? Wasn’t he shoving the medication down his throat every day? Hadn’t he sworn off alcohol?

He deserved a second chance, damn it. He’d done some terrible things, but he was sick. And he was getting better. If Justus, Jason, and Carly were too selfish to see it, that was fine. There were other people who might give Sonny a chance.

He went into the diner, smiling at Lulu Spencer behind the counter who stared at him for a long moment, her eyes wide. She looked so much like her mother, Sonny thought, as he slid into the seat. “Hey, Lu.”

“Uh, Mr. Corinthos, hi. I didn’t—” Lulu took a deep breath. “I didn’t know you were home. I’m glad you’re feeling better. Can I get you anything?”

“A coffee.” Sonny flipped the cup over and waited as she poured the liquid. He saw a flash of dark hair in the window behind her. “And maybe a small favor.”

“A favor?” Lulu’s hand trembled slightly as she set the carafe back on the hot plate. “What’s up? Did you want to talk to my dad?”

“No, I thought you might go and ask Dante if he has a break coming up,” Sonny said. He cleared his throat. “I, uh, hoped he’d talk to me. For a few minutes.”

Lulu pursed her lips. “I’m not sure—I mean, I could ask him,” she allowed, “but I’m not sure he’ll come—”

“If he says no, that’s fine,” Sonny assured her. He could understand that. He’d heard somewhere that Dante was friendly with Lucky which naturally followed to his sister. He was glad Dante was the kind of man who inspired people to look out for him. He was sure Olivia had done an excellent job raising him.

And unlike Alexis, Sonny held no ill will towards Olivia for hiding the truth. He’d broken her heart and tossed her over for Connie, then he’d left the neighborhood. No, Olivia didn’t owe him anything. Neither did Dante. That was why it was easier to approach him. To ask him for a chance. Just a small one.

He just needed someone to give him a break.

“Okay,” Lulu said. She went into the back, tossing another glance at Sonny over shoulder.

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Office

“I’m putting together a buyout package,” Justus told Jason, “but I thought we might want to discuss doing a more silent partner thing. It might be easier for Sonny to agree to,” he added.

“Yeah. Yeah.” Jason scrubbed a hand over his face, scanning the vendor contracts and the property agreements. “I don’t care. Whatever Sonny will agree to. I don’t want him at the warehouse, confusing the guys.”

“He’s handling all this pretty well,” Bernie admitted. “When he came home, I thought we’d have a fight on our hands.”

“He’s saving that for Carly,” Jason replied, getting to his feet. “Maybe his meds are starting to work. Maybe he’s biding his time. I don’t know.” He glanced at the clock on the desk. “All I know is he’s not making any moves. Max would tell me if he was, and it’s been quiet. He hasn’t even come over to talk to Elizabeth.”

“Well, that’s good.” Justus paused. “It just seems like it all ended abruptly, but I’m not going to be mad about it.”

“Is that the last of it?” Jason asked. “I’ve already been gone a few hours. Cameron needs feeding every few hours, and Elizabeth needs to make sure she’s still resting.”

“I thought she was recovered,” Bernie said, alarmed. “I know she hasn’t had the surgery—”

“She’s recovered from the C-section, but she’s still at risk for blood clots—” Jason caught sight of the gifts out of the corner of his eye. “About those—”

“Oh, yeah, Tagliatti reached out when Cameron was born,” Bernie said. “Wanted to send over something as a sign of respect. He paused. “I thought—”

“We both thought it might be better if everyone waited until Cameron had a release date,” Justus finished. “I didn’t want you have to deal with any of that if—”

If Cameron hadn’t survived. Jason nodded. “Yeah. I wasn’t expecting—I mean, I didn’t think—”

“Some are from guys in our organization,” Justus reported. “A lot are from the families that Elizabeth invited to the wedding. And there are several from the organizations that, uh, Zacchara used to screw with us on the Ric stuff.”

Jason grimaced. “You mean those assholes sent me a baby gift thinking I’d forget about the bullshit they pulled?” He scowled. “I don’t want anything from them, and I’m not making Elizabeth write them a damn thank you card—”

“I put those aside,” Justus assured him. “We need to deal with that at some point, but look at it this way—they’re groveling for your favor. That’s a good sign. We could donate them or something. It’s a peace offering, Jason, and I don’t think they’re expecting a thank you card from Elizabeth.”

“Make sure they’re not.” Jason pulled on his leather coat. “I’ll take them home and let Elizabeth start sorting through them.” He might not like the idea of people using his son to curry favor with him, but Elizabeth always saw things like this in a different light. He’d let her decide what to do.

Kelly’s: Kitchen

Dante was at the tail end of the lunch rush, clearing the last of the tickets, and looking forward to the end of his shift when Lulu came into the kitchen. “Hey,” he said, grinning at her. “You’re off at two, aren’t you? You wanna go do something?”

“Um, yeah. Sure. We can do that, but Dante—” She put a hand on his forearm. “Sonny’s out at the counter.”

Dante stilled as her words sunk in. “Sonny.”

“He asked to talk to you. He says it’s okay if you said no, but that he wanted me to ask anyway. I was going to refuse,” Lulu said when he looked at her. “But I thought—I don’t know. It should be your choice if you talk to him or not, you know?”

“Yeah.” His good mood had faded. “I heard he was home, but I figured he wasn’t going to look me up. Why would he?”

“Aunt Bobbie said that he’s in therapy for the bipolar diagnosis,” Lulu reminded him. “And that he started meds like three weeks ago. He could be feeling better from all of that.” She paused. “The Sonny we’ve seen the last year or so — it’s not the best version of Sonny. All the problems since the kidnapping, I mean. But I grew up with him, you know. And there’s—I don’t know. I just—” She lifted her hands. “The man at the counter? He looks like the guy I knew as a kid.”

“And it’s harder to say no to that,” Dante said. “I’m not mad, Lu. You don’t need to shield me from things like this.” He’d been feeling better lately. Leaving the department and getting away from all of that, taking the job here, and letting himself finally open up to Lulu — Dante felt like he had a future again.

“I’ll go out and talk to him,” he decided. “He deserves that much, I guess.”

“Yeah?” Lulu’s brows shot up. “I thought—”

“I may not like the idea of him being my father,” he cut in. “And I may not want a relationship with him, but if you’re right—if the illness caused most of what was going on, then he should at least hear that from me. It’s only fair.” He met her eyes. “You’ll come out with me?”

“If you want me to.”

“I do.” He turned down the heat on the pot of simmering chili, then took Lulu’s hand, and led her back out to the counter where Sonny was sitting.

It was the first time he’d been face to face with the notorious gangster since moving to Port Charles.  Dante wasn’t sure what he expected. Sonny was clean-shaven, his hair was carefully slicked back, with strands of gray still showing at his temples. The suit he wore was obviously expensive, a ring on his finger flashing as he sipped his coffee.

Objectively, Dante could even see a resemblance to his own face. The color of his hair, the line of his jaw—Sonny Corinthos was, without a doubt, the man who had donated the genetic material necessary to create Dante.

But that didn’t make him a father.

“Uh, hey.” Sonny straightened, setting down the cup. He flicked his eyes to Lulu, then down to their intertwined hands before meeting Dante’s cool gaze. “I didn’t—I didn’t expect you to come out. I mean, I thought maybe—”

Dante squeezed Lulu’s hand once more before releasing it and going over to the counter. “I came out because we should at least talk,” he told Sonny. “I’m sorry you found out from the papers. About me and Kristina.”

“You—you already knew?” Sonny’s voice sounded nervous, and that comforted Dante a little bit. “I mean, did you know when you came to Port Charles—”

“No. If I had suspected it, I wouldn’t have moved here,” Dante cut in. “I wanted to be a cop my entire life, and I can’t be a cop with people knowing we’re related. I never would have come here and put that in jeopardy. I’m sorry, Mr. Corinthos, but that’s just how it is.”

“No, I, uh, get that. So you did you find out from the papers—”

“No. My grandmother told me after the hearing,” Dante replied. “Apparently testifying against my cousin the serial raping monster made me no better in her eyes than you. I’ve known for a few months, and I was hoping that no one else ever would. I don’t know you, Mr. Corinthos. Lulu says you were a decent guy to her growing up, but that’s not the man I’ve met.”

“No, I know that—”

“And I’m not a cop anymore because the whole world knows the truth now.” Sonny’s head dipped. “I liked being a cop. It was all I ever wanted, and the world finding out about you made it impossible for me to have that. Thanks for coming today, but I don’t really have an interest in getting to know you better. I’m sorry, but that’s just how it is.”

Sonny closed his eyes. Nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. No, I get that. Um, I just—if you change your mind or you need anything—”

Dante nearly told him he wouldn’t, and even if he needed an organ, he’d never ask him for it—but there was a sadness in the man that stopped him. A year earlier, Sonny had been one of the most powerful men on the East Coast, and he’d lost it all. His wife and children were gone, his business, the respect, even his own mental health was fragile.

Dante didn’t need to slide the knife even deeper. “Yeah. Sure. Thanks for coming by.”

“Yeah.” Sonny took a deep breath, then laid a hundred down next to his cup. “Thanks for this, Lu,” he told her. “You grew up really good, you know. Your mom—she did good work. I’m glad she’s home.”

“We all are.” Lulu stepped up to Dante’s side. “And I’m glad you’re feeling better,” she told him. “I really am. I hope one day your boys—all of them—get to know the guy I grew up with.”

“Thanks.”

Sonny left then, ignoring the stares of the people at the tables around him.

Lulu bit her lip. “I’m sorry for the last part,” she told Dante. “I just—he looked so sad—”

“Yeah, I know. I thought it would feel better to turn him away,” Dante murmured. “But it really didn’t.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Elizabeth was just stepping off the bottom step when Jason came in, followed by Marco and another guard, both of whom had their arms full with boxes and bags.

“What’s going on?” she asked, mystified as Jason kissed her cheek and the guards set down their items. “Hey.”

“Hey. First, I told you were getting a new daytime guard,” he said, nodding to the new guard. “This is Richie. He’ll be on the door and going out with you. Marco’s going back to nights.”

“Oh, good. I know you like that schedule better,” Elizabeth said to Marco. She smiled at Richie. “I probably won’t be going out much with Cameron home, but I hope I won’t be any trouble.”

“None at all, Mrs. Morgan.” Richie flashed her a warm smile, then nodded at Jason. “Is that everything?”

“Yeah, thanks.” Jason closed the door, then turned around to find Elizabeth going through the boxes and bags. “I’m sorry. I went in today, and this was in the office. Apparently, people wanted to give us something for Cameron. Justus had them waituntil Cam was home.”

“That makes sense.” Elizabeth sat down, blinking as she opened the first envelope and took out a thick wad of cash. “Holy crap—”

“Yeah, uh—” Jason hung up his coat, then crossed to her. “Look, if you don’t want any of this, then I’ll have them send it back—”

“No, no. Bernie said before the wedding this kind of thing helped. I actually just sent a card off to that guy in Baltimore,” Elizabeth told him. “His daughter is getting married, Bernie told me. So I wrote them a card and he said he’d put in some money.” Her eyes continued to widen as she counted the money. “I guess my idea of some money and his are very different.”

“You shouldn’t be worrying about any of that right now,” Jason said with a scowl. “How long has Bernie been bringing this kind of thing to you?” And Baltimore? Which guy in Baltimore? Had Elizabeth been asked to send congratulations to one of the assholes who’d helped Zacchara?

“Since the wedding. Carly used to do this stuff,” she continued. “She told me that. She helped me write the cards. Benny used to bring it to her before he died—” Elizabeth frowned at him. “You didn’t know that?”

“No, I—” Jason leaned back. “Benny brought it up once. When I was with Robin, after Sonny left. But I turned him down. Robin wouldn’t have been interested. I didn’t—” He shook his head. “I didn’t think about it.”

“Oh. I thought you—well, anyway, it’s like an hour a week. Plus—” Elizabeth shrugged. “I don’t get to do a lot to help you with the job. And I don’t want to,” she added when he frowned. “But it seems like an easy thing to do to keep peace. Or at least humanize all of us. Bernie was telling me that everyone wants to do more to contain collateral damage. Except for Anthony Zacchara. I heard what he did to that guy’s wife.” She shuddered, then continued going through the cards.

“Thank you,” Jason said after a long moment. She met his eyes, confused. “I guess it’s selfish of me to wish none of this would ever touch you.”

“Jason, this is your life. It touches me because you’re part of it. I can’t keep you safe when you go out the door. I can only hope the men you’ve paid will do what they’ve agreed to do. If I can write a few stupid cards and throw some parties that make the men in your business happy, it’s a simple thing—”

She opened another bag and slowly pulled out a yellow bear. The same one he’d noticed earlier. “Elizabeth?” he said when she just stared at it. “Hey, you okay?”

“Baby’s first toy.” Elizabeth brushed her fingers over the soft fur. She looked at him, and he was surprised to find tears clinging to her lashes. “This—I’m sorry. It’s just, um—” She closed her eyes. “Last year, the day after we got married, Ric gave me a bear that looked like this one.”

His throat tightened as Jason looked down at the bear again. “Like this one?” he echoed.

“Yeah, it was a present for the baby. When I got out of the hospital, I saw it sitting on the mantel—” She turned the bear over in her lap, sliding her fingers over the price tag. “I made Ric get rid of it. I didn’t want to see it. It was supposed to be the baby’s first toy, but—” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. It’s not—it’s over. It really is. I have you and I have Cameron—”

He drew her into his side as she pressed the bear to her chest, the tears sliding down her cheeks. “But you loved that child,” he murmured. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Or it will be. One day.” Elizabeth took a deep breath, kissed his cheek. “It just—it threw me for a minute. But it’s not—it’s not someone messing with us, you know? It’s—there’s no way someone knew about that toy unless Ric told them, and it’s new—” She tapped the price tag. “See? It’s not the same one. If Ric had done this, he’d have sent the old bear.”

“I guess.” Jason took it from her. “I don’t know—which bag did it come from?”

She pulled out the card and skimmed it. “It’s from Solana Ruiz,” she said. “I don’t remember who she is.”

“Hector Ruiz’s wife,” Jason said tightly. And one of the families that had manufactured a Ric sighting. Obviously, Justus hadn’t gathered all of them. “He has three sons and a few daughters.”

“Oh, oh, I remember now. Her daughter just had a baby, too. I sent a card for the shower.” Elizabeth nodded. “That makes sense. She must have sent this. I can’t—I can’t keep it. But I’ll write a thank you note anyway. It’s not her fault.” She put the bear back in the bag.

“I’ll take care of it. I’ll donate it to the hospital,” he told her. “Isn’t it time to feed Cameron?”

“Oh, yeah, in about ten minutes.” Elizabeth got to her feet. “I’ll go get his bottle ready, but you want to do it, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be up.” He smiled as she went into the kitchen, then pulled out the bear again. It could have been as simple as Elizabeth said. She’d sent a card for the Ruiz family, and they’d reciprocated. And maybe Bernie and Justus hadn’t put the Ruiz family in the same category as the others. After all, it hadn’t been Hector who’d called it in, and Sonny hadn’t been contacted.

But it still gave him pause. Was it a coincidence that Elizabeth had received a replica of a bear that brought back such a dark memory from the Ruiz family? Or was something else going on?

+21

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.”

+19

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.”

+17

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.”

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