Cut me down
But it’s you who has further to fall
Ghost town, haunted love
Raise your voice, sticks and stones may break my bones
I’m talking loud not saying much
– Titanium, Jasmine Thompson

---

Mykonos, Greece; December 2014

Cassadine Estate: Nursery

The boy was clearly too old to be cooped up in the suite of rooms that had served as the estate’s nursery for more than a century. Andre didn’t know a lot about the little boy that Helena Cassadine had kidnapped almost four years earlier, but he knew the child was approaching the age of seven.

He was a bright and cheerful little boy with sandy blonde hair, kind blue eyes, and a smile for anyone who offered him one first. He seemed somehow untouched by his time in Greece—almost as if Helena had kidnapped him, set him up in this room with a tutor and a governess, then had forgotten about him until the time came when he would be useful.

That day had finally come.

“Hi.” The boy waved at him and got to his feet, pushing aside the truck he was playing with. “My name is Jake. Who are you? Does Tana know you’re here?”

“Yes,” Andre said. He took a chair from the table and sat down. “I’m a doctor working with Mrs. Cassadine. Can you sit down, talk with me for a minute?”

“Sure. I haven’t seen Mrs. Cassadine in forever,” Jake said. He joined Andre at the table, taking a minute to climb into the adult-sized chair. “She’s nice, though.”

“Is she?”

“Tana says she’s very busy looking for my family.” Jake squinted at Andre. “Do you know where I came from?”

“No,” Andre said, slowly. This was mostly true. He didn’t know much about the boy in front of him, other than the fact he was the son of Jason Morgan and a woman Helena obviously loathed. She wanted to make this woman—Elizabeth Webber—pay for some slight, for some crime she’d committed. “Do you know?”

“Tana says I used to have a mommy, but not a daddy. She says my daddy left.” Jake furrowed his brow. “I don’t know what happened, though. Tana says I shouldn’t ask questions.”

“How long have you been here?”

“With Mrs. Cassadine?” Jake paused, clearly thinking over his answer. “A few years. I think. I don’t know. I didn’t always live here because I remember what my room looked like before. I had lots of posters. And trucks. I like trucks. And motorcycles. And cars,” he added.

“You remember your old room? What about your mother?”

Jake paused, then dipped his head. “I sort of remember her,” he said in a small voice. “But Tana said it was a dream.”

“What do you remember?” Andre asked gently.

“She was crying, and I missed her, and then someone took me away.” Jake rubbed a hand over his eyes. “She tried to come after me, but—I don’t remember anything else.” He pinned Andre with his bright blue eyes. “Do you know my mommy? Why are you asking all these questions?”

“I don’t know your mother,” Andre said, “but I’m here to help you get ready to go home. Mrs. Cassadine—'” He closed his eyes. He’d done so many terrible things in his search for answers—what he’d done to this little boy’s father and uncle was beyond anything else—

But Andre knew what he was about to do to this child—the lies he would tell—the things he was supposed to put into his brain—

It was too late to get out. Too late to turn back. But maybe he could try to help. Maybe he could—

He was the expert, after all. Helena didn’t have to know—

“You missed your mother?” Andre said quietly. “So you remember loving her.”

“It’s weird,” Jake admitted. “Because I can’t really remember what she looked like except she had shiny brown hair and a nice smile. But I remember that I loved her. And I know she loved me. It’s like—” His face scrunched up. “You know how you can remember a feeling?”

“Yes,” Andre said slowly. “I do.”

“I’m going home to her?” Jake asked. “They found her? Where is she? Where has she been all this time?”

“We haven’t found her yet,” Andre told him. “But Mrs. Cassadine thinks we’re close, so she wants you to be ready.” He smiled at Jake. “And that’s my job.”

If Jake could remember the feeling of his mother’s love after all this time, then maybe Andre could use that love as a failsafe.

If Helena was determined to use this little boy to trigger a biological weapon, then it was up to Andre to do whatever he could do to protect him. There was obviously no one else who could.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

PCPD: Squad Room

Sam didn’t know what she was expecting when she and her husband arrived at the department that evening — but she certainly was not expecting Elizabeth Webber with the other man.

She felt her husband stiffen as he saw the two of them standing by Dante Falconieri’s desk, talking with the detective.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Sam told her husband, tugging on his coat sleeve. “Let’s find Jordan—” Then her eyes widened when she saw Dante’s partner, Nathan West, strolling out of the back room with Andre Maddox in handcuffs. “Andre? What the—”

The doctor looked away, and Elizabeth glared at her colleague. “How could you?” she bit out. “How could you do that to Jake?”

“Elizabeth—” Andre began.

“He trusted you—we all trusted you—”

“I swear, since I started treating him—”

“What the hell is going on?” Her husband declared, shoving his way forward. “What happened to Jake? What did you do to my son?”

Andre stared at the other man, then closed his eyes, and fear licked at Sam’s throat. Oh, God, oh God—

“You didn’t tell him the results yet?” he asked, turning to Dante. Her husband’s face stilled, and Sam pressed her fist to her mouth. Oh, God, she’d known, but she hadn’t wanted to—

“No, not yet,” another voice sounded from the other side of the room. Jordan Ashford strode forward, her boyfriend just behind her. Curtis’s eyes were averted, and Sam turned to look at the man who was about to lose everything.

“I love you,” she told him. “Please remember that.”

“What do the fingerprints say?” her husband asked, ignoring her. He swallowed hard, nodding at the file in Jordan’s hand. “You have them, don’t you?”

“I do,” Jordan said. “And advanced DNA results. I know which one of you is Jason Morgan, and we can say—for certain now—that the other man is Andrew Cain, his twin brother.”

Greystone Manor: Kitchen

Carly charged into the kitchen, waving her phone. “Look at this text message!” she told her husband.

Sonny frowned, stepped back from the stove, and wiped his hands on the dishtowel hanging over the oven handle. “What?”

“Just read it—”

Sonny squinted at the text.

hey mom gonna go to cams hes got leftover cake and his mom went with jason to pcpd to resolve the whole jase-face drama will prolly make curfew unless something interesting happens.

Sonny knew exactly why his wife was irritated, but he really didn’t want to have this argument. “Jason will probably let us know what happens when he gets a chance—”

“Why didn’t he call us?” Carly demanded. When she didn’t take the phone Sonny held out to her, he tossed it on the island counter and went back to the simmering sauce. “Why is he with her?”

“Because he probably got the call while he was at her house. You knew he was going there to do cake with the boys—” Sonny reached into his own pocket, then nodded. “Okay, yeah, he sent me a text a half hour ago. PCPD called, he’s going with Elizabeth. They arrested Andre. Well, that makes sense—”

“How—”

“Jason told us that Andre was involved up with the Chimera situation,” Sonny reminded her. Carly pressed her lips together, mutinously. “Elizabeth probably wants to hear Andre’s reasons or something.” He shrugged.

“Fine, then why didn’t he also call us? He called you, but he didn’t ask you to go. And he didn’t call me—”

“Maybe because he didn’t want to have this argument,” Sonny muttered, wincing when he realized he’d spoken loud enough for Carly to hear him. “Carly—”

“He came home four days ago,” she said. “I am the same person I’ve always been, but it’s like he hates me. He refuses to talk to me, to let me be there for him—” Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I thought I was getting my best friend back—”

“Maybe,” Sonny said, reaching for patience, “he’s not interested in the same friendship you had before. He’s been spending time with Elizabeth, and that always gets you mad. You have no idea how much time he used to spend with her because he kept you out of that.”

Carly stared at him. “But—”

“He’s not pretending anymore, Carly. And you and I can’t be everything he needs. We never could.”

“I’m not trying—” She squeezed her eyes shut. “We should be able to do this. We should be there for him when he finds out out the truth about what happened to him. Why is it her? Why isn’t me or you? Or Sam? Spinelli—anyone else—”

“He’s known Elizabeth almost as long as he’s known the two of us,” Sonny reminded his wife. “And you haven’t liked her since the second you realized she was competition.”

“That—” Carly squeezed her hands into her fists at her side. “Yes. At first. But later—”

“Later, she never did anything to either of us to deserve the way you’ve treated her. No, Jake didn’t donate the kidney that saved Joss’s life, but Elizabeth did not know that. She thought he was dead.”

“I know—”

“Jason buried his son. We have buried a son,” Sonny said roughly. “It could have broken us, you and me. It nearly did. We don’t get a chance at a miracle with Morgan. And part of me—yeah, maybe part of me is angry that I don’t get to have another chance with Morgan. To save him this time. Maybe it’s not Elizabeth you resent Jason spending time with—”

“Sonny—”

“Maybe it’s Jake. Maybe it’s the son Jason gets to have in his life when he wasn’t supposed to. I don’t know what’s worse, Carly.”

“It’s neither of those things,” Carly said tightly. “Why do you always think the worst of me? Of course, I don’t resent Jason for getting to be with Jake. I want him to have his son. Both of his sons—”

“Right now, he can’t be with Danny. Sam isn’t opening that door. It might change after the truth comes out, but Jake—Elizabeth is not only opening the door, she’s pulling Jason through it. After all the sacrifices Jason made for our family—for Michael—” Sonny paused. “He went to jail to protect Michael, Carly. He couldn’t even see Jake around town. You don’t like his mother. Fine. But whether you like it or not, Elizabeth Webber is here to stay.”

“You’re telling me it doesn’t hurt that Jason didn’t want you with him when this happened today?” Carly demanded. “That you’re not upset he pushed you out—”

“No,” Sonny said, honestly. “Because I already know the truth. I know who he is. And everything else, Jason can tell me later. Jason has been through hell, Carly. He lost the first twenty-two years of his life to his alcoholic brother, then sixteen years later, someone else stole five more years. I think Jason gets to handle this whatever way he wants. And right now, he wants Elizabeth to be the one standing next to him.”

“It should be me—”

“Why?” Sonny challenged. He switched off the sauce. “Why?” he repeated. “You can’t be first in his life. I’m tired of this argument, Carly. I’m not doing this again. Every time you complain about a woman taking your place in Jason’s life, I—” He stopped, biting back the angry words.

“What?” Carly retorted. “Finish it—”

“It makes me wonder if maybe the only reason you and me are still here is because Jason doesn’t want you.”

Carly stared at him, her eyes wide. “Sonny—”

“I’m going to the restaurant to wait for Jason to call me. Don’t wait up.”

“Sonny—”

PCPD: Squad Room

It felt like forever before Jordan spoke again, but it was probably no more than a few seconds. “According to the DNA tests, the fingerprints in our archives and what the Navy sent over—”

She turned to Sam’s husband, and Jason thought he could see the truth in the other man’s eyes even before she spoke.  “You are Andrew Cain,” Jordan said.

“Are you sure—” Drew began, his face blanching. He stopped abruptly.

Jordan looked at Jason. “And you are Jason Morgan,” Jordan said. “But—” An ironic smile played on her lips. “You already knew that.”

Jason tipped his head to that, then looked at Drew. “I’m sorry—”

“Don’t—” Drew put a hand, looked away from his brother, focused on Jordan. “How can you be sure?”

“The DNA was performed by GH and the outside lab. The outside lab isn’t back yet,” Jordan said, “but combined with GH’s results, the marker tests, and these prints—the two of you are twin brothers. GH’s testing says that you’re Oscar Nero’s father and that—” Jordan nodded to Jason. “He is Jake Webber’s father.” She held the folder out to Drew. “This is a copy of your military file with the prints and the tests. If you want to do an independent conformation.”

Drew stared at the folder but didn’t take it. Instead, he slid his hand into the pocket of his pants and drew out a wallet. He flipped it open, and one by one, he dropped plastic cards onto the ground. A driver’s license. Two credit cards. A bank card.

“Am I going to be arrested for desertion? They told me that’s what happened to Drew Cain. He went AWOL in Afghanistan,” Drew said flatly, his eyes staring at the ground, at the cards.

“No, I’ve been in contact with the Navy. They might send a JAG officer to wrap things up,” Jordan said, “but I assured them that whatever happened, it wasn’t voluntary. Drew—”

“Don’t—” Drew bit off whatever angry words he’d been about to say. He looked at Sam. “Well, he’s right over there. Isn’t that what you do when Jason Morgan shows up? You drop everything and run?”

“That’s—” Sam’s voice faltered. “That’s not fair—”

Drew turned and stalked out. After a moment—a moment longer than Jason expected—Sam looked at him, their eyes met. Then her eyes drifted to Elizabeth before she turned and followed Drew, only pausing to take the folder from Jordan.

Jason exhaled slowly, ignoring the ache in his chest as he turned to the other man in the room—the one in handcuffs. “Did you do this to us?” he demanded. “Why does he think he’s me?”

Andre closed his eyes, looking vaguely ill. “Because I put your memories in his brain,” he admitted.

“You played with his mind,” Elizabeth said, vibrating with anger, her voice shaking from the fury. “Just like Jake. And you must have done it to Jason. How else could you get the memories? Why?” she demanded harshly. “Why did you do this to them?”

Andre sighed, and Nathan shook him slightly when the doctor said nothing. “Talk,” he ordered, “or you’re going back to your cell—”

“Detective West,” Jordan said, but Andre shook his head.

“I’ll tell you what I can,” he said finally.

Webber House: Living Room

Joss refreshed her Twitter feed again, scowling. “How much longer is this going to take?”

“What makes your dumb ass think it’s going to be on social media?” Trina demanded as she sat down with a slice of cake. “It’s not like the launch party where everyone is gonna start sharing—”

“Cam said you weren’t supposed to fight at our house,” Aiden told Trina very seriously as he sat on the sofa. “He said you gotta have neutered ground, but I don’t get that because when Mark’s dog got neutered, he got this cone—” He peered at Joss. “Which one of you wears the cone?”

“Neutral ground,” Cam corrected. “It means they don’t fight here because this is a safe place.” He handed Jake the bowl of popcorn before perching on the arm of Trina’s chair. “Won’t your mom tell you?” he asked Joss.

“I don’t think Mom got invited,” Joss said carefully. “She called me when she got the text demanding to know how I knew Jason was at the PCPD and how long ago he was called—”

“Whoa, your mom wasn’t asked to go?” Oscar shuddered. “I’m glad we’re hanging here and not at your place.”

“Right?” Joss repeated, her eyes widened. “When Carly gets left out of things, it’s drama city. I mean, maybe we could have been there because it would have been fun to see her flip out, but she usually just insults Cam’s mom, so, like, I’ve heard it before.”

Trina shrugged. “Then I guess we’re waiting on your mom and Jason to come back.” She leaned back in the chair. “I wonder how that’s going.”

“Maybe,” Oscar said. “But I mean, I guess we already know, don’t we? Your mom seems so convinced,” he said to Cam and his brothers. “I mean, she told Jake the new guy is his real dad.”

Jake made a face. “I know Mom is right, and the new guy is nice, but I like my other dad, I mean your dad, I mean my uncle—” He scowled. “This is annoying. Why can’t people just be who they’re supposed to be? Why does everything gotta be all weird?”

“I wish I could tell you it would get better,” Joss said with a sigh, “but as long as you live in Port Charles, this is pretty much the way things are.” She frowned at Oscar. “But why didn’t you think it was Jason yesterday at the hospital? I mean, he looks just like your dad.”

“I know, and that was weird, but the more I thought about it, the more I just didn’t feel it. And I think I’d feel it. He’s my dad. And he didn’t know me—”

“But the other guy—Drew—” Cam said, “he won’t know you either. Not until we figure out what’s wrong with his brain—”

“He’s my dad,” Oscar argued. “Maybe he won’t know me like he remembers teaching me to throw a baseball or whatever, but he’ll know me. You know? Like he’ll feel a connection once we know the truth.” He focused on Jake. “Didn’t you feel it with your dad?”

“Well, no,” Jake said slowly. “He doesn’t feel like my dad yet. I’m sorry,” he said when he realized Oscar’s expression had soured. “That’s not the right answer.”

“It’s fine—”

“Oscar,” Joss began.

“No, I know you guys think I’m insane, but it’s like—you said your mom knew Jason was who he was supposed to be,” Oscar said to Cam. “So did your mom and stepdad,” he said to Joss. “That’s what I mean. He’s gonna know me. He’s gonna see me, and part of him will recognize me. I know it.”

“Maybe he will,” Trina suggested, shooting a glare at Cameron as if to remind him not to argue. “I mean, brains are weird, right? Maybe seeing you will trigger something. But it also might not, Oscar. We just—” She bit her lip. “We like you, you know. We don’t wanna see you get hurt.”

“I won’t be,” Oscar said confidently. “He’s my dad. I’m finally gonna get him back.”

PCPD: Squad Room

“Well?” Jordan said sharply when Andre didn’t continue speaking. “What did you do? And why?”

Andre looked away from his ex-girlfriend, but if he was hoping to avoid the bitter disappointment in someone’s eyes, he shouldn’t have looked at Jason and Elizabeth standing to his left. Jason’s expression was carefully controlled, but anyone could see from the way his hands were clenched into fists at his side that he was furious — and Elizabeth’s rage was written all over her face.

If he told them everything he knew right now, there was every chance that this man would end his life. Even if Jason Morgan could be convinced to show him mercy, Andre would lose any and all leverage.

He’d never be able to finish his work.

“I don’t have all the answers that you want,” he said slowly. “I worked for the people who did this—”

“You’re a doctor,” Jordan snapped. “How could you—”  She stopped when Curtis put a hand on her arm.

“Who?” Elizabeth demanded. “Was it Victor? Helena? Faison? Someone else?”

“Victor brought me into the experiments because of the research I had suggested in mapping memory.” Andre paused. “My wife,” he said after a moment. “She suffered from young-onset dementia. We hoped we could slow the disease, but by the time she was thirty-eight—” His voice faltered for a minute. “I needed to find a way to stop it from happening to anyone else. I changed my research focus to the development of memory. I thought—if we could map memories, maybe we could reverse—”

“And the Cassadines were the only people crazy and unethical enough to give you live patients,” Elizabeth hissed. “Is that it?”

“Victor wanted to experiment with a set of twins,” Andre said dully. “He brought you to me. You and Drew. I never knew the names or histories. You were just—” He closed his eyes as Jason Morgan’s blue eyes burned into his. “You were numbers. Five and Six.”

“Five and Six,” Curtis repeated softly. “And Patients One through Four? Were there any after Jason and Drew?”

“What was the plan, Andre?” Elizabeth demanded. “What did you do to Drew? Can he get his memories back?”

“I don’t know,” Andre lied. “I couldn’t finish the project. Not at first.” He looked at Jason. “I could map both of your memories, but the transfer—it failed with you. The brain damage—” He shook his head. “You shouldn’t be alive, much less walking around—”

“But you went ahead with Drew,” Jason interrupted, drawing Andre’s focus. “You gave him my memories—”

“How was Helena involved?” Elizabeth cut in. “When did she get there? And what about Jake?”

“Maybe if we stop interrupting,” Curtis suggested gently, for which Andre was reluctantly grateful. Jordan and Elizabeth were liable to rip him into shreds, and if anything was left—he avoided Jason’s eyes—he still wasn’t convinced he would survive a run-in with Jason Morgan.

“I don’t know much about Helena’s involvement,” Andre lied. “She was interested in the work I was doing with the memory mapping. And she and Victor were…I think collaborating on some other projects I wasn’t part of. She wanted me to implant subliminal suggestions into Jake’s head. I didn’t want to do it, at first—” He grimaced. “But I didn’t have a choice.”

“There’s always a choice,” Elizabeth bit out.

“You’re right. I just didn’t have a good choice. I didn’t know Jake. He was Patient Three. And no,” Andre said with a shake of his head. “I didn’t run the other experiments. I can’t tell you anything about them. I was barely involved with Jake, but once Helena decided to return him to you—to Luke—” he corrected, wincing as Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed.

“What about me?” Jason said quietly. “Who put me in that clinic in Russia?”

“I don’t know,” Andre said. “When I told Victor I couldn’t complete the experiment, he was supposed to end it. That was maybe eight months after I started. Originally we were supposed to put Drew here in Port Charles and send you to San Diego. To get a sense of how much memory implantation could actually affect the people you were,” Andre said.

“And that’s why Drew got Jason’s memories after you came to Port Charles?” Elizabeth said, lifting her chin. “Is that what you did? Why did anyone let him walk around without those memories for a year?”

“I wasn’t part of that,” Andre said, choosing his words carefully. “I just know that it suited Helena’s plans. After Victor died, Helena called the shots, and she didn’t tell me very much. She wanted to return Jake, so I finished the work. She wanted me in Port Charles—and I thought—”

“Well, you’d come this far,” Jordan growled. “You might as well finish your experiment.”

Andre closed his eyes. “Yes,” he admitted.

“And that’s all you know,” Elizabeth said, lifting a brow. “You don’t know what else Helena and Victor were doing—but Helena’s been dead for two years, Andre. She was dead before you put those memories into Drew for the second time. Who were you taking your orders from then? Who are you taking them from now?”

“No one. There’s no one.” He stopped. “I didn’t realize how wrong I was until I came here. Until then, they were just numbers, but then they became people—you showed me those pictures of Jason before the accident—”

“You treated my son,” Elizabeth said in a low, dangerous tone. “You looked at him every day, trying to make his nightmares and trauma go away, and you were the one that put the trigger in his head that nearly killed him. That nearly killed my entire family—” Jason put a hand on her shoulder, and she stopped to take a breath. “Spare me your newfound regret and remorse,” she retorted. “You knew exactly what you were doing—what I was up against last spring with Jake, and you stayed silent. You left town instead of coming to me. I am sorry for what happened to your wife, but you had no right to destroy Jason and Drew’s lives for research. To destroy my son.”

“I know,” Andre said. “I wish I could take it back.”

“You can’t.” Elizabeth turned to Jason. “I’ll wait outside—”

“I don’t have any questions he’ll answer,” Jason said with a shake of his head. He leveled one more look at Andre that made it clear Jason didn’t believe that Andre was telling them everything.

Which meant Andre would live a little longer.

“Take him back into lockup,” Jordan told Nathan. When the two of them had left, she turned to Jason and Elizabeth. “You should know he’s only here on loan from the WSB. They want to debrief him about the research he did with Victor.”

“So he’s not even going to pay for what he did,” Elizabeth said. “How is that fair?”

“It’s not, but my hands are tied. The DA already agreed to extradition, and if we hadn’t signed the paperwork—” Jordan nodded at the door through which Andre had disappeared. “You wouldn’t have had that much.”

“Then thank you,” Jason said, taking Elizabeth by the elbow. “We can talk to Anna and Robert,” he reminded her. “If Andre was still working for the WSB with Jake—”

“They might be able to find out more,” she murmured. “I just feel sick to my stomach. I want to go home and see the boys.”

“Then let’s go.”

Penthouse: Living Room

When Drew stormed into the penthouse and yanked off his coat, Alexis stood up from the sofa, her eyes going to Sam behind him, closing the door more quietly. “Well?”

“It’s true,” Drew bit out. “I’m Andrew Cain. Not—” He closed his eyes. Scrubbed his hands over his face. “Not Jason.”

“I’m sorry,” Alexis said. When he just scoffed at her, she just sighed. “I am. You didn’t deserve this. Any of this.”

“Mom—” Sam sighed. “Maybe you should—”

“I’ll call you in the morning.” As she grabbed her coat and passed her daughter, Alexis kissed her cheek. “Good night.”

When her mother was gone, Sam turned to her husband—to Drew—and waited. “It doesn’t change anything for me,” she told him, even though she wasn’t entirely convinced that was true. It felt true. She knew she loved the man in front of her, and she knew they’d been through hell in the last two years—in the last year, they’d pulled their lives together—rebuilt their family— had their little girl—

And yet—it also felt like a lie. And Sam didn’t really know what to do with that. How to handle it. Since she didn’t really know what she was feeling, she decided to focus on what she could do. She could figure out what her husband needed and do that.

He’d just had his entire life ripped apart, and he needed someone to help him get through it. He needed her.

“You know what really kills me?” he murmured, so quietly she almost didn’t hear him. Sam shook her head wordlessly. He focused on her, his eyes rimmed with red and exhaustion. Neither of them had been sleeping well. “I knew.”

“You knew,” Sam repeated, frowning slightly. “What—”

“A voice in my head,” Drew continued. He turned back to the fireplace, unlit and dark. He stared into it blindly. “At the church. Carly told me who I was, and I turned around to look at Elizabeth, and by the time I’d gotten all the way around—my brain was on fire. Screaming at me that it wasn’t real.”

“Jas—Drew,” Sam said, testing out the name on her lips. “Drew,” she repeated. “This is…a lot. And it’s okay not to know what you’re feeling—”

“I refused to be him,” Drew continued. “Remember? I wanted to know what happened to me, but I wasn’t going to be Jason Morgan. I wanted Jake Doe. That felt right. I almost hated you for forcing it on me—”

Her stomach twisted, and a sour taste rose in her throat. “What—”

“But then—” He exhaled slowly. Shakily. “Then the memories started. And the voice just got louder. Because the memories were just…there. They didn’t feel right. I thought it was just all the trauma, all the things I’d been through. I drowned it out. I ignored it. But it never went away.”

“I—”

“And now I know I was right. That I should have listened to those voices. I’m not Jason Morgan. Jake is not my son. Danny is not my—”

“Yes, he is,” Sam snapped. “Jason didn’t want him! You know that!”

“I—he—” Drew squeezed his eyes shut. “He changed his mind—”

“He felt guilty,” Sam retorted. “You’ve loved Danny. You’ve been his father. He knows you. Not Jason. You’re not losing Scout or Danny. Or me. And you’ve got friends. Friends who love you,” she reminded him. “Curtis. We have Aurora—”

“How much of that is really mine?” he asked roughly. “I can’t—” Drew shook his head. “I can’t deal with this right now. I have to—I’m sorry.” He exhaled slowly. “I can’t. I need to go.”

“Drew—”

“Don’t—” He turned back to her, his hand outstretched. He drew it back, curling it into a fist. “I need to be alone. I’ll call you in the morning.”

Sam watched him leave, the door closing behind him, and had no idea what she was supposed to do next.

Webber Home: Living Room

Elizabeth was unsurprised to find all three boys up when she came home with Jason that evening. Oscar and Trina must have gone home because only Cam and Joss were sitting on the sofa. Aiden and Jake were lying on their stomachs in front of the television. “I thought you were supposed to watch Hocus Pocus last night,” she said, making a face.

“Mom.” Cam jumped up, and Jake rolled over into a sitting position. “Hey. What happened?”

“Basically what we thought,” Elizabeth said. She and Jason exchanged a look. They had already decided to keep what happened with Andre to themselves for the moment. “Jason is Jason…and Drew is the other man. Jason’s twin brother.”

“And Oscar’s dad,” Joss said with a sigh. “Well, that’s good, I guess. Do you know what happened yet?”

“Not all of it,” Jason said.

“Jake?” Elizabeth asked. “What are you thinking?”

Jake paused, then looked at his father. “I’m glad you came home,” he told him. “It was really mean what they did to you. And you seem nice.” He paused. “I just…I really love my other dad.”

“I know,” Jason said with a nod. He crouched down so that he was at eye level with Jake. “And it was really mean what they did to him. I told you, Jake, I don’t want you to lose anyone that matters to you. I know he’s been important to you. He should keep being important if that’s what you both want.”

“And hey,” Cam said. “He’s still your uncle, Jake. He and Jason are brothers. Like us. Well, not like us,” he corrected. “But maybe like—”

“Like Charlotte and Rocco?” Aiden suggested. “Rocco hates his sister—”

Cam eyed him. “Uh, yeah, maybe not so much like Charlotte and Rocco. I just—”

“Drew and I are brothers. We have the same father,” Jason told Jake. “The same biological mother. But we didn’t grow up together like you and Cam and Aiden. We don’t know each other yet.”

“Oh. Well, sometimes, I wish I didn’t know my brothers either,” Jake admitted. “But he’s a nice guy.” He got to his feet. “Maybe I could help you guys be okay if he still likes me now that he’s not my real dad.”

“I’m sure he’s still going to love you,” Elizabeth assured her son. “It’s just hard right now. Because everything is changing for him, and we need to be patient with him.”

“Right.” Jake smiled at Jason. “But I’m glad everyone knows the truth.” He stepped forward and gingerly wrapped his arms around Jason’s waist. “Welcome home…Dad.”

“Thanks,” Jason said, his voice a bit rough as Jake stepped back with his shy smile still intact. “It’s good to be home.”

And who do you think you are?
Runnin’ ’round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You’re gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
Don’t come back for me
Who do you think you are?
– Jars of Heart, Christina Perri

---

October 2014

Scarsdale, New York

Andre set the newspaper down and rubbed his temple. All of his time and effort—the risks that he took to send Patient Five to Port Charles instead of his brother—and it had been for nothing.

Everything had gone to hell since Victor had died the month before—and he was definitely dead, Andre thought dubiously. Unlike his other Cassadine relations, Victor’s burnt and broken body had been pulled from the wreckage of Crichton Clark. Drew Cain, believing himself to be Jason Morgan, had escaped in the melee along with Dr. Scorpio, but he’d been hit by a car just after reaching Port Charles, and the good doctor had disappeared into thin air.

Andre had been waiting for weeks for the second shoe to drop and, well, maybe this wasn’t quite what he expecting—

He looked down at the Port Charles Sun, rereading the headline proclaiming that the mysterious accident victim that had been brought into the ER with life-threatening injuries had woken from his coma with amnesia. Since he had required facial reconstruction, learning his identity would be nearly impossible.

Would they run his fingerprints? Would that mean that they’d discover the man in the hospital was Drew Cain—

And what would Helena think if that happened? Would she believe—

Lost in his thoughts, he ignored the knock on his apartment door at first, then whirled around when he heard the lock clicking, then the knob turning.

Helena Cassadine stood in the doorway, smiling as a man got to his feet, sliding a set of tools into his back pocket. Andre stared at the pair of them, his mouth dropping slightly. What the hell was Valentin doing with his mother—

Had Valentin sold him down the river?

“Hello, my dear Dr. Maddox.” She stepped inside the apartment and waited for Valentin to close the door behind them. “My son tells me he met you while I was briefly indisposed last year.”

“Ah, yes—” Andre looked at the other man, dubiously but, maddeningly, the man just smiled at him, a faint curve of his lips that could have been mocking or true amusement. One could never tell with the Cassadines. “Briefly.”

“With the unfortunate loss of my brother-in-law,” Helena said, with a sigh, “it is time for us to pick up the pieces the best we can. You’ve seen the papers?”

“Yes.”

“A man of few words,” Valentin said. “I like him, Mother.”

“I thought about sending you to Port Charles to keep a closer eye on the situation,” Helena told Andre. “I’m sure there are things you could do to jumpstart his memory,” she continued. “But, I’ve decided that I don’t want Jason Morgan’s amnesia to be dealt with. Not at the moment,” she added. “I am quite intrigued at the idea of using him behind the scenes. The chip in his head, you’re sure it will work?”

“Yes,” Andre said. “As long as it’s not damaged.”

“Well, I suppose I’ll learn that for myself when the time comes.”

“Won’t they—” Andre braced himself. “Won’t they run his fingerprints?”

“Oh, I took care of that,” Valentin offered. “I simply deleted the electronic prints from the system,” he clarified when his mother looked at him. “If they were to take his prints and compare them to everyone in their physical archives, they’d find him, but they won’t bother with that.”

“For now, it serves my purpose. We’ll revisit it at a later date.” Helena focused on Andre. “Now, Dr. Maddox, I want you to know that I value your work and loyalty. There’s a place for you in Greece at my new lab.” She lifted a brow. “You’ll have the same freedom there as you did in the States. I have a few projects on which I’d like to consult with you.”

“Greece?” Andre repeated. Could he afford to refuse? He met Valentin’s eyes, and the man lifted his brows slightly. Had Valentin also deleted Drew Cain’s fingerprints? Had he truly taken care of it? He should say no. Wash his hands of the whole thing and hope that the Cassadines forgot he existed.

But maybe it would be better to keep his hand in—to know what the Cassadines were up to and if he was in danger.

“Thank you, Mrs. Cassadine,” Andre said. “I’d be happy to continue working with you and your family.”

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Metro Court Hotel: Restaurant

Carly tossed a napkin on the table and sat back in her chair, a disgruntled expression on her face. “You’re supposed to hear from Jordan about the fingerprints today. I don’t understand why you can’t just stick close so we can go find out together—”

Jason sipped his coffee. “I am. Until around four. It’s Elizabeth’s birthday—do not make that face—”

“Carly,” Sonny said, leaning forward. “You know Jake is his son. You want them to spend time together, don’t you?”

“Yes, Jason should spend time with both of his sons, but so far, he’s just talked about Jake. I mean, have you even seen Danny?” Carly demanded. “Why aren’t you talking to Sam? She’s your wife—”

“She’s his wife,” Jason corrected gently. “And yes, I’ve seen Danny. Last night, when he was trick or treating. But Sam has made it clear she’s waiting on the results of the fingerprints.” He paused. “Danny doesn’t know me—”

“But he will. And Sam will come around. You know how obsessed she is with you—”

Jason shook his head, then sighed. “Jake asked me to come over,” he told her. “He’s willing to accept who I am to him because Elizabeth has. Why don’t you get that? Danny—he’s not an option for me right now.” And might never be if Sam’s expression had been any indication the night before, but — “I’m finally getting the chance to be with Jake.”

“But it’s always with her. And Elizabeth is the reason you can’t—”

“Not that I don’t enjoy rehashing the past,” Sonny said dryly, “but I think we’ve got more important things to worry about, Carly. Spinelli is coming in tomorrow, isn’t he?”

“Yeah.” Jason scratched his temple, relieved for the change in conversation. He really just wanted to keep putting one foot in front of the other, take things as they happened, but Carly made it difficult. Reminding him that the woman he’d planned to spend the rest of his life with had looked at him, then refused to believe he was who he said he was. And she knew the truth. He could always tell when she was lying. He’d seen it in her eyes the night before. She knew and she was still refusing to say so.

But he had people who did want to support him. He had Michael and Joss, Sonny and Carly—he had Elizabeth and her boys. He’d started to rebuild his life over the last few days, but it would take a long time before any of this felt normal again. If it ever did. But he had to just keep looking ahead, and not think about who wasn’t standing beside him.

“He’s going to look into the clinic in Russia and follow the money,” Jason continued, “to see if we can trace it back to the Cassadines. I know Victor and Helena are supposed to be dead, but whoever those guys from Russia were working for is still out there—if it’s Valentin, then I want to know.”

“Maybe Andre was carrying the torch on his own,” Carly suggested. “He did split town really fast. If we track him down, this might be over.” She tipped his head. “That would be a good thing, Jason. The last thing you want to do is chase answers for the rest of your life. Let’s find out who was behind this, make sure it’s over, and get on with your life.”

“I don’t know if it’s going to be that easy,” Sonny began.

“And that life is with Sam and your sons,” Carly said, and Jason just closed his eyes. “What? You know I’m right. She’s going to find out that you’re Jason, and she’ll come running. She always does. She’s obsessed with you.”

“I thought Elizabeth was obsessed with him,” Sonny said. “And that it was a bad thing.”

“It is. The way she does it,” Carly said as if that made all the sense in the world. “Sam gets how Jason’s life works. Elizabeth never has.” She focused those intense eyes on him. “She never will.”

“Interesting.” Sonny wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Because last week, when you thought Sam was taking Jason away from you for Aurora, you told me that at least Elizabeth never got in the way of Jason’s job—”

Carly scowled. “That was different.”

“How?” Sonny challenged, while Jason just sighed.

“Because Elizabeth only does what she thinks is going to keep Jason hanging around. You know she shoved Franco to the curb because you came home. I mean, how can you trust someone who does that?”

Clearly, no one had told Carly what had actually happened at Elizabeth’s house that night, but Jason wasn’t going to get into it when she was in a mood like this. No telling what she would do with the information.

“You don’t even listen to yourself when you talk, do you?” Sonny said pleasantly. Carly scowled at him. “You’ve been complaining for months that Joss has to go over to that house with Franco around, and that you can’t understand why Elizabeth doesn’t have the self-respect to understand that Franco is the worst. She kicks him out, and now, that’s a bad thing.”

“Her reasons make it bad,” Carly insisted. “Do you honestly think she would have broken up with him if Jason hadn’t come home?”

“I wish you’d just say it,” Jason said, suddenly, bringing both their attention back to him. “Just admit it.”

“Admit what?” she asked, blinking.

“You’re bothered that I’m spending time with Elizabeth and her sons because you hate her. You decided a long time ago you’d rather I be with Sam and not her.” Jason pushed his coffee mug away. “You can’t even stop complaining long enough to get that the only good thing in my life right now is getting to see Jake, and Elizabeth’s making that happen—”

“Not the only good thing—” Carly protested.

“Carly,” Sonny gritted.

“I thought he was dead,” Jason retorted. “I buried him. He had a gravestone with his picture on it, Carly. You get that? And not only is he alive, but I get to be his father. You’re so concerned with being number one in my life that you can’t even stop to be happy for me.”

“I—” Carly gaped as Jason got to his feet. “I am happy—”

“Then act like it and stop insulting Elizabeth. I’m tired of warning you about this. It’s been twenty years. Get over it,” Jason told her. He looked at Sonny. “I’ll call you if Jordan gets in touch.” Then he walked out of the restaurant.

“He’s just—” Carly took a deep breath. “He’s missing the point—”

“If Morgan came back to us tomorrow and the only way you could see him is if you were in the same room with Ava,” Sonny said slowly, “you wouldn’t even blink. You’d snap that chance up in a heartbeat.”

“The difference is that I’m not going to let Ava push me around and break my heart again,” Carly snapped. “Jason will never see Elizabeth Webber for who she really is—” She stopped as Sonny dropped his napkin on the table. “What—”

“Your best friend in the whole world just came back from the dead, and you’re just going back to business as usual. Excuse me if I’m not in the mood.” Sonny gestured at her. “This is the woman I nearly divorced last year. I thought you were done with being petty and immature.”

“How dare you—” Incensed, Carly got to her feet. “That is not what happened last year—this isn’t even related—”

“Then shut up about the time Jason spends breathing the same air as Elizabeth because you’re asking him to choose between you and his son. You’re going to lose that fight, Carly. And you should.”

General Hospital: Cafeteria

“All these years,” Elizabeth said with a sigh as she and Felix rolled their trays down the row of meager offerings, “and I can still be surprised by the terrible options.”

“Careful.” Felix nodded to the sour woman at the grill behind the counter, who gave them the side eye. “Brunhilda might hear you.”

Elizabeth snorted, then slid her tray down to the cashier. She swiped her ID card to pay for her salad and water, then went over to set her lunch down next to Griffin Munro, who was perusing a patient file on his tablet. “Hey. Anything good happening on the surgery floor?”

“Not today,” Griffin said, setting the tablet down. “Happy birthday, by the way—”

Elizabeth whipped her head around to narrow her eyes at Felix. “What did I tell you about reminding people?”

Felix rolled his eyes. “I didn’t remind people, babe. Some people like you—”

“Facebook told me,” Griffin said dryly. “You should take the information off there if you don’t want people saying things to you.”

She made a face. “I really need to deactivate that,” she muttered.

“Hey, cheer up. How many years do you have left before you actually start looking your age?” Felix asked. “Right now, you can still pass for forty.”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. “I’m thirty-seven.” She threw a carrot slice at him, and Felix ducked.

Griffin grinned, then his eyes sobered as he looked across the cafeteria. “Anyone talked to her since this started?

Elizabeth twisted in her seat, sobering as she saw Kim Nero winding her way through the line, ducking her head. She and Kim were friendly enough since Cam and Oscar had met six months ago, but now she saw the other woman in an entirely new light.

“We talked briefly when I set up the test for Oscar,” Elizabeth admitted. She twisted the cap from her water and rolled it in her fingers. “She was pretty matter of fact—let’s wait until the tests are in, wait for the facts, but I haven’t called her since the tests came back. I’m not sure what to say to her. Drew’s been living here for three years and doesn’t remember her or his own son. She knows that. ”

“You think Drew and Sam will split over this?” Felix asked. “You remember how hard she went after Jake Doe when she found out he was supposed to be Jason—”

“Yeah, I have a vague recollection,” Elizabeth muttered. She shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t know. Jason and I haven’t talked about Sam. Last I heard is that she hasn’t reached out, and he hasn’t seen Danny.”

“You’re sure the guy who came back is actually Jason?” Griffin asked. “It’s not the other way around?”

“Not a doubt in my mind. And that’s not just because the other guy picked Sam,” Elizabeth said, warding off Felix’s likely retort. “I mean, I know Jason. I know the way he carries himself. The way he talks. And the way he talks about Jake—it’s just different. It feels right. Maybe that’s not science—”

“But there’s something to be said for the gut feeling,” Griffin replied. He hesitated. “So Sam is taking the other guy’s side.”

“Probably playing both sides like she always does,” Felix suggested. “Face it — if she’s wrong, Jason’s probably the kind of guy that would forgive her. And if she’s right, she’s the one that looks like the hero. She’s the only one sticking by Jake Doe or Drew Cain, whoever the hell he is.”

“Would Jason forgive her for freezing him out and refusing to acknowledge him?” Griffin asked Elizabeth, intrigued.

“He’s forgiven her for worse,” she replied sourly. “So, yeah, you’re probably right, Felix. She’s hedging her bets. It’s not my business—”

“If she’s wrong, you might finally get rid of her for good,” Felix said brightly. “What if she stays with Drew slash Jake? He’s not Jake’s dad anymore, so—” He made a gesture as if he was washing his hands. “You’re out of it—”

“If there’s anything I’ve learned in the last eleven years,” Elizabeth said, wrinkling her nose, “is that I’m never going to be rid of Sam McCall.”

“Kim’s coming over here—”

“Then stop looking at her—” Griffin reached over, slapped Felix’s arm. “Be cool—”

“Uh, hey.” Kim held her tray with all the confidence that a new girl in a high school cafeteria might possess. “Elizabeth, Oscar said it was your birthday—so I wanted—” She closed her eyes. “That’s a lie. I just wanted an excuse—”

“You know, I have a lot to do.” Felix got to his feet, picking up his tray. “Griffin? Any heads to sew?”

“I’ll find some.”

“Oh, wait—” Kim sighed as both men hurried away. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to chase them away.”

“It’s fine, I know where to find them.” Elizabeth nodded to the chair that Griffin had vacated across from her. “Take a seat. What’s up?”

“Well, Oscar and I are trying to decide how to deal with all of this. Even though the fingerprints haven’t come back and established anything definitely, he said you and your boys are convinced you know which twin is which.” She paused. “The DNA seems clear that one of them is my husband. Or—” She closed her eyes. “Was my husband.”

“Yes—”

“But neither of them remember being Drew. They both think they’re Jason.” Kim opened her eyes, looked at her. “You think the man who came back last week is Jason, and the one that ‘s been living here is Drew.”

“I do. Kim—”

“Drew was a good man. He never would have done this,” Kim said. “He never would have helped anyone hurt someone else. Take them away from their family—”

“I never believed for a second that the man I knew as Jason for the last two years—I never thought he was part of this. I think he and Jason are both victims.” Elizabeth paused. “What was Drew like?”

“Oh.” Kim paused. “Funny,”  she said a minute. “He took his job so seriously, you know? He grew up without family in a group home here in New York. In Rochester, actually. When he joined the navy, it was like he found the family he’d always wanted.”

Kim’s smile was faint. “But outside the job—everything was a joke to him. He loved to tease people and have a good time. We met on the base in San Diego. I worked in the hospital there. Um, after his first wife—Oscar’s mother—after Cara died—he was so determined to be a good father. He loved that little boy. He never would have left him—” She closed her eyes. “It’s so hard for me to think that he’s been here all this time or that someone else held him hostage for another two years—I’ve been so scared he was dead, but—”

She hesitated. “He doesn’t know us. This man. When he woke up three years ago—he never once remembered us, did he? Me or Oscar.”

“No. Whatever they did to him before he showed up—” Elizabeth sighed. “It was bad. It wiped it all out. I’m so sorry—”

“I’m a big girl, you know. I grieved him a long time ago. And maybe—well, Oscar’s young. They can always rebuild.” Kim pushed her sandwich across the plate absently. “It just seems a shame. His first wife, Cara, grew up in the group home, too. No family. She had some friends, but they’ve mostly moved on. Oscar and Drew were her entire life. And now—Oscar barely remembers her, and Drew might never get those memories back.”

Elizabeth bit her lip. “That’s terrible.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to depress you on your birthday—”

“No, no, it’s just—I’ve been really focused on Jason mostly because it’s something I can help with. Drew—or whoever he is—he hasn’t really been interested in hearing from anyone who disagrees with him, which I get. But talking to you, knowing Oscar—so many lives were destroyed by this.”

“Whoever did this,” Kim said, “deserves to rot in hell.”

Devane Manor: Foyer

“Where’s the file?” Anna demanded as Robert stepped into her house that afternoon. Her ex-husband narrowed his eyes and closed the door behind him.

“Let a man breathe, will you?” he drawled. He went into the living room to drop his duffel bag on her coffee table.

“You can breathe while I’m reading,” she retorted. “Hand it over—”

“Fine, fine—” Robert unzipped his bag and handed the thick, manila personnel folder to her. “I glanced through it a bit on the plane—some of it has been classified—”

“Classified?” Anna wrinkled her nose, taking a seat on the sofa and flipping it open. “Frisco won’t get you access?”

“More like he can’t,” Robert told her. “Some of Cassadine’s projects are still encrypted. With his death, it hasn’t been a priority to dig into some of this. Frisco’s been more concerned with weeding out any agents that went rogue—”

“What is this?” Anna asked. She pointed to a line in his file. “This transfer from Special Research to Special Operations in late 2011? That’s the last thing in this file. Where’s the rest of it?”

“Well,” Robert said, leaning forward. “That’s something we might ask Dr. Maddox ourselves.”

“I wish we could,” she muttered. “But he’s disappeared—” She stopped, then looked up at him, realizing he was smiling. “Robert?”

“I dropped a present off at the PCPD,” Robert reported. “As soon as they’re done with him, the WSB will take custody of our rogue doctor, and we’ll get some answers.”

Webber Home: Kitchen

Jason eyed the layers of cake cooling on the counter. “When you said you and Aiden were baking—” he began but Elizabeth pointed a spatula at him.

“Watch it. I’ve always been able to make anything that comes out of a box.”

Jason put up his hands in mock surrender. “I know, I know. Emily used to talk about your brownies all the time.”

“Exactly,” she sniffed, then sobered. She looked out into the living room where Cameron and Jake were playing another round of some video game where Jake was losing miserably, and Cameron was crowing. Aiden was sitting at the kitchen table, stirring a bowl of chocolate icing. “That’s one of the reasons I stopped celebrating my birthday,” Elizabeth said finally. “It never really felt right again without her.”

“I know,” Jason said, his mind drifting back to that terrible night, to the ballroom and his sister’s broken body, laying in a crumpled heap of white. “I hated that I had to be the one to tell you.”

“There was never going to be a good way to find out. Better you than someone else.” Elizabeth folded her arms, trying to block out the memory of Sam screaming at her that night. “I know…I know the doctors said it was technically—that it happened before midnight. But I found out on my birthday.” She looked at Aiden again. “Two years ago, he decided he loved baking and wanted to bake me a cake. I think Emily would be okay with me taking this day back.”

“She never would have wanted you to lose it in the first place.”

“Fair enough.” They fell silent for a moment, then Jason cleared his throat.

“Jordan is supposed to call any minute with the fingerprints.”

She frowned, then looked at him. “Oh. I forgot that was today—”

“I was gonna call Carly and Sonny,” he said, “and I still can, but—” He paused. “I mean, I figured since Jake was involved—”

“Jason, do you want me to come with you tonight when you get the call?” she asked, surprised. “I mean—I can, but you know it’s just another reason for Carly to hate me.”

“I’m not sure she needs any new ones,” Jason said. “I just—” He looked down at his hands. “I don’t know. If I call Sonny, Carly will want to come, and I don’t want this to turn into a circus. I also—I don’t want to go alone.”

Not since Drew would likely bring Sam, and Elizabeth understood that. He wanted to be on equal footing. She just wasn’t wild about having to be in a room with Sam and the man she’d once called Jake Doe.

Still — Jason had a point. Carly and Sonny would make everything more intense and dramatic because Carly didn’t know any other speed. “Sure,” Elizabeth said after a minute. “When Jordan calls.” She looked over at the table. “Hey, Aiden, you about ready to frost this cake? I think the layers are cool enough.”

“Almost, Mom. You forgot the candles again,” Aiden said as he climbed down from the table and walked over to her with the bowl of icing. “I think Jake was kidding when he said if we put all the candles on the cake, there’d be a fire.”

“You know, a lot of people making age jokes today,” she muttered as she took the bowl from him, then lifted him onto the stool. She looked at Jason. “I don’t know where Jake gets it from—”

“You don’t? I do,” Jason replied. She made a face at him, and handed Aiden the spatula. Twenty minutes later, the cake was iced and Elizabeth unearthed a single candle. Jake and Cameron trooped into the kitchen, Jake having whooped Cameron’s butt in the last round so he was in a good mood.

“Mom, you’re missing some candles,” he said, climbing up next to his father. He looked at Jason. “She’s definitely not one.”

“You know, Christmas isn’t that far away,” Elizabeth reminded him.

“Yeah, Webbers hold grudges,” Cameron reminded Jake as he poked his finger in the leftover icing and licked it. “I mean, Mom and Joss’s mom have hated each other since the Stone Age—and neither one of them remembers why.”

“Not remembering and not telling you and Joss are two different things,” she began, irritated beyond the speaking of it, but Cameron just smirked and flicked the light off in the kitchen.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Sam watched as her husband paced the room, back and forth in front of the fireplace. She folded her arms. “Are you ever going to talk to me again?” she asked finally. “You’ve barely looked at me since yesterday—”

He stopped to glare at her, his blue eyes blazing. “What do you want me to say? You’re just like the rest of them—”

“Am I?” Sam demanded. “Did I stop calling you Jason? Did I tell Danny that you weren’t his father? I’m sorry, what exactly is my crime? It’s hard for me to see him because he has your old face. I’m supposed to be magically okay with everything that’s happened in the last three days—”

“This is happening to me, not you—”

“It’s happening to both of us,” she shot back. “Both of our lives are being questioned, and I’m so sick of this, Jason! Why does any of it even matter? It’s not like we’re together because you’re Jason—”

“Aren’t we?” He stopped to focus on her. “Before Carly came to the church and announced I was Jason Morgan, did you even give a damn about me? Did you feel any connection to me?”

Sam hissed. “Why are we back to this again? Why does that matter? That was two years ago! You left that life behind—you came back to me—to me and Danny, and now we have Scout—” She crossed the room to take his face in hers. “Why does your name matter? Why does it have to change anything—”

He shrugged out of her grasp. “So you do believe him,” he said, his voice raspy with pain. “You think he’s Jason—”

“I didn’t say that—”

“You didn’t have to, Sam.”

“I had my chance to take his side,” Sam reminded him. “Last night—when you had your tantrum and refused to come out with us. I ran into him with Danny—”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because it didn’t matter. I walked away from him, and he didn’t say anything to Danny. Danny knows who his father is, Jason. And it’s you. You’re the man that’s raised him, loved him—”

His phone rang, interrupting her. He pulled it out of his pocket and sighed. “It’s Jordan—” He answered it and pressed it to his ear. “Yeah? Okay. I’ll be there—fine. Call him, too. Whatever.” He looked at Sam as he slid the phone back into his pocket. “The fingerprints are back, and so is the advanced DNA. Jordan said she’s expecting the Navy to release Andrew Cain’s fingerprints by the time we get there. She’s going to have them compared—”

“This is about to be over, Jason,” Sam said, emphasizing his name. “This will be just a bad dream in a few hours. Let’s go to the PCPD and see if we can make this go faster. I’ll call my mom or my sisters to watch the kids.”

You walk the streets at night still looking for your reason
But you don’t wanna try
You swear the world has got you backed into a corner
But no one holds your hand to walk into a fight
You swear the light is gonna find you
But it can’t find you when you’re waiting all the time
– Something to Believe in, Parachute

---

May 2014

Crichton-Clark Institute: Lab

He had heard the rumors and the whispers but it wasn’t until Helena Cassadine swept into his office that morning that Andre fully believed that the Cassadine matriarch had returned from the dead.

“My dear Dr. Maddox,” she purred, “you look as though you’ve seen a ghost. Did my brother-in-law not keep you apprised of my recovery?”

“Hearing that Dr. Scorpio was able to achieve the impossible is one thing,” Andre said, rising to his feet. “Seeing you in person is quite another.”

“Fair enough. It’s wonderful to be up and about again. I had hoped to check in with you on our work before I leave for Greece,” Helena told him. “How are my twins?”

“Unchanged,” Andre said, a bit uneasily. “Still in a coma. I’m still not able to achieve the transfer of Patient Five’s memories into Six—”

“But you still have them,” Helen said. “Victor assured me that you’d put the project on ice.”

“Yes,” Andre said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to finish—”

“I told you a long time ago, Dr. Maddox. I merely wanted Jason Morgan removed from the field for as long as possible. I’m putting the final touches on my plans. Victor told Dr. Scorpio she could help Mr. Morgan return to his family. I’m ready to let her do that.”

“I—” Andre hesitated. “But what about Patient Five?”

Helena shrugged. “He was part of Victor’s plan—”

“But the memory adjustments you asked for—” he protested. “What was the point?”

“To see if we could, my darling Dr. Maddox! And if we’d completed the experiment on the original schedule, it would have been helpful. Alas, you were unable to come through.” She shrugged elegantly. “Now, Victor has told me I can deal with the twins as I see fit. You can do what you like with Five, but I’ll be needing Jason Morgan.”

“I—”  Andre nodded. “All right, Mrs. Cassadine. I’ll have Jason Morgan ready to turn over to Dr. Scorpio.” He watched her leave, then exhaled slowly, hoping that this Dr. Scorpio wouldn’t be able tell the difference between the brothers. There was a chance this insane plan might actually work.

And that Drew Cain would be going to Port Charles with Jason Morgan’s memories.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

General Hospital: Hallway

If they weren’t in a public place, if Elizabeth wasn’t standing right behind him as a witness that could be dragged into court, Jason might enjoy squeezing the life out of this piece of trash. This time, he’d cut the psycho into pieces that couldn’t come back from the dead, then maybe he’d set them on fire.

He was done letting Franco come back to taunt and torment the people that mattered to Jason. Why the hell was he allowed to breathe and take up space? How the hell had Carly and Elizabeth let him into their lives, into their homes—Carly had almost married him, and Elizabeth had let him live with her sons.

He would never understand how Franco was still alive.

“Can’t breathe,” Franco choked.

“That doesn’t sound like a problem to me,” Jason growled.

“Let him go,” Elizabeth said, with an air of exhausted resignation that sounded eerily familiar to him. Like the way she’d sounded when talking about Lucky Spencer—another rat bastard Jason should have shoved off a pier a long time ago. “There are too many witnesses,” she continued, restoring some of his faith in her.

“You know, three days ago, you gave a damn about me,” Franco snarled at Elizabeth as Jason slowly let the asshole down and stepped back.

“The funny thing about love,” Elizabeth said, “is that it can be turned into hate with just one flick of the match.” Her lips pressed together in a mutinous line. “You put your hands on my son. That’s the end of it. Whoever I thought you were—I was lying to myself. No one touches my kids.”

Franco hissed, but then he was distracted when someone sauntered around the corner—Cameron—who stopped dead when he saw the three of them. The plastic circular shield he’d slung over his shoulder slid down, hitting the linoleum hospital floor with a dull clatter.

“Cameron—” Elizabeth began, moving towards him.

“Felix said you were—” Cameron swallowed and tore his eyes away from Franco, turning towards his mother. “We got done early, and Michael was waiting—”

“Go back to the nurse’s station; we’ll be right there—”

“You know, if you’d taught your brats some manners,” Franco began, “and how to show some damn respect—”

This time, it wasn’t Jason that had to be held back. Elizabeth started forward, the clipboard raised in her hand as if she was getting ready to wield it like a club, but Jason grabbed the back of her scrubs and pulled her back, then stretched his arm in front of her to block another advance.

“Too many witnesses,” he said, repeating her earlier warning. He glared at Franco. “Go away. Now. Or I’ll let her go.”

Franco made a face, then slunk away, disappearing around a corner. Elizabeth’s shoulders heaved as the clipboard fell to the ground, and she put her head in her hands. “Oh my God. How could I let this happen—” She looked at Cameron, who hadn’t said a word but was just staring at her, his blue eyes wide and startled. “Cameron.”

“Mom.” He looked at Jason, then shook his head, his expression clearing. “I can take the guys home—we’re ordering pizza anyway, and they got a ton of candy already—”

“No—” Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut. “No. They trick or treat here every year. It’s tradition. He’s not taking that from me. I’m so sorry, Cameron.”

“Well, the clipboard—” Cameron said, grabbing it from the ground and scooping up his shield at the same time, “it’s not as cool as the gun, but it worked in a pinch.” With an easy grin that didn’t really reach his eyes, he handed it to her. “You’re a little scary, Mom. You get that from Jason?” He flicked his eyes to the other man, his expression urging Jason to go with it—to lighten the mood or something.

“No, she was like this when I met her,” Jason said, not at all surprised that Cameron had known exactly what to say to take that terrible look out of Elizabeth’s eyes. He’d always been the easy-going son, the one that would crawl into Elizabeth’s lap after they’d lost Jake and hug her, promising it would be okay.

“I’d better get back to the hub,” Cameron told them. “Or Joss is gonna come looking for me. I’ll keep the kids under control until you get to them.” He offered a salute, slung the shield over his shoulder, then sauntered away.

“He’s not okay, but he’s going to pretend for me. For his brothers,” Elizabeth murmured, watching him go. She sighed, then looked at Jason. “Normally, I wouldn’t say you should take Franco’s word for anything but Andre—he didn’t pull that out of air. Andre Maddox showed up right around the time Helena died, and Drew got his memories back a few months later. Andre has also been Jake’s doctor for months, helping him deal with the Chimera and Helena’s control. He was really—” Her voice faltered slightly. “He was really good to Jake, but when we went to see him after the park that day—there was just something in the way he looked at Jake—” Elizabeth frowned. “He knew Jake had seen someone, and I think maybe he knew it was you.”

“But if he’s left town—”

“Anna,” Elizabeth cut in. “She went back to the WSB after she left the police department. She and Andre were friends. You’ll want to talk to her anyway because Victor Cassadine spent years in the research department at the WSB before taking it over for a few years. She, Robert, and Frisco Jones have spent the last three years trying to clean the place up.”

“Anna,” Jason repeated. “Okay.” He glanced down the hall. “First, I want to see Jake.” He paused, meeting her eyes. “You said it was a tradition for him to trick or treat here.”

“Yeah, um, since Cam’s first Halloween, every year. My grandfather started it, and Steven brought it back.”

“I want to be part of his traditions,” Jason told her. “If that’s okay.”

She smiled, and he was relieved to see that terrible air of sadness had finally lifted. “Absolutely. Come on. They all look great, and Joss and Michael are here, too.”

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

When Cameron returned to the hub around ten minutes after he’d gone off in search of his mother, Trina knew something was wrong.

Just like she’d known the day before that something was off. He’d told her this morning that his mother had broken up with Franco, but Trina knew she wasn’t getting the whole story.

“Hey, where’s your mom?” Trina asked as Cameron rejoined the group by the sofas at the waiting area.

“She’ll be here in a minute. Uh—” Cameron looked at Oscar. “Jason is here. And by that, I mean—”

“The guy your mom says is Jason,” Oscar finished. “The one with my dad’s face, but who she says isn’t him.”

“Yeah, I just wanted to warn you,” Cameron said. “I think he’s here to see my mom, but he’ll probably hang out while we do the trick or treat thing.” He frowned. “Where’s Aiden and Jake?”

“They went with Michael to see if Felix has new batteries for Jake’s light saber,” Joss said, shoving a heavy piece of her white-blonde wig over her shoulder. Trina wrinkled her nose. Why the girl had to wear a damn wig when she was already blonde—drama queen. “But you look weird. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Cameron said, but looked away.

“Oh, nothing, huh? Like Friday night was nothing?” Joss demanded. “Did you tell Trina or Oscar?”

“Joss—”

“Tell us what?” Trina demanded. She knew something was going on—and of course he’d told Joss first— “What does Joss know that I don’t?”

Cameron hissed, then glared at Joss who just returned his icy stare. “You see what you started? I didn’t even want to tell you.”

“He only told me because he knew I’d break Aiden in five seconds,” Joss told Trina, who was not wild about being reassured by her boyfriend’s best friend and her mortal enemy.

“Then I guess I should go ask the Webber boys who do respect me what the hell is going on—” She turned away.

“It’s not—” Cameron growled and reached for her arm. “It’s not like that. I just don’t want this to be a big deal, okay? Seriously. The more people who know, the worse my mom is going to feel, and don’t start—” he shot at Joss who opened her mouth. “I already know your opinion.”

“I’m not people, Cameron—”

“No, I know that—” Cameron dragged a hand through his hair, then nodded. “Okay. Okay. I’m fine, but on Friday after you guys left, Franco came in and got all irritated because we were watching the videos. He and I got into it, and it was physical, okay? Franco shoved me—”

Trina’s eyes bulged. “He what—”

“Whoa—” Oscar said.

“It’s fine. Mom came home, and she got him to let me go. She pulled a gun on him and even shot at his feet. It was fine,” he repeated. “He left, and Mom called Joss’s stepdad and brother to change security.”

“Oh, a notorious serial killer attacked you, but, like it’s fine now,” Trina retorted. “Damn it, Cam—” She took a deep breath. “This is the kind of thing you tell your girlfriend!”

“I know—” He winced, and took her by the elbow towards the elevators, leaving Joss with Oscar and his brothers. “Look, my mom is feeling guilty enough—and before you say she should—”

“I wasn’t gonna,” she muttered.

“I don’t want my mom to worry about me, okay? Not with everything going on. She’s gotta focus on making sure Franco stays gone, and this whole Jason back from the dead thing—I think it’s got something to do with Jake, and she needs to focus on him—”

“She needs to focus on you—”

“I’m fine—”

“Stop protecting her!” Trina said through clenched teeth. “She’s the one supposed to be protecting you! When has she ever done that—”

“Don’t—” Cameron narrowed his eyes to blue slits, his cheeks flushed. “Don’t talk about her. You don’t know anything about my mother or what she’s been through. What people in this damn town have done to her. Me and my brothers are all she has—”

“That doesn’t mean—”

“I mean it, Trina. My mom made mistakes, okay? I know that. And she’s not perfect. But she’s my mother. She gave up everything for me. She wanted to be an artist, you know that?”

“I—” Trina frowned. “No, I didn’t—”

“And she’s really good at it. I’ve seen her stuff with Jake, and she painted murals in our rooms at our old house. But she gave it up for me. She needed a job with health insurance—”

“Cameron—”

“You weren’t there when she was crying herself to sleep over losing Jake. Four years, Trina. My brother was dead for four years.”

“I know that. I’ve known you since kindergarten—”

“No, you’ve known me for five months.” Cameron glanced back over to the waiting area, seeing that Felix and Michael had returned with his brothers, and Jake was staring at him oddly. “I told you. My family comes first with me.”

“And it’s one of the reasons I like you,” Trina told him. “I like your family. I like your mother most of the time. It’s just—” She hesitated. “You deserve to come first with someone, too, you know? That’s all I’m saying.”

Cameron scowled at her, then immediately pasted a smile on his face when his mother emerged from the hallway followed by the guy Trina had seen on the news. She immediately turned to look at Oscar who was staring at the new guy with a frozen expression.

Joss put a hand on Oscar’s arm, and her boyfriend swallowed hard.

“I need to go over there,” Cameron told her, and then left to hurry over to Oscar and Joss. Trina watched him crack a joke as Elizabeth and Jake’s dad joined them.  Taking care of someone else, just like he always did.

She just wished he’d let someone take care of him for once.

Devane Manor: Foyer

Following Jake and his brothers around the hospital as they went to a few rooms with willing patients and hospital staff, trick or treating, was the best thing that happened to Jason all day. He liked watching Jake interact not just with his brothers, but the easy way he talked to Michael and Joss, the way he fit with these other people in Jason’s life, the way Joss bantered with all three Webber boys like they were a team.

It made Jason forget for a little while what was happening outside of the hospital.

He reluctantly left when Michael drove the group home to Elizabeth’s house and she went back to work. Jason headed across town to the neighborhood where Anna Devane lived to get to the bottom of the strange story that Franco had told them about Andre Maddox.

Anna stared at him for a long moment after opening the door. She stepped back finally. “Well, you certainly look like you’re supposed to,” she said, closing the door behind him. “Did anyone check for masks?”

Jason furrowed his brows. “Actually, yeah, but—”

“Hmmm. Well, Faison was the one who put you in the water,” Anna told him, “but he did it while wearing a very realistic Duke Lavery disguise.” She sighed. “Are you here about the WSB connection? I assure you, I wasn’t part of Victor’s research projects. Neither were Robert and Frisco. Victor kept a lot of his work guarded from the agency at large.”

“Andre Maddox,” Jason said and watched as Anna closed her eyes. “You knew he was involved.”

“No, no, I didn’t,” she said softly, “but he left town in a hurry yesterday, and I knew something was up, so I asked Robert to get a background on him. The timing works—” Anna winced. “He moved to Port Charles shortly after Jake Doe’s reveal as Jason Morgan. After little Jake came home. Just before Jake Doe got the memories back. If he was involved with your kidnapping, that means he had a connection to Victor. And the WSB. Damn it.” She sighed. “What exactly did he do?”

“I don’t know. He told Franco something about putting Chimera in Jake’s head. That he’s the one that did whatever happened to me and—” Jason stopped. “I don’t trust Franco, obviously, but Elizabeth seemed to think something Maddox did the other day lines up—”

“I think it’s worth finding out for sure.” Anna went over to the phone. “I can commiserate, you know, coming back to a life that has moved on without you—a twin who has a penchant for pretending to be you and mucking about—” She stopped. “Frisco, I’m so glad I caught you. Yes—I need some intel. Does the WSB have a file on Andre Maddox, probable birth date somewhere in the mid to late 70s. Doctor of Psychiatry and Neurology—That rat bastard.” She made a face. “Can I get a copy of that? Yes—yes, we have a problem. Another Cassadine mess to clean up.”

“What did he say?” Jason demanded.

“Andre Maddox worked in WSB Special Projects from 2008 until just last spring. I didn’t—” Anna set the phone down on the hook. “I didn’t know that. He never said a word. And that—that is something to be considered. We were friends, working for the same agency and he never said a word. Frisco is sending me a copy of Andre’s personnel records, and he’s assigning Robert to this officially. Jason—”

He hesitated, then looked at her oddly at the use of his name. “You’re not waiting until the tests come back?” he asked.

“We may not know each other all that well,” Anna told him, “but you forget that I’ve had the privilege of knowing both versions of you. The way you hold yourself—the expression in your eyes—it matches the man I knew five to six years ago so much more than the man walking around with your name. Even the world’s best con artist can’t fake that kind of thing.”

She paused. “If the WSB was part of whatever happened to you and, well, I suppose your brother, then I promise you — Robert, Frisco, and I will get the answers. We’ve dedicated our lives to this agency. Sacrificed family and friends for what we believe in. Victor Cassadine has left a stain on it that can’t ever be removed.”

Harbor View Road: Driveway

Jason took out his keys as he walked to the end of the driveway to the SUV parked at the curb. Just as he slid the key in the lock as he saw a pair walking towards him, or at least in his direction. Sam, holding the hand of a young blond boy dressed as a green character Jason recognized vaguely from movies he’d watched with Michael.

Sam’s feet slowed as she stared at him, her eyes shadowed in the street lamps. “We’re—” She took a deep breath. “We’re finishing up our trick or treating. My mom lives around the corner.”

Jason nodded, his throat tight. He looked down at Danny, the little boy he’d only seen for a handful of hours before he’d been shot and shoved into the water. Jason had rescued him from Heather Webber and brought him home to Sam. He’d thought it was a chance for them to try again, to get it right—to try to make up for how badly he’d treated her—

“Hi,” Danny said with a shy smile. “I’m Danny, but tonight I’m Yoda.”

Jason nodded. “Hi,” he said, then felt a lump in his throat when Sam tightened her hand around Danny’s. What did she think he was going to do? Tell a five-year-old that he was Jason? Announce that he was the little boy’s biological father?

“This is a friend of mine from a long time ago,” Sam said finally. “What are you doing in this neighborhood?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “Sonny and Carly live almost two miles away—”

Did she even realize that she wasn’t treating him like a stranger? Like he wasn’t exactly who he said he was?

Did she even hear herself?

“I came to see Anna,” Jason said. “I didn’t know Alexis lives out here now. What happened to the lake house?”

Sam grimaced. “It’s a long story.”

“My brother is Luke Skywalker,” Danny continued, oblivious to the tension between the two adults. “So we made our sister be Princess Leia. Do you like Star Wars?”

“I’ve seen the movies,” Jason said. “It’s a nice costume.”

“Yoda is very smart,” Danny said, then smiled again. “But my brother is smarter. He’s braver than me, so he got to be Luke. Daddy was gonna be Hans, but he had to work.” The corners of his lips turned down, then looked up at his mother. “Is he coming later? Are we going to see Jake later?”

“Not tonight. I told you. We should get going, Danny.” Sam lifted him into her arms and walked away quickly, not looking back.

“Bye!” Danny said, waving at Jason over Sam’s shoulder. “Happy Halloween!”

“Happy Halloween,” Jason said, watching as Sam and her son disappeared into the shadows of the night.

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Elizabeth gripped the brown paper bag with her dinner and shoved the door open, nearly running into someone who was entering the diner. “I’m so sorry—”

“It’s fine—”

She stopped as the man put a hand on her shoulder to steady her. His blue eyes, once so dear to her, flashed. He stepped back. “Elizabeth.”

“Hi,” she said awkwardly. She moved a few feet away. “I—I meant to call or stop by but I didn’t think—”

“Why bother?” he said. He gritted his teeth. “You’ve made it clear whose side you’ve taken.”

“It’s not about sides,” Elizabeth said, with a shake of her head. “It’s about the truth—”

“The truth? You’re one to talk about the truth. How many lies have you told?”

The words bit at her and she flinched, looking away. Even if he wasn’t Jason, he had his memories somehow. He knew every time Elizabeth had lied to Jason—but more importantly—the months Elizabeth had lied directly to him in a desperate attempt to keep Jake Doe.

“Enough to know that I can’t pretend I didn’t know the truth the minute I saw him,” Elizabeth said. “I’m sorry—”

“Sorry? You’re just chasing the same thing you always have—” he threw back. “How are you any different than you were two years ago? Clinging to any desperate hope that Jason Morgan wants you—I loved you, Elizabeth. You were the one that destroyed that—”

“I know that. I was too scared to trust that you’d stay with me if you knew what Nikolas had told me,” Elizabeth calmly, but everything inside of her crumbling at this reminder of her lie. Her deepest shame. The one lie that she could never, ever, truly explain to herself or the world. “But—”

“You have a lot of nerve to stand there and talk to me about the truth, Elizabeth—” The way he elongated her name, drew out the syllables in a way that Jason never had—it cut at her. He sounded like Lucky had in those terrible days, when he’d been so angry at her he could hardly stand to look at her.

Elizabeth knew how to inspire rage and disgust in the men she’d chosen to love. “I can’t defend myself. You know that. I won’t even try—”

“Even if you didn’t believe me—” He hissed. “You owed me better this—I deserved more than this—”

“You do, but—”

“And you brought Jake into it! You’ve let that liar around our son! Bad enough you’ve let Franco live with him—Sam was right,” he seethed. “I should have gone after you for custody—”

Elizabeth forced herself to remain calm, to remind  herself that he was going through a lot. “You never would have won.”

“Really?” he drawled. “You think if I reminded everyone exactly how many lies you’ve told—how many people you’ve screwed over—”

“And that’s how I know you’re not Jason,” she said softly, and he stopped, staring her. Tears slid down her cheeks. “Even when I deserved it, and I usually did, he never treated me this way. Not after all the crap I put him through with Lucky. With Zander. The lies about Jake — he never looked at me with hatred in his eyes.”

He stared at her. “Maybe I’ve finally gotten tired of dealing with your crap—”

“And maybe you need to lash out at me because I’m in front of you. Because I’ve already done terrible things to you. Jason should have cut me off a long time ago. He never did because he always saw that no one could hate me more than I hated myself. I’m sorry you’re going through this. I hope we get the results back and you find out who you are. But you’re not Jason Morgan, and I’m done with lies.”

Webber Home: Kitchen

“So.” Michael sat down next to Cameron at the kitchen table, reaching for the last slice of pizza. “What did you do to piss off Trina? Wasn’t she supposed to come over tonight?”

“Nothing,” Cameron muttered, hunching his shoulders. “She’s just mad I didn’t tell her about Friday.” He glared at Oscar. “You mad about that, too?”

“No, but I’m not dating you either.” Oscar picked at his cheese fries. “You know girls. She’s mad that Joss knew first.” He squinted at Cameron. “It’s really not a big deal, you know. You could have told us.”

“I didn’t want it to be a thing.” He looked at Michael. “You get understand, right? Now it’s something everyone is talking about, and I didn’t want that.”

“It happened to you,” Michael said with a nod. “You have a right to decide who gets to know things. I just think you gotta ask yourself why you don’t want your best friends to know. Why your girlfriend shouldn’t know.”

Cameron hesitated. “I just—I knew they’d blame my mom. Joss and Trina both immediately had that look on their face, and they don’t get it. Mom really thought he’d changed. She wouldn’t want me to be hurt.”

“But you did get hurt,” Michael said gently. “I told you on Saturday—it’s okay if you’re mad at her.”

“Fine. Then I’ll be mad at her. But no one else gets to be, okay? They don’t understand. They didn’t see her face or how upset—I don’t want to make my mom cry. She cries too much.” He stared down at the table. “She cried all the time when I was kid. Lucky was addicted to drugs and he was always screaming at her. Having affairs. Even later, when they tried to get back together because she wanted me to have a dad again—” Cameron scrubbed his hands down his face. “Franco sort of made her happy for a while. And so did Jake Doe. I wanted her to be happy.”

“I know what you mean. Franco made my mom happy, too,” Michael told him. “For a few months. He’s good at making people believe in him. He just can’t hold on to the pretending for long. He let it slip, and I’m glad your mom saw it. That she didn’t try to make excuses.”

“You get it, but Joss and Trina don’t. Neither did Emma. And maybe it’s just because they don’t live here.” Cameron stared out into the living room where Joss was sitting with his brothers. “My mom loves me. And she feels bad enough. I don’t want a bunch of people looking at her, knowing this happened, and thinking it’s her fault. It’s Franco’s fault.”

“Of course it is,” Oscar said, loyally and Cameron flashed him a grateful look. “I don’t know your mom that well, Cam, but she was really nice about setting up that test for me, and she was totally cool with Kim not really wanting to be part of it. Kim just doesn’t want to get her hopes up, and she’s still—like—in denial about everything. I mean, she was at the hospital today and didn’t come to see us because she doesn’t want to see someone with my dad’s face who isn’t my dad.”  He paused. “But you just gotta be around your mom five minutes and you can see you and your brothers are the most important people. And I’m just sorry I didn’t get to see her firing a warning shot. That sounds pretty cool.”

“It was. She made him think she was gonna listen—” Cameron’s chest tightened because he remembered thinking in that moment his mother was going to take Franco’s side and it had gutted him— “She, like, shoved the bat at me, had the safe open, and was aiming the gun before he even knew what was going on. I knew if it was just me and her and him she might have killed him. She didn’t wanna make it worse for my brothers.”

“Joss and Trina—and Emma—” Michael said, “are just worried about you. But I get it, Cam. It’s the oldest kid of a single mom syndrome. My mom was single for a lot of my childhood. And my teen years. And even when she was dating someone, she was always really wrapped up in that. Sonny, Jax, Johnny—” He winced. “Franco.” He shrugged. “Someone has to keep things together. I had to make sure Joss and Morgan were okay. And sometimes it meant giving my mom a break even if she didn’t deserve it.”

“But—”

“It’s not exactly the same,” Michael said, cutting off Cameron’s protests. “I know that. But you spend a lot of time looking out for your brothers. And protecting your mom. There’s nothing wrong with it. But I learned the hard way, Cam. Sometimes you spend so much time protecting other people, you forget that you matter, too. I think that’s all Trina, Joss, and Emma are saying.”

“I know I do—”

“Maybe you didn’t get kidnapped for four years like Jake or for a few weeks like Aiden,” Michael continued, “but your mom wasn’t the only one who lost Jake.” His voice faltered a moment. “I know what it’s like to lose a brother.”

“I got him back,” Cam said, his eyes stinging. “It’s not the same—”

“He was gone for four years, Cam. I remember. You and I got to know each other while our parents were dating,” Michael reminded him. “And you were always watching Aiden like a hawk. Even more closely than your mom, and I don’t think anyone hovered like she did. Getting him back won’t erase that time.”

“Maybe that’s what Trina and the others don’t get,” Oscar offered. “When my dad went missing, I thought Kim was gonna send me away. I thought I would be all alone. Just because she kept me, and because my dad is alive after all, it doesn’t mean I didn’t feel scared. It’s not the same, I know—”

“No, I get it. It’s just—I need to be okay for my mom and my brothers. I know that sounds stupid. But Mom kept going back to Lucky because she wanted me and Jake to have a father, and Jason didn’t—I don’t know what his issue was. But Lucky kept promising her he wanted us. He didn’t.” Cameron’s lips thinned. “I need her to know that it’s okay that we don’t have have a dad. Or that I don’t. I don’t need anyone but her.”

Elm Street Pier

Jason sat on the bench, and stared out over the water — he could almost make out the spot on Pier 52 where he’d been ambushed by Cesar Faison—where he’d found Bernie bleeding out, struggling to breathe. He’d been such a good man—he’d deserved better.

“I guess your day didn’t get better after you left the hospital,” Elizabeth said.

He turned to find her at the bottom of the stairs, a purse over one shoulder, a bag from Kelly’s in her hand. “Hey.”

“You know, I haven’t been here in a while,” she said, sitting down on the bench. “I think maybe I stopped coming here after we broke up the last time.” She glanced at him. “We always seemed to end up here—even back in the beginning. And I knew—after that last time—we were never going to make it work.”

“I stopped coming here, too,” he admitted. Jason looked back out over the water. “One of my favorite things to do was sit here and listen to you talk about your painting. Or a class. Or Kelly’s. Then, something about Cam or the hospital.”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Really?” she asked. “You never told me that. I always thought you mostly tuned out my rambling.”

“Sometimes I did,” he admitted, and she laughed. “But mostly —” He paused. “No matter what was bothering me, I could just listen to you—” Jason met her eyes and held them. “And it would go away.”

“I know what you mean,” Elizabeth murmured. “Because you’d sit and listen to the ridiculous ramble, and then you’d drive me home on your bike.”

His smile slid away, and he looked back out over the pier. “I don’t even know where the bike is now,” Jason said softly.

She waited a minute. “What happened at Anna’s, Jason?”

“What happened to bring you down here instead of going home to the boys?” he asked pointedly, and she made a face. “We can talk about it tomorrow,” he said. “Maybe—maybe you could just talk to me about anything other than the last few days. Maybe we both need it.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Okay.” She paused, furrowing her brow for a moment. “A few years ago, when Cam was, oh, I think he must have been twelve. He and Emma were dating the way kids do—sitting on the couch, playing video games. Spencer and Joss wanted to break them up—”

“Joss?” Jason repeated.

“Oh, yeah, they’re partners in crime now, but Joss went through a period where she decided Cameron was her soul mate. He wasn’t interested, but didn’t know how to let her down lightly. So Joss decided Emma was her mortal enemy, and at Aiden’s birthday party—I think he was turning four—Joss decided to push Emma into the pool and ruin her dress. Trina saw her heading that way and pushed Joss first. Spencer was upset on Joss’s behalf and shoved Trina in the pool—and Cam got really mad—”

“How many of them ended up in the pool?” Jason asked with a hesitant smile.

“All of them. I thought Emma would escape the whole thing, but Joss doesn’t give up easily. She waited until everyone was distracted and finished the job. Aiden thought it was a lot of fun.” Elizabeth grinned. “Carly came to pick Joss up and gave her a lecture about wasting her time on boys who weren’t interested in her. She didn’t think it was funny when I started laughing, so she tried to push me in the pool, only she slipped and fell instead.” She sighed happily. “It’s one of my favorite moments.”

Jason laughed at that, his shoulders easing. He smiled at her. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” Elizabeth got to her feet. “I should get home, though. I forbid the boys from watching anything scarier than Hocus Pocus, which means—” She glanced at her watch. “Aiden should be waking up from his first nightmare right about now.”

“I’ll walk you to your car,” Jason said, as they went up the stairs.

“Maybe you should find out where your bike is,” Elizabeth suggested.

“Yeah, you’re still not going to drive even when I do get it back.”

“I am the mother of three—don’t you think I can handle the responsibility?”

“Nice try. No.”

I don’t have time to sabotage anything else
I don’t have time to sabotage anything else
I’ve gotta do the right thing now
I’ve gotta find the right way out
I’ve gotta do the right thing now
I’ve gotta find the right way out
– Sabotage, Amy Stroup

---

May 2013

 Crichton-Clark Institute: Andre’s Office

Andre made a face as he perused the memo from Victor. The twin experiment was officially on ice due to the recent setbacks suffered in Greece.

Setbacks. Andre snorted as he sat back, then rubbed his face. That was one way to describe what had happened over the last few weeks.

Helena Cassadine had been shot and killed by Luke and Laura Spencer after they rescued their daughter, Lulu, who had been kidnapped by Helena for her recently returned from the dead son, Stavros. Stavros had ended up dying on the island, frozen to death just like his father and uncle decades earlier.

While Andre had intended to maintain a certain distance from all of this, after meeting with Helena the first time, he knew he’d have to understand the Cassadines better if he was going to survive. It had been Helena, after all, who had selected the targets for the twin experiment, and it had been Helena who had been in charge of Patient Three, the son of Six.

Victor wanted the twins left in their comas to be dealt with at a later time, indicating that Andre should keep working on the Six implantation issue. Where Patient Three had ended up, he didn’t know.

“So this is where the magic happens.”

Andre frowned at the stranger standing in his doorway, then got to his feet. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“An interested party.” The man, tall and lanky with angular cheekbones and eyes that vaguely reminded Andre of a shark, walked in. “Have you heard the news about my mother?”

“Your mother?” Andre said slowly. He glanced down at the memo, then raised his eyes back to the man. “Would that be Helena?”

“Yes, but shhh… don’t tell anyone.” With a mocking look, he put a finger against his lips.

“Listen, uh, Mr. Cassadine—”

“Valentin.” He extended his hand. “Uncle Vic knows all about my little visit.”

Andre didn’t want to shake his hand—didn’t want to have any more contact with Cassadines, but something in the way this man held himself and the look in his eye—the hair rose on Andre’s neck. He quickly shook the offered hand, then released it. “What can I do for you?”

“Uncle Vic is being very cautious about bringing me into the larger project. He keeps telling me that my mother will be back.” Valentin shrugged lightly. “He’s probably right. After all, my darling brother Stavros has returned a few times. What’s a gunshot to the chest?”

“I—I was under the impression they were both dead. Permanently.” Had been hoping for it. Andre didn’t know much about Stavros, but what he’d learned of Helena—

“Well, dead for a Cassadine is very different than for anyone else.” Valentin waved that away. “Anyway, he told me you were working on some memory experiments.” He nodded at the light box on the far wall where Andre had been studying the latest scans from Patient Six. “A pair of twins?”

“Yes,” Andre said. “Mapping the memories, then transfer someone else’s memories into their brains. We were planning to have them switch lives. Send one brother back to live the othe’rs life, and vice versa.” Maybe Valentin could secure an agreement to release Five into Six’s life—Andre desperately wanted a real field test.

“That would be an excellent technique to have in your pocket,” Valentin murmured. “Imagine the possibilities.”

“It’s hit a snag. One of the patients has brain damage in the frontal lobe where the memories are formed. I can’t transfer his brother’s memories the same way I did for the first twin.”

“Damage, huh?” Valentin tapped the scan. “This would be the brother from Port Charles?”

“Yes, Jason Morgan. A mob enforcer of some sort.” Andre paused. Perhaps his curiosity could be sated. “Your mother was very interested in his family. She wanted certain people in his memories amplified when I transferred them into his brother.  One of them is a patient in Greece. A child. The patient’s son.”

“Ah. So, Jason Morgan is connected to my mother’s revenge plan.” Valentin rubbed his mouth with the edge of his index finger. “What do you know about the child in Greece? Or my mother’s plans?”

“Only what I’ve told you,” Andre confessed. “I only handled Patients Four through Six—and even Four was mostly clean up.” He grimaced. “Victor released that one this month. He’ll be dead in weeks if he goes untreated for the brain tumor Liesl Obrecht caused with her carelessness.”

“Oh, Obrecht. She’s always been more interested in results than finesse.” Valentin shoved his hands into his pockets. “What happens to your twin experiment with my mother out of the way?”

“It’s on hold. I’m supposed to continue working on the memory issue with Six—Jason Morgan,” Andre said, still uncomfortable with the use of the real name, “but I just don’t think it can be done.”

“Do you need, uh, Patient Six in your custody to continue working on the matter?” Valentin asked, tipping his head to the side. “Or can you manage with the information you already have?”

“I don’t understand.”

“My mother promised me something before she took this little break,” Valentin said, those unsettling dark eyes fastening on Andre. “And she didn’t deliver. She’ll be back, Dr. Maddox, make no mistake. And this little experiment of yours—it will continue at some point. I’m asking you for a favor.”

“What’s the favor?” Andre said slowly, not liking where this was going at all.

“I need some leverage to force my mother to give me what I want. What she promised me.” Valentin paused. “Give me Jason Morgan. She was more interested in him than his brother, and you can’t really use him anyway.”

“And when Victor wants him back? When Helena asks for him?”

“Give them the other one. They won’t know the difference.” Valentin’s lips curved. “That might be more fun, actually. You said that the other twin got Six’s memories? If they want him sent home—well, you’ll have your field test, won’t you? When was the last time Uncle Vic or my mother even looked in on the men?”

“Not since—” Andre cleared his throat. “But that doesn’t mean they won’t—”

“You’re telling me a smart man like you can’t figure out how to fool them? I thought better of you.” Valentin put a hand on Andre’s shoulder. “Dr. Maddox, I can tell you’re a frustrated man. You don’t need two men in the field to test your memory experiment. You just need one. I can assure you that no one cares about the other man. If anyone goes home first, it’s Jason Morgan.”

“But—”

“They’re just going to tell you to kill the other brother or send him back with his own memories. You couldn’t finish the transfer, my friend. If you want this field test, you have to make it happen.” Valentin lifted his brows when Andre remained silent. “So, we’re agreed? You’ll give me Six, aka Jason Morgan, and when the time comes, you can send Five home to live his brother’s life?”

Andre closed his eyes. Valentin Cassadine was right. He wanted this field test, but at this point, it wouldn’t happen if he didn’t make it happen. He hadn’t come this far, broken this many rules, only to see it fall apart because of some brain damage.

“We’re agreed. You take Six, and I’ll send Five to Port Charles if and when the time comes.”

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Quartermaine Mansion: Foyer

Monica’s bright smile as she let Jason into the house reassured him that he’d made the right decision to come by this morning. He would never feel truly comfortable in this house, but it wasn’t the same place it had been two decades earlier when he’d felt suffocated by the people and the expectations inside.

“What a lovely surprise. Come in.” She turned into the foyer to smile at Michael, who was emerging from the family room. “Look who it is!”

“Hey, Jason,” Michael said. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to let Monica know where I was staying,” he said. He looked at Monica. “I had a piece of property out at Queen’s Point before this happened. It’s quiet—”

“Oh, I thought you’d stay at the hotel or—” Monica winced. “At Greystone.”

“No, I wanted my own space.”

“Of course, of course. Michael told me that initial tests came back.” Monica’s hands fluttered up to her chest. “Jake and that other boy—they’re related.”

“Yeah, because of the DNA, they tested as brothers. Advanced testing will make it clear which one of us is which.”

“Well, I don’t need advanced testing to know,” Michael declared, “so it’s good to have a name for him. Drew,” he said. “That’s what Oscar said everyone called him.”

“Drew,” Monica murmured, closing her eyes. “God, if Alan had known, things would have been different. I wish he were here now. He’d probably mess it up, but, oh, he deserved to have this.”

“I can’t believe there were twins, and no one knew,” Michael said. He grimaced when Monica winced. “I’m sorry, Grandma. I know it was a bad time for all of you.”

“No, no, it’s—” she took a deep breath. “It’s fine. Can you stay for a while, Jason? I don’t have to work today.”

“Yeah, I can stay.”

“Have you thought about what you’ll do when everyone knows?” Michael asked as Jason followed them into the family room and took a seat on the sofa. “I mean, I remember that you and Sam were getting divorced when you went off the pier. Didn’t you get the penthouse originally? It’s yours —”

“So is the money, but we know which Sam will care more about,” Monica muttered.

“I don’t care about any of that,” Jason began, but Michael shook his head.

“You need to,” he said. “I know there’s a lot happening fast, but legally—those bank accounts belong to you. The penthouse belongs to you. You and Sam—the divorce didn’t get finalized, which means she’s still married to you. And there’s ELQ stock to worry about because if the other guy is a twin, then we need—” Michael stopped when he saw Jason’s faint smile. “What?”

“Nothing. I just—you sounded like Edward for a minute,” he said. “He would think about ELQ before anything else.”

“He would be so proud of Michael,” Monica said, reaching out to squeeze his hand. “So would a lot of people,” she told him, and they exchanged a look that Jason didn’t understand.

“I was talking to Cam and Joss last night,” Michael went on, “and we got to talking about Ava.”

“Ava?” Monica said, her face darkening. “Why?” Jason frowned at her reaction, but Michael didn’t notice and answered her question.

“She helped Jason escape from Russia,” Michael said. “But we also think she knew that Jason knows Sonny—and you know,  about that—something else occurred to me.”

Jason squinted at Michael’s use of Sonny’s first name. “I know you and Sonny said you weren’t fans of Ava—”

“No one is,” Monica said, but Michael got to his feet and went over to the shelf where a family photo was kept. He handed it to Jason. It was the last family portrait taken before his accident. He traced a finger over Emily, then Lila’s faces.

“I’m wondering if it just wasn’t Sonny she knew about. Ava Jerome lived in the mansion for a few months,” Michael explained to him. “She saw that photo every day. Could she have known who you were when she decided to help?”

“I—” Jason hesitated. “I don’t think so,” he said. “I wore a mask that covered the bottom half of my face. The clinic didn’t want anyone to recognize me, even in Russia. I can’t remember if she ever saw me without it, but I don’t think so.”

Michael took the photo back. “With Ava, it’s better to be sure. Because she will always find a way to exploit a situation to get what she wants.”

Webber House: Living Room

Elizabeth made a face as her youngest son reached the bottom of the stairs and made a karate punching motion. “I don’t think that’s how Spiderman does it—”

“Spiderman,” Aiden said, very seriously, “can do anything. Didn’t you see him dancing in the rain?”

“No, but I’ll take your word for it—” Distracted now by Cameron standing near the front door, who had put on a Captain America t-shirt and proclaimed himself dressed for the holiday, she said, “Cam, are you sure you don’t mind taking your brothers out tonight?”

“Nope,” Cameron said. He zipped his bookbag shut. “Trina got off from work, and she’s going to be Okoye—” He made a face. “She’s making me carry the shield when we go out.”

“The things we do for love,” Elizabeth teased. “What about Joss and Oscar? Are they coming with?”

“They’re gonna try if Mrs. C lets Joss out dressed as Daenerys—” He paused and looked at her. “I know you gotta work a double, so I’ll get them to the hospital. Joss already said Michael volunteered, and he’s coming over to do a candy check because apparently, being over eighteen qualifies you to do that.”

“No, he just has more patience—” She frowned. “Where’s Jake?”

“Right here,” Jake declared as he dropped to the landing, tugging at his white Jedi costume, then brandished his lightsaber. “Mom, can we rent Scream tonight instead of Hocus Pocus?”

“You’re messing with a Webber tradition,” Cameron told him. “We always watch Hocus Pocus—”

“Because it’s your favorite,” Jake retorted. “Why can’t Aiden and I get a turn?”

“I want Michael Myers—”

“You’re not old enough for Scream, and absolutely no Michael Myers—” Elizabeth pulled out her phone to find a text message from Felix at the hospital. Two more nurses had called out. “Damn, I have to be work right now—” She focused on Cameron. “Call me when you’re on the way. I’ll make sure I get my break.”

She was out the door with a quick kiss to all their cheeks. Jake sighed, then looked at Cameron. “Let’s compromise. First Scream, then Hocus Pocus—”

“Deal, but don’t snitch on me to Mom, or I’ll toss you in the lake.”

“Wait, what about me?” Aiden demanding, following his brothers out the door to the bus stop.

Harborview Towers: Hallway

Jason stared at the door. The last time he’d knocked on this door had been nearly twenty years ago when he’d been living across the hall, and Justus Ward had lived here. He’d meant what he said to Michael that morning about not caring that Sam would probably end up with it now, but for months, Jason had been focused on getting home.

And home had been behind this door.

It was just one more thing that had changed.

Jason knocked on the door, grimacing when it was jerked open a minute later by Sam’s husband—by Drew. They stared at each other for a long moment before the other man bit out an angry, “What do you want?”

“To talk,” Jason said calmly. “That’s all. I can come back another time, or we can do it somewhere else.”

Drew dragged a hand through his sandy blond hair, then stepped back. “Danny’s already in school,” he muttered, “and Scout’s not old enough to know what’s going on. Come in.”

Jason hesitantly entered, waiting as the other man closed the door. “I know you don’t believe I am who I say am,” he began, “and I don’t expect you to believe it until the rest of the tests or the fingerprints are back.”

“Aren’t you generous?” Drew growled.

“Before I saw you at the police station,” Jason continued, not ruffled by his anger or bitterness. He had felt that way before—had had people telling him who he was and who he wasn’t and wanting to punch everyone who looked at him wrong. “I thought you were part of all of this. That you were behind it—”

“How dare you—”

“But I don’t anymore,” Jason said, and Drew fell silent. He heard a door upstairs, and they both looked up. Jason waited a moment, but Sam never came downstairs. He knew she was here, knew she was home, but she wasn’t coming down to face him.

The pain of that—her refusal to even look at him—stole his breath for a moment, but Jason put it away. He knew how to do that. He’d done it for years. He had people who believed him, who were helping him get his life back. He’d concentrate on that.

“I believe you when you say you remember your life. What you think is your life. But I have those memories, too,” Jason told him. “Jake told me—”

“Don’t go near my son—” The man closed his eyes. “I knew Elizabeth believed you, but I didn’t think she’d really let Jake be part of it until we knew for sure—”

“She does know for sure,” Jason said. “But Jake told me that he loves you. And that you told him about the day he was born. I lived that day. I thought they’d both die—”

“I lived that day—” Drew opened his eyes, burning with bitterness and anger. “You think you can just come here and steal my life?”

“No, I just wanted to come home,” Jason said. “Whoever trapped me in a coma for five years also did this to you. And now we know who you were before the accident. Oscar’s test came back positive. He’s related to Jake, which means you’re—”

“I know who I am—”

“Andrew Cain,” Jason said, and the man closed his mouth. “You were a Navy SEAL, and people called you Drew. You lived in San Diego, and you had a son.”

“I am not—” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m Jason Morgan. I have the memories. I’m living my life. I have my sons—”

“I just wanted to make it clear that I know you didn’t do this,” Jason said, “and that if you want to find out who did—”

“Thank you for your concern,” Drew muttered, glaring at him. “Now get out.”

Jason nodded, then left. The man who was probably Drew Cain rested his forehead against the closed door, listening for the footsteps he knew would be coming down.

“Jason?”

“If you really believed that—” he turned to face Sam, his wife, with the guilt etched so clearly in her expression, “then why did you stay upstairs? Why can’t you look at him?”

Sam paused. “It’s hard,” she admitted, finally, “because he still has the voice and face. And it’s harder to know for sure when he’s in the room.” She folded her arms. “I do know,” she continued, “because I know you, and I love you. But—”

“But when you see him, you doubt it.” He nodded, then yanked his coat off the back of the chair. “I have to go to work—”

“Jason—”

“Don’t—” He turned back to Sam. “Don’t call me that. You don’t even believe it.”

Then he stormed out of the penthouse, slamming the door behind him.

Metro Court Hotel: Lobby

Jason had promised Carly he’d stop by for lunch to make up for not staying at Greystone with her and Sonny. The hotel, with people looking at him, was really the last place he wanted to be, but he also knew he needed to keep Carly happy.

As Jason started towards the offices, he felt his phone buzz with a message. He took it out, then smiled at the photo Elizabeth had sent him of Jake and his brothers in front of her house. Jake was standing between his brothers, grinning brightly in some sort of white costume with a green light saber, while Aiden wore a Spiderman outfit, and Cameron was casually dressed in jeans, a blue t-shirt, holding a plastic shield in his hands.

Jason only recognized Spiderman because Cameron had gone through a phase of his own as a kid, and he’d once spent a few hours at Elizabeth’s house with her and both boys watching the movie.

“I can understand why you didn’t tell me who you were supposed to be.”

He raised his eyes to find Ava Jerome standing in the lobby with an expectant expression. “Excuse me?”

“When I asked for your name,” Ava continued, “you wouldn’t tell me. I was standing there, babbling on and on about Jason Morgan and his family—and Sonny—and you didn’t tell me you were him.”

“How do you know I am?” Jason asked. He slid his phone back into his pocket. “You never saw me without my mask, did you?”

“No,” Ava drawled, “and I suppose I don’t actually know that you are Jason. But I also didn’t get the sense you were a liar.” She sighed. “Sonny and Carly have probably told you about all of my evil deeds and why I’m the worst person in the world.”

“No, they haven’t,” Jason said, making a note to push them on this. He hated not knowing. “But Michael told me you’d lived in the mansion for a while. There are a lot of photos of me in that house.”

“I never saw more than your eyes. In retrospect, of course, I could have recognized you from those photos, but—” Ava scowled. “As far as I knew, Jason Morgan was alive and well here in Port Charles. Why would I think some random masked man in Russia was actually you? I risked my life to help—”

“I know you did,” Jason said, a bit irritated with himself for starting this. “And thank you. I never would have gotten home without your help.”

Mollified, Ava sniffed. “All right then. I’m glad it worked out, and neither of us had to get hurt. That was a terrible place.” She touched her cheek, the scarring slightly improved but still very visible. “I only wish I’d helped you after my treatment was done.”

Because it almost sounded like something Carly would say in the same situation, Jason smiled faintly. “I’m sorry. I hope you can find another doctor who can help you.”

“If there’s anything I can do to help you prove your identity,” Ava offered, “let me know.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine, but thank you,” Jason said. While he didn’t necessarily see her as the threat Michael and the others did, he also didn’t really know her. She’d helped him when she didn’t have to, but he was home now. He had other people he could count on, ones he knew he could trust. “I’ll see you around.”

Ava watched Jason Morgan head towards the offices, then narrowed her eyes in deep thought. She had been telling the truth, of course, that she hadn’t known he was Jason Morgan when she’d helped him. If she had been aware, she would have escorted him home and devised a way to be given the public credit so that the next time she went to court for Avery, she’d have something to bargain with.

Unfortunately, she’d found out with the rest of the world on social media, and now she had to find a way to turn this to her advantage.

Aurora Media: Office

Curtis knocked on the open office door, and the man behind the desk jerked his head, blinking at the interruption. “Curtis.”

“Hey, man. I got your message.” He sauntered into the office, sitting down in front of the desk, stretching out his long legs. “How you doing with the news you got last night?”

He scrubbed his hands over his face, taking a deep breath. “I knew he’d turn out to be my twin, but I guess I was hoping—” He paused. “What if it’s true?”

Curtis didn’t ask what he meant. “Do you think it is?”

“Sometimes. Maybe.” He looked away for a minute. “I don’t want it to be, but—” He exhaled slowly. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Yeah. Sure. Name it.” Curtis leaned forward. “What’s up?”

“I want a deep background check on Andrew Cain. More than just what Alexis gave me. I want to know everything. Where he came from—how he ended up—” Here in Port Charles.

Was Drew Cain the man who had crashed the re-launch the party a few nights ago? Or was he sitting in this chair—

Was he Drew Cain? Is that why there had always been a voice screaming at him that something wasn’t right—

“I’ll get right on it.” Curtis stood. “Hey, man, whatever’s going on—we’ll get to the bottom of it. You’ve got my word.”

“Thanks.” He watched Curtis leave, realizing with a sinking feeling that his friend had never used his name. It was almost worse than hearing it on Sam’s lips. He didn’t know what the truth was or even what he wanted it to be.

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

“Good news,” Felix declared as he set a pile of charts on the counter next to Elizabeth, who eyed them warily. “Don’t worry—these are my insurance forms to enjoy,” he assured her.

“Is that the good news?”

“No. The good news is—” He showed her his phone. “No alerts from the Sun about anyone with the last name Webber being arrested for vandalism.”

She made a face. “It was just that one year—” When Felix sighed. “Because the year before that, Cameron told the arresting officers his name was Steve Rogers—”

“I’m just saying. It’s a tradition.”

“Well, this year, Cameron knows not to pull anything,” Elizabeth said. “He’s got his brothers, and Trina is out with them—” She checked her watch. “They’re coming by here in about a half hour to go the hospital trick or treat.”

“Oh, good. I love seeing my boys all dressed up.” He leaned against the counter. “So, how’s it going otherwise?”

“Fine. Four more hours until I can go home and sleep.” As much sleep as she’d be able to manage once one of the boys had a nightmare about the movie she’d forbidden them to watch. She knew her kids—telling them no Scream or Halloween movies was like dangling a red flag in front of them. “Do you have a specific question in mind?”

“Well, you’ve dumped the boyfriend, and the ex-boyfriend is back from the dead, so I guess I’m just checking in.”

“I’m fine,” Elizabeth repeated, completing the last of her paperwork. “The computer is all yours.”

“Fun times for me,” he muttered, taking her place. “What about tomorrow? You and the boys doing anything for your birthday?”

“Aiden and I are going to make a cake after school, and Cameron and Jake have promised to eat it. Steven sent me a gift certificate for a spa—” She missed her older brother but understood why he’d decided not to return to Port Charles after he’d finished his two-year prison sentence. “Sarah ignored it—again—and my parents actually called me last night.”

“Really?” Felix raised his brows. “Did they get you confused with your sister?”

“No, but they thought my birthday was last week, so I guess you take the good with the bad. It was fine. The boys even pretended to know who they were.” Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “My birthday is usually a disaster, and the only reason I celebrate it anymore is because my kids make me.”

“Speaking of the Undead—”

“We weren’t, and pick a nickname already,” she complained.

“You’re confusing me with Spinelli,” Felix told her. “I like spontaneity and variety.” He nodded towards the elevators. “Your ex is here.”

Because that could mean anything, Elizabeth followed his gaze and smiled, relieved to see that it was Jason and not anyone else. “Hey. You okay? You usually hate the hospital.”

“I do,” Jason said. He hesitated, looked at Felix, who wasn’t even pretending not to listen.

“This is Felix DuBois, my best friend.” Elizabeth elbowed him. “Go away, Felix.”

“Hey, I’m just standing here doing paperwork. You go away.”

“Fine.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes, grabbed her clipboard, then stepped away from the hub. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to see if you had a break,” Jason began. “You said earlier the boys were gonna be here—”

“In a little bit, yeah—” She led him down a more quiet hallway, then frowned at him. “Jason, what’s wrong?”

He sighed, shoved his hands in his pockets. “Just a long day,” he muttered. “What’s the problem with Ava?”

“Ava?” Elizabeth repeated warily. “I thought we told you that she can’t be trusted—”

“You did—”

“Michael just didn’t want to get into everything. You’ve only been back a few days, Jason. You can’t know everything right now—”

“You’re not going to tell me either?” he demanded. “I don’t need to be protected—”

“If Michael didn’t want to tell you about Ava, then he has his reasons,” Elizabeth cut in. “And knowing what I know, he’s got a right to hold back on this. Because this isn’t just a history class for us, Jason. You missed five years, and I’m sorry for that. I really am, but you can’t ask us to dredge up every single terrible thing that’s happened. What Ava did has nothing to do with you.”

Jason clenched his jaw. “It’s not up to you to decide what I can handle—”

“Doesn’t feel that great when I do it to you, does it?” she shot back, then winced. Took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I can’t begin to imagine what you’re going through, Jason, but—”

“I just want to know why everyone thinks Ava can’t be trusted,” Jason said. “Because she nearly got herself killed helping me—”

“She hurt Morgan,” Elizabeth said finally. “And she hurt Michael. Badly. Beyond that, Jason, I think it’s going to be up to Michael to decide when he wants to open that back up. I wouldn’t trust her, but you’ll have to make up your own mind about that—”

“Why am I not surprised to find the two of you together?” a mocking voice drawled from behind them. Elizabeth turned and grimaced as Franco strolled around the corner. She could practically feel Jason’s muscles tighten next to her. “I didn’t press charges the first time,” Franco warned, holding up a hand to ward off any attack from Jason. “I won’t be so nice this time.”

“What do you want?” Elizabeth asked, folding her arms over her clipboard. He fastened his dark eyes on hers, his full of regret, maybe even remorse.

He might be sorry now, but she would never forget the terror in her son’s eyes. It would haunt her for the rest of her life.

“I know you won’t forgive me—”

“Good—”

“But I’m worried about you. About him being around the boys—” Franco nodded towards Jason.

“You’re worried about me?” Jason demanded, taking a step towards Franco. Elizabeth stretched an arm in front of him, keeping him back.

“And there’s this other thing that happened. This is going to be hard to hear,” Franco warned with a sigh, “but Andre Maddox, the man you trusted with Jake’s well-being, was a part of this. He told me himself.”

Elizabeth stared at him, her heart pounding. “What are you talking about?”

“Who’s Andre Maddox?” Jason demanded.

“Andre was the doctor who put Chimera in Jake’s head,” Franco continued. “And he’s behind whatever happened to whichever twin that is—”

“Andre—” Elizabeth started to deny it. Started to reject the idea, but then she saw him in her mind, on Friday at the hospital, staring at the photograph of Jason before the accident. Before Jake Doe had come to Port Charles. “He works here at the hospital,” she told Jason, her voice barely audible. “He’s been treating Jake since the Nurse’s Ball—”

“Here?” Jason repeated. “Where’s his office—”

“Two floors down—let’s go—” Elizabeth started to turn away, but Franco reached out and snagged her arm, pulling her back. Before she could turn around and whack him with her clipboard, her arm was free, and Jason was shoving Franco against the wall.

“Don’t put your hands on her,” Jason growled, lifting the other man up by his collar. “You’re lucky you’re still breathing.”

“I just—” Franco put up his hands, all innocence. “It’s too late. Andre’s gone. He split yesterday after he told me—”

“He told you yesterday, and you said nothing?” Elizabeth cried. “You knew he hurt Jake, and you didn’t tell me? How could you do that to me? To my boys?” Tears stung her eyes as Jason slowly let Franco back to his feet. “Every single word you ever said to me was a lie—”

“You took the first chance you could to crawl back to Jason,” Franco retorted. “So which one of us is the liar now?”

My wandering soul
Found solace at last
I wanted to know
How long it would last
She’s losing control
She’s coming down fast
The heart that I stole
I’m not giving back
Never giving back
– Some of Us, Starsailor

---

December 2012

Crichton-Clark Lab: Patient Six’s Hospital Room

Andre grimaced as he clipped a scan to the lightbox and switched it on. “Nothing,” he muttered.

“What, precisely, am I looking for?” Victor asked, putting on his reading glasses and squinting. “It looks like last month’s—”

“I’ve been trying to fix the brain damage,” Andre muttered. “Or at least minimize it so that the transfer procedure will take.”

“Fix—” Victor’s brows lifted. “Is such a thing possible?”

“Apparently not.” Andre tapped the screen. “We’ve always thought brain damage was irreversible. It’s the type of cell that doesn’t reproduce or replicate. Once you kill a brain cell, once it’s damaged, it remains that way. The brain compensates,” he continues. “Six should barely be able to function, but you’re telling me he was living a full life?”

“Yes, yes. With a career of sorts, family, friends. He’s well-liked and respected. And that shouldn’t be possible?”

“He shouldn’t have any control. Over his emotions or his impulses—but his right frontal lobe has grown stronger—” Andre tapped it. “I was hoping I could replicate that. Memories aren’t just stored in one place in the brain.”

“I remember you remarked on it—”

“Explicit memories—episodic and semantic—are stored in three parts. The hippocampus, the neocortex, and amygdala,” Andre continued. “None of that is in the frontal lobe, which was the most damaged area. The frontal lobe controls speech and language, walking, running, ability to have empathy, personality—and the formation of memories.”

“The formation? Really? But not storage. This is—” Victor paused. “It’s interesting, but I’m not sure how it’s relevant.”

“Because the frontal lobe is damaged, forming memories should be more difficult, which is why implanting Five’s memories hasn’t been successful.” Andre studied the scan. “But you’re telling me that Six was able to form and access new memories normally?”

“No one has said differently. He was in a car accident at the age of twenty-two,” Victor reminded him, “and we extracted him just about his thirty-eighth birthday. To the best of my knowledge, he has memory of those years.”

“So that function has recovered,” Andre said. He narrowed his eyes. “But where? If I could find out which part of the brain was forming the memories, we could transfer memories there, and it might take.”

“So you’re telling me there’s a chance?”

Andre exhaled slowly. “A chance, yes. But it’s not likely. ” He looked back at the man stretched out on the hospital bed. “He’s a medical miracle, but he’s not a very good candidate for this study. I can continue to work, Victor, but I would be lying to you if I said that we would be guaranteed success.”

“Well, that is disappointing,” Victor said with a grimace.

“Do you want me to reverse Five’s procedure? Return his memories—”

“Oh, no. No. There’s no point in giving up entirely. You may as well continue working on Six,” Victor told him. “My partner requires him to be gone from Port Charles as long as possible. The time isn’t right. You may as well see if it can be solved. When she wants him sent home, we’ll deal with it.”

“I—” Andre hesitated. “You want me to keep Five in a coma? It’s been over a year—”

“What’s a few more months, eh?” Victor patted his shoulder. “You mapped Six’s memories. Were you able to retrieve any from before his accident?”

“Uh—” Andre hesitated. “Yes. Actually. But you were very specific—”

“Yes, yes, but it’s very interesting to know if I wanted to play with those—” Victor sighed happily. “It’s so lovely to have options.”

Monday, October 30, 2017

General Hospital: Hallway

Jason removed the band-aid covering the location of the blow draw from his arm, then tossed it in a nearby garbage can. He leaned against the wall, waiting for Elizabeth to come out with Jake. He was hoping that Jake wouldn’t mind if he went with them to get ice cream at Kelly’s, even though he knew that Sonny—and probably Carly—expected him to check in at Greystone when the tests were done.

He knew Carly wanted answers, and Sonny wanted to start figuring what had happened—Jason wanted all of that, too. He’d thought of nothing else since he’d woken up in the Russian clinic. He had had two goals. Get home and make someone pay for what they’d done.

But he hadn’t known about Jake then. Hadn’t known his son was alive or that the whole world knew Jake was his son. He didn’t care if there were people who didn’t think he was really Jason Morgan. He knew he was, and the truth would come out eventually. He was sorry for all the problems it would cause, but Elizabeth believed him, which meant that she would let him see his son.

Right now, Jake was all he could think about.

“Jason?”

Jason straightened as Monica Quartermaine turned the corner and stopped to stare at him, her eyes wide with shock and surprise. “Monica.”

His mother walked towards him, her eyes never wavering from his, stopping just a foot away. “How—” Her voice shook slightly. “I wanted to call, but I didn’t know—I haven’t been able to catch Michael—how did this happen?”

“I don’t have a lot of answers about that yet,” Jason said carefully, “but I know who I am.”

“But he has…he has the memories,” Monica managed. “He knew me.”

“Monica—” He paused. “Mom,” he said, and her eyes snapped up to his. “Heather Webber wasn’t lying when she told us there were twins.”

“Twins,” Monica repeated. “That would mean—” Horror dawned in her eyes. “Oh my God. Oh my God. How can this be happening—”

“I don’t know how this is going to work out—” He paused, his throat tightening. Maybe he did care a little bit that some people didn’t accept him. Was this how Monica and Alan had felt when he’d woken up after the accident and rejected him?

“Grandma?”

They both turned to see Elizabeth and Jake walking out of the room, his son rubbing his arm. “Are you okay?” He shoved a lollipop in his mouth as he waited for her answer.

“Jake.” Monica pasted a smile on her face. “I’m fine. I’m just…” She frowned. “Why are you here? What’s wrong—”

“We just had Jake take a blood sample,” Elizabeth said. She ran her fingers through Jake’s hair. “They’re going to run an advanced DNA test to determine identity.”

“Of course, but—” Monica pressed her lips together. “You’re here with him. So you—”

“Yes, I’ve taken a side,” Elizabeth admitted. “Maybe I should have waited,” she realized, with another look of regret to Jason, “but I didn’t want to lie. Not again.”

“I—” Monica exhaled slowly, turning back to Jason. “Oh, Jason.” Her eyes searched his. “It’s good to see you, you know. To see Lila’s eyes again. I thought when he had the surgery—the reconstruction, but—”

“Grandma Lila?” Jake asked. He squinted at Jason. “Grandma Monica told me I got her eyes, too.”

“You do,” Elizabeth confirmed. “I knew as soon as you were born, you’d have your dad’s eyes.” She looked at Monica. “I’m sorry. I should have called.”

“No, no, it’s—I understand. Hearing the news was one thing, I could pretend it wasn’t happening. But looking at you—” Monica met Jason’s eyes again. “Of course it’s you.” She reached up, touched the scar at the corner of his eyebrow. “This is the scar you had as a little boy. You fell running in these hallways.”

Jason frowned, shook his head slightly. “You never told me that.”

“You never wanted to talk about the past, so I didn’t,” Monica said. “You must have been, oh, maybe Aiden’s age,” she said. “No more than eight. You and Steven—”

“Uncle Steven?” Jake asked. “You knew Uncle Steven?” he asked Jason.

“Before the car accident,” Jason said. “He mentioned it once.”

“Thick as thieves every time he and the girls came to visit Steve and Audrey,” Monica said fondly. “Those were some good years.” She took a deep breath. “You fell just outside your father’s office, running from Steve and Alan, and hit your head on a cart. You needed six stitches.” She pressed a hand to her abdomen. “Oh, it’s really you.” Her eyes were damp as she stepped towards him but stopped. Always hesitating. She’d never imitated any contact since the accident.

Jason embraced her, and she hugged him tightly. “I’m so glad you’re home,” she said. “We can figure everything else out—” Monica stepped back, keeping a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “Oh, and Jake—what a miracle you came back to—” Her hand fluttered up to her throat. “When will we know about—about—if he’s your brother?”

“Tonight,” Elizabeth told her. “The markers will be back. We think we know who he is, I mean who he was. Not just that he’s a missing twin.”

“What?” Monica demanded. “How?”

“Apparently, Oscar Nero recognized him as his father who went missing a few months before Jason was shot in 2012,” Elizabeth said. “He’ll come by later for a test to match markers.”

“Nero,” Monica repeated with a slow exhale of air. “So he’s—”

“But Oscar’s stepmom changed his name afterward,” Elizabeth continued, “so we think the other guy is Andrew Cain.”

“Andrew—” Monica looked at Jason. “You’re sure?”

“No, but there are enough coincidences,” Jason said, “that we thought it was a good idea to test Oscar and get fingerprints from the Navy. We’ll know one way or another if he’s Oscar’s father tonight.”

“I hope he is,” Jake said. “I like cousins. I only have Michael and Joss. And Spencer, but he lives in London and he’s annoying. It’d be cool to have more. And Cam’s already friends with Oscar.”

“Of course,” Monica said. “I’m sorry—I have to get to a patient—but—” She looked at Jason, hesitant to say anything else.

“We’ll get together,” Jason promised. “I’ll—” He winced. “I’ll come by the mansion.”

Monica laughed, then left them, disappearing down another hallway.

“So are we going to Kelly’s?” Jake asked. “Because you promised me ice cream if I got a needle,” he said to his mother.

“Well,” Elizabeth began, looking at Jason, but the elevators at the end of the hall opened, Sonny and Carly stepped off, and she closed her mouth. Carly beamed as she strode away from Sonny, closing the distance between them faster than her husband.

“I’m sorry we’re late, but I’m glad we didn’t miss you,” she said. “Hey, Jake.”

“Hey, Mrs. C,” Jake said affably, pulling the lollipop out of his mouth. “We already got the tests.”

“Where’s your lollipop?” Sonny asked Jason as he joined them. “Hey, Elizabeth.”

“Elizabeth,” Carly said with a stiff nod. She looked at Jason. “We’re here now if you need a ride back to Greystone. Elizabeth should probably get home.”

Jake frowned at Carly. “I’m getting ice cream, and…” He tipped his head at Jason. “He drove with us, and he might end up being my dad, so I’m gonna invite him. You can come with us, too,” he said graciously. “But I am getting my ice cream.”

“Jake, there are a lot of things—” Carly began, but Jason cut her off.

“I’ll meet you back at Greystone,” Jason told her and Sonny. “I told you didn’t need to come.”

“But—” Carly began, but Sonny shook his head.

“No, it can wait a bit,” he said. He looked at Elizabeth. “I thought of some more questions I wanted to ask about the Cassadines, so maybe you both could come over after ice cream since it’s not like Laura is going to return my calls.”

“What’d you do to Grandma Laura?” Jake asked suspiciously.

“I exist,” Sonny said easily, and this seemed to make sense to Jake because he shrugged and twirled his lollipop in his mouth.

“Uh—” Elizabeth glanced at Jason, who nodded. “Okay,” she agreed. “I just need to make sure that the boys—”

“Michael’s at the house, so he can watch me. And you know Joss and everyone will be over after school because Cam wasn’t there,” Jake told his mother. “We won’t get into any trouble, promise. Not like last time.”

“What happened last time?” Jason asked.

Carly winced. “It wasn’t Joss’s fault—”

“No, I think Cameron played a leading role in that one,” Elizabeth agreed, “with Joss as a back-up.” To Jason, she said, “it’s nothing. We were able to paint the wall, and you can barely see where the fire started.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

At barely nineteen, Molly Davis-Lansing was sure that she had figured out the entire world and could tell everyone how to live. The fact that Molly was usually proven right in the end only made her more infuriating. Neither of her sisters had weighed in on the situation when Sam had gone over to her mother’s on Saturday, but she knew they’d get around to it.

They always did.

“It’s just you?” Sam looked around the corner towards the elevator, expecting to see her other sister.

“Krissy and I drew straws, and she lost,” Molly said with a shrug. She went over to the playpen to pick up Scout, who was reaching for her aunt. “Hey, baby girl. How’s my favorite niece?” she cooed. Scout babbled and tugged on Molly’s dark hair.

“Why did need to draw straws?” Sam asked darkly.

“Because we thought it might feel like ganging up, and we very much don’t want it to be that way.” Molly said.

“Molly—”

“Mom said you were getting DNA tests done,” her sister continued. “Where’s—” She looked around the penthouse. “Where’s, um—”

“Jason,” Sam said forcefully. “We did the tests. I came home, and he went into Aurora to do the first round of interviews for a CFO position. We have to keep living our life, Molly. We can’t just stop because someone showed up with his old face.” She shrugged. “We always figured there was an air of truth to Heather’s story about a secret twin. This other guy is probably him.”

Molly set Scout back in her playpen, gave her a stuffed bear to play with. “You know, Sam, it’s okay if you aren’t sure. You can tell me. I won’t say anything.”

“I am sure,” Sam said with a confidence she didn’t really feel. Not deep down. The way her sister tipped her head was not reassuring. If Molly could see right through her, Sam was going to have to do a better job of selling it.

“Okay,” Molly drawled. “I guess we’ll figure out why this other guy is claiming to be Jason when the tests come back. I mean, it’s a risky game to play unless you’re sure that the tests won’t prove you wrong.”

“There’s a chance the tests might come back inconclusive,” Sam muttered. “There are advanced markers for paternity, but—”

“There’s the fingerprints, too. TJ said his mom said they’d be back in a few days.” Molly folded her arms. “Sam, you know better than this.”

Sam bristled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I know you used to be a con artist,” Molly said patiently. “And I’m pretty sure a major rule is not to tell a lie you can get caught in. Why would this guy come to town, tell us he’s Jason, agree to all the tests and ways to prove it if he’s not—”

“I know who Jason is,” Sam retorted. “He’s the man who chose me, who chose our family! I know Jason better than anyone else!”

“Okay, but—”

“I was there when he got his memories back, when he remembered me, and he remembered Danny and the little girl I lost—I know who he is, Molly! And those tests—it’ll prove it!”

“I just—” She sighed. “I love you, Sam. And I like the man you’re married to. I don’t think he’s lying. I think someone is out there, trying to hurt you and him, and if you want to pretend a little longer that’s not happening—”

“I don’t need this from my own family,” Sam snarled. She ripped open the door. “And if Krissy feels this way, too, you can tell her to stay away.”

Not even fazed by her sister’s outburst, Molly’s expression softened. “I love you,” she repeated. “I just want you to be okay.”

Sam closed her eyes, the tears threatening in the back of her throat. “He is Jason,” she said. “He has to be.”

“Okay,” Molly said. She kissed her sister’s cheek. “Call me if you need anything. And give Danny hugs and kisses.”

Sam closed the door behind her, pressing her forehead against the door. Why did everyone want her to throw her life away so easily? Wasn’t that what she’d been accused of doing two years ago? When she’d walked away from Patrick and their future because she’d learned Jason was alive?

She wasn’t going to do that again. She couldn’t keep destroying her life just to chase after Jason Morgan, whoever he turned out to be.

Webber Home: Living Room

Michael narrowed his eyes when he opened Elizabeth’s front door to find his sister on the front step. “It’s barely one. How did you get out of school?”

“Listen, if you don’t ask, I won’t tell, and we can both claim ignorance,” Joss said as she sailed past her brother to find Cameron, Aiden, and Jake on the sofa. “Oh, you’re back from GH? Mom said you had DNA tests today.”

“Mom just dropped me off. She went over to your house,” Jake said as he squinted at the Nintendo Switch Cameron had let him play. “Mr. Sonny said he had Cassadine questions for her.”

“Our moms in the same room with Jason?” Joss snorted. “I really need to put a bug on her or something. I miss all the fun.” She plopped on the sofa next to Cameron and beamed at him. “Hey.”

He looked at her suspiciously. “Hey.”

“How you doing?”

“Fine,” he drawled, glancing at Michael, who just shrugged and sat back on the armchair, pulling out a portfolio to make notes for work. “How are you?”

“Good. Worried about Oscar. I saw him getting signed out by his stepmom for his test before I left.” Joss pulled her legs up and folded them as she took the controller Cameron handed her. “It’s wild to think that tonight we’ll know the score. You know, like Oscar will know if his dad is in Port Charles.”

“But his dad still won’t remember him,” Jake said. “That’s really hard. I mean, Dad might not be my actual dad, but he remembers me now. Before, when he didn’t, it was weird. And I didn’t even know him before.”

“It’s a good thing I was here for that whole Jake Doe thing because that would make zero sense to someone else,” Joss told Jake. She grimaced. “Call of Duty again? Can’t we ever play anything else? When does the Sims 4 come out for console?”

“November 17,” Aiden said. “I wanna build houses, and Cam said I could play on his Xbox.” He scowled. “Cam, you’re going the wrong way! They’re gonna cream you!”

“Not if I don’t—” Cam hissed. “Damn it.” He glanced at Joss again. “So why’d you cut school? I told you, Mom didn’t want Jake and Aiden at school until we got the markers back—”

“Well, I wasn’t going to,” Joss said, “but then I was listening to Mom and Uncle Sonny, and Mom wanted to know why Michael was going to be over here, and Sonny said that Elizabeth didn’t want to leave you guys alone.” She smiled sweetly at her brother. “I have questions.”

Michael stared at her blandly. “That’s nice.”

“And then I got here, and I recognized the SUV outside because it looks like the one Mom doesn’t think I know follows me everywhere. I wave at Milo all the time.” She raised her brows. “Why is my brother keeping you company, and why do you have a guard?”

“Because of Franco,” Aiden said before he noticed his brother’s death glare. “Oh. Never mind. Anyone want cookies? Let me get cookies.” He hopped to his feet and hurried into the kitchen.

“You didn’t tell Joss?” Jake asked Cameron, who then turned the glare on him. “Uh, I’m gonna go help Aiden.”

“What happened?” Joss said flatly. “Why are we guarding against Franco—” She twisted on the sofa again to level a suspicious look at Michael. “And since when do you count as security against a serial killer?”

“It’s not a big deal, Joss,” Cameron muttered. He flipped through the menus on his game and avoided Joss’s hurt expression.

“Trina didn’t say anything, and neither did Oscar. If it’s not a big deal,” she said, her teeth clenched, “then why didn’t you tell us? Oscar said he thought your mom broke up with Franco.”

“She did. So there, you’re caught up.”

Joss narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me.” She got to her feet and stalked into the kitchen.

“Uh, not that I’m going to tell you what to do,” Michael said, pitching his voice lower, “but she’s just going to go bug your brothers, and I know they’re loyal to you—”

“Crap.” Cameron huffed, then followed in Joss’s trail.

“I really think since I gotta live with Cam—” Jake was saying when Cameron entered the kitchen. “Oh, thank God. You gotta tell her. She’s gonna cry—”

“She is not,” Cameron said, rolling his eyes as Joss turned and made a face at him. “She just knows how to turn on the waterworks. She’s been doing it since kindergarten.” He folded his arms. “Look, after you guys left, we were watching the video. Franco came in, got annoyed. He wanted the iPad, I didn’t want to give it to him. We got into it. Mom came home. It’s done. She kicked him to the curb. It’s not a big deal—”

“Got into it,” Joss repeated. She pursed her lips. “Nope. There’s more.”

Cameron nearly growled. “Why do you always gotta do this? Not everything in my life is your business—”

Joss lifted her chin, and now the hurt he saw in her eyes was real. “No, you’re right. It’s not. But if it’s not a big deal, you’d tell me. Especially when you know I’ve been through it.”

“I know, Joss—” He sighed. “Okay. Fine. He shoved me, grabbed my shirt, and if my mom hadn’t come home, I’m not exactly sure how it would have gone. So, it was bad, but it’s okay now. I just—I didn’t tell you because I didn’t—”

He paused. “I know you, Joss. And you’re already plotting in your head—”

“Of course I am! Why is Franco still a thing? Why aren’t we all plotting his demise right now?” Joss demanded. “He put his hands on you, and your mom let him live? God, no wonder she and Jason are friends. They’re both idiots—”

“Hey—” Jake said, scowling. “That’s not nice—”

“Neither is bringing home a serial killer to live with your kids,” Joss shot back at the younger boy.

“Hey! Your mom almost married him!” Aiden piped in.

“I didn’t mean—” Joss tried to back pedal.

“Yeah!” Jake said. “And he broke up with her, not like my mom! My mom made him leave!”

She exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. That was stupid of me to say. I’m sorry,” she repeated to the younger boys, then she turned around to Cameron. “You know I like your mom.”

“I know.” Cameron rubbed the back of his neck and frowned when he saw Michael joining them. “Look, it’s—I get it, Joss. And maybe part of me just doesn’t want to deal with it because I get it. And I know how you and Michael—and Morgan,” he added quietly, “how hard it was for all of you. I wanted it to be different for my mom. I thought it was. I thought he was just a dick. I didn’t—until Friday, I didn’t think it’d be like that.”

“Until that day on the Haunted Star,” Michael said, “neither did we. That’s usually how Franco gets you. And no one blames your mom for falling for it. He’s a sociopath. They know how to mimic human emotion. He had me convinced back then, too.”

He sat down at the dining table and reached for one of the cookies from the plate in the middle of the table. “Why don’t we take a break from talking about Franco?”

“Okay.” Cameron mouthed an apology to Joss, who wrinkled her nose but nodded. They sat around the table, quiet for a minute. “Any idea what Mom and Jason are doing at Greystone?” he asked Michael.

“Uncle Sonny said Spinelli is coming to town later this week, so I guess they’re gonna go after whoever did this,” Joss said. “I’m glad they’re letting your mom help. I think she always felt bad she wasn’t part of bringing you home,” she told Jake, then looked at Michael. “I heard Mom and Uncle Sonny arguing about Ava Jerome.”

Michael grimaced. “Yeah, Ava helped Jason escape the clinic — probably because she knew he was somehow connected to Sonny. Mom wants to tell Jason everything, but Sonny says we should hold off.”

“Well, yeah, because talking about Ava probably brings up that whole other thing,” Cameron said. He broke a cookie into two, then realized no one was saying anything after a minute. He looked up to find Michael and Joss frowning at him while Jake and Aiden were trying very hard to be quiet, so no one noticed they were there for grown-up conversation.

“Other thing?” Michael asked.

“I think—” Joss said with a wince. “Cam’s talking about that whole thing where, you know, your biological dad wasn’t dead, but now he’s dead again, and there’s a reason you don’t call Uncle Sonny Dad unless you’re with him or Mom.”

“You think I should tell Jason that the brother he thought was dead turned out not to be dead, but then got murdered by Sonny, and Mom covered it up? That’s the other thing?” Michael said darkly. “You think talking about Ava gets me there? How?”

“Because Ava killed Connie,” Joss said. “And you know that’s gonna come up. It’s why Uncle Sonny hates her. And Mom hates her because of Morgan. And talking about Connie always leads to AJ.”  She shrugged. “Maybe you should just tell him, so he hears it from you.”

“Yeah, let me go right ahead with that. Hey, Jason, remember that time you lied about being my father, and then my biological father went nuts because of you, Mom, and Sonny so he kidnapped me, faked my death, and then tried to kill people? Well, he faked his death, but it’s okay. He’s really dead now. Sonny murdered him in cold blood, and then Mom helped him get away with it. It’s cool, now because the governor pardoned him.” Michael lifted his brows. “Is that how I should do it?”

“You could always bring some of Aiden’s cookies,” Joss suggested brightly. “They help.”

“Or you could just wait for someone to introduce you as Michael Quartermaine,” Cameron offered. “Or did you tell your mom you never changed your name back?”

“It would be nice,” Michael told his sister, “if you didn’t tell Cameron everything.”

“Uh, I’m sorry, what part of ‘partner in crime for life’ did you not understand?” Joss said, rolling her eyes. “Geesh.”

Michael looked like he wanted to argue with her but decided not to. “Look, I’m just—I’m not doing it. I don’t want to have that conversation with Jason right now.”

“Fine. I know what we can do,” Joss said. “You wanna take bets on how long it takes my mom to find a reason to shove your mom out the door?”

“That’s a sucker’s bet,” Cameron said. “Your mom isn’t going to wait more than ten minutes.”

“Mrs. C seemed very annoyed that Mom was going over,” Jake said with a sigh. “I don’t think she’s going to make it that long.”

Greystone: Living Room

Carly did not, in fact, make it that long. To her credit, she had been attempting to insult Elizabeth behind her back and was not facing the foyer doors when Jason and Elizabeth arrived just in time to hear the blonde complain that Elizabeth was using this to get her claws in Jason again.

“I’ve missed this,” Elizabeth said as she followed Jason into the living room. He turned to her with an exasperated expression, and she shrugged. He knew she was probably used to Carly’s barbs, but he really wasn’t in the mood for it.

Carly twisted, then gasped. “When did you show up? Max didn’t say anything—”

“Max never announced me before,” Jason said, frowning at her. “Why would he start now? Carly—”

“Let’s not get distracted,” Sonny suggested as he smoothly stepped between his wife and Jason. “Carly—”

“Fine, I’m zipping it, but—”

“No, no buts,” Sonny warned her. “Elizabeth never starts it—” Carly sniffed. “Almost never,” he amended, shooting Elizabeth an apologetic look. “And I think you’re forgetting that she really does know more about the Cassadines than we do. Don’t you want to know who kept Jason from us for five years?”

“Of course I do!” Carly sighed. “Fine. Ask your stupid questions.” Clearly, she was hoping Elizabeth would divulge her information, then leave. Jason would have to have to talk to her about this.

It had been irritating enough for Carly to mistreat Elizabeth before, but now that everyone knew the truth about Jake, the last thing Jason wanted was for his son to overhear his best friend insulting his mother. Though it was possible Jake was already aware of it. It might be something else he just didn’t know.

“I seem to remember that the Cassadines—or at least Helena—were always into memory and control,” Sonny said, gesturing for Elizabeth to take a seat. “But I wasn’t really involved during all of that. I just came in at the end to help you out.”

“What are you talking about?” Carly asked, folding her arms. She remained standing as Elizabeth sat in the armchair, and Sonny sat on the sofa. Jason paced towards the terrace, too restless to sit still.

“Helena brainwashed Lucky, but that wasn’t even the first time,” Elizabeth said. “There was something that happened when he was younger. Something with a computer game. I don’t remember the details, but yeah, Luke told me the Cassadines were always into mind control and memory manipulation.”

“I sort of remember Lucky being brainwashed,” Carly admitted, grudgingly. “What does it have to do with Jason?”

“Because I don’t think the other guy is lying about memories,” Sonny said. “Jason, you saw him on Friday. I told you I didn’t think he was part of it.”

“You think somehow he has my actual memories?” Jason asked skeptically. “How—”

“That’s why I wanted to know more about the Cassadines and their stuff on memory.” Sonny turned back to Elizabeth. “Does this sound like something Helena could do?”

“If it can be done, the Cassadines would do it,” Elizabeth said, “and Helena is always looking for a way to control people. She put that chip into Jake Doe, and with Lucky, she used the Ice Princess diamond to trigger the commands. And, well, of course, Jake.” She hesitated. “But can someone take another person’s memories?”

“We’re not just dealing with Helena, though,” Carly said, drawing their attention. “Because wasn’t the other guy part of it? The one from the WSB? Victor? He’s the one that had the other guy. He didn’t have Jason.”

“If the WSB was involved, then there were probably experiments. That makes sense. Then yeah, if it can be physically done, the Cassadines would have done it,” Elizabeth said, nodding. Carly frowned, probably surprised that Elizabeth had agreed with her.

“Helena messed with Lucky’s memories, didn’t he?” Sonny asked Elizabeth. “That’s why you left him at the altar that first time.”

“Uh, yeah. After, um, I took that poison, she—” Elizabeth sighed. “The way Lucky tells it, she erased his feelings for me, but I’ve never been that sure how I feel about that.” She made a face. “I don’t doubt she tried it, but I don’t think it works like that. More likely, she just brainwashed him to think it.”

“Great. The Cassadines are into mind control. They’re also all dead, except for Valentin, so why does it matter?” Carly asked.

“Because Helena was dead for almost two years, and Jake still almost killed an entire ballroom on her command,” Sonny said flatly. “She’s dead, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t loose ends. Jason’s a loose end. This other guy—he might be a loose end. Who knows what else is still out there?”

“And even if Helena’s plans are done, Valentin is still a problem,” Sonny said. “He sent Ava to that clinic. We’re agreed that doesn’t make sense for him to do if he was in on it, but how else would he know about the clinic?” He got to his feet and crossed to the minibar, reaching for water instead of the bottle of bourbon. “And you know what else I thought was strange about that whole Jake Doe control chip thing—”

“What?” Carly asked. “Other than the fact that it happened?”

“After he got it out,” Sonny said to Jason, who was just taking it all in, listening to them. “He remembered all the things she’d made him do. And the first thing she’d said to him was that he was Jason Morgan. She told him who he was supposed to be. Now—was she lying to him? Or did she not know? But not only that—she threatened Elizabeth and the boys, Carly, and our kids—but she never, ever, used Jake as leverage.”

“No, she didn’t, did she?” Elizabeth tilted her head. “So either she knew he wasn’t Jason, or she didn’t want to take the chance that he’d remember the conversation later.” She exhaled slowly. “She was saving Jake. She always meant to use him for the Chimera project, didn’t she? She always planned to use my baby to kill us all.”

“You said Valentin played hero that day,” Jason said, drawing their attention. “How?”

“When we managed to Jake to back down,” Elizabeth said, “men broke into the ballroom and stole the box. Valentin went after them and got it back. He turned it over to the WSB for safekeeping.”

“A lot of people were very grateful. Including me,” Carly said with a sigh, “because he saved the Metro Court a lot of bad press for security.”

“How did people know it was here?” Jason asked. “How did anyone know to come steal this box?”

Sonny blinked at him. “I don’t know. I guess we didn’t think about it—”

“He could have set it up to save the day.”

“I remember Luke talking about Valentin once, but he never came to Port Charles,” Jason said. “You didn’t say a lot about Valentin. What his story?”

“Hard to say. A lot of it is cloaked in mystery. He’s Mikkos’s supposed to be illegitimate son. He pushed Nikolas out of a window in Greece.” Elizabeth looked away. “He claimed self-defense, and the Greek authorities didn’t press charges.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason said gently, knowing that she’d been close to Nikolas for most of her life. “What has Valentin done since then?”

“He showed up in Port Charles, claiming to be the rightful heir to the Cassadine fortune as Mikkos’s oldest son,” Elizabeth said. “Which stripped Spencer of his inheritance.” She paused. “After that—nothing.”

“He’s laid low.,” Sonny added. “It’s like—he got what he wanted when Nikolas died and doesn’t need to do anything else.”

“Unless—” Elizabeth frowned. “We’ve been assuming that it was just a loose end with Jake and the Chimera—a plan of Helena’s that was stalled when she died. But we never did learn who sent him that box of magic tricks with the Chimera weapon. If Valentin knew about Helena’s plans, about the suggestions she planted in his head—”

“Maybe he used them to built a little goodwill for himself,” Sonny said.

“If he knew about Chimera, then maybe he knew what Helena was planning with me,” Jason said. “And if it’s not Valentin, there’s someone else out there. It’s just a matter of figuring out how and what they want.  Someone was keeping me in that coma, and when I escaped, they were trying to drag me back to Russia. To keep me from coming home.”

“But why?” Carly asked. “And why would Valentin send Ava to that clinic if he knew you were there?”

“All we have are questions,” Sonny said with a sigh. “It’d be nice to get some damn answers.”

Devane Manor: Foyer

With a furrowed brow, Anna Devane stepped back to let Andre inside. “Was I expecting you?” she asked, closing the door. “I’ve been a bit distracted since I came back from Monte Carlo.”

“I’d heard you were away.” Andre set a bag down on the step, then faced her, his dark eyes grave and sober. “I’m leaving Port Charles.”

Anna blinked, then shook her head, a startled laugh escaping her lips. “Oh, come now,” she said, a bit nervously. “I know it’s nearly Halloween, but it’s hardly a time for jokes.”

Andre pressed his lips together, then reached into the bag to hand her a box. “I wanted you to have this,” he told her. “It’s an early Christmas gift, but since I won’t be here—”

“Andre,” Anna said sharply, not reaching for the beautifully wrapped gift, “this is ridiculous. You’re not leaving town. You have a life here, friends and a career—”

“I know,” he said heavily, dipping his eyes to the floor of the foyer. He shook his head. “I know,” he repeated, “but I have to go. I can’t explain—”

“Andre—”

He set the box on her step, then picked up his bag. “You’ve been a good friend,” he told her. “And if things had been different—”

“You’re scaring me,” Anna said, reaching for his sleeve, but he was already walking towards the door. “Andre, wait—we can fix whatever is wrong—”

“No, you can’t.” He pulled the door open, then looked back at her, the regret etched into his features. “Whatever you hear about me—”

“What is going on—”

“My friendship, my respect for you—it was real,” he told her. “Take care—”

She started after him, but he closed the door in her face. By the time Anna had wrenched it open and gone outside, the taxi at her curb was pulling away. She stared after him, open-mouth and confused.

Then went back to the stairs where he’d left the gift. Anna tore off the wrapping paper, pushed open the lid, then frowned at the ornate, crystal ornament. She lifted it out of the box, staring at it, before looking back at the door.

After a moment, Anna replaced the box, strode over to the desk where she’d left her phone and pressed a familiar contact.

“Anna?”

“Robert, I need you to do that deep background check I wouldn’t let you perform two years ago,” she said. “I need to know everything about Andre Maddox.”

Webber Home: Porch

Elizabeth could hear the sounds of the teenagers through the windows and smiled, listening to Cameron trash talk Michael about some video game while Jake cackled. “Sometimes,” she told Jason, “I stop outside here and just listen to them inside. I don’t let them have the games in their rooms, or they’d never go to sleep, but I was also worried I’d never see them.”

“It’s hard to believe how grown up they are,” Jason said, peering in through the window. “And Michael—you said he’s close with them?”

“Yeah, well, he’s Aiden’s cousin through Carly, and Jake through you,” she said. “When Jake came home, one of the things that helped him get back to some sort of normalcy was constantly keeping him around family. Cam and Joss were always friends, you know that, but I brought Jake around Monica and Michael, too.” She bit her lip. “And—”

“The other me,” Jason finished. “You can say it.”

“It’s just so strange,” she murmured, looking at him. “Until you showed up, I honestly could say I’d accepted him as you. The DNA tests—the facial reconstruction—then the memories—I told myself the doubts I had—they were because of my own guilt. The sense that if I’d told the truth when Nikolas had told me, maybe I could have saved myself so much guilt.”

“Elizabeth—”

“It was such a stupid lie,” she muttered. “Every day, I woke up and I knew it was a terrible choice. You can’t steal your happiness and keep it forever. It wasn’t real. But—now I wonder if Nikolas knew the actual truth.” She bit her lip. “He was different before he died. Darker. Twisted with some sort of hatred for the Quartermaines. He forced Tracy and Michael out of ELQ—”

“Michael works at ELQ?” Jason broke in, startled. “When did that happen?”

“Oh.” Elizabeth winced. “Well, Edward passed away not long after you disappeared, and Michael got closer to Monica,” she said, casting her eyes away. “It just—it just sort of happened. I should let him—it’s not my story to tell.”

“Oh.” Jason was quiet for a moment. “A long five years,” he said, echoing Sonny’s words. “There’s a lot I don’t know.” She didn’t respond, and he cleared his throat. “You were saying about Nikolas?”

“He forced them out of ELQ and did a lot of terrible things to keep control of it. They got the company back, but—” Elizabeth said. “Nikolas is the one that told me Jake Doe was you, and he wanted me to keep the secret. I was—I can admit it now that he’s gone—he scared me. Now I know that Jake Doe wasn’t you—” She looked at him. “I have wonder if that was part of some plan. If Helena and Nikolas wanted the world to think he was you. I’d say it doesn’t matter because they’re both dead, but they’re Cassadines.  For them—” Elizabeth sighed. “Death is usually just the beginning.”

He started to respond, then stopped when his phone rang. “Yeah?”

Elizabeth lifted her brows when he hung up after a minute. “Jason?”

“It was Diane. The marker tests are in,” Jason told her, shoving his phone back in his pocket. “It’s—we’re twins.”

Elizabeth exhaled slowly. “I knew that was going to happen, but at the same time—and Oscar? Is he your nephew? Is—is your brother Drew Cain?”

“Yeah. Yeah, Oscar and Jake’s test came back with markers that match ours.” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “Diane said she’d already called Oscar’s stepmom, and Alexis was calling…Drew.”

“It’s nice to have a name for him,” Elizabeth admitted. “I just wish we had the fingerprints or advanced testing back. I want him to know and accept it, too.”

She started to open the door, but Jason stopped her, and she turned back to him. “What’s wrong?”

“Just—thank you. For believing me.”

“I’m just glad you’re home. Come on in, we’ll tell the boys.”

As the sun shines through it pushes away
And pushes ahead
It fills the warmth of blue
And leaves a chill instead and
I didn’t know that I could be
So blind to all that is real
But as illusion dies
I see there is so much to be revealed
– Twilight, Vanessa Carlton

---

December 2012

Crichton-Clark Labs: Patient Five’s Room

Andre hadn’t considered this part of the experiment—he was disappointed that he hadn’t foreseen this complication.

He had wanted to keep himself separate from these men—he’d given them numbers, he’d refused to learn their true names, and he hadn’t done anything but look at the hard data produced by the scanning.

But now, he was waiting for Patient Five to emerge from his induced coma, and when he opened his eyes, he would either remember being the Navy SEAL or the mob enforcer. He was hoping for the mob enforcer—that was the point of this entire debacle.

Patient Six was proving to be more of a challenge. Andre never would have selected him as a test subject with that damage to the frontal lobe. He’d been able to map the memories, but he was relatively convinced that transferred Five’s memories into his brother would be almost impossible.

“Good. I haven’t missed it.”

Andre glanced over to find the man in question entering the room. “Victor. I didn’t think—”

“Well, it’s our first real test of the new protocol, and I also—” the WSB director smiled, folding his arms. “I’m intrigued to see if you were able to implement the suggestions I asked for.”

“Yes—” Andre grimaced. “You wanted the scan to focus on certain people, to emphasize them in the transferred memories. There’s really no way to know that until we put him into the field—”

“Of course, of course. And this is the first step. We don’t want Ja—” When Andre whipped his head to look at Victor, the man smiled again. “Patient Five won’t be returning to the field just yet. I want to send them both at the same time, and Six can’t return quite yet.”

“I thought you wanted them to be returned as soon as possible—”

“I do, but I am not the only partner in this project,” Victor said. “Relax, Dr. Maddox—” He nodded at the man stretched out in the bed, watching as the monitors picked up an increasing heartbeat and brain waves, which indicated that he was waking up. “When Five wakes up, we’ll see who he thinks he is, and then we’ll put him back to sleep and reassess.”

Andre clenched his jaw. He’d been looking forward to having Five wake up as the mob enforcer and shipping him to Port Charles. He wanted to have some real, practical evidence—

The man’s eyes fluttered, and his head fell to the side. A moment later, he blinked and focused on Andre. “What—what’s going…” His voice was rusty and thick from lack of use over the last six months.

“Hello,” Andre said, his heart pounding. This was it. This was his moment. “You’ve had an accident. We need to know who you are so we can contact your family.”

“Fam…” Five closed his eyes, then opened again. “Family.”

“Yes, do you have a family? A wife? Children? Who can we call? What is your name?” Damn it. Would they need to let him stay awake for a few days to let him get oriented?

“No…children.” Five opened his eyes again. “Not anymore.”

Andre frowned. Why was that—he turned to Victor, who looked pleased. “I don’t know the answer to that,” he admitted.

“What’s your name?” Victor asked.

“Jason—” Five coughed. “Morgan. Jason Morgan.”

“And who should we contact about your accident? Your wife? A family member?”

“Elizabeth,” Five mumbled. “Webber.” He coughed. “I can’t—I can’t—everything keeps…”

“Don’t worry. We’ll take care of everything,” Victor said, soothingly. He nodded to Andre. “We have what we need.”

“Need—” Five frowned, looked at Andre, who had the syringe in his hand, preparing to insert it into the IV. “What—”

“I’ll get you back to your family,” Andre told him. “As soon as we can.”

“But—” Five’s eyes drifted close even as he scowled.

“Well done,” Victor murmured. “Our adjustments to his memory were successful.”

“What—what do you mean?”

“Jason Morgan,” Andre said slowly, nodding at Patient Five, “had a child whom he believes to be dead. Car accident, very tragic—”

“A child—that he believes—” Andre’s eyes widened. “Patient Three. I saw those records—it’s a five-year-old boy—”

“Yes, yes, Patient Three is his son. What’s very interesting is that on the eve of his extraction, he appeared to have reunited with his estranged wife and her child.”

Andre did not want to know about this—he really didn’t. “This Elizabeth?”

“No. Another woman. She’s not important. But Five here—his thoughts when you asked him about family went straight to his lost son and that boy’s mother.” Victor’s lips curved into a smile. “Precisely what we wanted.”

“I don’t want to know anymore. I can’t—” Oh, God—they’d taken Six, his brother, and his son—

How many people were tied up in this? What the hell had he gotten himself into?

“Now that we’re assured the experiment has been completed for Patient Five, it’s time to turn our attention to Six.”

Monday, October 30, 2017

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Sam blinked in surprise when she found her mother at the dining table when she returned that morning from dropping Danny off at school. “Mom, hey. Did I know you were coming over?”

“No, Jason asked me to come by,” Alexis said, drawing off her reading glasses. “We wanted to start, ah,” she glanced at him.

“In the unlikely event that these DNA tests we’re taking later today come back—” Jason paused, shook his head. “I just need to understand what could happen.”

Sam tilted her head to the side. “I don’t understand. We know how it’s going to come back—”

“I talked to Sonny yesterday,” Alexis said. “He met with, uh, your, well, the other guy,” she said finally, “on Saturday to talk over his story. And to talk about what’s been going on since you went off the pier in 2012.”

“So—”

“Well, whatever is happening, it’s clear that the Cassadines are involved,” Alexis interrupted. “Jason agrees with me.”

“Either they brainwashed this guy, or they screwed with my head—” Jason scrubbed his hands over his face. “Elizabeth agreed to test Jake.”

“Oh. Well, we thought she would, didn’t we?” Sam said. She sat across from her mother, next to Jason, and reached to squeeze his hand. “Thank you for understanding about Danny.”

“Elizabeth said that Jake does better in the hospital since he spends time with her there,” Alexis continued. “The plan is to test you and this…person,” she said. “By the end of the day, we’ll have enough markers to know whether or not the twin story is the truth.”

“I mean, we’re sure that’s probably the case, but I can’t understand how Victor Cassadine got his hands on Jason or his twin brother when no one knew he existed. No one other than, apparently, Heather Webber.”

“Betsy knew,” Jason said. “She had to.”

Sam grimaced. “Still.”

“The advanced testing we’re running on Jake might take a few days. We’re putting a rush on it,” Alexis continued.

“That’s much quicker than it used to be,” Sam said. “Do you remember when these things took weeks?”

“Technology has come a long way. And, of course, money helps.” Alexis scanned her notes. “There’s also someone else getting tested today. I’m assuming you haven’t talked to him.”

“No. Not since this happened.” Jason frowned. “Why?”

“The night of the relaunch, when your face was revealed—someone recognized your old face as belonging to their missing father,” Alexis told him. She reached into her portfolio and removed a folder. Pinned to the front was a photo of a man in a Navy dress uniform.

Jason stared at it, and Sam’s eyes widened. It was Jason—his old face. Exactly his face. “Oh my God—”

“Meet Chief Andrew Cain, a Navy SEAL out of San Diego. Disappeared in July 2012 from Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Married twice. Cara Sanders in 1998. She died in—” Alexis squinted at her notes. “2005. He remarried Kimberly Nero in 2011. One son—”

“Son—” Jason’s head snapped up. “Wait. Nero—”

“I know that name—” Sam started.

“Kim kept custody of Drew’s son. No family on either side. She changed his last name, and they moved to Port Charles about six months ago. Oscar Elliott Cain, born October 12, 2001. He just turned sixteen.”

“Oscar Nero—” Sam picked up the photo of Drew Cain. “My God, you really do have a twin out there,” she murmured. “If I didn’t know you’d never been in the army—”

“He’s being tested today?” Jason asked. “Like Jake—”

“Yes. What it will do is give added weight to the markers. By the end of the day, we expect the DNA to tell us that you and the man from Friday are related. We will also know if one of you is Andrew Cain. And Jordan seems to think she’ll have fingerprints from storage by Wednesday. GH thinks they might have the advanced test by then, as well..”

“What about the Navy?” Sam asked. “Wouldn’t they have Drew’s prints on file—”

“Jordan is also putting in the request. Diane and I are joining it. Either way, it looks like one of us represents Drew Cain.”

Jason’s mouth tightened. “Diane does—”

“I’m sorry. I’m trying—” Alexis sat back. “I’m trying to make this easier, but I don’t think anything ever will.” She raised her brows. “Did the name Drew Cain mean anything to you?”

Sam looked at her husband, and he looked down at the photo. When he said nothing, she leaned forward. “Jason.”

He blinked at the sound of her voice. “What?”

“The name. You’d never heard it before, had you?”

“Uh, no.” Jason took a deep breath. “No, I don’t think so.” He paused, then focused on Alexis, setting the Cain file aside. “So we’ll know by Wednesday. What did Elizabeth tell Jake about the test?”

“Oh. I don’t—” Alexis frowned. “The truth, I assume. I got the impression all three boys knew what was happening.”

“Does Jake know what side Elizabeth is taking?” Jason asked. “I’m assuming since she hasn’t called me, she hasn’t changed her mind about him.”

“Jason, I really—” Alexis cleared her throat. “Look, I think Elizabeth is probably doing the best she can with all of this. Jake is older than Danny, and he was with Cameron and his friends, so she never had a chance to keep it from him—”

“But she doesn’t have to make Jake more confused,” Sam retorted. “She could have just told him she doesn’t know—”

“But she thinks she does know,” Alexis said gently, “and I know she thought it would help Jake to be part of making the truth come out to everyone. I didn’t ask, Jason, but I’ve known Elizabeth a very long time. I imagine she would have made it clear that even if she believes this other man is his biological father, that the evidence isn’t clear yet.”

“Because Elizabeth is so well known for telling the truth,” Sam said, shoving away from the table. “I told you, Jason—”

“‘I’m not having this argument again,” he snapped at her. “I just—I don’t want Jake upset. I trust Elizabeth to handle that.”

“You—”

“At any rate, Jake and the other party are scheduled to go in at eleven,” Alexis said. “I think Elizabeth said she’s keeping the boys at home so that things don’t get worse today. She’s hoping it will die out tomorrow—”

“They’re getting tested at the same time?” Jason asked. He nodded. “Okay. Well, that answers my question—”

“Jason—”

“Just stop. What time am I going in?”

“Twelve. I thought it might be easier if we staggered it,” Alexis told him. “I can reach out to him if you want—”

“No. No.” Jason made a face. “When we know—when he gets the news—we’ll deal with it then. But I just—I’m not interested.”

“Okay. And Oscar will be tested at one. Marker results will be in around five,” Alexis said. “Brad Cooper is drawing the blood, but I asked Finn to watch over him and walk the case through personally.”

“Finn? Why?”

“Well, Diane and I felt that nearly every other long-term staff member has a connection or relationship to Elizabeth and that there was no bias with him. Finn might have been married to Hayden, but she and Elizabeth weren’t that close. Not that we think that’s an issue, but—”

Jason nodded. “Fine. I’ll be at the hospital at noon. For now, I’m going into the office.” He looked at Sam. “You coming? I’m starting interviews for the CFO.”

“Oh.” Sam frowned. “I haven’t found a nanny yet for Scout. We were going to do that this week—”

“Fine. I’ll see you at the hospital later.”

He left the penthouse, and while he didn’t slam the door, it almost felt like he had. Sam winced, then looked back at her mother.

“He’s handling it as well as I guess anyone would,” she said.

“At least we’ll have some answers today, and hopefully, by the end of the week, we’ll know more.” Alexis got to her feet. “The thing is, Sam—”

“Mom—”

“You and I both know how these tests are going to come out, and I haven’t even met the other man yet. I do know the Cassadines, and this sounds right up their alley. I just—make sure you’re making the right choices.”

Port Charles High: Hallway

Trina poked Joss’s shoulder. “Hey. Truce for five minutes.”

“Oh, good. It’s always easier when you ask for one.” Joss turned away from her locker, closing the door. “Cam, right? Something’s up.”

“He didn’t talk to you, either?” Trina wrinkled her nose. “Damn. I thought—” She chewed her bottom lip. She reached over to snag Oscar as he was heading down the hallway— “Hey, did you talk to Cameron this weekend?”

“Yeah, we played Call of Duty on Saturday. He had to watch his brothers while his mom went to deal with the Jason stuff.” Oscar frowned at them. “Why?”

“Did you go to his house? Were things okay?”

“Uh, no, we played on headsets with Spencer and Emma. I repeat,” he said, “Why?”

“Because I kept texting him all weekend, and he was like—things are fine, but really short, and I don’t know. I think something happened because Uncle Sonny has been all weird—” Joss wrinkled her nose. “I mean, more than usual.”

“And he’s barely texted me at all,” Trina said. “You think Jake is freaking out?”

“No, Jake was in the background on Saturday, he sounded okay. Maybe he’s just tired or something. Friday was a lot. He said none of them got a lot of sleep.” Oscar shrugged. “Cam’s cool, guys. He’d tell you.”

“Oh, he would absolutely not tell me, but he would tell Emma,” Joss muttered. She took out her phone, then sighed and looked at Trina. “She likes you better than me.”

“Uh, not by much. She and Cam only stopped dating because she moved to California, and when she found out I started dating him this summer, she blocked me on Insta for a week.”

“You are all insane,” Oscar declared. “And weirdly obsessed with Cameron. Lay off. If he wants to talk to you, he will.”

Joss narrowed her eyes but then sighed. “You’re probably right. I just hate knowing something is bugging him, and he won’t say anything because he’s got this superhero must be strong for the brothers thing going. You’ll get irritated by it very fast,” she told Trina. She turned back to Oscar. “Did his mom arrange your test? What did your stepmom say?”

“She’s, uh, doing that stoic military wife thing. Evidence supports it, blah, blah, tests will reveal, blah—” Oscar shook his head. “She’s mostly trying to hide how much this is all freaking her out. I mean, we moved to Port Charles to get away from San Diego and, like, memories of Dad.”

“Yeah, super weird she ended up here where your dad was, but lucky for you,” Trina said. “When’s the test?”

“Kim handled it with Cam’s mom. I’m going over to GH around one, Kim’s going to sign me out.” Oscar shrugged. “They said we’ll know about relationships today. Like, tonight. Whether or not they’re twins and if one of them is my dad.”

“Well, that’s good—”

“Yeah. I’m just trying not to think about it too much, I guess.” Oscar paused. “Look, not that I want to give you any reason to worry, but I did hear Aiden say something about Franco not coming home anymore. I think Cam’s mom broke up with him.”

“Oh. Well, maybe that’s what’s upsetting him,” Trina said. “I know he hated Franco, but maybe his mom argued with him in front of Cam and his brothers.”

“I’ll go to his house after school. He won’t be able to get away from me then,” Joss declared. “You guys in? We’ll ambush him.”

“What did I just say?” Oscar demanded as they started down the hall towards homeroom.

Webber Home: Living Room

Elizabeth stepped out of the kitchen. “Hey. We’re going to leave for the hospital in a little while,” she told the boys. “Cam, I was thinking. I know you can handle Aiden, but—”

“You left me alone with both of them on Saturday,” Cameron reminded her as he reached for his game controller. “And didn’t Mr. Corinthos say the guards were hanging out for a few days?”

“Yeah. I know.” She drew her bottom lip between her teeth, unsure how to explain her discomfort. It had been a few days, and she hadn’t heard a word from Franco.

Not that she’d wanted to—but she knew that a quiet Franco was probably not a good thing either. She didn’t want to think of him as biding his time, watching the house—

Cameron glanced over at her, squinting. “Mom?”

“I just…I’d feel better if we stayed together. Today. Tomorrow, I’ll find a way to deal with it.” She hesitated, then looked at Jake. “There’s something else. I asked Jason if he wanted to drive over to the hospital with us. And when I say Jason—”

“You mean the other guy with Dad’s old face,” Jake said. He studied her. “You think he’s my biological dad.”

“I—” Elizabeth knew that she shouldn’t confirm her own beliefs—that she should try to play neutral with Jake until she knew for sure—

But she did know. If she hadn’t known on Friday night, spending half the afternoon on Saturday going over what happened with Franco and the last five years—she felt it in her bones. She’d always known Jason. And the small part of her that had always had strange doubts and feelings about Jake Doe being Jason Morgan—

That voice had finally been silenced.

“Yes,” Elizabeth said finally. “I think he is your biological father. I’m sorry, Jake. I know this isn’t easy.”

Jake absorbed that, looked at Cameron for a moment, then refocused on his mother. “Do I have to call him Dad? Like today?”

“No,” Elizabeth said immediately. “And Jason would never demand it of you. I want you to be okay more than anything else. We’ll get the answers, we’ll make sure that your…that our old Jason is okay being Drew if that’s who he is.”

“Remember that makes Oscar your cousin,” Cameron said. “More family for you—”

“For all of us,” Jake said with an edge in his voice. “You’re my brother.”

Elizabeth frowned at the byplay between them—something going on there she didn’t quite understand, but before she could root it out, there was a knock on the door. She got to her feet. “I’ll be back.”

She pulled open the door, her heart skipping as she saw Jason—her Jason—standing there, Michael beside him. She didn’t know how long it would take to get used to seeing his face again.

“Hey.” Elizabeth folded her arms, bracing herself against the chilly morning. “Michael, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Uh, well—”

“Michael offered to hang out with Cam and Aiden while we went to the hospital.” Jason shifted.

“Yeah, I mean, things are quiet,” Michael said. “At least that’s what Dad says, and you know you’ve got the guard out here, but—” He met her eyes. “I’d feel better, you know?”

“Oh.” Elizabeth realized that some of her anxiety did ease. Michael was resourceful and could take care of himself and the boys. “Thanks. I was thinking of taking them to the hospital, but this works better. Um—” She pushed the door open. “Can I talk to Jason for a minute?” she asked Michael. “The boys are playing video games.”

“Sure.” Michael went inside and closed the door. Elizabeth turned to Jason, still trying to get used to the sight of his face—that particular face—and realizing now that the other man didn’t even really have his eyes. How had they ever accepted him?

“You’re not mad, are you?” Jason said hesitantly. “I should have called about Michael—”

“Jason,” she said, relishing his name on her lips. “You just came home and found out the serial killer you thought was dead is alive and was—” Elizabeth bit her lip. She glanced towards the house. “And Michael is close with the boys.” She hesitated because she didn’t think anyone would have mentioned AJ, which was how Michael had gotten to know Cam and Aiden in the first place. “I mean, everyone knows you’re Jake’s father, so Michael’s kind of—he’s been a cousin to them all.”

Jason looked past her into the small window next to the door where the boys were visible. “He’s really in there,” he murmured. “I saw him in the park, but I can’t—” He focused on Elizabeth. “He knows?”

“He knows,” she confirmed. “And I told him that I believe you’re Jason. But the thing is—”

“I didn’t raise him,” Jason finished with a tinge of regret. “He did.”

“He did. And Jake loves him. I don’t know how that’s going to end up,” Elizabeth said slowly, “and I don’t know if we’ll ever really know what’s going on, but if he’s not—if it turns out he was a victim like you—”

“I’m not here to make Jake’s life harder. I just—” Jason rubbed his chest, his hand closing into a fist. “I never should have given him up. And I just don’t want to miss this chance. If you’ll—”

“I never should have asked you to let him go in the first place,” Elizabeth said, with a shake of her head. “You might have given him up, but I got the ball rolling with my lies. We’re both getting a second chance with him. Come on in and meet your son.”

General Hospital: Andre’s Office

“You listened about staying quiet and out of it. Good.”

Andre flinched, looking up to find the Cassadine at his door. Valentin closed it, then took a seat. “They’re doing a DNA test today.”

“A DNA test,” Andre repeated. “That won’t tell them much. Jason knew there was the possibility of a twin out there, ever since Heather told that lie about Franco—”

“They’re bringing in Patient Three,” Valentin said coolly. “For advanced testing. And another kid, I’m told, but I don’t know who. Maybe one of Samantha’s little urchins—”

“We don’t want that,” Andre said, with a shake of his head. “This gets worse if they’re tested—we need to know who else is being tested—”

“I’ll find out,” Valentin said, but he didn’t seem that concerned. “But I need you to get back in the game. Patient Three,” he repeated. “My mother played with his mind—”

“And you nearly killed everyone,” Andre said. “He’s just a little boy—Helena is dead. Why did you even bother to finish her plan?” He’d been furious when he’d realized what had almost happened—he’d thought Jake was safe—he hadn’t dreamed Chimera could still be triggered. Once Helena was dead—

“It was never about finishing her plan.” Valentin got to his feet. “I needed this town to trust me. Playing the hero, rescuing everyone from the big bad Chimera—that made everyone give me a second look. I don’t care about my mother’s grudge against Elizabeth Webber. Helena is dead. And so is everyone else that ever gave a damn about her revenge. All I want is what I was promised.”

“You have that—”

“Not enough. Not all of it. You never found the last one,” Valentin said. “The only other person who can get in my way.”

“I thought Klein was taking care of that—”

“He’s trying to, but it occurs to me that if Mother played with little Jake Webber’s mind to give him the command to kill his entire family, including those insufferable brothers—she might have planted other secrets.”

Andre shook his head. “My part of this is done. You promised me if I came to town, if I put Jason Morgan’s memories into Drew Cain again, I could be finished, but there’s always one more thing—”

“You’re finished when I say you are. I need Patient Three’s secrets,” Valentin hissed. He put his hands on the desk, leaning over. “And you’re going to get them for me.”

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

Elizabeth glanced up from the paperwork for Jake’s test and looked over at Jake and Jason, patiently sitting in the waiting area. Jake had his iPad out and was showing his father something.  Their meeting at the house had been fine, mostly because Jake always felt more confident when he was with his brothers, and Jason wasn’t going to push.

Maybe she shouldn’t have left them alone, but the only way Jake was going to get comfortable with Jason was if Elizabeth did the pushing.

It was the least she could do after being the reason Jason and Jake had never had a relationship to begin with.

She didn’t really understand how she could accept this man as Jason so quickly when she’d torn herself apart trying to make Jake Doe stay with her, but she also couldn’t argue with the way that she felt.

Everything in her life had changed over the last few days, and Elizabeth didn’t really know what to do about it other than put one foot in front of the other and keep her head above the water.

“So—”

She blinked at the new voice and turned to find Felix standing there, his brows raised. “How’s it going?”

“Uh—” Elizabeth pursed her lips. “Interesting,” she said finally.

“I can see that,” Felix said, nodding towards the waiting area. “Jake doing okay with this?”

“He’s trying to be,” Elizabeth said. “You know, Jake looks to Cameron to set the tone, and Cam is doing his usual ‘everything is under control, I’ve got this’ routine.” She paused. “I’m worried about both of them.”

“We’ll keep our eyes on them,” Felix promised. They both looked at the waiting area. “And it looks like we won’t be the only ones.”

Waiting Area

Jason couldn’t stop looking at him. Even as Jake bowed his head and did something with the tablet he was holding, Jason kept staring at him, looking at the strands of his blonde hair and the length of his fingers—his legs—he was so much taller now.

Joss had told him that Sam’s son, Danny, was his biological son. Jason was still letting that roll around in his head, wondering how different things might have been if that had been known—if they’d never believed him to be Franco’s son—then rejecting the thought because there was no point in thinking about that right now.

He didn’t even know if Sam was going to let him near Danny—she’d looked angry, almost hostile that night at the PCPD. Even when she had proof of who Jason was, would she leave the other man? She’d looked at him in the commissioner’s office, then turned away.

Jason put that away, too. He could only think about the things that he could control, and right now — he was sitting next to Jake, the little boy he’d buried and grieved. And he wanted to know everything.

“Can I ask you something?” Jake raised his head, met Jason’s eyes. “Mom says—Mom says you’re my dad. By blood. You’re the one that—she said you were there when I was born. You saved her life because she got sick. We both almost died.”

“Yeah.” Jason exhaled slowly. He’d been terrified that day, watching Elizabeth bleed, hearing those alarms, watching her eyes close, wondering if they’d ever open again— “I am. I know that might be hard—”

“But the other guy—” Jake took a deep breath. “He doesn’t have your face, but he says he’s you. And everyone else said he was you. He says he remembers that day, too.”

“I know.”

“Is he lying?” Jake said. He stared down at the tablet again.

“I—” Jason thought back to that night at the PCPD and the angry eyes of the other man—not just angry. But terrified. “I don’t think so,” he said before. “I thought he was, but then I met him. I think he’s confused. I think someone lied to him.”

“Maybe someone played with his head?” Jake asked. “Because Helena Cassadine did that to me.” He rubbed a spot on his arm. “She almost made me hurt a lot of people,” he said in a low voice. “My mom, my brothers. I’d never hurt them.”

“Jake—” His stomach twisted, remembering the story of the Chimera that Elizabeth had related the other day, and the memory ate at Jason like acid. He’d wanted Jake to be safe, to be happy. He’d walked away to make it happen. Instead, Jake’s life had been filled with trauma and violence.

Jason never should have walked away. He should have been at his side to protect him.

“She could definitely make someone believe they’re someone else so much they have memories of it.” Jake said this as a statement, and Jason sighed, because as wild as it sounded—he’d been around the Cassadines long enough not to doubt anything. Not after what he’d seen Lucky Spencer put Elizabeth through nearly twenty years ago.

“Probably.”

“Could it be you?” Jake asked. “Could she be lying to you?”

“I—” Jason paused. “I don’t think so,” he said carefully. “But that’s why we’re having these tests. Why we’re asking you and your brother’s friend. If one of us is Drew Cain, we need to know. And this will tell us.”

“I think Mom’s right,” Jake said. He looked at his mother, deep in conversation with a man behind the desk Jason didn’t know. “She made a mistake with Franco, but he was really good at pretending. He was really nice to me a while ago. I was—things weren’t okay, and I was mad and angry, and I went to art therapy, and he was nice to me. He helped me.”

Jason didn’t know what to say to that, but then Jake continued. “And Mom was really sad back then. Dad was so mad at her—everyone was really mad at her and yelling at her all the time, and Sam was mean, too. She was mad at me because I wanted them back together, and she was always following me—”

Jason frowned at that. “Jake—”

“And Franco was nice. For a long time,” Jake added. “But not Friday.” He raised his head again. “He pushed Cameron. He was gonna hurt him. He never ever did that before. Mom had to make him leave. How can someone be so nice for so long but just be a big fat liar?”

“I don’t know,” Jason said after a minute. “I’m sorry that happened to you. And to Cameron.” He paused. “Jake—”

“Anyway, Mom was wrong about him, but he was a good liar. I don’t think she’s wrong about you. Mom didn’t know Jake Doe was supposed to be you until Uncle Nikolas told her, and she was around him all the time. But you just came home, and she knows.” Jake paused. “If the other guy, my other dad, if he’s just someone else Helena hurt, is it okay if I still want him around?”

“I don’t want you to lose anyone that matters to you,” Jason said. “I just want to get to know you. I thought—” He had to take a breath, to gather himself. “I thought you were gone, Jake. I’m still not sure I can believe you’re here.”

“Mom says that, too,” Jake said. “She grabs me and hugs me a lot. I’m lucky,” he said as Elizabeth finished at the nurse’s station and started over. “Lots of people don’t have moms that would shoot people for them. I think Mom would have done it.”

“Your mom would do anything for you,” Jason said as Elizabeth joined them. “Everything ready?” he asked her.

“Yep. Time for the needle.”

Jake winced. “Man, I hate needles. You better not forget you owe me ice cream when this is done.”

General Hospital: Lobby

The minute Carly had learned Jason was going to GH for DNA tests and that he’d gone to Elizabeth’s house with Michael, she’d decided that she was going to the hospital, too.

And as soon as Sonny learned she was heading downtown, he’d invited himself along because he was worried she’d do or say something that would upset Elizabeth or Jason.

Carly had gritted her teeth when he’d said that, determined not to let his crap get to her today. She’d already let her temper talk her out of going to the meeting on Saturday, and she was damned if she was going to be pushed out of this.

Someone had hurt Jason and stolen him for five years, and Carly was going to make them pay. They were already late for appointment, and she was worried they had missed him. She needed to be part of helping Jason get his life back. After everything he’d done for her, he deserved her help.

“Why did Jason have to go to her house? He could have asked us,” Carly muttered as she and Sonny walked towards the elevators. “He could have seen Jake at the hospital.”

“Carly—”

“Because you know Elizabeth is going to use this to get back into Jason’s life—” She already was, from the looks of it. Elizabeth had seen Jason more than she had, goddamn it—

“She doesn’t need to use anything,” Sonny said impatiently. “She’s the mother of his child—she’s got an open door—”

“Well, I need to make sure she knows she can’t just use it whenever she wants,” Carly began. “Even if she finally did see the light and get rid of Franco—”

“Sometimes you really give me a headache,” he muttered. Carly’s nostrils flared as the elevator doors opened and a couple walked out. They both stopped in their tracks as Jason—Carly stopped herself—as Sam and her husband walked out.

The man lifted his chin. “What are you doing here?” he demanded.

“Listen, it doesn’t have to be like this,” Carly said, feeling a twinge of regret. She’d been so unfair to him, and she felt even worse about their last meeting now that she knew he wasn’t Jason. “We were friends before you thought you were Jason—”

“I am Jason—”

“You’re not,” Carly said so calmly and softly that she almost didn’t recognize her voice. “And I’m sorry for not pretending until the results were clear. Maybe this would be easier if we all made believe that we didn’t know.” She looked at Sam, who dropped her eyes to the floor. “If we all just put off taking a side until the tests came back—”

“Damn it—”

“But I looked at you for months before the truth came out,” Carly said, “and you were never Jason. You and Sam hated each other. You and Sonny hated each other. You barely connected with anything that made Jason who he was. Until we shoved the name on you. We were so desperate to have him back that we ignored all the signs.”

“I got the memories—”

“I don’t know how it’s possible,” Sonny said to him. “I get that you’re scared. Because if you’re not Jason Morgan, then who are you? And what happened? But I can’t lie and tell you that I didn’t know the truth the minute I saw Jason, too.”

The other man flinched then looked at Sam. “Well?” he demanded, and her head snapped up. “Do you agree with them?”

“Of course not,” Sam said, and Sonny had to hand it to her—those con skills were coming in handy because she said it so genuinely that it almost felt real. “I know who you are. And the tests will prove it.”

Satisfied, he nodded at her, then looked back at Sonny and Carly. “I made the right choice to get away from you,” he said shortly, and then they walked away.

“I don’t blame him,” Carly admitted. “This is gonna hurt when it all comes out.”

“Diane said that Alexis was going to tell him about the Drew Cain thing, so at least he’ll know who he is when this is all over.”

General Hospital: Andre’s Office

Andre was shoving things into his bag when Franco stalked in, slamming the door. “You need to help me figure out how to fix this,” the artist said, throwing himself into the chair. “I did something dumb on Friday, and Elizabeth is never—” He stopped, then stared at Andre. “You going somewhere?”

Andre stared at him for a long moment, then came to a decision. He needed to tell someone—needed to soothe his conscience a little bit, and if he told Elizabeth himself, she’d rip him to shreds.

Literally.

“You need to keep an eye on Jake.”

Franco frowned. “What? Why? What’s going on?”

“I was working for Helena Cassadine,” Andre said. He went to his computer, started to tap some keys. “Don’t ask. I can’t get into it right now. After she died, Valentin took over—”

“Valentin—”

“And now that Jason Morgan is back, his whole plan is blowing up in his face. By the way—it was Jason Morgan who tried to kill you. He’s the real deal.”

Franco hissed. “Damn it—and Elizabeth is already mixed up with him. She believed him the minute she saw him—I knew she was just desperate, waiting for a chance—” He narrowed his eyes. “What does Jake have to do with it? Were you the one—”

“Yes,” Andre snapped impatiently. He turned to grab some papers from his printer. “Yes, I’m the one to blame. I did it all. I put Chimera in Jake’s head. I stole Jason’s memories and put them into his twin brother. I did it all. But I’m done. They promised me I was out of it. I’m not going near Jake again.”

Not now that he knew the little boy, knew his mother, his family—

“Here. Give these to Elizabeth. This will clear up a lot of the information, and it will help her find the rest. Warn her—” Andre picked up his bag. “You want to make sure Elizabeth stays with you? Keep protecting Jake.”

“But—”

Then Andre left, heading for the service stairs.

Franco followed him out, his mind whirling as he sifted through the paperwork. Could he use this to prove to Elizabeth he’d just made a mistake? She’d tried to shoot him, so maybe they could call it even or something.

He could even manage a half-sincere apology about Cameron because he shouldn’t have shoved the little shit—he was usually better at keeping his temper around her annoying little brats. They should have sent the older one to military school, he thought sourly.

He stopped as he came into view of the nurse’s station and saw Elizabeth standing at the counter, smiling at someone. He loved her so much. She was the only person that really understood him—really accepted all his dark spaces—if he could hold on to her, he’d never have to go back to his old life—he was only whole when he was with her—

Franco squared his shoulders, prepared to beg and grovel to get her back, even pretend to love her kids a little bit more, even if Jake was the only one who didn’t annoy him on a daily basis. Just as he started to walk forward, Jason came into view, Jake at his side. Franco narrowed his eyes at the way Jason put a hand on Jake’s shoulder. Then Jason smiled, said something to Elizabeth—who smiled back at him.

Franco looked down at the paperwork in his hands, saw the trash can, and then ripped it all into tiny little shreds, tossing it away.

Let Elizabeth take care of her little monsters on her own. If she survived whatever Valentin Cassadine had planned, Franco might help her clean up the pieces—or pay for betraying and lying to him.

Through no light the darkness seems to be
So very strong
How does one alone against the world
Find the strength to carry on?
What happened to the way we used to love
It seemed as though life had just begun
But now that love has come and gone to fade away
Like the setting sun
‘Cause you won’t let me in
– Let Me In, Save Ferris

---

July 2012

Camp Leatherneck, Helmand Province, Afghanistan

He was practically bathing in his own sweat, and there was no escape from the searing heat most of the time. This time of the year, the temperatures soared above a hundred degrees during the day, and rarely dipped below eighty even at night, and the air was so dry that he almost choked on his own spit several times a day.

He hated this fucking tour, and when he went home in December, he was determined to pull rank. This was his last sojourn to the fucking desert.

Drew Cain wiped his forehead as he stepped outside of his quarters into the slightly cooler air of the desert night—by maybe five degrees but there were some nights when he needed that.

He believed in his job most of the time—believed in his country, but ten years of fighting the fight here in Afghanistan—he was starting to wonder just who the good guys were. They should have been done with the day his team finished the job on Bin Laden. That had been a hell of an operation, and Drew was proud he’d been part of the team that had taken down the mastermind behind 9/11.

Cara had given birth to Oscar a month after the Towers fell and the plane had crashed into the Pentagon, and they’d both wanted to make a better world for their son. He’d be ten in October. Another birthday Drew would miss stuck in this godforsaken hellhole.

Cara had been gone for years, but he had Kim now. He wanted more kids. He was still young enough. He was going to retire, go home, finish raising Oscar—

After this tour, things were gonna—

There was click or a snick—just a sound that didn’t sound right. Drew scowled and turned towards the sound, squinting—the lights of his quarters didn’t reach that far. “Who the hell is there—” he began. Another sound—this from the other side—

He spun around, and then something exploded behind him—the lights flashed in front of his eyes—

And then he didn’t know anything at all.

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Webber Home: Living Room

“I think you’re just a sore loser.”

Cameron scowled into the mic on his headset. “Don’t start with me, asshole. You’re just mad because you can’t buy yourself any talent.”

“Oh, hey, that’s harsh,” Oscar pointed out as the third person on their team just sputtered in outrage. “Didn’t that evil guy steal his money?”

“He merely appropriated it for a moment,” Spencer Cassadine sniffed—Cameron could just imagine the little prince in his London boarding school, acting all high and mighty. Whatever. Cameron could kick anyone’s ass in Call of Duty.

“You’ll get it back,” Emma said, always nice to the underdog, and Spencer certainly was that. Valentin had gotten away with not only murdering Spencer’s father but stealing his inheritance. Since then, Emma had stopped treating him like the annoying pissant that he so clearly was and started being nice to him.

She’d always been a pushover.

“Look, just watch me dance in glory as I finish kicking your ass—”

“CAMERON!”

Cam blinked at his brother’s voice, then turned to look at the door where he saw that Jake was standing with it open, Michael at his doorstep. “Oh. Hey. I didn’t—wait—” He turned back to the headset. “Hey, Oscar, finish kicking Em and Spencer’s ass for me. I gotta go.”

“No problem.”

Cam signed off, exited the game, and took off his headset. “Sorry, sometimes when Spencer and I get going—”

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Michael stepped inside, and closed the door. “Your mom already head over to the house?”

“Yeah. She went early to talk to Jason about—” He paused. “To talk about last night.” He looked at his brothers. “Uh, did you need her or—”

“No, I wanted to check on you. All of you. You know, since we belong to the very exclusive club of Sons of Moms who Dated Franco,” Michael said, wryly. He took off his jacket and sat down in the armchair.

Uncomfortable, Cam went over to sit on the sofa, and Aiden climbed up next to him. Jake sat on the arm of the sofa. “We’re fine.”

“You know, it was hard for me when my mom brought Franco home. Harder maybe because it was five seconds after he’d had the tumor taken out. We had zero evidence for his change in personality, and she was ready to give him the benefit of the doubt,” Michael continued. He paused. “Plus, I guess it was hard for me because of my history with Franco.”

Cameron slid a look over at his brothers. “Guys, can you head upstairs for a while? I’ll fill you in later.”

“You’re fifteen,” Jake said, narrowing his eyes. “You don’t get to cut me out of adult stuff. I’m ten. I’ll be eleven, and that’s basically a grown up.”

“Not even close. You’re not even allowed to have a YouTube account until you’re thirteen. Upstairs, okay?”

“Fine,” Jake muttered. “But I’m taking the Switch, and Aiden and I are gonna play Zelda, so suck it.”

“Yeah, yeah, just start a new save game.” Cameron waited for them to go upstairs—listened for the door to close, before looking at Michael. “I’m sorry. I just—I’m not sure Aiden even knows Franco kidnapped him.”

“No, I should have thought about that. I’m sorry. I just—I wanted to help.”

“No, I’m fine.” Cameron paused. “I didn’t—I didn’t know you had a history with Franco. I mean, other than that—do you mean the wedding? When—”

“When he played that video revealing what Sonny had done to my dad? No, that’s—” Michael scratched his cheek. “You know I was in prison a while ago. You were young—like nine or ten so maybe—”

“Jason went to protect you,” Cameron said. “I remember because Mom was really worried about it.”

“Yeah, well he didn’t get there fast enough.” Michael waited a minute, gathered himself. “Before he got there, another inmate—he, ah, well—” He closed his eyes. “You think this is supposed to get easier—”

“Michael, I appreciate—”

“No, I can—it’s hard to say it out loud, but it’s important that I do. Another inmate raped me,” Michael said finally. “And he did it on Franco’s orders.”

Cameron stared at the older man for a long time, then swallowed hard. “He…on Franco—”

“Later, when Franco came to town with those DVDs, he made it seem like he’d asked this guy to look out for me but that it hadn’t gone the way he wanted. I don’t know. I never bought it.”

“But—your mom—she almost married him. I thought—I thought my mom, after Aiden, but—”

“I know. I try to see it from her point of view and everything because Mom always does insane things. You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff she’s pulled. But this one—it hurt,” he admitted. “And it was hard for me to see past it. Sometimes I don’t know if I have. I also know a little bit about being the oldest kid.” He met Cameron’s eyes. “Feeling like there’s no room for you to have your own problems because someone else needs you.”

His throat tight, Cameron looked down at his hands. “I’m okay,” he repeated. “Mom took care of it.”

“I know. Because as much as our mothers annoy the crap out of each other, they’ll fight to death for their kids. That matters. Some kids aren’t that lucky. I know my mother loves me, and I know how much Elizabeth loves you guys. But at the same time, Cameron—”

Cameron looked up when Michael didn’t continue. “What?”

“It’s okay to be angry with her.”

“I’m not—”

“You don’t even have to tell her,” Michael said. “Maybe it’s better if you don’t. I don’t know. But if you ever want to say it out loud to someone who won’t say anything, I’m here.”

“Did you tell Joss about last night?”

“Do you see her on the front porch or clinging to my back bumper?” Michael said dryly. “No. I assume that if you want Joss to know, you’ll tell her. Now, it might get back to her, but it might not. I know Sonny wanted your mom to tell Jason, but it goes without saying he’s not telling anyone.”

“I don’t—I don’t think I want Joss to know. At least not yet,” Cameron admitted. “Because maybe I am angry,” he said quietly. “Just a little.”

Michael was quiet as Cameron sorted through his thoughts and how something unclenched in his stomach to say it out loud. “Does my mom know what happened to you?”

“Yeah. I know Jason told her. And so did my mom.”

“And what happened to Lulu and Maxie and Sam and Aiden—” Cameron took a deep breath. “And to your mom—to everyone he ever hurt. She brought him home to my brothers. I can take care of myself, but Jake and Aiden—”

“You matter, too, Cam. Elizabeth brought him home to you the same way Mom brought him home to us.”

“I guess. I know Mom was going through a lot. I know she wanted to be happy. He was nice to her at first,” Cameron said. “And I didn’t mind him at first. I didn’t know.”

“But at some point, he stopped being nice, but she didn’t notice it,” Michael said. “And he started being mean and controlling, but he made it sound like he was doing her a favor by even sticking around. Yeah, I know. I watched it happen to my mother. And I couldn’t fix it. I couldn’t protect her.”

“My mom made him go. She didn’t even blink.” Cameron’s stomach relaxed even more. “She grabbed that baseball bat, and she would have bashed his head in. She would have killed him last night. She took my side. The first time I needed her to.”

“I’m glad.” Michael got to his feet. “I need to head over to the meeting, but I mean it, Cam. You’re my cousin, too—”

“No—”

“Don’t pull the same bullshit you try with Laura or Grandma Monica,” Michael said. “They might let you get away with it, but I won’t. I’m not talking about you being Jake and Aiden’s brother. I’m talking about you being Elizabeth’s son, and Emily loving you like a nephew. She was my aunt, too, Cam. I remember that, even if you don’t.”

“I do—” Cameron paused. “I remember her.”

“She would have wanted you to have someone looking out for you. And like I said, no one understands taking care of insane relatives like I do. Just be glad you don’t have a Carly,” he pointed out as he put his coat on.

“No, but we both have a Joss,” Cameron said with a half a grin as he followed Michael to the door. “Hey, Michael—”

“Yeah?”

“Are you—I mean, are you still angry with your mom?” Cameron. “That—it goes away, right?”

Michael pressed his lips together as he considered the question. “I’ll let you know.”

Baldwin House: Living Room

Scott Baldwin stood at the foot of the sofa and scowled at his eldest child, the bane of his existence ninety percent of the time, as the idiot—stretched out on the sofa—was watching something stupid on the television.

“You gonna tell me what dumbass thing you said to Elizabeth to get her to kick you out? I mean, she’s got all this crap going on, and you probably picked a stupid fight—”

Franco turned his head slightly to glower at him. “It wasn’t dumb, and if she’d stopped to listen to me for a second, she’d understand how it happened. But she’s probably making sure the new Jason knows she’s single.”

Scott furrowed his brow. “Don’t talk about her that way. She’s stood by you through worse, you moron, and she deserves respect. There aren’t a lot of women who’d let you move in with her kids—”

“You’d be surprised.” Franco sat up. “Carly did. And Nina wanted to actually have a kid with me—”

“Yeah, and how did that work out for you?” Scott demanded. “You’re laying on my damn couch feeling sorry for yourself.” He picked up Franco’s feet and dropped them on the floor. “So what is this crap about Jason Morgan having a twin?”

“Why does everyone want to talk about Jason Morgan?” Franco muttered. He shoved himself to his feet and stalked over to the window. “There are two of them. Probably twins. Heather’s story wasn’t a lie, she was just playing around about who the twin was.”

Scott squinted. “You know, I never understood that whole twin thing. There’s no way Susan wouldn’t have used that. She got a trust fund for Jason, and would have jumped at the chance to get double the money.” And he’d have drained them both, he thought with a wisp of shame. Well, that was water under the bridge.

“Hmm, I always forget you were Jason’s stepfather for a hot minute.” Franco folded his arms. “What was that like?”

“Fine. He was a quiet kid.” Scott scratched the back of his neck. “Thank God Alan wanted him, I didn’t know what the hell would have happened if I’d been stuck with him. I barely understood how to raise Serena, and that took another decade.”

“Touching.” Franco paused. “You didn’t know there was another kid?”

“No. And Susan sure as hell didn’t. Heather must have gotten something in her head, maybe trying to make her own play for it. Not that she’d tell us. Even if she could remember, crazy bitch,” Scott muttered. He cleared his throat. “Look, about Elizabeth, just apologize, make it clear you were wrong—”

“I wasn’t wrong,” Franco retorted. “Thanks for taking my side, Pops!”

“Well, why don’t you tell me what the hell happened? Because it’s usually your fault. Plus, we’re men. When the women we love are mad, we just apologize and move on. It’s easier.”

“Uh huh.” Franco nodded. “How many times have you been married?”

“Don’t start—”

“No, no, I love taking advice from someone who’s been married nearly as many times as Elizabeth Taylor.”

“Ah, forget it,” Scott muttered. “Elizabeth Webber is the best thing that’s ever happened to you, and if you’re gonna let something stupid get between you, maybe you deserve what you get.”

“Don’t worry, Pop.” Franco put his hands in his pockets, then rocked back on his heels. “I know Elizabeth. This Jason thing—it’s a cycle. She chases him, he lets her catch him, then he dumps her, and this time, I’ll be there.”

Scott made a face. “Uh, so you’re not going to apologize?”

“She needs a few days to cool down,” Franco said. “I’ll apologize, then I’ll let her go do this crap with Morgan one more time.  No one knows Elizabeth like I do. I’ll be there when it falls apart.”

There was something about the way Franco said those words that made Scott very uncomfortable, but he wasn’t willing to think about that too much. So he put it away and went back to the kitchen.

Safe House: Living Room

Jason frowned when Sonny came through the door, followed by Michael a few minutes later. He looked past them, to the street, then turned back to them. “Where’s Carly? I didn’t—”

“You did tell her to come, didn’t you?” Michael asked his dad as he took off his coat and hung up by the door.

“I did, but, uh,” Sonny scratched the side of his nose. “It was this morning after we had that thing in the kitchen,” he told Jason. “You were irritated with her, and she was already irritated by Elizabeth—” gesturing at the woman sitting at the table by the windows, a stack of albums at her side. Elizabeth frowned.

“What did I do?”

“Knowing Mom, you breathed,” Michael muttered.

“And I might have mentioned about not wanting her here. I thought if I told her you wanted her here,” Sonny told Elizabeth, “she’d be nicer to you—”

“Oh, well, that was stupid.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “How many years have you known Carly and you still don’t know how to deal with her?”

“It’s fine. I’ll figure it out later. She’s just mad because of the Ava thing,” Sonny said to Jason. “And I know you don’t want to hear about it—”

“What Ava thing?” Michael asked with a scowl. “How did she get her nose into this?”

Jason looked from Sonny to Michael, then back to Sonny. “What’s the problem with Ava?”

“How much time do you have?” Michael demanded. “She can’t be trusted. Don’t give her an inch, Jase. I mean it.”

Elizabeth frowned. “Why are we talking about Ava at all? You never knew her, Jason. She moved to town the year after you disappeared.”

“In Russia,” Jason said, taking a seat back the table. He waited until Michael and Sonny joined him. “When I woke up in the clinic, it was a few months before I was strong enough to move. And even when I could, I didn’t want the doctors to know it. I wanted them to think I was still not all the way there. They kept a mask on me so I couldn’t talk to anyone, and they’d—” He paused, looking down his wrists, expecting to see the ties there. “They tied me down to the bed, or later, to the wheelchair.”

“The clinic,” Elizabeth said. “Griffin said that Ava had gone to Russia—” Her eyes widened. “Oh, my God, you’re the man he helped. He said he gave a man money in a church—”

“You know him?” Jason asked. “I want to thank him. He—and the priest—stuck their neck out for me back there. So did Ava. She distracted Klein and the other doctors so that I could escape.”

“Griffin said there was something hinky about the clinic,” Elizabeth said. She looked at Sonny.  “Ava can’t be trusted, Griffin can. He had to break Ava out of there. They were going to keep her locked up. She was terrified, Griffin said, but neither of them knew anything about the guy she’d helped get out. Only that he had some sort of connection to Port Charles. And to Sonny. Because you gave her a number to call,” she told Jason, “and she recognized it as Sonny’s.”

“So she didn’t know who you were,” Sonny said, “but she knew you were connected to me. I told you.”

“She still risked her life,” Michael said. “She didn’t have to do that. She could have called you, Dad. I’m not saying we give Ava any credit, but we should also just acknowledge it.” He looked at Jason. “You said between the time you went off the pier and the time you woke up in the clinic, you don’t remember anything.”

“Nothing,” Jason said with a shake of his head. “The only reason I think it was April is the calendar in my room. They changed it when it got to May.”

“So maybe this is the part where we tell you what happened after you disappeared,” Sonny said. “At least the highlights. We’ll fill in the details as needed.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “So first, Bernie’s body was found on the docks. They found blood smears on the docks, so we knew you’d gone in the water.”

He could remember that sinking feeling as the water had surrounded him, the water dragging him down—

“Spinelli searched for days,” Elizabeth murmured. “Long after PCPD and the Coast Guard gave up. He couldn’t stand the thought of you—” She took a deep breath. “But I think it was in December when the PCPD closed the case officially. We knew by then that the man who was posing as Duke Lavery was actually Cesar Faison.”

“Why the hell—” Jason frowned. “Duke coming after the territory made some sense,” he admitted. “He was connected to the Jeromes, and in the mob. We knew that. But if it was Faison—”

“I don’t know. We never did figure that part out,” Sonny admitted. “Faison disappeared, and we just—I think we just let it go.”

“A year later—” Michael paused. “We found out that Robin was alive. Dad told you about that?”

“He said it was connected, but—”

“I’m not sure how,” Sonny said. He looked to Elizabeth. “Maybe you know more?”

“Faison faked her death to get to Anna—that’s why he posed as Duke,” she explained. “Robin said he quizzed her about Duke’s life, but she fed him some false info to trip him up. She was held somewhere in Europe.” She met Jason’s eyes. “Ewen helped arrange that. He was working with Jerry Jacks and, later, it turned out Faison and Obrecht. She’s a crazy doctor who was obsessed with Faison,” she added.

“Ewen was involved in Robin’s kidnapping?” Jason grimaced. “I should have shot him more.”

“Agreed. Faison was caught at that point, and we thought he was in a WSB prison, and Robin was home. It seemed like that was over.” Elizabeth paused. “Then Victor Cassadine showed up. According to Anna and Robert, he’d been the director of research at the WSB for a while and he got promoted to run the agency.”

“I don’t remember a Victor Cassadine—”

“There were three Cassadines brothers,” Elizabeth told Jason. “Mikkos, Anthony, and Victor. Anthony—or I think Luke said he was mostly Tony—he was kind of a playboy. You know, the kind that travels on yachts and uses his money to enjoy life. He was a jewel thief, and arranged to steal the Ice Princess for Mikkos. He was engaged to Alexandra Quartermaine right around the time you were born, I think.” She bit her lip. “It’s been a while since I—Luke and Laura gave me the crash course back during Endgame.”

“Endgame—” Jason frowned. “What—” He saw Michael looking equally mystified.

“That’s right. Helena had a cute name for that whole trying to kill everyone and raise the dead thing,” Sonny said. “I hate the Cassadines.”

“Same,” Elizabeth agreed with a sigh. “Anyway. Tony and Alexandra ended up being frozen to death in the same machine that killed Mikkos. I think Nikolas said Victor went to prison for a while, but the WSB got him out. He might have been DVX for a while, but a lot of those agents—they ended up with WSB because of their skill set.”

Michael shook his head. “What—” He put up his hands. “DVX?”

“Port Charles was crazy in the eighties,” Elizabeth said with half a smile. “I remember visiting during the summers when I was a kid and listening to everyone talking about it. Later when I was dating Lucky, it was kind of fascinating, so I was always asking Luke questions. He never thought I was too young.”

“Victor Cassadine was in charge of WSB. What does he have to do with Robin?”

“He wanted her to bring Stavros and Helena back from the dead,” Elizabeth told Jason, getting the conversation back on track. “Robin was about tell him to fuck all the way off, except—well, he had a card to play. He said he had you. Robin could bring you home but she had to help him.”

Jason sat back. “When was this?”

“February 2014. Robin left, but we didn’t know why. We thought she’d left and gone to Africa. It was awful for a while, and she and Patrick got divorced. Victor got her to the lab and refused to let her leave. Then it was Helena was holding her hostage. The man she woke up—they escaped from the lab later that year. August, I think. Or September. Robin said it was you. Your face, your voice. Your memories,” Elizabeth told him. “Robin was convinced. They separated when they got to Port Charles, but Helena grabbed her before she could get to her mother.”

“And the other guy was coming to me,” Sonny continued. “Only he got hit by Jordan Ashford, and got his face smashed in.”

“He was brought to the ER the night I was on duty, and it was—” Elizabeth pressed her lips together. “It was the strangest thing. It was like he knew me. Like I knew him. When he woke up from facial construction, he didn’t remember anything, but he picked the name Jake.”

“He…Jake.”

“It was strange,” Michael remembered. “Because Jake Doe connected with some of us right away. I talked to him in the hospital when—” He looked at Sonny, then swallowed. “We were going through things. And he was kind to me. And, Elizabeth, it was like you’d known each other for years.”

“I know. He even got along with Carly,” Elizabeth continued. “But other people—it was like oil and water. He and Sam were always at each other’s throats, and you two—” She met Sonny’s eyes. “You just hated each other.”

“I think it’s interesting to think back to that, knowing what we know now,” Sonny said, “and maybe it’ll be something we need to think about. But let’s talk about how we found out who he was.”

“The other reason I’m here,” Elizabeth said with a sigh. Michael reached over to squeeze her hand. “Thanks. Uh, well, Faison was caught that fall, but someone broke him out of the PCPD. This guy broke into the department, held Sam hostage, shot a cop, and then got away without even blinking.”

“And it was this Jake Doe?” Jason asked.

“Yeah. Sam eventually remembered it, and I thought she was insane. You know, it’s not like I listen to Sam anyway,” Elizabeth admitted, “but this just—there was no way. Until we caught Jake setting a bomb at the Haunted Star where he was working as a bartender.”

“I don’t understand—”

“Helena put a chip in his head,” Sonny said flatly. “To put him under control. Elizabeth figured it out and got him free of those charges.”

“Yeah, well, that was the easy part. Around this time, Helena told Nikolas that Jake Doe was you. Nikolas kept it to himself for months.” Elizabeth pressed her hand to her chest. “Of course, now knowing what we know now—did he really know what was going on or did she lie to him?”

“Did Nikolas tell everyone—”

“No.” Elizabeth sighed. “He told me a few months later. The night of Nurse’s Ball.” She looked down at the table for a moment, then raised her eyes to meet Jason’s. “Jake and I were—well, it’s complicated. But Nikolas told me so that I didn’t get in any deeper. And I didn’t tell anyone.”

Sonny scrubbed his hand over his mouth as the room fell into silence. Jason frowned for a long moment, then squinted. “You didn’t tell anyone.”

“No. I was happy. Jake was good to me, and he wasn’t really like you. I know everyone thinks I did it because I thought he was you, and maybe it was part of it, but you know Jake Doe was not Jason,” Elizabeth said to Sonny.

“I do, Elizabeth. It was a long time ago—”

“So I lied. And then in July, Lucky brought Jake home. My Jake. Our son. He was alive. And Helena had had him all that time. And I still lied. Carly figured it out. She ran a reconstruction on Jake’s face, it came up as you, and she ran to stop our wedding. Eventually the truth came out, and Jake got his memories back. Or he got your memories. Or something. Whatever it is—he’s not part of it. He has to be a victim, too,” Elizabeth insisted.

“I will say it does feel like something changed after he said he got his memories back,” Sonny told Jason. “And something about the way Jake came home has always bothered me.”

“How did it happen?” Jason asked.

“Lucky got some sort of hint that Helena was up to something. He started to follow it up, and when he stopped calling Aiden, I contacted Luke. Luke went after him, found Helena in Greece with Jake. And Helena just gave him Jake.”

“Gave him—” Jason shook his head. Of all the things he’d heard so far—this made the least amount of sense. “Why—if she faked his death, kept him all this time—”

“And that’s what makes me wonder about Jason being able to wake up from that coma around the same time that crap was happening with Jake,” Sonny told Elizabeth. “It can’t be a coincidence that Jason is waking up in Russia at the same time Jake nearly killed us all with one of Helena’s plans.”

“What?” Jason demanded. “What happened?”

“Jake got a box of magic tricks last year,” Elizabeth said softly. “He put together an act for the Nurse’s Ball, but something was going on his head. He was scared to tell me, but he was hearing Helena’s voice. She was telling him to kill us all. The night of the ball, he was supposed to perform a trick that would have unleashed a chemical weapon that would have killed everyone in the room.”

Jason exhaled slowly, taking that information in, filing it with everything else he knew. “How did it—what happened?”

“Jason—Jake—Drew—I don’t know what to call him,” Elizabeth said with a shake of her head. “But we talked to him, and we were able to stop it. Some men broke into the ballroom, stole it, but Valentin supposedly stopped him and the weapon is with the WSB.”

“Yeah, but didn’t Valentin have some sort of connection to that?” Michael asked.

“He’s the one that stole it from the WSB in the first place. It was nicknamed for the Chimera for the hallucinations you’re supposed to see when you’re dying. He sold it to Helena.”

“And I think,” Sonny said, looking at Jason, “that mostly fills in the blanks between your dive off the pier and coming home.”

“Mostly,” Jason said slowly. “That is…a lot, but you’re right. If this was happening to Jake at the same time—maybe I didn’t wake up from that coma on my own. Maybe someone woke me up.”

“Maybe. The question is what do we do now?” Elizabeth asked.

Sonny cleared his throat. “Well, you know, I appreciate everything, Elizabeth, but—”

“She stays,” Jason said flatly, surprising all three of them as they focused on him. “If she wants.”

“Jason—”

“I want,” Elizabeth said quickly. She flashed him a grateful smile before looking at Sonny. “Look, I know a lot more than what I’ve told you about the Cassadines, and I’m the only one of us who’s gone against Helena and won. I know she’s dead, but with her—death does not matter. You know that. And if there’s a chance that bitch is still coming for my son from beyond the grave, I’m not sitting this out. Let me help, Sonny. You can trust me.”

“It’s not—I just—” Sonny shook his head. “Never mind. Jason says you stay. You stay.” He took a deep breath. “Any suggestions for what we do next?”

“Information,” Elizabeth suggested. “I’m sure you’ve got Spinelli working on the clinic and that doctor, right?”

“Yeah, we called him this morning.”

“Then we need to call Luke and Lucky.”

Jason scowled. “I know you said that yesterday,” he said to Sonny, “but I don’t really want to deal with them—”

“I’m not that interested in seeing Luke either,” Elizabeth said. “But at the end of the day, they’re Spencers. Cassadine hunting is in their blood.”

“What about Valentin? He’s in this up to his damn eyeballs,” Michael muttered. “He’s gotta be the one who was holding Jason—”

“Valentin sent Ava to the clinic,” Elizabeth reminded them. “I mean, I agree he’s in this, but I don’t know if it that’s simple.”

“No, but I always thought it was weird when those guys stole the Chimera. Valentin got the chance to act like the big hero, didn’t he?” Sonny said. “He’s just not working alone.”

“Then we need to know who he’s working with,” Jason said. “And I want to know everything about him.”

“That would be you again,” Michael told Elizabeth who made a face. “Did you ever think you’d be the Cassadine Expert?”

“It wasn’t the plan for my life,” she said dryly. “And I don’t know who he’d be working with. Valentin doesn’t trust anyone. I don’t even think he likes his wife ninety percent of the time. It’s hard to see him giving control to someone else, even for a minute.”

General Hospital: Andre’s Office

Andre stared at the text message as it scrolled across his phone.

Stay calm. Stay quiet. I’ll be in touch when I have this under control.

He shoved the phone aside as Valentin’s message faded. Did he have a goddamn choice? If he disappeared now—everyone would suspect he was part of it, and he knew—he knew they’d come after him. Someone would. Sonny or Jason. Drew or Curtis. Jordan. Anna and Robert. Valentin.

There was no running from this. At least not yet. Not when no one knew what he’d done.

If he could just keep them from finding out, maybe he’d be able to save himself.

In my defense, I have none
For never leaving well enough alone
But it would’ve been fun
If you would’ve been the one
I persist and resist the temptation to ask you
If one thing had been different
Would everything be different today?
– the 1, Taylor Swift

---

May 2015

Mykonos, Greece: Cassadine Estate

Helena set down the tabloids she’d been reading to glare at Valentin. “Why must we have the same argument over and over again?”

“When you came to me,” Valentin said, flicking an imaginary piece of lint from his trousers before meeting her eyes, “you said you had lost faith in the Cassadine blood line. That it was weak. Impotent. You promised me if I helped you get your revenge on the Spencers and Elizabeth Webber, that you would make sure I inherited everything.”

Helena sat back in her chair, arched a brow imperiously. “And you doubt my word?”

“It’s been five years since you started this, Mother,” he said, dryly. “Since you promised that Nikolas would be the first casualty, I suppose I’m wondering—” He leaned forward. “Just how stupid do you think I am?”

“You doubted Nikolas’s loyalty. I have as well,” Helena admitted, “but you must admit that in recent days, he’s proven himself to be capable of great cruelty. Why—” She gestured at the latest tabloid reports from Port Charles. “He’s drawn Elizabeth in beautifully, telling her the truth about Jason Morgan, convincing her to keep the secret, having Hayden Barnes shot in the head—fifteen years ago, he could barely bring himself to bruise Elizabeth Webber. And now he’s leading her personal torment.”

Valentin rubbed his bottom lip. “So you no longer need me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Helena said, with a shake of her head. “Nikolas still has a moral compass. There’s no telling when his mother’s weak blood will show. He might think he’s the Dark Cassadine Prince I’ve always wanted, but I know better. No, he’ll fail me eventually. He always does.”

“Then what is the point in waiting—”

“I intend to finish my revenge,” Helena said coolly. “I’ve already laid the hints for Luke and Lucky. I imagine they’ll be visiting me in a matter of weeks. Little Jake will be home by the end of summer. Elizabeth will be tormented in keeping the secret, but she’ll break. And she’ll despise Nikolas for doing this to her. For telling her the truth. He’ll lose her. And then the Chimera—” Helena tapped a pen. “Dear Valentin, will it not be glorious to break Nikolas before little Jake Webber kills them all?”

“You intend him to be in the room when you trigger the Chimera,” Valentin said. He sat back. “That’s…unexpected.”

“I always said that once my revenge was complete, I would turn over the reins to you,” Helena said with a smile. “My son. My legacy.”

“I wish that I could believe you.” Valentin rose gracefully to his feet and adjusted the line of his suit jacket. “But, alas, Mother, I know something that you don’t think I do.”

Helena smiled at him. “And what is it that?”

“That Nikolas and his son are not the last Cassadines left.” Valentin met his mother’s eyes.

Helena’s smile didn’t change, but she tilted her head. “One should always have a back up plan, Valentin.”

“Cross me on this, Mother,” Valentin said, “and you’ll regret it.”

“We’ll see.”

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Greystone: Kitchen

Jason poured himself a cup of black coffee, then went over to the table and sat down. He stared at the dark liquid.

It was the first cup of Corinthos & Morgan coffee he’d had in—well, apparently, years—but for Jason, it only felt like six months.

He used to drink this coffee three times a day every day. He had since the day they’d delivered the first shipment to Kelly’s—the same place where Sonny had sat down at a table shortly after he’d returned to Port Charles more than twenty years ago and asked Jason to go into the coffee importing business as a new front.

“It’s not poisoned,” Carly said. He looked up to find her watching him. She flashed him a beaming smile. “I just love seeing you here. I woke up this morning, and I thought it was a dream, but then I went past the guest room, and the door was opened—and the bed had been used—” She took a deep breath. “You’re here. And you’re you.”

“I am.” Jason lifted the cup to his lips and took his first sip. The hot, bitter liquid slid down his throat, and for just a minute—

For a single minute, he could close his eyes and pretend that none of this had happened, and he was drinking his coffee to start the day.

“So, where do we start?” Carly said. She sat down with a glass of orange juice. “I thought I’d go over and help you with Sam. She probably just—she was shocked, Jason. And she’ll come around—”

“Don’t—” Jason put up a hand. “Don’t do that, okay?” Carly blinked at him. “Sam went home with—with the other guy, okay? She made her decision—”

“But Danny is your son—”

And that was something else he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around. He’d spent Sam’s entire pregnancy struggling with the idea of being a father again. Of bringing a life into the world when Jake wasn’t there anymore. Danny wasn’t supposed to be his, and knowing that fact—knowing that the tests had shown differently—

Jason couldn’t make it work in his head—and maybe he wouldn’t be able to until he talked to Sam about it. If she’d ever let him get that far. He’d recognized that look in her eye the night before. She’d just dig in her heels if he pushed her now.

“Carly—”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m pushing, I know—” Carly closed her eyes. “I’m just—I want to help. I want to make things okay for you. Getting your life back—I want that for you.”

“I know.”

“All right—” Sonny strolled in, cell phone in hand. “I’ve got someone for you,” he told Jason. “Spinelli—”

“If this is some sort of twisted, sick joke,” Damien Spinelli began, his familiar tones echoing in the kitchen—

“Look for yourself—” Sonny turned the phone, and Jason was suddenly face to face with the hacker he’d taken under his wing more than a decade ago. Spinelli’s eyes blanked for a moment, and he closed his mouth.

“Stone Cold,” he said softly. “Is that really you?”

“That depends,” Jason said roughly, moved by the emotion he saw sweeping over his friend’s face, even three thousand miles away in Portland, Oregon. “Are you still the Jackal?”

Spinelli’s face creased into a vibrant grin. “Until my dying day! Stone Cold! What happened? Where were you? Who’s the other guy?”

“We were hoping you might come and help us find that out,” Sonny said, sliding onto the bench next to Carly, leaning across the table. “You interested in joining the team?”

“I am in,” Spinelli declared. “Sign me up for service, Mr. Sir.” He saluted. “Shoot me over anything you want me to work on — it might take a few days to get to Port Charles. Did Mr. Sir tell you about my Georgie?”

“He did. Congratulations,” Jason said. “I don’t want you to spend too much time away from her—”

“Never, never. The Maximista and I were just talking about making some changes, so I was gonna be heading that way sooner or later. Give me—” he squinted. “A few days, and I’ll be back. Stone Cold and the Jackal, reunited at last!”

With Spinelli on board, Jason hung up the call and slid the phone across the table. “I thought I’d head over to the safe house,” he told Sonny. “Early, I mean. Thanks for asking me over last night, but—”

“What? What’s this? You can’t leave,” Carly said. “No, Sonny. Tell him, he needs to be around family—”

“I—” Sonny hesitated. “I don’t know, Jason. I thought we were talking about keeping the safe house on the down low. Using it for meetings—”

“And that made sense last night,” Jason said, “but I woke up this morning and realized that everyone is going to be asking the same questions we are—”

“But Elizabeth—”

Carly clenched her teeth. “What does she have to do with this? What?  Did you give her the damn house? Does she want you to pay rent?”

Jason frowned at her. “No. It’s my house. I bought it and buried the deed with holding companies tied to the warehouse.”

“I remember that now. Diane signed some paperwork for transfer,” Sonny said. “Carly, don’t start—”

“‘I’m not starting. I just don’t know why she has to be involved in any of this—”

“Jason was shot by Cesar Faison,” Sonny reminded her. “And Faison was involved in—what do we call him? Other Jason?”

“Fine, Faison was involved—”

“So were the Cassadines,” Sonny continued. “Helena and Victor were part of his kidnapping, and they must have been involved with what happened to Jason. Valentin sent Ava to the same clinic where Jason was being held—”

“Ava?” Carly said. Her eyes lit with fury. “That bitch was part of this? I’ll ruin her this time! I won’t let her live—”

“She saved my life and helped me escape,” Jason said flatly. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. I didn’t know who she was, and I don’t know what your problem with her is, and right now, I’m not interested.” He got to his feet. “I’m heading over, Sonny. I’ll see you later.”

“Get one of the guards to set you up with an SUV, ” Sonny said. “I’ll call you when I’m on my way over.”

“Fine.”

“Wait, Jason—”

But Jason wasn’t interested—he left the room, taking his coffee mug with him. Carly grimaced, then looked back at her husband. “What did I do?”

“Uh, well, you attacked Elizabeth for no reason, and then you put his back up about Ava. Look, at some point, we’ll tell him why Ava can’t be trusted. We will,” he repeated when she scoffed. “But if he’s right—if she really didn’t know who he was and helped him come home—God, Carly, let’s just sit with that for a minute and be grateful.”

“She is the reason Morgan is dead,” Carly spat out. “I will never—”

“Julian and Olivia Jerome are the reason Morgan is dead. Ava loaded the gun, but they pulled the trigger.” Sonny closed his eyes. “Carly—”

“Fine. Fine. I still don’t—”

“You know, I didn’t even want you to go to this thing later,” Sonny said, losing his patience. He got to his feet and went over to the coffee pot. “I wanted to leave you out of it.”

Blindsided by that, Carly stared at her husband’s back, tears stinging her eyes. “What? Why?”

“Because I knew you’d do this. I knew you’d make it about you. About who you hate. About what you think Jason should do. And there’s no room in this for any of that. Not when we don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

Carly opened her mouth but found it difficult to force words out. “But Jason said no. He had my back—”

“It never got that far. Elizabeth wouldn’t hear of leaving you out.”

Her cheeks heated, and rage boiled in her veins. “Oh, so she gets a say?”

“No,” Sonny retorted, turning back to Carly. “I asked her to help because she knows the Cassadines, and with this all happening so close to the Chimera—it seemed wrong to leave her out. And she said you should be there because no one knows how to scheme like you. So remember when you’re bitching, crying, and moaning—Elizabeth had your back. Sam went home with the other guy, and Elizabeth’s here, trying to get to the bottom of things. Don’t be stupid about this, Carly.”

Don’t be stupid about this.

Stupid.

Carly rose to her feet. “Thank you for the invitation,” she said coolly. “And tell Elizabeth I appreciate the support, but I wouldn’t want to distract you with my schemes and selfishness.”

“Carly, don’t—”

“No, I heard you. Loud and clear.” Some things would never, ever change, and she couldn’t take one more hit today. “I have things to do at the hotel.”

Webber House: Kitchen

Felix set the tray down on the kitchen island. “Hot chocolate for you,” he said to Elizabeth. “Chocolate milk for both our young Mr. Webbers—” He handed the drinks to Aiden and Jake, “and, uh, black coffee for Cameron—” He squinted at the tallest Webber son. “When did this start?”

“When I started AP Biology,” Cameron muttered, taking the cup from his mother’s friend and reaching for a donut from the box. “Thanks. I need to go up and get back to my homework—”

“Uh huh—” Felix turned back to Elizabeth with her face set grimly. “Did I miss something? The Webber boys seem quiet this morning,” he said after Jake and Aiden had left the room and gone to play video games. “Jake handling this okay?”

“I’m not sure it’s sinking in for him yet,” Elizabeth said slowly, “because he got distracted by what happened last night.” She picked up her drink and went over to the kitchen table, waiting for Felix to follow. “You probably saw all the videos—”

“I never saw the Port Charles social media community having so much fun—there’s a really great one where the new guy drags Franco—” Felix stopped and coughed. “Not important. Uh, where is Prince Charming?”

“Rotting in hell,” Elizabeth muttered. She sipped her hot chocolate as Felix merely lifted his brows. “He came in while the boys were watching the video. He demanded the iPad, Cameron refused, and—” Her stomach twisted. “He tried to take it. He grabbed Cam by the shirt, and I know there was shoving—”

“Oh, hell, no. He did not put his hands on my Cameron. Uh uh. I will not have it.” Felix clenched his jaw. “Where did you put the body?”

“I got home just as he grabbed his shirt—I got him out of the house,” Elizabeth said finally. She took the top off the hot chocolate and reached for a spoon to stir the rapidly melting whipped cream into the liquid.

“Elizabeth.”

She blinked, then looked up at him. “Cameron refused to go upstairs. He wouldn’t leave me alone with Franco.” She told him about the bat and the gun.  “And when I called Sonny and Michael to help me with changing the security—he came down to thank them. Like he was the adult—Oh, God, what have I done to my little boy? How could I have forced him to grow up so fast?” She pressed a hand to his face. “I was sixteen when I stopped being a child,” she murmured. “I wanted more for him. I wanted him to be innocent for so much longer.”

“The world doesn’t always let babies stay babies as long as they should,” Felix told her. “Cameron loves you. He’d never blame you—”

“Well, he should,” Elizabeth said. “Because if it wasn’t for me, his life would be better. I brought Jake Doe into this house, and then tried to hold him here with a lie. And because of that, I destroyed my entire life. I wasn’t the only one that took that hit, Felix. You know that.” Her mouth thinned. “And then I brought Franco into this house. Franco. I put him in this house with my children.”

“You made a mistake—”

“How many more mistakes do I get?” Elizabeth demanded. “I got Jake back. That was a goddamn miracle. I’m not going to get any more of those. I keep saying my children come first, but have I really been doing that? No. I’ve been thinking about myself.”

Felix sipped his latte. “You done with your pity party?”

She scowled. “Felix—”

“You made a mistake. A few of them,” he added when she made a face. “You’re not perfect which is why we’re friends. Perfect is boring. Let me remind you that right about the time Franco fucking Baldwin slithered his way into your life, you were dealing with Jake almost dying again, that worthless trash whore Sam blowing up your house, Sabrina died, Hayden turned out to be your sister, and Tom Baker got out of jail.  You were low, baby. And he’s a bottom feeder.”

She closed her eyes. “I know. I know. He always said I never would have looked at him if it hadn’t been for that lie.”

“Not just the lie. You’re stronger than that. The lie, the whole world finding out when it was none of their damn business,” Felix retorted. “That was between you and—well, apparently the guy who we don’t think is Jason?”

“He’s not Jason. He might be Oscar Nero’s biological father,” Elizabeth said. “Don’t ask. I’ll explain that part later.” She scrubbed the side of her head. “And then after Tom Baker, Jake was struggling again.”

“Exactly. Jake went through all of that, and your grandmother died—Elizabeth, the world has been slapping you around for years. You tried to be happy. You looked for love. You went down some dark ass alleys,” he added and she laughed. “But you just wanted to be loved. That’s human. You know it. The second you realized your boys were in danger, you stepped up to the bat. Literally.”

“If Cameron had gone upstairs, I would have pulled the trigger. I wish I had. Because then he’d be dead, and I’d just call Sonny to get rid of the body. He’d do it for me.” Elizabeth rubbed her chest. “How do I accept that it’s in me to feel that way? A week ago, Franco was someone I thought I was in love with, and now I can’t even fathom looking at him again without tearing his eyes out.”

“Well, to be honest, that doesn’t surprise me. You’re loyal to a fault until someone comes for your babies. And then you destroy them. That’s just right. Plus—” Felix wiggled his brows. “You know, a girl that hooks up with a hit man like Jason Morgan—you gotta have a little bit of a ruthless streak in ya.”

“Enforcer,” Elizabeth corrected without thinking, then locked eyes with Felix for a minute before they burst out laughing. “How do you do that? Make me feel better?”

“Because I know you. And I love you. You always do your best. Some days, you get it wrong. Last night, you got it right.” He picked up his latte. “So, speaking of the famed enforcer with the double—how are we feeling about that? What’s the deal? Which one is which?”

“The guy who tried to choke Franco is Jason. I know it,” Elizabeth said. “And the other guy—like I said, we think he might be this other guy, Drew Cain. How it all fits together? I don’t know. Sonny asked me to come over and help because of the Cassadine connection.”

“Well, at least you’ll have something to distract yourself from all of this—” Felix leaned back in his chair. “How did you know it was him?”

“I could tell you I knew as soon as he wrapped his hand around Franco’s throat, or when I saw his face—or at the PCPD, the other guy—I’m going to call him Drew because otherwise my brain will explode—he grabbed my shoulders, and Jason almost came forward to stop him.”

“But it wasn’t those moments?”

“It all added up,” Elizabeth said, “but I was still—I was ninety-nine point nine nine percent convinced, but I’ve been through a lot in Port Charles, and you never rule anything out. Then—” She stared down at her hot chocolate. “He said my name.”

“Oh.” Felix put his hand on his chin. “This sounds like a story.”

“It’s not. It’s just—I didn’t even realize it until I heard him say it, but no one else says it the way he does. Lucky always sounded like he was whining or yelling at me,” she said with a wince, “but—anyway. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with any of that. Or how involved I’ll be with the search. Sonny doesn’t really let people in, and Jason usually follows his lead. Right now, they need me because they need Cassadine information, and Laura doesn’t like Sonny.”

“Laura always did had have good taste.”

“The thing is—and this is so stupid—we’re meeting at this safe house later. A safe house that no one else knows about because Jason bought it in my old neighborhood so I could have a place to go if anything happened and he couldn’t get to me.” She paused. “The safe house he wanted me to go nine years ago when Jake got kidnapped by the Russians, but I didn’t listen to him. I went with Sam and Lucky, and Jake got kidnapped. I had to kill a man, and Jason ended up deciding it was too dangerous to be together so we broke up.”

“Oh, man, one day, we’re gonna sit down with some wine, and I’m getting the whole Jason and Elizabeth saga, but let’s go back to this. You been to this safe house before?” Felix asked.

“Once.” Elizabeth exhaled. “Right before Kate Howard was shot, Jason and I were supposed to go to Italy. We’d always dreamed about it, and it was finally going to be our chance. He brought me to the house one day when Lucky had the boys. We spent hours there.”

Felix sighed. “Oh, man.”

“It was the last time we were able to spend the whole day together,” she murmured. “The last really good day before it all fell apart. And it’s so stupid to think it matters now. It doesn’t. It was a lifetime ago. He probably doesn’t even remember.”

“No? He remembered the house. He picked it because he thought it was safe, didn’t he? Because only you and him, and probably Sonny knew about it. And hey, you don’t get to call yourself stupid. Not in front of me.”

“Thanks.” She met his eyes. “I mean it, Felix. I love you.”

“I love you, too, girl, but I wasn’t kidding about that story. It sounds like a good one.”

Morgan Penthouse: Kitchen

“You okay?”

Jason glanced up from his cup of coffee to see his wife entering the kitchen, their daughter perched on her hip. “What?”

“You’re staring into your coffee like it has all the answers,” Sam said. She furrowed her brow. “Jason, it’s going to be okay. Whatever’s going on—we’ll get to the bottom of it. We’ll make sure everyone knows who you are and if this guy—” She closed her eyes. “If he’s your twin, we’ll handle it.”

“I know.” He hesitated. “Last night, when he talked about waking up after the accident—when he talked about being arrested—he sounded convincing.”

“So?” Sam shrugged. She put Scout into her high chair, then crossed over to the cabinet to take down a container of cereal bits. “Take it from a former con artist—you can sound convincing if you believe your own bullshit. And maybe he’s been brainwashed, or his head’s been screwed with like yours, you know? Maybe he believes it.”

“And you don’t.”

Sam paused, her back to him, her hand stretched up, touching the container of formula. She exhaled slowly, put it on the counter, and turned to face him. “I told you I didn’t.”

“I know.” Jason leaned against the fridge. “But you were the only one in the room who didn’t. I think even Franco thinks the other guy is me.”

“Well, that’s because he’s been expecting you to kill him since the day those DNA tests came back,” Sam said. “Of course Sonny, Carly, and Elizabeth took this other guy’s side. You’re pushing them away. They refuse to believe you’d do that.”

He wanted to believe her. She looked like she was telling the truth—

But as she’d just reminded him, she was a former con artist who’d made a living convincing people to believe bullshit.

“When I checked my phone this morning,” Jason said, “I had requests for interviews—this is everywhere.”

“I know, it’s all over social media. My mom left me a message, asking me what we want to do.” She hesitated. “Jason, if Elizabeth is on this other’s guy’s side and it’s everywhere—you know that Jake probably knows about this by now.”

“Yeah, that thought occurred to me.”

“She might have already told him you’re not Jason.”

Would Elizabeth have done that? Maybe. Maybe if she was really convinced— “If she has,” he said carefully, “I’d like to think she’d tell him it wasn’t confirmed. That she might be leaning one way—”

“Do you really think she’s going to be that fair?” Sam demanded. “She’s never wanted Jake around me. You know that. She didn’t even give you custody in her will. The boys were supposed to go Audrey. God knows who they go to now—”

Jason made a face. “She wanted them to stay together—she explained that—”

“Bullshit. We’d take them all if we had to,” Sam retorted. “She didn’t want Jake around me. So, of course, she’s going to take the side of the guy who isn’t with me. If you and I weren’t together, who knows what she would have done.”

There was a logic to Sam’s words, but Jason couldn’t quite bring himself to believe Elizabeth was that cold-blooded. “Sam—”

“Anyway, it’s useless to think about what Elizabeth does with Jake right now. But when the truth comes out,” Sam said, “and you’re proven to be Jason, I think we need to revisit custody. It’s not fair that she gets total control, and you have to ask—”

“I don’t have to ask—” Jason’s mouth tightened. “Jake’s been through a lot this year. He needed stability and his brothers. He’s in therapy, and I see my son whenever I want. She’s never kept him from me. We’re not revisiting custody because Elizabeth believes this other guy. That was last night. Maybe she’s thinking differently this morning. We don’t even know if she’s talked to Jake. I mean, damn it, Sam, you didn’t have a single moment of doubt?”

She lifted her chin. “No—”

“I don’t believe you. He has my face, my voice, and enough knowledge of my life to sound like me. Hell, even I doubted who I was.”

“Jason—”

“Just tell me the truth,” he pressed.

She handed the bottle she’d made to Scout and shook her head. “No, I won’t admit to something that didn’t happen because you want to feel better. I know who you are. You are my husband, the father of my children, and the man I love.”

She didn’t add that she knew he was Jason Morgan, but he didn’t press her on it. He didn’t want to argue about this anymore.

When he said nothing, Sam lifted Scout into her arms. “I’m going to get the kids ready and head over to my mother’s. I want her to start putting together a statement or something. Not that we’ll issue it,” she added, “not unless you want to, but Mom wants to get ahead of things.”

“Fine.”

Sam left the kitchen, and Jason went back to his coffee. It was warm, bordering on chilled, and he scowled. He shoved it into the microwave to heat it up. He heard a knock on the door and Sam’s voice.

A few minutes later, Curtis Ashford strolled into the kitchen. “Hey, man. How’s your morning?”

Jason snorted. “Not as good as yesterday morning,” he muttered. He nodded at the coffee pot. “You want any?”

“Nah, I’m good.” Curtis squinted. “So, uh, Jordan thought it might be better if I stopped by to talk to you about setting up DNA tests or whatever. A friendly face. She’s calling the, um, other guy.”

“Okay.” Jason took a deep breath. “Okay. What’s the plan?”

“She says she wants to get the fingerprints, but the PCPD physical archives are a goddamn mess. Apparently, when they moved into the new building back in ’03 after that fire, they didn’t really worry about getting the physical records organized. It might take a few days to find the fingerprints file from that ’96 arrest. So she’s moving forward with at least establishing you and the other guy are related.”

“We probably are,” Jason admitted. He sat down at the table, gestured for Curtis to sit down. “Did Jordan tell you about the Heather Webber twin story?”

“Sort of. Heather is Franco’s mother? Where the crazy comes from?”

“Hard to say where his brand of insanity comes from,” Jason muttered. “And technically, Franco and I are related. We’re cousins. Heather was pregnant at the same time my biological mother, Susan Moore, was. Susan had me first, and then Heather had Franco. She left Franco with Betsy Frank, and then—”  Jason squinted. “She ended up not being able to go back, or Betsy disappeared with the kid. I can’t remember now. She’s also Steven Webber’s mother. Elizabeth’s half-brother.”

“Oh, man, this lady gets around.”

“She does.” Jason drank his coffee. “Anyway, when we thought Franco was dead back in 2012, Heather told Sam that he was actually my twin brother. That Susan Moore had twins, and Heather gave one of us to Betsy.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s insane? Who knows. That was the situation when I went into the water later that October. By the time I was back and found out who I was in 2015,” Jason continued, “Franco was back, exonerated of all charges and accountability, and was established as the son of Heather and Scott Baldwin—who, by the way, was married to Susan Moore at the time she was murdered. I just figured the twin story was a lie or that everyone had sorted it all out when I wasn’t around.”

“Then this guy shows up with your face, voice, and your life story saying he’s you,” Curtis said. “Which means the twin story doesn’t sound insane anymore.”

“No. It doesn’t. A DNA test is just going to prove that.”

“Well, that’s something to start with anyway. Jordan is arranging it with the hospital and also an outside lab,” he added, “in case you’re worried about tampering. Jordan also wants to do advanced DNA testing on Danny and Jake—it’ll give us paternity—”

“No.” Jason shook his head. “Not Danny. He’s—he’s afraid of needles and doctors after the cancer treatments. And I can’t—” He paused. “I don’t know if Elizabeth will want Jake to go through it after he was in the hospital for the accident and the Chimera—”

“Jordan is contacting her today. I get it, man. I do. No one wants to drag the kids into this, and I wish like hell there was another way, but those DNA tests come back fast these days. We can probably get a turn around by Wednesday. Don’t you want this over?”

“I do,” Jason said. “But not at the expense of my kids. Danny’s been through enough. And I don’t want Jake to know about this—”

“Jason—”

“But I’m sure he already does,” Jason said with a sigh. “It’s all over social media, and I know Cam was watching them last night. I think Joss was supposed to be over there. They know. So, look, he’s ten. If he’s okay with it, and Elizabeth is okay with it—fine.”

Webber Home: Cameron’s Bedroom

Cameron was hunched over his desk, grimacing at his notes on cellular respiration, wishing he could draw like his brother or mother. Every time he tried to draw a cell in his notebook, it looked like insanely stupid squiggles. His childhood talent for origami hadn’t translated well to pencil and paper.

His phone lit up with a text from Emma Scorpio-Drake, and he stared at it for a moment. He’d avoided talking to Joss, Oscar, or Trina that morning. He didn’t know what to say to them. They didn’t know about the scene at his house last night, and Cameron didn’t really want to get into it.

He didn’t even know how he felt about it. He’d been terrified for himself, for his brothers—then for his mother. It had worked out, but he’d had a nightmare last night that she hadn’t made it to the safe, that Franco had taken that bat and—

He squeezed his eyes shut, exhaled carefully. It didn’t happen. She was okay, and Franco was gone. His mom knew she’d been wrong, that she’d made a mistake, and that was what mattered.

Cameron picked up the phone and read Emma’s text.

hey u. mom is freaking out, dad says ur mom isnt calling him. call me. im worried.

Maybe he could tell Emma. She was three thousand miles away in Berkeley — and she wasn’t that close to Joss. She didn’t know Oscar, and if he asked her not to say anything to Trina, she’d listen.

“You actually called!” she said with a beaming smile as their Facetime call connected. “What’s going on? What’s the deal? Why isn’t your mom taking Dad’s calls? You know he worries—”

“Uh—” Cameron pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know where to start, Em. I guess maybe with the easy stuff. Mom is convinced the new guy is Jason, but you know, there was that Jake Doe stuff, so who knows. She’s gonna help figure things out. Um, there was some other stuff that happened last night. With Franco. That’s probably why she didn’t call your dad back.”

“We watched the videos. Dad enjoyed them, but Mom was worried about your mom and all of that.” Emma hesitated. “What happened?”

“There was…an incident,” Cameron said. “He came back while we were watching it, and Mom wasn’t here. We sort of—um, we got into it, and I don’t know—it was—Mom stopped it—”

“Stopped what?” Her voice sharpened. “Cameron.”

“He wanted the iPad to see the video—but I thought—if he sees the video, it’ll make it worse, and it’s just me and the kids. I don’t know if I can get them out of here or if they’re okay enough to run if I tell them to go—so I just—I stalled. I tried to keep it from him—but he pushed me, and we shoved each other—then he grabbed my shirt—” Cameron leaned back in his chair. “I’m okay, Em. My mom came back. You know that bat she keeps in the umbrella stand.”

“Yeah. Did she bash his brains in?”

“No, but she kept him off guard and got to the safe where she keeps a gun. Jason got it for her back when they were dating, and she got Franco to leave. I’m fine.”

“You keep saying that, but it’s not true. How can you be fine? An evil serial killer that your mother was dating went after you last night, and your mom had to threaten to shoot him. Like, it’s okay to be messed up about it, Cam.”

“I can’t—there’s no time for that,” Cameron said. “Okay? There’s all this crap happening with this Jason stuff. If this guy is Jason, then the other guy isn’t. Jake needs to handle that, so I need to be there. And Aiden’s going through crap with Charlotte, so I gotta handle that. And this other guy might be Oscar’s dad, so I gotta keep Joss under control with that because you know how she is—”

“Cameron.”

“And if I don’t keep it together, Mom will just feel worse, and I don’t want her to feel bad—”

“She should,” Emma snapped. “She’s the one who brought him home. Like, come on, Cam, you know I love Aunt Elizabeth, but she made this happen—”

“No, you don’t get it! You haven’t been here! You don’t know!” Cameron scowled. “It’s easy for you to say that crap. You’re off in California without a damn problem—”

“That’s not fair—”

“You don’t know what my mom’s been dealing with, okay? She needs me to be okay with this—”

“What about what you need, Cam?”

“What I need,” he said, carefully, “is for my family to be okay. If Jake, Aiden, and Mom are okay, I’ll be fine. I know you’re worried about me, but you don’t have to be. Mom handled it. She took my side, she didn’t even let him try to explain except to distract him—and she kicked him right out and got the security changed. It’d be worse if she were thinking about giving him another chance. It’s over. She made it over.”

“Franco might be gone, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. Cameron, please—did you tell Joss or Trina? Tell me you called Trina.”

“No. And I’m not going to. It’s done, Em. We’re moving onto the next crisis.”

“Okay,” Emma said slowly, but he could see she didn’t really believe him. It was more like she was dropping it because she knew she wouldn’t win. “So the next crisis is the Jason stuff.”

“Yeah, Mom thinks the Cassadines are back up to their crap, and she’s worried about Jake. This is too close to all that Nurse’s Ball stuff, you know? To what happened to Jake.”

“When will they know which one is which?”

“Don’t know. Sometime this week, I think. Mom didn’t really get into it.”

“Keep me in the loop, Cam. About it all. And if you need to talk to anyone, I’m always here.”

“I know. I’ll see you later.”

“See you later.”

Safe House: Front Porch

He hadn’t thought much about the house other than the fact it was there, and that almost no one would know about it. He knew it would establish some sort of credibility with Sonny, give him a leg to stand on if Sonny hadn’t believed him.

Jason hadn’t thought about why he’d bought the safe house or the last time he’d been there. Not until Elizabeth’s car pulled up at the curb and she stepped up to the front walk, stopping just before the steps that led up to the porch, and just stared at the house.

Then he did remember. He’d found this house and brought Elizabeth here so they could start making decisions about security together.

He wondered if she’d ever made it to Italy.

Jason pushed open the front door and stepped out to greet her. “Uh, hey.”

“Hey.”  Elizabeth exhaled slowly, staring at him as he came down the steps to stand next to her on the walk and she continued to stare at him. “I’m sorry. I think—I think maybe I had let myself think that I was wrong. Or that I hadn’t—I don’t know.” She put her hands into the pockets of her coat. “But you’re standing in front of me, and it’s so clearly you—God—” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” he asked, frowning slightly. He gestured for her to go up the stairs, but she didn’t move. “Elizabeth—”

“I don’t know. For not knowing you were out there? For not seeing that he wasn’t you? For thinking he was for a minute?” She bit her lip. “For a thousand things, maybe.”

“I don’t blame any of you—”

“You should,” she insisted. “You should blame us for not knowing and for not coming to find you, okay? Because I blame me. And I’m sure Sonny does.” She shook her head. “Never mind. Never mind. That’s not important. Um, I know I’m early. Sonny said we were meeting around one, but—”

“It’s fine. I wanted to talk to you about Jake. I want to know everything. How he came home, how is he, what’s his favorite color—” Every minute of every day of Jake’s life since he’d been home if that was even possible.

“Yeah. Yeah, anything. All of it. I could talk about him for hours, but there’s—” She took a breath. “We should go in, I guess.” She turned back to look at the house. “You kept the house.”

“I—I didn’t think about it,” he admitted as she finally went upstairs, following him to the front door, and over the threshold. “It’s not even in my name, but in one of the holding companies for the warehouse. And since we never—”

He almost said, We never used it, but then she turned to look at him, standing just behind the sofa, looking nearly as she had nine years earlier when she’d stood in this room and they’d talked about what life would be like when they came home from Italy. She’d begged him to let her in, and he’d promised things would be different. Just another of his broken promises.

And then they’d gone upstairs.

They had definitely used the house that day.

“It’s fine. It’s weird,” Elizabeth admitted, “but it’s fine.” She stripped off her coat and tossed it over the back of the sofa. “Um, look, that aside, I don’t want to put anything on your plate that you need to worry about. You’ve got so much going on, and I want to help. I am going to help as much you and Sonny let me—” she added, “which I know won’t be much.  But, first, something happened last night that you need to know about because it concerns Jake, and I want you to be part of his life.”

“Okay.” He put his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “What’s up?”

“God, I hate this,” she muttered. “You just came home, and there’s all this other stuff, and here I am dumping more on you—”

“Elizabeth.”

She stopped and focused on him, their eyes meeting. He held her gaze for a moment before speaking again. “Sonny reminded me last night that it’s been five years since I went off that pier. It doesn’t feel that way to me. It barely feels like six months, even though I’ve been awake at least that long. I know there’s a lot I don’t know. I appreciate that no one wants to push too much at me, but if there’s something bothering you—if something is wrong with Jake—I want to know.” He paused. “I need to know.”

“Right. Well—long story short—I was dating Franco. He was living with me, and he got into a fight last night with Cameron in front of the boys. A physical fight,” Elizabeth added as Jason’s body tensed. “I got home just before—I don’t know. I grabbed a bat, distracted him long enough to get to a gun, and Franco left. But Jake and Aiden—they were there for part of it, they heard me fire a warning shot—then Sonny and Michael came over to change the security.”

“I—” Jason stared at her. Whatever he’d been expecting her to say, it wasn’t that. “Franco went after Cameron.”

“The fight at the Metro Court—it’s all over the internet, and Cameron—they were watching it. I guess Franco tried to take the tablet from him, and Cam didn’t give it to him—it’s—I’m not making excuses, okay, don’t—” she began when Jason narrowed his eyes. “It’s not like it was with Lucky. Or Ewan,” she muttered. “Or Ric.”

“Okay. Then—”

“If Cameron hadn’t been in the room, if the boys hadn’t been in the house, I would have killed him,” Elizabeth told him. “I promise you that much. And we’re not getting into the insanity of me dating him in the first place—”

“No, but I’d like to come back to that at some point so someone can explain to me why he’s alive, much less why he was in your life. Or Carly’s,” he added. He paused. “I have questions.”

“I know. And I’ll answer them. But for now—I just—this happened in front of Jake. Because of the fight last night, and I’m just—I’m trying—”

“Is Cameron okay?” Jason demanded. “Was he hurt?”

“Oh.” She blinked at him. “No, I don’t—he wasn’t. Not physically. I know he was scared, but he’s not ready to talk about it. He’s going to ignore it and pretend all of us matter more. It’s what he always does. He takes care of his brothers. His first thought was for them, to make sure they were okay. He’s home with them now, trying to keep Jake distracted from all of us this until I can figure out how to talk to him about it.”

She paused. “But no, I don’t think he’s okay. And it’s my fault. I know it’s my fault—”

“I didn’t mean—” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “I didn’t mean it to sound like that. I just—it’s hard for me to remember Cameron is fifteen now.”

“I’ve been here every day and it’s hard for me, too. Thank you. For asking about him. It makes me sick that I put him through that. I’ll never forgive myself for it.”

“Elizabeth—”

She shook her head. “Don’t. Don’t say something that makes it okay. Felix tried it, and I know he’s right. I know there’s a lot of things that led to last night, and there’s a lot of reasons I was in that situation, but at the end of the day, I am all Cameron has, and it’s on me to protect him. I didn’t do it.”

He wasn’t going to argue with her about it—he didn’t know the situation, but he knew her. She’d blame herself until she was sick from it. It was almost a relief to know there was something he could focus on that wasn’t the insanity of his situation. Elizabeth’s ability to believe the best in literally everyone except herself would never change.

“You fired a warning shot?” he asked. “Have you been practicing?”

“Actually, no,” Elizabeth said with a hesitant smile. “Not since the last time you took me to the range. I didn’t even know if I’d remember. But I got the bat you gave me back when I got kidnapped—I keep it in the umbrella stand by the door,” she added, “but with the boys in the house, I knew it wouldn’t work.”

“No, the bat is just for you take the guy out at the knees and make a run for it.”

“Exactly, but I remembered how to open the safe.” Her eyes lit up. “You made me do it over and over again, remember? I did it faster than you did, though. It had to be, I guess, or maybe it just felt that way. And then when I shot at his feet—”

“Probably shouldn’t do that,” Jason said with wince. “The bullet could have ricocheted.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, I didn’t think about that. It’s just in my floor now. Sonny said he’d get someone to come over and help take care of it.”

“I knew he was up to something last night,” Jason muttered. “Taking Michael on security calls. I knew that was bullshit.” He paused. “No more warning shots. Just aim for the chest next time.”

“I’m not planning on there being next time,” Elizabeth said, wrinkling her nose, “so maybe I’ll just focus on making better choices.” She sighed. “That’d be a first.”

“Elizabeth—”

“Never mind. We don’t have a lot of time before Sonny and the others get here, and—” She reached for the bag she’d set on the ground when she came in. “I brought photos of Jake. I thought you might want to see them.”

“Yeah.” Jason nodded, relieved to focus on anything else. “I absolutely do.”

Do you really want to hear that?
Why is everyone staring?
Were you happy?
Were you honest?
Did you ever believe that any of this was real?
We can’t just slow down now
This road’s not safe for driving out this town
I’ve wanted just one thing from you
Everything, everything, it’s everything
– Safe, Airborne Toxic Event

---

October 2012

Spoon Island: Lab

Andre Maddox exhaled slowly as he looked at the unconscious men stretched out on gurneys in front of him. The final twin had been delivered just a week earlier—with a gunshot to his back that had nearly proved fatal. It had taken a week before Andre felt comfortable enough to begin work. Victor had been apoplectic when the wounded twin had arrived—he’d demanded the twins be delivered unscathed.

“Well?” Victor demanded. “Is he ready? Can you begin the mapping?”

“His vitals are stable enough,” Andre agreed, with a nod. He placed the last sensor on the injured twin—Patient Five had arrived almost three months earlier from overseas.

Despite being taken from a warzone, he’d been much easier to procure. Patient Six had been wily and had ducked several attempts to take him cleanly. Their agent had finally gotten frustrated and ignored his orders to deliver an undamaged specimen. He’d shot him and shoved him into the water. Victor’s recovery team had barely managed to pull from the frigid waters of Lake Ontario.

“How long will this take?”

“I don’t know,” Andre repeated for what felt like the thousandth time. “This has never been done. This might not even work — it could fail at any stage. Do you want it done right or quickly?”

Victor seethed. “Why not both?”

“Mr. Cassadine—”

“Let the man work,” the woman said quietly as she walked in behind her brother-in-law. Victor Cassadine was intimidating, but Helena was terrifying. “You’re the one that’s invested in this experiment. I merely wanted Jason Morgan removed from the field for as long as possible.”

Andre ignored the byplay and got to work. He didn’t want to know any of this. He didn’t want to know which patient was Jason Morgan or why Helena and Victor had selected these twins for the first field test. He just knew it had been more than Victor’s conviction they were suitable. This was personal for them. He’d met Helena a few months ago after one of his colleagues at the lab, Ewen Keenan, had died, and she’d chilled him to the bone.

He avoided her at all costs.

He just wanted to dig out the memories from these men, prove they could be mapped and transferred, and save others from the loss he’d suffered.

“Helena—”

“I told you, making her suffer is what matters,” Helena hissed as Victor herded her from the room. “Losing her great love, knowing that he drowned, that his body lays beneath the waters—”

The door closed on the words as Andre ignored the curiosity as to who Helena hated so much.  He shoved it out of his mind and got to work.

Friday, October 27, 2017

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Sam’s hands were still trembling as she and her husband walked through the door. Her mother, Alexis, rose from the sofa, her eyes stark against her face. “I just got off the phone with Kristina. It’s all over the news—”

“Mom—” Sam rubbed the side of her face, looking away from her husband who stood in the middle of the room, staring blankly at the floor. “I can’t do this tonight—”

“But—” Alexis looked the man between them. “It’s a mistake. Isn’t it? There’s—I saw the video on the news,” she added, “but it’s wrong. We did the DNA tests—”

“We’re running them again,” her husband said roughly, “but they’ll probably match.” He met Sam’s eyes. “Whatever is going on, it’s not going to be undone by a test. They’ll have figured that much out. Just like Helena knew to erase my fingerprints—whoever is behind this already has an in at the hospital—”

“We’ll have the tests run independently,” Alexis said briskly. “This is just a mistake. A horrible mistake. Everyone has a double out there,” she continued. “I remember Mac Scorpio—”

“Elizabeth said it might be twins,” Sam said softly. She looked at her husband. “I think she’s right. Don’t you?”

“I—” He walked over to the sofa, sat on the arm. “I don’t know. Probably,” he said finally. “Carly brought up the story Heather Webber fed us about Franco being my brother all those years ago.”

“She might not have been completely lying,” Alexis murmured. “So this new man—he’s the twin?”

“I—” Sam wanted to say yes. She desperately wanted to say yes. Because she’d felt it the minute she’d met the other man’s eyes—the crackle, the light of recognition that had never, ever been there with the man standing in front of her.

How she never realized it? How hadn’t she felt the absence of it?

But this was her husband. She’d schemed and stolen him from his other life, and he’d fallen in love with her. He’d married her. He’d chosen her and their children over that other life, over Jake, Elizabeth, Sonny, and Carly. Jason had never done that. How could she turn her back when everyone else already had?

“He must be,” Sam said finally. “He’s just—he says he’s not, and he’s convincing. As an actor,” she added hastily when her husband shot her a glare. She folded her arms. “He’s playing a game. Raised by Betsy—I bet that’s why Franco wants to press charges. He knows who he is—”

“Maybe.” He exhaled on a shaky breath. “I just—” He looked at Alexis. “I really just want to stop thinking about this. I know who I am. I had to fight to get my life back, and someone with my old face isn’t going to steal it from me without a fight.”

“We’ll get the fingerprints,” Sam told him. “They can fake a DNA test, but the physical fingerprints—from the PCPD archives—those are yours. Jordan isn’t going to screw with that. Curtis won’t let her do that to you.”

“Right.”

“Why don’t I leave you for the night?” Alexis offered. “The kids are sleeping. Jason,” she said, stressing the name. She waited until he looked at her. “Go upstairs and look in on them. You’ll feel better.”

“Yeah. Yeah.” He sighed. “Sonny and Carly believe him,” he said faintly. “Elizabeth does—”

“Of course they do,” Sam snapped. “They didn’t believe in this new life. They want the old Jason back. The one that let Carly walk all over him, let Sonny use him, let Elizabeth lie to him—they’re angry that you’re putting me and the kids first. It’s jealousy,” she added. “Just like we said earlier.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Her husband kissed her forehead. “I’ll see you upstairs.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Sam told her mother, opening the door. Alexis sighed, then grabbed her coat. At the elevator, Alexis pressed the button. “Mom—”

“I saw some of the videos, Sam. They played them on the newscast, and they got the feed from the Metro Court —I saw the man that tried to choke the life out of Franco. I think we should both remember that the man who just went upstairs came to us with a different face, a different voice—”

“Mom—”

“No memories, beyond some residual ones of Elizabeth and their son—” At that reminder, Sam’s mouth tightened, and she looked away. “And he also came to us with a chip in his head from Helena Cassadine.”

“He’s my husband,” Sam said with a lift of her chin. “All of that might be true, but he is also my husband and the father of my children.”

“But is he Jason Morgan?” Alexis said gently. The elevator door opened before Sam could offer an answer. Alexis stepped on board, then held out her hand to prevent it from closing. “You would be doing him a favor if you were realistic—”

“I won’t pretend to be someone I’m not. I love my husband. I won’t abandon him the way everyone else has,” Sam retorted. “He needs me.”

“I’ll see you in the morning then.” Alexis moved her hand, and the doors closed. Sam spent a moment staring at them before going back into the penthouse.

Webber House: Living Room

Her hands tightened around the bat, and Elizabeth lifted it higher, locking eyes with the man that she’d let into her home, into her life, into her body, her heart—

Into the lives of her boys. Her precious babies.

“Get your hands off my son now,” she repeated.

Franco released Cameron’s shirt, stepped away from her eldest son with his hands up. “There’s been a misunderstanding,” he said slowly. “Let me explain—”

“Cameron, take your brothers upstairs,” Elizabeth snapped, not taking her eyes off Franco.

She’d never take her eyes off him again. Evil always struck when you weren’t looking.

“Jake, Aiden, go upstairs,” Cameron ordered. “I’m not leaving you, Mom. Let me call someone—”

“I came in here, and they were watching the video from the Metro Court. They were laughing—”

“They are children,” Elizabeth snarled, wishing she could get to the safe on the other side of the room. A bat—she knew she’d never be able to take him down for good. She had to get her babies to safety.  “Cameron, upstairs. Now!”

“Not a chance,” Cameron muttered, but he pushed Aiden and Jake towards the stairwell. “Go—”

“But—” Jake protested.

“Listen to me,” he ordered in a tone that sounded so much like her own it might have been amusing any other time.

“I just wanted him to give me the goddamn tablet,” Franco retorted. “If you’d taught your kids how to respect people—”

“You called my mom a liar!” Aiden screamed, and Cameron hissed at him.

“Upstairs!”

“Go,” Jake told Aiden, and the youngest Webber boys headed up the stairs, their feet scrambling up the carpeted steps. She could breathe a little more easily.

But only a little.

“Get out.”

“Damn it, Elizabeth!” Franco dragged his hands through his hair. “Why won’t you just listen to me? After everything I’ve been through tonight, you’re not even trying to listen to my side—”

“Side?” Her voice climbed almost to a shrill pitch as hysteria threatened. Oh, God, what if he didn’t leave? What would she do? Behind Franco, she saw Cameron sliding his hand in his pocket, likely for his phone, but he was moving slowly—trying desperately not to draw any attention.

“You don’t have a side. They’re my children!” She forced herself to take a deep breath, for her lungs to fully expand. “Get out. Don’t make me say it again.”

“What if I don’t go?” Franco retorted. “What are you going to do? This is my house, too. I have rights!”

Damn it. Damn it. She had to get to the safe. Had to get something better than the bat. If she’d been by herself, she’d have gone for the fucking head and let the chips fall where they may.

But her babies were in the house, and she didn’t think Cameron could get them to safety before Franco went after them.

And she knew, she knew he’d go for them first.

“Okay.” Elizabeth let the bat fall to her side. “Then explain your side,” she said.

“Mom—”

“Cameron. Let him explain. We owe him that much,” she said, hating the way his face fell, how his eyes filled with disappointment and betrayal. Oh, God. What had she done?

She edged around Franco, wanting to put herself between Cameron and Franco. She had to get to the safe. Could she still get open as fast as Jason had taught her?

“Finally! Do you see my face?” Franco demanded. “Look at my throat!” He started to unzip his jacket to reveal the skin in question—

And Elizabeth went for the safe, thrusting the bat at Cameron, getting the code and door open in what must have been five seconds but felt like hours—

She yanked the gun from the top shelf where it had rested next to her passport and the boys’ birth certificates for nearly a decade—

Franco’s hands were still on the zipper of jacket, his one good eye bulging in stunned surprise as Elizabeth leveled the gun at his chest, stepping in front of Cameron.

“Get out,” she said. “There’s not a jury in this world that would convict me.”

“You wouldn’t—”

She slowly and deliberately disengaged the safety, the click reverberating in the quiet room.

“You don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

Greystone Manor: Living Room

“I cannot believe you knew for three whole hours,” Carly said as they walked into the living room, “and didn’t tell me. I told you something was wrong—” She slapped Sonny’s shoulder. “Didn’t I? I said Helena put a whammy on him—but it’s more than that—”

She turned to Jason and threw her arms around him, nearly knocking him off his feet. “It’s really you, isn’t it?”

“It’s me,” Jason told her, closing his eyes, hugging her back.

“You’d never buy a media company and abandon me—”

“Carly—” Sonny said, with a sigh as he pulled her back. “Let Jason breathe. It’s been a long night—”

The door opened behind them, and Michael and Joss hurried in—Michael standing in the doorway for a moment to stare at Jason, who could hardly believe his eyes. When he’d last seen him, Michael had barely been twenty. He seemed taller, his face filled out, with lines at the corner of his eyes—this little boy he’d practically raised and had loved like a son—

“Oh my God,” the girl beside him said, and Jason took in Carly’s daughter for the first time. She must be fifteen now, he remembered, and looked a lot like her mother had when Carly had arrived in Port Charles at twenty-two. “We saw the videos, but—Michael—” Joss tugged her brother’s sleeve.

Michael swallowed hard. “Is it—” He looked at his parents. “I don’t—I don’t understand what’s happening,” he said, finally.

“We don’t either,” Carly offered, her voice trembling. “But it’s Jason.”

“Of course it is,” Joss said. She gestured at him. “I mean, it’s just like I told the others,” she said to Michael, “he tried to kill Franco, which is what normal people do.” And for some reason, she glared at her mother, who winced.

“Joss—” Michael said with a sigh.

“What? You think I’m ever going to let Mom forget what she did?” Joss demanded. “Has anyone even told Jason what’s going on with that? I mean, he lives with Jake—”

“What?” Jason demanded, everything else in his brain squeezed out at that. He whirled around to stare at Carly and Sonny. “What the hell—”

“It’s complicated,” Carly muttered.

“Not really,” Joss said breezily. She folded her arms, and Jason focused on her again because at least she was giving him answers instead of trying to protect him. “Franco showed up like eight months after you went into the water. He had all these stupid DVDs that supposedly proved his innocence and no one was buying it, but then Dr. Patrick found a brain tumor—”

“Brain tumor?” Jason repeated with disgust. “Not again.”

“It gets better,” Sonny offered. Carly scowled at him, and he shrugged. “What? You might regret it now, but—”

“Mom got Diane to defend Franco in court,” Joss continued as Michael sat down, put his head in his hands. “And got all the charges dropped—”

“I am not proud of that,” Carly muttered.

“What about what happened after that?” Michael said dully. “You almost married him.” He focused on Jason, who was just staring at Carly. “She didn’t. But he left her at the altar.” His mouth tightened. “She was having an affair with Dad, among other things.” He looked at Sonny and Carly, who both avoided his eyes, and Jason frowned at that. There was something else that wasn’t quite right.

But he couldn’t really wrap his mind around any of this. “You almost married Franco?” he demanded of Carly. Which meant — “Is he—” He closed his eyes.

“One time,” Michael said, leaning back against the chair, staring at the ceiling. “You told me that you thought Elizabeth might be able to forgive a serial killer because she was too nice.” He met Jason’s eyes without any humor. “I laughed then. It’s less funny now.”

Jason hissed under his breath. “How the hell did any of this happen?” he demanded. “Franco was dead. I killed him—” He winced, remembering Joss was there.

“Oh, don’t worry, your failure to do that has been a source of much irritation,” Joss said with a shrug. “Cameron and I are very disappointed.”

“Joss,” Carly said through gritted teeth. “Maybe you should go to bed.”

“I can’t,” Joss said, rolling her eyes. “Because I know you think I’m just a kid, but me and Cam—”

“Oh, no,” Sonny moaned. “What now?”

“Don’t make that face, Uncle Sonny. This isn’t like the last time,” Joss said. “I promise. We didn’t even get near a car tonight.”

“You should listen to Joss on this one,” Michael said, “Because, like I told you guys on the phone, this was all over social media. Cam and Joss knew about it before I got there. And they saw the videos—”

“By the way, Jason,” Joss interrupted, “Cam and Aiden are going to have the choking video on repeat for days. Highlight of the night—”

“Joss,” Michael scowled. “Focus.”

“Right, right, well Oscar—my boyfriend, Oscar Nero—and I actually found out that’s not his real name—not his birth name. He’s actually Oscar Cain, but his stepmom changed their name—”

“Joss.” Michael shoved himself to his feet with a growl. Jason’s head was starting to ache. “Oscar saw the video and says that you—” he gestured at Jason. “Your face—looks exactly like his dad’s did the last time Oscar saw him. Andrew Cain. Disappeared from Afghanistan in July 2012. He went AWOL.”

Jason exhaled slowly, then looked at Sonny. “So he did have my face before.”

“Heather Webber wasn’t lying, and neither were the DNA tests,” Carly said. “But—” She hesitated. “He has your memories, Jason. We didn’t know who he was—and even when we found out, he still didn’t remember. Then he did.”

“He told me about raising me as a baby,” Michael offered. “And it sounded real, but—” He paused. “I don’t know. He also had that chip in his head,” he reminded his parents. He looked at Jason. “He did these crazy things—really bad crimes—and got arrested. Elizabeth was sure something wasn’t right, and it turns out Helena Cassadine had a chip in his head to control him.”

“The Cassadines,” Sonny said, nodding to Jason. “I told you. Whatever this is—it’s not over. You said you were chased in Russia, attacked in New York City.”

“But here aren’t any Cassadines left,” Joss said, folding her arms. “Except for Spencer who barely counts, and—” she hesitated. “And Valentin. I bet he’s in on it. He’s super scary.”

“What? What did he say to you?” Sonny demanded.

“Oh—” Joss’s eyes widened. “Nothing to me. He’s not that dumb. He picked up Charlotte from Aiden’s birthday party a few months ago, and he was like, super weird to Cam’s mom. Like he said something about Nikolas—”

“What about Nikolas?” Jason asked, irritated by only having half the story.

“Valentin killed Nikolas last year,” Carly said tightly, “and ended up inheriting everything. He’s one of Mikkos’s sons. Illegitimate,” she added. “Joss, you never said—”

“Because he didn’t say it to me,” Joss repeated, rolling her eyes. “And Cam’s mom never gets scared of anything. Cam says that’s because they’ve all been kidnapped like twice. Except for Cam. Which I think sometimes he’s jealous about—”

Michael put his hands on Joss’s shoulders. “Why don’t we go upstairs?” he said to her.

“No, I’m helping,” Joss said, shrugging his hands off. “I listen to everything even when I’m not supposed to.” She looked at Jason. “He’s Charlotte’s dad, and Lulu’s her mom, so Aiden is stuck putting up with her, and Charlotte is mean. Like pick the wings off flies mean, and he’s in Charlotte’s class at school. He’s always coming home, upset about her. Cam’s mom can’t do anything because the school refuses to stand up for Aiden because Valentin has all the money, and she doesn’t —anyway—he’s raising his own little serial killing psychopath, so that’s how I know he’s scary. Plus, he said to Cam’s mom that it was a shame Nikolas couldn’t get to see his son, only then he pretended like he’d made a mistake when he was just making a dig at her because he’s also a giant douchebag—”

“I have a headache,” Sonny muttered, but Jason had taken all of Joss’s rambles in and refined them to the essential details. Valentin had killed Nikolas, and had a daughter — likely the girl Aided had complained about in the park.

“The important thing,” Joss said, “is that we know who the other guy is because all Oscar has to do is get a DNA test, right?” she widened her eyes. “Or would that come back to being identical to you? I mean, would it say Oscar is your kid?” She furrowed her brow. “Would that help?”

“There are advanced tests,” Carly said. “They can use Jake and Oscar’s DNA to establish identity,” she offered. “Along with the fingerprints. That should take care of it—”

“What about—” Joss began, but Michael elbowed her. “Hey, ow, what, you think no one is going to ask about Danny?”

“Danny?” Jason repeated, furrowing his brow.

“I was thinking,” Michael said, with a growl at his sister, “that maybe we’ve dumped enough crap on you tonight.”

“Oh, well, maybe, but this is good stuff, isn’t it? Jason went into the water with no kids, and now he’s got two. That’s gotta be, like, the best part, right?” Joss blinked at him as Jason just stared at her. “Right?”

Webber Home: Living Room

“You don’t even know how to use that thing,” Franco said, his voice trembling just enough that she knew he was scared.

Good.

“You sure about that?” Elizabeth’s lips curved up in a humorless smile. “You think Jason didn’t teach me how to make a kill shot? When my life was on the line? When it came to protecting Jake and Cam?”

“Jason,” Franco spat. “It’s always back to him—”

Was she really going to have to pull the trigger? God damn it—She hissed, then lowered the gun slightly—aiming it at the floor just by his toe. It had been a very long time since Jason had taught her how to shoot but—

Franco yelped when the bullet hit the floor just in front of his feet. Cameron lunged towards to the stairs as Jake cried out, and Aiden started screaming.

“It’s okay, it’s okay! Mom just fired a warning shot. She’s okay. We’re okay!”

Franco stumbled back, glaring at her. “You fucking shot at me!”

She raised the barrel. “Want to see what else I can do?”

He hissed, then stalked out the door, slamming it behind him so hard that the entire front of the house shook.

She didn’t move the gun, didn’t even blink until she heard a car roar away, the brakes squealing.

“Mom? Mommy!”

“It’s okay, he’s gone,” Cameron told his brothers as Jake and Aiden came rushing down the stairs—Cameron holding them back because Elizabeth still had the gun in her hand.

“Mom,” Jake said slowly, “are you okay?”

She wanted to tell him no. Of course, she wasn’t okay. But she was the adult. These were her babies, and she needed to be the strong one.

“Yes,” Elizabeth told him. “Cameron, go secure the alarm and put the chain on the door.”

She disengaged the safety and relocked the gun in the safe, her fingers trembling slightly as she took just a minute away from the boys to steady herself.

How had this happened? Had had any of this happened?

“Mom?” Cameron said. She stood up and faced her boys, with their tear-stained faces and stunned expressions. “Mom,” he said again, “we’re going to talk about how badass that was, and I’m sorry I doubted you because I never saw anyone move that damned fast, but I don’t think we should depend on an alarm system he knows and a chain—”

“No, I know.” Elizabeth pressed a hand to her head, tried to gather her thoughts. “And I need my floor fixed,” she muttered, staring at the scarred hardwood. Or maybe she’d keep it as a reminder to never, ever let anyone else in again.

She felt a pair of arms encircle her waist through her black coat, and she opened her eyes to find Aiden clinging to her. “Hey, baby.”

“I was scared he’d hurt Cameron, then us, but you came home, and you made him leave.”

“Yeah, that was really cool,” Jake told her, swallowing hard as he hugged her, too. She kissed the top of his head—her babies who had seen too much of the bad in this world.

She’d made him leave.

But she had brought him home in the first place.

“Do we call the police?” Cameron asked. “I mean—” He glanced uneasily at the floor where the bullet had hit. “Will you get in trouble?”

“No, because we’re not going to call them. They’re the good guys,” she reminded her children, “but they’re not always the answer.”

No, she needed someone who understood.

“Cameron, can you take the boys upstairs?” she asked. “I need to make a call.”

Cassadine Estate: Foyer

Valentin winced when he saw Nina standing just beyond the foyer, in the parlor ahead of him. He gritted his teeth, offered his coat to the waiting servant, then waded into battle.

“You left me,” his wife said. “In the middle of all that chaos, you left me and walked out.” Nina arched an imperious brow. “What the hell is going on?”

“I saw someone I needed to speak to,” Valentin said, offering her a charming smile, but it was a mistake since her eyes just narrowed.

“Right when a Jason Morgan look-alike was storming the ballroom, trying to choke the life out of Franco?” she said dryly. “You saw someone you needed to speak with?”

“Yes.” Valentin brushed a kiss on her cheek. “Have you looked in on Charlotte since you’ve been home?”

“Yes. She’s sleeping. Don’t change the subject, Valentin. Who did you need to speak with so badly that you didn’t even tell me you were going?”

“Just someone from the office. Really, Nina—” Valentin tried the smile again, but he really wasn’t feeling it. He was stretched too thin, trying to keep too many balls in the air—the last thing he needed was a suspicious wife asking questions. And he highly doubted that Nina would be interested in why he’d had Jason Morgan held in a Russian clinic or why his return might bring everything crashing down.

He had too much to do—too many lines to tug—he needed to find those files—he needed to find the last of the Cassadines before his inheritance—what his mother had promised him—could be stolen from him—

“Valentin, I told you that I needed a new start,” Nina said to him softly. “After what happened with my mother and Ric Lansing. And Ava and Silas. I needed to be able to trust someone. Please don’t tell me that you’ve become someone I can’t.”

“You can trust me,” Valentin assured her, and this he could say without a single trace of dishonesty. His schemes were over—there were just some loose ends that didn’t have anything to do with the life he’d created with Nina and Charlotte. “It’s really nothing. I’m so sorry I left you in the middle of that, but those people don’t really matter to us, do they?”

“No,” Nina said, slowly. “Other than Franco,” she added. “But I imagine if the other man really is Jason Morgan, he’ll have to accept that Franco has changed.” She bit her lip. “What do you think is going on? I know that Helena was behind Jason’s abduction all those years ago. Could it be something leftover from her?”

“Maybe,” Valentin said. “I should probably find out,” he offered. “Why don’t I make some calls in the morning.” He leaned in to kiss her cheek again, relieved that some of the cold tension in the air had dissipated. “My stepmother had many irons in the fire. After the Chimera incident,” he murmured, “it makes sense that there might be some other loose ends.”

“You should get to the bottom of it,” Nina said, straightening his suit jacket. “It was scary last year when that poor little boy was under Helena’s control. Dead for two years and still pulling strings—it’s something out of a horror film.”

“Yes.” Valentin nodded. “It’s time that Helena’s secrets were revealed. She’s dead, and she’s going to stay that way.”

Webber House: Living Room

Elizabeth rubbed her neck as she watched Michael change the security code on her door with Sonny hovering nearby. “Jason doesn’t know?” she asked. “I mean, that I called?”

“No, I talked him into going to bed just before you did,” Sonny assured her. He gestured for her to join him in the kitchen while Michael finished changing the code. “When did you get a gun?” he asked. “You could have used it that time Obrecht locked you up at the old house—”

“The safe was too far away, and she was a lot smarter than Franco. After that, I kept it in the living room,” Elizabeth said, rubbing her arms. “Jason got it for me.” She looked back out into the living room. “After Michael was shot. He broke off the engagement, but he was terrified that someone already knew about me and the boys.”

Sonny sucked in a sharp breath. “I didn’t know—”

“He got me the safe, and he taught me how to open it fast. He knew I didn’t want the gun around the boys, even unloaded. He kept his in a lockbox high up in the penthouse, but I couldn’t—” She was babbling, her voice was shaking. “Anyway. He made me practice until I could get to the gun in ten seconds. He taught me how to shoot, too. I wasn’t sure I’d remembered how to do that until I had to fire the shot. It came back in a rush. Muscle memory.”

Sonny scrubbed a hand over his face. “Christ. This is a goddamn mess.”

“I feel like such an idiot,” she admitted. “Everyone told me. Why did I think I was different? Why did I think I was special?”

“Why would you think this is on you?” Sonny bit out. “I’m the one that let him live over and over again. We should have cut his ass up in tiny pieces, set him on fire, and danced on his grave.”  He winced. “Sorry.”

“No, right now it sounds like a great idea. I killed one of the Russian guys when they tried to kill Sam and go after Jake,” Elizabeth said. “It didn’t stop them from getting him, but I know I’d kill for my boys. That was never in doubt. I  just didn’t want Cameron to see me.”

He paused. “These last five years Jason has been gone—there’s so much he doesn’t know. And he’s getting all of it fast, like a freight train coming at him.”

“Do you—should I not tell him?” Elizabeth asked, squinting. “I mean—”

“No, you should absolutely tell him. Franco threatened you, put his hands on Cam It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t Jake. You and the boys—you know you’re family. And I like Cameron. You know I do. This pisses me off.” He paused. “It’s never happened before?”

“Absolutely not!” Elizabeth shook her head. “No, I didn’t—it wasn’t even until the last few days I even realized that Cameron and Aiden—that Franco was an issue. It’s just been—the Chimera, my grandmother, then Jason—” She closed her eyes. “The shooting and the coma,” she said slowly, “and Franco was spending so much time with his art show. He wasn’t around the boys much after he moved in. This—I know this has to be the first time.”

She turned as she saw Cameron come into the room. “Cameron, please tell me—”

“I never would have kept that from you, Mom.” He nodded to Sonny. “Hey, Mr. Corinthos.”

“You ever gonna call me Sonny?”

“No, sir,” Cameron said, but his smile was a bit more genuine. “Mom, I promise. I didn’t think that was ever—if he’d gone after me, he might have done it to Jake or Aiden. And I asked them. They would have told you or me. I promise.”

“Okay. Okay.” She could breathe more easily. “Okay. That’s—that’s better. Are your brothers okay?”

“Yeah, they’re in your room, watching Netflix. I’m gonna go back up, I just—” He shifted. “I just wanted to thank you for coming over, Mr. Corinthos. And Michael,” he said as the older blond joined them in the kitchen. “With everything that’s going on tonight. I appreciate you doing this for my mom and me.”

“Any time,” Sonny said. “If I let anything happen to you, Joss would never forgive me. You did a good job looking out for your brothers, your mom said. She could focus on getting that bastard out of here because you kept your head.”

“Yeah, well, Mom was pretty cool under fire, too. I was scared,” Cameron said, “but then she shot at his feet, and he jumped like eight feet in the air. That helped.”

“I would have liked to see it,” Michael said with a grin. “Jason will be proud when you tell him.”

“I don’t think pride is going to be high on that list,” Elizabeth said. “Cam, I’ll be up in a bit—”

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks again.” He extended a hand to Michael, who shook it, then he shook Sonny’s hand.

“He’s such a great kid,” Sonny said as Cameron’s steps faded away. “About tomorrow—”

“I know I have to tell Jason,” she said, “I just hate that it has to be like this. I hate that this happened, but tonight of all nights—I just want—I want to find out what’s going on. How this happened, and now I have to drop Franco at his feet.” She grimaced. “But I have to tell him.”

“Good. We’re meeting at a safe house,” he told her, and she frowned at him. “Not at Greystone. I don’t want Carly at this meeting. It’ll just be me, you, and Jason. And Michael,” he said, “if you want to come.”

“You planning on tying my mother up?” Michael said dryly.

“I’ll figure something out—”

“She should be there,” Elizabeth said, irritated with the both of them. “That’s ridiculous. This isn’t business, Sonny. It’s Cassadines. And they scheme. Why the hell would you leave Carly out of this? No one schemes like her.”

“She’s got a point,” Michael said. “And if you don’t bring Mom, she’ll just find out and make you pay later. Plus, then she’ll find out Elizabeth was there, and we really don’t need Mom finding another reason to give Elizabeth hell.”

“That is also an excellent point,” Elizabeth said. “And what safe house? You have like a thousand of them, and I haven’t needed to know any of them for—”

“The one Jason bought for you in Queen’s Point,” Sonny told her, and she fell silent. “It’s how he got in contact with me. Only you, me, Spinelli, and Jason ever knew the code. It’s a safe place, and I want to keep this quiet.”

“The safe house in Queen’s Point,” Elizabeth said slowly. The one Jason had bought before the trip to Italy that had never happened. Where they’d talked about the future, had made love in several rooms before leaving and never going back. She forced a smile. “Sounds great.”

Morgan Penthouse: Nursery

He knew they were right.

That was the horrible truth behind all of this. He knew he wasn’t Jason Morgan. Wasn’t that what the voice had been screaming in his brain for years?

It had started small, just merely a whisper in the days after his failed wedding to Elizabeth, when the world had been trying to shove him into a box labeled Jason Morgan. This is who you are, they’d said. Sam had begged him to see the truth, had begged him to come back to her, to their life. To Danny.

And he’d said no. He’d resisted. He didn’t remember that life. He knew this life. He was Jake Doe. And Elizabeth and her boys—they were his family.

Then he’d learned Elizabeth had been lying, and he hadn’t known what to think. What to do. He couldn’t be Jake Doe anymore, and he didn’t want to be Jason Morgan. He didn’t belong anywhere.

The voice had only grown louder when his memories had returned—those memories that felt so real except when they also felt like movies playing in his head—like there was a strange white film over them sometimes, keeping him from really feeling like a part of him—

He’d ignored that voice, ignored the out of body sensation he felt every time someone called him Jason. He had his memories, he’d told himself. And he shut it all way. He’d married Sam. They’d started a new life—

But since he’d woken up in the hospital after the last gun shot, the voice had been screaming so loud it had nearly drowned everything else out He’d ignored it, he’d kept going, finally ready to stop pretending he was the Jason from before—he was going to be the Jason of now. The Jason he wanted to be.

“But it’s not me,” he said slowly, looking down at his beautiful little girl, the little girl with dark curls and her mother’s dark eyes, named for the sister that wasn’t his.

He squeezed his eyes shut. If he let this go, if he stopped living this life, who would he be this time? He’d be no one again. Couldn’t go back to Jake Doe. That life was gone. He’d burned all those bridges—

No. It had to be a lie. And there had to be another reason his memories didn’t always feel right. His brain had been knocked around a lot, Sam had laughed once. It was a miracle he could function. That’s what it was.

He was Jason Morgan. Sam was his wife. And Danny, Scout, and Jake were his kids. He couldn’t lose them. He couldn’t lose another life.

“Jason?”

He turned to find his wife standing in the door frame, her voice hesitant. Had she stumbled over his name because she was worried about him? Or because she just didn’t know how to tell him that she also believed the man with the face she’d loved once?

“Jason,” Sam repeated, her voice steadier this time, more assured. He wondered if he’d imagined it.

“Hey.” Jason smiled at her. “Sorry, I was just thinking about how beautiful Scout is. How much she looks like you.”

Sam returned his smile and held out a hand. “Let’s go to bed,” she said softly. “Everything will be better in the morning.”

Knowing she was lying—that nothing would be okay again—Jason took her hand and followed her into their bedroom.

Greystone Manor: Living Room

Sonny frowned when he walked through the door and found Jason sitting on the sofa. “Jason, I thought you’d gone to bed—”

“I did,” Jason said as he got to his feet. “Then I heard you leave. What happened?”

Sonny pressed his lips together. “I got a call to take care of a security problem,” he said. “And I didn’t know how to change a security code, so I took Michael. He’s picked up some things from Spinelli. We should call him in the morning, by the way. We’ll need him.”

“What security problem,” Jason said, ignoring Sonny’s attempt to change the subject, “did you need to deal with that you were comfortable taking Michael?”

“It’s been a long five years,” Sonny said. His voice shook as he continued. “You know about Morgan, but there’s a lot more. You can’t learn it all in one night.”

“Sonny—”

“I know it’s a mess. I know there’s a thousand things going in your head, and you’ll never be able to sleep. That’s fine. But we need to take this one step at a time. We’ll get Spinelli back in town. We’ll need him. We’ll find out who did this to you—”

“Five years,” Jason repeated. His entire life—everything he’d known—it was gone. And in its place was a world he didn’t know. Didn’t understand. Couldn’t even process. Jake was alive. Danny was apparently his biological son. Sam didn’t believe him, and Elizabeth was living with Franco, who Carly had almost married—the Cassadines might still be coming after him—or anyone else who mattered—

“One step at a time,” Jason repeated. He took a deep breath. “You’re right. We’re meeting tomorrow?”

“Yeah, and until we get a handle on what we’re dealing with, I don’t want Elizabeth coming over here and signaling Valentin, or whoever the hell we’re dealing with that she’s gonna be involved.” He hesitated. “And it might be good if Franco doesn’t know she’s spending time with you.”

Jason narrowed his eyes. “Sonny, what the hell is going on?”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Neither one of us might be able to sleep,” his friend said, “but I sure as hell need to lay down. I’m not as young as I used to be. And neither are you.”

“I want—”

“Tomorrow,” Sonny repeated. He paused. “And this isn’t my story to tell.”

You’ve got to get yourself together
You’ve got stuck in a moment
And now you can’t get out of it
Oh love, look at you now
You’ve got yourself stuck in a moment
And now you can’t get out of it
– Stuck in a Moment, U2

---

April 2012

Crichton Clark Labs: Office

Victor took a seat across from Andre and flipped open his portfolio. “How are you settling in?”

“As well as can be expected,” Andre said as he reached for a folder. “I’m getting up to speed with some of the projects you’ve implemented using my protocol.” He paused. “There are a few patients that I’ve been told are outside of my purview. I thought that all of the patients here were part of the program—”

“We have some long-term residents,” Victor said smoothly. “The daughter of an old friend has been in a coma for some time, and I’m…” His lips twitched. “I’m holding on to someone for a family member. You know how family can be.”

Andre knew enough about the Cassadine family to understand that whatever favor Victor was doing was likely illegal and possibly downright evil, so he put that aside. “Fair enough, I’ll take my lead from you on that. I noticed your numbering system — you have a Patient Four. That suggests there were three other patients before him? Are they in another location?”

“The experiments with memory,” Victor said, carefully, “predate your protocol. Patient 1 was a set of twins a few decades ago—part of another organization.  We’ve been using our records and what we learned from them—I’ll see that you get a copy of their files.” He hesitated. “Patient 2 was a teenaged boy brought to us some time ago. He’s also not part of the experiment at the moment, but I imagine that might change.”

“And Patient 3?”

“Patient 3 is part of the overall experiment, but he will not be someone you are involved with. He’s under Dr. Obrecht’s care.”

“Ah.” Andre’s lips thinned, then he sat back. “Dr. Obrecht.”

“You’ve met her?”

“We’ve come into contact over the years. She’s, ah, interesting.” He scratched his cheek. “I saw her name on Patient 4’s files. That’s why I wanted to meet with you.”

“Are you displeased with Patient Four?”

“Not displeased. Concerned.” Andre opened the folder and slid something across the table. “This is an MRI scan taken on him last week. He’s been in the program since when, January?”

“Hmm, yes, he was brought to us January 15, and we implemented your protocol to map his memories in February.” Victor squinted at the scan. “What precisely am I looking at?”

“Here is the MRI scan from late in January shortly after his arrival.” Andre slid another scan. Victor picked it up, and even an untrained eye could see the difference.

“Ah, well, that mass in the frontal lobe is quite different.”

“It’s a tumor. I’m ordering a biopsy so we can learn whether or not it’s malignant or benign. Still, a tumor of this size—I think it was caused by how Dr. Obrecht handled the mapping. That concerns me because you’ve told me you’ve arranged for my first test subjects.”

“Yes, yes. A pair of twins. Male. Age—” Victor checked the portfolio. “Aged thirty-seven, though they may be thirty-eight by the time we arrange delivery. We’re hoping to get them in July, but we must extract them from their everyday lives without being noticed. Or at least without their disappearance being traced back to us.”

“You said one was a Navy Seal from San Diego, and the other—” Andre squinted at the profile. “A mob enforcer,” he said slowly. “Really?” He tilted his head. “What makes them suitable for this project?”

“They’re twins who were separated at birth. To the best of my knowledge, they don’t know the other exists. They live entirely separate lives,” Victor said, “but there are some extraordinary personality similarities based on my research. Despite our mob enforcer’s the life of crime, he is apparently a well-respected member of his community, known for his loyalty and honesty.”

“That—” Andre blinked. “How is that possible?” He shook his head. “Never mind. I’ll do better if we just keep the personal stuff out of it. So Patient Five—the Navy Seal—and Patient Six—the gangster—I’m concerned that my protocol might create brain tumors. If I can’t learn what happened—”

“Well,” Victor sighed, “I’ll admit that we began with your protocol, but we had a different goal for Patient Four, so Liesl had to…improvise.”

“How? What was the goal? Victor, you told me that I was in charge—”

“And you are. As of today, Patient Four is entirely under your control.” He was quiet for a moment. “I told you we were interested in using your protocol as a witness interrogation technique, so we mapped his memories so that we could explore them—but we attempted to remove those memories from Patient Four so that he could not tell anyone what we were looking for.”

“Erase them? Why does it matter—”

“He had knowledge of Patient Five as a child,” Victor explained. “I intend to release him back into the wild at some point, but I couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t tell anyone. He didn’t the last time he had the opportunity, but these types of sociopaths—you can never tell.”

“What kind of knowledge?” Andre asked. “How could it be a problem—”

“He and Five were foster brothers for a time before they were separated,” Victor said. “He tracked down Six thinking that it was his long-lost brother. When he realized it was a twin, he…was quite angry and set about destroying Six’s life. I thought it best if we just—removed any memory of why he became obsessed with Jas—With Six,” he corrected smoothly. “Are you determined to continue with this number nonsense?”

“What you want me to do, Victor,” Andre told him, “is outside of medical ethics. You and I both know what we’re planning with these twins—it’s wrong. It’s for the greater good, but I know what I’m doing. And I know there’s a possibility we will fail. If I treat these patients like numbers, I can keep myself away from it. You might not need that barrier, but I do.”

“Fair enough. A conscience can be terribly inconvenient.” Victor closed his portfolio and got to his feet. “What do you intend to do with Four?”

“I’ll keep running tests, look at the files—see if we can reverse the tumor.” Andre sighed. “But I think it might be best if Liesl Obrecht was taken off this project.”

“Not a problem. I have some other things she can do, and she may be needed back in Greece to work with Three.” He put up a hand. “Three is part of the program, but not the experiment. I promise, if that changes, I shall make you privy to it.”

Unsure and unsettled, but with little choice, Andre nodded. “You do that. And let me know when Five and Six are en route. I’m eager to get started.”

Friday, October 27, 2017

Metro Court Hotel: Ball Room

Valentin sipped his champagne, trying to keep his teeth from baring as Nina talked with Nelle Benson, her assistant. He kept one ear on their conversation and another on the crowd.

Andre Maddox had warned him that little Jake Webber had seen someone in the park that was probably the missing Russian patient, and Valentin was sure that once Jason Morgan learned of the man walking around town with his face, he’d come looking for him.

Valentin intended to find Jason first, to return him to Russia where he could be put back to sleep until Valentin needed him—if that day ever came. If Jason Morgan came face to face with Drew Cain—

How long would Valentin be able to hide his own involvement in the whole scheme?

“Valentin,” Nina began with a wide smile on her face. “Nelle was just saying—”

He never did learn what Nelle had been saying. Instead, as Valentin turned to look at his wife and the other woman, he caught sight of someone in the crowd who should have been meeting him at his office in the morning.

Dr. Joseph Klein.

He growled, startling Nina who stopped speaking in mid-sentence.

“What is your issue tonight?” she demanded, planting a hand on her hip as Nelle grimaced and melted into the crowd, away from them.

Before Valentin could go after the doctor and find out why he was at the hotel, the doors to the ballroom burst open and two men rolled through, grappling and attacking one another each other, each fighting to choke the life from the other—

Someone screamed and glass shattered. One of the men was wearing a baseball cap that came loose, and Valentin swore.

“Oh my God!” Carly Corinthos yelped as she shoved forward. Other men pushed past her—Sonny Corinthos, Dante Falconieri, and Nathan West—they waded into the fight, dragging the men apart.

Sonny grabbed Jason by the elbow while Dante and Nathan jerked Franco off the ground as Valentin’s heart pounded erratically. He swept his eyes over the crowd, taking in the shocked and stunned expressions of people as they looked at the face of a man who wasn’t supposed to exist.

Near the podium, where Drew Cain and Sam had been about to begin the evening, Valentin saw Drew staring across the room, his jaw clenched while Sam’s face had lost all its color.

“I want to press charges!” Franco was saying to the officers who held him back. “He attacked me!”

“Jason?” Carly whispered, touching the shoulder of the man Sonny was holding back. Near her, Michael had joined them and by Sonny, Valentin saw his mother’s old enemy, Elizabeth Webber. whose face was carefully blank.

She was more intelligent than his mother had ever given her credit for, Valentin knew, and it was likely she was already reaching the conclusion that her son had seen Jason in the park.

“Arrest him!”

“What the hell is going on here?” Drew said, finally finding his voice and pushing through the crowd. “Who the hell are you?” he demanded of the man who wore his old face. Valentin hissed, seeing Klein slip out of the crowd, towards the door.

He took off after him, leaving Nina without a second thought.

Webber House: Living Room

“Okay, so then when she’s not looking,” Trina said to Aiden patiently, “you put the blue hair dye in her shampoo—”

“But how do I get to her shampoo?” Aiden asked, furrowing his brows.

“Is that how you did it?” Joss demanded. “In my shampoo?” She wrinkled her face and picked up her phone to swipe through her Instagram feed. “I wondered. I thought you’d put it in my hair spray.”

Trina smirked. “Well, yeah, I put it there, too. Just to be sure.” She turned back to Aiden. “The next time you get dragged over for a party—”

“Whoa—” Joss turned towards Cameron, her eyes wide with shock. “Something just happened at the hotel—”

“What—” Cameron began leaning towards her even as he reached for his own phone. “Oscar—”

“Loading Twitter now—”

“I’ll check Facebook,” Trina volunteered. “That’s where all the old people post—”

“Yo, someone punched your mom’s boyfriend,” Oscar reported. “Look at #serialkillerdown, there are pictures—”

“No, I found a Facebook Live,” Trina said. Then she frowned. “Wait a second—” They all crowded around Trina’s phone while Joss tried to pull up the same feed on her iPad. “Dude—”

“I know that face,” Cameron said. He exchanged a look with Joss. “How—”

“That’s the guy I saw today!” Jake said, pointing at the screen. “Wait, what are they saying?”

Oscar was staring at his phone, his face oddly still. “You guys know him?”

“Um, I don’t know if we know him,” Joss said, “but—”

“Shh—” Trina said, waving her hand. “They’re saying stuff—”

“How is this possible?” Carly demanded.

“Who the hell are you?” came the voice of someone off screen, someone Cam recognized as Jason—the one who had lived with them as Jake Doe, but—

That was also Jason right there. Next to Joss’s stepdad and his mom. His mom was staring at the new guy with the old face like she’d seen a ghost. Thinking about Jake—maybe she had.

“I want him arrested!”

“There he is,” Aiden muttered. “I was hoping he’d been knocked out.” Jake sent him a sour look, but his younger brother put his face in his hand, glumly. “Maybe if Mr. Sonny lets the guy with Jake’s dad’s old face go—”

“There’s the commissioner,” Joss said, making a face. “And oh—damn—” Just like that, the feed went dead as Jordan Ashford took the phone from whoever was streaming the event. “I guess they’re going to the PCPD.” She looked at Oscar. “You okay?”

“Uh, yeah—” He shook his head. “No. No, actually, I’m not sure because the guy that you guys seem to know—” Oscar looked at his girlfriend. “Did Aiden say he has Jake’s dad’s face?”

“Yeah, before Jason came home officially, he was here for a year as Jake Doe,” Joss explained. “He’d had an accident that screwed up his face and made him lose his memories. That guy with my Uncle Sonny—he looks just like Jason used to. And Jake saw him in the park earlier, right?” she said to the middle Webber boy.

“It’s just—” Oscar took a deep breath. “It’s just that he looks like my dad.”

Trina frowned. “Come again?”

“My dad. He disappeared while on a mission in Afghanistan. They, uh,” Oscar dragged a hand through his hair, his voice trembling slightly. “They tried to tell me and my stepmom that he was AWOL, but she knew it was bullshit.”

Cameron leaned forward. “When did your dad go missing?”

“July 2012,” Oscar said. “Why?”

“Because Jason—our Jason—” he said, “went missing in October of 2012.” Cameron looked down at a Twitter photo that had been posted of the scene at the hotel. “There’s two men who had that face. One of them is Jake’s dad—”

“The other must be yours,” Trina said to Oscar. “But which one?”

“Well, one of them tried to kill Franco on sight,” Joss offered, “and the other one let him live these last couple of years, so maybe that’s our answer.”

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

When the crowd had first arrived at the PCPD, the commissioner had initially denied access to anyone who wasn’t claiming to be Jason Morgan, but Franco had refused to stop screaming about pressing charges, Carly had loudly proclaimed that no one was keeping her away from Jason, and Sonny was calling lawyers —

So Jordan finally admitted both Jasons, Sam, Carly, Sonny, and because Franco wouldn’t shut up—she brought him and Elizabeth back because, as she’d told Elizabeth, Jordan hoped Elizabeth might be able to control him.

But Elizabeth didn’t really know what to think, or how to process what was happening in front of her — the man she’d been told was Jason Morgan for the last two years, whom she’d known for the last three — was furiously refusing to be in the same room as an impostor while the other man—the man with the face and eyes she’d loved since she was a teenager —

He just stood there next to Sonny, saying nothing except glaring daggers at Franco.

Though later Elizabeth would admit to herself that she’d known he was Jason from the moment she’d seen his face— it was that difference, the way they held themselves while Jordan tried to get control of the chaos — that tipped the scales.

“Why isn’t he in handcuffs?” Franco demanded, raising his voice over the man who wasn’t Jason. He touched his throat. “He tried to kill me—”

“That just shows good sense,” Sonny muttered.

“I want to know what the hell is going on,” Not-Jason demanded. He turned to Jason, his eyes burning. “Who the hell are you? Why the hell do you look like that?”

“I’m pressing charges—”

“Franco, shut up!” Elizabeth finally exploded, throwing her hands up in the air, the other voices dimming. She focused on him with a glare. “How can you possibly think anyone in this room gives a damn about you right now? Of course Jason tried to kill you! The last time he saw you—” She closed her mouth, caught Not-Jason’s eyes, which held of a mixture of bewilderment, anger, and confusion that melted into stunned betrayal as they both realized what she’d said.

She’d accepted the obvious truth in front of her. As had Sonny and Carly, who were standing with Jason, apart from Sam and the other man.

“He is not Jason,” he growled. “I am—”

“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth said softly.

“Oh, great, two of them,” Franco said with a glower. “Just what the world needs—” He gestured at Sam. “One for each of you—”

Elizabeth’s cheeks flamed, and she hissed at him. “Shut up. For just five minutes. Shut up—”

“Are you going to arrest him?” Franco demanded of Jordan, who just stared at him blandly. “He tried to kill me. There were witnesses—”

“I highly doubt,” Jordan said idly, “that anyone in that room would be willing to swear to that, Mr. Baldwin. And while I’ll need to check with the DA to be sure, I can tell you that right now, no, I don’t intend to arrest this man—” She cast her eyes over Jason. “Whoever he is.”

Franco pressed his lips together, looked at Elizabeth. “And I suppose you’re staying here?” he demanded.

“Yes,” Elizabeth said, lifting her chin. “So you should go.”

“Message received.” Franco stalked from the room, and Elizabeth turned back to the others, catching Jason’s eyes. He was frowning at her, and she knew that explaining why Robert Frank was now Franco Baldwin, a legally free, living man she was dating and Carly had nearly married —

That would have to wait.

“Now that Mr. Baldwin has left,” Jordan said, leaning against her desk, folding her arms. “Perhaps our new Mr. Morgan—” she ignored Not-Jason’s growl, “might explain who the hell he is and what’s going on.”

Webber House: Living Room

Cameron stepped back from the door to let Michael and Nelle in. “Hey, have fun at the party?” he said with a wry smile.

“Uh—” Michael scratched his temple and looked over the cluster of teenagers and kids he found in front of him. “I was just going to pick up Joss and the others, but I guess you already heard that something weird is going on.”

“Oh, it gets weirder,” Joss assured her brother. She sat on the arm of the sofa. “Because one of those guys is probably Oscar’s dad who went missing in Afghanistan in July 2012.”

Michael blinked, then stared at his sister’s boyfriend, sitting next to Jake on the sofa, both of them staring at the photos of the event on Facebook. “What?”

“I thought Oscar was from California,” Nelle said, squinting in confusion.

“I don’t understand,” Jake said. “How can they have the same face? Dad grew up here. And he knows us. He knows me.” He looked at Michael. “That’s my dad. He has a new face, but he’s my dad. Isn’t he?”

Michael glanced at Nelle, who put up her hands as if to say this was all on him to fix. He turned back to his cousin. “Listen—”

“But then why would the other guy attack Franco?” Trina asked. “He seemed really angry. And we know Jason has lots of reasons to hate that creepy bastard.” She folded her arms. “This is really weird. Even for Port Charles.”

“Where’s my mommy?” Aiden asked. “Mommy will know. She always knows everything.”

“She went to the PCPD,” Michael said. “With my parents, with Sam, and, um—” He looked at Oscar. “What’s your dad’s name?”

“What?” Oscar blinked, then got to his feet. “Oh. His name is Andrew. Andrew Cain, but no one ever called him anything other than Drew.”

“This has to be him, right?” Joss said. “One of them is Jason, and the other is Drew, right?”

“I mean, it’d be weird if someone else with Jason’s face went missing at the same time, so yeah—”

“You were in the room,” Cameron said to Michael, cutting him off. He searched Michael’s eyes. “Could—I mean, we can see from pictures, but—you saw them. You heard them talk—”

“I think—” Michael hesitated. “I think that I’m leaning one way,” he admitted, “but I don’t know.”

“What about my mom?”

“He looked at me real weird,” Jake said before Michael could answer. His voice was small as he stared at the photo. “In the park. Like he was really surprised to see me.”

“Because he didn’t know you were alive,” Cameron realized. “He must have been listening to us and heard Mom call you Jake.” He folded his arms. “But—”

“It might explain why the guy living here,” Joss began, “just bought a media company. I mean, we all thought that was seriously weird. How much more evidence do we need?” She scrunched up her face. “We’re going to need another word. Weird isn’t covering it.”

“We have evidence,” Jake insisted. “Mom said there were tests. DNA tests—”

“But if they were twins,” Michael said, “those tests would match. Jake—” He passed through the others to sit next to his cousin. “Whatever the truth is, you know your dad loves you. So do your brothers. And your mom. This is going to be okay.”

“People keep saying that,” Jake said, rubbing his eyes. “But I don’t think so. Everyone thought I was crazy again, but I knew I wasn’t.” His voice faltered as he swallowed hard. “I wish I was. I don’t wanna lose my dad.”

“You won’t—” Michael put a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “Hey. You’re okay. That’s the most important thing. This other stuff—the adults will figure it out. There’s no point in all of us freaking out until we know for sure what’s going on.”

“Michael’s right,” Cameron said. “You know Mom will come home, and she’ll tell us everything she knows. We’ll get to the bottom of all of this.”

Trina pursed her lips as a text came over her phone. “Mom wants me to come home right now,” she said. She looked at Michael. “I’m sorry, but when Dr. Rob—”

“No, I get it.” Michael looked at Cameron. “I was gonna hang until your mom came home, but will you guys be okay?”

“Yeah.” Cameron picked up his phone. “I found an Instagram Live of Franco getting punched, so I saved it on my phone. That’ll keep us occupied until then.”

“Really?” Michael raised his brows. “Why don’t you send me that?”

“Copy me on it, too,” Joss said.

“Hey, I still like Franco—” Jake was saying as Michael ushered Joss, Trina, Oscar, and Nelle out the door, closing the door as Aiden shot back, “That’s because you lived with the Cassadines too long!”

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

This wasn’t the way any of this was supposed to happen, and Jason didn’t even know where to start. He hadn’t expected to see Franco alive again, much less be allowed to walk out of the PCPD without being arrested and thrown in a jail cell—and what the hell was his relationship with Elizabeth? Why had—

He had made a mistake. He should have laid low, should have stayed at the safe house, and waited for Sonny to bring Elizabeth to him tomorrow. Instead, he was in the middle of all of this, watching Sam stand on the other side of the room, her hand resting on the arm of the man who was pretending to be him, not even looking at him.

But maybe Sonny was right. Maybe this other guy wasn’t behind all of this. He’d seen the way Elizabeth had looked at him with regret even as she’d let it slip that she’d taken a side—had seen the other man’s expression when Sonny and Carly had stood with him.

“I don’t know a lot of what’s going on,” Jason said finally. “Because starting at the beginning for me isn’t the beginning for anyone else,” he added when the commissioner narrowed her eyes. “I was at the pier. I went to meet with Bernie, but he’d been—” His mouth tightened. “He’d been shot. And then—then someone shot me. I don’t—I just—” He dipped his head. “I remember going in the water. And then I didn’t wake up until six months ago.”

Next to him, Carly gasped. “You were asleep for five years?” she demanded. “That can’t be right—”

“I don’t know,” Jason repeated, meeting her horrified eyes for a minute before focusing on the commissioner again, ignoring the others in the room. “I just know that I woke up in a room in Russia. These doctors were drugging me, and I had to figure out how to fight off the medicine. I was able to escape a few weeks ago, but it took time to get into the US without identification. When I got here—” He took a breath. “I learned that there was someone else here saying he was me—”

“I am Jason Morgan—”

“I don’t know who you are,” Jason said, his quiet but resolute voice breaking into the other man’s angry growl. “I just know who I am. I’m Jason Morgan. I woke from the accident in 1996 without any memories. They told me I was Jason Quartermaine, but that didn’t feel right. So I dropped my last name and used my middle name,” he repeated. “And for the next sixteen years, that’s who I was. I am Jason Morgan.”

The other man’s glare only turned more bitter, his nostrils flaring. “That’s impossible. I’m Jason Morgan. I remember every single moment of my life after the accident. I remember waking up. I remember my grandmother and Michael—” he looked at Carly. “I remember Michael—”

“I don’t know how this is happening,” Carly said, wincing, “but—”

“And Jake.” The other man strode towards Elizabeth, took her by the shoulders, shook her slightly. Jason tensed and started to step forward, but Sonny stopped him. “I remember the night we lost him—”

“I—” Elizabeth stared at him, then stepped back, sliding his hands from her shoulders. She looked at Jason, then back at the other man. “I know you do. But I can’t—” She cleared her throat.

“You think because he has my old face, because he sounds the way I used to—” he raged. He whirled on Sam, who had said nothing since all of this had started. “Sam, you believe me. You know you do. You said you knew I was Jason. You came to me, you said that you felt it—”

“I did—I do,” Sam said hastily. She took the man by the hands, looked away from Jason, and focused on the man who was her husband now. “I do. I still feel it,” she added. “I don’t—” She looked at Jordan. “I don’t know what’s going on—”

“Jason’s been arrested a lot,” Carly volunteered, cutting Sam off. “We never compared fingerprints because there was that weird system error that erased them, but you have to have the older files,” she said to Jordan. She looked at Jason. “When was the first time you were arrested?”

“Train surfing,” both men said in unison, then scowled at each other. “I was arrested in March 1996,” Jason said when the other man fell silent. “The PCPD wasn’t really on computers yet.”

“They’d be in storage,” Jordan said slowly. “But we could dig them out. What about blood tests?”

“I think,” Elizabeth said carefully, looking at her feet, “you’ll find that they’re identical.” She bit her lip, then looked up when all eyes were on her. “I mean, we did the DNA test back then,” she reminded them. “When Carly first told everyone about the facial reconstruction. The tests were identical. And they weren’t tampered with.”

“No,” Sonny murmured, stroking his chin. “No, we were careful. After everything else Helena had pulled—” He looked at Jason. “The DNA will match. You must be twins.”

“The story Heather fed Sam about Franco being Jason’s brother,” Carly recalled. “We thought it ended up being a lie, but maybe she only lied about the identity of the brother—”

“Then he’s the missing twin,” the other man said, desperately. “Not me. I’m Jason—” He shook his head. “No—”

“We’ll get fingerprints—” Jordan said again. “It might take a few days—”

“Not good enough. I want this resolved now,” the other man snarled. “I am not going home with anyone thinking he’s me—”

“Scars,” Sonny offered.

“Jason has scars,” Sam shot back. “Exactly where they’re supposed to be. I’ve seen them—” She looked at Elizabeth. “Tell them. You’ve seen them, too—”

“I wasn’t—” Elizabeth exhaled slowly. “I wasn’t really looking at the scars,” she managed, her cheeks flushing. She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I mean—” She glanced at Jason, and he knew she was thinking about the scars she’d taken care of both times he’d been shot and stayed in her studio. On his chest, and his thigh.

“I think we can save the strip search,” Jordan said dryly. “We’ll run a DNA test on Monday at the hospital, take the fingerprints to get comparisons, and pull the old ones from the files.” She folded her arms. “I’m sorry, Mr. Morgan—both Mr. Morgans,” she added, “but that’s really all the PCPD can offer you tonight. It’s Friday, and I’m not doing overtime for something that can wait.”

“This isn’t over—” the other man growled, then stalked out of the office. Sam looked at Jason for a long moment, but he could see nothing in her eyes that gave him any hope that she believed any differently than she’d said in here. Then she walked out.

“She’s insane,” Carly snapped. “I always knew she was an idiot, but to think—” She looked at Jason, her eyes filled with tears. “Jason—I knew it was you. The minute I saw you.”

“Carly,” Elizabeth said softly, drawing the other woman’s eyes. “Cameron just texted me. He and the others—they saw the party on social media. They know. All of them.”

Carly winced. “Michael went to pick Joss up.” She dragged out her phone, then saw she had several 911s from Joss and Michael. “She says Jake is freaking out.”

“I need to get home,” Elizabeth said, “and try to explain this to Jake.”

“I—I saw Jake at the park,” Jason told her.  “I’m sorry. I think he saw me—”

“He did. We’ll—” Elizabeth pressed her hand to her chest. “We’ll talk about it. There’s—” She glanced at Jordan, who wasn’t even pretending not to listen to the conversation. “There’s a lot.”

“If you keep Jason from Jake this time,” Carly began, but Sonny tugged on her arm, and she stopped talking.

“He’s alive,” Elizabeth said to Jason. “And he’s perfect. He’s—” She smiled at him. “He’s going to love you.”

“You believe me,” Jason said. He exhaled slowly. He hadn’t realized how much he’d needed that. He wasn’t surprised by Carly, not after Sonny had made his position clear. She’d followed his lead. But once Sam had stayed with the other man — Jason had known that not everyone would believe him, but he’d never thought Sam wouldn’t know him when they came face to face.

But Elizabeth did.

“Of course I do,” Elizabeth said. “Sam—” She sighed. “She’ll come around. She always does,” she added with a mutter.

“We should go,” Sonny said, pushing gently on Carly. They left the commissioner’s office, to Jordan’s disappointment. Once they were outside the PCPD, he told Carly, “Let’s get the kids and figure out what’s next.” He focused on Elizabeth. “Elizabeth—we still should talk tomorrow.”

“Is this—” She looked at Jason. “This is what you wanted to run past me?”

“I think the Cassadines are up to their old bullshit,” Sonny said. “Jason—come back with us tonight. We’ll figure it all out tomorrow.”

“Come home—” Carly began, reaching for his sleeve.

“In a minute,” Jason told them. “I’ll meet you at the car.”

“But—” Carly began, but Sonny dragged her away, the blonde still pouting. Elizabeth stared after them, a faint smile on her lips.

“Elizabeth,” Jason began, and she closed her eyes, taking a sharp breath. “What?” he asked.

“Nothing. Nothing.” Elizabeth opened her eyes, and a tear slid down her cheek. “You just—no one says my name like you do, and I didn’t—” She bit her lip. “I’m so glad it’s you. And that you’re home. That Jake gets to have you.” She shrugged a shoulder. “I got a miracle with him. I’m so glad you get to share it.”

“He’s beautiful,” Jason said, taking a step towards her. “I listened to them in the park. To all of you. He’s so happy. It’s what I wanted for him.” He wanted to ask her about Franco, but this wasn’t the time. “You should get home to them. They’re probably worried.”

“Yeah, he’s been through a lot. But it’s going to be okay. God, for the first time in years, I think I actually believe that.” She nodded towards the limo parked at the curb where Carly was standing, her arms folded, her foot tapping. “Now, go back to Greystone before Carly tackles you and drags you away.”

Webber Home: Living Room

The beautiful thing about social media, Cameron reflected, restarting the video for the fifth—possibly eighth time—was that someone always had a camera. The original Facebook Live had just given them the tail end of the fight—

But someone on Instagram—some fantastic, perfect person—had been filming something else and swung towards the doors when they first heard the shouts, and this person knew how to use the zoom button.

Cameron wanted to watch Franco Baldwin get choked up close every day for the rest of his life. The guy with Jason’s face had shoved the asshole through the double doors so hard that Franco had skidded across the ballroom, and you could see the panic and fear in his expression as he tried to get up—

And then the new Jason had launched himself at him—choking him with one hand and punching him with the other—

It was glorious, and everything Cameron Hardy Webber wanted in this world.

“I really love it,” Aiden sighed.

“I didn’t know you guys hated him this much,” Jake admitted, but even he leaned in. “How come?”

“He’s mean to Mom,” Aiden said. “Like Charlotte is, you know? Like he says things, then smiles like it’s a joke. But it’s not a joke.”

“Oh.” Jake furrowed his brow, looked at Cameron. “Does he?”

“Yeah, he does.”

And because Cameron’s word was good as gold as far as Jake was concerned, his middle brother nodded. “Okay, then we don’t like him. Play it again. Can you slow it down?”

“Can we put it on the computer and play with it? Like—put it on a loop?” Aiden asked eagerly.

“I’ll ask Spinelli,” Cameron murmured. “But I bet someone already made it a gif—” He snorted as Franco tried to crawl away from the new Jason, and new Jason just grabbed Franco by the back of the neck and dragged him back. “I like this guy.” He winced. “Sorry, Jake.”

“It’s okay—I mean, we don’t know anything yet.” But Jake looked troubled, and Cameron reminded himself to keep his newfound feelings of hero worship to himself. Plus, if this guy was Jason Morgan—that complicated a whole lot of other things Cameron didn’t want to deal with just yet.

Aiden giggled as Franco’s yelp of pain came clear across the iPad screen. “That’s the best part! I like when he cries! Play it again!”

“We should see if there are any other videos of Franco getting his face beat in,” Cameron said, minimizing the video and returning to Instagram to check for other feeds—but then he realized the room felt a bit cold. He looked over from their position on the sofa—he was sitting in the center, Jake hanging on one side, and Aiden cuddled up close to him, giggling.

The giggling stopped as Aiden saw what Cameron was looking at. His face fell, and Jake slowly sat back, his blue eyes wary and a bit scared.

They hadn’t even heard the door open.

Franco was standing in the entrance, one hand on the door and the other in the pocket of his jacket. One of his eyes was swollen shut, but the look in the other eye was unmistakable hatred.

“Go ahead,” Franco said quietly. He closed the door and started forward. “Play it again.”

Pier 52

Valentin finally caught up with Klein just as the little weasel was trying to slide down another alley. To get away from him. He grabbed him by his neck and shoved him against the wall.

“When we spoke earlier,” he began almost conversationally, “and I learned you’d been lying to me for months about Patient Six, I told you to get to town as soon as possible.” He tightened his grasp around Klein’s neck, leaving the doctor just enough space in his windpipe to breathe. “You neglected to mention you were already in Port Charles.”

“I was trying—” Klein dug at Valentin’s hands. “I was trying to get Six back before—”

“You failed,” Valentin said pleasantly. “You’re fortunate, however, that Patient Six isn’t the only project on which we were collaborating.” He released Klein and the man fell to the ground with a thud. “Get back to St. Petersburg,” he said flatly. “Get me those files. Find the lab that my mother was hiding from me and whatever else she neglected to tell me. Or I’ll slit your throat in your sleep.”

Klein scrambled to his feet and disappeared down the alley. Valentin glared after him, wishing like hell he didn’t need the bastard, but alas — he’d made a tragic mistake when he’d killed his mother. He should have known that Helena’s backup plan would include planning for Valentin’s downfall.

“Mother always did have trust issues,” he murmured.

Webber Home: Living Room

Cameron stood up and put himself between Franco and his brothers, still clutching the iPad tightly. He could use it as a weapon if he needed to. “Mom said you weren’t coming back tonight.”

“Yeah, well, your mom is a liar. You should know that by now,” Franco said.

“Shut up!” Jake roared, lunging to his feet.  He would have launched himself at the older man, but Cameron blocked him, his heart pounding fast.

“You shouldn’t be here right now,” Cameron said. “Not without Mom.”

“This is my house—”

“It’s not,” Cameron said slowly, “but you know that already. Look, we weren’t doing anything wrong, and you’re not supposed to be here. So just go to the studio, okay?”

“Give me the iPad,” Franco said. He stepped towards them.

“Jake, Aiden, go upstairs—”

“No.” Jake shook his head, his voice wavering. “Not leaving you alone.”

“Give me the iPad,” Franco repeated, his voice louder. “Now.”

“No. Get out.”

“You know the problem with you little brats?” Franco demanded. “Your mom has been so busy looking for the next father to drag through this door that she’s never taught you any damn manners. Give me the goddamn iPad!”

Cameron didn’t know why he refused or why Franco was pushing so hard, but something inside him told him that if Franco had the iPad—if he saw the video they’d been laughing at—

Everything would be worse.

He had to find a way to make him leave, but how did you reason with a serial killer?

“Mom will be home—”

“Your mother is chasing after the next contestant in the Jason Morgan circus,” Franco snarled. “So it’ll be up to me to knock some sense into you—”

And, then, like a flash of lightning, Franco had closed the distance between them, lunging at Cameron and the iPad. Aiden screamed, and Jake had to shove himself aside when Cameron grunted and pushed Franco back.

The psycho had a grip on the iPad, and the two of them yanked back and forth—Cameron determined to keep it out of his hands. No way in hell could he watch that video—not when his brothers weren’t safe—

“Give it to me, you little piece of—” Then Franco let go of it with one hand abruptly, fisting his hand in Cameron’s shirt, dragging the teen closer to his face. “Give it to me now,” he hissed. “Or you might not live to regret it—”

Cameron’s eyes bulged, and his heart was pounding so fast—he could hear his brothers screaming and crying and pleading in the background—and he didn’t know what to do—how to fix it—he didn’t know how to make it stop—

And then it did.

With a flat, angry growl that he’d never heard from his mother before—

“Get your hands off my son, or I will kill you!”

Franco hissed and turned, Cameron managing to focus on the petite woman with a furious expression and a baseball bat gripped in her hands—the bat she’d kept in the umbrella stand for years—

“Let him go,” Elizabeth said, her eyes stony. “Now.”