December 2, 2003

Port Charles High: Room 203

Sage was startled by the sound someone dropping their books down in the normally vacated seat next to her. Maxie Jones slid into the seat and sighed. “I hate when it rains. At least snow doesn’t make you look like a wet dog.”

She took a comb out of her purse and started pulling it through her damp hair. “I am so glad we have Fratelli first period. I mean can you imagine having a teacher who expects you to do something at eight-thirty in the morning?”

Maxie stopped talking enough to see Sage looking at her oddly. “What’s wrong?”

“Nobody ever sits by me,” she said nervously. “The whole week I’ve been here, everyone practically crowds at the front of the room to avoid me.”

“Yes…but well, you were Sage Alcazar, Luis Alcazar’s daughter. And you still are to the less intelligent, but to me, you’re my cousin’s girlfriend and therefore, you don’t sit alone. Now, how great was I last night in orchestrating that invitation to the dance?” Maxie proclaimed.

“You might be the strangest person I’ve ever met.” Sage shook her head. “You were great,” she admitted. “After you left, Lucas told he’d wanted to ask me but couldn’t get up the courage.”

“You two are really cute together. I think it’s fabulous that Lucas has someone so we can like triple date and stuff and now I don’t always have tag along with Georgie and Dillon on their dates.” She frowned. “Then again…Lucas isn’t anymore fond of Kyle than they are. How do you feel about reformed bad boys?”

“Well…” Sage smiled. “I suppose it depends on what made them bad.”

“Oh…Kyle wasn’t bad so much as he was stupid. I blame his friends. They wouldn’t know intelligence if it was wrapped in a hot girl’s body and walked up to offer them sex. Anyway, what he did isn’t important so much as he’s now a college guy and he’s reformed like I said.”

“Hey…you seem like a pretty smart girl. If you like him, there must be something good about him.”

Maxie beamed. “I knew we’d get along great. Now you just have to use your influence on Lucas so he doesn’t try to kill him. I spent most of my summer avoiding Lucas and Georgie did too, because he had this thing about her boyfriend. He holds a grudge like no one else can, you know? But he’s my cousin and my best friend and if you can’t forgive family, who can you forgive, right?”

Sage just nodded, sure that even if she said nothing, Maxie would keep talking anyway. She seemed to have that type of personality.

Cameron’s Office

“It’s been a while,” Cameron began their session. “But you called my secretary and said it was an emergency.”

Carly nodded and she shifted nervously in her seat. When she’d brought Michael home the previous day, she’d been unable to find the words to explain the bruise on her face and told her son they’d discuss it later.

“I’m sorry I’ve been canceling appointments,” she said. “It’s been…a crazy week.”

“I can imagine, with the changing of Sonny’s plea yesterday.” Cameron tilted his head to the side. “How do you feel about that?”

“I felt angry then. Betrayed and shocked. I thought Sonny understood but I realize now that he hadn’t crossed his breaking point yet and until he did, he would never accept that he’s sick.”

“And you believe that he’s crossed this point now?”

“I know it.” Carly sighed and brushed her hair out of her face, revealing the dark bruise that even makeup couldn’t cover. “I took him home yesterday. I still love him…not the way I should–or the way he needs but I care what happens to him, you know? But as usual…we started arguing and he was close to the edge…I could see it and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor.”

If Cameron had any reaction to this news, his face didn’t show it. He made a note on a piece of paper she couldn’t really see and motioned for her to continue.

“It’s all a blur after that. Before it sunk in that it even happened, Jason and Elizabeth were there. I guess they heard the shouting. Elizabeth took me over to Jason’s penthouse and got me some ice for my face and she–she really tried to comfort me. She’s good for Jason; I’m finally able to see it.”

Willing to go where Carly’s mind took her, Cameron sat up. “You didn’t before?”

“She was young when they first…when they first got close. Before they were more, they were friends. And–and I was still in love with Jason. I wasn’t willing to see that I couldn’t give Jason what he needed and it took a really long time for to admit that.”

“It was hard for you to let go,” Cameron observed.

“Almost impossible. Every time that fall…it felt like every time I needed Jason, she was with him and my brain wouldn’t get the fact that they were just friends and that’s kind of how Sonny and I started. I saw them dancing in Kelly’s and I went to Sonny for answers. He toyed with me…wouldn’t tell me right out if Jason was seeing Elizabeth and it just–we slept together that night.” Carly sighed and shook her head. “Anyway, it took a really long time but like I said–I believe she’s good for him. In a way that no one has been for him and it’s important to me that he’s happy.”

“It’s good that you’re being honest with yourself, Carly,” Cameron told her. “So Elizabeth was trying to comfort you after the fight.”

“She was trying but she didn’t know what to say and that’s understandable. I didn’t either. Um…I dozed off there. I don’t really know how I could sleep but I did. And when I woke up, Jason was there. He told me that Sonny had agreed to change his plea back and take a deal Scott was going to offer him.”

“So, theoretically, it’s over,” Cameron said. “Sonny crossed his breaking point and is going to get help. You’re okay physically.”

“Right…but it’s not. I try to pretend that it is–that I’m okay. And I have to keep doing that because–well because, I need to take care of myself. If I tell Jason or Lorenzo how I’m feeling–or even Courtney…they’ll want to fix it or press me and I don’t want to hurt them. Besides, Jason and Courtney had too much going on a-and I don’t want to hurt Lorenzo.”

“The last time we spoke, you weren’t clear on your emotions towards him. Has that changed?”

“It has.” Carly sighed and stared at her bare fingers. “When I got my feelings for Sonny back, I always held this idea in my head that it would end. That once the tangible feelings came back, the ones from the dream would go away.”

“And didn’t happen.”

“The opposite really. What I didn’t realize is that all this time–while I was suspended between feeling and not feeling, those feelings from the dream were crystallizing–were finding roots in reality. And when my emotions came back for Sonny…I realized that it didn’t clear anything up. It just made it all more confusing because I love Lorenzo. I am in love with him. But…I love Sonny.”

“But you weren’t ready to return to Sonny when you got those feelings back and I don’t believe that’s changed.”

“Right. If Sonny and I were as strong as we always believed, wouldn’t I have jumped at the idea of returning to him?” Carly stood and started to pace. “We’re due in court at noon, you know? He’s going to change his plea and I don’t know how I can be there but I don’t know how I can’t. I don’t know what’s going on in my head anymore, Cameron. I don’t feel like I’m sure of anything. What if I only think I love Lorenzo because I’m searching for a reason not to go back to Sonny?”

“Do you think that’s true?”

“No,” Carly admitted. “I told Lorenzo that I loved him. And after the Sonny thing yesterday, he listened to me and respected my wishes not to beat Sonny up or some other Neanderthal thing, you know? That means the world to me. That he would respect me enough–believe in me enough. I’ve never…I’ve never had that before. I mean–Jason would listen to me. And then he’d tell me my plans were stupid. Which–okay, yeah, they were. But he’d want to fix things for me. And Sonny wanted to fix me…Lorenzo’s just…he’s letting me be me and that’s…that’s the most incredible thing ever.”

“Well, Carly, what does that tell you?” Cameron asked. “I don’t want to tell you what to feel or think but if you don’t mind, I would like to tell you what I think.”

“Sure.” Carly sat back down.

“I think that you’re a woman who’s been knocked down a lot and that you fight back the only way you know how. Manipulation, schemes, whatever it might be. I get the impression that when you were with Jason or in love with him, your schemes were a bit wild and completely insane. Almost as if you knew they’d blow up in your face and you were hoping he’d rescue you and I think you made the mistake early on of doing that with Sonny. That’s probably why they both have the impression you need to be fixed or taken care of.”

He shifted in his seat and set her file aside. “With Lorenzo, you two came into each other’s life purely by accident. He did many things to gain your love, none of which worked but once he started to just be your friend, it happened naturally. Your face lights up when you talk about him, Carly. In a way that it doesn’t for Sonny. I also think that you’re a woman who needs to stand on her own for a while. Be a mother, be a friend, be a working woman…just do not let yourself fall into the role of Lorenzo’s wife or girlfriend as easily as you did being Sonny’s wife. You need your own identity, something that’s yours. You’re on the right track, Carly, but you’re trying to move it too fast. You think if you hurry along declarations of love or make decisions to decide the rest of your life, you can move on more quickly.”

“I just want to begin my life again,” she sighed. “I want a fresh start.”

“And a fresh start–a real one–only comes when you’ve got closure. You need to resolve your relationship with Sonny before you dream of moving on with Lorenzo.”

Elizabeth’s Apartment

“I can stay for a little while,” Jason told her as he handed her the keys. “But I have to be in court at noon.”

“Okay, well the furniture isn’t due until 10 and we were going to get that unpacked before moving my stuff over.” Elizabeth slid the door open and stepped inside, still overwhelmed by such a huge space.

“I could have gotten some men to do it,” Jason told her. “You know it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“No…it’s better this way.” Elizabeth wandered around the living room, picturing where she’d put her new sofa and things. The old sofa from her studio was going in her bedroom, she’d already decided on that. “We’re going to make a day of it, you know. Unpacking, doing a dinner thing. Try and–well, try and pretend things are normal. It’ll be a weird because Nikolas and Zander do not get along very well–not at all really, but he wanted to help.”

“I’ve got some meetings this afternoon,” Jason said apologetically. “Things have gotten really backed up these last few months and I just want to get it all running smoothly again.”

“You have your own life–its fine.” Elizabeth shrugged. She crossed to a set of windows. These overlooked the city–from the woods to the little suburban streets at the other end of town and all the buildings in between.

“Elizabeth…” Jason took a deep breath. “I’ll be done late but I thought maybe we could try out this compromise tonight. You know…a few nights a week?” he reminded her.

She smiled–and this time it was a genuine smile. “Great. Why don’t you stop by the penthouse and bring some things over?”

“Sounds like a plan,” he agreed. Loathing the idea of bringing this up, but wanting to do it before his sister and the others arrived, he reached into the inside pocket of his leather jacket and withdrew a thick envelope.

She eyed it suspiciously. “What’s in there?” she asked.

“Checkbook for the account we talked about,” Jason told her. “And some credit cards.” He handed it to her. She slid it open and pulled out the checkbook and smiled a little. He’d put the account in her maiden name.

“I’ll be glad to be Elizabeth Webber again,” she murmured. She put the contents of the envelope in her purse. “As soon as that divorce is final, I’m going back to it.”

“Has he signed the papers?” Jason asked, despite knowing the answer.

She grimaced and shook her head. “No. I chased him around the courthouse yesterday morning and I called his office again today, but he’s just not budging. I don’t know what he thinks is going to happen. What went wrong between us isn’t going to magically go away.” She walked away, hoping to avoid this conversation and disappeared into the kitchen.

After a moment, he followed her. “Do you still love him?” Jason asked bluntly.

Elizabeth said nothing for a moment, just continued to open and close the different cabinets, inspecting each carefully. “Yes and no,” she finally told him. “I love the man I thought he was and I don’t love the man he really is but to tell you the truth…I don’t know that I ever really loved him. I think that I wanted to, I think that I cared about him but in the end…” she shrugged. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Jason. Do you want me to say no…of course I don’t still love him? I only love you?”

“I want you tell me the truth,” Jason simply. “You want honesty from me…and I want it from you.”

Elizabeth studied him for a moment before taking a seat at the island. “Then yes, I do still love him. But he’s not the man I thought he was. I thought I was dating a Harvard lawyer who was this…great guy. Who cared about what I thought and what I felt and…” she bit her lip. “Faith told me once…that Ric was just you in a fancy suit and…she was right. I saw the things I had always loved about you in him and…I let myself fall for his act.”

She traced the smooth counter top with one of her fingernails. “And instead, I got a selfish, egotistical slightly psychotic man who found out what your weakness was–where you were vulnerable and preyed on it, used it to the best of his abilities. I love him, Jason, but mainly because I thought he was everything I loved about you…and nothing like what I hated about you. I was trying to replace you and I pretty much failed.”

“Yeah…I know what that’s like.” Jason sighed. “Courtney doesn’t like silences, so she always tries to fill them. That kind of reminded me of you at first–except you didn’t do it to fill anything. You just…you just rambled about pretty much anything you could think about. She had a lot of your…a lot of what I always liked about you–she was good at listening and she argued with me a lot when I tried to tell her what to do. But it’s not–it wasn’t right. Because even though you and she have a few things in common…she wasn’t you.”

Elizabeth reached into her purse and withdrew the set of keys he’d given her. There was a duplicate and she took it off the key ring. “With the way I seem to fall asleep at the drop of a hat…you might need this.” She slid it across the table and he covered her hand, grateful for this show of trust.

Sonny’s Penthouse

Courtney poured some water into the coffee pot and waited for it to start dripping. She needed to have Sonny alert and moving within at least an hour.

And if she concentrated on Sonny’s needs, she wouldn’t have to think about yesterday. God, Brian must think she was the most idiotic woman alive. It hadn’t even been Jason’s motorcycle the night before and she’d pulled away like her father was going to find them.

But so what if she’d pulled away? She hadn’t made any secret of the fact that she was still in love with Jason and just because she was attracted to Brian–okay, really really cared about him–and just because she was filing for divorce, that didn’t mean her feelings just got shut off. It wasn’t some light switch you could turn on and off.

She’d wanted Brian here with her today but he had a life in Haye’s Landing and damn it–she was going to start doing things for herself. She’d spent her whole life depending on other people and she refused to do it anymore. She was on her own woman.

Without a job or any other means of monetary support–but that was beyond the point. She could waitress again. She could find work. She was more than someone’s wife, someone’s girlfriend.

“Smells good,” her brother remarked, entering the room. He stepped up next to her and pulled out some pots and pans. “I thought I might make a big breakfast for us. A really good one.”

“Sonny, I don’t need–”

“I need to do it,” he interrupted her. “It’ll probably be the last time I can cook for a while–I need to do it.”

Courtney nodded and retreated to the table. “Are you ready for today?”

Sonny shrugged. “Ready to get sentenced to at least six years in a psychiatric hospital? Not really. But–it’s the right thing to do. I–I don’t know what’s going on in my head anymore, Courtney. I shot my wife in the head–and then I hit her. And between you and me, yesterday feels a lot worse than what I did in October.”

“It is in a way,” Courtney agreed. “But I’m glad you’re getting help, Sonny. And as soon as they start allowing visitors, I’ll come as often as I can.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Sonny replied. “I know you’re trying to rebuild your life and you shouldn’t have to worry about me.”

“You’re my brother,” she said softly. “I will always worry about you.”

“I’m–I’ve put Jason in charge of the business end of things and Carly’s–Carly’s got a bank account in her name that never goes below a certain number but everything else is yours,” he told her.

“Sonny…I don’t need anything from you,” Courtney protested.

He cracked open some eggs into a bowl. “It’s more for me than it is for you,” Sonny admitted. “I want to know that you’re okay. You don’t have to use it if you don’t want but the money’s there if you need it.”

“All right,” she agreed reluctantly. She cleared her throat. “Carly will probably be at the hearing today.”

“I’m hoping she is,” Sonny replied. “I need to apologize to her. I need for her to understand that I would rather cut off my arm than hurt her.”

“Then you need to let her go,” she said softly. “You need to let her stand on her own. She needs it.”

Sonny glanced over his shoulder at his sister. Though they were still separated by nearly fifteen years–she was far more mature than she should be at her age. Barely twenty-three and already facing the end of her second marriage. A year of living her life in danger. She’d seen things he’d never wanted for his family and he hoped to God she was really getting out of it now.

“If that’s what Carly wants…that’s what I’ll give her,” Sonny sighed.

December 1, 2003

Morgan Penthouse

Jason stared at her for a long minute as if trying to gauge if she was really serious or not. Finally, he shrugged. “Okay. Will you move in with me?”

“Not here,” she said immediately.

He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“And not full-time.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I still want time to sort things out and the last thing I want to do is rush into something I’m not ready for. So…maybe we could compromise. I like being with you, Jason, I’m just not ready to do it all the time.”

“So what are you suggesting?” he asked curiously.

“I don’t want to live here. I mean–it’s a nice place and I did like staying here but there are more bad memories than good and if we’re going to start something, I want to start fresh.”

“Okay,” Jason agreed. “That’s more than reasonable. I only live here because Sonny’s across the hall and he…” he hesitated. “He won’t be there much longer.”

“I really am sorry about–about what’s been going on. I know it’s got to be hard for you to watch him go through this.”

He exhaled slowly and pushed away from the pool table. He moved towards the window and stared out of it. “He was the strongest man I’d ever met, you know? I didn’t think there was anything he couldn’t do.”

Elizabeth nodded. “He was your mentor, Jason. He taught you so much…”

“Yeah, yeah, he did.” Jason crossed his arms and put his chin into his chest. “Sonny showed me a lot of concrete things that Robin couldn’t. He–he’s the one who told me that you never lay a hand on a woman in anger. That you never commit violence against them for any reason and now…after what he’s done to Carly…I have to wonder…how much did he really teach me?”

Elizabeth frowned and crossed the room, standing against the edge of the window, across from him. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean…he taught me how to treat a woman. And despite all of his problems, he has never violated that. You know how some people have this line that they just don’t cross? For Sonny, that line is abusing a woman. His–his stepfather used to hit his mother.”

Elizabeth’s throat tightened. “Oh, that must have been so horrible for him,” she said softly.

“He used to lock Sonny in a closet and you–you know he’s still claustrophobic. He was this monster and the thing that always terrified Sonny was becoming just like him.”

“Doing it once does not make him a monster,” Elizabeth protested. “Yes, it’s a horrible thing and I do not think he deserves to be forgiven right now but he knows it was wrong. I mean–Jason, I saw his face. I don’t think he knew what he was doing and that’s got to be more terrifying than hitting someone.”

“I’ve been so busy taking care of other things that I haven’t been paying attention to him. Last week, he came over and wanted to talk–and I just brushed him off.” He looked at her and she wanted to cry at the anguish in his eyes. “What if he coming to tell me he was close to the edge?”

“You cannot blame yourself for this,” Elizabeth said firmly, closing the distance between them. “You have the right to your own life and after everything you’ve done for Sonny, there is nothing wrong with wanting a night to yourself, okay?”

He shook his head. “Sonny depends on me to be there for him–to pull him back–”

“I don’t think anyone could have this time,” Elizabeth interrupted. “Everyone has had way too much going on in their lives and maybe that made Sonny feel a little out of control himself. When were you supposed to find time in between dealing with the business, with Courtney, with me, with Carly and God knows what else you have to do that I don’t know about?”

“I should have found the time,” Jason protested.

“You are only one man,” Elizabeth told him softly. “You cannot do everything on your own and you cannot be strong all the time.”

“Everyone expects me to be. They come to me because they I know I’ll listen and they know I’ll help them,” he said. He shook his head. “I just have to find a better way to handle it all–”

“Jason, when you’re off taking care of everyone else, who’s supposed to take care of you?” Elizabeth asked pointedly.

“I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” he told her firmly.

She threw up her hands in frustration. “Sometimes I just want to throttle you,” she seethed, stalking away from him. At the foot of the stairs, she whirled around. “Some day, Jason, you’re finally going to be done taking care of everyone else and then what are you going to come home too?Nothing! Because you were too busy to have your own life and no woman in her right mind is going to wait for you to get around to being with her.”

“Are we doing this again?” he asked, sounding just as aggravated as she was. “Elizabeth, I’m already doing everything I can to prove that you’re a priority in my life. What else do you expect me to do?”

“I want to be able to talk to you,” Elizabeth exploded. “I don’t want to just be priority–I want to be with you. I want to be the person that you turn to when you need someone to talk to. Why is it so hard for you to just…just be with me?” she demanded.

“Because you want things I can’t give,” Jason argued. “You want honesty and for me to sit and pour out my feelings and I just can’t do those things–”

“I never said I wanted you to pour your feelings out to me. That’s not who you are,” Elizabeth sounded vaguely insulted. “All I want is for you to be with me. I don’t want to be another person you take care of, Jason, and the second I feel like that, I’m walking out that door.”

“Elizabeth, I don’t know what you want from me. First you say you need time and then you give me this cryptic answer when I ask you to move in with me and now–you’ve got to be the most confusing woman I’ve ever met.”

“I was being selfish this morning,” Elizabeth remarked. “I was thinking of myself and I have to stop doing this. If this is ever going to work between us, I have to start thinking of you when I make my decisions and I’m sorry–but you actually sounded like you wanted to be with me when you asked earlier and suddenly, now I’m too confusing.”

“I do want to be with you,” Jason protested. “But I don’t want to disappoint you again. You said that while we were apart, I turned into someone else and maybe that’s true. But what I need to know is if you can still love the person I am now.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course I still love you. Would I be standing here arguing with you if I didn’t?”

“Well, it’d be nice to hear it once in a while,” Jason retorted. “Instead, all I get is what I’m doing wrong.”

“Good lord,” she muttered. “Okay–maybe we should get back to the original topic. The moving in thing. When I said not full-time, I meant that a few nights a week, we’d try it out. No physical stuff, you know? I don’t feel ready to go back there just yet but we could share the bedroom, I guess. I know you want to be around during the pregnancy and this is a way for you to be around more. Is that what you want?”

“That sounds fine,” Jason said warily. “What about the rest of the stuff?”

“The rest of the stuff we could figure out along the way. No one says we have to have all the answers right now.” Elizabeth sat on the couch and rubbed her eyes. “Man, arguing really sucks the energy out of you.”

Jason moved away from the window and sat next to her. “It’s getting kind of late, you know,” he began. “And since the launch doesn’t work past dark…maybe you should just stay here,” he said hesitantly. “I mean–I know you don’t want to stay here permanently or anything but what about just for tonight?”

“Yeah, actually, that would really be a good thing because then I could just go from here to the apartment tomorrow and not have to face that horrible launch again.”

“Okay, then. I’ll go to Kelly’s and get some food. I’ve got something to do so I’ll do that while I’m out, okay?”

“That works for me,” Elizabeth agreed, already planning to nap while he was gone. She wasn’t kidding–the entire conversation had seemingly sucked any energy gained from the previous nap.

Scott Baldwin’s Office

Scott had barely exited his private bathroom before his eyes focused on an impatient Jason Morgan standing in his office.

Scott narrowed his eyes. “I know you’re not here to confess,” he remarked dryly moving behind the large mahogany desk.

“Tomorrow when Dara Jensen informs you that Sonny’s changed his plea back to guilty due to a mental defect, you will offer her a deal,” Jason said firmly. “He’ll serve a minimum of six years in Ferncliffe, a maximum of twelve. Do you understand me?”

Scott smirked. “If you think you can intimidate me, Morgan–”

In a flash Jason reached across the desk and yanked Scott towards him by grabbing the lapels of his electric green shirt. “If you think you’ve got a choice, you’re sorely mistaken. You’ll do it Scott, or you’ll regret it. I will take Sonny out of this country and you will never find him. Would you rather have a conviction or let Sonny get away again?” Jason released him and Scott jerked back, straightening his collar.

“That’s assault right there,” Scott huffed. “Why shouldn’t I have you arrested?”

“Because Sonny in Ferncliffe for six years is almost as good as two years in Sing Sing,” Jason said coldly. “Like I said, you can have a conviction or a fugitive. What looks better in the papers?”

Scott hesitated. Putting Sonny Corinthos behind bars had been his goal for the past two years. Putting him away someplace for the criminally insane was almost as good. He cleared his throat. “When Dara calls, I’ll offer her the deal.”

“Good.”

Jason left the office and headed for Kelly’s.

The Docks

“Here,” Lucas said, handing Sage a Styrofoam cup of hot chocolate. “This should warm you up.”

“I’ve never been ice skating before, thanks for teaching me,” Sage remarked, her teeth chattering a little. “But you didn’t have to push me into that snow bank. I am freezing now!”

“Sorry, I slipped.” Lucas hid his smirk behind his own cup but she didn’t miss. She smacked him in the shoulder.

“I’ll get you back,” she promised.

“Oh…hey, it’s Lucas and Sage.”

Sage sighed. She knew this night was going too well. She turned and saw the Jones sisters coming down the steps followed by a reluctant Dillon. “Hello,” she said politely.

Maxie, having been the one who’d spoken, stepped forward. “Hey, I’m Maxie Jones. I don’t know that we ever got a chance to really meet but you know Lucas can’t shut up about you,” she tossed a teasing glance at her now glaring cousin.

Sage flushed. “It’s nice to meet you. I take it you already know my name.”

“Well duh,” Georgie said dryly. Maxie elbowed her sharply. “Ow. Oh…God…look, did you really mean that apology last week?”

“Georgie,” Lucas sighed, “don’t start.”

“Hey, butt out for a second,” Georgie remarked. “Well?” she asked expectantly.

“I don’t tend to dole out insincere apologies,” Sage replied. “Why?”

“Because I think that it’s obvious you and Lucas hit it off and he’s not really stupid enough to hang around with someone unless they’re worth knowing, you know? So maybe we all really did get off to a bad start.” Georgie shifted uncomfortably.

“We did,” Sage assured her. “I really–it was really just a matter of seeing a cute boy and going after him. I didn’t think I was going to be living here and–things are just really different than they were even a month ago, okay?”

“Okay.” Georgie shrugged. “Clean slate?”

“Clean slate.”

“Great,” Maxie said. She saw the ice skates dangling over Lucas’s shoulder. “So you guys were down at the lake?”

“Yeah, Lucas was showing me how to skate. I’ve never really been in places where it snowed so I never got the chance to learn,” Sage informed her. “It’s a lot harder than it looks on television.”

“Yeah, the first time I was on the ice, I must have fell about eight thousand times,” Georgie said, making an obvious attempt to be friendly. While Sage still felt the girl was being slightly insincere, she appreciated the effort.

“Well, I wouldn’t have fallen more than ten times myself but Lucas tripped and knocked me into a snow bank,” she threw a nasty glance at the boy in question. “I’ve never been so cold in my life.”

“Just wait until winter really sets in,” Maxie said. “It’s only early December now. January is absolutely horrid and February’s not much better.”

Sage wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. I thought I’d like living with all this snow but I know now I’d much rather look at it than sludge through it all the time.”

“Well, I’d better finish walking you guys home,” Dillon said, speaking for the first time. “If you’re not back by eight, Mac will skin me alive. Nice to see you again, Sage. Hey, Lucas, we still on for that hockey game?”

“Yeah, we’re going to kill you guys,” Lucas boasted.

“Oh, right, that’s next Saturday,” Maxie said, clearly pleased that Dillon had brought it up. “The night after the dance. Are you guys going?”

“I hadn’t decided yet,” Sage said hesitantly, glancing at Lucas. He hadn’t kissed her since Thanksgiving which made her wonder if he was interested in her romantically at all.

“We should all go,” Georgie suggested. “Kyle will be home for Christmas break by that time. We have to do a group date or Mac won’t let Maxie near Kyle, so why don’t you two come with us?”

“Sure,” Lucas agreed. “That okay with you Sage?” he asked.

“It’s great. Hey, my uncle has a stretch limo. Maybe he’d let us use it,” Sage suggested, hoping she didn’t come off as haughty and arrogant.

Instead Maxie’s eyes lit up. “Ooh…that would be awesome. It’d be like prom all over again. Except, you know…better than last year.”

“Speaking of Prom, I think we should start planning for it soon,” Georgie said. “Because we want to get the right dresses, the right shoes and we need to coordinate seating arrangements–”

“My sister’s an organizational freak,” Maxie said, shaking her head. “But she’s right. The best dress prices are in February. Maybe we could go together.”

Sage’s grin widened. “I’d love to. I love dances and I really like shopping for them.”

“Great,” Georgie agreed. “Okay, you can walk us home now,” she told her boyfriend.

“Well, thank you,” Dillon replied shortly. He walked past Lucas and Sage and the two sisters followed him.

“He hates me,” Sage sighed.

“Nah, he hates everyone except Georgie and Maxie,” Lucas tried to assure her. “After all, you apologized.”

“Yeah…but apologies don’t solve everything,” Sage said softly. “I just have to try harder, you know? I mean…Georgie doesn’t hate me anymore or maybe she’s just being nice to me because of you but Maxie seemed to like me.”

“Are you okay with the dance thing?” he asked hesitantly. “I wanted to ask you but I didn’t…I didn’t exactly have the courage.”

“The courage?” Sage repeated, slightly bemused. “Why would you need courage to ask me to a dance? You asked me to go ice skating today. Why is one thing different than the other?”

“Because this was between friends and the dance…I would have been asking you on a date,” Lucas admitted. “I mean–I know we’re just friends and all but…I–” he shrugged and ducked his head. “I like you, Sage.”

“Just for the record, if you’d asked me one on one, I would have said yes,” she informed him. “And I like you, too, Lucas.”

He raised his eyes back to her. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” There were those damned butterflies again, Sage mused as Lucas stepped a little closer to her. This was going to be the second time a boy had ever kissed her. Usually she’d done the initiating but Lucas was proving to be a different sort of boy altogether.

He lowered his lips to hers and though both were chilled from the cold, it still felt like heaven to her.

Harborview Towers: Parking Garage

“Are you sure you don’t want to come back tonight?” Brian remarked, pulling his keys out of his pocket.

Courtney rested her hand on the hood of his car. “Yeah. I need to stay with Sonny. But you–you have to go back. I mean, you only got the one day off.”

“Yeah, but I could arrange for another if you need me,” Brian told her. “Do you?”

“Yes…but I need to handle this on my own. Besides, I’m going to be with Sonny all the time and now is not a good time to be springing you on him especially with how you feel about his line of work and how he feels about yours…you know?”

“Yeah, I can understand that. Well, you know my number. Call me any time.” He leaned to kiss her forehead. She closed her eyes at the soft contact and when he pulled away, she opened them to look up at him.

Brian hesitated only a moment before lowering his head to kiss her. Unfortunately, their lips had barely met before the roar of a motorcycle echoed through the garage. Courtney pulled away abruptly and put some distance between them. “I’ll call you, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you when I see you then.” He opened his car door and got inside. He glanced in his rearview mirror but Courtney was already walking back towards the elevators.

December 1, 2004

Carly’s House

Lorenzo stalked towards her and took her face in his hands. Despite the anger on his face, his touch was gentle as he turned to get a better look at her bruised and swollen cheek. “Jesus, Carly…”

“I’m fine. I need you to know that and remember it when I tell you what happened, okay?” She took his hands from her face and squeezed them. “Please…I know you’re angry.”

“Okay.” Lorenzo nodded. “How much angrier will I be when you finish?”

“Oh…I don’t even want to estimate how angry you’ll be.” She pulled away from him and sat down, touching the tender skin with a wince.

He remained standing. “I came over when I heard that Sonny had changed his plea. I knew you’d be upset. But it’s been almost three hours. What’s happened, Carly?”

“Dara quit after Sonny changed his plea–she didn’t know that he was planning on that. Um…” Carly touched her forehead, trying to gather her thoughts. “Sonny, he was…he was…I don’t know how to describe it. He was close to the edge, I guess. Looking for a reason to fight. He was saying things to people he never would have normally. He berated Courtney for befriending Brian–who happens to be a sheriff where they’re at and then he called Elizabeth a home wrecking slut…I wanted to get him out of there before he could do anything else.”

“You knew he was close to snapping and you left with him?” Lorenzo asked incredulously, his ire growing as he realized that Sonny Corinthos had left that mark on her beautiful skin.

Carly’s voice broke. “I know. It was stupid.”

Lorenzo shook his head and kneeled in front of her. “No, no. Hey, how many times has he been like this and never laid a hand on you? How could you know?”

“I should have. I goaded him. I didn’t mean to do it but he was talking about how he needed to fix his family and how we all needed him and I couldn’t–” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I told him that even though I had brought him home and was going to help him find another lawyer, I wasn’t going to come home.”

“And what did he say to that?”

“He told me he wanted to bring my boys home–that he didn’t want them exposed to you and Sage only he called her a brat and you a criminal and I don’t care what you do for a living–he has no right to judge and no one’s going to talk about Sage like that in front of me so I told him that no judge in his right mind was going to give him custody.”

She took a deep breath. “It just went from bad to worse and I could see–I could see that he getting more and more agitated but I just–I told him I didn’t need him anymore and that just–I think that was the end of it. He threw the glass from the mini bar like he always does and then he overturned the whole thing. He told me to walk away but I–I didn’t and I should have. Why didn’t I walk away?”

“Because it never occurred to you that he would hurt you,” Lorenzo repeated. He pushed her hair out of her eyes and cupped her uninjured cheek. “And he hit you.”

Carly nodded miserably. “Yeah.” She tried to go on but her voice faltered and she had to pause for a minute. “Jason had to have been right outside because almost immediately, he came in and he was on the floor, checking on me. Sonny–he seemed kind of out of it. I don’t really think he knew what he was doing. I’m not trying to make excuses,” she explained in a hurry when she saw Lorenzo grimace.

“Okay.” Lorenzo would let her get this out; he’d sit with her and make sure she was okay.

And then he’d kill him.

“He must have been doing something with Elizabeth because she was there, too. It’s all kind of hazy. Elizabeth helped me to my feet and got me across to Jason’s place.”

“What happened to Sonny?” Lorenzo asked, trying to keep his voice soft and gentle.

“Jason took care of him–I didn’t ask for a lot of details. He got Sonny to agree to take the plea and he seemed pretty convinced Scott Baldwin would make a deal for time in Ferncliffe. I waited until I felt more calm, and then Jason walked me to my car.” Carly took his hands in hers. “I know that you’re mad.”

“I’m not going to lie to you. I think that if Sonny was in this room right now, I’d probably do him a lot of bodily harm,” Lorenzo admitted.

“I don’t want you to get involved in this, okay?” Carly asked. She searched his eyes. “I know what you want to do and believe me, I do not blame you and it makes…it makes me feel good that you want to protect me. But I am okay. This situation has been handled and I don’t–I don’t have to see Sonny again if I don’t want to. If this deal goes through, he just needs to have a sentencing hearing. That’s it, okay?”

“Carly, he hit you,” Lorenzo said sharply. “I’m just supposed to let that go unpunished?”

“It’s not your job to punish him,” Carly retorted. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her self. “I need you to listen to me. You are important to me, more important than just about anyone else in my life and I don’t want that to change. But you have got to understand that just because I am not with Sonny anymore…it does not mean I do not care about him. I know that there is nothing you can do to him that he wouldn’t gladly let you. When he gets back into a place where he is in control of himself…he will remember this day and that will be punishment enough for me. He will remember that because he had too much pride to do the right thing, he did the one thing he swore never to do–that he committed an act of violence against a woman.”

“And that’s enough for you.”

“That’s enough for me.”

Lorenzo rose to his feet. “Well, it’s not enough for me. Somebody hurt you–somebody laid a hand on you and left a bruise and that just…” he shook his head. “Carly, I know that you’re not ready for a relationship and that’s okay. I understand that and I’m giving you all the time and space you need. But that doesn’t change the fact that I love you and I don’t know how I’m supposed to sleep at night knowing that Sonny hit you and I did nothing about it.”

Carly stood up and put her hands on his shirt. “I know. Believe me, I know how you feel. But I want you to promise me that…at least right now…you won’t do something crazy and go after him. Right now, Sonny is no position to defend himself and you are not the kind of man to attack someone like that.”

Lorenzo exhaled slowly and covered her hands with his. “I won’t–I won’t do anything. I’d rather keep a promise to you than seek revenge on Sonny.”

“And that is why I love you,” Carly said softly.

Lorenzo blinked. “Could you–could you repeat that?”

“I love you,” Carly said again with a smile. “That doesn’t change the fact that it’s too soon for me to start anything but I thought–you deserve to know how I feel.”

“Well…” Lorenzo smiled then. “I think it’s safe to say I’m not angry anymore.”

“Good…” Carly leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “Because I need to go experiment with my makeup to cover this. I don’t want Michael to know until I can think of a way to explain it to him. Could you call my mother and ask her to keep Morgan a few more hours?”

“Sure,” Lorenzo agreed easily, watching her pull away from him and move towards the stairs.

Waiting for her to be ready suddenly didn’t feel as difficult.

Harborview Towers

Courtney stepped off the elevator and turned to Brian. “Maybe you should wait out here. I don’t–I don’t know what kind mood he’s in.”

Brian nodded. “I can do that.”

She left him at the elevator and frowned when she saw the lack of a guard in front of the door. “That’s weird,” she murmured.

She turned the knob and pushed it open, her face paling as it took in the trashed downstairs of her brother’s home. “Jesus Christ.”

She stepped inside and swept her eyes across the living room. The mini bar was overturned and broken glass was  everywhere. “Sonny?” she called raising her voice. “Sonny?”

When she received no answer she ran towards the stairs, glass crackling under her feet. She dashed up the flight and pushed open her brother’s door. He was sitting on his bed, his head in his hands. “Sonny,” she said softly.

He raised his eyes to hers and blinked. “I–I hit her.”

Dread settled in her stomach like a pound of lead and Courtney crossed to him and kneeled in front of him. “Oh…Sonny…”

“You shouldn’t be here right now,” Sonny said in a hoarse voice. His eyes were red and swollen. “I don’t–I don’t think I’m angry enough to do anything but…I don’t really know what I’m capable of anymore.”

Courtney pushed some of his dark hair out of his face. “Hey, I’m not going anywhere. I know you must hate yourself pretty bad right now but it’s going to be okay.”

“No, it’s never going to be okay again.” Sonny dragged his hands through his hair and bowed his head. “I hit her, Courtney. I swore to myself I would never lay a hand on a woman and I hit her. Somehow that feels worse than shooting her in the god damn head.”

“You need help,” Courtney whispered thickly. “Carly and I thought we could do it before and Carly and Jason have always been enough but it’s not anymore, Sonny. You need to talk to someone. Please. It hurts so much to watch you in pain.”

“I know.” Sonny cleared his throat. “I already told Jason I would do anything he wanted me to do. I called Dara and I’m changing the plea back. I just…I thought if I could just fix what’s been going wrong around here…it would help. It always has before.”

“But there’s nothing you can fix, Sonny,” Courtney told him gently. She moved to sit next to him on the bed. “What’s going wrong right now–it’s been happening for months. Except no one wanted to say so. And if you don’t say it, it’s not real.” She bit her lip and looked away. “You were right last year. Jason and I–we weren’t a good idea. A-and I’m sorry that I didn’t listen to you. I was too hurt by AJ and too addicted to how safe Jason made me feel and I just–I was too proud to say that you knew better.”

“It fit though,” Sonny told her. “You and Jason, me and Carly. It all fit.” He chuckled bitterly and forced himself to stand and cross to the window. “But it really didn’t. I–I made a lot of mistakes. I keep myself in check by controlling everything around me and that used to work. But–but it doesn’t anymore. You guys–you moved on. You made changes–big ones–and I’m playing catch up.”

“Carly loves you,” Courtney said softly. “That hasn’t changed. But she’s moved on, too. It feels like it happened while you were in jail but it’s been happening for a while. Jason–I love him, Sonny. But we do not work as couple. Mainly because I like the little quiet life I’m building in Haye’s Landing…and because I’m not Elizabeth.”

Sonny nodded. “I knew that you were just trying to prove it to yourself that you could do this. I could see it in your eyes every time you had to leave the room or sacrifice something else because of this life. You were fighting yourself, Courtney a-and I’m glad you’ve stopped.”

“I feel…I feel better now that I’ve admitted it out loud,” Courtney confessed. “I can’t handle it. I’m sorry that I’ve made myself miserable in the process and I’m sorry that I had to hurt Jason to realize it but we’re better off, Sonny. I need you to please understand that it wasn’t his fault and it wasn’t mine.”

“He still cheated on you.”

“Yeah, but…but it helps that he didn’t just pick some random girl on the street. He did it during a time when we were fighting a lot and when things were rocky…and he slept with a woman I knew he’d never get over.” She sighed and twisted her hands. “I don’t like that he did it, came back to me and still married me but it’s easier for me to understand what he did because it was with her.”

Sonny exhaled slowly. “Yeah…well, that’s between the two of you and it was–it was wrong of me to get in the middle.” He closed his eyes. “I’ve been close to the edge for a while now–maybe since Alcazar sprung that Lily look-a-like on me or maybe since last spring with that stuff with Jason originally. I don’t really know.” He sighed. “But it’s never been as bad as it has these last few days. I said things that I shouldn’t have. To you, to Carly, to Elizabeth, to Jason…”

“That’s why you’re going to get help,” Courtney said firmly. “So that you can apologize and say that you’re sorry and that you’re getting help.”

Sonny nodded. “But that doesn’t take it back. It doesn’t make it okay.”

“Not to you but it will to them. At least–I think it will.”

Sonny sighed. “So, this Brian guy…” he managed a weak smile. “Do I need to grill him on his intentions?”

Courtney laughed a little and stood up to kiss his cheek. “Yeah, but between you and me, he’d wipe the floor with you.”

Morgan Penthouse

Elizabeth stirred and opened her eyes. When she realized her surroundings, she sat up abruptly. “Oh, hell, I did it again.”

Jason glanced at her from his desk with an amused smile. “You’ve been out for almost two hours.”

“Christ.” She dragged a hand through hair and shook her head, trying to clear the haze. “I’ve never been so tired in my life. Over the weekend, I was sitting with Emily out in the gardens at Wyndemere. We were on this bench and she went inside to ask Nikolas something. She came back out and I had curled up on the bench and fallen asleep.”

“Carly was like that too a lot for the first few months. I found her curled up in the booths at The Cellar more than once.”

“Oh, well, at least it’s not just me. I just close my eyes for a minute and I zone out. No warning. It’s insane.” She stood. “Sorry but you could have just woken me up.”

Jason shrugged and pushed away from the desk. “I didn’t really mind. I did move you so you’d be more comfortable.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Are you hungry or something? I don’t have anything here but I can get something from Kelly’s.”

“No, I’m okay. I’m sure you’ve got more important things to do so if you could just walk me to the docks for the launch…?”

“Elizabeth, there is nothing more important in my life right now,” Jason corrected. “I wanted to thank you…for being here today. For helping with Carly.”

“I’m just sorry any of you are going through this,” Elizabeth remarked. “I’m glad you let me help.” She sighed. “Jason…I don’t want to be an obligation.”

“You’re not.”

“But it feels like it,” Elizabeth admitted. She stared at her hands. “It feels like you’re just…doing what you think you’re supposed to be doing. Giving me money, getting me this apartment, getting a divorce…you don’t need to take care of me, Jason and I don’t want you to.”

Jason opened his mouth to deny it but closed as he thought over his words. He stood and crossed to his pool table. “I tried to tell you that last night…that things weren’t going to be the same between us.”

Elizabeth blinked and twisted on the couch to look at him oddly. “What night?”

“That night before we faked Sonny’s death. When you asked me if I would call and take you out…and I told you that I didn’t know what was going to happen or how we’d deal with it.” He ran his fingers over the soft green felt. “I knew you were going to be upset when you found out. It just…it never crossed my mind that you leave and cut me out of your life.”

Elizabeth stood and rounded the couch, leaning against it. “I–my original intention wasn’t cut you out permanently.” She stared at the floor. “I was so angry and I knew I’d keep saying things I didn’t mean just so I could hurt you as much as you hurt me. I didn’t want to be that person, Jason, so I just–I stayed away. I thought…I’d calm down and then I’d go to you…”

“Why didn’t you?” Jason asked. “Why did you dismiss me that night at Luke’s?”

“Because you weren’t you anymore,” Elizabeth said, with a little shrug. “I came home from helping Luke and Lucky and the first thing out of Courtney’s mouth was that you got married.”

“That wasn’t real,” Jason protested. “You had to know that.”

“No, I didn’t know that,” Elizabeth replied shortly. “Because you didn’t tell me. What was I supposed to think? You’d lied to me and then told me it had nothing to do with me.”

“I’m sorry. I–I’ve apologized for that and I’ve told you that I should have told you.”

“I know and I accept that but you wanted to me to explain why I cut you out of my life and that’s part of it. You married another woman and then you came to me like…like I was just supposed to forget it all. Yes, you’ve apologized…but you didn’t then.” She sighed. “You just…you weren’t the same. You were different and I wasn’t really fond of who you were. Then the whole Courtney thing happened and I just…things got out of control.”

“You’re not an obligation,” Jason said quietly, “but you’re right. I–I’ve been just doing the things I think I’m supposed to do. And it’s because I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where I stand with you and how much to push you for more and I don’t know if I deserve to considering that I got married less than two months ago and it’s just…I feel like I don’t know what’s going on inside my head anymore.” He dragged his hand through his hair. “But I know that I like having you around. That sitting here with you today…with you sleeping on the couch and me sitting there doing paperwork…it’s the best I’ve felt in a long time. And part of me just wants to ask you to move in here with me so I can feel like that all the time.”

Elizabeth blinked. “So why don’t you?” she asked softly.

December 1, 2003

Corinthos Penthouse

It only took a moment for Elizabeth to realize that Carly was not unconscious or seriously hurt—merely stunned. She propped herself up on one elbow and clutched the other hand to her face.

Sonny blinked and his glazed expression slowly moved from his hand to his wife and for a moment he felt like he was floating. He was above it all and he wondered why she was crying.

For a moment, he was eight years old again and watching his stepfather hit his mother. Adela had had that same look in her eye that first time. That stunned and terrified look–as though she couldn’t believe this was happening to her

Bile rose in Sonny’s throat and he fell to his knees. “Oh, God,” he choked out. “Oh, God, Carly.”

But when he moved towards her, Carly instinctively sought to protect herself and crawled backwards helplessly. Jason stood and put himself between his best friend and his boss, his eyes catching sight of a horrified Elizabeth in the doorway.

“Elizabeth, help Carly to her feet and get her out of here,” he told her softly. There was no room for argument and Elizabeth wouldn’t have known what to protest. She crouched and held out her arms for Carly to grip in her path to standing.

Every limb in the other woman’s body was trembling violently and silent tears were streaming down her face. She’d never dreamed Sonny would turn his rage on her.

Elizabeth wrapped an arm around Carly’s waist and led her from the penthouse. She leaned down and found the keys for Jason’s place on the floor and shakily inserted the key into the lock.

She opened the door, shut it behind her and then helped Carly sit on the couch.

Across the hall, Sonny was shaking his head—almost sobbing. “What did I do?” he kept repeating to himself.

Jason shut the door and went into the kitchen. A few moments later, he emerged with a towel and some ice. He knelt in front of Sonny and took the bleeding hand in his. The blood wasn’t from Carly, Jason noticed with relief—but from overturning the mini bar. He wrapped Sonny’s hand in the towel and set the ice over it. “If you don’t agree to get help, I will force you to do it,” he finally told his former mentor. “Because I know you know what you just did was unacceptable.”

“I didn’t even realize I’d done it until I saw her lying there,” Sonny choked out. “Oh, Jesus, Jason…I hit her. One moment she was standing there–so angry with me and I just—Oh, fuck, I just snapped. I threw some glass and usually—usually that kind of relieves some of the anger in me, you know? I do it to blow off the steam.”

“I know,” Jason agreed. “But it didn’t work this time, did it?”

“No—so I-I overturned the whole bar and this—this rage was still boiling inside. I told her to walk away from me—I swear I did, Jason. I told her to walk away.”

“But Carly doesn’t know how to walk away from anything,” Jason remarked, closing his eyes. And why should she have? Sonny had never hit her before—had never given any indication he’d turn his rage on her.

But he’d been walking a tightrope for some time and he’d begun to stumble that night in October. Jason thought Sonny understood he needed help but then he’d lost it this morning. Completely–attacking anyone in his path. From innocent bystander Brian who was just there to support Courtney to Elizabeth, a girl Sonny had cared about as a friend almost before Jason could remember.

The tightrope had snapped and Sonny had taken a tumble into the darkness he knew so well.

“She was still standing there—still angry, still not afraid of me. She repeated what’d she said. Nobody needed me to fix them. I didn’t want to hear it—I told her to shut up and she just yelled right back at me. I wanted her to just—to just be quiet.” Sonny squeezed his eyes shut. “I hit her. Oh, God, I hit her just like Deke hit my mother. Right across the face–a backhanded slap. How could I have done that? To Carly, Jason. I hit Carly!”

“Yeah, yeah, you did.” Jason stood and had to haul Sonny to his feet. “We’re going to call Dara and you’re going to tell her that you’ve changed your mind. You’re taking a plea and then tomorrow when Scott offers you a deal, you’re taking it.”

“He won’t,” Sonny said hoarsely. “We’ve already gone this route, Jason. He’ll see me rot in hell before he cooperates.”

“He will,” Jason repeated. “Trust me, Sonny. He will offer you a deal to serve the time at a hospital. And you will take it and you go into therapy and you will get better, do you understand me?” he demanded sharply, desperation coloring his tone. This was the man he’d learned so much from–he’d learned how to treat women from Sonny. Respect, Sonny had told him. Always respect them. And never…ever lay a hand on them.

If this could happen to Sonny–the man Jason had always admired–it could happen to anyone.

Sonny nodded miserably. “Anything. Anything so I never have to see that look on Carly’s face again. She and my mother don’t look anything alike–except my mother wore that look for the rest of her life and I would rather slit my wrists before I see it on Carly’s again.”

“Carly will be fine, I will take care of her,” Jason swore. “Go upstairs. Get a shower. Go lie down. I’ll take care of everything.”

Morgan Penthouse

Elizabeth handed her a glass of orange juice. “It’s the only thing Jason has in his refrigerator,” she apologized.

“It’s fine,” Carly said hoarsely, greedily drinking it. She set the half empty glass on the coffee table and wrapped her arms around herself. “I never—I never thought he’d actually hit me.”

A red splotch covered half of Carly’s face and Elizabeth knew without a doubt that it would turn into a rather large and ugly bruise. The two women had never gotten along and suddenly Elizabeth didn’t feel that she could offer the comfort the other women needed so desperately.

“Do you want me to call Courtney?” Elizabeth suggested. “Bobbie?”

“No!” Carly said sharply. She raked her hands through her hair and shook her head. “No one can know. They’ll look at him differently—they’ll look at me differently.”

“This isn’t your fault,” Elizabeth said softly. “I don’t care what he’s going through—none of it makes it your fault.”

“He told me to walk away.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “He told me to walk away and I didn’t. Why can’t I ever learn?”

“You should put some ice on that–it might help it not to bruise as badly,” Elizabeth said softly. “Carly…I wish I knew what to say to help you.”

“There’s nothing you can say.” Carly managed a weak smile. “Point for you for not arguing with Jason back there, though. You’re not really—if it had been Courtney, she would have. She’s his sister and she loves him. She would have tried to help him. But she wouldn’t have understood that the last thing he needed to see was another woman right now.”

“It seems to me that Jason knows Sonny better than anyone. He wanted me to get you out of there. Who am I argue?” Elizabeth stood. “I’ll get some ice—”

“I’ll get it,” Carly said. She stood and started for the kitchen. “And then I just…I need to be alone. It’s not you—”

“It’s fine, Carly.” Elizabeth watched in concern as the other woman retrieved an ice pack and disappeared upstairs.

It was another twenty minutes before Jason finally walked into the room and she immediately jumped up from the sofa. “Are you okay?” she asked immediately.

Jason nodded and rubbed a hand over his face. “I made him call Dara and agree to take a deal from Scott tomorrow. Is…is Carly okay?”

“She’s blaming herself but I guess that’s natural. She’s gonna have one nasty bruise on her face.” Elizabeth gestured towards the stairs. “She said she just wanted to be alone for a bit.”

“How long?”

“About twenty minutes. Jason–”

“I can’t walk you to the docks right now,” he interrupted. “I can’t… I can’t leave them alone up here.”

“I can walk myself. It’s broad daylight, it’ll be fine,” Elizabeth remarked. She hesitated. “Unless…I can stay, if you want.”

“Stay,” Jason said immediately. “Please.”

She nodded. “Sure.” She crossed to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, splaying her hands on his shoulder blades. “I’m so sorry,” Elizabeth said softly. His arms came around her and held her more tightly than he ever had before. He pressed his face into her hair and just stood there—for once accepting the comfort she’d always sought to give him.

Port Charles Grille

Brian glanced around the luxurious dining room. “I still like Webster’s better,” he decided.

Courtney managed a weak smile. “Their coffee is better,” she agreed. She used her fork to push her scrambled eggs around her plate. “So, now that you’ve met the other woman, what do you think of her?”

Brian frowned in confusion at the motive for the question but he answered it anyway. “She seems nice. A little intimidated by your brother but I bet she spends most of her time worrying about everyone else but herself.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked, surprised at his dead on impression.

“The way she stood when we were in the hallway–the way she acted the whole morning. She keeps darting her eyes around to the people near her. Not out of suspicion or guilt but concern. The edges of her nails are bitten down but they’re still polished so she’s definitely got anxiety problems but tries to hide them.”

“This is a bit of your FBI training showing through, huh?” Courtney asked with obvious respect.

Brian shrugged. “They just teach you to look for certain things–like the way someone playing a poker game learns the other person’s tells.” He shifted in his seat and sipped his coffee. “But I think you knew those things about Elizabeth. You were asking my opinion as a man, weren’t you?”

“Maybe,” Courtney admitted reluctantly. “My relationship with Jason was based on–it was more honest than my marriage. Not completely honest, but more honest and it’s hard for me to get the past fact that subconsciously, he wished he was with her the entire time.”

“She’s pretty,” Brian admitted. “Very pretty in that elfin sort of way. The kinds of guys who are attracted to her probably see something in her that they want to fix or protect. She kind of screams that vibe but I don’t think she’s weak at all. And I think that’s probably why she’s still alone–despite being pretty and being a good person who looks out for the people she loves.”

“Jason thinks she walks on water,” Courtney remarked bitterly. “Thinks she can do no wrong.”

“And that’s probably his mistake right there. It doesn’t work between them because he puts her on a pedestal. He probably has this firm idea of who she is in his head and refuses to change it. He thinks she needs his protection. The way he subconsciously came to her defense all morning says that. But I bet she resents that like hell.” He took a bite out of his toast and chewed it slowly. It’d been a while since he’d put his profiling skills to any kind of use and he found the exercise mildly amusing. He’d been curious about the woman Courtney’s husband had slept with and now that his curiosity was satisfied, he still didn’t understand why Jason Morgan would leave a woman who obviously loved him to chase a relationship with another woman who wouldn’t be with him while he treated her like a child

“But you don’t want to sleep with her right?” Courtney asked, injecting false humor into her statement and hating the way her voice shook slightly.

“No, I don’t,” Brian remarked off-handedly. “But I bet you could find a hundred men who don’t and then another hundred who would. This isn’t about her being better than you, Courtney. He didn’t love her better or more, okay?”

“No, he’s just in love with her. And he only loved me. I know enough to see the difference.” She stared at her plate. “Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”

Letting the subject go, Brian finished his toast and cleared his throat. “Your brother is going to snap soon, Courtney. And I’d tell your sister-in-law to make sure she’s not in the room when he does.”

Courtney blinked and stared at him. “How can–why would you say something like that?”

“He’s got this tension in his body and the longer he was around her, the tighter the muscles got. I wasn’t sure at first if it was the idea of being in court, you being hurt by your marriage or Carly herself. The only people Sonny didn’t verbally attack were you and his wife. He holds the two of you very highly. You’re beyond reproach right now because he sees you as the wronged party. He’ll be angry at Jason until he snaps and then he’ll realize Jason’s probably the best friend he has.”

“So why do you think Carly would be in danger?” Courtney asked softly.

“Because she doesn’t live with him and you can see in the way she carries herself that she’s proud of her independence. She’s got a backbone I bet wasn’t there before. The next time you see her, take a look at her shoulders. They’re straight. She holds her head high and you can see it in her face that she’s not used to it. She wears expensive clothes and jewelry that she could never afford on her own–even if her nightclub were the most profitable in town. She’s had a year or more of complete dependence on your brother and this independence is new to her but she’s proud of it. And she’ll fight to keep it. Your sister-in-law reminds me of a tiger almost in that way. And once your brother recognizes that–it’ll be the thread that makes him snap. The only thing keeping him in line is the idea that his family needs him to fix them. And you and Jason have proved already that you don’t.”

“It’s almost creepy how well you know them,” Courtney murmured, “considering it’s the first time you met them. It’s not just the profiling stuff you know, is it?”

“Once you know what to look for, everything falls into place. It’s a matter of being observant and using what you see to connect it to what you already know. You’ve told me a lot about your family so I used that and connected it to body language and dialogue patterns.”

Courtney pushed her plate away. “I know you have to get back to Haye’s Landing–”

“I have the day off, you know that.”

“–but I want to check on my brother and Carly before we drive back,” Courtney finished. She started to search through her pocket book for her wallet. By the time she found it, Brian had already signaled the waiter and given him a credit card.

Port Charles High School: Library

Lucas shifted in his seat and studied his history notes. He had a test next period and though he knew the material inside and out, he still wanted it fresh in his mind.

A stack of books fell on the table across from him and his blonde cousin sat down with a sigh. “Okay, we gotta talk.”

“Maxie, I don’t really have time for this–”

“Hey…make time, okay? We’ve barely have ten seconds to talk since you’ve been avoiding Georgie for the last week.”

“Sometimes Georgie shows her age a little more than I’m comfortable with.” Lucas shoved his notes aside. “What’s on your mind? Something wrong with Kyle? He still not calling?”

“No, he called last night. He couldn’t get home for Thanksgiving. New Jersey had some bad rain and his flight got canceled. He’ll be home for Christmas but that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh?”

“Sage.”

Lucas sighed and shook his head. “I don’t really want to deal with this, Maxie. I know you don’t like her–”

“I don’t know her,” Maxie argued. “And you do. I need you to talk to me about it because it worries me a bit. She’s a pretty girl—is that what this is about?”

“If you’re insinuating that I just want to sleep with her, you can save your breath. I’ve barely worked up the courage to ask her to the dance next Friday.”

“Fair enough. I’m sorry. So, you really like her?”

“I really like her. She’s not the girl you guys think she is. She’s not a slut, she’s not a bad person–she’s just…she just haven’t had a good life. Her father shipped her off to boarding school, never called, never wrote. It’s kind of you like and your dad except she didn’t have Mac and her mother left her for good years ago.”

“I didn’t know all that,” Maxie said softly.

“Well…now you do. Just because her father and her uncle are criminals, it doesn’t mean she is, too. So tell Georgie that I won’t avoid her anymore if she’ll just act a little more mature. Sage kissed Dillon twice. She hasn’t gone near him since and if I have anything to say about it, she won’t even remember his name.”

Maxie suppressed a smile. “You really like her, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Lucas admitted. “Is this going to be a problem?”

“No. I’m glad you’ve got someone, Lucas. Do I wish it wasn’t the niece of a crime lord? Sure. But hey, beggars can’t be choosers.” She checked her watch. “Okay, I’m late for chemistry.”

“You ditched chemistry to ask me that?” Lucas asked amused.

Maxie shrugged. “Not like I missed anything I’m gonna understand. Chemistry is like being in the middle of an advanced Spanish class when you can barely speak English.”

Morgan Penthouse

“Are you hungry?” Jason asked Carly as she descended the stairs.

“I don’t think I could eat,” Carly sighed. She glanced around. “Where’d Elizabeth go? She was here when I went upstairs.”

“She’s still here. She’s upstairs—morning sickness. She refused to let me in and help her so I’ve been sitting down here for the past twenty minutes.” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “I talked to Sonny and he agreed with what I suggested.”

Carly closed her eyes. “I could say I don’t care and almost believe it,” she said softly.

“I called Dara and without giving her details–I convinced her take his case again. He’s going to reenter his guilty plea and Scott Baldwin is going to offer him a deal of six years in Ferncliffe.”

Carly frowned. “I thought Scott refused to deal this out.” She pulled the ice pack away and rubbed the sore skin. “What am I going to tell Michael?”

“The truth–as gently as you can,” Jason advised. “And Scott will deal. I’ll make sure of that.” He looked away. “But I think it’s for the best if you don’t tell Alcazar.”

“I can’t lie to Lorenzo, Jason,” Carly protested. “If he asks, I’m going to tell him what happened. He won’t come near Sonny, I promise.”

“Carly–”

“I won’t lie,” she refused. “If Ric hit Elizabeth, do you think you’d want to know?”

“It’s hardly the same thing,” Jason protested. “I’m not an idiot who would run around trying to get revenge.”

“Yeah, okay.” Carly rolled her eyes. “If you saw a bruise on her face even half the size of the one I’ve got, you’d shoot first and ask questions later. You’d want Emily to tell you, too. I’m not going to lie to him, Jason. Get used to it.”

Because he knew she had a point, he let the subject drop. A few moments later, Elizabeth slowly came down the steps, a hand braced over her abdomen and her face pale.

Carly managed a weak smile. “Yeah, that look feels familiar. You should eat some crackers. It’ll help settle your stomach.”

“To get crackers, I’ll need to get back to Wyndemere and making that trip on the launch is so not an appealing idea,” Elizabeth grumbled. She sat down gingerly on the arm chair to the left of the couch. “I’ll be glad when I don’t have to cross a body of water all the time.”

“You don’t have any crackers in your kitchen?” Carly demanded accusingly. “An expecting father should always have some.”

“I’ll put it on my grocery list.” Jason sighed. “Carly…is there anything you need…anything I can do?”

“No. I just… I want to get out of this building,” Carly said. “I have to pick up Michael from school in about an hour and I want some time to get the majority of this covered by makeup.”

“I’ll walk you down to your car,” Jason said. He looked at Elizabeth who’d leaned back against the chair, her eyes closed. “Will you be okay here for a few minutes? I sent Marco home for the day.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

Jason walked Carly down to the parking garage, waited until she was in her car and once she’d left the garage, he sent one of the guards after her and instructed him to stay on her until Jason told him otherwise.

By the time he returned to his penthouse, Elizabeth had fallen asleep. Her breathing was deep. He considered waking her but remembered that Carly had been tired early in her pregnancy with Morgan and had fallen asleep everywhere and anywhere.

He lifted her into his arms and moved her to the couch, where she stretched out but did not stir. He pulled a small blanket from the back of the couch and spread it over her.

He sat at his desk and started working on paperwork that he’d fallen behind with.

Carly’s House

Carly stepped inside and turned to lock the deadbolt. When she turned back towards the rest of the living room, she saw Lorenzo standing there, with a slight scowl on his face. “I heard what happened in court–” he broke off when he caught sight of the rapidly darkening bruise on her face.

He stepped forward, his dark eyes narrowing, his lips tightening in anger. “Who did this to you?” he demanded roughly.