Written in 49 minutes. I don’t think I would have finished another scene, and my elbow is starting to get a little sore. See you on Friday!

Don’t hit him.

Drew’s face might look appealing enough to rearrange, but no one would win if Jason gave into this particular impulse and knocked him out cold.

Instead, Jason said nothing and started towards the doorway, not stopping even as Drew’s smile fell and he hastily backed up, clearing the way for Jason to leave the room.

“Would it kill you to say excuse me?” Drew demanded, following him back to the entrance hall. Jason rubbed his temple, and turned back to face him.

“Do you have something to say to me or can I go?” he demanded. “If I go out the door, are you gonna follow?”

“Don’t think that I’m gonna help you with your case,” Drew sneered. “I might not agree that the best place for my daughter is with Alexis, but there is one thing she and I agree about—you’re not fit to be a father. You never were.”

Useless. Waste of time, Jason thought. He turned away, reached for the door.

“Jake can already barely stand the sight of you. It won’t be long before Danny feels the same.”

Jason just slammed the door in response, and a few minutes the sound of a car ignition could be heard.

Drew grinned, turned and stopped dead when he saw Jake standing there. “Uh, Jake. Hey. Hi. How—”

“Don’t bother.” Jake folded his arms. “You know, when Dad first came home from Russia, I hated him. I wanted you to stay my dad.”

“I know—”

“But you weren’t interested in that. You stopped coming around long before you dropped off the face of the Earth.”

Drew hesitated, cleared his throat. “I have a lot of regrets, Jake. There was never enough time with any of you. We found out about Oscar, and—”

“My dad’s not perfect. Far from it. But you don’t get to use me or my brother in whatever fight you’re having. Me, Danny, Scout, all of us. We’re not pieces on a chess board, Drew. If you do anything that hurts them—”

“Jake, I’m sure you think you’ve got the whole story, but you really don’t know everything. There’s a lot about your father you don’t know.”

“Sure. Like why he kicked your ass the night before the funeral.” Jake smirked. “But I bet you deserved it. Dad doesn’t usually throw a punch otherwise. Like said, keep me and Danny out of this.  You’re not my father. You never were.”

“That’s not far, damn it.” Drew reached for Jake’s arm as the teenager brushed past him. “I was there for you—”

“For five minutes. I don’t give a damn. The man I knew, the man I thought you were—” Jake pressed his lips together. “I don’t see him anymore. Let me go.”

“Hey, Jake, did you find—” Rocco leaned over the railing, then hesitated when he saw the scene below him, Drew’s hand wrapped around Jake’s arm. “You good, dude?”

“Yeah. I’m good.” Jake wrenched his arm out of Drew’s grip. “You think I’m some dumb kid and you don’t have to listen. But I’m not going to let you hurt my brother. Stay out of my dad’s custody fight with Ms. Davis, or you’ll regret it.”

“You are just a dumb kid if you think you can threaten me, Jake. I’m a Congressman—”

“Whatever.” Jake rolled his eyes and headed up the stairs. Drew watched him go, his mouth unsmiling. The last thing he needed was some snot-nosed kid with an attitude watching his every move.

He might need to do something drastic before it all fell apart.

—

Alexis scowled, then slapped a hand on Sonny’s desk. “I don’t understand why you’re refusing to help me!”

“Not refusing, Alexis. Unable to help.” Sonny got to his feet. “Jason hasn’t returned a call since the funeral. And every time I try to catch him at the warehouse, somehow he’s never available. I told you, he’s ticked off at me.” He shrugged and left the office, heading for the bar where he poured himself a drink. “And what do you think I’m gonna do? Call him and tell him to get another lawyer? Even if he’s being difficult, I still think what you’re doing to him isn’t fair.”

Alexis pressed her lips together. “Jason has never been a full-time father for more than a few weeks. Not since he gave up custody of Michael, and that was nearly thirty years ago, Sonny. We both know he’s incapable of putting anyone first but you and Carly. Sam left him because of that—”

“Sam left him because Danny was nearly blown into little pieces at the Floating Rib. By your ex-husband and her father, by the way, so not entirely sure how that was Jason’s fault. But she did play hypocrite—”

“Don’t talk about my daughter that way—”

“I’ll talk about Sam any damn way I please, Alexis. She was an adrenaline junkie who only made it as long as she did because Jason saved her over and over again. He was stupid enough to make a baby with her, and now you’re going to make him pay for it.” Sonny shook his head, took a long sip of bourbon. “Worst mistake I ever made bringing her home. Should have paid her off.”

Alexis narrowed her eyes. “Are your meds being screwed with again? How can you talk about Sam like this? My daughter is dead!”

“And that makes her a candidate for sainthood?”

The door opened behind Alexis before she could manage a comeback, and Carly came in. She  made a face at Alexis, before looking at Sonny. “Don’t tell me you’re so mad at Jason you’re switching sides.”

“She wants me to talk to Jason about getting a different lawyer.”

“Oh. Well, that won’t work.” Carly dumped her purse on one of the bar chairs, draped her coat over the back of it. “Jason won’t talk to Sonny.”

“Why? What happened?”

Before Sonny could open his mouth, Carly held up a finger to stop him, before looking at Alexis. “You’re out of your mind if you think either one of us is going to help you take Jason’s son from him. And if Molly’s determined to help him, you should ask yourself why your daughter hates you so much she took this case.”

“I—” Alexis took a deep breath. “I’m thinking about my grandchildren. You know you would feel the same if something happened to Michael or Joss and they had children. Danny and Scout have been through enough. I’m trying to stop them from being separated—”

“Then convince Drew to leave Scout in Port Charles so she can be with her family. She can stay with Monica, and I can almost guarantee Jason would let Jake stay at the mansion. Hell, he might even move in. This isn’t on Jason, and you know it, Alexis. Danny loves him. He’s not the one moving hundreds of miles away.”

“Drew won’t listen to me, and even if he would—”

“It’s not good enough because you still wouldn’t be in control. Shocking.” Carly rolled her eyes, looked at Sonny. “Don’t do anything stupid that pisses Jason off even more. You’re already on his shit list.”

“He’ll get over it,” Sonny muttered, taking another swig of bourbon. “I’m letting him cool off and realize I did the right thing—”

“Really? Hey, Alexis—” Carly focused on her nemesis. “How do you think Kristina would feel finding out that you lied about her dad for two years, and lost custody of her when you faked DID for murdering Luis Alcazar, so she had to live with Ned for months? A man who wasn’t her father, and now barely acknowledges her existence. You think Kristina would find that interesting?”

Alexis looked at Carly for a long moment, then looked at Sonny. “What did you do?”

“I am not the villain in this story,” Sonny complained. “All I did was tell Elizabeth that she needed to encourage Jason to go after custody since it’s her fault Jason doesn’t believe he should have kids. She started this, it’s on her to finish it.”

“So lucky Jason let you live,” Carly muttered, shaking her head, and looking back at Alexis. “No one is going to help you, Alexis. Your daughter took Jason’s case because it’s the right thing to do. Because it’s what Sam wanted.”

“When have you ever given a damn about what my daughter wanted?” Alexis demanded.

Carly furrowed her brow, considering the question. “Probably never. But hey, better late than never, right?”

“You two are insufferable and impossible. I don’t know why I even bothered with either of you.” Alexis snatched of her purse, and slammed the door behind her so hard it rattled in its frame.

Carly sighed, then looked at Sonny. “You really screwed up, you know that, don’t you?”

“If Jason can’t handle the truth about Elizabeth, then—”

“Hey, if this was about insulting Elizabeth Webber, he’d already be over it. I’ve been doing it for….well, more years than I’m going to count. You know that’s not why he’s pissed, Sonny. You did whatever you did in front of Jake.”

Sonny sighed, then dragged a hand down his face. “Yeah, I know. I just—I wasn’t thinking.”

“He never, in a million years, would have done that to you with Michael or Morgan. Or any of your kids. Or any of mine. You screwed up,” Carly repeated. “And until you really get it, there’s no chance you can fix it.”

—

Elizabeth checked her watch again, wondering how long the conversation with Danny would take, or if she was wasting her time waiting for Jason at Bobbie’s. Maybe he wouldn’t come right here afterwards. They should have set something up—

“I’ve been trying to talk to you for two days,” Lucky said, plopping into the seat across from her in the deserted courtyard. She sighed, then leaned back. “You’ve been ignoring my calls. So has Aiden.”

“I never told him to do that. And you and I have nothing to say to each other,” Elizabeth said, swirling her straw in her water. “I warned you Aiden had questions, and you decided not to handle it—”

“No, thanks to Jason, Aiden found out everything—”

“You aren’t going to blame Jason for this. I told you Jake knew something. You chose to ignore Aiden’s questions—”

“He wouldn’t have had questions if Jason hadn’t—” Lucky hissed, then broke off. “It doesn’t matter. There’s no point in blaming each other. Damage control is necessary.”

“So do it—”

“I’m not going to doing this alone. Aiden’s your son, too. He knows about Maxie, damn it.”

Elizabeth sighed. “He asked me something about that, but I didn’t engage in the conversation. And I’m not happy Jake told Aiden anything. I don’t even know how he’d find out about Maxie. There’s not really a lot of people left that would even remember that.”

Lucky flushed. “It doesn’t matter how he found out. He did. And Maxie’s pissed—”

Elizabeth lifted her brows. “Waiting to hear how this is my problem. I do whatever I can to ignore Maxie’s existence, and she does the same for me. It’s worked wonders for two decades, Lucky. I don’t see why we can’t keep doing it. Aiden’s not going to scream it to the mountain tops — or tell Maxie’s kids. What damage control are you worried about?”

“Well, Aiden’s asking questions about his birth,” Lucky said. “Don’t you think we need to figure out a story—”

Elizabeth tipped her head. “What story do we need? It was none of Jake’s business what happened, and it’s none of Aiden’s. Am I supposed to tell Aiden what Helena did to those paternity tests? I didn’t knowingly lie about him, and you damn well know it.”

“It doesn’t really matter in the end, does it? I was lied to, and missed almost a year of Aiden’s life—”

“And you were so broken up about it, you went on to miss another eleven.” Elizabeth tossed some money on the table. “If you’re threatening to tell Aiden about Nikolas just so you feel like we’re even, I can’t really stop you, can I?”

“I didn’t say—”

“But that’s what you’re trying to get to, isn’t it?” Elizabeth got to her feet. “We need a story, you’re telling me. But we don’t need anything. Aiden’s already backed down. He flew a little close to the sun, and decided he’s better off not knowing anything. Or whatever scene the two of you had here last week was enough for him. Let it die, Lucky.”

“You think it’s fair that my son thinks I’m some worthless drug addict? It’s not right.”

“Well, it’s a good thing Aiden has so many great memories of you to balance that out—oh, wait. He doesn’t.” Elizabeth looped her strap over her shoulder. “You walked out on him a decade ago, Lucky. How or what he thinks of you is not my concern.”

“If you’d been a faithful wife—” Lucky started, and she looked back at him.

“I was. I was faithful, dedicated, and devoted until it almost destroyed me. You had an affair, Lucky. You chose drugs and that woman over me and Cameron, and all of that happened before that night at Jake’s. You kept choosing drugs and Maxie until the moment you thought you were going to be a father. A real father. Because obviously, Cam and I weren’t enough. The only mistake I ever made was thinking you were good enough for my boys. For me. We’re down now, Lucky. If you want to be vindictive and tell Aiden about Nikolas, I can’t stop you. You’ll have to live with it.”

+19

Written in 59 minutes.

Stopping by after school to talk. Jake’s coming with me.

Danny read the text from his dad three more times, but the words didn’t reveal anything new, anything groundbreaking. Just the same ten words. It was a good sign, wasn’t it, that Jake was coming with their dad?

“It must mean that they’re good again,” Danny said to Rocco as his sort-of stepbrother sorted through a stack of laundry and dumped some into the open suitcase. He ignored the implication of the suitcase, the reminder that this situation was temporary. That Rocco and his dad weren’t planning to live at the Quartermaines.

“Yeah, maybe. Or whatever your dad has to say is bad enough Jake wants to be here anyway.” Rocco sat on the bed, glumly. “Like my dad signing a lease on the place downtown. He’s doing that right now.”

Danny folded his arms, swallowed hard, looking down at the thick cream carpet. “I don’t know why we can’t all stay here. Your dad, mine —”

“I asked Dad, and he’s like—” Rocco jerked a shoulder. “His mom lives here, but that doesn’t make it their house. I don’t know. It’s stupid. And your dad, well, he gave Drew a black eye, so—”

“Drew didn’t like him before that,” Danny muttered. He wandered over to the window, trying to find the lake beyond the trees. “But yeah, it doesn’t help. Still we should all stay, and Drew should leave Scout here. We should be together.”

“That went out the door when your mom died, Danny. You know that. We don’t have any choices here. We’re the kids, no one gives a damn about us.”

“Yeah—” Danny stopped when he saw Scout peeking around the corner. “Hey. Hey. I was gonna come check on you. How was school?” He went to the door, ushered her into the room. “Do you have homework?”

“No.” Scout wrinkled her nose, then climbed up next to Rocco. “We’re out of school for a whole week ’cause of Thanksgiving. I hate it. I wanna go back. I don’t wanna sit around this stupid house for a whole week.”

“We’ll try to make it fun,” Danny said. “We’ll watch movies or go out into the garden before it gets too cold—”

Scout looked at Rocco. “I was downstairs, and your dad was telling Uncle Michael you guys are leaving. Why do you gotta leave? Uncle Michael said he can stay. You should stay.”

“I’m not charge of this, okay? No one asked me if I wanted to move. They never do.” Rocco flopped onto his back, stared at the ceiling. “Dad didn’t ask me if he wanted us to move to the penthouse or here and now he doesn’t care if I wanna go to some stupid apartment. He doesn’t care about any of it. Just like your dad doesn’t give a damn about you.”

Danny jolted at that. “Hey, don’t tell her that—”

“Tell me I’m wrong—” Rocco said, jerking back to a sitting position, his dark eyes hot. “He’s dragging her to DC, isn’t he? New school, new friends. It’s like he doesn’t even care Sam died. Does he even talk to you, Scout? Did he ask you if you wanted go?”

Her mouth trembled, and tears welled up. “I’m a good girl. He said if I was a good girl, we could stay.”

Danny furrowed his brow. “What?”

“Stay where? In PC?”

Scout pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I’m not supposed to say. Daddy said I can’t tell any lies, even if I don’t think they’re lies. They might be and that’s enough. Lies hurt people. So I’ll be a good girl and we can stay. He promised.”

Rocco opened his mouth, but Danny sent him a dark look. They weren’t going to talk about this with Scout any more. She was only seven. “Okay. Then he promised. Let’s go find something to watch on TV.”

“Yeah, do that. I’ll come find you guys after my dad leaves,” Danny said following him out of the room. “We’ll figure this out, okay? I know it.”

“Sure,” Rocco said, but rolled his eyes and they parted ways with Rocco and Scout heading for the upstairs TV room and Danny for the entrance hall.

He knew his dad would figure this out. He’d find a way to fix things. And then Danny would figure out what the hell his sister was talking about.

—

Kristina jogged over to the door, wincing only slightly when she pulled it open and found TJ standing on the other side. She and her sister’s partner hadn’t been in the same room since Adela’s funeral, since that horrible scene at the graveside. She sort of remembered TJ coming to Sam’s services, but they hadn’t spoken.

And now he was here, in front of her. “Uh, I guess you were looking for my mom. Not me.”

TJ took a moment to answer, and she wondered if he was swallowing a more insulting reply. “Yeah. I know things are…not going well with Molly right now, and well, I wanted your mom to hear it from me. Or I guess you should since you weren’t at the hearing today.”

“Hearing?” Kristina’s heart skipped a beat. “They couldn’t possibly have a hearing in family court yet — Mom only just filed, and Molly just got the case. I talked to her two days ago!”

“Not—not the custody situation. Ava. The motion for a continuance?” TJ prompted, and Kristina froze.

Ava. The woman who had murdered her child. How could Kristina have forgotten— “I didn’t—”

“It was granted. The trial won’t start until March.”

“March—that’s—” Too far away. Too long for a woman like Ava to walk the streets. Kristina tightened her grip on the door. “Why the hell did the judge allow it?”

“I didn’t—the DA’s office didn’t fight it, so I guess there must be a good reason.” TJ made a face. “Well, I came. I told you. You can pass it to your mother or not. I guess you were all too busy for the hearing—”

“Hey—” Kristina reached out, snagged TJ’s arm as he was about to leave. “Don’t you dare suggest I don’t care about what Ava did. She did it to me, remember? I’m the one who went flying out the window, I’m the one who nearly died.”

“And it was my daughter who died, but sure, let’s talk about you. It’s your favorite topic, isn’t it?” TJ snapped, turning back to her. “You don’t want to start with me, Kristina. You really don’t.”

“Why? You gonna throw my daughter’s death in my face the way my sister does?” Kristina demanded. “Ava pushed me, TJ. She killed that little girl before she ever took a breath—”

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about Irene, about what she’d be doing if things had been different. But you don’t care about my relationship with my daughter. You were going to sue me for custody—”

“I—” Kristina took a deep, careful breath. “I was doing that to protect her. To protect the baby—”

“To protect Irene, Kristina. Not the baby, not your daughter. Use her name when you talk about her, damn—” TJ dragged his hands down his face. “I can’t do this. I can’t believe I thought I could come over here and find some common ground—”

“Why? Molly having second thoughts about betraying my mother? About taking the side of a deadbeat father over the woman who’s been with Danny and Scout for their whole lives? No, Molly knows exactly where she can find us if she wants to make peace. She chose to take Jason’s case instead of advocating for Sam’s kids.”

“And the longer I talk to you, the more I know she was right. You and your mother if she goes through with this, you’re being nothing but selfish and arrogant,” TJ retorted. “But that’s nothing new for you. We have nothing to say to each other.”

“Damn right we don’t.” Kristina stepped back and slammed the door.

—

Jason had picked Jake up at Elizabeth’s after Danny’s school had finished for the day, and the ride to the estate on Harborview was a silent one. He didn’t know what to say to his son, not about all the things that had happened since Jake had come home, or about the conversation they needed to have with Danny.

Danny was waiting in the entrance hall for them, his eyes lighting up when Jake came in after Jason. “Hey. It’s so good to see you guys together. I knew you’d figure things out, didn’t I say it would be okay?” he told Jake.

“Yeah, we’re…” Jake offered his father an unreadable look. “We’re figuring it out. But we need a quiet place to talk. Is that possible in this place?”

“Yeah, yeah, come on back to the—” Danny gestured, and they followed him down the short hallway to the library. It was one of the few rooms in the mansion that hadn’t been heavily redecorated in the last few years, Jason thought, one of the last ones that still resembled what it had looked like after the accident.

How many tense confrontations and arguments had this room seen? He didn’t know if he had any good memories in here, other than with his grandmother. Or his sister, both of whom were long gone from this house.

“You guys look like—um, well, you don’t look like you have good news,” Danny said, watching Jake close the door. “What’s wrong?”

“Let’s—” Jason gestured to the sofa. “Let’s sit—”

“I wanna stand.” Danny swallowed hard, folded his arms. “Are you leaving again?”

“What?” Jason asked, thrown. “No—”

“Because the last time you looked like that, you were going to leave again. In July, remember? Before Aunt Carly was arrested—”

“You were going to leave again?” Jake demanded, coming back into Jason’s view. “What the hell?”

Jason grimaced, dragged his hands down his face. “It was going to be for a short time,” he told Jake. “And it wasn’t like before. It wasn’t going to be like before,” he reminded Danny. “I told you that. It would have been like Africa.”

Jake clenched his jaw, shoved his hands into his pockets. “Just fantastic,” he muttered. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked his brother.

“You were gonna leave for Spain, I figured you didn’t need another reason to be pissed at Dad, though I guess I gave you one anyway,” Danny said, heaving a sigh. He dropped into the old armchair. “Whatever. Tell me whatever you need to tell me. But it’s gonna be that me and Scout can’t stay together, isn’t it?”

Jason exhaled slowly, then perched on the edge of the coffee table, waiting for Danny to look at him. “That was never going to be a possibility, Danny. I know what you wanted, what you hoped. But that was never something in my power to give you.”

Danny pressed his lips together. “Why didn’t you just say something? Why didn’t you say it before?”

“Maybe I should have. But it’s…none of this is easy, Danny. This was never the plan. Your mom…she’s supposed to be here.”

Danny swiped at his eyes, looked at Jake. “You happy? This is what you wanted, isn’t it? Dad didn’t save the day.”

“If you mean I wanted you to be unhappy, no.” Jake dropped onto the sofa, leaned over. “And maybe I was an asshole about it, but I didn’t want you to get your hopes up. I wanted to avoid this. This sucks.”

“At least you still have your mom,” Danny said, his chin dipping until it touched his chest. “You get to go home to her and I never do. So you don’t know anything, okay? You don’t get to say this sucks.”

Jason hesitated, trying to think of the best way to continue. “We need to talk about what happens next. You can and should stay here until Scout…until Scout isn’t here. You should have each other as long as you can. But I’m looking for a place for us. If you want to be involved, have a say, then we can do that. But it won’t be just you and me.”

Danny furrowed his brow, looked at Jake, then back at his dad. “I don’t understand.”

“I’m staying. At least until next fall,” Jake said. “Dad asked me to come live with you guys. So I’m gonna be there, too. I know it’s not as good as Rocco or Scout, but we…we haven’t ever gotten to live together. It might…it be cool, right?”

Danny was quiet for a long moment, and Jason wondered if maybe they’d rushed this conversation. Or maybe he’d committed a fatal mistake when he hadn’t been up front with Danny days ago.

“I don’t want anything to change,” Danny said finally, his voice shaking slightly. “I just want my sister and my mom. But I don’t get to have that, do I? I n-never get to have it again.” His lips trembled. “It’s not fair. It’s not fair. Rocco’s mom is alive, but she’s in a stupid coma, so it wasn’t even worth it. She should have died, and my mom should be alive. It’s not fair.”

“I said that when Dad…when we thought Dad was gone,” Jake said, and Danny looked at him. “Remember? Our moms sat us down to tell us he was gone in Greece, and they told us he’d been trying to save Drew and Dr. Westbourne and a lot of people in those tunnels. And I was pissed. I said it should have been that doctor because I didn’t like her. And then she died anyway, so what was the point, right? Now they were both died, and if she died back then, I’d still have my dad.”

“It’s not the same,” Danny muttered. “Our dad is here—”

“Rocco’s mom might wake up one day. That still doesn’t make it fair that you lost your mom. Or that Dr. Westbourne ended up dying anyway. But you love Rocco. He’s like your brother. Do you want him to go through what you’re going through? Is that fair?”

“No. No. I just—” Danny swiped at his eyes. “I just want my mom. I don’t wanna live anywhere she’s not.” He sat up, his cheeks red, maybe from the embarrassment of crying in front of his father and brother. “But I don’t get to have it. Life’s not fair, Mom always said that. So if I can’t have my sister and my mom, I guess…I guess it’ll be cool being you both. But—” He looked at Jake. “You gotta stop being an asshole to Dad.”

“Danny,” Jason started, but Jake just shook his head.

“Whatever you need. That’s why I came home, so we could figure this out. I’m sorry about Scout. Maybe Drew will change his mind and let her stay here. I’m sure Grandma Monica wouldn’t mind.”

“Well, we got a couple of a weeks to work on him.” Danny sighed, got to his feet. Jake and Jason followed suit. “But I don’t gotta go until she does, right?”

“Right. You can stay here with Scout until she leaves. She’ll need her brother for as long as she can have you. And we’ll visit. I’ll—I’ll find a way to make that okay,” Jason said, though it was pained. Maybe Elizabeth would be able to help with that. Or someone in the family.

“Yeah. And we’ll video call,” Jake told Danny. “Where is she, anyway? I wanna catch up with my little cousin.”

“Upstairs watching TV. Can you—can you stay? For a while?” Danny asked.

Jake looked at Jason, who nodded. “Call me when you need a ride,” he told Jake. “I’ll come back out and get you.”

“We gotta talk about me getting a car if I’m gonna be back home,” Jake said, but he always already heading out the door with Danny.

Jason sighed, then looked around the room, at the many photos of his family. He went to the  desk where Monica had kept their last family portrait, taken before the accident. He picked it up, looking at the familiar faces.

He didn’t remember being the man in this photo, with his smiling face and arm slung around his older brother’s shoulders, but it wasn’t so hard to admit to being him anymore.

“Remembering everything you threw away?”

The taunt washed over Jason like acid, and he bristled, turning to find Drew in the doorway.

+27

Written in 54 minutes.

Elizabeth switched off the kitchen faucet, dried her hands, and reached for her phone, scrolling through the notification that had caught her attention. She grimaced at Lucky’s tersely worded call me we have a problem and debated ignoring him entirely.

While still making that decision, she heard the thud of footsteps on the carpeted steps, and looked towards the threshold of the kitchen, realizing it was more than one set. She’d tried very hard not to think about the conversation happening upstairs, knowing this needed to be Jason’s conversation to control, but it hadn’t been easy.

Elizabeth tossed her phone aside when Jake and Jason stepped into view, Jason hanging back behind their son a step or two, though she wondered if he realized how they’d mirrored their stances. The resemblance between them had only grown as Jake had matured, his features chiseling, the angles on his face sharpening until. They were both dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, Jason’s shoved above his elbows. Both had their hands tucked into the pockets, legs set apart.

Jake took a deep breath and slowly raised his gaze until it met his mother’s. “Uh, I guess you know why Dad came over.”

She stepped from behind the island, folded her arms because she didn’t know what else to do with them. “I do.”

Jake opened his mouth, closed it, made a face, then tried again. “Did…did you call him because of what I said?”

Elizabeth furrowed her brows, tilted her head. “What?”

“About…about not wanting to be here. Do…” He let out a rush of breath. “Do you want me to live with Dad because I called you a liar? A-and that I didn’t want to be anywhere near you?”

Behind him, Jason scowled but remained silent, and Elizabeth sighed, rubbed her temple. “I called him because I knew he wanted to talk to you about living with him, and with Danny, and well, you don’t seem very happy here right now. But if you’re asking me if I don’t want you here — if I called him to get rid of you, the answer is no.”

“Oh.” Jake pressed his lips together. “I know I should say I’m sorry. And I guess I am. But it’s…I don’t know how to make it not true.” His eyes glittered with resentment. “You are a liar.”

“Jake—” Jason stepped forward, but Elizabeth held up a hand to stop him.

“That situation exists with or without the question your father asked you. You need space and having me around right now isn’t making it easier, so that’s a bonus. But that’s not why your father asked you or why I agreed.”

“Don’t tell me you care about Danny,” Jake said with a roll of his eyes. “You wanted me to abandon him and go back to Spain, okay—”

“That’s not—” Elizabeth stopped, shook her head. “There’s no point in having this conversation with you. Everything I say just makes it all worse, so do whatever you want.” She turned away, scooped up her phone, and replied to Lucky’s message. We have nothing to talk about.

—

When her father had suggested Kristina take over Charlie’s pub, and return to running the bar, she’d agreed without hesitation. Something else to think about. To fill her hours, her head, and maybe eventually, her body would forget what it felt like to be pregnant, to carry a life, to—

Her sister dropped a phone on the bar and slid onto the stool, but nothing about the look in her dark eyes suggested Molly was in a good mood. “You left a message for me to come by. You said we needed to talk.”

Kristina nodded, reaching for a wine glass and setting it in front of Molly. “Yes. Yes. I know—I know we’re not—we’re not handling anything of right. You and me. Since I woke up in the hospital—”

“Since before that. Since I found those papers,” Molly said flatly. “When it was clear you were making plans to cut me and TJ out of Irene’s life.

Irene. What a horrid name for a little girl. Just more proof that Molly wouldn’t have been the mother her precious angel needed, but Kristina swallowed that. She was the big sister now, the oldest who had to take charge. Sam was gone, and there was no one else to stop Molly from screwing up her life.

“We’re not going to agree on what I wanted. You have your perspective, and it’s not changing,” she said carefully. “I want you to think about what you’re doing to Mom—” She poured her sister’s favorite white wine into the glass. “It’s been awful for her, what happened to me and—and the baby. And then those charges, and the—”

“Charges she wouldn’t have to deal with if you hadn’t stolen your father’s gun,” Molly interrupted, and Kristina nearly snarled in response, but swallowed it.

Big sister. Have to make her see reason.

“Losing Sam dropped the bottom out of her world—”

“And she’s the only one?” Molly asked, ignoring the glass Kristina slid towards her. “No one else is living with the Sam-shaped hole in our lives? Me? Danny? Scout?”

“She’s doing her best—what’s best for Danny and Scout. Can you see Drew and Jason actually being fathers?” Kristina snorted, turning away and not seeing the fury flash across Molly’s face. By the time she turned back, Molly had organized her features back into neutrality.

“Yes. I can. Drew was amazing before the Cassadines kidnapped him. And he’s done his best since he came home from prison. And Jason rebuilt a relationship with Danny. I know he’s working on it with Jake. He’s done that before — after the Cassadines kidnapped him, too. Both of them have had years stolen from them, Kristina. By Mom’s family. By our blood. And you want me to step back and forget everything Jason and Drew have done for us?”

“You’ve always had a hero worship,” Kristina said scornfully. “You think you’ve come so far from the silly girl who wrote romance novels—”

“I think that Jason and Sam nearly died to save you from the mess you got yourself into with Shiloh. Sam sacrificed her freedom for you.” Molly slid off the stool, her lips pressed together. “They lost time with their kids because of you. For you. Sam’s dead. She wanted her kids with their fathers. What right do you or Mom have to break her wishes? To say she was wrong? To steal more time from Jason or Drew? Haven’t you stolen enough from all of us?”

Kristina gripped the wine bottle more tightly. “There’s no talking sense into you. You’re going to break Mom’s heart and you’ll lose any way. Mom knows what she’s doing.”

“Mom hasn’t practiced law in years. I have a solid case, and I have right on my side. Legal and moral.” Molly lifted her brows. “Don’t worry, Krissy. Pretty soon you’ll have Mom all to yourself.”

Kristina scowled, watching her go. “Ungrateful brat,” she muttered, moving down the bar to refill another drink, hesitating when she recognized Lucky Spencer. “Oh. I didn’t know you were here. Did you want another one?” She asked, gesturing at the empty bottle.

Lucky shoved his phone down, then looked at her. “Yeah, might as well. Not like I’m going anywhere.” He picked the phone up again, flicked at the screen. “It’s probably not a good idea to tell someone to call you or you’re going to show up on their doorstep anyway, is it?”

“Depends on who it is.” Kristina tipped her head. “Who’s avoiding you?”

Lucky’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Elizabeth. She started a huge mess and now she won’t help me clean it up. Well, she’s gonna regret it when I tell Aiden just what she did—” He exhaled in a low breath. “Except I can’t. Jason will put me six feet under if I even bother.”

Kristina stopped half-listening, and focused. “Wait. What’s that about Jason?”

—

Why couldn’t he ever say what he wanted to say? Why did the wrong words always exit his mouth?  All his mother was trying to do was help and be nice about the asshole things Jake had said, and what had Jake done?

Made it worse.

And he really didn’t want to turn around and see the look on his dad’s face who had made it pretty damn clear if he kept his mouth going around his mom, he was gonna regret it.

“That wasn’t a fair thing to say,” Jake mumbled, and Elizabeth looked up, her brows lifted. “About you…not caring about Danny. I know it’s not right. I know you do. You didn’t like his mom much, but you made it work. You both did so that me and Danny could be together.”

“Sam and I love our boys more than we ever hated each other,” Elizabeth said softly. “I was upset when you came home the way you did. You didn’t talk to us, didn’t run it past us. Especially when your father spent a lot of money on tuition and board—”

“I don’t care about any of that,” Jason started, but Elizabeth gave him that look again, and his father stopped talking. She was good at that, Jake realized, and again, he wondered at their relationship, at the truths his father had shared with him.

“But I will regret for the rest of my life that I was too scared to hold on to you. That we lost all those years.”

Did his dad regret that he hadn’t held on to his mom, too? Was she part of that we?

“I know you don’t, Jason, but money doesn’t grow on trees. And we don’t throw it around like it doesn’t matter. Maybe you can pause your attendance, but that’s a year of tuition wasted, Jake. Without a conversation. Without consideration. I didn’t raise you that way.”

Heat crawled up Jake’s neck. “I didn’t—I didn’t think about it. I just—” He looked at his dad, who had no reaction. Money really didn’t matter to Jason, Jake thought, but maybe because he’d always had it. But he knew his mother hadn’t. That if Cam hadn’t had scholarships to Stanford, things would have been harder. That if his dad hadn’t stepped forward, his mother would have taken out loans that Jake would be paying back for years. And there’d been times when money had been tight, he remembered. Especially when his dad had been gone, and her hours had been cut at the hospital.

“I’m sorry. I should have talked to you guys. I don’t know if any of that can be fixed now. I didn’t think about any of it. I just—” His eyes blurred. “I remembered when you got sick last summer, Mom, and we had to go stay with Grandma Laura. When she didn’t have enough room for us and Ace and Esme. Grandma Monica wanted me to come stay with her, and maybe you wouldn’t get better. Maybe we would have been separated.”

Elizabeth’s lips parted. “I didn’t know about any of that.”

“You were sick?” Jason asked. “What happened?”

“Later,” she said, almost absently. “It’s too much to—it’s too much right now. Jake—”

“Danny’s doing that now, only it’s worse. Me and Aiden, we were—we were old. But Scout’s just a kid. And she was supposed to be my sister. I was supposed to protect her, but I can’t because she’s not. And I know she’s my cousin, but she and Danny are gonna be separated. Not just by a stupid lake or a couple of miles. By states. They’ll never live together again. I didn’t think, Mom. I just came home. I had to.”

“Of course, honey.” Elizabeth came forward, and Jake didn’t even flinch when she wrapped her arms around him, and he felt the familiarity, the warmth of her hug. She stroked his back, then cupped his jaw as she stepped back, her eyes glimmering with tears. “You’re such a good kid, Jake. You always were. You took every hit the world threw at you, and just got right back up. Of course you should be here with Danny. This is going to be so hard for him, and I’m sorry we can’t find a way out for both of them.”

“It’s no one’s fault, I guess. Even if Dad hadn’t kicked Drew in the teeth or whatever, he’d still be moving away.” Jake took a shaky breath. “So I’m gonna live with Dad and Danny because he needs me.”

“I’m glad.” Elizabeth stroked his face one more time, then stepped back. “I really am. This is going to be great for you. All of you. I’ll miss you, but you’ll be in town, and hopefully—” She folded her arms again, forced a smile. “Well, you’ll decide how much you want to see me.”

Jake opened his mouth, then closed it. For a minute, she’d been his mom again, and the rest of it had fallen away. But it had passed, and he couldn’t force the words out.

“I’m asking Diane to find somewhere close,” Jason said, and Jake looked at him. “You’ll want to see Aiden. And Cam will be home for the holidays, maybe.”

“Yeah. Right. Right.” Jake cleared his throat, looked back at his mother. “You’re right. This is what is right for all of us. Thanks. For knowing that. For making Dad come over tonight. And I’m sorry. For what I said.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Elizabeth squeezed his hand, then turned away, not before he saw the tears on her cheeks. “I’m so glad this worked out. That you two are going to be there for Danny. Everything is going to be just fine. I know it.”

+29

Written in 58 minutes. Conversation took a direction I didn’t mean it, too so the part is a bit shorter than I planned because I wanted to get it right.

Jason hesitated in the hallway outside of Jake’s room. A few hours ago, he’d stood with Elizabeth at Vista Point, confidently telling her what he wanted and bracing himself for her reaction. He’d been sure what he wanted to do was the best way forward, but uneasy about hurting her. She’d been dealt enough blows the last few days.

But now, Jason realized that had been the easiest step. Because he knew that with Elizabeth’s generous nature, the moment he’d what he wanted, she’d support him. Giving people what they wanted, what they needed — hadn’t that always been her weakness?

Now he had to face the son that was unhappy with both his parents, maybe with some good reasons, and find a way to make peace. To convince Jake that living with Jason and Danny might be the best thing for all of them.

He knocked lightly, and waited. A moment later, Jake’s voice could be heard. “I don’t want to talk, Mom.”

“It’s not your mother.”

There was silence then, and Jason wondered if Jake might just ignore him altogether. He’d come back or maybe just wait him out. Jake would have to leave the room eventually.

But then the knob twisted and Jake pulled the door open, his eyes unreadable. “What?”

Jason lifted his brows. “Can we talk?”

Jake heaved a heavy sigh, but stepped back, jerking the door all the way open. The room was just a little bare, evidence that it had been mostly deserted since he’d gone to Spain in August. A suitcase lay by the suitcase, clothing spilling out of the unzipped top. Some of the shelves were empty, and the desk was bare.

But there was a table tucked over by the windows with a large sketchpad open, pencils laying strewn over the surface, and chunks that looked similar to the charcoal Jason remembered from Elizabeth’s studio once upon a time.

Jake’s hands were a bit dingy, and he hurried over to the desk, flipping the pad shut. “Did Mom send you up here to talk to me?” he muttered.

Jason shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “That depends. Would she have a reason to?”

Jake grimaced, flopped on the edge of the bed, then stared at the carpet. “That’s a trick question, and I’m not that stupid. If she didn’t send you, then why are you here?”

“She did call me,” Jason said, sitting carefully on the desk chair after turning it to face Jake. “Because she knows I wanted to talk to you about Danny, and thought maybe you might be in the right mood to have the conversation.”

Jake snorted. “Why? I’m already pissed off, so whatever crap you’re gonna say won’t make it worse? Whatever.”

Jason waited a long moment, just long enough for Jake’s cheeks to flush, for him to raise his gaze to his father’s before he spoke again. “I know you’re not happy with me for reasons I deserve. And that you’re angry with your mother. Whether or not she deserves that — you and I aren’t going to agree on that.”

“Tell me the truth,” Jake challenged, his eyes glittering. “Did you even get mad at her for a minute when she told you she lied? Or did you do what you always do, what she always does for you and start making excuses? She likes to say she didn’t try to make me feel bad for being mad at you, but I knew she wanted me to be happy you were back. Danny wanted me to be happy, and—” He shook his head, looked away. “I don’t understand either of them. I don’t understand you, either. How can you let people walk all over you—”

“Jake, the night your mother told me you were my son, we were trapped in an elevator at the MetroCourt,” Jason interrupted, and Jake closed his mouth. “The lobby had just exploded, and it was the best I could do to get her to safety. I couldn’t get her out. I couldn’t—” He took a deep breath. “A man took the entire lobby hostage by gunpoint, including your mother. My sister was there that night. Sonny and Carly. Robin was shot and nearly died. My father had a heart attack that he died from later in the hospital. It was a long, terrible night, during which your mother nearly went into early labor. You almost didn’t exist, Jake.”

Jake swallowed hard, but didn’t look away. “Are you trying to make me feel bad?”

“No. You asked if I was angry with her. And I’m explaining why anger wasn’t the first thing I felt when she told me. We were in that elevator, waiting for help. And she felt you move. For the first time in hours, you started kicking, and she was—” Jason had to stop, take a moment, the memory of that night rushing back, the relief that had flooded his body when she’d looked at him, the joy in her eyes when she realized her baby was still alive.

“I can’t make you understand or accept how I handled the situation. Maybe I should have been more angry. I think it would be easier for your mother if I had been. She knew how to handle anger better. She expected it. Expected me to be disappointed in her. Everyone already was. When I told you about Lucky’s problems, I didn’t—” Jason leaned back, realized Jake was still listening, that he hadn’t tuned him out.

It wasn’t why he’d come here today, but if Jason could do anything to ease the tension between mother and son, it’d be worth it. “I didn’t tell you so he’d be the villain. Lucky got clean after that, and has been ever since, at least as far as I know. That matters, Jake. He got hurt in the line of duty, got addicted, and it got ugly. But he got help.”

“I guess that’s good, but—” Jake paused. “I don’t get it. If Lucky was such a bad guy, why would Mom want me to be his kid? Why wouldn’t—didn’t she think you’d be a good dad? I don’t understand. She always defends you. But not then? It doesn’t make sense to me. It doesn’t…it doesn’t fit who I thought she was. And now I keep looking at other things—”

“Other things don’t matter. And I’m not going to speak for her. Why she made the choices she did. I didn’t used to believe in regrets. You make your choices, and you stand by them, good or bad. Even when they were mistakes.” Jason leaned forward, clasping his hands his between his legs. “You know I haven’t always lived a good life. That I was on trial for murder just after you were born.”

“They brought it up when Franco died,” Jake muttered. “But you were acquitted. You didn’t do it.”

“I was acquitted,” Jason agreed, ignoring the rest of the statement. “But I was arrested shortly after you were born. Any thought I had of claiming of you, of labeling you as my son, putting that weight around your neck—” He paused. “You could be a cop’s son or a murderer’s bastard. I’ll stand by the choice I made that summer, Jake. When I thought I might never be free again, the best place for you was in a home with two parents and your brother.”

“So you don’t regret it?” Jake asked. He furrowed his brows. “You said—”

“Later. Later, I made the choice for a different reason. Your safety—not just you. All of you. Cam, your mother, you—I couldn’t stand the thought of any of you hurt. After my sister was murdered…” Jason had to look away now, at the sweet thought of his beloved sister, gone now for longer than she’d been his little sister. “We almost changed our minds. Your mother and I. We…I asked her to marry me.”

Jake pressed his lips together. “Mom…she said something the day Mr. C was here. That Michael…he got hurt.”

“It was like the world reminding me I had no right to a life,” Jason said. He looked at Jake. “Your mother wanted us to be a family. There’s nothing I wanted more than to have all of you with me. To adopt Cameron. It’s all I thought about. I proposed to her, and then five minutes later, the phone rang. Michael had been shot in the head, a bullet that had been meant for Sonny. Michael had the bad luck to be standing next to him. After that—” Jason shook his head. “I couldn’t…it was never going to happen. We…we eventually had to stop even being in the same room. For almost a year, I couldn’t even look at your mother without remembering.”

“But…you—” Jake swallowed hard. “You got married to Danny’s mom. You had Danny—”

“I made a mistake. I was too scared to hold on, and your mother was tired of waiting,” Jason told him. “And by the time I realized it—she hadn’t put her life on hold. So I tried to move on. I did for a long time. I’m not sorry I married Sam because I have Danny, and I love him. But I will regret for the rest of my life that I was too scared to hold on to you. That we lost all those years.”

“Maybe all that’s true,” Jake managed. His hands, resting in his lap, clenched into fists. “You threw away two more of those years, so—”

“It was never supposed to be two years. If I had known it would take that long, I wouldn’t have done it. I thought it was the right choice, but it was a mistake. I’ve made a lot of them.  I tried to put someone else first, tried to do what I thought was right for them. But it was wrong for me. For you and your brother. I can’t go back, Jake. None of us can. I want us to go forward. But if you’re not ready, I can accept that. It’s my fault. And if it were just that, I would give you all the time you need. Whatever boundaries you needed to set, I’ll respect them. But there’s more at stake right now.”

“You want me to stop being an asshole to Mom, don’t you? I knew you were here for her—”

“If you’re being disrespectful to your mother, yeah, I want you to stop that,” Jason interrupted and Jake made a face. “You don’t have to like what either of us did, but she and I buried it. We forgave each other, Jake. You don’t have to like it, but it’s a fact. I’m not going to apologize for not meeting your expectations of anger or resentment. But that’s not what I was here to talk about. I’m here about Danny.”

“Oh. Right. You—” Jake exhaled in an irritated sigh. “You said that. I guess you want me to stop being a dick in front of him—”

“He isn’t going to be able to stay with Scout,” Jason said, and Jake stopped again, surprised. “He isn’t ready to hear that. He thinks—he thinks I can find a way. And maybe if things were different with Drew, I could. But Dante and Rocco are already making plans to move out of the mansion. Drew’s moving to D.C. after the holidays. He isn’t going to leave Scout here, and even if he would, it wouldn’t be with me.”

“No, not after you kicked his ass,” Jake muttered. Jason lifted his brows and Jake flushed. “Everyone knows, Dad. Did you at least have a good reason?”

“Yeah.”

“Do I get to know it?”

“No.”

Jake made another face. “Worth a shot.” He was quiet for a moment. “I guess I always knew you wouldn’t be able to, and it’s not your fault. I was just…really mad at you. And at Danny. For not being mad at all. But I knew it’d be like this. That’s why I came home.”

“I know. Your mother wanted you to go back to school, but I understand why you’re here. And I’m glad. If you can really put Spain on hold, then you’re right. Having you here will help Danny adjust.”

“Oh.” Jake narrowed his eyes. “There’s a catch. Somewhere. You’re letting me off the hook too easy for being a dick, and—”

“You know how I feel about the situation with your mother, and if you do it in front of me, you’ll hear it again,” Jason said, and Jake dipped his head. “But there’s no hook, Jake. You have a right to how you feel, and I can’t change it. But we both want Danny to be okay. He’ll come live with me. I’d like it…I’d like it if you did, too.”

Jake lifted his head again, met Jason’s gaze and frowned. “What? You mean like on weekends again, like we used to? Sure.”

“No.” Now or never, Jason thought. “I want you and Danny with me full-time. Together.”

+31

Written in 48 minutes. I knew if I started another scene, I wouldn’t finish it, so this was a good spot to leave it. Plus it was all the scenes I’d hoped to get to in this part, so —

See you sometime this week — maybe Tues/Wed for another update.

Carly stood there with that smirk on her face, a smirk she’d directed in his direction for more than two decades — the smirk that said she already knew how this conversation would end — that the choice she’d presented was nothing more than a lie. She’d given him no choice, and he’d have to tell her something if only to make her go away.

It was a routine they had repeated so often that he nearly fell into it again without thinking, a habit he wore like a second skin, and he’d already opened his mouth to reluctantly give her a morsel of truth when he caught himself.

What he just told Elizabeth that day? That he was going to stop reacting, stop sitting back, stop doing and saying enough not to make waves—

Jason shook his head, then walked away from her, heading for the stairs to the second floor. She must have been more surprised than he’d expected, because he didn’t hear the clatter of footsteps following him until he was nearly at his room.

“Jason Morgan! We were in the middle of a conversation—oof—” The door nearly hit her in the face when she tried to follow him into his room. She slapped a hand against the door. “Hey! Watch it!”

“You were in the middle of the conversation,” Jason said, still gripping the door knob. “I wasn’t.”

“What has gotten into you?” she demanded. She folded her arms, huffed. “First, you go after Drew for whatever insane reason, and now you’re stomping around, yelling at Sonny, walking away from me—I don’t understand what’s going on!”

“None of it concerns you,” Jason said. “So if you really want to know, go find Sonny. I don’t have time to talk to you.” He wanted to call Molly, check on her since he knew her notice of representation had been filed this morning, he wanted to think about how to present all of this to Jake and Danny —

He did not want to explain any of it to Carly.

“See! See, that’s how I know something is wrong!” She jabbed a finger in his direction. “You always make time for me—”

“No, you always take time,” Jason interrupted, and her lips parted in surprise. “There’s a difference, Carly. I don’t—”

“Okay, let’s try this another way. You’re supposed to be my best friend. I’m supposed to be yours. You just had a horrible argument with your other best friend—the man you love like family, and I’m not supposed to be worried?”

He grimaced, exhaled in a huff. And this is why she’d always won every confrontation between them. She just talked him into circles until he felt vaguely guilty for having not said anything in the first place. Until he was too tired to keep fighting.

“You really want to know why I’m angry at Sonny?” Jason said. “Fine. He told Jake that Elizabeth lied to me about his paternity.”

“He—” Carly actually fell back a step. “He what? Why? That is absolutely insane! Why would he do that? Why would he bring that—” She furrowed her brow. “No. There has to be more. It’s not even a secret that the whole world thought Lucky was his father—”

“This is why I didn’t want to have this conversation in the first place. I told you what the problem is—”

“I have no doubt that Sonny did this. And I can even imagine he wasn’t that delicate about it. But for you to cut him off—” Carly pursed her lips. “I don’t understand why he did it. Where? When? Why?”

“None of that matters—”

“Oh, I am sure that the delivery of the information has to have something to do with it.” Carly lifted her brows. “Like I said, I’ll go ask Sonny, and you know I’ll drag it out of him. You really want me to hear his side?”

“You don’t care what I want. You never have,” Jason snapped and she blinked. “I told you I don’t want to talk about this, but you don’t care about that, do you? You think you know what’s best for me. That’s what Sonny thought, too. That’s why he went over to start a fight with Elizabeth, and instead of shutting his mouth when the boys came in, he deliberately told Jake half-truths about what happened so he’d hurt Elizabeth. He didn’t care about my son, didn’t care what that information might to do with him. As long as he got the last word.”

Carly pressed her lips together, some of the righteous indignation fading from her eyes. “That…that is disappointing,” she said finally. “Especially given that he knows what Michael went through when AJ came home. How hard it was for Michael to know things about…before. I…it’s hard for me to believe that he’d do that to Jake—I believe you, I mean,” she added hastily. “I just—”

“I never would have done that to him. No matter how angry he ever made me. Or you. The kids were off limits.”

“No, you loved our kids like your own.” Carly exhaled a slow breath. “And he and I haven’t been as loyal to you. You don’t have to tell me that, Jason. I’m sorry. I’m sorry he did that. How’s Jake?”

“Angry. Hurt. Confused.” Jason dragged a hand through his hair, a bit rattled that she’d so easily capitulated. That she’d seen his point of view—or agreed with him. “He’s been struggling with what I did, the last thing he needed was to have doubts and anger towards his mother.”

Her lips twisted. “I’m sure Elizabeth is properly devastated.”

Just when he thought Carly had turned a corner— “And what does that mean?” he asked, his shoulders tensing.

She wrinkled her nose. “Nothing. Just that Elizabeth plays the martyr better than anyone I know.”

“And that’s where this conversation ends—” Jason stepped back, reaching for the door. “You never let me down, Carly—”

“Oh, don’t take it that way. Elizabeth and I are at peace, okay? I’m sorry Jake got hurt, but maybe it’s time he remembers that people are human. If he can forgive Elizabeth, he’ll forgive you, too. And Elizabeth is hurt, well, good. She should have thought of that before she lied to you.”

—

Jake heard the words leaving his mouth, but it was like they belonged to someone else. Like this entire conversation was happening between two other people —

“Maybe everyone should just take a deep breath,” Aiden said, stepping between the two of them. “We’re all upset. I don’t even know why anymore. Okay? Nothing—” he swallowed, looked at his mother. “Whatever happened back then, maybe I’m curious. Maybe I wanna know, and I won’t apologize for it. And you shouldn’t either,” he said to his brother.

“I—” Jake started.

“But you gotta knock this off, man,” Aiden continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Mom’s still Mom. She’s been here every single day I can remember. When I was sick or upset, or whatever, she was there. My dad never wanted to be.”

“Aiden—”

“Mom—” Aiden shook his head lightly. “Don’t defend him. Just don’t. He doesn’t love me the way you love me. He chose not to be here. Chose it. Over and over again. He didn’t come home when you needed him. When I needed him. Ever. I guess maybe I wanted to know why. Why he doesn’t love us.” He was quiet for a minute, his throat working hard as he swallowed, then looked back at Jake. “Your dad loves you. He came here the second he could, remember? Got released from jail, and came right here.  Dad was in town for days before I saw him. But whatever, you get to be pissed at him. But not at Mom. Not like this. You’re better than this, dude.”

“That doesn’t make—” Jake exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry,” he said in a dull voice. He stared down at the carpet, the shame roiling through him like red hot lava. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I can’t make it stop.”

“There are no magic words to make what happened right,” his mother said. Her voice sounded thick, like she was on the verge of tears and Jake just knew he couldn’t look at her, couldn’t see that he’d made her cry.

Just like everyone else.

“I made a terrible, awful mistake and what’s worse, I made it over and over again. For a long time. I had reasons, and they felt right at the time, but they never were. None of it was right, Jake. I can’t understand why your father forgave me, I’m only grateful that he did. But I understand if you need time to get there. Or to get somewhere close to it.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’m going—I need—” His voice crackled, and Jake turned, walked quickly to the stairs, charging up them before he’d found the words to fix what he’d broken.

When his door slammed upstairs, Elizabeth pressed the heel of her hands to her face. “Aiden—”

“You don’t have to tell me anything about when I was born. You don’t. Not if it makes you upset. Or makes you cry. It’s not important—”

The tears did spill then. Her sweet baby, made of sugar and light. He’d always tried to make everyone happy. “I just—it’s too big to talk about. Not like this. Your father and I need to talk. I will—” She lowered her hands, took a deep breath. “I will fix this. I will. But for right now, can we let it go?”

“Sure.” He smiled at her, shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m gonna go upstairs and play some video games. Call me when we’re talking dinner, okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

When his door had closed as well, Elizabeth reached for the phone.

—

“Elizabeth didn’t start the lie, did she, Carly?” Jason retorted, and his irritation only escalated when she rolled her eyes. “Who told me Jake wasn’t my son first?”

“Oh my God, are you still blaming me? Man, you say I don’t clean up my own messes, but you’re not much better, are you?” Carly planted her hands on hips. “You need to blame me for the mess she started and you let happened, whatever, Jase. But it doesn’t matter what I said. She still kept her mouth shut for months, and then when you did know the truth, you let her guilt you into keeping it. Or you didn’t want her enough to make a life with her, I don’t know. Pick whatever truth keeps you warm at night. But I didn’t give your son to another man, did I?”

Jason opened his mouth to snap back, then closed it when he had nothing to say. He knew she was wrong, knew that she was doing what she always did — turning him in circles until he agreed with her. But she’d stumped him for the moment.

Because maybe Sonny and Carly had guilted Elizabeth into thinking the baby would make Jason’s life difficult — but Carly wasn’t wrong. Elizabeth had been the one who’d crumpled under that weight, and he hadn’t been paying enough attention to see she was drowning until it was too late to do anything about it.

Fortunately, the vibrating of his phone saved him from having to say anything. He jerked it from his pockets, not even checking the notification. “Yeah?”

“Hey. It’s me. Can you come?”

—

Maxie opened the door, scowled and immediately slammed it.

Lucky sighed, then knocked again. “Maxie, come on—I know Aiden was here earlier—”

She jerked the door open three inches, with only her face visible. “What the hell is going on? Why was he here? Why is he asking questions?”

“Because Jason Morgan has a big mouth,” he muttered, and her eyes widened. “We need to talk—”

“No! No! I made a mistake, okay? Like three times, I made that mistake, and I was nineteen years old, Lucky! I grew up! I have a right for all of that to be in the past! I did nothing wrong! You were the one who was married!”

“We made that mistake more than three times, Maxie. And let’s not pretend I seduced a virgin,” he retorted. Her face was red. “You and I can come up with a story, or you can shove your head in the sand. Make your choice—”

“No! You tell your nosy kid to stop asking me questions and come up with your own story! This has nothing to do with me!” She slammed the door.

—

Elizabeth was waiting outside in the driveway when Jason pulled the SUV to a stop, her arms wrapped around herself, the fading twilight casting her expression into shadows.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” he asked, hurrying up to her. “I meant to call you, to tell you what happened at the diner—”

“Oh. Something—” Elizabeth nodded. “Well, whatever it is, it explains the mood Jake came home in. You can catch me up on that, but I—I think if you want to talk to Jake about living with you, about Danny too, now is your best chance. He’s upset at me, but also mad at himself for…it’s not important.”

It was, but Jason would come back to that. “Are you sure?”

“I don’t think there will be a better time.”

+30

Written in 67 minutes, sorry, I got hung up on the ending.

This was a terrible idea.

And she knew it, even as Willow let herself sink into Drew’s embrace for just a moment, losing herself in the thrill that rippled beneath her skin, at the memory of their night together—

But then her hand snagged on something as her fingers slid towards the buttons on his shirt—her ring.

Her wedding ring.

Willow flattened that same hand against Drew’s chest and shoved. Hard. “What are you thinking?” she hissed, wiping the her mouth with the back of her hand as if that would erase what she’d done —  “Don’t touch me—”

“Willow—” Drew raised his hands but Willow didn’t stop to see what he might try to do with them next. She fumbled behind her for the door knob, found it, and fled, almost tripping in her haste to rush towards the stairs, towards home, towards freedom.

Drew watched Willow go with a grimace, then dragged a hand through his hair. It was probably for the best, he thought. The last thing he needed was a scandal as he began his political career — though an extramarital affair was hardly the killer it had been even a decade ago. It probably wouldn’t even make the headlines in Washington.

But the effects would ripple out in other, closer ways, and Drew was just going to have to live with the terrible timing of it all.

He turned away from the door, then froze when he realized — for the first time — he and Willow hadn’t been alone in the nursery.

His daughter was curled up on the window seat, her dark eyes wide, her little mouth pinched, looking strikingly like her mother right before Sam would go in for a kill shot.

Shit.

—

Jason watched Lucky’s car peel out of the lot, wondering if he’d talked some sense into the other man or if the Lucky would continue to fall into terrible habits. When he’d first found Lucky in Africa, Jason had thought Elizabeth’s ex-husband had grown up — or that they’d finally turned the corner on their complicated history. They’d been almost friends once, Jason thought, before Lucky’s return from Cassadine captivity and Jason’s relationship with Elizabeth had made that impossible.

He should have bit his tongue and been more careful when talking to Jake the other day, should have found a way to keep Lucky out of it. But if Lucky thought that Jason’s screw up meant it was open season to bring up everything, Jason wouldn’t hesitate to throw him to the wolves.

He’d tiptoed around Lucky Spencer one too many times, but he’d be damned if he’d do it again.

Jason shoved the diner door open, then winced when he saw a familiar face emerging from the kitchen and talking to someone behind the counter. Maybe he could back out before she saw him—

“Jason! Oh, I’ve been looking for you! And calling you!” Carly’s voice drew interested stares as she sailed across the diner, her eyes lit with a trouble mixture of concern and glee. “Why aren’t you returning my calls?”

Jason sighed. It was too late to run now. “What did you need?” If she’d gotten herself into more trouble—

Carly whacked his chest lightly. “Why do you always sound like that?” she complained. “I’m worried because Sonny said you’d gone postal on him, and I didn’t know if it was real or like last summer—”

“I don’t want you involved—”

“Too late buddy, I’m in it. So you can talk to me, or I can bug Sonny until he caves.” She arched a brow. “Your choice.”

—

Alexis folded her arms and leveled a glare at Diane. “This is your fault.”

“I’m sure it is,” Diane said, removing her coat and setting it on top of her briefcase. She nodded at Kristina by the dining table, then focused on Alexis standing in front of the fireplace, a legal brief in her hands. “I warned you that this would be a bad idea, Alexis. It’s hardly my fault if your foe found a worthy ally—”

“He  hired my daughter, Diane. How would he even know she’d take his case?” Alexis demanded. “What did you tell him? Did you tell him there were issues with Molly—”

“Oh, hardly—”

“Jason didn’t go to Molly, Mom.” Kristina rolled her eyes, approaching the back of the sofa. “You saw her that day when we were talking about the case. You know she was angry, and she wasn’t all that supportive—”

“I know you and your sister are having issues, but she wouldn’t—” Alexis exhaled on a huff. “I filed a petition to keep her from taking the case. Conflict of interest—”

“Am I here for any other reason other than blame? Because I had other plans,” Diane said with a sniff. “You’ll lose that petition, Alexis, and you know it. It’s family court. Molly isn’t a legal partner. Family members are on opposing sides all the time. If I were you, I’d think about settling or withdrawing—”

“I will do no such thing. We can do this. I can do this,” Alexis repeated, almost to herself. “Jason might have been a good father once upon a time, but he’s lost his way. He’s nothing but a tool for Sonny and Carly to point in whatever direction suits them. He’s was in Danny’s life a handful of years, and Jake?” she snorted, then shook her head. “Diane, you’re his friend, not just his lawyer—”

“Alexis, I’ve tried to be kind. I’ve tried to be hands off—” Diane tipped her head. “But you’re fighting a battle that can’t be won. Danny is old enough to say where he wants to live. He’ll choose his father. He doesn’t hold Jason’s absence against him—”

“He’s a child. I never knew what was right for me at that age either,” Kristina argued. “I’ll talk to him. I can—”

“Alexis. You can’t win—”

“Yes, I can. Molly is young, inexperienced. She’s never worked in family court.” Alexis headed for the table where legal documents had spread across the table. “I’ve been putting together my case, and I’m going to make it clear — Jake and Danny are wonderful children despite their paternity. Jake might be a bright, well-adjusted artist in a world renowned art program — but that’s entirely his mother. Look at Elizabeth’s children!”

“Cameron’s on a scholarship at Stanford,” Kristina reminded Diane. “And I saw that Aiden is in all Honors classes—”

“Yes, well, be that as it may—” Diane rubbed her temple. “Alexis, this is madness—”

“Madness would be letting my grandchildren be split up and separated hundreds of miles apart by selfish, absent fathers who left their children, who abandoned them — Sam would want them together. She would want me to do whatever she can to keep them together—” Her voice broke and she turned away.

Diane pressed her lips together, then looked at Kristina. “I know you’ve both been through a lot these last few months. What you’ve lost cannot be measured. And perhaps you’re right. Perhaps Sam would want them together. But she was a realist, Alexis. Like it or not, Danny and Scout have different fathers. Who loathe each other at the moment. Sam had a chance to write her wishes down, didn’t she—”

“She never thought she’d have to use that will. Damn it, Diane, who’s side are you on?” Alexis demanded.

“There are no winners here, Alexis. You go through with this — if you force Danny and Scout into court after they’ve lost their mother, everyone will lose.” Diane picked up her briefcase and coat. “And you might be remember this, the both of you. You don’t have the market cornered on grief.”

Kristina bristled. “What does that mean?”

Diane tilted her head. “You’ve been walking around since August as if you are the only one who was injured that day. As if your sister and her partner didn’t lose their child, their hope, their futures. And Molly also lost her sister. But she doesn’t matter to you, does she?”

Kristina’s cheeks went white. “How dare you—”

“I’ve never lied to you, Alexis,” Diane said, dismissing the middle Davis girl and focusing on her old friend. “Not even to make you feel better. You will regret what you’ve started here.”

“I think we’re done here,” Alexis said, tightly. “You can go.”

“With pleasure.”

—

Drew cleared his throat, and took a step towards his daughter. “Hey, princess. How—” He paused. “How long have you been there?”

Scout’s lower lip trembled. “You were kissing Aunt Willow.”

“I—” He pressed a hand to his chest, then looked behind him as if searching for someone else, then looked back at Scout. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You did. You were kissing Aunt Willow like—” Tears glittered at the corners of her eyes. “Like Mommy and Dante.”

Damn it. “Friends kiss sometimes, honey.” He fastened a smile on his face, then crouched down in front of her. “It’s okay to kiss your friends.”

Scout pressed her lips together, then shook her head. “But I watched on TV and that’s not—you kiss on cheeks—”

“I did kiss her cheek,” Drew said. “You were all the way back here, weren’t you?” He patted her knee. “And I’m so much taller than Aunt Willow. I think you just got confused.”

Her lips parted, but no sound came out. All right, progress had been made. “It’s important that you don’t make mistakes about what you see and hear, isn’t it? We always have to tell the truth.”

“We—yes. But—”

“Because lies hurt,” Drew took both her hands, wrapped his much larger ones around them. “Lies can make a lot of trouble, can’t they? And we don’t want to hurt Aunt Willow. Or Uncle Michael. You love him, don’t you? And your cousins. You love little Amelia like one of your  baby dolls.”

“Aunt Willow lets me brush her hair,” Scout said in a tiny voice. “And braid it.”

“Aunt Willow loves you, honey. And I love you. I know your mother taught you to be kind. She’d be so sad if you said you thought you saw something and hurt everyone who loves you.”

Her lower lip quivered and a tear slid down her cheek. “Mommy’s in heaven. Watching over me. Danny said.”

“He did. He’s such a good older brother. You’re so lucky to have so many people who love you here at the Quartermaines. We’re lucky to live here,” Drew continued. “I hope we get to stay here. But we can only do that if you’re a good girl. Can you be a good girl for me?”

“Okay, Daddy.” Scout wrapped her little arms around his neck and he sighed in relief, accepting her hug. Crisis averted.

Kids were so gullible.

—

Elizabeth heard the slamming of car doors in the driveway and went to the window to look, her heart pounding when she saw Jake and Aiden coming up the walkway.  She stepped away from the door when they came in.

They all stared at each other for a long moment. And then —

“Did Dad have an affair with Maxie Jones?” Aiden blurted out. Behind him, Jake winced and closed the door.

“What?” Elizabeth demanded. “Where on Earth—” She pressed her lips together. “Have you been talking to your father?”

“I don’t think you can count what happened as talking to him,” Aiden muttered. He flopped onto the sofa. “He was too busy trying to talk to Jake.”

“I—” Elizabeth turned to her middle son. “Jake? What’s going on?” When he said nothing, pretended to be very busy hanging up his jacket, her nostrils flared. “Jacob Martin Webber—”

“You gave me his initials.”

She stumbled to a stop. “What?”

Jake looked at her now. “You lied about my father to everyone, but you gave me his initials. That’s so weird. Why even bother?”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. “Oh, don’t even try to distract me. You get to be angry at me, that’s fine. But now your brother is involved—”

“Any lies about his paternity he should know about, or—” Jake looked at her expectantly, and her heart caught. “I can see you thinking how to answer that so the answer is yes, isn’t it?”

“Mom? Is he right?”

Elizabeth’s head to started to spin and she pressed two fingers to each of her temples. How had it all spun out of control so fast and was she ever going to be able to slow it down, to bring it back?

“Is this what you want?” she asked, letting her hands fall to her sides. “Tell me, Jake. Is this what you wanted? You must have told your brother what your father said—”

“Did you want me to lie to him, too? I guess you’re the only one who gets lie in this house, huh?” Jake said with a snort. “Rules for thee and not for me—”

“No, Jake, you’ve told your own share of lies, haven’t you? I suppose it might be genetic,” Elizabeth said, and Jake stared at her, startled. “Do you remember all the times you covered for Charlotte so that she could torment Anna? Trash her hotel room? Spray paint her home?”

Jake’s face was gray. “That’s not fair—”

“Oh, so you can dish it out, but you can’t take it?” Elizabeth folded her arms. “You want to wade into the big pool, Jake, you’re going to have to learn to swim in the deep end.”

“Mom—”

“I’ll deal with you in a minute,” Elizabeth snapped at her youngest son before looking back at Jake. “It doesn’t feel very good, does it? To have your entire life boiled down into your worst moments? I made a terrible, terrible choice a long time ago, before you were born. I hurt your father, I hurt Lucky, I hurt myself, and yes, some of it ended up hurting you. And it’s not the only mistake I’ve ever made. I’ve lived a long, complicated life and made choices that I am ashamed of. But you will not stand here, in this house that I have paid for, wearing the clothes I bought you, and treat me like this. I am your mother, and you don’t have to like me, Jacob Weber, but I have done my best by you. It wasn’t always good enough, but damn it, I did my best. So if you have nothing but smart ass remarks to throw at me, you can go to your room and stay there.”

Jake lifted his head. “And I don’t?” he demanded.  “What if I don’t want to be anywhere near you—”

“Then you’ll have to find somewhere else to live. But it won’t be under my roof.”

+31

Written in 48 minutes. Absolutely exhausted, so glad I managed as much as I did.

Elizabeth pulled her car into the driveway along side a sleek BMW she didn’t quite recognize — but she did know the man striding away from her front door. She honked the horn to get his attention, then switched off the ignition.

“Hey.” Michael met her at the hood of her car with a relieved expression. “I’m glad I caught you. I was gonna leave a voicemail, but I really wanted to talk to you in person.”

“I actually was going to call you, too,” Elizabeth said. She let herself into the house, ushered Michael in, and wondered how to broach the conversation. “What brought you over?”

“Well, first, I really was serious about getting together for dinner one night.” Michael followed her into the kitchen, watched her start a pot of coffee. “I’ve been kind of wrapped up with my own thing for a while, and I feel like I haven’t spent enough time with Jake—”

“Michael.” Elizabeth faced him, tipped her head, then smiled. “Sometimes you remind me so much of your uncle. You have your own family, and Jake’s been doing really well—” She bit her lip, made a face. “Well, until the last few days. But you’ve got your own family, and ELQ—and Willow was so sick—” She saw the shadow cross his face, and paused. “That’s part of the reason I was going to call you. I don’t feel right knowing what I do and not telling you.”

Michael tensed, met her eyes, and must have seen something that hinted at what she meant to say. “You’ve talked to my uncle, haven’t you? Did he say something—”

“Not until I asked him. I saw Willow at the hospital with Drew. Just talking—” Elizabeth added quickly when Michael grimaced. “But it connected a few dots for me. I know Jason and Drew are at odds, and you seemed so sad the other day—not—” she winced. “Not that it wasn’t a sad occasion, but—”

“Yeah, I know.” Michael let out a slow exhale. “Just talking, and you guessed?” he muttered. He dragged a hand down his cheek. “There’s no way to stop this. It’s just going to explode, isn’t it?”

“Well, I’m not saying anything,” Elizabeth told him. “And Jason didn’t even want to confirm what I’d already  guessed, but I know he’s angry about the whole thing, and, well, he told me…about the video. About the location. And suddenly I think maybe he didn’t do enough damage.”

“Nanny cam,” Michael muttered. “Motion sensor so we can see if the kids are up from their nap or out of their crib, and it catches—” He cleared his throat. “I don’t know what to do with any of it, and if it’s all the same—”

“I’m saying nothing. This is your life, Michael. But I just wanted you to know…well, to know  that if you need anything, even just someone to vent to, I’m here. I’m so sorry.”

“I know ignoring it and pretending it’s not real isn’t really the best way to handle it, but it’s all I have right now.” With a quick shake of his head, Michael sighed. “I actually came over here to apologize to you about my dad. I got some of it from Jason ripping into my dad, and then Jake filled me in on the rest—”

Elizabeth straightened. “You’ve spoken to Jake?”

“Yeah. I’m glad I ran into him. I have a little experience learning the hard way your parents existed as people who make mistakes before you’re born. And sometimes you feature in their mistakes. Not that anything you did is like Mom or Sonny—”

“I don’t know, I’m not that far off sometimes when you make the full list. But I’m glad Jake ran into you. I hope—I don’t want you to tell me anything. And you wouldn’t. But I hope it helped.”

“So do I. I hate that it came out that way — I hate that it—” Michael hesitated. “When AJ told me about  the way my parents screwed around with custody of me, when I think of the way they villanized him, made him into a monster — it’s nothing like what happened with you and my uncle. I don’t even have to know the details—”

“I wasn’t the one doing the drugging if that’s what you mean,” Elizabeth said. She poured Michael a cup of coffee, slid across the counter. “But I lied. And I pushed Jason out of Jake’s life—”

“But you didn’t raise Jake to think Jason was a monster. When Jason came home after the coma, he and Jake were able to build their own thing. I’m not saying you did the right thing or a good thing. But perspective, you know, it helps. I know you, Elizabeth. The way you’ve always stood by my uncle, by my dad—AJ—when he didn’t always deserve it—Jake’s gonna remember all of that. That’s why I wanted to come over.” Michael waited for their eyes to meet. “Before, you were his mom and even if he knew you weren’t perfect, there was still this idea of being untouchable. You’re his mom. You didn’t really exist outside of that bubble. Now you’re a person, who made mistakes. It’s going to color how he looks at you — but he’ll adjust. He’ll fit this piece into the lifetime of love you’ve given him, and he’ll be okay. You just—you just have to let him get through this part. You know? Don’t push. Don’t try to influence how he sees things.”

“It’s hard,” Elizabeth admitted. She sighed, stirred sugar into her own cup. “Jake is still reeling from everything with Jason, and now this has been dumped on him. All I want to do is explain myself, to make him understand—but you’re right. I have to let him to handle this. However he chooses.”

—

Jason might have enjoyed the look of horror spreading across Lucky’s face if his son and Aiden weren’t standing between the two of them — Aiden still looking perplexed and Jake’s mixture of disgust and irritation.

“What do you mean?” Aiden asked, furrowing his brow. “No, Jake, you’ve got it wrong. I only asked Maxie because she’s Aunt Lu’s best friend. They were, like, my age—”

Jake raised his brows at his former father with a smile on his face that made Jason think of Elizabeth in the middle of a fight. She’d smirk and he knew that nothing civil was coming next. She’d always had a way of setting off Carly — and Courtney. And Sam—

“No, not your age,” Jake said, and then the smirk deepened. “More like somewhere between Cam and me.”

Aiden wrinkled his nose. “Ew, Dad, tell me you didn’t cheat on my mother with a teenager. That’s, like, so nasty—”

“I did not cheat on her with a teenager,” Lucky shot back, his face flushed. “Just like Jason to get it all twisted—”

“My father is the only one keeping his mouth shut. He’s good at that,” Jake said, throwing Jason a dark look that reminded him he wasn’t entirely off the hook, though he’d apparently moved a few notches down on Jake’s shit list. “You’re the idiot who practically forced me to listen to your side, chased me and Aiden out of the diner, and gave up your own dirty secrets.”

“Dirty secrets? You want to talk to about dirty secrets? You think your mother is so goddamned perfect—let’s talk about what she did to me—her and my—”

“Time to go home,” Jason said, cutting Lucky off and stepping between the boys and the furious man. He sent Jake a look. “Now. Go.”

“No, it’s just getting good,” Jake said. “And you’re not in charge of me—”

“I still don’t understand what’s going on—”

“Go home now, and I’ll talk to you later. Now. This isn’t a conversation you or your brother need to hear.”

“More secrets?” Jake demanded. “What the hell—”

“Don’t you ever stop protecting her?” Lucky wanted to know. “She lied to you, to me—”

Jason’s fist itched to plant itself in Lucky’s jaw, but it was the thing this situation needed. “Yeah, okay, eighteen years ago, she did a terrible thing. You want to drag up things that happened back then, Lucky? Things you did? Or maybe we talk about last week when you came to see me.”

Lucky pressed his lips together, looked past him to the boys. “Go home—”

“Oh, not a chance—” Jake said, folding his arms, then hesitated when Jason looked at him again. He swallowed hard. “Aiden, we’ll have to find out the rest later.”

“Okay, but you’re explaining this when we get in the car,” Aiden muttered. “And Dad, you better stop avoiding my calls.”

Jason waited until the duo had disappeared into the parking lot before turning his attention back on Lucky. “Unless you want Aiden to know you took money from me to split town again, I suggest you shut your mouth about what happened with Elizabeth and Nikolas—”

“She’s not even here to enjoy your white knight routine—”

“You see what Jake’s dealing with finding out what happened when he was a baby?” Jason retorted. “You want Aiden to go through that? To find out his mother had a paternity test, that Helena faked the results? Is that what he needs right now? Jake and Cam don’t remember any of that.”

“I would have been fine with leaving all of that in the past,” Lucky hissed. “But you dragged up my life—”

“Do you think I wanted any of this, Lucky? We’d put it away, you and me. You and Elizabeth. All of us. It was dead, and it was buried, and neither of those boys needed to know anything.” Jason scrubbed his hands down his face. “Look, I’m sorry I told Jake anything about you. He was furious, ready to take off in the car, and Elizabeth was a mess — Sonny threw a grenade into her life, into Jake’s life when he’s still angry at me. All I wanted to do was—”

“Protect her,” Lucky said sourly. “You didn’t give a shit about me—”

“No.” Jason grimaced. “No. And I guess I should have expected Jake to tell Aiden, even though I told him not to. I told him that it was something you should get to share, but I guess Jake wasn’t in the mood to do me favors. I just—I didn’t want Jake to be angry with the only parent who’s never left him. Elizabeth made mistakes, Lucky. But we all did. She didn’t deserve to have it thrown in her face by someone who wasn’t even part of it.”

“You think I’m proud of anything that happened back then?”

“Do you think any of us are? But you’re the only one threatening to make it worse. You say one word to either of them about Nikolas, about Aiden’s paternity mess—” Jason stopped, not entirely sure if he wanted to finish the threat.

But Lucky never did know when to back down. He lifted his chin. “What are you going to do?”

“I won’t use your kid to get back at you, that’s for damn sure.” And he really didn’t have much else — Elizabeth would never let Jason drop this idiot into the harbor. “But you keep your mouth shut and I won’t tell Elizabeth you came begging me for money to pay for your ticket out of town.”

Lucky scowled. “Go to hell—”

“I mean it, Lucky,” Jason said as the other man strode towards the diner entrance. “You dig up ancient history just to hurt Elizabeth, I’ll make you regret it.”

+41

Written in 65 minutes.

You need to hear the truth—

Jake made a face, then attempted to walk around Lucky and ignore the interested looks from other patrons. “I really don’t think this is any of my business—”

“That’s not the way your mother made it sound,” Lucky said, and Jake sighed, pausing at the counter, his hand resting along the edge. He didn’t turn around. “You’re angry with her, and you should be—”

“Okay, so what we’re not going to do—” Now he faced Lucky again, but kept his voice pitched low. “What you’re not going to do is act like I’m a child of divorce and you’re fighting over me. You walked out on me and my mom a decade ago. You don’t get to walk back in and start trashing my mother.”

Lucky pressed his lips together. “I just meant—”

“You’re not my father. You brought me home from the Cassadines, and that’s great. But it’s your fault and your alcoholic trash of a dad who put me in Helena’s cross hairs in the first place. My dad is Jason Morgan, for better or for worse, so take whatever this is—” Jake gestured with both hands. “And go talk to Aiden. He actually gives a damn about you.”

“I was your father for the first four years—”

“Yeah, I’ve seen the pictures.” Jake pointed at his temple. “But up here? Where it matters? I got nothing for you, dude. Dads show up. And you haven’t shown up for me, Aiden, or Cam. Maybe you can still snow Aiden into thinking you’re worth knowing, but he believed in Santa Clause until he was like twelve, so—”

“I just want a chance to tell you my side—”

“You don’t get it,” Jake snapped, his tone rising. “You don’t have a side that matters to me. I don’t care if you were high on crack cocaine screwing everything that walked — you don’t matter to me, Lucky. I don’t give a damn about why she lied about you—you know what—” He held up both hands. “That’s not it. I do care why. Because she couldn’t have picked a more useless piece of a shit as my father—”

“You’ve got a real smart mouth,” Lucky bit out. “You think Jason Morgan’s a better dad? He’s so perfect, huh? Where has he been for two years?”

“I don’t know, asshole. Where were you?” Jake demanded. “When Mom had a breakdown and we had to live with your mother? You were nowhere. You’ve been nothing to me my whole life. Let’s keep it that way.”

He shoved past Lucky, his appetite suddenly gone, then stopped when he saw his brother standing in the entrance, when he looked around the rest of the diner and realized that he’d forgotten about anyone else in the room. Shit.

—

…Jake should live with me.

Jason stood there, his feet slightly set apart, his shoulders tight, hands fisted at his sides.  Elizabeth tipped her head to the side, squinted. “You look like you’re ready for an argument.”

His lips parted slightly. “What?”

“Was that supposed to be my cue to refuse? To fight you?” She lifted her brows, relieved when his expressed eased and he seemed to relax. “First, even if I wanted to, which I don’t, Jake’s not an infant. He’s not a kid anymore. He’s six months away from turning eighteen, and we already put him on a plane to live in a foreign country to live on his own.”

“I—” He nodded. “Okay, but—”

“Will it be weird for him to be in Port Charles and not living with me? Of course. And I do hate the idea of him living somewhere else the way things are — he’s so angry with me.” She folded her arms. “But maybe some distance is what he and I need.”

“I don’t want—I don’t want to do anything that makes that worse. I didn’t—” Jason shook his head. “I didn’t think about that when I came up with this—I should have—”

“No, you just thought about what you wanted. And what might be best for Jake. For the both of you. For Danny, too, if it comes to that. Which is how you should phrase it to him if you want to agree without a fight.”

Jason rubbed his forehead. “Yeah. That’s what I thought. He came home to be there for Danny. I don’t think we’ll be able to get him to change his mind about Barcelona. And I don’t think Drew’s going to agree to leave Scout in Port Charles when he goes to DC, so—”

“Having Jake with him might make the transition either. And Rocco will still be around. I know you and Dante will do whatever you have to keep them close.” Elizabeth tried to smile, but dropped her gaze when she couldn’t quite manage it. “I think it’s a good idea. I’m glad you brought it up.”

“Are you sure?” Jason stepped towards her and she lifted her gaze to his. “I meant what I said. I know it’s hard after what happened with Sonny, and I don’t want to do anything to make it worse—”

“Why? You think it’s strange he needs more than thirty seconds to forgive me for lying to him?” Now she did smile. “I guess he didn’t inherit your inability to actually be angry with me for longer than an hour.”

“You didn’t lie to him—”

“I did, though. Every time I called Lucky his father in front of him.” Her throat was tight, and she had to look away. “Just because he doesn’t remember, it doesn’t mean I don’t. It matters, Jason. Don’t defend me to him. He hates when I do that for you. Don’t make that mistake.”

“I’m going to tell him the truth, and if he feels like that’s a defense, that’s not my fault.” Jason paused. “You’re not angry that I want him to live with me? At least for a little while—”

“Even if I were—it shouldn’t matter. You’re his father, Jason. I lost four precious years to the Cassadines but I’ve had all the rest. You deserve this time, and I want you to have it.”

—

TJ dropped his duffel bag on the ground by the front door and closed the door with some hesitation. Across the room, Molly refused to look up from the table where paperwork was spread out. “Hey. Can—can we talk?”

“I’m busy. My mother petitioned to have me removed as Jason’s lawyer—” Molly lifted her eyes to him briefly before returning to her work. “So I need to finish the response to that.”

“Why does she want you removed?” TJ tugged out the chair across from hers. “Because you’re her daughter?”

“She thinks it’s a conflict of interest.” Molly was grim when she looked up again, laid down her pen. “That I can’t represent someone in a case against my mother. I’m not worried. It’s waivable, and Jason and I have discussed it. He understands—”

“Then try to explain it to me. Please,” TJ added. “I don’t like how we ended things yesterday—”

Molly hesitated, then sat back. “I’m sorry,” she said lamely. “I shouldn’t have dumped that on you in the middle of your shift. Or pushed you into that corner. It wasn’t fair.”

“You might have pushed me, but I didn’t have to go where I did. And I need you to know that I don’t feel that way. Of course you were Irene’s mother—”

Molly closed her eyes, turned her head away. “But not biologically—”

“So what? So what? Curtis isn’t my biological uncle, is he? He’s known that for years. But it’s never stopped him or Aunt Stella. I felt so awful if I made you think for a second that I would ever think that. I just—” He gestured at the papers. “You took a leave of absence to defend a man you were prosecuting for murder six months ago—”

“He was innocent. And he’s not just any man. He’s Jason. You didn’t know him as well as I did, okay? He was gone most of the time we were together. But he’s the reason my sister lived as long as she did. He saved her life over and over and over again. When Danny was kidnapped as an infant he brought him home—Jason’s—”

“I didn’t realize how much he meant to you,” TJ said, and she sighed. “Or how hurt you were about your mother. Kristina, yeah. But not Alexis.” He dipped his head, trying to catch her gaze. “Talk to me, Molly. We could always do that, right?”

She was quiet for a beat, then picked up her pen. “I have to remember every morning Sam isn’t here. I open my eyes, and for little while, I forget. Maybe I get all the way through my shower, to that first cup of coffee if I’m lucky, but I always remember. And it hits the same every time. It’s like losing her over and over again. My sister—my sister is dead.” The words felt wrong on her tongue, as if they belonged to someone else. “All that’s left of her in this world are those kids. She loved them more her own life.”

“I know that—”

“She thought for so long she’d never have kids. But Danny and Scout, they’re her miracles. And they never get to have another second with her. Scout’s so young — one day, her mother is going to be a fuzzy memory. A warm thought and a picture. Sam’s not here to protect them.” Molly’s voice faltered slightly. “I can’t protect Irene. I can’t go back in time and choose someone else to carry her, to protect her. I don’t know if Ava pushed Kristina, TJ, we might never know that for sure. But Kristina went to that room and picked a fight with a woman who has already murdered someone else for just getting in her way. I didn’t protect our baby, TJ.”

“Mols—” His eyes were damp. “You did everything you could—”

“Not everything—not enough. Irene…she’s with Sam, and I know my sister will look after our little girl until we can join her. So it’s my job to do the same. Danny and Scout lost their mother, and they’re probably going to lose each other. I can’t stop Drew from taking her to DC, but Danny needs to be here. With his family. And Jason is his father. Mom and Kristina wanted to make you disappear, TJ. Mom lied for years about who Kristina’s father is, and she’s done everything she can to make it harder for my dad to be with me. She’s not taking one more father from their child. Sam wanted Danny and Scout to be with their fathers. She knew her kids better than anyone. I’m doing what’s right, TJ. For me, for the kids, for my sister. I just hope you can understand.”

—

Scout curled up in the window of the nursery at the Quartermaine’s, watching the front drive three flights below her. The cars driving in and out of the long gravel road. She pressed her cheek against the window, the coolness of the glass somehow a comfort. Maybe it would break, and maybe she’d fall out. What would that feel like? Would it hurt? Had it hurt when her mother died?

She heard voices in the hallway, muffled at first — she couldn’t quite make them out. But then they came closer, and she realized it was her father. And her aunt Willow. A hesitant smile curved her lips. Aunt Willow was a girl. She might play dolls. Rocco and Danny just laughed and went to play video games.

Mommy had always played dolls with her.

The door opened, and Scout sat up ready to greet her daddy and aunt — but Daddy came in and turned back to face her aunt so fast that he didn’t have time to notice her. And there was a giant teddy bear in front of the window seat. That was why, Scout thought. Daddy would have seen her for sure—

“Drew, this isn’t a good idea,” her aunt hissed, shutting the door and looking at Daddy. “We can’t talk about this here—what if Scout—”

“She’s still at school,” Daddy said, and Scout furrowed her brow. It was long past school time, didn’t he know that? She would just set him straight—

But then her daddy did something strange, and Scout closed her mouth, stunned into silence when her daddy pulled Aunt Willow close, and…kissed her???

 —

 Jason fished in the pockets of his jeans for the keys to his room above Bobbie’s, already mentally planning the call to Diane. He needed an apartment with three rooms — or a house. Near Elizabeth would be better, he thought. For Jake. And for Elizabeth. Jason was relieved that she was on his side, though still a bit wary. He didn’t quite know where he stood with her these days — not since that terrible day at Sonny’s or even the night before after the funeral —

He had just reached the entrance to the courtyard when the door to Bobbie’s flew open, and Aiden strode out, his face florid. Jason opened his mouth to ask what was wrong—but Jake was hot on Aiden’s heels, followed by—Jason grimaced. Lucky.

“I don’t want to hear it—I don’t want to hear anything from you,” Aiden retorted, whirling back to face his father. “I’ve been calling you and leaving you messages and texting you and for what? For what? To walk in on you begging Jake to listen to you?”

Lucky took a step forward, but Jake stepped between father and son. “He told you to fuck off—”

“That’s not what he said—”

“I said I don’t want to talk to you, so same thing,” Aiden shot back, and then turned, startled when he saw Jason. “Oh. Oh. Good. You can tell me what’s going on since my own father would rather talk to his fake son.”

“Damn it—” Lucky winced. “I told you—”

“You had your chance,” Aiden cut in. “You didn’t want to talk to me. You never want to talk to me. I bet you even call Cam more than you call me.”

“That is not true—”

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this right here,” Jason said, uncomfortably. He slid his hand in his back pocket for his phone. And Elizabeth should definitely be here for this.

“No, I want to know. And since Dad won’t tell me, and neither will Maxie Jones—”

“Maxie? You told him about Maxie?” Lucky demanded, his cheeks flushing. “You son of a bitch, what gives you the right to talk to my son about anything? None of that is his business or yours—”

“Told me what about Maxie—” Aiden closed his mouth, bewildered. “I just—”

Jake’s hand shot out, covered his brothers. “He didn’t tell us anything about Maxie Jones,” he told Lucky. He tipped his head. “But you just did. Aiden, I think we found out who the other woman was.”

+36

Written in 61 minutes.

Aiden figured he had hit pay dirt when his aunt’s best friend’s face paled and she stared at him for what felt like a comically long time, her mouth gaping.

“You know something, right? I mean you have to know something. You and Aunt Lu were practically attached at the hip,” Aiden said, hurrying over to scoop the shards of the lamp into a pile. “She told you everything.”

“Right, right, um—” Maxie pressed two fingers to her forehead. “She did—does—did—but that’s a wild question to just—” Her other hand flew in the air, made a swooping gesture. “And, like, you’re a child—”

Aiden bristled. “I’m fifteen, okay? My dad was basically living on his own at my age—”

“And look where that got him,” she retorted, almost snottily. “Also it was all before you were even born, so it’s not even your business—”

“So that’s a yes,” Aiden said flatly. He rose to his feet, dumped the remains of the lamp on the table behind the sofa.

“You—I never said that!” Maxie jabbed a finger at him, her eyes wide. “I never said anything like that, so don’t you tell anyone I told you anything, and how would you even know to ask about it? And—”

Aiden fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Okay, fine. So you’re not going to give me details, but you—”

“You should go. Go ask your parents questions, that’s their job to answer, not mine.” Maxie ushered him towards the front door. “Because I didn’t tell you anything, and I’m not going to tell you anything—”

“If it had been no, you’d have said that. If you didn’t know anything, you’ve have said that, too.” Aiden turned to face the older woman. “But you didn’t. You freaked out and you’re throwing me. That’s fine. You don’t have to say anything else.”

“Look, kid, we don’t even know each other—” Maxie closed her eyes, took a deep breath. If your aunt was here, you’d be asking her these things, and I get it, but you should be asking your dad—”

“He’s not returning my calls.”

“Your mother—”

“Says it’s not her story to tell.”

Maxie lifted her brows. “You’re telling me Elizabeth isn’t jumping to make herself look good? I didn’t know hell had frozen—never mind, never mind. If they don’t want to talk about it, maybe you should take a hint—”

“Would you?” Aiden challenged. “What if it were your kids? Would you want Georgie finding out stuff about you from someone else?”

Maxie opened her mouth, then closed it with a scowl. “No, but I’m not your parents. So go annoy them. So ask them and leave me out of it.”

Then slammed the door in his face.

—

Unaware that her youngest son was reigniting an old rivalry, a few miles away, and a few hundred feet in the air at Vista Point, Elizabeth tugged off the helmet and handed it to Jason. “You know,  the last few times you’ve taken me out on this—” She touched the handle. “It really does feel like some of the years have melted away. But then you turn off the engine—”

“And it’s still today.” Jason stowed the helmet on the back seat. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

She smiled faintly, folding her arms, and headed towards the observation deck. Twilight was descending, the gray clouds mixing with the streaks of pink and purple and the muddy blue waters of the lake—

She’d always meant to bring her watercolors up here and try to paint what Spoon Island looked like from this view, but there had never been a good moment. Time had marched on, and she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d owned a set of watercolors.

“You said you had to talk to me?” Jason asked, coming up behind her at the guard rail. “Everything okay at the hospital?”

“The building, yes. The staff?” she looked at him, tipped her head. “I know you said you didn’t want to get into it, but if I guess the reason you and Drew fought the night before the funeral, would you confirm it?”

Jason’s mouth tightened, and she was sorry to see some of the lightness fade from his gaze. He looked out over the harbor, towards the hulking mass of Spoon Island, rising up from the  water. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Willow.”

When he just looked at her, she exhaled slowly and turned around, leaning her back against the rail. “Yeah, okay, I had a feeling. Michael looked sad at the house the other day, and not just because of why we were there. And he’s angry at Drew, too. Then today—” she made a face. “I saw them together at the hospital. Just talking,” she added when he tensed, looked at her sharply. “But I have a little experience being inside that bubble. Having an affair with someone I shouldn’t.” Troubled again, she looked down at the ground, digging her toe into the mixture of dirt and gravel. “Just the way they looked, the tension—anyway.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for Michael. I know how important his family is to him, and how much he loves Willow.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m surprised,” Elizabeth said, and he frowned at her, “that you’d find out this kind of information and do what you did. Starting a fight in the middle of the Quartermaine foyer? With the kids upstairs. I thought when I found out why, I’d understand better. I don’t. It’s not like you.”

“How would you know?” he bit out, then winced when she flinched, looked away. “That’s—”

“An honest answer,” she said, and he sighed, not arguing with her. “You’re right. I don’t know. I’d like to,” she added. “Three years ago, you wouldn’t have done that in your mother’s house with the kids upstairs. You were always so careful about who saw that side of you. Who you lost control around—”

“If I’d lost control, he’d be dead,” Jason cut in, and she pressed her lips together. “I left him in one piece, didn’t I?”

“Fair enough. I’m criticizing, Jason. I’m not,” she insisted when he shook his head. “I’m just asking. You don’t have to answer. And anyway, you came to see me. So we can change the subject and—”

“No, I—Drew’s part of it, I guess, we might as well finish this.” Jason looked grim when he shifted to face her, leaning his side against the railing. “It was in the nursery.”

“The fight? I thought—”

“No. He and Willow. That’s how Michael found out. A nanny cam activated by motion.”

Elizabeth tensed, her fingers curling around the iron railing. “Oh, God. That’s awful—”

“The night Sam died. The night Danny and Scout lost their mother and were just a room away—” Jason looked back out over the water. “I don’t know.  There just seemed to be something wrong—”

“Obscene, almost,” she murmured, and he met her eyes again. “While his daughter was grieving such an immense loss, Drew was sleeping with his nephew’s wife. I can understand that, I can,” she repeated. “And I’m so sorry Michael’s dealing with it. I know how hard it is for you when he’s hurting.”

“Yeah, well.” Jason made a face, then shook his head. “But you’re right. Three years ago, I wouldn’t have done that. Ten years ago. Even twenty. But there was a time when I wouldn’t have given a damn who was watching or what they thought.”

“After the accident.”

“Yeah. And while I was gone.” He was quiet for a long moment. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. What I said to you at your place the other day. About it being easier.”

“Jason, you don’t have to—”

“I meant it,” Jason cut in, and she closed her mouth. “I know it sounds awful, and I guess I’m sorry if it hurts to hear it, but it was easier not being here. Not being Jason Morgan.”

—

Jake wasn’t really sure how to keep avoiding his mother, but he had a feeling his little brother wasn’t going to keep their conversation that morning to himself, and Jake was going to be a dead man when she found out what he’d done. Or worse, she’d be upset but she’d swallow it, and pretend she wasn’t mad because Jake was still angry with her. And then he’d really feel like an ass.

But she was supposed to be at the hospital at work, and if he found a way to stay out until after dinner, maybe he’d be able to sneak in late.

So he found himself at Bobbie’s, planning to grab some food and then go hang out with some friends the rest of the night —

Which had seemed like a great idea until he was halfway across the diner and didn’t realize that one of the customers at the counter was, in fact, his former…

Father? Step father? Adopted pretend father? Other deadbeat dad?

Lucky Spencer had too many labels for someone who had mattered so little in Jake’s everyday life, he thought bitterly, and nearly turned around—

But Lucky spotted him first, and from his face — he’d spoken to Jake’s mother.

Great. How much had Mom told him and how did he get out of this conversation?

“Jake.” Lucky met him in the middle of the diner. “I’m glad I ran into you.”

“You are?” That couldn’t be right. “Why?”

Lucky’s mouth tightened. “Because I want you to hear what really happened. And not just from Jason or your mother. They probably made me sound like a loser junkie. You need to know the truth.”

—

Jason wasn’t really sure what reaction he’d expected from Elizabeth — she was rarely predictable. But if he’d thought she’d be angry, he was dead wrong. In fact, if he had to describe the tilt to her head, the expression in her eyes —

Curiosity?

“I know it sounds awful,” he repeated, a bit warily now. “But—”

“There’s a freedom in not being who you are,” she said softly, and he stopped. “Do you really think that’s so impossible to understand?”

Jason hesitated. If he’d told Carly he was relieved to be gone and away from her, she’d have made his life a miserable hell. “Yes?”

“We talked about this. I told you that I wasn’t surprised or even angry. That I don’t think it means you love Jake or Danny or any one else in your family less.” She seemed a little impatient now, and he didn’t know what to do with that. “I’m not interested in making you feel guilty. It’s not like you planned to fake your death, and you always planned to come back, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” If he hadn’t died in the process. “But—”

“But nothing. Do you think I wanted you to be miserable for every day that you were gone?” Elizabeth asked.

“I—” Jason cleared his throat. “Okay, so you’re not mad.”

“Jason. I need you to give me a little bit of credit. After all these years, after all the ways you’ve forgiven me and taken me for who I am, mistakes and terrible choices, did you really think this was going to be the deal breaker?” she asked. “I’m not Sonny.”

“No. No, you’re not.” And now that they were having this conversation, now that it was in the open, some of the tension in his chest eased. “I know that. It’s just—”

“You didn’t really come all the way to the hospital to have another conversation about this, did you?” she asked, folding her arms. “Because, you know, it’s not necessary.”

“No. No, it’s not—” Jason took a deep breath, reordered his thoughts. “No, but it’s part of it. Admitting that, putting a name on the way I felt, it…changed something. Because I’m angry with myself for letting this happen. For…sitting back,” he decided. “Reacting. I was too impulsive after the accident. If I felt something, if I wanted something or someone, I took it, and I put myself at the center. No one else mattered. I had to—I had to stop living that way. I hurt people. Robin, mostly. And Emily, and my grandmother. So I learned to think first, to let things happen. I just…”

“Went too far in that direction,” she said.

“Yeah, I guess. I let people matter too much. What they wanted, what they needed. I made that more important than what I wanted. And it’s stopping. I’m stopping it.”

“Okay.” Elizabeth lifted her brows expectantly. “And how are you starting that?”

“With Alexis, and what she wants to do. I’m fighting. Molly asked to take my case, for her own reasons, and I agreed. I want Danny to live with me, and—” he paused. “I want Jake to live with me, too. I want them both. That’s what I came to tell you. That Jake should live with me.”

+36

Written in 55 minutes.

So I wander through these nights

 Diane paused at the threshold of their shared office, tipped her head, then sighed. “I don’t know why I thought you’d still be at home.”

Alexis continued tapping at the keyboard, not raising her eyes from the screen. “Not when there’s work to be done.”

“Work that I can handle or that could be delegated to an associate or one of the paras.” Diane set her legal portfolio on their partner desk, and fisted a hand on her hip. “Isn’t there something you could be doing? Why aren’t you with your grandchildren or Kristina?”

“I am here because of my grandchildren,” Alexis said, the corners of her mouth tightening. “I am here to consider their best interests. No doubt Jason has already called you about what I’m planning.”

“Oh, I very much don’t like the sound of that. Should I be worried that I haven’t heard from him? Did you have him arrested, or—?” Diane lifted her brows. “What are you planning?”

“Only what is in Danny and Scout’s best interests. They should remain together, and the only way to do that is take them in myself.” Alexis tapped another key, and a few seconds later a printer across the room began to hum.

“Please don’t tell me that’s a custody petition.” Diane strode across the room, snatching it off the tray before Alexis could stop her. She skimmed it, then raised worried eyes to her best friend. “No, no, no. Alexis, this is a terrible idea. The opening paragraphs alone are so incredibly incendiary —“

“Not a single word is a lie.” Alexis lifted her chin. “Jason is a convicted, brain damaged felon who only just returned from pretending to be dead for two years, allowing his boys to mourn him. Allowing his elderly mother to bury yet another child. He has never been a presence in his children’s life, even when he was living in the same city—“

“One, you are also a convicted felon.” Diane held up a finger.  “Two, Michael will testify that his uncle confessed to a crime to be in prison to protect him. Three, his custody arrangements with the mothers of his children were always agreed to by them which makes them immaterial—“

Alexis reached for the petition, but Diane held it away from her. “Sam isn’t here to say so, and—“

“And there’s no way you’ll get Elizabeth to say a bad word about Jason. Worse people than you have tried and failed.”

“I’ll destroy her credibility—“

“Alexis,” Diane interrupted, exasperated. “That is a terrible idea. For one thing, Elizabeth has never done anything to you. For another, you’re not exactly boasting a perfect record either. It’s family court, and Elizabeth’s raised three, bright, well-mannered children who are attending world-renowned universities. What credibility are you planning to torch?”

“You don’t have to preview your case for me—“ Alexis’s voice faltered. She took a deep breath.

“Well, it won’t be my case, my friend.” Diane held out the petition. “Because you and I are now partners, remember? Jason is your client, too. The moment you file this petition, I will be conflicted out. And it’s not waivable.”

Alexis hesitated, then took the petition, held it in her hands. “That’s good. Jason will need legal representation, and he won’t have the best. And the only other person I know who is capable of handling Jason’s shadier past is Ric, and Jason would rather shoot himself out of a cannon than ask him for help.”

“Alexis. This is Jason we’re talking about. Jason who saved your daughter’s life more times than I can count. Kept her out of prison on more than one occasion—“ Diane stopped at the knock on the door. “Whatever it is, Sandy, it can wait.”

“It’s not for you, it’s for Ms. Davis.” The secretary held out a familiar legal size paper. “Notice of representation.”

“Jason’s already found another lawyer. Good. I can’t wait to destroy whatever—“ Alexis retrieved the paper, then fell silent. “That son of a bitch.”

“Did hell freeze over? Did he hire Ric?” Diane wanted to know.

Alexis lifted her blazing eyes to the redhead. “No. He hired Ric’s daughter. My daughter.”

“Oh.” Diane’s eyes gleamed. “That is diabolical—“ she coughed when Alexis sent her a fulminating glare. “Oh, um, how dare he. What can he be thinking?”

—

Michael opened the door to Bobbie’s, then scanned the inside of the diner, relieved when he found his uncle sitting at the counter, squinting at a menu.

“Oh, good. I’m glad I found you.” Michael slid onto the next stool. “You have a minute?”

“Yeah, I don’t have anywhere to be—“ Jason glanced at the clock on the wall by the kitchen. “For another hour. What’s up? Everything okay?”

“That’s what I wanted to ask you.” Michael flipped over his coffee cup, smiling at a waitress who poured the coffee. “You were steamed when you left Dad’s yesterday.”

Jason grimaced, stared down at his own coffee, sipped it. Said nothing.

“I already knew Dad had, uh, gone to Elizabeth’s and dropped some sort of grenade around the boys.  I ran into Jake yesterday,” Michael added when Jason looked up. “He was really upset.”

His uncle exhaled slowly. “Angry, you mean.”

“Yeah. It sucks that Jake heard a garbled version of whatever went down when he was a kid. I don’t know most of it either, only some pieces Elizabeth’s told me over the years. We used to be, um, a little closer, I guess.” Michael scratched his jaw. “Back when AJ was around. Anyway, I think I talked him down a little, but I just wanted to touch base with you. See if I can do anything.”

“Nothing you can do.” Jason shook his head. “Jake’s been pissed at me since I got back, and I can handle that, you know? I deserve it. I screwed up, and I haven’t done enough to fix it. But he’s angry with his mom now, and that—“ He scowled. “That’s not how it should be. She doesn’t deserve it.”

“Yeah, at least I can say when I found out the story behind my whole, you know, creation, I can say Mom and Dad deserved my anger in equal doses.” Michael wrinkled his nose. “And it’s not like Lucky kept raising Jake or that Elizabeth ever told him you were a monster who couldn’t be trusted, you know? Jake doesn’t even remember a time when you weren’t his dad.”

“I don’t know why Sonny dragged any of this up,” Jason muttered. “It wasn’t his business then, and it’s not now.”

“All those years with Mom rubbed off on him, you know, because that kind of thing never stopped her.” Michael was relieved when the corner of Jason’s mouth curved up in a smile. “Look, you’ve always stepped up for me. Always. Let me do the same for you. Whatever you need. Whatever Jake and Danny need. You just tell me, and I’ll make it happen.”

“You have your own family to worry about—“

“You are my family, Jase.” Michael held up a hand. “And they’re my cousins. I need the distraction. Tell me what I can do. Can I talk to Jake? Can I play mediator with Alexis?”

“Neither. I hired a lawyer. We have the beginning of a plan,” Jason told him.  “There’s just someone I have to talk to first. But if I can think of something you can do, I’ll tell you.”

“You and I both know that’s not true, but lucky for you, I inherited my mother’s inability to mind my own business.” Michael grinned at him. “Or not lucky for you, I guess. I promise I won’t get you arrested.”

“Yeah, your mother used to promise that, too.” Jason sighed. “Never seemed to stop her.”

—

Laura Collins crossed her office to take Jake in her arms, beaming when she pulled back. “Oh, it’s so lovely to see you! I feel like it’s been ages since we put you on that plane to Barcelona.”

Jake patted his grandmother’s shoulder awkwardly, remembering now why Laura had always stood in as his grandmother — because once upon a time, Lucky Spencer had been his father. He’d never thought much about it before. She’d just always been in his life, and he never thought about the details.

“Hey. Um, I mean, it’s good to see you. I just—not that I didn’t come to see you,” he offered. “But I wouldn’t have bothered you at work without a good reason.”

“Oh, you can bother me any day you like.” Laura ushered him towards the sofa. “I’m so sorry that you’ve come home for an awful reason, but I’m sure it’s a comfort to Danny that you’re here.”

“Yeah, yeah, I hope so.” Jake cleared his throat. “Have you, uh, heard from Charlotte? Like, at all?”

“Oh.” Laura’s smile dimmed. “No, darling, no. Not since Valentin went on the run. The WSB tells me they’re looking for him, and I know that Jason and Anna were trying to find her as well when we thought Lulu was…” She patted his arm. “And I have every hope that she’ll choose to come home on her own when she graduates this spring.”

Jake made a face. “I figured, but I had to ask.”

“You’re more likely to run into her than I am,” Laura told him. “Since you’re in Europe, and we know they must be as well.”

“Oh. Well, I won’t be there for the rest of this year. I, um, took a leave. From this upcoming term.” When his grandmother made a face, Jake added, “Just because I wanted to be with Danny. You know, losing a mom, it’s, um, it’s hard. I guess. I don’t know. But I’ve lost my dad—“ He took another deep breath. “I mean, I didn’t lose him, but I did. And Mom was the one who was there. Just like Danny’s mom. So I guess I just wanted to be here. If he needed me.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, dear. And I suppose you’re getting enough grief about this choice from your mother,” Laura said with a sigh, “but I won’t complain about having one of my grandbabies here.”

Jake bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from asking her about that, about why she’d bothered to claim him since Lucky hadn’t bothered with him since the day he’d brought Jake home from the Cassadines. Dumped on his mother’s lap, and disappeared. But he bit it back. Laura had done nothing wrong. That Jake knew about anyway.

So he pasted a smile on his face. “So, Ace doing anything interesting?”

—

The trouble with investigating your own parents, Aiden decided, was finding someone who knew them and might tell their teenage son something worth knowing. Lucky Spencer had been gone so long from Port Charles that barely anyone knew him at all.

Dante had worked with him for five minutes at the PCPD, but he hadn’t been around during the Jake’s birth. He’d been crossed off the list almost immediately. Grandma Laura had been sick, Grandpa Luke was dead. So was Aunt Emily. Uncle Nikolas was in prison, and there was zero chance he’d get to see him. But Aiden left him on the list — maybe he could write to him or something.

And of course, Aunt Lu was in a coma. But there were people around that Lulu might have talked to, and that was how Aiden found himself standing on the doorstep of Maxie Jones.

The door opened a few minutes after he’d knocked with the woman in question looking at him oddly. Fair enough, he thought. They barely knew each other.

“Uh, Aiden, right? Are you selling something?” Maxie wanted to know. “Because—“

“No, no, um, I came to ask you about my aunt Lulu.” Aiden shoved his hands into his pockets. “Since you knew her best.”

“Oh.” Maxie stepped back, gestured for him to come in. “Well, other than Dante, I guess I did. Do. Do,” she repeated. “Because she’ll wake up one day, you’ll see.”

“Yeah, I hope so for Rocco’s sake.” Aiden moved his hands again, folded his arms. “Um, well, you knew my aunt for years and years—“

“Never remind a woman how old she is,” Maxie said with a roll of her eyes, but a good-natured smile. “You want something to drink or something?” she asked, heading towards the kitchen.

“No, thanks. The thing is, I was wondering if my aunt ever talked to you about my dad. You were around back then. Aunt Lu probably told you about the problems my parents had, right? I just want the truth,” Aiden said as Maxie continued to stare at him. “Was my dad addicted to drugs? Did he really have an affair? Is that why my mom left him and got pregnant with Jake?”

Maxie whirled around, stumbling into the end table and knocking a lamp to the ground. It shattered at her feet in ceramic shards. But she seemed not to notice. “I’m sorry, can you say that again?”

—

Elizabeth stopped by the elevators, her fingers toying with the strap of her purse. She’d finished for the day, but she couldn’t make up her mind if she should go home and not say anything, or if she should at least hint to Willow that whatever was going on with Drew wasn’t being hid very well.

The woman in question was working behind a terminal at the nurse’s station, her face screwed up in concentration. Was Willow really having an affair, Elizabeth wondered? Or were her own guilty feelings clouding her judgment?

But it would explain so much, Elizabeth thought. The whiplash decision Willow had made to return to her job at the hospital — leaving the foundation Drew had started. Michael’s sadness — and Jason kicking the shit out of Drew the night before the funeral.

And as if on cue, the elevators slid open and Jason was there. “Oh.” Elizabeth blinked in surprise. “How did you know I was thinking about you?”

“I didn’t—“ Jason held a hand on the doors to stop them from closing. “But I was coming to see you. Your shift is over, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Elizabeth took another look at Willow, then turned back to Jason. “Great timing. Because I have to talk you.” She stepped onto the car, then slid a glance at him. “Any chance you brought the bike?”

Jason released his hold on the door, the smile on his lips making him look years younger. “Do I look stupid?”

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