lol remember back in the early days when you guys thought i was gonna write a positive courtney story. adorable. told you. trust the journey.

written in 62 minutes.

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PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

“I think we need some sleep,” Mac said, pressing the grit from his eyes. “We’re not going to make any progress going over the same thing over and over again. We can read Courtney’s statement a thousand times, and it’s not going to make sense any more now than it did an hour ago.”

“I know, I know. I just—” Scott went to the window, tipped the blinds down, looked towards the hospital. “I don’t like it.”

“What’s to like? We’ve got Carly still in surgery until—” Mac squinted at the clock on his desk. “What did they say? Eleven?”

“They have to drill into the skull,” Scott murmured. “Relieve pressure. And it might not enough. They might have to remove a piece of the skull altogether. I don’t know which way they went.” He looked back at Mac. “There are problems with the statement, yeah, but how do we reconcile them telling the same story when we know Courtney hasn’t talked to Ric?”

“That—” The commissioner made a face. “Yeah, okay, I get you there. But we know Jason didn’t do it.”

“Do we?’ Capelli offered, from across the room, lounging on the sofa, his elbow on the arm of the sofa, propping his head up. He stifled a yawn. “I mean, two wits that say he did it, one of them has the gun—”

“Bobbie said she and Jason came to Kelly’s together. That they’d been together. That tracks with the vehicles in the parking lot. How does Courtney get away without Bobbie hearing her? They were right there when the shots were fired.” Mac shook his head. “I get it. Two witnesses independently saying the same thing. It trips me up, but not enough to do anything with.”

“Especially since neither of them are particularly credible,” Scott admitted. “When you consider the relationships here. Do we know if Courtney knew about the affair?”

“Do we even know it was an affair? I’m not keeping up on Jason’s romantic life, and I’m sure you’re not either. Maybe he and Courtney broke up for a while.” Mac shook his head. “Whether she knew or not, we can’t get around Bobbie giving Jason an alibi. Do you really think she’d cover for the man who put her daughter in brain surgery?”

“No. I don’t.” Scott looked back at them. “But Courtney and Ric are telling the same story, and Courtney’s got a gun that matches the bullets. Still need to do some testing to find out if it was the same one, but—”

“Anyone test Morgan for residue at the scene?” Capelli asked, though the words were more slurred now.

“No need. He was a witness. No one seriously thought he’d shoot his best friend and ex-girlfriend. Look, Scott, you’ve only been around Jason the last year. I’ve been around him since he became Jason Morgan. If I’d found Ric’s body dumped in the harbor, yeah, he’d be my first visit. But a messy shooting in the middle of a public courtyard that leaves three victims, and not one of them dead? That’s not how it goes down.”

Scott snorted, then sat down. “Christ. I can’t believe we’re having a conversation about throwing out witness testimony because we know Jason Morgan’s a better killer than this shooter.”

“And Scott, we really shouldn’t be including you in this conversation at all. Not if we want a special prosecutor to take this over—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Scott took a deep breath. “Look, you’re right. We need to sleep. We need to let this roll around in our heads.”

“I don’t know how a few hours of sleep is going to change the facts. I have two witnesses pointing the finger at a guy that’s alibied by the victim’s mother.” Mac dragged a hand down his face. “But maybe something will shake loose while I’m sleeping. Meet back here in three hours.”

General Hospital: Surgical Waiting Room

The sun was just beginning to break through the gray clouds when Mike arrived, a brown bag in one hand and a tray of coffees in the other. “I thought everyone could use something to eat.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Audrey said, coming forward to take the items. “You were able to open this morning?”

“Yeah. Yeah. They, uh, cleared the scene after midnight. I thought about keeping it closed, but—” Mike hugged Bobbie. “How are you holding up, sweetheart?”

“Still waiting for surgery—” Bobbie swayed slightly, exhausted from the restless night. Felicia brought a bagel and coffee to her from the bag Audrey had unpacked. “I couldn’t—”

“You have to eat.”

“When Carly gets out of surgery—”

“They said that could be three or four more hours, honey.” Felicia pressed the bagel back at her and this time, Bobbie sighed, took it, then sat down. Content that her friend was  going to eat at least a few bites, she turned back to Mike. “Have you seen Sonny yet?”

“Ah, no. I went by last night, but they weren’t letting anyone up. You know how strict they can be. Jason’s been preoccupied. I wasn’t going to ask him.”

“You know…” Felicia hesitated. “I mean, you know Jason’s preoccupied with—”

“I knew before this happened, yeah. It’s…not ideal. But I’m not going to judge.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just struggling to understand why we’re not…” Audrey gestured. “Why can’t you go up and wake Sonny? This is his wife and child.”

“Sonny hasn’t been feeling well the last few days,” Mike said after a long moment. “I think he took something to sleep. What’s the point of worrying him, you know? What can he do that we’re not already doing?”

“Still.” Audrey folded her arms. “It’s troubling. What kind of man—I’m sorry, Mike.”

“You don’t to apologize to me, Mrs. Hardy. Let me help you with that,” Mike said to Felicia who was looking through the bag for utensils. He was grateful for any reason to stop Audrey’s questions. Until he saw Jason, he didn’t know what to think, and didn’t care to speculate.

General Hospital: Bathroom

Jason splashed some cold water on his face, trying to jolt himself awake. He ought to have slept more last night, he knew. Especially once Elizabeth was out of surgery, and their baby was still safe. But Carly was still in an operating room, and Sonny—

He’d had a call from Max an hour ago — Sonny was still locked down. Courtney had come by to get some of her things, and some things for Michael, too. Someone was going to have to talk to the little boy today, so at least she was good for something.

Jason exited the bathroom, switching off the light, then watched Elizabeth sleep for a while. He should go get some coffee. Something to eat. He hadn’t had either since maybe noon the day before.

He found Mike in the waiting area by the elevators, and slowed his steps, spying the coffee sitting on the table with its top still on. Mike held it out to him.

“It’s probably cold by now, but caffeine is caffeine,” he said, and Jason nodded, taking it. It was just below lukewarm, but it was better than nothing. Mike tipped a bag towards him. “Something to eat for later. You never remember to that anymore.” He smiled slightly. “That’s changed. You used to eat like a horse when you worked at Luke’s.”

“Still do when I remember to eat,” Jason said. They sat down, taking the sofa in the waiting area. He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Have you been down to see Bobbie?”

“Yeah, yeah, I dropped some food off. She’s with Felicia and Audrey Hardy. Carly’s still in surgery, probably for another three hours. I figure that’s a good sign. She’s made it this far.”

“I guess.” Jason set the coffee down. “I don’t know what’s out there. What people are saying. I don’t know if the police have any leads—”

“I saw a few officers at Kelly’s this morning when I helped Penny open. If there are leads, they’re not sharing. They, uh, were talking about all of this. And—” Mike tipped his head. “Did you know yesterday when we talked, did you know about the baby?”

Jason looked at him. “Yeah. I’d found out the day before. Elizabeth—she told me I could tell you if I thought I needed to, but I didn’t—” His lips tightened and he looked away. “I didn’t think I did. We wanted to keep it quiet. It wasn’t the plan—”

“I never thought it was. And I understand wanting it quiet, with what Courtney through a few months ago. And I know Elizabeth lost a baby in May. She took resigned from work shortly after, so, yeah, I get that. But it’s out now. You should know that. Courtney will know shortly.”

“I know that it should matter to me that she’ll be hurt when she finds out,” Jason said slowly, “and maybe it does somewhere, but—”

“You don’t have the room for it right now. How’s—how’s that with the surgery? With her injury?”

“Holding on.” Jason picked up the coffee again, sipped. “The doctor said she still had around an eight percent risk of miscarriage, but getting this far is a good sign.”

“Good. Good. Last thing either of you need. Especially with Carly’s situation up in the air. I’m sorry about all of this, Jason. I really am.”

“I thought—” he stared down at the white coffee top. “I thought I’d hit rock bottom days ago. Standing in the penthouse, listening to Carly cry about Sonny losing it, pushing her. I thought it can’t get worse than this. I’d screwed things up for all of us by not doing something for Sonny a long time ago, for not being honest with myself a year ago, for continuing not to be honest six weeks ago—” He met Mike’s gaze. “I didn’t know it could get worse. I never—”

“Always something beneath rock bottom, Jason. You never hit bedrock,” Mike said, though the tone was kind. “Sometimes we don’t get the results we deserve. I know you had a plan to get things sorted out, but we ran out of time. Because we’re not talking about why Sonny’s not here.”

Jason closed his eyes, then opened them, met Mike’s again, who nodded. “Okay,” the other man said. “Okay. So what do we do? What’s the plan?”

“The plan is for me to stay right where I am until Carly’s out of surgery, and I know how she is. Until Elizabeth is awake, and stable—I have to tell her—” His voice cracked slightly, and he took a breath. “I have to tell her there might be nerve damage. That she might not be able to paint again. She can’t hear that from a doctor.”

“Christ,” Mike swore, rubbing his mouth. “Oh man, that’s going to kill her. Yeah, you need to be here. That’s—there’s no question, Jason. You’re exactly where you need to be. So what can I do?”

“I don’t—I don’t know. I know if—I know if I’m right, he didn’t mean to do it. I know he never would have hurt them if he’d been well.” His voice shook. “I know all of that. But right now, if I look at him, I won’t remember that. I’ll just think about my child, about the woman I love, and the friend who’s been through too much already having her brain cut into—I can’t do it, Mike. Not right now.”

“Of course not.”

“So he stays where he is for now. Max has his orders to keep him at the Towers, even if he has to be sedated again. I don’t care. I can’t. I’ve put him first too many times. Right now, my family comes first, and that’s not him. It can’t be.”

General Hospital: Surgical Waiting Room

Tony finally came back around ten-thirty, scraping the green surgical cap from his hair as he entered the room. Bobbie lunged to her feet, her eyes wide and hopeful. “Tony.”

“Carly’s in post-op. We had to do a full craniotomy,” he said, and Bobbie blanched.

“What is that?” Felicia asked. “What’s—”

“Removed a piece of her skull,” Audrey murmured, stepping up to a put an arm around Bobbie’s shoulders.

“She came through it, and so did the baby,” Tony added, and Bobbie sighed in relief. “We’re monitoring the baby, in case we need to deliver, but so far so good. We were able to release the pressure, Bobbie, but it’s hasn’t completely eliminated the cerebral edema. The swelling,” he clarified for Felicia and for Mike who’d risen to his feet. “We’re hopeful that meds will help with this. But Carly’s fallen into a coma.”

“Oh, God—” Bobbie pressed her hands to her face, the words little more than a sob choked out. “God. This isn’t right. This isn’t fair.”

“What’s the prognosis?” Mike asked. “When will she wake up?”

“We don’t know.”

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

Scott knocked on Mac’s open door, then strolled in, a cup of coffee in his hand. “How do we feel after a little shut-eye?”

“Not particularly great.” Mac hung up the phone, rubbed his eyes again. “Capelli went to the hospital when he clocked back in. Elizabeth’s awake. She can’t remember what happened past Carly and Ric in the courtyard. That’s where it ends. Maybe she gets that back eventually, but—” He paused, looked at Scott. “Carly’s in a coma. They don’t know if she’ll wake up, if the swelling in her brain will go down, so her memories are the least of our worries.”

“That’s…unfortunate.” Scott took a seat. “I’d hoped one of them could give us something to work with, but—”

“Scott, really, I think we should wait for the special prosecutor.”

Scott sniffed, then sipped his coffee. “No need. I withdrew the request. I’m back on the case.”

Mac stared at him for a long moment. “That is not a good idea.”

“On the contrary,” Scott said, getting to his feet and setting down the coffee cup. “It’s the best idea I’ve had in a long time. Now—” He rubbed his hands together. “I have to go write up an arrest warrant.”

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Elizabeth grimaced as Jason brought the straw to her lips, but drank the water and soothed her tired, sore throat. “I’m so sorry about Carly,” she said when she was able to talk again.

“Yeah. It’s not—” Jason grimaced. “It’s not…it’s not great news.” He took a deep breath. “But Carly’s tough, and she’s been through a lot. We’ll just have to take it one day at a time.”

“I’ll feel better when I’m not laying in this bed, so I can help. Or do something. I don’t know. Sit with Bobbie. There has to be something. Now that I know the baby is okay—”

“There’s still a slight risk,” Jason cautioned, and she sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You’re right. We should think positively—”

“Easier for me to do.” With her free hand, she touched his face, though it took what little energy she had to do so. “I didn’t spend all night worried about my best friend having brain surgery.”

“I was worried about you. I still am.” Jason covered her hand with his, then turned his face in to kiss her palm. “There’s…I should tell you something about—about what Tony said after your surgery. About your arm.”

“I can barely move any part of it, even what didn’t get shot.” Elizabeth tried to wiggle her right fingers, but the pinky barely moved. “How long until that’s okay?”

“Um—” Jason lowered her hand to the bed, but still kept hold of it, staring at her chipped nail polish. “I don’t know. There might be—that’s why Tony went in for your surgery. The nerve in shoulder. The bullet was—”

“Jason.” Elizabeth’s browns pinched together. “What are you trying to say? I can’t—” Her voice quivered. “I won’t get the full use back?”

“I won’t let that happen, okay?” His head came back up, his eyes fierce. “I won’t. I’ll find every specialist. We’ll go anywhere. I’ll spend every last dime if I have to—”

“But I might not be able to hold a paintbrush again,” Elizabeth said softly. “That’s what you’re trying hard not to say.”

“I—yes. That’s what they said, but I promise. You, and our baby—” He covered her abdomen, curving his long fingers over her hospital gown. “You’re the only thing that matters—” He stopped, sat up, and frowned towards the door.

Elizabeth heard it now—the raised voices of someone coming near. Then the door opened, and Scott  Baldwin strode in, Mac on his heels. And right behind them, a furious Bobbie and—her grandmother.

“Scotty Baldwin, if you don’t call this off right now, I promise you that I will have your parents on the phone so fast. They would be so ashamed—”

“You’ve really done it now, Scott!” Bobbie bit out.

“What the hell is going on?” Jason demanded, getting to his feet. “Why are you—” Then he saw the cuffs in Mac’s hands, raised his stunned gaze to the commissioner. “What are you doing?”

“Jason Morgan,” Mac said, almost reluctantly, “you’re under arrest for attempted murder.”

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and that’s a wrap until july 8. enjoy!

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