Written in 58 minutes.

---

Forest Hills: Living Room

“What a wonderful blessing,” Audrey said, smiling down at the photo of a tired, but smiling Bobbie holding a newborn in her arms. “And for Carly to come through it so well—”

“She’s still weak, but all things considered, we’ve been lucky.” Bobbie pressed the photo to her chest. “I wish I could wrap her in cotton and send her to the island with Michael today, but she and Morgan can’t leave the hospital just yet.”

Audrey made a face, then went to the window overlooking the circular drive and the guardhouse by the wrought-iron gates. “You said last night that they want me to go as well. I’m not sure that’s a good idea. If it isn’t safe for me, then perhaps Elizabeth ought to go with me as well.”

“She needs to be here with her doctors,” Bobbie said. “And I think Jason might worry more with her out of his sight. This man—whether he be Lorenzo or Luis—isn’t predictable, and we’re just trying to keep everyone safe. You’re important to Elizabeth.”

“I—” Audrey glanced over at the sound a car rolling over the gravel. “That’s her now. I suppose she’ll be asking me to go, and I just—I thought about what you said last night. That this all started with one man’s obsession with Brenda, and the way it’s spiraled out to hurt so many people. I don’t like leaving Elizabeth when she needs me. I’ve let her down one too many times.”

“She knows you’re here for her, that you’ve been supportive. You can’t let the past push you into making mistakes. Jason and Mac think they’ve got a plan to end this.” Bobbie took Audrey’s hands. “We’ll put our trust in them, and think about something more important—a year from now, you’ll be holding your great-grandchild, and my grandbabies will be running around, driving us all crazy.”

“It’s a lovely picture you paint. All right, if Elizabeth says this is what she needs for me to do, then I’ll see it done.”

Luke’s: Main Bar

Lucy spun in a slow circle, pursing her lips. “It’s a lot to ask me to pull off in only two days,” she told Scott, then planted her hands on her hips. “A Halloween bash so well-attended that the media will cover it?”

“Hey, if you’re not up to the challenge—” Scott held up his hands. “Just say the word—”

“Ha,” Lucy muttered, shooting him a dark look. “I need a better hook to get the Sun interested, and without them, no one else will bother. This is Luke’s — is he calling in some favors? A good headliner?”

“Uh, we’re not going through Luke for this. He’s turned it over to Bobbie while he’s in London.” Scott made a face at the thought of his ex-wife’s husband. “And if you want a hook, Lucy, try this: Famous Supermodel Back from the Dead Returns Home!”

Lucy whirled a round, her eyes widening. “Scotty Baldwin! Why didn’t you tell me this was about Brenda? This is a welcome party? For Brenda Barrett? You should have led with that!” She turned back to the stage area, clasping her hands together. “Oh, I have so many ideas.”

“All the hair, just—” Scott gestured. “Stood up on  the back of my neck. Send the bills to Jason Morgan, okay? He’s picking up the tab.”

“Oh, even better!” Lucy did a little dance. “Unlimited budget and no one to tell me no? Christmas came early! You just leave this to me, Scotty. I’ll throw a Halloween party no one will ever forget.”

General Hospital: Carly’s Hospital Room

Carly leaned back, her face pale but her eyes were happy, watching Jason carefully lift Morgan from the portable crib by her bed. “I can’t believe he’s here.”

“Bobbie said his scores were perfect,” Elizabeth said, taking a seat by Carly’s bed, watching Jason with the baby. Carly wondered if she was thinking about the future, seven or eight months away. She turned her gaze to Carly. “Is there anything we can get you? Food, magazines—”

“Tell me this is almost over,” Carly said, but she was looking at Jason. Their eyes met. “I can live with Sonny not being ready to leave Rose Lawn. He’s exactly where he should be, getting the hold you and I should have pushed him to get years ago. But I want my son. I want Michael and his brother together and I want to be with them. Please tell me when the hospital says I can go home, it’ll be safe.”

“We’re…” Jason hesitated. “We’re planning something for Halloween. Two days.” He gently laid Morgan back in Carly’s arms, then took the other seat across from Elizabeth. “I’m doing everything I can, Carly.”

“I know. I know, I didn’t mean to—” Carly  bit her lip, looked down at Morgan, who was yawning, settling in for a doze. “I didn’t mean to sound like you weren’t. I know I lean on you too much, and don’t tell me you don’t mind. We both know that’s not true.”

Jason sighed, dipped his head for a moment, then lifted a gain. “You’ve always depended on me too much. You don’t trust yourself enough. I used to be better at keeping boundaries. At telling you no. I never blamed you.”

“Well, you should. You—you have your own family now,” she told him, then looked at Elizabeth who looked away, her cheeks flushing slightly. “It’s so hard. When I woke up, and Mama told me everything I’d missed, and I remembered everything that happened. Sonny, Courtney, the shooting, and—oh, the horrible thought that Lorenzo Alcazar has been dead all along, and that Luis is still here—it’s too much. I think sometimes I’ve wrapped my head around it all, and then I lose it again.”

“Yeah, I—” Jason stopped when the door opened slightly and Mike stepped inside.

“Hey. I thought I’d come by, see my new grandbaby.” Mike looked back between Jason and Elizabeth, then at Carly. “How are you, honey?”

“I’m good. Come see your grandson, Morgan Stone.”

Mike gently lifted Morgan from Carly’s arms, grinning. “Morgan Stone? That’s—that’s a fine name. Two very good men.”

“The best,” Carly murmured. Her head listed to the side, and she felt fatigue sinking in. “I’m so sorry, I keep—I keep falling asleep.”

“Don’t worry,” Jason told her. He kissed her forehead. “Rest. We’ll get Morgan back to the nursery, and Bobbie will be back.”

“Thanks, Jase. For everything.” Carly forced herself to keep her eyes open. “A girl couldn’t ask for a better friend. You never let me down. Even when you should. I’m so glad you’re going to be a daddy. You deserve it more than anyone.”

She was already asleep by the time Jason reached for the call button.

Once a nurse came by to whisk Morgan back to the nursery, Jason was left standing awkwardly in the hall with Mike, Elizabeth having excused herself to use the restroom.

“I—about yesterday—” Mike began. He paused, dipping his head until his chin touched his chest. “I just—I didn’t mean to do any of that.”

Jason grimaced, slid his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “It’s fine—”

“It’s not. None of this is. And I’m just—I’m just trying to make sense of things. And I went down the wrong road. I just—”

“It’s not me you need to apologize for.” Jason shook his head, looked away. “You get to be pissed at me for what happened, but none of this is on Elizabeth—”

“I know that—”

“Do you?” Jason looked back at Mike. “Because you sat in that bar and talked about how you didn’t feel right about casting stones. Because of the things you’ve done wrong. Tell me how you square that with what you threw in her face yesterday? Did it make you feel better to accuse her of lying?”

“N-No—” Mike flushed, dragged his hands down his face. “I just—I just lost myself and I just—I regret it—”

“What I did was wrong, Mike, and I’m sorry for it,” Jason told him roughly. “But my part in this ended before that night in Kelly’s. I ended things with Courtney because it was the right thing to do. She’s the one that chose to get revenge. Not me.”

Mike sank onto a nearby bench, pale. “I know it. I listened to myself spew all that crap at Elizabeth, and I just wanted it to be true so badly. I needed—” He closed his eyes. “I needed it to be someone else’s fault. Not my little girl. She’s gone and I don’t know how to do this, Jason. I don’t know how to handle what she did, and being gone—”

Elizabeth appeared around the corner, stopping when she saw Mike’s crumpled expression, and dejected form on the bench. She looked at Jason, a bit worried. “Is everything okay?”

Mike’s head snapped up and he was on his feet before Jason could answer. “Elizabeth. I need to apologize—”

“You don’t—”

“Yes, he does—”

“He doesn’t,” Elizabeth told Jason. “He’s hurt, and I’m not going to hold any of this against him. Not when he’s never been anything but kind to me. I told you that—” She stopped, took a deep breath, went to Mike. “Jason’s angry, and I guess I can’t tell him not to be. That’s not for me to decide.”

“I’m just sorry—”

“It hurt when you accused me of lying,” she told him gently, and he grimaced, looking away. “But I understood it. I had chances last year to see the truth. Jason tried to tell me. Courtney. Carly. Sonny. But I was so angry, so hurt, so broken that I let it blind me. I made a choice to trust a terrible man, and I don’t know how much of that choice led us here. I don’t know if what Jason and I chose to do started a domino effect that was always going to end up here. I don’t like thinking that an impulsive personal choice I made could hurt so many people.”

“It’s not your fault—”

“And it’s not yours. I know it’s hard to think Courtney did something so awful in her final days. I hate that it’s the last thing she did. But she made a mistake, Mike. She was hurt and she was broken, and she did something terrible. Just like me. It’s not fair that I get a second chance to fix what I broke, and that she doesn’t. It’s all right to resent me. I understand, and if it gives you any peace of mind, that’s okay.”

“You’re a good kid.” Mike took her hand, patted it. “You’ve always been good to me, even when I didn’t deserve it. She was a good person. The sweetest smile, kindest little girl. I couldn’t be the man she thought I was, so I ran, and I’ll never get that time back. Don’t end up like me, swimming in regrets. You made a mistake with Ric, and I never should have thrown that in your face. I’m sorry.”

“I accept your apology, and I hope you’ll accept mine. And that you and Jason won’t let this stain your relationship.” Elizabeth looked at Jason who had remained silent throughout the conversation. “Please. We’ve lost so much.”

“I don’t want to be angry with you, Mike,” Jason said finally. “I never wanted that.”

“I don’t want it either. I want—I want to help. To be part of whatever stops this. To make it over.”

Jason opened open his mouth, but then reached into his pocket to dig out his ringing phone. “Yeah?” He listened to the voice on the other end, then looked at Elizabeth and Mike. “She’s here. At the penthouse.”

“Who is?” Mike asked, helping Elizabeth to her feet. “Who is it?”

“Brenda,” Jason told Mike. “And she didn’t come alone.”

← Flash Fiction: Chain Reaction – Part 42 | Flash Fiction: Chain Reaction – Part 44 →