Written in 54 minutes. Last scene took a turn, lol, and I went with it.

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Jake strode past his brother crunching on his morning cereal, heading right for the coffeemaker on the counter.

“Since when do you drink coffee?” Aiden wanted to know, swirling his spoon around in his bowl.

Jake ignored him, more focused on his goal of obtaining caffeine. When he’d switched on the pot, he turned back to find Aiden still watching him. “What?”

“I didn’t hear you come in last night.” Aiden tipped his head. “I know Mom was waiting up for you.”

Jake shrugged, ignoring the itch between his shoulders. “Yeah, I saw her when I got home.” And walked past her to bed which was probably part of the reason he hadn’t slept well. He was so angry with her — with both his parents — but it didn’t feel right to treat his mother with anything less than respect. He leaned against the counter, folded his arms. “Did Mom tell you anything while Dad and I were outside?”

Aiden wrinkled his nose, but concentrated on his cereal. “Just that it was all part of a story that wasn’t just about her or your dad. My dad’s part of it, too. She made it seem like she and Dad were separated or almost divorced when, uh—“ He lifted his head, gestured at his brother with a spoon. “You know.”

“I can follow the dots.” Jake waited a moment, thinking of what his dad had told him about Lucky Spencer’s drug addiction. The affairs. “But they got back together.”

“Yeah, I mean I guess I always knew they were, like, off and on since high school.” Aiden straightened on the stool. “I just never let myself think about it, too much. Especially since Dad’s been, like, completely absent for as long as I remember.” His mouth tightened briefly. “I know you’re mad at yours because the last two years, and I get that, but you got to have for him a while. That’s something.”

“I guess if I think about it, I remember Lucky being the wrong who brought me home from Cassadine Island,” Jake admitted. “I just always figured it was because he and mom were together, and there was you. So, like, he was around and a father figure. Finding out that he was…I don’t know…that he thought he was…” He jerked a shoulder. “It’s weird. I don’t know how to feel about any of it.”

“Your dad was ticked off at Mr. C, though. Like, I thought maybe we’d finally get to find out why everyone’s so scared of him.”

“He wouldn’t do that in front of us,” Jake said, almost without thinking, then released a slow exhale. “He wouldn’t,” he repeated, more to himself, almost as if confused by the certainty that statement brought up. “But yeah, Dad’s always pretty ticked off when Mom cries. You know when he came after me, he got in my face about me being angry at her. Can you believe that? She lies to him, lies to me, and he’s just like, hey, be nice to her.” Jake rolled his eyes. The coffee pot beeped and he turned away to make his cup.

“Well, yeah, he said he forgave her. Like, I get you, dude. You just found out, you get to be mad. But this is old news to your dad, I guess. And maybe he understands better than we could why she’d do it.”

Jake looked at him, squinting his eyes slightly. “You remember back when Drew was still Jake Doe?”

“Before the whole you’re Jason Morgan adventure?” Aiden asked. “A little, but not really. Why?”

“Mom…knew who Drew was supposed to be,” Jake said a bit slowly, and Aiden frowned. “She found out months before everyone else. And she never told him. Or anyone else. It’s why everyone was so mad at her for so long. But she lied to him, to us, too. To me. I guess I never thought about it much after it happened. I wasn’t really around Jake Doe that much—“ He winced. “Around Drew. After the truth came out, he was my dad, but he was still so mad at Mom. Everyone was.” He pressed his lips together. “What else has she lied about?”

Aiden opened his mouth, then closed it, mystified by the question. “I don’t know. Probably nothing—“

“Well, what about everything that happened with Esme? She and Uncle Nikolas holding her hostage at Wyndemere—“

“Oh, well that was different,” Aiden said, confidently. “They thought Esme was a killer. And she sort of turned out to be, so I guess Mom was right to do it. And hey, you wanna start thinking about stuff Mom does when she’s not being our mom, you have to start thinking about your dad. Seems risky.”

“I just don’t get it. I don’t. I don’t know how you can lie to someone about something so important or why Dad thinks it’s okay. I mean, he told me a little, but it still doesn’t work for me. Like, your dad was so shitty, and somehow he’s the one that gets to be my dad?” Jake sipped his coffee. “The story doesn’t make sense.”

“Jason blames my dad?” Aiden wanted to know, his brows winging up in surprise. “Why?”

“I—“ Jake closed his mouth. “Dad didn’t give me many details.”

“But he gave you some.” His brother slid off the stool,  held onto the counter with both hands. “Come on. You’re mad that you didn’t know stuff about your parents, and you’re not going to tell me?”

“You should talk to your dad, Aiden.” Jake started for the dining room, and Aiden stepped in front of him. “Dude, come on—“

“No. You know something, and my dad isn’t returning any of my calls so it must be bad.” Aiden’s mouth trembled. “Did he hurt Mom? Is that why he never comes around and doesn’t seem to give a shit about me?”

“I don’t—“ Jake grimaced. “Okay. Okay. Look.” He reached back, set the coffee on the counter, and looked at Aiden. “But I’m telling you, I don’t have the full story. I don’t know anything for sure. And my dad has to be pretty biased.”

“Just tell me, dude. We’re brothers! You always said we were supposed to stick together! Cam said we were a team—“ Aiden’s cheeks flushed.

“All right, all right.” Jake held up both hands. “Look, I guess your dad got hurt on the job, and he got addicted to pills. And Dad said Mom caught Lucky in bed with another woman.” He winced when the blood drained from Aiden’s cheeks. “Okay, look, Lucky’s obviously clean, right? You’ve seen him.”

“He was a drug addict? And he had affairs? That’s why Mom left him?”

“I guess. I don’t really know anything else.” Jake folded his arms. “Look, don’t go asking anyone about it, okay? Dad didn’t want you to know.  Not like this, and he’s got a point. People get addicted to stuff. Good people. And they make mistakes. It doesn’t mean anything now. That was ancient history. All that matters is—“

“That my dad never comes around and barely wants to be my life?” Aiden fisted his hands at his side. “And if it’s all such ancient history, why do you get to be mad and I gotta calm down?”

Jake opened his mouth, then closed it, drawing a complete blank. “I don’t know.” When Aiden rolled his eyes and made a move towards the door, Jake reached for his arm. “Seriously, man, don’t go bugging anyone. You’re not supposed to know.”

Aiden shoved Jake’s hands away from him. “Well, too late for that now.” He darted out of the room, and towards the stairs. A few minutes later, Jake heard the door slam above him and winced.

“Shit. Mom’s gonna kill me.”

—

Elizabeth’s mind — and physical being — was miles away at work, struggling to focus on the insurance paperwork and schedule. She’d hated everything about the day before, from start to finish. Sonny’s tirade, the awful scene with Jake, the exhausting conversation with Jason that hadn’t seemed to solve anything, and going another round with Lucky who seemed incapable of taking accountability for anything.

And if Lucky was going to refuse to tell Aiden anything about what happened all those years ago, did that mean it was on Elizabeth? She knew her youngest son better than Lucky did — Aiden’s questions had been quieted for now, but he’d only keep asking them.

And Jake knew some of the answers, thanks to Jason, though Elizabeth could hardly hold any anger against him for it. She’d put Jason through enough because of Lucky Spencer. She wasn’t about to fall into bad habits. That was how she’d gotten herself into this mess in the first place.

So should she tell Aiden about the pills? Elizabeth pondered the question as she scooped up the finished roster and headed for the breakroom. Maybe she could just be matter of fact — it was an awful thing that happened, but it was over and they’d put it behind them.

It felt so wrong to say anything without Lucky’s approval, but hadn’t it happened to her, too? She’d lived through the withdrawal, the lies, the abuse, the deterioration of their relationship— if she sat both boys down and tried to explain herself—

She turned a corner, then stopped short when she saw a familiar face at the end of the hallway. Elizabeth opened her mouth to call to Willow, but the younger woman kept walking with her head down until someone came from up from behind her, grabbed her arm and spun her around—

Not just someone. Drew.

Elizabeth’s stomach sank as she took in the encounter — too far away to hear the words — but close enough to see the energy between them. The body language, the expressions on her face.

The way it brought back terrible memories of yet more mistakes she’d made.

Oh, she suddenly had a very good idea why Jason had kicked the crap out of Drew — and why Michael had looked so sad.

Drew and Willow were having an affair.

—

Molly breezed into the hospital cafeteria, and smiled when she found TJ at a table eating, though most of his attention was on the medical journal in his hand. She dropped into the chair across from him, rested a hand on her elbow. “If you’d told me in freshman year that you’d constantly have your head in a book, I’d have thought you were nuts.”

TJ grinned, laid the journal down, and kicked her lightly beneath the table, a light affection tap against her ankle. “Very funny. Light day in court?”

“Yes.” She took a deep breath. “And it’ll be even lighter after today. Um, I sort of went a little crazy yesterday.”

TJ frowned, folded his elbows. “A little crazy? You’re half Cassadine, Mol. Are we talking wipe out half the world or weather machine?”

Molly brightened. “Oh, well, if you put it that way, it seems reasonable.”

“Mols.”

“I sort of took a leave of absence.” She bit her bottom lip. “To take on a private custody case.”

TJ sighed, rubbed his face. “Oh, man. You’re not going to represent your mom, right? Look, I know you’re trying to make peace with everything that’s going on, but—“

“I’m going to represent Jason.”

TJ stared at her for a long beat, then shook his head. “Am I hallucinating?” he wondered. “Did someone slip something into my drink—“ He lifted his water bottle.

“I know it seems insane, and out of the blue—“

“Those are good words to start with. Doesn’t Jason have a lawyer? What about Diane?”

“She can’t represent him when Mom is representing herself. Technically, that makes Mom her client, too, since they share a practice.” Molly leaned forward. “Jason needs good representation—“

“Alternate dimension. The Upside Down. That’s where I woke up—“

“Stop—“ Molly laid a hand over TJ’s, and he sighed. “Sam left a will. It was specific. Jason and Drew are the kids’ guardians. She could have changed it at any time, but she didn’t. This is what Sam wanted.”

“And a judge is not going to overturn that. Your mom is grieving—“

“And that makes it okay?” Molly demanded, and TJ made a face. “To drag Jason into court and call him a bad father? To put Danny through this? And what about Scout? I tried to call Drew, but he said he has a lawyer, and—“

“Oh man, your mother is going to hit the roof when she finds out.”

“She didn’t care about what I’d think when she prepared custody papers for Kristina.”

TJ fell silent, and Molly looked down, her throat tight. “Kristina was going to go after you for custody. She wanted to take Irene from us. And my mom was going to help her. I went to the house last night, and I overheard them plotting to do the same thing to Jason. Jason who’s never done anything but save Kristina’s life repeatedly. Jason’s looked out for her, and she’s just like, whatever.”

“Mols, you knew your mom was going for custody. You even helped her tell them—“

“I thought—“ It was difficult to push the words through. “I thought she’d see them, and she’d come to her senses. But she hasn’t. She’s going to do this, TJ. I’m protecting my niece and nephew. Just the way I would have protected my little girl. Sam isn’t here to do anymore, and Kristina’s too selfish to see the right thing to do. So it’s up to me. I need you on my side—“

“What about my side?” TJ asked quietly, and she blinked. “Ava goes on trial for the fall at the beginning of December. Or did you forget about that?”

“Of course not. Of course not!” Molly’s eyes stung. “How could you even say that? This is separate. It’s separate—“

“You’re waging a whole war with your mother and your sister when we should be focused on what really matters. Making sure Ava Jerome goes to prison for what she took from us.”  TJ scowled. “Or don’t you care? I’ve had to push you at every turn just to take a breath, to focus on our daughter—“

“I can’t focus on her,” Molly snapped, and TJ closed his mouth. “Because she’s not here. She’s in a box, sit feet below the ground, and my sister is running around grieving like a wild woman, calling my baby Adela to anyone who will listen and no one wants to stop her — to tell her to think about me. No one ever wants to think about me. Not even you. It’s always you’re doing this wrong, you’re working too much, you’re not grieving the way I want you to—“

“Molly.”

“Or maybe you’re no different than Kristina.” Molly shoved her chair back. “You think I should be doing everything the way you want instead of just trying to breath and get through the day anyway I can — why, TJ? Why is it so easy for you to direct my grief? Should I get the same privilege, huh? Or maybe not. Maybe you don’t care that Kristina’s calling her Adela, because at least she’s showing emotion right? You’re Irene’s real parents, right?”

“That is not what I said, damn it—“

“But it’s what that means. I lost my daughter, TJ. I lost the dream I wanted so badly. And then I lost my sister because the universe wasn’t done being cruel. And now what’s left of my family is waging a war that is going to harm my sister’s kids. But okay, let me stop and hold your hand instead. I can do that, right? I can look away and worry only about you since I wasn’t really Irene’s mother anyway. Go ahead and say it. It’s what you’re thinking. I’m not grieving the way I should be because I was never her mother.”

TJ dragged a hand down his face. Then stared at her. “Are you done?”

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “If it’s not true, then just say so. Say I’m crazy.”

TJ pressed his lips together, then sighed. “Maybe there’s an element—damn it, Molly—“ He made a grab for her as she leapt up, but she was already halfway across the cafeteria before he could even get to his feet, and gone.

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