Written in 59 minutes.

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Morgan Penthouse: Kitchen

Elizabeth pulled out the tray of chicken nuggets vaguely shaped like dinosaurs. “A few more minutes, Cam,” she told her son who bounced in the booster seat that made him tall enough to sit at the kitchen table.

“Then I eat roshus dinos.” Cameron played with the bright green plastic utensils, banging them against his plate like drums. “Yummy nuggets.”

“Yeah, really haute cuisine.” Elizabeth reached for her vibrating phone in her back pocket, and made a face when she saw Jason’s note that he’d be late. He’d spent the day with the boys while she worked, and then they’d traded — he’d headed into the warehouse, and she’d taken over for dinner.

“Mommy mad?”

“Mommy tired,” Elizabeth said, then slid the phone back in her pocket. “Daddy’s going to home late, so he’ll miss bedtime, okay?”

“Okay.” Cameron wrapped both hands around his sippy cup, then tipped it back. Elizabeth filled his plate with dino nuggets, then tucked the extras away in the oven to keep warm. She set the child lock on the oven door.

“I’m going to go get your brother up from his nap so he can eat dinner. You okay to eat by yourself for a few minutes?” she asked, turning on the monitor they kept in the kitchen.

Cameron bit into one of the nuggets, ripping off the head of the dino, then growled. “Grrr!”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Elizabeth jogged up the stairs, then paused when she realized Spinelli’s bedroom door was ajar. She thought he was out with Dillon and Lulu—but then realized his lamp was on, and there was a lump on the bed. “Spinelli?” she tapped the door. “Did you want something for dinner?”

“The Jackal ate,” he said glumly.

She hesitated, then pushed the door open a bit more. “Are you all right? It’s not like you to go to bed early.”

Spinelli sat up, his hair mussed from spending most of the day beneath a beanie cap. He looked a bit pale and clammy. Worried, she perched on the edge of the bed, pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. “Are you sick?”

“No. No. The Jackal had an unpleasant experience,” he muttered. “Confrontations make him sick.”

“Confrontation…” Elizabeth tipped her head. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Spinelli glanced away, traced a seam in the comforter with his fingers. “At Kelly’s. There was—” He paused. “Sam.”

The one word name without any type of nickname didn’t make Elizabeth feel any better either. “I’m sorry. I know you were close with her. You can still be friends with her if you want—”

“No, no!” Spinelli’s eyes widened. “The Jackal couldn’t. Fair Elizabeth does not understand. He—” He closed his eyes. “Adult,” he muttered. “I am an adult.”

“Spinelli?”

“I…knew,” Spinelli managed, his face twisted. “About Maureen Harper. And Sam.”

“Ah.” Elizabeth nodded. “Jason told you?”

“N-no. Well, y-yes. But I investigated for Stone Cold. He suspected something,” Spinelli admitted. “And then she tried to hurt him at the trial, and then she wanted you to lose the custody. But she was there today. And wanted to be friends. The Jackal had to tell her no.” He drew his knees against his chest. “Don’t like bad conversations.”

“I’m sorry, Spinelli.” Elizabeth touched his shoulder. “It’s hard when you think you’re friends with someone and they do something to hurt you. And it can be really hard to tell them. I don’t like to do it either. I mean, that’s how this all got started, you know? Lying about Jake. I was afraid to tell anyone, and I didn’t until I was forced. It’s brave to do it willingly. Without a perjury charge hanging over you.”

Spinelli’s smile was faint. “But Stone Cold is very happy you did. And so is the Jackal. This is the nicest place he’s ever lived.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

He nodded.

“Why do you refer to yourself in the third person? You almost never say I or me. You don’t have to answer it, but I was just curious.”

He considered the question for a long quiet moment. “When I was a kid,” he said softly. “My parents were gone. My mother died when I was a baby, and my dad was never in the picture. Granny raised me, but I liked computers and science and cartoons and silly things. The kids teased me a lot in school, and it was hard to—I never had any friends.” He paused. “Going to school was the worst but I had to go every day because Granny didn’t believe in quitting.” He bit his lip. “At night, I used to lay in my bed and tell myself stories where I was the hero, but it wasn’t me. Couldn’t be me. And the Jackal was brave. He was funny and handsome and had many friends. Family. Good things never happened to Damien, but they could happen to the Jackal. But maybe Damien could just go away and bad things wouldn’t happen anymore.” He shrugged. “It’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid, Spinelli.” She squeezed his knee. “I hope you know that we love you here. Not just me and the boys. Jason does, too.”

“He puts up with me.”

“If that was true, he wouldn’t still let you live here,” Elizabeth said. “He never let Carly live here, did he? And he definitely just puts up with her.”

His smile was faint. “The Valkyrie is an acquired taste, he tells me.”

“Well, Dillon and Lulu like you. Georgie liked you,” Elizabeth said softly, and he nodded. “You have friends now. If you want to still be the Jackal, that’s okay. We’ll always love him. But Damien is part our family, too. And I hope you feel safe enough to let him out more.”

General Hospital: Lobby

Robin tugged her tote bag over her shoulder, tired down to her bone marrow. She stepped out of the elevator, waiting for Kelly and Lainey to follow. “I’m going to sleep for a week when I get home,” she told them.

“We’ll drink your share of the wine, don’t worry,” Kelly promised, putting an arm around Robin’s shoulders.

“You should always call Patrick. I bet he’d give you a foot massage,” Lainey teased. “But then he’d just ask you to move in again, so maybe going home is the best idea.”

“Yeah, talk about running hot and cold,” Kelly said. “Do you know how many messages he’s left me about the next appointment? I told him to write the questions down, but—”

They turned a corner, heading for the lobby and the exit. Robin’s steps slowed when she saw a familiar dark head on a bench, bowed over a book.

Patrick. Reading another book with a pregnant woman on the cover. He didn’t know what time she was leaving today — couldn’t have known she’d see him. So he really was reading this books — and leaving Kelly’s messages.

“I’ll talk to you guys later,” she said to her roommates.

“Uh huh, sure.” Kelly took Lainey’s arms in hers. “Come on. Let’s go get a security guard to walk us to our cars.”

Robin sat next to Patrick and he jerked his head up, snapping the book shut. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing. I thought you worked this morning.”

“I did. I had a surgery that ran late, and I’m waiting to hear from the ICU in an—” He checked his watch. “Five minutes. If the vitals are good, I can head home.” He furrowed his brow. “Why are you alone? You weren’t going to the parking garage were you?”

Instead of answering, Robin reached for the book he’d been reading and flipped through it. Pages were highlighted — and there were post-its, tabs—notes in the margins. She opened to eight weeks. “A raspberry seed,” she said. “That’s how big the baby is right now.”

“You know, you go to medical school,” Patrick said, “and you learn this stuff, but it’s different when you’re actually talking about a real baby. Raspberry seeds are barely visible. But organs are developing—the baby has eyes—”

“Retinas,” Robin corrected. “And then tail is nearly gone, so there’s that.”

“Good thing. Would make diapers hard. I’ve seen them — not really a good place to put the tail.” But he smiled, took the book back. “You’re eating enough fruit? That’s what the book says about this week.”

“Plenty.” Robin tipped his head. “You’re…really into this, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. I am.” Patrick took a deep breath. “But I talked to Elizabeth and I get it. You need to be sure, so I’m not pushing you. I just—I want to be what you need. So if what you need is me to back off—”

“What I need…” Robin tipped her head back, considered the question. This baby had been conceived on a night she’d been at her lowest, desperate to stop thinking and feeling. Her sweet little cousin was gone forever. And now so was Emily—

Life was short. How many times did Robin need to learn that?

“What I need right now is a bubble bath and a nap.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “I’m tired all the time. And it’s hard in the morning. Do you really want to be there for morning sickness?”

He slid his arm around her shoulders, tucking her more firmly in his embrace. “I want to be there for everything, Robin. Whatever you’re ready for.”

“You might regret that tomorrow when I’m hanging over the toilet.”

His arm tensed. “Robin?”

“You’re getting shades for the windows. I can’t be woken up like that every morning. It’s not negotiable.” She lifted her head. “I love you. And you love me. And I think we both already love this baby. That’s enough for me. Let’s go home.”

Spencer House: Living Room

“I’m just worried about him,” Lulu said, pacing in front of the fireplace. “He won’t return my calls, he banned me from the island, and you’re probably right there, too. And if that’s not enough, Spinelli’s acting weird, and Dillon’s pretending everything is normal, and I’m—” She frowned, looking at her brother sitting at the table by the chairs. “Are you listening to me?”

“Sure.” Lucky crossed off another name from the campus access list. “Every other word. Sometimes I get two in a row.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You told me earlier that you were going to help—”

“And I tried.” Lucky leaned back, stretching his arms over his head. “I went to the island, and it didn’t work. So we’re just going to have to let this play out—”

“You went over? What happened? Did it look like he’s sleeping or eating?”

“He’s definitely drinking.”

“Lucky.”

He sighed, set down his pencil, and looked at her. “Listen. I don’t want to get into it with you. You love him, and you’re concerned. I’m not doing anything to get in the middle of that.”

“But—” Lulu bit her lip. “Is he still blaming you?”

“He—” He grimaced. “He threw a bottle of pills at me and told me that was all I was good for.” And it had taken everything in him to set those pills aside. To push away the chance for it all to go away. To lose himself in nothing.

If he went under again, he’d never drag himself back out. Couldn’t give in.

Lulu’s hands fell to her side. “He—he threw pills at you.”

“I didn’t take them. You can call him. I left them on his desk—”

“Lucky. Don’t act like this isn’t important—”

“It’s—” Lucky rose. “Lu. This is who Nikolas is. Who he’s always been. When he gets angry, he lashes out. He always apologizes later. He’ll let you back in soon, okay?”

“That’s not what I meant.” Lulu’s eyes were dark with concern. “That was a cruel thing he did to you, and I’m sorry. You lost Emily, too. He’s not even thinking about that.”

“No, he’s not. Because Emily was his one true love.” Lucky’s smile was wry. “Just like Elizabeth was mine. We sure have a hell of a way of treating the women we profess to love, huh? We both cheated on them.”

Lulu folded her arms. “Are you, um, are you okay?”

“Yeah. I went to a meeting. I’ll probably go to another tomorrow. It’s fine, Lu. I’m not going to crack. Not this time.” Lucky flexed his fingers. “I don’t have much else to lose, you know? I lost my wife. My kids. My best friend. My brother. If I can lose all of that, and still stay clean, that’s a good thing.”

“It’s a very good thing. And I’m proud of you—no, don’t do that. Don’t like it doesn’t matter. Like what you did wasn’t hard,” Lulu said. He met her eyes. “Every day you stay clean is important. It matters. You had pills in your hand, Lucky, and you put them down. You walked away. A year ago, you wouldn’t have done that.”

“A year ago—” Lucky sighed. “Yeah, okay. I guess I would have.”

“I love you. Can I—can I go to a meeting with you, or something? Is that allowed?”

“Yeah.” He went to her, drew her in for a hug. “Yeah, that’s allowed.” He kissed the top of her head. “I love you, too.”

Greystone: Living Room

“Hey, sorry for the late night—” Sonny said, tossing a folder on the desk. “A few more things, and you can head out—”

“It’s fine.” Jason checked his phone, but there wasn’t anything new. “Shipment was all set, and we’re good for tomorrow, too.”

“Yeah, this one just needed your hand on it. Zacchara was getting bitchy about letting my underlings handle it.” Sonny rolled his eyes. “I hope he has another stroke,” he muttered. “Anyway—uh, I wanted to let you know that I checked with our guy at the PCPD. About the case.”

Jason grimaced. “And?”

“Nothing. They’re working some leads, but they don’t have much more than they did before. The guy’s DNA isn’t in the system, and there haven’t been any good sightings of him.” Sonny shook his head. “I was hoping we could get something we’d be able to work with. A way to help track something down, but—” He looked at Jason. “I’m sorry. There’s a chance they don’t catch this guy before he gets someone else.”

Jason exhaled slowly. “What about motive? I mean, they don’t have any idea why he’s doing this?”

“No, and the profile of the victims is too broad for them to do anything else,” Sonny said. “Otherwise, they’re telling every women between the ages of 19 and 40 not to travel alone or even in pairs. How do you do that without scaring the shit out of everyone, you know?”

“Yeah.” Jason scrubbed a hand over his face. “Elizabeth has a guard when she goes out with the boys, but she really don’t go anywhere else. Ford won’t let her have a guard in the hospital, so Cody meets her in the parking garage by the elevators. I don’t love it, but the alternative is having her driven to work and dropped off and picked up—”

“Which still gives someone an opening if they want it. No chance we can get her to quit her job? Tell her to go back to her art or something.”

“She likes nursing,” Jason said. “And I’d rather save that kind of question for when we need it. Like if Anthony Zacchara goes crazy again, like the time he killed his own wife.” He shook his head. “Plus, why would this guy hit the parking garage again? He didn’t go to the college again.”

“Yeah, there’s that.” Sonny nodded. “Okay. Well, it was worth a shot.”

“Yeah, thanks for checking on the case.” Jason paused. “I asked her that night, you know. To marry me.”

“I wasn’t—” Sonny paused. “I knew you were planning it, but I wasn’t sure. And I didn’t want to ask. I figure the answer was positive?”

“Yeah. Um, I’m brining it up because we’re going to—December 21 is the date. You know usually you’d be my best man, but—” Jason’s chest was tight. “Elizabeth doesn’t want a maid of honor. Because…”

“It was supposed to be Emily.”

“Yeah. So if she’s not going to have anyone—”

“That makes sense. I’m sorry. You’re sure you don’t want to wait until you’re feeling a bit more…” Sonny squinted. “I guess happier isn’t the right word…”

“The divorce is finalized at the end of this month, and Elizabeth and I just want to move on. I don’t need anything but her at the wedding. She might—” Jason sighed. “She might regret it later, but maybe she won’t.”

“Then you renew your vows or something. Throw a party.” Sonny went to the door, opened it. “But right now, maybe she’s right. Maybe it’s enough to just have each other. You’ve definitely earned it.”

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