\Thursday, November 11, 2010

Cassadine Greek Estate: Bedroom

Elizabeth felt slightly sluggish and had to force herself to open her eyelids. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this tired. Even during her pregnancy, she hadn’t been so tired.

She rubbed her eyes and yawned as she propped herself up on her elbows and blinked, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. She was lying in an ornate capopy bed with heavy bedding and plump pillows. The room was elegantly decorated and looked nothing like the room she shared with her husband.

Just as the last events she did remember started to filter through her brain — the strange car, the mad dash through the woods, the call to Jason — there was a movement from the corner of her eye and Elizabeth turned, half expecting to see Claudia Zacchara or even her father Anthony, who had died a year earlier but it wouldn’t have surprised Elizabeth to find out it was not the truth.

It was neither of them. It was no one connected to Jason’s world. Instead, it was Elizabeth’s own enemy, one she’d was sure had forgotten her long ago.

Helena Cassadine smiled from her seat in the elegant chaise to the left of the bed. She was aged, so much more than the last time she’d been in Port Charles. Elizabeth couldn’t believe how frail the woman looked, so thin and gaunt. But the smile…the look in her eyes…Helena’s body may have aged terribly, but her mind was still as evil as ever.

“I was wondering when you might wake,” Helena purred. “I so hope the chloroform didn’t have any negative effects.”

Elizabeth was careful to keep her face passive, a trait she’d learned from Jason. Never let them know what you’re thinking, he’d instructed, thinking to prepare her for the unthinkable — a kidnapping by his enemies to force his hand.  “What do you want?” she demanded flatly.

Helena’s smile widened. “That’s for me to know, my dear, and for you to find out.”

Thursday, July 25, 2024

Wyndemere: Study

Nikolas was standing by the ornate sofa when his butler brought Nadine to him. He’d been somewhat surprised to hear from her today as he knew she was planning to tell her daughter about their engagement this week and had also intended to spend as much time as possible with her daughter to help her adjust to it.

Perhaps it had gone better than she had planned, Nikolas decided. Marrying Nadine was a solid idea and one that his son had supported from the beginning. Nikolas had spent the majority of his life alone and was unwilling to finish it that way. He genuinely enjoyed Nadine’s company and wanted to bring her a little happiness.

Nadine stood nervously in the doorway and cleared her throat. “I have…I have to tell you something,” she said softly. “I feel awful about it but I can’t…I have to tell the truth–”

“Amalia didn’t take the news well,” Nikolas guessed. “Well, you thought it might be that way–”

“No, no…” Nadine bit her lip. “I haven’t told her yet. I, ah, I…there are some things that have been happening that I haven’t told you about. Your sister…she came to talk to me…”

He frowned. “Lulu? You and she don’t get along…in fact I don’t believe you’ve been in the same room since…” he waved a hand. “Well…since she…”

“That’s why she wanted to talk to me. She felt there were details that I was not privy to and she was right. Johnny was drunk that night and thought she was me.”

“Oh.” Nikolas furrowed his brow. “Well, I imagine that changed some things for you. Or would have if you’d know this ten years ago.”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “I suppose I might have been more understanding. We could have gone to counseling or…I don’t know,” she repeated slowly, “I just wish I could have known this then. I went to talk to Johnny about it…and…I’m not sure how it happened…”

“You slept together,” Nikolas said flatly. He moved to sit behind his desk. He always felt more control there.

“Yes,” Nadine admitted. “Afterwards, I felt awful. I felt like Lulu…living in the moment and not thinking about the consequences…” She lifted her chin in the air and stared the ceiling. “I don’t really date. I haven’t been with anyone since Johnny. It was the first time since before my miscarriage, actually.”

“Eleven years,” Nikolas murmured. It was a long time be alone, to be without someone to love and depend on. Could he say without a doubt if Emily walked through that door, he wouldn’t do the same? Take her in his arms, promises to Nadine be damned?

“I am so sorry,” she said, a tear sliding down her cheek. “I couldn’t…I couldn’t keep this from you, I couldn’t marry you and lie–”

“I accept that you love Johnny Zacchara,” Nikolas said. “I accept that you will never be able to stop. It’s a fact of life, Nadine, and I proposed to you knowing it.” He rose to his feet. “If you think there’s a chance you can make it work with him, to give your daughter her parents back then you have an obligation to do so. But don’t go back to him just because you slept with him, Nadine. Because if you do that and your heart isn’t in it, you won’t just hurt yourself or Johnny, you’ll be hurting Amalia all over again.” He paused. “And I think you’ve both done enough damage.”

Nadine inhaled sharply and nodded, accepting the honesty in that. She and Johnny had done far worse to their daughter than they’d done to each other and they would have to live with that for the rest of their lives. “I do still love him,” she admitted. “But I don’t think we can ever make it work between us. We’ve…we’ve hurt each other so much, even more since the divorce than before or during. I can’t go back to that, I can’t do that to myself.” She took a deep breath. “I made a mistake, Nikolas. I hope that you can somehow forgive me but I understand if you don’t want to marry me–”

“On the contrary,” Nikolas interjected. “I don’t see why this should change our plans. If nothing else, it proves that we are well-suited. I know that I can trust you to be honest with me in all things, and you really can’t place a price on that.” He crossed the room and placed his hand on her shoulder. “I asked you to marry me because I have always felt safe with you. You are one of my best friends and if not for you, I would not be standing here. I would have given in to my brain tumor all those years ago and missed out on raising my son. I want to marry you so that I might be able to give you the same sense of security and happiness you have allowed me.”

Nadine exhaled slowly and nodded. “Okay. Okay. I can…that’s…” she smiled faintly. “You’ve always been so good to me, Nikolas. I know this is a good idea. In fact, I’m going home to tell Amalia now. I don’t want to put this off anymore. It’s time I moved on with my life.”

Morgan Home: Living Room

Juliet was about to lose her mind. It had been four days and three hours since her father had left for Greece and they hadn’t spoken to him yet. No indication of the status of the situation and whether or not Juliet had a mother.

Honestly.

Things around here had gone from varying shades of bad worse for just about everyone. Cam and Molly had had a falling out of some sort and Cam was stewing about it. It was kind of refreshing to see her brother fail where a girl was concerned so that she was actually enjoying. Jake was not exactly pissed at the world anymore but now he was quiet and she didn’t know what to think about that.

Amalia was irritated that her plan to reunite her parents had fizzled. If Lulu had confessed as instructed, it hadn’t garnered the expected reaction. Juliet didn’t think Lia had thought that one through.

Her other close friend, Cece, was arguing with Mal every chance they got. Cece wouldn’t say exactly what the problem was but Jules had the distinct impression it was about sex , or the lack thereof. Mal was such a moron, Juliet thought. He wasn’t even sixteen yet, not for another few months and Cece had just turned fifteen. They were way too young for that crap.

Juliet stared at her cell phone and ignored the television in the background. “Ring,” shem uttered.

“You’re going to go blind if you stare at that for much longer.” Cam flopped down on the sofa and reached for the remote.

“How are you so calm?” Juliet demanded. “This just proves that boys are either dumb as hell or aren’t human at all.”

“Ha,” Cameron said dryly. “I can’t control it, so why stress? Is it going to make Dad call any faster?”

“You are so weird,” Juliet muttered. They sat in silence for a few moments.

“What is it, exactly, that girls want to hear?” Cameron asked. She stared at her older brother in shock.

“Are you kidding me?” she asked. “Cam, you broke that code years ago. Dad had the talk with you when you were twelve and he found Jenny Lawrence in your room.”

“Cute,” Cameron scowled. “That’s not what I mean.”

“Well, you’re going to have to be more specific,” Juliet said. “I don’t speak your language.”

“Just forget it,” Cameron flipped the television to a baseball game. Juliet waited and finally, he broke. “Don’t girls like flowers?”

“Generally.”

“Wouldn’t you call to thank someone who sent them to you?” he demanded.

“Depends,” Juliet responded. “Was it because you were actually sorry or did you just want to gloss over the whole thing?”

Cameron frowned. “It can’t do both?”

“What are we talking about?” Jake asked, flopping down next to his brother.

“Molly is resisting Cam’s legendary charm,” Juliet teased.

Jake snorted. “He was bound to fail sometime.” Cameron socked him in the arm. “Hey! Don’t take your problems out on me. It’s not my fault Molly showed some sense!”

“Dude, I sent her flowers,” Cameron told him. “It wasn’t even roses. It was daisies and tulips and crap.”

Jake frowned. “That didn’t fix things?”

“Boys,” Juliet sighed leaning back against the sofa. “It’s amazing you can get yourselves dressed in the morning. Cam, contrary to all the movies and the books, flowers do not automatically fix anything. Think about why Molly’s pissed at you and then figure out how you can fix it from there, okay?”

“If I could speak girl, I wouldn’t be asking my fourteen-year-old sister for advice,” Cameron muttered.

Juliet narrowed her eyes, but before she could take the bait, her cell phone rang. And not just any ring, but specifically the ring tone she’d picked for her father. She stared at the phone so long that Jake almost growled at her and snatched it from the table. He pressed the speaker phone button. “Dad?”

“Hey, guys,” Jason’s voice sounded a bit weary but not necessarily disappointed. “I’m sorry I didn’t call before. The time difference…”

“It’s okay,” Juliet interrupted. “What’s…what’s going on there?”

Jason was silent for a long moment and the three siblings stared at each other, dreading whatever would come next.

“It’s her.”

At first, the words didn’t register. But then, Juliet shot to her feet and stared at her oldest brother in shock. Cameron whooped and picked his sister up and swung her around in a wide circle.

“Are you sure?” Jake demanded. “Is she okay? What happened?”

“I’m sure, Jake,” Jason assured him. “She was kidnapped by Helena Cassadine but hit her head almost immediately afterwards. She’s had amnesia all this time and she doesn’t really remember much. The more we talk, the more comes back to her, but there are a lot of holes.”

“But it’s definitely Mom?” Juliet asked. Tears slid down her cheek and she looped her arm through Jake’s, staring at the phone, wishing Jason had let her get one of those video cell phones. What she wouldn’t give to be able to see her mother’s face. “Is she with you right now? Does she remember us?”

“She remembers small things,” Jason said. “Cam’s curls, Jake jumping from every surface in sight…your smile. And yeah, she’s here.”

“Can–” Cameron swallowed. “Can we talk to her? Just…just to say hi?”

There was a shuffle as Jason put them on speaker phone. A voice that Cameron had remembered only in his dreams came through the line and he had to sit down. “Cameron?”

“Mom…” He put his head in hands. “It’s….it’s so good to hear your voice.”

“You sound so grown up,” Elizabeth said, wistfully. “Where’s Jake? And Juliet?”

“We’re right here, Mom,” Jake said roughly. He set the cell down on the table and wrapped an arm tightly around his sister. “I’m…I’m really glad to hear you.”

“Hi, Mom, it’s me, Juliet,” she couldn’t hold back from saying.

There were some sounds from the other side and they heard a door shut. “I’m sorry, guys. She’s having a rough time,” Jason said. “It’s been…it’s been hard. She didn’t remember a thing until I walked in the door.”

 

“Are you bringing her home?” Juliet asked softly.

“Soon,” Jason promised. “Maybe a week. She needs some time…to work things out. “

“Right, right,” Cameron said. He held Juliet’s hand tightly. “We’ll handle everything here, Dad. We’ll get…get a room ready and we’ll tell everyone so it won’t be a shock. You just take care of Mom.”

“Thanks, Cam. I’ll call again in a day or so.”

After they hung up the phone, the Morgan children sat in silence. “I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to say now,” Juliet murmured. “She’s alive, Dad’s with her and she’s okay. We have a mom, guys.”

“We should call people,” Cameron said. “Aunt Car, Mal’s parents, Mrs. Zacchara–” He stood. “I have to go tell Molly.”

Jake blinked. “Right now?” he asked. “This second?”

“Absolutely this second,” Cameron nodded. “This is important stuff and you tell the important people the important stuff.” He disappeared out of the living room and a few moments later, they heard the front door open and close.

“Who do we call first?” Juliet asked. “I think we should call Aunt Car. She can spread the news faster.”

“Do whatever you want, Jules.” Jake stood and scratched the back of his neck. “I have to…I have to go take a drive.”

Juliet scowled as her other brother left. Boys. There just wasn’t any living with them. They had this incredible news to celebrate and their first instinct was to leave her alone to deal with it.

Gah.

Drake Home: Study

Robin knocked lightly on the open door to Patrick’s study. He glanced over at his wife and closed the medical journal he’d been reading. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Robin perched on the edge of the oversize arm chair and sighed. “Mal’s over at Steve’s house. I found him after a few calls. I thought about dragging him home but it would just make things worse.”

Patrick exhaled slowly and leaned back in his chair, the well worn wood creaking with the movement. “You’re probably right,” he agreed. He scrubbed his hands over his face. “What do we do now?”

“I don’t know,” Robin admitted. “I just…I wish I knew where all this anger and resentment was coming from. It just switched on one day and I don’t know why.”

Patrick opened his mouth but hesitated. He scratched the back of his neck. “I’ve been…I think…I thought I was doing okay at being a father. I mean, we’ve made it this far and they’re all still alive and healthy, so I thought that was a good thing but maybe I did something wrong. Maybe–”

“No,” Robin shot to her feet and shook her head. “No. That’s just not true, Patrick. You are an incredible father and you’ve have done everything you can since you found out Mal was yours. I’m the one that kept pushing you away and rejecting you…if I had just accepted you and trusted you sooner, there wouldn’t have been a chance for gossip and it never would have been passed down to Mal.” She crossed the room and lowered herself into his lap. “Sometimes I wonder if I pushed you into this life and if maybe you didn’t want it…that you feel like you didn’t have a choice…”

“I’ve come to realize,” Patrick began, “that just because I didn’t have the idea to have Mal or I didn’t suggest planning Anna or moving here…that doesn’t mean that they weren’t great ideas. I’m glad you got pregnant. It forced me to grow up and look at my life and realize what was missing. I’m glad you wanted to move to this house so we could give Mal the kind of childhood he deserved. I’m glad you wanted another child, because Anna is precious to me and I am glad we didn’t plan Jeff, that he was just another wonderful surprise. Robin, just because you made the important decisions…it doesn’t mean I didn’t want them too. I like our life, I love our kids and I’m getting there with the minivan.”

She laughed and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Well then, I’m glad, too.” Robin threaded her fingers into his thick dark hair, lingering over the threads of silver. “All I ever wanted was for you to be as happy with our life as I am and the more Mal railed at you for the things that happened all those years ago…the more I worried that maybe he had a point. That this was something you settled for because you’re a good guy and you don’t walk out…”

“I won’t lie,” Patrick said, “there are moments I think about what life could have been without them. It would have been quiet, which is always nice, but it would have been boring.” He paused. “And I would have felt very violent towards anyone who would have shared it with you.” He patted her hip. “So Mal…”

“I think we should just try to ride it out,” Robin said. “All the explaining and the rationalizing in the world won’t fix this. Time will.”

 

“Well, you’ve been right so far,” Patrick teased. He leaned forward and kissed her again.

 

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Cameron stopped just inside the courtyard when he saw Commissioner Lucky Spencer sipping an iced tea and spooning up a bowl of chili. He knew, somewhere in his head, that this man had been a father to him once. When Cam looked at him, sometimes he could even remember calling him Daddy.

But he also knew the facts of the situation — that Lucky had been a drug addict who had only gone to rehab when he thought Jake was his son. Not for his mother, and certainly not for him. He knew that Lucky and his mom had remarried but the marriage had fallen apart after only a few months, when Lucky had slept with Sam McCall.

He knew that Lucky had given up custody of him so Jason could adopt him and he knew that Lucky had later tried to contest the adoption after his mother had disappeared.

All of that had been fourteen years ago. In that time, Lucky Spencer had faded from Cameron’s immediate concern. He’d been the guy who occasionally arrested his father or busted Cam and Morgan for curfew violations.

But today, Cameron looked at him and saw the man he knew had been the first great love of his mother’s life and he realized he couldn’t walk past him today of all days and not say a word.

Lucky Spencer deserved to know that Elizabeth Morgan, a girl he’d met in this courtyard over twenty-five years ago, was alive somewhere in this world.

Cameron stopped in front of him. “Commissioner, do you have a second?”

Lucky glanced up and smiled faintly. “Cameron…of course.” He gestured for him to take a seat. “I don’t know why I’m surprised, I’ve already been interrogated by Juliet and Amalia. I should have figured you or Morgan, or even Mal would be next. What scandal from the past are you looking into?”

Cameron lowered his lanky frame into the chair across from him. “None, really. I just..I learned something in the last hour that I came to talk to Molly about but…I saw you and I figured…you have a right to know.”

Lucky set his spoon in the bowl and sat back. “You’re not in any trouble, are you?”

“No, no.” Cameron shook his head. “I just can’t believe I can say this out loud. Mom’s okay.”

Lucky stared at him for a long moment. “I’m…I’m going to need you to repeat that.”

“Jules had that theory about Helena, which I guess you know about. She was right. Mom’s been in Greece all these years. Dad wasn’t able to give us a lot of details but she hit her head on a rock and lost her memory.”

“So she wasn’t…she wasn’t brainwashed?” Lucky asked. “She simply lost her memory?”

“Dad said things are coming back to her, like all she needed was someone from her past to talk in her front door.” Cameron hesitated. “He’s bringing her home in about a week. He wants to give her some time to adjust to everything, but she wants to come back.”

“All these years…” Lucky murmured. “I hoped, I prayed but I really began to believe that she was gone.” He closed his eyes and bowed his head. “When Sam was pregnant with Chloe and I was so scared, the only person I wanted to talk to was Elizabeth and I couldn’t.” He opened his eyes. “Cam, I know you know…that I tried to contest the adoption–”

“Yeah…Dad never said anything but you pick up things living here.” Cameron was silent for a moment. “You know, Aunt Car talks about the past a lot but she’s always glossed over the fact that you used to be my father…that until Mom got married to Jason, I was your son…not his.”

“That’s true,” Lucky replied. “You were my son almost from the second you were born. When your Mom came home from California, we were reconnecting and I loved you so much. I know it didn’t always seem like it, I know you’ve heard enough stories to think otherwise, but I didn’t agree to let Jason adopt you because I didn’t love you.”

Cameron stared hard at the table. “I’m not saying I wish you hadn’t,” he said slowly. “Because I’ve had a good life, even without Mom being there. Jason’s been a great father and I’m glad I was able to grow up with Jake and Jules–”

“That’s why I did it,” Lucky broke in. “Your mom and Jason were engaged and he was making up for lost time with Jake, but he didn’t want you to feel left out so he would take you both out. The original plan was that Jason would raise Jake, but that I’d still have visitation rights with you. But the closer it got to the wedding and the closer it got to the point where you would move in with him, the more I realized that none of us were really being fair. I loved you, Cam, I couldn’t have loved you less than if you were my own blood but I did a piss poor job of showing it. Your mom and I made a lot of mistakes the second time we were married, but a lot of them were mine. I didn’t kick my drug habit until I thought Elizabeth was pregnant with my child, so I’m sure that made her feel like that I didn’t think you were enough.”

Lucky paused. “I spent a great deal of time as your father being bad at it and I couldn’t see a way to stop that from happening in the future. I was never going to have full custody of you, never live with you full time again. But I knew that what Jason and Elizabeth had…that was going to last. They were going to have more kids, she always wanted a big family, she never would have stopped at two, or three. I decided that the best way to love you, Cam, was to let you go, and give you a full time family.”

He took a deep breath. “After your mom…disappeared, I was upset when I filed for custody. She wasn’t just my ex-wife, she’d been my best friend, the other half of my soul. Everyone was sure Jason’s enemies were behind it and the longer she was gone, the more sure everyone that she was dead. I wanted to protect you from Jason’s life. I had no hope of getting Jake or Juliet away from him, but you…I might be able to protect.  But after Audrey died, my father…he told me to forget it. That Jason Morgan had more connections and money that I did, that Carly was going to fight tooth and nail to keep you three together while he was gone…” Lucky shook his head. “I know I can’t ask you to understand it, Cam–”

“No, for the first time…I do.” Cameron pushed himself out of his chair. “I’m glad I told you. Mom would have wanted to know and I hope when she comes home, you’ll make time to come and see her. I can’t imagine anything that would help her remember more than her oldest friend.”

“Thanks.” Lucky flicked his eyes toward the window of Kelly’s where they could see Molly waiting on a customer. She flashed a smile to the couple she was serving and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I noticed things are frosty between you and my best waitress.”

Cameron scratched his nose. “She’s failing to fall for my charm. Morgan always said I should marry the first girl who refused to fall at my feet because life would be boring with someone who worshipped me.” His voice faltered when he realized what he’d just said. He frowned.

Lucky stood and put a hand on his shoulder. “You know, it’s a sobering moment when you look at the woman you love and realize she’s the only person you want to spend forever with.” His grip tightened for a moment. “Cherish it and her, Cam. The second you take it for granted, you’ll lose it.”

Lucky took a twenty out of his wallet and dropped it on the table before exiting the courtyard. Cameron took a deep breath and pulled open the door.

At the sound of the bell jingling over the door, Molly turned. Her smile fell just a little when she saw him and her expression turned wary. “Cam.”

“Hey…” Feeling uncomfortable, he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Can you take a break? I need…I need to talk to you.”

Molly bit her lip and glanced back at the counter. “Helen, can you cover my table for a few minutes?” she called. The other waitress nodded and Molly followed Cameron outside. “What’s up?”

“Um…” Cameron shuffled his feet. “You got the flowers right?”

Molly pursed her lips. “Yeah…all four deliveries. You nearly gave my father a heart attack by the way. I don’t think he wants to know I’m not a little girl anymore.” She tilted her head to the side. “What did you think you were going to accomplish with all of that?”

“I don’t know…I thought you might call me at least,” Cameron muttered. “That we could talk about what happened–”

“I said everything I needed to say the other day, Cam,” Molly sighed. “If that’s everything–”

Cameron caught her arm before she could escape back inside. “Wait, wait, I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to argue. I came–” He took a deep breath. “My dad called.”

Molly stepped towards him. “Cam…”

“It’s my mom. In Greece. She’s alive.” He didn’t know what do with his hands except touch her and he was pretty sure he no longer had carte blanche where she was concerned. He settled for shoving them back into his pockets. “I talked to her.”

“Cam…” Molly pressed a hand to her mouth, her dark eyes wet. “She remembers you? What happened to her?”

“She was kidnapped by Helena, but hit her head. She had amnesia and has been living as Helena’s granddaughter all these years. She didn’t remember anything until my dad walked in.” He stopped for a moment and swallowed hard. Jules was right. If he was going to fix this, he was going to have to think hard about what Molly had said that day in his room and go from there. Flowers and glib words weren’t going to get her back and he was starting to realize just how much he wanted that. “Fourteen years with no memory of her life but my father walks in, and she just knows him in an instant.”

“That’s so beautiful,” Molly murmured. “After all that time, all that’s happened, she looked at him and knew.”

“She doesn’t remember much but she knew she had kids. She took it pretty hard when she heard our voices, especially Jules.”

“You were all so little when she left,” she replied softly. “When it sinks in how much she missed…”

“It’s going to be hard, I know, but I guess…I mean, she’s alive. She’s been safe and relatively okay all these years. I can’t ask for more than that.” Cameron paused. “Molly, about what happened–”

“I don’t want to talk about!” Molly shook her head. “I appreciate you coming to tell me–”

“Molly, you have to let me fix this, okay?” Cameron broke in. “You can’t just walk away from what we’ve got, it’s too important–”

“Please stop it–”

“Molly, it was never about the sex!” He exploded. “God damn it, what do I have to say for you to believe me? Do you want me to get on my hands and knees and grovel because I swear to God, I just might—”

“Cameron,” Molly hissed, grateful for the empty courtyard but anyone could be in the adjacent parking lot! “Stop it!”

“You are driving me absolutely crazy,” Cameron muttered, turning away from her and shoving his hands through his hair. “Do you know how hard I usually have to work to get a girl?”

Molly narrowed her eyes. “Oh, yeah, this is going to fix things.”

“You know, at college, all I have to do is snap my fingers and I’ve got a line forming,” Cameron all but growled. “But you…you are really trying my patience.”

She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. “This is so attractive, Cameron, I might just swoon. Are you finished with your tantrum?”

He jabbed his finger in her face. “You listen to me, Molly Lansing, if you think I’m going to stand here, declaring my love for you like a god damn idiot while you just snark at me, you’re delusional!”

Molly’s eyes grew wide and she blinked. “Wait….what did you just say to me?”

“Damn it, Molly, what did you think this was about?” he demanded.

Now it her turn to jab a finger at him, except she didn’t jab it in the air. She jabbed his chest. Hard. “Listen up, Cameron Morgan,” she drawled sarcastically, “if you think I’m going to stand her and have you yell at me about loving me…then you’re the delusional one.” She jabbed him again. “You’re going to say it in a god damn normal tone of voice!”

He grabbed her hand to still it. “I’m sorry…” His voice was softer now. “Molly, you’re the most important person in the world to me and I love you.” His grip on her hand tightened. “Please say you forgive me for being an idiot.”

“I don’t know,” Molly said, with a teasing smile. “If I give in this easily, you might get cocky and think I’ll forgive you for anything.”

“I know you think I’ve probably said that to a dozen girls, but I promise…I would never say it unless I meant it,” Cameron assured her.

“No, I know that much about you.” Molly tugged her hand from his and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You’d better learn to harness that charm, buddy, because it’s mine now. Understood?” Her tone softened. “I love you, too.”

He grinned and leaned down to kiss her, sealing their promise. Because Lucky was right — once you found that one girl…you’d better hold her tightly and never let her go. He was never going to make that mistake again.

Nadine’s Home: Sun Porch

Amalia trudged up the back steps, exhausted from the day at the Morgan house. She had been at Juliet’s side, fielding calls and planning a redesign a guest bedroom. She was thrilled for Juliet, of course, and for Jake, because this would mean the rift in their family would finally heal but it just reminded Amalia just how lucky the Morgans were.

Like Amalia, Juliet and her brothers had grown up with a large gaping hole in their family but they had been secure in the knowledge that their father loved them and they had mostly believed that their mother had loved them as well. Now, today, they knew these things for certain. After fourteen years, the secret behind Elizabeth Morgan’s disappearance had been solved and it would fix everything that was wrong for the Morgan family.

Amalia was not having the same luck. She’d found out why her parents divorced and a piece of her could understand why they were still so bitter towards one another, but there had been no dramatic confrontations and she wasn’t even sure if Lulu Spencer had lived up to her part of the bargain. She scowled. She’d have to come up with a way to punish the woman, something worthy of Claudia Zacchara’s niece.

Truth be told, Amalia wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to fix what was wrong with her parents. In fact, if she really took the problem and examined it, she’d have to admit that what  was wrong was that Johnny Zacchara had had no business marrying Nadine Crowell. They had been ill suited to one another and if not for Amalia, would never have looked twice for each other.

It was her fault her parents were like this.

“You look so serious,” her mother said, holding the screen door open so Amalia could walk through. She collapsed on the piano bench, running her fingers over the ivory keys.

“It’s been a weird day,” Amalia answered, knowing that Juliet expected her to tell Nadine the good news. She knew her mother would want to know what had happened to her old friend, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be as happy as someone ought to be when sharing something like this.

“Hmm…” Nadine sat in one of the wicker chairs and tapped her fingers against her thigh. “Amalia, I know that I haven’t been the best mother to you or that your father…I know we haven’t done right by you.”

Amalia remained silent but she looked at her mother finally, realizing how nervous she was. Her mood took an upswing. “I wouldn’t say that,” she said, even though she would and had on many occasions.

“Your father and I have a complicated relationship, but I know he’d agree with me when I say it’s time that it stopped,” Nadine continued. “We need to find a new set of rules to play by so that you’re not constantly in position to pay for our mistakes. We’re not going to fight over residential custody anymore.”

Amalia just blinked at her, wondering where this could possibly be going. “Okay.”

“I won’t be living in Port Charles after this summer,” Nadine continued, “I’m marrying Nikolas Cassadine and I’ll be moving to London.”

Amalia got to her feet. “What?” She had to have heard that wrong — because this was not part of the plan. “I’m not going to London!” she stated flatly. “And you can’t make me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Nadine said quickly. “I know how close you are with Juliet and you’re starting high school, I want you to graduate with your friends.”

“I don’t understand,” Amalia said. “I don’t get any of this. How can you move to London and still let me…” she trailed off. “Oh.” She slowly lowered herself back to the bench. “I’ll be living with Dad.”

“We haven’t worked out all the details,” Nadine said quickly. “But I imagine your father will be in Port Charles on a more permanent basis, even though I guess he’ll be still be staying at Crimson Manor off and on for work.” She hesitated. “Nikolas and I discussed it and we’ll be making long trips back to Port Charles so it won’t really feel that different.”

“You don’t want to deal with me anymore,” Amalia countered. “You’re tired of it, so you’re going to foist me on Dad–”

“That’s not true!” Nadine said quickly. “I just didn’t want to disrupt your life–”

“You’re ruining everything!” Amalia cried. She shot to her feet. “This isn’t what I wanted! How can you marry Nikolas? What about Dad?”

“Baby…” Nadine stood and took a cautious step towards her daughter. “Your father and I are divorced. You know that.”

“You know what’s going to happen! Dad’s just going to go back to Crimson Manor all the time, I’ll never see him. You guys just don’t want me anymore, you never did!”  She grabbed a ceramic vase from the top of the piano and threw to the left of her mother — it shattered against the far wall. Nadine looked at the shards on the floor before raising her stunned eyes back to her daughter.

“Amalia–”

“Well you don’t have to worry!” Amalia yelled. She stormed back to the screen door. “I won’t be around anymore!”

She clattered down the steps and darted around the corner of the house, where she stopped and leaned against the wall. She just wanted to see if her mother would bother to come after her.

She never did.

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