Previously on Rewritten…

...one night...lives lost...names erased...more on the line...a hospital, and a city in chaos.

Chapter 4:

Port Charles General Hospital: 7am

The sun rose over Port Charles General Hospital, and much of the staff from last night's ordeal, some having worked well beyond their shifts, were packed into the small on-call room, taking a nap before driving home. Robin Scorpio and Patrick Drake, however, had found themselves a nice spot up on the roof, and although the concrete was slightly less comfortable than the bunks in the on-call room, it was a lot quieter, even with the sounds of morning traffic floors below them. Patrick had been waiting for a quiet moment all night, giving Robin meaningful stares, wanting to finish the conversation they had started outside of Michael's room, but now that the time had come, his eyelids drooped and the words would not form. He stared at Robin, who had leaned back against his chest and closed her eyes. He bit his lip pensively. He needed to find the right words.

"Robin, I…"

"Mmmm?" Robin flipped open an eyelid and twisted her neck to look up at Patrick sleepily.

"Robin, I just wanted to say that…" He lost his composure, and started again. "Listen, tonight was…was…I learned a lot of things about myself and…." This time Patrick interrupted his own sentence with a yawn. Robin, who had let her open eyelid drift closed, shot a hand out to cover his mouth.

"Patrick," she said sleepily, "Can we do this later, please?" Her eyelid flickered open to gauge his response. He looked grateful.

"Thank you." Patrick said with another yawn, and wrapped his arms around her, settling them on her stomach. He smiled faintly.

"Mmmhmm." Robin answered sleepily, reaching over to flick on an old stereo that one of the doctors had brought up to the roof.

"We've got your weather coming up in a half hour, and traffic, and more on the horrific string of accidents that occurred overnight in Port Charles, you'll want to stay tuned for that. Right now, we have the Weepies for you with the World Spins Madly On…"

Nurse Epiphany Johnson turned on the radio at the nurse's station, the radio being the only thing that would keep her awake while filing all of this paperwork, but someone had to do it, she thought, moving Zombie-like.

Sonny Corinthos, blackened and bloody, stood filling out his release papers on one corner of the desk, and snapping the pen down, he looked at the whiteboard behind her listing patients, and doctors. Seeing his own son's name there, he shuddered. Suddenly, he realized that he didn't even know what room Michael was in. He felt disgusted. He looked up pitifully at Epiphany.

"Nurse – Nurse Johnson, w-what room is my son in?" he stuttered.

"Room 712, Mr. Corinthos."

"Thanks."

Sonny walked over to the waiting area, where the couches were full of sleeping friends and family. Mike slumbered on one couch, while Kate was sprawled in an armchair, and Leticia was snoozing in another holding Morgan. Max and Milo had fallen asleep with their backs against the walls. He walked over to Morgan and stroked his hair away from his face, leaving a black mark of soot on his forehead, which disturbed Sonny more than he could say. He'd marred another one of his children. Milo's eyes had flickered open, sensing movement, even as he slept, and they fixated on Sonny. Suddenly, Sonny felt like even more of a danger. He slunk away.

Woke up and wished that I was dead
With an aching in my head
I lay motionless in bed

Carly laid on the edge of Michael's hospital bed and her eyes flicked open. Disoriented for a second, she looked down at her son, and the events of last night came rushing back to her. She felt like crying again, but didn't think that she had any tears left. She looked up at Jason, sitting across from them both, reading a magazine. There was the barest change in expression, and he had no comforting words to give her, but he got up to stand beside her. She looked down at her cell phone. No messages from Jax. Where was he when she needed him.

I thought of you and where you'd gone
and let the world spin madly on

Sonny Corinthos stood in the door, and looked into the room. He wanted to be inside with the son, but he felt completely unwanted, and the thought was as effective as a locked door. Jason turned for a moment and stared at him blankly. Sonny felt ashamed. He'd left his son and he was no longer wanted. He turned away.

Everything that I said I'd do
Like make the world brand new
And take the time for you

Jax was anxiously trying to navigate his Mercedes around morning traffic, which was not budging. Swearing under his breath, he was forced to come to a complete stop. He could see the hospital looming up in the distance. He had to get to her, and more importantly, he had to think of a good explanation as to where he'd been all night. He couldn't tell her where he'd really been.

I just got lost and slept right through the dawn
And the world spins madly on

Lucky, Elizabeth, and Nikolas sat sleeping, propped up against each other in Lulu's hospital room, covered in hospital blankets. Lucky still held Lulu's bandaged hand lightly, Elizabeth's head on his shoulder, and Nik's on hers. For a brief second the Musketeers were reunited, minus one. Halfway across the world, oblivious, Luke Spencer stepped out onto the balcony of a cheap apartment, lit a cigar and watched the sunset.

I let the day go by
I always say goodbye
I watch the stars from my window sill
The whole world is moving and I'm standing still

Mac Scorpio sat in the dark of his office, the early morning sun only a light glow through the window, staring at nothing. He was thinking. Actually, he was brooding, going over his decision in his head. He'd been up all night, making phone calls, drawing up paperwork, putting his plan in motion. Now, there was nothing to do but wait for things to fall into place. Opening up a folder on his desk, he stared at the paperwork, at his resignation letter that sat on top of it all, and satisfied that it was still all there, he closed the folder again, and poured himself a shot of whiskey from the half-empty bottle on his desk. Saluting the empty room with his glass, he quickly emptied it and poured another.

Woke up and wished that I was dead
With an aching in my head
I lay motionless in bed

Nurse Bobbie Spencer and Dr. Leo Julian consulted quietly outside of their patient's room. She had inhaled a lot of smoke, but would be awake soon. Inside the room, Claudia Zacchara opened her eyes and blinked slowly as the world came into focus. She had no idea where she was…a hospital, she concluded slowly. Trying to sit up, she began coughing hoarsely, and throwing herself back down on the bed, she realized that her arms and chest were covered in gauze. And then the pain came.

The night is here and the day is gone
And the world spins madly on

Meanwhile, in the morgue, the medical examiner was starting what would no doubt be a busy day, if what he heard on the morning news was correct. He threw back tarps to reveal a young man, covered in purple contusions, whose name was Johnny Zacchara, according to the file. Beside him, the examiner was surprised to see a familiar face around the hospital, Dr. Ian Devlin, face slightly deformed from hitting something very hard. The third body, the victim of a fire, was unrecognizable, burned to the point where identification would be difficult. It was definitely going to be a long day.

I thought of you and where you'd gone
And the world spins madly on.

Sonny Corinthos trudged heavily up the stairs of his mansion to his bedroom, shrugging out of his now filthy jacket, and sagging to his bed. For the first time, he noticed that one sleeve of his grey shirt was now soaked in what was unmistakably blood. Turning his arm over, he looked at his hands, and under a layer of dirt, they too were covered in reddish-brown smears. His son's blood. On his hands. It came to him harder than it had before. It was literal. He sank to the floor and began to cry.