General Hospital. Front Entrance. Afternoon.
Considering the way that Jonah had exited the hospital the last time he had been there, his re-entrance was a study in contrasts.
Nikolas strode in through the front doors, his son in his arms. He was not only surrounded by the men he had brought with him from Greece, but Ned had also arranged for additional protection once they landed. None of that compared to what Mac Scorpio had put together. The Port Charles Police Department was treating Jonah's visit as if the littlest Cassadine was a head of state. And yet the little boy for whom all of this had been arranged was fast asleep, worn out from crying and the flight, yes, but mostly -- Nikolas was trying to keep this thought at bay -- worn out from the battle his body was beginning to wage against his illness.
For a year and a half, Claudia and Nikolas had prepared for the inevitable. She went along with his elaborate contingency plans, with the piles of different currencies stashed around the world and the safe houses bought and kept for worst case scenarios. He reluctantly learned how to fire a weapon, and how to recognize and initiate dozens of signals between two people who might be in a situation where they might not be able to speak freely. Nikolas and Claudia were very good at preparing for the inevitable. But not the unspeakable.
The head of the hospital met them before they even reached the reception area.
Monica kissed Nikolas' cheek. "This way," she said, leading him to the elevator. "Where's Claudia?"
At the sound of his mother's name, Jonah awakened and looked around. "Mama?," he said sleepily.
Nikolas kissed the top of Jonah's head. "She can't be here yet," he said to Monica. "I'll explain once we reach your office."
*********************************************
Elizabeth and Matt's House.
Liz passed Cameron and Jake as they ran out of the kitchen. "What did I miss?," she asked Matt.
"There's a plate in the oven for you." Matt said, downing the last of his coffee.
"Thanks." She eyed him, taking in his suit and tie. "I thought you had today off."
"Change of plans. I'll explain later." He put his empty mug in the sink, fervently hoping that lying by omission wasn't a relationship deal-breaker. Over a year into this thing, and he still wasn't sure how it worked. On his way out, he kissed Liz as he passed her. "And don't worry -- Cameron set the table. The fork is exactly where it should be."
Elizabeth glanced down at the table, impressed with Cameron's handy-work.
*********************************************
General Hospital. Monica's Office.
Nikolas and Monica sat across from each other, while Jonah napped in Nikolas' lap.
"You need to be prepared for what Claudia is in store for when she finally arrives," Monica said. "And now this. If no one knows why Claudia isn't here while her little boy is in trouble, people are going to assume the worst."
"We don't care."
"You need to care, Nikolas."
"I'm not concerned with the small-mindedness that runs rampant in this town. No one can know that Claudia is pregnant. She knows that. She's the one who insisted upon it. If anyone finds out that she's pregnant, Spencer could die. End of story. We don't care how we're judged. When this is over, we'll all go back home together. That's all Claudia needs to know."
"I'm on your side," Monica said, gently. "But you need to be prepared. The people you are asking for help still think of Jonah's mother as someone who almost murdered one of their own."
"I can't help that."
"Yes, you can."
Monica smiled kindly at Nikolas. He would always be her son-in-law, the boy who had won Emily's heart for life.
"Pick your battles," she said. "Your biggest battle is the one with cancer. Don't get thrown off course."
*********************************************
Cassadine Island. The Cove.
The horses had been transported off the island and were being brought to a safe location. Spencer had been full of questions as he and Claudia watched each horse led below the boat deck. But Claudia had wanted him to enjoy one last free and easy day of childhood at the beach with his mother, so she told him she'd answer his questions later.
They'd had dinner. The sun had gone down. It was later.
"I don't remember her," Spencer said. They were talking about Helena.
"Well, be very happy about that. She's a terrible person. And my father is too."
"Why?," Spencer asked.
Claudia looked at Spencer, marveling at how much he had grown as a person since she'd known him. And admiring the start of his tan. With any luck, they wouldn't need the whole week. "Amico, I have to tell you some things that most grown-ups would think were wrong to tell kids."
"I'm not a kid."
"You know what? In a lot of ways, you're very grown up. But in some ways -- in all the best ways -- you're not. And I'm a little afraid to ruin all that. No good person would. But, to tell you the truth, I'm not a very nice person."
Spencer's eyes widened. "Yes, you are."
"I'm nice with you, and with Daddy, and with Jonah. But before I met you all, I wasn't very nice. And I still can be pretty bad when I want to be. That's something I shouldn't tell you either. Because most kids would take that as an excuse to get all nasty around me."
Spencer lay down flat on the sand, looking up into the night sky.
"Spence?"
"You're a nice person."
"I don't want to argue with you. So let's just say that you're free to change your mind later on. Now. Remember Costas?"
Spencer got a look of extreme distaste on his face. "Yes," he said.
When Spencer had reached the age of four, Claudia and Nikolas had sent him to a sort of pre-school in the village. Twice a week. It was the first time Spencer had been around children his age. And granted, Spencer was not like most boys his age. He was multi-lingual. He was a little over-bearing. And he was a little bit of a know-it-all. All of those things had been tempered by putting him with children of his own age. He learned to concentrate on one language, instead of flitting back and forth during one conversation. He learned to take turns. And he learned to mostly share his knowledge when it was appropriate. All good things. And it all would have been fine, except for one other little boy at the school. Costas.
Claudia had never verbalized her thoughts to Nikolas, but she believed Costas was evil. A demon child, if you will. Once she'd conducted her own personal quiet investigation of the child she was certain of it. He was the child version of her father, without the money and power. A bully. And he'd been able to bully everyone. Until Spencer arrived. Spencer was bigger and stronger than Costas. And he didn't back down. And he only used force if someone attacked him. All those things served to turn things around at the little pre-school.
Well, that and the fact that when Costas' parents came to Claudia to complain, Nikolas had been away on a business trip. So instead of meeting Claudia Cassadine, Costas' parents had encountered Claudia Zacchara. And Claudia Zacchara had let them know the jig was up.
"I understand how difficult it must be to control a child who is so charismatic," she said, using her most charming smile, and her fluent Greek. "But make no mistake. I have contacts in Athens. And if my child comes home with one more bruise from a fight that your child initiated, there will be an investigation. Not into my child's bruise, you understand, but into the kittens that have been found strangled in the village for the past two years." With that, Claudia took a sip of coffee. "I believe in protecting my own," Claudia said. "And 'my own' includes the people of this village. I hope Costas can be included in that, but I'm experienced enough to know that some things must sometimes change. How can we make sure that things don't change?"
Costas' parents had left Cassadine Island humbled.
Within two months, Costas had acted again. He had stolen Spencer's favorite toy, a Giacchi jet plane. After a schoolmate snitched, it was found, virtually untouched, in a box buried in Costas' family's garden. A minor offense, so Claudia had let it go.
One month later, Claudia suspected that that was not the worst of what Costas had done. For after six months of cajoling Nikolas, she'd finally convinced him to get Spencer a puppy, whom Spencer had named Apollo. When the puppy went missing during a field trip to the village, Claudia had gone back to the village alone that night. She never told Nikolas or Spencer, but she had found Apollo strangled. Claudia took Apollo back to Cassadine Island that night and quietly buried him in the olive grove. When Spencer awoke the next day, she told him that Apollo had been hit by a car. And they made a grave marker for the puppy. And Spencer mourned his first pet.
And then Claudia paid a visit to Costas' parents. And the family had moved from the village within the week.
The day after they left, Claudia had met her first female friend, when Talia, a woman of the village, the mother of a classmate of Spencer, had come over to the Island with some baklava. As the children ran off to play on the beach, Talia had looked at Claudia, and Claudia had looked at Talia, and with a few carefully chosen words, they both knew that Talia knew what Claudia had done. And three months later, when Claudia knew she could trust Talia enough to share why she had done it, Talia had kept quiet. And had given Claudia a Greek talisman of the Three Graces.
"Can you keep a secret?," Claudia asked Spencer.
"Yes."
"Who have you kept a secret for?"
"You."
"You have?"
"You told me I would always be your first little boy. And that you would love Jonah just as much as me, but never more."
"That's right. I did. How'd I do with that?"
"Good. I kept your secret," Spencer reminded her.
"Okay," Claudia said. "Okay. Two things. One is that when Costas took your plane, he did not take it to play with it. So why do you think he took it?"
Spencer was quiet for a long time. Claudia let him puzzle it out. It was a little too psychologically intense for an almost five year-old, but she let him take his time to try.
"So that I couldn't have it."
"Very good. Why else?"
More silence.
"So that no one else could have it."
"Better. Why else?"
Spencer sat up, scowling at her.
Claudia laughed. "I know, I'm being very hard on you, amico, but you're one smart kid. You'll get it."
The longest silence yet.
"Oh."
"What is it?"
"To show everyone that he could have it."
"Well, he only told the one other kid, you know."
Spencer slapped his palm against his forehead, like the people in the V-8 commercials.
"Careful, pirata. I don't want you hurting yourself."
"To know that he could have it!"
"Very, very good. And that, my friend, is your grandmother and my father." Claudia grimaced, knowing that she was now going to take away a little of Spencer's childhood. This hadn't been pre-approved by Nikolas, but she really couldn't see any other way around it. "Come here, Spencer."
Spencer came closer. Claudia lifted him up onto her lap.
"I know you're too big for this, but sometimes even I need Daddy's lap. And I think you'll need a lap. Because I need to talk to you about Apollo."
*******************************************
General Hospital. The Hallway Outside of Monica Quartermaine's Office.
When a man has had everything, and lost nearly everything, a schism develops between that man and the world. He is forever judged in the context of that loss. He is described to new people in the context of that loss. And even though that man may reinvent himself, no matter how successful he is afterwards, he is haunted by that loss from time to time.
Until Nikolas and Claudia had made his world crumble, Sonny had thought of himself as smart. You didn't get to scale the heights he'd achieved without being smart. It was why he demanded all of his wives and children to yield to his every demand and whim. Because he knew better. Even with Claudia, who had grown up in the business, he had made sure that he was the one who ultimately called the shots. He considered her advice, but in the end, he made up his own mind. So in addition to all of the property and relationships and respect Sonny had lost, he had also lost something crucial to his line of work: his confidence.
In the old days, he would have hung up on Nikolas Cassadine when the spoiled aristocrat had called to tell him Anthony Zacchara was loose. These days, he said an abrupt "Thanks" and hung up. In the old days, he would have demanded that Dr. Quartermaine tell him why she wanted to meet. These days, he figured she had a reason for keeping quiet and he'd find out soon enough.
The policemen hanging around the hospital entrances had thrown him off. And all these big guys hanging around the administrative floor -- they looked like a security detail.
Sonny paused outside the door to Monica's office. No matter what the subject, the upcoming conversation with Monica was probably not going to be a good one.
She'd been real mysterious on the phone. Wouldn't say if it was about Michael. Or Jason. Just told him it was important.
Better get it over with.
Sonny opened the door. Nikolas Cassadine was inside.
*******************************************
General Hospital. Examination Room.
Matt used a tongue depressor to look down Jonah's throat.
"Say aaaahhhhhhhh!," he said.
"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!," Jonah said.
"Very good. Way cool."
"Aaaghhh."
"Right. Need to take the thing out, huh?"
Matt took the depressor out and was rewarded with a sweet smile.
Monica couldn't help smiling as she watched. Finally, one of those mob idiots had done the right thing. Mob idiot meaning Claudia. And it had taken Michael's shooting to get her to do it. Sonny had been quick to let Monica know exactly who she'd saved once he saw her signature on Claudia's Will.
Monica had been furious, felt used, for months afterward. But then she had time to think. To remember the look on Claudia's face when Monica had thrown Michael's name in her face at Alexis' office. And to remember exactly what the Will had been for. In case of Claudia's death.
"What does she plan on doing if she lives?," Monica had asked. Exactly what Monica had wanted all of them to do, it turned out. Only Sonny, Carly and Jason weren't capable of that kind of growth as human beings. Apparently, Claudia was.
"What's this?," Matt said, pointing to a bruise on Jonah's arm.
"Uh-oh!"
Matt and Monica laughed. Claudia and Nikolas had done well. The rest was up to Sonny and his children. Monica hoped they could be counted on.
**************************************************
Carly and Jax's House.
The doorbell rang.
"Just a minute!," Carly called out.
Carly finished dumping the last of the toys back into the toy chest. She went to the front door. And opened it to find Lulu.
When she went to shut the door in Lulu's face, Lulu shoved her foot in the door.
***************************************************
FBI Outpost. Upstate New York Border.
There was a knock on Agent Falconeri's door.
"Yeah?," he said.
The door opened, and Jason Morgan's girlfriend walked in.
Dante got up, and started shooing her out. "No, no. I can't do this. I've been in Siberia ever since the Corinthos thing, and I can't --"
Sam shoved him back into the room, shutting the door behind her.
"This is not about Sonny. Or Jason. This is about your littlest brother."
***************************************************
General Hospital. Monica Quartermaine's Office.
Sonny came in, shutting the door behind him.
"This about Anthony?," he said.
"No," Nikolas said. "This is about Jonah."
"Jonah." The name on Claudia's Will. The name of Sonny's youngest child.
Nikolas watched a dozen expressions play over Sonny's face.
"Talk," Sonny said.
There was a phrase that Claudia had taught Nikolas, something they were supposed to use to communicate in front of an enemy. Nikolas had found it funny. It was not the sort of phrase he used easily. So it became a joke between the two of them. The way it was supposed to be used was this: an enemy is forcing your hand, so you can't let on in an obvious way that you're being coerced...
"Your grandmother," Claudia had said, "has a knife pressed up against my back. You might not be able to see the knife. You might not be able to see your grandmother. But at some point, Helena is going to make me do something I'd never do. And if she wants Spencer, believe me, it's going to be something that goes against my grain. I can't say, 'Hey, Nik, Grandma's got a knife at my back,' because that will get someone killed. So whatever she asks me to do, I do it. And if you challenge me, I say, 'You got a problem with that?' And you'll know something's wrong."
"Well, that may be fine for you, but I can't say that," Nikolas said.
"Why not?"
"Well, for one thing, it's grammatically incorrect."
At that, Claudia screamed. And dropped the subject. But for months afterward, Nikolas would insert the phrase into every conversation they had, just to prove how ridiculous it sounded coming from him. "Forgive me, Claudia," he'd say. "I can't take Spencer to the village today. I got a problem with that." At first she was furious with him for mocking her. But after awhile, it made her laugh. Because he was right: Nikolas was not the kind of man who "got a problem with that."
Until now. He got a problem with letting Sonny back into their lives. Claudia had said he would. He'd told her he could handle it. He was wrong. He "got a problem with that." He struggled not to let it show.
"Jonah's sick," Nikolas said.
Sonny's face fell. He felt weak. He sank down into a chair. "How?"
"Leukemia. It's an early stage. It's almost unheard of to find it this early, but Claudia's very protective of --"
"I don't want to hear about Claudia," Sonny scowled.
Nikolas shoved his fists into his pockets to avoid reaching for Sonny's throat. And tried to remember some of the control that came from Tai Chi. "I'm sorry, Sonny," he said, "but if you're going to see Jonah, you're going to hear about Claudia. Prepare yourself."
"He's here?" The moment Sonny had thought would never come. Jonah. His son. Right here. Now. Finally. Mike had visited Spencer in Greece. Had seen Jonah. Had described him to Sonny. But the Cassadines were taking no chances. There were no photographs ever taken of the children.
"Yes."
Sonny felt his blood coursing through his veins. "What do you need?"
"We need to find a bone marrow transplant donor. Claudia didn't match. Neither did Kristina. Will you take the test?"
*****************************************************
General Hospital. Examination Room.
Mike rolled up his sleeve while Jonah watched from a nearby table.
Matt would have preferred not have Jonah there, but Dr. Quartermaine said it would be okay. She said that Nikolas needed to talk to Sonny away from Jonah. And that Mike was Jonah's grandfather. They knew each other. Jonah would be comfortable.
"Do you remember me, Jonah?," Mike asked.
Jonah looked Mike, confused.
"It's Grandpa."
"Ciao," Jonah said.
Matt took out the needle and put it into Mike's vein.
"Uh-oh!," Jonah said.
"Uh-oh!," Matt repeated. "You have this done before, Jonah?"
Jonah touched the balloon bandaid inside his elbow.
Mike looked over at Monica. "I've been to visit. Beautiful place. Spencer's very happy."
"Ped."
"That's right, Jonah. You were calling him Ped when I visited."
Jonah held out his Giacchi fire truck.
"And that's Spencer's truck."
"Yes."
"He must like you a lot to let you have it."
"Yes."
With any luck, Monica thought, they'll all be back together soon.
******************************************************
Carly and Jax's House.
Lulu had managed to fight her way into the house. She was now sitting on the couch, refusing to leave.
"You can sit here until Jax comes to throw you out, but I'm not doing a thing for Claudia Zacchara or her spawn."
The cousins had had a complete meltdown of their relationship once Carly found out that Lulu had helped Claudia and Johnny skip town. And Carly was even more furious when Lulu didn't have the expected reaction to finding out Claudia had been responsible for Michael's shooting. There were very few intermediaries in the family anymore, or else this might have been smoothed over sooner. As it was, the cousins kept a wide berth of each other. Until now.
"He's a year and a half old. And it's not your decision. It's Morgan's."
"Morgan is a sweet-tempered, sympathetic boy. Of course, he's going to want to help. And then what? What happens when his brother -- his brother Michael finds out?"
"Jonah is a sweet, sensitive boy too. And you don't have a lock on twisted family emergencies, Carly."
"My son getting shot is not a twisted family emergency!"
"No. It's a horrible accident. That no one wanted to happen. And now you're going to let another child die because of it?"
"That's not what I'm saying."
"Then what are you saying?"
"That you don't get to do the things that Claudia has done, and walk away."
Lulu threw her hands up in frustration.
*************************************************************
FBI Outpost. Upstate New York Border.
Dante leaned against his desk.
"It might take awhile for me to get some time off, even if it is a family emergency," he said. "How bad is it?"
"It's an early stage," Sam said, "but that's not the end of it."
"What do you mean?"
"Anthony Zacchara was let out on parole this week."
"Oh God," Dante said.
"That kid is screwed whether he lives or dies," Sam said. "Unless everybody pitches in."
*************************************************************
Cassadine Island. Main House. Spencer's Bedroom.
Claudia finished tucking Spencer in.
"No more stories. It's very late, and I don't want you having any nightmares. Your father would be very angry with me for telling you everything I told you."
"Why did you tell me?"
"Because you're very brave. And very loyal. And there are some people you have to be careful with. No matter how much it goes against your bravery or loyalty." Claudia sat down next to Spencer. "Let's talk about something good."
Spencer yawned and then made a show of thinking intently. "Is the new baby a boy or a girl?"
"We don't know yet."
"What do you want?"
"I want who ever shows up. Why? What do you want?"
"I think it would be good to have a girl. And then another girl."
Claudia cracked up. "Wow. You're really into me popping out kids, huh?
"I just want to make it even. Two boys, two girls."
Claudia leaned down and kissed Spencer's forehead.
"Does Jonah know about the new baby?"
"No. Only us. And Daddy. And Aunt Alexis." Claudia stood up. "I'm going to sleep in here tonight," she said. "Just in case."
"A sleepover with just two people?"
"Exactly."
"Okay. 'Night."
"Good night, amico. Sleep tight." She kissed him on the forehead again, and then went over to a small cot across the room from him. She slipped off her shoes. Pulled down the covers. Got in. Waited.
She waited for Spencer's eyes to close. For his breath to become slow and even.
Then she got up and locked the windows and doors. She went back to the cot. She removed the gun from her thigh holster and put it on top of her pillow, at the ready. And she sat down on the cot, eyes open, watching and waiting, fingering the talisman around her neck.
***************************************************************
General Hospital. Examination Room.
Nikolas stopped Sonny before he entered the room, glancing at the security detail on either side of the door.
"Get your hands off me," Sonny said.
Nikolas backed off, but did not move away from the door. "I just want to tell you about Jonah before you go in. He's very quiet. Sensitive. Good-natured. He loves his mother. Has never spent a day away from her. Or his brother. And now he's been away from both. And me -- while I've been talking to you. Just -- he'll like you if you're quiet and nice. But if he gets upset, it probably has nothing to do with you. And he'll get more upset if he thinks he's upset you. Because he's so sensitive. Understand?"
"I have kids, Nikolas."
Nikolas studied Sonny. In the end, Sonny would do what he always did. Which was whatever he wanted to do. Nikolas had no choice. He opened the door. And Sonny saw Jonah for the first time.