"It's nice to be back home." Scotty thought to himself as he puttered
around the kitchen making breakfast for he and Serena. He poured thick
pancake batter onto the hot stovetop griddle and hummed in satisfaction as
the batter sizzled. He waited a few minutes and then poked at the drying
edges making sure they were the correct firmness before flipping them over.
He prepared a plate and slapped the steaming hotcakes onto the plate. He
flicked some small pats of butter onto their surface and watched as they
made there melting decent across the hot food. He yelled up to the ceiling
"Serena. Breakfast. Get them while their Hotcakes you Hotcake!" "Okay dad,"
he heard and then a thunder of footsteps and Serena and her clunky shoes
trumped back and forth upstairs in the mad rush to get ready for school.
Scotty poured syrup on Serena's pancakes making a happy face with the thick
topping. When she was little she lived for breakfast with dad and was
always trilled when he took the extra time t make happy faces and to flip
the pancakes dramatically high and onto her plate. He sighed thinking about
how fast she was growing up. The once cute little girl who doted on her
daddy was turning quickly into and attractive pre-teen who talked for hours
on the phone, wore odd shaped, large heeled shoes and constantly rolled her
eyes in his direction reassuring him once again they he was truly not "with
it" and was getting farther and farther away each day from ever being even
remotely considered cool again. He knew someday soon a boy would replace
him as the object of her affection and she would be busy with the hustle
and bustle of her own life. He hoped that she took easier and more sane
paths then he had in his life but, he made a silent vow to be their for her
no matter what she faced and how many missteps she took on her way through
life. Serena broke his thoughts as she rushed into the room. Her outfit
this morning seemed to him a mishmash of wild colors that did not belong in
nature let alone worn together but he was sure somehow that Lucy not only
had a hand in helping Serena shop for such a wild combo but would whole
heartedly approve of the getup. Serena slipped into her seat and began to
pounce on her pancakes shoveling them in as if in a contest. "Hey, slow
down there apple head your going to choke yourself." Serena gave him her
faithful eye roll. "Daaaady, don't be silly. I will not choke. I know how
to eat." "Okay, okay just don't blame be if you accidentally eat your
napkin and a few other things as you shovel your food in like that." Serena
sighed and continued eating. Scotty chuckled to himself and began his own
breakfast.
Even though she did not like it Scott insisted on driving her to and
from school. He knew that she would like nothing better than to wait with
her friends at the bus stop gossiping and laughing but, after being
kidnapped twice he could not take the chance of letting her stand on a
corner of ride the bus. Maybe he was being overprotective but, after the
horror he went through when she was gone it was a habit he had no intention
of breaking. After dropping Serena off he headed back towards the hospital.
There were some papers he had to drop off concerning some minor legal
manors in the charity Dominic had set up before she passed away from an
inoperable brain tumor. When he looked at Serena he could still see Dominic
and still feel the goodness she had given to his life. He stopped at a
light lost in thoughts about a few minor errands he had to run that day.
Suddenly he was aware that a black car was edging closer and closer to him
from behind. "What a jerk," Scott thought to himself. "Where does this guy
expect me to go?" The light changed and Scott sped away. The car followed
close behind. Scott pressed on the accelerator even harder but the strange
car continued to follow him. Scott made a sudden turn squealing his wheels
the car did the same. Now sure that this guy meant business Scott continued
to race hoping that this jerk would get tired and fall of or better yet
wrap himself around a tree. Maybe this jerk needed a little dose of reality
to see that chasing people down for daring to sit through a red light is
causing danger to not only their lives but everyone elses. Scott drove
toward a section of town where construction had not yet hit and the roads
were more dirt than cement. "If this guy wants to play a little chicken
then we might as well do it were there are fewer cars." Scott thought to
himself. He could have backed down at this point but, he was never once to
back down from a challenge. It was one of his best or one of his worst
traits depending on who you ask. They continued to race until the car from
behind gained a little more speed and pulled beside him. The car was driven
by a serious looking man with a serious looking passenger right beside him.
Suddenly it occurred to Scott that this may not be a young punk or fed up
commuter after all. These guys wanted him and he did not want to find out
at what cost. The car pushed closer to his own forcing him towards the
shoulder of the road. Rather than continue running and race the possibility
of winding up in the hospital yet again he decided to pull over. Both cars
came to an abrupt halt. The two serious looking men immediately got out and
rushed towards his car. He sat in his car feeling trapped. The men
positioned themselves one on either side of his car windows but it was the
man on the driver side who spoke. "Sonny Corinthos request your presence,
and he requests it now."
