Chapter 17

"Nikolas, get Max outside, tell him to call the doctor. Now."

Nikolas ran outside Jason's penthouse and did as he was told. An hour later Jason was all patched up and resting peacefully upstairs in his bedroom, thanks to the pain killer the on-call doctor gave him. With Jason upstairs, Emily on the couch, and Sonny still not knowing what the heck was going on, Nikolas began to fill him in.

"And so I went to her house earlier today. She didn't answer her phone, so I decided to talk to her in person. I got off the elevator, and was about to knock, but I heard loud noises, so I hesitated."

"Loud noises, like what?"

"Like voices, things being thrown and/or broken."

"And then?"

"I listened for awhile, and then figured out that Patrick was yelling at Em… and beating her up. That's when I came in and tried to help her. She looked so… so… broken. I thought I knocked Patrick out but I didn't. He hit me over the head, and when I came to, Jason was already there."

Sonny was at a loss for words. After a few moments of processing the information, Sonny gathered himself and continued with his questions. Although he asked them aloud, he was really questioning himself.

"Why didn't Emily say anything? She knows we would have helped her. All she had to do was come to us. We would have handled it."

"That's what I was afraid of." Both men turned to see Emily attempting to sit up on the couch. Making little or no progress, Nikolas rushed over to help, but in the process, touched an old bruised that didn't quite fell like one.

"Agh!"

"I'm so sorry Em. I didn't realize…"

"It's okay Nikolas. You didn't know," Emily meekly replied, tears running down her face. "You were just trying to help."

Forgetting that Sonny and Nikolas were with Emily downstairs, Jason ran down the stairs at Emily's outburst.
"I'm fine Nikolas and Sonny, really. It's just…." Emily stopped mid-sentence when she saw the blood still on the floor.

"Oh my gosh. Who's blood is that? Are you guys okay? Where's Jason? Is he hurt? Where is he?"

"Whoa, slow down. It's okay, I'm alright. I'm right here. I was shot in the arm, but I'm fine now."

Emily was exhausted. She was just tired of everything. She was tired of all the lies. She was tired of putting everyone she loved in danger. She was tired of being scared and alone all the time. What she worked so hard to hide wasn't a secret anymore, and now her brother was hurt because of her. Looking up at Jason, Emily couldn't compose herself anymore.

"Jason, I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. That's why I never said anything. It would have been better if I just stayed away. If only…" Emily burst into tears. She cried like she hadn't for so long. The three of them knew that she needed to cry. Not knowing which one should comfort her but all wanting to, Jason advanced towards Emily and sat next to her on the couch. He held her until she fell asleep, which wasn't very long, and motioned to Sonny and Nikolas to go outside as he led the way.

"I don't think we should bother her anymore tonight with questions. We'll figure this all out tomorrow."

"Before we go, what happened? Who shot you? Where did you go?" Sonny asked.

"I went back to the apartment. Everything was how we left it. Either Patrick hasn't come back or he didn't move anything when he returned. Either way, I left the apartment and was on my way back here. Somebody shot at me. I don't know who. I didn't see anything. Judging from the fact that someone shot me, Patrick is working with someone else. He doesn't have the manpower or resources himself for something like this."

"You think the attempt was tied with Patrick?"

"Yeah. I don't have any proof, but my instinct tells me it's him."

"I agree" Nikolas chimed in. "It's too much of a coincidence to be someone else. Besides, Patrick probably knows that Jason would be the first person Emily would run to. Since he can't hurt her physically anymore, the next way to inflict pain is to hurt you."

"Well, I'm fine now. Em will stay with me and we'll figure out the rest of everything tomorrow, when she's feeling better. Sonny, be on guard, and Nikolas, I'm sending Rico with you."

"I appreciate it, but you really…"

"No buts. Emily cares about you too much. If something were to happen to you, I'm pretty sure it would be a long time before she ever would speak to me again. Besides, you were the one that wacked Patrick over the head. Do you really think that he would hesitate to retaliate?"

"Okay, but do I really have to go home? I think Em would want me around when she wakes up."

Jason knew why Nikolas really wanted to stay. As much as he hated seeing his sister with anyone, he knew Nikolas would never do her wrong. All that aside, he didn't want to overwhelm Emily. She needed her rest.

"You can come by first thing tomorrow. She really needs to rest." With that, Jason went inside his penthouse, leaving Sonny and Nikolas in the hallway.

"Sonny, do you think I could…"

"Save it Cassadine. I'm with Jason on this one. As much as we both don't want to leave her, it's the best thing to do. Goodnight."

Nikolas thought that Jason forgot about the guard and silent said a thank you to God. His prayer was cut short when Rico stepped out of the elevator and ushered Nikolas in so that they might be on their way.

A/N: Sorry guys! I have finals and papers coming up... so the next update won't be until about a week, two at the latest. Thanks for all the love and support:)

Also: it was brought to my attention that I said Patrick was her boyfriend, then her husband. He's her BOYFRIEND only! Sorry bout that!

Evil but friendly rival: thanks again!

Kaya333, Red, Meea: u make me happy!