AN:

Honestly I'm loving this fic. And I'm going to be sad to see it in end a few chapters. Don't worry things are going to get very exciting between now and the end.

~Kelly~

Chapter Ten

Carly opened the front door shocked to find Lulu standing there sobbing. "What's wrong?"

"That bitch fired me," she spat wiping furiously at her face. Lulu had a long time to think on the ride over to Carly's. She was going to make Kate pay for firing her. Only she didn't have an idea where to start. Thankfully, her cousin was always up for scheming especially against her boss.

"Kate? How could she do that? Jax..."

"Sold the magazine," Lulu interrupted a fresh wave of tears flowing from her brown eyes. "She... she cleaned out our desks... and … and fired us."

"Wait you mean she fired Maxie too," Carly asked surprised when the younger girl nodded. Firing Lulu made some sort of sense given Kate never wanted to hire her. But Maxie, too? Damn, she thought the other woman liked having Maxie as an assistant. What the hell was going on?

"Wow. I wonder who this new owner is. I mean, maybe I can convince them that Kate has it in for the two of you."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Of course, I would. Did Kate say who Jax sold Crimson to?"

"Uh-huh. She just tossed us out after telling some horrible lies about me."

Damn it. It looked like Carly was going to have to tell Lulu about the hotel. Of course, that meant it would be all over Port Charles by morning. She wished for once the younger girl would keep her mouth shut. "Jax sold the hotel, too."

"Can he do that?"

"I guess so. I'm really worried Lulu," she admitted reluctantly. The new owners had scheduled a meeting for the next afternoon. Something deep inside Carly warned she wasn't going to be happy. "First, the hotel and now the magazine? Who knows what kind of people Jax sold to? It's bad enough he's punishing me but to go after you, too. He's acting like Jerry."

"Is it really that bad? I always thought Jax was a bit of a marshmallow," the young girl admitted hesitantly to her cousin. Of all the men Carly had been with Jax was the most laid back.

"He can be, but ever since he started this divorce nonsense... I don't know he's changed."

"What can we do?"

"We'll start by finding out who Jax sold to. It couldn't be that difficult."

"I could ask Nikolas but..." Lulu trailed off not sure she wanted to admit how her brother had been acting. Since Lucky's death he had all but ignored her.

"But what? Has Nikolas done something else to you?"

"No not really. He's been taking care of Cam and Elizabeth is still sick and I know he blames Jason for everything. I can't believe he yelled at me like that."

"I'm sure he was just in shock. Why don't you call him up?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tom stretched his arms over his head just as someone knocked on the door. He briefly thought about turning them away. After all, he had several other cases to go over. But he also needed a break. No doubt, whoever was just outside his nephew's office wanted to talk about Elizabeth.

It was good to see how many people cared about the young nurse. It gave him hope that Elizabeth still might recover. In fact, he had slowly been making progress towards that very goal.

And really it was about time, too. He had finally gotten his niece to open up, really open up this time, about her past. Elizabeth hadn't been happy about him getting outside information, but in the end it's what caused her breakthrough.

"Come in," he said pushing aside his files. When the door opened it Tom wasn't surprised to see Nikolas walk in. "It's only been two days."

"I know and I'm sorry," Nikolas apologized sitting down across from the doctor. "Normally, I can be more patient than this."

"Look, I know you care about Elizabeth, but this isn't helping."

He stiffened at Tom's harsh words. Nikolas knew that pushing wasn't the best idea. However, at this point he was running out of even semi-good ideas. "I love her and that's not why I'm here."

"Alright. Why are you here?"

"Cam," the younger man admitted simply. His nephew kept asking question to which he didn't have answers. He was hoping Tom could help him. "He keeps asking about Elizabeth and I don't know what to tell him anymore."

Tom could understand how Nikolas was feeling. He'd only met Cam a few times but the boy was a curious ball of energy. "He's a lot like Elizabeth, isn't he?"

"Yeah. I look at him and... I can't do this without her," Nikolas confessed softly. After a moment's thought he corrected the statement. "Well, I could but I don't want to. How is she?"

"Getting better."

"Really? I mean I know you said she would but..."

The younger man's excitement was easy to see. He almost felt bad for crushing it. "I'm not going to lie Nikolas it's been slow. She has a lot of walls, more than I expected. My brother… he's an idiot and that wife of his... I found what I believe is the cause of Elizabeth's PTSD."

"So, she's going to get past this?"

"Maybe. I don't know," Tom said reluctantly. He hated not being able to help a patient but Elizabeth was a special case. She was family. Which was the very reason he shouldn't be treating her.

"But you just said..."

"I know what I said and before..." he trailed off determined not to get frustrated with the other man. "Look, Nikolas, I'll be honest with you, losing Jake hit her hard. It's not just about the PTSD anymore."

"Shit."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dante shifted nervously as he entered Jasper Jacks's office. He had no idea why the man wanted to speak with him but his instincts said it wasn't good.

His mom had worked for the business man briefly before leaving town. A day which, to be honest, couldn't have come fast enough for him. He loved his mother but the woman nearly ruined months of undercover work. Dealing with his Aunt Connie was bad enough.
"You wanted to see me," he asked nervously opening the office door.

"Come in. How is your mom doing?"

"Fine. Happy to be back home, I guess."

Jax could understand the sentiment. There were times he dreamed about leaving Port Charles and never coming back. "It's too bad she didn't stay. Olivia made a wonderful assistant."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that. But I'm gonna guess that's not why you invited me up here."

"Very true. Your mother..." he paused taking a moment to carefully word his statement, "well, she's very worried about you working for Sonny. And she's a bit of a talker, especially when it comes to you."

"Look, Mr. Jacks, I don't understand what you're trying to say."

He smiled at how uncomfortable the younger man looked. Dante had no idea what his mother had done. He almost felt bad for the guy. Almost. "I know you're a cop," Jax said bluntly.

"Because my mother told you."

"Correct."

Dante swore a blue streak in his head. He couldn't believe his mother would risk everything, including his life. Although, he supposed it could have been worse. She could have told Sonny instead.

"Who else did she tell?"

"No one, as far as I know."

"So what do you want," the detective demanded to know.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't play games. Just tell me what you want to keep silent."

Jax shook his head at Dante's anger. Either the boy was stupid or simply hadn't done his research. "You misunderstand."

"No, I don't think that I do," Dante said firmly crossing his arms at his chest. He didn't really care what the other man wanted for his silence. To him, it was worth it to see Sonny Corinthos in prison.

"I'm not going to tell anyone you're a cop. And do you want to know why?"

The news was slightly surprising despite knowing the Aussie hated the mob boss. Dante figured like everyone else Mr. Jacks would want something in return for his silence. "I have to admit I'm curious."

"The reason is simple really. I want Sonny in prison probably more than anyone."

"I doubt that," he snorted in reply. No one wanted Sonny taken out more than him. It's the only reason he'd gotten this case.

"All you need to know is that I can help you take down Corinthos. That is if you're willing to take our help."

"Our help? Who the hell else have you told," Dante shouted suddenly very worried that his case was about to be blown to hell.

"No one, yet. But the person I have in mind is very motivated to help you with this case."

"Why do I feel like you're not giving me a choice here?"

All humor immediately faded from the Aussie. His easy going manner disappeared leaving a cold businessman in its place.

"Because I'm not."