Chapter XII: Savin' Me

Tessa was at the Metro Court, restaurant on her laptop. She was on the Port Charles Press website, researching the accident that left Jake Doe in the hospital and without a family. It was quite strange really. He was just there, in the middle of the road. Jordan Ashford was the driver. However, something about the date of the accident seemed familiar. Tessa looked up the date.

"Chrichton-Clark Explosion." Tessa observed. She then read the names of those who had been involved. "Maxie, Lulu, Nathan, and Dante." Of course, she knew Dante was Sonny's son. Over the past few months or so, Tessa and Ellison had built a friendship with Sonny. In fact, when he learned that the twins were in fact Jason's he practically promised to protect them for the sake of their father.

But, Dante was a cop. So was Nathan, so Tessa understood the issues that might come about with them talking to her. So instead she knew that she would have to settle on one of the other women. "Lulu is Dante's wife. Though from Sam's stories, Maxie seems the most morally flexible. Maxie it is." She decided. She searched Maxie Jones and found out that she worked at Crimson.

As Crimson is settled on the top floor of the Metro Court, Tessa got up and packed her things. As started to leave, a waiter stopped her. "Hey Miss, you didn't pay for your food." The waiter reminded her. Tessa nodded.

"Yeah, I know Carly, the owner. My father was her best friend." Tessa stated. The waiter shrugged.

"That may be, but I still need confirmation from Ms. Corinthos." The waiter stated. Tessa nodded.

"Fine. I'll wait." Tessa agreed. The man smiled.

"Thank you." He replied before leaving her. Tessa sat down and continued to drink her water. The chair in front of her pulled out in front of her. She was met by the gaze of her grandfather.

"Jeremy?" Tessa said. Jeremy smiled.

"Hello Tessa." Jeremy greeted. Tessa looked around awkwardly.

"Don't worry, I will be brief. I just wanted to know my granddaughter is doing." Jeremy stated, his blue eyes piercing. Tessa narrowed her own blue eyes and shrugged.

"Well, before you came along I was trying to get information on the explosion at Chrichton-Clark." Tessa admitted. Jeremy chuckled.

"And why would you do that?" He asked. Tessa ran her finger over the lip of the empty drinking glass.

"Because, my brother needs me to." Tessa stated. Jeremy nodded.

"That's great, that you and your brother are there for each other. Word of advice: if you spend too much time standing by Ellison, you might just fall with him." Jeremy warned. Tessa sat forward.

"Listen here, my mother told me about you. I know the type of man you are. Behind that smile and those baby blues there is a dangerous man. And while I may be young, I know a thinly-veiled threat when I hear it. So word to the wise, enough small-talk, why are you really here?" Tessa challenged. Jeremy chuckled.

"You little spit-fire. Straight-forward, I respect that. Well allow me to get to the point. I want to know what happened the night my daughter died." Jeremy reveals. Tessa scoffed.

"Here I was hoping that you came to see your grandchildren." Tessa joked. Jeremy remained silent. Tessa ran a hand through her hair. "If you came to Port Charles seeking some sort of retribution over an accident, you might as well go home now. Because I am not doing this." Tessa told him. She got up and began to walk away. Jeremy grabbed her hand. "Let go of me." She spat.

"Is there a problem here?" Tessa and Jeremy looked to see Carly. Jeremy let go of the Tessa. Carly grabbed Tessa's wrist. "Are you okay hun?" Carly asked. Tessa nodded. Carly looked to Jeremy and crossed her arms. "I think it's time that you go." Carly advised. Jeremy smiled and stood up.

"I will see you soon Tessa." He said before pulling her forward. "Just so we're clear, I wasn't threatening you. Trust me, I don't make thin veiled threats. I was talking about the Cassadine's." With that, Jeremy left. Tessa's eyes widened. One of the first people she met when she came to town: Nikolas Cassadine.

"Tessa!" Carly's call tore Tessa from her thoughts. Tessa shook her head to clear it and looked to the older woman. "You kind of just zoned out there." Carly commented. Tessa nodded.

"Yes, I just have a lot on my mind. By the way, you must too after everything with Michael, AJ, Sonny, and Franco, how have you been?" Tessa asked. Carly sighed.

"Not good. But um, you know Sonny is dealing with it. Even if Michael is hell bent on sending him to Pentonville." Carly admitted.

"I am so sorry. If there is any way I can help you let me know." Tessa assured her. Carly nodded.

"You can do the same with me." Carly informed her.

"Well, actually Carly, what do you know about the Cassadines?" Tessa asked. Carly chuckled.

"You might want to ask Sam. After all, she's the one related to them." Carly suggests. Tessa nods. She had no idea that Sam was a Cassadine. She smiled.

"Well, thank you for the help. My grandfather can be a bit of a handful." Tessa thanked Carly. Carly raised her hands as if to say no problem.

"Also, I talked to the waiter, your meal is all taken care of." She assured Tessa. Tessa hugged the older blonde and walked to the elevator. She went up to Crimson and took a deep breath, wondering what she would say to Maxie.

When the elevator doors opened, Tessa stepped out and frowned as she noticed that the offices now belonged to Corinthos Coffee. "The damn website was outdated." Tessa sighed before stepping back onto the elevator. "Back to the drawing board." She spat as the doors closed.

Kris typed furiously away at her computer. She was working on a case for Sam. Her phone rang beside her. She saw that t was Tessa. Kris picked up. "Hey Kiddo, what's up?" Kris asked. Tessa sighed.

"Kris, I am trying to find out about Jake Doe. Ellison and I want to find out who he is and if he has family. He was found not long after the Chrichton-Clark explosion. Since the Cassadines were behind it, I was wondering if you could check out whether Nikolas Cassadine knows Jake Doe's identity or not." Tessa explained. Kris' eyes widened.

"Cassadine? How did you find out about this?" Kris asked. Tessa took a deep breath.

"My grandfather told me not to mess with them. He said he knew for a fact that the Cassadines were behind it." Tessa told her. Kris chuckled.

"Oh really. Well, don't worry Hun I will look into this for you." Kris promised.

"Thanks Kris."

"No problem." Kris hung up and looked at Jeremy's number. She raised her thumb over it and considered calling him. She shook her head and decided that this was a face-to-face thing. She typed into her computer before pulling up Jeremy's bank records. She saw that he had used his credit card at the Metro Court. She pulled out her phone and dialed Spinelli and asked him to find out what room Jeremy was in. Of course, he was happy to oblige.

After getting the room number she grabbed her phone and headed to the room. When she got to it she knocked on the door. Jeremy opened it with a smirk on his face.

"Hello Marie." He greeted. She pushed past him.

"It's Kris. Now cut it out. I know what you said to Tessa. I want you to leave those kids alone." Kris reiterated. Jeremy shook his head.

"Not until I find out what happened to my daughter." Jeremy stated.

"She died. It was no one's fault, so get over it." Kris spat. Jeremy slammed on the table.

"How dare you speak of her like that." Jeremy spat.

"How dare I? How dare you claim to love her and then do this to her kids. They have already gone through the wringer. She died so that Ellison did not have to make a choice between her and Sam. That is all there is to it." Kris countered. Jeremy narrowed his eyes.

"Did she let go? Or did he drop her?" Jeremy retorted. Kris' eyes widened.

"If you are here to hurt Ellison, let me stop you right there. I will end you before you get the chance. And if you make it past me, then you will have Tessa. If not Tessa, then Sam. If by the grace of God, you survive Sam you will answer to Sonny Corinthos. And trust me Jeremy, you won't make it past Sonny." Kris spat. Jeremy chuckled.

"I won't have to deal with Sonny. Sonny killed AJ Quartermaine. He is on his way to Pentonville. That leaves you, who I own. Tessa, a little girl, and Sam, a woman who needs to know her place." Jeremy threatened. Kris nodded.

"Amara will make you leave." Kris pointed out. Jeremy sighed.

Jeremy walked to the door. "I don't think I am going to leave. I like it here. After all, Thanksgiving is in two weeks and I would love to spend time with my family." Jeremy said as he opened the door, motioning for her to leave.

"Yeah, well your family doesn't want you here. So you can go." Kris prompted. Jeremy laughed.

"That is for my grandchildren to decide." Jeremy spat. Kris shook her head.

"As your daughter, I promise you that if you do not leave, I will tell Amara about the affair you had with my mother." Kris spat. Jeremy shook his head.

"No you won't. Because if you do I will make sure that the drug dealers find you." Jeremy warned. Kris scoffed.

"You would do that—"

"Yes I would Kris, because you see, I never saw you as my daughter. I saw you as a mistake. I also saw you as way of keeping my real daughter safe. You failed. So, I will not be leaving." He whispered. Kris shook her head in disbelief.

"You see me as a mistake. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Considering that is why your own mother abandoned you." At that remark Jeremy slapped Kris across the face. Kris held her cheek in pain.

"Get the hell out." He ordered. Kris nodded and walked out. As she left, Jeremy thought about his mother. "Oh, Mother, I'm coming after you too." With that, he closed the door.