Spinelli went back to Mack's house to stay with Georgie and monitor her concussion. He kept her awake by talking with her about Ibiza. When Mack got off duty, Spinelli went to the hospital to see Jason.
He arrived to find Carly and Elizabeth arguing outside Jason's room. Patrick was talking to him and had sent both of them outside. Carly was blaming Elizabeth for the injuries to Jason's hands.
"Has Jason had you looking for Michael?" Carly asked when she saw Spinelli.
Before he could answer, Patrick told them they could go in.
"I have to have surgery," Jason said.
Carly glared at Elizabeth.
"Don't start, Carly," Jason said firmly. "It's Diego's fault, not Elizabeth's."
Carly opened her mouth to say something, but doubled over in pain.
"Oh God!" she gasped, holding her stomach.
"What's wrong?" Spinelli asked.
"Is it the baby?" Jason asked.
"Baby?"
"She's pregnant, but having trouble; she may be having a miscarriage."
As soon as Carly had doubled over, Elizabeth had rushed to get a doctor. Kelly came running in and ordered a gurney. Carly needed a room, now. Elizabeth went to call Jax. Jason tried to get out of bed to be with Carly, but Epiphany wouldn't allow it; she threatened to sedate him if he tried.
"Do you have anything on Michael?" Jason asked Spinelli when they were alone.
"I found him. The Little Dude is at Kelly's with his grandfather, unless The Senior Sir has taken him to Mr. Corinthos, Sir, by now."
"Thank you," Jason said with relief. "How'd you find him so fast?"
"Jackal PI put himself in The Little Dude's shoes. I'm scared and I wanna run away, but I also wanna see my parents. I went to the docks because that was the last place he'd been seen and saw a small figure there, sitting for a long time, so I went to talk to him. I convinced him to go back to Kelly's with me. Then The Senior Sir could take him to see his parents and he'd have familial support when he faced them."
"Where's he been?"
"He took shelter on a cargo ship at first, but then was afraid he'd get caught. He was totally at a loss for what to do, so he'd just been sitting on the docks, trying to hide, until I found him."
He took a deep breath and looked Jason in the eyes, wondering how he could have handled the Diego situation differently.
"What?" Jason asked, knowing Spinelli was about to tell him something important and seeing that he was upset.
"Um, The Jackal has news of The Son of Evil Al. He, um, He's dead."
"What happened?"
"I followed him after you went to save Sam after the car went over the bridge. He went to Kelly's with intent to kill Gentle Georgie and The Blonde One. They and The Senior Sir were the only occupants at the time. The Senior Sir had a knife, but The Evil One was holding Georgie and Lulu by the necks and he was understandably afraid to act for fear of injuring one of them. I made the evildoer angry enough with me to release them and when he did I attacked. Senior Sir accidentally dropped his knife when he went to call the police and when I kicked Diego's legs out from under him, he- um, he-"
"What?" Jason asked, looking concerned at Spinelli's expression.
"He fell on the knife," Spinelli finished quietly. "He died while we were waiting for the cops and paramedics. I- I didn't mean to kill him."
"It was an accident."
"But I'm not sorry he's dead. My intent was to disable, not kill; one minute I think I should be sorry and I feel awful for being glad he's dead and the next I think he deserved what he got. But no matter how unintentionally, no matter how deserving he might have been, I killed someone. Shouldn't I be sorry? Shouldn't I feel-"
"He did deserve what he got and you did what had to be done. Don't beat yourself up over this, Spinelli; you saved three lives today; you should be proud of yourself."
Spinelli smiled with relief, thinking of Georgie and his sudden realization in the sewer that if he had to, he would find a way to kill Diego before he let him hurt the woman he loved. Jason was right. Diego had to die or more innocent lives would have been taken. The danger from the Text Message Killer was finally over.
"Jason," Nadine said, coming in with a stretcher. "it's time for your surgery."
Spinelli wished Jason luck, then Nadine wheeled him off to the OR and Spinelli went in the opposite direction to see Jolene.
He sat with her and talked to her for a while, telling her everything that had happened today. He had also begun talking to Kendra when he visited Jolene. He told her now that she could always ask him or tell him anything and never to be afraid to talk to him. One of the most important things he was learning in his parenting classes was how to communicate with his child. He hoped never to have a lack of communication like the one that had caused Michael to be so scared to face his father that he'd run away from home. The last thing in the world he ever wanted was for his daughter to be afraid of him.
The next few weeks were relatively quiet, by Port Charles standards. Spinelli regretfully informed Jason that Monica had been the one to hit Sam. Jason had confronted her, she had gotten into another accident and realized she was out of control and pled guilty to hitting Sam. With the support of Sam, Nikolas and her family, she was sentenced to a detox program.
Sonny made a truce with Johnny and everything was peaceful, until April fourth.
Jason needed to have surgery in Seattle. He needed two and they both had to be performed by a specialist whose field was micro surgery. But he was back by the time Sonny made the tragic mistake of supervising a shipment with Michael without guards.
Spinelli was just leaving his yoga class when his cell rang. Jason was frantic, but only Spinelli and the rest of the people closest to him would have known. Michael had been shot. The theory was that someone had tried to kill Sonny and had accidentally gotten Michael because he was in the same room. Jason wanted Spinelli to access security footage around the warehouse to see if they could identify the shooter.
Spinelli's mind couldn't focus. He couldn't stop thinking that he'd just talked to Michael a few weeks ago. He also thought of his daughter. Carly and Sonny must be in agony; he couldn't imagine himself and Kendra in Michael's or his parents' position. Also, The Valkyrie had lost the child she'd been carrying the day Diego had been killed. She had lost one child; Spinelli didn't want her to lose Michael, too. As a parent to be, and as a human being, Spinelli thought that was just too much pain for one person, and in such a short amount of time.
A few hours later, Georgie came to see him.
"I heard about Michael. It's all over the news."
"He's out of surgery. Stone Cold says it went well."
She hugged him, wishing she could do something to take away his anxiety. They sat on the couch and she put an arm around him.
"He's twelve," he said. "He's only twelve years old and some brainless adult decides that just because they have a grudge against his father it's OK to-"
He stopped and took a deep breath, realizing his voice was rising. He didn't mean to raise his voice to Georgie; he wasn't angry with her.
"I'm sorry," he said softly.
"Don't be," she said gently, rubbing his back. "It makes me angry, too."
"I wish I could stop thinking about what his poor parents must be going through."
"BJ's death killed Bobby and Tony. I don't know how Mack and my mom made it through Maxie's funeral; if I was a wreck, I can't imagine how they must have felt, but they never showed it. I wouldn't have been able to get through it if you hadn't been there."
He sighed.
"I can't risk putting Kendra in this position. I can't risk her being shot for me, or me being shot and leaving her without me."
"You're leaving the organization, aren't you?"
He nodded.
"I'm so relieved!" she said, tightening her grip.
"I'm gonna tell Stone Cold as soon as we have time to talk. He says he's gonna spend the night with The Valkyrie at Michael's bed side. But before I leave, I wanna help find Michael's shooter."
"I can understand that. Just be careful, please?"
"I will," he promised.
The next day, Jason asked Spinelli to meet him at the penthouse.
"Patrick says Michael seems to be in a permanent coma," Jason said gravely.
"Oh no!" Spinelli said softly. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Have you got the footage from the security cameras?""
Yes, but nothing has turned up."
They went over it together and Jason saw something Spinelli had missed before. A car with Doctor's tags had been on the peer during the time of the shooting and had driven into the coffee warehouse. He traced it to Dr. Ian Devlin, a newcomer to Port Charles. He also found out, from Devlin's financial records, that Nikolas had paid him ten million dollars. Jason got up to go question him, but stopped and stared intently at Spinelli.
"Is there anything else I can do?" Spinelli asked, unnerved by the intensity of Stone Cold's stare.
Jason was silent for a moment.
"Don't fall into this trap," he finally said softly. "That's what this business is; it's one huge death trap. It kills everything it touches. I can't be with the woman I love, or my own son, because of this life. It's too late for me to get out of it. Elizabeth asked me if I was choosing it over them, but I made this decision long before I even met her. The choices I made hurt Michael."
"You did not put him in that bed."
"I brought him into this life, Spinelli! Sonny and Carly and I chose this life; Michael didn't have choices! You're my friend; I don't want this for you! I don't want you to end up shot like Michael. I don't want you to have to go through with Kendra what Carly and Sonny are going through now with Michael. You've got your PI license. Use that; make a business for yourself. Get out of this before you get in so deep that you'll never be able to leave. Remember the day you stopped me from killing Trevor? You said you were thinking of me as a friend and a brother; that's how I'm thinking of you now. Get out of this while you can. We're not gonna stop being friends just because you leave the organization and it's not a question of your loyalty; I've never questioned that. It's a question of your safety, and of your daughter's safety and what's best for both of you. I want you both to be safe and happy and this business will take that away from you before you even know you've lost it."
Spinelli was silent. He'd been meaning to tell Jason he was going to leave, but he wanted to wait until they found the shooter first. With everything else going on, his plans for the future were the last thing he wanted Jason to be thinking about. Now he realized Jason needed to know.
"OK," he said quietly. "I'll help you find Michael's shooter; I'll pull away slowly. By the end of the year, I'll be out of the business. By then I'll have enough professional experience as a PI that I'll be confident enough in myself to make it on my own and I'll have enough money to start my own PI business. Necessary purchases over the past few months have depleted my savings; I'm not asking for a raise, just stating the facts."
"You find Michael's shooter and I'll double your pay; I mean it. It's worth a lot more than that to me to find the person who shot Michael. It's worth more than money, but it's the only way I can show you-"
"I'd find him even if you didn't pay me. That coward is not going to get away with shooting a little boy."
Later, Lulu and Georgie showed up at the same time at Spinelli's apartment. They both noticed that he was distracted and upset.
"Jason told you about Michael?" Lulu asked.
Spinelli nodded.
"Did something else happen?" Georgie asked.
"He appears to be in a permanent coma," he sighed. "Stone Cold is as devastated as Michael's parents."
"Did you tell him?" Georgie asked hesitantly.
"Tell him what?" Lulu asked.
"I'm leaving the business. I didn't have to tell him; he begged me to get out while I still could. I told him I'd be completely out of it by the end of the year; I need to pull away slowly."
"Why?" Georgie asked.
"For one thing, my savings have been depleted considerably by all the necessities I've bought in preparation for Baby Kendra's arrival. I need to hone my skills as Jackal PI before I start my own business; I also need the finances. Stone Cold said if I find Michael's shooter, which I will even without the extra incentive, he'd double my pay until I'm able to leave. Besides, with the unfortunate departure, and subsequently the untimely death, of Nurse Epiphany's son, I'm their only tech support. I don't want to leave them until they can find someone to replace The Jackal."
"No one can replace The Jackal," Georgie said affectionately, giving him a hug.
He smiled.
"They know Johnny didn't do it, right?" Lulu asked. "I mean, you know he didn't; you saw us together on-"
"Just because he didn't pull the trigger doesn't mean he or someone else in the Zacchara organization didn't break the truce and try to kill Mr. Corinthos, Sir!"
"Why are you defending Johnny Zacchara?" Georgie demanded.
"Because he didn't do it," Lulu said passionately.
"So he didn't actually shoot Michael, but like Spinelli said-"
"Johnny was as surprised as I was when Spinelli told us! Tell her, Spinelli."
"He was, but that doesn't mean he didn't arrange the hit and the hit went wrong."
"He would never target a child!"
"What if Sonny was the target?" Georgie asked.
"That is the most likely scenario," Spinelli said.
"Then it was an accident," Lulu said.
"He's your next bad boy, isn't he?" Georgie asked angrily. "Logan wasn't bad enough? You have to-"
"I'm not gonna sit here and listen to this," Lulu said furiously, jumping to her feet. "I'll talk to you later," she said to Spinelli before storming out of the apartment.
Spinelli seemed too distracted to pay much attention to Lulu's sudden departure.
"I'm sorry," Georgie said. "She just frustrates me."
He nodded absently.
"Spinelli, what else is bothering you?"
"I keep seeing Stone cold's face when he asked me not to fall into the death trap that is the business. He- I've never seen him like he was today. He seemed so-" he spread his hands. "He seemed so defeated! He blames himself and only himself for what happened to Michael."
She began to rub his shoulders. He was so tense!
"I'm sure they're all gonna blame themselves. They're gonna question every decision they ever made where Michael is concerned. Remember me the night Maxie died? I almost had myself convinced that if I'd been nicer to her that morning she would have still been alive."
He nodded.
"I need to find Michael's shooter before Kendra's born. I don't want that monster living in the same world as my Innocent One, or any other child for that matter."
"Do you think it was the Zacchara's?"
"I don't know yet. We have a lead, but it doesn't seem to connect to them. In this business, however, you never know."
Lulu sat in the park, thinking about Georgie's question. "Johnny's your next bad boy, isn't he?" She didn't want a bad boy, but she couldn't seem to stay away from Johnny. Now he was complicating things by buying into Luke's business. But she also couldn't stop thinking about Spinelli and wishing she'd chosen him in the first place. Now he was with Georgie and they were happy together. She wouldn't hurt him by trying to come between them, but she couldn't stop her feelings either. Now she had some idea of how Spinelli must have felt when she'd chosen Logan.
She'd been spending more and more time with Spinelli over the past few months, when he wasn't with Georgie or doing something for Jason. But his attitude towards her had changed. He was no longer the worshipful guy who followed her around, trying everything to impress her. He was as respectful and protective as ever; his attitude was that of a brother, not someone who was in love with her. She'd hoped he'd fall back into his old patterns when she taught him how to dance, but he was reserved with her. He didn't want to dance with her the way he would have danced with Georgie; she was his girlfriend, not Lulu. On some level, Lulu realized she wanted Spinelli now partly because she couldn't have him, but she honestly did love him. But what could she do? She'd already hurt Georgie once by stealing the man she loved, but Georgie and Spinelli were not married. But Georgie was going to Ibiza in a few months. Lulu only hoped she'd have a chance then to make Spinelli see that they'd been meant to be together the whole time. Lulu knew it now; she just needed to get Spinelli alone once Georgie was gone so she could remind him of what he'd known long before she did.