General Hospital. Jonah's Room.
"Okay. Let's see your cards," Claudia said.
Agent Greco and Inspector Bryce glanced at each other and then looked again at Nikolas and Claudia.
"We'd like permission to sweep this room for recording devices," Agent Greco said.
"Absolutely not," Nikolas said.
"Pardon?," Inspector Bryce said.
"How do we know that we can trust either one of you?," Claudia said. "You could plant something while you're 'sweeping'."
"And even if we could trust you, and we let you sweep the room," Nikolas said, "your sweep would have the opposite of its intended effect."
"If the room is bugged now," Claudia explained, "the two of you would become targets. Helena Cassadine and my father tend to eliminate people working against them."
There was a brief silence.
"I find it interesting that you are so magnanimous with your concerns," Agent Greco said. "Obviously, you don't think this room has been bugged."
"We know it has," Claudia said.
"We've already removed all recording devices," Nikolas said.
Agent Greco removed a small handheld device from his jacket pocket.
Claudia squinted at the device. It looked vaguely familiar.
Agent Greco dropped a miniature pedestal from the bottom of the device. He turned on the device and placed it on the floor. The device turned around, shooting out very thin laser beams in random patterns.
"Oh my God," Claudia said.
"You do good work," Agent Greco said.
"It hasn't been released yet," Claudia said, her heart pounding.
"We couldn't wait."
Claudia stared at Agent Greco.
"Claudia?," Nikolas said.
"Fiber optics," she said.
Nikolas blanched. It was one of their own devices. From Cassadine Industries.
The device came to a stop and let out a low buzz.
"Congratulations," Agent Greco said. "You were right. The room is clean." He folded the pedestal back into the device, and tucked the device back into his pocket. "We've had men inside your scientific development companies ever since your family tried to alter the earth's atmosphere."
"I knew that whole 'freeze the world' thing would come back to bite us," Claudia said to Nikolas.
Nikolas rolled his eyes and then turned his attention back to the agents. "What can we do for you, gentlemen?"
"We've lost Mr. Zacchara," Agent Greco said. "And you?"
Claudia kept her eyes straight ahead. She was unreadable. But Nikolas knew: she was holding her breath.
Nikolas paused, hating for Claudia to learn it this way. "We've lost him too," Nikolas said.
Claudia's grip on his hand tightened.
Inspector Bryce coughed, and everyone's attention turned to him. "I suppose I should begin by explaining my presence at Wyndham's," he said to Claudia.
Nikolas glanced sideways at Claudia.
"A little adventure with your stepfather the day I picked up Spencer," she explained, all languages besides English seeming superfluous at this point.
"I was following your wife," Inspector Bryce said. "Because we weren't certain of the motives of all the parties involved."
"Meaning?" Nikolas asked.
"We didn't know who to trust," Agent Greco said.
"And now you do?," Claudia asked.
"We think so."
Claudia laughed.
"You'll have to excuse my wife's skepticism," Nikolas said. "You're not as experienced as we are with these particular circumstances. We're suspicious of everyone."
"Except each other," Agent Greco rejoined.
Claudia and Nikolas took too long to answer.
Agent Greco sat back in his seat, satisfied. Had either one of the Cassadines been crossing the other, they both would have jumped in too quickly. As it was, they were now reacting like a couple who hadn't had enough time to put a game plan together. Because they had a sick child.
Agent Greco crossed his arms. "What do you hope to gain by having the world believe that only Mrs. Cassadine knows of Helena's recent missive?"
Claudia looked at him blankly. "What missive?"
Agent Greco stared evenly at Claudia. "We captured Helena Cassadine's deputy after he dropped off an envelope on Spoon Island. He refuses to reveal anything, but we know the envelope was addressed to you."
The Cassadines were silent.
"No one else at either of our agencies knows about that envelope," Agent Greco said. Then he nodded at Bryce.
"The United States government has mishandled both Anthony Zacchara and Helena Cassadine from the start," Inspector Bryce began. "We suspect that someone inside a government agency has been helping either Mr. Zacchara and Mrs. Cassadine. Perhaps both."
"You think the same," Agent Greco pointed out to Nikolas and Claudia. "You said as much the first day I interviewed you."
"We also believe the international agencies may have a leak too," Inspector Bryce said.
Agent Greco continued. "We have found recording devices in Dr. Monica Quartermaine's office, Dr. Matt Hunter's office, and in the oncology laboratory. We removed the video equipment, but allowed the audio equipment to remain."
At that, Claudia's mouth quirked into a bitter smile.
"You find our efforts amusing, Mrs. Cassadine?"
"I find them useless."
"Not if you work with us."
"In the interest of full disclosure," Inspector Bryce said, "I feel we should let you know that we found that Dr. Lee's examination room was also tapped."
Nikolas and Claudia froze. And then Nikolas' thumb stroked the back of Claudia's hand. He leaned in toward the agents. "Have you discovered the source?"
"Too many layers of subterfuge. It would take two dedicated men a year to track the source down. We don't have that kind of time."
"No," Nikolas said. "We don't."
"Unless you have technology that might --"
"Not yet," Claudia said quietly.
"It's a few years away," Nikolas said. "But I presume you already knew that."
"Inspector Bryce is new to this investigation," Agent Greco said. "He joined when Helena Cassadine decided to illegally traffic pharmaceuticals out of his country."
"I believe she intended to use Mrs. Petrides as a guinea pig of some sort," Inspector Bryce said. "The London authorities don't appreciate having our country corrupted that way."
"Inspector Bryce contacted our agency directly. He and I thought it best to limit all intelligence to the two of us. And now you two as well."
Inspector Bryce smiled at Claudia, which was not lost on Nikolas.
Claudia, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice at all. Her eyes were too busy narrowing at Agent Greco. "And you expect us to believe you because..."
"Because you are otherwise engaged," Agent Greco said gently, indicating Jonah. "You need allies. And we are your best option."
The Cassadines didn't speak.
Inspector Bryce leaned forward. "We have some questions. We hope you can answer them."
Nikolas and Claudia exchanged another look. Nikolas nodded almost imperceptibly. They turned back to the Inspector.
"Ask your questions," Nikolas said. "And we'll answer what we can. But then we'll have some questions to ask of you."
"The police who tried to capture Mr. Zacchara tonight went in with their sirens blaring," Inspector Bryce said. "Do you believe this was to tip him off?"
"No," Nikolas answered. "That would be strictly due to the incompetence of the Port Charles Police Department."
Claudia muttered something unintelligible.
"Why would the local police move now?," Agent Greco asked. "Without any agency support?"
"It was a chess move," Nikolas said. "I sued them. They removed our police protection as retaliation. And then they realized their mistake."
"Their actions helped your case. The removal of police protection made them seem as if they were acting out of personal motives."
"Yes."
"So Mr. Zacchara's arrest would have...?"
"...would have explained why the police detail was pulled away from us," Claudia said, figuring it out as she spoke. "They didn't have the manpower to guard us because they were concentrating on the capture of my father." She looked at Nikolas.
"Yes," he said.
Claudia could tell that underneath his cool exterior, Nikolas was devastated. The hand which held hers had become clammy. And he was looking her in the eye, but his expression was a little too cold. He was hiding something. His despair.
She squeezed his hand reassuringly.
"Our turn. What's your goal?," Claudia said, turning back abruptly to the agents.
"Beg pardon?," Inspector Bryce said.
"What do you get out of this?"
"We want to deliver Mr. Zacchara to the Italian authorities, and Mrs. Helena Cassadine to the British authorities," Agent Greco said.
Nikolas stared at him.
"Mr. Cassadine?"
"Why do you think those actions are the best recourse?," Nikolas asked slowly.
"Because -- as everyone in this room knows -- any punishment the American authorities mete out will only be temporary."
Kelly's.
Half an hour had gone by, Lulu washing dishes and Lucky manning the grill.
When they had arrived, separately, but within minutes of each other, Mike had said he had to go out for awhile, and asked them to be gentle while they held down the fort.
After the last of the dinner crowd had gone, Lucky had ventured out of the back.
He watched Lulu wipe down the counter.
"Well," he said. "I know why I'm here. What happened to you?"
Lulu picked up a butter knife and scraped at a stubborn and ugly clump of dried something -- probably ketchup. She looked like she hadn't heard Lucky -- which he knew couldn't be true. But he waited.
Sure enough, once the clump came up...
"I was fired," she said. "Because, you know, everyone else at that damn company gets time for personal emergencies except me. I think I had the wrong personal emergency. If I had needed a haircut, or a manicure, that probably would've counted for something."
Lulu picked up the clump with a napkin and tossed it into the garbage.
"It's a good week for Spencers," she said, facing him as she put her hand on her hip.
"It could be worse," Lucky said. "We could be on the run."
"Or have a parent in the hospital." The moment the words were out of her mouth, Lulu turned red.
"It's okay," Lucky said. "Might as well say hello to the elephant in the room."
Lulu looked at the kitchen entrance and said, "Hello."
"How's Jonah?," Lucky asked.
"Worse," she said. "But that's supposed to be a good thing. The treatment won't work unless he's lost his immune system."
"Nikolas?"
"He's okay on the outside. I think Claudia is the only one who knows what's going on inside him."
Lucky hopped up on a stool at the counter. "You like her now?"
"I don't know," Lulu said. "She's still nasty. Doesn't miss a chance to insult me. But it's weird. She only does that when we're on even ground now."
Lucky cocked his head. "What does that mean?"
Lulu hopped up on the stool next to him. "She doesn't like me. But she's different. I mean, she's all alone now. Except for Nikolas and the kids. And Mom."
"You feel sorry for her."
"No, that's not what I'm -- She doesn't want Nikolas to be alone. She doesn't want him to lose his family. So she makes sure we're all comfortable being with him. Even if it means she bites her tongue, or leaves the room to let us talk alone. It's like she doesn't want him to end up like her."
"So she doesn't want him to murder people..."
She hit him with her counter rag. "She loves him."
"He saved her life."
"She was going to give him Jonah regardless."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, even if she died, Nikolas was going to get Jonah. Saving Claudia's life was Nikolas' idea. Claudia was getting ready to die."
Lucky smirked.
"What?," Lulu asked.
"Like she didn't know he has a chivalry complex." He had to move quickly to dodge the rag this time.
"She was really going to die. And she was going to take down the mob so Sonny wouldn't get custody and the Zaccharas wouldn't get custody. But don't take my word for it. Ask Nikolas. He has all the evidence on file. Just don't expect him to hand it over to anyone official. That evidence is what's keeping Jonah and Claudia safe."
Harborview Towers. Sonny's Apartment.
When Sonny opened the door, he had a gun pointed at his father. When Sonny saw who was there, he lowered the gun.
"What do you want, Mike?"
Mike really wasn't looking forward to this talk. It was going to open up a lot of old wounds. And even though Sonny had put the gun away, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from shooting a few accusations in Mike's direction.
"We need to talk, Sonny."
Sonny's expression became closed off. "Nikolas Cassadine send you here?"
"Can I come in?"
Sonny shook his head in disbelief. Then he swung the door open wider.
Mike couldn't help taking in the apartment as he entered. He'd been here dozens of times, but each time was like a kick in the gut. A reminder of everything Sonny had lost. As if the lack of guards wasn't indicator enough.
The apartment had belonged to Dr. Matt Hunter. When Dr. Hunter had moved in with Elizabeth Webber, Sonny had just finished selling GreyStone -- at a huge loss. The economy had been at its worst. Sonny had had no choice. He'd lost almost everything, and he needed as much money as he could get his hands on right away. He was too vulnerable without money.
Once GreyStone was sold, he'd gone looking for a new place. Jason had offered him a place to stay, but Sonny wanted to make some plans for the future right then. He bought the largest apartment he could safely afford. Where he could live alone. For now. There was an extra bedroom. For any one of his children. So far there hadn't been any takers.
Mike studied Sonny. This talk was probably going to fall on deaf ears, but Mike had promised Nikolas. Mike was pretty positive that Nikolas hadn't ordered Mike to have this conversation. Nikolas held access to two of Mike's grandchildren in his hands -- one of them Courtney's only child -- but he would never use it as leverage. Nikolas would never threaten to take that access away; he believed that Mike's connection to Spencer and Jonah was necessary.
But Nikolas also believed that Sonny's access to either child was dangerous. That was why he had sent Mike here.
Mike disagreed with Nikolas. The photos Sonny had wanted Morgan to take were a mistake. Sonny would never hurt a child of his own, or a child of Courtney.
Mike sat down on the couch.
"Just get it over with," Sonny said. "Tell me what Cassadine wants."
Mike tried to say it as gently as he could. "You need to let Jonah go."
"Like you let me go? Like you let my mother go?"
Mike had expected this, but it still cut him to the quick.
"Anthony Zacchara wants Jonah," Sonny said.
"He'll never have him."
"The only way my son is going to escape that madman is by dying. Death. Or Anthony. I'm not accepting either possibility, Mike."
"Neither are his parents."
"Nikolas is not his parent! He's not his father! He never was!"
"Like you were never Michael's?," Mike asked softly.
"That's different," Sonny said evenly, shutting down.
"How?," Mike prodded.
"I'm not going to get into this with you."
"You need to get into it with someone, Sonny, because I'm watching my son die inside, slowly. And I'm not accepting that possibility."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about how ever since you lost your business, you're acting like you lost your life. And I'm afraid you're pinning your comeback on that little boy in the hospital."
"I care about my son!"
"I know you do. I'm not saying you don't. I'm saying that if you were with someone --"
"I don't want to hear it." Mike was about to go off on a Carly tangent, and Sonny didn't think he could take it.
"I'm worried about you, Michael."
The front door to the apartment unlocked from the outside and swung open.
"Mike. Good to see you." Rebecca came in, closing the door behind her, and dumping her shopping bags.
Funny how hostile "Good to see you" sounded, coming out of her mouth.
"Rebecca."
Sonny shot a look at Mike.
"Always a pleasure," Mike added, belatedly.
Rebecca laughed. "Wow. You really sound like you mean it."
"Look, I'm sorry, Rebecca, but we were in the middle of a private conversation --"
"Mike was just leaving," Sonny interrupted.
"Sonny..."
"Tell Nikolas Cassadine I got the message. Loud and clear. And that he's messed with me and my son for the last time."
"Sonny, please," Mike pleaded.
Sonny headed for the bar.
"Sonny --"
"Go!"
Mike stared at Sonny's back. Then he reluctantly got up, went to the door, and left.
"Bye, Dad," Rebecca said as the door closed behind him.
Sonny hoisted the brandy decanter. Studied it. And threw it against the fireplace, shattering it into a million pieces.
General Hospital. Jonah's Room.
Nikolas was using all of his strength to keep from smirking. But he was pretty sure it wasn't working -- at least as far as Claudia was concerned. Interpol agreed with him; the only way to handle Anthony and Helena was to get them on European soil.
He didn't dare look at Claudia. He was fairly certain that she was mentally castigating him for looking so smug -- even if she was the only one who could see said smug look. Although, on the other hand, she did find his arrogance attractive, so maybe it would pay off in other ways.
"What do you want from us?," Claudia asked Agent Greco.
"Two things," Agent Greco said. "One: we need the incident at Mrs. Zacchara's clinic to be kept quiet until Mr. Zacchara is safely in Italy. We need for Mr. Zacchara to believe that Europe is safe for him. Otherwise, we will never get him on the continent. The victims' families have already agreed to this."
"All of the victims' families but one," Nikolas said quietly.
"Yes. Of course," Inspector Bryce quickly added.
Claudia stared ahead, her expression blank. Then she looked at Nikolas.
"Okay," she said. She turned back to Agent Greco. "Do what you need to do."
"No one may know that Mrs. Zacchara is dead."
"We got you the first time," Claudia said, a little too sharply.
She turned away from them, toward Nikolas. Nikolas waited, ready to end the conversation at any moment. Once again, he was overcome by the same outrage he had felt when Claudia was going blithely to her death, and no one cared. No one seemed to think Claudia was human. It turned his stomach.
Something about the expression on Nikolas' face seemed to steady Claudia. She nodded at Nikolas. She could handle this.
Nikolas turned back to Agent Greco. "Two things," he said. "You said you needed two things. What was the other?"
"We need you to set a trap for whomever set up the recording devices at this hospital," Inspector Bryce said.
Nikolas did not like the way Inspector Bryce only looked at Claudia when he said that. "Cassadine Industries is at your disposal," Nikolas said.
With that, Inspector Bryce reluctantly tore his gaze away from Claudia. Nikolas was beginning to suspect that Inspector Bryce was attracted to Claudia. Nikolas didn't know which possibility filled him with more rage: the possibility that Interpol was about to put Claudia in danger, or the possibility that the Inspector was ogling Nikolas' wife. Right now, Inspector Bryce was opening and shutting his mouth like one of those giant goldfish in an aquarium, unable to speak, but knowing he was supposed to.
"We specifically need Mrs. Cassadine's help. Mrs. Claudia Cassadine." Apparently, Agent Greco had no trouble speaking.
"Out of the question," Nikolas said coolly.
"Mr. Cassadine," Agent Greco said. "We're asking Mrs. Cassadine."
He quickly glanced at Claudia. She looked like the cat who had swallowed the canary. Of course she did. Putting herself in danger was her favorite pastime. And now she had a whole international agency on her side in the argument.
"Would I be in danger?," Claudia asked.
"No," Agent Greco and Inspector Bryce said simultaneously.
"Nikolas?"
Nikolas looked at Claudia. She was asking for his approval. Claudia was asking for his approval. Nikolas felt his whole body relax.
"I'll permit it," he said.
She laughed. The word "permit" was a running joke between the two them, ever since Nikolas had tried to use it on his mother.
Claudia turned back to Agent Greco and Inspector Bryce. "When would you need me to do this?"
"Tomorrow morning," Inspector Bryce said, apparently having recovered his voice.
"Now that," Claudia said, "is out of the question."
"Because you have your own plans," Agent Greco said shrewdly.
"Because we have a child who is about to have his worst day of chemotherapy," Nikolas said. "Until Jonah is on the mend, he is our priority."
"Mrs. Cassadine?," Inspector Bryce asked.
Claudia pulled her hand from Nikolas' and leaned forward in her chair.
"I'm only going to say this once," she said, in a vaguely threatening tone. "It's up to you whether or not you remember it. We --" Her finger wagged back and forth from Nikolas to herself. "--speak for each other. If my husband gives you an answer, that's my answer. And visa versa. As far as you are concerned, we are one person. You won't be able to play us off each other. If you try to, you'll only piss us off and alienate us. Understood?" Claudia took Nikolas' hand in hers again.
The Cassadines stared silently at the agents, unreadable.
"We believe that if we don't act now, you will be under siege at the hospital," Agent Greco said, finally. "Both Mrs. Cassadine -- the senior Mrs. Cassadine -- and Mr. Zacchara have been known to use pressure when they are lacking information. If we feed them information now, it may satisfy them until your son is better. We're only looking to provoke them into a small move. One which will let us know who is behind the tapping."
Claudia and Nikolas instinctively looked toward Jonah. Then they looked at each other.
"Excuse us for a moment," Nikolas said to the Interpol men.
Nikolas and Claudia got up and went to Jonah's bed. They began to talk in hushed tones.
When they were finished, Claudia reached out and brushed Jonah's hair from his forehead. Nikolas straightened Jonah's blanket. Then he took Claudia's hand and led her back to their seats.
"All right," Claudia said. "Tomorrow morning."
"Excellent," Inspector Bryce said. "Now, as to the details --"
"One more moment, if you would," Nikolas said.
"Give a little, get a little," Claudia said.
"Before we get started with your plan," Nikolas said, "you'll need to do something for us."
General Hospital. Sam's Room.
Jason had tried to slip in as quietly as possible. But Alexis turned toward him as soon as he opened the door.
"She's sleeping," she said.
"How is she?"
"Insane," she answered. "And you. What were you thinking, letting her go after Anthony Zacchara all alone?"
"That's not what happened."
"Well," Alexis said, in her best lawyer's voice, "enlighten me. What happened?"
"Jason?"
They both turned toward Sam.
"What are you doing here?," Sam said. "If anyone connects you with me --"
"It's my problem," Jason said.
Sam looked pointedly at Alexis.
"Oh," Alexis said. "I'm sorry. Did you want me to leave?"
"Just for a little while," Sam said. "Don't go too far."
"Believe me," Alexis said. "I don't plan to."
"Who has Molly?," Jason asked.
Alexis looked at him suspiciously. "Kate. Why?"
"Ric was in town," Sam said.
Jason stared at her.
"Did he leave?," Sam asked Jason.
"Yes."
"Glad to be in the loop," Alexis said, standing up. "Apparently a few hours late, but I'm in the loop now. I'm going to call Kate. I'll be back." She looked at Sam. "Don't move."
Sam waved good-bye.
Alexis left.
Jason sat down next to Sam.
"I was fine the whole time," Sam said.
"Are you done with Anthony Zacchara?"
"Nikolas wants me to be. Do you?"
"I'm not going to tell you what to do."
"Great."
"I'm just going to ask you why you're going out of your way to risk your life like this."
"That's not what I'm doing."
"Okay."
"I'm not."
"You do this with kids," he said. "Ever since you can't have any, you go out of your way to protect them, even if it means you could die."
"What? Are you becoming a shrink now? 'Cause I gotta tell you, you suck at it."
"Look," Jason said. "I can't stay. People will be watching me. Just promise me you won't do anything without telling me about it."
"You sound like my mother."
"Sam."
"Fine. I'll let you know."
"Good. You're sure you're okay?"
"I can even walk. Wanna see?"
He smiled. "No. You need a guard?"
"I'm pretty sure Nikolas has got a couple lying around. I'll ask him for one."
He nodded. Kissed her. And left.
Sam had exactly one second to look around the room, and then Alexis came back in. Carrying a copy of Cosmo.
"Oh God," Sam said.
"It's all I could find in a two minute walk," Alexis said, sitting down. "And it's for me. Molly is fine, by the way."
"I knew she would be," Sam said, taking the magazine from Alexis. "She's a Davis."
General Hospital. Jonah's Room.
They were alone again with Jonah, sitting in the same seats they had been in when the agents left.
Claudia was hiding something from Nikolas. He could tell that much. The only question was whether it was an emotion or a plan.
Claudia looked into Nikolas' eyes. She looked devastated.
Nikolas was immediately overcome by regret.
"I'm sorry," he said.
A puzzled expression flitted across her face.
"I let him go."
Her face softened in understanding. "Trust me, Nikolas, there's no way to let my father go. I've been trying since birth."
"We had him. And you said -- you said --"
"I say a lot of things. Here's one more: you did the best that anyone could do."
"I could have had him killed."
Claudia was silent for a moment. "I don't want that for you," she said.
"Want what for me?"
She rested her hand on his chest, right over his heart. "It damages you to do that. Believe me, that's one experience I don't want us to share."
"What about you?," he said.
"I'm already damaged," she said. "Beyond repair. Let me handle the stuff that wrecks the soul."
"You said you can't handle the aftermath anymore."
"I can handle anything if it keeps you three safe."
Nikolas' eyes went cold. "Three," he said. He looked away from her. "'You three.' Not 'we five.'"
Claudia's heart dropped. She put her hand to his cheek and turned his face to hers, so that he was looking in her eyes. "Hey," she said. "I will never leave you. First of all, I'm practically Rasputin, so it's not like anyone's going to off me any time soon."
"That's your reasoning? You've managed to survive numerous attempts on your life, so you're indestructible? That's supposed to comfort me?"
"No," she said. "But I love you. I love our family. I could never let you go."
He shook his head. "That's not how it works."
"Well, that's how it had better work," she said, her voice rising in volume a little.
Nikolas was about to argue, when Claudia's attention shifted.
She looked toward Jonah. At all of the equipment surrounding him. She looked down, at her shirt. Her hand hovered over the blood stain. She looked up at him again and shook her head. "We're killing him."
And Nikolas suddenly understood. Claudia wasn't hiding some secret plan. This was what Claudia had been hiding. An emotion. Fear.
Nikolas grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet as he got to his. He pulled her into a tight hug.
"He doesn't look right," she said.
"It's so the transplant will work."
"What if that doesn't happen in time?"
This was new. Something must have happened while he was out of the room. He pulled back and looked her in the eye. "What happened?"
She shivered. And she shook her head. "I don't want to hurt you," she said.
"I'm his father."
"I know." Claudia pulled away from him. "But it's too much. It's too much for me, and I'm not the one who keeps watching people die in this place." She turned away from him and began to gather up the toys and books scattered on the rug, putting them back in their proper places.
Nikolas went to her side, took Jonah's Sailing and Me book from her hand, took her hand, and gently pulled her down on to the rug, so that they sat across from each other.
She turned away from him for a moment, and then turned back and looked straight into his eyes.
His eyes softened as he watched her steel herself. He took her hand in both of his.
"I'm sorry," she said, taking a deep breath and failing miserably to compose herself. "I don't know this works."
"No one does," Nikolas said. "Everyone just pretends to."
"Well, this is probably the one thing I can't pretend about."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Okay. All right. But the other thing is only with you."
He smiled, and then looked down at the rug, as if he were studying its design. "Courtney's the only one I lost here. Lulu got better. Emily got better."
He looked back up at her.
She nodded. "I messed up today."
"You?," he said, in mock disbelief. "Impossible."
"Shut up," she said absentmindedly.
"What happened?," he asked again, softly.
She hesitated for only a moment. "He couldn't breathe," she said, pulling her hand from his. "He was coughing -- he couldn't catch his breath -- the blood kept coming." Her hand fluttered to her throat. "And I knew it was the blister -- Matt told us it was going to happen. But Nikolas, Jonah was helpless. He was so scared. And Liz and Matt --"
"What?"
"Matt came at Jonah with this spray. For the back of his throat. I asked Matt to explain what he was going to do, with the spray. And he and Liz, they said we didn't have time for that, but I made them explain it anyway." She looked away from him, up at Jonah's bed.
He took her face in his hands and made her look into his eyes. "Jonah would have never let Matt do anything unless he understood."
"I think they were going to force his mouth open. But I couldn't --"
"He's too gentle," Nikolas said. "You did the right thing."
"I could have killed him."
"You would have never let it go that far."
"I just want none of this to touch them." She grabbed his wrist with her hand. "Jonah and Spencer. I don't want them to lose that freedom, that happiness. Do you know what I mean?"
"Their innocence."
"Yeah."
He slipped behind her, and wrapped his arms around her. "Spencer is so eager to grow up, it scares me sometimes."
"He's still a little boy," Claudia said.
"I know."
"I may have wrecked that already," she said. Might as well tell him everything now. "When we were in Athens, hiding in plain sight, I taught him what to do if my father or Helena found him."
"And what would that be?"
"You're not going to like it. Basically, he now knows how to throw me under a bus in order to survive."
"Claudia."
"It's not debasing myself." Silence from behind her. "It's not. But that wasn't the worst of it. I told him what happened to his puppy."
A shiver ran down Nikolas' spine. "What happened to his puppy?"
"He wasn't hit by a car. But you knew that."
"What happened?"
"It was that little boy. Costas. He killed Apollo."
She felt Nikolas' heart pick up speed. She pulled herself out of his arms, and turned to face him again.
"I sent the family away. Blackmail. That's it. And I really wish I could tell you that that was all I told Spencer."
General Hospital. Hallway Outside of Jonah's Room.
"I'm his brother," Lucky said.
"No more visitors," the guard said.
"I have to see him."
"No more visitors."
Lucky suspected the guard didn't speak English. Lucky peered through the window of the door to the room.
Claudia was talking to Nikolas. She looked wary. If Lucky was a betting man, he'd say she was confessing to something.
Nikolas took Claudia's hand. Even from this distance, Lucky could see Claudia's eyes filling with tears. Nikolas leaned forward and kissed her. She pulled him into a hug.
The guard stepped in front of the window.
"Private," the guard said.
Nik must have taught him that word, Lucky thought.
"Hey."
Lucky turned around at the sound of Elizabeth's voice. "You're still here?"
"I got away for a while, but then they pulled me back in," she said jokingly.
"You're going to make a joke like that in front of a mob boss' room?"
She poked his arm. "She's done with that now."
Elizabeth looked up at the guard. She hooked her arm through Lucky's and led him a little way down the hall.
"They had a rough day," Elizabeth said quietly.
Just when Lucky thought he couldn't feel any worse about himself. "Jonah?"
She nodded. "The worst has started. He had a blood blister at the back of his throat. It opened. Tomorrow's going to be even worse."
Lucky leaned back against the wall. "I need to talk to Nikolas," Lucky said.
"I'll let him know, just as soon as there's a good time to do it," Elizabeth said.
Lucky just stood there, looking at her. Then he pushed himself off the wall. "Okay," he said.
General Hospital. Jonah's Room.
"I don't think we should be separated from Spencer anymore," Claudia said.
She was sitting on his lap in the rocking chair, calmer now. More at peace.
He laughed.
"Mind sharing the joke?," she asked.
He kissed her neck. "You've never thought we should be separated from Spencer."
"You know what? You need to pick your battles."
"I'm sorry," he said. "Back to the topic at hand. I think Spencer is safer away from us."
"I disagree," she said, before he'd even reached the end of his sentence.
"Will you hear me out?"
"It's not like I have a choice."
"Yes, it's so difficult being married to a man with an opinion."
She laughed. "You were really arrogant back there. Don't think I didn't catch the smug when Interpol agreed with you."
"Was it attractive?"
"Attractive and annoying."
"Inspector Bryce was annoying."
"You noticed that, eh? Well, don't be so quick to dismiss him. That could come in handy some time."
"His being attracted to you?" Another one of Uncle Rudy's little life lessons, Nikolas thought. Charming.
"Yes. I mean, he'll never get a chance to act on it, but it wouldn't hurt to keep him in our corner."
"Your corner."
"My corner is our corner, Nikky."
"Luke calls me Nikky."
"Wouldn't you rather hear it from me?"
"I'd rather hear anything from you. Claudia."
"Nikky."
He laughed, and then sobered up. "I don't think it's a good idea for all of us to be under the same roof all the time. Not when we're focussed on getting Jonah well. We're too distracted. And if something should happen to one of us, it will happen to all of us."
"And I don't think Spencer should be out of our sight. He should be with one of us at all times."
He was quiet for a long time. It made her nervous.
"If the worst happens," Nikolas said, "I don't --
Claudia left his lap and got up, pacing rapidly and shaking her head. He got up and pulled her to him.
"If it's too much for us," he said, "it will most certainly be too much for him. You saw how Spencer reacted to the port. Everything that's coming up is so much more drastic than that."
She pulled away from him.
He watched as Claudia went over to Jonah's bed.
She gazed down at Jonah. Reached out to gently stroke his cheek. She felt his forehead. Her face fell. She closed her eyes and bowed her head.
Nikolas went to the table beside their bed and opened the drawer, and took out something. Claudia turned just in time to see him close the drawer.
He went to her side. As she turned toward him, he held out his hand, palm up. He held out her mother's rosary and Talia's talisman.
She took a step backward. Then her hand reached out and snatched the talisman. She shoved it in her pocket. She stared at the rosary.
"You keep talking about Emily, and Courtney. But something happened to you," Nikolas said. "You came back here only to find out --"
"I don't want to talk about this," she interrupted coldly.
"I'm sorry, Claudia, but if you want to talk about Spencer being with us all the time, we have to talk about this."
She took a few deep breaths.
"We're fighting on too many fronts," he said.
"Give me a second, Nikolas. Please."
She took the rosary and turned away from him.
She turned the beads over slowly. After a long silence, he heard her say quietly, "Potrebbe non vegliare un'ora sola con me?" Could you sit not one hour with me?
"However long you need," he said.
When she turned back to face him, she seemed almost surprised to find him there. She smiled sadly at him.
She sat down on the bed, looking over Jonah. After a moment, Nikolas followed, quietly sitting down beside her.
"You think my judgment's altered?," she asked, turning to look at him.
"No," he said. "I think your world has been altered."
She put the rosary away, into her pocket. "Fair enough. What does that have to do with Spencer?"
"He lost his mother, too. But he was too young to understand it. I think..." He looked at her. She was still with him. "I think he's old enough to understand it now, but too young to handle the feelings."
He was so little. John was so little, and so changed. And there was nothing she could do to change him back. His mother had died right in front of him. No child ever got over that.
"Claudia?"
"Okay," she said. "Until we can figure out something better."
General Hospital. Jonah's Room.
At a little after three in the morning, Nikolas had another bad dream. About Emily. Understandable, Claudia thought, placing a cool hand on his cheek. They were getting to the worst of it now. It had to remind him of how close he came to losing Emily to cancer.
She didn't wake him, and he settled back into a deep, peaceful sleep.
It took Claudia a long time to fall back asleep.
She had just gotten there when they were both jolted awake by the sounds of Jonah's cries.
"Mama! Mama! Dada!"
They rushed to his bedside.
Jonah was trying -- and failing -- to pull himself up to a sitting position. His fists gathered up hair that was now lying on his pillow.
"It's okay, Jonah," Nikolas said, picking him up out of the bed. "I have you, piccolo."
Claudia kissed Jonah's cheek. He was burning up with fever.
Jonah continued to cry.
Nikolas and Claudia exchanged a look.
Claudia kissed the top of Jonah's head. Nikolas murmured soothing sounds in Jonah's ear, rocking him.
Claudia's hand trailed down Nikolas' arm as he took Jonah away from the bed.
Claudia rang for a nurse. Then she began to gather up the hair from Jonah's bed, removing the evidence, as if that would make Jonah forget.
Nikolas sat down on the floor, holding Jonah in his lap. "Let's pretend, Jonah. Let's pretend we're on our beach."
Claudia left the bed, her hand full of Jonah's hair. She went to the counter and searched the drawers.
"The sun is shining. Your shoes are off, and the sand is squishing between your toes." Jonah's cries quieted a little.
Finding a plastic bag, Claudia put the hair inside and shoved the bag into a drawer.
"Can you hear Sheba, piccolo? Can you hear her coming on the beach?"
Jonah shook his head, his cheeks still wet with tears.
Claudia joined Nikolas and Jonah on the floor, cradling the back of his head as Nikolas continued to soothe him.
"Look, Jonah! Mommy's here."
Epiphany entered the room.
"Does it hurt, Jonah?," Claudia said. "Show me where it hurts."
Jonah's eyes fluttered shut, his cries ending.
"Jonah!," Claudia called out.
"He's okay," Epiphany said, taking Jonah from Nikolas.
Claudia glared at her.
"He's just sleeping."
Nikolas looked up at Claudia. "Θα πάρουμε τους εμπειρογνώμονες σήμερα εδώ," he said. We get the experts here today.
Robin and Patrick's House. Morning.
The knocking on the door was insistent.
Patrick was still asleep. More importantly, Emma was still asleep.
Robin hurried to her front door and quickly opened it, catching someone mid-knock.
"Mrs. Drake?"
"Dr. Scorpio."
"As you wish," said the man in the dark, crisp suit. "May I come in?"
"I don't know," Robin said. "Who are you?"
"Agent Greco," said the man, flashing his credentials. "Interpol. I'd like to speak with you about your interference in a matter of international security."
"My what?"
"Your indiscretion."
Robin squinted at the man in puzzlement. "Okay...," she said. "In English?"
"Your mother has been detained in Geneva until we can ascertain the extent of your involvement. And hers." Agent Greco said. "If you'd like her free to come and go as she pleases, I suggest you let me into your house."
"My what has what?"
"Anna Devane. Former double agent. We've detained her. I assume you want this worked out quickly."
Robin stepped back, mutely letting him into the house.