A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this up. It was my 5th attempt and I'm still not thrilled with it, but I have to keep this story moving along, so here it is. Thanks again for the reviews and I will answer all of them shortly. Enjoy the chapter!
The day Sonny died had been a particularly tough day for her but the day she received Michael's phone call was easily the worst day of her life.
She had just returned home from a trip to the supermarket when her phone buzzed. She noticed the caller ID. It was Michael. Emily took a deep breath because she knew this call was coming. She just didn't know how tough it was going to be when it did.
Emily could immediately tell he was trying to be strong but as he said the words, "my dad is dead," she knew he was falling apart. She heard the crack in his voice and it absolutely broke her heart. He was a mess as he tried to explain funeral arrangements and she could tell this was all raw to him.
How she wished she could have just told him the truth right then and there. It wouldn't have brought Sonny back but it might have given Michael some closure. She hated lying to her nephew as well, especially when she could tell just how devastated she was.
The truth was that she knew about Sonny's death almost as soon as it happened. She had seen him that day, been with him just four hours before he was shot. She even had a suspicion of who might have done it.
And that's why she had to be whisked away and why she needed to be kept safe. That's why she was immediately placed in witness protection and given a new name and identity. That's why when Michael asked her if there was any way she could come home for the funeral she had tears in her eyes when she had to tell him no.
Michael didn't understand and it killed her that she couldn't really explain it to him. She had no choice though. Anything she said could have said put him and everyone else they both loved in danger. At least that's what Jason told her.
The whole thing felt weird to her. She hadn't seen her brother since he left town but he was there at the airport waiting for her. She peppered him with questions but he didn't answer any of them. He gave her complicated responses and told her that everything would be okay and that this would keep her safe. That's when she knew he was somehow involved in this dangerous situation.
She begged Jason to reconsider. She told him she could protect herself. But that's when he told her bits and pieces of the truth. He told her how it was bigger than her. He told her that everyone they both loved was in danger. He told her about leaving Elizabeth and the threats to the boys. He told her that he knew who killed Sonny and he promised her he was going to get revenge.
Jason had always been her hero so when he promised her that this wouldn't be permanent, she believed him. It took two years of living in Peyola, Wisconsin under the alias Caroline Winston but her faith in Jason paid off. She received the phone call two weeks before Robin called her about the boys. She was safe to come home.
She took the first flight to Philadelphia to find her brother.
Emily needed to know if Jason had killed the man responsible for Sonny's death. She needed that closure for what had become more reasons than one. So she went to the address he had given her but he wasn't there. Instead she ran into Sam and met her nephew Danny for the first time.
She was convinced she was seeing things, but when Emily visited with Danny, she didn't see her brother at all. Danny had Sam's pitch black hair and her dark hazel eyes but Emily couldn't find one discernible feature of Jason's. Most notably, the boy didn't have the famous Quartermaine birthmark that all men in the family had carried for generations.
Emily wondered if Jason noticed this but then she remembered that he didn't know about the birthmark. He didn't know, or rather didn't remember, to look for it.
There was no use thinking too much about it though. There were more important things on her mind, one of which was finding out what exactly had happened that made it safe for her to return to PC.
As she looked back down that empty hallway where Michael had just gone, Emily still didn't know the answer to that question. She still didn't know why all of a sudden it was safe for Jason and AJ to be back in Port Charles either. Most importantly, she didn't know any details regarding Sonny's death.
All she knew was that Michael was going out of his mind with worry about his brother and cousin and confused about Jason and AJ's return as much as she was. She knew that Elizabeth was terrified and her heart was in knots over her babies.
And she knew that her family deserved to know that she had returned to Port Charles and that she hadn't done so alone.
A/N: I'm going to be honest, I wasn't thrilled with how this chapter turned out. I was trying to establish some sort of background for Emily and like I said, this was my 5th attempt at it so I figured something is better than nothing, especially since in the grand scheme of things, there are only a few things in this chapter that are important like (hint, hint) that last sentence. So, guesses on who accompanied Emily back to town? The answer will be revealed soon.
I promise next chapter will be better but until next time, hope this was at least somewhat satisfying.