GreyStone.
Claudia didn't miss a beat. She grabbed the guard's gun and aimed at Helena.
"Claudia!" A voice from the front door distracted Claudia.
"In here!"
Helena slipped past Claudia and hurried to the patio doors.
"Having a little trouble?," Helena said. "I hear anemia isn't good for the expectant mother." Helena took another shot at Claudia and missed.
Claudia heard the front door being broken down.
She knew it was pointless to try to get up. She took a shot at Helena. And missed. The blood was dripping down her arm and made the gun slippery. She switched hands. And fired. And fired. And fired. And fired. Helena slipped through what remained of the doors.
"Claudia."
Jason was behind her. He stepped over the guard's body.
"Out through the patio," she said.
"You okay?"
"Go. Go."
Claudia lay down on the floor. This was the most ridiculous pregnancy ever. If she ever needed more proof that a child shouldn't be brought into her world, this was it.
"Claudia!"
Sam hurried into the room. She took off her jacket and pressed it to Claudia's wound.
"Did you find Nikolas?"
"Nikolas is fine," Sam said. "Our uncle is dead."
Claudia's head fell back in relief.
Sam grabbed the phone and dialed 911.
"Yeah, I've got a pregnant woman here with a..."
"Surface wound to the upper arm. Gunshot."
"You heard that?"
There were sirens in the background as Sam continued. Great. Just what she needed. Police.
**********************
General Hospital. Emergency Room.
Claudia was wheeled inside, followed by Sam and Lucky.
Epiphany motioned to the EMT. "Trauma One."
Sam went to the front desk to give information. Lucky followed Claudia's gurney.
"I need to ask a few questions," Lucky said.
"Uh huh."
The EMTs left the room.
"This is twice that you've met up with Helena."
"If that's what you want to call it."
"I think it's an amazing coincidence that each time you meet, one of you is injured with only a surface wound, and this time Helena gets away."
"You think I'd risk my baby for Helena?," Claudia asked. "You really are the village idiot."
Matt poked his head inside. "Right with you," he said. He was about to leave and noticed Lucky. "You. Out." Maybe he'd better stay with Mrs. Corinthos, Matt thought.
Matt came inside, took off the makeshift dressing on Claudia's upper arm, and examined her wound.
"I'm questioning a witness," Lucky said.
"I'm sorry, did you think she was a witness?" Matt got out some disinfectant. "Because if you did, we have a huge misunderstanding here. This woman is not a witness. She's a patient." He disinfected the wound, saying "Sorry," to Claudia. "She's my patient. Out."
Lucky reluctantly left.
"Thanks," said Claudia.
"He was horning in on my domain. This definitely has to be stitched up." Matt felt around Claudia's belly. "You fall on the baby?"
"No," Claudia said.
"Good."
Liz stuck her head in the room. "You need anything?"
"Get a transfusion in here. Straight red-blood-cell, no plasma, but check on our plasma supply just in case. And some fluids would be good too." Liz nodded. "Wait." He picked up Claudia's chart. Opened it. "Wow. You're here a lot. Ever consider a lifestyle change?"
Claudia narrowed her eyes at him.
Matt handed the chart to Liz. "We should be good on her blood type, but check it. See if her doctor's in; if he's not, check who's on-call and get an exam room ready upstairs."
Liz took the chart and left.
Sonny rushed into the room. "What happened? How's the baby?"
Matt looked at Claudia. "Should he be here?"
"Yeah."
"I'm her husband."
"Okay," Matt said. "You two can catch up in just a minute."
Liz brought in two IV bags, and began to look for a vein.
Matt sat down next to Claudia. "You have a surface wound."
"You needed a degree to tell me that?"
"By the size of the wound, and the veins affected, I don't think you'll need much of a transfusion. But we're putting a red-blood-cell IV transfusion and fluids into you just to be safe. Now, if this were serious, we'd be putting you on blood plasma. It's more concentrated, but it's kept frozen, so it takes some time to get it defrosted. I don't think you need it, but we're making sure we're prepared just in case."
Claudia nodded.
Liz hooked the I.V.s into Claudia.
"Any faintness?," Matt asked.
"No."
"Pain or cramping with the baby?"
"No."
"Good. I'm going to stitch you up -- should take a minute or two -- and then we're going to get you upstairs where an OBGyn can take a look at you."
"Thank you."
Matt opened up a drawer.
************************
General Hospital. Fifth floor.
Dr. Waters walked Sonny and Claudia out of the exam room.
"Just take it easy for the next week and we'll re-evaluate at your next visit," he said.
"But everything's progressing normal?," Sonny asked.
"Yes."
Dr. Waters left.
Claudia turned to Sonny. "We have to have a talk about guns," she said.
"You know why you don't have a gun."
"Your alternative doesn't work. The baby could have died."
"I would say that that's the Cassadines' fault. Tell you what: when I can believe you won't ever hold a gun on me again, you'll get your guns back. Until then, everything in the house is locked up and you can depend on your guard."
"Yes, that worked very well tonight," Claudia said sarcastically.
Jason came up behind Sonny. "Sonny." Sonny turned around. "Can I talk to you?"
"Will you be all right?," Sonny asked Claudia.
"Does it matter?," she asked. She waved him away.
Claudia wandered down the hall. She saw Dr. Quartermaine giving her a dirty look. What a great hospital. Always making sure the patient feels comfortable.
The door to the Pediatric Psychiatry Exam room opened. Alexis came out with Dr. Winters.
Alexis saw Claudia and said something to Dr. Winters. Then Alexis came over to Claudia.
Sonny hurried over. "What's going on? Is it Kristina?"
"No," Alexis said. She swallowed hard and turned to Claudia. "Claudia."
Dawning horror. "No," Claudia said.
"Listen to me," Alexis said.
Claudia sank into a seat.
"He's not hurt physically. But he's not being responsive. He's not verbal. And you know Spencer. That's not like him."
Claudia looked up into Alexis' eyes. "What happened? Tell me."
Alexis sat next to Claudia.
"We don't know what happened. Sam found Helena with Spencer."
Claudia's took a deep breath and shook her head to clear it. She steeled herself.
"Helena never touched Spencer," Alexis said. "But Spencer's nanny was found right outside the living room. Where Spencer was."
"What was it?"
Alexis' eyes filled with tears. "Slit throat."
Claudia turned her head away from Alexis.
Alexis began to cry, and she quickly brushed away her own tears. "He did see Helena's guard get shot. We know that much. He asked for Nikolas. He asked for his nanny. He asked for Laura. And he asked for you. And he hasn't said anything substantial since."
"Mrs. Corinthos." Dr. Winters had joined them. "We can't tell what's going on inside Spencer until we know what he saw."
"Take me to him," Claudia said.
********************************************
Pediatric Psychiatry Examination Room.
Alexis went in ahead of Claudia.
"Spencer?," she said. "You have a visitor."
Claudia took a deep breath and left Dr. Winters and Sonny outside at the observation window.
She went into the room.
"Ciao, Mr. Since," she said. Spencer looked up at her and then went back to playing with the toys on the floor.
Alexis and Claudia exchanged a look.
Through the observation window, Sonny and Dr. Winters watched and listened.
Claudia went over to Spencer.
"Spencer, are you okay?"
She put her hand on his arm and he pulled away, petulantly. Claudia's face softened with a realization.
"Spencer? Are you mad at me?," she asked him, carefully lowering herself to the floor. "I can understand you being angry. Mi ha fatto molto male. I was very bad. And not in a good way. I shouldn't have left without saying good-bye."
Spencer didn't say anything and didn't look at her.
"I'm a bad pirate friend. Хотите кричат на меня?" Want to yell at me? "That's okay. You can be mean any old way you want to. I promise I'll like you no matter what."
"Maybe he's just tired," Alexis said. "Spencer, are you tired?"
"No!," he said.
"I recognize that voice," Claudia said. "Spencer, are you not talking to me? Vuoi mi congedo da voi?" Would you like me to leave?
Outside, Sonny turned to Dr. Winters. "This isn't working," he said. "She's had rough day. She's pregnant. I'm going to take her home."
Sonny went inside the room.
"Hey there, Spencer. It's Uncle Sonny." Spencer didn't acknowledge Sonny. "Come on, Claudia. I think it's time to go."
Spencer was on his feet in an instant, rushing toward Sonny.
"No!," he said,pushing against Sonny's legs. "You go!," he said, shouting at Sonny. "You go now!"
"Spencer!," Claudia said.
Spencer turned and ran to Claudia. "Claudee!" He hugged her tightly, sobbing. "You stay. You stay."
"I'll stay, of course I'll stay," she said, kissing the top of his head. "I'm staying. Okay?"
Spencer looked at Sonny. "You go now!"
Sonny looked at Claudia. "You need your rest."
Claudia whispered in Spencer's ear, so only he could hear, "I need my Little Prince." He hugged her tighter. She looked up at Sonny. "I'm here as long as Spencer needs me."
Sonny left the room.
Claudia nodded at Alexis. Alexis joined them on the floor.
Spencer grabbed Alexis' hand in his small one.
Spencer put the thumb of his free hand into his mouth and rested his head against Claudia's belly. Claudia kissed the top of his head again.
And just then, the baby kicked.
Spencer looked up at Claudia in surprise, his mouth forming a perfect "O."
Claudia laughed. "It's okay, little man. I have a baby inside me. He's just saying hello. This is how he talks to you. Он должен, как ты. " He must like you.
Spencer pulled his thumb out of his mouth and went to hit Claudia's belly. Alexis caught his arm just in time.
"No, no, Spencer. The baby can't talk any other way right now," Alexis said.
"It's better if you talk to him using words," Claudia said. "This way when he finally comes out, he'll know your voice."
"Si tratta di un ragazzo? ," Spencer asked. This is a boy?
"Sì."
The same thought occurred to Alexis and Claudia at the same time. They looked at each other and then shrugged as if to say, "It's worth a try."
"Spencer?," Alexis began.
"Why don't you tell the baby what happened today?," Claudia chimed in.
"What a wonderful idea!," Alexis said.
Spencer looked from Alexis to Claudia skeptically.
"Come on," said Claudia. "The baby is stuck in there all day listening to me do boring things. Don't you want to help him out?"
Spencer looked from Claudia to Alexis now. "Εντάξει." Okay.
"Buono!," said Claudia.
"How about you start with after breakfast?," Alexis suggested helpfully.
"After breakfast..."
"Into the belly," Claudia said.
Spencer bent his head down to Claudia's belly. "After breakfast I go to my toys."
"In the living room?," Claudia asked.
Spencer nodded and then bent down the belly as if he were speaking into a microphone. "Sì."
"Then what happened?," asked Alexis.
"Nanny goes to get my book."
"In the living room?"
"She goes out."
"Did she come back in?," asked Claudia. Claudia and Alexis both tensed up in anticipation of the answer.
"Όχι.," Spencer said. No. Alexis and Claudia shared a look of relief over Spencer's head. Claudia shook her head no at the one-way mirror.
"And then what?," Alexis asked.
"The other lady comes with a silver stick. And then Sam comes. And then the man comes. And then the lady with the silver stick runs away and Sam points the black stick at the man and he falls."
Spencer took a deep breath, getting ready for the next round, and rested his hand on Claudia's belly. The baby kicked again.
"Wow," Spencer said.
"He really likes you," Claudia said.
************************************************
Dr. Winters' Office. Later.
Spencer was asleep in Claudia's arms. Alexis and Dr. Winters sat on either side of them, while Sonny stood by the open door.
"I think he'll be okay. You'll want to watch out for when he gets older, when he might have questions about what he saw."
Claudia barely heard a word that Dr. Winters was saying. Spencer was warm against her, and he was breathing the type of slow breath that comes when someone is fast asleep. She was going to have to leave him again. God help her, she didn't know how she was going to do it.
She felt Sonny staring at her from the doorway. So what? So she cared about Spencer. She had stayed on Spoon Island. What was she supposed to have done -- ignore the boy?
"Stella stellina la notte si avvicina: la fiamma traballa," Claudia sang softly. "La mucca é nella stalla..."
Her voice trailed off when she looked up and saw Nikolas standing behind Sonny.
He was staring at her and Spencer. He looked shaken.
The whole room became quiet, watching them and waiting.
Claudia struggled to get up with Spencer in her arms. Nikolas hurried over and took Spencer from her. Alexis helped Claudia up.
"Thank you," Nikolas said to Claudia. He looked at her bandage and it took every bit of energy he had left not to lose it. Claudia looked at him. She looked angry. He moved toward her and she moved away from him.
He turned from her.
Claudia looked at Spencer. Her heart grew heavy. "Wait," she said.
Nikolas turned back to her.
"I want to say good-bye this time." She came over and gently shook Spencer. "Piccolo amico," she whispered. "Wake up, Spencer." Spencer woke up slowly.
"Ciao, Claudee," he said.
"Spencer, I have to go."
"No," he said.
"I do," she said. "But I want to say good-bye." She kissed the top of his head. "I have to go away again."
"No, no. Stay."
"Oh, I wish I could," she said. "I miss you so much when I'm away."
"You come back?"
Claudia had pulled off a lot of lies, half-truths, lies of omission, you name it -- if it was related to a lie, Claudia had done it. Done it well. But she didn't think she could outright lie about this to a three year-old. Great. A three-year-old and Nikolas. She'd found her Achilles heel a couple of months before she had to die.
"I don't know," she said. "But I'd much rather be with you. Can you make me a promise?"
"What?"
"I think you're going to meet my baby someday. And he may not remember everything you've told him. But I think he'll still like you just as much as he did today. So if you could teach him some of the songs we --" She caught herself right before her voice started to wobble. "I would very much like you to teach him some of our songs and games. Can you do that?"
"Gira, Gira," Spencer said, yawning.
"Buono," said Claudia. "Gira, Gira." She brushed his hair back from his face as his eyes closed. "Stay safe." She kissed the top of his head again and hurried out without looking at Nikolas.
Sonny looked at Alexis. "I want to see Kristina tonight."
Alexis nodded.
Sonny left.
Nikolas felt like he had lost Claudia. When he turned back to talk to Dr. Winters, he caught Alexis staring at him.
***************************************************
GreyStone. Living Room.
The patio doors had been boarded up by the time Claudia and Sonny got home. The living room itself had been a little harder to clean, and there were bloodstains in the carpet that would need to be taken care of.
Claudia went to the stairs.
"Claudia," Sonny said. "Wait a minute. Have a seat."
Claudia eyed him, and then walked over to the couch and sat down.
Sonny poured her a glass of water and then sat down next to her. He handed her the water.
"Thank you," she said.
"Spencer is my sister's son."
"I know."
Sonny did not want to like Claudia. The next few months hinged on him not caring.
"Helena. Why did she come after you?"
"Payback. I think."
"What's that mean?"
"It means the last time Helena and I met, I gave her a little something to remember me by. Today she returned the favor."
Sonny patted Claudia's knee. She looked at him like he had a third eye.
Johnny rushed into the room.
"What happened?," he said.
Sonny stood up. "I better go check on Kristina. Talk with your brother awhile, and I'll see you later."
Sonny left the room.
Johnny sat down next to Claudia and hugged her. She hugged him back tightly.
He pulled back and said, "What? You felt that life wasn't challenging enough without taking on a sociopath a second time?"
"Piece of cake," Claudia said. "Next to Daddy."
************************
Kelly's Diner.
Sam and Lucky waited at a table.
Jason entered. He sat down at their table.
"What do you have?," Lucky asked.
"Did Helena say anything to you?," Jason asked Sam.
"I'm sorry, Jason," she said. "We didn't have time to chitchat. She had a knife on my cousin, and then her henchman came in -- it wasn't very talky. Although she did seem to want to butter Spencer up. That was creepy."
Jason nodded and leaned in toward Lucky and Sam. "I lost her as soon as I had her. Claudia's a good shot -- I know that firsthand. But Helena had gotten her on her shooting arm. Claudia was using her other hand to shoot by the time I got there. All it really did was prevent Helena from taking another shot at her. Helena left nothing behind. There was nothing to track."
"You don't think Claudia was in on this?," Lucky asked.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because it makes no sense. Helena gets away free and clear from Spoon Island. Why would she make an unnecessary pit stop? She could have gone straight to the airport."
"Maybe she had something to tell Claudia."
Sam cut Jason off before he could answer. "Lucky. Helena had nothing to tell Claudia that Claudia wanted to hear. Trust me."
"Well, maybe," Lucky said. "But maybe what I need is to get everybody where I can question them."
************************
Port Charles Police Station. Morning.
Lucky led Sam, Nikolas and Claudia into the holding room. He pointed to the window. "Even though you can't be heard in here, you can be seen. So I wouldn't try anything."
Claudia rolled her eyes.
"Sam, I need you first."
Sam followed Lucky out of the holding room.
Claudia and Nikolas were left alone. Sonny and Johnny sat outside the room, watching.
"Claudia," Nikolas said.
She slowly turned toward him. Her eyes were glittering with anger.
