Port Charles Police Department, Interrogation Room-
He didn't enjoy being called into a room when he had visitors. It wasn't but a scant few months ago that he would relish the idea of actually having someone come to visit him, but having said visitors come around when he was inside of an all too small and uncomfortable room all but killed the vibe that Damian felt. For one brief moment in time he was popular, but he'd give anything to just going back to how it was before he was arrested. He couldn't give up anything other than that, though. He couldn't say to himself that he would honestly want to turn back the clock and never come to Port Charles, never come to fulfill the last request of his late mother, never find his father and realize that he had a family of people that he now knew he loved very much. Up until the night at the docks things weren't exactly ideal, but Damian wouldn't have traded those moments for anything in the world. He had so many people who meant something to him in his life. Sonny, Michael, Morgan, Courtney, Jason, Maxie, Dillon, Georgie, Mike, Bobbie, Elizabeth, Ric, even on some strange level Carly. He couldn't forget them, nor would he ever want to.
He still wondered if his grandparents in Los Angeles had found out about what had happened. He had no doubt that they would not hear about it on the news. Something that happened in some sleepy New York town would not hit the airwaves of Los Angeles unless it was something considerably big. Damian Zuniga, just another nobody in the overall scheme of things, being arrested did not make headline news. He was actually thankful for that, though. He didn't want them finding out about what had happened to him through anyone else but himself or his father. But did Sonny tell them? It was unlikely. There was so much strife between them, especially Elias and Sonny. It was understandable, if not a little unfounded on his grandfather's part. But, Damian wouldn't even try to stop the feelings from coming to pass.
The door opened on the other end as Damian sat there in the chair. He couldn't do anything else. Even if he wanted to try and escape, there was no way that he would make it out the front door.
Bobbie walked in and saw her pseudo-grandson. He tried to put on a face, she knew it, but she wasn't falling for it. Still, she couldn't help herself and she didn't want to distress him. "Hi."
"Hi," Damian returned the greeting. "I wasn't expecting you to come."
"Carly just told me what happened a few hours ago," Bobbie sat on the other end of the table. "I have to admit that there's a long list of people that I would have expected to be seeing in this room, and you were nowhere on it. My brother, my daughter, my son-in-law certainly, but never you."
"Would it help any if I told you that I'm finding the entire situation a little hard to believe myself?" Damian asked.
Bobbie shook her head, "No, it wouldn't."
"Then I won't even try."
Bobbie gave a smirk. She couldn't believe how well he seemed to be taking everything. But she also knew that no matter how he appeared, Damian was very likely feeling entirely afraid of what could happen. How could he not? He had someone setting him up because of his relations to Sonny and Jason. They cared about him, and that made him a target for more than a few people on both sides of the law. Bobbie knew that the law wasn't exactly the most objective thing on the planet, but even now she was more assured about how much disdain she held for it. "They're... not treating you wrong, are they?"
"Well, they wouldn't give me the privacy I wanted when I had to use the toilet this morning, but that's par for the course, right?"
Bobbie sighed, "You're trying to humor me."
"I'm trying to humor myself," Damian admitted. "It's what I do, Bobbie. If I let the situation sink in, if I let myself realize what is happening and truly accept it, I don't know what I'd do. I might not act like it very often, but I'm just as fragile as every other person on the planet. I'm not some emotional Superman who can take everything that comes my way and just let it bounce off of some shield that I've erected."
"There's really nothing I can say that can make you feel any better about what's going on, is there?"
Damian thought about it, "There is one thing. Have you seen Maxie?"
"She was at the hospital before I left on one of her shifts."
Damian was happy that she was at least continuing her volunteer work. He knew how much she used it to blanket herself from her problems. "Does she... know?"
Bobbie's eyes closed. "Yes, she does. Mac told her this morning."
"At least he told her," Damian was pleased that Mac had made good on his promise. "How's she holding up?"
"She's a lot like you," Bobbie admitted. "Only she uses the volunteer work as her safety net. She's hurting because she feels that she failed you somehow. She's not the only one who feels that way about you. I do, too."
"Nobody failed me, Bobbie," Damian said. "This is all my fault."
"You can't believe that," Bobbie countered. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"You believe that I'm innocent?"
"How can I not?" Bobbie asked. "Damian, I've only known you for a short time, but I'd like to think that I know you pretty well. I'd like to believe that I can judge your motives and how you would react to something. You'd never kill anyone, we both know that. Everyone who actually spends some time with you would also realize that you're just not the type of person that people might want to think you are."
"Thanks," Damian said. "Every time I hear someone tell me that I'm innocent it makes me feel like I can beat this."
"You can. But the easiest way to beat it is to tell the truth."
"What do you mean?"
Bobbie looked at him, "You know what went on at the docks that night, don't you?"
Damian wasn't sure how she knew that he was there, but she did. That didn't mean that he was going to tell her anything, though. He trusted Bobbie, he truly did, but he also knew that she wouldn't let something like his knowledge sit around and fester, especially if he went to prison. He couldn't let anyone, not even Bobbie, turn the tables and make it so that Sonny or Jason ended up going instead of him. Even if it came out that they acted in self-defense, they were still there because of illegal activity. "I was at the docks that day, Bobbie, but I didn't have anything to do with it."
"What are you afraid of?" Bobbie asked. "Are you afraid that if something happens you're going to get in trouble? Do you think that Sonny is going to hurt you in some way if you tell the truth?"
"I don't fear my father," Damian told her. "He'd never hurt me or any of his children. We mean too much to him."
"What happened?" Bobbie continued digging. "Could you at least tell me what you want to tell me about that day?"
"I took a break from studying," Damian said. "I wanted to feel and smell the ocean, so I went to the docks."
"Did you tell them that?"
"Yeah, but they don't believe me, not entirely. If they did, I don't think I would be sitting here waiting to go back to my drab cell. Besides, no matter what I say, they still end up going back to the fact that it was my fingerprints that were on the murder weapon that they discovered at the docks."
Bobbie sighed, she knew that something was being kept from her. She had enough time spent with Luke under her belt to know when everything wasn't being given to her. Luke was good at that, but she was better at fishing out the truth than her brother would ever give her credit for. Of course, she wouldn't force it out of anyone. "If there is anything else that you could remember, Damian, anything that will help you then you need to make sure that you tell someone. It doesn't even have to be me. You just have to make sure that you do tell someone. The only way you're going to get out of this is if you don't hide anything from anyone."
"I'll keep that in mind," Damian replied.
"Well, I've still got some things that I need to take care of before I get back to the hospital. You sure you don't need anything?"
"A small favor."
Bobbie nodded, "Name it."
"Keep them together," Damian started. "You're someone that they can all trust and look to for help when they need it. Bobbie, don't let everyone fall apart because of what happened to me. If that happens, then I won't be able to live with myself. I don't want to cause any pain to anybody."
"I'll do what I can." Bobbie was astonished at the fact that through it all, through everything that had happened to Damian, his first concern was still with the people that he cared about. She knew that he was selfless, but she wasn't aware that he could be that selfless. She wasn't aware anyone could be. "I'll stop by another time."
"I'm not going anywhere."
Bobbie turned her head over her shoulder as she was out the door, "We'll get you out." She opened the door and was gone, but she wasn't done with everything that she had to do at the police station yet. She knew where she wanted to go next.
Scott Baldwin's Office-
Scott was rummaging through the mills of his mind, devising a way to make Damian look even more guilty of a crime that he didn't commit. He heard a tap on his door, "I asked not to be disturbed!"
Bobbie pushed the door open, "I wouldn't think that the claim would pass to me as well."
Scott looked at Bobbie, "Bobbie..."
"Hello, Scott," Bobbie took a few steps in.
"What are you doing here?" Scott wondered.
"You know why I'm here, Scott," Bobbie replied bluntly. "You know that you're sending an innocent young man into prison for doing something that he didn't do."
"If you're talking about Zuniga, which I believe that you are then you're the one that is mistaken, Bobbie. We've got evidence that pins him down at the crime."
"That's fake, we both know it."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I know that Damian wouldn't kill anyone for any reason, not even to save himself."
Scott smiled, "Always willing to believe in the best of people."
"Even when other people refuse to see the good inside of that person," Bobbie continued. "You should feel at home with that theory, Scott."
Scott turned his eyes away, "Don't remind me."
"Scott... I'm asking you as your friend, as a woman that you cared about very much for once upon a time, don't do this. Don't do something that you know is wrong. He has a family, he has a future. How would you feel if Serena was accused of doing something that she didn't do and ended up going to jail for it?"
"The difference between the two of them is that Serena is innocent."
Bobbie disagreed, "I don't think that there is any difference between the two at all."
"I'm sorry, Bobbie, but I can't make these charges go away for anyone. Not even you."
"I see," Bobbie said softly. "I had hoped to find the man that I knew, the one that would do what was right because of the sheer fact alone that it was the right thing to do. I had always thought that somewhere deep down inside that man was still alive. I guess I was only fooling myself. He's dead, and he's never coming back. Like you said, I always see the best in people, even when I shouldn't. It's my curse, I suppose."
"Bobbie..."
"Save it, Scott," Bobbie cut him off. "I don't want to hear any of your excuses anymore, because I'll never believe them. You can show me all the evidence in the world, it will never be convincing enough to show me that Damian was guilty of killing people that night. Convince all the jury's and judges in the country, in the world, that he did it, but you'll never have my agreement on the matter."
"What makes you people come to his aid so quickly?" Scott asked. "Everyone that I see is just running in circles trying to protect this kid from facing the wheels of justice. What is it about him?"
"You'd only have to spend a moment alone with him to realize just how pure and good he is," Bobbie said. "You might be able to learn something from him. Goodbye, Scotty," Bobbie turned around and left.
Scott wanted her to stay. He tried to ask her to stay, but he knew that she wouldn't. Instead he picked up the phone and pressed a button, "Is Zuniga still in Interrogation 1? Keep him there." Scott hung up the phone and walked out.
He didn't enjoy being called into a room when he had visitors. It wasn't but a scant few months ago that he would relish the idea of actually having someone come to visit him, but having said visitors come around when he was inside of an all too small and uncomfortable room all but killed the vibe that Damian felt. For one brief moment in time he was popular, but he'd give anything to just going back to how it was before he was arrested. He couldn't give up anything other than that, though. He couldn't say to himself that he would honestly want to turn back the clock and never come to Port Charles, never come to fulfill the last request of his late mother, never find his father and realize that he had a family of people that he now knew he loved very much. Up until the night at the docks things weren't exactly ideal, but Damian wouldn't have traded those moments for anything in the world. He had so many people who meant something to him in his life. Sonny, Michael, Morgan, Courtney, Jason, Maxie, Dillon, Georgie, Mike, Bobbie, Elizabeth, Ric, even on some strange level Carly. He couldn't forget them, nor would he ever want to.
He still wondered if his grandparents in Los Angeles had found out about what had happened. He had no doubt that they would not hear about it on the news. Something that happened in some sleepy New York town would not hit the airwaves of Los Angeles unless it was something considerably big. Damian Zuniga, just another nobody in the overall scheme of things, being arrested did not make headline news. He was actually thankful for that, though. He didn't want them finding out about what had happened to him through anyone else but himself or his father. But did Sonny tell them? It was unlikely. There was so much strife between them, especially Elias and Sonny. It was understandable, if not a little unfounded on his grandfather's part. But, Damian wouldn't even try to stop the feelings from coming to pass.
The door opened on the other end as Damian sat there in the chair. He couldn't do anything else. Even if he wanted to try and escape, there was no way that he would make it out the front door.
Bobbie walked in and saw her pseudo-grandson. He tried to put on a face, she knew it, but she wasn't falling for it. Still, she couldn't help herself and she didn't want to distress him. "Hi."
"Hi," Damian returned the greeting. "I wasn't expecting you to come."
"Carly just told me what happened a few hours ago," Bobbie sat on the other end of the table. "I have to admit that there's a long list of people that I would have expected to be seeing in this room, and you were nowhere on it. My brother, my daughter, my son-in-law certainly, but never you."
"Would it help any if I told you that I'm finding the entire situation a little hard to believe myself?" Damian asked.
Bobbie shook her head, "No, it wouldn't."
"Then I won't even try."
Bobbie gave a smirk. She couldn't believe how well he seemed to be taking everything. But she also knew that no matter how he appeared, Damian was very likely feeling entirely afraid of what could happen. How could he not? He had someone setting him up because of his relations to Sonny and Jason. They cared about him, and that made him a target for more than a few people on both sides of the law. Bobbie knew that the law wasn't exactly the most objective thing on the planet, but even now she was more assured about how much disdain she held for it. "They're... not treating you wrong, are they?"
"Well, they wouldn't give me the privacy I wanted when I had to use the toilet this morning, but that's par for the course, right?"
Bobbie sighed, "You're trying to humor me."
"I'm trying to humor myself," Damian admitted. "It's what I do, Bobbie. If I let the situation sink in, if I let myself realize what is happening and truly accept it, I don't know what I'd do. I might not act like it very often, but I'm just as fragile as every other person on the planet. I'm not some emotional Superman who can take everything that comes my way and just let it bounce off of some shield that I've erected."
"There's really nothing I can say that can make you feel any better about what's going on, is there?"
Damian thought about it, "There is one thing. Have you seen Maxie?"
"She was at the hospital before I left on one of her shifts."
Damian was happy that she was at least continuing her volunteer work. He knew how much she used it to blanket herself from her problems. "Does she... know?"
Bobbie's eyes closed. "Yes, she does. Mac told her this morning."
"At least he told her," Damian was pleased that Mac had made good on his promise. "How's she holding up?"
"She's a lot like you," Bobbie admitted. "Only she uses the volunteer work as her safety net. She's hurting because she feels that she failed you somehow. She's not the only one who feels that way about you. I do, too."
"Nobody failed me, Bobbie," Damian said. "This is all my fault."
"You can't believe that," Bobbie countered. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"You believe that I'm innocent?"
"How can I not?" Bobbie asked. "Damian, I've only known you for a short time, but I'd like to think that I know you pretty well. I'd like to believe that I can judge your motives and how you would react to something. You'd never kill anyone, we both know that. Everyone who actually spends some time with you would also realize that you're just not the type of person that people might want to think you are."
"Thanks," Damian said. "Every time I hear someone tell me that I'm innocent it makes me feel like I can beat this."
"You can. But the easiest way to beat it is to tell the truth."
"What do you mean?"
Bobbie looked at him, "You know what went on at the docks that night, don't you?"
Damian wasn't sure how she knew that he was there, but she did. That didn't mean that he was going to tell her anything, though. He trusted Bobbie, he truly did, but he also knew that she wouldn't let something like his knowledge sit around and fester, especially if he went to prison. He couldn't let anyone, not even Bobbie, turn the tables and make it so that Sonny or Jason ended up going instead of him. Even if it came out that they acted in self-defense, they were still there because of illegal activity. "I was at the docks that day, Bobbie, but I didn't have anything to do with it."
"What are you afraid of?" Bobbie asked. "Are you afraid that if something happens you're going to get in trouble? Do you think that Sonny is going to hurt you in some way if you tell the truth?"
"I don't fear my father," Damian told her. "He'd never hurt me or any of his children. We mean too much to him."
"What happened?" Bobbie continued digging. "Could you at least tell me what you want to tell me about that day?"
"I took a break from studying," Damian said. "I wanted to feel and smell the ocean, so I went to the docks."
"Did you tell them that?"
"Yeah, but they don't believe me, not entirely. If they did, I don't think I would be sitting here waiting to go back to my drab cell. Besides, no matter what I say, they still end up going back to the fact that it was my fingerprints that were on the murder weapon that they discovered at the docks."
Bobbie sighed, she knew that something was being kept from her. She had enough time spent with Luke under her belt to know when everything wasn't being given to her. Luke was good at that, but she was better at fishing out the truth than her brother would ever give her credit for. Of course, she wouldn't force it out of anyone. "If there is anything else that you could remember, Damian, anything that will help you then you need to make sure that you tell someone. It doesn't even have to be me. You just have to make sure that you do tell someone. The only way you're going to get out of this is if you don't hide anything from anyone."
"I'll keep that in mind," Damian replied.
"Well, I've still got some things that I need to take care of before I get back to the hospital. You sure you don't need anything?"
"A small favor."
Bobbie nodded, "Name it."
"Keep them together," Damian started. "You're someone that they can all trust and look to for help when they need it. Bobbie, don't let everyone fall apart because of what happened to me. If that happens, then I won't be able to live with myself. I don't want to cause any pain to anybody."
"I'll do what I can." Bobbie was astonished at the fact that through it all, through everything that had happened to Damian, his first concern was still with the people that he cared about. She knew that he was selfless, but she wasn't aware that he could be that selfless. She wasn't aware anyone could be. "I'll stop by another time."
"I'm not going anywhere."
Bobbie turned her head over her shoulder as she was out the door, "We'll get you out." She opened the door and was gone, but she wasn't done with everything that she had to do at the police station yet. She knew where she wanted to go next.
Scott Baldwin's Office-
Scott was rummaging through the mills of his mind, devising a way to make Damian look even more guilty of a crime that he didn't commit. He heard a tap on his door, "I asked not to be disturbed!"
Bobbie pushed the door open, "I wouldn't think that the claim would pass to me as well."
Scott looked at Bobbie, "Bobbie..."
"Hello, Scott," Bobbie took a few steps in.
"What are you doing here?" Scott wondered.
"You know why I'm here, Scott," Bobbie replied bluntly. "You know that you're sending an innocent young man into prison for doing something that he didn't do."
"If you're talking about Zuniga, which I believe that you are then you're the one that is mistaken, Bobbie. We've got evidence that pins him down at the crime."
"That's fake, we both know it."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I know that Damian wouldn't kill anyone for any reason, not even to save himself."
Scott smiled, "Always willing to believe in the best of people."
"Even when other people refuse to see the good inside of that person," Bobbie continued. "You should feel at home with that theory, Scott."
Scott turned his eyes away, "Don't remind me."
"Scott... I'm asking you as your friend, as a woman that you cared about very much for once upon a time, don't do this. Don't do something that you know is wrong. He has a family, he has a future. How would you feel if Serena was accused of doing something that she didn't do and ended up going to jail for it?"
"The difference between the two of them is that Serena is innocent."
Bobbie disagreed, "I don't think that there is any difference between the two at all."
"I'm sorry, Bobbie, but I can't make these charges go away for anyone. Not even you."
"I see," Bobbie said softly. "I had hoped to find the man that I knew, the one that would do what was right because of the sheer fact alone that it was the right thing to do. I had always thought that somewhere deep down inside that man was still alive. I guess I was only fooling myself. He's dead, and he's never coming back. Like you said, I always see the best in people, even when I shouldn't. It's my curse, I suppose."
"Bobbie..."
"Save it, Scott," Bobbie cut him off. "I don't want to hear any of your excuses anymore, because I'll never believe them. You can show me all the evidence in the world, it will never be convincing enough to show me that Damian was guilty of killing people that night. Convince all the jury's and judges in the country, in the world, that he did it, but you'll never have my agreement on the matter."
"What makes you people come to his aid so quickly?" Scott asked. "Everyone that I see is just running in circles trying to protect this kid from facing the wheels of justice. What is it about him?"
"You'd only have to spend a moment alone with him to realize just how pure and good he is," Bobbie said. "You might be able to learn something from him. Goodbye, Scotty," Bobbie turned around and left.
Scott wanted her to stay. He tried to ask her to stay, but he knew that she wouldn't. Instead he picked up the phone and pressed a button, "Is Zuniga still in Interrogation 1? Keep him there." Scott hung up the phone and walked out.