Port Charles, Outside Kelly's-
If there was one person that Dillon Quartermaine thought he knew better than anyone else, it was his beloved Georgie Jones. She had ways about her that she probably didn't even know about. The way her eyes would move when she was looking for something to distract her. That ever so small grin at the end of her lips when she was hiding something. Georgie couldn't keep secrets very well, but she had even less of a chance keeping them when Dillon was involved.
It was unspoken of the entire day that they were together after leaving the hospital. Instead they talked about anything else to get their mind off of what was happening. Dillon would yammer on about his new camcorder, complete with plans for his first movie, devoid of nothing but storyboards, which he intended on making during his free time. Georgie, he could tell, wasn't exactly interested, but at the same time neither was he. It was hard to think about ones own future when the future of a child who couldn't even understand the concept of 'having a future' was in danger of dying.
Dillon didn't know anything about Morgan's status. He was kept in the dark about most of the goings on that happened scant few feet away. In many ways it was very much like still living in the Quartermaine mansion. They would try and hide things from him, thinking that he didn't understand them. His mother was especially good at that, only divulging her plots, however heinous they may have been, when Dillon could give her something that would benefit her scheme. As such, Dillon was used to being kept out of the loop, but he did not like it. Far from it, Dillon loathed the way that they babied him, but it was still better than the alternative. He had proven himself, at least in his eyes, to both Sonny and Jason. It wasn't that he wanted to do things for them, he didn't, he just didn't want to be treated like he was something different, something incapable of doing anything. If it weren't for Dillon, they probably never would have found Courtney and Damian. Nobody, least of all Dillon, wanted to think about what would have happened if that were the case.
Both teenagers were embroiled in their own inner turmoil. Dillon, however, ever the opposite of the self-serving Quartermaine legacy which he was a part of, shelved his own problems in an effort to make sure that his girlfriend was kept for. Without Georgie, he was nothing. Damian was his best friend, but Georgie was his heart and soul.
"You know… we've been dancing around this ever since yesterday, but I can't do it anymore." Dillon walked her over to the table outside of the restaurant, where they had spent many times, both good and bad. "You need to tell me what's bothering you, Georgie. I can't help you unless I know what's going on." Dillon knew, of course, what was going on. How could he not? She cared about Morgan. They all did. She was worried about him, but he needed her to say it to him.
"I couldn't sleep last night," Georgie admitted as she shifted uncomfortably in the chair. "I'm such a loser… I'm being kept up at night because of a kid who isn't even mine, who isn't even related to me… who I barely even know. Why am I like this?"
Dillon frowned. Georgie was always hardest on herself. The same could be said for everyone, though. They were their own worst critics. Constantly second guessing themselves. It was the curse of being human. But Dillon would not stand idly by and allow his girlfriend to believe that she was not a good person. "You're not a loser, Georgie. I didn't sleep either. And I know for a fact that Sonny and Carly didn't, neither did Bobbie, Mike, or anyone else. The fact that you care so much about someone who you barely even know shows that you have a big heart. It shows that you care about people because you are that type of person. The world needs more people like you… and less people like the Quartermaine's."
"I didn't mean to do this, you know?" She asked, eyes of sadness and guilt looking directly at the boy that she would have never guessed would someday take claim of her like he had. She had no regrets about kissing Dillon before she even knew anything about him. She had no regrets about anything she did with Dillon. It was all part of the tapestry that would some day make up their love story. "I didn't mean to call you up and have you come with me downtown just so I could put all my problems on you."
"Georgie, if you ever needed me I would be there for you regardless. You know that, right?"
"Of course I do, but I still didn't want this…"
"I'm not complaining," Dillon placed his hand over hers. "You know that every moment I spend with you, when we're laughing together, or when you're crying on my shoulder because of something that happened, it is still a moment in my life that I would never give up for anything."
She smiled weakly, touched by the sentiment that was being given, yet unable to completely embrace the touching words that her boyfriend was giving her. "Dillon… how do you think he's going to do it?"
"Excuse me?"
"Damian. You know, when he becomes a doctor. I just volunteer there… and when stuff like that happens I don't know how I manage to make it back there the next time I have a shift. I'm only there because I want to be. He'll be there because it will be his job." Georgie stopped herself, not wanting to insult Dillon's best friend and a man that had become close to her heart as well. "He's strong, we both know he is… but at the same time he's still deep down…"
"He's still haunted by the mistakes of his past…"
"Yeah," Georgie averted her eyes. "You know, sometimes we think about the things that we've done and how much we hate them, or how we grew up… but compared to him…"
"I know," Dillon nodded. "My mother and I may not ever be as close as Damian was with his mom… but I know that if I saw her die the way that he did I would still… I don't even want to think about it. He doesn't talk about what happened all that much, and I respect his decision to be private about it, how could I not? I'll always wonder, though. How he managed to even get up in the morning is beyond me. And then there's that thing about Alcazar…"
"Which wasn't even his fault…"
"We all know that Alcazar was a lunatic. But when you take someone's life, that has to have an impact on you…"
"I know that he can do what people want him to do. I know that he can study and learn how to be a good doctor. But just because you have the grades and the knowledge to do things doesn't mean that you're emotionally prepared for it…"
"He has to come to that decision himself, Georgie," Dillon was in complete agreement with her. "And we have to support his choice, regardless of what it is. I think that maybe he'll have a hard time at first, but who doesn't? Alan would tell stories about his first few months and the way that he could be shaking before he went into the hospital. Jitters are part of the job."
Georgie tried to picture Alan Quartermaine being nervous about something that just seemed to come so easily to him. It was hard, but she remembered the way she used to get nervous before a test. People just started getting into the process and it became easier for them.
Turning around, Georgie saw people inside of Kelly's. She saw Elizabeth, who was helping with the customers. "Do you think that Mike's there?"
"Why would he be?"
"We should check," Georgie suggested. "If he is there, then that means that Morgan's okay…"
"Yeah, but even if he isn't there, that might not necessarily mean that something is wrong with Morgan still. Mike just might have wanted to take the day off so he could be with his grandson. I would do it if Morgan were my grandson…"
"I can't even picture you as a grandfather… do you think you'd still have the hair?"
Dillon grinned and chuckled. "I'd make it a family trait… all my sons and grandsons would have the 'Dillon Quartermaine' hair. It wouldn't be like George Forman naming all of his son's 'George.' It would be something a little more manageable."
"That's what I love about you… the way that you can just turn the mood around…"
"I wouldn't have been able to if it weren't for you," Dillon got up and helped her get to her feet. "Come on, if we're going to go inside, we might as well do it now."
Elizabeth had seen the teenagers take a seat outside, but she was so distracted with the customers inside that she hadn't seen them get up. By the time she heard the door open, she was giving the order that they had placed over to the cook. "Hey, how are you?"
Dillon and Georgie shared looks of concern, wondering what they should tell Elizabeth, if anything. It was Dillon who spoke, "We're okay, been better, been worse."
"Anything I can do to help?"
"You could tell us something," Georgie said cryptically.
"Shoot…"
She continued with the question, "Is Mike here?"
Elizabeth gave them the answer that they needed, although it was not necessarily the answer that they wanted to hear. "No, guys, I'm sorry, he took a personal day off. I wasn't even supposed to be in today, but he called in a favor since he wanted to make sure that someone with experience was here in case the replacement cook had any problems."
Dillon knew what Georgie was thinking. The same exact thing that he was. Mike wasn't there, which meant that Morgan was probably still in the hospital. But Dillon also knew that just because his mind went to the darkest possible outcome it didn't mean that there was only that chance. "Did he say what he was taking the day off for?"
"No…"
Georgie pulled out her cell phone, "Do you think I should try and get in touch with someone?"
Elizabeth could see it in their faces. There was something that was wrong, and Georgie's phone didn't help matters. Hating to be uninformed when the people that she cared about where in trouble, Elizabeth refused to let Dillon and Georgie leave until they told her something. "You two need to tell me what's going on, right now."
"It's not really our place to tell you, Elizabeth," Dillon wasn't happy that he was keeping information from a person that was as nice as Elizabeth was, but the point was valid. It wasn't his family, he wouldn't have even known if it wasn't for the fact that he was called.
"Listen to me," Elizabeth began, "Mike Corbin is a very good friend of mine and if he is in trouble I want to know what's going on. I don't care if it involves him or if there's something that he's dealing with. Please… I care about him, don't make me worry even more."
"Georgie, make the call," Dillon suggested. "I'll tell her." He didn't know if he was going to get in trouble, but he couldn't keep the information from Elizabeth without feeling some sort of guilt.
Georgie nodded as she walked toward the other end of the diner, not wanting to tip Elizabeth off before Dillon had the time that he needed to tell her what was wrong. She was calling the hospital, they would be able to tell her if Morgan was checked out.
"Nothing is wrong with Mike, Elizabeth," Dillon noted. "But, yesterday afternoon, Morgan got really sick with some sort of viral infection that made Sonny and Carly take him to GH."
"Oh my God… that poor baby."
"Yeah…" Dillon knew the story, everyone in Port Charles did. Ric tried to take Morgan from Carly and Sonny. Elizabeth had no part in that. "When Georgie and I left the hospital yesterday he was still in pretty bad shape. He needed to get some blood, but Sonny's also sick, not as bad, but bad enough to the point where Morgan can't get blood from him because it could do more damage. Damian gave him the blood, but we don't know if the transplant worked. We were hoping that Mike was here, because if he was then it would probably mean that Morgan was all right."
"He would take the day off regardless…"
"Yeah, we figured that… but it was worth a shot."
Elizabeth could only try and comprehend Carly and Sonny's terror, not to mention everyone else, even Jason. She still cared about so many of the people in that family, she would never stop caring about them. Even though Carly wasn't her favorite person in the world, Elizabeth would never wish her to go through such anguish. Nobody deserved that pain.
Georgie came back, smiling, "We don't need to worry anymore, guys. Morgan's going to be fine. They checked him out of the hospital a little while ago…"
"That's wonderful," Elizabeth took a deep breath. "Everyone must be so glad."
Georgie saw Dillon pick up his phone. "Who are you calling?"
"Damian," Dillon put the phone up to his ear. "I just want to tell him that we got the news and that we're all happy for him and his family." Dillon waited for a moment, then another. The phone continued to ring until the voice message was given. "He's not answering again…"
"He's probably just spending time with Morgan," Elizabeth suggested. "Left the phone in his room or something…"
None had any idea that the simple and happy suggestion that she had implanted in their mind was quite possibly the furthest from the truth that it could have possibly been. While a part of Damian would have loved to be at the house with his baby brother, obligations had him in other places.