Kelly's-

Mike knew a lot of the people who would frequent Kelly's. He prided himself on being able to put a name to so many faces. Before, when he was running away from everything, he never took the time to even make lasting friendships with people who might have proven to be good friends. All Mike Corbin cared about at that time was getting the money that he needed to pay off the loan sharks that were constantly after him. He'd long since gotten rid of his debt, but gambling was something that had always proven to be his worst vice. It had ruined his life more times than he wanted to admit, and Mike wanted nothing more than to be away from that horrid part of his life.

His first step towards atonement was getting a good job, one that actually gave him money and stability. Bobbie Spencer provided that for him as Manager and Cook at Kelly's. They were in-laws, but they were more than that. They had become good friends, even though they often found themselves at odds about their respective children.

Mike was good at feeling the emotions of the people around him, at least if he knew them somewhat well. He knew that there was something bothering Bobbie as she sat alone at a table, taking a small drink from her cup of coffee while Elizabeth walked around and helped the people who were eating. With no orders that needed immediate attention, Mike found that he had a moment that he could give to one of his dearest friends. He wadded up the towel and gently placed it on the counter.

Bobbie was still shaken by the confrontation that she had with Carly the day before. She found herself looking over her shoulder constantly, just in case her daughter was going to swoop in for another attack. She loved Carly, she would always love Carly, but it was hard, if not impossible, to understand what was going on inside of Carly's head more times than she would ever care to imagine.

"How's my favorite head nurse?"

Bobbie turned her attentions to Mike, giving a welcoming smile from her pain at his face, "I'm the only head nurse that you know…"

"Which is why you're my favorite," Mike replied with a trademark wink, "but even if I knew a thousand other head nurses, you'd still be my favorite."

"Really? What if Courtney were a head nurse? You'd have to say that you favored me over your daughter. I don't think I would believe you."

"Fine, if Courtney were a head nurse then there'd be a tie for my favorite. You would both win."

"We've already both won, Mike," Bobbie patted his hand, "because we both have a place in your heart, and it means a lot to both of us."

"Bobbie… as your friend I feel that I need to make sure that you're all right," Mike sat down next to her, spinning the chair around, straddling it, leaning against the end. "Are you afraid that something's going to happen to Morgan?"

"No… well, of course I'm afraid that something's going to happen to Morgan, or to Michael, or anyone else I care about… but that's not really what's bothering me right now."

"Then what is?"

She turned her head away, not wanting to look into his ice blue eyes, knowing that if she let herself get caught in them she would tell him everything. Mike might have been able to keep her secrets, in fact, Bobbie was sure that if she asked him to he would, but she didn't want to put him in that position. Placing Damian in that position was already weighing in on her conscience enough.

"It's not something you can talk to me about, is it?" Mike could see that she was being hesitant. A part of her past, maybe? Mike couldn't hold it against Bobbie for not wanting to talk about the darker parts of her upbringing, from being raised with Ruby to working as a call girl. Someone like that didn't have many options, but Bobbie found a way to beat the system that she would have likely been forced to continue for the rest of her life. Mike was proud of her for that, and he only wished that she could be proud of herself for the same thing.

"Thank you for understanding…"

"I don't understand, Bobbie," Mike corrected her. "I'll never understand why you don't know that you can talk to us about anything and we'll accept what you did, we won't love you any less."

"I know that, deep down, but I don't want to take the chance of being wrong."

"I respect your decision…"

"That's all I ask…"

"But I don't have to like it," he quickly added. "It's your life, Bobbie, I can't tell you how to run it. I'm not your father, and even if I was your father you're an adult now… believe me, I've had that fact hammered into my head more than a few times with my own children."

"We both have…"

"You still have Lucas."

"He won't be around much longer," Bobbie said with a heavy sigh. "Besides, I hardly ever see him as it is. I probably shouldn't have sent him away to that private school."

"You were doing what you thought was the best thing for your child's future, Bobbie. Private schools have a better education rate, we both know this. If I would have been around I would have almost demanded that my children be sent to private school… but I don't think we'd be able to get the money."

"Still, I can't help but think that he might resent me."

"Do you tell him that you love him whenever you see or talk to him?"

"Of course I do!" She was shocked to hear Mike even think that she didn't tell her son such things. "I love Lucas just as much as I love Carly… he knows that, I know he knows that."

"Then why would you ever think that he might resent you?"

"Because I worry…"

"You don't have anything to worry about," Mike reached over and gave her a pat on the back. "You don't make the mistakes that I did, Bobbie. Sonny hates me because I left so many times. I would come back every now and then, filling his head with lies that I really wanted to keep… I don't think he ever really knew how much I loved him, because I didn't tell him enough… or I didn't make it obvious."

"Kid's grow up," Bobbie said with a nod. "Sometimes they can stay the same… other times they can change completely." She found herself looking over at Elizabeth. "I've seen that girl grow up from a young lady into the beautiful woman that she is now. I watched her fall in love with Lucky, watched her heart break when we thought he was dead. She's one of the strongest people I've ever met."

"She has the most beautiful soul…"

"I can't help but think that she should have more out of life."

"You're not the only one…"

"When she came to me looking for a job, looking for a job here of all places, doing something like bussing tables, I thought for sure that it was something she was doing just so she could get away from her problems. I'm not unsure of the fact that I was wrong, because I still think that she was running, but I didn't believe that she would ever think that it was something she could keep on doing."

"You don't think she's running anymore?"

"At least not away from something… or someone." Bobbie stopped staring at Elizabeth, not wanting to bring attention to the fact that they were talking about her, even though it was a very small restaurant and if she wanted to hear them she probably could.

"Ric…" as always, there was the venomous tone that came with the name. He couldn't help it. No matter what he tried to do, no matter how hard he tried to forgive, Mike couldn't just ignore the fact that Ric was someone who had done so many horrible things to his family.

"Mike…"

"I'm sorry, Bobbie, but I can't do it. I can't do it for him… I can't forgive Ric for his sins."

"You shouldn't have to, I haven't forgiven him, I won't."

"He kidnapped your daughter while she was pregnant with our grandson. You have more reason to hate him than I do."

"But I can see that the people around me that I love deeply actually care for him…"

"And that's enough to keep your anger in check?"

"It has to be," she found herself imparting advice to Mike, who had come to the table seeking to do the same thing for her. Funny how things ended up changing at the drop of a hat. "If I'm alone with Ric… I don't know what will come out of my mouth, and for his sake I hope we're never alone for too long because I can't make any promises about what I will or won't do to him when I see him… but if Elizabeth is near him, or Damian, I try to at least be accepting of the fact that he really is a positive influence in their lives."

"He poisoned Elizabeth!"

"She's forgiven him…"

"She shouldn't have."

"It's not our call to make. The only people who we can account for are ourselves, Mike. We can't make up other people's minds for them, that isn't fair to anyone, least of all the person who we're stripping the freedom of choice from."

Mike found himself looking into Bobbie's soul, trying to understand what gave her the strength that she was displaying. What drove her to accepting Ric Lansing as a human being when everything that he did seemed to scream of evil intentions. Mike tried his hardest to find that thread, but he failed.

"And look at what he's done for your grandson," Bobbie continued. "He's saved Damian's life… not once, but twice, and he helped the boy get out of prison when… when Scotty tried to bring him down." She hadn't thought about Scott Baldwin that often, but when she tried to say his name the first time she couldn't help it. She had seen him spiral down the slide of torment… and she couldn't save him. It was one of her deepest regrets.

"He's probably just waiting for the perfect time to strike. He'll find the best time to attack Damian. I bet Ric was salivating at the fact that he had somehow managed to gain the boy's trust."

"He was, Mike…"

Mike felt his blood run cold, "Elizabeth…"

"I'm not even going to try and listen to you say that you didn't mean for me to hear what you were saying," she couldn't hold back her disappointment. "But I won't let you talk about him and leave him defenseless while he isn't even here. You're right, though. He was very happy when he found out that Damian actually trusted him… but do you know why? It wasn't because he has some dark plan in mind for his nephew, it's because for the first time in his life Ric has felt accepted by a member of his family. That means so much to him, you can't even understand…"

"I do understand, Elizabeth. Sonny doesn't even call me anything but 'Mike,' and it hurts me."

"Then maybe you should take a moment to think about what's going on in Ric's head. Sonny only calls him something that even hints at their bond when he can use it against Ric… Michael still calls him 'the bad man,' and I don't even want to think about what goes on inside of their heads when they see him."

Mike couldn't understand how Elizabeth could be so easily manipulated into seeing Ric as a decent person. "Can you blame them?"

"No, I can't, because their hatred, their mistrust of him is justified, but so is my love. I've seen him change… I've seen him try to do something different with his life, even though nobody has ever believed that he could do it, even me at first. The first person to really see him for what he's become is his nephew… Damian means a lot to Ric… more than any of us could ever hope to understand."

"I hope you're right, sweetie," Mike stood up from his chair, spinning it around again and pushing it underneath the table where it belonged. "But if he does anything to hurt Damian…"

"I will be the first one to bring him down for it," Elizabeth said confidently. "I don't want to see anyone get hurt… and I won't. I trust Ric, I trust his intentions, but if it ends with me being manipulated by him again… don't worry, I'll make sure that nobody gets hurt, except for me… and quite possibly him." She was silent for a moment, letting the anger wash over her and she tried to clear her head. She pulled out the ticket from the pad and handed it to Mike, "Here, we got an order."

"I'll take care of it."

Bobbie watched Mike head into the back to cook the food. Her break was coming to an end, and she wasn't any happier about her situation. She pulled the purse from over the back of the chair and slipped it over her shoulder. "Elizabeth… I don't think I'll see you again, so Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year to you, too, Bobbie."

Bobbie started to walk away, but stood still and spoke to the young woman once more, "For your sake, I hope you're right about him."

Elizabeth heard the door close as she looked into the void, "So do I…"