Ok, if you're still reading my fic - THANK YOU! And I apologize from the bottom of my heart...writer's block is a b!&#! I will try to update again this week, and more frequently now that I've gotten my mind together about this story. Get ready for more twists and turns! ENJOY ;)

Chapter 12

Luke trudged through the hallway toward Lucky's room, his legs feeling like lead. He sighed as he stopped in front of Lucky's open door, almost thankful that Lucky was sleeping.

He walked toward the bed and scooted the stool closer. It amazed him how quickly he forgot about that horrible day, and what he did to Laura. He realized he had only had to look back on that event twice in his lifetime – when Lucky confronted him all those years ago, and today. He never had to because he still had the love of his life: Laura. She bore his children, she went on the run with him, and she stuck by him for years after, and never threw the rape in his face.

"People thought she was crazy," Luke whispered to himself. But it was me – I drove her crazy, he thought and had to choke back the guilt.

Lucky stirred and turned toward Luke, without opening his eyes. "Elizabeth?" He said groggily, before looking into his father's sad face.

"Sorry, I never was that pretty, Cowboy," Luke responded, his half-hearted smile disappearing as Lucky sat up fully, turning away from him. "I figured you'd want to know – we got Helena." Luke stood up and moved to the door. "That's all I came to say."

"What?" Lucky refused to be too happy, especially when he saw the lack of glee in his father's expression. "Who got hurt in the process? C'mon, Dad, tell me. Who got hurt because you had to battle your demons?" Lucky's tone was cold and hard. He and Liz had talked about Luke's motivations for taking him off life support, but he still had a hard time accepting it.

"No one but the Dragon Lady," Luke said, refusing to be riled up by his son's indignation. "Emily knocked her out before I could kill her, and when they make sure it's really her, you and brother Cassadine can live your lives happily ever after."

Luke couldn't even muster up the tone to back up his sarcasm, and Lucky noticed right away. "So why aren't you happy about it all? You saved the day – where's your whiskey?" Lucky was softening to his father's expression, but he knew Luke would tap dance on the edge of another cliff soon enough.

Luke walked back to the stool and faced his son. "I'll be knocking them back, but it won't be in celebration," he said dismally. "Skye... she found out about your mother and me. She broke it off."

"I don't understand, she knows you love Mo –" Lucky stopped when he saw Luke tilt his head down, only to glance up with his graying blue eyes. "You never told her?"

"Lucky, I didn't even think about it," Luke said. "With me and Blaze – it went from good times to any number of adventures and tights spots. When exactly was I supposed to sit down and say, 'By the way, I violated my wife before we were married. How do you feel about that?'"

"Dad, she loves you!" Lucky shook his head at his father. "She would have stuck by you through anything, but you just weren't honest because you didn't think you needed to be. You never look back, never own up to your mistakes."

"The hell I don't!" Luke jumped out of the stool so hard it flew back toward the door. "You know what – you have less of your mother's heart than I give you credit for," Luke practically spit in Lucky's face, "because she forgave me. That's right, she FORGAVE ME! She never threw it in my face; she never made me regret my choices, my decisions."

Lucky's angry tears blinded him, but he quickly rubbed them out of his eyes. "Maybe she should have! Maybe then you would have thought FIRST, and then acted. Maybe you wouldn't be willing to miss your daughter's childhood because you needed to have adventures with your girlfriend. Maybe you wouldn't have pulled the plug on your son when you weren't sure what would happen!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Liz raced into the room. "Enough you two! I can hear you down the hall, and so can all the rest of the patients in this wing," Liz scolded, though not too harshly after what she heard from the hall.

"Darling, how about you drop me an umbrella every now and then," Luke said haughtily as he stood next to Liz in the doorway. "It'll be easy to smell the rain from the mountain high moral pedestal you plan on living on with him." Luke rushed out of the door, while Liz stepped closer to Lucky's bed and grabbed his hand as he sobbed in his pillow.

"Tony, what do you mean there's nothing more you can do? You will save my grandson's life," Bobbie stepped closer to Tony threateningly.

"Bobbie, I know how you feel, but you know as well as I do I can't send him into surgery without informing his parents," Tony said calmly, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"That's bull and you know it!" Bobbie forcefully shook off his hand as she shouted. "You already worked on him invasively – do it again!"

Lucas came running down the corridor, searching for his parents. He rushed to the both of them, and had to step between them, as he saw his mother's eyes almost pop out of her head. "Hey, what's going on?" He gently pushed Bobbie back away from Tony.

"You're not willing to risk a goddam lawsuit to save my grandson," Bobbie lurched forward though Lucas held her back. "If anything happens to him while you sat on your hands, I'll never forgive you!"

"Mom, Mom, take it easy," Lucas said, still holding her back. "Where's Carly?"

At that exact moment, Carly burst through the doors, not even glancing at her mother's frightened face, or Tony's annoyed expression. Following behind her were Jason, Sam, Ned, and Tracy and Edward fighting to get through the door first.

Lucas looked anxiously at his sister as she brushed by them and locked eyes with his father, just before he as pushed aside by the Quartermaines – and they shared the same painful thought.

"Monica, where's little Michael?" Edward's voice was hurried and panicked. "Why is everyone just standing around here, not saving my great grandson?"

Tracy stepped in front of her father. "Has it even occurred to you to ask about Alan?" She turned to Monica, who was still silent. "Monica, MONICA! What happened?"

"Mother, stop badgering her, dammit!" Ned pushed through both his grandfather and mother and pulled Monica to a seat. "Here, it's ok," he said soothingly as he rubbed her back. "Do you know what happened?"

"He hit Michael," Monica cried out, falling into Ned's shoulders. "He's crashed twice, and I don't know what else to do!"

Steven came down the opposite corridor and surveyed the overrun waiting area: Carly screaming and bursting through the doors, Monica crying into Ned's arms, Edward yelling at Tony and Bobbie, his hands shaking more than ever, and Tracy pulling at him to calm down. He wanted to disappear, not deliver the news from the crash site, but Tracy saw him and pounced.

"What happened? People are throwing wild accusations at my brother, and I know you know something, so spill it!" Tracy was livid that Bobbie shrugged her off and more anxious than ever at her father's rants and Monica's hysteria.

"I left Mac and went to the crash site," Steve said slowly, as the crowd gathered around, and he locked eyes with Jason, who had been blinking back tears. Steven turned to Monica, and sadly grabbed her hand. "I found these," he said as he showed her a plastic bag with 3 Vicodin pills in it. Monica cried harder into Ned's shoulder, and he just looked to the ceiling.

"That doesn't mean anything," Tracy said in disbelief. "My brother has been clean for years, tell them Daddy!" But she turned to see Edward staring at the floor.

"He did it," Jason finally snarled, and Tracy turned on him, ready to fight.

"And you haven't done worse? Give me a break!" Tracy pushed past everyone and approached Tony. "What are you going to do to save my brother?"

A loud beeping of the monitor sent everyone's eyes flying in the direction of Alan's room, and Steven ran with Tony and Bobbie in there. He caught a glimpse of Carly, but rushed off.

"No! No, no, no," Carly said the moment she burst through the doors. She couldn't think straight, as she passed everyone in the hallway, and she only half heard the Quartermaines yelling behind her. She felt frozen in time when she saw Courtney, crying over Michael's bruised body.

"It should have been me," Courtney cried on the sheet over Michael's left leg, but shot up at Carly's entrance.

"What do you mean? What happened to my baby?" Carly walked over to Courtney, but looked down at Michael's face. "Oh my God! OH GOD!" She cried into Courtney's embrace and then pushed her away, racing to get back to whichever doctor was working on Michael.

"Who was treating my son?" Carly screamed at the top of her lungs, as Jason grabbed her around the waist.

"Dr. Jones, he just rushed in to take care of Alan," Jason said in a monotone voice.

Tony, Steven, and Bobbie emerged from the room, their faces grim. Steven looked for Monica, who couldn't bear to face him. "Alan's in a coma. We got him back, but just barely."

"What does Alan have to do with this?" Carly said, still screeching. "Tony, I'm here, now do what you have to do to save my son!"

"Ok, I'm going to get a CT scan first, then we'll –" Tony began to say, but Carly cut him off.

"I didn't ask for a play-by-play, go help him!" Carly finally began to cry, and Bobbie cradled her, looking over at Jason. Tony rushed in Michael's area, ushering Courtney out and preparing with a team of doctors to take him up to surgery. Jason glared at Tracy, who was staring longingly into Trauma 3.

"Mama, I just don't understand who would do this to my little boy," Carly said tearfully. "Who would do that? Why?"

"Because he was high," Jason said, his anger clouding over his eyes. Sam reached for his arm, hoping he wouldn't say anything, but when he looked from the Quartermaines' pleading expressions to Carly's tear-streaked face, he replied, "Alan hit Michael."

Georgie stared at the ceiling of Dillon's room. She didn't feel embarrassed anymore, but she still didn't know exactly what to say.

"Hey, what are you thinking about over there?" Dillon said lazily, wrapping his arm around Georgie's smooth skin under the covers.

"Honestly... I was thinking about what to say next," Georgie giggled and Dillon kissed her shoulder lightly. "I mean, do you feel different?"

"Not really," Dillon said, but placed his finger over Georgie's mouth when she started to protest. "What I mean is... I love you just as much before we made love as I do now that we have." He shifted just enough to look directly into her eyes. "Nothing changes how I feel about you. I'm so lucky to have you, and know that you trust me with your heart and your mind, as well as your amazing body," he said, and Georgie pulled him into a searing kiss.

"Don't start what you can't finish," Dillon said in a mockingly seductive voice, pulling Georgie on top of him as she giggled and began sucking slowly on his neck. His cell phone quickly interrupted their impending interlude, and Dillon groaned loudly.

"Looks like you're the one not finishing," Georgie teased, pulling the cover over her as Dillon reached for his phone.

"Uh, hello?" Dillon said in an annoyed voice.

"Dillon, it's your mother," Tracy's voice quivered out in a whisper.

"Mom, what is it? You sound bad," Dillon's annoyance was fleeting, and he was now at full attention, grabbing for his shirt.

"Alan's been in an accident," Tracy said, still looking back at the door to his room. "I need you to come down here, be with the family."

"I'm on my way," Dillon said, slamming his phone down on the bed and rushing to get dressed. He looked worriedly at Georgie, as she mimicked his movements, but neither said a word.

"Alan?" Carly searched her mother's distraught face. "Alan!" Carly shot an accusing glance at the Quartermaines, but Lucas and Bobbie held her back.

"No one has proven anything, so don't you start, you..." Tracy rushed to meet Carly's challenging tone.

"Steven just brought the pills," Jason said coldly, still blinking back his tears. "Alan was high and he hit Michael – period."

"Alan's in terrible grief right now," Edward began, but Bobbie looked at him incredulously, and he was tempted to blurt out about Emily, as well as AJ.

"Save it! The only thing you people prove over and over again is that you're the poster children for 'Don't drink and drive.'" Carly hurled her accusation without thinking, but Jason didn't even tense behind her.

He walked around her and got in Edward's face. "You made excuses for your family for years, but there's no way you're getting out of this one. If anything happens to Michael, I'll make sure someone pays."

"Jason, please!" Monica managed to get out, but Jason couldn't even look at her before Tracy stepped in the way.

"Don't you threaten my father!" Tracy shot back stepping in front of Edward like a pit bull. "At least we're a real family – not that mob conglomerate you claim. Where is your precious boss anyway? Since when do you leave the house without your pimp?" Tracy spoke venomously in Carly's direction, and Lucas jumped forward unsuccessfully to restrain Jason as he swung his arm to grasp Tracy's throat.

Edward, having enough of Carly and Tracy's screeching, walked around them to Ned and Monica, still standing in shock. "Monica," he said softly, "where's Emily?"

The door buzzed, and Emily looked at the bars as the slowly moved backward, allowing her to pass through. She never thought she would envy Nikolas' solitude, but she found a small disturbing comfort in the fact that he could at least see the bars that restrained his freedom, that kept him from a normal life. Hers only existed in her nightmares.

She looked around the gray walls and heard the door open, as Nikolas shuffled inside the small visiting room. She couldn't turn to him immediately, trying to prepare herself for meeting that face again, in the flesh.

"Emily," Nikolas said quietly, still looking at the floor. He had racked his brain since Monica and Alan told him about the rape – ways to comfort his wife, but as much as he wanted to hold her, he restrained himself. "I didn't think you'd want to come here."

Emily spun around. "You're my husband, Nikolas! Why wouldn't I come to see you?" She lied but her voice was only half in it.

"You know I know," Nikolas said, finally looking at her in the eyes. When she jumped back, he immediately looked away, blinking back fresh tears. "You can't even look at me. All this time, I thought me being in here would change us, that we'd grow apart," he said walking away from her to the other side of the table. "But I held on, you know, to the hope that it wouldn't be for a while. Maybe months, maybe years before you couldn't bear to see me." He no longer hid his tears.

Emily couldn't argue with him. She didn't want to see Nikolas, because it reminded her of her mistakes. The time she took convincing Connor to be Nikolas, the chances she had to get away from the safe house but didn't. Her mind couldn't control her emotions, no matter how much she tried to distinguish between her rapist and her lover. "I wish..." she whispered, "I just wish he still had that scar."

Nikolas reached out for Emily's hand, but she just stared at it. "I came here to tell you about Helena," she sighed.

"What do you mean? What about her?" Nikolas looked worriedly at her.

"She's at General Hospital," Emily looked at her husband's tense expression. "She tried to kill me at Wyndamere, but Luke showed up, he almost killed her, but I knocked her out and the police are taking her prints now."

"Emily, I'm so sorry. I could have stopped it," Nikolas lamented, not able to look Emily in the face any longer.

"You're here – you couldn't have stopped anything, Nikolas," Emily said shakily.

"Yes, I could have," Nikolas finally sat down and motioned for Emily to do the same. "Helena came here. I tried to fool her into thinking I would be loyal to her if she let me out. I was stalling so someone would notice I wasn't in my cell anymore, but she started talking about you and..." He paused and looked away from Emily, who looked down at her folded hands. "I couldn't control my temper and she knew I still loved you, so she must have gone after you next."

Emily kept looking at her hands, mostly at her engagement and wedding rings. She looked over at Nikolas' bare left hand, and her heart leapt into her throat. She slowly turned her rings as she took them off, one by one.

"Emily what are you doing? No, baby, please," Nikolas' eyes watered again, as he grabbed Emily's wrenching hands. "Didn't you hear me? Emily, I love you! I love you, please!" He shot up, as did Emily, still grappling with each other's hands. Emily's engagement ring made a soft clinking sound as it hit the floor, and Emily wrestled away from Nikolas' grip.

"LET GO OF ME! NOOOO!" Emily continued to punch Nikolas' back and push his face away from her as he tried to embrace her.

"Emily, don't do this!" Nikolas pleaded, but Emily pushed his face away with her hands, still screaming.

Shhh, you want this... you'll see...

Suddenly the doors flew open and Mac threw himself between Emily and Nikolas, eventually breaking them apart. "What the hell is going on here?"

Emily simply ran out of the room, involuntarily clutching her wedding ring still on her finger, past two guards that came to restrain Nikolas.

"Emily, wait! Please!" Nikolas' felt the guards pulling his arms back, but Mac got between them and waived them off. "Please, Mac, find her. I don't care about me right now, just please get my wife!"

Mac pulled Nikolas by the shoulders to straighten him up. "You can do it yourself," he said, still unsure about the scene he walked in on. He let go of Nikolas and picked up the manila folder he was carrying off the floor. "These are your release papers. We got Helena."

Sam stood in the corner, watching the whole scene. She had moved back from Jason when he told Carly about Alan, staring at the tears he tried to hide. She wished he would just let them drop instead of fighting with Tracy, but he had told her to stay out of his battles over and over, and this was one she didn't feel she had any place in anyway. She suddenly looked up to Courtney, who was looking intently through the small window to Michael's room at the doctors preparing Michael for surgery.

Sam walked awkwardly toward her. "Courtney," she said, lightly touching her shoulder. When Courtney turned to face her, she recognized the despair in her face, her mascara smeared all over her cheeks. Sam dug in her purse, and offered a tissue. "Can I get you anything? I know my jacket might not fit you, but if you want it..." Sam could see that Courtney wasn't really listening when she was staring at her jacket, saturated in Michael's blood.

"No, thank you," Courtney finally answered. "I just want him to be ok," her voice broke, and she turned back to the doors, replaying the entire scene in her head again and again. Could she have done more, she thought? Should she have been the one standing there, getting the ball, instead of Michael? What if she hadn't been there at all?

Jax rushed around the corner of three different hallways, his mind racing so fast he didn't hear Rachel's loud heels clicking behind him. He did hear her scuffle for a minute, but he never bothered to look back.

Rachel lost sight of Jax on purpose, her plan becoming clearer in her mind. She ran after him for appearances sake, but pretended to spill her purse on the floor near a metal medicine cart, and got her blouse caught on the corner when she got up. Making sure the top two buttons were successfully ripped, she ran to catch up with Jax, as he finally found his way to the ER.

"Courtney!" Jax ran up to Sam and Courtney, sweeping Courtney into his arms. "Oh, baby, I thought you'd been hurt. Are you hurt?" He said, holding her body back and noticing all the blood on her tops. His presence was not lost on Carly or Jason who had turned away from the Quartermaines and they were making their way toward Michael's door.

"I'm so glad you're here. I'm ok," Courtney said, embracing Jax again, but her body stiffened when she saw Rachel. She pushed back, surveying Rachel's slightly disheveled appearance, especially her open blouse. Sam cleared her throat, causing Jax to look back at Rachel, who instinctively fumbled with her purse to appear innocent, and when he turned back, Courtney connected her clinched fist with Jax's jaw.

AJ paced around his hotel room, until he hit his knee on the side of the large ottoman by the window.

"AH! Dammit!" AJ fell back on the chair, but yelled out in pain again as his back was pierced by something wooden. He rolled over and reached for the picture frame that he fell on. Though it had been turned face down, from when he fell asleep holding it the night before, the weight of his body cracked the glass in the frame. AJ stared at the picture – him, Carly, and Michael as a baby in Lila's garden the day he changed Michael's last name to Quartermaine.

AJ looked over Carly, remembering how she held Michael and was looking into his eyes as he played with strand of her hair just before the picture. He had thought that day she was truly happy, but the picture told another story. Her smile was wide, but her eyes were looking over Michael's head to something else in the garden. He had laughed with her about it when it was developed, and she lied, saying she always took bad pictures. It wasn't until last night he stared at the picture for so long that he knew – she had been looking for him. "Jason," AJ muttered under his breath. He wanted to cut Carly out of the picture immediately but he couldn't without damaging his only image of Michael.

"It's still going to work out, Michael," AJ said aloud. "I'm still going to be your father, I promise. No one is going to stop me. We won't be separated again." His voice became hard and bitter, especially upon noticing how the long crack in the glass came just between his hand and Michael's smiling face.

AJ threw the picture down, and limped slightly over to his cell near the bed. He opened it, to see Rachel had called twice. Hoping maybe she had changed her mind, he pressed his speed dial for Rachel. He only let it ring once, before hanging up.

"No, I'm gonna do this myself," AJ said triumphantly, and lay back on the bed, deciding to rest before revising his plans.

"AH!" Jax stumbled and Rachel helped him regain his balance.

"Courtney it's no –" Rachel began to explain.

"Don't you say another word," Courtney said venomously.

"You see there? She's just like that mongrel brother of hers," Tracy spit out. "And she expects us to believe she didn't kill AJ?"

"Shut up, Tracy," Jason said evenly, and Sam looked at him but walked away.

Courtney walked toward Jax, not noticing how Rachel shifted at the mention of AJ. "I call you because I need you, and you bring her? Well I can see why, I mean, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what you were doing before I called."

"Courtney, would you just shut up for a second and let me talk!" Jax exclaimed, furiously rubbing his jaw.

"Don't you dare talk to her like that!" Carly jumped in front of her friend defensively.

"God, must we be subjected to the drama that is them?" Ned said, behind Monica, who was still looking at the scene curiously.

"I went to Rachel to confront her, alright? I wanted to know what deal she was trying to pull on you!" Jax said over Carly's defensive stance, but rather than the softening stance he expected, Courtney walked defiantly from behind Carly.

"You want to know? Fine! I'll tell everyone!" Courtney began to shout, and the Quartermaines, just about to retreat to check on Alan, stopped in their tracks. "Oh, don't leave because this most definitely concerns you." She turned accusingly to Rachel, who backed up, right into Steven, who had emerged from Michael's area to update Carly about what was happening.

"Rachel Adair is not my childhood friend," Courtney gritted her teeth while she spoke. "I met her on a plane back from the Bahamas, where I left AJ alive. I told her about my failed relationships, and during the layover she went back to the Bahamas and killed AJ."

"You would say anything to save your own hide," Tracy said dismissively, and Edward took a strong supportive stance behind his wayward daughter.

"It's one thing to deny it, but to blame an innocent woman... I guess that's as low as a Corinthos would go," Edward said assuredly.

"No, I didn't," Rachel said lowly, as she felt Steven move curiously from behind her.

"Yes you did, and you set me up to look like I did it to blackmail me," Courtney smiled sardonically, and looked at Steven. "And here's the best part – she was blackmailing me to get me to kill you. Seems you're not such a goody-goody."

Carly looked suspiciously at Steven, who was reeling but trying to make eye contact with Rachel.

"My son is dead," Monica said suddenly snapping out of her despair. "Alan identified his body, Courtney."

"No, he didn't," Rachel said, cutting Monica's impending tirade off. "AJ wanted him to think he did." All the Quartermaines, Carly, Courtney, Jax and Steven looked intently at her. "I did know AJ. I met him while I was vacationing, and," Rachel paused and looked up at Steven, "I told him everything about my past. How I was a doctor, how I lost the chance to be a doctor." Her voice hardened but she kept her eyes on Steven. "AJ claimed he wanted revenge too, and he convinced me that we could help each other. I gave him something to fake his death."

Sam reached for Jason's hand, as he watched while Tony prepared Michael for surgery. They had stepped away from the multiple shouting matches after Jax showed up with that blonde woman, and Courtney started to handle them.

"Hey," Sam said softly, and Jason wrapped his arm protectively around her. His mind bounced from Sonny to Carly to Michael to Leticia and Morgan so fast he couldn't see straight, but his eyes just showed an intense focus on what they were doing to Michael in that room.

"I was supposed to be a doctor," Jason said quietly, and Sam looked at him curiously. "Before the accident with AJ, I was in medical school. All the Quartermaines said I was going to be like my father, save lives." He sighed, and felt the lump get larger in his throat. "I would be in there, right now, saving his life."

"Jason, I know what that feels like," Sam said, pulling out of Jason's embrace to cup his face in her hands. "I've done it a million times, and it's so easy to second guess your choices, especially when it comes to someone you love. But things happen for a reason, Jason, and you can't go back." She let her hands drop from his face and rest on his arms.

"You're right, I can't go back. I can't go back to what I lost, but I can't lose Michael. I can't go back to that feeling," Jason paused, "to how I felt when we lost your baby. I just can't lose him too."

Sam pulled Jason close to her and hugged him tightly. He ran his fingers through her hair, smelling her mango scented shampoo and cried silently.

Steven turned in disbelief from Rachel's pleading eyes to Carly, who continued to stare at him suspiciously. "Um, Carly, I came out to tell you what's going to happen with Michael." Steven felt his ears burning, as Rachel looked at him angrily – he being the one to tell a distraught mother what surgical steps would be taken to save her son's life.

"Ok," Carly said slowly, also turning from Rachel and walking with Steven past Jason and Sam into the area Michael was being prepped. "What are you going to do?"

"We have to operate on Michael's leg and his brain," Steven said, holding onto Carly's arm when she inhaled deeply. "We know he's broken his right femur as a result of the impact, but his low blood pressure could mean that he's bleeding internally, and we have to make sure his femoral vein was not compromised. We'll be working with several surgeons at once, because the potential risk for Michael's brain surgery is great."

"What does that mean? Why?" Carly finally let out her breath, but her anxiety grew as Steven explained.

"The swelling is on the left temporal side of the brain, which could cause some temporary damage and side effects if we isolate the issue immediately, but could be life threatening if something goes wrong. The risk is increased because we have to keep his blood pressure up, which means any internal bleeding could cause trouble on the operating table." Steven tried to use medical language but he knew Carly could see through it.

"Why are you telling me this, Steven?" Carly drew in a sharp breath. "Are you telling me my son could... are you saying he could die?"

"I just want to give you a minute with him before we take him up, Carly. We're going to do everything to make him better," Steven said, grasping her shoulder before leaving the room.

Carly walked over to where a nurse finished hooking up the final machine and left them. She hesitated to touch him, but laced her pinky around his still one. Carly looked over at the heart monitor, beeping slowly and then to Michael's chest that barely rose.

"Hey, my baby. I know you hate it when I call you my baby, but you are, Michael. You're my first baby…" Carly choked on her tears. "You're my Mr. Man. Michael you are the very best of me, and you even got a little of the worst of me, too." She laughed at her joke, and smoothed Michael's hair back. "I know I always tell you that, um… you can't always get what you want, even though I'm the same way. But you know, I'm going to break my own rules and be really selfish with you, ok? Because I want you to be ok, Michael," Carly's tears spilled onto her jacket, "I want my Mr. Man to wake up and tell me he loves me again."

Jason, pulling from Sam's embrace, saw Carly burst into tears by Michael's bedside. He walked in, placing a hand on Carly's shoulder. "Hey buddy, you're gonna be fine. Your mom and your dad and I, we're all gonna wait right here for you." Jason moved Carly gently by the shoulders out of the room, as Steven and the other surgical team wheeled Michael out.

Carly looked at Jason, shocked and angry. "How could you say that?"

Marco came back from the entrance gate to bring Max his order from Kelly's. "Hey man, all quiet here?"

"Yeah, now," Max replied, taking the bag from Marco. They had become tight over the years, and after Johnny betrayed the fold, Marco and Max made sure no one else got that close to Sonny, Jason, or them again. Max looked up at Marco somberly. "They all went to GH. Michael was in an accident."

"What? Where the hell was Enzo?" Marco was beyond angry. He sometimes acted a bit too much like Sonny, while Max took on Jason's business demeanor.

"He was there. He called – said Michael was playing ball, Courtney showed up. They were fine until Michael's ball went into the street. He wasn't in the street – the idiot that hit him jumped the curb."

"Damn," Marco said under his breath. "So the boss knows?"

"Don't know," Max answered him, chewing thoughtfully on his roast beef sandwich. "Jason and Sam took off with Mrs. C. I only got the info from Enzo when he called to check and see if he still had a job."

"Yeah, I'd be worried too... wait a minute, did Agent Marshall leave with them?" Marco said, his eyebrows lifted.

"I heard her and Mrs. C. come down the stairs but only Mrs. C. left," Max said, putting down his sandwich. Marco grabbed for his waistband, but Max stopped him. "I know what you're thinking, but I don't think she..."

"The hell she isn't! She tried to work Sam in the car, now she's been alone for how long?" Marco shrugged Max's hand away and grabbed his gun. He raced to the living room and up the stairs, with Max right behind him.

Reese stepped into Sonny's room, surveying what was left of the shambles. She could tell Carly had made an attempt to sweep up the broken glass, but had abandoned the effort. The drawn curtains made the room confining, and Reese felt she would run out of air if she breathed too much. She tried to quietly tip toe around Sonny's bed, where he slept fitfully.

She stepped toward the dresser, looking at the pictures Sonny kept of his children, and of Carly. She sighed and turned to look at him – his hair tousled from his tossing and turning, with a few grey hairs showing just at the corner of his hairline, near the ears. But his face looked like that of a worried child. Her child. Sonny's complexion and hair was the same as Jaime's, just the right shade of olive framed in black. His mouth turned the same way when he had a nightmare, and she only knew because she couldn't go to sleep without checking on him five times through the night. Reese held her breath and looked back into the mirror, her hand accidentally grazing Lily's handkerchief.

She held it up to examine it, but jumped when Marco kicked the door in, the delicate cloth falling like a feather to the floor.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Marco demanded, his gun poised at Reese's chest.

"That's what I'd like to know," Sonny whispered, sitting up slowly and looking from Reese to Marco, and Max huffing behind him.