Back with another one! Ok, so the story's going to pick up shortly, and much more romance is on the way...keep reading and reviewing :)

A/N: Sam's flashbacks are courtesy of TVMegasite General Hospital transcripts (May and October, 2004). Also, for future narrative or descriptive reference, I'm writing Carly asportrayed by Tamara Braunand Edward as portrayed by John Ingle.

Disclaimer: Don't own any characters but Cianna...

Chapter 18

"Lucky, we haven't even moved in together yet and you're talking about an even bigger instant family," Liz said quietly, still shocked at Lucky's recount of his conversation with Luke, Leslie, and Lulu. She could tell by his father and sister's hasty exit that the topic had been a tense one.

"I know, I know, but that's why Dad suggested that we get settled first before we bring it up again," Lucky said quickly, trying to calm the slight panic in Liz's voice. He shifted up again on the bed, silently giving thanks that he would be out of the hospital within a few hours. "I just hate disappointing Lu, you know. She's dealt with so much – Mom, Dad never being around, the ups and downs we've been through with Nikolas, and now me being in the hospital. She always looks strong on the outside, but she just shouldn't have to be." He bit back the anger and bitterness in his voice.

"And I want to help her, too," Liz said, taking his hand. "I just don't want us to take on too much and be another pair of adults that can't come through for her." She sighed heavily, thinking about her grandmother's protests and about little Cameron. The thought of his face instantly brought a smile to her lips – he always had that affect on her. "We'll figure it out, ok? One thing at a time."

"Deal," Lucky said, pulling Liz into a sweet kiss.

"No, he's not," a triumphant yet shaky voice bellowed from behind the group of feuding adults. Carly and Courtney spun around to face their mutual ex in the flesh, grinning widely at their shock. "That would be, Carlybabes, and believe me – I'm more than ready to take you on."

Carly stepped in front of Courtney, and in her heels towered over her former husband. "Just the little weasel I was looking for next," she said and immediately lunged for his throat.

Steven quickly ran from the other side of the nurses' station and tried to help Courtney grab Carly off of AJ, who she had successfully pinned against the chair.

"LET GO OF ME! I'm going to kill this son of a bitch!" Carly shouted. AJ gasped under her grip but never lost his trademark smirk.

"Carly, stop! This is exactly what he wants," Courtney pleaded half-heartedly. She was tempted to punch him while Carly held him down, but Steven jumped in the way.

After pulling them apart, Steven continued to hold Carly around the waist and pull her to the other side of the hub. "ENOUGH! Jesus Christ – look, this is a hospital, so can you please take the WWE somewhere else?"

"Not until he admits what he did!" Carly lunged for him again, but Steven held her back and Courtney stood in front of both of them. "Admit it, AJ. For once in your pathetic life, be a man and admit that you were behind Kristina's kidnapping!"

Steven let go of Carly slowly, and turned to face the shorter man, whose smirk only temporarily eased, but his eyes shone bright with fear. "What are you talking about, Carly?" Steven asked, never taking his eyes off AJ.

"He wanted to kidnap my son and torture Sonny, so he took Kristina first," Carly nearly spat in AJ's direction. "With that blonde psycho Rachel..." her voice trailed off, looking around and noticing that both Rachel and Lorenzo had made their exit during the fray. "What...where did she go?"

"Ah, Rachel, you didn't expect her to stick around for your antics, did you? You know blondes – they're not really the loyal type," AJ said slyly, walking toward Courtney and caressing the end of her hair. "Isn't that right, Daisy?"

"Don't you ever call me that, you sick freak," Courtney said, jerking her head away from AJ's touch. "We all know what you did, and what you tried to do, and you know you're going to pay."

"Threats don't become you, oh faithless wife of mine," AJ said laughing at Courtney's appalled expression. He avoided Steven's watchful glare and turned to the women, now standing shoulder to shoulder in front of him. "And you are still my wife, Courtney, so you're the one that's going to pay – for everything you've done to me."

"Over your cold, dead body, AJ," Carly's voice came out steely. "And not that you have a heart, but I'll be the one to make sure you don't have a pulse." She walked closer to him with every word, until their angry breaths met. She pushed him out of the way, and Courtney followed her, leaving Steven to witness the most sickening display of satisfaction he had ever seen all over AJ's face.

"I didn't do it, Monica," Alan said vehemently. "Why are you so intent to hurt me? Why, because I stick up for our son that's been brought back to us?"

"He wasn't brought back to us, Alan – he lied to us!" Monica exclaimed, truly frustrated by Alan's response. "He pretended to be dead to hurt Courtney and all of us, especially you. He let you view his 'lifeless' body in that morgue just to cause people pain."

She stepped closer to Alan's bedside. "And if you hadn't been so grief-stricken, you never would have taken those pills or hit Michael with your car."

"I would never hurt Michael," Alan said, his voice beginning to choke up. "All I have ever wanted was for him to be with us, Monica, you know that. So does AJ, that's all he wants – to bring his son home where he belongs."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing," Monica said, this time not caring if she raised her voice or his blood pressure. "You rammed your car into a little boy – our grandson – and all you can think about is justifying AJ's horrible behavior! Thanks to the both of you, we'll probably never, ever get within 1,000 feet of that child!"

"Sonny and Carly will never let that happen anyway, Monica, and neither will Jason," Alan protested, though the thought of the constant battle with his youngest son pained him more than Monica's screeching. "AJ did what he thought he had to do – what we pushed him to think he had to do. We should have been there for AJ, and I'm going to be there for him now." He looked at her defiantly. "Whether you choose to be a mother to your son, to love your children as much as you claim, is your business."

Emily leaned back on the plush couch and looked at her new place. She was a little thankful that the realtor had told her the place was already furnished – Sonny decided to splurge on Greystone in every way, and left the penthouse just as it was. She still had some unpacking to do, and a few changes to make to some of the more drab colors, but she was happy to be there – high above the city and away from the world.

She got up, still deciding if she wanted to fix something in the immaculate kitchen she was never privy to before, or just enjoy the stars from the window behind the dining table. She walked around it, her fingers playing over the cherry-colored wood, until she came to the enormous view before her. She placed her hand on the still bullet-proof windows and chuckled to herself. This was the last place she ever expected to find safety.

Snapping up from her next thought, Emily briskly crossed the room and grabbed her cell phone from her purse. She tapped the side of it as it rang.

"Edward Quartermaine," her grandfather's voice bellowed.

"Good evening to you too, Grandfather," Emily said sweetly, mocking the old man's penchant for sounding more ferocious than he is.

Edward sighed, holding back his annoyance. "Do you want to explain to me why I got a call from Clifton, saying that you've moved into that gangster's fortress?"

"Clifton should have kept his mouth shut," Emily snapped back, but regained her composure as she made her way back to the windows. "I can't live at the mansion, and Wyndamere is no longer an option." She felt a sharp pain in her chest, remembering burning Nikolas' letter in the fireplace before she left Wyndamere for good. "Besides, Grandfather, you wanted me safe, so I am. What's better than a bullet proof fortress to give me that, huh?"

"Emily, you'll be living across from Jason," Edward began but Emily cut him off.

"All the more reason I'll be safer here than anywhere else," she said tightly. "Grandfather, I didn't call you to discuss living arrangements. We have bigger fish to fry than where I lay my head."

Edward was conflicted by the sharpness of her tone: he admired her new tenacity but couldn't help feeling wrong somehow. "Emily, even without my reservations about your involvement in ELQ, there's still the board to consider."

"The board is almost entirely family," Emily countered, "and though Monica and Alan will have a problem with it, I know I can make Ned and Justus see things my way, and Sonny and Jax are still shareholders..."

"Don't remind me," Edward said tensely.

"Grandfather, I just made him a lot of money, and once I speak to Jason, Sonny will vote for me as well, Jax will follow suit," Emily said confidently, moving from the window back to the couch. "You should see this as a gift really – I have the greatest marketability to gain support from the board, and we can use it to pass whatever we like."

Edward shook his head, wondering how Emily had suddenly developed such a savvy demeanor overnight. He heard Tracy's footsteps and booming complaints bounding down the stairs for dinner. "Emily, come by the house and we can discuss it more, alright?"

"Grandfather, I'll be by later," Emily stated, "but the only thing we're going to discuss is our order of business...Cassadine Industries." She pressed the 'End Call' button her phone and sighed unhappily into her new abode.

Sam sat on the bench overlooking the docks quietly. She still had an eerie feeling, so she felt for her gun once more before exhaling fully and enjoying the ships sailing through the Port Charles Harbor as the sun settled behind the colorful clouds. The ships...

It is not a threat to my pregnancy if I cruise around the harbor in a launch!

Yeah, well, what if the boat overturned? What if the water was too cold?

Sam sadly smiled to herself. She didn't even like Jason then, and even when he yelled at her she could tell he was a good person, someone that would look out for her. She touched the leaves next to the bench and thought of the old grandmother that made her feel like crap for being a single mother...

Where's your wedding ring? You didn't lose it, did you?

I left it...on the kitchen sink. Can you forgive me?

Always.

Sam sighed and traced her left hand with her right, where Jason had caressed it that day. "Simpler times," she whispered to herself.

Jason felt a tingle go through his spine when Tesorieri's men frisked him. One rubbed his gruff hands over the exact spot Sam clutched that day on the docks, when they pretended to be a married couple. He hadn't thought about that day in so long, but the contrast in sensation made him want to finish this so-called business as fast as possible to be with her. He couldn't wait to make their whole world right again, but he had to shake off all thoughts of her as he walked in the room.

Benito Fonti and Victor Tesorieri sat facing the door, as was custom for the particular don in charge of security. Jason knew Tesorieri and Fonti were tighter than most, but Teso, as they used to affectionately call him before he took over his family, usually had the upper hand in that relationship. Jason looked around to see that Armando Sandoval had managed to wedge himself between Miguel Gamboa and Salvador Guarisco. He understands key positioning, Jason thought to himself. Miguel immediately made room for Jason – he understood positioning as well, and knew Sandoval would sweat buckets through his overpriced suit having to deal so closely to the man even Guarisco jokingly called Bulletproof Blue.

"Thanks, Miguel," Jason said, but he moved to the other side of Miguel. He wanted to face the man responsible for this meeting head on. Jason's eyes gazed over each man with the proper respect but set hard upon Armando. "Don Guarisco, whenever you're ready to begin."

"Mr. Morgan, I speak for everyone when I extend my thanks for making your warehouse available to us this evening," Guarisco said, looking to each man for a nod. After Sandoval finally complied, he turned gruffly from him and addressed Jason again. "However, this is not your warehouse alone. Where is Mr. Corinthos?"

"He's not here," Armando piped up, and even Fonti – who didn't mind seeing Jason and Sonny taken out of the equation – looked at him reproachfully. "He shows no respect for this meeting, or these gentlemen."

"Don Guarisco, Mr. Corinthos sends his sincerest apologies for his absence," Jason said calmly, reserving the coolness with which he wished to speak. "He had so looked forward to catching up with you. However, as you all know, his son is in the hospital and finally regained consciousness this afternoon."

"Good to hear," Miguel said, and a few others nodded in agreement. He quickly checked his support, though. "But surely, Mr. Corinthos is aware of the importance of tonight's agenda?"

Jason turned to his friend and associate, realizing that Miguel was more nervous than he was. He knew what it was like to be the new kid in a room full of heavy hitters, and genuinely felt sorry for him. "Of course, Mr. Gamboa, but Sonny would prefer that I address the matter at hand." He turned back to Guarisco. "Don Guarisco, the Corinthos-Morgan organization would first like to thank you for the opportunity to address any grievances personally and on our territory. However, we feel that the matter at hand would not even be so if not for the actions of one such person present this evening."

Guarisco nodded knowingly, but was surprised when Armando didn't throw in his trademark barb. He looked over, as did the other dons, to see him checking his watch. Put on the spot, Sandoval cleared his throat. "My actions that you speak of were simply to call attention to the lack of detail and thought your organization has shown to the members of our alliance."

"The shipments our organization has maintained for years have only been disrupted by those seeking to increase their own power," Jason said firmly but calm, "and Mr. Sandoval, I'm sure you're aware like the rest of our alliance present how we have handled such interlopers in the past."

Sandoval shifted in his seat, but before he could retort, Tesorieri spoke up. "We appreciate how smoothly our past transactions have gone, but if I may break formality here – Jason, if Sandoval can raid you, so can the cops."

"Unless you have them in your pocket," Fonti finally said. He leaned forward on the table and looked pointedly at Jason. "Now that formality is out the window, let's be real here. Your buddy Mickey has probably already squealed about the tape we got in the mail."

"A tape I suspect was sent by Faith, on her orders should she be eliminated," Jason replied. "So you want to trust the motives of the woman that murdered your father?"

"What I want is guarantees – starting with never mentioning my father again!" Fonti declared angrily, shooting straight out of his chair. Guarisco gave him a warning look, and he slammed his body back into his chair. "Jason, if Sonny's banging that FBI chick and he's got protection, he should extend it to us. If not, we need to find someone that can offer it."

"Is that where I come in?" Kryptonite's smooth Jamaican accent floated through the air like the expensive, yet subtle cologne he wore. He stood in the doorway, smoothing his silk black tie under his suit, and waited to be asked in.

Jason knew him immediately, and had to smirk to himself. Kryptonite was one of the biggest competitors of the organizations present, based out of Philadelphia. He had never been large enough to take over any of them, but Jason was well aware that he and Fonti kept in touch after the massacre. An ace in the hole, he thought – one that Sandoval wasn't expecting. Jason turned to Armando, ready to suppress the laughter at his livid expression.

Instead, Armando was checking his watch again, causing Jason to look at his own. 7:13. Jason got a sudden pang of nervousness at the sight of Sandoval's almost serene face. "What the hell is he up to?" Jason whispered to himself, looking at Miguel, who was thinking the same thing.

Ric shook his head, still visibly upset by Alexis' non-response. "I wish you had come in about 30 seconds earlier." He sighed. "What do you need?"

"John Durant – back in Manhattan." Mac looked at Ric seriously, and then sat in front of his desk. "The man is the most unstable federal prosecutor I've ever seen, and he's not going to be satisfied until he's made Port Charles his little pet project of justice."

"You're preaching to the choir, Mac," Ric responded, rubbing his hands over his face. "Who would have ever thought you and I would want the same thing as my nefarious brother? It's almost laughable, really."

"Hardly," Mac replied stiffly, as did a voice outside of Ric's office. "You know I want Sonny to go down, and I want you and I to be the ones to take him down, not some hot shot who doesn't like who his daughter marries." Mac stood up and faced the door, before turning back to Ric. "Besides the fact that he's taken a sudden interest in my ex-wife, he's breathing down my neck about Alan Quartermaine – wants to know how soon we can roll his hospital bed into a cell."

"Wait a minute...Durant and Felicia?" Ric stood up to face his colleague. "So what makes you want him out of the way more – his fondness for vendettas or his fondness of Felicia?"

"Does it matter?" Mac said, cursing himself for slipping that part about Felicia in the conversation. He wasn't quite ready to admit how much he had been thinking about her dating Durant, especially after she announced she wouldn't be home for dinner that night. "All I know is Durant is willing to do anything to get the results he wants, and I don't want him mucking up my department or yours."

"Agreed," Ric said, still smiling over Mac's obvious jealousy. He followed the man to the door, only briefly noticing a shadow disappearing just around the corner. "Durant won't get any help from me on his rants, but word of advice Mac..."

"Yeah?"

"Don't help him out by doing any ranting of your own, huh?" Ric said pointedly. He laughed again as Mac rolled his eyes and sauntered off toward the station.

Ric shut his door, and Mac turned down the opposite hallway before Alexis reemerged from her corner near the janitor's closet. She pulled out her cell and dialed. "Don't talk, just listen. I have information that you'll want to hear. Meet me on the docks in 10 minutes."

Ned placed his cell back in his pocket and put his arm around Maria's waist as the hostess led them in the dining hall of the Metro Court.

"Who was that on the phone?" Maria asked casually, trying to avert Ned's gaze from John Durant, who finished his bourbon at the bar and past the couple menacingly.

Ned turned back to her and shook his head. "A distributor - again. It's like the fourth time this week something's been wrong. I'm sorry, seriously. I'm all yours, the rest of the night," he said holding her chair out for her and then taking his own seat.

"It's alright," Maria said, smiling. "You get this kind of fire in your eyes when you talk about work. I like someone that's passionate about what they do." They both reached for each other's hand at the same time, and laughed like teenagers.

"So tell me, what is it that you want to do?" Ned said, a hint of flirtation in his voice. He was beginning to like everything about Maria – how she smiled, how she tossed her head when she was embarrassed by his compliments, but he realized he didn't know much about what was going on in her head. "Seriously, now that you're staying in Port Charles, what do you want to do here?"

"Well, I started a degree in social work in Mexico," Maria said simply, "But I'm not sure if I could just pick up where I left off."

"Why not?" Ned asked earnestly.

"Well, I have Diego to think about now," Maria said quietly, not really wanting to bring up the subject of her estrangement from her son.

Thankfully, Viola walked up to their table at that moment. "Hello, Mr. Ashton. How are you?"

Ned got up from his seat, and kissed Viola on the cheek. "I'm wonderful, and yourself? I'm sorry," Ned said quickly, turning back to his date, "Maria, this is Viola. She's Kristina's nanny."

The women exchanged pleasantries, and Maria breathed a sigh of relief that Ned seemed to only want to discuss Alexis' little girl with the gorgeous woman standing at their table. Viola's burnt orange dress swayed perfectly around her body, and her face was flawless. She quickly left the table, saying goodbye to Maria again and returned to her own date, a handsome black man in a dark suit jacket and warm eyes.

"Sorry about that," Viola said, as Murphy helped her back into her seat.

"No problem," he said, sitting across form her again, hesitantly taking her hand. He almost let out a huge sigh of relief when she responded in kind. "I didn't know you knew the Quartermaines so well," he said, trying to deflect the attention from his nervousness.

"Well, Ned and Alexis were very close when he claimed to be Kristina's father," Viola said simply. "I actually wish he had been because it would have made Alexis' life so much easier than it is now." Realizing she was seriously bringing down the mood, she straightened back up in her chair. "Enough about work and other people's families – I'd much rather talk about yours, Kristian."

Murphy laughed. He wasn't used to anyone calling him by his first name, and Viola said it like his mother used to. "Well, my family was unusual for where we come from, pretty small. Most of my friends on the island had about five brothers and sisters. They all thought I was lucky because I only had one." If they only knew, he thought with contempt.

"It still amazes me that you're from Jamaica," Viola said, taking another sip of her red wine. She didn't quite understand the flash of tension in Kristian's face. "You don't have an accent at all."

"Lost it when we moved to the States," Murphy said, shrugging his shoulders. "But if you get me back home for more than a week, I can put Taye Diggs' performance in 'Stella' to shame." He smiled as she chuckled behind her napkin.

Viola leaned forward, lacing her fingers between Murphy's. "You just might, Kristian," she said seductively and they held their gaze until Murphy forgot all mention of the sibling he wished never existed.

Salvador Guarisco stood gingerly and approached Kryptonite carefully. "Am I to assume you were invited to our private business negotiations this evening?" His voice was sobering, as Kryptonite's face went from smug to solemn.

"Actually, Don, I made the call," Fonti said, standing behind the elderly man.

"It's alright," Kryptonite's voice floated through the air. He turned back to Guarisco to address him properly. "Mr. Fonti encouraged me to make my intentions clear this evening, for everyone involved to hear. I only wish to offer additional options for your organizations to consider, if that's ok with you, Don Guarisco."

Guarisco extended his hand, and Kryptonite bowed slightly and helped him back to his seat. "Nice to see you gentlemen," Kryptonite said, paying close attention to Jason.

Sandoval finally looked up from his watch. "Can we please deal with the initial matter on the table?" He turned back to Guarisco's chair, only to find the elder don had purposefully sat Kryptonite there, and had took a chair between Fonti and Tesorieri. "I have only taken action to prove the Corinthos-Morgan organization unfit. They have not extended their new protection to the rest of us and have lost focus. Sonny Corinthos didn't even bother to show up, and he and Morgan have been far too preoccupied playing 'Who's the Daddy' to address business concerns!"

Jason looked at Miguel, who silently motioned for him to unclench his fist. "If we were too busy for business, I wouldn't be here." He looked around at the other dons and knew they weren't completely buying into Sandoval. "Faith sent that tape as a final threat to Sonny. Everyone in this room has been affected by her treachery, but she took careful steps to plan Sonny's demise to be total and long lasting."

"So why didn't you stop her when you had the chance?" Fonti spoke quietly. He agreed with Jason, and in fact had no ill will toward him or Sonny, but business was business. "We lost countless members of our families because Sonny slipped too many times. He let Faith go over and over again – to protect his family, his concerns. What about the rest of us, Jason?"

"If I may?" Kryptonite said, noticing Sandoval had checked his watch for the second time since he came into the room. "It seems Mr. Corinthos has been securing his territory and threats to his family first, while reasonably maintaining his legitimate transactions to the benefit of most people in this room. While I'm aware that all the heads of the organizations take care of one another, has Mr. Corinthos broken any promises of protection to any of you?"

Jason sat back thoughtfully, squinting his eyes in Kryptonite's direction. Fonti brought him in, to battle Sandoval for Sonny's territory, but he seemed to be making a case against his own interest. He turned again, to find Sandoval tapping his foot impatiently. "Are we keeping you from something, Sandoval?"

All the men in the room looked curiously at Armando, whose eyes defied his docile expression.

Sam shivered slightly and looked around. She forgot her watch at the penthouse, so she stood up to retrieve her cell phone from her purse. Sam wanted to wait for Jason, but the cold night air was getting the best of her so she figured she'd head home first and just come back. "Got it," she said, finally reaching her phone. 7:30.

"But you won't need it," the masked figure said from behind her, snatching Sam's cell and throwing it into the harbor. He whirled her around to face him, and the mixture of anger and fear that clouded her eyes almost made him smile.

"Let go of me! LET GOOO!" Sam screamed at the top of her lungs but before she could say anything more, her assailant punched her in the mouth, knocking her to the ground.

"Morgan should have told you to be more careful," the gruff man gritted through his teeth. "Such a pretty face," he said as Sam continued to struggle beneath him. He punched her again and finally pinned her hands behind her back.

"He's...gonna kill – ah!" Sam winced as the man jerked her hands back farther. She could feel her gun with her thumb, but the man's sharp knee jabbed in her side made it difficult for her to think of anything else. "He's gonna kill you for this, you know he will."

"Not unless I kill you first," he spat out, and moved his left hand to Sam's throat and began to choke her.

In that instant, Sam managed to pull her right knee into him and reach for her gun at the same time. She heard two people walking toward the docks but decided not to scream for help. After kneeing him a second time, Sam and the groaning man rolled closer to the edge of the dock. Sam jerked herself from his grasp, and tried to stand, but he tripped her.

"I like them feisty," he said, lunging for her again. Sam could see him ogling her chest and her eyes went wide. She could see a man and woman rushing down the stairs but her attacker was too close. She pulled the gun and let off six shots in his direction, but heard three bodies fall to the floor.

Liz left Lucky's room after bringing him back from his physical therapy session. He seemed to be pushing himself harder to prove he would be ok going home, even though his release papers were already waiting for him. Physical therapy. Cameron. Lulu. Shifts at the hospital. Final exams in a few months. The more Liz thought about the responsibilities that were piling up she felt like she needed to sleep for 12 hours. "Not going to get that," she muttered to herself at the nurses' station.

"What's that dear? Money? A cure-all for your problems?" Liz heard her grandmother's voice from behind her. She turned to face the music. "Elizabeth, your behavior lately has been so immature, and your decisions..." Audrey stopped to gather her thoughts. "I have been so proud of you and how you've matured into motherhood and working here at GH. Why throw all that progress away now?"

"Grams, you talk about me like I'm an alcoholic that just came out of Jake's!" Liz exclaimed a little too loudly. "I am responsible, and I am an adult. I love Lucky, I love my son, and I'm going to make our new living situation work, and hold my job and the rest of my life together – without your input." Liz fumed but before she could say anything else, Steven approached both of them.

"Hey, hey, hey," he said anxiously, "I'm not going to have to break up another fight today am I?"

"Not at all," Audrey said stiffly. "Elizabeth has made her position very clear, and so have I. Seems my input isn't necessary, so I guess any assistance from me won't be either." She walked away in a huff, making sure not to look back at either of her grandchildren's open jaws.

"Wow, she's in rare form," Steve said, turning back to his sister. "Liz, I know you and Lucky want to be together –"

"Steven, no lectures," Liz said sternly, and Steven threw his hands up.

"Whoa, I was just going to say that Grams is only looking out for you in her way, but I can too," Steven replied quickly. "I can help you take care of setting things up at your new place, stuff with Cameron, whatever you need."

"And this would be to avoid your own life?" Liz said quizzically. "C'mon, Steven, you've never played hero before. What's going on with you?"

Steven looked at Elizabeth and wondered if she could se the flashes of Rachel, Carly, and his own past flashing before his eyes.

"Don't you ever," Monica said, walking threateningly toward Alan, "ever in your life question my love for my children. Alan, in case you've failed to notice, I'm the only one that has tried to love and support Jason while you dive into whichever pill bottle you can find!"

"And yet you tear AJ down for wanting to be with his own flesh and blood," Alan retorted, his heart monitor beeping faster. "Jason isn't even your own child..."

"Exactly! Exactly, Alan – Jason was your bastard child, but I took him into my heart and love him as much as I love AJ, and Emily. Can you say the same?" Monica balled and released her fist over and over again as she spoke. "Did it even occur to you to ask about Emily, or are you satisfied to tear me down as a parent the moment you wake up from nearly costing our grandson his life?"

"Glad to see things haven't changed since I last stopped by," Emily called out from the door. She walked in to face Monica. "You would think as a cardiologist you'd know better than to upset someone that nearly died three times and just got out of a coma."

"Emily, I love you, but you have no idea what you're talking about," Monica said, her eyes softening under Emily's cold stare.

"Emily, AJ was here," Alan said, trying to get her attention. "He really is alive and he's come back to us."

Emily looked pitifully at her father. "If he's back, it's only to hurt you more, Alan. You should know that by now." She shifted uncomfortably from one leg to another before walking over to his bed. She took his hand and kissed it softly. "I do honestly hope that you feel better soon." She readjusted the papers she had tucked under arm before they could slip out and turned from his bedside.

Monica stepped in front of her. "What are those papers?"

"I might as well tell you both now, you'll find out soon enough," Emily said maintaining her stoic gaze. "These papers serve to officially conclude my time as a medical intern at General Hospital. I'm giving up medicine."

Courtney grunted inwardly as she sat down on the uncomfortable couch next to the elevators. She stared into her paper cup of coffee to avoid looking at her now bare ring finger. She felt guilty that she hadn't taken it off for more than a couple hours before she started eyeing Jason again, but she couldn't help it. Her marriage to Jason, legal or not, was the one time she felt she had love worth fighting for, and even when it got ugly she knew he would fight for her, not against her.

"Why can't Jax be like that?" Courtney said aloud, sipping the black liquid depressingly.

"Because he's not the man for you, Daisy," AJ said, walking quickly to sit in front of Courtney before she could move.

"Leave me the hell alone, AJ," Courtney retorted softly. She wished she hadn't left Carly back in the cafeteria now.

"Courtney, you're still my wife," AJ said intently, "and like I said before, I'm willing to try again. No matter what you've done to me, I'm willing to give you another chance."

Courtney shook her head and frowned. "What I did to you? AJ, you married me to trade for Michael, and then you stalked me! You falsified the divorce papers and then tried to set me up for your murder...I can't even believe that you can say I've done anything as horrible to you."

AJ's eyes filled with rage. "You knew the one way to hurt me the most and you did it. I told you over and over again, how everyone treated me like the gum stuck to their shoe the moment Jason walked into the room, and you followed suit." His voice was shaky and incensed. "You threw me away just like everyone else!"

"No, AJ," Courtney said, leaning closer to his enraged face, "I'm not going to let you rewrite history so you can feel justified. You've done as much damage if not more to me, the people I love, and the people that you claim to love. Your heart is filled with revenge, it always has been. That's why Carly doesn't want her son around you...that's why your family turns on you so easily. You make it impossible for anyone to love you, AJ."

AJ grabbed Courtney's face and smothered his lips on hers. She dropped her coffee on his lap, and he jumped away from the steaming sensation, but didn't let go of her face. "You may be right, Daisy, but I'll still get what I want." He threw his hands away from her face and got into the first elevator that opened.

Courtney sat there, stunned. AJ's eyes were dark and jaded, and she saw all the pain he was bound to inflict on anyone in his path. She immediately thought of Carly, who was heading to Michael's room and shot up to warn her.

Before she could take a step, she saw a small black box whizzing toward her. She caught it mid-air, only to see Jax standing in front of her, a different kind of pain reflected in his periwinkle orbs.

"Let me guess – something urgent," Jax said coldly. "Is it more urgent than telling me how the hell you could give up on us?"

"Sonny, if you have information about Kristina's kidnapping that I need to be aware of..." Reese said, trying to press down the desire to get closer to him.

"Does it mean, you know, that you'd have to stay to investigate?" Sonny said, still feeling the heat from their bodies fighting to be near each other.

"Of course I would look into it," Reese said, breaking their gaze again. "But I'm not going to be sent on a wild chase for your amusement."

"Would I do that?" Sonny replied, displaying his trademark dimples that he could tell gave him Reese's full attention. "Seriously, my men uncovered a paper trail in Faith's bank records that indicate she was working with someone. This someone hates me, and would definitely do something twisted to destroy my life."

Reese gave in and stepped closer to Sonny. "Who is it, Sonny?"

"Sonny, is Michael..." Carly said fretfully but stopped short at seeing how close her ex-husband was standing with Reese. "Am I interrupting something?"

Sonny looked back at Reese's face, and she bit the corner of her bottom lip, waiting for him to respond. Suddenly her cell phone rang in her pocket and she stepped away from Sonny and Carly, though watching Carly's expression go from concern to suspicious jealousy as Sonny tried to talk to her. "Agent Marshall."

"We need you on the docks right away," Mac's voice boomed into her ear. "There were shots fired, and ambulance is on its way. With the five families' meeting tonight, it could be a federal matter."

The docks...Reese felt her stomach churn as she shut her phone and looked at the time. 7:40. "Um, I have to go – there's an emergency at the docks," she said in Sonny and Carly's direction. 'an ambulance is on its way'...I shouldn't have left her alone, she thought.

"The docks?" Sonny's face suddenly became alert. "I'm coming with you." He grabbed his jacket from the chair he laid it on earlier and he and Reese started off, but Carly grabbed Sonny's arm.

"Where's Jason, Sonny?" Her face looked panicked, searching Sonny's for answers and looking back into Michael's window. "I'm coming with you – don't argue with me." She raced after them despite Sonny shaking his head.

AJ peered around the corner one more time, to make sure his nemeses were gone for good before he moved to the window in Michael's room. He saw the guard walk away when Sonny and Reese were standing there, and no one had taken his place.

He slowly turned the knob of the door, and left it slightly cracked open behind him. The light from the hallway shined in right on Michael's face, which made AJ smile genuinely for the first time in ages. He had to will himself not to cry at being able to be this close to his son. AJ rolled the stool close to Michael's bed and gently touched his hair.

"I love you so much, Michael," AJ whispered in the sleeping boy's ear, causing him to stir and turn his face toward him. "I know they'll never tell you that, but I always wanted you. I'm going to try and make it right again, buddy. We're always going to be family." AJ wiped the single tear he let drop before leaning over to kiss Michael's forehead.

"Mmmm...Dad?" Michael said, his eyes not fully open.

AJ's heart nearly leapt out of his chest, thinking Michael was awake, but suddenly the door swung wide open and he was blinded by the light. Michael opened his eyes and shrunk away from AJ's touch, as the person entered the room.

"You're not Michael's dad," Lulu said, confused.