Sometime later- still on island
Kellie listened to a voice mail of Sonny slurring his words in an attempt to reach out to her and make excuses as far as she was concerned. The call ended when she heard Dante in the background, trying to discourage him from even continuing with the idea. Kellie deleted the message and texted Dante to call her when he wasn't with Sonny.
Kellie then called Jason.
"What's up?" Jason asked.
"Sonny just left me a drunken voice mail," Kellie said, "Have you seen him enough to know if he's on his meds? Even if he is, he shouldn't be mixing alcohol with his meds like that?"
"As far as I know," Jason said, "He's been on his meds and checking up with his doctors…."
"But?" Kellie said.
"If he's mixing alcohol and his meds," Jason said, "It is his choice."
"Except when it causes him to make bad business decisions that lead the Luiz Alcazars and Cyrus Renaults of the world to take over," Kellie said, "Then it does become a problem. We both know half the reason Dad let the business tank the way it did when Luiz tried to infiltrate it and take over, was his undiagnosed bi-polar disorder."
"I know," Jason said, "I'll talk to him."
"How is the transition with Sonny being Sonny now going, in business terms," Kellie asked.
"It feels like he never left," Jason said, "He took over as soon as he wrapped his head around it. Negotiated taking over the Novak territories from Joey Novak and splitting them with Selina Wu."
"Smart move," Kellie said, "What about Buscema's territory?"
"Up for grabs," Jason said.
"And Sonny's position as head of the five families?" Kellie asked.
"Currently unchallenged," Jason replied.
"But not secure," Kellie said.
"No," Jason said, "With the Buscema territory in question, it sounds like new players might be looking to make a name for themselves. Brando and Brick are running Cyrus's territories now in Port Charles anyway. Someone on the west coast grabbed up Cyrus's territory over there. We're not sure who yet though. Or if Cyrus is using some sort of silent partner while on the run."
"You need to figure out if Sonny's is well stable," Kellie said, "If he's not, that's more blood in the water. None of us are safe."
"If Sonny's not stable," Jason asked, "Is that going to affect whether or not you come back to Port Charles?"
"I don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out," Kellie said, "I want to come home to you. But I don't want to put the kids at risk either."
"Neither do I," Jason said, "I wish I could reassure you that everything's safe enough to bring them home. There's too many unknowns."
"The problem is given the situation," Kellie said, "I don't know if we're safe anywhere right now. Not if someone's looking to make a name for themselves."
"I haven't heard that anyone' specifically has got a target on our backs," Jason said, "But you know we'll do everything to make sure you and the kids are protected."
"Is it going to be enough?" Kellie said, "We both know…"
"There's a good chance they'll come after you, same as they would Sonny or I," Jason said, "I'll talk to Sonny tomorrow after he's slept this one off."
"Thank you," Kellie said, "God knows if I tried, I'd probably just make things worse."
"I'll take care of it," Jason said.
"And that's Dante calling me," Kellie said, "He might have some info on Dad. He was in the background trying to get Dad off the phone when he called."
"I'll take to you later than," Jason said.
"Hey, remember I love you and I want to figure this out," Kellie said.
"I love you too," Jason said.
Kellie ended the call with Jason and answered Dante's call.
"For someone that was in a hurry for me to call them back," Dante said, "I was about to leave a voicemail."
"I was on the phone with my husband," Kellie replied, "I didn't want to rush him off."
"You could have just left it at on the phone with Jason," Dante said, "Without implying things I should….you know what's exactly the reaction you wanted from me."
"What are sisters for if not to annoy their brothers?" Kellie said.
"I take it you got dad's voicemail," Dante said.
"Oh yeah," Kellie said, "I don't care about what he said. No excuse he makes can fix that he didn't even try to figure out who he was. I'm concerned with the fact he was drunk."
"I've never seen him like that until recently" Dante said, "That was…."
"I did, years ago," Kellie said, "before he got his bipolar diagnosis and after when they were trying to figure out the dosages."
"I told him shouldn't be drinking like that with his meds," Dante said, "He seems to be taking Carly separating from him hard."
"I don't blame Carly," Kellie said, "He didn't really seem interested in repairing their relationship before he got his memory back. He's been doing whatever with Nina even after she lied to him about who he was. He doesn't just get to snap his fingers once his memory is back and she comes running back to him. I'm sure he had no patience for whatever time Carly would ask for."
"No, patience is not always Dad's strong suit," Dante said.
"How has he seemed to you," Kellie said, "Has he been drinking like that more often lately? Any mood swings?"
"He's either holed up in the penthouse or drinking at the bar when I've seen him lately," Dante said, "As for mood swings, I mean I'd say he's just adjusting to having his memories back, figuring out his life after Nixon Falls."
"Or he's not taking his meds like he should," Kellie said.
"He swears up and down he has," Dante said.
"If he was off them, I'm not sure he'd admit to it," Kellie said.
"I'll keep an eye on dad," Dante said, "But it's not like I've seen Dad when he isn't on top of his bipolar disorder. But you from what I understand saw some of the worst of it. If you were here, you might get a better feel for where Dad's head is at. I can't ask Michael, not when he and Dad are at odds."
"And Dad and I aren't at odds," Kellie said.
"As much as I wish neither of you were at odds with Dad," Dante said, "I have to admit I think Michael actually has you beat when it comes fighting with Dad. You and Dad fight, it's just a lot of yelling and words, until you both just freeze each other out or you do what he tries to order you not to do. When Michael fights with Dad, Michael is something else. It feels like he wants some kind revenge or seeks out opportunities to fight back."
"What's Michael doing now?" Kellie asked.
"You heard that Sonny was put on the stand in Nina's trial in Nixon Falls," Dante said.
"And admitted publicly he had feelings for Nina," Kellie said, "Yeah."
"I found out Michael instigated the trial allegedly," Dante said, "Didn't think the feds case against Nina was enough and got the D.A. in Nixon Falls to file charges. I don't understand why he did that. Why not let the feds build their case and bring justice that way. Now Michael's angry at Dad and I'm not sure what he's going to do. But I remember how Michael went after Dad following's A.J.'s death."
"Michael's lucky that stunt in Nixon Falls didn't back fire on him," Kellie said, "But my best guess is Michael is trying to be proactive when it comes to Wiley and whatever visitation Nina wants. Look, Dante, you're just going to have to accept not all of us are going to have a great relationship with Dad. You'll just drive yourself crazy if you try to fix it or end up in the middle of it."
"But it might help Dad's adjustment to having his memories back if he's not fighting with two, well three of his adult children," Dante said, "I assume Kristina and him are still on the outs."
"Maybe that should tell you something," Kellie said, "Kristina and I just aren't talking to him right now. We're not actively fighting."
"You can't tell me you're not worried about Dad," Dante said, "Not when you demanded I call you after getting a drunken call from him."
"Yeah, I am worried," Kellie said, "Let's just say when Dad is …well let's there are some of his associates or enemies who might try to take advantage of that."
"I'm sure Jason has it under control if he doesn't," Dante said, "Weren't he and Jason on the outs when you took over the business years ago? I heard if you hadn't have taken over Luis Alcazar had his own people in Sonny's organization who would have taken over."
"After Emily died because Manny Ruiz shot her and Sonny didn't have the proper guards," Kellie said.
"Is that when Dad was diagnosed?" Dante asked.
"After, we took care of Luis," Kellie said, "It was also part of the reason, I didn't immediately hand the business back over to him right away."
"Like I said, Jason is here," Dante said, "You shouldn't need to worry about it if Dad can't run things."
"If only it was that simple," Kellie said.
"Is there something I need to know about," Dante said, "Have you heard something that maybe the PCPD should be investigating."
"Dante, no," Kellie said, "Detective Falconari, I believe that is my cue to tell you I plead the fifth."
"You know I'm not sure if you're being serious or not," Dante said, "So look just whatever is going through your head, don't do anything that would put me in the position of having to arrest you or hear that you've been arrested."
"I better not get caught then," Kellie quipped.
Johnny entered the room, signaling for Kellie to wrap up the call.
"Johnny wants to talk to me," Kellie said.
"I know when my little sister is giving me the brush off," Dante said, "Don't worry your head off about Dad. I'm sure it will be fine."
"Bye, Dante," Kellie said, rolling her eyes, "Give Lulu and Rocco my best."
"What's up?" Kellie asked Johnny after she hung up the phone.
"Selina Wu has been spotted at the casino," Johnny replied.
