Once Kellie left the room, Drew called Sam.
"Hello," Sam replied.
"Sam," Drew said.
"Drew," Sam replied, "It really is you. Kellie called and told me. It still doesn't seem real."
"You have no idea how good to hear your voice," Drew said.
"Not as good as it feels to hear yours," Sam said, "I'm at the airport now with Scout. We're getting on the plane to come see you."
"I can't wait," Drew said.
"Hold on, I'm going to put this on a video call," Sam said. Moments later Drew could see Sam and Scout on the screen.
"It's your daddy, honey," Sam said.
"Hi Scout, I have missed you so much," Drew said, waving.
Scout buried her face against Sam.
"It's okay, we've got plenty of time to get to know each other," Drew said.
"We're about to board the plane," Sam said, "But we will see you really soon."
Outside, the hospital room, Kellie checked her messages. She found a private corner and returned his call.
"Johnny told me Drew's alive," Jason answered, "Monica called too."
"I was just in the room with him," Kellie said, "I gave him a cell phone with Sam's number and let him know whatever he needed, we'd take care of it."
"Was he able to tell you anything about where he was?" Jason asked.
"Just that he was in a cell and Peter August has been there," Kellie said, "And confirmed some things we already suspected. I pushed as far as I could, but I have more questions. Anna asked me to hold the fort until she could get here. Just asking questions nothing else."
"Keep me posted and give Drew my best," Jason said.
"Did Monica tell you her other news?" Kellie said.
"She told me Charles asked her to marry him," Jason said, "Not that we weren't expecting that."
"About time we had some good news for a change," Kellie said, "Hopefully, tomorrow the doctors give me the all clear."
"And you might make a trip home," Jason said, "It hasn't been the same without you."
"I have all kinds of ideas to remedy that," Kellie said, "But I want to throw Charles and Monica a small celebration here. So it might be a couple more days unless…"
"Unless what?" Jason asked.
"Are things okay enough you could maybe come down for couple of days?" Kellie said.
"No," Jason sighed.
"What's going on now?" Kellie asked.
"Sonny seems better, but it doesn't seem to be enough," Jason said, "Something's still off. He's not on his game with any of this. If I leave, I think someone might take it as opportunity."
"And it's only a matter of time until whoever is targeting us tries again," Kellie said.
"I hate this," Jason said, "I couldn't come help you get settled on the island and I haven't even managed to visit with everything that's been going on. I don't know how to fix it."
"The only thing I can think of right now is talk to Sonny," Kellie said, "See if you can figure out where his head's at."
"I used to know, but since he came back, I don't know anymore," Jason said, "It's like he's Sonny and someone else."
"Maybe that's it," Kellie said, "Some part of him is Mike from Nixon Falls, small town bartender."
"Which means the question is how does who he was in Nixon Falls fit into the business," Jason said.
Port Charles
Jason went looking for Sonny at his penthouse.
"What's up?" Sonny asked.
"We have to talk," Jason said, "About the business, how things are going."
"Everything's fine," Sonny said, "I've got it under control. I stopped mixing alcohol with my meds…I'm being better about taking my meds."
"Being better? What exactly does that mean?" Jason asked.
"I'm taking them almost every day," Sonny said, "It's fine. The business is running like clockwork…"
"No, it's not, Sonny," Jason said, "Not when, people are questioning your leadership."
"Like who," Sonny said, "And why would they do that."
"People seem to think you're not who you were even with your memories back," Jason said, "They sense weakness."
"Give me a few more weeks on my meds consistently, it'll blow over," Sonny said.
"What if it doesn't," Jason asked, "The opening was there and people are taking it. The only reason no one's come at us yet since you got your memory back is because the Bucsema territory is still up for grabs. The family is fighting over who leads it while outsiders are trying to get to them first."
"It gives us plenty of time to get things solid," Sonny said.
"Is your head in the game, Sonny?" Jason said.
"Of course it is," Sonny replied, "Why wouldn't it be?"
"I think maybe your memories of Nixon Falls and who you were there are still part of you," Jason said, "That maybe you need to figure out how that works now that you have your memories of you as Sonny back."
"I'm who I've always been, Jason," Sonny said, "No one should question that."
"But you went through a lot in Nixon Falls," Jason said, "You lived a whole other live, thought you were a whole different person. You have admit that has to do something to you, how you see the world."
"That still doesn't change what I need to do when it comes to the business," Sonny said.
"But it doesn't mean it didn't change how our enemies, our associates see you when it comes to the business," Jason said, "I think you should think about that."
"Who is saying what about me?" Sonny asked.
"I haven't had specific conversations with anyone," Jason said, "But Brick has heard that people think the Corinthos Organization isn't stable, isn't strong with all the leadership changes and challenges to the territory in the last year. Kellie's even been approached by associates inquiring about the state of the business."
"They have no business talking to Kellie at all about the business," Sonny said, "If they have concerns, they should come to me or you. Who's been approaching her? What did they want from her?"
"She handled it," Jason said, "They wanted to know what she would do in certain situations, give her opinion on what she know. They were fishing more than anything. Kellie didn't provide what they were really looking for."
"She shouldn't have to handle it," Sonny said.
"All the more reason for you to get your head in the game," Jason said, "Do you really think our enemies or associates would be going to Kellie right now if your head was in the game?"
"Maybe if she hadn't been sticking her nose in the business while I was gone, they wouldn't have done that," Sonny replied.
"Do you really want to go there, Sonny?" Jason asked, "You were gone, Sonny, and we didn't think you were coming back. Carly, in her grief made some poor decisions. Kellie stepped in and was able to smooth the waters out behind the scenes to minimize the fallout. But Cyrus also spent a lot of time insinuating Carly or Kellie was in charge of the business. He did a lot of damage. While a lot of what Cyrus said about Kellie wasn't true, it's not a stretch for people to believe. And you have to know that, Sonny. Kellie's just as much of a target as we are the way things are right now."
"She's been on the island with the kids for how long now," Sonny said, "I assume since Cyrus tried to kidnap your daughter."
"Actually, she didn't go to the island until after Peter shot her," Jason said, "She stayed in Port Charles to see what she could do to stabilize things, make sure the foundation was protected. Cyrus targeted that too."
"Maybe she'll have to stay away longer," Sonny said, "If that's what's best for her and the kids."
"How long is my wife supposed to stay out of the country with the kids indefinitely?" Jason replied.
"As long it takes," Sonny said, "You know these things take time."
"So what's your plan to show people you're in control?" Jason asked.
"Give me some time," Sonny said, "I'll figure it out."
"That what you've been saying," Jason said, "How many times lately has someone tried to get their shipments through our territory unauthorized?"
"it's bound to happened," Sonny said.
"But we still should have been planning as soon as Novak and Buscema were killed," Jason said.
"Well we couldn't just take over both the Novak and Buscema territories even if we were splitting it with Selina," Sonny said.
"Again, we should have planned the ramifications earlier," Jason said, "Did you know Johnny Zacharra's up for parole?"
"It's his first time up, he won't get out," Sonny said, "I don't see that changing anytime soon. Not when he was responsible for killing Starr Manning's little girl and her father."
"I thought he wasn't supposed to get parole," Jason said, "I didn't think it was ever on the table."
"Come on, Jason, we both know it could have been a possibility," Sonny said, "I'm sure Johnny appealed for it or something for so-called good behavior. His first time up, he won't get it."
"And if someone else is making it happen," Jason asked, "We might want to be wary."
"He won't cross us," Sonny said, "We provided protection in exchange for information which has been a smart move over the years."
"Smart for us," Jason said, "Maybe not for him, if someone made him a better offer."
"I can check into it," Sonny said, "But I doubt it's that serious."
"What's it going to take for you take things seriously?" Jason asked, "This is not business as usual, Sonny."
"Jason, I need you to trust me that I've got things handled," Sonny said, "I know you were in charge while I was gone and got used to handling. I think you might need some time to adjust. Now if you'll excuse, I need to go see how things are going at Charlie's."
"Sonny, I really think…." Jason responded.
"Enough," Sonny said, "You voiced your concerns. I made my decision. I have other things to do now unless there's something else I should know."
Jason didn't respond right away.
"Drew's alive," Jason finally said, "Someone dumped him on the island."
"That's good news," Sonny said, checking his phone, "I know Sam had been searching for him. How is he?"
"Monica said he was awake by the time he got to the hospital," Jason said.
"Great, you can fill me in later," Sonny said.
