"Did he say what he wanted?" Alexis asked Lorenzo in their living room.
"No, he just asked me to talk privately," Lorenzo said, "Considering Jason doesn't usually call just to chat, I have a feeling you probably don't want to be around for the conversation."
"Maybe he wants to talk about Drew," Alexis said, "Considering he just appeared out of the sky."
"Which I'm sure our daughter will tell us more about when she gets to the island and sees Drew," Lorenzo said, interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Just promise me Jason won't drag you back into anything," Alexis said, as Lorenzo moved toward the door, "I know that Port Charles hasn't exactly been stable. I can't but wonder if…"
"Put that thought out of your gorgeous mind, counselor," Lorenzo said, "Even if Jason is here about that, I'm out. That's all that matters."
Lorenzo opened the door.
"Jason," He said, and motioned for him to come in.
"Thanks for seeing me on such short notice," Jason said, "Good to see you, Alexis. But I really need to speak with just Lorenzo."
"I told you," Alexis said to Lorenzo.
"You have nothing to worry about," Lorenzo said.
"I better not," Alexis muttered as she left the room, "Or you will."
"What's up?" Lorenzo asked.
"I assume you still hear things from time to time," Jason said.
"What sort of things?" Lorenzo asked.
Jason hesitated, pondering his next words.
"If you were still in the business," Jason said, "What type of moves would you be making right now?"
Lorenzo grimaced knowing what he wanted to say, but held back.
"Don't tell me what you think I'd want to hear now," Jason said, "Assume that there weren't any family connections that might affect your decisions."
"So in this scenario, we're assuming Kellie and Sam don't exist," Lorenzo replied.
"Or no one's aware of their connections to you," Jason said.
"I'd have total free reign," Lorenzo said.
"That would be the idea," Jason said.
"In that case," Lorenzo replied, "I would have taken Sonny's place as head of the five families after grabbing up the Buscema territory and that's just for starters."
"I was…." Jason started to respond, "I was hoping that wouldn't be the answer."
"Sonny's distracted and sloppy," Lorenzo said, "He made solid moves grabbing the Novak territory and partnering with Selina Wu. After that, the two of you seemed to have dropped the ball. Sonny seems to have lost some of his edge and spends more time waffling between Nina and Carly. I'd be a fool not to take advantage of that if I were still in the business. But I'm not telling you anything you don't already know."
"No, you're not," Jason said.
"You're going to have to stop making excuses for Sonny and make some decisions," Lorenzo said, "If you don't, your family will be the ones to pay the price. They already are separated from you. That goes back to before Sonny was found."
"Look I'm trying," Jason said, "Sonny doesn't want to listen and."
"Jason, I'm going to stop you right there," Lorenzo interrupted, "I'm saying this as someone who went into business with you after Sonny got your sister Emily killed because he's sloppy and distracted similar to right now. However, its worse this time because it's not just one person coming after Sonny, it's allies and enemies alike I hear rumblings about. Sonny isn't commanding the respect he used to. You aren't either. Carly showing up at the docks with Cyrus didn't stay as quiet as you hoped. The confusion over the disappearance of Cyrus's mother while smoothed over, still managed to leave some questions. Enough questions that when combined with the fact you stepped down and let Sonny take back over, people may be sensing weakness in you too. The rumor I've heard is they don't think you want it enough. But I know you better than that because when it's mattered you've stepped to take over the business in the past. What the hell was holding you back this last time? What's holding you back from doing what needs to be now done despite Sonny's objections?"
Jason paced and shook his head.
"Well," Lorenzo said.
"Thank you for your honesty," Jason said, heading for the door, "But I really should…"
Lorenzo moved to block the door.
"You started this conversation. We're going to finish it," Lorenzo said, "I think you need to answer the question about what's holding you back. Because until you do, this situation continues to spiral. I'd tell Kellie to take the kids and stay away, except I'm not sure that will help now either. Not with whoever's looking to take you and Sonny out, going after her as well."
"I wouldn't blame her if she did," Jason said, "Or at least tried."
"Unfortunately, in her case, they could also take her leaving you as a sign, she'll decide to go against you and Sonny for the business," Lorenzo said, "You need to get it together, Morgan, unless you want four kids to end up having lost both parents."
"You think I don't understand what's at stake," Jason said, "It's all I can think about."
"Then you ought to be able to answer the damn question, Morgan," Lorenzo yelled
"Because it means admitting that Sonny isn't coming back," Jason exploded, "Not the Sonny we knew before he fell off the bridge."
Lorenzo didn't reply, letting Jason think and continue.
"When we thought Sonny was gone, it different taking over the business this time," Jason said, "I knew he wasn't coming back and that was harder than I thought to accept even though we always knew it could happen. And now as much as I know Sonny went through a lot, I keep waiting for him to snap out of it. I keep thinking he'll regain whatever it is that made him the Sonny we knew."
"You can't keep waiting, it's too much of a risk," Lorenzo said, "Whether Sonny will admit to it or not. If you fill that void, his men will follow you."
"I know," Jason said, "I guess that's why I keep waiting because once I pull the trigger on that, there's no going back."
"No, there isn't," Lorenzo said, "I know that decision isn't something you'd take lightly. I just hope you figure it out before it's too late."
The Island Hospital
Kellie entered Drew's hospital room again, "Monica said, you wanted to see me."
"Do you remember that WSB case Jason helped you with in Europe," Drew said, "and Helena Cassadine and your psychotic uncle were kidnapping Danny and Molly to get a brainwashing program."
"Yeah, that was a memorable case," Kellie said, "That one would be a hard one to forget. Why are you ask….oh no…"
"Unfortunately, I think that there's a good possibility that Peter August or his father put more levels into the brainwashing then we were aware of," Drew said, "I was hoping to get your advice."
"Okay, what makes you think you are still brainwashed or could have been brainwashed when they took you," Kellie said.
"I've lost chunks of time," Drew said, "More recently, I found myself with a graze from a bullet on my arm and no idea how I got it, along with assorted injuries."
"That definitely qualifies," Kellie said, "Before you lose time, what do you remember before you lose time."
"Peter or one of his goons was in the room everytime," Drew says, "And after that nothing. I know you deprogrammed Alexis years ago and her brainwashing...Is that something you could help me with."
"Yours is different than Alexis's," Kellie said, "Alexis's was designed to make her forget certain memories like who Sam's father was and alter her memory to think she'd been raped. Yes, you've lost memories, but it's also likely someone was giving you orders. I deprogrammed Alexis years ago, with highly trained experts guiding me and only because Alexis's programming was falling apart and we couldn't wait for someone else. Yes, the Cassadine connections are definitely there, but I suggest you talk to Anna and figure out what your best options are."
"Fair enough," Drew said.
"I've seen bad cases," Kellie said, "You don't remind me of any of them."
"That's comforting," Drew replied.
"I will tell you what you won't do though," Kellie said.
"And that is?" Drew said.
"You will not keep Sam in the dark about this and/or sneak off to get treatment without telling her anything," Kellie said, "If you hurt Sam and your family like that, believe me when I tell you."
"You'll go full Kellie Corinthos on me," Drew said.
"I wouldn't put it that way," Kellie said.
"That won't be necessary," Drew continued, "I promise I'll keep Sam in the loop. She and Scout are the reason I fought so hard to get back here. I'm not about to mess that up if I can help it."
"Good," Kellie said.
"How's Dante?" Drew asked, "Did he get his treatment?"
"He's back in Port Charles," Kellie said, "It's been a bumpy road, but it seems like with the treatment and additional therapy, he's more like himself again. He and Lulu have been cautiously working towards getting back together."
"That's good news," Drew said.
"When he left, I really wasn't sure if the treatment would be successful," Kellie said, "He reminded me way too much of some WSB agents that didn't make it. I'm sorry if I was too harsh on you about possibly keeping Sam in the dark. I shouldn't have assumed that just because my brother did that…"
"I'm glad Sam has you looking out for her," Drew said.
"She's looked out for me too," Kellie said.
"What scrapes did you two get into while I was gone?" Drew asked.
"They're not scrapes and that is highly classified information," Kellie said, "And come to think of it there weren't any."
"Weren't any what?" Sam asked, entering the room, and stopping to look at Drew.
Drew looked at Sam.
"I think I'll leave you two alone," Kellie said, "You dropped Scout off with the kids, I assume."
"Yeah, I figured that maybe seeing Drew out of the hospital would better for Scout," Sam said distractly as Kellie slipped out.
"You're really here," Sam said, inching closer to Drew, "I knew Kellie was telling the truth, it's just hard to believe after all this time. Not until I saw you."
Drew reached out for Sam's hand once she was closer enough to touch.
"You have no idea how many nights I dreamed about seeing you and Scout again," Drew said, "To touch you, just to be in the same room with you. It's what kept me going."
"When you called, I thought I was crazy at first," Sam said, "I'd finally thought I was just starting to move on, to accept you were dead. I was so afraid it would be trick. When Anna and the WSB got to the Cassadine compound and you weren't there, I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold out hope. Then Kellie called."
"I'm not going anywhere ever again if I can help it," Drew said, nudging Sam closer to him.
Sam's control broke and she hugged Drew. Drew hugged her back.
"I missed you," Sam said before kissing Drew.
