AN/

Hi! Hope you liked chapter one!

1.) bc of the drama Friz won't appear until chapter 4

2.) IDK if the Corinthos have a back stairs but in my story they do!

TYSM for reading reviewing following etc.! I can only hope you continue to love this!

-End of AN-

Ava took a sharp breath in from the shock quickly turning and pulling Avery into her to shield her with herself looking down to her daughter. Avery was safe, but she looked concerned. Ava wasn't sure if she immediately connected it to a gunshot or if she was still too innocent to assume. Either way she could read that her mother was definitely affected.

Ava quickly guided Avery into the little girls closet following behind her and closing the folding door to close it.

"Mommy-"

"Shhhh sweetie." Ava told her daughter, holding her closely as she listened intently. She could hear nothing though, and it was too quiet. She still stayed by Avery longer to make sure, not moving an inch as she held her daughter close.

After what she considered long enough she bent down to look at Avery eye leveled. "Avery baby," She whispered to her seriously. "You need to stay in here. In this closet. Don't open the door. Don't talk. Mommy will be right back but this is important that you listen to what I said, okay?"

Avery nodded. She was puzzled and concerned, but she knew that she needed to listen to her mom. Ava kissed Avery on the forehead before walking outside the closet and closing it behind her, hoping her daughter would listen and just stay put-something she wouldn't always do.

The first thing Ava did was an instinct she'd had for years-she grabbed her gun. It was in her purse as almost always and boy was she glad she had it today. She held it tightly as she made her way out of Avery's room and into the hallway, unsure what or who she'd find.

The hallway looked clear, but Ava stayed alert. She made her way down the stairs slowly and carefully. She even kicked her heels off to be more quiet as she took each step, careful to stay out of view of potential threats. But each step she took she could see more and the more she realized there was nobody there. Or at least she thought.

Ava's mouth fell open when she got to the bottom of the steps. Her gun almost wavered in the moment, but she knew now more than ever she needed to hold it tight.

Michael was laid out on the floor, face down, a pool of deep red blood pooling beneath him. His white pristine button up covered in it as well as the floor. He wasn't moving a muscle.

Ava ran over to him and deemed it okay to put the gun down to help him- still keeping it at the ready beside her. "Micheal!"

She shook him, some of the warm blood getting onto her hands and making her realize just how real this was. Michael was shot and she seemed to be the only person in the house. How was that possible? The house was always full of at least workers. Maybe she was just the last one left. She gulped at the thought.

She shook him again as he had no response, this time flipping the boy so that he was on his back, rolled in the blood. His eyes were shut and his mouth hung open limply. She looked down to his chest and could see where the bullet had hit him, right at his heart. This didn't look good.

She couldn't really feel for a heart beat given the wound so she went for the next best thing-his pulse. She held her blood covered fingers up to his neck and felt desperately for a pulse. She was no doctor, so she could be missing something but there was no sign of life that she could recognize against her fingers.

"Oh god." She breathed out realizing this had become less of a save Michael mission and more of a call for help situation. She reached for her phone in her purse, finding the phone and trying her best to type 911 quickly. The blood on her fingers made it difficult for her phone to register the buttons but eventually she got them to work.

"Hello, 911?" Ava asked, holding the phon against her shoulder and ear as she tried again to get a pulse from Michael. "A man's been shot. At Greystone manor, 120 shoreline road. Please get here fast. I can't find a pulse, he's not breathing and nobody else is here."

The woman on the phone assured her they'd send an ambulance and the police to the location right away, urging her to leave the phone on even if she wasn't talking into it just incase until the authorities showed up.

Suddenly a man ran into the room. Terrified she dropped the phone and picked up her gun to which the man put his hands up. Then she wavered, realizing she recognized the man.

"Mrs. Cassadine, it's me." He pleaded.

She realized the man worked for Sonny, one of the guards that patrolled the house. She lowered the gun and let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. At least she wasn't alone.

"What the hell happened?!" Ava asked standing up and allowing the guard to take her place next to Michael.

"A masked gunman showed up and knocked out the guards on this side of the property. I saw him running away so I went after him, I didn't know he had already fired."

"Oh my god." Ava said flustered and grabbing for her phone once more, needing to call her husband and get back to her daughter.

"I need to go back to Avery, you have to help Michael." She told the guard already making her way up the stairs fast.

She dialed as she made her way up, the ringing tone of the phone feeling like it took forever in a moment where she needed to hear him more than ever.

"Hey-"

"Nikolas." Ava said frantically. "Nikolas you need to get to Sonny's now. It's an emergency. I'll explain the rest later. Me and Avery are safe, but Nik; it's really bad."

Nikolas asked no questions, he was needed and that's all he needed to know. "I'll be right there."

Ava was about to go back to see her daughter, knowing that the girl would be relieved at the sight of her and vice versa but she remembered that she had blood on her. That would only scare Avery. Luckily it hadn't gotten onto her sleeves, just her hands and her phone.

She dumped her phone in her bag-she could deal with that later. Her hand's however needed to be cleaned. She almost ran to the bathroom before saying screw it. Avery mattered more than the ugly curtains the Corinthos family had in the hallways. She hastily used them to wipe the blood red from her skin, making sure she could go see Avery without traumatizing her.

"Avery, baby." Ava said as she dashed into Avery's room, the little girl running out of the closet at her mother's voice and running up to hug her, just wanting to not be alone anymore in the moment. Ava didn't complain so happy to hold a body that breathed instead of bled.

"Mommy, what happened?" Avery asked.

Ava silently cursed. How does she tell her daughter this? Either way she couldn't tell her now. She'd have to find a way to explain it to her later. Unfortunately she feeled she'd be telling her that her brother was dead and not just shot.

"There was a bit of an accident….You are safe though, nothing's gonna happen to you." Ava told her, stroking her hair as Avery clung to her tightly. "We have to go though, we're gonna go outside though, we can't be in the house."

Avery nodded against her mother, before Ava pulled away from her. Ava had to pull away for them to walk, but still held her daughter's hand knowing she could use the comfort. Ava made her way to the back steps, so that they wouldn't come into contact with anything scary for Avery.

She could hear sirens she knew belonged to the people coming for Michael, but Avery didn't have to know they were for her home. They made their way out the back door from the kitchen and luckily it was opposite of the driveway. She could shelter Avery here from anything that would scar her.

Unfortunately no matter what she saw she was sure that Avery was old enough to remember this day. To have it sunk into her brain. The sound. How scared she was. And if Michael dies it'll just pile on heavier. She got her baby girl out of the house safe, but she wasn't unaffected. Just the way she clung onto her mom told Ava that much.

It wasn't fair. Her daughter didn't deserve this. Even Michael didn't. She'd gotten out of the mob business for her daughters and yet here she still stood in the middle of it.