Author's Note: Just a few items for those that were wondering, yes, the whole Danny rescuing Alyssa is the start of improving the relationship between him and Jason. Still probably going to take some time, but it will get better. Yes, Kellie will definitely be ripping Kristina a new one sometime in the next couple of chapters. Thank you for reading! Happy Thanksgiving!
Alyssa burst through the front when they got home.
"Mommy," she yelled running for Kellie on the couch. She curled up against Kellie.
Kellie kissed her forehead and just held her.
"Aunt Krissy lied to me, Mommy," Alyssa said, "She to took me to see someone you said to stay away from. I ran away. After I slapped Aunt Krissy and kicked her Shiloh freak friend"
"I don't see why you couldn't just drop me off at the Penthouse or Grandma Monica's," Danny grumbled as Sonny made sure he came in the house.
"Your mom, dad, and Drew are coming here to get you," Sonny said, "When you pull stunts like sneaking out, there's consequences. This is one of them."
"Danny's my hero," Alyssa said.
"I bet he is," Carly said.
"I heard," Kellie said, "Why don't we go in the kitchen and I'll heat up some soup for you and make you grilled cheese sandwich? Does that sound good?"
Alyssa nodded.
"Danny, do you want anything?" Kellie asked.
"To leave," Danny said.
"If you change your mind…," Kellie said, "And Danny, Thank you."
Danny shrugged. Kellie and Alyssa walked off to the Kitchen.
In the kitchen, Alyssa asked, "What's Danny's problem? Why doesn't he visit his dad here? Jake visits here and he's not even our cousin like Danny is."
"It's complicated," Kellie said, "But Danny's just having a hard time with a lot of things."
"Like what?" Alyssa asked.
"His dad was missing and everyone thought he was dead for a really long time," Kellie said, "When Uncle Jason came back, it wasn't like he thought it would be. Danny just needs to be mad about it for awhile."
"He's been mad about it for a really long time," Alyssa said, "Does he even know where his room is here?"
"I'm not sure," Kellie said.
"I'm going to go show Danny where his room is," Alyssa said.
"Nope, not right now," Kellie said.
"Why not?" Alyssa said, "Maybe if he knows where his room is he'll come visit."
"Danny needs to stay downstairs until his parents get here," Kellie said, "He can go upstairs only if he wants to go upstairs."
"Oh," Alyssa said, "Is Danny in trouble?"
"A little bit," Kellie said, "He wasn't supposed to be wandering around by himself."
"So he snuck off," Alyssa replied.
Kellie nodded.
"But he rescued me," Alyssa said, "So shouldn't he get a free pass."
"No, it doesn't work that way," Kellie said.
"Oh," Alyssa said and then went silent.
"Do I have to see Aunt Krissy again?" Alyssa asked.
"Only if you want to," Kellie replied.
"Does that make me a bad person?" Alyssa asked.
"Nope," Kellie said, "Aunt Krissy made a mistake and she scared you. One that makes it hard for you to trust her. Sometimes you need time before seeing someone that's hurt you even if they didn't mean to."
"How come she made a mistake and took me to see that bad man?" Alyssa asked.
"She honestly thought she was helping you," Kellie said, "But she went about it in the wrong way. She's just really confused right now."
"How do we get her unconfused?" Alyssa asked.
"Uncle Jason and I working on that with Aunt Sam and Uncle Drew," Kellie said, "You don't have to worry about it."
"Okay, I'm sure you'll sort it out," Alyssa said as Jamie and Jared ran into the kitchen and engulfed Alyssa in a flurry of hugs.
As Kellie finished getting Alyssa's dinner set out for her, she caught Alyssa whispering to Jamie and Jared. Then Jamie and Jared bolted out of the kitchen.
Meanwhile, back in the living room, Jason and Sam had arrived.
"Danny, what were you thinking?" Sam asked.
"Oscar lived on his own," Danny said, "Why can't I live on my own?"
"Oscar's situation was something completely different," Jason said, "You can keep running off. It's not safe."
"Like you even care," Danny said as Drew entered the room. Sonny quietly nudged Carly out of the house to leave them to talk.
"Danny, you know that's not true," Sam said.
"Come on, Mom," Danny said, "Dad's family is here. Last I checked I don't live here. And it doesn't even feel like I live with you lately either. Drew's practically living at the mansion with Oscar. I see him more than I do you. I might as well be on my own as it is.
"And where exactly did you plan on living?" Drew asked, "Last I checked you didn't have a job or money to pay rent."
"The Dawn of Day house," Danny said, "Oscar made it sound like it was a good place."
"No," Sam, Jason, and Drew said simultaneously.
"Whoa," Danny said, "Mom, I thought you liked the guy. You've been taking his classes with Aunt Kristina. Although after finding Alyssa there with Kristina, I'm starting to wonder what the hell is wrong with both of you. That Shiloh's creepy. No wonder Alyssa was using me as human shield."
Before anyone could respond, Jamie and Jared ran into the room.
"Can we show Danny his room here?" Jamie asked.
"I think I'm going home like now," Danny said, shaking his head.
"That's not happening quite yet," Drew said.
"We have a lot to talk about," Sam said, "You, me, your Dad, Drew, and Kellie."
"I'll pass," Danny said, getting up from the couch, "Since I have a room, I'd rather be there if I have to be here."
"Come on," Jamie said, "It's upstairs."
"Hold on a minute," Sam said as Danny let Jamie and Jared lead him upstairs.
"Let him go," Jason said.
"The discussion all four of us of us need to have doesn't necessarily need to involve Danny," Drew said, "At least not now."
Upstairs, Jamie and Jared showed Danny the room that had been set up for him.
"Thanks," Danny said, shutting Jamie and Jared out of the room.
Kellie heard the door slam from the kitchen and looked at Alyssa.
"I didn't do anything," Alyssa announced.
Kellie looked at her skeptically.
"But Jamie and Jared might have shown Danny his room," Alyssa said, "You didn't say they couldn't show him his room."
"Alyssa, you know better," Kellie said, "I also said, Danny needed to stay downstairs for now."
Kellie left Alyssa to finish her dinner and went upstairs to find Jamie and Jared standing outside Danny's room.
"What do we do about Danny?" Jamie asked.
"Leave him alone," Kellie said.
"Oh," Jared said, "Alyssa thought he might want to know where his room was. She thought it would make him happier about being here."
"The next time Alyssa suggests you do something, you might want to check and make sure she wasn't told not to do that," Kellie said, "For future reference. As for Danny, just let him be. I want you to get ready for bed. It's a reading night."
"But we have guests." Jared said.
"It would be rude to…" Jamie said.
"I have adult guests," Kellie said, "We need to talk about Danny and figure out how to help him be happier. That's a very grown-up conversation."
"But we're grown-up," Jamie said.
"Technically we're not eighteen yet," Jared said, unhappily.
"So," Jamie said.
"If we think of something you could do to help Danny," Kellie said, "I'll let you know. Now go brush your teeth and put your pajamas on. You do have school tomorrow."
"You mean we still have to go tomorrow?" Jamie said.
"Yep," Kellie said, "There's no reason for you to miss school tomorrow."
"Not even because Alyssa was missing again?" Jamie asked.
"Well technically, she was with Aunt Kristina," Jared said, "So…"
Kellie went back downstairs, got Alyssa, took her upstairs, and made sure the kids were all settled before going downstairs.
"So what did I miss?" Kellie asked.
"Danny thought he'd live with Shiloh and Dawn of Day like Oscar did," Jason replied.
"Thankfully, he decided Shiloh was a creep when he found Alyssa," Sam said.
"Did he say why he wants to be on his own?" Kellie asked.
"A lot of things. He figures he might as well be his own," Jason said, "Our relationship still isn't great, all the changes in the last couple years."
"And now he feels like he hardly ever sees me," Sam said.
"He is at the Quartermaines all the time," Drew said, "Since you had to promise Shiloh you'd come whenever he called."
"That's ridiculous," Kellie said, "Look Sam, I know you don't want to hear this, but this situation tonight with Danny, his reasons for running away, are another good reason to back off the angle you're taking with Shiloh."
"Danny's given you an easy out," Drew said, "That you've decided you want to spend more time with him and Scout if Shiloh asks."
"Shiloh probably won't believe that," Sam said, "Or he'll say something about how that shows how my priorities and path to inner peace are screwed up."
"Who cares what Shiloh thinks?" Kellie replied, "The important thing right now is Danny. Kristina and Shiloh come second to that. I hate to say this, but if we can't figure this out so that Danny feels like he's cared about and he belongs to our crazy extended family, he'll try to run away again. Maybe not to Dawn of Day, but somewhere."
"And who knows what other trouble he could get into," Jason said, "As much as I know this won't make Danny happy, the guards need to be closer. Not at a distance the way Lorenzo set them up."
"That is completely unnecessary," Sam said.
"Jason has a point," Drew said, "Especially if Danny does try to run away again. Maybe they can stop him."
"I'll be honest I don't think it's if he'll run away again, it's when," Kellie said.
Jason, Sam, and Drew looked at Kellie confused.
"Do you have any idea how many fosters home I ran away from by the time I was Danny's age?" Kellie said, "If they sent me back to one I'd just run away again until they tried another one. If he wants to run away as bad as I did, he'll try it again."
No one spoke and just let that sink in.
"Can one of you let me know what Danny's schedule is?" Jason asked Sam and Drew, "Not only for the guards because that's not negotiable at this point, but also so I can try to figure out something different for spending time with Danny."
"I'll make sure you know what's going on and where he's at," Sam said, "I'll agree to the guards being closer until we can be sure Danny won't run away again."
"And what about Shiloh?" Kellie asked.
"I can out con him," Sam said.
"He's not your typical con, Sam," Kellie said, "This guy has people in high places covering for him, stopping investigations, and he's getting people to interfere with things somehow like at the foundation. I don't think it's the same as you're thinking."
"Let Kellie do her thing," Drew said.
"She's tried before and nothing come if it," Sam said, "And with law enforcement and the foundation letting this go, I don't think you're going to find anything or it will take too long."
"Maybe I can't get Shiloh's file," Kellie said, "But I what I do have that I didn't before is other connections to look into. The foundation board, the executive director, and the rescue coordinator, other staff. I have a direction other than a shot in the dark."
"Sam, come on," Jason said, "We all have to give something if we're going to reach Danny."
"Alright," Sam said, "I will back off of Shiloh. But if you don't find anything, Kellie, we'll need to revisit this."
"There's too many people involved now, Sam" Kellie said, "We just have to pull the right thread and everything will start coming to light. We'll find something. "
"We'll see," Sam said, "Unfortunately Shiloh seems to be one step ahead. I'm going to go let Danny know we're leaving."
Sam headed upstairs and found Danny had fallen asleep. She went to wake him.
"Let him sleep," Jason whispered from the door.
"I don't know, Jason," Sam replied.
"Maybe it'll help making coming here easier eventually," Jason said.
Sam looked at Danny and back at Jason.
"Alright, but if he's mad about being left here," Sam said.
"I'll deal with it," Jason said, "It's just for tonight unless for some reason he decides he wants to spend the weekend."
"Okay, if he needs to come home," Sam said, "Call me."
Sam headed downstairs.
Drew and Kellie looked at Sam confused.
"Danny's asleep," she explained, "Jason suggested leaving him here for the night."
"Maybe it will help things between the two of them," Kellie said.
"You're probably right," Sam said, "But I just worry it's too much after everything he's been through. He's got school tomorrow and probably nothing he needs for class."
"Unless he has a test or presentation tomorrow," Drew said, "I would just play it by ear. Give Jason a chance to talk to him."
"He'll be fine," Kellie said, "Will he probably be mad and view leaving him with his dad and the evil stepmom as punishment? Probably. But we can work with that better than his whole refusal to spend time with Jason."
"I'll let the school know he won't be in tomorrow," Sam said, "Arrange to get his assignments."
They discussed a few more logistics.
After Drew and Sam left, Kellie found Jason in their bedroom, looking at a photo he'd taken of Danny sleeping on the bed.
"Hey, you okay?" Kellie asked wrapping her arms around Jason from behind.
"I can't quite believe he's actually spending the night here," Jason said.
"I'm glad Sam agreed to let him stay," Kellie said, "hopefully it will be good for both of you. Though I think it'll still take a while with him."
"I honestly I have no idea how to reach him," Jason said, "Especially when he doesn't seem to want me to reach him."
"He wants you to reach him," Kellie said, "He's just so hurt and so angry about everything that's happened, that he doesn't know how to let you reach him. He'd had both you and Sam together when he was much younger. Your relationship with Sam was all over the place shortly before you were shot on the docks and we all thought you died. Then Drew who we thought was you comes to town and Danny thinks he has both his parents back together. But oops that wasn't really you. But Sam and Drew decided to stay together when it was all said and done. Meanwhile, you leave town to find yourself in the aftermath. While you needed to do that for you, I would guess from Danny's perspective it might have felt like you didn't want much to do with him. To make it worse, you came back from the island and married me. Yeah, it was for business reasons. But still when you consider you married a woman with kids that lives with you now, it probably feels unfair to him. He needs someone to blame, direct his anger at, and we're it. Until he can work through that, we just have to figure out how to be there for him and let him know we're not going anywhere."
"Basically, after all the back and forth between Sam and I and the whole being shot and presumed dead, he needs to feel like he can trust me," Jason said.
"Yeah," Kellie said, "He's got to see that you're serious about making him and Jake a priority. Kind of like I have to see that Dad's serious about keeping the guards."
"How do I do that when he doesn't want to do things when I offer or try to set something up?" Jason asked.
"Who does he remind you of?" Kellie asked.
Jason looked at her confused.
"Danny's me when I first came to Port Charles," Kellie said, "I wanted absolutely nothing to do with Sonny. I didn't even want him to know he was my father then you screwed that up by asking too many questions and running DNA tests when I gave Morgan blood."
"That did work out for you," Jason said, "Sonny at least stopped wanting to run you out of town, we took care of your stalker/rapist which allowed you live life on your own terms and not on the run."
"But I was still angry at Sonny," Kellie said, "It wasn't his fault my mom never told him or me about the other instead of overdosing and leaving me to end up in the foster system. But as a kid, I didn't know any of that. Even when I got that letter she wrote with a note stipulating it could only be given to me as an adult and she named Sonny as my father, I'd been through so much by then, I still blamed him. I blamed him for not rescuing from the system and my mom. I needed my dad and he wasn't there. By the time, Sonny could be there, it felt like too little too late. In addition to the fact that my Dad and I just naturally clash, I was all for pushing him and everyone else away. I think that's where Danny's head is at right now."
"In your case," Jason replied, "That meant letting you leave town until you were ready to come back. Obviously, that's not an option for Danny."
"Yes, I could legally run away," Kellie said, "Although you did track me down.
"We had to make sure you were safe," Jason said.
"Even though I didn't want you to," Kellie said, "You need to start doing that kind of thing with Danny. How many times did I tell you that you didn't have to do things for me and the kids the last few years, but you did them anyway? Do things for Danny when he says he doesn't want you to."
"I want him to feel like he has a choice," Jason said, "When Sam and I discussed his reactions to spending time with me, we thought it was better to not force. There was so much he didn't get a choice about…"
"That's great," Kellie said, starting to drift off to sleep against Jason, "But he's still in middle school and it's not getting better, it's getting worse."
"I now you're probably right," Jason said, "I will guess do like Monica suggest just start showing up at the Quartermaines when I know he's there and get Sam to give me a schedule of his baseball games and anything else he has."
"Good," Kellie said, trying to stay awake, "And don't let anyone talk you out of it. I'm sorry, but with that, I am really exhausted."
"There's nothing to be sorry for," Jason said, "You did have a long day between corporate takeovers, launching investigations, Kristina taking Alyssa, and Danny ending up here. all while growing a human being."
"I want to keep helping you sort this out," Kellie said.
"There will be time for that tomorrow," Jason said, "Besides you helped me a lot tonight with what you think's is going on in Danny's head and relating to your own experience."
Kellie shifted uncomfortably.
"Is everything okay?" Jason asked.
"Everything just feels really tight all of a sudden," Kellie said, more than half asleep against Jason, "The baby's probably having a growth spurt."
Jason pulled Kellie closer against him as she fell completely asleep.