Zoo-

Michael tended to have many faces that he wore at various times. Sometimes they were sad faces, sometimes they were happy faces. Most of the time they were happy as, on the whole, Michael Morgan Corinthos managed to be completely content with the way his life was going, but, like all people in general, there were times when Michael wasn't happy, when he realized that things weren't nearly as good as he wanted to believe they were.

But any of the sadness inside of Michael's heart evaporated the moment that his Aunt and Uncle told him that they were going to take him and his little brother to the zoo. Michael loved seeing all the animals, and he enjoyed going to the zoo as often as he could, because he wasn't allowed to have animals in the penthouse, even Courtney's beloved pet, Rosie, wasn't allowed inside the building. A part of Michael didn't really understand that, since his father owned the building, why couldn't he set the rules? But, as with each time that Michael tried to question the authority of Sonny, which only happened on rare occasions, he was beat back and given a look that made him feel like he had done something that was incredibly wrong. At times it made him wonder if the advice that his big brother had given him was true, the things that Damian had said about trying to be the person that Michael wanted to be instead of trying to be the person that other people wanted Michael to be. But who did he want to be? And who did they want him to be? Those were questions that a nine year old boy should not have asked himself, no matter how mature he may have been.

However, none of those questions were even remotely near the top of his mind, instead, he was looking almost entirely at the animals that were littered around. He had seen the monkeys, safely protected by the Jason, just in case they got any ideas as to throwing things that they shouldn't have thrown. He saw the hippos as they ate, amazed at how much they could eat, and how ugly their teeth were. Morgan was also having a good time. Sometimes being carried by either Jason or Courtney, or being in the stroller that he loved so much. Leticia was not with them, which probably made her feel good as well, giving her a much needed breather. Even someone who loved Michael and Morgan as much as she did had to have a few hours where she wasn't being called to fit their every whim.

"The new baby panda was so tiny, Uncle Jason!" Michael exclaimed as he walked nearest to his Uncle Jason, who was probably his best friend as well, and the person that Michael secretly idolized the most. There were times when Michael was genuinely afraid of his father, but never with Jason. Jason was always soft and kind around him, never getting angry, never making him feel like he was doing something wrong. Sonny may have been Michael's father, and Michael loved Sonny dearly, but Jason… Jason was the person that he would go to first in case he needed someone to help him. "I can't believe how big it's going to get when it grows up."

"You know, in a few years, people are going to be saying the same thing about you," Jason replied as he looked down at Michael, his red hair and freckled face beaming with youthful vigor. Instantly, Jason's mind flashed back to some of the most pleasant memories that he had, the ones of him holding Michael in his arms, reading to him until he slept. Jason snapped out of his momentary flashback, the pleasant feelings still swelling up inside of him. And then he tried to imagine who Michael would become, what he would look like in ten years, when he was grown up, a young man instead of a little boy. Would Jason even get the chance to see him like that? He hoped so. "That's what baby's do, they grow up…"

"I'm not a baby!" Michael replied in protest. He was nine years old, that was far from being a baby. He was even old enough to reach the cookie jar without needing anything to help him reach it, although he did spill things when he tried to make himself a bowl of cereal from time to time, but only when the jug of milk was nearly fully. "Morgan's a baby, he can barely talk!"

Courtney, who was pushing the stroller carrying the baby in question, smiled as she continued to move next to Jason and Michael. As much time as she enjoyed spending with Michael and Morgan, she knew that Jason got more enjoyment out of it, because he had a connection with Michael that nobody could touch, not even her. Jason didn't think of himself as Michael's father anymore, although that hurt him sometimes, but he would always have those fatherly instincts, he would always act in Michael's best interests. That was one of the reasons why Courtney wanted to give Jason a child, because she knew that, above all else, Jason would be a wonderful father. Sadly, things were not meant to be that way, and it was partly because of her. Yes, it was nice to know that Lorenzo was dead, hopefully in hell where he belonged, but it didn't fix her problem, it didn't make it more probable that Courtney would have a child, Jason's child. They could adopt, and she had no problem with it, but she always wanted him to be able to have a child of his own, a child with Jason's amazingly blue eyes.

Morgan, hearing his name, looked over at his brother and made a cooing sound. He didn't know what was going on, his young mind still too underdeveloped to truly comprehend everything that was happening, but he knew that the people around him were having a good time, and that made it easier for him to have a good time as well. He was having one, although he had no way of showing it other than the constant smiles and laughs. He especially laughed when he saw the penguins, the way that they waddled was particularly amusing to the young baby.

Courtney knew that there was always a chance that the boys could get cold, so, she made sure that she kept them warm, both in clothes and in drink. "Hey, Michael, do you want another cup of apple cider? I'm going to get one for your brother…" Morgan was too young to hold it, but she could put the drink in his bottle and wait for it to cool down enough so it didn't burn his tongue or his sensitive hands.

"Can I get cocoa instead?" Michael begged. "Please?" If there was one thing that he knew how to do, one thing that would find a way to break down even the iron defenses of Sonny Corinthos, it was beg. And, everyone was an easier target than Sonny, if he could get Sonny to submit, the battle was already mostly won.

Courtney laughed, running her hand through his crimson hued hair, watching as his eyes lit up when he knew he had won the fight for cocoa. "All right, but I'm not getting you a big cup, your mother said not to spoil you too much." She glanced over to her husband, who also looked amused, a look that he mostly reserved for Michael, although there were rare times when the other people in Jason's life could get a genuinely lighthearted smile. "Jason, do you want anything to drink?"

Jason shook his head, "No, I'm good. Michael, are you going to go with Courtney?"

Michael looked up at Jason, "Can I stay with you?"

"Of course you can, buddy, you know how much I love spending time with you, why would I say no to you wanting to spend more time with me?" But what would happen to Jason when Michael finally did stop wanting to spend so much time with him? The age was fast approaching. Jason didn't like to think of the future, he liked to stay in the present, but there were times when he had to worry about it, when the thoughts were just too much for him to avoid.

"You're not mad, are you, Aunt Courtney?" Michael wondered. He loved his aunt too, but there was something that he wanted to discuss with Jason, privately. It was the first time that he actually had enough downtime to merit the conversation, something that he had been thinking about for some time.

"No, honey, it's fine. I'll take your brother." Maybe a part of Courtney enjoyed having people look at her and think that the baby was hers, maybe it helped her get over what she had lost, if only a little, but any sort of ease to her pain was something that she was glad to have, because now, even so long after it had happened, the decisions that she made, the fate that she had resigned herself to, it still stung Courtney so deeply that she thought she would never be able to recover.

Jason watched his wife take the baby towards one of the kiosks that gave out the refreshments. There weren't that many people at the zoo, since it was still in the wintertime, but that was not something that Jason minded. He didn't like being around a lot of people, because most of them knew of him, and they thought that they knew him, but they didn't. The Zoo wasn't in Port Charles, but his name still got around, one of the downsides to being arrested so often, even though he was never convicted of anything. Leather jacket safely secured on his shoulders, Jason felt nothing of the coldness that swirled around them. He was fine, and he was quiet, but that was how he normally was.

Michael knew that it was going to be he who struck up the conversation with Jason. Jason was the type of person who would almost always wait out the problem that Michael was having, never asking what was wrong unless it was truly something that needed to be addressed. Jason was the only one who would always give him the time that he needed to sort out things for himself, to decide when he wanted to get help from anyone. That time had come, and it was Jason who Michael sought to get the help that he needed from. "Uncle Jason… can I ask you something?"

"You can always ask me anything…"

"Why do people lie… or keep secrets from other people?"

Jason knew that Michael wasn't as oblivious to the things that went on around him as the adults in his life wished he would be, but the question still caught him by surprise. "Michael… why are you asking me this?"

"Because you're the only one who I trust to give me a real answer," Michael replied. "You're the most honest person that I know. You're the one who will never lie to me, because you never have. Even the little lies that people think I won't notice, or won't care about… I do notice, I do care about the lies."

"Sometimes people need to lie to protect you, Michael. You're strong, stronger than we think you are, but there are still things that you need to be protected from, people that you need to be protected from. You're way too young to be living the life that you would be living if you were older. You're a kid, you need to think about having fun with life, because… because it's going to be over before any of us realize it."

"Daddy and Damian didn't tell me what was wrong yesterday, remember?" Jason was there, and he didn't tell Michael anything either, but he was doing it because his father didn't want him to, and that was it. "If I ask you to tell me… will you?"

Jason turned away, wondering the same question. But he found his answer, when the words came out, "Someone that might try and make things bad for your father and your brother is around, like Mr. Alcazar. But you don't have to worry about it, Michael, because we're going to take care of it."

"They kept it from me because they didn't want me to worry about it?"

"Yeah."

"Because they love me?"

"Because they love you that much, Michael."

"Do you love me?"

Jason nodded, "Michael, you know how much you mean to me, of course I love you."

"Good…" Michael hugged Jason's waist. "Don't tell anyone, but I trust you the most out of anyone that I know."

Jason grinned, "Your secret is safe with me, buddy…"

Kelly's-

Lucky Spencer walked into Kelly's, a place that he had been many times, so many times in fact that he had memorized the menu a dozen times over. He loved it there, but he also had grown tired of the place, having been there so many times, having lived there a few times. But, when someone called him and told him that she needed to meet him at Kelly's, Lucky couldn't deny the simple request, especially when it came from the person who would always be his first love.

Elizabeth had called Lucky, needing to get his help in a situation that concerned her now extended family, and she needed to wait until he had time to see her, she could wait. Elizabeth was nothing if not patient. When Lucky walked into Kelly's, Elizabeth waved him over to the stools by the counter. She smiled as soon as he got close enough, "Thank you for coming…"

"I couldn't say no to you, not you…"

She blushed slightly, "I need your help…"

"Yeah, I got that from the message you left my phone."

"I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

Lucky shook his head, "Nothing important, it's just bad form to answer the phone while you're on duty for calls that don't involve the job, especially right now since John Durant is around…"

"Yeah… he's the reason why I want you to help me out… I need you to watch him for me."

"Elizabeth… I'm sure Ric is strong enough to keep Durant from taking his job out from under him. I know I don't like the guy very much, but I know that he's smarter than that."

"It isn't Ric, Lucky… it's Damian. John Durant… I don't know… I think he wants to strike at Damian because of who he is… I don't want to see everything that he's worked his whole life for just destroyed because of one person who nurses a vendetta against his father…"

"Does that remind you of someone?"

Elizabeth lowered her eyes, "That's not fair."

"I'm sorry," Lucky knew that he had gone too far, although he still had a point. He placed his hand over Elizabeth's, a gesture completely plutonic in nature. "Don't worry, I'll do what I can."