Chapter 41- The Bail Hearing
Morgan insisted on traveling with Ava, Nina, and Nelle back to Port Charles and to help get Nelle settled into Shadybrook. This infuriated Nina, but Ava agreed. Nina didn't want Morgan to be alone with Nelle because she didn't trust him. And the feeling was mutual. Both wanted to sit next to Nelle on the plane, but when they wouldn't stop arguing, Ava put her foot down and said she would be sitting next to her.
Morgan was very emotional when he and Nelle reunited, but Nelle was very nervous around him, which Nina noticed right away. This didn't help with the growing feud between Nina and Morgan. And when Nina had to sit next to Morgan on the plane, they didn't say a word to each other.
Nina pulled out her phone and texted Willow: We're on our way to Port Charles. Just have to get Nelle settled at Shadybrook first, then I'll come home.
A few minutes later, Willow responded: Ok.
Nina sighed at such a short response. She wasn't too optimistic about Willow accepting Nelle. And wondered if she was able to bring Nelle home, if Willow would move out.
As soon as the plane took off, Nelle had a panic attack. She had never flown before (at least during her short life after the fall). Nina tried to get up to help her calm down, but the flight attendant ordered her to stay in her seat. This left Ava to step in. As appreciative as Nina was to Ava, she found herself growing jealous of her coming to Nelle's rescue with the panic attack and becoming her temporary guardian. It was short-lived though when Nelle didn't want Nina to leave her at Shadybrook.
"I thought we were going to your commune," Nelle cried as she looked around her new room.
"It's only temporary," Nina said. "I will bring you home with me, but we have to wait for the courts to approve it."
"Okay."
GHGHGH
Diane finally called Carly that morning about Josslyn, so Carly bulldozed her way to the PCPD.
She ran into Dante first. "What is going on? Why did you arrest Josslyn?"
Dante sighed. "I'm sorry, Carly. But she was harboring Dex. I had to arrest her."
"This is ridiculous. Josslyn is not a criminal."
Diane walked out of the holding cell area and made her way over to Carly, so Dante went back to work.
"Are you able to get her out?" Carly asked.
"Her bail hearing starts in a half hour," Diane said. "I think I can get her out on temporary bail until she awaits her next court date."
"So, this is going as far as her going to court? How did this happen?"
Diane sighed. "Well, to be fair Carly, all of the adults throughout her life have done similar things, so she was just doing what she knows—"
Carly held her hand up. "Save the lecture. What is she facing if she's convicted?"
"Well, if Dex's alleged offense was a misdemeanor, her penalty would be no more than one year, but because he committed several felonies—abducting an infant, endangering several lives—she could face up to five years in prison.
Carly almost toppled over. "Five years?"
"Apparently she hid him in her apartment and when Spencer, Trina, and Cameron wanted to inform the police he was there she tried to stop them."
Carly shook her head. "And so what? Did they snitch on her? What kind of friends are they?"
"I will do everything I can to help Josslyn," Diane said. "But I need to get ready for her bail hearing. I'll meet you at the courts."
Carly huffed loudly when Diane walked away. Carly pulled out her phone. "Michael! Josslyn has been arrested."
"What?" Michael said, appalled. "Why?"
"She's being accused of aiding and abetting and harboring Dex Heller while he was wanted by the police."
There was a long pause. "Was she actually doing that?"
"I don't know, but we need to get to the courts right away. Her bail hearing is in a half hour. Josslyn needs you there. I need you there."
"Okay, I'll head out now."
GHGHGH
Willow sat on the couch with Maxie while Wiley and James crashed the cars into each other on the floor. Amelia was sound asleep in her swing and Bailey Lou sat by the couch building a tower out of blocks.
"Nathan was a true hero," Maxie said. "When you imagine a police officer who gives his life to service, that was him. He saved my life from Peter Harell Sr. and he even died trying to protect a church full of hostages."
"Wow," Willow said. "He sounds like a very honourable man."
Maxie nodded. "He was. I wish you could've met him. I wish James could've met him!"
They could hear the click of the door and Nina walked in.
"Grandma!" Wiley ran over and crashed into her.
"Hi Wiley!" She hugged him. "How are you?"
"I missed you!"
"I missed you too."
"How was your flight?" Maxie asked.
Nina sighed. "Nelle didn't handle the flight very well, and it was awkward around Morgan but—"
"Grandma, who's Nelle?" Wiley asked.
"Uh…." Nina glanced over at Willow who looked horrified.
"How about I take the boys and Bailey Lou to the park?" Maxie spoke up. "Give you and Willow a chance to talk."
"But I wanna play with Grandma," Wiley whined.
Nina squeezed his shoulders. "We will play together, but Grandma needs to talk to Mommy. You should go have fun with your cousins."
Wiley grinned. "I have lots of cousins. Leo and Danny and Scout and Jake and Rocco and James and Bailey Lou!"
"That's right."
Nina helped Maxie get the kids dressed for outside and watched them get on the elevator. She nervously sat with Willow on the couch. "How are you feeling?"
"A little better today," Willow said.
"Listen, I'm sorry I brought up Nelle's name before you've had a chance to tell him about her."
Willow gawked at her. "Tell him about her? Michael and I decided long ago that Nelle is nothing to Wiley. I am his mommy."
Nina sighed. "Of course you're his mommy, but you see Nelle—"
"Nelle? Let's see what kind of person Nelle is. She put my baby—my dead baby in Michael's arms and told him his son was dead."
Nina frowned and she stared at her lap.
Willow rose from the couch and raised her voice. "She used my newborn son as a prop in her sick manipulation."
Nina jumped up and reached for Willow's arm. "Willow, you need to calm down."
Willow pulled her arm away and pointed at Nina. "No, you need to stop trying to rehabilitate Nelle. She is irredeemable and I wish I never passed the message on to you to call Ava."
"Willow…."
"So, maybe you don't care about my son, your grandchild—"
Nina gasped. "Of course I care about him."
"—do you at least care what she did to me? When I was watching Wiley, your other grandson, she gave me a concussion and then kidnapped him!"
"Look, I know that Nelle made mistakes—"
Willow clenched her jaw. "Mistakes?"
"But she is no threat to taking Wiley from you," Nina said. "She can't take care of herself, let alone a child right now."
"Right now? How long will that last?"
"She has amnesia—"
Willow laughed. "Yeah, she's probably faking."
"She's not faking. She is in very bad condition and is confused about everything. She was in a commune for two and a half years. If anyone understands what that's like, you do, Willow."
Willow shook her head. "You can't compare me to her."
"Being in a commune after the trauma to her brain has made it worse for her. She doesn't know how to function in the real world."
Willow crossed her arms. "So, she's at Shadybrook right now. For how long?"
"I… uh… want to apply for permanent guardianship of her, so I was hoping she could live here eventually. I was hoping to get temporary guardianship of her right away, but they could only grant it to Ava because Nelle was married to her brother before he died."
"Wait… let me get this straight. If you were granted temporary custody right away, would you have brought her home today? With me and the kids here?"
Nina opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again.
"So, that's a yes? Without even asking if I would be okay with that? And one of us would've had to sleep on the couch."
"I—I should've asked you. But I would've slept on the couch. Please—"
Willow avoided eye contact with her. "I think I better take the kids back to the Metro Court."
Nina felt her heart sink. "Willow… please don't do that. You and the kids seemed comfortable here. And you need someone to take care of you."
"Well, I—I can hire a nurse or a nanny. Maybe both. Or… maybe I can ask Sasha if we can stay with her."
"Sasha's apartment is even smaller," Nina said. "Only one bedroom."
Willow breathed heavily. "I don't know…. I need to be alone right now." She lifted Amelia and took her into her bedroom, shutting the door.
Nina dropped onto the couch and started crying.
GHGHGH
Michael met Carly, Josslyn, and Diane in the courtroom. "So, what is going on?"
"My friends stabbed me in the back," Josslyn said.
Carly shook her head. "You know, I expected this of Spencer, but I never in a million years would've imagined Cameron and Trina betraying you like this."
Michael raised an eyebrow. "So, for no rhyme or reason they just… stabbed you in the back? But Cameron's your boyfriend."
"Not anymore," Josslyn said.
GHGHGH
"Are you sure you want to be here?" Elizabeth asked as she and Cameron arrived at the courthouse.
"I'm just still so in shock by all of this," Cam said. "I don't even know if I'm here to support Joss or if I want to see her pay. Or maybe somewhere in between, maybe I just want to know what happens to her. And Spencer and Trina have gone to California, so I think at least one of us should be here."
Elizabeth nodded. "I understand. Well, I'll be here for you the whole time."
They entered into the courtroom, and Carly, Michael, and Josslyn turned to them.
GHGHGH
Nina waited 20 minutes, but she couldn't take it anymore. She knocked on Willow's door and slowly opened it. She stayed in the doorway and looked at Willow lying sideways on the bed with Amelia beside her. "Willow? I'm sorry… I should've talked to you more about it first. I just feel like I'm breaking down a bit, you know? I've finally found both of you girls after all these years. I just want us all to be together. I'm very new to this. But I'm realizing I need to take everyone's advice and try to keep my relationship with both of you separate."
Willow kept watching Amelia and didn't look up.
"So, if you want, I won't even mention your sister's name around you or the kids. And if I am granted permanent custody down the road, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. All I know is that I want both you and your sister to be safe and to heal. And as much as I love having you and the kids here… if you want to move in with Sasha or someone else, I will support it. As long as I know someone can take care of you and the kids. But I really hope you don't shut me out." Nina frowned when Willow didn't respond, so she shut the door.
GHGHGH
"How dare you show up here," Carly said.
Michael grabbed her arm. "Mom… don't."
Elizabeth and Cameron sat down at the back.
Carly walked over closer to them. "How could you stab Josslyn in the back like that?"
Cameron raised an eyebrow. "Joss is the one who stabbed me in the back."
"Oh, so this was revenge?"
"Don't talk to my son that way," Elizabeth said. "And to think you told him to never hurt Josslyn, but she's the one who turned around and hurt him."
"All rise, for the honourable Judge Carson," the Bailiff announced and Carly went back to stand with Michael.
GHGHGH
Maxie returned to drop off Wiley, but she decided to take her kids home. Willow stayed in her room even when Wiley came back. Nina, Wiley, and the kitten sat on the couch to watch some Bluey.
Finally, after a bit, Willow came out.
Nina sat up and stared at Willow.
"Mommy!" Wiley smiled. "We're watching Bluey."
Willow smiled back at him. "Wiley, can you go play in your room for a bit, please?"
Wiley frowned. "But we're watching Bluey…."
"We can watch more later."
Wiley grunted and carried the kitten to his bedroom.
Nina shut off the TV and stood up. "Are—are you okay? Are you going to Sasha's?"
Willow shook her head and started tearing up. "I'm sorry."
"Uh, sorry for what?"
"When I heard you say Nelle's name to Wiley, I lost it. My issue is with her, not you."
Nina swallowed hard.
"You must be in a tough spot," Willow said. "If Wiley and Amelia were on opposite sides, I don't know what I'd do. Even if one was more guilty than the other…."
"Yeah, it's a very tough spot to be in. I keep going over it all in my head. But I know one thing's for sure. I'm very grateful for a second chance with both of you."
"And I'm grateful that you're letting us stay here—"
Nina laughed a little. "Letting? This is everything to me that you guys are here."
Willow smiled. "I shouldn't have lost it on you like that. But I'm still going to protect my children from Nelle."
"Like I said, Nelle is not a threat to you or the kids."
"Maybe we can compromise a bit…. Don't talk to Wiley about her, but you can update me on her condition, if you want, when Wiley's out of earshot. Because, she may have saved my life."
Nina nodded. "Okay. I can do that. So… does that mean you're staying?"
"Yes."
Nina beamed.
"But just remember it's temporary until I'm well enough to be on my own with the kids. But I don't want to leave on an angry note."
GHGHGH
"Miss Jacks, I am setting your bail at $10,000. If your bail money is paid, you are not to visit Dex Heller nor associate with Cameron Webber, Spencer Cassadine, or Trina Robinson while you await trial. I understand that you share a dormitory with Miss Robinson, so you will need a temporary residence while you await trial. And you are not to flee the city limits. Case dismissed."
Josslyn turned around and hugged Carly. She glanced back at Cameron.
"You'll come home with me," Carly said.
Josslyn nodded. "Okay, thanks, Mom."
