Chapter 55- Ryan's New Blonde Obsession

Aiden kept trying to adjust his eyes, but the sun continued beaming down on him, so he had to squint. Could he climb out himself? That would be hard considering his arms were pinned to his sides and he was completely wedged between the walls of the well. Not to mention he was certain he broke his leg. No one knew where he was. Did his mom and brothers even know he went missing? How long had he been inside the well?

"Someone will come," he said softly. But it hurt to speak. It hurt to breathe. Everything hurt. His head, his body, his legs.

Do people even survive inside wells? The only thing he could refer to was that episode of the Simpsons. Except Bart made it look fun. This certainly wasn't fun. He had literally nothing to do but think. Think and hope that his mom's head would suddenly appear up top. Hopefully neither Cam nor Jake found him. That would be so embarrassing.

"Help me!" he tried to call out.

GHGHGH

Monica kept looking through her kitchen to find the keys to the crypt. She pulled out her phone when it buzzed. There was an Amber Alert for the Webber boys and she gasped. Her thoughts immediately went to her grandson, though she cared for his brothers as well.

Leo walked in humming.

"Hi Leo," Monica said.

"Hi," he said.

"Have you seen my keys?"

"Yep."

"Oh, where did you see them?"

"The man had them," Leo said.

"What man?" Monica asked.

"The man from your pictures."

She scrunched her face. "What man from my pictures?" She looked up and threw her hands over her mouth when Jason walked in carrying an unconscious Jake.

GHGHGH

Nina led Ryan to the dining room at Shadybrook and he pulled the chair out for her.

"Oh, thank you," Nina said before sitting down. "I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to check on Nelle."

He sat across from her and gazed into her eyes. "It's my pleasure."

"So… you mentioned treatment for Nelle. You think you can help her?"

"I'm positive. I'll start with hypnosis to bring her memory back."

She frowned. "Can't hypnosis be dangerous?"

"Not when it's done by the right person."

"Okay," she said. "I just don't know enough about it, I guess."

"It can help jog her memory."

Nina smiled. "Well, I can't sit for long. I have to pick up my grandson and I want to visit Willow."

"I would like to meet with you again," he said. "I find it very helpful to communicate with family members of my patients." He reached over and flipped her hair behind her shoulders. "Especially gorgeous blondes like you."

Nina's eyes widened. "Dr. Collins…. You are married and I'm committed to Sonny."

He nodded.

She shrugged. "Please keep me informed on Nelle's progress."

GHGHGH

Sonny took a disgruntled Morgan back to Harborview Towers. Morgan insisted he wanted to go home with Dante instead, but the choices were either Roselawn or living with Sonny.

"Is there anything you need?" Sonny asked.

Morgan shrugged. "What I need you can't give me. Oh well. This is only temporary until I get guardianship of Nelle and the baby. Then we'll find another commune."

Sonny nodded. "Your heart's still set on finding another commune, is it?"

"Of course. It's the only way to get rid of my bipolar."

"All right. Well, in the meantime, Dr. Collins is coming over to check on you. And he's going to prescribe you more meds."

"I don't need any meds," Morgan insisted. "I didn't need any at the friends, and once I find another commune I won't need them again."

"Okay, but before then you need them."

Morgan groaned. "I don't want something that will just numb the pain. I need a peaceful commune where the pain doesn't exist."

"Right. But it will take time before you find another commune. Right now, the pain does exist, so you need the medication."

Morgan kicked the couch. "I said, I don't want medication!"

GHGHGH

Ava made her way back to Wyndemere to find Nikolas in the sitting room. She slowly approached the couch and sat beside him.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I've realized I need to work on accepting Spencer more."

He smiled. "I'm sorry too for the things I said. I know Spencer hurt you, but I hurt him too when I lied about being dead."

"Well, I've probably done worse than both of you combined. So, if you want Spencer to stay here with us, I will accept it."

"Thank you."

"Sonny called me while I was walking. Morgan is staying with him right now so he wants me to take Avery until Morgan gets the help he needs. He'll still visit Avery whenever he wants and take her out places, but he doesn't want her under the same roof as Morgan right now."

"That makes sense," Nikolas said.

"I have to go pick her up from school in an hour. Want to join me?"

"Thanks, but I have some workers coming to work the grounds. I need to help direct them. But maybe we can have dinner together later."

GHGHGH

After a quick and emotional reunion, Monica drove Jason and Jake to the hospital. Jason carried Jake inside and nurse Amy brought out a stretcher for him.

Amy checked Jake over. "What's happened?"

"He uh, was locked in a crypt," Jason explained. "And I found him unconscious and he's been breaking into sweats."

"I think he might've been poisoned," Monica said.

"I'll take him back to Dr. Randolph," Amy said before taking him away.

Monica touched Jason's arm. "Okay, now that Jake is in good hands, tell me about you. How did you survive the tunnel collapse?"

Jason breathed in deeply.

"Jason?" He turned to find Elizabeth and Drew standing there, mouths wide open.

GHGHGH

Sonny let "Dr. Collins" inside and called Morgan into the living room.

"I'm not talking to a shrink," Morgan said.

"You have to," Sonny said. "He's here to help you."

Ryan lifted a framed photo of Sonny and Nina together and clenched his jaw.

Sonny eyed him suspiciously. "Everything all right, Kevin?"

He smiled and set the photo down. "Of course. How are you, Morgan?"

"I'll be better when I get out of this awful town," Morgan said.

"I can understand wanting to get away from everyone here."

Sonny chewed his bottom lip.

"The residents of Port Charles don't understand people like you and I," Ryan continued.

"Yes, that's exactly it," Morgan said. "But I don't want you here." He turned to Sonny. "Please Dad, I don't want to talk to him!"

Sonny nodded. "My son isn't ready to speak to anyone right now. Thank you for coming though." He showed him the door.

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "I thought this was court-appointed."

"When my son is ready, he will speak to someone. But right now, you need to leave."

"All right. Call me if you change your mind."

Sonny closed the door behind him.

"Gee, thanks Dad," Morgan said. "You didn't put up much of a fight."

"Something is off about Kevin right now. I'm not making you talk to him."

GHGHGH

Nina picked up Wiley from school and took him right to the hospital.

Wiley ran up to Willow's bed and hugged her. "Mommy I missed you and I made you a picture."

Willow took the picture and smiled. "It's beautiful, thank you."

"I drawed Bluey and Amelia and me and you and Grandma and Auntie Isla."

Willow frowned. "Oh."

Nina sat on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"A little better today. I hope I don't have to stay here much longer."

"Britt thinks you'll probably have to stay another night or two," Nina said.

"No!" Wiley whined. "I want Mommy to come home now!"

"Oh, buddy, I know. But Mommy needs to rest and the doctors are here to help her."

"But I wanna help her feel better."

Willow wrapped her arm around him. "You do make me feel better. Just getting to see you like this and knowing that you're safe at Grandma's house is the best medicine I need."

"Really?" Wiley asked.

"Yes." Willow kissed his forehead.

GHGHGH

"Jason…." Drew approached him first and shook his hand.

Jason locked eyes with Elizabeth.

"I can't believe it," Drew said. "How?"

"It's a long story," Jason said. "But as soon as I got back in town, I heard Jake was missing."

Elizabeth nodded. "So is Aiden. Cameron was too, but he escaped."

"I normally wouldn't do this, but I broke into your house this morning," Jason said. "When I saw you weren't home, I wanted to see if I could find any clues."

Elizabeth smiled. "You're the one who searched Jake's room."

"I found a letter in Jake's night table saying he'd be taken to be with his ancestors where his mom was once trapped. It didn't take me long to figure out he was at the Quartermaine crypt."

Elizabeth's face lit up. "You found him!"

"I was definitely surprised," Monica said. "I was going to take flowers to Alan and AJ, but I got sidetracked and my keys to the crypt went missing. Next thing I know my son walks into the kitchen carrying my grandson."

"And you brought him here?" Elizabeth asked.

Jason nodded. "They're checking him out now."

"Oh my gosh!"

They whipped around to find a shocked Carly standing with Jax.

"Jason!" Carly ran forward and flung her arms around him. "Oh, Jason. I don't believe it. You're back just as I'm at the lowest point in my life. And you're here to fix it all."

Jason loosely hugged her back and looked over at Elizabeth who rolled her eyes.

GHGHGH

Wiley kept pouting as Nina walked him down the hallway of the hospital.

"Do you want to go to the park this evening?" Nina suggested. "We can do the swings."

Wiley shrugged.

She stopped and knelt down to his level and straightened his jacket. "I know. I'm sad too seeing Mommy in the hospital again. But what makes me feel better is knowing the doctors are helping her and that she'll be home real soon."

"Well, hello again." Ryan approached them.

Nina looked up at him. "Hello, Dr. Collins."

"What are the chances of us meeting twice in one day?" He beamed. "But why the long faces?"

"Wiley and I are sad that his mommy has to stay in the hospital a little longer," Nina said.

Wiley reached for Nina's hand and stared up at the man.

"Seems you have a lot on your plate right now between babysitting and both daughters hospitalized for different reasons," Ryan said.

"Well, I don't call it babysitting," Nina said. "Not my own grandchildren. But yeah, I guess I have a lot on my plate."

"If you need help with anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Nina nodded. "Thank you."

GHGHGH

Carly rubbed Jason's arms. "I just don't understand…. But I want to hear everything when we get home. You won't believe all I've been through lately. Morgan is alive too, but Nelle has turned him against me. Michael is in jail and Josslyn has a concussion. But Joss is being released today. I just need to talk to the doctor before we go. I'm staying at Mama's right now because my house burned down, but she has plenty of room for you too."

Monica rolled her eyes.

"Okay? We'll leave right away," Carly said. "Just as soon Jax and I talk to the doctor." She hugged him again. "Thank you for returning for me."

Jax and Carly headed off to find the doctor.

Soon, Terry came over to them. "So, the good news is, Jake is awake. But I also have some bad news."

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked.

"Jake inhaled some chloroform, the same as Cameron did, except Jake has reacted differently. He has an irregular heartbeat and isn't pumping enough blood into his body. While the chloroform seems to have worsened it, there seems to be an underlying issue here. Is there any history of heart problems in Jake's family?"

"His grandfather died of multiple heart attacks," Monica spoke up. "And his uncle, cousin, and second cousin had congenital heart defects."

Terry nodded. "All right, we'll need to look into all of their medical histories."

"So, how are you going to help him?" Elizabeth asked.

"We're going to try cardiac ablation which uses heat or cold energy to create tiny scars in the heart to block irregular electrical signals and to hopefully restore a typical heartbeat. After that we're going to have to run more tests and monitor him closely. We're going to prep him for the procedure in 30 minutes. In the meantime, you may visit him two at a time," Terry said before leaving.

Elizabeth's breathing sped up. "I can't believe this is happening."

Drew rubbed her back and Jason noticed.

"Elizabeth, you and Drew head on in and see Jake," Monica spoke up. "I'd like to speak to Jason."

"Thank you," Elizabeth said, and she and Drew headed down the hallway.

Monica looked up at Jason who had become very pale and had tears in his eyes. "Jason, I am so so relieved that you are alive and back home. There aren't enough words to express how happy I am. And I know you've always been about making your own decisions for your life and don't like advice. But, I need to say this to you. I want you to take a long moment and think very hard about what you do next. And ask yourself, when you were given your second chance last time you came back, were you satisfied with your choices and how your life was before you ended up on Cassadine Island? Were you pleased with your relationships, most prominently your relationship with your sons?

"Yes, you can make your own decisions, but I want to challenge you to really evaluate your decisions and how they affect other people, especially your sons, this moment on," Monica continued. "Because what might seem important to you in the moment might not be important to you later on. And what seems important probably isn't important to Jake and Danny. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to figure out what is important to them. Yes, you have come to their rescue throughout their lives and have done a few fun things with them, but you have missed a lot—A LOT—all for the sake of being there for Sonny and Carly and their children. Is that what you want again? Because Jake and Danny are both teenagers now and their childhoods are almost over. It's a lot easier to connect with a child then it will be to connect with adult children who feel that they come second and who feel abandoned.

"Is it wise to go with Carly right now or should you stay here with Jake?" Monica asked. "Yes, Josslyn has a concussion and Carly has a lot going on. But when does she not have a lot going on? She has Jax and Bobbie right now, and I'm sure Sonny will be around. But Jake, he needs his father right now. He needs you."

Jason nodded, still teary eyed. "Thank you for your input. I actually have been evaluating my life a lot this past year and a half—"

"I don't believe it!" Josslyn called out from where her parents pushed her in a wheelchair. "When Mom said you were back, I thought she was bluffing. You're alive, Jason."

"Josslyn is officially ready to go home," Carly said. "Are you ready, Jason?"

Jax groaned. "Why does he have to come? He doesn't even look like he wants to."

"Of course he wants to," Carly decided.

"Actually," Jason spoke up. "Jake is having a procedure done on his heart. I need to stay here."

Carly's mouth dropped slightly. "Oh. Well, we'll take Josslyn home, then I'll come back and wait with you to hear news."

"But Carly, you need to focus on helping Joss recover from her concussion," Jax said. "Jason has Monica and I'm sure Elizabeth is here too."

Carly sighed. "Okay, well do you even have a phone, Jason? Can you call me on Monica's phone to give me an update? I have the same number as before, though I'm probably going to have to give it up since I have to declare bankruptcy."

Jason scrunched his face. "You have to declare bankruptcy?"

"I have so much to catch you up on," Carly said. "But if you can't get a hold of me, call Mama's phone."

Jason nodded. "Okay, I will do that."

GHGHGH

Ryan entered Willow's hospital room and she sat up a bit. "Dr. Collins?"

"Hello, Willow." He stood by her bed. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged. "Good moments and bad moments."

"I am taking over your sister Nelle's case."

"Oh, okay."

"And I always find it helpful to communicate with my patient's family to give them a more well-rounded treatment."

Willow scrunched her face. "I thought psychiatry had a confidentiality agreement."

"Yes it does, but in special cases like Nelle's, I need the family's input too."

"Okay… well she and I aren't close. In fact, I don't know her well at all. I only recently found out we're related."

"That's good to know. And you and your mother are growing close? You live with her, correct?"

Willow raised an eyebrow. "What does this have to do with Nelle?"

"Oh, because she kept expressing today that she wants to join Nina's commune."

"Okay. Well, yes, I do live with her but it's just temporary."

"I see. And your children live there too?" Ryan asked.

"Yes…."

"And does Nina still work for Crimson?"

"Again, what does this have to do with Nelle?" Willow asked.

"Oh, because I'm aware that Nelle used to work for Crimson too."

"Yeah, she actually worked for Nina," Willow said.

"And does Nina still work there?" he cleared his throat. "I'm just wondering if there's any chance of Nelle returning there once she's recovered."

"Nina's on a leave of absence, but yeah, she still technically works for Crimson. She owns half of the Metro Court too. She pops in a few times a week, but she's taking time off there too."

Ryan grinned. "Thank you, Willow."

GHGHGH

Nikolas walked across Spoon Island to observe his workers as they started to plant crops.

Inside the well, Aiden heard lots of voices and sounds from above. "Help me," he kept trying to call out. But he was growing more and more drowsy. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

GHGHGH

"All I remember after the cloth going over my mouth is waking up in the crypt," Jake explained to Drew and Elizabeth, but his mouth dropped slightly when Jason stood in the doorway. "So, I wasn't dreaming."

Jason walked in awkwardly. "How are you feeling, Jake?"

Jake shrugged. "All right."

Jason nodded. "I just want you to know that I'm here if you need anything. And I'm going to stick around until your procedure is over."

"Can I—" Jake looked between Drew and Elizabeth. "Can I talk to Dad alone for a minute?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth said. "Yes, of course. I'm going to come back in before your procedure." She kissed his forehead, then left with Drew.

Jason sat at his bedside. "I'm guessing you have questions about where I've been."

"I do," Jake said. "But later. Right now, I have a favour to ask."

Jason's eyes widened. "A favour? Sure, I'll do anything."

"I want you to help Mom and Uncle Drew find Aiden."

"Okay. But I want to hang around here until your procedure is over."

"Terry said the procedure will take hours," Jake said. "Maybe even up to six hours. Aiden needs help now. We don't know where he is or if he's hurt. Please, you can't wait that long. I wish I could find him, but I'm too weak."

"You're not weak," Jason said. "You just survived a kidnapping and you're about to have a heart procedure. That takes a lot of strength."

"But not the kind of strength you have. That's the kind of strength Aiden needs. He needs you to help rescue him. Please… if I ever mattered to you at all, do this for me. This is super important to me."

…it might not be a bad idea to figure out what is important to them…. Monica's voice echoed in Jason's head.

"You always mattered," Jason said. "I will do this if it's important to you. I will help your mom find your brother."

Jake smiled.

GHGHGH

Ryan sat at Kevin's desk and looked up the staff lists for Crimson and Metro Court on their websites. He then lifted Crimson's latest magazine and flipped to the back. Editor-in-chief Nina Reeves with Nina's picture and a brief write up about her filled an entire pages. He ripped the page out and taped it over Laura's framed picture.

"Nina Reeves." He sighed in contentment. "I'm looking forward to getting to know you more."