Ric pulled up to the Corinthos household in the limo provided for the hearing. Court security followed Claudia and Sonny to the vehicle as the driver allowed entrance.

"Did you hear back from the prosecutor?" Claudia asked once the door closed behind her.

"I did; I apologize for not calling you after but was caught taking Molly for the evening."

"Molly? Where's Alexis?" Sonny questioned.

"She's been at the hospital and apparently Jax needed to have a lengthy conversation with Michael, Kristina, and Morgan."

"Is everything okay with the kids?" Claudia inquired.

"As far as I can tell; he wouldn't give me any more information. Personally, I don't think I'm Jasper Jacks' favorite person at that moment, but he was grateful that I said I'd hang on to Molly. Molly stayed up pretty late asking a bunch of questions I couldn't answer about Sam."

"Those kids are dealing with too much." Sonny shook his head feeling completely helpless to do anything about it.

"They are." Ric agreed. "I just kept telling Molly that we need to believe that it's all going to work out, and on that note Ms. Fuller is going to present the deal to the judge during the hearing today. As long as the judge agrees we're golden. Very rarely does the prosecutor and defense come to an agreement that the judge denies."

Claudia smiled to that news.

"What's the worst that can happen?" Sonny asked him.

"The worst that can happen is the judge denies house arrest and Claudia serves an eleven month sentence at Pentonville, but I have documents from your doctor in Spain and from the miscarriage that suggests stress could be an issue in this pregnancy, and since he approved it before I'm hopeful that we will get our way on this."

"Ric, I don't know how to express my gratitude." Claudia replied.

"Tell you what, just bring my niece or nephew safely into this world and we'll call it even."

"If this hearing goes well I may just make you this boy's runner-up Godfather." She teased.

"Runner up?" Ric questioned.

"If Johnny gets beamed up from alien space craft and can't perform the duties."

"Oh." Ric snickered. "It's a boy?"

Sonny shook his head no and pointed to his wife. "Just don't tell her that."

XXXXXX

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Kristina asked her brother as he shot pool in the basement.

"A couple more nights like this and I'll be able to give Jason a run for his money." Michael said sinking two balls with one hit.

'I'll take that as a no.' Kristina said under her breath.

"It's a bad sign that he hasn't called yet, isn't it?" He asked for her opinion. After a long conversation the night before about everything Jax knew and what it meant Michael reluctantly agreed to wait for Jason to contact them.

"I don't know." She admitted. Kristina was also waiting for an update on her sister's condition. Thus far Robin was still stuck on the contents of the narcotic.

"I can't do this anymore." Michael responded after hitting the last ball into the side pocket. He pulled out his phone.

She thought about stopping him, but was almost as interested as knowing about Carly's condition as he was. Michael's argument the night before was the reason Jason wasn't calling had been negated as soon as they found out the truth that Carly was alive; it was the combination of fear and hope in Morgan's eye that eventually won out. Holding onto her little brother's hand Kristina finally fully understood the concept of ignorance as bliss. Michael hit the speed dial and waited for Jason to answer. It rung six times and he was just about to drop the call when it was picked up.

"Jason, why didn't you tell me you found her?" Michael yelled as soon as he answered.

"Jax told you." Jason replied calmly.

"He didn't try to, but yeah, Morgan overheard a telling conversation with Britni. He said the last he knew mom lost consciousness. Be honest with me, is she dying? Is that why you haven't said anything?"

Jason hesitated to reply.

"She is?" Michael questioned feeling a knot form in his throat.

"No; or I don't…" Jason responded. Trying to come up with an answer he decided to start from where Jax left off. "They found an aneurysm in her brain that was probably caused by the impact on the boat. I had Patrick Drake fly down to operate on her. There were some complications with surgery but…"

"What kind of complications?" Michael interrupted him.

"Dr. Drake was able to bind the aneurysm successfully. I've been waiting the past 12 hours for sign that she's waking up, which could be any minute."

"Or not at all." Michael inferred.

"Patrick said it best when he told me 'she survived a stroke and a shipwreck she's not giving up now."

"But Jax said her memory was gone." Michael countered. "Her strength comes from having something to fight for."

"I know, Michael, but I don't think it's gone. I think she was confused after the accident and Jerry capitalized on that. He slipped up though. When trying to sway her away from me he called out 'Morgan.' When he did something sparked. I don't know if it was memory of me or her son but she recognized it. Unfortunately that was when she collapsed so I can't know, but I've been trying to talk to her since."

"Jason, you still didn't say why you didn't tell me?" Michael replied demandingly. "You're the one that told me it was okay to believe; you knew I wasn't giving up? How could you keep this…? Jason, I could have been down there. I could be holding my mother's hand right now! I mean, is this your own selfishness, is this you wanting to keep her for yourself?… Just like Jerry did!"

"That's not…"

"That's my mom!" Michael replied as a tear fell from his eye.

"You had already been to her funeral." Jason snapped back.

"Well which is it?" Michael questioned him. "Is she living or dying because I'm fairly certain you've spent the duration of the call trying to convince me of the former. Either way it doesn't matter. You're still making indefensible decisions on my life!"

"Michael, maybe you should…" Kristina attempted to take the phone from him.

"What kind of complications?" Michael asked allowing himself to calm down. "Jase, did she die on the table?"

"You flat lined during surgery too." Jason reminded him of the procedure to wake him of the coma. "Michael, I promise to call you as soon as she wakes up and you can hear her voice for yourself."

XXXXXX

"How is she doing?" Zander asked coming up from behind Alexis prior to his shift.

"She's fighting for every breath she's taking." Alexis replied while watching Sam from the window. She had continued to be given steroid shots every few hours throughout the night, but as Robin predicted they were starting to become useless. The energy it took to push the air through her lung was wearing on her to the point she couldn't keep her eyes open. Lucky stayed by her side willing her to keep fighting.

"Liz claims that Robin is the best." Zander put his hand on her shoulder in support.

"I know, but Robin has three days to crack the code that Helena has had thirty years to develop." Alexis argued. "Helena must be loving this. If it wasn't enough to watch her slit my mother's throat, and now this… this is…"

"Torture." Zander answered for her. "Don't forget the weapon we have that Helena doesn't."

"What's that?" She answered feeling defeated.

Zander pointed to the scene of Lucky combing his fingers through Sam's hair. "Love." He simply replied.

XXXXXX

"Thank you General." Nikolas replied before hanging up.

"Anything?" Mischa asked standing from the doorway of his study.

"You shouldn't be walking the halls…"

"Ms. Lancaster went with." She replied.

"General Katsaros has possession of a Cassadine employee who claims not to know anything." He answered her.

"You appear to not believe that." Mischa noticed.

"It always amazes me the level of loyalty she can get from her minions."

"When her reign of terror mirrors that of Vlad Dracul the smart ones refrain from turning into her enemy. I'm sure there's the threat hanging over their heads of being getting injected with the same substance as your cousin." Mischa posed.

"All Katsaros needs to do is make the hostage believe he's going to do worse." Nikolas replied pensively.

"There's an inherent problem with that plan."

"The fact that he won't?" Nikolas questioned to which she nodded. "Then maybe we should fly in someone that will."

"Who's that?"

"The Cassadine Prince." Nikolas replied callously.

"Nikolas, you can't. You would be stepping over that line that you have spent your lifetime battling and giving your grandmother exactly what she wants."

"Fine! That's better than turning you over and we're running out of other options. According to Lucky Sam is going on the ventilator today and Robin hasn't figured out the toxin yet much less the antidote. Maybe the best thing for me to do is be that Cassadine heir she's always wanted. It's not like I have anything else going on."

"Oh really? Tell that to your son." Mischa argued. "Have you seen him since returning?"

"Spencer is safer right now with Liz, and my mother is there daily. He would be better off…"

"Your mother? That's supposed to make up for your little boy missing his daddy? Have you ever gotten over your dead fiancé?" Mischa asked picking up a picture of her.

"Leave that alone!" Nik demanded.

"I'll take that as a no." She replied setting the frame down. "You really haven't figured out how to live without her, have you? Sure, you go through the motions, you be the proper father and brother, nephew and son; so it's actually quite easy for you to volunteer to fall on the sword, huh?"

"It may be the only way." He argued.

"I'm not going to let you." Mischa shook her head. "If you want me to do the right thing and keep this child then you have to step up and be a father to yours. A real one!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you live; you play with him at the park, take him out riding, and read him stories before he goes to bed. You enjoy the time you have because it's going by quickly. Sooner or later you're going to turn around to a teenage boy who doesn't know who you are."

"Is that right?"

"And then he'll be that much closer to stepping up and becoming the Cassadine heir." She threatened.

"That's not going to happen." He responded.

"You can make sure of that."

XXXXXX

"I know this place." Carly stated sitting on a park swing.

"That's a start." A young girl smiled at her.

"Should I know you?" Carly asked her.

"What do you think?"

"I think there's something familiar about your presence." She admitted.

"I've been watching over you for a while; you, and Mama, and Lucas."

Carly racked her brain trying to place the familiarity but it was giving her a headache. "I'm sorry." Carly said standing up from the swing looking straight ahead at the bright light before her. "I shouldn't even be here."

"You can't go there!" The girl objected.

"Why?" She questioned. "The pain will go away."

"Yeah, yours will, but what about the people that need you?"

"I don't know…" Carly started

"I can help with that." She replied placing her hands on Carly's and instructed her to close her eyes as she filled her with a lifetime of memories causing her to stumble back to the ground. She rested her head against her palm hoping to stabilize the world from spinning around. "Carly..?"

"BJ?" Carly deduced. "My guardian angel is a seven-year-old?"

"Along with Aunt Rudy and John Durant, yes." BJ grinned before going serious. "It's not your time Carly, you have to go back."

"I don't know if I can." She admitted feeling her energy wane.

"They are counting on you to fight." BJ pointed out toward Carly's family that appeared in the distance.

She shook her head. "They'll be okay. They… they'll move on. I mean after you…"

"My mom and dad were never the same after that accident." She argued. "Lucas grew up feeling lonely and disconnected enough from his parents to hide a part of who he was; and Maxie has never felt worthy enough to fully accept my gift, and my death was part of the design."

Carly attempted to stand up as she balanced herself against the set frame. "Hasn't death been calling out to me since the clot?"

"You have to keep fighting."

"I can't." Carly cried.

"They need you to. Carly, if you walk through those gates the ripple effect will be catastrophic." BJ pointed toward the lights. "Come with me and I'll show you."