A/N – Thanks for the comments! I'm surprised that you guys were so surprised lol. Did you not believe AJ when he said he was going to off Sonny?

Chapter 46 - Aftermath

Up until that point, Jason hadn't really touched anything but the door handle so they could easily erase the fact that he had been there. His phone was untraceable and as long as the security tapes were erased, he was covered. He was hoping that AJ had been careful because they didn't have time to wipe down the entire house.

"Michael are you sure you can handle this?"

Michael nodded. "I can do this."

"You won't turn AJ in?" Jason asked. Michael was kind of all over the place understandably, so he just wanted to make sure they were all on the same page.

Michael shook his head as he wiped his face. He was still shaking. "I can't lose them both. Maybe I'm selfish, but if my dad is brainwashed, then I want to help him." What he had seen would probably haunt him forever, and while he did feel conflicted, he felt like he had to help his father.

"I'm sorry," Jason said hugging him again. "When you're finished, I'll have Cody pick you up and bring you to the safe house. Just walk outside and he'll be there."

"Okay."

Jason watched as Johnny and Francis helped AJ up and led him out. He took one last look at Michael and wiped off the door handles and went back to his car. He needed to get back home.

He made a call. "Spinelli, I need a favor."

"Stone Cold?"

"Yes. Something happened and I need you to double check and see if Sonny's surveillance equipment has been on for the last hour."

"Okay, hold on."

He grabbed his old computer out of the closet. Luckily, Ellie was at work so he wouldn't have to explain anything.

He booted it up and then got back on the phone. "Are you in trouble?"

"No."

Spinelli knew better than to ask further questions. He quickly hacked into Sonny's house. "It's most unusual. The outside cameras are on but it appears that someone pointed the cameras so they wouldn't capture anything but the trees. The surveillance on the inside is off."

"So you can't see any cars and there is no audio?"

He quickly checked one more time. "No."

The guys were pros at sweeping the house so they both knew it was done every morning and evening. Sonny was paranoid.

"Thanks Spinelli. This phone call never happened."

"No problem."

Jason ended the call and went back to the house. He wouldn't be able to go to the safe house until the next day because the cops could be watching him.

Pulling into the driveway, he parked his car and got one of the guards to pretend he was working on it in case the police showed up. Johnny arrived about fifteen minutes later with Cody and they brought up the surveillance program and carefully made sure that it didn't show Jason's car coming or going and then Cody headed to the police station to wait for Michael.

Jason stayed down in the basement. He turned on the television and put a movie on. He needed to think things through and make sure he had covered all his bases.

Elizabeth came down from the boy's room and saw his car and looked around for him. She went down into the basement. "I wondered where you went."

"Sorry, I had to take care of something. If the police show up, I was down here okay?"

Liz frowned. "What happened?"

"It's better if you don't know."

She crossed her arms across her chest. "You have five seconds to tell me what happened."

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't want to lie to her. "Sonny is dead."

Liz was shocked. "Did you?"

"No. Michael was there and..."

"What? Please do not tell me that you did something stupid and covered for Michael."

"No, but I did cover for AJ. He made Sonny kill himself in front of Michael."

Liz's eyes filled up with tears. "Jason!"

Jason stood up. "He's my brother. He says Helena did something to him that made him do it. AJ thinks that I never put my family first or choose them."

"I thought me and the boys were your family."

"You are but so are they."

"But you risked your freedom for AJ and Michael without thinking about what would happen if the cops showed up and busted you. If the police find out whatever you did, you could go to jail and leave us. I'm willing to bet that we never crossed your mind did we?"

Jason looked away. "Elizabeth, I was on auto-pilot at first, but it's not what you think."

She pointed her finger at him. "I get that he is your brother. I get your screwed up past. But you can't sacrifice your freedom to protect people who don't even love you Jason. AJ is fucked up. He has spent most of his life hating you. I do understand why you did what you did but dammit, at what cost?" All she could think of was how many times she had covered for Lucky and how much that had cost her and while she understood that AJ was family, she hated that Jason always thought he had to fix other people's messes.

Jason's eyes filled with tears at the thought that she would think that he would choose anything over her. He honestly hadn't thought of it the way she had at first, but that didn't mean he would choose jail over her and the kids. There was a reason he was good at his job and covering his tracks and he felt like she didn't trust that. "I just thought that if for once I chose him, that maybe it would help him. I've fucked up so much where AJ is concerned. And yes, I didn't initially think about the consequences to our family and I'm sorry. I left Michael to deal with the cops. No one will ever know I was even there."

"You still wouldn't go back and do it differently right?" When he didn't answer she shook her head. "I need to go back upstairs before I say something I can't take back because right now Jason, I'm so angry at you."

Jason stood there in shock as she walked upstairs and he felt like his heart just got ripped out. She was right that he should have thought things through but time was not on their side. He did the best he could in a crisis situation and in the end, there was no proof that he was ever there. What could he have done differently? He finally moved forward and went to Johnny's cottage and knocked on the door.

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Johnny opened his door and saw a devastated Jason standing there. "Come in. What happened?"

Jason plopped onto the couch. "I had to tell Elizabeth and I think she hates me now. She thinks I put my freedom on the line for someone who doesn't deserve it and she's mad because she thinks that I didn't put our family first. I feel like I can help AJ and make sure it doesn't compromise my family situation."

Johnny sighed and went and grabbed a bottle of whisky and two shot glasses. He poured the liquid into them and Jason quickly drank his.

"She's just upset because she doesn't want to lose you."

"Suppose she ends things? I feel like I failed a test or something. Should I have thrown AJ under the bus?"

Johnny poured him another shot. "I don't know. I get her point but AJ is your family too. If Helena did do something to him then it's not fair that he'd go to jail. You thought it through and you did the best you could in the end."

"Maybe I should have just walked away and let the cops sort it out."

Jason downed another shot and then another.

"You should slow down. I have to take this call and then I'll make some coffee." Johnny could tell this was going to be a long night.

Jason wasn't feeling the alcohol, so he took the bottle and just chugged it. He didn't want to feel anything. The whole situation was fucked up. He couldn't even imagine what was going on in Michael's head or how he was even holding it together. And AJ—if Helena was controlling him in some way, he was going to be wreck when he had to come to terms with what he did in front of his son.

Dylan walked in and quickly ran over to him and took the bottle away. "How much did you drink?"

Johnny walked into the room from the bedroom. "What's wrong?"

Jason fell backwards onto the couch. Usually, he could handle his alcohol but he hadn't eaten since earlier and since he hadn't really drank in a long time, his tolerance level was down. Everything was blurry and he felt like he could feel liquid slushing around inside of him.

"How full was this bottle?"

"Brand new."

"And how much did you drink?"

Johnny stared at the bottle in shock. "One shot."

"Shit."

Jason passed out and Dylan smacked him to wake him up.

"Jason, stay with me."

After a minute, Jason's eyes opened a fraction. "Lizabreath hates me."

Dylan would have smiled if this wasn't so serious. "She loves you." He turned and looked at Johnny. "We need to make him throw up. I think I saw some medicine in the kitchen cabinet in the house. Go get it."

Jason watched as Dylan went in and out of focus. "I don't feel so good."

Dylan helped him up and got him into the bathroom. Jason threw up and missed a little and got it on his shirt."

"Fuck," Dylan muttered. He helped him take his shirt off and tossed it into the bathtub.

Jason fell back onto the floor and Dylan grabbed a washcloth and wiped his face.

"Want to sleep."

"No. You can't. Jason this is serious. You need to stay awake."

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Johnny ran into the kitchen and just as he grabbed the bottle and turned, Elizabeth blocked his path. Her eyes were red like she had been crying.

"What's going on?"

"Um, nothing."

She gave him a look. She was in no mood for half-truths. "If you lie to me, I swear to god I will make you suffer."

Johnny swallowed hard. "Jason was upset thinking you'd leave him and he drank too much."

"How much is too much for Jason?" He had just left her so she couldn't even fathom that he could drink that much so quickly.

"Well he did at least five shots in maybe fifteen minutes and then he chugged about half a bottle of tequila."

"What!" Liz yelled. "Are you crazy Johnny? His body can't handle that."

She ripped the medicine out of his hand. "You stay here with the kids."

She disappeared outside and when she walked into the cottage, she could hear Jason puking in the bathroom. She ran in just as he collapsed onto the floor.

"How many times?"

"Three."

She placed the bottle on the counter and took over. "Washcloth."

He held it under the water and then handed it to her.

She cleaned off his face and upper chest.

"Feels good," Jason muttered. The floor was cold and it felt so good to him.

"Were you here the whole time?"

"No," Dylan said.

She started to run her fingers through Jason's hair and he sighed.

Dylan sat down against the door. "That must have been a big fight."

She nodded. "It was, but I wasn't going to leave him. I was just mad and needed some time to process what he did."

"I won't ask but he's pretty fucked up about it. He drank way too much too fast. He needs to throw up some more."

"He will. His body is rejecting it. We'll have to get some water or gatorade into him eventually."

Dylan got up. "I'll get some from the fridge."

Jason sat up suddenly and leaned over the toilet and puked again. Liz wiped him up and flushed the toilet.

He looked at her. His eyes were like slits and he was swaying. "Why are you moving?"

"I'm not. You are."

"Oh." He tried to stop but couldn't. "Love you. Please don't leave me." A tear ran down his face and she quickly yelled out to Dylan to give them a minute.

"I can't lose you. You're everything."

"Shhhhh. It's okay. I'm not going to leave you Jason. Now I need you to try and throw up again."

"Don't want to."

"Jason Morgan, assume the position now," she said loudly.

"Okay," he said pouting as he got on his knees and moved his head over the toilet.

A few minutes later he puked again.

"Sleep," he said collapsing onto the floor.

"Dylan."

Dylan rushed in and saw blood. "How did he hit his head?"

Liz rolled her eyes. "He fell to fast."

Dylan grabbed a first aid kit and Liz put some antiseptic on the cut and then put a butterfly bandaid on his temple.

Johnny pushed open the door. "Georgie is watching the kids. How is he?"

"Bad. He just hit his head. I think he's done for a while. Help me get him to the couch." She couldn't help thinking that maybe it would knock some sense into him. This was such a Jason thing to do.

Dylan handed her the water bottle and then he and Johnny struggled to move him.

"He weighs like two tons," Johnny groaned.

"Shut it Johnny. You're the one who left that damn bottle with him," Liz said.

They hauled him onto the couch and Liz got on her knees in front of him.

"Give me a trash can just in case," Liz said.

Johnny retrieved it and then put it down.

"Dylan, can you stay with Georgie tonight and help her watch the kids? They'll probably sleep through the night. Danny sometimes gets fussy but he'll go right back to sleep if you rub his back."

He nodded. "Call me if you need me."

"I'm sorry."

Liz looked up at Johnny. "I know. He's going to have a super hangover."

"He really didn't mean to hurt you. I think tonight was a lot for him to handle. Him and Sonny weren't on speaking terms, but they were friends for a really long time and AJ and Michael were a mess."

There was a knock on the door.

Johnny got up and opened it.

Kyle flashed his badge. "Is Jason here?"

Johnny nodded. "He's kind of passed out."

Kyle frowned. "Really?"

Johnny nodded.

He stepped inside. "Can you wake him up?"

"He just threw up like seven times. I don't think anyone could wake him up right now."

Kyle saw the bottle. "Was he here all night?"

"Yeah. We got into a fight and I walked up to my room and he came over here to drink himself to death."

Kyle could see that Liz was pissed.

"Why are you here? Jason isn't in the business anymore."

"I know. Something happened tonight that will probably affect him."

"What?" Liz asked.

Kyle sighed. "Sonny Corinthos is dead."

Liz didn't break her stare.

"You don't seem surprised."

"You do know what he does for a living, right?"

Kyle smirked. "Yes."

"Why would you think Jason had anything to do with it?"

"I am just making sure that Michael's story isn't a fabricated mess. I know the history with Michael and Jason and your boyfriend has covered for him before."

Liz glared at him. "As you can see, my boyfriend was busy getting drunk and Michael has learned from his mistakes."

Kyle looked at Jason again. "Fine." He started to walk out.

"How is Michael?"

Kyle turned and looked at her and could see the genuine concern. "He's distraught. He watched his father kill himself. That has to be rough for anyone. Dante is with him."

"Please tell him that he can stay here if he doesn't want to be alone."

Kyle nodded and left.

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Michael got out of Dante's car and walked into his apartment building. He went to his apartment and flicked on the light and then waited a few minutes before going down to the apartment garage where an SUV was waiting. He climbed into the back and ducked down. After about ten minutes Cody, in a disguise, pulled off and drove to the safe house. According to Francis, AJ was in a lot of pain and babbled on and off. He was restrained to a bed until he got word from Jason about what to do next. Michael couldn't get the visual of Sonny pulling the trigger out of his mind. It was haunting him.

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The next morning, news had spread that Sonny was dead. It was shocking that he had killed himself, but everyone knew that he had been spiraling out of control.

Carly cried and went to visit Morgan so she could give him the news. He of course was inconsolable.

"Michael was there?"

Carly nodded. "He couldn't talk him down. He was irrational and all over the place."

Morgan wiped his face with his hands. "Where is he?"

"I don't know. He took off. Dante said he was devastated."

"I can't believe dad would do this."

"I know but he was hurting."

Morgan broke out in a sob. "It's my fault. I went too far."

Carly looked up at the guard for permission to touch her son and he sighed and nodded. She hugged him tightly. "It's not your fault baby. He wasn't taking his meds."

Morgan cried until he had no more tears.

Carly made a mental note to call Kevin and see if he could talk to Morgan. She didn't want him to hurt himself and right now, he was a mess.

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Jason groaned and sat up. The room spun and he grabbed his head.

Liz waited for him to put his hands down and handed him some water and aspirin. He took it and then Liz handed him some coffee and he sipped it.

"I'm sorry."

He vaguely remembered that she was there.

"Do you remember anything?"

"Not really."

"Sloan showed up."

Jason looked up at her. "Did he ask you any questions?"

"Yes. I told him you were here getting drunk and he believed me. Michael is a mess. Johnny said he's with AJ and didn't get a lot of sleep."

"I shouldn't have had that much to drink. I was just so upset that I made you mad and that Michael had to witness what he did." It was almost surreal.

He wiped his hand over his face.

Liz touched his hand. "I know. I was mad at you Jason and I still am. I know you did what you thought you had to and I do get it, but I would be devastated if you had to leave us."

"I know. I promise that I won't do it again. Are you going to be mad if I try to get AJ help?"

Liz shook her head. "No. In fact, I spoke to Patrick. Robin will be mourning Sonny but Patrick understands what Helena is capable of. We need to figure out if it's brainwashing or something more sinister."

"Like a chip?"

"Yes. We checked his head but not anywhere else."

Jason sighed. All of this could possibly have been prevented. "True."

There was a knock on the door and Liz smirked. "That would be Patrick."

"I'll be right back."

Jason went into the bathroom to wash his face and rinse his mouth out.