Chapter 33- Esme's Box

"Ace's vitals look good," Carolyn said. "You are free to take him home. Make sure he gets a lot of rest for the next 24 hours. After that, his energy should be back and he can go back to his normal activities. But please try to avoid anything that will cause him stress."

Felicia smiled at Esme. "This is good news. Thank you, Dr. Webber."

Esme kissed Ace's forehead. "I—I want to take Laura off Ace's next of kin and emergency contact list."

Carolyn nodded. "Okay. One of our nurses can do that for you."

"And I want to add Felicia on. If—if that's okay with you?"

"Of course it is," Felicia said.

GHGHGH

"Do you want to tell me what just happened?" Laura slammed her purse down when she and Spencer arrived home. "Is Esme right? Did you let Nikolas take Ace?"

Spencer nodded.

"How could you do such a thing?" Laura asked.

"I didn't have a choice. My little brother isn't safe with Esme."

"Oh, come on! She has proven herself to be a good mother, despite her troubles, and you know it. She even went to Felicia when she needed help. Now, she's never going to trust any of us. She definitely won't let you or your father near him again. She might not even want me or Kevin near him now! Did you think about that? How could you take a baby—a baby you claim to care so much about—from the only family that he knows?"

"Because I love my brother," Spencer said. "And I'm not going to allow him to be raised by some psychopath."

"Oh, come on," Laura repeated. "You go back to that whenever it is convenient for you. She has worked hard… hard… to overcome her past, and she's still working hard."

"No, no, no. You do not understand. I know the truth now. She's been lying. She remembers. She remembers everything."

"How do you know that?" Laura asked.

"Because of all the little things she was saying. And I recorded her saying she remembers telling me how much she always wanted a mother while we were dating. So, I turned it into the police."

"Even if she has her memory back, that doesn't mean she's just going to automatically continue committing crimes," Laura said. "She still might do the right thing by her son. I believe in redemption. I've seen it before."

"Yeah, well I don't," Spencer said. "Esme's redemption is fake. Why are you still believing her? Are you really choosing Esme's well-being over Ace's?"

"I am being realistic," Laura said. "And the reality is, Esme is Ace's legal guardian. And now Nikolas and possibly you too will be facing charges. Esme needed to trust us and now you threw that completely out the window. Now I might not just be at risk of losing you and your father, but Ace too. This is what is going to affect Ace's well-being, if he can't have us in his life. And if Esme goes to prison, Ace will probably go to Felicia, and we both saw how furious she was with you and Nikolas. So, you can bet she won't let us be in Ace's life."

"That's not going to happen," Spencer said. "I am going to get custody of Ace when Esme goes to prison. And I got thinking at the hospital. My blood was the closest match to Ace. How do we know Esme didn't lie and I'm Ace's father after all?"

"Oh, Spencer. Siblings often share close DNA and blood. You told me yourself that you hadn't slept with Esme around the time Ace was conceived."

"But the doctor said he was born a month premature, right? What if he wasn't born early after all. Maybe I am his father. I'm going to compare his DNA to Uncle Sonny's. Then everyone can stop going on that I'm not his father and I can get all of you off my back."

Laura sighed. "Spencer, I think you need to cool off and let me handle this."

Spencer shook his head. "Ace belongs with me. In fact…." He rushed off to Ace's old room and returned with the baby brush. "I have some of Ace's hair. Thank you, Grandmother, for combing his hair this morning. And now, I'm heading over to Uncle Sonny's right now." He rushed out and slammed the door behind him.

GHGHGH

"Spinelli?" Georgie rose from the bed. "Is that really you?"

"Wise, lovely Georgie?" Spinelli shook his head and his eyes welled with tears. "I—I don't understand. I found you in the snow. I held your beautiful body. Are you an illusion? Or an angel?"

"No, Spinelli. It's really me. All I remember is Diego walking up to me, then I woke up in this room."

"But—but…." He slowly stepped closer to her and touched her cheek. "It is really you."

"I can't find them anywhere, Spinelli." Maxie groaned and walked into the room. "I swear, Georgie is going to be grounded until she's thirt—" She froze when she saw her sister.

Georgie smiled but started to cry. "Maxie. You're here too."

Spinelli stepped back a little.

Maxie stared at her for a few moments. "No. Nope. I can't handle this right now. Your ghost came to me when Nathan died and when I struggled over whether to keep little Georgie. But you don't need to tell me what a terrible mother I am and that this is my karma for being mean to Mom and Esme."

"Maxie, she's not a ghost," Spinelli said. "It's really her."

"Who's Esme?" Georgie asked. "Maxie… I've missed you."

"Wh—what? Y-you're alive? No. No, I don't deserve you. I was horrible to you."

Georgie walked over and wrapped her arms around her. "I love you so much, Maxie."

"You—you don't hate me?" Maxie cried on her shoulder. "The last things I said to you…. I never got to tell you I'm sorry."

"I could never hate you," Georgie pushed away her tears. "I forgave you a long time ago. I know you didn't mean them."

"I—I missed you, Georgie. I love you and I never wanted to lose you."

Spinelli cleared his throat. "I think we should keep moving and find the kids before someone catches us."

Maxie let go of Georgie but held her hands. "Spinelli is right. You have to meet little Georgie. She's here somewhere. And I have two more kids at home that will love you. But we have to find my daughter."

GHGHGH

Sam stood over Victor, who clutched his bleeding chest. They could hear sirens in the distance.

"Whoa, Mom, that was awesome," Danny said, coming over to her.

Sam put her arm around Danny, but still pointed the gun at Victor. "Are you okay, Danny?"

Danny nodded.

"What about you girls?" Elizabeth asked.

"Fine," Georgie said.

"I'm okay," Charlotte responded.

"Police!" a voice shouted.

"We're up here!" Jake called.

Several officers rushed up to the second floor and tended to Victor. One of them pulled out his phone. "We're going to need an ambulance."

"Georgie? Georgie!" Maxie ran over and hugged her. Spinelli followed and wrapped his arms around both of them, while Georgie Sr. stood back and watched.

"Georgie, is that you?" Elizabeth asked. "It's so good to see you."

Sam smiled at her. "You're alive."

Georgie Sr. nodded. "Yes, I am."

Maxie kept an arm around Little Georgie and brought over to Big Georgie. "I want you to meet your Aunt Georgie."

"Hi sweetie," Big Georgie said. "It's so nice to meet you."

Little Georgie smiled a little.

"I'll call Olivia and tell her we'll take the Quartermaine jet home right away," Sam said.

"We can't leave yet," Little Georgie said. "I heard Victor on the phone. They were bringing Ace here."

"Ace?" Big Georgie asked.

"Are you sure that's what you heard?" Maxie asked.

"Yeah," Little Georgie said.

Maxie sighed. "I'll call Mac to ask." She pulled out her phone.

"Maxie?" Mac said on the other end. "Are you okay? Did you find Georgie?"

"Oh, you have no idea," Maxie said. "But yes, Little Georgie and the other kids are safe. Victor is being arrested, as long as he doesn't bleed to death first. Georgie overheard Victor talking though. He said that Ace was being brought here. Do you know anything about that?"

"Yes. Nikolas tried to take off with Ace, but your mom and Esme caught him. Nikolas was arrested. He was probably planning to take him there."

"All right," Maxie said. "So Ace is safe?"

"Well, he had to go to the hospital and get a blood transfusion," Mac said. "But he's fine and they're on their way home now. I'm just at the park with James and Bailey."

"Okay. Give them a hug for me. Mac?"

"Yes?"

"I don't know how to tell you this, but Georgie is alive," Maxie said. "We found both Georgies. We're bringing my sister home."

There was a long pause. "What?"

"I don't know the whole story yet, but it's a miracle. She's alive. A little on the thin side, but alive."

She could hear him crying on the other end.

"We'll be back by morning," Maxie said. "I love you, Mac."

"I love you too. And tell Georgie I love her."

GHGHGH

Once Ace was asleep in his crib, Esme headed down to the living room and sat with Felicia on the couch.

"Thank you again for letting us stay here," Esme said. "And for helping me with Nikolas and Spencer. And for bailing me out. I don't know how I can ever repay you."

"You don't need to repay me." Felicia smiled and tucked some of Esme's hair behind her ear. "You're my daughter, Esme. And I have a lot to make up for."

Esme blushed a little. "Well, I was actually wondering if you could do something else for me."

"Anything."

"I want to talk to Nora about making me a will," Esme said. "If I go to prison… I—I don't want Spencer to take Ace. I want him to stay with you."

"I'm still doing what I can to make sure you don't go to prison," Felicia said.

"I know. But I want to be prepared. Can you pay for the will?"

Felicia nodded. "Of course. But I do wish you would tell me exactly what happened."

Esme turned a little.

"I don't want you and Ace to be separated," Felicia said. "And I don't want you and me to be separated again either."

Esme teared up a little. "I don't either."

Felicia reached for her hand. "Please, tell me. Then I can help you. You don't have to be scared. I'm not going anywhere, no matter what you tell me."

"I—I can't."

"You can trust me, Esme. I hope that you know that."

Esme's mouth trembled. "I want to."

"Maybe you could do what Nora suggested?" Felicia asked. "Maybe writing it down would be easier?"

"I—I already did."

"You did?"

She turned back to her. "Can you stay with Ace for a bit?"

"Oh. Well, yes. But where are you going?"

"To Wyndemere," Esme said.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea after you broke in there. Especially not by yourself."

"I'll be fine," Esme said. "I'm not breaking in. I'll knock."

"But why do you want to go there?"

"To get my box," Esme said. "The one I told you about."

"Is that where you wrote everything down?" Felicia asked.

"Yeah."

"Esme, I don't know if this is a good idea. You don't want to get Ava riled up."

"I won't even go in," Esme said. "I'll ask her to bring it out to me. It's important to me."

Felicia looked into her eyes. "Okay. Just promise me you'll be careful and not get into it with Ava."

"I won't." Esme got up, then turned back and kissed Felicia's cheek. "Thank you, Mommy." She hurried off.

Felicia's eyes welled with tears and she touched her cheek.

When Esme opened the front door, Mac and the kids were standing there.

"Oh, hi Esme," Mac said. "How is Ace? Are you heading out?"

"He's fine." Esme brushed past him.

"Grandma!" James ran over and hugged her. "I went on the swings and the monkey bars. It was lots of fun."

Felicia ran her hands through his hair. "That does sound fun."

"James, can you take your sister up to the playroom for a bit?" Mac asked.

"Okay." James took Bailey's hand and took her upstairs.

"Are you okay?" Felicia asked.

"Yes." He sat beside her and took her hands in his. "Yes, I'm more than okay. Maxie called me."

Her face lit up. "They found Georgie and the other kids?"

He nodded. "They're all safe. But they found someone else too."

"Who?"

He kissed her fingers and choked up, "Georgie is alive. Our little girl is alive and they found her in Switzerland."

Felicia blinked. "Ge-Georgie? Our Georgie?"

"Yes, hon. Georgie is alive. I don't know how, but Maxie and Spinelli identified her and she's coming home."

"Ge-Georgie?" Felicia placed a shaky hand over her mouth. "How? You saw her body. I saw the pictures. The autopsy."

"I don't understand it," Mac said. "But I do know the Cassadines have a history of faking deaths and holding people captive. Maxie said they're heading back now and should be home by morning."

Felicia smiled through her tears. "We're going to have all our children with us. The way it always should have been."

He hugged her. "Yes we are."

"Georgie…."

"I'm going to call Robin and tell her," Mac said. "I'm sure she'll come down to see her."

GHGHGH

Esme took a deep breath and knocked at Wyndemere.

A few minutes later, Ava answered the door. "Esme? To what do I owe this displeasure?"

"I don't want any trouble," Esme said. "I left my box here and I want it back. If you could just hand it to me, I'll tell you where it is. Then I'll be out of your hair."

Ava grinned. "Your box isn't here, Esme. I gave it to the PCPD for evidence."

Esme's face paled. "What? But that's MY box! I need it!"

"Why? So you can destroy the evidence against you?"

Esme fought back the tears in her eyes. "You didn't read my letters, did you?"

"No," Ava said. "I just gave the box to Jordan. What is in the letters?"

"It's none of your business. It's MY box. You had no right to give it away! It's MY box and I'm going to get it back!" She stormed out.

GHGHGH

Felicia flipped through a photo album while the news played in the background. She ran her fingers over Georgie's baby pictures. "I don't believe it, baby. I'm going to make it up to you. I'm going to make it up to all of you."

"Police are investigating the murder of Maggie Fitzgerald of Rochester, New York," the news reporter said.

Felicia's eyes moved to the TV.

"Ms. Fitgerald was found late last night in an alleyway on Charing Cross Road with a bullet wound to the chest."

Felicia jolted when Esme ran in and passed Felicia on the couch. "Mac? Mac!" she yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

Felicia shut off the TV and went over to her. "Esme, what's wrong? You're shaking."

"I—I need to see Mac. Mac!"

"He's playing with the kids."

Seconds later, Mac came down. "Hi Esme. Everything okay?"

"Ava gave my box to the PCPD!" Esme cried. "She had no right! I need you to get it back for me, Mac."

Mac frowned. "I'm sorry, Esme. If it's in police custody, I can't get it for you. Not right now."

Esme's breathing sped up. "Then I'll go get it myself. I will break in!" She turned back to the door.

"Sweetheart, stop." Felicia grabbed her arm. "You can't. I know it's yours. But you can't break in and steal it back. They'll add extra charges and make your case even harder."

"Your mother is right," Mac said. "It'll only make things worse for you. I can try to get it back after the trial."

"But it's not just some box they can pass around," Esme said. "It's mine."

"I know, sweetheart," Felicia said. "They won't pass it around and we'll get it back for you. I promise."

"Is there something special in the box, Esme?" Mac asked.

Esme's breathing slowed a bit and she shifted her feet in embarrassment. "There's just... something I wanted to show Mommy. I—I mean Felicia..."

"It's okay, sweetie," Felicia said. "It will still be there."

"I should have gone back to get it sooner," Esme said.

"As soon as the trial is over, I will see about getting it back for you," Mac said.

"Mac, can you give us a moment?" Felicia asked.

"Yeah, of course." He went back up to the playroom.

Felicia led her to the couch. "Esme, what did you write in your box?"

Esme shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

"I think it does matter because you're so anxious to get it back." She reached for a notepad and pen. "Can you write it down here?"

Esme shook her head. "It's not the same."

Felicia sighed.

Esme's eyes widened. "You don't think… they won't… will they read them in court?"

"I don't know," Felicia said. "It depends what you wrote."

"Maybe this is a sign I shouldn't show you."

"Oh, Esme."

"I think it's better this way," Esme said. "Can we watch a movie? Together?"

"I would really like that," Felicia said. "But I think we need to talk first. About your trial and a couple other important things."

"Do you like Freaky Friday?" Esme asked.

"Yes. But please don't change the subject."

"It's my favourite movie."

"Okay, we can watch a movie now, but then I really want to talk to you in the morning." Felicia reached for the remote and pulled up Disney+.

Esme leaned against her when the movie started.

"Aww, sweetheart." Felicia wrapped her arm around her.

"I'm glad Heather isn't my mom."

"Me too." Felicia kissed the top of her head.