Chapter 6- Trust
"Thanks for meeting me, Mol," Kristina said sitting across from her at Kelly's the next morning.
"Of course," Molly said.
"So, how are you?" Kristina asked.
Molly nodded. "Pretty good. I was actually hoping to see you anyway. But what did you want to talk to me about?"
Kristina took a deep breath. "There's no easy way to say this. And I feel really bad about it. But I've been doing a lot of thinking and I think Mom might actually be right."
Molly arched her eyebrows. "About the surrogacy?"
"Yeah," Kristina said and started to tear up. "I'm sorry, Mol, but I don't think I can do it after all. I'm so sorry."
Molly smiled. "Then we're on the same page."
"What do you mean?"
"TJ and I have been thinking about it a lot too," Molly said. "We don't think surrogacy is the right route. We want to adopt instead."
Kristina sighed in relief. "I was worried I'd disappoint you. Adoption is a great idea."
"Yeah, and we have a specific child in mind. A baby girl named Scarlett. It's really sad. Her parents died in a car crash over the holidays. And they had no other family. TJ's gone to the hospital to talk to Dr. Randalph about it right now. And then I'm going to file our application."
"Aww, I'm so happy for you guys," Kristina said. "That's sad about her parents though."
Molly's phone rang and she answered it. "Oh hey, TJ. I just told Kristina and she's happy for—What?... What?... Oh my gosh…. Okay…. Okay…. I'll be right there."
"What's wrong?" Kristina asked.
"It-it's Scarlett," Molly said. "She went missing through the night."
GHGHGH
"What would you like for breakfast this morning, sweetie?" Sam asked as she and Scout settled in at the Metro Court.
"Waffles," Scout said, pointing to a picture of waffles with whipped cream and chocolate syrup.
Sam laughed. "You and your chocolate. Okay, just for this morning. But you know we don't have chocolate for breakfast every day. But today is for you."
Scout smiled.
"Danny is hanging out with Georgie today, so we can do anything you'd like until dinner."
"Can we go tobogganing?" Scout asked.
"Sure," Sam said. "I think we have enough snow now."
"Can Daddy come too?" Scout asked. "Or… or won't he want to?"
"Oh, sweetie. Would you like to ask him?"
Scout nodded. "I miss him."
"I know you do. And you can see him whenever you'd like."
"But I don't want Donna and Avery to go," Scout said barely above a whisper. "Or Carly."
"Okay. I'll call and see if he's available."
GHGHGH
"Come on, Esme," Spencer said as he stood around with Esme and Laura in Ace's hospital room. "Grandmother and I want to visit him, but he's only allowed two visitors."
Esme looked down at her sweet boy, a rash covering him. She had her hand through his crib, holding his tiny, red and peeling hand. She shook her head. "I'm not leaving him."
Laura sighed. "Esme, maybe Spencer can visit with you and Ace, and I'll come back in after Spencer is finished. That way you don't have to leave."
"No," Spencer said firmly. "I knew it was a mistake to allow Esme to take Ace away from me. She landed him in the hospital and now she won't let us visit him!"
Esme slowly pulled her hand from Ace, her eyes welling with tears.
"Spencer!" Laura scolded. "This is not Esme's fault. He wasn't well when he stayed with us over Christmas, but we didn't realize it was this serious either. Esme got Ace to the hospital as soon as she realized he wasn't getting better. She did good by him."
"This should've been caught sooner," Spencer said. "She shouldn't have taken him from us in the first place!"
Esme stared down at her helpless boy before fleeing the room.
"Oh, Esme," Laura said sadly.
Esme went out to the waiting area crying. Felicia was sitting there but rose when she saw her. "Esme, are you okay? Is Ace all right?"
"It-it's my fault he's here," Esme cried. "He shouldn't be here."
"Oh, sweetie, this isn't your fault," Felicia said softly. "You know my daughter Maxie had Kawasaki Disease when she was a little girl. My mind went to all those dark places. I questioned what I did wrong. But I didn't put her in the hospital, and you didn't put Ace in here either."
"That's not what Spencer thinks."
Felicia scrunched her face. "Is he blaming you?"
Esme nodded.
"Well, I'm sure he's scared too right now, but that doesn't excuse him putting this all on you," Felicia said.
"But why wouldn't he?" More tears streamed down her cheeks. "Everything is always my fault. Always. I'll just always be the horrible person everyone says I am. I'm destined to be just like my parents."
Felicia chewed her lip. "Your parents…."
"What's going on?" They turned to see Maxie walking towards them carrying Bailey Lou. "Mom? I've been trying to get a hold of you since yesterday."
Felicia placed her hand on her forehead. "I still haven't found my phone. I'll have to check the lost and found. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," Maxie said. "I just forgot it's Bailey Lou's third year check-up today."
"Hi Gamma!" Bailey Lou lit up.
Felicia smiled and touched Bailey Lou's cheek. "Hi sweetheart."
"I just wanted to ask if you'd watch James today," Maxie said. "Georgie refused to cancel her plans with Danny and wouldn't take him with her."
"I'm sorry, I…."
"It's okay. Cody is watching him. But I was worried. You never go this long without answering your phone. In fact, you call me more than I call you. So…." She eyed Esme suspiciously. "What's going on here?"
Felicia opened her mouth to respond when Nurse Amy walked over to them.
"Oh, Mrs. Scorpio," Amy said. "I thought I'd find you here. Your DNA results are in." She handed her an envelope. "Well, good day!" She skipped away.
Esme scrunched her face.
"Mom, you didn't…." Maxie groaned. "Cody is going to be furious with you."
"I need to know if he's Mac's son," Felicia said. "Mac deserves to know too. And Cody deserves a family. Everyone needs family."
"Okay, say you are right, and Cody lied about the first test. I don't understand it, you don't understand it. Who wouldn't want to be Mac's son, right? Except Cody must have his reasons. Maybe he's scared. Or maybe he's just not ready. He obviously hasn't pulled away from us completely. He hangs out with us minimum once a week. So, he clearly likes us. Maybe he's testing the waters. You follow through with this mom, and he might pull away from us completely once he finds out. He definitely won't trust you and it could ruin any chance of Mac having a relationship with him. And that's something Mac might not be able to forgive you for either. So, this is a bad idea."
Felicia sighed. "So, we just sit back and see if Cody changes his mind?"
Maxie shrugged. "Or you could talk to him. But I'd rip that test right up and throw it away if I were you. Just tell Cody your suspicions and if he opens up and confirms them, then encourage him to tell Mac. That way you're not going behind his back."
Felicia nodded.
"So, um, why were you talking to Esme Prince of all people?" Maxie asked.
Felicia turned and Esme had gone. She swallowed hard. "Her-her little boy is sick."
"Oh, so you're their health aide. Well, be careful. I've heard Esme is psycho like her father."
"Thycho like her fazzer," Bailey Lou repeated.
"Maxie! You shouldn't say things like that. Esme has had it rough. And she is not Ryan."
Maxie raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you spent that much time with her."
"I-I haven't. But I got a pretty good impression that night at Wyndemere how Ryan and Heather have treated her."
"And what about how she treated Spencer and Trina and Josslyn and Cameron?" Maxie pointed out. "Listen, I have to get Bailey to her appointment, but I really think both these things are bad ideas. Don't go behind Cody's back and request to switch to a different patient. Esme is bad news, stay away from her."
Felicia watched Maxie disappear down the hallway. "I'm sorry, Maxie, but I can't."
"Can't what?" Kevin walked up behind her.
"Oh, hi Kevin."
"Hi. Are Laura and Spencer in with Ace?" Kevin asked.
Felicia nodded and tucked the envelope inside her purse. "Kevin? Can I talk to you alone for a minute?"
"Of course." He looked at her concernedly. "Come to my office."
GHGHGH
"Willow, I'm so sorry," Nina said into the phone. "Please call me when you get this so I can explain."
"Nina…." Sasha said softly. "Try not to press it too much. You've reached out to Willow and Sonny, so the ball is in their court. And from how you described it last night, Willow seems angrier at Michael than you. She probably just needs some space."
Nina sighed. "I guess you're right. I've just never been a patient person."
"Willow is a very forgiving person," Sasha said. "And she's smart. I'm sure she'll see through all of this and realize you weren't wrong. I mean, what I did to you was way worse than this and you forgave me."
Nina smiled a little. "I hope you're right. I don't think Sonny will ever forgive me though. When I tried going home last night, he slammed the door in my face."
Sasha squeezed her hand. "I'm so sorry."
They looked over when there was a knock on the door. Sasha went to answer it. "Willow, hi."
"Hi Sasha, I'm sorry I didn't call first," Willow said. "But I need someone to talk to. The kids are with Ned and Olivia."
Nina rose when she heard Willow's voice.
"I'm happy to talk to you," Sasha said and moved to the side. "But you should know, Nina is here."
"Hi Willow," Nina said. "Are you okay?"
Willow shrugged.
"I can… I can go out for a bit if you want to talk to Sasha," Nina offered. She grabbed her coat and headed to the door.
"W-wait," Willow said. "Um… I… um…."
"Why don't I go out for a bit instead?" Sasha suggested. "Then you can talk to Nina?"
Willow nodded. "Okay. I'm sorry to kick you out of your own home, Sasha."
Sasha smiled. "I always go for a walk around this time anyway." She put her coat on and left.
"Willow, I'm so sorry…."
Willow stepped inside. "What exactly are you sorry about?"
"For-for reporting Carly and Drew. I… I didn't mean to hurt you and Sonny."
"I can't speak for Sonny… but I didn't sleep at all last night."
Nina frowned. "That's because of me."
"No. Well, partly. But mostly because of Michael. He shouldn't have been blackmailing you."
Nina scrunched her face. "So, you're not mad at me?"
Willow sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't return your calls last night. I needed time to think. I'm just very confused and a little hurt."
"I never wanted to hurt you again."
"Why didn't you just tell me?" Willow asked. "Why did you let Michael blackmail you into pulling away from me? I thought you wanted to make up for lost time."
"I did! I do. But I thought a little time with you under Michael's permission was better than losing you completely again."
"And you thought me finding out would make me want to cut you off," Willow said.
"Yeah, because I know how close you are to Carly."
"We did get close, yeah," Willow agreed. "But I've also gotten to know you in a different way these past several months. Even though you pulled back, I feel like I understand you a bit more and where you're coming from. Carly was wrong to keep me from you."
Nina's mouth dropped slightly. "You-you think so?"
Willow nodded. "Now, I still don't like all this back and forth between you. But I'm starting to see it's not just you. And I don't think I helped either."
"What do you mean? None of this was your fault, Willow."
"I shouldn't have excluded you from my wedding," Willow said. "I should have realized how important that day was for you. But not only did I exclude you, I had Carly walk me down the aisle."
Nina nodded. "It was important to me. I feel sometimes like Carly is still trying to keep you from me. Michael too."
"Well, I won't let them anymore." Willow stepped closer to her. "But I'll need your help to do so."
"Help, how?"
"I need you to be honest with me from now on," Willow said. "Even if you think it's going to hurt me, talk to me about it. Don't give Carly or Michael leverage by keeping things from me."
"Okay. Okay. I can try that."
"And if Carly does something to make you upset or angry, don't just act on it, call me and tell me before you do something you regret."
Nina cleared her throat. "I guess I can be impulsive sometimes."
Willow raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, okay, most of the time I'm impulsive," Nina said. "But I have been talking to Ava about things. I confide in her a lot."
Willow bit her lip. "I'm not so sure Ava is the best person to help you in this area."
Nina sighed. "I will do my best to be more honest with you and come to you when Carly is being Carly."
"Good."
"Now… Michael?"
Willow frowned. "I don't think I can take him back. That's what I wanted to talk to Sasha about."
Nina's eyes widened. "I didn't see that coming. I honestly thought you'd be mad at me, not him."
"I've seen this in him before. His anger, his control. And I don't think I can live with that anymore."
"Well, you need to feel comfortable with the man you're with," Nina said.
"Yeah," Willow said. "Are you comfortable with Sonny?"
"Um, well, I don't think that even matters now. He kicked me out. That's why I spent the night at Sasha's."
"Really?" Willow asked.
"Yes," Nina said. "I tried going home last night but he slammed the door in my face."
"Wow."
"So, I guess this means both of our marriages are over then, huh?"
"It looks that way," Willow agreed.
GHGHGH
"What's wrong?" Kevin asked, sitting behind his desk. "You look exhausted."
Felicia sat down and nodded. "I've been up all night. Here actually."
"Are you okay?"
"Yes," Felicia said. "No. I don't know. I've been here with Esme and Ace."
"Okay," Kevin said. "Were you assigned to be their health aide? I didn't know the position was overnight."
"It's not. And I wasn't assigned to them. I guess I just assigned myself to them. Stella doesn't know. I'm just doing it."
"And why is that?" Kevin asked.
"I-I don't want Esme to be alone through this. I think she needs me."
"That is very generous. I'm just a little confused by it though."
"Can you tell me about Esme?" Felicia asked. "She lived with you and Laura for a while. What is she like?"
"Well, she's good with Ace for the most part," Kevin said. "She just struggles a bit with being a mother. And as far as I know she still has amnesia."
"I know what that's like," Felicia said. "It can be very scary."
He nodded. "She's very sensitive and she has a lot of insecurities."
"Yeah. Who wouldn't with Ryan Chamberlain for a father."
"She usually has a wall up around me," Kevin said. "And she doesn't like to be alone with me. But she's grown somewhat close to Laura."
"That's good," Felicia said. "I'm glad she's had someone in her corner."
"But she still won't open up too much, Laura's told me," Kevin said. "We think she has trouble trusting us. It could be because Spencer and Cameron are Laura's grandsons."
"I've heard a bit about that," Felicia said. "It sounds to me she needs someone she can trust who isn't too close to what happened with her friends."
"That could be," Kevin said.
"Do you know what her childhood was like?" Felicia asked.
Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Felicia… why the sudden interest in Esme?"
Felicia felt her breathing speed up and she stared at her lap. "I-I haven't told anyone else about this other than my grandmother and Frisco. Not Mac, not Maxie, Bobbie, or Anna. Only Grandmother and Frisco knew."
He leaned in closer. "Would you like to share with me?"
"I-I have to. I know I do."
"It's okay," he said softly. "Take your time."
She took a deep breath. "Twenty years ago, I had another baby."
"Okay. What happened to the baby?"
"Well, that was when I first left the girls with Mac." Felicia started crying. "I really didn't want to leave them, I didn't. But I had to protect Frankie."
"Frankie was your baby?" Kevin asked.
She nodded. "And I thought it was safer for Maxie and Georgie to stay with Mac. And-and to take Frankie to Texas. But the plan was only short term. I wanted so badly for us to be a family and stay together."
"And what did you need to protect them from?"
There was a long pause before she said barely above a whisper, "Ryan."
Kevin inhaled deeply. "And why did you feel Ryan was a threat at that time?"
"Because… because he was Frankie's father. Biologically only…."
Kevin frowned. "Did Ryan… did my brother…?"
She nodded slowly. "He ra ped me."
"Oh, Felicia. I'm so sorry."
"He had escaped from the DVX at that time and found me in Port Charles," Felicia explained and wiped her nose with a tissue. "I planned to take Frankie back home to Mac and the girls once they caught him again. But one day… I left Frankie with Grandmother to get some groceries… I returned and found Grandmother knocked out and… and my baby gone."
"I'm so sorry."
"She was nine months old. Pulling herself up and crawling like a pro. But then she was just gone. Out there alone and scared."
"That must've been devastating," Ryan said.
"It was. It still haunts me. And Grandmother couldn't see who knocked her out. So, I ended up contacting Frisco to help search for her."
"So, all these years you've been trying to find her."
Felicia nodded. "Well, there were times I'd given up. We kept hitting dead ends. After the first year I returned to Port Charles to see Mac and the girls. I was going to stay and move on with them, but Frisco called me and said he had a lead. So, I left again."
"And you kept coming and going every time there was a lead?"
"Yes. And then… and then…." She broke down again. "I got the worst voice mail ever from Mac. That Georgie… my little girl… was killed. She was killed and I wasn't even there. I was in denial about it at first. And I think Maxie still resents me for not being there right away. And probably even more for leaving shortly after the funeral."
"Did you get another lead on Frankie after the funeral?" Kevin asked.
"Yes. But dead end after dead end, I pretty much gave up by the time she would've been ten. That's when I moved back to Port Charles permanently because it was time I focused on the only daughter I could. But I did hire a P.I. to keep searching even though I didn't physically go search myself anymore."
"Felicia, do you believe Esme is your daughter?"
"I know she is," Felicia said. "I can feel it. Plus, she has the same birthday. But I'm just so mad at myself that I didn't see it two years ago. I could've prevented her at least some heartache and pain from Ryan." She pushed away her tears with her thumb. "I need to tell her. The sooner the better. Then she'll stop believing Heather Webber is her mother. And she'll know she's not alone."
"Felicia, don't you think you should have a DNA test to be certain before putting your heart all into this and paying all her medical bills?" Kevin asked. "Laura told me about that."
She shook her head. "I don't need one. I don't need proof. I know she's my daughter. My Frankie."
"Okay. But you also need to think about Esme here. She believes Heather is her mother. She's going to want proof. She doesn't even trust me or Laura right now and we've spent more time with her and have even lived with her. She's going to have trouble trusting you right away. It might even scare her if you suddenly tell her you're her mother without proof."
She paused in thought. "That's true. I never thought of it that way. The last thing I want to do is scare her."
"I know you're very emotional right now, but just try not to be hasty."
She nodded. "Okay. I'll run a DNA test first."
AN: Do you agree with Maxie or Kevin? Should Felicia read the DNA results and confront Cody? Should she run a DNA test against Esme? Or should she sit down and talk to both? Or are these two different situations and should be handled differently?
