Chapter 57- Friend Zone

Felicia, Esme, and Lucy stepped back when the paramedics rushed in to help Cameron. Behind them, Chase and Jordan hurried in and kneeled beside Dex.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Felicia checked Esme over.

Esme nodded.

Felicia wrapped her arm around her. "You were amazing, Lucy. Thank you so much."

Lucy grinned. "That's what friends are for."

"He's still alive," Chase said. "Just unconscious."

"Cuff him," Jordan said. "And escort him to the hospital so a doctor can look at him. Once they release him, he can be taken to the station."

"It's okay, Frankie, the police are still arresting him," Felicia assured.

Moments later, Elizabeth, Jake, Anna, Robin, and Emma came in. Elizabeth and Jake ran over to Cameron as he was lifted onto a stretcher.

"What happened, Cameron?" Elizabeth reached for his hand and kissed it. "Are you okay, buddy?"

He nodded. "Dex shot me in the leg, but I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah."

"Jake, can you drive Cameron's car?" Elizabeth asked. "I want to ride with him."

"Yeah, no problem," Jake said. "I can meet you at the hospital."

Cameron reached in his pocket and handed his keys to Jake. He glanced up when Esme and Emma walked over.

"Are you okay, Cam?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Thank you for protecting me," Esme said. "I'm sorry for everything…."

"Hey, no worries," Cam said.

The paramedics pulled the stretcher out and Elizabeth followed.

"Everyone else will need to stay on the property until they've given a statement," Jordan said. She walked over to Spencer and Josslyn first.

"Jake and Emma found this on the elevator." Anna handed the letter to Felicia. "I think it reveals a lot."

Felicia read it over carefully.

Esme looked between Jake and Emma, then at her mom, and fled to the lobby.

After reading the letter over several times, Felicia's legs started to give out but Anna and Lucy each grabbed her arms.

"Whoa," Anna said. "Maybe you should sit down.

They helped her over to a pew and sat with her.

"What's wrong, Felicia?" Lucy asked.

Felicia kept staring at the letter.

"You didn't come to town until after," Anna explained to Lucy.

Lucy scoffed. "Are you trying to rub it in that you met Felicia before me? It wasn't that much before me and you were missing for several years. You even lived in Pine Valley for a long time while I was here with Fel—"

"Lucy! Not. Right. Now." Anna glared at her.

"It was… it was the Harrells…" Felicia choked up. "They went at me where they knew it would hurt most… my children. All of them."

"I didn't pick up on that part from the letter," Anna said. "But I know Peter and Prescott were after your jewels."

"What?" Lucy asked. "You mean Peter Harrell Jr. who kidnapped Maxie and Lulu a few years ago?"

Felicia nodded. "His father, Peter Sr., was my fiancé. But he was only with me because he wanted my treasure. If I… If I…." She started crying. "If I just gave him my stupid jewels, they would have left my daughters alone!"

Anna rubbed her back. "But they were yours and you don't know what they would have done with all that wealth."

"Trained up Junior well," Felicia read from the letter. "…and asset in the future with one of the daughters…. That's talking about Maxie. Peter Jr., aka Levi, nearly married Maxie because he wanted my jewels… but more than the jewels, they were after Maxie. Peter Sr. wanted to kill her… or maybe fake her death too and just torment me, I don't know. And who were they working with? Victor Cassadine. He's on board with assisting us in the plan. The same man who'd been holding Georgie captive all these years. I don't know how or if it's connected to Diego Alcazar, but Victor and the Harrells kept my little girl trapped there. Locked her in a room and nearly starved her to death, isolating her from the world. She's been located at the family ranch in Texas. This letter was dated a couple of months before Frankie disappeared when we were at Grandmother's ranch. No one knows your real identity… You've done well in the pharmaceutical business…. Whoever this puppet is, and I'm going to find out, took my baby from me and gave her to Prescott Harrell, aka Claude Prince. All for my jewels and because Frisco and I shot him in the head."

Anna shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Felicia. That is barbaric. It's cruel."

"It's evil!" Lucy added.

"I had no idea it was all connected," Felicia said. "Anna, would it be all right if I drive your car home and return it tomorrow? Can you and Lucy go home with Robin and Emma? I need to talk to Frankie."

"Oh yeah, of course," Anna said.

GHGHGH

"Nooooo!" Danny and Aiden cried, when Rocco's Yoshi crossed the finish line first.

"Yes!" Rocco fist-bumped the air. "Fifth win in a row."

"But you won't beat me at Rainbow Road," Danny said.

"That's the hardest one," Aiden said.

Scout watched them from the kitchen table while she drew. She glanced over at Dante who was washing the dishes in the kitchen. He smiled at her.

They heard the front door open and Sam walked in. "Hey guys, who's winning?"

"Me!" Rocco said proudly.

"Well, make sure you're letting Danny and Aiden choose the courses too," Sam said.

"Don't worry," Danny said. "I'm not letting him hog them again. I'm Player One this time."

"Okay. Aiden, your mom just called me," Sam said. "She asked if you could sleep over tonight because she's going to be late. She said she'll explain in the morning."

"Okay cool," Aiden said.

"Maybe you can borrow some of Rocco's or Danny's pajamas. Well, have fun, boys." She headed to the dining room and sat beside Scout. "Hi baby. You don't want to play with the boys?"

Scout shook her head.

"What'cha drawing?" Sam asked.

"Butterflies and dragonflies," Scout said.

"They're really pretty. Can I draw with you?"

Scout nodded and handed her a piece of paper.

"Thank you," Sam said. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

Scout stopped drawing and frowned. "No."

Sam sighed. "I know it's hard, but I think it'll go a lot better than you think it will. You'll get to meet new kids. It's kind of exciting to try a new school. I remember I switched schools several times when I was a kid."

"You did?"

"I did," Sam said. "I was always sad leaving my old school but once I got settled at my new one, I made a ton of new friends and new teachers. It became a new adventure."

"I like adventures."

"Then maybe it can be a new adventure for you, Scout."

Scout smiled a little. "Okay, Mommy."

GHGHGH

Elizabeth sat with Jake in the waiting room while they waited for word on Cameron's surgery.

"Lizzy?" Carolyn walked over to them. "I just heard about Cameron. Is there anything I can do?"

Jake smiled a little at her.

Elizabeth sighed. "There's nothing you can do. I just want to know that the surgery went well."

Carolyn nodded. "I'm sure it will. Can I wait with you and Jake?"

Elizabeth paused for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, sure."

Carolyn sat beside her. "Dr. Ashford is very good."

"Yes, I know he is," Elizabeth said. "And bullet-removal is procedural. As a nurse I know that. As a mother, it's a different story."

"Yeah, but Cam is strong, Mom," Jake said. "He'll pull through this."

"I think I need a distraction," Elizabeth said. "What's new with you, Mom?"

"Well, Sarah invited me to join her on her visit with Scarlett in the morning," Carolyn said. "I'm looking forward to that. Maybe one day you can join us, Lizzie."

"Maybe."

After a while, TJ came out of the OR and removed his mask. "The surgery went well. It'll take a while for the anesthetic to wear off, then you can see him. He'll have to stay here for a few days, but I'm very optimistic."

Elizabeth smiled. "Thank goodness."

GHGHGH

On the way home, Emma glanced over and noticed Lucy had fallen asleep beside her in the back seat.

"Mom, do you know if Jake is seeing anybody?" Emma asked.

"I don't know," Robin said. "Elizabeth only mentioned he's going to PCU in the fall and he's deciding between art and criminology."

"He'd be good at criminology," Emma said.

Anna cleared her throat. "The last I knew he was dating Charlotte."

Emma felt her heart sink. "Oh."

"Aww, do you like him, sweetie?" Robin asked.

"Kind of. I guess he's just looking for friends right now."

"Maybe Cameron is single?" Robin suggested. "You got along great when you were kids."

"Cam is sweet and all… but Jake was just so brave today. Cam and I weren't too sure about joining in on Esme's investigation, but Jake was ready to face it head on. I just thought he was really cool…."

"I can talk to Valentin and see if Charlotte is still dating him," Anna offered.

"But it's still great to have him as a friend too," Robin said.

"Yeah," Emma said. "I guess."

GHGHGH

Esme kept staring out the window as Felicia drove.

"Frankie, we need to talk about what happened tonight," Felicia said. "I'm relieved that you're okay. But why did you take the map from my office?"

"I just... I wanted to be a P.I. like you."

"I know, sweetie, but you have to go to college for that and learn quite a bit of stuff. And you can't go into it right away by yourself with no experience while bringing others along because it's dangerous work."

"I didn't mean for Cam to get shot!"

"I know you didn't," Felicia said. "That's not what I meant. That was Dex's fault, not yours. But I don't want you to get hurt either. I wish you'd asked me about the map."

Esme's eyes kept moving from her lap to the window to avoid looking at Felicia. "I just wanted to be less like Daddy, and more like… you. I didn't want you to just look at me as the disgusting daughter who didn't even fight Daddy off, who kept asking for it, because I kept going back to him. I wanted to make you proud of me by helping you with your case and becoming a P.I. I wanted it to be a surprise. But I didn't help at all. I just got Cam shot and it was Jake and Emma who found something! I'm not like you, I'm not. I'm just like Daddy and I always will be."

Felicia pulled over to the side of the road. She took off her seatbelt and gently lifted Esme's chin to look at her. "I am proud of you. You have survived more than anyone should have to survive. It's fine if you want to emulate some of my good qualities, but I don't want you to put yourself in danger because you think it'll make you like me. I want you to be just like you. No one else. You're not in trouble. I just don't want you to get hurt. It would devastate me if I lost you again. You are NOT like Ryan. And what he did to you was NOT your fault. He manipulated you because that's what he's like. He knew you wanted to find me so badly and he hung it in front of you like a carrot. He gave no thought to how it would affect you because he was a psychopath. Psychopaths feel no remorse. He didn't have the capacity to truly care for another person. You're not like that, Frankie. I've seen you with Ace. I know you care about him… that you love him and want what's best for him. So, if you want to be like me, you already are. Because that's how I feel about you and your sisters. Whereas Ryan never wanted what's best for you and I hate him for that. But that's a natural trait you have. You didn't have to change who you are or put yourself in a dangerous situation to obtain that."

Esme nodded through her tears. "I do love Ace. I'm sorry I stole your map."

"It's okay." Felicia hugged her. "I'm just so glad you're okay."

After a few minutes, Felicia started driving again, opting not to bring up Mr. Prince that night.

"Do you think Cam likes me?" Esme asked after a while.

"Oh, I don't know. I haven't really seen you with him. Do you like him?"

Esme blushed but didn't answer.

"Frankie, I'm wondering if maybe you shouldn't focus on anything romantically right now," Felicia said. "You're starting therapy this week and I'm hoping through that and being around us, you can learn what healthy relationships are like before you start dating again."

"You—you think I don't know how to have a healthy relationship?"

"I just mean you've been hurt so much by so many people, particularly by Ryan, Nikolas, and Spencer. Maybe it would be better to give yourself a chance to heal first and to know what signs to watch for while dating. Focus on family, friends, your community service, and what you'd like to take at school."

"You want me to be alone?" Esme asked.

"No, of course not," Felicia said. "You're not alone. Ever. Cameron's a good guy, but—"

"But you don't think I'm good enough for him!"

"Of course you are," Felicia said as she pulled into their driveway. "What I was going to say is, maybe you can be friends with him first, then once you've found some healing, maybe it'll turn into more if you both want that."

Esme crossed her arms. "Maybe I don't want to be friends and maybe I don't want to go to therapy."

Felicia sighed. "Frankie…. Therapy will be good for you."

"I'm not going to therapy and I will date whoever I want to date and you can't stop me."

"Okay, if you want to date Cameron, then I will be happy for you. I think he'll be good to you."

"Fine, but I'm still not going to therapy." Esme jumped out and slammed the door before running into the house.