Chapter 39- Time

When Mac and Felicia arrived home, they heard crying. Emma was moving around the living room patting Ace's back.

"Oh, Aunt Felicia," Emma said. "Thank goodness. He's been crying nonstop."

Felicia took Ace in her arms and rocked him gently. He slowly calmed down. "It's okay, Ace. Mommy will be home soon. Thank you for looking after him, Emma. I'm sorry we left so abruptly. Where's Georgie? Is she okay?"

"Um, not so good," Emma said. "She fainted. Mom took her to the guest room."

Felicia's eyes widened. "Oh no."

"Not again," Mac said.

"I need to check on her." Felicia looked at Ace. "Mac, maybe he'll go to you?" She started to pass Ace to Mac, but he wailed.

"I'll go see Georgie. You stay with Ace." Mac headed to the guest room.

Felicia rubbed Ace's back. "Maybe I can get him to sleep. If I take him in there, he might cry and upset Georgie. But we can't stress him out anymore. I don't want his heart to have another setback. Ace, I'm sorry we left you."

"Did you find Esme?" Emma asked.

"Cody did," Felicia said. "He called and said she's okay. He's taking her to the stables for a bit but will be home soon."

"Oh, that's good."

Felicia hummed to Ace and after a while his eyes started to droop.

Finally, Robin came out.

"How's Georgie?" Felicia asked.

"She's sleeping now," Robin said. "Mac wanted to sit with her for a bit."

"What happened? What can we do to help her?"

"I honestly think it's a mixture of lack of sunlight, malnutrition, and inactivity," Robin said. "She's just skin and bones. No muscle. In some ways her mind seems sharp, but her concept of time is way off. When she mentioned the feeding schedule—or non-schedule—they gave her, I don't even know how accurate it was, especially since you said she didn't know how much time had passed while she was gone. It's sad to watch because she thinks everything in the world is still running the way it did in 2007. She asked me if George Bush is running again and if I think she should vote for him. And physically, I think she was introduced to too much too soon. It might not seem like she's done a lot, but after being locked in a tiny room for so long, she's not used to moving so much. The flight and the stairs especially were too much for her right now. I'm actually surprised she didn't fall. Which is why I think she should stay in the guest room for a while so she's on one level. Maybe she can come out to the living room once a day, but she must have someone with her at all times when she's getting up and walking. She needs to adjust back to things, but it has to be very, very gradual. Going to the bathroom will also be exercise for her. And someone should sleep down here at night. Which brings me to what Uncle Mac just told me. Aunt Felicia, I know you have a lot of factors to consider and you have a lot going on right now. While I think you have a point that there's too many people here for both Georgie and Esme, I think it's a mistake for Uncle Mac to leave too."

Felicia sighed. "Georgie has such a long road ahead of her. This isn't fair. I don't want Mac to leave. I really don't. But I also have Esme to think about. She's uncomfortable around him. I think she'll feel more comfortable talking to me without Mac here. But that's not Mac's fault at all. I just really want to take care of both of them the way I couldn't before. I need to put them first."

"I know, but even Emma and I had trouble juggling between Georgie and Ace this morning. You're going to wear out fast if you do it on your own, then you won't be able to take care of either of them. And Georgie adores Uncle Mac. She needs him too. It will break her heart if he leaves. I don't think she can handle that right now. And even thinking of Esme herself. If she sees you sending Uncle Mac away, she'll think you're validating her fears of him and it could make her view of Uncle Mac even worse. But if she sees firsthand how he is with Georgie, she can hopefully see what a good dad he is and that he won't hurt her. And you also mentioned you're investigating Esme's case. How will you be able to do all that?"

Felicia rubbed her chin. "That's true. I don't want to rip Mac from Georgie. That was never my intention. And I don't want to make the same mistake when I pushed Mac away before. If I went to him for help in the first place, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. We would've been together all along. I would've been here to protect Georgie, and Mac could've helped me protect Frankie."

Robin frowned and hugged her. "You did the best you could. But you don't have to do it alone this time. I think that's a good compromise for both Georgie and Esme if we leave but Uncle Mac stays. Emma and I will go stay with my mom, but we are still available to give you breaks. We'll be here for a month."

"Thanks, Robin. Mac and I have always done better when we're a team. Ace is asleep now. I'll go lay him down, then check on Georgie."

GHGHGH

Cody moved around the barn, filling up the horse's feeding troughs. "The brown one is Duke. He's new. And the white one at the end is Bella."

"I've really missed being around horses." Esme stroked Bella's mane. "It was the only nice thing about living with the Princes."

"They're all really good horses and really gentle too. They all love to be brushed as well."

"Can I brush them?"

"Of course." He handed her a brush, then continued to feed the rest on the other end of the barn.

"Thanks." She started to brush Bella. "You called me your sister in front of Spence and the others… why? Won't that blow your cover with the legal stuff?"

Before Cody could respond, they heard a bang outside. Esme screamed and started shaking.

"Esme?" Cody said.

She looked up when Duke threw his head back, blew, and snorted in fright.

"It's okay, boy," Cody said, making his way over. "Esme, that's just Drew showing the kids his air gun. He does that a lot. We're safe."

He stopped when Esme walked over to Duke. "Are you scared too?" she asked. She started to gently stroke his nose and her muscles relaxed to. "It's okay, buddy. It's okay." The horse slowly started to calm down.

"Hey, you're a natural," Cody said. "He gets skittish around all kinds of noise, but you calmed him down. I need to talk to Drew about taking the kids further back on the property, so it doesn't frighten him."

Esme smiled when Duke brushed his nose against her affectionately. "I think Duke is my favourite."

"I can tell he likes you already. It usually takes him a while to warm up to people. If you're interested, I could talk to Monica and see about getting you a job here."

Esme stepped back and frowned. "But if I'm sentenced to prison…."

"We could wait until after your trial, if you want. We should hope for the best though. And I didn't respond to your question before. I'm not going to be a coward anymore and admit who I am and whose son I am. And if you do have to go prison, I'm going to confess so I can go with you to protect you, as much as I can."

"You… you would do that for me?" Esme asked. "But you'd give up so much."

"I can handle it. It wouldn't be forever. Mac wants to fight it if they charge me. And I will if you aren't sentenced. They don't know my plan yet, but he and Felicia are worried that you'll have a target on your back because of your father. So, you can't go there by yourself."

Esme blushed a little and smiled at him.

GHGHGH

After laying Ace down, Felicia grabbed the flatscreen from the rec room and carried it to Georgie's room.

She smiled when she saw Georgie awake, talking to Mac.

"Hey there, sweetie, did you have a good sleep?" Felicia asked.

Georgie nodded.

"I thought we could set this up for you in here." She set it on the dresser, plugged it in, and turned it on.

Georgie covered her eyes.

Felicia frowned. "Mac, would you mind getting my sunglasses?"

"Of course." He left the room.

"Would you feel up to watching an episode of something together?" Felicia pulled up the menu to connect it to the Wi-Fi.

"Oh, I've been dying to watch the newest season of One Tree Hill," Georgie said, squeezing her eyes shut. "Is it on yet?"

Felicia bit her lip. "Mmhmm…. There's been a few more seasons out. I think I noticed it on Prime Video a while ago… yep, there it is. Do you want to start at the beginning or the episode you last remember watching?"

"Maybe the beginning."

Mac stepped back in the room and helped Georgie put the sunglasses on. "Here you go, sweetie. I'm going for lunch with Robin, Emma, and Uncle Robert. But I'll be back after that." He kissed the top of her head, then hugged Felicia. "Robin just told me. Thank you for letting me stay."

Felicia nodded. "I'm sorry I suggested otherwise. We need to stick together."

He kissed her, then headed out.

Felicia sat on the bed beside Georgie and put the first episode on. "Maxie's coming over soon to see you. And I was talking to Lucas earlier. He wants to come tomorrow for a visit."

Georgie smiled.

Felicia wrapped her arm around her. "I hope you know how much I love you. And I'm so glad you're home with us again."

"I love you too, Mom."

GHGHGH

"Esme is something else," Josslyn said, sitting at Bobbie's with Dex, Spencer, and Trina.

"And I can't believe she has so many people fooled again," Spencer added. "I thought Mac and Felicia were smarter than that."

Josslyn shook her head. "It's unbelievable how anyone could be that easily fooled." She reached for Dex's hand.

"I get where you guys are coming from and I do want justice," Trina spoke up. "But don't you think saying all that to her will only provoke her? Either that or she'll use it against us in court. Diane did tell us not to associate with her before then."

"She needs to know that we won't stand for it any longer," Josslyn said.

"I'm with Spencer and Josslyn," Dex said. "Esme is just bad news. She deserves everything that's coming to her."

GHGHGH

"Did you enjoy that, sweetie?" Felicia asked when the episode ended.

Georgie nodded. "Can we watch another episode?"

They heard the front door and Maxie's voice, "Anyone home?"

"There's your sister. Maxie… we're in the guest room."

Maxie walked in. "Hey Georgie. How are you feeling?"

Georgie sat up a bit. "I'm good. I feel much better."

Felicia looked at her sadly.

"Mom, is it okay if I spend some time with Georgie, just the two of us?" Maxie asked.

Felicia nodded and kissed Georgie's cheek. "I love you. I love both of you and I'll just be in the living room if you need me. Maybe we can watch more One Tree Hill later or a movie if you want."

Maxie sat on the edge of the bed after Felicia left. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. How's Spinelli?"

"Good. He's working right now. And the kids are at school."

"How old are your kids again?" Georgie asked.

"13, 6, and 3."

"Do I have any kids?"

Maxie squinted at her. "No, Georgie. Maybe one day if you want to. They're a lot of work, but I love them a lot."

A smile spread across her face. "I've always wanted to be a mom."

Maxie's eyes welled up. "And you'd make a great mom, Georgie. You just need to gain your strength back first."

"I didn't know you wanted kids," Georgie said.

"I didn't either until I was pregnant with Little Georgie. Now I wouldn't have it any different."

"And you're with Spinelli now."

"Kind of… we're not really official, but we've been spending time together again. And he's great with all the kids."

"Maybe I can get back together with Dillon," Georgie said.

"He's in California now making movies," Maxie said. "I don't know if he's seeing anyone. I can contact him if you want me to tell him you're home."

Georgie lowered her gaze. "No, it's okay. I don't want to bother him."

Maxie reached for her hand. "Georgie, you're not bothering anyone."

GHGHGH

Felicia couldn't keep still on the couch and kept checking her phone and glancing at a picture of Maxie and Georgie as kids. She finally heard the door and Cody walked in with Esme, who started crying when she saw her mom.

Felicia jumped up and pulled Esme into her arms and kissed her head several times. "Ohh, Esme," she cried. "I'm so glad you're here. I'm so glad you're home."

"When I found her at the docks, Spencer, Josslyn, Trina, and Dex were there," Cody said.

Felicia gritted her teeth. "Dex?" She looked down at Esme. "Did he hurt you?"

"Spencer and Josslyn were berating her," Cody explained. "Trina and Dex were quiet. At least when I got there…. On a lighter note, Esme is great with the horses. Why don't I head out so you two can chat."

Felicia kept an arm around Esme and reached for Cody's hand. "Thank you for bringing her home to me."

Esme took off Cody's coat and gave it to him. "Thanks, Cody."

He grinned. "No problem. I'll see you around." He headed out.

Felicia led Esme over to the couch. "Are you okay?"

Esme nodded through her tears. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"

"Hey, it's okay." She wiped away Esme's tears. "I'm sorry I overwhelmed you. Robin and Emma are going to stay with Anna, but just visit at times during the day. So, our house will be less busy. You're home safe now and that's what matters."

"I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't. Georgie's just so perfect. Your perfect daughter. She-she went through a lot too but is super happy and offers to help and you all love her. And I agree with Josslyn that I don't know how you can stand having a daughter like me. I don't deserve you. I don't deserve Ace. I deserve Daddy and I deserve prison!"

"No. No." Felicia rubbed her arm and took a deep breath. "None of that is true. All of you—you, Georgie, and Maxie mean so much to me, in similar ways but different ways too. None of you are perfect. Georgie is struggling a lot too right now. She's had a hard morning. She's acting happy and positive, but I think she's burying how scared and sad she is. In fact, maybe you and Georgie can help each other, because you're both going through a lot. Only if you feel comfortable with that…. But please, don't listen to a word Josslyn says. She had no right to say that to you. And I'm furious that she would indicate how I should feel about you. Nobody can decide that but me." She lifted Esme's chin. "Listen to me. You did NOT deserve Ryan and you don't deserve prison. You do deserve me and Ace. You deserve good things. Don't let anyone tell you differently."

"Okay. Is Ace okay?"

"He was upset and missing you. But he's okay now. He's sleeping."

"Okay. When… when I was out…."

"Did something happen?" Felicia asked.

She looked into Felicia's concerned eyes, then shook her head. "No."

"Are you sure? You can tell me."

"Sonny… Sonny Corinthos… he… kidnapped me."

Felicia scowled. "WHAT?"

"I wasn't there long," Esme said. "I think he just wanted to scare me. He had me brought to his office. He did it before. Wanted me to confess everything. Wanted me to say that Spence is Ace's father, but he's not. Then he let me go."

Felicia pulled out her phone.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Esme asked.

"I'm calling the police."

"But… but he's Sonny Corinthos. How would we prove it?"

"Esme, it's okay. I will handle it. Hello? This is Felicia Scorpio…." Felicia stepped out of the room for a few minutes.

Esme chewed her pink fingernails, hoping this doesn't get back to Dex.

Felicia came back in and sat down. "The police are looking into it. Thank you, for telling me, sweetheart. I'm so sorry that happened to you. Did he hurt you at all?"

"No."

"Okay, good." She reached for her hand. "Esme, Robin told me that you were ready to tell me something. What did you want to tell me?"

Esme felt a heaviness in her chest and her mouth went try. She looked into her mom's eyes again. "I… Uh…."

After a long pause Felicia asked, "Does this have to do with Ryan?"

Esme swallowed hard and looked down at her lap.

"You've never had a loving father before, Esme," Ryan said, stroking her hair. "I love you. You remind me so much of your mother. You're my legacy. The best of me and your mother. This is normal for all loving fathers and their daughters. We just need to keep this private and not tell anyone."

Esme backed away, trembling.

He grinned. "I know who your mother is. Would you like to know her name, Esme?"

"Esme?" Felicia squeezed her hand. "What did you want to tell me?"

Esme's lips quivered and she looked back at her mom. "That… that Ace said his first word this morning. He said 'Gam'. I know he meant Grandma."

Felicia smiled a little. "Aww, that's very sweet. I do love Ace very much. But Esme… Robin said you told her that you were ready to tell me. That makes me think it's something you've been trying to tell me for a while now. Like when you wanted to show me what's in your box. What were you ready to tell me?"

"Just… that I'm glad we're here. Me and Ace. And that I don't want to live anywhere else. When Ace said 'Gam' it just confirmed things for me…."

"Well, I'm glad you're here too, Esme. Really glad."

Esme smiled and hugged her. "I want to go check on Ace." She headed upstairs.

Felicia buried her face in her hands.