"Ready to go?"
Jasmine shifts as she sits upright in the hospital bed, dressed in a hoodie and sweatpants free from stains. Kevin Collins stands opposite the doctor, arms crossed as the men watch her.
"Jazz?" TJ asks softly, "Dr. Collins asked you a question."
"I'm sorry," the young girl frowns, "I'm nervous."
"Corinthos-Davis House is a lovely place. There are so many kids there just like you, all living the lives they want to live."
"I know, but…it's different. It's new."
"And it's scary," TJ replies.
"Yeah."
"Well, what can we do to help make things less scary?"
Jasmine doesn't answer, glancing down at her lap. Dr. Collins looks TJ's way, nodding his head towards the door. The men walk towards that corner, huddling together.
"Did I say something wrong?" the doctor asks.
"No, no," the psychiatrist shakes his head, "I want to work with you on how to proceed."
"I'll follow your lead on this. What do you think we should do?"
"Reassurance. Addressing her concerns with positivity will make her more inclined to go."
"I get that a new home isn't the easiest thing to adjust to, but Corinthos-Davis House isn't some orphanage. She's going to a place where kids just like her live in a healthy, accepting environment."
"You and I know that because we know Kristina and we know the business. Jasmine doesn't. She and Kristina met and that went fine enough, but after what she endured from her family, it's just not enough to fully sway her."
"Okay, so we reassure her that where she's going is safe. Then what?"
"We can offer to go with her, physically show her that there's nothing to worry about."
"Hm," TJ glances at the girl, "I guess I can talk to Terry and Portia-"
"Let me handle that," Dr. Collins cut him off, "In the meantime, I think it's best if you give Jasmine that reassurance."
As the door closes behing the doctor, he locks eyes with the young patient. He takes a seat on the stool, gently gulping as he assesses his next steps.
"Where did Dr. Collins go?" Jasmine asks innocently.
"He's taking care of something for us," TJ answers, "It'll help you move into Corinthos-Davis House."
"I don't know if I'm ready to go yet."
"I know you're nervous, and I don't blame you for it. You're going from being with your parents to being with a bunch of kids you've never met."
"Yeah, like, I don't know if they're nice or if they'll like me."
"I've worked with some of those kids; they're very nice. I think they'll like you a lot."
"My parents don't like me…"
"Your parents had no business hurting you. They were wrong."
"I know but…it still sucks."
"Yeah," TJ scoots closer to her, "I understand."
"I love my mom and dad. I don't get why they attacked me. We're family."
"They had the wrong attitude about you liking girls, and they handled it poorly. People who hurt their loved ones like that…that's not family."
"I guess," Jasmine frowns, "but I don't think that really matters, y'know? We share DNA, we're supposed to love each other…"
TJ mirrors her expression, "Family comes from all kinds of places. It's not always biology. I have my mom and dad, but I also have aunts, uncles, cousins, all kinds of people I personally consider family. There's no shame in making your own family."
"Do you have your own family?"
"Yeah…" TJ nods slowly, "There's me and my…wife. She and I are trying to have kids of our own."
"Promise me you'll treat them better than how I got treated."
"Cross my heart," the doctor locks his pinky with the young girl's, "If not, I'll make sure that you let me have it."
"Good," the girl smiles just as Dr. Collins comes back. He pulls TJ to the side and whispers in his ear before exiting again, "Where's Dr. Collins going?"
"He's getting the car ready. You're on your way to Corinthos-Davis House."
"By myself?"
"Nope," TJ grins, "I'm going with you."
The car ride is mostly quiet once they pack themselves in. Jasmine sits in the middle, with TJ on her left and Dr. Collins on her right. The sun shines high at midday, and for the briefest of moments, the young man forgets everything that's happened over the past few days.
"We have arrived," Dr. Collins's warm announcement snaps TJ back into reality. Jasmine impulsively grabs his hand as the psychiatrist exits the car, heading to the trunk.
"Ready to go?" TJ repeats, and after a gentle sigh, she leaps out of the car. TJ scoots out after her.
"Welcome in," the receptionist greets the group with a toothless smile, getting to their feet and approaching Jasmine. They extend a hand, "Hi, I'm Riley."
"Riley works for the House," TJ explains, which gives the young girl permission to shake their hand, "They're very nice."
"Can confirm," Bianca walks up to them, her red hair tied back, "It's great to see you here, Jasmine."
"...Hi."
"She's a bit shy," Dr. Collins cuts in, a duffel bag in his hand, "especially after what she endured."
"Right. That's okay. These things take time. Her room is ready if you want to put her stuff in there."
"Great, thank you," the psychiatrist nods. Bianca leads the trio upstairs as Riley returns to the reception desk. The group of four passes by an array of closed and open doors until they reach one six paces down on the left.
"I hope you like the color purple," the woman coos as she opens the door. Jasmine steps into the room first, taking in the full-sized bed, tall closet, and empty desk all made from deep brown mahogany wood. Her eyes go wide the more she studies the clean room, a smile slowly spreading onto her face.
"It's nice," she manages to say.
"And it's all yours. You can decorate it with anything you want: posters, toys, trinkets, whatever you like."
"All I have are my clothes…"
"We're working on moving her belongings out of the house while her parents are in custody," Dr. Collins remarks.
"No siblings or other relatives live there?"
"That's correct."
"Okay," Bianca nods, "well, Jasmine, if you want, we can give you some time to put your clothes away, or we can give you a nice tour of the House. It's up to you."
"Tour first, please," Jasmine answers, tugging on TJ's hand as the other adults step out. He leans down to her, "Thank you for everything, Dr. Ashford. Promise me you'll come and visit?"
A bright, pure smile appears on the doctor's face, and he takes her hand in his as they both exit the room, "Absolutely. I promise."
The mansion's still as massive and daunting as she remembers it to be.
Nikki stands firm on the doorstep of the Quartermaine residence, twiddling her thumbs. Part of her wants to ring the doorbell or knock, and part of her hopes a camera's nearby to alert someone inside. She pulls out her cellphone, looking for Dex's contact. She then scrolls through their very limited text thread, her requests for a formal reunion independent of her recently-attained widow status going completely ignored.
"Do you need to get inside?"
Nikki turns around instantly, meeting the sullen blue eyes and short brunette hair of a smaller, younger woman in front of her.
"Excuse me?" the elder woman asks.
"Are you here to see someone?"
"Uh, yes, I am."
"Have you knocked on the door or rang the bell? It shouldn't take this long for someone to answer."
"Oh, no, uh, I just got here. I had to, uh, check something on my phone before I…rang…" Nikki tries to pivot, "I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Willow Corinthos," the younger woman extends a hand out, "I live here."
"You're a Quartermaine?"
"I am through marriage," Willow pulls her house key out of her front pocket, unlocking the door. Nikki follows her inside, shutting the tall wooden structure behind her, "Who are you here to see?"
"Monica. Is she home?"
"Um, she might be, let me see," Willow approaches the curved staircase, "Does she know you?"
"Yes, she does. We share a sister: Dawn."
"Okay, stay here," Willow nods before rushing upstairs. Nikki takes a seat on the bench by the living room, taking a deep breath before opting to look at her phone again. She scans the gallery of photos saved on the device, zooming into a picture of Dex at his high school graduation.
"Oh no."
The woman looks up just as two figures come downstairs. The woman appears much older, short with her gray hair tied up in a high bun. A much younger man stands besides her, his hands in his pockets of his navy suit and his brown hair coiffed.
"No, no, no," the woman bellows, "There's no way someone let you through the front door."
"I take it you know of me," Nikki sighs.
"Tracy does this with everyone," the young man rolls his eyes.
"Not everyone, Michael. Just the people who deserve it."
"And this woman deserves it?"
"Considering the hell she put our family through, yes."
"That's in the past-" Nikki speaks up.
"Really, so you're not here to try and make a pretty penny off of us from ludacris accusations, then?"
"What's going on?" Willow returns downstairs with another older woman in tow, her familiar short blonde hair immediately catching Nikki's eye.
"What's going on is that yet another one of AJ's mistakes has unfortunately graced us with her presence."
"You knew AJ?" Willow swiftly approaches Nikki.
"She did. In fact, she almost married him."
Monica separates the trio, standing mere inches away from Nikki. Her face is firm with a hint of frustration, eyes narrowed.
"Monica," the younger blonde says, "Long time, no see."
"Nikki Langton," Monica looks her up and down, "I don't think you've aged a day."
"Neither have you."
"I'm sorry," Tracy scowls, "are we being friendly to gold-digging con artists now?"
Monica ignores the question, "I thought you agreed to stay away."
"I did."
"And yet you're in my foyer."
"I have a good reason for being here; there's something you should know."
"What, that you ran out of money?" Tracy snaps, "Wasn't Alan's offering enough?"
"Alan paid you money?" Willow raises a confused eyebrow, "Why?"
"We didn't want her marrying my son," Monica answers.
"AJ had an ex-fiancée…?" the young brunette looks at her husband.
"Apparently," Michael remarks, ducking his head as he and his wife back away from the older women.
"To this day, I'm not sure what AJ saw in you," Monica sighs gently, her voice sleek.
"The same thing he saw in his worst mistake," Tracy huffs as Michael and Willow roll their eyes in the background, "A pretty blonde who gave him the time of day."
"I was more than that to him-"
"And he was nothing more than a check to you. You wanted the family fortune more than you ever wanted AJ."
"That's not entirely true."
All eyes fall onto Monica. While Tracy, Michael, and Willow look on in surprise, Nikki looks on in curious shock.
"After all, that's why you took the money, right?" the woman continues.
"It is."
"You agreed to leave because you loved him, because he was more important than money you know you didn't deserve. So why are you here now?"
"I already told you; there's something you should know."
"And it has to do with AJ?" Tracy crosses her arms, "Shall I take you to his grave so you can tell him yourself?"
"Sure," Nikki gently snaps back, "go ahead and take me to the crypt. Let me stand in front of his tomb and tell him that we have a son."
The air flees the room in record time, all eyes, wide and fierce, locked onto Nikki. She shuts her eyes tight, trying to recall Dex's plastered smile in the graduation photo on her phone.
"What was that?" Tracy's voice is sharp, "You and AJ have a son?"
"...Yes," the woman stutters out. Michael's face relaxes, guilt slowly showing up in his features, "we do."
"Come on now, do you really expect us to believe that?"
"It's the truth. He went to Malibu to get me back…and left me with a piece of him."
"It's bad enough AJ procreated with his mother," Tracy points to Michael, "We don't need your DNA too," she then turns to Monica, "I mean, honestly, why should we think that what she has to say is true?"
"Because, this time, it is."
Attention shifts to Michael, his hands still in his pockets. He steadily approaches the women, his face firm with resignation.
"What do you mean?" Tracy shoots daggers at him.
"She's claiming that AJ has a second son, that I have a brother out there in the world. And…I think I've met him. In fact, I think we've all met him," he stands mere inches away from her, looking down at her, "I'm sure the name 'Dex Heller' rings a bell. He's your son, isn't he?"
All Nikki does is nod.
"Oh my God," Tracy hisses as a few more Quartermaine family members file into the foyer. Brook Lynn, Ned, and Olivia look on in surprise.
"I'm sorry," Brook Lynn interjects as the trio approach the circle, "What's going on here…?"
"Come with us to the living room and you'll find out," Monica walks away, taking the group with her. Nikki sits in one of the chairs while the rest of the family fills out the couch, with Ned and Michael standing behind them.
"What exactly are we discussing?" Olivia questions.
"AJ has a second son."
"...Really," Ned hums, looking at Nikki, "And we're to assume he had this son with you?"
"Apparently," Tracy replies, "Dex Heller."
"Whoa," Brook Lynn puts her hands up, "Dex is a Quartermaine? Are we sure about that?"
"Michael seems to be."
"I have my reasons," the young man shrugs, "but a DNA test can confirm it."
"Can I see what he looks like?" Monica asks softly, her face still firm. Nikki retrieves her cellphone and hands it over, keeping the zoomed-in graduation photo on the screen.
"God," Ned's eyes widen as he peers over, with everyone else trying to get a look themselves, "there's a lot of AJ in his face."
"It's certainly uncanny…" Olivia hums, taking the phone.
"So…" Brook Lynn begins, looking at Nikki, "how did you know AJ?"
"I almost married him," the woman says, "but Monica and Alan stepped in and…stopped that from happening."
"She was after our money," Monica explains, "She didn't love AJ. We paid her to leave him and leave Port Charles for good."
"I ended up in Malibu, and AJ eventually followed to try and win me back. We…reunited and he ultimately came back here without me."
"And you ended up pregnant with Dex?" Brook Lynn follows.
"Correct."
"Does Dex know? Has he always known?"
"No, he found out recently. His…adoptive father recently passed away and I came to check on him."
"And it just…came out?"
"In a way."
"Well," Ned quips, "looks like we'll have to hold yet another family meeting to deal with the ELQ shares he's entitled to."
"It's not just him," Olivia points out, "Ciara gets a cut too."
"Ciara?" Nikki furrows her eyebrows.
"Dex's daughter; did you not know her name?"
"He and I aren't exactly close. We…haven't been for awhile."
"Some mother you are," Tracy scoffs, "You keep a young boy away from his biological father, from his biological family, and he openly chooses to keep you at an arm's length. You must be so proud."
"I don't deny that I have my flaws," Nikki's voice takes on an edge, "but at least I can own up to them. Do any of you have the courage to admit that you're not a perfect parent?"
Everyone stays quiet, exchanging looks.
"I thought so," she huffs, "Keeping Dex away wasn't about AJ, it was about the rest of you. I know how this family operates; you backstab and betray and threaten to ruin the lives of people you're supposed to love. I didn't want my child stuck in such a toxic environment."
"Didn't you just admit that you and Dex don't get along? And now you're telling us that the environment Dex was raised in was all sunshine and rainbows?" Ned raises an eyebrow. Nikki shoots him a glare in response, "Then I don't see how we'd be any worse than what he actually endured."
"That's not the point-"
"You have no point," Tracy sniped, "You kept a member of our family away from us because you were upset that you couldn't get what you wanted."
"I respected Alan and Monica's wishes-"
"Don't use us as an excuse," Monica dons a soft edge in her tone, "AJ had every right to know, and by extension, so did we. Regardless of what we do to each other, or what you think of us, we would've loved Dex."
"But now you don't?"
"That's not what I said-"
"That's certainly what you implied-"
"Don't put words in her mouth," Brook Lynn barks.
"And if I were you, I'd worry about your relationship with your son and granddaughter instead of worrying about his relationship with us," Olivia follows.
Nikki's face grows red with frustration, "I did what I thought was best for my son. Did it hurt to keep AJ out of the loop? Of course it did, but I had to do what I thought was best. I did what I could to keep him alive, even if it wasn't pretty or perfect. If he ended up with all of you…I dread to think of what could've happened. Would you have cut him off and left him destitute because you personally didn't like who he was dating? Would you have derided him for the choices you personally felt were poor, even if it had nothing to do with you? All you Quartermaines do is breed contempt for each other and willingly engage in emotional warfare just because you feel like it. I wasn't going to let Dex suffer from it, and I wouldn't be surprised if that's what cost AJ his life."
Tracy gets to her feet first, "...I think we're done here. You have five seconds to exit the premises or I will have our guards physically throw you out."
"...Fine," Nikki joins the elder woman, shooting daggers at the rest of the family before she shuffles out of the mansion. She slams the front door behind her, shaking as she takes a deep breath to compose herself. She walks down the steps and onto the street, pulling out her phone to order a rideshare. She places a quick call before begrudgingly opting to proceed with her departure.
The phone buzzes a few times before going to voicemail: "Hey, it's Dex Heller. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you."
"Hi, baby," her voice cracks, "it's me. I'm just…checking in on you. I hope that we can still meet and talk things out. Call or text as soon as you get this, okay? I love you. Bye."