Happily Ever After: Adventures of the Clueless in Love

Chapter 2

Jax reached for the call button, hoping that Patrick was still at the hospital. "Jax?" He heard Michael calling out his name. "Why are you crying? What happened to me?"

Bobbie had been at the hub talking to the night shift nurse when the call had come and rushed down the hall towards her grandson's room. Entering she saw the young boy looking around as the room soon filled up with medical personnel.

As Jeff entered he saw that the excessive number of people in the room was scaring the young boy so he ordered all personnel out except Nurse Mir and Patrick. Turning to Bobbie he said "I will be in my office making the calls we discussed earlier."

"Michael honey just let Patrick check you over, then we will tell you everything." Stated Bobbie. Frustrated he did as his grandmother requested and as soon as his vitals were taken and pronounce fine, he asked where are Mom and Dad?

Emily slipped into the room; unaware that Michael was awake. The red head looked up and stared at the resident. Shaking his head, he asked "Emily?"

Smiling slightly she said "Yes, it's me. I will explain I promise."

Jax saw that she was trembling when she sat down on the bed with the youngster, as Patrick and Leyla left, Jax looked at Bobbie. The discussion had been so much easier than the actual execution was going to be.

"First, Michael today is September 18th; you have been asleep since May. There was a shooting at the warehouse while you were visiting with your father and Kate. Do you remember that?"

"Not the shooting, but I remember going to the warehouse. Did my dad get shot? Did the person who hurt me hurt him?"

"No, he didn't get hurt that day. Michael you dad was killed when someone shot him at his house."

"When did this happen?"

"A little over three weeks ago. He is gone."

"Where is Mom, Jax?" Jax could see by the look in his eyes that Michael knew something had happened.

"She was driving a car down the cliff road, there was an accident, and she was killed."

"Uncle Jason?"

"Is fine, in fact he got married while you were asleep to Elizabeth Webber."

"Oh, she's pretty." He said not realizing his comment had made the others smile. "Can I see Uncle Jason?"

"The doctor who just left is Elizabeth's father. He was going to call Jason and ask him to come over."

"Where is Morgan?"

"He is at the Brownstone having a sleepover with Jason's son Cameron."

"Jason has a son?"

"Sweetie he has two sons, Cameron and Jake."

"Like Dad had me? He married Mom and adopted me."

"Actually no, Jason is both boys dad ---" Bobbie drew a blank trying to explain.

"You know how Morgan is your dad's son by having him with your mom, the same thing for Jake and Cameron." Explained Emily.

"Okay, but why didn't he have them in his life, why was he with Sam if he had a kid with Elizabeth, didn't he want them?"

"I wanted them." Said Jason as he entered with Elizabeth. "Someone kept us apart. We are together now. How are you doing?" He asked as he moved forward to hug the little boy.

"Jason, can I talk to you alone?" Asked Michael.

As the others cleared the room, Jason was worried and found it to be justified when Michael asked if he got revenge for his father's death.

"Michael a lot has changed since you were hurt. There are things that can't be explained at this moment, but no, I didn't get revenge for your dad. Your Mom's accident was just that an accident. She was arguing with someone while driving and ran off the road."

"Jason, are Morgan and I going to live with you?"

"No, Jax adopted the two of you when your mother asked Sonny to give up custody. He is your father." Seeing the look on his face, Jason said "I will always be here for you, just like before but I promised your mother that you would be safe."

"I don't want to be safe; I want someone to pay for what they did to my dad." He said stubbornly.

Jason looked down and knew that something had to be done to repair the youngster's soul before he followed in Sonny's footsteps. "Michael, you dad did some things before he died, things that hurt some people really bad. I'm not saying he deserved to die, but he did some bad things."

"Like what?" Asked the boy belligerently.

"He was upset that I got married and was going to kill Elizabeth and my sons. He hired someone to kill them, to take them away from me."

"Did you have Dad killed?"

"No, I didn't but I refuse to be upset he is dead. I'm sorry Michael, but there are more things that I can't tell you that happened. I will understand if you want me to leave, but I will always be here if you want to talk."

"I can't believe you betrayed my dad. He was your friend." Said the little boy.

"Michael what would your dad do if someone tried to kill your mother and you."

"That's different."

"Why is that different?" He asked softly.

Michael stared and then blinked "Dad really tried to kill your family?"

"Yes, he did. Your father was getting sick again, he was not a well person. The person who shot him did your dad a favor. I know that sound cruel but the only other option would have been to put your dad in an institution."

"He would have died, shamed by his illness. Jason, is your family safe now?"

"Yes, they are. Do you want me to let Jax and the others in so that we can tell you the rest? Or do you want to wait?"

"There's more?" He asked. "Let's get it over with."

As Bobbie, Jax and Jason went through what had happened in the last few months, they left out Carly's worst mistakes for now and gave him a broad overview. The boys still looked shell-shocked by the time they finished answering all his questions.

He sat there for a few minutes just staring into space, seeing his forehead wrinkle, they were concerned about what he was thinking when he asked something that had them all relaxing a little. "So if the man who was my blood dad was a Brady does that mean I'm related to Max Brady? He signed my t-shirt when we went to the race at Watkins Glen."

"Yes, you are. He is your--" Jax thought about it and said "I'm actually not sure what he is, I think he is either your uncle or your cousin."

"Cool, do you think he would come to see me if I asked. The kids at school would be so jealous." He said.

Bobbie reached over and hugged the preteen, before asking if he wanted to sleep. "Dr Drake says you need your sleep."

"But I just woke up." He said pouting. "I wanted to see Morgan and Kristina and Molly."

"Tomorrow, now why don't I get you something to eat?"

"A hamburger and a milkshake?"

"Soup and Jello, for now."

Jason walked into the chapel, sitting down he knew that some day Michael would learn the truth about what Carly and Sonny had done, he didn't know how the little boy would some day handle the whole truth.

"You did the right thing." Turning he saw Jax standing there. Seeing the look on the mobster's face, he held up a small hand held baby monitor. "I placed in the room earlier when I had to talk to Patrick. I heard everything through the earphone."

"I just told a twelve-year-old who was in a coma that his father deserved to die. What kind of man does that make me?"

"One who knows that Sonny crossed a line that should have never been crossed in the name of power. Look, I'm not going to stand here and pretend I approve of what you do, I don't. Jason, saying all that, I do know that no matter what you would never do what Sonny did, you wouldn't ever even think about it."

"He is going to learn the truth eventually."

"Maybe not. I'm sure that you are aware that most of my holdings are in Europe and Australia. The whole reason I stayed in Port Charles was that it has always felt like home. Now might be the time to make a change. I was talking to someone earlier, it made me think about what I want for the future."

"What are you planning?"

"I think I should take the boys someplace new where they can get a fresh start. I think I need that as well. One thing you should know, I'm also thinking about asking Emily to go with us."

Jason felt his eyebrows rise to the top of his forehead. "Does that mean you are admitting to having feelings for her."

"I think that as long as we are here, the past will haunt all four of us. Emily as well. However, I am well aware that I have feelings for Skye's sister. No matter how wrong they are."

"When are you thinking about leaving? What about Bobbie?"

"The only thing holding her here is memories, the same thing with Matt Hunter. As for the when, as soon as Patrick gives Michael the all clear."

"That soon, what about your hotel and the real estate you own."

"I'm planning on selling the whole chain. Insisting on a new name for them and moving forward. As for Bobbie, she will more than likely sell the Brownstone, I mentioned this to her the other day, she was going to talk to Jeff about purchasing it. He is looking for a place and mentioned looking at one in her neighborhood, but he didn't want to do the renovations to it."

"You have this all planned."

"I want those boys to have a future, one that won't drag them down with ghosts of the past."

"Good luck, if you are still interest in selling the hotels, I will buy them, to keep Edward away from them."

"Have Diane contact Alexis." He said as he shook Jason's hand and said "Let me discuss this with Emily. I tried to the other night, in general terms but Brenda struck again. My suite was taken over by her and her little elves."

Elizabeth entered the hospital room to see Michael pretending to sleep. "Hey, I locked the door, open your eyes."

Seeing the bowl he scrunched his nose until he saw the bowl of pistachio pudding.

"Wow, you remembered." He said even as he grabbed the spoon and bowl.

"Of course, I remember staying with you. Now eat this slowly. My dad is distracting Bobbie and I saw Jax talking to Emily just outside the chapel."

"Why are you being nice to me after my dad tried to kill you?" He asked looking straight into her eyes.

"You are not your parents. You are named Michael Corinthos the third, but that is just a label. Not the person inside. That is the wonderful young man who tried to help me paint and ate all the yellow m&m's because I don't like them."

"Elizabeth, my mom wasn't very nice to you because Uncle Jason loves you, right?"

"I think so. Now eat your pudding, before Epiphany finds out about it."

"Where did you get it from?"

"My dad loves pudding; he keeps in the fridge in his office. Hey, I got to help with you surgery."

"So does that mean you got to see the inside of my brain? Was it gross?" He asked giggling as Elizabeth sat down and explained what she had seen.

Bobbie thanked Patrick for staying at the hospital over night.

"I was sure he would wake up today, I wanted to be here. The staff in New Jersey was glad to hear he was awake as well."

"I have some decisions to make. Did you talk to Jax?"

"About the move. There is no medical reason that he can't leave. I would recommend having someone help get him straightened out a bit. The fact he has been asleep this long hasn't really hit him yet."

"Jax and I discussed that. We are going to talk to the boys later this morning. I will miss my friends, but most of my family is gone, my son will be able to visit and Matt is going with us more than likely."

"Rumors say that Emily is considering going as well."

"They would be true." Said the young woman in question, "Jax just discussed it with me and I am going home to talk to my family in the morning."

"Bobbie do you know why the door is locked?" Asked Jax as he hurried up worried.

"Yes, but I think that we are supposed to pretend not to notice that Elizabeth just snuck in there with pudding for him."

Jason walked to his father in laws office, he saw the man on the phone but was gestured in. "Fine, I will let Mr. Jacks know. Thank you, Dr. Brady."

"They are on their way if Michael wants to see them. Are you okay, I heard it got pretty intense in there?"

"Yes, it's just a feel responsible for the mess I made of his life."

"Jason, from what I was told, when Michael lived with you he was happy and healthy. What happened afterwards was Carly and Sonny's fault. You can't make other people act like adults. In fact I would say you have spent too much of your life as Jason Morgan trying to fix their mistakes for the sake of those two boys. Nothing could have prevented this from happening as long as his parents didn't try to change."

"I swear my sons will never be asking me about revenge like he did. There is no way I will allow that to happen."

"Good, but Jason, the only thing we can do is love and protect our children as best we can. Life happens. I certainly made mistakes. I tried to protect my daughter from her mother by taking the woman out of her orbit. Worse things happened as a result and my daughter spent her teens and most of her twenties thinking I didn't love her."

"So what is the answer?"

"There is no right answer, just right questions to be asking." He said as he got up to leave. "Good night, I'm heading back to Audrey's."

Michael said good night to Elizabeth then turned on his side, since his legs were still a little weak. Patrick had said he would need some physical therapy but that he would be just fine. Thinking on all that he had learned he wished he could just escape from here, everyone had to know what his parents had done. Going back to school was going to be hard.

Pretending to sleep with his grandmother entered, he heard and felt her saying goodnight, then tell Jax she would bring Morgan in the morning. As soon as the door closed, the man who was now his father said "You can stop pretending, she is gone."

Opening one eye, he said are you sure?

"Yes, now talk to me. Do you have any questions?"

"Where are we going to live?"

"Wherever we want. We can stay here or even move to Australia or England."

"What about Alaska, can we move there, I could play hockey all the time?"

"If we want, but we have to ask Morgan and your grandmother what they want as well. How do you feel about Emily coming with us?"

"That's cool, I like Emily. Jax, you didn't love my mom anymore did you?"

Jax felt trapped but knew he had to tell the truth. "No, I didn't. Your mom hurt some other people and me very badly."

"I kind of knew she would, that is why I didn't want you to marry her. She didn't mean to hurt people she just did. Like she couldn't help herself."

"I hope you know that it doesn't change a thing as far as you boys."

"I know. I mean do you remember when I was learning to surf, you were out there with me all day, if you had been just into Mom, you would have stopped when she was upset that we had pretty much ignored her. Instead you talked me into having lunch and then we went right back out on the waves."

Jax felt relief and joy that Michael would accept him as a parent. "Are you going to miss Kristina if we leave?"

"No, she can come and visit. I know that Nik is her cousin and he has his own plane. So do you, we can send it for them. Can't we?" He asked worried. "Molly really doesn't like flying but she is still a baby."

Bobbie let herself into the Brownstone stopping in the kitchen she grabbed a bottle of water and saw that it was now morning in Greece. Picking up the phone she called Nik to let him know what was going on.

"So what happens now?"

Without mentioning Emily, she told him that it looked like they would be moving away if Michael wanted to. "Jeff Webber is going to buy the Brownstone, I talked to him earlier, and he is going to keep on the tenants so that the house isn't so empty but I think it's time."

"How are Laura and Lulu doing?"

"Laura is spending time with the doctor I hired, she says she has a long road ahead. Lulu is doing well with her physical therapy but refuses to talk about her behavior, she says there is nothing wrong with her."

"Is she still saying that Johnny will come to get her soon?"

"Yes, no matter what I try to tell her, she is convinced that I am wrong. According to the doctor until she is forced to accept that he isn't coming she will stay in her world that she has created."

"If you ever need me."

"I know I have been talking to Matt Hunter about coming over, but he says that if Lulu wants to talk to him, he will come but that is all. I understand he offered to help with Michael."

"Yes, Nik I have to tell you something else, Michael said something strange when I told him that Spencer was his brother."

"What did he say?"

"That he knew that he heard Courtney saying to some man that her plan was working. I had assumed if Carly hadn't given her the eggs, Ric had helped like before. Now I'm wondering."

"I will look into it. I had believed it was Ric as well. Why didn't he say anything?"

"He talked to her and she told him he had misunderstood then when he tried to ask Sonny it was pushed aside and never brought up again."

"Sonny was rather busy at the time, he was seeing Reece and still dealing with Carly being sick. Who know what was going on there."

"There is something else; he wants to spend some time with Spencer. A family get together with the kids. Molly and Kristina, as well as Spencer."

"This is quite the mess, isn't it?"

"You are not at fault for this."

"I was hurting and feel into bed with someone then tried to make it into more when I found out she was pregnant. I can't regret Spencer but wish the circumstances were different."

"I will call you as soon as I know anything, please keep me up to date about Lulu and Laura, or have Leslie do so."

"Good night, get some sleep." Said the prince.

"Enjoy your day." She answered as she hung up the phone and went to bed; grateful that Michael was awake but wondering where they went from here.

TBC