“Yes, I’m here.” Drew staggered back and forth. “I have both kids. What is this about?”  Sweat builds on his brow. “Why at the PCPD?” Panic fills his heart. “See you soon.”

Heading up the stairs, Drew panic grows. “Danny, Danny!” Entering Danny’s room, Drew begins rummaging through his things. Grabbing Danny’s ninja turtles backpack, he throws everything he can find in it. “Danny, come on big guy. We’re going on a trip. Time to put the toys down.”

“I don’t want to go; I want to play cars with mommy. She said we could play today.” Danny ignores Drew, sliding his car up and down Drew’s leg.

Snatching Danny by his arm, Drew yanks him off the ground. “I said we have to go. You can play cars some other time.” Rage fills every inch of Drew’s body. He holds Danny like a rag doll; his body is dangling from his arm, his screams of fear filled the room.

“Stop it, please. Daddy, you’re hurting me.” Danny cries. Fear riddles Danny’s limbless body. Drew had never put his hands on Danny, he has never even raised his voice.

Releasing his grip, Drew drops Danny to the ground, following him down. “I’m sorry buddy, I’m your dad. I’m your dad.” Pulling him into a bear hug, Drew rocks with a crying Danny in his arm. “Your dad is sorry. I never meant to hurt you.”

Regretting the moment, Drew cries for himself more than he cries for Danny.

Nuzzling himself into Drew’s chest, Danny wipes his nose on Drew’s shirt. “It’s okay.”

“Did you just snot me?” Drew laughs. Wanting to stay in this moment with Danny forever, Drew stares into his face. Seeing Jason staring back at him, Drew’s rage fills his body again.

Pushing Danny to one side, he answers his cell phone. “Why do we need her? Can’t the kids come with us?”

“Is that mommy?” Danny grabs for the phone. “I want mommy.”

Pushing Danny off his lap, Drew stands, ripping the curtains down in the process. “Yes, we will be ready.”

Yanking Danny’s favorite car out of his hand, Drew throws it to the ground. “I said we have to go.” Drew flips the bed over, pulls all the drawers out and dumps Danny’s toys everywhere. He’s scared. His instincts are telling him to run; they are telling him Sam doesn’t have good news.

“What are you doing? Mommy wouldn’t like that you’re doing this.” Danny states, following Drew into Scout’s room. “Why are you making our rooms messy?  How long are we going to be gone? Where are we going? Will mommy meet us there? Can we get Annabelle The Second? Can she come too? Are we going on an adventure?”

“Shut up for two seconds.” Drew snaps, dropping Danny’s bag, spilling his belonging everywhere. “Dammit!” Blurred with too many emotions, Drew closes his eyes, bracing himself on Scout’s crib.

“Oooh, that’s a bad word. Mommy said we’re not supposed to tell people to shut up.”  Danny dances around Scout’s room.

Looking over his shoulder, Drew looks into Danny’s innocent face. He sees the little boy that isn’t his. He sees Jason again. “Can you just go get us some snacks?” Drew shoos Danny out of the room.   

Checking the hallway to make sure Danny wasn’t in earshot, Drew places a call. “I’m calling to collect. I need a place to stay. No, just me and the kids. Look, you said whenever I needed you. I need you, now. I have no one else. The kids have to come. Look, we’ll be there in 20 minutes.” Hanging up the phone, Drew places the kids belonging outside the room. Gently placing a sleeping Scout in her car seat, Drew proceeds to destroy her room like he did Danny’s.

The doorbell rings, interrupting Drew. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”  He races down the stairway trying to beat Danny to the door. He had forgotten Sam called and told him she was sending the nanny for the kids. Reaching the first-floor landing, “I got it, buddy. Go upstairs and pick out a few of your toys for the trip. Drew stops Danny right as he’s about to open the door.

Cracking the door barely open, “Hey, I’m sorry Sam called you. I can drop the kids off. We’re not even ready. Scout still needs a bath, and I haven’t even gotten a chance to pack their overnight bag.” Drew is out of breath and sweating profusely. Barely able to hold himself together, Drew desperately tries to play doting husband and father.

Trying to push her way into the Penthouse, The Nanny notices the kid’s overnight bag and Scout’s mountain Stroller. “Are you sure you don’t need my help? I can wait, I know they can be a handful this time of day.” Sensing something is not right, The nanny tries harder to push the door open.

Knocking her back with a hard jolt to the door, “No, but thanks. I have everything under control.” Drew slams the door in her face and races back up the stairs to Scout’s room.

“Hey, there baby girl.” Tightening Scout in her car seat; Drew carries her and the rest of the bags downstairs,” Danny, let’s go!

                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steadying herself on the door, Sam grabs her keys, unlocking the Penthouse door. She doesn’t want to see Drew; she doesn’t want to be around him. Being in his presence makes her sick, it makes her think of all the mistakes she’s made, all the lies she told herself about the fake Jason, all the hours wasted loving the wrong man.

Plastering the fakest smile she can muster, Sam enters. “Hello, anyone home,” Sam calls into a dark, quiet house. “Danny.”  Searching the house, Sam can feel something is not right. The air in here feels stale, used and old. Placing her things on the couch, Sam moves through her familiar surroundings as though she’s a stranger. She feels like a visitor in her own home. Walking slowly through the house, Sam tries to feel a sense of belonging. She tries to feel that sense of home the penthouse has always given her. A strange quiver runs through her body, Sam is unable to shake the feeling of being a foreigner in her own home, she’s unable to feel the security the Penthouse possesses. Moving towards the stairs, she ignores her gut instincts.

The entire house is still, so still, Sam can hear her breathe rattling in her chest. She can feel sweat building in her palms; her world beginning to spins off its axis. Reaching the stair landing, Sam can feel the wrong in the entire situation. She can feel Danny is not here. ”Danny?” Slowly moving down the hall towards the kid’s room, Sam’s legs begin to weaken with every step. Bracing the wall as she walks, Sam knows the truth before knowing she knows. She feels it in her body. She hears it in her soul.

Opening the door to Danny’s room, Sam crumbles into the doorway. She has never seen his room like this. She has never seen his belonging in disarray, destroyed and unorganized. His clothes are everywhere, his bed is unmade and turned on its side. His toy box is tilted on its side spilling toys everywhere; his car tower is broken and missing cars. His Tonka Truck curtains are hanging from their rods. The pictures colored for his loved ones lay scattered on the floor. His room is destroyed beyond recognition. “Is anyone here?” Sam cries out to the nothingness.

Seeing his destroyed room shatters Sam. “Danny, baby where are you?”

On her knees, trying to catch her breath and ease her racing heart, Sam closes her eyes trying to remember the room how it used to be. She remembers all the hours spent playing cars with him, all the nights she tucked him in, him asking for one more story. She remembers Jason’s smile on his face. Opening her eyes, shaking the fears of never seeing him again, Sam tries to focus on the now, and not on what could be happening to the kids.

 Crawling into the room, Sam picks up a shirt hanging out a drawer. She thumbs one of Danny’s favorite toys, placing his shirt to her nose, breathing him in. She can feel in her gut, both her kids are okay but in desperate need of her.

Picking herself up off the ground, racing through the clutter in Danny’s room, Sam enters Scout’s adjoining room to find it the same as Danny’s. Whipping out her cell phone, Sam races through the rest of the house. “Jason. Jason. “Where are you guys? Danny!”

“Where are you? I thought you said you and the kids were at home? I’m here, and the house is a mess. Call me, Please.” Circling the living room, Sam tries to calm her frantic mind. Thinking about the last time she talked to the imposter, Sam remembers what he said. She recalls he stated he was home with the kids waiting. She remembers hearing Danny calling for her in the background.

With her phone still in hand, Sam dials a number. Tapping her foot, Sam closes her eyes trying to steady her breathing, trying to push the worst-case scenarios out of her mind.

“Hi, Monica. I’m good! Did um, Jason,” grabbing the desk, Sam has a hard time saying that name. “Did he drop the kids off with you.” Dropping to the ground, Sam catches herself before she begins to cry again. “No, No. Everything is okay, we just miscommunicated. Can you call me if he shows up there with the kids.”

Hanging up the phone, Sam races to her bedroom. Ignoring the fact her room is spotless and untouched, Sam climbs on the bed, removing a painting from the wall, revealing a safe. Sam punches in the code; her birthday, opening the door, only to find it now empty.  

Her phone begins to ring, answering she rages. “What did you do? Where are my kids?”

“Shut up!” Drew’s voice bellows through the speaker, unbalancing Sam. Drew’s rage penetrates Sam like a spear, making her fear for her children for the first time since entering the empty Penthouse.

“Where are our kids?” Sam calms herself, trying to soothe Drew. “Jason, they are your kids too. We both love”

“Shut up” Drew orders again.

“He will kill you for this. I’ll make sure of it.” Throwing her phone against the wall, Sam finally screams from the deepest, depths of her soul. Screaming until no more sound will escape her lungs, screaming until her room becomes a war zone around her. Physically and emotionally spent, she crumbles to the ground only able to cry unto herself.  

          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Jason Morgan, hello, hello.” Walking into the interrogation, Jordan places a thick folder on the table and takes a seat across from Stone Cold. “A lot has happened since you made your grand entrance at the Metro Court.”  Opening the folder, Jordan places files in front of Jason. “Your reputation truly, truly precedes you.”

“Why am I here?” Jason stares into Jordan. Jason has been here many time before. Same place, same question just a different cop.

“Now, Now, calm down. I want to talk.” Smiling, Jordan slides papers in front of him. “That entrance into the hotel. Man, that was something spectacular. I caught the replay, and I could feel your energy through the screen.

“I have nothing to say without my attorney.” Pulling at his cuffs, Jason slides some of the papers closer to get a better view. He assumes the commissioner wants to speak with him about the cabin shooting, but he remembers the officers said two men and Jason killed three men at the cabin.

“Ooo wee, I feel so privileged to have heard those words. As I said, I know all about you Jason Morgan, Stone Cold, The gentle hitman of Port Charles, New York. And, I know you won’t talk, and that’s okay.” Getting out of her chair, Jordan paces the length of the interrogation room.

“Early this morning a dock worker found the bodies of two men. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” Stopping, Jordan faces Jason displaying the cheesiest grin.

Staring at his arrest records, Jason tunes Jordan out. Jason has said all he will say. He doesn’t know what game Jordan is playing, but he refuses to play whatever it is.

Spinning on her heels, Jordan begins pacing the room again. “No, I didn’t think so. This is truly fun for me.” Tilting her head back, Jordan laughs an ugly laugh.  “I have to tell you, I’ve dealt with the other you a lot, and he’s nothing like you. Or shall I say you’re nothing like him? I don’t know, I apologize, I’m rambling.” Lost in her own world, Jordan feels lucky to be in the presence of the Real Jason Morgan. She feels like she has earned some official badge of honor being able to question him.

“Anyways, these files are all about you. They told me about you. I read them three years ago when the other you first showed up.” Retaking her seat, Jordan pulls out more files. “I mean, I had to. Everyone and I mean everyone in the squad room and around town, warned me about the infamous Jason Morgan. So I read them, and I waited. I waited for the man from these files.” Placing her hands on the files,” but he never appeared” Jordan stares back at Jason.