Garcia and Taggert arrive at scene of a two car accident. Broken glass is everywhere. The EMTs are moving one man to the ambulance. Taggert looks at the wreckage, pointing to the red Porsche. "That guy certainly has money."
Garcia approaches the first cop that arrived on the scene, who is writing down the detail of the accident scene."What can you tell me, Timm?"
"The accident was pretty straight forward. The Porsche crossed the yellow line and plowed into the Volvo. If the driver of the Volvo, Roberto Luciano, hadn't swerved, he'd probably be dead by now. He was unconscious when we arrived on the scene and is being transported to General Hospital right now. The driver of the Porsche will be taken in for a breathalyzer. He reeks of alcohol." Officer Timm points to the other officer cuffing a blonde haired man in an expensive suit.
As Garcia approaches officer with perpetrator, his face becomes grim. He addresses them. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?
AJ glares back at him. "You sure are enjoying this aren't you, Garcia?"
Garcia ignores the bait."Kelsey, what were the results of the field sobriety tests?"
"He failed them all, sir," Officer Kelsey replies. "But he sang his ABC's beautifully."
Garcia locks eyes with AJ. "What the hell were you doing drinking and driving, Councilman?"
"There's been some sort of mistake. I've been on some medication and it must have..." AJ takes a step towards Garcia as he attempts to plead his case. AJ loses his balance and the officer has to grab him to keep him from falling on his face.
Garcia loses his temper. "Cut the crap, AJ. You're a drunk, plain and simple. How Keesha puts up with you, I have no idea. Get him out of here, Kelsey."
AJ screams at Garcia as Officer Kelsey drags him away. "You'll pay for this outrage, Garcia! You can kiss your job good bye!"
Jerry and Cassidy blissfully lie in bed together in Jerry's suite at the Port Charles Hotel. Jerry kisses the top of Cassidy's head affectionately, whispering into her hair. "This night has been wonderful. I don't want it to end."
Cassidy grins widely as she snuggles against his chest. "Me either." As Cassidy's finger traces patterns on his chest, she
remembers Jerry's devastation earlier that night. She bites her lip as broaches the subject. "Jerry, I don't want to ruin this for us, but I can't help but think of how sad you were earlier."
"Darlin, even that can't touch the joy I feel at this moment. At least not for very long. Besides, I need to tell you. I have to." Jerry gets up from the bed to retrieve something from his coat pocket. Without a word of explanation, he hands a thick envelope to her. Jerry rejoins her under the covers.
Cassidy stares at the envelope and then at Jerry. "You sure?"
Jerry kisses her cheek in encouragement. "I wouldn't have given in it to you if I wasn't. Open it. It pretty much explains itself."
Cassidy opens the envelope tentatively, finding a large packet of snapshots of a little boy, from infancy to 4 1/2 years. Cassidy looks at Jerry in amazement. "Your son?" Jerry nods dumbly, feeling the familiar lump in his throat. Cassidy's face softens at the sight of Jerry's despair. "Oh, Jer. Tell me what happened."
Jerry picks at the lint on the bedcover, trying to remain calm as he tells the tale. "He's with his mum, Miranda Jamison Jacks Onassis." Unable to hold back, the tears fall unchecked. "He'll never know me, Cassidy. At least not as his father. His mum made sure of that."
Cassidy drops the photos and impulsively reaches for one of Jerry's hands to comfort him. "Tell me the whole story."
"It's pretty short really." Jerry takes a jagged breath in before he begins. "Miranda and I had a brief affair 5 years ago, and Billy was the result. She didn't tell me though. I found out about Billy on a surprise visit about a year and half ago. Miranda and I married, but it was a complete disaster. Afterwards she asked for some space, which I granted. She disappeared. I didn't find out where she was until the night of Dad's funeral. She married one of Jax's friends, a jetsetter... Thaao Onassis. Thaao is Billy's dad now."
Cassidy's heart breaks for Jerry. "She's a stupid coward, Jerry. You would make wonderful father. Why can't she see that?" Cassidy tenderly wipes the tears from his face with her palms.
Jerry plants a kiss in the palm of her hand. "I guess she wants a father for her son that isn't running all over the world risking his life chasing the bad guys."
"That's ridiculous!" Cassidy fumes. "A shallow jetsetter who's only interest is the next party would make a better father than you?"
Jerry smiles at her gratefully. "You have no idea how much I needed to hear that, querida."
"I'm not just saying it to make you feel better, it's true," Cassidy replies as she embraces him. "So are you going to fight her on this?"
Jerry shakes his head. "At first I planned to. But after I saw how happy Billy was in Miranda and Thaao's care, I couldn't. The one that would really suffer would be Billy. I couldn't do that to him."
"Do you really trust her, Jer?" Cassidy asks dubiously.
"I trust Miranda to raise Billy with love." Jerry picks up the envelope of pictures. "I didn't leave Billy without some conditions on Miranda, though. One of which was no hiding or running." Jerry changes the subject slightly. "Do you want to see the pictures?"
Cassidy repositions herself for a better view of the snapshots and tries to lighten the mood. "Absolutely. I'm sure he's as much of a heartbreaker as his dad is."
Garcia confers with Officer Kelsey at the Port Charles precinct. "So what's the outcome of the breathalyzer, Kelsey?"
Kelsey hands him some legal documents and a videotape. "He refused the breathalyzer. That's the tape of his sobriety test. He's been booked for a DUI, reckless endangerment, and vehicular assault. His lawyer's on his way."
Garcia glances at the documents. "You were careful to do everything by the book? We don't want there to be any reason for this case to be thrown out of court."
Kelsey nods. "Yes sir. Just like you said. He's in the holding cell right now."
Officer Timm joins them. "Bad news, sir."
Garcia throws his head back in annoyance. "What could go wrong now? I've already given up on sleep tonight."
"The man Mr Quartermaine hit was Mr Luciano, the customs agent who was supposed to sign a statement tomorrow on the Cassadine case," Officer Timm replies grimly.
Garcia swears in Spanish. "Okay. Send an officer over to GH in the morning. I'll inform Keesha. Kelsey, has Keesha been notified of AJ's accident or arrest?"
Kelsey takes the legal documents back from Garcia. "As far as I know, no sir. Mr Quartermaine used his phone call to contact Lee Baldwin. Unless Baldwin called her?"
"Well, I wouldn't bet on her knowing. I'll call her now. Make sure I'm not disturbed." Garcia strides purposefully to his office. He closes the door and locks it. He sits at his desk as he makes a call. "Yes, this is Commissioner Garcia. I'd like a status on Roberto Luciano. He hasn't regained consciousness? What's his prognosis? Yes, I see.. thank you." Garcia rubs his face, clearly hating what he has to do next. He flips through the rolodex on his desk, dialing Keesha's number once it's located.
After several rings a sleepy Keesha answers. ".. Hello?"
Garcia stares at his rolodex unhappily. "Hello Keesha, it's Alex Garcia. There's been an accident.."
Keesha interrupts him before he can continue. "Omigod! AJ! NO!!!"
Garcia rushes forward to reassure her. "AJ is fine. But yes, he was in an accident. He's here at the station."
Keesha almost sighs with relief. "He's okay?" Then the realization hits her like a ton of bricks; her voice gets small and distant. "Oh no.. he was drinking."
Garcia closes eyes as he hears the anguish in her voice. "Yes, he was." Garcia lists the charges.
"Was anyone else hurt?" Keesha asks anxiously.
"Yes, the other driver was hospitalized at GH. He hasn't regained consciousness, but the doctors are cautiously optimistic." Garcia hesitates, trying to decide how to tell her the rest. "There's more."
"What? Were other people injured? Don't tell me he killed someone.." Keesha begins to cry. "Just tell me, okay? Don't try and soften the news."
Garcia swallows the lump in his throat. "The driver was Mr. Roberto Luciano, the customs agent." What follows is an eerie silence. Garcia holds his breath, waiting for her response. The silence drags on for what seems like ages. Becoming alarmed, Garcia breaks the silence. "Keesha? Are you alright? Are you there?"
Keesha responds in a strangled whisper. "I..I'm here."
"Listen, I should have told you in person. I'll be right over. You shouldn't be alone right now." Garcia starts to get up from behind his desk.
"No!" Keesha yells frantically. Not wanting to scare him further, she forces herself to calm down. "No.. really. I'm okay. You just stunned me. I'll be fine in a minute."
Garcia presses her further. "You don't sound okay. If not me, can I call someone for you? Justus perhaps?"
"No thank you. I can call Justus myself if I need to." Keesha pauses to take several steadying breaths. "I really appreciate you calling me yourself, in the middle of the night, no less. I better go."
Garcia sits back down. "Keesha, anytime you want to talk, the door's open. Anything you tell me will be kept in confidence."
"Thank you, Alex, for everything," She replies gratefully. "Good night."
Stefan reclines on the couch in his living room, his notebook computer rests on his lap. A small kitten is curled up against his stomach in the part of Stefan's lap that isn't occupied by the computer. He strokes the kitten's back as he studies the computer screen. When Stefan tries to type a few words the kitten bats at his hand playfully. He grins at the kitten indulgently. "Jealous, are you? You are right of course, I should be devoting myself to you, not this tediously boring hospital business." The kitten's purr increases in volume when Stefan scratches her behind the ears. "Like that, do you? I'll have to remember that."
"If only I had a camera." Nikolas smirks at Stefan from the doorway. "Then I could blackmail into doing anything I want. No one would believe that you're a softy unless they saw you like this. The myth of the ruthless Stefan Cassadine would be destroyed."
Stefan ignores Nikolas' tease and goes on the offensive. "And where have you been? I expected you back hours ago. Do you have a reason for coming in at 4 am in the morning?"
"It's none of your business, " Nikolas retorts. "And why aren't you sleeping? Is there something you've done that I should know about?"
Stefan smiles at him in amusement. "Very good, Nikolas. Shall we call a truce now before we draw blood?"
Nikolas flops down on one of the couches."Sure. Besides I'm in too good a mood to joust with you anyway."
Stefan studies Nikolas's face and detects a contentment there that can only come from one thing. "Why, Nikolas! You are in love. And from your happiness, she must love you too. I gather it is Gina?"
Nikolas beams at Stefan. "Yes it's Gina. I've never felt this way before and it's a little bit terrifying. What if she stops loving me?"
Stefan scratches the kitten's as he ponders Nikolas' question. "I am not a very good person to ask that question, I'm afraid. I have failed more times at love than I care to admit."
Lucy walks down the stairs of the lighthouse to find Kevin standing in front of his easel, his long hair pulled back into a pony tail. She watches him work on his latest masterpiece, a painting of a young mother with her little girl. "Aren't you coming to bed at all, doc?"
"No, not when my muse is calling to me...." He puts some touches on the painting. "Where is the sketch I did of Cassidy? I couldn't find it in the study." Lucy looks at the floor guiltily while Kevin gives her a look of exasperation. "Luce, tell me what you did with it."
Lucy shifts nervously. "Nothing.. well I don't mean nothing, I did do something. But not what you think. I was so impressed with it, like I am with all your artwork. So I took it to Luke's. I wanted to show it off."
"And?" Kevin waits for the other shoe to drop. "Where is it? And why did you feel compelled to share this particular masterpiece? It was just a rough sketch."
Lucy frantically grasps at the first idea that comes to mind. "Well I wanted to show it to Mike, since it was a picture of his daughter, you know. I thought he'd like it. And I was right, he did. He thought it was terrific." Lucy changes tacks. "I'll go get it for you right now. " Lucy rushes out of the room in search of it. Kevin watches her go with a mixture of amazement and puzzlement.
