Oops (General Hospital)

Gone Fishin'

The Next Day

     "Good morning, Mom." Oscar greets cheerfully, kissing his mother's cheek.
     "Morning, baby. You should make yourself a good breakfast, Julian is taking you and the Webber boys fishing." She says, pushing herself off the couch and back into her and Julian's bedroom. "Oscar is up. You have to go tell him what's going on." She tells Julian.
     Julian nods, folding the pictures he's holding and shoving it in his pocket. Kim stops him as he goes to leave. "If it's a picture of Alexis, I won't be angry, just don't lie to me."
     "It's not." He says, taking it back out. "It's Leo. I miss my son."
     "When things settle down, we'll talk to Olivia about joint custody." Kim promises, rubbing his arm. "Now go break the news to Oscar."
     Julian walks out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, he sits at the island. "Oscar, we need to talk."
     "It's okay, I know you don't know how to fish. Don't worry, Mom taught me, so I can help. It's really cool of you to take us all out to the lake." Oscar says, smiling at Julian.
     "Oscar, you should sit down." Julian warns, waiting until the young teen is sitting next to him. "I have to tell you why I'm doing this. Yesterday, at Franco Baldwin's trial, there was a problem. Elizabeth had a miscarriage, she lost the baby. Her boys don't know yet and this will crush them. She doesn't wanna be the one to tell them, so I offered to do it. I'm taking them out first so they have time to process it before they go back to their mom."
     Oscar wraps his arms around Julian's neck. "I'm so sorry, Julian. Are you okay?"
     "Not exactly, but I'm going to be, eventually. It was still early, thank God. She wouldn't even have realized she was a thing, she didn't have a consciousness yet."
     "She? It was a girl?" Oscar asks.
     "Yeah, it was. Liz had a name in mind. Audrey, after her grandmother."
     "That's beautiful. Do you need some more time before we go?" He asks.
     Julian shakes his head. "I promised Liz we'd be there at ten, so we'll be there at ten."

Around Ten

     Kim pushes past Julian and hugs Liz. "How are you feeling? Dizziness, nausea, has there been more bleeding?"
     "Physically, I'm going fine. Felix did everything for me, he's a life saver. I'm really glad you're here, I'm on the verge of a breakdown. Boys! Mr. Jerome is here, get your stuff." Liz calls.
     Aiden is first to come running, jumping for a hug. Cam is neck, shaking Julian's hand. Then Jake, who hugs his mom and heads straight to the car. "Guess that's my cue. Liz, if you need me, call. Kim, you too, baby." Julian says, planting a quick kiss on Kim's lips and ducking out.
     Julian gets into his car, looking in the rear view mirror at Liz's sons, forcing a smile. "You boys excited?"
     They all nod, including Oscar.

Later

     "You're doing it wrong." Oscar tells Julian, taking the rod from his hand, attaching the hook for him and handing it back.
     "I'd have gotten it eventually." Julian claims, passing the rod to Aiden.
     "No, some fish would've come along and stolen your bait and hook." Oscar argues.
     "Bait? Isn't that optional?" Julian asks.
     "Not for the type of fishing we're doing."
     "So, I have to actually touch worms, and impale them? So I'd be getting worm guts on my hands?"
     "I can do it." Oscar offers.
     "No, I'll do it. I'm gonna have to change six diapers in a few months, may as well get used to it." Julian mumbles, picking up the container of worms, taking the top off. "It's just dirt."
     Oscar runs his finger over the top of the dirt, revealing several worms. Julian gags, shoving the container towards him. "You can keep taking care of that."
     "Mr. Jerome!" Aiden calls, a slight panic in his voice. Julian rushes over, putting his hands on the rod with Aiden's. "I think I got a fish. Can you help me."
     "Course. Alright, try reeling it in."
     "I am, but it's too strong. You do it." Aiden lets go of the rod and backs up.
     Julian reels it in, pretending to struggle just enough to make it believable and not make Aiden feel weak. "There it is, catch it Aiden."
     Aiden grabs the fishing line, his other hand grabbing the fish. He let's go and jumps backwards. "It's sharp!"
     Oscar comes over and stops the swinging fish. "That's because it's a sunfish. They have spines in their fins."
     "That's some straight up bullshit. Pardon my French." Julian says, looking back at Aiden.
     Cam and Jake come over, their hooks completely empty. "We didn't get anything, but the fish got our bait. Aiden caught something, cool." Cam says, getting closer to see it. "Are we gonna take it home?"
     "Uh, no. We're catching and releasing." Julian answers, standing his ground, away from the fish, behind the seven year old.
     "Julian, we have a problem. The fish swallowed the hook." Oscar tells him.
     "So cut the line."
     "And what, let the fish slowly die? Julian, there's only one way to deal with this." Oscar says, leaning in to whisper. "You have to kill the fish, cut it's head off. I can do it if you want."
     "Your mom would pissed, I'll do it."
     "Sure you will. Do you need the a knife?" Oscar asks. Julian nods. Oscar takes the knife out of the fishing kit and hands it to him.
     Julian takes the fish and goes over to a stump, Oscar following after him. Oscar lays the fish down, holding it to the stump.
     Aiden looks over just as the fish's head pops off, he drops his waterbottle. "Why did you kill my fish?"
     "Oh, buddy, I'm sorry. I didn't have a choice, it ate the hook. It's okay, you can catch another fish." Julian says, rubbing Aiden's arm.
     "No, I don't really wanna fish anymore. Is that a dog? Hi doggy!"
     The dog runs up, his owner chasing after him. He grabs the fish body and runs off, wagging his tail the whole way.
     "Mr. Jerome, I don't wanna fish anymore either. Mom packed us bathing suits, can we go swimming?" Cam asks.
     "Go for it."

Even Later

     "Alright, everything have everything all packed?" Julian asks, picking up the fishing kit and loading it into the truck of his expensive, silver car. Aiden and Jake shove their chairs in the back, Cam not far behind. Oscar comes with the fishing rods, helping Julian to get everything in.
     "Thank you for all your help today, Oscar. I got this part." Julian says, squeezing Oscar's shoulder.
     "Hey, I'm not letting you do this alone." Oscar says.
     Julian kneels, taking a deep breath. "So, you know how your mom and I are having a baby? Well, yesterday there was a problem. Your mom had something called a miscarriage, it means she lost the baby. Your mom is very sad, so you boys need to be strong for her. She'll need you to get through this."
     Aiden looks up to Cam, who wraps his arms around his littlest brother. Aiden sobs into his shirt, Cam rubbing his back. Jake backs away from his brothers. "Was it a boy and a girl?" He asks.
     "It was a girl. Your mom named her Audrey." Julian tells them, realizing the tears falling down his cheeks. Aiden and Cam latch onto him, Aiden shaking from his sobs. Jake stays standing back, trying to contain himself. Julian opens his other arm, offering Jake a spot in the hug. A spot which he takes.
     Oscar joins too, making five of them crying. Julian pulls away, trying each of the boys' cheeks with his thumbs, giving them a forced smile. "We gotta be strong for your mom. Come on, we should get back, the sun's going down."

     Cam, Jake, and Aiden run into the house, trapping their mother in a group hug. Liz covers their heads in kisses, her heart breaking a little more with each one. She glances up at Julian, finally losing it and crying. "Thank you for telling them. I wouldn't have been able to."
     "It wasn't easy. But they're strong boys, they'll make good men. Not good fishermen, but good men." He says, turning back to Kim. "We should get going, give them their space."
     Kim nods and grabs her purse, heading out to the car. Liz waves her goodbye. "Thank you for taking care of me. Thank you, again, Julian. I'm thankful it was you, if anyone, because you're so kind. Thank you, thank you for everything. I would've liked to have you as family."
     "Liz, you are and always will be my family. Just because Audrey is gone doesn't mean we'll forget about her or the bond we formed. You and your boys will always be family. You all take care." He says, ducking out before be can cry again. He gets to the car and stops, looking into the driver's side window. "Kim, what are you doing?"
     "I'm driving, shut up and get in the back." She says.
     Julian climbs into the backseat, smiling up at her. Oscar glances at Julian in the rear view mirror, then to his mom. "Julian's gonna be a great dad." He tells her, holding her hand.
     "I've never had any doubts." Kim says, hitting the gas.

Little bit of trauma over, for now. In the next part we'll get some, "much needed good news."