Jax enters a conference room at the Port Charles Presbyterian Church. He sees a gentleman organizing some papers.

“ Mr. Mills?”

“ Mr. Jacks?”

” Yes.”

“ Welcome. I’m Harrison Mills.” He extends his handshake to Jax. “ You said that you were interested in my support group. Would you like to sit down?”

Mr. Mills and Jax sit on the one couch in the room.

“ Yes. I read an article that you and your wife did in the Port Charles Herald about a year ago. About your relationship. In the article there was mention of the support group.”

” Well, yes, my wife and I do run a support group for interracial couples. Will your significant other be joining us?”

” Actually, I am doing this because I want to have a significant other.”

” I don’t understand.”

Jax tells the man his story about him and Dara. How they broke up and why. How she believes that it’s over, and that Jax doesn’t want it to be.

” So, Mr. Jacks, she asked you to walk away. But, you stayed and fight. And, then lectured her about standing up for herself. I see.” Mr. Mills laughs.

” I don’t see anything funny. I’ve lost the woman I love. And, I’m up against something that I have no idea as to how to maneuver, and you’re laughing at me.”

” I’m laughing at you, Mr. Jacks, because you remind me of myself. I need to ask you some serious questions.”

” Fire away.”

” Why do you want this? Is it because it would be some personal failure on your part? To prove a point?  OR, do you really love her and want a life with her?”

” I’m here, aren’t I?”

” Well, yes. But, I have seen many people come here, because they want to ‘prove’ something. To their family. Friends. To society in general. That fades after awhile, Mr. Jacks. And, what’s left in its place is nothing but an underlying resentment towards usually the partner of color, when one wants to drop their martyr status. I have to ask these questions, because I want you to be honest about them.”

” Look. I’ve had a lot of time to think about this. I’ve had nothing but time. I beat up my brother when he made this suggestion. And, I’ll knock you out too.”

“ Not necessary. The only thing that keeps an interracial relationship together is love. Because, only love is barely strong enough to tackle the insanity that attacks the relationship on almost a daily basis. But, you have to have some serious reality checks before you enter into it.”

“ For the first time in my life, I acknowledge that I am jumping into something that I can’t control. My entire life has been about control. I am a Captain of Industry, Mr. Mills. I make phone calls and I can determine the lives of thousands with just a few words. I can command almost anything at my fingertips that I want. And, I was powerless to stop the hurt that I saw happen to Dara in Memphis.”

“ Good. I want you to remember that. And, remember that your...Dara, has been dealing with this a lot longer than you have. She’s got a PhD and you’ve barely finished Kindergarten.

I’ll tell you my story. I was brought up in suburban Connecticut. WASP as could be. I went to the right schools, met the right people. I did everything that guys from my lifestyle did. I went to Harvard, no big deal. It was the 60’s, but, I was maybe the one guy on campus that didn’t protest. Didn’t get caught up in all of it. I went to Harvard Law School. And, the first day of class, I met my wife Kimberly. I had had girlfriends up until then. Serious ones even. But, nothing like this. She wouldn’t even give me the time of day. I redid my schedule so that I was in all her classes. It took me ten months for her to even agree to go with me on a date, and even then, it was a group one. More months after that for us to even have our first kiss.

But, once we did, we were inseparable. It wasn’t so much opposites meeting, because her parents are as conservative as mine were. She came from a very proper background, yet, she had a heart. One full of deep compassion and fire. I loved her.

Your experience was in Memphis. Mine was Chicago. Back then, it was truly, the most segregated city in America. She went to help when Dr. King was going there. We were there the day things exploded in Marquette Park. I did everything wrong. She told me one thing, how to get out of it alive, and I told her that she didn’t know what she was talking about. Of course, I was wrong, and suffered horrible consequences because of it. We went back to Harvard and she told me that basically, I didn’t trust her. And, that my ignorance about ‘race matters’ wasn’t something that she could afford. She had things to do, and educating me wasn’t going to be one of them. So, we went our separate ways.

My ‘friends’ were pleased. They told me that I had a brilliant future ahead of me, and that she would have only dragged me down. So, I packed up, went to New York and began working my Law Degree in one of the most powerful firms in New York. I was the fastest rising associate ever. I was breaking new ground everyday. I was a rainmaker. The Golden boy. I had women throwing themselves at my feet. I lived in a fashionable apartment in a fashionable address on the East Side. I went to the best parties. I had even put down on me a place in the Hamptons. I had everything.

Very randomly one day, I happened across an old classmate of mine at Tiffany’s. I was there getting my mother her birthday gift. I asked her why she was there, and she told me: Kimberly was getting married. We exchanged niceties and I went for a walk. Kimberly was getting married. To someone else. She was living in Washington at the time. I got a plane ticket, and I went to D.C. and I showed up on her doorstep. Seeing her again, after 4 years, I knew what I had been missing: my future. Everyone I knew in New York kept on telling me, over and over again, ‘what a bright future you have, Harrison’. Seeing her made me realize that I didn’t think I had any future at all. We were married one year to the day I showed up on her doorstep. And, I’ve never looked back.”

“ How did you convince her?”

“ I don’t know. To this day, I don’t know. She only says, that she knew that I’d changed. That I was ready and willing to listen and observe. “

“ Do you have a family?”

“ Yes. Three kids.” Mr. Mills brings out his wallet and shows Jax the pictures. “ One boy. Two girls.”

“ There very good looking.”

” Yes. And there all wonderful. Mr. Jacks, what about your family? How will they deal with this? Or, have they already?”

” My family, outside of my brother, has no idea about Dara. I can’t think that there would be a problem.”

” Well, I think that most Whites don’t think about it, until they bring the person of color home. I have seen my share of surprises.”

“ Were you surprised?”

” No. My family acted exactly the way I thought they would. After all, my  mother’s the country club type. The closest she had ever come to a Black person were the maid’s in her friends houses. She and my father cut me off without blinking an eye.”

” Weren’t you mad?”

” Mad as hell. Kimberly had more heart and substance than any of the ditzy girls they wanted to match me with, but, all they could see was her color. So, I said good riddance to them. I had to live my own life.

Strange thing is. Kimberly didn’t. She told me from the beginning that she wasn’t going to take part in any feud between me and my parents. She would send them cards: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, Easter, their birthday’s and anniversary. Of course, there was no response from my parents. They never even acknowledged receipt of them.”

“ Why did she do it?”

” She said no one can live without a family of their own. Not even me. And, that, she wanted for our children, whenever we had any, to have access to their grandparents. Besides, my parents were acting out of ignorance. They didn’t know her, so their dislike of her couldn’t be personal, but, theoretical.

It kept up like this, until our oldest child, my eldest daughter, was born.  Aside from her tan, she was the spitting image of my mother.  It was the middle of Jackie’s first birthday party. I was holding her, in my lap, and she was completely mesmerized by the clown we had hired, when, lo and behold, my parents walked out into the backyard, bearing gifts. We lived in suburban D.C. at the time, and they’re from Connecticut, so this wasn’t just some ‘drop by’ visit.

I couldn’t believe it. Kimberly came over, and the three of us went over to my parents. I watched as the tears formed in my mother’s eyes upon seeing Jackie up close.  Kimberly took Jackie and gave her to my mother. And, Jackie took to her. Jackie was a fussy child, who didn’t like strangers. That she would go to my mother like that, well, it was quite a sight. It was the first time I had seen my parents in over 4 years.”

“ That’s quite a story.”

” I know. I guess I want you to know what you’d possibly be up against. Could you stand it if you were cut off from your family like that? Would you grow to resent your partner?”

“ Did you?”

” Honestly, no. But, I had seen what my life was like without Kim. And, I didn’t like it at all. You’ve barely been apart from Dara. The cold, hard realism of it all hasn’t even touched you.”

“ So, you think I should wait for years?”

” No. I’m not saying that. I just want you to be sure. Because, it’s not just family. It’s friends. I have almost a completely different social circle than before I was with my wife. People you thought you knew, you really didn’t.”

“ I want to be with Dara. Whose cocktail parties I go to, I could care less.”

“ What about the children?”

“ What about them?”

“ Right now, it’s just the two of you. But, a child is something completely different. When you have them, they won’t just be your children, they’ll be Black children. Oh, I know, that the politically correct term is bi-racial, but, in reality, this country, the one-drop rule still stands.”

” One drop?”

” One drop of Black blood in you, and you’re Black. You have to consider what will happen to the kids. How it’ll be different because you’re raising Black kids. And, that, you won’t have a clue as to how to prepare them to live out their lives.”

” Don’t all parents go through this?”

” Yes. But, White parents of Black children, really don’t have a clue. There are simply things that I can’t help my kids with. Even though I try my best, I’m just not adequate.”

“ Give me an example.”

“ Alright, look at my daughters.” He shows Jax the pictures again. “They are sisters. But, it’s obvious that my youngest daughter looks more like me. Quite honestly, you can’t tell that she’s Black, unless you know her. She experiences a completely different kind of pain than my older daughter. She’s younger, but, she has experienced more of the complexity about race. She’s lost people that she considered friends because they thought she ‘betrayed’ them by not being White. There is a pain that goes along with that, that I can’t explain away, or relate to.”

“ And, your wife can?”

“ Yes. She has family member who’ve been in the situations, or she can tell some story that can help our daughter.”

“ Why isn’t that just being a good mother?”

” Because, it isn’t. It’s more complicated than that. Well, I don’t want to take up more of your time, Mr. Jacks. If you want to come to our group, please do. You don’t have to say anything. And, if, by coming, you decide that you don’t want a relationship with that special lady, it’s fine. Better for you to know NOW, than to make a mistake based on pride, and have the consequences be tragic later on.”

” Thank you, Mr. Mills. I think I will give your group a try.”

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

“ Hello, Barbara Jean.”

” Luke. What are you doing here?”

” Trying to talk some sense into you.”

” Luke. Please. Leave me alone. Wasn’t our first talk about the baby, enough for you?”

” No. Because, I still see that you are choosing to continue with this pregnancy. I’ve been doing my research, Barbara. This kid is nothing but trouble for you. And, that’s nothing to the trouble it’s going to cause if it ever gets here. Bobbie, get this through your head, having Steffin’s kid is THE WORST THING THAT YOU COULD POSSIBLY DO! HE’LL HAVE HIS HOOKS INTO YOU FOREVER!!”

“ Luke..”

“ No, little sister. You are living in this fantasy world where you think that Count Cassadine is going is just going to ‘let you be’ and raise his kid. Remember, Barbara, you are nothing to him but a brooding mare. That’s all any woman is EVER to THEM.”

“ Luke, don’t you know another chorus. Stefan and I talked today about the baby. He wants it, very much.”

“ Of course he does, Barbara. It’s another member for the House of Usher. The Devil always likes to increase his ranks.”

“ Go away.”

” No. Your life is at stake, and I’m not going to let you throw it away.”

“ OHH, YOU’RE not going to LET me . Who the HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! Get this straight, Luke. I am going to have this baby. This Cassadine child. If it’s good enough for Laura, then why not me?”

With Ice Cold in his eyes and voice, “ Laura didn’t have a choice. You do. Why don’t you use the sense God gave a gnat and get rid of it while you can.”

In equally icy tone and eyes, “ I asked you to go away. I mean it. I am having this baby. End of discussion.”

Luke leaves the room and Bobbie begins to cry. She is still crying when she hears the door open.

“ I thought you could use a friend.”, Sasha says.

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

Carly was sitting on the couch, as Jason came downstairs from a meeting with Benny.

” Goodnight, Mrs. Morgan.”

Carly was startled to hear anyone call her that. “ Oh, sure, Benny. Goodnight.”

Jason goes over to Carly after Benny’s left. “ Carly, are you OK? You didn’t eat at all tonight. You have to, you know, for the baby.”

” I know, Jase. I’ll eat a snack later.”

” So, what took your appetite away.”

” I ran into Luke.”

” And?”

“ He was outside Bobbie’s hospital room.”

“ Why is Bobbie in the hospital?”

” She’s pregnant.”

” No way.”

” Yes. It was thought for the longest time that Bobbie couldn’t have children. But, surprise surprise, miracles do happen.”

” Is something wrong? Is that why she’s in the hospital?”

” From what I could get from Luke, it’s a rough pregnancy. They don’t even know if she’ll be able to carry the baby to term.  Who am I kidding? Of course, she’ll have the baby. And, she’ll have the child she can love finally. Any kid but me.”

“ Carly, you’re going to have your own kid. It’s time to stop thinking about Bobbie.”

” You think it’s that easy? Is it that easy for you and the Quartermaines?”

” It’s VERY easy for me and the Quartermaines.”

“ Jason, what about Tony?”

” I told you, Carly. There’s no need to worry about Dr. Jones. I will handle things between us. He won’t bother you.”

“ I’ve never seen Tony like that, Jason. Even when he found out that I had sent the custody paper to Bobbie, he had never been that mad at me like I saw the other day.”

” Dr. Jones believes he owns that baby. And, he’s gonna get his possession back. Does he know about AJ? “

“ No.”

” And, you’re sure that AJ doesn’t have a clue?”

” I am very sure. I made sure that the sonogram scam keeps him in the dark.”

” Well, good, then. What about the nurse who helped you?”

” Lorraine?”

” Yes.”

” She’ll keep her mouth shut.”

“ Why?”

“ Because, I paid her, Jase.”

” Money isn’t a good motivator for silence. But, fear is.”
 

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

Robin Scorpio was sitting on top of the steps of Sacre Cœur, looking out at all of Paris. She couldn’t believe it. Jason was married. An ‘accidental’ phone call to Amy Vining, under the guise of looking for Alan, confirmed it, and Jason’s new wife’s identity: Carly Roberts. That tramp who slept with Jason when they were first going out. According to Amy, Carly is going to have Jason’s baby anytime now. That can’t be true, Robin thought. Jason wouldn’t have slept with her when he was with me. He just wouldn’t. She knew that her school break was coming up. She had paid to go on vacation to Italy. But, she knew where she must go. Back home. To Port Charles. For the truth.

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

“ Put those over there.” Mai is directing some of the Cassadine staff, who are bringing in several boxes of unopened mail that came for Sasha while she was sick.

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

“ Hi Bobbie.”

“ Sasha.”

“ I saw Luke leave, and thought you needed some moral support.”

” Thanks. I do.”

” I saw Papa at home. He’s quite excited about the baby.”

” I know. We had a talk. One of the best one’s we’ve had in quite awhile. You know, Sasha, I’m really tired.”

” Ok. I won’t keep you.” Sasha gets up and goes to the door. Before she leaves, she turns to Bobbie, “ Bobbie, I want you to know that you can trust me. I’m completely sympathetic to the position you’re in. And, if you want any help, about anything, I’ll do all that I can.”

Sasha leaves a puzzled Bobbie.