Righting Wrongs

A/N: This story takes place after Michael was shot, but he wasn't in a coma for a year. In this story, he woke up a couple of days later.

Jason stood outside Michael's hospital room. He watched the boy as he spoke with Sonny and Carly. He was smiling as though nothing had happened. Jason only wished he could move on like that. He couldn't. He couldn't think about anything other than the boy he loved like his own had almost died. It wasn't the first time Michael had been in danger because of the life the adults in his life chose to live, but it was the first time he had been hurt so badly that there was a real chance he would die.

A part of Jason said that he should just be grateful that Michael was alive, and he was grateful, but he couldn't get what happened and why out of his head. Michael got shot, a, because he was with Sonny, whom someone was trying to kill, and b, because Sonny chose to protect someone else over his twelve-year-old son. For the first time, Jason questioned his choice to give Michael to Sonny.

"Jason."

Jason turned to the right to see Robin. "Hey."

"Are you gonna go in? I'm sure Michael would love to see you," Robin said.

"I can't," was all Jason said.

"Why not?" Robin asked.

Jason looked back at Michael and resumed watching the boy. "I didn't think this would happen. I never, ever considered this."

"Jason, Michael's okay. He came through with flying colors," Robin assured her ex.

"And next time? What happens the next time he's hurt because of this world. He almost died this time. What if next time he actually does?" Jason asked.

Robin wanted to say something to reassure Jason. She wanted to tell him that that wouldn't happen, but she knew it could. The life Jason and Sonny led came with high risk to anyone who knew them. "I'm not sure what to say."

"When Michael was a baby, I promised to protect him. I swore no one would hurt him. And I was sure that was a promise I could keep. And when I made it so that Sonny could take Carly and Michael from AJ, I was sure he would protect him. I was sure it was the right choice," Jason said.

"Are you saying you regret taking Michael from AJ?" Robin asked surprised. This was the first time she'd heard Jason express remorse for that. He'd always believed he'd made the right choice by claiming Michael as his own and then later helping Sonny force AJ to give up his rights.

"I don't know. AJ was screwed up. He was more interested in pleasing the Quartermaines than anything else. I didn't think he'd be a good father to Michael," Jason said.

"Jason, that wasn't your choice to make. You weren't Michael's father," Robin said as gently as he could.

"Yeah, you said that before, right after you told AJ the truth. I was really angry at you for that," Jason said.

"I know. I don't regret it, Jason. It was the right thing to do, and despite what you might think, I didn't do it out of spite," Robin said.

Jason turned back to her. "I don't think that. I never thought that. I was angry because you took Michael away from me and because I felt that you hurt him, but I knew you didn't do it to hurt me. You're better than that."

"Thank you. AJ had a right to know his son. Carly didn't have the right to take that right away from him and neither did you," Robin said firmly.

"AJ was gonna take that right away from Carly," Jason pointed out.

"Because she drugged him. She made him think he fell off the wagon to keep him from finding out he had a child. He had a right to be angry," Robin said.

"I never thought about him. See to me, Carly was the mother, so she had all the rights. I never thought about the rights of Michael's father back then. And then AJ got so angry and vindictive. He eventually kidnapped Michael, Morgan, and Kristina. I felt that my decision was validated. But these last few days, I've been thinking about it. I've been thinking about what would've happened if I told AJ the truth from the beginning or just didn't get involved. Maybe AJ wouldn't have lost it the way he did. Maybe the reason AJ became who he was is because of what Carly, Sonny, and I did. Maybe Michael would've been better off. At the very least, he wouldn't have gotten shot," Jason said.

"So you do regret it."

"Yeah," Jason said after a minute. He couldn't believe it, but he regretting taking AJ's choice to be a father away from him. Robin was right. He didn't have the right to make that choice. Even if he had been right, he didn't have the right to make the choice. "You were right to tell AJ the truth and I was wrong not to. And Michael's suffering for it."

Robin looked through the window at Michael. The little boy was laughing. "Well, he doesn't look like he's suffering."

"He's too young to understand the full extent of what happened to him. He doesn't grasp that our world nearly killed him and probably will again. Hell, it might even kill him. I can't do anything about that. I can't remove him from this world. The only person who had even the slightest power to do so is dead," Jason said. A part of him wished AJ was alive just so he could take Michael away from this, and that was another thing he never thought he'd feel.

"Wait, would you help AJ take Michael if you could?" Robin asked shocked. It was one thing for him to express regret, but the way Jason was talking, he would help AJ get custody of Michael if he could.

"It doesn't matter. AJ's dead. Michael's stuck in this life," Jason said sadly before walking away.