The Battle Of Who Could Care Less – Epilogue

A couple weeks later…

"Boss."

Sonny looked out from behind the morning paper as he sat comfortably on the overstuffed olive couch with a steaming cup of coffee on the nearby end table at the sound of Johnny's voice. "What?"

"You've got guests," the Irishman grinned, stepping aside to let the intruders on. His grin only grew when the paper fell to Sonny's lap as a well-rested Robert Scorpio and very smug Luke Spencer stepped into Penthouse IV.

"Corinthos," the ex-commissioner smiled, slipping his hands into his slate blue trousers. "Long time no see. Sold any coffee recently?"

"Hung out on any exploding boats recently?" the mobster volleyed back, rising from the couch with a grin as Luke shuffled past his best friend. "What are you doing back in town? Does Elizabeth know you're here?"

Robert nodded as Luke poked around the breakfast table and finally settled on a muffin. "Just came back last night and ended up crashing at Luke's. I spoke to Elizabeth over the phone, but have yet to drop in on her. Luke and I are actually here on business."

"Business," Sonny chuckled, rubbing the corners of his mouth with his index finger and thumb. "Would this business involve the route and shipment transfer information I released to the World Security Bureau?"

The detective shook his head, his eyes glittering. "Oh, that – that's peanuts, Corinthos, compared to the real dirt we've got on you. No, no, we made a deal with you that the information you provided would not be used against you and we're bound to that. You don't need to consider us a threat…for the time being."

The mob lord flashed his dimples, choosing to ignore the last part of the statement. "I'm glad to hear you say that, Robert," he responded with a gesture of magnanimity. "Because if there's one thing I'm good at, it's eliminating threats."

"Oh, save your insinuations," the old man huffed good-naturedly, puffing out his chest as he studied the amused mobster. "I know exactly what you're implying. And I would hate to break this to you, Corinthos, if you weren't such a smug little bastard, but you're indebted to me. You need me."

Sonny's brows lifted a fraction of an inch. "I do?"

Robert's smile grew at the younger man's professed innocence. "You give yourself too much credit, my friend. There's nothing stopping my colleagues at the Bureau from pulling out your file and handing you your walking papers to Sing-Sing. Nothing but me, that is. As long as I'm around and close by, they're willing to forgo an investigation and stick to more pressing concerns. Think of me as…a ticking time bomb, if you will. When I'm gone, all bets are off. Remember that."

Sonny grinned at the agent's speech. "And to what do I owe your…protection?"

Robert's features tightened into a frown; he did not like thinking that he was granting the smarmy mob boss protection in any way. "To Elizabeth and to my daughter. Both of them would be hurt if you were hurt, so you're safe for the time being. But don't let it get to your head."

"Enough shop talk," Luke interrupted, cramming the last of his muffin into his mouth and dusting his hands off. The resulting crumbs on the thick carpet earned him a dark glare from Sonny that went unnoticed. "I'd love to stand around all morning and watch you two whip those things around, but time is money and I ain't getting any richer."

"What do you need, Luke?" Sonny obliged, slipping his hands into his dark trousers. "Is this about our new venture in Vegas? I've got Alexis working on the papers; she'll have them over to you as soon as she finishes the warehouse rebuilding permits-"

"No, no, it's not about that," Luke assured him. "Let Natasha do her thing with that; I can wait. This is something a bit more…personal. Robert and I are going on a little trip."

"To Hell?" Sonny muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Robert's brows furrowed as he glared at the mob boss. "What was that?"

"I said, do tell," the Cuban quickly corrected himself, flashing the older man an impish grin. "Where are you going?"

"Vladivostok," Luke replied gleefully, rubbing his hands together. "And we need your help."

"What are you going out there for?"

"We got a tip, of sorts," Robert allowed, stroking his chin. His pale topaz eyes twinkled as he exchanged glances with his best friend. "An old friend that we've been meaning to…catch up with…has finally turned up. And far be it for us to pass up this golden opportunity."

Sonny shook his head, grinning. "You're both sick."

"We've been called worse," Luke shrugged. "Anyway, we're all packed and ready to go, but here's where you come in. We need your help."

"And what can I do for you in…Vladivostok?"

"You've got that contact of yours stationed in Moscow, right?" Luke folded his arms over his chest and Robert followed suit. "The one that helped out in…gosh, when was it? Ninety-two? Ninety-three? Somewhere in that timeframe. He's on the outskirts of town, posing as a civil servant and runs the prostitution ring up there?"

A spark of ignition flickered in Sonny's obsidian eyes. "Kolesnikov, yeah. You need to get in touch with him?"

Luke and Robert were nodding. "We've got a couple contacts in East Asia, but none as close to the situation as your guy. You think you could get that going for us?"

The mobster scratched his head, mulling it over. "It's short notice, but he owes me a favor so I think we can manage. One question."

"Shoot," Robert sighed, quirking a brow at the younger man.

"You're not going to put him away, are you? That'd be very bad for business."

The agent rolled his eyes. "No, Corinthos, we're not going to put your friend the 'proprietor' away. Not yet, at any rate. No, I'm probably going to be forced to offer him a deal similar to the one we offered you – clemency in exchange for partial disclosure. At any rate, it's very important that we get in touch with him."

"I'll make the call right now," Sonny agreed, already heading toward his desk and reaching for the phone. The older men waited patiently, milling idly around the luxurious penthouse as the mobster lounged in his executive desk chair, conversing with his contact's partner before finally reaching the elusive man.

"Look at this," Robert muttered, poking the overstuffed sofa. "All of this. Who decorated in here – Pee Wee Herman? It looked much better back when Sean was living here…Oh, I bet this imbecile's boarded up the panic room, too. Now that was a beauty."

"Call him an imbecile after he gets us Kolesnikov," Luke whispered, jabbing his best friend with an elbow and flashing Sonny a facetious smile.

Sonny glared at the two men and continued speaking into the receiver in fluent Russian, and Robert and Luke were still standing anxiously by when he finally hung up and stood to face them. "It's done. I gave him your contact information and his people will get in touch with you as soon as you touch down. He knows what to expect but wants the deal made up front before any other measures are taken."

Robert rolled his eyes, but didn't dispute it. "Fair enough. All you crooks – you're all the same."

"Thank you," Sonny smiled, his dark eyes glittering. "Coming from you, that's quite a compliment."

"Okay, okay, enough flirting, you two," Luke commanded, grabbing Robert's shoulder and tugging him toward the door. "Corinthos, you're a good man. Thanks for the help, and I look forward to entering into a partnership with you and Morgan again. I've got the folks in Vegas just where we want them, and I have a profitable little venture in the works in South America, so we'll see how that goes. It'll be just like old times."

"Just like old times," Sonny agreed, shaking his former associate's hand firmly. "Take care, Luke, Robert."

"You, too," Robert replied, tipping his head at the younger man. "How's your little boy doing? Making a smooth recovery?"

"Good as new," the mobster smiled, inwardly pleased that the agent had taken the time to ask. "Enjoy Russia and give Kolesnikov my best."

Luke grinned, pushing a grumbling Robert out the door and clapped Johnny on the back as the guard pulled the door shut behind them. "Okay, so that's taken care of. We're good to go."

"Not yet," his best friend disagreed, holding up his hand. "We finished earlier than I expected and if possible, I'd like to swing by and see Elizabeth before we leave. I told her I didn't think I could, but it'll be fun to surprise the kid."

"Okay, but we don't have to 'swing by' anywhere," Luke shrugged, tipping his chin at the door directly across the hall. "She lives right there."

"There?" Robert repeated, pointing incredulously at Penthouse II. "She lives there? But that's Morgan's penthouse."

"Yeah, and in the words of my son, she's currently banging him, so…" The old man shrugged again as Robert scratched the back of his head. "You wanna drop in? Spread a little sunshine and good cheer?"

A slow grin spread across the agent's face and he rubbed his hands together. "Let's – oh, do let's. This should be good."

-------------------------------------

Jason dropped the phone onto the couch and looked over as Elizabeth ambled lazily down the steps, padding barefoot across the hardwood floors dressed only in his black t-shirt. The corner of his mouth twitched as she brought one hand up to shake out her mussed tresses, and he moved away from the brown leather couch to reach out to her.

"Morning," he smiled, nipping her plush lower lip between his teeth and enjoying the way her fingers skittered across his bare chest before she settled on wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Mm," she murmured, not one for morning chit-chat. "Coffee?"

"Right there," Jason informed her, pointing to the one thing in the world that she loved more than him. "On the table."

She left his arms almost instantly, skidding to a halt by the coffee table to pick up the steaming mug. A good whiff had her eyes widening at the jolt, and Jason watched in amusement as she sipped the scalding liquid and slowly came to life.

"Lucky called," he spoke up, taking a seat on the arm of the couch and parting his legs when she came to stand between them. Elizabeth continued to sip her coffee as he played with her hair, tucking the tousled chocolate locks behind the delicate shell of her ear. "He said something about Luke's and a paint job and wanted to know if you were in."

Elizabeth remembered a previous conversation from a few days ago and nodded. "Yeah, he was saying that they'd have to give it another two coats. Did he tell you a date?"

"Day after tomorrow?" Jason guessed, running a hand through his dark blonde spikes. "It was kind of hard to hear him – there was some really loud music in the background."

"Luke is going to shoot Claude between the eyes and throw his Rastafarian CDs in the oven," the brunette sighed, rewarding herself for her premonition with another sip of Jason's amazing brew. She had no idea how she had lived so long without sampling Jason Morgan's specially prepared morning coffee…and a few other things as well.

He smirked at that, settling one large hand on the curve of her hip and lazily rubbing circles through the soft black cotton. "I have to go over to the PCPD today and take care of the warehouse permits myself, but I'm free after that if you wanted to do something. We could hang around Jake's, or pack some food and take the bike up to Canada…"

"Ooh, tempting," she smiled back, tapping her finger thoughtfully on her chin. "…But I kinda promised my Gram I'd stop by for lunch. If you want to after that, then I'm free. How about this? We do our lunch thing, then take the bike up past the border and find some roadside motel and-"

A knock on the door interrupted her, and Jason looked over sharply at the intrusion. With a sigh, he smacked Elizabeth's bottom and slipped off the arm of the couch, heading toward the door dressed only in his black pajama bottoms.

His scowl darkened when he yanked the door open only to come face-to-face with the last two people in the world that he wanted to see while Elizabeth was standing around dressed in nothing but his shirt and talking about seedy motels.

"What do you want?"

"Good morning, sunshine, to you, too," Robert Scorpio grinned back, his arm resting casually on his best friend's shoulder. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

"Hey, Morgan," Luke laughed, his own arms folded across his chest. "Nice abs."

Jason glowered at the two old men but they remained as infuriatingly chipper as ever. Robert leaned to the side, peering over the younger man's broad shoulder, and grinned the instant his eyes landed on Elizabeth. He waved to the petite brunette who was seated on the arm of the couch with a mug of coffee, and she smiled warmly back in reply.

"Elizabeth," he exclaimed happily as Luke beamed. "Luke told me you still lived here but I just wouldn't believe him. She's still your roomie, huh, Morgan? I figured she would have packed up and left your arse weeks ago! What a trooper – sticking it out all this time. Your blood's fit for bottling, doll."

Elizabeth grinned at that and straightened her shoulders, but Jason wasn't pleased or amused. "What do you two want?"

"Careful, Morgan," Robert warned, wagging a finger dangerously close to the enforcer's face. "If you keep making that face, you'll be stuck like that. And we'll see how the ladies like you then."

Luke swallowed a smirk when he saw Jason's eyes narrow lethally and held up his hands, quickly pushing on. "Okay, okay, enough small talk. Robert and I just dropped by to say hi to you lovebirds. How's it going?"

The enforcer glared at him, a muscle in his jaw ticking, and the agent let out a dramatic sigh.

"All right, all right, we'll push on, though I must say that your manners leave something to be desired," he snipped. "We just came by to talk to Elizabeth. Doll, we've got a little proposition for you and would love to hear your thoughts."

"Shoot, Robbie," she smiled, her eyes twinkling when they connected with Jason's displeased cerulean orbs. "I'm all ears."

"We've had a Helena sighting, darlin'," Luke beamed. "She's in Russia, close to Siberia, and she's been lying low for a month up there getting to know the penguins and building ice sculptures."

"Luke and I are all packed up and ready to jet out," Robert added, his pale blue eyes twinkling at the look on Jason's face. "It's about time for another adventure – what do you say? Are you in?"

Elizabeth's loud laughter soon joined Robert and Luke's as Jason stared at the two senile old men, a look of abject horror in his wide blue eyes, before the enforcer stepped back and slammed the door in their faces.

The End.

Author's Note:

At long last, I've finished this story. It wasn't even supposed to be a story, but the first chapter got such an overwhelming response that I was effectively bullied into continuing. At 402 pages and almost 190,000 words, it is easily the longest piece I have ever written in my entire life.

Thank you to the readers that kept up with this; that goes without saying. I appreciated every note of feedback and greatly enjoyed reading your thoughts. Completing this behemoth has vastly increased my confidence, and I'm so glad to have had this experience.

This story started out as a silly, rambling little vignette but soon turned into a Huma-epic. I could tell from the feedback that some of you were very excited to continue on to the next chapters and find out what happened, and I felt the same way as a writer. To start a new Word document and begin the next chapter was an intense and very exciting experience, and part of me is sad that it's all come to a close.

This story was a way to fully flesh out my great love for Tristan Rogers and Big Daddy Scorpio, and I somehow stumbled upon a great way to have the GH of yesteryear meet the GH of today, and I'm quite pleased with the result. It was good to get Luke back into the swing of things and morph Lucky from a grade-A jerk to the cool, slick kid he used to be. Writing my own twist on the virus was pretty fun, too! And then of course, there's Liason. Ah, Liason.

Thank you for reading and replying to this story; thank you for taking this journey with me. If you liked this story, I urge you to stick around and keep an eye out for the sequel, "How To Fix Everything". I'm hoping that it will be just as big a hit.

Once again, thank you for joining me. Thus ends the story of the Battle of Who Could Care Less. As I said, stay tuned and you'll soon see How To Fix Everything.