Dream a Little Dream

Chapter 52

“Is that a new song, Dad?”

Ned Ashton was jerked out of his reverie over breakfast by Brooke Lynn coming into the kitchen.

“I'm sorry, what did you say, Brooke?” he asked.

“That melody you were humming,” Brooke said, pouring coffee into a travel mug. “It's really pretty. Is it for a new song?”

“Oh, um, nothing definite, yet,” Ned said, hoping he wasn't blushing.

“Let me know if something comes of it,” Brooke said. “I'd love to put lyrics to it!”

“Sure, honey,” Ned said. “Do you need a ride to school?”

“No, thanks,” Brooke said, putting her lunch in her backpack and tearing open a protein bar. “Dillon's driving me over. And Georgie, of course.”

“Does your grandmother know that?” Ned wondered.

“Don't know, and don't care,” Brooke said. “Dillon's 18. If he wants to give his girlfriend a ride to school, I don't see why she should get her panties in a wad over it.”

“Charming image,” Ned said. Just then, a car horn sounded.

“There he is!” Brooke said, with a kiss on Ned's cheek. “See you tonight.”

“Come straight home after school,” Ned called after her. “You have to pack. We're leaving for Boston in the morning, remember.”

“Sure,” Brooke said with a wave as she walked out the door. She rolled her eyes when she was out of sight of Ned, as she was not looking forward to the trip. She didn't want to go on another college interview. Not when producer Chip Savage was offering her a record deal down in New York City. He'd even found her a lawyer so Ned and Lois wouldn't find out. Hopefully, by the time college acceptance letters went out, Brooke's debut CD would be in the can.

“You look like you had canary for breakfast,” Dillon said.

“Huh?” Brooke said.

“Never mind,” Dillon said.

Back in the house, Ned breathed a sigh of relief as Brooke failed to guess what was going on. He'd been thinking about Dr. Lainey Winters ever since their impromptu lunch the week before. She was funny, smart and striking. A native of the Port Charles area, Lainey had gone to college and med school at New York University. After graduating, she earned a fellowship in public psychiatry from Columbia. In addition to her work in child and adolescent psychiatry, she was going to be part of the mobile health clinic's outreach program for mentally ill homeless. She'd returned to Port Charles when her widowed father's Parkinson's Disease became too much for him to handle by himself.

Ned had dated Alexis Davis briefly after his divorce from Lois, but his family's dysfunction and her Cassadine-related issues had doomed the affair. Other than that, his social life had been quiet despite being seen as quite the catch. He had his work, his music and Brooke. That had been enough for a while.

Now, he was feeling butterflies over a woman for the first time in a long time. Nice to know I still have it, he thought. Then he wondered about arranging an actual date. He remembered he was leaving work early to come home and get ready for the trip. He could either stop at the hospital or call Lainey on his way home.

That settled, he put his breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, humming the tune again.

* * *

“Alan, we have a problem.”

Alan Quartermaine looked up to see Emergency Room chief Dr. Yang “Yank” Se Chung standing in the doorway.

“That's never a good way to start a conversation,” Alan said, taking off his glasses and waving Yank in. “What's going on?”

“I just had to come between Robin Scorpio and one of the interns,” Yank said. “She didn't like the way he was treating an HIV-positive patient. I've never seen Robin so angry. Remind me never to tick her off. He didn't take kindly to her criticism and was pretty insubordinate.”

Alan furrowed his brow. Robin, as an administrator and not a doctor, rarely intervened in patient care. This must be serious.

“Who was the intern?” he asked.

“Patrick Drake,” Yank said. “I notified Lesley that I'd be reporting this to you. This isn't the first time I've heard about problems with Dr. Drake's communications with patients. But Robin also put me in a very bad position by making such a scene in a public area.”

“Tell me what happened from the beginning,” Alan said with a sigh.

Yank gave him the rundown ...

An HIV-positive patient was admitted to the emergency room with a fever of 100, chills and chest congestion. As Patrick took his vitals, he asked questions about recent symptoms, and medication changes. The patient revealed he had not been able to take his HIV medication for the past three weeks, as there was a paperwork problem with his insurance company. He couldn't afford to pay for the medication out of pocket and pay the rent, so he took the chance that the insurance problem would be settled quickly and paid the rent.

Patrick wasn't impressed with the explanation. “Excuses won't keep you healthy,” he said tersely as he wrote the vital signs and other observations onto the chart. “There were other things you could have done. You should have called your doctor as soon as this problem arose and worked out a solution. Now we have to undo the damage you've caused instead of preventing it. Maybe next time you'll be a bit more responsible.”

The patient, tired and sick and overwhelmed, burst into tears. Robin, who had been listening outside the curtain in shocked silence, jumped in, grabbed Patrick by the arm and dragged him out into the hallway before he knew what was happening.

“What the hell do you think you're doing in there?!” she yelled. Patrick jerked his arm away.

“Practicing medicine,” he said loftily. “It's what we doctors do, when we're not being interfered with by know-it-all administrators.”

“You call that being a doctor?” Robin demanded. “It was more like you were auditioning to be the next Torquemada the way you were conducting your little inquisition in there!”

“My job is to --”

“Your job as an ER doctor is to get their information and decide whether or not to admit them!” Robin shouted, sharply pointing her finger at him. “You were so beyond out of line, talking to him like that! How to deal with his medication and insurance issues is something for us to handle!”

“And you're handling it so well,” Patrick said with a smirk.

“A damned sight better than you!” Robin retorted, her face flushed and her lips trembling with anger. “At least I'm advocating for him, rather than smugly putting him down! Look, I know you're busy trying to get as many nurses as you can down into the basement --”

Patrick glared. “I didn't realize you were that interested in me, Miss Scorpio,” he said snarkily. “Maybe if I'd asked you down there we could have worked on dislodging that stick from your --”

Yank jumped in at that point, seeing Robin's fist tighten. He knew Anna had trained her well and didn't think that putting Patrick in the ER as a patient would be a wise move for her. He told Patrick to wait in Yank's office and for Robin to return to hers.

“Then I went to see Lesley, and now I'm here,” Yank said. “Look, I think Robin handled this completely wrong. But Drake needs a smackdown if he's going to learn how to be a good doctor. That sort of arrogance and bad patient relations can't be tolerated.”

Alan pinched the bridge of his nose, then sighed. “I guess this is why they pay me the big bucks,” he said with a rueful smile. “Thank you, Yank. I'll confer with Lesley before meeting with them. I don't like this enmity between Robin and Patrick. Robert and Noah were friends. The idea of their children at each others' throats is just wrong.”

* * *

The smell of beef and broccoli in orange sauce lured Marcus Taggert out of the haze of paperwork.

“Thought that'd get your attention,” his sister, Gia Campbell, said, as she held up the bag of Chinese takeout.

“That definitely does,” Marcus said. “I'm starving. What are you doing here? Linc's not around.”

“I know,” Gia said. “This beef and broccoli's for you, not him. I had to come in to work early to file some paperwork, so I'm taking a longer lunch break.”

She set the beef and broccoli carton on his desk, along with a styrofoam plate, a small carton of white rice, and a fork. She then took out her own food – soba noodles with tofu in a ginger and lime dressing, and an appetizer of steamed dumplings to share with Marcus.

“I have an ulterior motive, you know,” Gia said.

“What, my sparkling company isn't enough?” Marcus asked. Gia laughed.

“It is,” she said. “But I also wanted to talk with you about the Halloween party for the Stone Cates Wing.”

“What about it?”

“Well, Linc's going to be out of town, taking his grandmother to a cousin's wedding down in Newburgh,” Gia said, twirling her noodles around her chopsticks. “And Mom's costume partner for the party is Amy Vining. So I was thinking maybe you and I could pair up, unless you've already got a partner.”

The theme of the party was “Great Pairs.” Couples, siblings and friends were to team up and come as a famous pair of people. First prize for the best pairing was a $1,000 shopping spree at Wyndham Square Mall.

“No, I don't,” Marcus said. “And it works for me. What sort of pairing you have in mind?”

Gia's brow puckered as she thought. “I'm drawing a blank, there are so many ways we could go,” she said.

Marcus chuckled. “I just thought of something,” he said. “We could be Cliff and Clair Huxtable. You know, from The Cosby Show.”

Gia laughed. “That'd be perfect!” she said. “I'm sure Mom has one of her big-hair wigs still. I could wear one of her old church suits with the shoulder pads. And you, Mr. Pack Rat, probably still have one of those '80s sweaters that looked like Picasso's cat horked up a hairball.”

“Hey, I liked those sweaters!” Marcus protested.

“You would,” Gia said mildly, but with a twinkle in her eye.

* * *

Adam Chandler strode into his office suite at Chandler Enterprises in Pine Valley, Penn.

“Is my lunch here yet?” he demanded of his secretary. “I have a 1:30 conference call with our Phoenix office.”

“Y-yes, Mr. Chandler,” she said. “It's in your office.”

“Thank you,” Adam said tersely, picking up the mail she'd set aside for him. “I'll see you after lunch.”

The secretary left with relief, glad she'd be far away when Adam opened his door and saw ...

“Skye,” Adam said, eyes widening in surprise.

“Hi, Dad,” Skye said, getting up from the table near the window. She'd had lunch – lobster salad on toasted brioche, fruit cup and sparkling water – brought up from the Valley Inn. “Hope you don't mind a surprise lunch date.”

“Of course not,” Adam said, flustered. He hated being flustered. It made him suspicious – and cranky. Skye walked over and kissed his cheek. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“All right, Skye, what do you want?” he asked with a mixture of amusement and annoyance in his voice.

“Not everyone has an agenda when they have lunch with their fathers,” Skye said cooly, sitting down.

“At least you remember I'm your father,” Adam said gruffly as he joined her at the table.

“How could I forget?” Skye asked.

“I can imagine the Quartermaines would make it worth your while,” Adam said. “Your mother would love it. After all, they're old money compared to me, and Rae would love nothing more than to play happy family with you and Alan. What better way to do that than shut out your other family?”

Skye set down her fork with a clang.

“All right, that's it,” she said. “I was willing to hear you out and calmly discuss any concerns you would have about the wedding, but you are so full of --”

“Watch your language, Antoinette,” Adam said sharply.

“You're so full of it, your eyes are turning brown,” Skye said.

“Oh, really,” Adam retorted. “I think you're a little too full of being a Quartermaine.”

“Good Lord, Dad,” Skye said in exasperation. “Why does it have to be all or nothing with you? I can't be both your daughter and Alan's? Well, guess what – I am. That's my life. If you want to be a part of my life, you're going to have to accept that.”

“Don't make threats you can't back up,” Adam warned.

“Who says I can't or won't?” Skye shot back. “I'm serious. Either you get on board and start compromising, or you can stay home. I'm not going to have mine and Lorenzo's wedding ruined by an Adam Chandler tantrum!”

“And what if I do stay home?” Adam challenged her, his blue eyes blazing in chagrin over Skye's defiance, and fear of it.

Skye looked at him with hurt in her own eyes. Adam sensed her faltering.

His senses were wrong.

“Then Lorenzo and I will get married without you,” Skye said. “Everyone else will be there – J.R., Hayley and Mateo and the kids, Myrtle, Mom, even Erica. And all the Quartermaines. Everyone but you. I'll miss you, but I can't let Lorenzo and the rest of my family pay for your pettiness.”

Adam was struck dumb as Skye fixed an unflinching glare on him.

* * *

“Omigod!” Rachel Adair squealed softly as her eyes widened.

Lainey Winters had just told Rachel that Ned Ashton had called her just before lunch to ask her out on a date next week.

“Keep your voice down!” Lainey whispered, as she set down her tray at their cafeteria table. “Amy Vining's right over there!”

“Sorry!” Rachel said with a little giggle, then lowered her voice. “So when's the big date?”

“Next Friday,” Lainey said.

“Wow, he plans ahead!”

“He's going out of town this weekend,” Lainey said. “His daughter has a college visit. Then she's going to be with her mother next weekend, so he'll be free.”

“That's right, he has a kid!” Rachel said. “You okay with dating a dad? Especially the dad of a teenager?”

“It's a long way from going out to dinner to becoming the wicked stepmother,” Lainey said.

“Well, you'd definitely be living a fairy tale with his fortune!” Rachel said.

“Rachel! That's pretty ... mercenary.”

“Please,” Rachel said. “God knows you're no golddigger. Just stating the obvious.”

“Besides, I'm nervous enough as it is,” Lainey said. “Between work and my dad ... men haven't been on my priority list in a while. When Ned asked me out, I felt 14 again – complete with the insecurity and nervousness. It probably means I'll end up with a huge zit for that night.”

“Relax. You'll be fine,” Rachel said. “At least you're making progress.”

“Nothing new on the Lucky front?”

“Not a thing,” Rachel said with a sigh. “I 'drop in' at Vagabond once or twice a week after work, but so far I haven't been able to get him to go beyond bantering. At first I thought maybe he was still into Elizabeth Webber, but after seeing them talking at Vagabond one time, that's not it.”

“Maybe there's someone else?” Lainey asked.

“If so, it's no one in that crowd,” Rachel said. “But I'm not giving up. He's worth the wait.”

Lainey didn't have to worry about keeping their voices down. A few tables over, Amy Vining and the other nurses at her table were too absorbed with the morning's ER throwdown between Patrick Drake and Robin Scorpio to care about Lainey's love life, even if it involved a Quartermaine.

“I wish I'd seen it!” a younger nurse said. “He's got guts, standing up to an administrator like that!”

Amy frowned. She didn't like the idea of admiring insubordination of that kind.

“He's lucky he still has his guts,” she said. “Robin was probably taught by Anna how to tear a person apart in 10 seconds. And after Alan gets through with him, he'll be lucky if he has a job.”

* * *

“Sit down, both of you,” Alan said sternly. Robin and Patrick, not looking at each other, sat. Despite avoiding the other's eyes, each seemed acutely aware of the other, shrinking away as far as their chairs would allow.

Alan remained standing – all the better to balefully glare at the two. He strode back and forth behind his desk for a few moments. Robin later told Karen Wexler she hadn't felt like that since she'd been sent to the principal's office back in elementary school – small and scared and ashamed.

After what seemed like an eternity of silent dread for Patrick and Robin, Alan stopped. The glare, however, remained.

“I cannot remember the last time I was so shocked by the conduct of my staff,” Alan said, his voice husky with suppressed anger. Robin felt her stomach quiver. She remembered the last time she'd heard Alan's voice sound like that – the night Carly had been brought to the hospital after being shot in the head by Sonny Corinthos, as he demanded of Mac what the police were ever going to do about the cancer Sonny was on the community.

Patrick, glancing out of the corner of his eye, saw Robin's face. He knew by her pale face and stricken expression that she was genuinely upset and it somehow that scared him more than the choked-back anger in Alan's voice. He even felt a little scared for her – she looked so tiny and fragile in that moment. Then he pushed it back – she brought this on herself, and him. He had to focus on saving his own hide.

“The way you two carried on, it was beyond unprofessional,” Alan continued. “It was disgraceful! It was bad enough that you two acted like that, but you did it in view and hearing of patients and their families! How much confidence in General Hospital do you think that inspired? And let's not forget the staff, who will be talking about this for days! Do you think they'll respect an administrator who would publicly embarrass a doctor in such a way, Robin?”

“No,” Robin whispered, looking down. Patrick saw defeat in her posture and sat up a little straighter. Alan saw it and, chagrined, turned to him.

“And do you think they'll trust a doctor who arrogantly feels entitled as an intern to be insubordinate to administration, Doctor?”

Patrick's face flamed under Alan's glare. But he wouldn't back down.

“No, Doctor,” Patrick said in a clear, hard voice.

“Good,” Alan said coldly. “Because I am not having any more of this. The consequence of today will be ...”

Visions of suspensions and a black mark on his record shot into Patrick's head and he gulped. Robin fought against gripping the chair arm, worried he was going to suspend or demote her.

“... you are going to have to work together.”

The room was silent for a second as that was absorbed, then ...

“What?!”

“I am assigning Dr. Drake to work a three-month rotation in the Stone Cates Wing,” Alan said. “He will begin on Monday.”

Robin opened her mouth to protest.

“Not one word, Robin!” Alan said sharply. She shut her mouth so fast, Patrick heard her teeth click.

“I have cleared this with Dr. Webber,” Alan said. “Dr. Drake, you will be scheduled to finish your ER rotation after you finish this assignment. We will discuss your duties in a bit. Robin, please return to your office. We will discuss your responsibilities later.”

“Yes, Alan,” Robin said softly, and pulling her tattered dignity about her as best she could, looked at Patrick and added, “I'll see you Monday, Doctor.”

Patrick nodded, barely looking at her. Robin closed the door behind her and walked towards the elevator, her gaze taking in nothing to avoid seeing the stares of the staff. She stayed in that safe bubble until reaching her office, where she shut and locked the door, then went into the bathroom and, after shutting and locking that door, sat on the toilet and sobbed.

Meanwhile, Alan sat back down and looked hard at Patrick.

“A suspension might have been easier,” Patrick said.

“Maybe,” Alan said sternly. “But this will be better for you.”

Patrick's weak spot was being told what was good for him. It was a bit too paternal for his taste, and it caused his temper to flare.

“I suppose a dose of Saint Robin is just what the doctor ordered,” he said, then stiffened as he saw Alan's eyes turn dark with anger.

“What this doctor is ordering is that you watch your attitude!” Alan said, the ragged tone back in his voice. Patrick set his jaw to stop any trembling.

“You have no idea how thin the ice you're on is, do you, Dr. Drake?” Alan said. “I would be justified in making this incident the last straw for you at General Hospital. It is only your evident talent that is keeping you here ... for now.”

“Why do you think this punishment is so good for me?” Patrick demanded.

“As I said, your talent as a doctor is quite obvious,” Alan said. “But that is not enough anymore, especially here at General Hospital. This isn't a punishment, this is a chance for you to become a better doctor. Your communication skills and relating with the patients, quite frankly, stink. There are more than a few comments and complaints in your file with Dr. Webber addressing the problem, but so far you have done nothing to rectify the problem. If you can work in the Stone Cates Wing, which isn't easy, and work with Robin, it will help you a lot.”

“What if I ... what if it doesn't work?” Patrick asked.

“Then you're fired,” Alan said bluntly.

“You'd let her drive me out?” Patrick demanded. “That's not fair!”

“I know Robin a lot better than you do, and she is not that kind of person,” Alan said. “She can be quite forgiving and understanding, if you're straight with her. If she senses you're open to this, and making progress, she'll go to the mat for you. But be warned, she doesn't tolerate manipulation well and her BS meter is in fine working order. She and I will discuss the matter so she knows exactly where I stand in terms of demanding you get a fair shake. This really is your last chance, Doctor, so I'd pay more attention to yourself and less to others right now, especially the nurses. Please take the rest of the day off. That is all.”

Patrick nodded. “Thank you, Doctor,” he said, and walked out. After the door closed, he rolled his eyes and groaned. Three whole months under the thumb of Saint Robin!

* * *

Adam Chandler was speechless for a moment. But the quick wit that served him well in business helped him recover.

“You would choose the Quartermaines over me?” he demanded.

“No, I'm choosing myself and Lorenzo over all of you,” she shot back. “He will be my family when we're married. He comes before you, before Alan, before Mom.”

Adam sighed.

“In a way, it's good to hear you say that,” he said. “If you keep that up, maybe you two will have a chance.”

“Gee, thanks, Dad,” Skye said sarcastically.

“I actually meant that as a compliment,” Adam protested.

“Then, thanks,” Skye said, more gently. “Look, Dad. I want you there. I want you all there. But if you or Alan or Mom or anyone else can't suck it up and play nice for one weekend, do me a favor and don't come. That'd hurt a lot less.”

Adam nodded. He was not ready to concede, but hoped that by dialing back the confrontation he could get more of what he wanted – more Chandler and less Quartermaine in his daughter's wedding.

“Fair enough,” he said, briskly. “I'll take that under advisement.”

“Good,” Skye said. “Now, here are some ways we can negotiate this.”

“Negotiate?”

“Sure, let's make a deal,” Skye said. “Everybody gives a little something, everybody wins. But remember, I'm the deal-maker here.”

Adam's eyes twinkled in spite of himself. She could live in Port Charles and be seen as a Quartermaine there, but she was still Adam Chandler's daughter, no doubt about it.

“Let's hear your proposal,” he said.

“The first part of the deal is walking me down the aisle,” Skye said. “I'll give you first choice. You can agree to walk me down with Alan, or walk me down halfway to Alan, who will walk me the rest of the way. Or vice-versa. Or, Mom walks me down.”

Adam thought about it for a few moments as he took a bite of his lobster salad.

“All right,” he said. “I'll walk you halfway down.”

Skye nodded. “Good,” she said. “Alan gets first choice on the father-daughter dance.”

“What?!” Adam demanded.

“Don't worry, we'll still get a dance,” Skye said. “But since you got first choice on the processional, Alan gets first choice on the dance. That's fair and equitable, Dad, even you can't deny that. He gets to choose whether to lead off the dance or to get the second half of the song after you. I wasn't sure about doing that ...”

“Why not?”

“Lorenzo doesn't have a mother to dance with,” Skye explained. “But he said that he'll come out and dance with Mom the second half of the song, so it'll be all right.”

“I have to say, Skye, you're being very executive about this,” Adam said.

“I learned from you,” Skye replied.

“I'm glad you got something good from me,” Adam said ruefully.

“More than you know,” Skye said with a gentle kiss on his cheek.

“You got your wheedling ways from your mother,” he said.

* * *

By the time Alan came down to her office, Robin had recovered somewhat. She'd cooled her face, flushed and a bit swollen after crying, with a damp washcloth, then put in eye drops. Only the slight trembling of her hands as she made notes for the Halloween party were any evidence that she'd just been ripped by the chief of staff.

Being rebuked by Alan so harshly hurt worse than if it had come from anyone else. Alan had been her paternal figure in the dark time of Stone's last days and her HIV diagnosis. Sonny, as kind as he had been back then, was grieving too much himself to be the rock that Alan was for her. He guided her through her shock, grief, anger and numbness to face what was to come. Alan did for her what Robert wasn't there to do, and it cemented a loving bond between the two. The embarrassment was nothing compared to her guilt over disappointing Alan.

And as hard as the shame over her run-in with Patrick was to bear, she could hardly face what was coming next – three months of that blustering, arrogant intern underfoot! She shuddered as she imagined him treating the patients here the way he did the poor fellow in the ER.

She hated to admit it, but what Patrick said to her stung. Did he really think she could be interested in going down to the basement storage room with someone like him? And, oh God, did she really come off to the world as having a stick up her ...

“Robin?”

Alan Quartermaine stood in the doorway. He knew she would take the dressing-down to heart; she was so conscientious. But as tenderly as he felt towards her, he couldn't allow his personal feelings to interfere in what needed to be done.

“Hi,” she said. “Come on in.”

Alan sat across the desk and looked at her keenly. He could tell she'd been crying, and it wrung his heart.

“I know this is going to be hard for you,” he began.

“You have no idea,” Robin said. “But as smarmy and obnoxious as he is, I can take it. But, Alan ... the patients! HIV patients need respect and compassion, not to be object lessons for some arrogant intern! I don't like them having to bear the real punishment for what happened!”

“My decision is final, Robin,” Alan said gently but firmly. “We invest a great deal in our interns, and I can't let one as talented as Patrick Drake not reach his full potential because of your personalities conflicting.”

Robin slumped a little in her chair. She knew Alan would not be budged.

“This is not a punishment for either of you,” Alan went on. “It's a learning opportunity. Patrick needs to learn patient relations. You need to learn better management skills. I know you fight for your patients, Robin. But not every fight has to be nuclear. Now, you have to mend fences. I'm sure you can find common ground besides your fathers being friends.”

“What?!”

Alan realized he'd said too much. “It's not something that's common knowledge,” Alan said. “So please don't talk about it with anyone else. His father, Noah, was a doctor here when your father came to Port Charles on the Ice Princess case. Bobbie, Monica, Luke and Laura, Audrey, Jeremy, Lesley and Amy are probably the only people who remember him. Noah left a few years later. I have to ask you not to bring this up with Patrick anytime soon. There is some sort of estrangement between him and his father, and it is a painful subject for him. Can I count on you for that?”

“Absolutely,” Robin said. “I still don't like this, Alan. But I'll do everything I can and won't sabotage it. Who knows? Maybe it'll work. But if he causes problems for the patients, Alan, I expect it to be dealt with. I won't shortchange their care.”

“Nor would I ask you to, Robin,” Alan said. “All I ask is that you give him an honest second chance. How he does with that is his responsibility.”

Alan left the office and headed back to his own. Amy Vining hailed him at elevator.

“I heard you're putting Patrick Drake down in the Stone Cates Wing,” she whispered as the doors closed. “Are you crazy, Alan?! He and Robin'll kill each other!”

“I don't think so, Amy,” Alan said. “It may just be the best thing for both of them.”

Amy shook her head.

“It's a big gamble,” she said. “I hope it pays off.”