World Turned Upside Down

The courthouse was bustling with activity. It wasn't anything more than the typical day in
the halls of justice, but Anthony Capelli always felt a little hemmed in by the river of
harried humanity that swept through the corridors - attorneys, defendants, witnesses -
all dressed to the nines in their Sunday best. He stood off to the side this morning, part
of an atoll of blue in a sea of silk suits. The knot of uniformed officers listened as an
assistant prosecutor reviewed the order of their appearance in court that morning. Capelli
was on the fringes of the group, only half listening, when a file folder, heavy with a sheaf
of documents, fell to the floor at his feet. Anthony's training "to serve and protect" kicked
in and he reflexively stooped to retrieve the papers for their hapless owner.

He was crouched on the marble floor, shuffling papers back into the folder, when a pair of
Italian leather pumps stepped into view and stopped near his busy hand. The shoes, he
guessed, could cost a good chunk of his monthly salary. Anthony's eyes slid from the
expensive Italian pumps to the slender ankles of the woman wearing them. From there,
his gaze moved slowly up a length of shapely, silken calf to that enticing height where the
hem of a pricey European suit skirt skimmed a creamy knee.

A slow grin crept across Anthony Capelli's full lips. "Why, Miss Davis," he purred
seductively, his gaze never rising above the exposed length of her lower leg. "Long time,
no see, ma'am."

*****
Anthony Capelli's smile hadn't faded as he gathered up the last of the errant documents
and stuffed them back into the dropped file folder. He was still eye level with the best set
of legs to ever grace the PCPD, but he knew that the owner of those gams was less than
thrilled with him at the moment. Alexis stood with her weight on one stilettoed heel, the
toe of her other pump tapping impatiently as she waited for him to stand to face her. He
guessed - correctly, he realized as he righted himself - that she had one hand firmly
planted on a curvaceous hip, her face registering her momentary disdain.

"I hope you don't expect my to be flattered by that rude, objectifying, sexist assumption,
officer Capelli," she spoke with an icy air.

"Never," Capelli grinned in spite of himself and offered her the retrieved file with its
rescued contents.

"I'm glad you find such piggish behavior so amusing," she replied evenly as she took the
file from his outstretched hand.

Capelli shook his head, failing in his attempt to rein in his smile. "Not at all," he
answered. "My mother raised me right enough to be appalled by my sexist piggishness."

"Then may I ask what has you so full of yourself at this particular moment?" she pressed
him.

The smile broke out on his face again in full force, lighting a twinkle in his dark eyes.
"Ma'am, I might have been an objectifying sexist pig when I recognized you by your
legs...but I was right," he drawled smugly.

Alexis rolled her eyes, a hint of a grin tugging at her own lips. "Men," she sighed as she
turned on her heel and started down the marbled corridor. "Good day, officer Capelli."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...hold up a sec there, counselor." He reached for her
elbow, his fingers barely brushing her skin when Alexis froze mid-step.

A sense of déjà vu washed over her as Anthony Capelli uttered words so reminiscent of
something Sonny might have said. For a brief, terrifying but exciting moment, Alexis
almost expected to see Sonny's face when she turned her attention back to the man with
his hand on her elbow.

Anthony noted the change in her demeanor as her eyes met his. Assuming that it was his
presumptive touch that had triggered her response, he removed his hand quickly from
her arm. "Sorry," he mumbled in apology. "I didn't mean to..."

Alexis shrugged off both the feeling of déjà vu and officer Capelli's offered apology. "It's
okay," she whispered with a shake of her head. "Did you want something?"

Did he want something? Capelli grinned again, this time more to himself than outwardly.
For being such a smart woman, Alexis Davis could sure be dense sometimes. In all the
months that he'd nursed his little crush on her, she'd never once seemed to pick up on his
signals. Of course, her life had been pretty crazy for a long time. But now that she had
her daughter home and her law license reinstated, things were settling down for her and
this might be just the time for a potential suitor to make his interest a little more
obvious.

"You're not around the cop shop too much anymore, not since you don't have to come
down to spring Sonny Corinthos out of jail." Anthony saw the defensiveness rise up in her
eyes and instantly regretted his misstep. Idiot. Of course Corinthos would be a sore spot.
She'd taken a lot of grief for representing him. "It...it's not the same without your class in
the joint," he teased, hoping to recover.

Alexis relaxed a bit. "I'll assume that's an attempt at offering a compliment, and I accept
it with thanks. Is that all?"

She wasn't going to make this easy on him, was she? "Would you like to get a cup of
coffee?"

"With you, or for you?" she asked wryly.

Capelli laughed. Touché. He deserved that one. "With me," he answered, hopefully.

Alexis shook her head gently. "I don't think so," she answered, her tone softening.

"Come on," Capelli coaxed. "Wasn't I one of your favorite uniforms? Didn't I always save
you a jelly doughnut anytime we brought in...anytime I knew you'd be coming?"

Alexis smiled warmly. "Capelli..."

"Anthony."

"Anthony, it's not personal. It's just...it's been a long day. I'm on my way over to Kelly's
to pick up a dinner order, and then I'm heading home to my little girl."

"Kelly's has coffee," Capelli countered. "Jelly doughnuts, too."

Alexis laughed. "Maybe some other time. Okay?" With that, she turned and headed for
the heavy oak doors that led out to the street.

"I'll hold you to it!" Capelli called after her, eliciting another soft laugh that was music to
his ears.

*****
Capelli jumped back a step as the red headed youngster blew by him through Kelly's
entrance, calling out the name of some unseen person as he ran past.

*****
Alexis pulled open the door to Kelly's and stepped into the diner. She made a beeline for
the lunch counter, where her dinner order would be waiting. All she wanted to do was get
home to her daughter, the experience still being so new that the thrill of returning to
Kristina's excited smiles hadn't diminished in the slightest.

Alexis reached the counter and smiled at Penny. That smile faded as the two women
exchanged words. Penny lifted a hand and pointed to a table by the front door. Alexis
turned toward the direction the waitress was indicating. When her eyes met his, Anthony
Capelli smiled his most winning smile.

The charm appeared lost on Alexis as she approached the table with no hint of humor in
her expression. "I believe you have my dinner," she stated flatly.

Anthony grinned. "That I do. All bought and paid for, and ready to go. As soon as we're
done with our coffee." He indicated the pot sitting in the middle of the table, two coffee
mugs ready to receive the brew.

"Capelli," Alexis sighed in exasperation.

"Anthony," he corrected her again.

Alexis dug into her purse and pulled out her wallet. She deftly pulled out several bills and
dropped them on the table. "Please let me have my dinner." She held out her hand,
waiting for him to comply.

"One cup of coffee. Please."

"If you don't give me my food, I'll just place another order and you'll be stuck with that
one," she threatened.

"You'll have time for coffee while you're waiting for that new order, won't you?" he
grinned up at her.

Alexis laughed in spite of herself. "You are the most stubborn, one track, tenacious,
infuriating..."

"How long before you get to 'charming' and 'adorable'?" he cut in.

"Don't hold your breath," Alexis shot back, a touch of humor in her voice.

Capelli turned up the wattage on his smile. "I got you the last one," he crooned, lifting a
plate with a single jelly doughnut.

*****
Alexis sat at the table, sipping coffee opposite the very attractive, very persistent,
Anthony Capelli. She wasn't quite sure why she'd agreed, finally.

"Something wrong?" Capelli asked, noting her wrinkled brow.

Alexis shrugged. "Just wondering how you got me to sit here drink coffee with you," she
mused.

"It's the teeth."

"Excuse me?"

"The teeth. The pearly whites. It's a family curse. Women can't resist 'em." Capelli
delivered the line in complete seriousness, then lifted his coffee cup to his lips to mask
the smile threatening to break through. In the meantime, Alexis watched him intently,
her head tilted to one side.

"You're a rather odd man, Capelli. How did I never notice this before."

Anthony shrugged and let his smile loose on her again. "I guess you just weren't ready
for a guy like me...til now."

Alexis opened her mouth to respond, but was cut short by a sound she knew all too well.

"Michael!" Carly screeched across the crowded diner. "Come on, it's time to go home.
Michael! Hey Penny..." Carly's voice faded just a bit as she passed into the kitchen in
search of either the waitress or her son.

"Isn't that..." Capelli didn't get the question out before Carly burst back into the dining
room, her volume increased several decibels.

"What do you mean he's not here! He came up for ice cream and you lost him!" Carly
screamed, pointing to the bowl of melting chocolate mush still sitting on the counter.
"Michael!" she yelled again.

Anthony raised his hand to catch Carly's attention. "Excuse me. Ma'am?"

Carly turned on the stranger, taking in his police uniform and his companion, neither of
which inspired any warm feelings in her. "What?" she snarled, her eyes raking over Alexis
with obvious hatred.

"Are you looking for a little red headed boy?"

"Have you seen him?" Carly asked, taking a step toward the table.

Capelli pointed to the front door. "He went that way about fifteen minutes ago."

Carly's eyes bugged out in rage. "What? Why didn't you stop him! What kind of cop are
you? I guess because he's Sonny Corinthos' son, you don't need to care, huh? Bet you'll
be the first in line with handcuffs when he's old enough to arrest though, won't you? You
cops are all the same. Pig!" Carly spat out the last word as she exploded out the door.
Seconds later she could be heard screaming Michael's name as she ran down the street
toward the docks.

Capelli turned toward Alexis. "Again I'm a pig. And I didn't even objectify her with sexist
rudeness."

Alexis smiled at Anthony's joke, but she couldn't help feeling uneasy and worried about
little Michael. Carly was right about one thing. It wasn't at all safe for a child of Sonny
Corinthos to be wandering around on his own.
====
Capelli was just beginning to feel like he was making a bit of progress charming the
elusive Ms. Davis, when suddenly his portable radio crackled to life.

"All units in the vicinity of the Fourth Street docks, respond. Gunshots reported, one
person down, emergency medical personnel in route."

Anthony felt the adrenaline shoot through his system. "Sorry, Alexis," he was all
seriousness as he jumped from his chair. "Gotta run. The night just got interesting."

Alexis nodded, feeling her own rush of nervous energy. "Be careful!" she called after him
as Capelli ran out the door.

*****
At the waterfront, a crumpled body lay on the dock, next to a metal garbage can that had
been stumbled over in the waning light.

God, no. Please, no. It was an accident, God. An accident.

Chapter 2

Another siren wailed in the distance, the sound a plaintive moan on the chill night breeze.
Alexis wrapped her arms more tightly across her chest as a shiver rippled through her
body. It wasn't the cool night air, but a sense of foreboding, to which she was responding.
She didn't know what it was, but something terrible had happened. Something that would
bring pain to someone she knew.

*****
The strobe of red lights lit the dock area, setting it aglow in the darkness of the evening.
Footsteps fell all around him as emergency responders went about securing the site and
tying up loose ends. It all seemed so calm and methodical, so different from the scene
Anthony Capelli had found when he was the first to arrive at the waterfront, the first to
respond to the call about shots being fired on the docks.

When Capelli had arrived on the scene, his gun drawn, he'd been ready for almost
anything. Anything but what he'd found.

*****
Sonny was on the cell as soon as it rang. He'd been waiting anxiously for an update from
Jason. When the phone rang, though, it wasn't Jason's number on the caller I.D. He
didn't recognize the number at all.

"Yeah?" he answered gruffly, not about to tip his identity to the caller, just in case.

"Mr. Corinthos?" a professional sounding voice answered.

"Who wants to know?" Sonny responded.

"This is General Hospital calling. I'm trying to reach Mr. Corinthos in regard to his wife..."

*****
Capelli glanced over at the blonde sitting in shock, surrounded by a small circle of
uniforms and detectives. The blood that had formed bright red splotches on skin and
clothing was slowly turning darker as it dried. The blonde didn't seem to notice, though.
Capelli could hear the hum of questions from the detectives, but the blonde didn't
answer. There was no response. There was only the moist, vacant stare of a pair of ice
blue eyes.

Capelli moved toward the group. None of the officers or detectives seemed to notice, but
the blonde did. His blue eyes locked on Anthony's gaze. Capelli didn't know if the man
recognized him, given his obvious state of shock. But as he moved closer to the blonde,
there was a flicker in the cool eyes. Capelli took a few more steps forward. The blonde's
lower lip quivered. Anthony cocked his head to one side, his eyes questioning. The
blonde's lips parted.

"It...it was an accident..." his whispered with a sob.

*****
Alexis rocked in the darkness, her daughter held tightly to her chest. The infant's breath
came in deep, rhythmic puffs that tickled gently against the tender skin of her mother's
neck. Kristina slept deeply, but Alexis made no move to place the baby in her bed. A cold
sense of sadness and concern had settled on Alexis' heart earlier in the evening as she'd
stood on her balcony listening to the sirens on the waterfront. She didn't understand it,
but it scared her nonetheless. She needed her daughter close to her right now. She
needed to feel her warmth, her breath. She needed to feel Kristina's little heart beating
above her own. She needed to feel life. It was the only way to keep the sense of death
and danger from overwhelming her.

*****
Sonny saw nothing outside the windows of the limo. Nothing existed but the words of the
nurse ringing in his ears. Nothing but the words that had caused the earth to open
beneath his feet, the words that had seemed to suck his soul from his body. There was
nothing but the words. And the need to get to his family.

*****
Capelli watched the blonde, whose blue eyes once again stared unseeingly out over the
black water of the harbor. Everyone on the force knew who he was, of course. Everyone
had seen him in cuffs at the PCPD at one time or another. But no one downtown had ever
seen Jason Morgan as he was right now. The man sitting before Capelli now bore only a
physical resemblance to the person he'd found on the docks earlier in the evening.
Corinthos' enforcer was now just a shell, a living lump of flesh. A couple of hours earlier,
he'd been a man on a mission. Calm, methodical and focused, he'd been kneeling over a
body.

With Jason's back to him, blocking Anthony's view of the body, Capelli's first thought had
been that he'd caught Jason Morgan in the act. Gun drawn, he'd called out for Jason to
freeze. But he'd been ignored. Stepping closer, Anthony repeated his order.

"Call an ambulance," Jason had barked without looking up.

Capelli realized then that Sonny's number one lieutenant wasn't wringing the life out of
some poor slob. He was administering first aid.

"It's on the way," Anthony responded. Moving to his right a bit, he began to circle around
Jason to get a better view of the person on the ground, as well as Jason's actions. He
kept his eye and his gun trained on Morgan, ready for any suspicious movement. Slowly
Capelli eased around Jason, watching. But Jason made no false move. Instead, he was
focused on the body before him. Capelli let his attention Follow Jason's, expecting to see
the body of one of Sonny's men. Perhaps even the body of Corinthos himself. The man
wasn't magic. He couldn't dodge forever the bullets that flew through his life.

What Capelli saw was something he'd never expected, something that made him silently
urge the ambulance's arrival. Something that made him suddenly care in a different way
about what Jason Morgan was doing. No longer just a cop eying a suspect, trying to
ascertain the status of the situation, Capelli was suddenly also aware of being a brother, a
son, a cousin. He was Anthony, a man with family. A man who understood the fear of
losing someone he loved.

Two bodies lay on the dock, both still and silent. Jason knelt over the pale slender form of
one, administering aid. Oblivious to the blood smearing his own body and clothes, Jason
worked like a machine to slow the flow of blood while monitoring vital signs. To Anthony,
both bodies looked lifeless already. But Jason continued to work on the one. Stepping
closer to the second body, Capelli was preparing to check for signs of life when the small
form stirred, a soft moan escaping into the night.

Almost as soon as it sounded, the moan was lost in the racket created by the arriving
emergency medical personnel. The footsteps of the EMT's echoed along the waterfront as
they ran across the smooth planking, loaded down with stretchers and medical
equipment. Anthony instinctively took a step backwards, creating space for them to work,
as one paramedic made a beeline for the moaner. Two others moved toward Jason
Morgan and the body before him. Capelli stood rooted to the spot as Morgan spit out
medical terms, apprising the medical personnel of pulse rate, respiration status,
estimated blood loss, pupil dilatation and more. The blonde continued to give medical
direction as the paramedics loaded the body onto a stretcher, all the while working to
stabilize the patient's condition. With the precision of a military exercise, the ambulance
crews had swept onto the docks, scooped up their precious cargo, and rushed into the
darkness with two stretchers loaded down.

As the sirens began wailing their way toward General Hospital, Jason Morgan turned and
looked at Anthony Capelli for the first time. His eyes now showed something no one on
the force had ever seen before. Fear.

"It was an accident," Morgan had whispered as the docks burst to life again, this time
with the arrival of uniformed police back up and the first detectives on the case.
Questions filled the air. Capelli was questioned about what he'd found when he was first
to arrive. The officer answered those questions professionally, giving objective
observations of what he'd encountered.

Jason, of course, was questioned about what had happened there that night. But he'd
been unable to respond to the detectives. Shock, explained a lone, lingering paramedic as
he convinced the detectives that Morgan needed to be transported to the hospital for
treatment. Jason sat, silently, locked up somewhere in his own head. He didn't register
any awareness of his surroundings at all, at least, not until Capelli stepped toward him
and their eyes had met again.

"It was an accident..."

*****
The shrill ring of the phone set Alexis upright in her bed, her heart racing. Fumbling
through panic and the fog of interrupted sleep for the receiver, she knocked her reading
glasses onto the floor.

"Hello?" she mumbled into the phone, her heart pounding in her throat, making it almost
impossible to speak.

"I hope you're happy with yourself."

Alexis groaned, her mind reeling from confusion. What in the world? How dare he!
"Are you drunk?" Alexis asked, unable to think of any other reason he'd be calling her, let
alone be calling her at...damn, two o'clock in the morning.

"I'm stone cold sober," came the thin, angry reply.

"What do you want, Ned?" she sighed in exasperation. She'd won custody of her
daughter. The battle with him should be over. Now, if she was going to have to go to
court to get a restraining order to keep a bitter ex-lover out of her life...

"I just wanted to let you know the results of your legal handiwork for Sonny. I wanted to
know if you're proud."

The mention of Sonny set her heart to racing again, though she wasn't sure how much of
the adrenaline rush came from fear and how much came from the mysterious he'd always
had on her.

"What are you talking about, Ned?"

"You fought so hard for him, Alexis. I hope you realize that part of this is your fault, too."

"What, Ned?" she snapped, tiring quickly of his game. "What is partly my fault?"

The line was silent for several long seconds. Alexis thought Ned had hung up. She was
about to do the same when he spoke again.

"Jason just shot someone." The words were unexpected, but the pronouncement was not
surprising. It was what Jason did. Why Ned felt the need to call her in the middle of the
night and make this fact known confused her. Until he spoke again, his voice cold and
accusing. "He shot Michael."