Secret Weapon
Brook Lynn was looking through the file containing Rocco’s two birth certificates — one naming Dante and Lulu as his parents and the earlier one just Britt Westbourne — when the teen returned from his first day at work at the Metro Court Pool with Danny. Brook Lynn quickly covered the folder with some Deception files as Rocco apologized for interrupting her work. Awkwardly trying to change the subject, Brook Lynn asked about their new gig.
“So, how did it go at the pool?” she asked nervously. “Did you guys crush it or…?” Rocco declared it went well, but Danny added, “Until they almost kicked us out.” Rocco quickly interjected, “Nobody almost kicked us out.” As Brook Lynn wondered what they’d done, Jason walked in and urged the boys to stop bugging her.
They insisted they weren’t, and Brook Lynn had only asked about their new job. When Jason inquired as well, Danny complained that they weren’t allowed to go for a swim after they were done for the day. “Yeah,” Rocco agreed. “They said hotel employees can’t lounge around the pool in uniform after their shifts.” Jason noted that they have a pool here at the Quartermaine mansion, and Rocco recalled Gio had said the same thing. After joking about how they pretended they were going to push each other in the pool, the teens reported that nothing happened because Tracy drove them home. When Jason pointed out that Tracy had kept them from making a big mistake on their first day, Danny said they’d have to thank her for that. “Bye, boys,” Brook Lynn said sternly to get them to leave. Jason asked if everything was okay, and when she assured him she was just overwhelmed with work, he exited to check on the boys.
Alone again, Brook Lynn continued to stare at Rocco’s birth certificates as she flashed back to Lulu emotionally declaring she would do anything for her children. “But what I won’t do is lie to them,” the blonde added. “I don’t lie to them and I don’t keep huge, life-altering secrets from them!” Shaking, Brook Lynn snapped out of the memory and let out a deep breath before grabbing her phone to call Mona and ask for hard copies of Deception’s financials for the past month. She then tucked the folder with the birth certificates in between a stack of Deception files and headed out.
A Futile Attempt
Back at the pool, Lulu watched as Dante attempted to try and connect with Gio by inviting him to join the rest of the family at the PC Philharmonic Concert Series in the park. “Admittedly, I don’t know a lot about classical music,” Dante offered, to which Gio replied, “Most people don’t.” Still, Dante wasn’t giving up so quickly. “But I did some reading, and the first chair violinist is one of the best in the country, is that right?” he noted. After Gio nodded with a smirk, Dante added, “That’s amazing. You wanna check it out?”
Gio looked away as he flashed back to the night of the Nurses’ Ball, where he furiously smashed his violin on the stage to release his pent-up anger after learning the truth about his birth parents. “Music’s not really my thing at the moment,” he told Dante after snapping back to the present. Understanding, Dante suggested that he could still use the tickets himself and take whoever else he wanted. Gio thanked him curtly before walking off.
Parenting Problems
Jason looked on as Danny and Rocco complained about their summer job in the living room, including the lack of tips. “It’s too bad Gio was kind of a drag, though,” Rocco added. “I wasn’t expecting that.” Jason reminded them that Gio is technically their boss, but the boys insisted they just wanted to go for a super-quick swim, and it’s not like Carly would have minded. That’s when Dante arrived and set them straight. “You two are employees, you gotta act like employees, right?” he declared. “It doesn’t matter who you know. You can’t be the only staff to go in the pool. It makes you look entitled and unprofessional. You don’t want to be those guys, do you?” As Danny and Rocco both said in unison, “No, definitely not,” Dante shot Jason a quick look with a flash of a smile. He then suggested the kids take advantage of the Quartermaine pool or the lake for a quick dip because they both stank. After the teens headed out, Jason thanked Dante for what he said, and Dante apologized to Jason for having the wrong idea about him.
“The way you are with Danny, I thought you’d let him run wild because you couldn’t be bothered to parent him,” Dante admitted. “That you were too busy with Sonny to be keeping an eye on him and know what he was doing. But I see that… you were doing that consciously for Danny because you thought that’s what he needed. That was a choice.” Jason hoped it was the right one and noted that he also hoped Danny appreciated his father giving him the space to make his own decisions.
“It’s a balance, though, isn’t it?” Dante mused. “I mean, being there but not holding on too tight? Like, keeping an eye on him but knowing Danny… waiting for him to come to you. I mean, that… That’s just not how I’ve operated with Rocco.” He added that the way he’s parented Rocco won’t work for Gio, where he has to step back and let his son call the shots. “Anyway,” Dante concluded, “I wanted to say… that I’m sorry that I was so dismissive and critical of the way you parent your son. I apologize.” Jason smiled and accepted the apology.
Jason pointed out that Dante can’t hold himself responsible because he didn’t know Gio was his son until now. “Maybe you tell him that?” Dante joked half-heartedly. Jason declared that Gio was a smart and good kid, and he had to let him figure it out. “Well, I don’t really have a choice,” Dante sighed. “I don’t know what he wants. I don’t know what I have to offer him. Even if I did, I don’t think he’d accept it from me.”
A Fine Team
Evening had set in, and the pool was closed, but Gio was still on duty and stepped in when a drunk guest began harassing Lulu by hitting on her. When the guy fell in the pool, Gio dove in to rescue him, and after the guy was escorted off the premises and banned from the hotel, Lulu congratulated Gio on his skills. “Lifeguard extraordinaire over here,” she smiled. “You should be proud of yourself. Rescuing that guy after his crappy behavior? Part of me wanted you to let him drown.” As they laughed about it, Brook Lynn entered in the background and quickly ducked behind a doorway to watch them, unseen.
Since the pool was closed for swimming, Lulu asked Gio what the rules said about dangling feet in the water, and he playfully declared that as head lifeguard, he’d allow it. Lulu invited him to join her, and Brook Lynn watched from the shadows as they laughed at the drunk guy’s lack of swimming ability and his terrible pickup game. After joking about Rocco folding up a — slightly — used towel to be used again during his first day, Lulu thanked Gio. “I’m really glad you’re here for him and Danny,” she said. “I have a feeling they’re gonna need you.”
Gio also thanked Lulu for the assist during his rescue. “Thank God for you and the floating device,” he declared with a chuckle. “If you hadn’t thrown it to me, I would’ve been dragged down with him.” They both laughed uproariously at how Drunk Guy was not buoyant at all. “Don’t look now, Gio,” Lulu grinned. “We make a pretty good team.” Agreeing, Gio returned her high-five, and from the doorway, Brook Lynn’s face grew angry, and she nodded as though making her decision while tears streamed down her cheeks.
The Truth Within Reach
Having finished their swim, Danny and Rocco entered the house, both confidently threatening to wipe the floor with the other in a game of poker. Danny moved to clear the table, but when he picked up the Deception files, he stopped suddenly as his eyes fell on the file in the center labeled “Rocco Falconeri.” “Hey,” Rocco called out as he got the cards out of the desk. “Brook Lynn said that stuff was private. Should you be looking at it?”
“It’s about you,” Danny said, handing Rocco the folder as he walked over with the cards. “See for yourself.” Rocco looked down at his name, and his eyes grew wide as he nervously wondered what could possibly be inside. One thing was certain — opening that folder would change everything.
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