Tracy remembers Luke Spencer on his birthday: General Hospital Daily Recap for Tuesday, July 23, 2024

In the stables, Tracy heard approaching footsteps and warned the person approaching that she was sleep deprived, hadn’t had a second cup of coffee, and had been bitten by Hades, one of the horses. A smiling Ned emerged from the shadows and made a remark about “good odds.” Tracy warned Ned that she didn’t want Ned to discuss anything that had to do with drama.

After asking if Tracy had bit Hades back, Ned grabbed a first aid kit to tend to Tracy’s wound. Ned noted that Tracy had been “extra spicy” all day. He asked if it had anything to do with it being Luke’s birthday. Ned smiled wryly and confessed that he’d had “serious reservations” about Luke and Tracy’s quasilegal marriage. Tracy fought tears, and she told Ned that her marriages to Luke had marked a “significant turning point” in her life.

Ned asked if Luke was the love of Tracy’s life. “I miss the buoyancy he created. He always managed to stay afloat… to improvise, to adapt,” Tracy said as she admitted that she felt as though she was barely keeping her own head above water. Tracy stopped midsentence and said that things were getting “so maudlin.” Ned joked that he didn’t want to miss the chance to share in his mother’s feelings. Tracy joked that it would be another 75 years before he had the chance to share in her feelings.

Ned told Tracy that she should feel free to talk about Luke or her feelings anytime she wanted. The shared an embrace.

Sonny opened the door to his penthouse and was unsurprised to see Carly on the other side. Carly was puzzled when Sonny presumed that Michael had already spoken to her. Carly asked what Michael had to do with things, but Sonny curtly replied that she needed to “stay out of it.” Carly said that she wished she could stay out of Sonny’s problem, but she noted that somehow, all of Sonny’s problems somehow found their way to her.

Carly told Sonny that she believed that John was actually after him. Sonny snarled that “Jagger never knew how to keep his nose out of other people’s business.” Sonny suggested that it was time that someone “beats that lesson” into John. Carly warned Sonny not to target John. She also worried that Sonny’s beating of Dex could somehow get back to John.

Sonny told Carly that Ava knew about the Dex situation. Carly and Sonny were both sure that Ava had already revealed to John what she knew. Sonny told Carly about his fight with Michael earlier in the day and asked if she could help smooth things over with Michael. Carly told Sonny that it was his responsibility to patch things up with Michael. She lashed out at Sonny for pushing everyone out of his life. She asked Sonny if there was “one single person” that would be willing to defend him who was not his child or his employee. “You,” Sonny replied softly.

Carly reminded Sonny that he had called her a traitor. Tears rolled down her cheek as she told Sonny that he’d gotten what he’d wanted and was on his own. Carly wiped the tears from her face and walked away.

At the Port Charles Police Station, Jason entered Anna’s office and closed the door behind him. Anna told Jason that she knew John had paid him a visit. Anna believed that the FBI would continue its mission to find Valentin, even if it took years to complete. Jason told Anna that he had been given a new out-of-town assignment: infiltrate a gang in the federal prison in Lompoc.

Anna called the assignment a mistake and insisted that Jason had more than satisfied his obligation to John. Jason shared that John felt he had sat on the evidence to allow Valentin the chance to escape. Anna urged Jason to go public with his story of how the FBI had coerced him to cooperate and then broken their promise to him. Jason asked what would happen to Carly in that scenario.

Anna vowed to help Jason out of his predicament. While appreciative, Jason told Anna that she needed to clean up the mess that she had made. Anna owned her mistake. She then asked Jason what responsibility he and Carly had as a result of their decision to “live outside the lines.” Jason told Anna that he could not change the past. He asked Anna to give him the “same consideration” that she had given to Valentin. Anna swore that she would not rest until Jason was out from under the FBI’s thumb. Jason turned and exited the office, closing the door loudly behind him.

Anna phoned someone named Jim and told him that the FBI needed to reel in John Cates because he was out of control.

Kristina met up with Michael at Bobbie’s. He immediately told her that pregnancy looked good on her. Kristina was receptive to the praise, but she admitted that it was hard to believe, since she had a “little person swimming inside” her, giving her “the occasional karate kick.” As they continued pleasantries, Kristina told Michael that she'd known him long enough to know that there was something that he wanted to ask her.

Michael mentioned that things were tense between Sonny and Ava. Kristina nodded. “Ava baited Allie’s admittedly problematic mother into expressing her homophobia,” Kristina snapped, adding that Ava had then “maliciously leaked” the recording to the Invader. Kristina said that Sonny was out for blood. Michael, however, replied that if his recently blow-up with Sonny was any indication of how things would go, Sonny would be lucky to emerge from court without a restraining order demanding that he stay away from Avery.

Michael recounted his argument with Sonny. He worried that he could say the wrong thing on the stand and trigger Sonny to erupt in front of the judge. Michael wondered if there was someone else who could testify on Sonny’s behalf. The two ran through some names, but quickly ruled everyone out. Michael eventually told Kristina that she needed to be the one to help their dad.

Kristina pushed back on the idea, but Michael persisted. Kristina asked what she would do if someone asked if she’d seen Sonny beat up Dex at the wedding. She called herself as much of a liability on the stand as Michael. Michael said that Sonny might be on his own.

Michael wondered how long he could have a “superficial” relationship with Sonny. He mentioned the price that Carly and A.J. had paid because of Sonny. Michael said that he wanted his kids to grow up believing that it was okay to hold people accountable but that “holding onto that bitterness only stunts you.” Michael shared that he could not forget the years that Sonny had loved and protected him any more than he could forget the way that Sonny was currently behaving.

As Michael and Kristina continued to talk, Carly entered the restaurant and apologized for interrupting them. Before she could say anything, Jason arrived and asked if he could speak to Carly. Before she and Michael also left, Kristina told Michael that one day, Avery would be going through the same things with Sonny that they’d gone through with Sonny.

Jason took Carly to his apartment above Bobbie’s and told her that he had been given a new assignment and needed to leave for Quantico that evening. Carly had a strong reaction. Jason assured Carly that he had a way out, but it required her to be patient and calm. Carly walked toward the door, but Jason grabbed her by the arm and asked her where she was going. Carly said that she was going to turn herself in, and there was nothing that Jason could say to stop her.

Elsewhere in town, Tracy slowly walked up to Sonny. She noted that Luke’s club had once been located directly across the street and asked if Sonny was engaging in a little walk down memory lane. “You were never on your own with a friend like Luke,” Sonny commented. Tracy raised her hand to high-five Sonny and replied, “Finally, something we can agree upon.” They also agreed that Luke had loved to celebrate. Tracy wondered if that was because so much of Luke’s life had been “unenjoyable.”

Sonny recalled watching Luke walk off into the sunset. Tracy admitted that she’d gone to Amsterdam to find Luke and happened upon him in a café. The time that they’d had together, Tracy said, had been “an absolute blast.”

John paid Ava a surprise visit at her suite at the Metro Court. Ava claimed that she was glad that John had stopped by because she was unaccustomed to being alone. She told John that she and Scott had been strategizing to come up with the best plan to fight Sonny’s petition for sole custody. John admitted that squaring off against Sonny was a formidable challenge, and he assured Ava that she was not alone.

When Ava remarked that her legal battle against Sonny would cost a fortunate, John asked if she had “blown through [her] Cassadine divorce settlement.” Ava was taken aback that John knew about that and wondered why he had been looking into her finances. “Just looking into you the way I would any potential witness… or suspect,” he commented. Asked which she was, John replied, “Jury’s still out.”

Ava told John that her relationship with Sonny had always been a bit rocky. “Avery is a miracle born out of a moment of very, very poor judgment,” she shared. John remarked that he’d thought Ava and Sonny had somehow found a way to make it work. Ava said that they had until recently, when Sonny had suddenly become “erratic” and “volatile.”

John told Ava that it was his mission to have Sonny locked away in Pentonville. He asked Ava if she had any “prosecutable intel” to share with him. Ava was certain that Sonny would retaliate if he suspected that she had shared any information about him. John told Ava that he was a father and understood her dilemma. He told her that she didn’t have to work with him because there were plenty of other people with evidence that could put Sonny away.

Ava told John that it had been a “very long time” since someone had shown her a kind gesture. John said that he, like Sonny, had a code. John stated that, unlike Sonny, he stuck to his. John promised that he would not let a “poor excuse for a man” push Ava around. Ava told John that she almost believed him. He asked what it would take for her to fully believe him. Before she could respond, John leaned in and kissed Ava.

John and Ava's kiss lingered until it was interrupted by the ringing of John’s phone. When the call ended, John told Ava that he had to go because there were “some provincial egos that need massaging.” Before leaving, John asked if they could pick things up where they had left off. Ava said that they could and hoped that it would be soon.

After John left, Ava called Scott to ask how much it would help her case if Sonny were to be “busted by the FBI.”

John burst into Anna’s office and asked in disbelief about Anna speaking his boss. Anna demanded that John set Jason free or risk being buried by her.

ON THE NEXT GENERAL HOSPITAL

Anna is determined to stop John

Carly refuses to let Jason march to sudden death

Nina has a stark warning for Ava