Cody, fans would probably tell you, wasn’t an immediate hit on General Hospital — despite his dramatic entrance as he literally dropped out of the sky! But like many daytime faves, that changed over time as Cody grew not just on the audience, but on Sasha as well. Their romance — not to mention his heroism during it — helped turn him into leading man material. And finding out he’s actually Mac’s son hasn’t hurt either!

“They call me the slow burn,” Josh Kelly chuckled when he spoke with Steve Burton (Jason) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) on their Daily Drama podcast.

And hey, it’s a burn that’s paid off so far, but was somewhat forcibly stretched out when John J. York had to take a break from General Hospital for cancer treatment. When he left, Mac was still completely in the dark about his son — though Cody and Sasha both knew! The good news is York’s treatment has gone well and he’s most definitely not gone for good, so this story will wrap up!

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“I try and message John York,” Kelly told the guys at Daily Drama, “not too much — maybe I should do it more, I have no idea — but I’m hoping he’s coming back soon and we can analyze that storyline.”

Though maybe Cody should do some analyzing of himself first, seeing as his reaction to finding out he was Mac’s son was lie, lie and lie some more. “My justification for the character,” the actor explained, “is one, he honestly doesn’t have a whole lot of self worth and he doesn’t, he doesn’t feel like he deserves to be happy in general. He sabotaged relationships and career and things.”

You have to be willing to let yourself be happy when you’ve got a dad like Mac. He’s one of the most steadfast, kind, supportive men in Port Charles. There’s a reason Maxie sees him as more her father than Frisco-I-Don’t-Want-to-Grow-Up-Jones. But that can be tough to accept into his life for someone like Cody.

“I think it started,” Kelly said on Daily Drama, “with not feeling like [he deserved happiness]. [Cody’s] been abandoned by everyone. Even his adopted parents didn’t even really want him. This character who’s never felt accepted. And so he just assumes that people won’t accept him.”

And that’s why seeing Cody and Sasha build something has been so great to see. And maybe it’s why the slow burn that the big Mac reveal has become could be a good thing. While we wait for York’s return with Mac, Cody has been learning how to accept love into his life and find some self worth.

So by the time we see Mac again, maybe, just maybe he’ll be ready to come clean with the truth on his own. We know Mac. We know that in the end, he’ll welcome Cody into his life as his son. But it will go so much easier if it comes from Cody himself. Fingers crossed that that’s something he, himself has learned, by the time York and Mac are back in action.