Jason entered Sonny’s penthouse after his meeting with Elizabeth on the docks. Sonny looked up and sighed.

“Saw Elizabeth again, huh?”

Jason stared at him. “How’d you know?”

Sonny shrugged. “You’ve got that look.”

“The look?”

Sonny looked back at him. “Yeah. I know you, Jason. You’ve had the same look every time you’ve seen her since she moved out. Did you two argue again?”

Jason shook his head. “No.”

“Well, that’s a good sign,” Sonny said, encouragingly. “Maybe she’s starting to come around.”

“Maybe she’s giving up,” Jason replied, miserably. Sonny shot him a sympathetic look.

“I’m sorry’s not gonna cut it this time, huh?”

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Jason reminded him. “I’m the one who never came home, ignored her, shut her out so I didn’t have to lie to her. I don’t blame her for being angry.”

“Still,” Sonny murmured. “If I had let you tell her…”

“Too late for that,” Jason replied. “Anyway, I just came by to let you know the shipment got in safely.”

“Thanks,” Sonny said, marking something on a paper. He turned to look at him. “You think it would help if I talked to her?”

Jason shrugged. “I don’t know anymore. I think…I think I might have lost her this time.”

Sonny shook his head. “After overcoming Lucky and Zander, I don’t think that’s possible.”

Jason looked away. “Yeah…well…anything’s possible.”

—-

Elizabeth stared at Jerry in pure shock. Her eyes were so wide he was afraid they might fall out. Her mouth kept opening as if she wanted to say something, but she kept closing it before anything came out.

“What do you mean you’re my father?” Elizabeth finally managed to say.

Jerry scratched his head. “I suppose that didn’t come out right.”

“So you’re not my father?” Elizabeth asked. She put a hand to her forehead. “I think I’ve finally lost my mind.”

“No, I am your biological father,” Jerry clarified, “but I think I should have come up with a better way to say it.”

“Uh huh,” Elizabeth murmured. Suddenly her legs felt too weak to support her and she sat on her couch. “You want to elaborate a bit?”

“Can I sit?” Jerry asked, motioning to the cushion next to her.

“Yeah,” Elizabeth replied.

He sat and took a deep breath. “It’s not an easy thing for me to admit, but about twenty-two years ago, I was in Port Charles. On some WSB business…” he trailed off. “Pretend you didn’t hear that.”

“WSB?” Elizabeth echoed. “What’s that?”

“World Security Bureau. We used to have an office here then,” Jerry replied. “Anyway, I met this girl. One thing led to another…and well, she got pregnant.” He shifted. “It’s kind of embarrassing…I wasn’t ready to settle down and the girl hadn’t wanted children in the first place. I said I’d raise you, take you around the world, but she wanted to put you up for adoption.”

“Uh huh.” Elizabeth frowned. “So I wasn’t wanted then either.”

“You were very much wanted,” Jerry said, firmly. “I would have raised you, but she left town and I couldn’t find her. By the time I knew you’d been born, she’d already completely disappeared and you’d been adopted. Steve Hardy’s son, Jeff, was already living out of town, but he and his wife wanted to adopt a third child. He must have put the girl in touch with Jeff because he adopted you.”

“Who was the girl?” Elizabeth asked.

Jerry scratched his head again. “Well, that’s the funny thing. See, the name she gave me…it wasn’t real. I don’t know who she was.”

“How long have you known it was me?” Elizabeth asked curiously. She wasn’t sure she believed this story yet, but if anything, it confirmed her life long belief that she wasn’t really a Webber. She smiled a little. Which meant that Sarah the back-stabber wasn’t really her sister and that perfect doctor Steven wasn’t her brother.

“I just found out before I came back to town,” Jerry replied. “I wish I’d known the last time I was here.”

“You left because…” Elizabeth paused trying to remember. “Weren’t you being arrested?”

“Well, I put in a few calls…got it cleared up.”

Elizabeth stared straight ahead. “I’m not sure I believe this.”

“Don’t blame you.” Jerry shrugged. “You and my brother should talk–the last time I sprung something like this on him, he went to jail. You should be glad you’re not there.”

“Thanks…I think,” Elizabeth said.

Jerry stood. “Well, I suppose you want to think this over.”

She nodded. “Yeah.” Elizabeth stood. “Where can I reach you?”

“The Port Charles Hotel,” Jerry replied. He hesitated. “I did some research on you before I came back.”

Elizabeth tensed. Here came the lecture that always seemed to pop up. “Look-”

“You’re a gutsy girl,” Jerry cut in swiftly. “You’ve got a backbone of steel and you don’t take any shit from anyone. I’m proud that you’re my daughter.”

Elizabeth blinked. Twenty-one years and Jeff Webber never once said that to her. And now, a man she’d only known through Bobbie Spencer, whom she’d barely said five words to, was proud of her. Gotta love life’s little ironies. “Thanks,” she said, finally. “That means a lot to me.”

“I’d like to get to know you…if you’d let me.”

Elizabeth nodded. “I’d like that.”

—-

Once Jerry was gone, Elizabeth started pacing her studio. Her life had been a little unstable lately–but this new information turned it upside down. Jerry Jacks was her biological father. Jeff and Allison Webber had adopted her and abandoned her after finding out…

Elizabeth frowned. Jerry had said they stopped contacting her when they found out….but if Jeff had arranged for her adoption…

Something didn’t add up.

Before she even realized she was doing it, she was dialing a number. She needed to talk to someone–and fast.

“Hello?”

Elizabeth squeaked and hung up real quick. She hadn’t meant to call Jason. She hoped like hell it hadn’t rung long enough for her number to show up. She bit her lip and tried to calm her breathing. It was perfectly natural she’d called him. For months, she’d call him. And whenever he was in town, she’d gone to him. Of course, natural instincts took over. At least she’d stopped them there.

She was trying really hard to get over Jason Morgan and turning to him now would not help. She took a deep breath and picked the phone up and dialed a different number.

“Nikolas? It’s me…can you meet me at Kelly’s tomorrow? I need to talk to you.”

—-

Jason was sitting in his penthouse staring at the caller ID. Elizabeth. She’d called him and hung up.

Maybe Sonny was right. Maybe she was coming around.

—-

Jerry Jacks slipped back into his hotel room and scratched his head out of nervous habit. He couldn’t believe it–his first meeting with his daughter and he’d already lied to her. That couldn’t be good.

“Long day?”

Jerry glared at the visitor sitting at the desk, the chair turned around to face the door. “How did you know I was in town?”

“A little birdie.” Jasper Jacks stood and looked at his brother. “I take it that the authorities aren’t looking for you?”

“Nope.” Jerry grinned. “Got rid of them right quick.”

“Good to know,” Jax replied. He crossed his arms. “Is there a reason you’re in town?”

“Uh, congratulating you and Skye?” Jerry said. He hadn’t expected to see his brother this soon and hadn’t an excuse ready.

“Try again, Jerry.”

“Well, little brother, you might want to sit down. There’s something I haven’t quite told you.”

“Seems to be a habit with you,” Jax replied. “Do I need to sit down?”

“For this you might,” Jerry replied, completely serious. “Jax, my dear brother, you’re an uncle.”

“An uncle,” Jax repeated slowly. “And I don’t think this means you’ve married and your wife’s pregnant.”

“No, not quite,” Jerry replied. “You actually know this girl. She’s about twenty-one, dark hair, blue eyes…”

“Jerry, you have a twenty-one year old daughter that I haven’t met?” Jax demanded.

“Calm down. I just met her myself tonight.”

Jax rubbed his eyes. Sometimes talking to Jerry was enough to give him a headache. “All right. Who is she?”

“Elizabeth Webber.”

“Eliza-” Jax stared at his brother. “Elizabeth Webber. Jason Morgan’s girlfriend Elizabeth Webber?”

Jerry shrugged. “I don’t think they’re that close.”

“They’re close enough.” Jax shook his head. “How did you manage fathering Elizabeth Webber?”

“Well, you see when a man cares about a-”

“Spare me, Jerry. And tell me what in the hell is going on.”

Jerry sat on his bed and started pulling his shoes off. “Honestly? It would take a while.”

“Skye’s visiting Rae. I have all night,” Jax replied, taking his seat in the desk chair. “Explain.”

“Well, you remember back in the seventies, I was working for the WSB?”

“You still are, Jerry. Don’t try and fool me,” Jax replied. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Jerry glared at him. “Anyway, in ’79, I was assigned to the PC office. I met this girl. Told me her name was Vanessa Perkins. We dated, she got pregnant.” Jerry shifted. “I convinced her to have the child and let me raise it.”

“Let you raise the child?” Jax’s eyebrows shot up. “You’ve kidding.”

“Well, Vanessa didn’t want to at first, but I convinced her. After Elizabeth was born–which is what I named her–Vanessa split town. I got reassigned to Africa. I knew with this assignment I couldn’t take Elizabeth, so I left her with someone here in Port Charles. I returned two years later. Elizabeth was gone. She’d been adopted into a family who’d moved. I’ve spent the last twenty years searching for her.”

“Jerry, Elizabeth has lived here for years,” Jax reminded him.

“She moved here five years ago,” Jerry said, slightly irritated. “I didn’t know if her name would be the same. It took me a few years to track down the person I’d left her with. They told me she’d been adopted by a nurse named Annie Logan. That was lie that took another two years to find out. I searched until last year before finding out that my daughter was back here. I narrowed it down and of course, Elizabeth jumped out because of her name. A little more checking and discovering her parents, I decided it made perfect sense what happened.”

“You gonna tell me?” Jax asked.

“No,” Jerry replied. “I still don’t have any proof. I haven’t even told Elizabeth is yet. I told her that Vanessa and I decided we couldn’t handle a baby and put her up for adoption. I lied to her.”

“Why not tell her?” Jax asked curiously.

Jerry shifted uncomfortably. “Look, I’m not completely sure my theory’s right and if it’s not than there’s no reason to worry her. I mean, she’s my daughter. I want to get to know her.”

“Makes sense. But you’re already lying to her,” Jax pointed out. “That’s not a good thing.”

“You always have to point out the negatives don’t you?” Jerry snapped. “I’m hoping when I tell her the truth, she’ll be understanding.”

“So, there’s another member of the family,” Jax said slowly. “Why do I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me?”

“Probably because your instincts are right on as usual,” Jerry replied, smoothly.

“Have you told Mom and Dad?”

Jerry shook his head. “I’m not doing anything until I find out how Elizabeth wants to proceed. For all I know, she’ll want to pretend that I never came by.”

“I don’t know Elizabeth that well…” Jax paused. “Actually, I don’t know her at all. But I don’t think she’ll want to do that. I have a feeling…it’s been a difficult few months.”

“Since Corinthos faked his death, causing Elizabeth to move back to her studio,” Jerry stated. At Jax’s curious expression, he explained, “I wanted to know everything about her.”

Jax shook his head. “Just when I think I know everything about you, you manage to throw me another curveball.”

“Yes, because confusing you is the reason I live,” Jerry replied.

← Prologue | Chapter Two →