Inspiration

As with What Makes You Happy, this is another Jason/Brenda story that is in written in script form. There was definitely a first part of this story that I can’t find anywhere in which Jason and Brenda went to the Dominican Republic to get a quick divorce. On the show, they went through with it, and in my first story, I had them deciding not to. Either someone asked for a follow-up or I just decided to write one on my own.

Timeline

This is set in either late January or early February 2003. After Jason and Brenda were cleared of Luis Alcazar’s murder (thanks to learning Alexis had carried out the deed), they flew to the Dominican Republic to end their marriage. They had married earlier that fall for unrelated reasons and had remained married to avoid testifying against one another. On the show, they went through with it and returned to Port Charles. In the first part of this story (that’s lost to time), they decided to remain married and return to Port Charles to pursue a traditional divorce. They talked over their issues and decided to help each other out.

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Scene One
(The Morgan Penthouse. Brenda drops her suitcase and collapses on the sofa. Jason sets his bag on the desk and stares at her.)

Brenda: (her eyes closed) Stop it.

Jason: Stop what?

Brenda: Looking at me.

Jason: I’m not.

Brenda: Ha. (groans) I hate planes.

Jason: I’ve changed my mind.

Brenda: About what?

Jason: This whole thing. This is a bad idea.

Brenda: (opens her eyes and sits up) It is not. It’s a good idea. I know what I’m doing. I can help, Jason. Honest. Come on, let me help.

Jason: I just don’t want this getting screwed up more than it already is.

Brenda: (smirks) I don’t think that’s possible. All right, take a seat.

Jason: I’ll stand.

Brenda: Suit yourself. All right, first part of the plan. Extricate yourself from Snow White.

Jason: Brenda.

Brenda: Right, right. No name calling. Okay, well, the simplest way to do this is to make seem like her idea.

Jason: How in the hell am I supposed to do that?

Brenda: I forgot who I’m talking to. Okay, you need to not be a good boyfriend. Shouldn’t be too hard. Start avoiding her, find excuses not to be around her. You know, the same way you got Elizabeth to walk out.

Jason: Brenda—

Brenda: I’m sorry, I forgot—that’s a sensitive subject, but you get my drift? Don’t act so damn interested in her.

Jason: And that’s not going to hurt her?

Brenda: No. It’ll probably sting a little, but you could always say you’ve got to work or something. Use your job.

Jason: And all you’re going to be doing is giving me advice right?

Brenda: (grins) Are you kidding? I am going to be totally hands on!

Jason: I was afraid of that.

Brenda: You go…do whatever it is you need to do. Just don’t see the little—er, Courtney. Leave her a message or something. No, wait don’t even do that. I’m going to do some reconnaissance.

Jason: Reconnaissance?

Brenda: I’ll be paying a visit to your little girlfriend. The other one.

Jason: (suspiciously) Why?

Brenda: (rolls eyes) Duh. I have to see how much groveling you’re going to need to do. Plus, I need to drop some hints.

Jason: I don’t grovel.

Brenda: Whatever. (stands) Let’s get this started.

Jason: (muttering) I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

Scene Two
(Kelly’s. Elizabeth is working. Brenda slides into stool in front of her)

Brenda: (brightly) Hi!

Elizabeth: Hello. What can I get you?

Brenda: A soda and some conversation if you’ve got time.

Elizabeth: (eyes her warily) All right.

Brenda: (accepts the soda Elizabeth hands her) So, Elizabeth Webber.

Elizabeth: (amused) Brenda Barrett—or should I say Brenda Morgan?

Brenda: Oooh…I detect a note of jealousy in your voice. Could you be the mystery woman my darling husband refuses to talk about?

Elizabeth: (shortly) No.

Brenda: No? Not even a little bit? Because I know something’s up with him. I can get him to talk about Snow White, but he just totally shuts down when I bring up the chick he’s really in love with.

Elizabeth: Who’s Snow White?

Brenda: (leans forward and whispers conspiratorially) Well, it’s kind of confidential. Can I trust you?

Elizabeth: Sure.

Brenda: Sonny’s sister.

Elizabeth: Oh. Well, I already knew that.

Brenda: Oh. So, any ideas who the mystery woman is?

Elizabeth: How do you know it’s not Snow White?

Brenda: Well, you see, there’s this look Jase gets on his face when he discusses the blonde one and it ain’t the look he gets when he discusses the mystery woman.

Elizabeth: (curiously) What kind of look?

Brenda: (with a small triumphant smile) Oh, when he talks about the other girl, his eyes kind of light up, he sort of smiles and looks away like he’s thinking of something really really great.

Elizabeth: And when it’s the blonde one?

Brenda: He looks like a little kid being forced to eat vegetables.

Elizabeth: (laughs) Okay, so who do you think the mystery woman is?

Brenda: I don’t know. See, I thought it might be you since the only other woman ever associated with Jason other than Robin, Carly or me…is you.

Elizabeth: Me?

Brenda: Yup. A couple of people were under the assumption the two of you were an item.

Elizabeth: They’re mistaken.

Brenda: But are you two friends?

Elizabeth: (hesitantly) We were.

Brenda: What happened?

Elizabeth: It doesn’t matter.

Brenda: Oh…you’ve got to be the mystery woman.

Elizabeth: Why do you say that?

Brenda: Because the only person I’ve ever heard say that is Jason.

Elizabeth: So?

Brenda: He says that when I ask what happened between him and the mystery woman.

Elizabeth: It’s not me.

Brenda: How can you be so sure?

Elizabeth: Look, Brenda. You don’t know me. You don’t know anything about me or what happened with Jason—

Brenda: Methinks you protest too much.

Elizabeth: Jason’s moved on, I’m working on it. Why don’t you just let things be?

Brenda: Not in my nature.

Elizabeth: I need to get back to work.

Scene Three
(Morgan Penthouse. That evening. Jason comes in to see Brenda sitting on the couch eating pizza.)

Brenda: There’s more in the kitchen if you’re hungry.

Jason: Okay. (heads for the kitchen)

Brenda: Good news. She’s still in love with you.

Jason: (stops and turns to look at her) What?

Brenda: Elizabeth. She’s still in love with you.

Jason: (after a beat) H-How do you know that?

Brenda: Just the way she looked during the entire conversation and the way she answered my questions. I told her that there was a mystery woman you were in love with and kept trying to get her to admit it was her. You’ve got her trained.

Jason: Trained?

Brenda: Yup. Told me it didn’t matter. (giggles) Thought I was talking to you for a minute.

Jason: That’s not funny.

Brenda: Honestly, Jason—the situation doesn’t look that bad. She hasn’t moved on. She said she was working on it, but if it hasn’t happened yet, it won’t for a little while, giving us just enough time to fix this.

Jason: Maybe…maybe we should just leave it alone. Elizabeth is better off without me.

Brenda: If that’s the kind of attitude you had around her, no wonder she walked out.

Jason: Knock it off.

Brenda: No, I’m serious. Jesus, stop being such wuss.

Jason: A what?

Brenda: A wuss. Be a man. Stand up for yourself. You want Elizabeth, you need to admit that to yourself. Stop hiding behind your job, and everything else. The only person who gets decide that Elizabeth is better off without you is Elizabeth, don’t forget that. (stands and pokes Jason in the chest) Don’t make me waste my time trying to help you if you’re just to screw it all up in the end.

Jason: I—

Brenda: Because, I swear to God, if I get you what you want and you screw it up, I’ll kill you myself. (puts her hands on her hips) So, what’s it going to be? Snow White or Elizabeth?

Jason: What the hell has crawled up your ass?

Brenda: You didn’t answer my question. You want to stay with Courtney because it’s easy for you or do you want me to help you get Elizabeth back?

Jason: I knew this was a bad idea. Let’s just forget the whole thing. We’ll file for an annulment tomorrow.

Brenda: Are you scared? Is that it? You afraid that you might really love someone?

Jason: I’m going out. (he turns to leave but Brenda grabs his arm)

Brenda: Why is it so hard for you to just go after what you want?

Jason: You’re living in a dream world, Brenda. Things don’t work out like that in reality. You don’t always get what you want.

Brenda: Yeah, well if you can’t even admit what you want, of course you’re not going to get it! You can’t even say it.

Jason: (defensive) Just stop it.

Brenda: Is it so hard for you to just say it? You haven’t once said out loud that you love her or that you want her back—

Jason: What good would that do?

Brenda: Once you say it, it becomes real and I think that’s what scares you.

Jason: (he just stares at her)

FLASHBACK

(Jason and Elizabeth are at the park.)

Elizabeth: Why do even like me? I mean, I give you mixed signals for months, I jerk you around, I make you say things that I’m sure you didn’t even want to say—

Jason: I, I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t want to. I mean, until now I wasn’t sure that you wanted to know how I feel.

Elizabeth: I think I was afraid to hear it. You know, when you say it, it becomes real. You can’t hide from it anymore or pretend it doesn’t exist. Believe me, I know, I’ve tried. I’ve come up with a million excuses for the way you make me feel. But excuses can’t change the truth. I want more than a friendship too.

Jason: It’s not wrong to trust what you feel.

END FLASHBACK

Brenda: (frowning) Jason? Jason?

Jason: (shaking his head) What did you say?

Brenda: Where’d you go?

Jason: I…

Brenda: (curiously) Are you okay?

Jason: Elizabeth said that to me once. (He sits on the couch and runs his hands through his hair) It was about two years ago. She was still dating Lucky…but I don’t know—they were having problems and she started…I’d been attracted to her for a while and we were kind of dancing around each other.

Brenda: (completely absorbed) What happened?

Jason: She and Lucky had this complicated history—she’s got an incredible sense of loyalty. She was really torn up about it—Lucky wasn’t the same, she was miserable and I just seemed to making it worse. She finally came out and asked me if I wanted more.

(We can hear the following dialogue over the scene)

Jason: What do you want me to do?

Elizabeth: Tell me how you feel. I, I think I know. I could be wrong. Are we just friends, or do you want something more from me?

Jason: Yeah I do.

Jason: (continuing) I told her yeah and then she said she was afraid to hear it. Because when you say it, it becomes real. You can’t hide from it or pretend it doesn’t exist. And then she told me she felt the same.

Brenda: But she wouldn’t leave Lucky.

Jason: He was her first love—and I don’t think she was at a point where she was ready to give up on him.

Brenda: She’s young, Jase. It can be hard to admit when something’s not working.

Jason: It’s…just…it’s like we’ve come full circle. Two years ago, she didn’t want admit what was happening between us. And now…I can’t admit how I feel about her.

Brenda: You guys have been dancing around each other for too long. Isn’t it time to knock it off and just do something already?

Jason: Yeah. You’re right. It is time to stop. (he looks at her)I need her. I need her in my life.

Brenda: That’s a start. So, are we done with this running and let’s forget about it crap? Are you ready to fix this?

(As if on cue, the phone in the penthouse starts to ring.)

Brenda: Let the machine get it.

Jason: Machine?

Brenda: Yeah, I got an answering machine when I decided to avoid calls from the press.

Jason: I thought this was a private line.

Brenda: (snorts) Since when does that bother the press?

Courtney: (over the machine) Jason? I probably shouldn’t be calling, but…well…Elizabeth was talking to Penny about how Brenda came in to see her and I guess since Brenda’s back…you are, too. You haven’t been by to see me. Is anything wrong? (waits a beat) All right. Call me when you get this.

(The machine clicks off. Jason and Brenda stare at it)

Brenda: Is that the kind of person you want to spend the rest of your life with? Someone who seems…so clingy?

Jason: Brenda—

Brenda: For once, I’m really not trying to insult the girl. I just…look, I’m sure she’d make some other unsuspecting person happy, but she is definitely not the girl for you. Plus, she’s too tall for you.

Jason: Too tall for me.

Brenda: Right. See, you need a small petite kind of girl.

Jason: That’s an awfully shallow observation.

Brenda: (shrugs) Whatever. You didn’t answer my question.

Jason: What was the question?

Brenda: Are you still willing to fix this?

Jason: (after a beat) Yeah. But—

Brenda: (groaning) But what?

Jason: I need to do this my way.

Brenda: Your way. (a beat) You have a way?

Jason: I’m going to be honest with Courtney.

Brenda: You do realize that honesty might backfire.

Jason: If Sonny finds out, then…oh, well. He’ll just have to deal with the fact that he can’t control everyone.

Brenda: (stunned) Wow. When you grow a backbone, you really go all the way.

Jason: Very funny.

Brenda: No, no. I’m serious. This is good. This is the Jason Morgan I remember. Okay, honesty with Courtney. What else?

Jason: I need to sit down with Elizabeth and talk to her. Really talk to her. We haven’t…we haven’t done that for so long.

Brenda: What if she lashes out again? Are you going to walk away?

Jason: No. I’m going to actually listen to what she’s saying and find out what she really means. Elizabeth is good at pretending—at putting on an act. I used…I used to know when she was lying or saying things to deliberately hurt people.

Brenda: But it’s different when she’s doing all those things to you, huh?

Jason: Yeah. It is.

Brenda: Good. I’m proud of you, Jason. You’re making the right decision. Is there anything I can do?

Jason: (standing) If Courtney calls before I get back, tell her I’m on my way to see her.

(He leaves. Brenda stares after him)

Brenda: Huh. Well, I’ll be damned. He’s not Sonny’s bitch after all.

Scene Four
(The Loft. Courtney is sitting on the couch when Jason enters. She jumps up to go hug him, but he holds up a hand, warding her off.)

Courtney: Jason? (confused) What’s wrong?

Jason: We need to talk.

Courtney: About what?

Jason: Us. And why this isn’t going to work.

Courtney: What do you mean? I don’t understand.

Jason: (takes a deep breath) I’m not in love with you Courtney. And I never could be. I’m sorry.

Courtney: Hold on, I don’t understand. Before you left, things were fine. What happened? What’s going on?

Jason: Just what I said. It’s not fair to you for me to be with you and not be in this relationship completely. I’m not.

Courtney: Is it Brenda?

Jason: No.

Courtney: (eyes suddenly narrow) Is it Elizabeth?

Jason: Courtney this has nothing to do with anyone else. It’s me.

Courtney: It’s Elizabeth. I should have known—what was I thinking? That stupid—

Jason: Stop it. You can’t blame this on anyone but me. I’m the one who thought this would work and I was the one who was wrong.

Courtney: Get out.

Jason: I’m sorry—

Courtney: (yelling) Get out!

(Jason leaves.)

Scene Five
(The Morgan penthouse. Brenda looks up as Jason enters.)

Brenda: How’d it go?

Jason: As expected.

Brenda: Now don’t you feel better?

Jason: Not especially. I hurt her.

Brenda: Think about how much it hurt Elizabeth to see you two together.

Jason: I’m going to bed.

Brenda: What about Elizabeth?

Jason: I’m going to see her tomorrow. I think I deserve a little break, don’t you?

Brenda: Fine, fine. You want me to visit her first, prep her?

Jason: No. I can handle this myself.

Brenda: (pleased) Nice to know you still have a backbone.

Jason: Are you done?

Brenda: Do you listen to me any way?

Jason: No.

Brenda: Then what’s the difference if I’m done or not?

Jason: (shakes his head) Sometimes I just want to throttle you.

Brenda: (giggles) You know you love me.

Jason: I’d rather take a gun to my head.

Brenda: That’s so mean, I can’t believe after everything I’ve done for you…I gave you advice, a shoulder to cry on—

Jason: (speaking over her) A shoulder to cry on? Are you nuts?

Brenda: (continuing) I helped you with Snow White, with Elizabeth and this is the thanks I get?

Jason: Yeah, okay.

Brenda: You’re so mean to me, Jason. I mean would a thank you kill you?

Jason: Probably.

Brenda: You’re infuriating.

Jason: So are you.

Brenda: Go to sleep.

Jason: I don’t need your permission.

Brenda: Nope. You don’t need anyone’s permission to do anything. Except maybe Sonny.

Jason: Sonny doesn’t run my life.

Brenda: I don’t know—for a while it felt like he was.

Jason: Good night.

Brenda: (as he goes up the stairs) Was that a pleasantry from the big bad Jason Morgan?

Jason: (calls back to her) Shut up.

Brenda: (grinning) I think I’m growing on him.

Scene Six
(Elizabeth’s studio. Early the next morning. There’s knocking at the door. Elizabeth goes to answer it.)

Elizabeth: (sleepily) Hold on. I’m coming. (unlocks the door and pulls it open) Jason?

Jason: Can we talk?

Elizabeth: That depends. What’s the subject?

Jason: Us.

Elizabeth: (rolls eyes) Ha. You’ve made it abundantly clear that us doesn’t exist anymore. Go back to Courtney.

Jason: Elizabeth—

Elizabeth: You know what? This is my day off and I was planning on catching up on some sleep, so just walk away. You can do that, Jase. You’re good at it.

Jason: You either talk to me now or I’ll sit outside your door until you do.

Elizabeth: Yeah. Until Sonny calls, you mean.

Jason: I turned my phone off.

Elizabeth: I wasn’t even aware you knew how to do that.

Jason: Are you done being sarcastic? Because I really would like to talk to you.

Elizabeth: (shrugs) Fine. Whatever. Come on in if you must.

(Jason enters and Elizabeth shuts the door.)

Jason: I went to the Dominican Republic to get an annulment with Brenda and somehow she got me talking about you.

Elizabeth: (surprised) Me?

Jason: Yeah. I still don’t know how she managed to pry it out of me, but she did. And she kind of forced me to see where you were coming from with the whole Sonny thing.

Elizabeth: Somehow I doubt Brenda had any clue what was going through my head.

Jason: Well, she said that you must have felt kind of foolish when you found he was alive. She figured you might have been worried about me and she knew that I rarely went home or called anyone while I was guarding her.

Elizabeth: Well, I’ve got to hand it to your wife. She does have part of it.

Jason: Part of it?

Elizabeth: Oh, what? Now you want to know what I was thinking? Sorry. You’re a little late for that.

Jason: Damn it. Why can’t we just talk about this?

Elizabeth: Because that won’t solve anything.

Jason: I think it will. I think if we’re honest with each other, it might solve a lot.

Elizabeth: (surprised) Where is this coming from?

Jason: You can thank Brenda. She forced me to remember something you said to me once. That when you say it, it becomes real. And I’ve been avoiding that since you left.

Elizabeth: Avoiding what?

Jason: Telling you how I feel.

Elizabeth: And I suppose you’re going to tell me now.

Jason: If you want to know right now, I will tell you. But I’d rather we talk first.

Elizabeth: Well, I’m not talking until I know what you want from me.

Jason: (after a beat) I want to be able to walk into Kelly’s and have you smile at me like you used to. I want to be able to ask you to go for a ride. I want to be able to watch you paint or listen to you talk. How’s that?

Elizabeth: (slightly stunned) I…I suppose that’s a start.

Jason: Will you please talk to me, Elizabeth?

Elizabeth: (takes a deep breath) I left because I didn’t feel like I fit in your life. That your loyalty to Sonny and Carly would always take precedence over me and that was a possibility I wasn’t ready to handle. I left because I didn’t think I mattered to you.

Jason: And I’m sorry I ever made you feel that way. It wasn’t my intention—I never wanted to hurt you.

Elizabeth: Then why didn’t you come home or even call? Why did you ignore me when you did come to the penthouse?

Jason: Because I knew the more I heard your voice and saw your face, the less likely I was going to be able to keep the secret. Because I knew you’d know in an instant that something was off.

Elizabeth: So you avoided me so you wouldn’t want to tell me the truth

Jason: I know it sounds bad and in retrospect, it wasn’t one of my more intelligent decisions. I’m sorry, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth: Okay, so, why didn’t you come after me? Why did you start dating Courtney and making all these sacrifices for her?

Jason: Because with Courtney, there wasn’t anything at stake. I didn’t have to worry about her face changing because she didn’t know me to begin with. The only thing Courtney ever needed me for was to rescue her. And you never needed me like that. Not really.

Elizabeth: So what you want is a girl you can spend your entire life rescuing. (sarcastically) Well, that’s wonderful.

Jason: It gets old after a while, Elizabeth. I don’t want to be depended on to fix people’s messes or bail them out of trouble or rescue them from situations they get themselves into. I get enough of that with Carly and Sonny, and I realized that’s not what I want from a relationship.

Elizabeth: Then what do you want?

Jason: I want you. Like we used to be. When we would sit in Kelly’s after closing and talk or go for rides or you would explain your paintings to me. I don’t want someone who only needs me when they’re in trouble. I want someone who wants me around even in the good times.

Elizabeth: (hesitates) So you’re kind of here to ask for another chance.

Jason: I guess I am.

Elizabeth: What about Courtney?

Jason: I already broke up with her. Yesterday.

Elizabeth: (slowly) Okay, so are you going to tell me how you feel now?

Jason: All right. (after a moment) I love you.

Elizabeth: (finally) Could you…would you please repeat that?

Jason: I love you.

Elizabeth: (faintly) That’s what I thought you said. (pause)Um….I’m not…I don’t… (she shakes her head) I can’t believe this.

Jason: I just…I guess I thought you should know. I know I didn’t fight you before—I know that I just let you walk away and I was wrong. I shouldn’t have done that.

Elizabeth: (mutters) Damn right.

Jason: Look…I know I can’t…that I shouldn’t expect anything from you. I’ve done nothing but hurt you these last few months. But—

Elizabeth: You know, most normal people would remind me that I’m not completely innocent.

Jason: What do you mean?

Elizabeth: I mean that I spent most of the entire summer hurting you. Not to mention the last time you were in town—and I guess telling you to go to hell wasn’t fun to hear.

Jason: No. I never held any of that against you. You dealt with the situation the best you could.

Elizabeth: I know. It’s not easy being in love with two men at the same time. I was nineteen—I didn’t know how not to hurt anyone and I did my best not to…but it happened anyway.(takes a deep breath) You didn’t want to hurt me. I know you that much.

Jason: Where does that leave us?

Elizabeth: Honestly? I don’t know. I’m not…I’m not ready to jump right back in, okay? I’ve been burned twice this last year and I’m not in any hurry to have it happen again.

Jason: I understand. I—

Elizabeth: I know you wouldn’t mean to, but right now…I am not ready for a relationship. I need time. Time to just be by myself, y’know? Figure out what I want from life.

Jason: If you need time, that’s fine.

Elizabeth: I still want you around. Maybe…maybe we could be friends again. (hopefully) Like we used to be. We could go for rides, hang out at Kelly’s after closing…all the things we used to do.

Jason: I’d like that.

Elizabeth: Besides….we’ve both changed these last few months. I think we need to get to know each other again.

Jason: That sounds fine. Do you…want to go for a ride?

Elizabeth: (smiles) I thought you’d never ask.

Scene Seven
(The Morgan Penthouse. Brenda is stuffing things into a bag when Jason enters.)

Brenda: Hey. It’s been hours since you left. (grins) I guess you got lucky.

Jason: You better not mean what I think you mean.

Brenda: (wiggling her eyebrows) Oh, I do mean that.

Jason: (gestures towards her bag) What’s that?

Brenda: Oh. (guiltily) I’m fleeing the country.

Jason: (resigned) What did you do this time?

Brenda: (defensively) Nothing. I…just…I’m trying to avoid Jax and he’s kind of on his way over here. See, I haven’t exactly told him you and I are still married.

Jason: Why not?

Brenda: Because you know him. He’ll assume it means I want to be married to you because I need to be connected to Sonny or because I’m actually in love with you. And since we both know the second’s not true and I’m pretty sure the first one isn’t either, I’m just not in the mood to explain to him again why I want to take this slow. He never listens to me—he always get jealous right away…you know, it’s almost like he’s Sonny.

Jason: Why are you still with him?

Brenda: Force of habit, I suppose. No, look, I really do love him. Even if it can be exhausting.

Jason: It’s your life.

Brenda: Yep. So if you didn’t get lucky, where have you been all day?

Jason: I don’t really want to talk about this.

Brenda: Oh, come on. I’m the reason you made it this far. The least you can do is tell me if she threw you out or at least let you talk.

Jason: She let me talk.

Brenda: And?

Jason: (sighs) You’re not going to let this go are you?

Brenda: Damn right.

Jason: Fine. I talked to her. She listened. I told her I loved her, we agreed to start over as friends. She needs time…she’d just broken up with her ex-boyfriend when I got back in town. He’d slept with her sister. Adding on everything else that happened…

Brenda: She’s a little skittish about jumping back in the saddle.

Jason: Yeah, I guess.

Brenda: Smart girl.

Jason: I agreed with her. I want to make this right for her.

Brenda: Makes sense. You’re not half bad, Jase. (takes a deep breath) I called Alexis. We can start the annulment proceedings tomorrow if you want.

Jason: I thought you were fleeing the country.

Brenda: I’ve rethought my position. I’m going to calmly explain to Jax how I feel.

Jason: And when he doesn’t listen?

Brenda: He won’t have a choice. Think you can loan me a guard or two?  I need to tie him up and tape his mouth shut.

Jason: (smirking) I can arrange that.

Brenda: Wow, really? I was just kidding, but now that I know it’s a possibility, it doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.

(There’s a knock on the door.)

Jason: You worry me sometimes.

(He opens the door. It’s Elizabeth.)

Elizabeth: Um, hi. I just…I needed to tell you something I just realized that I didn’t before.

Jason: Sure. Come on in. (after the door is closed) You know my wife from hell.

Brenda: Hey! I thought you said no name calling!

Jason: I said you couldn’t call anyone names. I never said I couldn’t.

Brenda: Ugh. Men. Hello, Elizabeth. I suppose you’d like me to leave.

Elizabeth: Yes.

Brenda: (grinning) Oooh…I like this one. I’ll just go upstairs. If Jax comes by, tell him I’m having hot wild sex with one of the guards.

(She goes upstairs.)

Elizabeth: She’s…strange.

Jason: That’s one way to put it.

Elizabeth: Um, I guess I should tell you what I came here to tell you. (takes a deep breath) I want you to know that what I said originally is still true. I still need time.

Jason: Right.

Elizabeth: But you know…you were really good enough to tell me how you felt so I figured I should like return the favor. I love you.

Jason: (just stares at her for a minute before answering) Oh.

Elizabeth: (flushes) Yeah…so I thought you should know. I’m going to go. Bye.

(She’s gone before Jason can recover enough to say anything.)

Brenda: (from upstairs) I told you so!

Jason: Go away!

Brenda: You know you love me.

Jason: Let’s not start that again.