And I don’t wanna let this go
I don’t wanna lose control
I just wanna see the stars with you
And I don’t wanna say goodbye
Someone tell me why
I just wanna see the stars with you
– The Fault in Our Stars, Troye Sivan

---

Thursday, January 8, 2004 

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

Jason found Sonny sipping coffee and standing by the window, overlooking the city. Sonny turned at the sound of the door, then cleared his throat when he met Jason’s eyes. “I was expecting to see you last night,” Sonny said, setting his coffee cup on the table.

“You nearly did.” Jason closed the front door on Max’s concerned face. “You have a problem with me, with the way I’m living my life, you bring it to me. You stay away from Elizabeth.”

“I didn’t—” Sonny hesitated. “I didn’t mean to upset her,” he admitted. “I didn’t think she’d—” He looked away. “I didn’t think she’d listen.”

“You went there to pick a fight because you thought she’d fight back. Because I won’t. Because Carly won’t. You need someone to blame, and I’m done with it being Elizabeth.”

“I don’t—” Sonny rubbed his chest. “Fine. Okay. I blame her. I’m trying not to. I know it’s not all her fault—”

“None of it—”

“She is the reason Ric is still alive,” Sonny snapped. “If she hadn’t asked for it, he’d be dead. So, yeah, Jason, that is her fault. And it’s your fault for listening to her.”

Jason curled his hands into fists at his side. He very nearly reminded Sonny that if either of them had killed Ric back in April when they’d learned he’d pretended to sleep with Carly after someone had slipped drugs into her drink at The Cellar, but whatever momentary satisfaction he’d get wouldn’t be worth it in the end. “I am done with this argument. We’ve been having it for months, and it doesn’t change anything. You went to my pregnant fiancée three weeks before the wedding and called her selfish.”

Sonny winced. “I—”

“I came home, and she was talking about it being too late to cancel the reception or the church, so all she could do was cut the guest list and cancel the caterer—You made her cry.” Jason stared at his boss, at his partner—at his best friend and family. “You know what she’s been through. You know what she means to me, and you decided to go after her about something that doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter if Ric comes after this wedding—”

“You don’t even believe what you saying right now,” Jason bit out. “You don’t like that you’re not in control. That no one is listening to you. That Carly left and refuses to let you see the boys. That I didn’t listen about Ric — and you don’t like that I have my own life.”

“I don’t—” Sonny scowled. “I don’t give a crap about any of that. And I know what Elizabeth means to you—I knew before you did, jackass! I knew years ago—”

“Then why?” Jason challenged. “Why would you do that to her?”

Sonny stared back at him. “I didn’t think she’d listen,” he repeated. “I was just—I was angry. You’re right. You weren’t listening. Carly won’t forgive me, so I went to yell at Elizabeth about Ric —and I saw all that crap on the coffee table—it’s not you, man. Just like last year—”

“It’s nothing like last year,” Jason cut in. “I don’t care what I eat. What I wear. Where we get married. How many people there—I don’t care who she invites. None of that matters to me. I just want her. And whatever she wants—if I can get it for her—that’s what I’m gonna do—”

Sonny growled, but Jason didn’t wait for him to respond. “And I’m sorry if you think that makes me weak. If you think loving her, putting her first, giving her what she needs and wants makes me less — then that’s your problem, not mine. I don’t need to cut people down to be strong, Sonny. That’s you.”

Sonny’s burned as he stalked towards him. “What did you just say to me—”

“You might have lost control in the minute you locked Carly in that room, Sonny, but that’s not an excuse for what you did yesterday. For the way you’ve been treating Carly or Elizabeth. Or me.” Jason put his hands at his waist, then with a shake of his head, looked at the floor. “You think it makes you weak to ask for help. It’s not worth it to you. Carly and the boys—they’re not worth it.”

“You have no right—”

“I was going to bring Michael to see you today,” Jason told him, and Sonny pressed his lips together. “I told Carly I’d find the time because I thought it might help.”

“But now you won’t do that because I made your girlfriend cry,” Sonny said sarcastically.

“She’s not my girlfriend, Sonny. She’s Elizabeth. The woman who stood in front of you, barely lucid, demanding the chance to help you find Carly. She saved my life, lied for me—lied for you—” Jason reminded him. “Elizabeth has never given you a reason not to trust her. And you went to our home where she’s supposed to feel safe, and you made her feel like crap because she wanted to have a big wedding.”

Sonny exhaled slowly. “I know all of that,” he said, his voice quiet. “I know who she is. I just—I forget sometimes.”

“And that’s why you can’t come near her when I’m not there,” Jason told him. “Because I don’t trust you. She and the baby are my priority, Sonny. That’s my family. After everything I’ve done for yours, I’m asking for you just to respect that. You have to be my best man because Elizabeth invited business associates, but if you do anything to mess this up for her again—” Jason didn’t finish. He just shook his head, then left.

General Hospital: Conference Room

“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth told the other survivors. “But, this going to be my last meeting for a while.”

“Oh?” Renee folded her arms across her chest. “Why? Because you’re getting married? I-I saw it in the paper—”

“Yeah, and—” Elizabeth paused, looked around the room, into the eyes of other women who had been through the same nightmare. “I found out last week that I have a pretty serious pregnancy complication. I have to rest and keep my stress down. I might even have to deliver early to protect the baby.” And myself. But she wasn’t going to think about that. Couldn’t think about that.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Veronica said, sitting up. “That sucks. You talked a lot about how much you want this baby.”

“Yeah. And while I really think this group has helped, I’m not sure my blood pressure would appreciate this right now,” Elizabeth admitted. “But I hope you will continue to meet. As long as you need to. And I’ll—I’ll be back,” she said, a bit faintly. She wasn’t sure that was true, but she wanted it to be.

“Will we get someone else to lead the group?” Dana asked. She bit her nail. “I don’t know if I want someone new—”

“Well, I talked to Gail about that, and she said as long as someone over the age of eighteen signs for the room,” Elizabeth said, “she’d be happy to keep sponsoring the group. She offered to take over, but she wanted that to be up to you all.”

Dana exchanged a look with Veronica, then shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I can sign for the room if you want. We’ll see.”

“Thank you, by the way,” Renee said. She picked at the sleeve of her sweater. “I—they ran a video of you at the hearing. And it was—it meant a lot. And I don’t care if he appeals —” She swallowed hard. “It meant a lot that you wanted him to pay for us, too.”

“I was okay with the plea just being for you and the DA,” Veronica admitted, “but, yeah, I think a part of me wanted more. I’m glad I didn’t have to testify,” she added, “but knowing he’ll be in jail for at least fifty-seven years—That makes me feel better. I’ll be able to sleep at night.”

“I used to tell myself that what happened to me that night in 1998,” Elizabeth said, “that it was over. That I made it over a long time ago. And I guess it’s true now in a way it wasn’t before. It’s legally over. The man responsible is in jail. Scott told me that he’s not appealing his sentence. He can’t hurt me again. But I also think it’s not fair to say that to myself. Because telling myself it’s over — it only makes me feel weak when it does come back.”

She paused. “It will always be part of my story. For a long time, it defined me. One day, the nightmares will go away again, but it’s okay if they come back sometimes. Once in a while, I get reminded of what happened. It doesn’t make me weak. It doesn’t make me anything except a survivor. Because it’s a memory now, and memories only hurt you if you let them.”

She reached over to take Renee’s hand, smiled at her. “And I am done letting them.”

Kelly’s: Diner

Taggert shifted nervously in his chair as Portia Robinson hung up her jacket and scarf on a hook next to the door. She turned and flashed him the same smile he’d seen at Luke’s a few weeks ago.

“Hey, you got here first.” She sauntered over to the table and leaned over to kiss his cheek. “I was trying to beat you, but you’re always early!”

Taggert squinted. “Early? You’re five minutes late.”

Portia arched her brow as she reached for the menu. “That’s on time for me.”

“Fair enough. Uh, I had a question for you.” He picked up a napkin, then set it down before he ripped it into small pieces. He just wanted something to do with his hands. “I got invited to this thing in a couple of weeks, but I don’t want to go alone.”

Portia put her hand on her chin and fluttered her lashes at him. “What am I saving you from?”

“It’s this wedding. Just the ceremony,” he added. “I can’t go to the reception. I shouldn’t even go to the ceremony,” he muttered. “But the bride—she just has a way of—” Taggert cleared his throat. “You probably know the name. Justus works for him—”

“Oh, the Morgan wedding? Tamika said it’s going to be gorgeous—except, apparently, the bride went crazy and canceled her fancy gourmet menu—” Portia frowned at the menu. “It’s going to be catered by this ribs joint and Kelly’s.” She put the menu down, stared at him. “Jason Morgan. You got invited to his wedding?”

“No, I got invited to Elizabeth Webber’s wedding,” Taggert said carefully. “She happens to be marrying him.”

Portia drew her brows together. “Uh—”

“Listen. Elizabeth—she was just a kid the first time I met her. She—you probably saw it in the news. What happened to her.”

“Yeah, my sister said that was your case.” Portia tipped her head. “You’ve known her that long?”

“Yeah. And she’s had a lot of hard hits. A year after her attack, her boyfriend died in a fire. Well, we thought he did—it doesn’t matter. She grieved hard and then got put through hell when he came back—then she was kidnapped, and the Lansing cra[—” Taggert sat back. “She’s a good kid. And she invited me to the wedding because she thinks she owes me something.”

“Well, you helped catch the guy who attacked her. It’s nice of her—”

“And if she were marrying anyone else, I’d go without complaint, but—” He winced. “Does it have to be Jason Morgan?”

“Well, I don’t know her. Or Jason. But I know my sister and Justus, and they both seem excited for them. Do you not want to go?”

“I don’t.” Taggert winced. “But I do.”

“Ah. You want the bride to be happy,” Portia said slowly, “but you are very conflicted because you would not mind if the groom ended up doing a long stretch in Sing Sing—which would then make the bride unhappy again.”

“Exactly.” Taggert grinned. “You get me.”

“You’re overthinking it, Marcus.” Portia folded her arms on the table, leaned forward. “It’s a wedding. You’re gonna watch someone you like get married to someone she loves. You’ve seen her go through a lot of bad stuff. This will be a nice balance to all of that.”

He sighed, leaned back against his chair. “I tried to tell her no,” he admitted. “Me and Baldwin—the DA—but she just—” Taggert wiggled his fingers. “I don’t know. Whammied us.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Portia told him.

“Sweet, huh?”

“Yeah. And it’s probably what makes you one of the only good cops I’ve ever met.” She smiled at him. “So, yes, if you’re asking me to be your plus one, I would love to.” Her grin turned wicked. “We can sit with my sister and Justus.”

Taggert winced. “Do we have to?”

General Hospital: Cafeteria

“I can’t believe you wanted to have lunch here,” Emily said, setting down her tray with an anemic ham and cheese sandwich, a bag of potato chips, and a bottle of water.

“I feel bad I couldn’t go to lunch with you guys at Kelly’s yesterday,” Elizabeth told her as she unwrapped a plastic fork and started to mix together her salad. “And since I had an appointment today—” She shrugged. “Did you get my voicemail about the catering changes?”

“I did,” Emily said slowly, “but I thought you were having some sort of nervous breakdown. Are you really having chili at your reception?”

“Yes.”

“And am I allowed to ask why? Or is this a Bridezilla episode that we’re just going to whistle past?” Emily asked, with a wiggle of her fingers.

“I realized that you and I had been planning this wedding for me. Jason said he doesn’t care, and I know that’s probably true—”

“It really is—”

“Except he does hate formal events. He hates getting dressed up,” Elizabeth told her. “And he agreed because I wanted this. So the least I can do is make sure the food he eats is something he wanted.”

Emily pursed her lips. “Uh huh. I mean, sure, but couldn’t you have figured that out two weeks ago when we chose the menu in the first place?”

“I could have. I didn’t. I made a mistake.” Elizabeth pushed her food around on her plate. “I’ve only been thinking about myself, and Jason gets enough of that from Sonny. He doesn’t need it from me. Not when this is something I can give him.”

Her best friend looked at her for a long moment, then took a deep breath. “How bad were the test results?”

Elizabeth’s hand stilled, then she set down the fork and met Emily’s eyes. “Em—”

“I know you don’t want to talk about it. I’ve enjoyed planning the wedding, and I disagree that you’ve only planned it for yourself, but that’s not the point. Mom’s been very quiet, Dad looks worried. And you’ve said nothing. So I’m just—” Emily paused. “I am someone you can count on, Elizabeth, to do whatever you need me to do. Let me be that person today. Tell me what we’re dealing with, how I can help, and then we’ll put it away.”

“Why does it matter if I tell you now or later?” Elizabeth asked dully, staring at the wilted lettuce.

“Because I think part of the reason you went a little crazy last night and thought about canceling your entire wedding is that something is going on. Something big and terrible. I understand if you and my brother want to keep it quiet. I really do. But ignoring it won’t make it less real.”

“It’s hard to ignore it,” Elizabeth said slowly, “when it’s taking over my life. I’m stepping back from the support group — I’m going to more doctor’s appointments—and Jason is always looking at me like I’m going to stop breathing at any minute. I can’t even be mad at him about that because he’s—” She closed her eyes. “He’s right.”

“Elizabeth—” Emily sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes flaring. “What—”

“That sounds so dramatic,” Elizabeth muttered. She swiped at an errant tear as it slid down her cheek. “I have something called CTEPH. A bunch of letters that basically means that I had more blood clots a few months ago that dissolved on their own but left scar tissue in my lungs. No—the blood vessels in lungs,” she corrected.

Emily sat back, exhaled a long slow, and careful breath. “Scar tissue in the lungs,” she repeated softly. “Which makes it harder to breathe.”

“And more difficult for oxygen to circulate in my blood, which can lead to heart issues, along with other terrible things. There’s a surgery that can correct it, but I can’t have it while pregnant.”

“Elizabeth—”

“Right now, I’m okay. I have a portable oxygen tank. My vitals are steady, and my oxygen levels are normal,” Elizabeth told her. “Monica and Kelly tell me I’m as healthy as can be expected. If I can maintain this level of health, I could get to maybe thirty-two weeks without any health crises.”

“But if you don’t?”

“Then, my heart and lungs could be damaged permanently, and the baby could get hurt.” Elizabeth placed a protective hand over her son. “Right now, the plan is to avoid stress and to rest as much as possible. To monitor everything very carefully. Because I made it very clear I am not delivering until the baby’s health is in danger.”

Emily was quiet for a long time. “Until the baby is in danger,” she said. “Not you.”

“Your mother and Kelly would like me to deliver early. They suggested twenty-eight weeks. I said no. I want to wait as long as I can. I don’t want the baby in the NICU—”

“And I imagine Jason is in favor of any plan where you get to live without needing a double transplant.”

“Probably. I—” Elizabeth looked at Emily. “I haven’t really let him have a say. I know that. And he’s trying to be okay with that. For me—there’s no choice.”

“Okay.” Emily two fingers across her lips. “Okay. Well, okay.” She cleared her throat. “I, uh, guess if you’re healthy right now, there’s no point in having this argument.”

“I think that’s how Jason feels,” Elizabeth admitted. “The condition is rare. Not a lot of pregnant women have had it, and those that were diagnosed around this stage—there’s only two. Neither ended all that well. Um…” She stopped. “I’m sorry. I should have told you.”

“I knew it wasn’t good when you didn’t tell me,” she admitted. “I’m sorry. I wish this wasn’t happening. I wish I could make it stop.”

“Yeah, well, I chose to stay in that house even after knowing Ric was drugging me, so this—” Elizabeth forced herself to continue. “I made that choice. And I’m not going to let my child pay for it.”

“That’s—” Emily pressed her lips together, then shook her head. “No, I said we’d talk about it, and I’d put it away. You’re in good health, for now, so we’ll just concentrate on that. But if that changes—”

“I know.” Elizabeth smiled faintly. “But for now—I’m marrying the man I love in a few weeks, and I just—I want to let go of the rest of it.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

Harborview Towers: Elevator

It had struck Jason as he sat in the office at the warehouse earlier that day with a pile of contracts to sign, three meetings with warehouse managers, bookies, and other men who ran pieces of Sonny’s sprawling organization that he was running everything and still trying to do his old job.

He had been a silent partner when Sonny had approached him about the coffee export front four years earlier — Sonny had been in charge, delegating and overseeing the gambling, the smuggling, and the legitimate business. Jason had been the troubleshooter, enforcing orders that Sonny issued.

He couldn’t remember the last time Sonny had given an order to anyone that wasn’t about Ric Lansing.

When Jason had to skip a doctor’s appointment with Elizabeth that day because of a missing shipment somewhere in the Caribbean, he’d been irritated. As the clock crawled towards six, Jason knew he had three more hours of work before he could go home.

And Sonny was in his penthouse, probably draining another bottle of bourbon. He was separated from his family by his own choices, his own lack of accountability—

Jason would be missing dinner with Elizabeth again because Sonny refused to step up.

He’d looked at Bernie, who looked as tired as he did and told him abruptly to cancel anything that was left. He’d deal with it in the morning, then he’d called Elizabeth to find out what she wanted for dinner, and left.

Now, as the elevator climbed towards the penthouse, Jason knew he had to make changes. He had to either force Sonny to get his head out of his ass and get back to work or delegate more authority to someone else. He couldn’t keep going like this.

Neither of those options were good. He didn’t want to fight with Sonny anymore, wasn’t even sure he knew how to get through to the other man. Maybe if Jason could deliver Ric’s head on a spike to him — that might help.

And for Jason to delegate authority to people under him sent a signal in and out of the organization that there were serious problems between Jason and Sonny—that was the last thing he needed.

The elevator opened, and Jason stepped off, turning towards home. He just wanted to stop thinking about all of it tonight and have dinner with the woman he loved.

Instead, he heard a door open from behind him and Max’s murmured question. Jason stopped, locked eyes with Cody on his penthouse, then turned to face Sonny as his partner came around his corner.

“Jason—”

“What is it?” Jason asked flatly. “I want to get dinner to Elizabeth while it’s hot.”

“I—I, uh, was thinking about this morning. I don’t want to fight,” Sonny said. “You’re right. We keep going around in circles, and we’re getting nowhere.”

Surprised, but cautiously optimistic, Jason nodded. “Yeah. I know.”

“And I’m sure you got a lot to do in the next few weeks with the, uh, wedding—” Sonny scratched his temple. “So I was thinking maybe we just figure out how to get back on track after that. After the wedding, we’ll focus on finding Ric and getting rid of him for good—”

Still not sure how they’d manage that without breaking his promise to Elizabeth and Carly, Jason nodded anyway. “Yeah, when I get back—”

“Get back?” Sonny furrowed his brow. “From where?”

“I’m—” Jason squinted. “I’m getting married, Sonny. And then I’m taking Elizabeth out of town for a few weeks.”

“Weeks?” Sonny scowled. “How long? Where? Why?”

“I don’t know. Maybe two.” Jason would prefer to get her away from this town until the day she gave birth, but that would definitely be pushing it. Elizabeth deserved a break, and he wanted to be alone with her for longer than a few hours when they slept. They both deserved some time after these last few months. “And I don’t know where yet. We haven’t talked about it—”

“You can’t go away for that long,” Sonny snapped. “Two weeks?”

“You’ve run things without me for years,” Jason retorted, hoping to break Sonny out this insanity. “Bernie and Justus have things organized. Just go into the office. Do what they tell you to—”

“You didn’t even ask—”

“This isn’t a corporate job, Sonny. I don’t apply for vacation time—”

“You answer to me!” Sonny exploded, his voice reaching a new pitch of anger. He slapped a hand against his chest. “You go where I tell you to—”

“The hell I do—”

The penthouse door opened behind him, and Jason turned as Elizabeth stepped out, concern on her face. “What’s going on?” she asked, folding her arms. “Is everything okay?”

“Do you ever stay where you’re supposed to? This is business!” Sonny roared, as he started to step past Jason. With the hand not holding the paper bag, Jason shoved Sonny back.

“In the hallway?” Elizabeth said dubiously. Then she winced. “‘I’m sorry.” She stepped back, started to close the door, but Sonny wasn’t finished.

“Do you think everything is about you? That we need your opinion on everything—”

Jason shoved their dinner at Cody, then looked at Elizabeth. “Go inside,” he told her, then turned back to Sonny without waiting to see if she’d listen.

He heard the penthouse door close behind him. “If you ever talk to her like that again—”

“What are you going to do?” Sonny taunted, tipping his chin up, defiant. “Nothing? You need to put her in her place—”

Jason’s muscles tensed, and he curled his hands into fists at his side. “Go home,” he said flatly. “We’re done.”

Then he walked away from him, grabbed their dinner, and shoved open the door to the penthouse, slamming it behind him.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Elizabeth turned away from the window when Jason stormed in, tossing the paper bag on the desk. She bit her thumbnail as she slowly approached him. “I’m sorry. I should have stayed inside.”

“Yeah, you should have—” Jason looked at her, then sighed. Shook his head. “No. I’m sorry. It’s—you heard yelling, and I know you wanted to help.”

“I just made it worse—”

“You didn’t. No one could,” he added on a mutter.” Jason stripped off his leather jacket, then grabbed Elizabeth’s jacket she always left on the desk chair. He hung both up in the closet. “Do you mind if we don’t talk about it right now?”

“No, it’s fine.” She cleared her throat. “I’m hungry anyway. We’ll just eat dinner.”

“Okay.” Jason picked up the bag, carried it to the coffee table, and started to unpack. As he handed her the plastic container with the chicken she’d ordered from the Grille, he said, “You haven’t asked about a honeymoon.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth frowned. “I didn’t really think it’d be possible right now. I mean, I got those tickets to Italy for you, but I knew we couldn’t use them. I figured we’d take one in the summer—” She pressed her lips together. “But, I guess maybe we shouldn’t plan anything that far out.”

His breath hitched as the meaning sunk in. Making plans for after the baby was born felt different than they had at Christmas. Were they actually plans or just hopes? Dreams that might never happen?

Jason handed her a set of utensils. “You need a break from Port Charles. You need to be away from stress and time to rest—”

“Jason, I understand,” Elizabeth told him. “Things are crazy with Sonny—and if we left, he might take it out on Carly or the boys. Not that I want to be in the middle of it but better us than her—”

Jason shook his head. “I need a break,” he said softly.

She was quiet for a minute. “Okay. Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know yet,” Jason told her, relieved she hadn’t pressed him for more. “I’ll look into some places nearby. You can’t fly, and I don’t want to be driving for hours. But I want—I want time. With you. Maybe two weeks, if I can manage it—”

“Two weeks—” Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “That’s—I was thinking maybe a weekend—”

He exhaled, leaned back against the sofa, and reached for her hand. He traced his fingertips over her engagement ring. “You don’t want to be alone with me for two weeks?” Jason asked her.

Elizabeth smiled, leaned forward to kiss him. “I want to be alone with you all the time,” she told him, her smile deepening. “But I understand it’s not always possible.”

“I’m going to make sure it’s possible.” He cupped the back of her head, drawing her back for another kiss. “How was the hospital?”

She wrinkled her nose and shrugged as she speared a piece of chicken with her fork. “Good. I felt like I spent the whole day there. I had a good meeting with the group—I’m going to miss them, but I know it’s important to take a break from that. And I told you on the phone — Kelly said all my levels are still normal. Monica was happy with my blood pressure. It came down a little.”

“Really?” Jason said, his brows rising. “You didn’t tell me that.”

“Well, it was only two points, so not a drastic improvement, but she was still happy with it.” Elizabeth hesitated. “I had lunch with Emily. And I told her. About…” She cleared her throat. “And I was thinking—” She looked at him. “Do you think it would help if Sonny knew? And you could tell Carly. I think—I think if you want—”

“Carly knows something is up,” Jason admitted, “but I’m going to wait to tell her,” he said. “Because if I tell her, she’ll feel bad about Bobbie not knowing. And you’ll feel bad about it, too—”

“Right. And then I’ll think — well, if Bobbie knows, then I should tell Nikolas. And before you know it, I’ll be right where I didn’t want to be. Everyone worried.” Elizabeth sighed. “Still—”

“I’ll think about it, but Carly seemed okay with waiting. And I don’t know—” He paused. Elizabeth was right — if Sonny knew what was going on with her health, he might back off. He might get himself together.

But he also might not. He hadn’t backed down about Carly after all these weeks, despite what he’d put her through—despite knowing the trauma he’d caused her—and Carly was Sonny’s wife.

And Jason wasn’t sure he was ready to know exactly how Sonny would react to the news about Elizabeth’s health. If he wanted to face the reality of how far away their friendship felt right now.

“I’ll think about it,” Jason repeated. “But for now—I think you were right. You’re doing okay so far, and I just—let’s focus on right now.”

“Right.” Elizabeth smiled at him. “Right now isn’t so bad, right?”

“Not bad at all.” He kissed her again, lingering over her mouth. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

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