---

I had a friend, he liked to test me
And disregard the rest of me

At 12:06 am the night Sonny Corinthos ordered Jason Morgan to kill Elizabeth Lansing in retaliation for his wife’s kidnapping, Carly Corinthos was left unconscious at General hospital with a message that said Sonny should come through on his end of the bargain.

By the time Sonny got the message and understood that Ric had just been moments late fulfilling Sonny’s demands, he’d been relieved to be able to make the phone call to Jason rescinding his order.

Instead, Jason’s cell phone was off. Sonny called Marco who said that Jason had told him to go home. That it was over.

And Sonny wondered if maybe he’d gone too far this time.

He sat by Carly’s hospital bed all night, waiting for her to wake up. Waiting for word from Jason. But Jason never called. And Carly never woke up.

Sonny had sent men to take care of Ric and other men to find Jason. With no confirmation of the order, Sonny knew what had happened. He’d ordered Jason to do the one thing he could never do. And Jason had refused in his own way.

He’d taken Elizabeth somewhere safe and secure, Sonny surmised, and he knew that if Jason didn’t want to be found, he wouldn’t.

And another who though she loved me
She could not help one night but do me wrong

She fell asleep shortly after they took off and didn’t wake until Jason was lifting her from her seat.

“Where are we going?” Elizabeth murmured sleepily. She didn’t open her eyes, didn’t struggle as she felt her body moving. She was so tired…so tired that she just fell asleep again before Jason could answer her question.

He rented a car under an assumed name with the help of the girl behind the counter who understood he didn’t want to wake his wife–which is what Jason told her–by sitting her down.

She’d called it romantic and all he’d said was to charge it to the first credit card she found in his wallet.

By the time he got her situated in the car and on the road, he himself felt the fatigue slipping in. It was early morning here, the middle of the morning back home. He’d taken her clear across the country and planned to disappear in Seattle for a day or two before he called someone back home to gauge the situation.

He knew he’d made the right decision–that he could no more kill Elizabeth than Sonny could kill Brenda. And since he felt responsible for her being in this situation, it was up to him to get her out.

He found a motel and registered them under the same names he’d used to get the car. He put her inside and just laid her on top of the covers. She hadn’t even woken slightly since the airplane and that worried Jason. She was a light sleeper. A creak in the floor, the sound of a coffee machine two floors down, just about anything woke her up.

But her breathing was deep, her color good and he didn’t let himself worry to long before sitting in a chair and falling asleep himself.

Goodbye, I’m leavin now
I’ll see you sometime

She was still sleeping when he woke a few hours later. He looked out the windows of the cramped room and found a diner across the street. He didn’t want to leave her alone but he knew she hadn’t eaten in nearly a day so he locked the door tightly behind him.

When he came back, the bed was empty but he could hear the shower so he set her order on the small table near the window before retreating to a corner of the room with his coffee.

Elizabeth emerged, still looking a little sleepy, towel-drying her hair. She wore her clothes from the day before and Jason made a mental note to find a store. There was no telling how long before he could take her back to Port Charles.

“Thanks,” she said quietly as she sat down and pulled the bagel out of the bag. It was toasted and she found some strawberry cream cheese in the bag as well. “You remembered,” she remarked with a tiny smile.

He shrugged and she just used the plastic knife to spread the topping. He’d gotten her an orange juice and she finished eating without saying anything.

When she was done, she threw out her trash before sitting on the bed and staring out the window. “Where are we?” she asked.

“Seattle,” Jason answered. He tossed his coffee cup into the trash. “I want to stay out of sight until I get in touch with someone back home. To make sure the situation’s cleared up.”

Elizabeth nodded. She was silent a few moments, staring at her hands. “Thanks.” He crossed to the window, slid the curtain shut so that no one could see in. “I mean that, Jason. I know you’d rather be looking for Carly.”

“We know Ric has her,” Jason said simply. “Any competent man would find her with that information and there are other people in the organization who can take care of it.”

“I figured that, but I still know you’d rather be back home helping them,” Elizabeth said again. “I know how much you love Carly.”

“If I’d left you in Port Charles,” Jason began, choosing his words carefully, “there are other men that Sonny would have given this order to. Men who don’t know you, who never guarded you. Who never knew that…” his eyes met hers briefly before looking away. “Who never knew that we were friends. Men who are looking for the chance to prove their loyalty. I know that Carly will be found, but I couldn’t know that you’d safe.”

She nodded and let it go, preferring not to think about those men that Sonny could send after them. He could see the brief flicker of fear in her eyes before she masked it. “What’s wrong?”

Elizabeth hesitated. “How do you know Sonny doesn’t already know where we are?” she asked quietly.

“Because I know more about disappearing than he does,” Jason answered. “I have a dozen different sets of ID that I can use that Sonny doesn’t know about and each of those Ids has a few credits cards to it with offshore accounts attached. He can’t find us if he doesn’t know what name we’re using.”

Elizabeth nodded and trusted her instinct that Jason knew what he was doing. After all, this was his line of work and he was completely sure they were safe, who was she to continue questioning?

Goodbye, I’m leavin now
I’ll see you sometime

He found a Kmart a few blocks from their hotel and against her arguments, gave her a credit card and told her to buy whatever she needed. Elizabeth stared at the credit card in some wonder as she realized it was in her name. Well not her name exactly. She certainly wasn’t Caley Fitzsimmons.

He saw the question in her eyes and just said he’d called someone before they got on the plane and a package with IDs to match his was waiting. Telling herself she’d pay him back when they got home, she grabbed some jeans and tank tops and some undergarments before meeting him outside with her purchases.

They went straight back but he went in the room first to make sure no one had been in there in their absence. Satisfied, he told her to go in and he stayed outside to make a call.

He’d originally planned to wait two days before calling, but he had to know the immediate situation and so he called one of the few men in the organization he trusted.

“Johnny?”

Johnny O’Brien was standing guard outside the Corinthos penthouse despite the fact that the floor was empty and Sonny was at the hospital with Carly. He was free to talk and did so. “Morgan, were the fuck are you?”

“Don’t worry about that. What’s going on there?”

“Three minutes after Sonny called you and I mean three minutes, Sonny got a call from GH. Lansing had dumped Carly there. She’s asleep right now. The doctors say she’s in shock.” Johnny hesitated. “Morgan, you didn’t…”

“No,” Jason snapped. “She’s with me. I’m not bringing her back until I know it’s safe. What about Lansing?”

“Sonny had him taken care of already. He’s not sure whether you took her and ran or if you did it and took off yourself. Either way, he’s been in a black mood since the news came.”

“Has he called down to the island?” Jason asked.

“No. I don’t know that he’s gonna. You’d better stay out sight for a bit. He’s…” Johnny hesitated for the second time. “Carly’s case of shock is a little more extreme than the doctors would like, so nothing’s guaranteed yet.”

“Okay. You’ve got the number of the Fitzsimmons cell. That’s the one we’re using here,” Jason told him. “Call me if anything changes.”

“What if you ditch the ID?”

“I’ll call you the first chance I get,” Jason answered.

“Do you have IDs for her?” Johnny asked. “Because I know a guy–“

“I got them already. Don’t worry.” He hung up then and took a moment before going inside.

Now watch me stand outside
I’m waiting for my shotgun ride

She was sitting at the table, with a small sketchpad and a pencil. She’d grabbed them at the store to keep her from going insane here. When Jason entered, she looked up. “Did you call home?” she asked.

He nodded and took a seat on the bed, rubbing the back of his neck. Sonny had had Ric taken care of and he wondered if it was a good idea to tell her. “Elizabeth, a few minutes after Sonny called me, he got a call from the hospital. Ric had left Carly there.”

Some of the tension lifted from her shoulders and she set the pad on the table. “That’s good, right?” she asked. “She’s okay, then.”

“She was in shock and I guess with the pregnancy, the doctors are worried,” Jason told her. “Uh…Ric…well…he…”

“He’s been taken care of,” Elizabeth finished softly. She was surprised to find her hands shaking a little and she realized she was still wearing her engagement and wedding rings. She was dismayed to find tears in her eyes. Her husband had been a kidnapper. “Did he, ah, did he know what would happen if he hadn’t returned Carly by midnight?”

“Yeah. He knew.”

She closed her eyes. He’d waited too long, it’d gotten too close. He knew Sonny would order Jason to kill her if he hadn’t returned Carly by midnight and he’d waited anyway.

Elizabeth stood abruptly and went into the bathroom. She shut the door behind her and turned the sink on to mask any other sounds coming from the room.

She took her rings off and stared at them for a little while, remembering the pure streak of happiness that had gone through her the night of their wedding. She’d thought that he loved her. That when he told her he’d love her first, last and always that he’d meant it.

Just another person in a long line of people who had lied to her.

She slid to the floor, and started to cry.

Two days I’m crossing the Kansas plains
I know my life won’t ever be the same

When Jason heard the water, he knew she’d gone in there to cry and he didn’t begrudge her that right. She hadn’t known until yesterday exactly who she’d married and she had a right to grieve for him.

She came out ten minutes later and set her rings on the table. “I want to get rid of these,” Elizabeth said softly. “I don’t care how or when. I just don’t want to see them anymore.”

“Why?” Jason had to ask.

“Because he gave these to me the night we said our vows,” Elizabeth replied. She’d shut down. There was no emotion in her voice, no feeling. A cold recitation of the facts. “He promised to put me first and he didn’t. I don’t want a reminder of another broken promise.”

Jason nodded. “We passed a pawnshop,” he told her. “I’ll take you there tomorrow.”

“I want you to have the money I get from it,” Elizabeth told him. “To pay for any food or–”

Jason shook his head. “I’m not taking money from you,” he said firmly. “I don’t care what you do with it, but I won’t take it.”

“Jason–” she protested.

“It’s not open for discussion.” Out of habit, he stood and crossed to the window, peering out of the curtains. “It’s my fault you’re here.”

“It’s because of you I’m still alive,” Elizabeth corrected. “I believe you when you say there are men who would have carried out that order.”

“It’s my life that did this,” Jason said instead. “I probably trained the men you’re talking about. Taught them that loyalty to Sonny was absolute. That there was never any exceptions. That loyalty came before personal feelings and objections.”

Elizabeth accepted that without argument. She’d known that about his job. Instead, she asked, “Then why didn’t you kill me?”

Goodbye, I’m leavin now
I’ll see you sometime

He frowned at her. “What?”

She shrugged. “If part of your job is putting loyalty to Sonny before personal objections, then what made you decide not to kill me?”

He hesitated for a moment before answering. “Because there are some lines I won’t cross. Not for Sonny. You were innocent in this, Elizabeth. Your only mistake was marrying him and you shouldn’t have to pay for that with your life.” He was agitated now. Felt like his loyalty was being questioned. He was loyal to Sonny, there was no argument about that. But who was he more loyal to? Sonny…or himself?

Elizabeth frowned. “I’m not saying you’re not loyal,” she said quietly. “I just wanted to know–”

“I know,” Jason interrupted. “And you have a right to ask. I just…I couldn’t kill you anymore than I could kill Brenda. Or Carly. Or Emily. Because I guess I’m more loyal to myself than to Sonny.”

The conversation lapsed after that and she returned to her half-hearted sketching and he went back to peering out the window.

Goodbye, I’m leavin now
I’ll see you sometime

The stress of the last month inside the panic room had worn on Carly’s pregnant body and with her body in shock, her heart had simply been unable to keep going. She died less than twenty-four hours after she’d been found.

Sonny received the news quietly and returned to his penthouse. He said only one thing before sealing himself inside. He told Johnny and another guard who was there, a newer guard who unlike the rest of the men had more loyalty to Sonny than to Jason. “Jason Morgan is my enemy,” Sonny told them in a low hissing voice. “He is the reason my wife is dead. I want him found and I want him dead.”

Johnny was prepared to tell the other guard to hold off on the order once Sonny had gone inside, but the guard, Peter, was already heading for the elevator. Johnny followed him, but the doors slid shut first.

Cursing, Johnny went into his stairwell to call Jason. He wanted to him to move now. It didn’t matter Sonny or any of the other guards didn’t have the slightest clue where to look for him. Jason needed move and take on a new identity.

He left a message, despite how dangerous he knew that’d be and went back to his post. He only hoped Jason got the message and hadn’t slipped up.

Goodbye, I’m leavin now
I’ll see you sometime

Unfortunately, Peter talked to one person who mentioned that Jason used a particular guy for his IDs. With a few threats and relatively little trouble, Peter got the names of Jason’s aliases and the fact that the forger had sent a matching set to the Seattle Airport. It wasn’t hard to see that Jason was on the run with Elizabeth in tow.

Peter had worked for the organization only a few months, he’d been hired during that terrible time when Jason and Sonny were at each other’s throats. He took his job seriously and when they told him he was to be loyal to Sonny above anyone else, Peter had listened.

He was in the air twenty minutes later.

Well as I try then I begin to see
The lazy trade their dignity

It was getting dark and Elizabeth was about to go out of her mind with boredom. She’d done a few sketches, but didn’t have a lot of motivation to continue. She almost wished there was a television here so she could distract herself with some mindless reality show.

Jason was still stationed at the window. He’d left once since they went to the store. He’d gotten dinner and gone to the pawnshop. Elizabeth had refused to take the money, but he tucked it in her purse when she wasn’t looking.

He’d gone back to the store to get a few more essentials. He’d gotten Johnny’s phone call and knew they’d have to try and lay a little bit lower than he’d planned. He’d gotten some hats, sunglasses. They were going to travel light and he’d bought a cheap crappy car. They were going to leave in the morning and toss the Fitzsimmons IDs.

He hadn’t told Elizabeth any of this yet. He was worried about her, worried that she wasn’t going to be able to keep up. Jason didn’t know how long before they could go home, now that Sonny’s grief had moved him to take action against them.

Elizabeth glanced at him, saw the pensive look on his face and frowned. “Jason?”

“Yeah?”

“Is there something wrong?” she asked softly. “You looked…upset when you came in.”

“I got a call from Johnny while I was gone,” Jason said after a moment. “Carly died in the hospital.” He heard her inhale sharply and went on. “Sonny gave the order to find me and kill me. He holds me responsible.”

But the root of the conspiracy
Is the corporate claim on all our needs

“What?” Elizabeth demanded. She stood. “Why?”

Jason shrugged, trying not to let it show how much Sonny’s newfound hatred affected him. “Maybe he thinks I should have found Carly sooner or that I should have stayed. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”

“I’m sorry, Jason. I know how much you love Sonny and Carly,” Elizabeth told him. She crossed the room, standing next to him at the window. “I–”

“We’re leaving in the morning,” Jason cut in. “I got a car so we don’t have to leave a credit trail. There’s a backpack for you to use so that we don’t look like we’re moving from town to town. We’re leaving in the morning.”

Stung by his brusque tone, Elizabeth just nodded and went into the bathroom to change for bed. If he didn’t want to talk about it, that his problem not hers. She didn’t care anymore.

She sighed and glanced in the mirror before she left. Like hell she didn’t.

Down goes the small man dream
The franchise rise and provide

She was still sleeping when he woke up the next morning, so he left a note that he was getting breakfast and they’d leave when they finished eating. He locked and shut the door tightly behind him.

It took twenty minutes to get a bagel, an orange juice and a coffee to go. The diner was busy and he’d had to wait in line most of those twenty minutes.

As he approached the door to their motel room, he slowed, his eyes trained on the slightly ajar door. He told Elizabeth never to open the door unless he was with her and he knew he’d locked the door behind him.

He set the food on the hood of their car and stepped up next to the door. Glancing around him, he pulled his gun the waistband of his jeans and kicked the door open.

A man had Elizabeth with a gun to her throat. He had one arm around her waist and he was poking the barrel of the gun upwards, digging it into the soft skin of her chin.

“Well, well, Morgan. I didn’t think I’d catch you off guard this easily,” the man taunted.

Jason’s eyes narrowed as he recognized him. A guard…Peter. “Let her go or I’ll kill you,” Jason threatened.

“Put the gun down,” Peter snarled. “We’ll make this nice and easy. I’ll even lock the little slut in the bathroom so she doesn’t have to see you die. Corinthos wants her back in PC anyway.”

Jason ignored him and cocked the hammer back on his gun. “Let her go,” he repeated.

“No. Corinthos wants you dead,” Peter replied. “Unlike you, I know how to follow orders.” His hand on her waist tightened. “Though I can’t blame you for running off. She might be small but she’s cute.”

Elizabeth’s eyes met Jason’s in horror as the guard’s hand started to slide up her rib cage. When his hand closed over her breast, Jason was about to try and get a shot off but Elizabeth rammed her elbow in Peter’s gut, knocking him off balance and getting the gun away from her throat.

America how do you like it
This is what we will be

She whirled around and leapt on him, kicking and punching. He went flying to the ground, his gun thrown out of his hand. She was crying as she attacked him. No man was going to touch like that again–not ever again.

Jason grabbed her by the waist and hauled her off him, planting her firmly on her feet behind him. He reached for the guard’s gun because it had the silence and he shot the man twice, one in each knee.

He would have killed him but he wouldn’t have been able to get rid of the body and right now all he wanted was to get them both out of here.

“Get your things,” he ordered her. Mutely Elizabeth grabbed her sandals from the floor and the backpack she’d been in the middle of packing when Peter had grabbed her. She shoved the rest of her clothes into it and darted out the door behind Jason, not eager to look back to see the moaning guard behind them.

She tossed her things in the back of the car and managed to grab their food from the hood before she got in the car. Jason started the ignition and they tore out of the parking lot.

Goodbye, I’m leavin now
I’ll see you sometime

They were on the highway and well out of Seattle before either of them spoke. Her voice was still shaky. “I thought you said they couldn’t find us.”

He didn’t answer at first, concentrated on driving. “I was wrong,” he said finally. “But they’re not going to get that close again.”

This time, she didn’t believe him. She didn’t trust it. He’d told her she was safe with him and she’d practically been molested right in front of his eyes. She was out of trust.

“Are you okay?” Jason asked her after a moment.

“I’m fine,” she answered stiffly.

“I underestimated them. I’m sorry, Elizabeth.”

“Okay.”

“We’re going to have change IDs,” he told her. “Go in my duffle bag. The right side unzips. Grab a new set.”

She leaned in the back and pulled out the envelope he carried them in. “You said you had my set waiting at the airport when we got there.”

“Yeah.”

“How much do you trust the person who shipped them?”

He didn’t answer her at first but his voice was regretful. “More than I should have.”

Goodbye, I’m leavin now
I’ll see you sometime

“We’re not going to be able to go home any time soon, are we?” Elizabeth asked knowingly.

“Probably not. I’m hoping if we can stay off radar long enough, Sonny will calm down and call them off.”

“What if he doesn’t?”

He didn’t have an answer for her and she could somehow guess that. Instead she flipped through the different driver’s licenses, each with her face on it. “Do all of these match yours, name wise?” she asked him. “Like last names?”

“Yeah. It’s just easier that way,” Jason told her. “Which ones do you have?”

“I guess I’ll use Joy Patterson,” Elizabeth remarked. She slipped the license into her purse along with the matching credit cards before pulling out the pile of male licenses. “And you’re John Patterson,” she told him, setting his aside. “Okay?”

“That’s fine.”

Goodbye, I’m leavin now
I’ll see you sometime

After a few more moments, she sighed and put the envelope in the glove compartment. “You don’t think I can do this, do you?” she asked quietly.

“It’s not that, Elizabeth.”

“Then what is it?” she asked pointedly. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Do you trust me?” Jason asked instead.

“I’m not sure,” Elizabeth told him honestly. “I trusted you when you said they couldn’t find us and it barely took twenty-four hours.”

“You’ve never done this before,” he said, ignoring her remark for now. “I have. I’ve always traveled alone. It’s not a matter of not trusting you, it’s just…I’m worried you don’t have the experience.”

“I didn’t know how to take care of a gunshot wound, but I caught on pretty quick, didn’t I?” Elizabeth reminded him. “I’m a quick learner, Jason. I can do this.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you,” Elizabeth said again. He glanced at her before looking back at the road. “For saving my life. I know now what it cost you.”

“This isn’t your fault,” Jason assured her quickly.

“And it’s not yours either.”

I’ll see you sometime

They didn’t stop that night, wanting to put as much distance between them and Seattle as possible. They were well into Oregon when dawn broke the next morning. For once it was a comfortable silence in the car as they both understood that they were only people left to trust. That they were in this thing together.

She convinced him to let her drive for a while about midnight, promising to wake him up if she saw anything suspicious. He was a light sleeper and every time she drove over a pothole, he woke up. But when they stopped for breakfast, he looked better than he had when she’d forced him from the wheel and once he had coffee in him, he was even better.

For better or for worse, for the next few weeks, this was it. It was the two of them running from Sonny Corinthos.

I’ll see you sometime

Song: Sometime by Lizzie West

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