I grieve in my condition for
I cannot find the words to say I need you so
Oh and every time I’m close to you
There’s too much I can’t say
And you just walk away
And I forgot to tell you
I love you
– I Love You, Sarah McLachlan

Tuesday, October 7, 2003

General Hospital: Hallway

Nadine handed Elizabeth a water from the vending machines and sat next to her in the small waiting area outside the maternity ward. “I was surprised Jason didn’t come with you today.”

Elizabeth sighed and twisted the cap off. Despite all the strides forward, Jason had only been to that one doctor’s appointment in June, though she knew he hadn’t missed the last few out of choice. It seemed every time her appointment approached, there were a dozen things he needed to do, and even hinting to Sonny about the appointments in hopes that he could clear Jason’s schedule in time hadn’t worked.

“There’s a lot he’s dealing with,” she said after a long sip. “I don’t hold it against him. It’s not like he’s missing much. I told you about his accident, right?” When Nadine nodded, she continued. “He has trouble seeing images sometimes. I can explain it to him, and that helps. I can point out where the arms and legs are, but all he can really see is a blob and the heartbeat.”

“Oh.” Nadine wrinkled her nose. “Well, that sucks for you, though.”

“It’s okay.” And it really was. Elizabeth had decided not to stress about the things she could not accept. She might want Jason’s support at these appointments, but she wasn’t going to ask him anymore, not after making it clear early on that she hoped he’d join her. He’d been here when she learned she was having a girl, so she’d cling to that. “Things are mostly fine…but I’m thinking about after the baby’s born.” Absently, Elizabeth pressed her hand over her abdomen as Cady kicked. “I can’t live with Jason forever—”

“Sure you can. If you’re in love and a family, that’s kind of the thing to do,” Nadine said.

“I think I’m running out of time to that to be true.” Elizabeth twisted slightly in her chair to face her friend. “I’m not…I think I’m pinning too much on hoping things being different after I have the baby…that Jason will look into her face, and not think about…” She hesitated. “That he won’t see how she got here, but just love her for who she is.”

Nadine pursed her lips. “This is one of those situations where the details get glossed. Okay. So basically, you think Jason doesn’t love your daughter right now. I can understand why you might think that. I’ve only seen him here once, and you told me you didn’t bring the baby up much in conversation until he suggested picking out a room for the nursery…but has he ever really give you a solid reason to doubt him?”

“You mean, is there something he’s said that makes me think he doesn’t love her the way a father would?” Elizabeth hesitated and thought about the question, because it was a fair one. “I guess…it’s the little things. When I talk about how it’s going to be in the future, it’s like…there’s this part of him that doesn’t think we have one—”

“No, no.” Nadine waved a hand. “That’s you again. You’re projecting what you think he thinks onto his actions. I’m saying…has he done something solid to doubt him?”

“He told me that we had to be realistic,” Elizabeth said slowly. “That we might not work.”

“Well, that’s not cheerful, but it’s not really evidence.” Nadine leaned forward. “Elizabeth, do you love him?”

“Yes,” Elizabeth admitted, wrinkling her nose.

“Does he love you?”

“He’s never said it…” She tilted her head to the side, remembering all the other things he’d never said. “But…I think he does. Sometimes he looks at me…” She smiled now. “The first time…after the pool table—”

“Which I still hate you for.”

“—he looked at me…” Elizabeth looked at her hands. “And I just…thought…if I could hold on to that look, to the way it makes me feel—like I’m the most beautiful person he’s ever seen, and he doesn’t understand why I’m standing there with him…if I could always feel that way, I’d never be unhappy again.”

“Oh, for…” Nadine huffed. “I’ll be jealous later. Here’s the advice. My aunt Rayleen used to say that love is a lot like a back ache. It may not show up on the X-rays, but you know it’s there.” When Elizabeth just laughed, Nadine reached out for her hand. “It sounds like you guys have trust issues. Love is amazing, but it’s not enough if you don’t talk about it.”

Elizabeth smiled, and then got to her feet. “You’re right. You’re always right about this stuff, you know. You’ve been telling me all summer to talk to him, but—”

As they started down the hallway towards the main waiting area and elevator, Nadine said, “I get it. It’s scary. You want to believe that if you don’t talk about it, that your problems will work out on their own. I don’t know, maybe you’re right. Maybe Cady will be born, and he’ll hold her for the first time, and it’ll all come together. It’s totally possible.”

“It’s what I’m pinning my hopes on,” Elizabeth admitted. “But I’m also being practical about what comes next. Even if Jason and I do work things out for the better, I still need a job. My grandmother has been extolling the virtues of the nursing program, and I…” She smiled, thinking of that winter in the studio, “have some experience caring for a sick person.”

“You’d be good at it, and hey, we could hang out all the time.”

It wasn’t until a day or so later that Elizabeth realized she should have been paying more attention to her surroundings, but she was so comfortable at the hospital, and felt secure there that she didn’t realize Dominic wasn’t standing at the doorway to the stairwell as he usually did during her appointments.

As she and Nadine passed the doorway, it flew open and a man in dark clothes and a ski mask rushed out. Elizabeth and Nadine froze for a moment, allowing the man to shove a cloth in her face, with a sickly sweet smell. Before Elizabeth could think to fight, her vision blurred and tilted at the sides.

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

“Help! Someone help!”

Emily heard the screams from the hallway and saw Elizabeth’s guard rushing from the elevator towards it. She, too, dropped the charts in her hands and followed Cody. At her heels, Patrick Drake, one of the new residents, passed by her with his longer legs.

They rounded the corner and Emily stumbled to a stop, gasping when she saw Elizabeth crumpled on the ground and Nadine Crowell on the back of a man dressed in black, holding on to him with one arm around his neck and whacking him with a clipboard with her free hand.

“Help!” Nadine screeched. The man threw her off, and she went flying backwards into the wall. He rushed down the stairs, and Cody went straight after him. Ignoring all of that, Emily and Patrick flew to Elizabeth’s side. Emily reached for her pulse as Patrick rolled her to so Elizabeth was lying on her back. Around them, more doctors were swarming.

“She’s got a pulse.” Emily closed her eyes, feeling relief spread in her veins.

“He shoved something in her face,” Nadine said, panting as she crawled towards them.

“Someone get me a stretcher and a free room!” Patrick barked. He looked at Emily. “Do you know her?”

“E-Elizabeth Webber. She must have…” Emily swallowed hard. “She must have had an appointment with Kelly.”

Patrick looked at one of the other nurses just staring at them and snapped his fingers. “Find me that damn room and page Kelly Lee.” He looked around and spied a white cloth. He reached for it and grimaced before it was even close to him. “Chloroform.”

Alan and Monica were there, then, and the stretcher appeared. With Patrick and another orderly’s help, Elizabeth was lifted on the stretcher, and Patrick started to roll her towards the room they’d freed up.

“Emily!” Monica grabbed her daughter’s arm. “What happened?”

“Someone attacked her.” Emily looked at Nadine, who was wincing. “Nadine, you should get looked at. He threw you pretty hard.”

“He threw…” Alan repeated, looking at the blonde nurse in confusion. “What the hell happened here?”

“He grabbed her,” Nadine said, rubbing the small of her back. “She passed out, but I guess he wasn’t thinking about how difficult it might be to drag a pregnant woman into a stairwell, so I smacked him with my clipboard. He was distracted enough to let go of her and then I…” She blinked and swayed a little. Emily reached out and held her steady. “Um…I guess I actually jumped on his back and kept hitting him.”

“My God.” Monica pressed a hand to her mouth, trembling. “Where were her guards?”

“Cody ran past me after the guy,” Emily told her parents, and then frowned. “But…the other one. I don’t know his name.” She looked at Nadine. “Where…?”

“I…” Nadine stepped towards the stairwell, and pushed the door open. It was empty. “I don’t know.”

“We’d better call Jason,” Alan said firmly. “He needs to be here with her.”

General Hospital: Elevator

For the second time in a span of mere months, Jason Morgan found himself cursing at an elevator slowing him down from getting to Elizabeth, who’d just been attacked.

At his side, Sonny was visibly shaken. They’d never seriously thought Elizabeth would be in danger at the hospital, but a panicked call first from Monica that Elizabeth had been attacked and was being admitted for observation followed by Cody who’d lost the assailant in the stairwell and found Dominic bleeding from a head wound one flight down had cured them of that.

“I’m not letting her out of my sight for the rest of my life,” Sonny muttered and jabbed at the buttons as if that would make this goddamn car move faster. “That’s it. We’re assigning guards to surround her from back and front, side to side. She’ll barely be able to move, but I’ll be satisfied.”

Jason ignored his friend’s mutterings, because he knew he was to blame for this. He’d wanted to go to her doctor’s appointment today, he really had, but there’d been another damn shipment problem and she’d just smiled at him, told him not to worry. It was just routine.

Never again.

Finally, the damn doors opened and Jason, for the first time that he could remember, was relieved to find his parents standing by the nurse’s station, his sister hovering nervously around them. He strode forward. “Where is she? Is she okay?”

“Her OB is with her, and one of our residents has been assigned to the case.” Monica hesitantly touched his arm. “But Kelly and Patrick think she’s fine.” She gestured to Emily. “Emily was there when it happened.”

“Em?” Jason turned his eyes on his sister, for the first time in months. “What happened?”

“I heard screaming,” Emily said, her face pale. He saw her hands shaking as she pushed her hair out of her face. “Her guard at the elevator was already running towards the hallway at that point, and Nadine was whacking the crap out of the guy. He must have figured he was out of options once he heard all the commotion, because he threw her…”

“The guy got out of the hospital,” Alan growled. “I’m so sorry, Jason. I thought…between the both of us, that I had covered all the bases, but there was a service stairwell that didn’t have any cameras working. He got out the door just before we called the lockdown.”

“I know.” Jason exhaled slowly and exchanged a glance with Sonny, because further dissection of this mess was going to have to wait. “Thank you…I know you’ve taken Elizabeth’s safety seriously.” He looked at Emily. “Thanks, Emily.”

“You should thank Nadine Crowell,” Emily told him. “She bruised her back when they threw her and we think she might have a concussion, but she was hitting him, keeping him from dragging Elizabeth away.”

“I just…” Jason forced himself to be calm even though he wanted to come out of his skin. “I need to see Elizabeth.”

“Of course.” Monica took his arm and started to lead him away.

Alan cleared his throat and looked at Sonny with annoyance, but concern for his grandchild outweighed his hatred. “Unfortunately, the cops are involved, Sonny. There was nothing I could do about that. Mac and Taggart are questioning the staff as we speak. Your guard with the head injury was admitted for stitches and observation. The other one isn’t speaking until his lawyer gets here.”

Sonny rubbed his forehead. Goddamn nightmare. “Thanks. I’ll…take care of it. Ah, if there are any damages, let me know. I really…” He shook his head. “I never wanted to bring this to the hospital. We thought…”

“”Well, you live a violent life, it touches everything,” Alan said with an edge, because he just couldn’t contain himself. “I pray to God you do a better job of protecting my grandchild than you have Elizabeth so far.”

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Monica pushed open the door and Jason entered to find Elizabeth’s doctor, Kelly, standing next to a tall, dark-haired man he’d never met before. “Kelly, Patrick, this is my son, Jason. He’s Elizabeth’s…” She hesitated and looked at her son with trepidation, not knowing how to explain this.

“I’ve met Jason,” Kelly said quickly. She nodded. “Elizabeth was given a dose of chloroform, which didn’t knock her out because you need at least five minutes for that to work. However, she was apparently woozy from it, so when he released her, she was dizzy, tripped and hit her head as she fell.”

Jason closed his eyes, and fisted his hands at his side. “How bad?” he asked. “Is…” He looked at her, lying unconscious in the bed in a hospital gown, her face pale and stark against the sheets. “Will she be all right? And…the baby?”

“I’m going to run a CT to be safe,” the other doctor said. “But we don’t think it’s going to be a problem, concussion wise. She’ll be sore when she wakes up, but otherwise…” He looked at Kelly, who nodded.

“And we did a quick ultrasound. Everything looks good.” She made a notation in her chart. “So don’t worry, Daddy. Baby Girl Morgan is as healthy now as she was an hour ago at the appointment. We’re keeping her overnight, just to be on the safe side.”

When Jason said nothing, but moved past them to sit in the chair by Elizabeth’s side, Monica smiled at them. “Thanks, Kelly. Patrick. We’ll take care of it from here. Let me know how Nadine is doing.”

Jason turned at that though. “Nadine? The nurse who was with her? Can I…can she have a visitor?”

“Ah….” Monica looked at Patrick. “How’s she feeling?”

“She’s resting now, but she wanted me to update her on Elizabeth as soon as possible.” Patrick looked at Jason. “You can see her for a minute or two, but she took a pretty good whack in the head when the guy threw her against the wall.”

“I’ll take you in a moment, after Patrick has a chance to check on her. Nadine’s just across the hall,” Monica told Jason. She smiled again as the two doctors exited the room. “Is there anything you need, Jason?”

“No.” But he looked at her. “Thank you. For everything.”

General Hospital: Nadine’s Room

After almost ten minutes, Patrick poked his head back in the room to let Monica know he was done examining Nadine, so she took Jason across the hall where the normally perky nurse was lying in her own hospital bed, looking annoyed.

“Dr. Quartermaine, can’t you make them let me out of this bed?” Nadine demanded. “My head only hurts a little…” She winced. “And my back is basically fine. Nothing a hot bath wouldn’t cure—”

“Suck it up, Nurse Crowell,” Monica said with a fond smile. She patted her hand. “Jason wanted to have a chance to talk to you and then Patrick said you’re staying overnight to be sure your concussion doesn’t worsen.”

“Bah.” Nadine let her head fall back against the pillows.

“Monica, can you sit with Elizabeth in case she wakes up?” Jason asked. Monica nodded and left the room. Jason hesitated and stood at the end of the nurse’s bed, his hands in his pockets. “I…wanted to tell you thank you.”

Nadine shrugged. “Not a problem. She’s my friend, too. The first one I’ve made here, so—”

“I know you did it for her,” Jason cut in. “But…” He swallowed hard. “If anything had happened to her, to the baby…” He shook his head, not knowing exactly what to say. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt more seriously.”

“Me, too.” Nadine sighed. “If I’d had time, I would have gone for the fire extinguisher. One good whack of that and he’d be knocked out, we’d have him and you guys would know what he was up to. But, no, I just had a stupid clipboard.” She closed her eyes. “My head is on fire, though.”

“I’ll leave you alone, then, but…” Jason paused. “If there’s anything you need, you just let me know.” He nodded at Elizabeth’s friend again and then made his way across the hall.

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

Emily watched as Patrick stepped into the hub and slid a chart into the holder. “Hey…Elizabeth and Nadine are okay?”

“As okay as two assault victims can be,” Patrick muttered, reaching for another chart. “What kind of insane person comes into a hospital and tries to kidnap a pregnant woman? How many types of dumb do you have to be?” He hesitated. “I’ve only lived in Port Charles for five minutes, but even I’ve heard the rumors about Jason Morgan and his pregnant girlfriend. Who tries to kidnap his girlfriend?”

“Someone with a death wish,” Kelly mused. “He looked pretty torn up about it. Guess I was wrong about him not giving a damn.” When Patrick just frowned at her, Kelly shrugged. “He’s never at the appointments. Number one indicator of uninvolved daddy.”

“But doesn’t she have guards?” Patrick asked. “I saw that one guy by the elevator.”

“She has two, usually,” Emily murmured. “They cover the exits between Kelly’s office and the elevator so no one gets near her…” She hesitated.

So there’s no way I could get near her to apologize.

“Em?” Kelly tapped her on the arm. “You okay? I know you and Elizabeth used to be pretty close until you guys were fighting last spring.” She clucked her tongue. “Must have been difficult to see her going through that.”

“Yeah…” Emily cleared her throat. “You guys talked to the cops yet?”

“Yeah, some annoying bastard named Taggart grabbed me after I came out of Nadine’s room,” Patrick reached for a new chart. “Wanted me to tell him everything I know about Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan. I told him I met the babydaddy for about five seconds. Long enough to tell him the condition of the patient and then I left. I didn’t even really see the incident.”

Maybe I could get near her at the hospital…they don’t always follow her around.

“Quartermaine!”

Emily blinked and looked at the charge nurse for the floor, Epiphany Johnson, as the heavy set woman tapped her finger. “Yeah?”

“You got rounds or you gonna stand there all day?”

“Dude, aren’t you a nurse?” Patrick asked, irritated. “Do you even get to bother the med students?” When Epiphany turned a glare on him, he closed his mouth, grabbed a chart and disappeared.

“I’m going,” Emily promised.

I’m not going to sit around and wallow anymore. I’m going to start being true to myself again.

She left the hub, and shook the thoughts from her brain. It was just a coincidence, she was sure of it. Courtney was doing so well, had even started dating again. There was no way she’d had any involvement in this.

No way at all.

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Blearily, Elizabeth pushed her eyes open and blinked. Where…

When she realized she was in the hospital, she jerked fully awake, and stiffened, raising herself up partially on her elbow. “What’s going on?”

“Whoa…” Jason stood up from his chair and pushed her hair off her forehead. “Hey, hey. Take it easy.”

“Jason…” Elizabeth pressed a hand to her abdomen and breathed easier when she felt Cady pushing back against her. “Cady’s okay?  She’s okay, right? I woke up, and I thought…” She closed her eyes. “What…what happened?”

“Just…relax for a second.” He pushed her shoulders back gently and then reached for the control on her bed to bring the top part up. “Patrick and Kelly want you to take it easy. You’re staying here tonight.”

“Jason, Cady’s okay?” She reached out and wrapped her fingers around his wrist. “I can feel her kicking, but…I just…she’s okay?”

“She’s perfect,” he promised her, and she saw no tension in his shoulders as he said the words. Only concern. “Kelly did an ultrasound, they ran some tests. Cady is as healthy as she was before you left her office earlier.”

Everything else could wait a moment as Elizabeth closed her eyes and nodded. “Okay. Okay. I was going to the elevator with Nadine. We were talking. I—I don’t really remember anything else…” She paused. “Someone…came out of the stairwell…?”

“What we know is that Dominic should have been at the stairs,” Jason told her. “We found him a few flights down with a head wound. The cameras were off in that stairwell, but someone hacked into the feed and looped in an older tape, showing no movement. Cody chased the guy, but he got away before Alan could lock the place down.” He took her hand in his. “He tried to disorient you with chloroform, so that you’d be dizzy and wouldn’t fight him, but he didn’t…” And she was surprised to see a slight smile on Jason’s face. “They didn’t factor in your friend Nadine.”

“What did she do? Is she okay?” Elizabeth clenched his hand. “Where is she?”

“She’s across the hall. She hit him with her clipboard, and the guy let you go. You hit your head as you feel. When he went for you again, Nadine jumped on his back, tried to choke him with one hand and kept hitting him with the other. Emily told me she heard Nadine’s screams and the cavalry came running.”

“Emily…” Elizabeth blinked. “She was here?”

“She was worried for you,” Jason admitted. “She and another resident got you to a room. Nadine has a concussion and she bruised her back, from where the guy threw her and she hit the wall.”

“Oh, my God.” Elizabeth brought her free hand to her mouth. “But she’s okay?”

“She’s okay. She’s being kept overnight like you, and is chafing at the bit about it.” Jason sighed and looked down at their joined hands. “I…I’m so sorry. I don’t know how this happened. We should have had more guards, should have had people watching the security footage.” He closed his eyes. “I should have been here. I wanted to be, you might not believe that—”

“I do believe that,” Elizabeth murmured. “Jason, you told me that any attempt to get to me here would be desperate. I tried to vary my appointments so they couldn’t predict which day I’d be here. I had guards stationed on the exits. And you might think you failed today…”

“I did fail,” Jason said firmly. “You’re in a hospital bed—”

“I am fine.” Elizabeth sighed. “Jason, the security precautions aren’t just to keep danger from coming near me, they’re to keep danger from hurting me. We know that Ric and Faith are desperate, they’d have to be. And they found a loophole—that I was alone. But they didn’t count on Nadine, or that Cody was less than fifty feet away, or that we’re surrounded by people. You didn’t fail because they never came close to taking me.”

“I…” Jason paused and frowned at her. “Elizabeth—”

“Did you think they wouldn’t try again?” Elizabeth asked. “They did. They failed. Again. And it took them months to figure out how to get to me. If they’re desperate, they’re going to start making mistakes.”

“I know everything you’re saying is right,” Jason said after a long moment. “But I didn’t want this to touch you. To hurt you.”

“At the end of the day, no one can promise that.” Elizabeth sighed and closed her eyes. “You’re sure Kelly said everything was fine?”

“I promise.” He sighed. “Your grandmother is coming by later. She was here while you were out, too. And Mac or Taggart will be here tomorrow to question you. Alan had to report it to them.”

“What do you want me to say?” Elizabeth asked. “I don’t know that much.”

“Tell them the truth,” Jason told her. “They’re not likely to find the guy, and you can tell them you think Ric took the news badly, that he threatened you back then.”

“Okay.” She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Do…you have somewhere to be…or can you stay here? I—I don’t really want to be alone tonight.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jason told her.

+7

All that I wanted from you
Was something you’d never do
So let me in
Oh please tonight
Don’t let this end
Tonight
Cause’ I’m starting to fall
So let me in
– Let Me In, Save Ferris

Thursday, September 18, 2003

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Emily pulled her cardigan tighter around her sweater, already missing the heat of summer. Days like this she missed California, where the summer lasted far longer than September, but if she wanted to live near her family, living in upstate New York was the price she had to pay.

She smiled at her breakfast partner, who was absorbed in stirring her tea, and then sipped her hot chocolate. She set the mug down and looked at the other two empty chairs at either end of the table, remembering other meals at Kelly’s. Remembering when the person across from her had been a brunette and also sipping hot chocolate. They’d once split three packets of the stuff between them, overfilling their mugs with whipped cream and sprinkles.

Instead, she sat across from Courtney Matthews who sipped tea.

Her stomach rolled, as often had in the nearly three months since she had spoken to her brother or her best friend. She’d been upset at contributing to Elizabeth’s bed rest, and had decided that her niece or nephew was more important than trading snide remarks with her former best friend. And that regaining her brother’s respect had been more important.

But she’d seen Elizabeth at the hospital for appointments, for lunches with her grandmother and Nadine Crowell. How her pregnancy had advanced, the way the sadness in her eyes had faded—sadness Emily had never really registered. She hadn’t seen her brother nearly as often—occasionally on the docks or here at Kelly’s. He’d never been one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, particularly in public, but he didn’t look as tense or annoyed with the world.

And the more she’d met with Courtney, the more she’d wondered how she’d got it all wrong. She’d listened to Courtney’s bitter rants and realized they didn’t quite match the syrupy version she’d received when she’d come home in March. How Courtney just knew Jason saw her that way, but he’d been such a stand-up guy that he’d broken things off with Elizabeth before he’d ever told her, showed her. That’s why it hurt so much that he’d cheated on her, that he’d lied to her and wouldn’t give her the time of day.

Emily glanced up as the man in question entered the courtyard. Jason glanced at their table, met Emily’s eyes and then looked away. He disappeared into the restaurant. She exhaled slowly. “I miss him,” she murmured.

Courtney tapped the side of her tea cup and nodded. “I’m sorry you guys argued about me—”

“We didn’t,” Emily interrupted. “I mean, not really.” She set her mug down. “He was upset because Elizabeth went on bed rest for a while in June, and he said that the way I was…treating her had been a factor. I…” Emily hesitated, because she didn’t want to make Courtney angry. The blonde had spent the better part of the summer, living on anger and bitterness, but the past few weeks had been different. The weight seemed to have lifted from her shoulders.

“You took my side against Elizabeth,” Courtney said with a guilty smile. “Em, I never meant for that to happen. I know I put you in the middle more than I should have, but…” She leaned back and sighed. “Carly changed her mind about liking me, I guess I was only useful when I was dating Jason.”

“Courtney, you were hurt.” Emily paused. “No matter how my brother and Elizabeth ended their relationship, or even if you were…a rebound, he shouldn’t have cheated on you.” She bit her lip. “But, yeah, I took your side over Elizabeth’s, which…seemed like the right one at the time. You were my friend, too. I mean, Elizabeth and I were close when we were teenagers, but after I had my accident, we drifted apart.” Emily stared at her hands. “We both called and wrote, talked about her coming out to see me, or me coming home once I started UCLA, but it…just never happened. She got busy with life here, I was busy with life in California. And then…” She sucked in a breath. “She called me last summer to tell me she’d slept with my ex-boyfriend. I was so angry with her. I hung up on her, didn’t even let her explain.”

“What was there to explain?” Courtney asked dully. “I knew she and Jason were fighting after that, well not…” She paused. “Not fighting, But there was a distance that hadn’t been there before. He didn’t look at her the way he had before.”

“Yeah, but I guess…” Emily shook her head. “Zander had lived here another year without me, and Elizabeth was one of the few people he knew. Maybe…they got closer. I don’t know. There are a thousand reasons she could have done it, and I never let her tell me even one. I didn’t even know about her and Jason until I came home. But I remembered the year before, when he’d been home the last time, how he’d been so upset because he cared so much about her, and she kept jerking him around…” She closed her eyes. “But maybe I didn’t want to see how sad she’d been, how unhappy she’d been with Lucky for months.”

“She could have broken up with him,” Courtney said, her mouth tight. “She didn’t have to—”

“No.” Emily smiled, feeling sorrow at how she hadn’t seen Elizabeth. She’d only seen Lucky. For months, she’d only seen her childhood best friend and known he wasn’t the same boy, that he hadn’t come back all the way, and if Elizabeth would just concentrate on him and forget about Jason, maybe Lucky would come back and it would be like it had been before.

“C’mon, Emily. No one has to stay in a relationship that makes them miserable.” Courtney rolled her eyes. “I came along at the tail end of that, and I can’t even understand why she loved him in the first place—”

“You didn’t know them then.” Emily looked away. “I don’t say that to make you upset or point out how far back I go with Elizabeth, but before we thought Lucky died in that fire, I wanted a love like theirs. I know they were young, but…” Emily hesitated. “They’d been so happy together. The way they looked at one another, they were so in sync. I just…” She tilted her head up the sky. “When he came home, I didn’t see that they weren’t those people anymore. He’d been through so much, she’d been dealing with thinking he was dead, but everyone told them they were perfect together, and I know they both felt an obligation to one another to live those dreams again.”

“Emily—”

“And we all pressured her when Lucky was having difficulties. We told her to keep trying, that she and Lucky were perfect together.” Emily rubbed the side of her face. “I didn’t see it. I knew she and Jason were close before he left that first time. I used to think…” Emily pressed her lips together. “That if Lucky had been really dead, if he hadn’t left…”

“But Lucky was alive, and Jason left. Emily, I don’t know the point of all this—”

“The point of this is that I…” Emily met the exasperated eyes of her brother’s ex-girlfriend. “I think maybe I blamed her for not trying hard enough. Lucky was my best friend in the whole world, the first one I made here in Port Charles, and I think…maybe I thought she should have tried harder. If she hadn’t been distracted by Jason, she could have…”

“Made Lucky be the way he used to be?” Courtney supplied. “Well, I mean, it’s not like I like her or even know him that well, but…” As if annoyed with herself for taking Elizabeth’s side, she huffed. “Should that have been her job?”

“No…which makes what Nikolas and I did to her so much worse. I wish I could go back, and tell that girl it was okay she didn’t want to be a model, that she had stopped loving Lucky the way she had before the fire, that it was okay that she had feelings for someone else.”

“But that’s not why you’re fighting now,” Courtney told her. “You’re fighting now because of how she hurt your brother. How she wasn’t honest with you.”

“But it’s the same thing as before,” Emily replied. “I’m not asking her how it happened, how she and Jason fell apart, how they came back together, why she slept with Zander. I’m just…judging her for those things. I’m still taking someone else’s side.”

“I guess.” Courtney shrugged a shoulder. “I mean, I get it, Emily, I do. She’s your best friend going back to high school. I only dated Jason a few months. I look at her now, and she’s having a baby, Em. I made it more difficult for her than I had to.” She swirled her spoon in her now cold tea. “I guess I figured I was a rebound for Jason at first. He was for me, but I really thought that changed after a while. I thought…”

“I just want to apologize to her,” Emily murmured. “I don’t expect her to forgive me, or even understand why I did what I did, but I just want her to know that I know what I did was wrong. I mean, I made the situation so much worse, Courtney. I dropped all these hints to Ric, and then Elizabeth couldn’t deal with things the way she wanted to. Instead, she and Jason have to play damage control. You find out from Ric in front of a dozen people. It’s my fault.”

“I could have been nicer to her. I didn’t have to…” Courtney sighed. “I was pretty nasty to her the last time I saw her and Carly here together. I was so angry that she was stealing my best friend after I lost Jason, but Carly wasn’t my best friend. She’s Jason’s best friend, and I forgot that for a long time. I said some really awful things.”

“But it’s not like Jason would let me within a hundred miles of her right now.” Emily put her elbow on the table, and propped her chin on her first. “And I’m sure her guards aren’t supposed to let anyone stress her out, not with the baby due in less than three months.”

“Yeah.” Courtney nodded. “I know the guards don’t like me. Especially Cody. I used to…” Her cheeks flushed. “I used to make him help Elizabeth close up the nights we had the last shift. I knew he wouldn’t let her lift anything heavy, but…” She shrugged. “I shouldn’t have done it. So there’s no way I could get near her to apologize. Not after the last stunt.”

“Maybe I could get near her at the hospital,” Emily mused. “The security is relatively tight there, my dad has insisted on it after the crap that’s happened there over the last few years, so they don’t always follow her around. Usually, there’s one at the elevator and one at the stairwell that’s between the waiting area and her doctor’s office.” With her free hand, she tapped her fingers restlessly against the table. “I don’t even know if I should bother before the baby is born. Maybe until I can’t cause her more stress.”

“Well, Em, you have to do what’s right for you,” Courtney said. She popped a piece of strawberry from her fruit plate in her mouth and watched as Jason, now with a cup of coffee, exited Kelly’s, glanced at their table again, and then left the courtyard. “That’s all we can do, really, you know. Follow our instincts.”

“Lucky used to say you should be true to yourself,” Emily murmured. “I think it’s good advice.”

“Exactly.” Courtney nodded. “And after this crappy summer, that’s the big change I’m going to make.” She lifted her tea and finished it one gulp, even though it had to be ice cold at this point. “I’m not going to sit around and wallow anymore. I’m going to start being true to myself again.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“It’s just for a few hours.” Elizabeth sighed, already exhausted by this argument. For two weeks, Jason had asked her to stay inside, for visitors to come to her. He hadn’t been specific, but she knew he felt her security had been threatened in some way—that Ric and Faith had been toying with them all summer, hoping for an opportunity to take Elizabeth. They were desperate, Jason told her, and he knew she was safe as long as she was in this building.

“Elizabeth—”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and stepped towards the balcony, looking out over the harbor, wishing she was out there. In the last four months, she had spent more time in this penthouse than she had outside it and she was starting to chafe. Jason had tried to make it comfortable here, clearing out a space for her to paint, but she wanted her studio, she wanted to go to Kelly’s to have lunch with her grandmother. He got to go have coffee there every morning, why couldn’t she just…be outside for an hour? She glared at the evidence of his own visit, sitting empty on the coffee table.

“This is one of the reasons I pushed away,” he said quietly. She frowned now and looked at him. “Because of times like this, when your safety had to take priority over your happiness.”

She bit her lip and flicked her eyes back to the outside world. “Jason—”

“You already have to be escorted everywhere by two guards,” he interrupted, his voice rough. “You can’t paint where you want to, you can’t go out and do things when you want. I knew—”

“Just…stop…” She held up a hand, hoping he would stop talking about how this argument was justification for always pushing her away. “I might be frustrated, but it’s not like I don’t get it, okay? I do. And I’ll suck it up. But…” She rubbed the side of her head. “I just want you to let me be frustrated without pushing me away. The guards don’t bother me, being driven around doesn’t either— it’s not like I was a great driver anyway. The studio is just a room, and…” Well, the third point had some merit. “My grandmother will just have to learn to be comfortable visiting here.”

He shook his head. “You don’t—”

“Jason, it isn’t always like this,” Elizabeth said. “I know this. I remember when Sonny and Carly got married that first time. There were threats, yeah, you came home to take care of something that ended up with the warehouse burning down, but Carly went about her business at Deception, annoying me. I remember when you were dating Robin, because Emily was my friend. Robin had a guard, but she had a life and friends.”

“But—”

“The threat right now is different,” Elizabeth said simply. “I don’t know the details, and I don’t want to know them, but I know you think Ric and Faith are trying to distract you in one area, hoping that it will lead you to loosen my security a bit. That means this particular threat is aimed at me. So I’ll vent, and I’ll stomp my foot. But…” She lowered herself onto the sofa next to him. “At the end of the day, my life, my daughter’s life is more important to me than going to Kelly’s for lunch.”

Jason exhaled and he looked away. She wondered if he was just trying to think of something to counter her argument. “It won’t be like this,” he finally said. “You’ll have one guard. You’ll…be able to get a job if you want. Come and go. But this might happen again—”

“And we’ll probably get annoyed with each other then.” She hesitated. “Jason, you are important enough to me to make sacrifices. What we have is important enough for me to take that risk. Are you ever going to accept that I’m exactly where I want to be?”

“I do, most of the time.” He pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. “I just…there’s so much I can’t control—”

“Which is why we take precautions. Why you guys have this placed locked up tighter than Fort Knox. Nadine jokes she’s sure the next time she shows up, they’ll strip search her. Jason…” Normally, she would have straddled him to force him to look at her, to meet her eyes, but she’d woken up this week, and for the first time, felt seven months pregnant. She settled for taking his hand in hers and lacing their fingers together. “Sometimes the way you talk…it makes me think you don’t see us learning how to make this work.”

He hesitated, looking at their fingers and then met her eyes, but she was annoyed that his faced was closed. “I’m just being realistic,” he said finally. “That it might not.”

She sighed and sat back, letting his hand slide from hers. “What if my grandmother and I promised to eat inside the restaurant? You know that Bobbie doesn’t mind if you put a guy on the exit and the entrance.”

“Yeah, I guess that’ll work.” She was exhausted from constantly having to be the one to make the step forward. He wanted her to stay, but he hadn’t been lying when he said he didn’t know how make to her want to, and she was beginning to think he didn’t expect her to. If she thought his hesitation to trust in them was something she could fix, she’d try to…but she just didn’t think it was. Particularly since he couldn’t bring himself to answer her hesitant questions about the future.

She was foolishly pinning her hopes on things changing when Cady was born, because she knew he’d have to be in the delivery room with her. He would hold her, and she really wanted to believe he would look at this baby he had watched come into this world and love her for who she was in her own right, and forget that she was biologically Ric Lansing’s daughter.

But even though they had now acknowledged the baby, had begun to decorate a nursery, she still didn’t feel any sense of…connection to the future. To the idea that they would be a family. If he didn’t look at Cady with the love her daughter deserved, how could she stay? So maybe he was right have that hesitation, because until she knew he would accept her daughter, she couldn’t tell him she loved him. She didn’t want to say those words, and have him look at her with those beautiful eyes and say them back, knowing she couldn’t trust them.

If he didn’t love Cady, then he couldn’t love Cady’s mother.

Elizabeth sighed. “I’ll call my grandmother to let her know I’ll be there soon.” She leaned over and kissed him. “Thanks.”

As she disappeared up the stairs, there was a knock on the door and Francis pushed open. “Hey, Jase. Mrs. C wants to speak to Miss Webber.”

Carly slowly came in, not nearly as mobile in her eighth month of pregnancy. “Man, this sucks. I don’t remember being this miserable with Michael.”

Jason stood to take her hand and lower her to the armchair. “You were too busy making sure AJ was out of the picture, that I was agreeing to help you and that Tony was far away from you.”

“Hmm…yeah, I was distracted.” She glanced around. “Where’s the Muffin?”

“Getting ready for lunch with her grandmother.”

“She gets to go out?” Carly pouted. “Lucky brat.” She sighed. “But even if I wanted to go out, I don’t know where I’d go. I’m fat, Jason. And this is your fault.”

He heard Elizabeth laugh as she came down the stairs. “Carly, how do you figure Jason got you in this mess?”

“He convinced me to marry Sonny,” Carly grumbled. “Ipso facto, that makes it his fault.”

Elizabeth frowned, with a good natured smile. “Ipso facto? When did you learn Latin?”

“I get very, bored Muffin. I read a list of Latin terms on the Internet and for funsies, I memorized them.” Carly groaned and let her head fall back. “That’s where I am in this pregnancy, Jason. I am so bored I’m learning crap.”

“Well, that’s a cause for alarm.” Elizabeth leaned in and kissed Jason on the cheek. “I’ll be back from lunch in a few hours.”

“Be careful,” Jason called after her as she pulled open the door. Carly twisted slightly in her chair and frowned.

“Well, frick, I didn’t even get to ask her if she finished the sketch for Morgan’s nursery. I want to paint his name on the wall, and she said she’d work on something arty for me.” She pursed her lip. “Well…now that I’ve docked myself here, I’m going to annoy you for at least ten minutes to make this trip worth it.”

Jason sighed and sat on the sofa. “Nothing new there, Carly.”

“Did Muffin show you the colors she picked out for Cady’s room?” Carly asked.

“Are you ever going to stop calling her that?” Jason asked, ignoring her. “She has a name, Carly.”

“Bah. She likes it, I think. It’s our thing.” She narrowed her eyes. “I thought you guys settled things, that you were on the same page about the baby.”

“I’m still not having is conversation with you,” Jason told her. He barely wanted to have this conversation with himself much less Carly, but she was, as she’d put it, docked in his living room and it wasn’t as though he could physically kick her out.

“I swear to God, Jason Morgan, if you screw this up after I’ve gone to the trouble of working the Muffin into my life, I will never let you hear the end of it,” Carly snarled. She pointed her index finger at him. “Do you understand me? I bonded with the woman. She’s designing my nursery. I helped her with the colors for hers. I bought her freaking baby clothes. I did everything you and Sonny wanted me to do, and—”

“Carly, it’s okay if you like Elizabeth. Most people do,” Jason interrupted, ignoring the purpose of her rant and just enjoying Carly’s annoyance. “It’s not a bad thing to make a friend.”

“Oh, piss off.” Carly narrowed her eyes. “Oh, no, Jason. I see what you did there. Trying to lull me into a sense of security by insulting me so I won’t notice you’re avoiding me again. Damn it, Jason, are you going to make me say it straight out? Again? How many times do I have to tell you that the only person screwing your relationship up this time is you?” She scowled. “And you know I hate to take her side, but frick it, I don’t have a choice—”

“Do you want me to help you up?” Jason said blandly. Carly’s scowl only intensified, and then he was mildly horrified to see her eyes were almost glossy. “Carly—”

“You think I’m stupid? That I don’t get it?” She dug her elbows into the armchair, trying to hoist herself to her feet. Reflexively, Jason hauled her up. “You want the Muffin to stay, but you’re pretty sure she won’t. Which means you’ll watch another mother take another child you love away from you.”

Because he was annoyed to discover Carly did, in fact, get it, he just shook his head. “I told you, Carly—”

“You have to have this conversation with someone, Jason.” Carly braced a hand at her back. “Because if you don’t, you’re going to get exactly what you deserve. No mother should ever feel like her child is a burden or obligation. After everything I put you through with Michael, you never made me once feel like you regretted it. You hated what I did, what Robin did, but I know you. You’d do it all over again.”

Jason swallowed hard. “Carly—”

“So why do I rate that kind of consideration, but the woman you’re stupid about doesn’t?” Tears were sliding out of Carly’s eyes, and she swiped angrily at them. “You see what happens? I’m crying over goddamn Elizabeth Muffin Webber.” She started across the room, but turned at the door. “You deserve everything you get if you keep making her feel like her baby isn’t good enough. And if I’m wrong, and it’s not because of Michael, but because of Ric Lansing, well, then…” She huffed. “You don’t deserve her anyway. Which only pisses me off more.”

She opened the door, stepped gingerly out into the hallway, and then slammed it behind her.

Corinthos-Morgan Coffee Warehouse: Sonny’s Office

Sonny Corinthos had a pisser of a headache brewing and the reason for it stood in his office, clutching his laptop to his chest with one hand, a sheaf of papers in the other, and a goddamn beanie cap on his head. He knew he wasn’t a good person, but what had he ever done to deserve Damien Spinelli?

“So, Mr. Sir, as I had previously stated, the shell companies were quite well hidden, and it was only through the talent of the Jackal that I was able to—”

Sonny cut off the rambling young man with a hand and looked at Jason. “Long story short. I read Spinelli’s report. I read it five times. I still don’t understand this bullshit. He doesn’t listen to me when I tell him to speak English. I’m hoping you’ll scare him.”

Jason, who looked worn out, rubbed his eyes and turned his best lethal glare on Spinelli. The other man gulped and cleared his throat. “Yes, Stone Cold, sir. The shell companies that were receiving the siphoned funds from the casinos were very complicated, and I managed to track them back to the Lansing family out of Crimson Pointe.”

Sonny had the sudden urge to slam his head into the desk. Fucking Lansing family. Fucking Crimson Pointe. Fucking Anthony goddamn Zacchara. He was a crazy son of a bitch and made Sonny look like the poster child for mental health. “So it was Trevor Lansing, and therefore, Zacchara.”

“Not necessarily, Mr. Sir,” Spinelli bobbed his head. “The Lansing holdings are enormously diverse and therefore I am still untangling which member of the family owns what. Several of the shell companies appeared to go right to Richard Lansing, while one or two of them passed through Trevor Lansing’s hands before being transferred first to one Anthony Zacchara, then back to Richard Lansing. I cannot say at this time who makes the final decisions.”

Jason folded her arms and scowled. “Will you be able to at some point? You’re supposed to be good at this.”

Spinelli drew himself up, indignant. “I will have you know that the Jackal is unsurpassed in cyberspace, but I cannot create records or databases that simply do not exist. I have to hack into Swiss bank accounts and offshore Caymans to pinpoint the exact withdrawer of the finds. This is not a point and click operation.” He coughed. “Sir. I should know by the end of the week. I humbly apologize for the—”

“Ah, stop talking or I’m going to shoot you,” Sonny muttered, covering his face with his hands. “Go away. Drink all the orange soda you can get your hands on and come back and tell me if which son of a bitch is gunning for me.”

“I will accede to your wishes, Mr. Sir.” Spinelli looked at Jason. “Stone Cold, sir.” And with that, the computer hacker had disappeared out of the office.

“I think Stan was fucking with me when he put me in touch with this bastard,” Sonny all but moaned. “Because, sure, he knows what he’s doing, but I’ll end up murdering him in the process.” He stabbed a finger at Jason. “And you’re gonna testify on my behalf, Jase. You’re going to tell them I was provoked.”

“He didn’t give us much to work with,” Jason sighed, lowering himself into a chair. “But it’s something to keep in mind. None of the Families have been as helpful as we’d hoped they’d be, but the Zaccharas even less.”

“Trevor doesn’t like me because of my mother.” Sonny rubbed his bottom lip. “Tell you what—knowing the connection between my mother and Lansing helps me understand why Zacchara’s always been a pain in my ass. Always more difficult than it needs to be with negotiations. Bastard’s been after me for years.”

“But he’s been content to stick it to you in small ways,” Jason pointed out. “He apparently gets more satisfaction from needling you rather than going after you the way Ric apparently did.”

“True.” Sonny sighed. “Still no closer to tracking that bastard down. I’d be a lot happier if I could watch him sink to the bottom of the harbor.” Suddenly he felt every inch of his nearly forty years. “If I had just let you kill him after what we found out about Carly, Elizabeth wouldn’t be going through this. She must be going insane, stuck in that penthouse.”

“She negotiated her way into lunch with her grandmother today,” Jason admitted. “For two hours. I got a call from Dominic before I came in that she was home. But yeah, she’s starting to get antsy.”

“She good otherwise?” Sonny asked. “Health wise?”

“Fine,” Jason said, and Sonny was surprised by the edge in his tone.

“You sure? You don’t sound like she’s fine.” Sonny crossed to the mini bar and poured himself some water. “Carly wants to drag her out for baby furniture this week. I want them to sit in the penthouse with a computer so they can order online—”

“Why can’t either of you just drop it?” Jason demanded. “I get it. Neither one of you think I’m doing anything right. I’m a complete failure. I don’t need you two to double team me.”

Sonny blinked, his water in his hand. “Ah…I’m not sure what you mean, Jase. It’s called conversation.”

“You think I don’t know what the situation is?” Jason dug the heel of his hand into his eye. “I live with it every day. I know I messed this up, just like I did last year. I get it. I do not want you or Carly shoving it in my face—”

“Um.” Sonny turned his head slightly, trying to understand what was going on here. Clearly, Jason was having a bit of temper tantrum. He didn’t even know that was possible. “I’m sorry?” he offered.

“Whatever.” Jason grabbed a stack of files. “I’m going home.”

“Okay,” Sonny drawled and watched his best friend all but stomp out of the room. Well, what the hell crawled up his ass and died?

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

“Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.”

Sonny grinned and dug his thumb into the arch of his wife’s foot. “Rough day?”

“Boring day.” Carly tilted her head back against the arm of the sofa, her feet in Sonny’s lap. She closed her eyes. “I went to Jason’s to nag the Muffin, but she was being granted parole for a few hours. I yelled at Jason and came home to buy more clothes. Sonny, you never should have shown me how to shop online. It’s going to be a problem.”

“We’ll have to build another closet,” Sonny mused. He continued his massage. “What’d you yell at Jason about? He seemed tense.”

“You know how you told me to stay out of it?” Carly said with a sigh. “I hate to say this, maybe you were right. I thought I was helping. I didn’t do anything. There were no tapes, no wires, no outside forces. I just…told Jason he was making Elizabeth miserable about her pregnancy. And when I saw her setting up a nursery, I thought he’d heard me. That I was getting through to him, but I don’t know, Sonny.” She leaned up on her elbows to meet his eyes. “I think I’ve nagged him too much, and he’s digging in his heels.”

“I think Jason will straighten this out without our help,” Sonny said. “He managed to get this far—”

“But he didn’t, Sonny.” Carly huffed and laid back down, staring at the ceiling as Sonny’s fingers stilled on her ankle. “Elizabeth told me that she’s brought up all the changes. That the day after she moved in, she’s the one that insisted they start dealing with their garbage. That she’s always the one to bring up the future. And he caught her going through baby clothes she was stashing in the closet, so she figured he felt guilty.”

Sonny paused. “Elizabeth is confiding in you a lot.”

“Bite me, bastard. I’m not thrilled about it either, but this is my life now. I figured Jason was going to keep her this time. She’s having a baby, he loves babies, he…” Her nose wrinkled. “He…loves her, I guess. If we can use that word. They’re sleeping together. So I figured I should…not chase her away. It never kept her away, so it was just a waste of energy. So I gave her a chance, and I just…” Damn hormones, because she felt tears burning in her eyes again. “I see how I felt when I was pregnant with Michael. When I was pregnant with our first son. Desperate. Trying to make a better life for myself, making mistakes everywhere I turned. I was so sure that you didn’t want the baby, or that you wanted it with anyone but me.”

“You sympathize with her,” Sonny said. She scowled at him, opening her eyes and raising her head. “It’s not a horrible thing, Carly. You found yourself pregnant with my child, when we hated one another, when I used you to make a point to Jason. I know…” He hesitated. “I know you doubted going through with it.”

“I did,” Carly sighed. “But I was never sorry that I had. And I know Elizabeth must have thought about not doing it either, but…” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Sonny, what if we’re wrong and the reason Jason isn’t talking about a future with Elizabeth and the baby isn’t because of Michael.”

“You think it’s because of Ric?” Sonny said. He sighed, absently tracing circles on her ankle. “I’ve wondered. I love Michael as my own son, and I know Jason did. Still does, I’m sure. But maybe it’s harder when you look at the woman you love having a child that was conceived with a man you loathe during a period of time you were separated. Do you think he thinks the baby is a mistake?”

“I want to say no,” Carly said softly. “I want to believe that Jason still holds true to what he used to say. A baby is a person. He doesn’t belong to anyone, but himself. He used to say that he wanted to protect Michael from the Quartermaines until he was old enough to make his own choices, until Michael could decide to have AJ for himself. I remember how perfect he was with Michael, how much he loved this little boy that wasn’t his, that he always knew wasn’t biologically his. I’ve known children who weren’t loved as well by their actual parents the way Jason loved Michael. So…how can you think he wouldn’t feel that way about Elizabeth’s child?”

“I’m not saying it has to make sense,” Sonny sighed. “I’m saying that maybe Jason doesn’t even understand it. I think it’s more about not wanting to lose another child. I don’t think he believes he and Elizabeth are going to last.”

“But why?” Carly again leaned up on her elbows. “Believe me, I’ve tried to get rid of her, but she keeps popping back up, so I figure she wants to be in it for the long haul. I see the way she talks about him, you know, and I get it. I see them working, so why can’t he?”

“I wish I knew,” Sonny said. “But Carly, it’s not our job to fix their problems. To make them go away.”

“Why not?” Carly demanded. “Jason always fixes mine. Why shouldn’t it be my job to do it for him? I just want him to be happy, you know. Because I hurt him so much, and I can’t ever make that go away. I can’t ever take back letting him fall in love with Michael, with running to the Quartermaines and calling him a kidnapper, with marrying AJ…sleeping with you. I can’t take those things back, so I have to give him something else to make up for it. I have make sure he’s happy.”

“Carly—”

“I tried, I really. I thought Courtney would work. She seemed…well, I don’t know. She seemed okay, and I could put up with her. I figured that would be good, if I could tolerate the woman in his life so he’d stay my friend. Elizabeth never liked me, so maybe he would have distanced himself from me if she’d stayed, but Courtney was your sister. She couldn’t take Jason away. So I thought they’d work and I pressured them both. But she wasn’t right for him.”

“No, she wasn’t, but Carly—”

“I know it’s selfish, but I want him to be happy so I can forgive myself for everything I did to him. You get it, right? If he’s happy, then I didn’t break him for good.”

“Carly, you didn’t break Jason—”

“No?” Carly demanded. “Then explain to me why he has everything he wants in his reach and he’s doing everything he can to destroy it? If that’s not someone I broke, I don’t know what is.”

+7

There’s a light at each end of this tunnel,
You shout ’cause you’re just as far in as you’ll ever be out
And these mistakes you’ve made, you’ll just make them again
If you’d only try turning around
– Breathe (2AM), Anna Nalick

Monday, August 25, 2003

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Francis pushed open the door, with a smirk on his face. “Mrs. C is here, Miss Webber.”

Elizabeth, at the base of the stairs, rolled her eyes. “Francis, he’s upstairs and I doubt he cares what you call me—”

“No time for this, Muffin.” Carly stepped through the door, a cardboard box in her arms. “There’s ice cream in here and it’s going to melt.” She narrowed her eyes at a thud from upstairs. “What’s going on?”

“They’re taking apart some of the furniture in one of the guest rooms.” She stepped forward. “What’s with the food?”

“My brain must be oozing out of my ears,” Carly said, following her to the kitchen where she set the box on the table. “Sonny’s going to be here in a few hours, and I forgot I got lax about junk food. It’s bad enough he knows where I hide the Oreos and the candy bars. If he finds out the ice cream was in there…”

Elizabeth laughed and started to unpack the box. “Well, at least since Sonny’s back that means he’ll be kicking you out again, so you can just come over here and stuff your face.” She put the pistachio ice cream in their freezer.

“There is that benefit.” Carly glanced out the doorway where she saw several men carrying down a headboard. “Why are you cleaning out one of the guest rooms?”

Elizabeth hesitated and then ducked her head, still not sure that it was all happening. “A few weeks ago, Jason suggested I pick which room I wanted for the nursery. I kept changing my mind, but I decided yesterday.”

“Jason suggested?” Carly pursed her lips. “Well, huh, maybe he was listening.” She unwrapped a candy bar and split it in half, offering one side to Elizabeth. “So…that does that mean things are better?”

“They’re…different,” Elizabeth allowed. They still weren’t talking about what the baby would mean for their relationship, if Jason intended on being her father in truth, and not just in gossip, but she didn’t feel the crushing weight of not being able to talk about how tired she was sometimes, or how her feet hurt.

“Hmmm….” Sounding unconvinced, Carly chewed her chocolate. “I’m having lunch with Mama later, but afterwards, I could always bring some of my books over so we can work on color schemes. I have to settle on Morgan’s nursery colors since he’s due in five minutes.”

“That wouldn’t suck,” Elizabeth said. “Jason and Sonny will probably spend half the afternoon getting caught up anyway.” She smiled and shook her head. “Since it’s not like they can discuss their business over the phone.”

“True story.” Carly popped the last piece in her mouth. “All right, I’ve delivered my known contraband, so I’m going to do another sweep, make sure I didn’t miss anything.”

“I know you bitch about Sonny’s nutrition issues, but I think you enjoy the crap out of figuring out how to get your junk food anyway,” Elizabeth remarked as she walked the blonde to the door, already opened.

“I do,” Carly admitted, “because he knows that I’m doing it, but he can’t figure out how. I just hope he doesn’t realize you’re my dealer until this kid is out of me.” With a wave, she left. “Later, Muffin.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and turned around to see Jason heading down the stairs. Behind her, Francis closed the door. “Hey, did they finish?”

“Yeah,” Jason replied. He slid his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “But they left the carpet where it is. I didn’t know if you wanted to change it.”

Elizabeth shrugged. “I can make it work, I’m sure.” She hesitated, feeling a bit apprehensive. Things were better, but they weren’t where they needed to be, and more than once since Jason had suggested setting up a nursery, she’d been urged by Nadine to just talk to the man.

She knew she should. She knew they had to, but she just…wanted more time.

“Carly was by dropping off her junk food,” she said finally. She twisted her fingers in the skirt of her strapless maxi dress. “She said Sonny’s on his way back.”

“Yeah.” He stepped forward took her hands in his, stilling her restless fingers. “But it won’t be like it was last month. Things are calmer.” But the unspoken for now hung between them, and she was determined to put on a brave face for him.

“I’m not worried about that.” She bit her lip, because she hated bringing it up, but knowing she didn’t have a choice. “I know we don’t talk about it much, but I haven’t asked in a while about…” She paused. “Well…your search for Ric.”

Instead of tensing up as she had expected, he just sighed and led her over to the couch. He sat and she curled up next to him. “I told you we had to scale it back when things started to get…complicated here.”

“I know, and I understood.” She really did. For all they knew, Ric had given up after the kidnapping attempt fell through, and there was no point in Jason and Sonny leaving them unprotected on one side to search for a possibly non-existent threat. “I just think we’d all be better off if he wasn’t hanging over our shoulders.”

“I know. I’m hoping we can ramp it back up now that things are under control,” Jason said. “I’d like this resolved before you have the baby.”

Elizabeth frowned, because she wasn’t really sure what that meant. Feeling a little brave, she cleared her throat. “Because you’d like me out of here by then?” she asked softly.

He drew his brows together, and he met her eyes, his own filled with bewilderment. “No. I just…I know your blood pressure is back where it needs to be, and you’ve been healthy. I just…don’t want you worried about it.” He laced their fingers together and stared at their hands. “I told you…I wanted you here. I—I know I haven’t…always made it easy.”

“No,” Elizabeth confessed, “but neither have I.” She rested her head on his shoulder, her forehead against his cheek. “We’re still just living in the moment, Jason.”

“I know.” His was voice was low, almost hoarse. “I know that.”

“This summer has meant so much to me…to finally be with you, to look at you and not have to hide how I feel…but I can’t live in the moment forever.”

His chest rumbled as he exhaled. “I know. We need to…figure out what’s next.”

She nodded, closing her eyes. She didn’t want to read into his words, but she knew a part of her wondered if the reason Jason had such difficulty bringing up the future with her was because he didn’t think they had one.

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

Jason nodded to Max, who opened Sonny’s door. He’d rather be across the hall, watching Elizabeth sketch or read, or do anything. Every moment he spent with Elizabeth felt bittersweet now, because he thought they had almost agreed that what they had was all about the moment, and he knew what she meant about it not lasting forever.

He’d known that all along, but it was the first time either of them had really broached what that might mean. He’d agreed to set up a room for the baby, and hesitantly brought the topic up several times so she’d know she didn’t have to hide it anymore. He hated that she’d felt that way, but he couldn’t go back and change the past. He could only make it better.

“Hey, Jase.” Sonny poured a glass of water. “Carly’s out to lunch with her mother. Liz across the hall?”

“Yeah.” He rubbed his chest, absently. “She still doesn’t leave the penthouse much, which I know drives her crazy. Mostly for the hospital or lunch with her grandmother. Sometimes Carly takes her shopping.”

“Yeah.” Sonny grinned. “Carly mentioned she’d been spending more time than she felt comfortable about with the Muffin.” He shook his head as he sipped the water. “I’d tell her to stop with the nickname, but I think it’s a term of endearment at this point, which pisses Carly off. So really, it’s kind of funny.”

The odd truce that had sprung up between the two women was actually entertaining, Jason had to admit. He was still wary of them spending time together, sure that at any moment, Carly would revert to form, but she was proving him wrong. Carly had always said in the end she was loyal to him first, which explained why she’d stopped hanging out with Courtney, but this was the first time he actually believed that might be true.

“Anyway.” Sonny sighed and set the glass down. “Let’s get down to it.” He crossed to the desk and flipped through some folders. “I got a guy on computers. He’s annoying as hell, because I’m not entirely sure he speaks English and drinks too much orange soda. He’s at PCU, which means he’s younger than I’d like, but Stan told me he’s a crafty motherfucker.” He handed a file to Jason. “Damien Spinelli. He managed to track the money that’s been skimmed off from the casinos to a series of shell corporations. He said he’s still tracing it to the original account holder, but it might take time.”

“So we still don’t know who’s behind this?” Jason glanced at the file on the new hacker and then closed it. He’d go over it more detail later. “Or why they came at us so hard last month, and then just drew back without warning? I don’t like it, Sonny.”

“Me either.” Sonny rubbed the corner of his mouth with his index finger. “It makes me surer we’re dealing with Ric and Faith. I don’t know where they’d get the resources, but that kind of haphazard attack tells me they’re running low. Maybe they thought all the problems would distract us from Elizabeth’s security.” He shrugged. “Not a chance, but I guess they don’t know that.”

“I just…” Jason looked at the ceiling, annoyed at the world. “I just wish we knew if it is Ric, if he’s after you, or still after Elizabeth. If he believed us when we told him it was my child. I don’t know, and I hate not knowing.”

“I underestimated the son of a bitch,” Sonny growled. “He was impatient. Didn’t get the reaction he wanted from you about Liz, so he went after my wife. But he didn’t even bother trying to seduce her or being her friend. He went right for blackmail. It didn’t feel like he had an exit plan.”

“I should have taken him apart the second I saw him going after Elizabeth,” Jason muttered. “I wanted to.”

“Yeah…well…” Sonny rolled his shoulders. “I figured he was so sloppy before, he’d be that way again. But I don’t know, man…if he’s still focused on Elizabeth…”

Jason saw hesitation settle over his friend’s features, and tensed. “What?”

“I think…” Sonny said slowly, “that he was impatient when he was dealing with me, but I’m beginning to wonder if he ever believed Elizabeth was pregnant with your child.” He held up a hand when Jason opened his mouth to protest. “Hear me out. It was a good plan, and I went along with it. It may have made her life difficult for a while, but it offered her a level of protection that she just wouldn’t have had otherwise. But it’s like…Ric is holding on to that, and I keep remember how you said he threatened her.”

“He said he wouldn’t be separated from his child.” Jason scrubbed his hands over his face. “So he’s been screwing with us this whole time. He made us think he believed me when he went straight for Carly and Courtney. He wanted to exact the maximum damage. He knew it was a ploy, and that’s why he announced it to an entire goddamn diner.”

“We were distracted then. By setting up this story, by getting Elizabeth’s security detail settled.” Sonny nodded. “And while we were dealing with the Families and Elizabeth’s safety, he came after the business.”

“Because he thought we might shift our focus again.” It was so goddamn clear now. How the hell had they missed this? “What are they going to do now? They still can’t get to her. I barely let her out of my sight. She has two guards on her when she leaves, and two more she doesn’t even see. We sweep the cars she uses before they get close.” He was going to crawl out of his skin, because all of this meant Ric was still focused on Elizabeth and the baby. He hadn’t fixed a goddamn thing yet.

“Ric has to figure she’s getting close to her due date. I can’t…” Sonny paused. “I can’t decide if he thinks it’d be better to grab her now, and wait for the baby to be born or wait until the kid is here. But it’s insane at this point. He has to know that after all the trouble we’ve gone to protect her, that we’re still sticking with the story…he has to know we’d protect the kid as much as Elizabeth.”

“Which means he’ll be desperate and looking for any opportunity.”

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Carly entered the courtyard, Rocco just steps behind her. She hoped like hell Courtney wasn’t working today. She hadn’t seen her in the two weeks since their last run-in and good riddance to her. Why the hell she’d thought that simpering twit was good enough for her best friend, she’d never know.

She wasn’t even sure the Muffin was good enough for him, but they were stupid for each other, which meant Carly hoped they got their shit together and stopped causing her stress.

“Carly?”

The sound of her name had her pausing in front of the door. She turned to find Elizabeth’s grandmother and the nurse from the hospital at one of the tables. “Oh, hello, Mrs. Hardy.”

Audrey smiled at her and got to her feet. “Hello, how are you feeling?”

“Fat,” Carly said, always suspicious when upstanding people were nice to her, but she knew Audrey had been an unexpected source of support for her…not her friend, damn it. The Muffin. Audrey supported the Muffin. Damn her life. “Ready to have this baby.”

“Would you join us for a moment?” Audrey asked. She must have seen the confusion in Carly’s eyes, because she smiled. “Just a moment. We won’t keep you.”

“All right.” Carly gingerly lowered herself into the third chair and looked at the perky blonde nurse. Nadia. Nancy. Naomi. Frick. She needed to pay more attention. “Um…I’m not sure we’ve ever really…you know, met.”

“Nadine Crowell.” The other woman smiled. Nadine, that’s right. At least she was on the right track. “I’m sure you’re wondering why Mrs. Hardy and I cornered you.”

“Um…” Carly darted a glance at the elderly woman who had taken her seat again. “The thought had occurred to me.”

“It’s about Elizabeth,” Audrey said. “Nadine and I would like to have a baby shower for her, but we…” She cleared her throat. “I understand from my granddaughter that…for security reasons…” And though phrase clearly pained her, but Carly admired how the woman just forged on. “We may want to have it at the penthouse.”

“It’d be totally easier for gifts, too,” Nadine remarked and Carly wondered idly how anyone could be that goddamn chipper all the damn time. She kind of wanted to smack her to see if she’d stop smiling long enough to cry.

“It’s true that the penthouse would be easiest,” Carly agreed. And then she realized she’d somehow been roped into planning a baby shower for Elizabeth Muffin Webber.

God damn her life. Whatever happened to the bitch on wheels? Pregnancy. That’s what. She was going soft.

Morgan Penthouse: Nursery

Jason hesitantly pushed open the door to the newly designated nursery and found Elizabeth standing in the middle of the room, a sketchbook in her hand and tapping a pencil against her lips. She didn’t notice him right away, so he leaned against the door jamb. She was wearing another one of those stretchy, clingy dresses that told the world that she was pregnant. It should have bothered him—this constant reminder of their expiration date. That once she had her daughter, things between them would change, even end. And yet…it was impossible to ignore that Elizabeth Webber was one of those women who glowed when she was carrying a child.

Elizabeth glanced over and smiled. “Hey. I thought Carly said you were going to be late.”

“I have to go back out tonight,” he told her, “but I’m free for the next few hours.” He looked at her sketchbook. “Do you know what you want to do in here yet?”

Her eyes widened, and he knew she was surprised he was, once again, broaching the subject of her daughter.

She smiled and looked back at the walls. “Yeah. Carly came by while you were meeting with Sonny, and she lugged over almost ever decorating book or magazine she could find.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “Rocco was not happy, but I guess he figures better to keep her happy.” She tapped her pencil idly against the paper. “She’s still trying to visualize Morgan’s nursery, so she actually asked me for my opinion on that.” Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Carly and I haven’t argued in like four months, Jason. I don’t know what to do about that.”

This time his smile felt more natural. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Carly never ceases to surprise me. I thought she’d be the most difficult part of all this.”

“I know, right?” Elizabeth crossed to the windowsill to put down the pad and pick up a measuring tape. He hurried forward to take it from her. “Jason, I am capable of—”

“I’m taller than you,” he pointed out. “What do you need?”

She indicated she wanted the length of the walls, from corner to corner, to window, to door so she could make accurate furniture plans. As he did so, Elizabeth continued with their previous conversation. “Carly and I have been at odds for so long, I’m pretty sure that neither of us really remember why.” She hesitated. “Well, that’s not true. She hated me because of that December in my studio.”

“Yeah, she wasn’t a fan of you restricting my visitors.” Jason smiled now, remembering how fierce Elizabeth had been then. He’d seen the sparks in her all that fall, but he’d wondered if she’d be able to stand up to Sonny and Carly when he didn’t want to see them. The two were forces of nature, used to getting their own way, but they hadn’t been prepared for her.

“Hmmph.” Elizabeth folded her arms and lifted her chin. “Well, you didn’t want to see anyone. It was all I could do to make you see Bobbie.” She tilted her head to the side. “That time in my studio, that’s when I knew I was going to be okay. That I would be okay without Lucky. Before then, I was still kind of floundering, not sure how to get on with my life. But…I woke up one day when it was all over, and I realized…” He looked at her, and her cheeks were flushed.

“You realized what?”

“That you weren’t just my friend with the motorcycle,” Elizabeth admitted. “You weren’t just Emily’s brother.” She met his eyes. “You were Jason, and I…I really missed you.”

“I know what you mean,” Jason after a long moment. He wrote down the last measurement and set the tape back on the window sill. “I always knew who you were. I always kept an eye on who Emily was friends with, and I remember seeing you that night at Luke’s, when Nikolas was shot.” He leaned against the window. “And I remember you, with Lucky. That…night at the garage.”

“I only remembered you and Sonny later,” Elizabeth said. She crossed the room and leaned against the wall, facing him. “I remember falling, but not hitting the ground. Bobbie told me Sonny caught me.” Her eyes looked pained. “And I remember going to tell Sonny that I was so sorry Luke was blaming him because the fire had been my fault, caused by the candles I asked him to light.”

“But it wasn’t your fault,” Jason reminded her, hating the anguish talking about those days brought up. “And you know, Lucky’s alive.”

“I know.” Elizabeth exhaled slowly. “But not…not in the same way. He’s mostly okay now, but he’s not that boy anymore. That boy…the one you hired, that idolized Luke and Sonny…that Lucky never came back, and it took me a long time to accept that.” She forced a smile on her face. “But we were talking about how you thought of me before the studio.”

“Right.” Jason didn’t want to talk about Lucky anyway, though he found he was less bothered by her memories of Lucky before the fire then he was by the ones with the living breathing pain in the ass he always had to deal with. “There was the time you and Emily lied to Jake about me saying it was all right for you guys to go see some stupid band.”

Elizabeth laughed, and he was relieved that it was genuine. “Yeah. Oh, wow. I still don’t know why 98 Degrees was playing in some dive bar, but hey…if you hadn’t given us permission that night…I never would have gone that night you and I first…” She hesitated. “It’s weird, because I think of it as the night we met, but it’s not.” She bit her lip. “Or may be it is, because it’s the first time I looked at you and saw someone other than Lucky’s friend or Emily’s brother.”

“You liked the bike, I think,” Jason mused, and she pouted, punching him lightly in the shoulder. “But yeah. I know what you mean. After that, we were friends, but not the way…” He paused, because he didn’t know exactly how to explain this to her. “You took apart your entire life to take care of me. You let people think the worst about you, and you never…once backed down.”

“You needed me,” Elizabeth said. She rested her chin on his shoulder and smiled. “And it was fun, sometimes. It sounds awful, but I used to get a kick out of how everyone looked at me differently. Before I was just little Lizzie Webber, Audrey’s granddaughter, Lucky’s friend. Afterwards…” She laughed. “I was the ex-mistress of an alleged mob enforcer.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “It helped break me out of my shell.”

He laughed, glad she could look back on those accusations with a smile on her face. He’d hated the way Nikolas talked about her, the way he’d used Lucky to make her feel guilty for not wanting him. Jason should have punched him harder. “I’d never had anyone fight on my side the way you did,” he admitted. “If Robin had found me in the boxcar, she would have forced me to go to the hospital. She wouldn’t have listened to me about not wanting Sonny’s help. She would have insisted.”

“Well, about halfway up the stairs to my studio, there were times I wished I’d at least enlisted one of Sonny’s men,” Elizabeth teased, but she shrugged a shoulder. “I knew I could get your medications from Sonny. I knew Bobbie would help take care of you. You weren’t in any danger. Anyway, you just would have left the hospital.”

He chuckled, because of course she was right. In the hospital, he would have been subjected to Carly, to the Quartermaines, to anyone who wanted to walk in his door. And though her studio hadn’t been peaceful, what with Carly, Nikolas and her grandmother barging in all the time, she’d always showed up to kick them out. “How’d we start talking about this, anyway?”

“Carly.” Elizabeth reached around him for her sketchpad and the measuring tape. “Why she didn’t like me. Honestly, I figured I’d be hearing her screaming about this situation every other day based on how often I had to deal with her back then, but she’s been downright pleasant.” Elizabeth pursed her lips. “She’s not up to something, is she?”

“Oh, God, I hope not,” Jason said fervently. Carly with a plan was a dangerous thing. “I’m hoping she’s content with figuring out how to sneak her junk food past Sonny. I do not have the energy to worry about what schemes Carly might be into.” He rubbed his face, exhausted at the mere possibility. “Do you want order something for dinner? Or we could make something.”

“Hmm…” Elizabeth tapped her lip. “How long are you going to be gone tonight?” she asked. “Most of the night?”

“Probably,” Jason frowned. “I have to leave around nine.”

She reached for his wrist to look at his watch. “And it’s five, now.” She released his arm and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I think we should order out. So…that…” She pressed a kiss on the underside of his jaw. “We can do other things.”

“Yeah?” He grinned, resting his hands on either of her hips. “What other things?”

“Have I ever told you about the way a woman’s libido changes during pregnancy?” Elizabeth leaned back and arched an eyebrow. “Some women…don’t feel a difference. Some…can’t get in the mood. And others…” She danced the fingers of one hand down his chest until it rested at the waist of his jeans. “Can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Well, I guess, in that case…takeout is for best.” He slid his hand in her hair and drew her in for a fierce kiss, wishing it could always be as easy it was in this moment.

+8

Honesty is a hard attribute to find
When we all want to seem like
We’ve got it all figured out
Well let me be the first to say that I don’t have a clue
I don’t have all the answers
Ain’t gonna to pretend like I do
– Trying, Lifehouse

Friday, August 5, 2003

Kelly’s: Courtyard

This is what happened when you did the right thing, when you were supportive of your friends and a generally mature human being. You ended up sharing lunch with a woman you mostly didn’t like, bonding over pregnancy and trying to avoid the evil eye of said friend’s ex-girlfriend, who was well on her way to being your ex-friend, too.

“We could have gone to the Grille,” Elizabeth said after Courtney slammed the door behind her again. Her most recent sonogram picture sat on the table, so she reached out and covered it with her hand.

“No, my mother owns this place, damn it.” Carly scowled at the doorway. She’d only liked Courtney for about five minutes anyway, so the fight Courtney had picked with her the week before because Carly wasn’t shunning Jason’s whore (as Courtney had so delicately termed it) barely fazed her. Carly didn’t change for anyone. She was who she was, and anyone who didn’t like it could suck it.

“Besides,” Carly continued, brushing at Elizabeth’s hands. “I want to see the sonogram picture, and then you can see mine next week. This is how this works, Muffin.”

“Whatever.” Elizabeth removed her hand and Carly reached for the photo of Baby Girl Whatever, as she now called her in her head. She was sure that this kid would start out as a Morgan, but was no longer all that sanguine it would remain that way. She’d never met people who got in their own damn way as often as Jason Morgan and Elizabeth Webber. Bastards. If they couldn’t get it together on their own, she was going to have to meddle.

And if Carly meddled, odds would be that one of them would be arrested. Someone was always arrested when she tried to help.

“Blood pressure is good?” Carly asked, looking at the photo and wishing that she knew what the hell had crawled up Jason’s ass. It was one thing to be apprehensive about getting attached to the baby when things between the two were up in the air but they’d been sexing it up for weeks, she was sure of it. This baby was as good as Jason’s, if he could just be bothered to reach out and take her.

Men. Morons. Couldn’t do anything the easy way. They liked to think they were uncomplicated, that women were neurotic and insane, but fuckers. Women were neurotic and crazy because men were moronic, complicated pieces of—

“Kelly was really happy,” Elizabeth answered. “It’s normal, like it was last month. Baby’s in great shape, I’m at my target weight—” She frowned and glanced down at the baby bump that was quite a bit larger now, but still nowhere near as gargantuan as Carly felt on most days. “But, yeah, things are great.”

“Great.” Carly handed the photo back. “Like I said, I have mine next week.” She pursed her lips. “And if Sonny isn’t back yet, I guess…” She huffed. “And maybe my mother won’t be available, with her work schedule and Lucas, so if you wanted to come, that would be all right.”

“I’ll have to let you know,” Elizabeth answered, and Carly huffed again, because how did this become her life? She didn’t even dislike the Muffin anymore, which she had always figured might happen if she ever gave her chance, which is why she had never intended to do so. The last thing Carly needed was more people she liked. When she liked people, she tried to help them.

No good ever came from her help.

“I can’t wait until he’s born.” Carly patted her tummy, and her son kicked in response. “Morgan Stone Corinthos. I told Jason that last week, and he just did that scowling thing.” She snorted. “As if he’s not worthy of it. Whatever. He’s a dork. Sonny and I agreed on the boy’s name ages ago, so it’s good we didn’t have to worry about a girl’s name.”

“It’s a good name,” Elizabeth said with a smile. “It honors two men I know Sonny considered like brothers to him, and it keeps Stone’s memory alive.” A mischievous smile spread across her face. “You know Robin would love that.”

“Listen, Muffin, I don’t want to hear that kind of talk.” Carly grabbed her water and sipped it. “Honestly. So…names…” She eyed the brunette. “Thoughts?”

Elizabeth cast her eyes away, and Carly narrowed her eyes. “Oh, what? You can’t talk about the baby with Jason, fine whatever, but that means you can’t think about it?”

“I think about it,” the other woman said, her eyes still not meeting Carly. “All the time. I just…I don’t talk about it.” After considering her nails for a bit, she raised her eyes and Carly sighed, because the guarded shield was still up. “I’ve been thinking about names, but…it’s hard because I want the last name to go well with it, and you know…” She shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t really know…how long the last name is going to be…”

“God save me.” Carly cast her eyes to the sky. “Fine. Let’s put that aside. Any specific thoughts?”

“I do like a few names.” Elizabeth tucked her hair behind her ear. “I like Olivia Charlotte. My maternal grandmother was Charlotte, and I always thought it was pretty.”

“Olivia Charlotte Morgan.” Carly nodded. “There’s potential.” She nibbled on a fry. “Livvy Morgan. Liv. I don’t hate it.”

“But you’re not in love with it,” Elizabeth said. “That’s how I felt. So I thought…maybe Isla, because it’s pretty, but I’m not sure about a middle name…” She twisted her fingers. “There is a name I like, but…”

“Nope. Let’s hear it.”

“Cadence Audrey. I’d call…I’d call her Cady for short. It’s a little different, but—”

“That’s the name.” Carly liked it best anyway, but she saw the look on Elizabeth’s face, which proved it. “I like it. Cady is cute, but it’s not too cute, like Lulu, and Audrey is the perfect middle name. Everything works.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but she smiled. “Well, if you approve, then I guess it’s fine.”

“Cadence Audrey Morgan.” Carly nodded. “Good.” She leaned down and picked out one of the shopping bags from her large collection from Wyndhams. “Now you get your reward for making a decision.”

Elizabeth frowned at her. “Carly, did you buy me something?”

“No!” Carly scowled. “I don’t even like you.” She sniffed. “I bought Cady something. Here.” She wiggled the bag at her. “Take it.”

“Okay.” Elizabeth reached for the lime green bag and pulled out first, a miniature white sundress trimmed in red, orange and yellow, and then a delicate pink onesie that proclaimed I Love My Aunt. She arched her eyebrows at it. “Carly.”

“Listen, Muffin,” Carly said, feeling the heat in her cheeks and wishing she hadn’t given into the mad impulse. “Whether you and I like it or not, our kids are going to be cousins.” She hesitated. “Because of how close Jason is to us.”

“Right.” Elizabeth began to slide the clothes back in the bag, but they were startled when Courtney crossed the courtyard and slapped their check on the table. Frick. Carly hadn’t even noticed the blonde was out there. Her eyes were on the clothes, particularly the Aunt onesie.

“It’s not enough that you stole my boyfriend,” Courtney snarled at Elizabeth. “But you’re stealing my best friend, too?” She tossed a devastated look at Carly who raised an eyebrow. God, she hated people. “I can’t believe you, Carly. I knew you were going to take Jason’s side! You weren’t any happier than I was that this whore—”

“Courtney, I don’t think this is the place.” Carly glanced at the entrance to the courtyard where Rocco and Cody were standing. Cody had his hand in his suit jacket, as if fishing out his cell phone. She sent him the evil eye which had that hand sliding right back out. Damn right. The day Carly couldn’t handle a dimwit was the day she hung up her heels. “In fact, I know it’s not the place. I have every right come here and have lunch with Jason’s…” She eyed Elizabeth who looked at her with her own arched eyebrow. “With Elizabeth. We’re both having babies in a unique world, and Jason’s family to me. Why you think I’d pick your side after five minutes when Jason deserves my loyalty so much more…” She shook her head.

Courtney narrowed her eyes. “You were supposed to be my friend, you told me to go after Jason—” At that, Carly saw Elizabeth narrow her eyes at her, and she winced. That was going to be a thing later.

“Well, clearly, I didn’t know the whole situation. If I thought Jason would just use you and go back to Elizabeth, I wouldn’t have encouraged it.” Carly coughed. God, this sucked. “Anyway, it doesn’t even matter. You and Jason were together for all six seconds.” She waved her hand at the brunette. “This bitch has been annoying me for years when it comes to Jason. History wins, Courtney. Every day, all day.”

“This bitch?” Elizabeth smirked. “Didn’t know you cared so much.”

“Don’t start,” Carly retorted, fighting a grin. “Courtney—”

“Oh, this is just great. I’m already humiliated every time she comes in here with that bastard showing—”

“Courtney,” Elizabeth said flatly. “I have had absolutely enough of this. I am sorry that you got hurt. It was never my intention, but in my defense…” A martial gleam lit in her eyes. “He was mine first. You were supposed to be my friend, too. The way you feel about Carly right now, having the nerve to talk to me? That is exactly how I felt when I found out you were seeing him. You knew I wasn’t over him. You knew how hurt I was, and you used everything I told you in confidence to go after him.”

Courtney clenched her fists. “You think you’re the victim in all this? I got dumped in front of a crowd of people—”

“Point of order.” Carly stuck her finger in the air. “You were informed Elizabeth was knocked up in front of a crowd of people. You broke up with Jason in a room with only me as a witness.” Oh…this should not be this much fun. God damn it all to hell. Sonny was going to set her on fire when he heard of this.

“Again, Courtney, I didn’t tell you to break up with Jason.” Elizabeth sat back and tilted her head to the left. “But…thanks for making it much easier for us to work things out. He really did feel so guilty about the whole thing. No telling how long it would have taken him to sort through that.”

Oh, shit. That should not be hysterical, but Carly watched as Courtney realized that Elizabeth was, in fact, correct. Had Courtney not broken up with him, tried to work it out, Jason would have attempted to continue his relationship with the blonde, even if was only for Sonny and Courtney’s sake.

“So…this whole martyr thing you’ve got going…really isn’t my fault.” Elizabeth casually sipped her water. “I let you guilt me for months because I truly felt sorry but it’s been four months. And I’m over it. I was wrong, but so were you. Suck it up, Courtney.”

“You are such a goddamn bitch. Everything Emily ever said about you was right,” Courtney hissed, and Carly saw Elizabeth’s smirk fade slightly. “You are a manipulative whore who only goes after what she can’t have. You think you’ve won, Elizabeth? You thought you had it all last summer, too, didn’t you? But he walked away from you then, and he’s going to do it again. You know it. You’re just an obligation.”

“Courtney,” Carly began, struggling to her feet. “That is enough—”

“It is not!” Courtney growled. Her eyes fixed on Elizabeth who didn’t look so confident now. “I know that Jason doesn’t give a damn about you or that baby. You’re never together, Emily told me you’re always alone at the hospital unless that dumb nurse is taking pity on you. He went to one appointment and then split. Maybe you’re screwing him now, but you can ask Carly—that never lasts. If Jason loved you, Elizabeth, he wouldn’t look so god damned pained every time I see him.”

“Listen here, you self-righteous pain in the ass,” Carly began, in the awkward position of having to defend the Muffin who looked pale. Damn her life. “Talk about using someone for sex? What the hell do you think you were? He screwed you, realized you weren’t what he wanted and went back to her. He always goes back to her—”

“Carly,” Elizabeth said softly. “It’s not worth it—”

“The hell with that. No one talks about Jason like that. No one.” She jabbed her finger at Courtney, who looked a little startled by the venom in her voice. Fucking twit. “You don’t know a damn thing about him, Elizabeth or this baby. This baby is loved by every single member of her family. How the hell would Emily know anything when she hasn’t spoken to either of them in nearly two months? You need to knock this shit off, Courtney, or you’re going to find out what I do to people who fuck with my family.” She yanked a bill out of her pocket. “Let’s go, Muffin. I’ve had enough of the scenery.”

“Since when does she rate as family? You don’t even like her!” Courtney cried as Carly gathered her bags and Elizabeth got to her feet.

Carly cast a look at Elizabeth, who just looked resigned. She looked back at Courtney, with a smirk. “Since when do you have to like family? Jason picked her, that’s good enough for me.”

Rocco came forward and took Carly’s bags, and they started out of the courtyard. Courtney’s last shot echoed after them. “Sure, you’re family now, Elizabeth, but just wait until Jason drops you, too. You’ll see how fast Carly changes her goddamn mind!”

Sonny’s Penthouse: Living Room

Carly lounged on the sofa, enjoying the bowl of ice cream she’d filched from the other penthouse. Courtney might not understand why Carly had softened towards Elizabeth, but on hot days like this—when Sonny was out of town—and Carly could indulge in all the junk Elizabeth could smuggle past the guards, she thought the world would understand.

The door opened and Jason entered in, narrowing his eyes at the bowl. “If Sonny finds out—”

Carly licked her spoon. “You gonna tell him? Because I will dime Elizabeth out so fast…” She set her bowl on the coffee table and lurched to her feet. “Thanks for coming over.”

“Well, your call said it was important.” Jason crossed his arms. “You feeling okay? Michael good?”

“Everything’s fine on this side of the building.” Carly hesitated. “Listen, I’m not sure exactly how to say what I want to say, but trust me, it’s important and my promises to Sonny, be damned, I’m going to—” She scowled when she saw Jason sigh. “Hey! This is me being a good person. You’re gonna want to mark it on the calendar and take notice.”

“What is it?”

Because now he looked like he was actually listening, even if he hated the idea, Carly sniffed and nodded. “Elizabeth and I are…we are not friends, but we are getting along because it’s just easier—”

“Carly—”

“Do not interrupt me.” Carly wiggled her finger at him. “Anyway. Plus, we’re both pregnant and cooped up a lot, so we’ve just…reached a truce type situation.”

Jason raised an eyebrow, and the simmering impatience in his eyes told her to step this up because he was going to stop listening pretty soon and just leave. “We went to Kelly’s today for lunch and we had a pretty nasty run-in with Courtney.”

Some of the tension bled out his shoulders and he sighed, rubbing his eyes. “Yeah. I know she’s…still having a difficult time—”

“Oh, whatever.” Carly rolled her eyes. “I could give two craps about Courtney. She makes my teeth hurt, you know. People call me a drama queen, but that one is just holding on to the grudge because she can see how guilty Elizabeth feels. Anything to hurt the other woman.”

“Elizabeth is not the—” Jason pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Carly, I’m not having this conversation with you.”

“No, I get it. Courtney was the other woman. It’s pretty clear to anyone who lives on this floor.” When Jason just glared at her, Carly wanted to throw her shoe at him. Damn it. This is why she wasn’t a nicer person more often. It was goddamn exhausting and no one let you get a word out. “But,” she drawled, “it is not obvious to anyone who lives outside this building, and you are making Elizabeth miserable.”

And just like that, his face changed. The mask slid over it, and that was just the absolute last straw. No more tip toeing around this. “Jason, I know you and the Muffin are trying to work things out, or whatever, I get it. It’s clear to me that she’s your lobster, so I’m trying to be okay with that—”

“My lobster…?” The impassive look faded and now he just looked downright bewildered. “Carly, have you been drinking?”

“No!” Carly huffed. “Your lobster. Damn it, I wish you watched Friends. It’s the only thing I can do cooped up in these damn penthouses all summer. The Muffin and I got tired of court television and daytime television, so we’ve been binging on Friends and The West Wing. That’s not the point. Lobsters. They mate for life.” It still didn’t clear up the confusion in his eyes. Carly wished she could have a drink.

Being nice was a pain in the ass.

“Fine, forget the lobsters.” Carly waved a hand. “Whatever. I get it. You want Elizabeth in your life. She would like to be in your life, but you are making it impossible.”

“I am not,” Jason snapped, before he could remember he wasn’t going to have this conversation, because he put his hands at his waist and glared at her. “Carly, stay out of it.”

“I tried that. All summer. Sonny told me don’t help, Carly, you’ll only wreck it, Carly.” She snorted. “Well, see what me not helping has done? You bastards are screwing it up all by yourself. Jason, if you want her to walk away when this is all over, you’re doing a damn fine job of holding the door open.”

He cast his eyes away, but not before Carly saw the truth. God damn it he was an idiot. “Oh, you dumb son of a bitch. You already think she’s going to. That’s why…” She braced one hand at her back, clenched the other in a fist and smacked herself in the forehead. “Oh, you two are going to be the death of me. This is it. This is my last foray into the world of being nice.”

“I’m going to go now, Carly, but this has been…disturbing.” Jason turned, his hand was on the door knob.

“No, damn it. I didn’t make my point,” Carly protested. “Jason, this is where talking is better than just assuming. She thinks you will never love her child the way you loved Michael, the way you would if it were your own. So she’s just not talking about it with you to make things easier. But that’s not why you’re not talking about it, not going to the doctor’s, not setting up a damn nursery. It’s because you think she’s going to walk away anyway.”

“Carly, what is your point?” Jason demanded, but he didn’t deny her words.

“My point is that if you keep trying to protect yourself, you’re just going to make it easier for her to go,” Carly retorted. “Because she’ll put up with you not loving the baby until Cady’s here, but once she brings her home, and this situation is over, what’s going to tie her to a man who doesn’t love her child? You think you can stop yourself from loving that baby because you don’t talk about her, because you don’t get involved with doctors?”

“You done now, Carly?”

“You are ruining your chance—”

“I’m going.” Jason pulled open the door.

“You don’t get to choose—”

The door slammed and Carly stomped her foot. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Why wouldn’t he just let her help?

Men. Fucking morons.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason fought the urge to slam the door behind him as he entered his home, dropping his keys on the desk. Elizabeth often napped in the afternoons and he didn’t want to wake her.

Goddamn Carly. Why couldn’t she just stay out of it? She didn’t know the whole story, and he was tired of people pretending they knew what was going on in his head. How the fuck could they know, when he barely knew on a daily basis? From the second this entire plan had started, he’d known it would end in disaster. He wasn’t the kind of person who got have everything he wanted and what he wanted more than anything else in the world was for Elizabeth and the baby to stay with him forever. That would never happen, even if Elizabeth promised it would. Inevitably, she’d walked away.

No one had ever stayed. Not Robin. Robin had told him she could deal with the job as long as they were together, but that wasn’t true. She’d tried to have Sonny fire him, and then she’d taken Michael from him because she wanted to protect him from Carly. Like he needed goddamn protection from Carly. He knew Carly better than she knew herself. Of course she was going to use Michael like a weapon against him—Carly was always on the offensive, always looking for the second shoe to drop. But Robin never understood that it was all worth it to keep Michael. She’d just thought she knew better and destroyed his life.

Carly hadn’t stayed with him either, had told him she loved him and wanted to be family, but Carly always protected herself first. She’d wanted to make sure she could keep Michael and had ran right over to the Quartermaines, accused him of kidnapping and married AJ to cement her own custody. Even if Jason had been half-in love with her then (and he wasn’t entirely sure that was the case), she hadn’t stayed either.

And it went without saying, Elizabeth had never stayed before. She had never chosen him unless he was the default. Lucky didn’t love her anymore, so it was safe to finally admit how she felt about him. Most of the time, Jason even understood her waffling back then, and he wasn’t lying to her when he said he didn’t hold it against her. He didn’t, but Elizabeth had never stayed. First Lucky, then Zander, then that stupid lie about Sonny.

So why should he get attached to her daughter, fall in love with her? Michael had been his son, but not by blood, so he couldn’t keep him. How could he keep this new child, who still wasn’t his? What if Elizabeth got angry with him? What if she thought her daughter would be safer away from him?

So Carly didn’t know what the hell she was talking about. He knew Elizabeth was going to walk out when this was over. If not the day after, then maybe months down the line. And when she left, he was going to make damn sure he kept enough of himself together to keep going.

This wasn’t going to be like losing Michael. He wasn’t going to find himself bleeding in the snow, wishing for death because he was alone. Not this time.

His resolve still strong, he started up the stairs, intending to check to see if Elizabeth was napping. He’d seen Cody outside, which meant she was somewhere in the penthouse. He looked in their room, and saw that it was empty and wondered if the run-in with Courtney had been worse than Carly hinted. He hated asking the guards for information like this but he doubted Elizabeth would tell him.

He heard rustling from the room that had been Elizabeth’s room the first few weeks she’d been here, and he pushed the ajar door open to reveal Elizabeth sitting on the floor next to the bed, a collection of bags at her feet. When the door creaked open, her head twisted and her startled eyes flew up to meet his. “Jason—I—I didn’t think…” She bit her lip and looked at the sweater she was holding.

The miniature white sweater, meant for a baby. And then Jason realized she’d been going through baby clothes, which had been kept in bags in the guest room. He saw a cardboard box halfway out of the closet, with a few more bags.

Something twisted inside him as he realized that Carly was right. Elizabeth had sensed his reluctance to talk about the baby and had done what was necessary to keep it from coming between them, so she’d prepared for her child in secret, stuffing all the evidence in a closet.

He exhaled slowly, and she glanced away. “I…I was just…putting this stuff away—” She started shoving clothes back in their bags, reaching for the box.

“Wait a second.” Jason rubbed the side of his face, and wondered if he’d ever really believed he’d be able to protect himself from watching Elizabeth take her daughter and leave him one day?

It was already too late.

“You…” He entered the room and sat next to her, reaching for one of the soft white t-shirts she’d been pulling from its package. “You need a better place to put these things.”

Elizabeth looked at him, her beautiful eyes filled with apprehension. “I…” Still chewing on her lower lip, she glanced away, towards a pink onesie proclaiming I Love My Aunt. He closed his eyes. Carly was doing a better job at supporting Elizabeth through her pregnancy than he was. No wonder she was so sure Elizabeth was going to walk away from him.

“You should…look at the guest rooms,” Jason said slowly. “Which one you like best.” When she just frowned at him, he continued. “For the baby…” Carly’s words came back to him, and he hesitated. “I think Carly said you were calling her Cady?”

“You’ve talked to Carly?” Elizabeth said, with a shaky sigh. “I guess she told you about Courtney.”

“Yeah…” Jason leaned back against the bed. “I’m sorry she’s still giving you a difficult time.”

“She’s not saying anything that isn’t true,” Elizabeth murmured, lingering over a sun dress. “She was angry that I was having lunch with Carly. That I was trying to steal her life. I’m not…” Her fingers tightened on the outfit. “I just…Carly’s been…uncharacteristically nice to me, and without Emily…” She hesitated. “I know Nadine is my friend, but with Carly…there’s not…she knows the truth.”

“Yeah.” Carly did know the truth, which Jason had half suspected all along, and he was surprised she’d handled it as well as she had so far. “I get that. Elizabeth, I—”

“And, yeah, Carly and I talked about names, because she was telling me they’re going with Morgan Stone.” When he winced, her smile deepened, looked more genuine. “Don’t be modest, Jason. Carly said you’re the reason she has Sonny in her life, that she’s having this baby. She just wants to honor that.”

“I guess.” Jason scratched the back of his neck, still uncomfortable. “So Cady?”

“Yeah…short for Cadence.” Elizabeth slowly folded the sun dress. “Cadence Audrey.” Her hand slid to her abdomen and she jolted. “Whoa.”

“What’s…” He hesitated, because he thought he knew. She suddenly reached for his hand and drew it against her belly.

“Can you feel that?” Elizabeth asked her eyes wide and shining. “She was kicking—”

And then he did feel it. A light bump under his hand, and he couldn’t help the smile spreading across his face. “Yeah, I feel her. That’s…” Jason swallowed. “She’s going to be here soon.”

Some of the light dimmed from her eyes, and he felt like he’d been punched, because he’d done that to her. He’d wanted to protect her from Ric, to keep her child safe, and somehow he’d ended up making her feel guilty for being excited, for looking forward to it, as if she didn’t have the right. “Elizabeth, I am so…” He didn’t know how to say it, how to make this better. Instead of trying to explain himself, he just said, “We’re going to need that nursery sooner rather than later, don’t you think?”

Her smile brightened a little. “Yeah…I guess we are.” She rested her forehead against his, and he closed his eyes, wondering if it was too late to change what was going to happen, if it was too late to prevent her from walking away.

+6

Lord knows I’ll fail you time and again
But you and me are alright, yeah
We won’t say our goodbyes
You know it’s better that way
We won’t break, we won’t die
It’s just a moment of change
-All We Are, OneRepublic

Saturday, July 26, 2003

Morgan Penthouse: Bedroom

Elizabeth knew it was early when she felt him shift at her side. It was always early when Jason slipped from the bed they had shared for the past month. He would move slowly to avoid waking her, press a kiss to her forehead, and then disappear into a guest room so he could dress.

She usually let him think that, because she didn’t want to see him looking guilty for having to disappear for most of the day. He was trying so hard this time, in so many ways. They spent nearly every night together and he tried to be at the penthouse for at least one meal, usually a quick dinner of takeout.

“Don’t go…” she murmured, only half aware. She tightened her arms at his shoulder, and felt him hesitate. “Just…a little longer.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason sighed. He looked down at her, and she could see that he really was sorry, that if he’d had the choice he’d spend the day with her, preferably in bed. “I just…” He closed his eyes and rested his forehead on her shoulder. “Elizabeth…”

“No, I’m sorry.” She slid her hand through his short dark blonde hair, trailing her fingers down his neck. “I know you have things to do. I just…” Don’t know how long this moment is going to last.

Because as wonderful as things were…Elizabeth knew these last few weeks had been a calm before the storm. That they wouldn’t see eye to eye forever.

“I’ll talk to Sonny,” Jason said. “Maybe…I can work something out.” He pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder. “Things are just…” He trailed off, but she knew what was going on even if he didn’t give her specifics. Shipments had gone missing from inside the warehouse, others weren’t on ships when they arrived in the harbor. The warehouse had been raided by the PCPD once.

“I’ll see you later.” Elizabeth leaned up and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Be careful.”

“I will.” He kissed her once more before sliding out of the bed.

She closed her eyes as the door quietly opened and then shut. Jason had clearly listened when she told him her reasons for leaving last fall. He’d never come home, he’d never called, he’d never spoken to her. He was changing all of that, and there were moments Elizabeth believed that this time….they were going to get it right.

But then she would remember that it was more than just the two of them in this situation. Her hand slid under the sheet and covered her belly, with its new roundness. They were still avoiding the future, still not talking about what this baby meant.

How much longer could she deny that while Jason cared for her, he was apparently finding it difficult to care for a child that was half Ric Lansing?

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“I am going to start investing in board games,” Carly grumbled as she looked at her card. “Hit me.”

Elizabeth smirked and slapped another card on the coffee table. “I hear ya. I actually started watching soap operas this month. Do you know how much I want to hit myself?”

“Frick.” Carly squinted at her sixteen. “Hit me.” When Elizabeth slapped down a ten, she scowled. “Screw this. Put on Guiding Light. At least I can wallow in someone else’s misery for a while.”

Elizabeth laughed and started to slide the pack of cards back in the box. She knew that things were…uncertain. Not outright dangerous, but they didn’t seem to know where the threat was coming from, so for the time being, Sonny wanted all pregnant women cooped up. Michael, the lucky bastard, Carly had muttered, still got to go to his swimming lessons and summer camps, since kids were usually collateral damage rather than outright targets. No one wants the cops looking at them for murdering a kid, Carly had declared.

So when Carly had tired of her own four walls or hanging out upstairs when Sonny kicked her upstairs, she’d started coming across the hall. Elizabeth figured they’d never be close, but she was relieved they’d called a truce since she became pregnant and moved in.

“We could always put on one of those court shows,” Elizabeth offered. “The ones where girlfriends sue their exes because they tried to buy their love.”

Carly eyed her. “We need to get you out of the house, Muffin. Too much daytime television for you.” She leaned back and stared at her rapidly expanding belly, now deep into her sixth month and about to hit her final trimester. “Jason doesn’t think double guards are enough to let you out once in a while?”

Elizabeth pursed her lips. “I get to go to the hospital to meet my grandmother or Nadine for lunch mostly, because Jason likes the security Alan set up after that kid was kidnapped a few years ago. Plus, the hospital really took it on the chin when it turned out the Cassadines had built an elaborate laboratory right under their noses in the sub-basements, so it’s basically under lock and key.”

“Oh, you poor bastard.” Carly rolled her eyes. “Ugh. I love Sonny, so this is mostly worth it, but man…how am I supposed to sneak snacks if Sonny never lets me go out without him and the guards?”

Elizabeth arched an eyebrow. “How do you feel about some pistachio ice cream?”

Carly reached across to her, and clutched Elizabeth’s shoulder. “Don’t toy with my emotions, Muffin. I need sugar, and I need it now.”

There were moments Elizabeth actually enjoyed Carly’s company. The woman had a sharp sarcastic wit and a healthy dislike of idiots. If it hadn’t been for Jason all those years ago, maybe they wouldn’t spent four years loathing the sight of one another. She smirked. “Jason doesn’t care what I eat.”

“Oh, I take it back.” Carly slid off the couch and tugged Elizabeth with her. “You’re a lucky bitch. I had some delicious mint chocolate chip and that bastard switched it out for almond ice cream.” She wrinkled her nose as the two moved towards the kitchen. “It’s an insult to good and proper ice cream.”

“I even have chocolate syrup and whipped cream,” Elizabeth said as she crossed to the freezer. “Grab some bowls. I could use some, too.”

“Hmm…I’m suddenly seeing the benefits of having another pregnant woman within walking distance.” Carly took down the bowls and grabbed some spoons. “How come you get away with eating what you want?”

Elizabeth frowned. “Do you think Jason really cares? It’s all I can do to make sure he eats, he’s not really that worried about me. He assumes I want my baby to be healthy, so…” she shrugged.

“Yeah, that’s usually the argument Sonny gives me, and since I usually have my methods of getting what I want, it’s been all right.”

When Carly hesitated, Elizabeth looked at her. “What? You were going to say something.” She handed a bowl to Carly and then sat down at the folding table. It would be easier to hide the evidence in case Jason and Sonny came by if they stayed in the kitchen.

“It’s not my business,” Carly began, “which doesn’t generally stop me. That being said, I…guess I was wondering if maybe the reason you don’t have my issues with Sonny and food is because…you and Jason don’t…discuss things that directly…affect the baby.” She grimaced. “And again, it’s none of my business—”

Elizabeth let her spoon sit in her bowl for a long moment as Carly dug in to her impromptu sundae. “You would be…correct,” she admitted. “We don’t consciously avoid the topic, but it’s not one we bring up willingly either.” She cleared her throat. “Still, I don’t see Jason being a nutrition Nazi anyway.”

“This is true.” Carly licked her spoon. “Listen, as much as this is going to pain me, and I promised Sonny I’d stay out of it, it’s hard because I love Jason. He’s family. So…I know…” She jerked a shoulder. “I know you guys are…you know…” She wiggled her fingers. “Doing stuff.”

Even as Elizabeth felt her cheeks burn, she raised her eyebrows. “Doing stuff?” she repeated.

“Don’t make me repeat it,” the blonde said. “It’s clear that some things have changed, since you moved in, and particularly since you found out you were having a girl. You both are more relaxed and there’s just…” Her grimace deepened. “Christ, how is this my life? Look, when a guy hasn’t been getting laid regularly, he gets all tense. And then there’s a looseness to his stride when he is, so I figure it’s due to you. Can we stop making me explaining why I know you two are…doing dirty stuff and move on to the next part?”

“Carly, why are we discussing my sex life in the first place?” Elizabeth asked, torn between amusement and irritation. “I don’t ask you about Sonny—”

“Hey…I am trying to do something helpful.” Carly jabbed her spoon in her direction. “Do you think I want to discuss this? God…” She wiggled her shoulders and huffed. “Anyway, now that we’ve established this, I guess I just…wanted to know why you and Jason avoid talking about the baby.”

For a long moment, Elizabeth stared into her slowly melting ice cream, and thought about how to answer Jason’s best friend. If she were honest, there was a possibility it could make it back to Jason, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to have this conversation with him. Though she was trying hard to prepare for the future, there was a large part of her that wanted to live in this moment.

“The only reason I’m going to answer this is because I know you love Jason,” Elizabeth began, “and I know how uncharacteristically supportive you’ve been since this started. I know you never truly believed Jason was my child’s father, and even when it hurt Courtney, you still stood by Jason’s decision and even helped spread gossip to stop rumors. So, keeping that in mind, I do not discuss my daughter with Jason because…there are just some things I know we can’t talk about. Not if I want…” She hesitated. “Not if I want to keep things the way they are. Aren’t there things you don’t talk about Sonny with because they disturb the status quo?”

Carly licked some whipped cream off her thumb. “Absolutely. Brenda, Brenda, Brenda, and Brenda. In that order. So I get what you’re saying.” She paused. “But Brenda lives in Europe now. And your baby will be here in December. How long do you think you and Jason are going to avoid talking about this? You’re going to have to figure out how to make it work.”

“Are we?” Elizabeth asked softly, more to herself. “Carly, I just…I want this time with Jason. For all the times I walked away from him, the times he walked away from me, the time we’ve lost. I just want…these moments with him, for as long as I can.”

Carly opened her mouth as if to add something else, but closed it. “All right. I promised Sonny I wouldn’t help and Jason’s always telling me to butt out. Usually because I just make it worse. So listen, you and I are going to have learn to stick together. At least for now, okay? Security is going to be tight until Jason and Sonny deal with things, so we’re all we’ve got. So, I won’t bug you too much about Jason, you’ll be my junk food dealer.” She paused again. “But before I start with the butting out, here’s what I’m going to say.”

Elizabeth regarded her warily. “What?”

“Before you close the book on you and Jason, make sure you two have a frank discussion about this kid, and what it means. Do not just assume you know what’s going on in his head. People rarely do,” Carly said. “Because if you assume you know what he’s thinking, he’s doing the same thing, and you know the two of you are probably not thinking the same thing. I’m not saying you should talk about it today, or even next week. But…” She chewed her bottom lip. “Do not walk away from Jason before you talk to him. You’ll end up regretting it.”

“I usually do,” Elizabeth admitted.

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

Jason set a folder down on the desk next to the door and looked at his friend, the exhaustion of the last month etched into every line of his face. From the moment the empty shipment had shown up, it had been all they could do to stay one step ahead of whoever was screwing with them. Someone in their organization had turned, and so far Benny and Stan had no idea who. There were too many suspects, too many people that had been trusted.

“I think it’s Ric,” Sonny sighed, pressing the heels of his hands to his forehead. “I really do. Benny’s been looking into the other Families and there’s nothing from them. They’re suspicious because we’re not looking for Ric the way we were, so they’re not looking for him as hard as I hoped they would. This is…” He scowled. “We are fucked, Jason. And I can’t see an end to it.”

“It gets worse,” Jason said, hating to add more burdens to Sonny’s shoulders, because as much as Jason felt the weight of the organization on his shoulders, he knew it was ten times worse for Sonny. “We sent Tommy down to Puerto Rico because we needed Johnny here in the warehouse, running the investigation, but the problems are more than he can deal with.”

He saw his friend eye the mini bar, whether to drink it or flip it, Jason wasn’t sure. He felt the weariness down to his bones, the way he hadn’t in years. Not even last summer, when Alcazar had been looming over them. He’d thrown himself into work then, at first to stop thinking about taking Elizabeth up on her offers to meet in secret, and then later, to forget about her after she’d walked out of his life.

But there was something about this threat, this summer that felt more dangerous than Luis Alcazar ever had. And maybe because they all had so much more to lose now. Carly hadn’t been pregnant the year before, and Elizabeth was in his life in a way she never had been before. He couldn’t let anything happen to her, to Carly, to Michael. But there were moments he felt like he hanging on by a thread.

Sonny sighed, the sound weary and resigned. “Tell me. Don’t sugar coat it.”

“There was a fire in a casino,” Jason began, “which is why Tommy went down there, to oversee restoration. But he discovered money problems. It’s been disappearing for months, but the managers didn’t seem to notice. He thinks it’s from laziness more than anything else, because he can’t find the money in their accounts. I’d put Stan on it, but he’s dealing with so much up here, and Benny is barely keeping his head above water trying to find the traitor as well doing his regular work.”

Jason knew what the solution to this latest problem would entail, what something like this always had before. They needed people in Port Charles to deal with the problems here, so Johnny couldn’t go. Which meant it had to be Jason. There no was telling how long it would take to wrap this up, so he could be away for weeks.

Weeks away from Elizabeth, who was safest here in a secure penthouse and not traveling to an island during hurricane season during a pregnancy.

“Well, we need someone else to work the computers,” Sonny said finally. “I fucking hate computers and technology. Maybe they make some things easier, but they just give people more ways to screw with me. I’ll put Stan on it.” He hesitated. “I’ll go to Puerto Rico, Jase.”

Jason frowned. “Sonny, you need to be here—”

Sonny held up a hand. “Listen. I know it would normally be you, and under normal circumstances, I’d say you should pack Elizabeth up and head off. Sun and relaxation would be good for her, but not the way things are right now. If this is a distraction, who’s to say it’s not to get you away from Elizabeth? Hope that I won’t pay as much attention to her as I do my own family. Or a trick to get her down there, where our security isn’t as tight. I’d say send her to the island while you’re in Puerto Rico, but there’s not fair to her either. She needs to be with the doctors with her blood pressure.” His friend shook his head. “And honestly, I owe you this.”

“You don’t…” Jason shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything. This is my job. I know Elizabeth understands—”

“I’m not blind, man.” Sonny crossed to the bar and poured himself a glass of water. “I know the two of you are trying to work things out—”

“It’s not that…” Jason cleared his throat. “We are, Sonny, and I’m not saying I wouldn’t rather stay here with her. I would, but she knows I have responsibilities—”

“You’ve got enough problems to deal with without you disappearing for two weeks or more,” Sonny cut in. “Plus, I need you focused, and no matter how good you are what you do, Jase, you’re going to be thinking about her. Worrying. Because if you can’t see her, how do you know she’s safe? What if something happens while you’re gone and you’re stuck having to waste time getting back?” He shook his head. “I can’t ask you to go to Puerto Rico. We’re partners. I may be in charge out there—” Sonny gestured out the windows towards the city. “But we do this together, Jase.”

“I—”

“This is my fault,” Sonny said. “All of it. You’ll never say it, she’ll never say it. But it’s my fault.” He sipped his water and looked away. “I was selfish last year. I didn’t get it. I didn’t see it. Instead of helping you do everything you could to find Elizabeth when she was in that crypt, I questioned your actions, made you feel like you had to justify yourself. You want to tell Elizabeth about faking my death, I can’t figure out why, because clearly, I’m an idiot. She walks out, upset. She’s vulnerable to my insane half-brother because of it, and here we are. Because I’m a selfish bastard.”

“Sonny…” Jason closed his eyes. He couldn’t disagree with Sonny’s word choice. He was a selfish bastard, but still… “It is selfish to think that you were the only problem Elizabeth and I were having. We were…we weren’t talking to each other. Weren’t saying the words that would have changed things. I could argued with you more, she could have listened more, let me explain. Yeah, you didn’t help, but you know…” He shook his head. “None of this matters now. We’ve got bigger problems. Elizabeth and I can’t make anything work if we don’t get rid of whoever is doing this.”

“Yeah…” Sonny exhaled slowly. “I get it. So I’m going to Puerto Rico. I would take Carly with me, but she’s almost in her third trimester and I don’t want her to end up being stuck down there, unable to fly until the baby is born. I know you’ll keep her safe.”

Because a part of Jason was relieved that he didn’t have to leave town and leave Elizabeth while things were so unresolved between them, he finally nodded. “All right. I can see you’re not going to change your mind. I’ll take care of Carly and Michael.”

“Good.” Sonny set his water glass down. “So, I’ll call Stan and tell him we need another computer person. I’ll break him in while we’re in Puerto Rico. We’ll send Tommy back up to help Johnny with security at the warehouse.” He rubbed his eyes. “I know it makes sense to delegate some things, Jason, and I’m glad we started doing it more, but man, it makes life complicated when one of them betrays you. These men you trusted to carry out the business, to protect your child, the woman you love, and for the most part, you can never be sure they’re not thinking of the best way to stab you in the back.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason nodded to Cody before opening the door to his penthouse to find Elizabeth curled up on the sofa, talking on the phone. The last month had been exhausting, but in other ways, Jason wouldn’t have traded it for anything. He would get home for dinner or lunch and find Elizabeth somewhere in his home, waiting for him, painting, reading and he wondered if it could have been this way last year. If he had just tried harder, shipped Zander to a safe house so he could be alone with her. If he had been clearer with his words, more obvious in his actions, would she have given him the benefit of the doubt and stayed?

“I would have told you earlier, Lucky,” she was saying as he set down a pile of ledgers and folders and grabbed the newspaper to join her on the sofa. “But you were so excited about going to see your mother, and you know…things were so up in the air. I didn’t even know what I’d say.” She grimaced at whatever her ex-fiancé was telling her, but she didn’t look upset, so Jason let it go. She’d let her hair dry into soft curls, and had put on some sort of strapless stretchy dress that clung to her. Her legs were tucked underneath her, but he wondered what color she’d painted her toenails today. She was bored enough, he’d noticed, to change the color every day.

“I don’t want you to choose sides, Lucky. You or Nikolas. Things with Emily…they’ll be fine eventually.” Elizabeth sighed and picked at the seam of the sofa back. “The reason things are what they are with Emily is because she got in the middle, so it won’t help matters—and I don’t care what you heard from Amy Vining when she visited your mother last month. I am absolutely fine, and I don’t think you flying back here to beat up Jason would be a good idea.”

Jason frowned and looked at her, but she just rolled her eyes. “Well, I do know you’d lose, you always did before and it’s not like Nikolas would fare much better. I’ve also seen them fight, which just tells me I’m friends with a bunch of meddling nitwits.” She mimed shooting herself in the head, but he could tell she was almost enjoying the conversation because it seemed like Lucky was giving her a hard time on her own behalf.

“And stop arguing with Nikolas about godfather rights. I can hear him in the background. You’re both out. What do you mean why? Seriously, Lucky. You think either one of you idiots are going to be the godfather to my child? Please. I talked to Sonny last week and we agreed it’s—oh, you are not even funny. No, that doesn’t mean Carly will be godmother. Honestly, how I ever thought I would marry you and not strangle you in a week is beyond me at this point.”

He shook his head and looked back at the newspaper. It was good to hear the smile in her voice, the brightness in her eyes. He had never forgotten that look in her eyes, that day when he’d found on her on the docks. He’d thought then that she’d really loved Ric, and that had been why she was so devastated, but she must have known by that point she was pregnant. She’d looked almost fragile, and he was relieved that the inner strength he’d always admired in her had reasserted itself over the last few months.

“Tell you what, Lucky, you concentrate on getting your mother well so she can come home and we’ll talk about whether you can be godfather to my imaginary second child.” She huffed. “I’m hanging up now because even though I think you’re happy for me, I can’t tell since you’re making fun of me now. Bye.” She clicked off button on the cordless and set it on the coffee table. “Ugh. Was he that annoying when I dated him and I was just blind?”

“I always thought Lucky was annoying,” Jason said absently, but then frowned because that wasn’t really true. He’d liked Lucky once, had hired him. Until that night in the garage. But that Lucky Spencer had died that night, and the boy who came home was as different from him as Jason was from Jason Quartermaine.

“Yeah, that’s true.” Elizabeth sighed, but then seemed to brighten. “Hey. You’re home. It’s not dark out or anything. And it’s hours before dinner…” She bit her bottom lip. “Is…everything okay?”

Jason gave up on the newspaper—he’d barely been concentrating anyway. He folded it, and set it on the coffee table. “Yeah. Sonny has to go to Puerto Rico for a couple of weeks.” He rubbed his temple. “I know I haven’t been around a lot—”

“No…” Elizabeth shook her head immediately. “No, I’m sorry about this morning.” His eyes widened as she moved towards him on the sofa, swinging one leg over his lap until her knees were resting on either side of him, as she straddled his middle. “Jason, I am so sorry. I was just…”

“It’s lonely,” Jason said, running his hands down the soft skin of her arms. “I know. I know Carly’s over here, that your friend Nadine stops by, and your grandmother is getting more comfortable dropping in, but all in all…you’d rather be out there.” He tipped his head to the side, indicating the windows. “You miss your job.”

“I do.” She brought her hands to his chest, her fingers spread over his blue t-shirt. “I guess…we just really started…” She looked at the ceiling and sighed. “We just started working on things, and I guess…I get nervous when…we don’t see each other. We’ve always been good in the moment.”

He exhaled slowly, because he knew exactly what she was talking about. “But not after the moment is over,” he said softly. “Elizabeth…I know…” His chest felt tight, because he didn’t want to have this conversation, but he knew they were going to have to at some point. “I know there’s still a lot to talk about.” Primarily the baby rounding her belly that grew a little more every day. “I just…”

“Have been enjoying the moment,” Elizabeth supplied when he didn’t go on. “I know. After all those months of not speaking, of not…thinking about each other, I didn’t want to complicate things.” She smiled wistfully. “I still don’t.”

Understanding that she, too, wanted to table certain conversations for another date, he nodded. “So, Sonny’s going to Puerto Rico for a few weeks,” he repeated. “And he and I…have done as much as we can do for today. And since he’ll be gone for a while, I’ll be home a bit more, because it’s just…necessary that I deal with certain things from the penthouse. Like Sonny would.” He hesitated. “Or I could do it at Sonny’s, and Carly could keep coming here—”

“No,” Elizabeth smiled and shook her head. “It’s my turn to go upstairs or nag Carly.” She tilted her head to the side and her lips curved into a smile he was quickly recognizing. “So…you don’t have any immediate plans? For this afternoon or tonight?”

His hand slid from her arms down to her thighs, and then up to her hips. “Well…maybe just one plan,” he murmured

She laughed and dipped her head down to kiss him. As he deepened the kiss, he wrapped his arms more tightly around her back, and twisted her to lower her on to the sofa.

He was going to hold on to every moment with her this time, for however long it lasted.

+6

And how can I stand here with you,
And not be moved by you?
Would you tell me
How could it be
Any better than this?
– Everything, Lifehouse

Tuesday, June 24, 2003

Harborview Towers: Penthouse Level

Hands in the pockets of his slacks, Sonny ambled around the corner of elevator to step in front of Jason’s penthouse. In front of him Cody stood like a sentinel, his hands at his side, looking straight ahead.

“Hey, Cody. Jason home?” Sonny asked. “I need to talk to him.” He was surprised when the normally stone-faced man opened his mouth, and then closed it. And…were the tips of his ears…turning red? “Cody?”

“Ah, Boss…” Cody hesitated. “Well, he and Miss Webber are home, but I, um…wouldn’t knock if I were you.” He coughed into his fist. “Sir.”

Sonny furrowed his brow. “Jason said no interruptions?”

“Ah…not exactly.” And now the guard’s cheeks were turning red. “They…were…arguing earlier…and…” The man actually looked up at the ceiling, as if to look to a higher power for answers. “Well, they stopped.”

“Okay…” Sonny drawled. “Then…I can…” He paused when Cody just shook his head. “C’mon, man…just say it.”

“Well…they stopped…arguing the way that you, and ah…the way you and Mrs. C do…sometimes,” Cody finished, refusing to meet Sonny’s eyes.

And then Sonny grinned. Because he knew exactly how he and Carly ended some of their arguments. “We should soundproof these doors, is that what you’re telling me?”

“It…wouldn’t hurt,” Cody admitted. “So…I don’t know…what you’d be…” He tugged on his year and looked like a man who desperately wished he were anywhere else. “I don’t know what you’d be interrupting. So to speak. Sir.”

“Fair point.” Sonny dipped his chin to his chest. “And whatever I have to say can hold for a bit. Don’t want them to…have setbacks in their…” He twirled his finger in the air. “Whatever.”

“Yes, sir. That is…yes.” Cody’s shoulders slumped. “And if you could never tell Jason or Miss Webber we had this conversation, it would be most appreciated.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” Sonny called over his shoulder as he headed back to his penthouse.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

There was something to be said for silence. They hadn’t really spoken since she threatened to leave, and he’d kissed her. Jason had lifted her onto the edge of the pool table, and without removing much of their clothing, they’d had the kind of sex she’d only read about. Hard, fast…and god damn fantastic.

And then, he looked at her, with those beautiful eyes filled with mixture of tenderness and fear, as if she’d reject him now, and she’d kissed him again. He picked her up and then they’d moved to the sofa, and this time…Elizabeth was sure she’d remember this as the first time they’d made love. Slow, delicious, and almost lazy. Reverent. The kind of lovemaking that spread warmth and tingles down one’s spine and lingered in the fingers, the legs, and even the toes until long after it was over.

And now, lying here, her caftan blanket hastily thrown over them, they still lay in silence. She was draped over his chest, his fingers trailing up and down her back.

She just wanted to close her eyes and lay here forever.

But she knew that wasn’t realistic and she’d promised herself only that morning that she couldn’t live in a fantasy anymore.

Tracing a pattern on Jason’s chest, she finally spoke. “This…it doesn’t…fix anything.”

His fingers stilled, and then slid up to smooth her hair away her face. “I…I know.”

“But I also…” Elizabeth hesitated, wondering why she always had to be the brave one when it came to words. “I don’t regret it.”

“Me either.” Some of the tension she hadn’t even felt relaxed from his body. “I don’t…I don’t want you to leave.” She felt his chin dip, brush her hair as his lips found the top of her head. “I just…don’t know how to make you stay.”

Well, at least that was something. “Just…knowing you want me here…” She slid her hand up his chest until she was cradling his cheek, then raised her head to kiss him briefly. “That makes me want to stay. I didn’t…I felt like…not really an obligation, but maybe a burden…”

His hand cupped the back of her head, their eyes met. “The last thing I feel when I look at you is burdened or obligated. I just…want you safe. I want you happy.”

“And being right here…” Elizabeth closed her eyes and leaned until their foreheads touch. “I feel both. You always wanted to push me away, when I always knew…that being with you was the safest thing. For my heart,” she added when he saw his mouth tighten. “If we trust each other, Jason….that can be true for both us of us.” She curved her lips into a half-smile. “Do you…think we can try that…again?”

Remembering the question, his eyes were soft as he answered. “Yeah…we can try.” He covered her mouth with his own, deepening it as she pressed herself closer.

A familiar buzzing sound from behind the couch had Elizabeth drawing back, and sitting up. Jason sighed and followed suit. “Elizabeth…” He didn’t get up to find his jeans or answer the phone, and she knew why. She’d accused him of answering that phone and abandoning her for whoever was on the other line last summer.

“It could be Sonny,” Elizabeth said. “I never cared that you answered your phone, Jason. Everyone does that.”

Still looking uncertain, Jason stood and rounded the sofa to drag on his briefs before reaching for his jeans and the phone in the back pocket. She peered at him over the back of the sofa, thinking it was almost adorable he didn’t want to be completely nude while speaking on the phone.

“Hey…Yeah?” She his eyes close and his face tense. “It can’t…no, okay. Yeah. Give me a few minutes. I’ll be over.” Jason sighed, closing his phone and setting it on the edge of the table. “I…have to go over to Sonny’s. I’m…” He just shook his head.

“Jason.” He didn’t answer right away, just pulled his jeans on and zipped up. “Jason, I’m not…angry you have to go to Sonny’s.” He looked at her, and she could see he wasn’t buying that. “I heard you ask him if it could wait. And if can’t, it can’t. That’s life. Just as long…” She bit her lip and tilted her head. “If you have to go out and you don’t know when you’ll be back, or even if you do, if you could…just let me know you’re going.”

“Yeah…” Jason exhaled slowly. He dragged his shirt over his head, and then sat on the sofa to put his socks and boots back on. “Yeah, I can do that.” He looked at her, and Elizabeth saw the regret in his eyes, so she held her breath until he spoke. “This isn’t…the way I would have planned for us to be together, Elizabeth…” Using one hand, he slid his hand through her hair and she closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. “But I’m not sorry,” he finished, his voice almost gravelly.

She grinned and opened her eyes. “Good. Then hurry up so you can come back.” She kissed him again, and then watched him open the door and close it before Cody could see her curled up on the sofa, wearing nothing but a blanket.

Elizabeth leaned her head, and had the insane urge to laugh. She had never seen this coming.

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

Sonny looked when Jason entered, regret in his eyes. “Sorry man, I know you and Elizabeth were in the middle of…something, but…”

Jason hesitated and just blinked at his friend. Was he wearing a sign or something that broadcasted what he’d just been doing for the last hour? He cleared his throat. “It’s fine. What’s up?”

“Benny just called from the warehouse.” Sonny poured a tumbler of whiskey. “They opened the shipment from last night and…” He shook his head. “It was empty.”

Jason tensed, the last vestiges of his good mood evaporated. “Empty—it was fine last night. I checked it myself.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know that. It means we got someone in our own organization screwing with us.” Jason watched as Sonny tried to calmly sip the whiskey, but his hands were trembling…just a little. “We got a traitor.”

The last thing they needed. Jason exhaled slowly. “Do we know who was in and out of the warehouse between its arrival and finding it empty this afternoon?”

Sonny nodded and set the glass down. “Not yet. Benny and Stan are working on it. They think it’ll take a day or so to put it together. Jason, you know better than me, we don’t time for this shit.” He took a deep breath. “The Families might think our resources are stretched thin looking for Ric and Faith. One of them might think it’s a good time to screw with us.”

“Can’t overlook that.” Jason hesitated. “We…are investing a lot of our manpower in the search.” With great difficulty, he continued, “Do you think we should pull back?”

“I…” Sonny looked at the ceiling. “I want to say no. Because the quicker Ric Lansing gets out of our lives, the better off we’ll all be, but the point of involving the Families was to avoid this kind of nonsense. So that we wouldn’t have to put all our energy into Ric. The burden would be shared.”

“Sonny, we can’t protect Elizabeth if we’re fighting a war on another front without resources,” Jason pointed out. “At the end of the day, if Ric is going to come for Elizabeth and the baby, he’ll have to come near Port Charles to do that. We haven’t found any evidence that he’s in the area, not since the kidnapping attempt.”

“Yeah…” Sonny huffed. “And I can’t even say who’d be after us, because it could be any of those bastards. I want to go after Zacchara because of the connection between his lawyer and our scumbag, but how do I know Tagliatti didn’t set it up to make it look that way? I don’t…think it’s Ruiz or Vega because of the distance involved. They’re more likely to team up with Tagliatti or Zacchara rather than come for us directly.” He pressed his hand to his chest. “Jase, I got no easy answers here. I want Elizabeth to be safe, I want her pregnancy to go smoothly, but—”

“I know.” Jason rested his hands at his waist and looked at the floor. There was only one choice. They couldn’t divide their focus between searching for Ric and fighting a territorial dispute. “You have to pull back some of the men looking for Ric and Faith. We have Elizabeth as protected as she can be, and maybe…” He hesitated. “Maybe if Ric thinks he can get back here without tripping us up, he’ll get cocky. He’ll think he can get to her. And he’ll make a mistake then.” But everything in him fought against using Elizabeth as a lure, using her child as bait. He’d promised to protect her, and had made even deeper promises to her not more than twenty minutes ago.

“I get the problem.” Sonny rubbed his chin. “I just…I don’t know what else to do. If this escalates into an outright war, everyone is in danger. With Carly and Elizabeth pregnant at the same time, I just can’t…I can’t risk it. Their immediate safety has to come first. We have to work with what we know. And we know that someone is coming for us, whether it’s one of the Families or someone else. We don’t know why Faith Roscoe sent the soldiers after Elizabeth. We can assume it was on Ric’s behalf, but you know…maybe Ric is obsessing about the situation, and Faith wanted to eliminate her like she threatened to on those docks. Maybe Faith is the threat, and Ric’s planning another move on us.”

“If this is Ric coming for us from another angle, then we’d find him either way.” Jason nodded. “It’s possible. Let’s…let’s cut the men outside Port Charles looking for Ric in half. Just to start. If we have more problems, we can reduce it further. I don’t…want to give up the search just yet.”

“Jason, I wouldn’t ask you do to this if we had any other choice,” Sonny told him even as he headed for the phone to make the call to Johnny.

“I know that. But you’re right. We can’t ignore an actual threat because we’re not sure Ric hasn’t given up. Elizabeth’s safety is my top priority,” Jason said. “Regardless of the source of the threat.” He took a deep breath. “I should go to the warehouse, help Benny and Stan. The quicker we find out what’s going on, the better off we’ll all be.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Several hours after Jason had regretfully told her he had to go to the warehouse, Marco knocked and pushed open the door. “Miss Crowell is here, Elizabeth.”

From her vantage point at by the pool table, Elizabeth waved Nadine and her bags from Eli’s in. “Thanks, Marco. Hey, Nadine.”

“Hey!” Nadine smiled brightly and followed Elizabeth into the kitchen where a folding table was set up. “No dining table?”

“We usually eat takeout on the sofa,” Elizabeth replied. “Thanks for understanding I couldn’t go out tonight. Jason….he’s just asked that I stay in at night for a while.” She reached into a cabinet and drew out paper plates.

“Not a problem. Besides, we can talk more in private.” Nadine arched an eyebrow. “For example, Miss Webber, that is mighty fine hickey on your collarbone.”

Elizabeth flushed and pressed a hand to the area. “I…I didn’t notice or I would have changed.” She set down some bottles of water and took a seat. “Um…so I guess you know how I spent the day.”

“Do I!” Nadine dug into her ribs and gestured for her to continue. “He’s gorgeous, by the way. You see his picture in the paper sometimes, but I don’t think I’d ever met him in person.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “I can understand why you threw over the Harvard lawyer.”

Elizabeth laughed and opened her own Styrofoam container. “Well, hands off. I’ve had enough of blondes going after my boyfriends.” When her friend widened her eyes, Elizabeth shrugged. “My ex-boyfriend Lucky liked my blonde sister first, and then long after we had broken up, he ended up dating her for a while. And then Jason’s best friend is blonde. She was always calling and nagging him to leave me. And of course, you know about Courtney. And then Ric…” she hesitated. “Well, I would say one of the reasons we didn’t work out is he was sleeping with a blonde on the side.”

“Ugh. Skanks.” Nadine twisted off the cap of her water. “So I guess Kelly was right. Finding out the gender does it every time.”

“No…” Elizabeth leaned back in her chair. “No, it wasn’t that. We still…we still have to work out a lot of things, the baby being one of them.” She hesitated. “There’s…the situation is really more complicated than I can explain, Nadine. It’s not because I don’t trust you—”

“It’s because we’ve known each other five seconds,” Nadine said. “I get it, Elizabeth. And sometimes I see you pause, searching for a lie. I’d rather you just gloss over the details you can’t share. Don’t feel bad.”

“Well…” Elizabeth licked some of the barbecue sauce off her finger. “Let’s just say…Jason stepping up to be involved with the baby was not something I expected, mostly because of how we broke up and that he was dating his best friend’s sister. We’ve talked a lot about why we stopped seeing one another, but we haven’t…we’re not really talking about the future beyond…the immediate.”

“Still doing the one day at a time shtick guys cling to?” Nadine grimaced. “I get it. Johnny always said maybe someday we’d move in together, but any time you tried to put a date on that someday, he’d get this look and…” She shook her head. “I don’t know, maybe for them it’s just too scary to think about something that far in the future, about making a commitment. Me? It’s scarier not to make it. Because today could be amazing, and so could tomorrow. But I want…some assurance, I guess, that next week, next month, next year…that it’s going to be just as amazing.”

“Yeah…” Elizabeth exhaled slowly. “Yeah, I know. And if you can’t talk about anything beyond tomorrow, then how do you know they see it as a possibility? What if they don’t see a place for you next month?” She bit her lip. “Well, I tried to bring it up today. I asked him about the future, about how we were going to handle it, and it turned into an argument about our past. I think…Jason has this idea…that I won’t stay forever.”

She looked at Nadine. “And I can’t… I can’t blame him for not trusting me. With the exception of the first time we were friends, before he left town a few years ago, I’ve always walked away from him. Last fall, I walked out and then refused to talk to him. I was just so angry and hurt…but he didn’t come after me. So he’s accusing me of never staying, and I told him that…”

She hesitated. “I told him that I felt like he pushed me out the door last time, and that he was doing it again. Every time he looked uncomfortable talking about the baby or we talked about the future. So I told him that he’s never given me a reason to stay, so the next time I walk away, I won’t come back.”

“And…this turned into a day of sex?” Nadine frowned. Her eyes widened. “Oh, oh. I get it. You told him that and then he kissed you to stop you from leaving!”

“Yeah…” And Elizabeth dipped her head down, unable to stop herself from smiling. “The first time…it was on the pool table.”

“Well, hello…” Nadine craned her head to look out the door way. “That’s reason enough to keep it around.” She turned back. “So…?”

“And after we…on the sofa…he told me he didn’t want me to go, he just didn’t know to make me stay.”

“That is…” Nadine shook her head. “I am so freaking jealous. First, this gorgeous man sexes you up on a pool table like a scene right out of a hot romance novel, and then he lays a line like that on you, except I’ve seen him—he does not look like the type to drop a line, so he means it.” She scowled. “I hate you so much right now.”

“I guess…I’m just nervous,” Elizabeth admitted. “Because I don’t…there’s so much still up in the air. We’re still not talking about the baby. There’s still a ton of tension with his family because of the baby, particularly his sister who used to be my best friend, and his job…” She shrugged. “It’s not like it ever leaves us in peace. Before we could really…resolve anything….he had to go down to the warehouse.”

“Well…my aunt Rayleen used to say that when you’re too scared to do something, you should go out on a limb, because that’s where the fruit is,” Nadine said. “You’re already better off then you were when we met, right?”

“We are,” Elizabeth said, with a smile. “So nothing worth having is easy to get, huh?”

“That’s what I’m told.” Nadine picked up a rib and gestured to her with it. “Don’t get in your own way, Liz. It’s usually the best way to make yourself miserable.”

“Hm…” Elizabeth leaned forward. “Nadine, have you thought about calling Johnny?”

“Pfft…” Nadine shook her head. “Absolutely not. Would you believe he sent those CDs anyway? How’d he get my address, I’d like to know? And now I’m mad because I forgot I left some of them with him, and turns out I really missed one or two of them and I’m glad he didn’t throw them out. Which just makes me angrier, because he’s a turd.” After she swallowed a bite, she continued. “Our situation is completely different, Liz.”

“What makes it so different? We both walked away from men who were hurting us.”

“True.” Nadine sighed, wistfully, and propped her chin on her fist. “But my guy didn’t have crazy sex with me on a pool table to keep me from leaving.”

“Well, there is that.”

Morgan Penthouse: Jason’s Bedroom

It was nearly midnight when Jason finally climbed the stairs to the second floor. It had been a long day, beginning with the morning appointment at the hospital and then the fight with Elizabeth…and then everything else that came afterward. He hated fighting with her, hated making her cry, but if it meant they could…get back to where they’d been last year before everything fell apart, maybe it was worth it.

But before they could really fix anything, his damn phone had rung, nearly screwing it up. But she hadn’t looked angry, and he didn’t think Elizabeth would lie about that when they were trying so hard to be painfully honest.

The evening at the warehouse had been a bust, and he would have rather been here, watching Elizabeth sketch or just sitting in the living room, watching ridiculous television. Except maybe they would have gone back to the conversation they’d been having before they’d been sidetracked…and Jason did not want to talk about her pregnancy or the daughter she was going to have. The daughter he knew would never really be his, no matter how much he wanted her to be. Elizabeth said she wanted to stay, but what did that really mean?

He stopped in front of the guest room where Elizabeth had slept since moving in, the same one she had slept in last fall. He raised his hand as if to knock, but then let it fall to his side. Maybe tomorrow…

Jason pushed open his door, and stopped short. In his bed, her dark hair spread across the white pillow, and in the shirt he’d given her the first night…Elizabeth lay curled up, under a thin sheet.

Slowly, not wanting to wake her, he stripped down to his briefs and hesitantly slid the sheet back to slide underneath, but she was a lighter sleeper than he remembered, because her eyes slid open, shadowed in the darkness of the room. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he replied softly.

“Hope you don’t mind I’m here,” Elizabeth said, her voice hesitant and quiet. “I just…”

He reached out and drew her closer, until she was tucked into his side. “I was hoping you would be.”

+7

I’m falling apart, I’m barely breathing
With a broken heart that’s still beating
In the pain, there is healing
In your name I find meaning
So I’m holdin’ on, I’m holdin’ on, I’m holdin’ on
I’m barely holdin’ on to you
– Broken, Lifehouse

Tuesday, June 24, 2003

General Hospital: Kelly Lee’s Office

She couldn’t believe Jason was actually sitting in this office with her, prepared to sit through her doctor’s appointment and watch an ultrasound that would reveal whether Elizabeth was having a boy or a girl, and he was going to do that knowing full well Kelly and Nadine thought he was the father.

What a difference two weeks could make.

They had never really returned to the conversation Francis had interrupted her first day in the penthouse, but Elizabeth didn’t mind. Though they had not discussed their relationship any further than the days after their disastrous meeting at Luke’s, the tension and discomfort had all but vanished. She’d spent the majority of her first two weeks in the penthouse sitting on the couch, reading, sketching or watching mindless daytime television while Jason ferried her from living room to bedroom, and arranged for most of her meals.

They sat in silence much of time, while she read magazines or sketched and he worked on files or read travel books. There had been no recurrence of the interrupted kiss either, but…sometimes she caught him looking at her out of the corner of her eye, and his eyes had that soft, tender look she’d become so accustomed to during the years of their friendship.

She had not taken Nadine’s advice and asked him about tomorrow or spoken about the baby. Somehow, Elizabeth innately understood that these were not subjects that would preserve the peaceful status quo, and having just re-established the old comfort level…she did not want to disturb it.

Which would probably happen after today. She’d told him about her appointment last week, he’d promised to clear his schedule because he needed to start taking a more active interest. But this morning, the tension was back in his shoulders and the longer they sat in this office, her already on the examining table and him in the chair adjacent, the less comfortable he looked.

“Sonny came by this morning,” she said finally. “While you were at the warehouse.”

“Did he need me?” Jason frowned. “I told him I was—”

“No, no, he came to check on me.” Elizabeth clasped her hand over her abdomen. “I think he was inspecting the cabinets for contraband.” Her lips curved. “He thinks I’m Carly’s cookie dealer.”

Jason laughed softly and leaned back, his shoulders relaxing slightly. “Yeah, he’s not sure how she keeps getting them past the door, but I think Bobbie’s giving packages to Michael.”

“It’s almost adorable,” Elizabeth said, “but then he started complaining about my cookie stash and I had to kick him out.” She tossed him an unapologetic smile. “Sorry about that.”

“No, he gets…very…” Jason paused, as if searching for the right word. “Cranky about nutrition. He wants the baby to be safe and this is the one area he thinks he can have complete control over.”

The door opened then, and Nadine and Kelly came in. “Hey, Elizabeth!” Kelly greeted. She stopped and blinked at Jason. “I see we finally have company.”

Nadine grinned and walked around them to start getting a tray together for Kelly. Elizabeth nervously tucked her hair behind her ears. “Jason, this is Dr. Kelly Lee, and I think you’ve seen Nadine in and out of the penthouse the last few weeks.”

“Hello,” Jason nodded briefly. But he looked away, not knowing what to say next.

“Well…” Kelly smiled brightly. “Let’s get some blood drawn and then we’ll check your blood pressure.” As Nadine prepared Elizabeth’s arm for the needle, Kelly continued. “Have you been feeling better? Your blood pressure was high at the last visit.” She glanced down. “I see they weighed you before you changed came in, and you’re finally gaining back the weight you lost during the first trimester. Very good…”

Elizabeth grimaced at the needle prick for her blood tests and then closed her eyes as Nadine fitted the blood pressure pump to her arm. She just wanted this one to be normal. She’d done nothing but rest and her stress level was better, wasn’t it? “I’ve done what you asked,” she assured Kelly as the pressure built. “Jason barely lets me off the sofa to use the bathroom. I told him what you said at the last appointment about the blood pressure, so we talked about it, and I quit my job.”

“Good.” Kelly nodded. She frowned. “Well, the blood pressure is down but it’s still more elevated than I might like.” She clucked her tongue and made a notation. “But it’s a vast improvement. Sounds like you’ve been on bed rest for a bit, so maybe you could keep doing it…” She looked over at Jason. “Not complete bed rest. She can climb the stairs, move about, but I’d like to see her spend more time sitting than standing.” She tipped her pen at Elizabeth. “And I am relieved you won’t be waiting on the hypocrites of this town and taking their crap anymore, Liz.”

Elizabeth flushed and looked away, wincing when she saw Jason’s frown. “I’ll continue to rest, I promise, Kelly.” She bit her lip. “We’re doing an ultrasound right? You said I could find out the gender.”

“Yup.” Kelly wheeled the machine over and smiled at her. “Nadine tells me your mommy senses are telling you this is a girl.”

“That’s…what I think, anyway.” Elizabeth shivered as Kelly spread the gel over her abdomen. “I’m not…I’m not showing much yet. Is…that okay?” She saw Jason’s eyes focus on her teeny bump—nothing more than a healthy Thanksgiving dinner might accomplish.

“Yep. You’re a tiny woman and first pregnancies take longer to show. Another month, you’ll wish you still had your waistline.” Kelly placed the ultrasound wand on her skin and tapped a few keys. “And…there’s your baby.” She twisted the screen towards them and started to point. “Here’s the head…the legs…and the arms…” She looked at Jason, and Elizabeth was relieved to see he was looking at the screen. “Sometimes fathers have a hard time finding some of the details, so don’t be afraid to tell me it looks like a blob.”

“No…No, I can…” Jason hesitated. “I can see what you pointed to.” He looked at Elizabeth and then back at the screen. “Do you know if Elizabeth is right…about the gender?”

“This is my favorite part of the job,” Kelly remarked with a smile. She pointed. “And this tells me you’re having a beautiful little girl.” She looked at Elizabeth. “Sometimes, a mom just knows, doesn’t she?”

A tear slid down her cheek, and Elizabeth leaned back against the table, her eyes closed. “I don’t know…I don’t know why I thought it was a girl, I just…” She sighed. “I just did.”

“I knew you were right,” Nadine said, reaching out to squeeze her hand. “I am so ridiculously excited about this, you know, baby girl clothes are so much more fun to shop for.” She blinked. “Not that a boy would have sucked, but I mean, the choices are just so much more prolific.” She literally bounced on her feet. “And just think of all the awesome color schemes for the nursery.”

Elizabeth hesitated and looked at Jason, who hadn’t said a word yet. His face was impassive, impossible to read. It had already been two full months since this business had started and Nadine had reminded her that in four and half months, her daughter was going to need a place to sleep.

She couldn’t keep putting off the conversation about tomorrow. She was a mother now, and just concentrating on today was no longer enough.

General Hospital: Waiting Area

Elizabeth saw her grandmother behind the nurse’s station as she and Jason walked in silence from Kelly’s office to the elevator where her guards were waiting. Audrey looked up and saw them, causing Elizabeth to sigh and wonder if the reprieve her grandmother had promised two months earlier was finally at end. Though Audrey had wanted to speak in person, she’d never contacted Elizabeth to arrange it, and Elizabeth certainly hadn’t been in a hurry to do so.

Audrey approached them, flicking a hesitant glance at Jason. “Darling…would you mind if we talked alone? Just a minute.” She looked at Jason more fully. “I can drive her home afterward if she needs it.”

Elizabeth bit her lip and looked at Jason. “You were meeting Emily for lunch anyway.” She touched his arm. “Cody and Dominic will make sure I get home all right. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.” But Jason kept his eyes on them until the elevator doors open and he stepped inside.

“Let’s…have a seat.” Audrey put a hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder and directed her towards the waiting area and the sofas. “I…I know I haven’t been in touch since I learned about the baby.”

“I’m not surprised.” Elizabeth sat next to her grandmother. “I was actually relieved, because I had a lot of people yelling at me, so one less made my life much easier.”

Audrey nodded and twisted her hands together. “Which is precisely why I did not contact you after saying we would speak in person. I wasn’t sure what I would say or how to react in a way that would not hurt you or make you unhappy.” She paused. “You’ve lived in Port Charles for so long, and yet I don’t believe I’ve seen you stay happy for more than a few brief moments. You were so combative with your sister…” Her grandmother sighed. “And then you were…raped. You were happy with Lucky for a while, but then we thought he was dead.” She reached out to Elizabeth and took her hand. “And then you met Jason. And I don’t…altogether know the details, but you’d come in from seeing him or taking a ride on his bike, and you…”

Elizabeth blinked in surprise as her grandmother’s voice broke. “Gram…”

“Let me say this, Elizabeth. Please.” She squeezed Elizabeth’s hands. “You were lit up from inside. You were so happy, and after all the sorrow and the terrible events, that should have been enough for me, but I was just…so scared for you. I knew you might be in danger, but instead of talking to you rationally, instead of realizing you were an adult, I treated you like a child.” She reached out and tucked Elizabeth’s hair behind her ear. “And pushed you away.”

“I…always understood why people said what they did about Jason, why you, and Lt. Taggart told me I shouldn’t be friends with him,” Elizabeth said hesitantly. “And Gram, I’d be in denial if I said being with him, being friends with him…didn’t come without risks, but…the worst thing that ever happened to me…happened without him. I had my life torn apart because I walked in the park one night. Just being alive can be a risk. No one is ever safe all the time.”

“I know, I know.” Audrey sighed. “And I saw how sad you were when he left town, but I was just relieved. And when Lucky turned out to be alive, I thought you’d be happy again. But even though you told us you were, and even though you smiled like you were…you never lit up again the way you had when you were dating Lucky that first time or…seeing Jason.”

“I wanted to be happy,” Elizabeth told her. “I knew I should be. I had my miracle, and I tried so hard to go back to that dream, to that perfect memory of who Lucky and I were before the fire.” She looked down at her lap. “But he wasn’t the same boy, and I was…”

“In love with someone else,” Audrey concluded, her eyes filled with sorrow. “Which we could all forget when Jason didn’t live in Port Charles. I was so scared when he moved back last summer, because I knew…I knew you were finally going to let yourself be with him…”

“Gram, I—”

“I thought I had gotten my wish when you moved out in the fall, because this time you were fighting with him. You were upset, and you were hurt, but you were angry, too. I thought…” Audrey pursed her lips. “I thought you had seen him for who I thought he was, and you were done with him. And you started dating Ric who seemed so nice…” She paused. “But like with Lucky, you were only pretending. You haven’t been truly happy for more than few weeks, a few days, since Jason left town three years ago.”

A tear slid down Elizabeth’s cheek as she acknowledged the truth in that. “Pathetic, I know, all things considered.”

“So when I found out you were having a child, but it was with Jason, the man I’ve been trying to keep you from all this time…I realized that I could continue to contribute to your unhappiness,” Audrey said, “or I could support you. I wish I could have realized this sooner, because I know how difficult these last few months have been when they should have been the happiest.”

“Are you saying…” Elizabeth’s heart was pounding. She loved Nadine, but the nurse had only been in her life for a month. She’d lost Emily, Lucky and Nikolas were out of town, Jason was still hesitant at times…but Audrey…her grandmother had always been her rock. “Are you saying that you accept my choices?”

“I do,” Audrey nodded. “They are not the ones I would make, but it is not my life to live.” She put her hand under Elizabeth’s chin and tilted her granddaughter’s head up. “I just want you to light up again. I want to see you happy, and if having Jason Morgan in your life, and having a child with him is what it takes, then yes, I will not only accept it. I will support it.” Her lip curved up in a smile. “I’ll worry, but that’s just my job.”

Elizabeth leaned forward and wrapped her grandmother in a tight embrace. “You have no idea how much that means to me or how much I need you.”

“I love you so much, Elizabeth, even when you drive me insane.” Audrey leaned back to kiss Elizabeth’s cheek. “And maybe…because of it. You remind me so much of myself, you know. I was a hell raiser when I came here to annoy my sister, Lucille. I made bad choices, I walked away from people I loved, I drove your grandfather out of his mind before we both realized we were being stupid and avoiding the inevitable.”

“So what you’re saying,” Elizabeth said with a sly smirk, “is that you were me and Aunt Lucille was Sarah.”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far,” Audrey mused. “Lucille never did sleep with my boyfriend.” As if realizing what she’d said, her cheeks flushed and they broke into laughter. When that had subsided, Audrey laced her fingers through Elizabeth’s. “Now, tell me everything I need to know about my brand-new great-grandchild.”

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Jason would never be able to sit in this courtyard, in the hastily replaced chairs that Bobbie had just sighed and accepted…and not remember that Elizabeth had nearly been kidnapped. Since that day, he had not allowed her out of the penthouse without him. If she went to the store, he went with her. Even the double guards didn’t seem to be enough. If he couldn’t see her, then he didn’t know for sure she was safe.

He hated leaving her alone at the hospital even though he knew her afternoon guards, Cody and Dominic, would see her home safely—and he knew Cody would give his life before allowing Elizabeth to be hurt. He’d hoped to bring Elizabeth here for lunch, to show a united front to his sister so that Emily might stop…whatever she was doing to mess with Elizabeth’s head, but he had seen the expression on Audrey Hardy’s face and hoped she was going to offer Elizabeth the support she wanted.

He found his sister flipping through a journal and sipping iced tea. “Hey, Em.”

“Hey, stranger.” Emily stood and hugged her brother. “I’m glad you called.” She flicked her eyes around him. “You said you might bring Elizabeth.”

They sat down and Jason leaned back in his chair. “No…her grandmother wanted to talk to her at the hospital, so she told me to go ahead.” Jason hesitated, but knowing this conversation would be painful, but knowing that honesty was best. Though talking to Elizabeth when she first moved in had been difficult—it had been for the best. All the ugliness was in the open to deal with even if they hadn’t yet.

Sometimes it just good to know where a person stood.

“I know you and Elizabeth haven’t been getting along much,” Jason said after a moment. “I’m sorry if…I’ve contributed to it—”

“You haven’t,” Emily said swiftly. “It’s…It’s been building for months. You know, we used to be close.” She closed her journal and stared down at the cover. “But that came later, after she was…attacked. You didn’t know who she used to be, Jase. When she first moved to town, everyone called her Lizzie—”

“She hates that,” Jason said, but he saw that his sister ignored that.

“And Lizzie Webber was a hardcore bitch,” Emily told him. “If not for her rape and for Lucky, Lizzie would have grown up and made Carly look tame.”

Jason blinked and shook his head. “That’s…Emily, you know that’s not true. I knew Elizabeth a little before. You were friends with her, so I…kept an eye out. She was there the night Nikolas Cassadine was shot at Luke’s club, with her sister. And I remember she stole Ruby Anderson’s invitation to Sonny and Brenda’s wedding.”

“And she also tried to trick Nikolas and Sarah into thinking the other one wanted to have sex, and she framed Sarah for cheating—”

Jason held up a hand, still bewildered by his sister’s tirade. “Elizabeth was a teenager when she did those things. You…weren’t exactly innocent either—”

“You just don’t get it. I thought Elizabeth grew up. I thought she cared about other people, but…” Emily pursed her lips. “But clearly I was wrong. I remember the way she played you and Lucky against each other. If you hadn’t left town, it just would have continued. And then she slept with my boyfriend—”

Jason did not want to talk about Zander Smith or last summer. It was painful enough to watch Elizabeth rip herself apart over the mistake when he hadn’t held it against her nearly as much as she seemed to think. It had been agonizing to see them, to know that she had done that, but he knew it hadn’t meant anything to her, and she was so upset over hurting him that it no longer stung the way it once had.

But Emily hadn’t been here, and he didn’t understand why she was holding something against Elizabeth like this. “Emily, that doesn’t…you were still friends when you came home in March. Why did you suddenly turn on her when she got pregnant?”

“Seriously?” Emily raised an eyebrow. “Courtney’s my friend, too, Jase. Elizabeth told me she was pregnant and decided not to tell me it was your kid, and then freaked out on me when I dropped hints to Ric.”

Jason clenched his jaw, and tried to remember his sister was not in possession of all the information…but if not for Emily, none of this would have happened. “Yeah. I can see why Elizabeth might have kept you out of the loop about it if this is the way you’ve been treating her.”

Emily opened her mouth, “Jason…you don’t understand. She kept…saying things and giving me partial truths and I just…” She shook her head. “I wanted what was best for her. I wanted her to move on. If she had done that, then she wouldn’t have thrown herself at you and got pregnant—”

“First of all,” Jason cut in, leaning forward and pitching his voice low. “I don’t appreciate you telling Elizabeth I didn’t care about her last fall when she was living with me. I don’t appreciate you telling her that I was already seeing Courtney before Elizabeth left. Do you have any idea of the damage you caused?”

Emily leaned back in her chair and pressed her lips together in a mutinous line. “You just don’t understand, Jase. I was trying to protect you—”

“I do not need you to protect me from anyone, least of all Elizabeth. You were not here.” He stood. “I’m not in the mood for lunch. I wanted you to back off Elizabeth because you guys have been through so much. I remember how upset you were when you told me about Tom Baker and the photography studio, how scared she was when she realized who he was. I remember when we thought Lucky was dead, and how the two of you consoled each other. I remember that Elizabeth helped you hide a dead body for months. It might be convenient for you to forget all of that because Elizabeth made a mistake—that she was honest with you about, I might add—but I don’t get it. The stuff you’re holding on to? It’s nonsense.”

“Jase…” Emily got to her feet, wary. “I just… I love you so much—”

“Robin used to tell me that, too,” he said. “But the kind of love she had for me, the kind you clearly have…neither one of you seems to think I can handle my own life. That I can make my own decisions. Elizabeth is pregnant and between you and the rest of this self-righteous town, you had her blood pressure so high she needed bed rest. Do you get that, Emily?” Jason said, raising his voice for the first time. “So that you could feel the satisfaction of protecting me from her, you put her health and the baby at risk.”

“I…” Emily closed her mouth, looking worried. “I didn’t…think about that—”

“No, I didn’t think you did. I don’t give a damn what you or anyone says about me, but I do care that what you say to Elizabeth or about her. So if you love me as much as you say you do, you’ll knock it off.” He stepped towards his sister. “I love you, Emily, but I don’t like you very much right now.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Elizabeth walked into the penthouse, and smiled over her shoulder at Cody, carrying her bags. They’d left Dominic downstairs in the parking garage because she was planning to be in for the rest of the night, which meant Cody could go on the door until Marco’s shift began. “I can carry those—”

“And have Jason catch me?” Cody snored. “Not on your life, Eliz—” He stopped when he saw Jason on the sofa with ledgers in his hands. He coughed. “Miss Webber.” He set her bags on the desk. “All clear, Jason. I’ll be on the door if you need me.”

“Thanks,” Jason stood and crossed to join her at the desk as Cody left. “Where’d you go after the hospital?”

“Gram asked me to lunch at the Grille,” Elizabeth said, tugging out some of the books. “And then she wanted to go shopping. I thought she meant for baby stuff, but my grandmother is nothing if not practical.” She held up a cooking book. “Beginner’s cookbooks because apparently, babies can’t subsist on brownies and takeout.”

She saw Jason smile at that, but was disappointed that his shoulders were tense. Still, she forged on. “So, she bought me some of these and then dragged me into the aisle of baby books so I could apparently clean them out on name books.” She unpacked the rest of her purchases, tucked the gift receipt in her jeans pocket and threw out the plastic bags from the store. “I was just so relieved she’s being supportive, I couldn’t argue.”

Jason took her books from her and led her over the couch. “Jason, I can carry the books. They’re not even that heavy. Kelly said I don’t need strict—”

He waited for her to sit before handing them back. “Is it worth having an argument you’re not going to win?”

“No,” Elizabeth sighed and flipped through the first pages of one of the cookbooks. “How…how did lunch with Emily go?”

“Ah…” Jason sighed and looked at the ceiling. “Not as well as I would have hoped. I wanted to reason with her, but that didn’t work, so I decided to take a page from Carly—”

“Oh…that cannot be good—”

“—and guilt her into being nicer to you,” he finished. “I told her that the way she’s been acting contributed to your forced bed rest. Which isn’t entirely true, because you didn’t go on the bed rest until after…” Jason shook his head. “But it’s true enough. She looked upset after that, so maybe she’ll knock it off.” He leaned back against the couch and looked at her. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Elizabeth murmured. “But you know…she loves you, Jason, and as much as you hate it, she wants to protect you from being hurt.” When his mouth tightened, she held up a hand. “I get it, that’s annoying to you because you think it means she doesn’t trust you to make your own decisions. But…” She shrugged and looked down at her book. “She just thinks she’s helping. Maybe…it’ll just…get better on its own.”

“You mean just ignore the problem and hope it goes away?” Jason asked, his eyebrows raised.

“It’s my patented life technique that almost never works, but…” Elizabeth hesitated. “She’s angry at me because of last summer. Zander’s not in town right now to mitigate her anger, and she thinks he left town because of me, but we both know he headed out after last fall because his dad showed up. She thinks I’m going to hurt you.” Staring down at instructions for cooking an omelet, Elizabeth bit her lip. “It’s not like she doesn’t have some history on her side.”

“Elizabeth, what’s between us is no one else’s business,” Jason began.

“Come on, that’s just not true.” She closed the book and leaned forward to set them on the table. “Jason, she’s your sister and until the last year, she was my best friend. She had a front row seat. Yes, we both know that I didn’t…mean to hurt you, that you weren’t angry at me, but she wasn’t there when we talked about these things. She thinks I’m the reason you left town last year, but you…” She paused. “I think you were already on your way out. I don’t…I don’t think I made you go.”

“No.” But he waited a moment. “I would have stayed a little longer, but after you…after that day in the park, I just moved up my departure.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth shook her head. “Anyway. I think Emily just needs…time. Maybe she and I will never be that close again, but I don’t know…” She twisted her fingers together and remembered that she wasn’t going to avoid talking about tomorrow anymore. “I guess….if the situation were what she thinks it is, I’d say that she’d learn to get past it because she knows how much you love Michael, and that having a child would be something you wanted. Except….” She took a deep breath and met his eyes, disconcerted that they seemed to be closed off to her. “That’s not…necessarily the situation we’re in.”

She hoped he would take the bait, hoped that he would say something, even if it was just to say they’d be in each other’s lives after this was over.

But he didn’t. Instead, he rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with Emily. Maybe you’re right, and she just needs time.”

Fine. She was going to have to be the brave one. Again. “Jason, what’s…going to happen after…Ric is dealt with?” she asked softly. “You told me we couldn’t change our minds because the Families are involved now. Won’t they be angry if they found out you…that we lied to them?”

“I…” Jason paused. “I guess I hadn’t really thought about it that way. I’ve been so focused on taking care of Ric and Faith…I guess I figured if they were out of the picture, the Families won’t care about this situation.”

Elizabeth arched an eyebrow. “You think they won’t care that you and Sonny asked them to use their resources on this child’s behalf after lying to them about the father?”

He closed his eyes. “You know there are things I can’t talk about—”

“Oh, God, Jason, that’s such a god damn cop out.” She got to her feet, her body tense. “You said that to me last fall, standing in this room. You told me there were things I couldn’t be told. Well, it wasn’t true then and it’s not true now. I am not asking for trade secrets or what you do when you go the warehouse or what you and Sonny talk about. I am talking about something that affects us personally, our possible safety. If the Families knew I was having Ric Lansing’s child, and that you and Sonny lied about it, even after Ric and Faith are dead, is that going to be an issue for you down the line?”

Jason blew out a slow breath before also rising to his feet. “I don’t know. I—Sonny wanted to involve them, I just said what I said to get Ric out of town. It wasn’t supposed to be this complicated.”

“Complicated.” Elizabeth closed her eyes. She was getting the picture. “Jason, I have been telling you from the start that we have to be honest with each other, but you’re just not getting it. So maybe it’s time I stop being vague. People think I’m having your child. And I’m not talking about your mother, my grandmother, our friends. I’m talking about men who see families as a target, as a point of weakness. I remember when Carly was dealing with them when Sonny was…gone…and they were harassing her, using what they thought was her grief and your weakness to push drugs through Port Charles. These are not men who are going to forgive a lie.”

“I…I get it.” Jason pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. “I get that you don’t want your child in danger—”

“Jason, that’s not it.” Do not stamp your foot. She pressed her lips together and then tried again. “My child is in danger whether you’re her father or Ric is her father. You told me that they hated Ric and I’m sure they hate Faith Roscoe because she’s a woman. Do you think that we can just stop this when Ric and Faith are gone? Do you think that it’s going to be that easy? After putting guards on me, doubling them, putting me back in this penthouse?”

She jabbed a finger at him. “This is what happens all the time. You think it’s enough to walk away from me, as if people are just going to forget who I am. You walked away from me that first time, and it sure didn’t stop Sorel from badgering me or approaching me when you were gone. I was kidnapped because people saw us together, because they knew about our history.” She gestured toward the door. “You let me walk out of here last fall without a word, and didn’t seem to notice I was dating a psycho until he used Carly. It didn’t occur to you he was trying to use me to get to you.”

“Are…” Jason shook his head, irritated. “Are you actually blaming me for Ric, for getting you kidnapped? You told me you didn’t—”

“Sometimes I just want to scream,” Elizabeth muttered. She dragged her fingers through her hair and dipped her chin to the floor. “No. I am not blaming you for those things. But I do blame you for thinking that walking away is all it takes. You honestly think that after Ric and Faith are gone, I can just walk out this door, lose the guards and not have a problem. Is that what you’re hoping for?” she demanded. “That I’ll walk out of your life for good this time?”

“Why not?” Jason retorted. “You’ve never stayed before.”

“That…” Elizabeth fisted her hands at her side, her voice thick. “That is not fair. You left first, Jason. I begged you to stay, but you left anyway. And let’s talk about that day in April, where I finally have the courage to tell you I have feelings for you, that I care about you in a way I shouldn’t considering I was dating Lucky. And then you asked me to go. To leave with you.” When she saw him huff, she held out a hand as in protest. “But wait…that’s not true. You said I should go with you, or maybe not with you. It didn’t matter. Yeah, I was really supposed to walk away from my life on a maybe you’d be with me. How should I have trusted you?”

“Fine. I shouldn’t have asked you to leave with me. It was too soon and unfair. That’s clear,” Jason bit out. “But you walked out that door nine months ago and you never looked back—”

“All summer…” Elizabeth forced herself to take a deep breath. “You walked away from me. You took phone calls from Carly and left me for her. Every time she called, you were out the door. Do not tell me each and every one of those calls was an emergency you had to handle right there. I knew you cared about me, maybe you wanted to sleep with me, but I knew I didn’t rate above Sonny and Carly. And then you went and proved it—”

“I told you that Sonny and I were having issues—”

“I might actually scream this time.” Elizabeth stalked towards the kitchen. “I cannot keep saying the same things over and over again—”

Jason rounded the sofa and grabbed her elbow. “Damn it, Elizabeth, I told you I was sorry about not telling you about Sonny, about not coming home, not calling—”

“Now. Now you’ve explained it.” She yanked her arm away. “You have the nerve to stand there and tell me that I’ve never stayed before…well, Jason…you’ve never given me a reason to.”

Her heart pounding, she continued. “Even now, you’re doing everything you can to shove me out the door faster. Every time I bring up my child, you get this haunted look in your eyes, this trapped look, and I know what’s going to happen. Even after Ric and Faith are out of the picture, you’re going to look like that. Because you can’t let yourself for one minute forget that this baby is Ric’s. So don’t worry, Jason. The next time I walk out that door, it will be for good.”

She turned again, to go upstairs or to the kitchen, she was never sure, but Jason grabbed both her arms and whirled back to face him. She opened her mouth to protest, but he covered with his, all his anger and frustration pouring into her like a volcanic eruption. Startled, Elizabeth tried to draw back, but he just tightened his grip, almost as if he thought she had meant she was leaving right now.

Well, hell. She kissed him back, letting her own frustration and desire through. This time…she wasn’t stopping unless the building collapsed.

+6

More than angry words I hate this silence
It’s getting so loud
Well I want to scream
But bitterness has silenced these emotions
It’s getting hard to breathe
– Hold Me, Savage Garden

Saturday, June 7, 2003

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

If Carly hadn’t decided to keep her mouth shut and cooperate with this situation because it was simply the right thing to do, the added benefit of confusing the crap out of her husband and best friend might have been reason enough. Not flipping out when Jason broke Courtney’s heart, or screaming like a shrew at Elizabeth at every opportunity, pretending not to know the truth…Carly was enjoying this far more than she ought to have.

But that had been before. When Jason had been lying to make Ric leave town thinking he had nothing to stay for, not when this lie was keeping Elizabeth and her child alive. Now, as Sonny explained to Carly that Jason had decided he needed to support Elizabeth more so they were moving in together, she knew something terrible had happened.

It was time to stop playing around.

Carly stood in front of the fireplace, her hand braced on the small of her back. “Does Ric know the truth, Sonny? Do we know how much danger Elizabeth is in?”

Sonny blinked at her, and she wanted to roll her eyes. “Yes, yes, I knew all along. I’m not an idiot. I also know I’m the last person Jason would have trusted with this, considering my track record with trying to help him and then making everything worse.” She pressed her lips together. “Plus, I’m supposed to be Courtney’s best friend, so if he couldn’t trust prissy Robin Scorpio to protect the truth about Michael when she loved Jason, why should he expect me to do the same when I don’t even like Elizabeth much? So, let’s not focus on the reasons I wasn’t told outright because I’m not angry, Sonny.”

“I…” Sonny hesitated. “We thought you might know, you hinted at it, but we weren’t sure. Carly—”

“Paternity secrets work better when no one knows them. I know Jason tried to lie to you, but you never bought it either, and if this were Jason’s child, he’d be doing a better damn job of protecting Elizabeth. She would have been moved into the penthouse weeks ago, but instead, Jason let her out into the world, working and living in buildings that are far from secure,” Carly said. “He didn’t go to her doctor’s appointments and he couldn’t be bothered to fill out a simple medical form to keep the Quartermaines from sniffing around, wondering why the histories didn’t match. Sonny, I don’t know about the search for Ric, but I’m out there, and this story is falling apart.”

“It’s not the story we’re worried about so much right now.” Sonny rubbed his face. “He’s working with Faith Roscoe, and she sent two men to grab Elizabeth last night after she closed. One guy jumped Cody, and if Elizabeth hadn’t had the presence of mind to send her attacker crashing into the courtyard tables, she’d be gone right now. So I’m even less concerned with the lie at the moment.”

“We need to be concerned about it,” Carly said briskly. “I know you don’t want me to know about business, but I think a woman who’s ignorant in this world, who ignores details because it’s better to have plausible deniability is an idiot. You told the Families to go after Ric because he’s threatening Jason’s family. If they found out you lied, we’d have worse problems on our hands than Ric and Faith.”

The hands slid from Sonny’s face and he looked at her, apparently for the first time. “I told you, Sonny. I accept your life. So we keep Elizabeth safe from that psychotic twisted piece of shit, but we have to make sure this lie stays credible.”

Looking exhausted, Sonny lowered himself into the armchair in front of her. “Sometimes, Carly, you drive me insane. And then others, you remind me exactly why I married you. You’re a schemer, which means you always have to stay one step ahead of the person you’re manipulating. I should have…I should have thought of it, of what would happen if the Families knew…”

“That’s fine. Most of the time, Sonny, I could give two damns what you’re doing in your business beyond what it means for me and my children. But right now, this is personal. Ric Lansing came after you for personal reasons. He targeted Elizabeth because Jason’s stupid for her, so do not shut me out of this. I can help.”

“Yeah.” Sonny looked at her. “Yeah. So, her guards are doubled, she’s not going back to work, and the doctor told her bed rest because her blood pressure is too high anyway. She’s moving in with Jason because she can be protected better. I cannot think of a single thing to protect her more than that.”

“Me either, and I leave that stuff for you anyway.” Carly sat on the adjacent couch. “Sonny, I’ve spent the last two months thinking about this, trying to understand why Jason would agree to claim Elizabeth’s child to the entire world and then ignore her. Because if I could figure that out, I could figure out a way to tell him to knock it off. I could figure out how to fix any problems he was having, but Sonny…I think I know what the problem is…and I can’t fix it.”

Sonny looked at her, his eyes dark and pained. “I think I know too. He loves her, and he’s afraid she’ll walk out the door again.”

“And take her child with her,” Carly concluded. “And the last thing he wants is to watch another child walk out of his life. He knows the truth, and he knows what could happen when this ends. So I guess…he’s trying to protect himself. So how do we stop him from doing that?”

“I’m not sure we can any more than I think he can stop himself from getting hurt.” Sonny sighed. “Because the longer he tries to be detached, the more Elizabeth is going to think it’s because this baby is Ric’s. And she’ll walk out anyway.”

Her throat burning. “I can’t fix that, Sonny. I can’t take back what I did with Michael, what we did together. I can’t talk to Elizabeth about it, because I know better than to get involved in Jason’s life. I’ll probably mess it up even more. I can’t make Jason trust Elizabeth to stay because I don’t know if she will. How do I fix this, Sonny?”

Sonny closed his eyes. “We can’t. Talking to them isn’t going to make it better. They’ll never believe it coming from us. And, going by the last two months…they’re not going to talk to each other long enough to fix it themselves, which is the only way this gets better.”

“If they don’t fix this,” Carly said softly, “And Jason keeps avoiding this pregnancy, the seeds of doubt are going to be there. The Families probably don’t want to help as it is. It won’t take them much to want to turn on you, so you at least…have to tell Jason that.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason came down the stairs, and stopped in front of the sofa where he had carried her that morning. Apparently, Jason Morgan took light bed rest very seriously. No stairs for her. No further than the bathroom or kitchen.

“I swear I haven’t moved,” Elizabeth said, forcing a smile and holding up her hands. “Not even a single inch.”

“I know.” Jason sat in the armchair adjacent to her, his legs spread out and his hands clasped between them. “I…we should talk…about how this is going to work. I—I know you stayed here before, but things…things are…” He exhaled. “Well, it’s not the same and—”

He looked so uncomfortable, so pained and suddenly, she just couldn’t do it anymore. She drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on top, looking at him. “Jason, do you remember the night we met at Jake’s?”

Jason broke off his protracted and distressed speech to look at her, bewildered. “Yeah. Why?”

“From the moment I met you,” Elizabeth began, “you were so different from everyone else. You made me feel comfortable in my own skin because you just…let me ramble and then you would just talk to me. And we were so good at that, Jason. Even when things were difficult between us. When you pushed me away that first time, after the bomb in my studio, you listened to my argument and you acknowledged it. I knew you left Port Charles for your own reasons, and not just because geographical distance kept me safer. And every time you came back…it was like you’d never left.” She smiled at him, remembering the way she’d run to him that first time, on the docks.

“I…remember.” And he must have thought of those times as fondly as she did, because he was smiling now.

“I know…things started to get complicated between us that second time you were home, but, still, you were always honest with me.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Even when I wasn’t honest with myself. I always felt like you weren’t even angry with me, though you should have been. You were annoyed and irritated that I was lying to myself. I miss that, Jason. I really do. I miss having one person in my life that I could be completely honest with.”

“I miss…I miss it, too,” he admitted. And she watched as his shoulders slackened, as if the words themselves lifted weight and tension. “Elizabeth, I know things haven’t been right between us for months.”

“I know. I know I messed everything up,” she sighed. She stared down at her toes, wiggling them. “I thought…when you came home last year, that this…this was finally going to our chance. We were finally going to get our timing right. I wasn’t mourning Lucky or trying to make things work with him, and you weren’t…” She looked up and wrinkled her nose with a wry smile. “I don’t know, I never knew why you didn’t think it was the right time, but I could tell…even back in the studio that December, that you felt the same way I did.”

He looked away, but his mouth had curved into a slight smile and his eyes were soft. “I thought I did a good job at hiding it. You were…just getting past Lucky, and I know…we don’t have a huge age difference between us, but—”

“But it was a lot at the time,” Elizabeth acknowledged, and just sitting here, honestly discussing the fact they’d been attracted to one another even then made her feel as though they really could have this conversation. “So, I guess I understand it. And though sometimes I wished you had pressured me more two years ago, when I was clearly torn because I didn’t know how to explain to Lucky, the world, myself that I wasn’t in love with him anymore, that I wasn’t same the girl who’d buried him…I was glad that I eventually figured it out for myself. When Lucky slept with Sarah, I wasn’t angry because I was jealous. I was angry because they lied to me.” She sighed, remembering the pain and the hurt and thinking it all seemed so small now. “Because I had asked them and asked them, and they had denied it. But you were back, so it didn’t…hurt for long.”

“I hated to see you so upset,” Jason said. He stood and joined her on the couch. “But I…I was glad you were finally going to be away from Lucky.” He hesitated. “And I thought it going to be our chance, too.” His eyes darkened and he looked away. “But you were kidnapped.”

“I never…” Elizabeth crawled forward slightly, tucking her knees underneath her. “I never blamed you, Jason. Not once. In all those hours I was scared…I knew you were going to come for me. Somehow. I knew it.”

“Not fast enough,” Jason shook his head. “I wasted time because I thought it was about ELQ and Edward and AJ couldn’t help me—” He hesitated.

Elizabeth drew back and just blinked at him. “Edward…AJ?” she repeated. “You…You went to them?”

“I asked Taggart, too,” Jason admitted. “Because he always cared about you, and he…they all tried, but I wasted time going to dinner at the Quartermaine’s because it was the only way Edward would help—”

Her heart was going to leap out of her chest. “Jason, you went to dinner at the Quartermaines and you asked Taggart.” Was this reality? Was she dreaming this? “Why…”

“I would have done anything,” he said, fiercely. “Anything to bring you home safely. I would have asked anyone…” He turned on the sofa and surprised her by feathering the back of his hand down her cheek and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “Elizabeth, if I hadn’t found you…”

She was hallucinating. Pregnancy could create delusions, because he was looking at her the way he always had. “But you did find me,” she said softly. “Like I knew you would.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “But I know…that I messed everything up after that. Like I always do. I know…I ruined things long before I said that you did.”

Jason frowned. “You didn’t…Elizabeth—”

“Don’t…we’re being honest now, aren’t we?” Elizabeth said, her breath hitching, because here was the difficult part. If they were ever going to get that friendship back, they had to discuss how she’d torched everything they’d had. “The night of the storm, when you got a phone call and you had to go. I should have told you…I should have told you how terrified I was to be alone right then. I know you had something important to do, so maybe you couldn’t have done anything, but I was so scared….” She closed her eyes when he brushed a tear away. “And then the lights went out, and I was in the stairwell, and I was back in that moment. I was praying that you’d find me…” Her eyes flew open. “I’m not…I’m not blaming you for Zander. I—I’m not because I made…well, up until this last spring, it was the worst mistake I’d ever made in my entire life.”

“Elizabeth—”

“But I was so terrified,” she rushed to explain. “I wanted…to feel something. And Zander kissed me, so I just…I let him. And I…” She shook her head. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I still can’t really explain it to myself. I don’t know if I would have told you if you hadn’t…seen…or if you hadn’t been there the next day…I like to think I would have been honest, but I felt so dirty and disgusting…” The tears were falling in earnest now, burning hot trails down her cheeks. “And you…you looked right through me. I thought…”

“Elizabeth, you and I…” He cradled her head in his hands, using his thumbs to brush away her tears. “We hadn’t said anything to each other—”

“Does that change anything?” Elizabeth asked. “Does the fact you and I hadn’t sat down and made promises change what we were? What we could have been? I thought I had lost my chance with you, so I clung to Zander so I wouldn’t be alone, but I just…I couldn’t do it. I didn’t care about him that way. I didn’t…” She hesitated. “But that day I was shot, and you looked at me that way…” The way he was looking at her now. God, if she could paint that look, she could keep it forever. “I thought maybe…maybe you didn’t hate me anymore, but you still didn’t want me. You kept telling me it was too dangerous, but I wish…you should have been honest with me.” She licked her lips. “I know I hurt you, but you wouldn’t just tell me that it was over, and I hated you for months for making me feel like I still mattered…”

“You mattered,” Jason said. “You…you always mattered. You still…” He frowned. “I was honest with you, Elizabeth. After you were…grazed by that bullet, I didn’t want you to be hurt because of me. Not again. It was too dangerous—”

“No, no,” Elizabeth pulled back, her breath hitching as sobs slipped out. “No, we’re supposed to be honest, Jason. You told me it was too dangerous and I wanted to meet in secret, but you said it wouldn’t work, but you…” She forced the words out. “You did all of that with Courtney, a—and you were with her during the trial even though you could have gone to jail, so I know you were lying to me. Because you didn’t want tell me how I ruined everything, how I was always ruining things, so you just…you told me that so I’d go away.”

“No, I didn’t.” Jason reached for her, but she shook her head again.

“No, because it wasn’t too dangerous to Courtney, so I don’t…I don’t understand it. You had to be lying, because you were with her all the time, you even walked her home before you came back to the penthouse the night I found out about Sonny. You went to the hospital to see Alexis, you went to the police station, you went to Courtney’s….and I kept sitting on the couch, waiting for you to call, to explain, but it was hours and hours and you let me sit there, thinking about how stupid I was, and how—” She closed her eyes, and forced herself to calm down. It did no good to get so upset. It was over…things had changed. “I ruined everything, Jason, and I know that, but you should have told me you had feelings for Courtney by then. You never should have sat on this sofa and promised me we could try.”

She turned away, and maybe would have stood to leave the room, but Jason gently took her elbow and forced her to look at him. “Elizabeth, I am not lying to you,” he said. “I didn’t lie then, either. Listen to me…” He took her by the shoulders, and Elizabeth forced herself to look at him. He’d sat there and let her pour her heart out, it was only fair he’d be granted the same courtesy.

“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Okay.”

“When I said those things to you last summer, when I said it was too dangerous…” He hesitated. “It was. Because even though we didn’t know much about Alcazar at that point, we knew he was out there. He was a threat, and he’d already ordered you to be kidnapped. I don’t know…if maybe I thought after it was over, we could…try again. It didn’t work out that way. Elizabeth, nothing ever happened with Courtney while you were in my life.”

Her eyes flew to his, because how could that be anything but a lie, but he didn’t look like he was lying. He didn’t look as though the words were false. “M-maybe not physically, but—”

“I wanted to tell you about Sonny,” Jason told her. “But he…he gets these moods, and he snaps, and you can’t get through to him. He was questioning me a lot, especially after you were kidnapped. So when he told me you couldn’t know, I didn’t feel like I could argue, and if I went against him to tell you anyway…” He shook his head. “I should have. I should have handled everything better. You thought Sonny was dead, and you just…wanted to be there for me, but I could not accept your comfort, your worry because it was a lie, and I was trying so hard not to lie to you. It went on for much longer than I thought it would. And…when it came out the way it did, I knew it was on the news, I knew you knew the truth, so I delayed coming back here. Because I didn’t want to see how much I hurt you.”

She licked her lips, because all of that made so much sense. “Why…why didn’t you say that when you came in?” she asked. “If you…if you’d said that…”

“You told me I ruined everything,” Jason reminded her. “And you had that look in your eyes. You were already packed and ready to go, and you…” He swallowed. “You told me I was Sonny’s enforcer, that’s all I was—”

“Because that’s all you were acting like,” Elizabeth cut in. “It was like I wasn’t there, like I hadn’t been kidnapped or shot at, like I wasn’t living in this penthouse for my protection. After all those months of being lied to by Lucky about being in love with me, and then not being attracted to Sarah, I just…I couldn’t do it again. I couldn’t be ignored, placated, patronized. You told me it was none of my business.” She pressed a hand to her chest, her heart still breaking from those words. “Like I don’t get your life. I found you, bleeding in the snow and hauled you home where I proceeded to let everyone think you and I were lovers so the police wouldn’t suspect.” She laughed ruefully. “I’m not sure people don’t still assume that, now that I think about it. Because I never told anyone any differently. I lied to everyone in my life to hide you in my studio two years ago, and every time Sonny asked me to leave my own home, I walked out without another word.”

“I—I know all of that,” Jason said, his voice hoarse. “And you’re right. I can’t argue with any of that. Elizabeth, I can’t go back and make it different—”

“I know. That’s—that’s not why I wanted to talk about this.” She exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. “Jason, I want us to be honest with each other, so we can move forward and handle this situation. We have all this baggage between us, and I don’t…” Frustrated, her voice breaking, “I don’t want to look at you and regret not having you in my life anymore. I know I ruined any chance for us ever to be together, if not then, then certainly now, but to not even have you as a friend…” She hesitated. “I don’t know if it even bothered you that we weren’t friends anymore, but—”

“Every time I saw you,” Jason interrupted. “I thought about just talking to you, trying to…get back to that place, but I never could. I didn’t know how to start, how to handle it if…” He trailed off.

“If what?”

“If you didn’t want me around.” Jason exhaled slowly. “Because I knew you were hurt about Brenda, after that night at Luke’s. I should have tried harder to make you understand what had happened, but I kept…I kept leaving it up to you, because I was afraid if I told you what I wanted…you wouldn’t want the same thing, and I didn’t…I didn’t want to face that.”

“So, that night at Luke’s…” Elizabeth said slowly, “if I had just told you that we still had a chance…you would have still wanted one?” She frowned, and shook her head. “No, no, I don’t believe that. Because something was going on with Courtney by that point, I know. She’s told me that you guys…that it started while you were guarding her, and that you were guarding her while I was still living here—”

“No,” Jason said, firmly and with a slight irritation. “I don’t…maybe Courtney was having feelings, I’m not sure. I—I never asked. But I felt nothing for her when I was with you. I was thinking about you, even when I should have been concentrating on work, but—”

“I don’t…I don’t understand.” This didn’t work, this didn’t line up. “Courtney moved to that loft in December. You still wanted a chance with me at Thanksgiving, Jason, and you’re telling me two weeks later you rented that loft for her, for the two of you—”

“You tell me you can’t explain what happened with Zander?” Jason said. “Well, I know exactly what you mean because I don’t…Courtney was just there, and I…you wouldn’t talk to me.” He rubbed his forehead.

She just stared at him. How could she have been so wrong? She couldn’t have been. “Jason, I’m not trying to trap you or make you feel bad. I know…I know that it’s possible to be with someone you care about and develop feelings for someone else. I may not have loved Lucky the way I once had, but I still cared about him, but…you were there, too and I knew how I felt about you. So…I get it. I’m not asking you to make me feel better, but I know things with Courtney started earlier than that, okay? Courtney…and E-Emily have both told me over and over again—”

“Elizabeth, I don’t care what anyone else—” He stopped and frowned. “Courtney and Emily have told you what exactly? I don’t…I haven’t talked to my sister about what happened between us. I wouldn’t.”

“Maybe we should…just stop here—” Elizabeth started to unfold her legs, but he reached out and held her shoulders still. “Jason—”

“If the reason you’re so upset, that you think I lied to you about it being too dangerous, is because people are telling you things, I think I should know what they are,” he told her. “Until I know what you’re thinking, I can’t respond to it. You wanted to be honest, well I’m trying.”

“It’s…” Hoisted on my own petard, she thought bitterly. “Fine. Emily said…and I don’t know if she said this because you’d said anything or she just …knows you pretty well, but she said that if you had been that interested in me, it would been different, because…if you wanted to be with me, you would be.” Under his scrutinizing gaze, she lowered her eyes. “And I know that’s true. And C-Courtney told me I made up my relationship with you in my head…which made sense since you kept…you wouldn’t tell me how you felt. You…kept walking away, and…” She couldn’t keep going on, explaining. “Jason—”

The hand on her shoulder slide up her neck to cup the back of her neck and then she felt him drawing her forward. This was like an out of body of experience—she had the sensation of floating overhead and watching Jason kiss her.

God, she never thought this would happen to her again. She’d thought, for her mistakes, that two incredible moments with his arms around her and his lips hers would be it, but maybe…

Maybe it would be at least three, so she was going to make the most of it. She slid her hands in his hair, and rose up on her knees. His arms slid down her torso, wrapping around her back, and pressing her against him. If she could stay like this forever, if he never stopped kissing her…

The knock on the door roused her faintly, but she decided to ignore it, because damn it, this was her chance.

“Miss Webber?” Francis called. “Jason?”

Jason drew back, and she actually whimpered at the loss. He rested his forehead against hers. “They…” He cleared his throat. “They were packing up your studio and bringing things over.”

“Oh…” Elizabeth blinked, and drew back, her hand sliding from his neck down to his shoulder. “Oh. Okay.”

“Give us a second, Francis,” Jason called, not looking away. “There has never been a single moment since the day I met you that you didn’t matter to me. Tell me, at least, you believe me about that.”

“I do,” she murmured. Feeling brave, she leaned forward and kissed him briefly. “I do believe that.”

Port Charles Hotel: Grille

Carly glanced over the top of the menu to her sister-in-law and her friend. For two months, she had sat across from her and pretended she believed Jason had cheated on her, impregnated his ex-girlfriend, but she had never acknowledged the lie to her husband, so it had felt…not quite like a game, but not as serious as it did right now.

She felt guilty to be keeping the secret, but after what Elizabeth had gone through the night before, she understood better than ever why this secret had to be contained. As much as Carly enjoyed Courtney’s companionship, she simply couldn’t see trusting her.

She set the menu aside and sighed. “Courtney, there’s something I need to tell you and I wanted you to hear it from me.”

The other blonde’s fingers tightened on the menu, bending and wrinkling the paper. “They’re together, aren’t they?” Courtney asked, her voice tight.

“No…I…” Carly sat back. “Well, I don’t really know about that. Maybe.” She had to find her inner Carly Roberts, the woman who had sauntered into Port Charles and lied every time her mouth opened. “It’s…Elizabeth is moving into the penthouse.”

Courtney straightened and she narrowed her eyes. “And you’re telling me that doesn’t mean they’re together? I don’t believe you, Carly. Don’t lie to spare my feelings. I need to be prepared for this—”

“All I know is that Elizabeth has been required to go on bed rest,” Carly said, holding up her hands in protest. “She saw her doctor and her blood pressure has been too high for weeks. She’s leaving Kelly’s, and she’s staying with Jason, at least until her health has cleared up.”

“She won’t be back at work.” Some of the tension bled from her sister-in-law’s shoulders. “So I won’t…I won’t see her in there anymore. We don’t have to work together.”

“No, so at least there’s that.” Carly hesitated. “But Courtney, you might want to start preparing yourself because…they’re having a child together. That…might lead…it might not be long before you hear they are together again.”

“No, no…” Courtney shook her head. “The last time she lived there, he was never there. Maybe…” She squared her shoulders. “He didn’t like living with her before, so maybe he’ll remember why he left her the first time.”

“The first time?” Carly frowned. “Courtney, Sonny was faking his death, and Jason was running around trying to track down Alcazar and protect Brenda. He was with you very rarely. I know…I know you think what you guys had started then, but I just…I just don’t think so—”

“You weren’t there,” Courtney shot back, a smug smile on her face. “Jason and I kissed for the first time two weeks after she walked out on him, so obviously she didn’t mean that much.”

“Let’s…let’s just order.” Carly signaled for the waiter. She hadn’t realized how quickly Jason had started looking at Courtney that way, and while that information told Courtney that Jason hadn’t cared for Elizabeth all that much…Carly knew her friend better than that. Jason had a habit of going through a bad time and turning to something else to drown it out. He’d gone back to Jake’s after Michael was gone and Robin had betrayed him, staying there most nights and getting into bar fights and drinking a bit too much.

And she wondered if Courtney had been anyone other than Sonny’s sister…if she would have stayed a rebound relationship.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Cody pushed the door open. “Miss Webber, Nadine Crowell is here.”

Elizabeth sat up on the sofa, setting her book on the coffee table and smiled at her friend. “Hey. I was hoping you’d stop by when I left you the message.”

“Seriously?” Nadine crossed the room and sat on the end of the couch. “I could not wait for my shift to end before I could get over here.” She hesitated and glanced around. “Um, is anyone else here?”

“No, Jason had to go to the warehouse.” Elizabeth’s cheeks flushed and she looked down. After Francis had interrupted them earlier, Jason had busied himself directing the guards who had packed her studio to put her art supplies in one of the guest rooms and then her suitcases and personal belongings in her room. After that, Sonny had called for him and there’d been no opportunity to continue their conversation.

“Oh, good.” Nadine grinned. “So, you’re moving in with your babydaddy. This is fantastic, right? And you thought he was regretting even being involved—”

“Well, it’s not exactly that simple.” Elizabeth sat cross-legged next to her. “Without going into details because I really can’t…there was an incident last night, so Jason had someone take my blood pressure.” She sighed. “And it was pretty high. He suggested light bed rest until I go see Kelly at the end of the month.”

“I won’t ask for any details.” Nadine held up her hands. “You look okay, so that’s enough for me.” She hesitated. “So you’re staying with Jason for a few weeks?”

“No.” Elizabeth dipped her head back and smiled lightly. “It’s for the foreseeable future. He’s worried about…danger. I’m leaving my job as well.”

“Well, hell…” Nadine blinked. “Things changed pretty damn quick.” She chewed her bottom lip. “Can you… are you going to be able to stay here? I know…we haven’t talked about your ex in any detail, but I can tell you’re still crazy about him and he’s been so MIA during this—”

“We’re…” Elizabeth hesitated, wishing she could really confide in Nadine. “We’re talking. Being honest for the first time…I don’t know…maybe ever. I don’t know if it means anything, or if it could go anywhere, but before we tried to be more, he was my best friend and if we walk out of this situation with just that intact, it’ll be worth it.”

“Well, being friends is good,” Nadine said, but her eyes were skeptical. “Raising a kid together always works better when you’re friends.” She paused. “But Elizabeth, I hope that while you guys are being honest about each other, you’re being honest about the baby.”

“Maybe the next time we talk,” Elizabeth said, but she was so hesitant to bring up the baby. If they had a chance to make things work again, of course the baby would be a factor but…wasn’t it implied? That if they were going to try to build something, her child would have to be part of the equation?

But maybe they weren’t. Maybe that’s not what the kiss had meant. After all, the last time he’d kissed her senseless, he’d walked away for days.

No. No, she wasn’t going to do keep doing this. She looked at Nadine. “It’s really complicated…this situation, I mean, but you’re right. It’s not enough that we’re honest about what went wrong before. We need to be honest about what comes next.”

Nadine smiled, but the gesture didn’t reach her eyes. “But you don’t think you will be.”

“It’s easy to be honest about what’s already happened,” Elizabeth replied, “Because those things are over, and all that’s left is to explain what happened. But…to talk about tomorrow, and the day after…that’s making plans.” She looked away, towards the pool table, towards the window where they’d once stood in front of and talked about yachts. “We’ve never been good at that. We talk about things we might do in the far future, months away, but never about tomorrow.” She looked back at Nadine. “Which I guess really says it all, doesn’t it? We never talk about tomorrow, which is probably why when it stops being today, we screw it up so much.”

+7

I know I let you down
Again and again
I know I never really treated you right
I’ve paid the price
I’m still paying for it every day
– I Don’t Know You Anymore, Savage Garden

Friday, June 6, 2003

Kelly’s: Dining Room

Another tense dinner shift with Courtney. Elizabeth wished she could find another job—she wished Courtney would find another job. Something to keep her from having to see Jason’s ex-girlfriend three times a week for hours on end. Courtney’s earlier apathy towards the entire situation had begun to wane this week, since Elizabeth had tied her apron and they had both realized that her waist had thickened. Just a little—but enough so Courtney realized that this wasn’t some sort of lie. Elizabeth really was pregnant.

In the two weeks since she and Jason had come their sort of agreement as to how to go on in this situation, he’d been true to his word. He had come by Kelly’s twice for lunch, and once for breakfast, letting the people see them together. He asked after her health in general, but he’d never asked about the baby again.

She was going to take what she could get. There was still no sign of Ric or Faith, or least none that Sonny or Jason were reporting to her, so Elizabeth was keeping her head down and trying to do this one day at a time, but she knew that she had decisions to make. She was in her fourth month—only five left before she was going to be a mother.

The only bright spot had been her burgeoning friendship with Nadine Crowell. The vivacious nurse had invited her out for dinners at Eli’s that still drove Cody and Marco, her evening guards, insane, but Elizabeth loved bonding with someone who was completely unconnected to Jason Morgan, since it appeared that her friendship with Emily was on permanent hiatus.

“I think Table Six wants their check,” Courtney said shortly, setting the coffee pot back on the burner. “They’ve been making those faces.”

“I’ve got it.” Elizabeth reached into her apron pocket to withdraw the check from her final table of the night. “Thanks.”

“Quicker you get them out of here, the quicker I can go home.”

“No argument here,” Elizabeth murmured. She smiled brightly at the couple seated just inside the doors. “Can I get you anything else?”

After dispatching the table and collecting their payment and her tip, she returned to the counter. “I think we can close up.”

“Great.” Courtney untied her apron and shoved it in her purse. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go. You can get Cody to help you clean up, can’t you?”

“I…” Elizabeth blinked. “It’s not really his job—”

“Like I give a crap.” Courtney swung her purse over her shoulders. “Or maybe you want to be alone with me so I can be reminded some more of how much I hate you.”

Elizabeth could see her future at Kelly’s spread out in front of her—Courtney using this terrible situation to duck out of any work possible, and Elizabeth’s guilt at the lie preventing her from arguing the point.

“Fine.” Elizabeth glanced at Cody, who was seated silently at the counter, nursing a glass of iced tea. “Do you mind, Cody?”

“No problem, Miss Webber.” Cody straightened. “Good night, Miss Matthews.”

“Go to hell,” Courtney tossed over her shoulder as she left through the back door.

Elizabeth’s shoulders slumped and she took a brief moment to collect herself. “I’m sorry, Cody. I know it’s not your job description, but honestly, it’s just easier—”

“No problem, Miss Webber,” Cody repeated. He stood and came around the counter to retrieve a plastic bin and wet a washcloth for the tables. “I’ve sat here enough nights to know how it’s done.”

Elizabeth smiled and called into the back to let the cook know he could switch off and clean up the back. She began to organize receipts and the deposit to put in the safe for Bobbie in the morning. “Are you ever going to call me Elizabeth?” she asked.

“It’s unlikely, Miss Webber.” But Elizabeth heard the humor in his voice and decided that it wasn’t worth arguing at the moment. Her guards were sweet teddy bears who still bristled when Jason was around, and she knew Jason hated the dirty looks from the three men entrusted with her safety.

“I’m sure Courtney will calm down eventually,” Elizabeth said, “and she’ll stop forcing the extra work on me, so I hope this…that this doesn’t go in any report to Sonny or Jason.”

Cody remained silent as he washed down another table. She narrowed her eyes. “Cody, I’m serious. Courtney has a right be upset—”

“With all due respect, Miss Webber,” Cody said, stacking a chair on a table. “She had a right two months ago. It’s not as though she and Jason were engaged. She’s only holding on to the anger because she knows how guilty you feel.” His cheeks flushed slightly and he moved on to clear, clean and stack another table.

Elizabeth rubbed her eyes. “She’s just…upset this week. I knew when I began to show…it would make things worse.” She dumped the last of the coffee pots. “But you’re right, Cody. I can’t let her get to me. It’s not like Jason and I are dating now. I didn’t steal her boyfriend.” She hesitated. “I guess I merely…borrowed him.”

Cody snorted. “You’re not kidding,” he muttered.

“What was that?” Elizabeth arched an eyebrow. “Cody, you, Marco, and Francis have got to stop irritating Jason. He’s doing the best he can—”

“Again, with respect, Miss Webber, Jason Morgan is a good man. I am extremely loyal to him,” Cody said, stacking up the last table. “And I would give my life for him. That being said, he’s goddamn moron who doesn’t understand how lucky he is.” He coughed. “Such as it is.”

“Still.” Elizabeth couldn’t fight the small smile. At least there were people still on her side—even if they were paid to be.

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Elizabeth waited for Cody to do a sweep of the courtyard before she followed him outside. “Just let me lock the door,” she said, turning with her keys in hand.

Just as she slipped the key into the tumbler, she heard a muffled swear and a gloved hand slid over her mouth, an arm around her waist. She tried to force out a scream as she was lifted into the air. As her captor swung her around—probably trying to make a quick escape to the parking lot—she saw Cody struggling with another man.

Get away. Get away. Have to get away. Can’t let Ric get my baby. With all her strength and visualizing the courtyard in her mind, she launched her weight against the man holding he, cracking the top of her head against his jaw, and kicking back w  ith her legs. They went sprawling into the tables, his grip released enough that Elizabeth could scramble away. She started for the door, but somehow…

She knew she would never make it in time. Kneecaps. Kneecaps. She whirled around, stunned by how close the hulking shape was to her, but she couldn’t let the fear freeze her. She kicked out with her leg toward his knees and with a grunt, the man crumpled to the ground. He started to rise, but Elizabeth grabbed one of the nearby chairs and swung it over his heard, crashing it over his head.

“Elizabeth, run!” She heard Cody grunt, but Elizabeth just…couldn’t. A piece of the chair was still in her hand, so she just started hitting her would-be kidnapper. She kept swinging and swinging, as pieces of it continued to break off, until the man stopped moving.

“Miss Webber…” Cody was breathing heavily. “I got this.” He put his hand on her shoulder and Elizabeth stumbled back towards Kelly’s, her eyes wide, her breaths shallow. “It’s all right.” He gestured towards the end of the courtyard. “My guy is out, too. I gotta get them tied up and inside the restaurant, out of sight. Can you call Sonny and Jason? We need a cleanup crew. I gotta get this done.” He held out his cell phone.

Elizabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Yes. Yes.” She took the phone from him, and then looked up. “I didn’t…I’m sorry I didn’t run.”

“Well…” Cody looked down at the incapacitated man at their feet. “I guess it worked out this time. Call Jason, Elizabeth. It’ll be okay.”

She nodded and punched in the number. Jason’s voice came over the line, sounding worried. “Cody, what’s up? Is Elizabeth all right?”

“J-Jason, it’s me. Cody and I were…attacked outside of Kelly’s.” She took a deep breath.

“Elizabeth—”

“We’re, um, okay, but he’s dragging the guys inside and he says he needs a clean-up crew.” She dragged her free hand through her hair. “I went for the knees, just like you told me.”

“I’ll be right there. Sonny and I will be right there.” The line went dead, and Elizabeth hurried to hold the door open for Cody as he started to drag the first man in.

Harborview Towers: Penthouse Level

Jason had been home when Elizabeth’s harried phone call had reached him. He’d taken only a second to tell Max outside Sonny’s door that they were needed at Kelly’s before jabbing at the elevator. He wanted to take the steps, but he knew the elevator was quicker. All he could hear was Elizabeth.

I went for the knees, just like you told me.

That meant the bastard had been close enough to grab her. He swore and jabbed the button again. Sonny’s door was yanked open and he was soon joined by Max and Sonny, Rocco stepping out and taking up Max’s post.

“What happened?” Sonny demanded as the elevator finally arrived and the trio were able to get inside for the parking garage.

“Elizabeth called me from Cody’s line. They were attacked at Kelly’s.” Jason wished he’d taken the steps just to have something to do. “She says they’re fine but they need a crew. I already called Johnny. He’ll meet us there, but damn it.” He punched the side of the car. “I should have doubled her guards. One wasn’t enough—”

“One is all I send with my own wife, Jason,” Sonny said, his voice level. “Unless we’re positive of a heightened threat, we don’t raise the security. The cops will get involved when they see that many men following one of us around. No way to know for sure Ric or Faith would come after her.”

“She told me she went for the knees,” Jason muttered. “Like I taught her. You know what means, Sonny. If she had to go for the knees, the piece of scum had his hands on her.”

The doors opened and Jason was about to go for his bike, but Sonny tugged him towards a waiting limo. “We’ll need to bring Elizabeth back here. We’ll call Harry to take a look at her, and if she’s cut up or hurt, you can’t bring her back on the bike.”

Hating that Sonny was right, he followed the other men into the limo.

“Did she say anything else?” Sonny asked, as the car pulled out of the garage and started the five minute ride to the docks and Kelly’s.

“No.” Jason squeezed his eyes shut and searched inside for the focus he was going to need to see this through. “She sounded shaken up.”

“Jase…” Sonny hesitated. “I’m sure it’s all right. We didn’t know what the threat level was. Now we know and can take precautions.”

“I promised to protect her,” Jason murmured. “How is letting her almost be grabbed protecting her?”

Kelly’s: Dining Room

By the time Jason and Sonny arrived at Kelly’s, the cleanup crew had arrived. Sonny swore when he saw the broken tables and chairs outside. He was going to have to get them replaced before morning or Bobbie was going to know exactly what happened here.

Cody and Johnny were inside, standing by the table where Francis was examining Elizabeth’s hands. Jason ignored everyone and went for her, crouching in front of her. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“We were leaving,” Elizabeth said. She straightened and took a deep breath. “I turned to lock the door and I’m not really sure how it happened—”

“One guy grabbed me from behind,” Cody growled. “I swept the parking lot and the courtyard before I brought her into the open, Jason, I swear, but they must have been waiting somewhere—” When Sonny just gestured for him to get on with the events and skip the excuses, Cody huffed. “The guy got me from behind and I was struggling to get rid of him, but the other one grabbed Eliz—Miss Webber.”

“I remembered my self-defense lessons,” Elizabeth said softly. She looked at Jason and tried to smile. “I threw my weight against him to get him off balance, hoping he’d stumble into the tables. When we fell, I started to run, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get the door unlocked in time and I wasn’t sure I could get past him to the parking lot. And you…last summer, you told me not go for the head because I’m too short, so I kicked him in the knees.”

“And then you ran,” Jason prompted, but scowled as she looked away. “Elizabeth, I told you that you need to get him on the ground and run—”

“I grabbed a chair and swung it at him,” she said softly. “And I kept hitting him with pieces of the chair until he was passed out and Cody stopped me.”

Jason closed his eyes, torn between relief that she’d had the presence of mind to not only fight her captor but use his advice and anger that she hadn’t acted with a sense of self-preservation. “Elizabeth—”

“I’m sorry. I should have run, I know…b-but I was afraid I might not get away or that Cody would be hurt a-and I d-didn’t know if I could get inside—”

“Jase…” Sonny touched his shoulder. “We gotta clear out of here.”

“Right.” He took Elizabeth’s hands in his own, and flinched at the nicks and cuts from the chair she’d wielded. “We have a doctor coming to the penthouse. Are you okay? Do you feel any cramping?”

“Just sore.” He stood and drew her to her feet, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Sonny looked at Cody. “All right, where are the sons of bitches?”

“I locked them in the pantry closet until Johnny got here with the cuffs. They’re in the van on their way to the warehouse,” Cody answered. “I’m sorry, Jason. Miss Webber. This is my fault—”

“No,” Jason said, roughly. “No. I asked you to protect Elizabeth a-and you did that. It’s my fault. I should have put more men on the building.” He looked at Sonny. “I know I should go to the warehouse and wait for them to wake up, but—”

“No, no, you’re right.” Sonny shook his head. “I’ll go with Cody and Johnny to the warehouse. Max,” he looked at his bodyguard. “Give Marco a call. He’s supposed to be at Elizabeth’s studio waiting for the switch off. You go back to the penthouse with Jason and Elizabeth, and tell Marco to go on the door there. Rocco will stay on my door and you make sure the rest of the building is secure.”

“All right.” Jason steered Elizabeth toward the front doors and then to the waiting limo.

After they were gone, Sonny turned and looked at Cody. “Tell me, how close did they come to getting her out of here?”

Cody closed his eyes in disgust. “Too goddamn close, Boss. If she hadn’t known how to take him down, he could have had her out of here before I got loose. Lucky for us, Miss Webber’s a fighter. She knocked the bastard out cold.” He rubbed his forehead. “I hate that she had to do that—”

“Better than the alternative.” Sonny heaved a sigh. “All right. Get in a call in to replace the furniture in the courtyard.” He looked to Johnny. “Make sure this place looks like it did before this incident.” He looked at Cody. “You ready to go get some answers?”

“Looking forward to it.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason opened the door and stepped to the side to allow Elizabeth to enter. She looked like she was in one piece, but he didn’t know if the fall to the ground had injured her. “Our doctor will be here soon to check on you. Are you sure you don’t feel any cramping or—”

“I don’t.” Elizabeth turned to him and bit her lip. “Are you mad I didn’t run? You told me to run, but I just—”

“Hey.” Jason stepped forward and brushed her hair back from her face, letting his thumbs drift down her cheeks until they fanned over her jaw line. “I wasn’t there. I know that you’re standing in front of me and not missing, so at the end of the day, I don’t care.”

“I just…” Elizabeth leaned forward until her head rested against his chest. “I just kept thinking that I couldn’t let them take me, because they’d take me to Ric and my baby would be in danger. I had to protect her, Jason. I couldn’t let him near her.”

“I know. Instinct takes over in moments like that.” He drew her over to the sofa where they sat down and he examined her hands. “I’m just…I’m sorry you had to go through this. I promised you I’d keep you safe—”

“What did you just say to me five seconds ago?” she cut in with a wan smile. “I’m sitting here. I’m not missing. So I don’t care. Jason, if Ric had sent two men to grab me, and Cody hadn’t been there, I’d be gone. I just…I got lucky we were in the courtyard and I know it like the back of my hand. If we hadn’t been so close to the tables, I’m not sure it would have worked.”

“You’re right.” He couldn’t let go of her hands, couldn’t stop looking at her, as if to reassure himself that she’d come through this experience unscathed. If Ric had succeeded tonight, they may never have found her. He might never have seen her again. “We got lucky.”

There was a knock on the door. When Jason opened it, Marco nodded. “I just wanted to let you know I’m here, on duty for the night and that Harry’s here for Miss Webber.” Marco edged around Jason just slightly, as if trying to look inside the room. “Is she all right?”

“Marco?” Elizabeth leaned forward as Jason stepped to the side to allow their doctor through. “I’m glad you’re here. And I’m fine.”

“We’ll let the doctor be the judge of that,” Jason told her. He looked back at Marco. “Thanks. Let Sonny and whoever he brings to the door get through, but no one else. Elizabeth needs rest.”

“Understood.” Jason closed the door and turned to see Harry Lowenstein taking Elizabeth’s blood pressure.

“So how far along are you, Miss Webber?” Harry asked. “You said you’re not feeling any cramps?”

“I’m fourteen weeks,” Elizabeth said, casting an uneasy glance at Jason. “And so far, I’m not. That’s good, right?”

“Well, based on the details Max gave me over the phone, it should be. You said you fell backwards but got up right away? Did you fall on your stomach? On anything hard?” Harry asked.

“No.” Elizabeth winced as the pressure increased on her arm. “No. I think I was maybe three feet in the air, but I fell on the man I was trying to get away from. After that I just kicked him and hit him with a chair. I never hit the ground again.”

“Hmmm…” Harry hesitated. “Your blood pressure’s pretty high, Miss Webber.”

“Well, that’s not news,” Elizabeth sighed. “It’s been high at my last two appointments. Dr. Lee said if I came in again that way, she’d prescribe bed rest to prevent hypertension.”

“Well, she’d be right.” Harry looked at Jason. “Other than some bumps and possible bruising, I’d say she’s in pretty good shape, all things considered. I’d recommend getting an ultrasound as soon as possible to be sure, but I’m more concerned about her blood pressure.”

“But after what happened tonight, it should be high,” Elizabeth said. She looked at Jason. “That just makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“It does, but you just told me that it’s been elevated for most of your pregnancy.” Harry started to pack up his instruments. “That’s a bit disconcerting.”

“I’ll make sure she rests,” Jason said. Elizabeth scowled at him. “At least until she can go see Dr. Lee. If it’s just high because of tonight, Elizabeth, then it’ll go down. Your next appointment is in what, a week, two?”

“Two.” Elizabeth leaned back, her face pale. “All right.”

There was a knock, then Marco pushed open the door. “Mr. Corinthos to see you.”

Sonny strode in, Max, Johnny and Cody on his heels. “Hey, Harry. What’s the prognosis?”

“Bed rest.” Harry stood. “At least a week of light bed rest, and then just taking it easy. She’ll see her regular OB by then who will have more specific instructions. Keep an eye on yourself, Miss Webber. If you feel any stomach cramps or pain, get to the hospital. Don’t bother with me.”

Jason watched as Elizabeth clutched her abdomen. “Is it likely?” she asked.

“No, no. Just as a precaution.” He smiled at them, said his goodbyes and headed for the elevator. Marco closed the door behind him.

Elizabeth eyed the men gathered by the door. “Should I go upstairs?”

Jason immediately went back to her side, worried that she might overdo it. “Do you want water or anything?”

“You can stay down here a moment, Elizabeth,” Sonny told her. “It didn’t take more than a few minutes to learn that the men who went after you tonight were Faith Roscoe’s soldiers, which likely means it was Ric. We assumed that, but it was good to get confirmation. Ric is apparently pissed that you left him for Jason.”

Elizabeth flushed, and Jason squeezed her hand, knowing that she hated to perpetuate the lie in front of men who were protecting her. “It’s because he hates me,” he told her. “You know that.”

“Yeah.” Elizabeth looked back at Sonny. “So what now?”

“Doubling your guards,” Sonny responded. “You can’t go back to Kelly’s. It was one thing when we weren’t sure you were in danger, but it’s a nightmare to secure it hour after hour, so you’re going to have to stop working.”

Jason could see the tension in Elizabeth’s shoulders, and he knew she hated the loss of her independence, of her ability to provide for herself. She raised an eyebrow. “And what else?”

“You’ll have to stay here,” Sonny said. “It’s more secure than anywhere else we could house you, and we can control access to it.”

Elizabeth looked at him, and Jason tried to keep his expression neutral. It was difficult enough to keep himself detached from her pregnancy when she lived apart from him. To know that she would be living here again, for an indeterminate length of time, as her body changed and her pregnancy advanced…

Jason finally nodded. “It makes the most sense,” he told her. And only half for the benefit of the men watching, “And I want you close anyway. With the baby…” He rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable. “It…works, Elizabeth.”

She bit her lip and then looked back at Sonny. “You’re right. At the end of the day, I should do whatever you guys think will keep my…our child safe.” She flicked her eyes back him, full of nerves. “So…I’ll move in.”

“Good.” Sonny nodded. “Jason, why don’t you get Elizabeth settled upstairs, and then we’ll…” He coughed and shrugged. “Talk.”

Jason stood and helped Elizabeth to her feet. “I’ll be back down in a little while,” he told Sonny as he led her to the stairs.

“Take your time,” Sonny called.

Once they were upstairs, Jason left her in one of the guest rooms while he went for a shirt for her to wear that night. While she changed, he grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge in his makeshift gym and returned to the guest room to find her sitting up in bed, her legs covered by a sheet and his light blue shirt listing to one side, baring one of her shoulders. “Here,” he said gruffly, holding out the water.

“Thanks.” Elizabeth hesitated. “Jason, I know this isn’t an ideal situation—”

“It’s the best solution,” Jason interrupted. He had to get out of this room and not dwell on the fact that she was only wearing his shirt. He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. “Elizabeth, I told you. Nothing matters to me more than keeping you and the baby safe. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make that happen.”

The corner of her lip curved up as she held the plastic water bottle in her hands. “Yeah, I’m getting that, considering you lied to everyone you love and you’re letting me stay with you until this over. I know you hate when I thank you but…” She looked up, her eyes filled with something he couldn’t quite define. “The fact that I can look forward to raising my child with any sense of…safety and freedom from my horrible choices…it’s because of you. So, thank you.”

He nodded, because he didn’t know what else to say. “I should…I should get back downstairs. If you need anything—food or…anything, just let me know.”

“Okay.”

Jason left the room, and headed down the stairs. Johnny, Max and Cody had left, leaving Sonny seated in the armchair adjacent to his sofa. “So what do we know?”

“Not much more than I came in with,” Sonny sighed. “The men are pissed. Cody was ready to hand me his gun and tell me to do away with him. He’s sick over this.”

“I-I don’t blame him for this happening.” Jason sat on the sofa. “You were right, earlier. We didn’t even know if there’d be a threat to Elizabeth, if Ric hated me enough to come after me when his life was at stake.” He hesitated. “Do we know why they came for Elizabeth? Does Ric believe the child is his?”

“They weren’t forthcoming,” Sonny replied. “But the men assume it’s due to Ric’s hatred of the situation, of you. I’ve let it circulate that my mother picked me over him, and that now he thinks I picked you over him as my brother, and Elizabeth picking you is just another stack in his crazy pile of shit. They buy it.”

“Good.” Jason clasped his hands together. “We don’t know where they were taking her?”

“To a van that was a long gone by the time we went looking for it.” Sonny leaned his head back, looking weary. “She all right? I know she must have been scared.”

“She’s holding together.” Jason shook his head. “After last summer, I never wanted her to go through that again, to feel that fear.”

“The one whose head she bashed?” Sonny said. “She knocked him out good. Would have had a nasty concussion if we’d let him live long enough. Word’s gonna spread to anyone else Faith Roscoe might send. If you mess with Elizabeth Webber, your life isn’t worth much.” He sat up. “You taught her well, Jase. She went for the kneecaps, and kept herself safe. I hate that she went through it, but she did and she’s going to be all right.”

“Sonny…I—I know you wouldn’t give the order, but…” Jason paused. “If I see Ric, I’m not gonna care he’s your brother.”

“After this?” Sonny grimaced and shook his head. “I don’t care much either. You see him, you do what you gotta do. He signed his death warrant the moment he came after Elizabeth. I was willing to keep her safe, look for him so I could deliver him to the Families, but after tonight? I hope I can personally remove that psychotic son of a bitch from her life. No one is going to get that close to her again, Jason.” He pressed a hand to his heart. “And not because that’s my niece or nephew she’s carrying, but because I can’t see her go through it again.”

“Good.” Jason got to his feet. “Then you go to tell the Families to get off their asses, stop pretending to help, and hunt this son of a bitch down. We can only do so much if they’re not fully cooperating. Tell them to get the word out to anyone who matters, Ric Lansing went after my family. He’s a dead man walking.”

+6