She had the next day off, but as soon as Elizabeth woke up, she took a shower, ate a quick breakfast and headed to the hospital to check on Lucky.

Emily and Nikolas were in his room when she got there and once again the other woman hugged her tightly. “They said he came through better than they expected,” she reported cheerfully. “He’ll be in and out most of the day, but I couldn’t leave him.”

“I’m glad he’s okay,” Elizabeth remarked, casting a look towards the sleeping patient. “Do you want anything from the cafeteria?”

Emily nodded. “I’ll go with you. Nikolas, do you want a bagel and some coffee?”

“Sure,” Nikolas replied. He leaned back in his chair and stretched. “Don’t dawdle you two, I’m starving.”

Emily rolled her eyes as she steered the intern out of the room. “Okay, spill.”

Elizabeth frowned and turned down the hall towards the elevators. “Spill?”

“You left with my brother, I know you had a date last night. So…?” Emily tugged on her friend’s arm. “How’d he ask you out? What did you do last night?”

Elizabeth smiled and pushed the button for the elevator. “He came in yesterday to have his fingers checked. Your brother is so stubborn, Emily. He took the tape off a week ago, so of course they weren’t healed yet.”

“Ah…so you gave him some your own brand of medication,” Emily teased. She stepped onto the elevator and hit the button for the second floor where the cafeteria was.

“It wasn’t like that,” Elizabeth protested. “I was feeling the bones in his fingers and I looked up…and he was right there.”

“So it was like a magnetic pull or something?” Emily asked. She grinned. “You know, I’ve heard my brother is a good kisser.”

“Okay, we’re not having this conversation,” Elizabeth said, her cheeks flushed.

“Okay…so after you left last night, what happened?”

The doors opened and the two women stepped onto the second floor. Being staff members, they automatically turned to the left for the cafeteria. “Nothing. I was too tired to go out to dinner so he just took me home.”

“Are you going to see him again?” Emily asked. She reached for a tray and started in the line. Elizabeth followed her.

“Yeah…definitely,” Elizabeth agreed.

“Good. You know…Brenda and me…we told you so.”

“Yeah…okay…”

—

Brenda studied the thin scar on the palm of her hand. “It doesn’t look that bad,” she mused.

Jason glanced up from the card game they were playing. “What’s that?”

“The scar from where Sonny abused me.”

“From where you cut yourself,” Sonny corrected. He shuffled through his cards. “Don’t be so dramatic.”

“I’ll take two,” Brenda said, slipping the cards down. “Tell me again why we’re playing poker with three people?”

“Because Ned and Lois cancelled on us and there’s nothing else to do in Port Charles on a Sunday morning, save going to church,” Sonny said. He slid his wife two cards. “Jason?”

“I’m good,” Jason murmured.

“So, Jase, I notice that your hand is re-taped. Pay another visit to the good doctor?” Brenda asked. She reached for the bowl of chips and munched on one absently as she studied her cards.

“I had to go yesterday. My fingers weren’t healed,” Jason replied.

“I told you not to take the tape off,” Sonny reminded him. “I’ll call. Full House,” he announced, fanning his cards on the table.

“Bah,” Brenda muttered. “Two pair.”

“Royal Flush,” Jason said, setting his cards down. Sonny glared at his friend as the blond pulled the chips towards him.

“You didn’t even take any cards!” he complained.

“Lay off, Sonny. We’re not playing for money.” Brenda glanced down at her meager winnings. “Good thing, too.”

Jason started shuffling the cards and began dealing. “Brenda, I don’t know why you bother to play. If I’m not beating you, Lois is bankrupting us all.”

Brenda smirked. “My day is coming. I’m sure of it.” She decided to distract Jason as he studied his new cards. “So, Elizabeth Webber…you saw her yesterday right?”

“It’s not going to work, Brenda,” Jason said, organizing his cards.

“Ah…she rejected you,” Brenda said knowingly. “Well, I knew she was too good for you. Smart girl like that…why would she date you?”

Jason glanced at her, irritated. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well…you know…she’s from a wealthy family,” Brenda replied. “I’ll take three,” she told her husband. “She told me that her parents haven’t given up on her returning to San Francisco to marry a good boy and give up her foolish medicine.”

Jason shifted. “So?”

“So…word is she hasn’t actually broken off the engagement back home,” Brenda mused. She took some chips and tossed them into the middle. “I wouldn’t worry, though, Jase, even if she is nuts enough to go out with you…she hasn’t been back home for a few years so the guy must have bought a clue by now.”

Jason narrowed his eyes. “She told you this?” He absently slid a card to Sonny who handed him another.

“Yup. Told me and Emily over lunch last week. She and the guy were high school sweethearts but she came to PC before her senior year of college and he stayed in Boston for the last year. Her parents figure out of the two kids, Liz is the one with the best shot.”

“What about the other one?” Sonny cut in, trying to divert Brenda’s purpose of irritating Jason into losing.

“Johnny’s somewhere out west. Liz is always wiring him bail money for some thing or another. Apparently, he’s a loser of some sort, but Liz adores him so I guess there has to be something to him.” Brenda flipped through her cards again. “I’ll call.”

“When you say she hasn’t broken the engagement off,” Jason began, ignoring Brenda’s triumphant victory with another set of two pairs. He handed his useless cards back to Sonny. “What does that mean?”

“It means that her mother is still at home blissfully planning the wedding,” Brenda replied. She shrugged. “Mother Webber just never sets the date but the girl is always getting pictures of wedding dresses and addresses of wedding consultants in the mail.”

“She hasn’t just…told her mother that she’s not going to do it?” Jason asked pointedly.

“Saying no to your parents is a strange thing,” Brenda replied. She shuffled the cards and started dealing. “I’m sure in her own way, Elizabeth has tried, but sometimes you just can’t. I wouldn’t be surprised if Elizabeth was Mrs. Theodore Evans before her thirtieth birthday.”

Jason stood abruptly. “I need to go,” he told Sonny. Without another word, he left the penthouse and Brenda studied his substantial winnings.

“You want to split them?” she asked Sonny.

Sonny sighed and set his cards down. “Please tell me for Elizabeth’s sake…that what you said was true.”

Brenda widened her eyes and pressed a hand to her chest. “Are you accusing me of trying to hurt poor Jason just to win a poker game?” Sonny said nothing, just studied her. “Okay…I admit…I was trying to distract him, but what I said came straight from the horse’s mouth. Except that last part about her marrying the guy before her thirtieth birthday. I added it for effect.” Brenda shrugged. “I know he likes the girl, but when I talked to her, I didn’t get any kind of feeling from her.”

“Well, that’s changed,” Sonny said. He started to clean up the table. “I talked to Emily this morning about Lucky Spencer being hurt in the latest warehouse fire and she told me that Elizabeth and Jason had a date last night, so I’ll give you two guesses where our friend is heading.”

Brenda flushed. “Uh oh.”

—

He went to her apartment first, but when she wasn’t there, he headed straight for the hospital.

“She’s in the cafeteria with Emily,” an exhausted Nikolas told him. “When you find them, tell them to hurry up. I’m still waiting for my bagel and coffee.”

They were sitting in the cafeteria at a table in the corner, laughing over cups of hot chocolate and bagels of their own.

Jason strode towards them and startled them when he sat down abruptly.

“Jason!” Emily chastised, whacking him on the arm. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Jason ignored his sister and focused on the other brunette. “Why didn’t you tell me you were engaged?”

Elizabeth’s mouth dropped open and Emily stifled a giggle. “I’d better take Nikolas’s breakfast to him,” she mumbled, standing up. “I’ll leave you two alone.” She stood and grabbed her tray with her trash and Nikolas’s food on it and walked away.

“Where did you hear about that?” Elizabeth asked finally.

Jason frowned. “From Brenda, so it’s true?”

“Well…” Elizabeth trailed off and stared at the table. “Sort of.”

+4

When Jason arrived in the ER at eleven to pick her up, he found his sister crying in Nikolas Cassadine’s arms. He strode towards them and touched Emily’s shoulder. “Hey…”

Emily pulled away from her friend and launched herself into her brother’s arms. “Jason! What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to pick up Elizabeth…what’s going on?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Lucky,” Emily sniffled. “There was an accident and he’s in there now. That’s where Liz is.”

He looked at Nikolas. “What kind of accident?”

“A beam hit him at a fire,” Nikolas explained. “Knocked him out and then landed on his leg.” He swallowed hard. “It took some of the guys a few minutes to get it off him. They’re trying to save his leg now.”

Emily started to cry even harder and Jason steered her to a seat in the waiting room, Nikolas followed them.

She sat down and took a deep breath. “He’ll be okay,” she told herself. “He will. He has to be.” After a moment, she seemed to have herself under control and she turned to her brother. “What do you mean you’re here to pick up Elizabeth?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Jason said. “Do you need anything?”

“Yes,” Emily said, nodding urgently, “I need to distract myself. I don’t know when we’re going to find out anything so please…humor me.”

Jason shot Nikolas a look but the other man had drifted towards the entrance, anxious for word on his stepbrother. He looked back at his sister and sighed. “Okay. I’m taking her out for dinner after her shift.”

Emily managed a weak smile. “I told her you two would be perfect for each other. Fate and all.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Fate?”

Emily nodded and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Me and Brenda explained it to her a few weeks ago–”

“This should be good,” Jason mused.

“And we decided that the two of you were fated to meet.” Emily crackled her knuckles. Even with the levity of the conversation, her eyes kept darting to doors of the trauma room.

Trying to keep his sister distracted, Jason asked, “How so?”

“Well…you saved her life five years ago,” Emily reminded him, almost absently. “And now five years later, it just…felt like there’s no way you wouldn’t meet. She was friends with Lucky and Nikolas, Lucky and I…” she faltered for a moment at the thought of her boyfriend but managed to continue her voice hoarse, “Lucky and I are dating and you’re my brother.”

“Just coincidences,” Jason told her.

“Not to mention she was on duty the last two times you were here with Brenda’s hand and your hand, too,” Emily reminded him. “Add in her crappy car and your being a mechanic…Fate.”

“Fate,” Jason repeated. “I still don’t think so.”

“Brenda really likes her,” Emily told her brother. “She thinks Elizabeth is the perfect girl to make you forget Carly.”

Jason sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t need to forget her? It was a mutual break up.”

Emily was about to argue when she noticed Elizabeth push her way out of the trauma room. She blanched at the sight of blood on Elizabeth’s yellow scrubs but she stood anyway and joined Nikolas.

“He’s okay,” Elizabeth reported. She pulled her white surgical gloves off her hands and tossed it into a nearby trash can. “He made it through the emergency surgery a-and he’s stable. He’s going up for more surgery.”

“His leg,” Nikolas asked urgently. “Did you save it?”

Elizabeth nodded. “Yeah. He’ll, uh, need some therapy but he’s going to be fine.”

Emily let out a long relieved breath and threw her arms around Nikolas. “Thank God!”

“I’m going to go change and clock out,” Elizabeth told them quietly. She strode away from them, feeling out of place. Lucky may be her best friend but he was Nikolas’s brother and Emily’s boyfriend. It was different somehow.

She was around the corner when she finally pulled off the scrubs she wore over her clothes and once that was in the trash can, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

“You okay?”

Jason’s voice caused her eyes to fly open. “Jason.”

He was next to her, his body facing her and his hip leaning against the wall. He braced an elbow over his head. “It couldn’t have been easy to operate on a friend.”

She shrugged. “Once we started…it didn’t matter. He was just another patient.”

“I don’t believe that,” Jason said. He shook his head. “You don’t seem like the type.”

“Jason…” she protested softly. He just stared at her and she finally sighed and looked at her feet. “I think if…if something had gone wrong…I don’t think I would have ever been able to forgive myself.” She pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. “I’m exhausted.”

“I guess we’ll reschedule dinner,” Jason remarked.

She frowned a little and then managed a faint smile. “Dinner. I’m sorry. I…it slipped my mind.”

“It’s okay.” He straightened. “Do you need a ride home or something?”

“Yeah…” Elizabeth nodded. She took another deep breath and stood straight. “Just let me get changed. I’ll be out in a couple of minutes.”

“I’ll be here.”

—

Emily had found her brother by the time Elizabeth emerged from the staff room and when she spied the intern, Emily threw her arms around her, nearly cutting off Elizabeth’s airway.

“Thank you so much for saving his life,” Emily told her firmly. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“I was just doing my job,” Elizabeth replied a little uncomfortable. She smiled at the brunette when Emily finally pulled away.

“The other doctor said he’d be in surgery for most of the night,” Nikolas said. “So, if you need a ride home, I’m stopping by the apartment to grab a change of clothes. I can drop you off.”

Elizabeth shook her head and gestured towards Jason. “Jason’s giving me a ride.”

“Oh, that’s right, you two had a date,” Emily said. She smiled. “I told you so, didn’t I?”

Elizabeth flushed and looked away. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Come on, you can take me home instead,” Emily told Nikolas. “I need to get changed myself.” She tugged on the paramedic’s hand and led him away.

“Sorry about Emily,” Jason said as he and Elizabeth started for the doors of the emergency room. “She tends to get carried away.”

Elizabeth smiled. “She loves you. All siblings get carried away sometimes. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my brother.”

“You have a brother?” Jason asked.

“Yeah…he’s younger…he’s about twenty years old and…well…kind of wild,” Elizabeth remarked. They left the hospital and she followed him into the parking lot. “Johnny’s always getting arrested. I feel sorry for his wife Kiki.”

Jason smirked. “Her name is actually Kiki?”

“It’s short for Kathleen.” They stopped in front of a motorcycle and she raised her eyebrows. “I should have figured.”

“Figured what?” Jason asked, unhooking the helmet from the back.

“That you rode one of these,” Elizabeth said. She smiled as she pulled the helmet over her hair. “It just…I don’t know fits you.”

He straddled the bike and gestured for her to get on behind him. “You ever been on one of these before?”

“Yeah, the last time I visited Johnny,” Elizabeth told him. She wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight grip and waited for him to start the bike.

—

“Wow!” Elizabeth exclaimed, pulling the helmet off. Her hair was somewhat flattened by the helmet but the wind immediately picked up the curls and started to blow them around her face. “You go way faster than Johnny.”

Jason grinned and hooked the helmet on the bike. “I should take you out on the cliffs then. I think you’d like the turns.”

“I think I would.” She pulled her keys out of her jeans and bit her lip for a moment. “Do you want to come up?”

“Yeah,” Jason admitted. “But I probably shouldn’t.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She stepped closer to him. “I’m sorry about dinner.”

“It’s no big deal,” Jason said shrugging. “I’m sure it won’t be the last time we have to cancel.”

She smiled then and looked down at her feet for a moment before glancing back at him. “Does that mean there’ll be a next time?” she asked shyly.

“Well…if it’s okay with you…yeah,” Jason agreed. He cut off further conversation by pressing lips against hers gently. She moved close and wound her arms around his neck. He made no move to deepen the kiss–almost like they were taking a step back.

Taking a step back…taking it slowly…was just fine with her.

+4

Two weeks later

Elizabeth finished the cast on the four-year-old patient’s arm. “Keep it dry,” she advised the mother. “Don’t let him get stick anything down there to scratch his arm and keep it clean.”

“Thanks, Dr. Webber,” the young mother said. She smiled and lifted her son into her arms and left the cubicle.

Elizabeth filing the chart when she felt eyes watching her. She turned and smiled when she saw Jason Morgan near the entrance. He’d come back after all.

“Well, hello, Mr. Morgan,” she greeted. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t expect to see you back.”

“I wasn’t going to come but Emily kept after me,” Jason admitted. “And, it’s Jason.”

“Okay then. Come with me and we’ll take a look at your hand,” Elizabeth told him. She led him to an empty examining room and held out her hand. “Sit down and let me see your hand.”

Feeling stupid, Jason did as she said, sitting on the bed and placing his hand in hers. He’d taken the tape off almost a week ago, irritated by it.

She felt the two broken fingers and frowned. She leaned closer to peer at them. “How long did you leave the tape on?” She glanced up at him and inhaled sharply when she realized how close their faces were. She could see her reflection in his sky blue eyes.

“A week,” Jason confessed. “I got irritated. It kept getting caught on things when I was fixing cars.”

She smirked. “You were fixing cars with broken fingers?” she asked, trying to keep her voice even. He hadn’t pulled back and neither had she. She could feel his hot breath against her skin, sending tingles throughout her body.

“I…is that bad?” Jason asked, concentrating on her eyes, instead of the way her body was hanging over his, the way she was kind of standing in between his legs. If she wanted to, he could just reach out and pull her even closer–

“Well, it’s not smart,” Elizabeth replied, amused. Her voice was soft, almost breathless. “You…you, ah, should have left the tape on the full two weeks.”

“So, they’re still broken?” Jason asked.

“I’d need an x-ray to be sure,” Elizabeth murmured, telling herself to look down at his hand instead of focusing his almost unreal blue eyes. “But more than likely.”

“So, I have to come back?” Jason asked, unconsciously leaning closer to her. She licked her lips, sending his eyes to her mouth, making him think of really inappropriate things she could be doing with that tongue.

“Yeah…and I’ll have to tape your hand again,” Elizabeth replied, neglecting to mention it was usually a nurse’s job to do. “And this time, don’t fix any cars,” she tried to joke.

“But it’s my job,” Jason replied, meeting her eyes again.

“I’m sure you’re very good at it,” Elizabeth murmured.

“I’m good at a lot of things,” he said, nearly bragging.

Her eyebrows lifted. “Oh, really?” she asked, making it sound like a dare. He never was one to back down when he was challenged. He smirked and closed the miniscule distance between them, pressing her lips against hers firmly.

Her lips were as soft as the rest of her skin, smooth and pliant. She sighed a little, opening her mouth to him. He nipped at her bottom lip and used his tongue to soothe it.

Her hand smoothed up his t-shirt clad chest, resting on his shoulder. She let go of his hand and threaded her fingers through the short hairs at his nape.

She could have gone on kissing him forever and not have complained, except the door flew open.

“Dr. Webber, trauma coming in fifteen!”

She pulled away quickly, her cheeks flaming as she took in the smirking nurse. “Thanks, Mollie. I’ll be right out.”

Mollie nodded and pulled the door shut. Elizabeth looked back at Jason who looked just a little too satisfied for his own good.

“I have to go,” she told him, unable to keep from smiling. She hesitated. “I’ll get someone in here to tape that hand.”

Jason frowned. “Why don’t I just wait for you?” he asked, pointedly.

She flushed and shrugged. “I guess. But you might get kicked out of the room soon…”

“I’ll wait in the lobby.”

“What about your garage?” Elizabeth reminded him.

“I’m not supposed to work on cars, remember?” Jason said.

“I guess in that case, you can just wait here,” Elizabeth replied. She smiled and left the room.

It was nearly an hour later when she returned. He’d spent that time thinking about her, wondering what had made him kiss her and why he was determined to see her again, to see where it was going.

When she came back, her eyes were dulled, her movements were listless. He frowned. “What’s wrong?”

She cleared her throat and reached for a roll of gauze. “We lost two patients,” she told him softly as she began to unwrap it. “A two-year-old and an ten-year-old. Their father was drinking and drove off a bridge.”

“Jesus,” he swore. He stopped her movements and cupped her face in his hands. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, biting her lip. “Yeah…I just…it never gets any easier. Whether it’s a child or an elderly patient…it still hurts when you can’t save them.” Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes. “I wonder sometimes if I’m cut out to be a doctor.”

“You are,” Jason assured her. “You just have a lot of compassion. That’s not a bad thing.”

“I guess.” She closed her eyes.

“When do you get off work?” he asked.

“Around eleven,” she answered softly. “Why?”

“I’ll pick you up,” Jason told her. Her eyes opened and she frowned at him. “We’ll go out for a late dinner.”

She managed a watery smile. “I’d like that,” she replied. He leaned forward and kissed her softly. “I’d like that a lot.”

+5

“Okay, so he’s a bit of a mute.”

Elizabeth shook her head and laughed. She, Brenda and Emily had found a day in their schedules when they all had lunch free and they’d gotten together at the Port Charles Grille.

Emily had immediately jumped in to tell Elizabeth all of Jason’s good traits while Brenda tossed in a few of his infuriating ones. Somewhere in between them, she’d gotten quite a few stories about the man who’d been mostly silent at dinner three days before.

“Okay, so he’s not a conversationalist,” Emily said. “I personally prefer men who don’t talk. It makes life so much easier.”

“Yeah, and then they don’t argue,” Brenda pointed out. “So, you’re automatically right.”

“As much fun as it’s been to spend an hour talking about Jason Morgan,” Elizabeth said, “I’m slightly confused as to why we’re doing it.”

Emily adjusted herself in her chair and exchanged a smile with her other friend. “Because, my dear, Brenda and I have discussed this and we think you’re just the woman for my brother.”

“You’ve known me for a week,” Elizabeth protested. “And I’ve met Jason twice.”

“Four times,” Brenda corrected. “When he saved your life, when you car broke down, that night at the hospital and at dinner.”

“All right, all right. Four times, then. Still, I don’t know him and how do you know I’m right for him?”

Brenda grinned. “It actually doesn’t matter to me. I just want to torture him and the quickest way to do that is butt in his life.”

Emily smacked in her the arm. “You’re not helping, Brenda. Anyway, Elizabeth, like I said, we’ve discussed this and I think you and Jason were destined to meet.”

Elizabeth quirked her eyebrows. “Destined?”

“Destined,” Emily confirmed. She shoved her empty plate out of the way and leaned forward, resting her elbows. “I mean, he saved your life and then disappeared for five years.”

“Right,” Elizabeth replied. “I thought I’d never be able to see him again.”

“But, you end up in a lot of situations where you’d have to run into him,” Emily said. “You work at the same hospital as I do. Your best friend is his best friend. You had a crappy car–”

“All right, now you’re stretching it,” Elizabeth cut in.

“And,” Brenda said, “You were on duty the night I cut my hand. What a million in one chance that was, right? I mean, how many other doctors could I have gotten?”

“There were five others on duty that night,” Elizabeth admitted. “Look, they’re just coincidences.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Emily said. “I think there’s a reason for everything.”

“I think she’s nuts,” Brenda said, jerking a thumb towards Emily. “But even I admit it’s a strange set of circumstances.”

“Gee, thanks,” Emily said, dryly. She looked back to Elizabeth. “Anyway, Lucky and Nik are always talking about you and I think you’re a great person and Jason really needs someone good–someone…”

“Normal?” Brenda cut in with. She gave Elizabeth a charming smile. “Jason’s last relationship bordered on the peculiar.”

Emily snorted. “This from the wife of the godfather.” She bit her lip and looked at Elizabeth. “The, ah, alleged godfather that is.”

“Don’t worry,” Elizabeth said, smiling. She leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially, “I left the wire in my other purse.”

The joke eased the tension and they laughed. A few moments later, Elizabeth asked, “So, what happened with his last relationship?”

“See, you’re interested,” Emily teased. “And Brenda’s kidding. Carly wasn’t that bad.”

“Wasn’t that bad?” Brenda said. “Are you insane? She convinced him to move to California and then dumped him.”

“Careful, Bren, you don’t want someone getting the idea that you care what happens to Jason,” Emily warned, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief.

“I don’t,” Brenda protested. “I just don’t think anyone deserved to get dumped like that.”

“Dumped like what?” Elizabeth asked curiously.

“See, Jason maintains he ended it,” Brenda began eagerly. She shoved her plate aside and leaned forward. “I don’t know–maybe he did. Who knows, right?”

“Bren–” Emily tried to cut in.

“Carly and Jase had this complicated relationship even before they moved,” Brenda continued, ignoring her friend. “She was a bitch who slept around. Everyone knew it but it didn’t seem to faze Jason in the slightest. I don’t know what made him think leaving Port Charles was a good idea–”

“Once again, she’s telling a skewed version of events,” Emily interrupted. “Carly and my brother met about five years ago. Yes, Carly had a reputation, but there’s every indication that she settled down once she and Jason began dating. They stuck around PC for about a year before Carly got offered a job in California. They both decided to move there.”

Brenda snorted. “My version was so much more fun.”

“So what happened?” Elizabeth asked, curiously. “How’d they break up?”

Emily shrugged. “She did cheat on him a few times towards the end. Jason found out and left.”

“So why do you say Jason got dumped?” Elizabeth asked Brenda.

The other woman grinned. “Because it’s so much more fun that way. No, I got to give Jason credit. He knew when it was time to cut his losses.” She glared at Emily. “Don’t ever tell him I said that.”

Emily giggled. “Your secret is safe with me.”

Elizabeth laughed at the antics of the two women but her beeper went off. She unclipped it from the waist of her jeans and sighed. “Sorry to cut out, ladies, but I’ve got to back. There’s a 911 – it must be bad.” She pulled her wallet out of her purse.

“No, no. Sonny’s got a tab,” Brenda said, waving it off. “I’ll take care of it.”

She was in too much of a hurry to argue.

—-

Elizabeth rubbed her eyes as she headed towards another trauma room. Since leaving Brenda and Emily at lunch, there’d been a major car accident, a gun shot victim and child who had fallen off a roof.

She drew the curtain back. “I’m Dr. Webber–” she cut off her normal spiel and smiled when she realized who her patient was. “This is becoming a regular occurrence.”

Jason scowled. “I wouldn’t even be here if this idiot had made me come.”

Lucky rolled his eyes. “The moron was going to just put some ice on his hand over a car hood slammed on it.”

Elizabeth smirked and set the chart aside. She reached for Jason’s hand and started to test the fingers. Jason flinched and she made a tsk sound. “I’m going to have to get some x-rays done,” she murmured. “You might have broken a finger or two.”

“Told you so,” Lucky crowed.

“I’ll put the order in,” Elizabeth said, making a notation in the chart. “A technician will come get you.”

“How long is this going to take?” Jason demanded. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

Elizabeth shrugged. “Depends on how crazy it gets around here.” She eyed Lucky. “Try not to annoy him.”

“Me?” Lucky asked, pressing a hand to his chest innocently.

“Yes, you.” Elizabeth shook her head and walked away to file the order.

Lucky grinned. “What a woman, eh?”

Jason glared at him. “Remember you’re talking to Emily’s brother.”

“Hey, I love Emily, I’m just mentioning that Lizzie is a great person,” Lucky tried to assure him. “Smart, spunky…”

Jason frowned. “You got a point?”

Lucky shrugged. “No. Not really.”

—

Elizabeth clipped the x-ray to a light board and gestured towards it. “You’ve broken your middle finger and your pinky,” she said.

Lucky smirked. “There goes your main form of communication.”

“You want to stay or what?” Elizabeth asked, throwing her friend a nasty look. Ignoring him, she looked at Jason. “You’re just going to have to tape your hand up for about a week or so. Broken fingers are honestly the best bones in the body to break. Quick healing time.”

“Lizzie’s going to be an orthopedic surgeon,” Lucky volunteered.

“Anyway, I’ll have one of the nurses tape your hand,” Elizabeth told Jason. “But you’ll need to go to your doctor in about two weeks to make sure everything’s good.”

“I don’t have a doctor,” Jason said.

“I can recommend one,” Elizabeth offered.

“Jason doesn’t really like doctors,” Lucky said. “Like he said, he’s only here because I forced him to come.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth frowned. “Well, I suppose you’ll be fine. If you had any lingering problems, you could always come back.”

“Why don’t you examine him yourself?” Lucky suggested. Jason and Elizabeth both turned to look at him oddly. Lucky shrugged. “Well, you are specializing in orthopedic surgery when your internship is over. You can do the examination, right? And it wouldn’t be like a normal doctor since you already know her,” he told Jason.

Jason hesitated and looked towards Elizabeth. “If that’s okay with you.”

“It’s fine,” Elizabeth said. “So, you’ll come back in two weeks? Just ask for me at the desk, okay?”

“Okay,” Jason agreed. Elizabeth made a final notation in his chart, said goodbye to the two of them and left.

Lucky watched in satisfaction as Jason’s eyes followed Elizabeth across the emergency room. This was almost too easy.

+5

Brenda’s drugs had kicked in by the time they returned to the penthouse. She was chattering away about the ER doctor and was busy telling Sonny all the reasons Elizabeth should turn Jason down if he asked her out.

Jason had been uncharacteristically quiet during Brenda’s tirade. Brenda Corinthos was the only woman that seemed to get the best of Jason, but even she couldn’t get a ride out of him tonight.

Jason was too busy thinking about that night in the alley, with the stabbing victim. She’d said her name was Liz and that she was twenty-two. Five years later, it was possible that Dr. Elizabeth Webber, at age twenty-seven, was the girl.

Hell, if Jason really wanted to be honest with himself, he’d say it was more than a possibility. How many other girls were attacked in alley–stabbed–and someone came to call 911? Port Charles wasn’t that large of a town–the odds that another girl with the same name, same injury and whose age and size would match was slim to none.

But what did it really matter if Elizabeth Webber was the girl? He’d tell her, she’d say thank you and that’d be the end of it. What good would it do to tell her?

No, he’d keep it to himself. It wasn’t like he’d see her around. Jason wasn’t fond of hospitals–had only gone tonight because Sonny asked him too. He didn’t even visit Emily all that much.

Emily. Shit. She was dating Lucky Spencer, one of Elizabeth’s best friends. And Jason knew that Emily would jump at the chance to be friends with Elizabeth–and he could tell the two women would get along.

He might have to see the doctor after all.

“You’re acting awfully weird,” Brenda murmured, plopping down on the couch. She peered up at him, her eyes slightly glazed over. She giggled. “Well, weirder than usual.”

Jason shook his head. “I’m going home.”

“You’re not staying for dinner?” Sonny asked.

Jason gestured towards the clock sitting on the desk. “It’s after ten. I’ll just grab something at Kelly’s.”

Brenda leaned over the arm of the couch. “I know what’s bothering him!” she announced gleefully. “He likes her.”

Sonny just laughed and shook his head. “Upstairs, honey.”

Brenda frowned. “No. Because I’m right, aren’t I? Jason’s got a crush,” she sang. She tried to stand and only made it halfway before thinking better of it and took her seat again. “She’s pretty.”

“Brenda,” Sonny said, sternly. His voice had a hint of amusement in it and his wife picked up on it.

“Aww, knock it off. You know she is,” Brenda said. She leaned her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes. “You gotta let go of the blonde, Jase. Y’know you were too good for her anyways. Be glad she dumped ya.”

“I left her,” Jason corrected without thinking.

Brenda peeked an eye open and grinned. “Good. Means you’re not completely stupid. You want her number?”

“No,” Jason said firmly.

“You know you want it,” Brenda teased. She reached blindly behind her for the purse she’d dropped, intent on searching for Elizabeth’s number.

“Pay no attention to her–she’s on drugs, remember?” Sonny said, trying to contain his laughter at Brenda’s antics.

“I’d better go before she finds it,” Jason replied. “I’ll see ya.”

“Bye.”

—-

Elizabeth was fifteen minutes late when she arrived at Eli’s for the dinner with Lucky, Nikolas, Emily and Jason. Her shift at the hospital had been particularly brutal today–she’d lost two patients.

She’d taken a quick shower in the staff room before changing into the black jeans and light blue sweater she’d brought to work. She’d rushed out of the hospital, her hair still wet and curling at the ends.

Entering Eli’s, she rolled her eyes. She shouldn’t have rushed–Lucky and Nikolas weren’t there. She was suddenly thankful that she’d run into Jason twice that week, since she never would have found the table.

Seated beside Jason was a dark-haired woman with large brown eyes. She was wearing a pink and red peasant blouse with flared jeans and she was laughing at her brother.

Elizabeth walked forward and approached the table. “Hi, I’m–”

“Lizzie,” Emily Morgan said, standing. The other woman towered over her slightly. “Lucky and Nik talk about you all the time.”

“I prefer Elizabeth or Liz,” Elizabeth said. She smiled. “Lucky and Nik don’t seem to understand that.”

Emily laughed. “Yeah, they’re kind of thick-headed.” She sat back down and Elizabeth took a seat across from them. “This is my brother Jason–”

“Actually, we’ve met,” Elizabeth said.

Emily raised her eyebrows. “Really.”

“Her car broke down,” Jason told her. “And Lucky called me.”

“I also gave his friend Brenda a few stitches last night,” Elizabeth replied.

“She’s not my friend,” Jason muttered. “She’s just Sonny’s wife.”

Emily giggled. “Don’t listen to him. He can’t stand it because Brenda gets under her skin. You should see the two of go at one another–it’s hysterical.”

“So, where are Dumb and Dumber?” Elizabeth asked, twisting in her seat.

“Nik had a call right before his shift ended, so he’ll be late. As for my wonderful boyfriend, who knows?” Emily rolled her eyes. “That boy couldn’t be on time if his life depended on it.”

“Oh, I know. I asked Lucky to pick me up Wednesday since my car died and he was two hours late. I could have walked home in the time it took him.” Elizabeth sighed. “His defense? He hasn’t changed his clock back yet.”

“That’s so pathetic,” Emily grumbled. Her eyes lit up and she gave the other woman a charming smile. “Jason is always on time. Sometimes, he’s even early.”

“Really?” Elizabeth asked, grinning. She knew exactly what the brunette was trying to do and she thought it was funny. “Now there’s a rarity.”

“He also owns his own business,” Emily told her.

“Emily,” Jason said. “She knows this, remember?”

Emily glared at him. “You know what? Don’t be so difficult.” She turned back to Elizabeth. “So, you work at the hospital, too?”

“Yeah, I’m an intern,” Elizabeth replied. “You’re a nurse up in maternity right?”

“Yep. Two years now,” Emily said. “I love it. Being around babies is the best. I can’t wait to have kids of my own.”

“So what made you decide to become a nurse?” Elizabeth asked.

“Actually, I was in the middle of my sophomore year at PCU,” Emily began, “And I was still an undeclared major. One of my teachers went into labor right there in the classroom. I kind of held her hand through it, went to the hospital with her and stayed until her husband showed up. I really like helping people, so I looked into a medical degree. I decided I didn’t want to go to all that school, so I went into nursing. What about you?” Emily asked, reaching for her glass.

“I didn’t have any idea what I was going to do almost until I graduated. I was a liberal arts major, concentrating on science until my senior year five years ago. One night, I was attacked in an alley and stabbed. The surgery that saved my life kind of got me fascinated with surgical medicine, so that’s what I became. Right now, I’m doing my internship in the emergency room, but eventually I’m going to do surgeries.”

“Wow, you know, it’s the strangest thing,” Emily said.

Jason frowned at his sister’s words and sat up. “Emily–”

“My brother found a girl about five years ago. She was stabbed, too.” Emily turned to him. “What did you say the girl’s name was?”

“Liz,” Jason said, flicking his eyes to the girl sitting across from him. “Was that you? On Courtland Street? January?”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “Oh my God. Yeah. I…wow…” She laughed. “This is a small world, isn’t it?”

“My brother here is a moron. He didn’t stick around,” Emily said. “See, Jase? I told you’d it come back to haunt ya.” She frowned. “This isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

“I’ve wanted to thank you for so long,” Elizabeth said. “The doctors said that if I hadn’t been found so quickly, I probably would have bled to death. Thank you.”

Jason shifted in his chair. “You’re welcome.”

Lucky and Nikolas arrived a few minutes later, and the topic was quickly changed away from Elizabeth’s attack, but she found herself sneaking glances at Emily’s brother throughout the meal.

She’d never dreamed she’d find the guy who called 911 and managed to keep her awake and at least somewhat calm until the ambulance arrived. It was actually an incredible thing to find him and have friends in common like this.

She found herself engaging in comfortable banter with Emily, quickly learning that the other woman had a bottomless sense of humor and absolutely no one, especially the men sitting with them, was safe from it. She was also warm and compassionate and Elizabeth felt like she’d made a good friend.

The girls made plans to meet for lunch next week, and Emily decided to switch some shifts around so that they might see each other at the hospital. Elizabeth mentioned Brenda had given her number to her, and Emily immediately leaped at the chance to make the lunch date for all three of them. Jason grimaced at the mention of Brenda, which Emily teased him unmercifully for.

By the time the dinner was over, Elizabeth had learned most of Emily’s life story, but hadn’t added much to what she knew about her handsome brooding older brother.

To her surprise, she realized she’d wanted to know more.

—-

“I think they really hit it off,” Emily said later that night, lying next to Lucky in the darkened room. “She’s really nice and you know the fact that he’s the one that saved her life–well, that just makes it better, y’know?”

“Uh huh,” Lucky mumbled. He turned over and buried his head in the blankets.

“It’s funny how it all worked out,” Emily continued, oblivious to Lucky’s snores. “It was almost like they had to meet. I mean, she’s got a crappy car. He’s a mechanic. You’re his best friend. You’re her best friend. She works at the hospital and Brenda cut her hand. Don’t you think that’s weird?”

After Lucky didn’t answer, Emily frowned and turned her head on the pillow to look at him. “Lucky? Lucky?”

She poked him and he sprang up. “I didn’t do it, it was Nik!” came out his mouth and Emily started laughing hysterically. Lucky shot her a nasty look and laid back down to go back to sleep.

+4

Lucky leaned against one of the finished cars in Jason’s garage as he watched the owner work on one of the motorcycles. “So…what’d you think of Lizzie?”

Jason stood and headed for the sink to wash the grease off his hands. “What?”

“Lizzie–my friend…the girl whose car broke down an hour ago…” Lucky frowned. “Or have you blocked her out?”

“Why do you call her that?” Jason asked, wiping his hands on a towel.

“Call her what?” Lucky asked. “Lizzie? It’s a nickname.”

“She hates it,” Jason murmured, trying to get the grease out from under his fingernails. He tossed the towel aside and headed for the office.

“How can you tell?” Lucky asked, following him. “You met her for eight seconds.”

“You don’t see the way her mouth tightens when you call her that?” Jason asked, pulling the door open and entering.

Lucky grinned. “So you were checking her out.”

Jason turned and gave him a glare. “No. Any one who was looking would know.”

“All right, so I won’t call her Lizzie any more.” He shrugged. “So, what did you think of Elizabeth?”

“She’s nice,” Jason said. He looked up then, confusion painted on his face. “It was weird. She looks really familiar–like I’ve met her before.”

Lucky fiddled with one of the magnets on the filing cabinet. “She’s lived here for six years. You might have run into her before you moved.”

“It’s possible,” Jason replied. “Well, I’m closing. You done poking around?” he asked.

“I guess.” Lucky followed Jason to the front of the garage. “So what’re you doing tonight?”

“Dinner with Sonny and Brenda,” Jason replied, grimacing.

“Ah, the great Brenda Corinthos,” Lucky nodded knowingly. “She can be…a little…well…”

“Bitchy?” Jason supplied.

“If Brenda hears you calling her that, she’ll make it her business to make your life a living hell.”

Jason shrugged. “Yeah, well, it wouldn’t take much.”

“You still thinking about Carly?” Lucky asked abruptly. Jason stopped and stared at him and Lucky shrugged. “Well, I just wondered–I mean you dated the girl, you left town for her and she dumped you. I–”

“Drop it,” Jason said sharply. “I’ll see you later.”

—-

Brenda Barrett Corinthos was easily one of the most beautiful women in Port Charles. The former Face of Deception was always recognizable with her big dark eyes framed with long lashes, her long dark brown hair, medium complexion and full red lips.

Right now, the former model didn’t resemble the gracious and poised woman of society she’d once been. She was holding her bleeding hand and glaring at her husband of eight months, Sonny Corinthos.

“If you weren’t so damned anal, I wouldn’t be here,” she snapped.

“If you hadn’t been reaching for a glass while I was cooking,” Sonny Corinthos began, an amused smile on his face which only served to enrage his small wife more.

“You know what, Sonny–” Brenda let loose a string of profanities–mostly in Spanish. Jason stood off in a corner, wincing at Brenda called Sonny every name in the book–he could see the regret Sonny had for even teaching Brenda the language written on the mobster’s face.

“Hello,” a familiar voice said. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Dr. Elizabeth Webber, her long brown hair clipped up and a long white lab jacket covering a pair of jeans and a blue shirt, entered the room. “I’m Dr. Webber.”

“I’m Brenda Corinthos and I seemed to have cut my hand,” Brenda said, her charming smile back in place.

Elizabeth set her clipboard aside and took her hand. She frowned. “I’m going to have to get some antiseptic and clean this.” She turned away from Brenda to head over to a cabinet to retrieve the antiseptic and stopped when she noticed Jason. “Oh, hi.”

“Hey,” he greeted.

Sonny frowned. “You two know each other?” he asked, looking back between his best friend and his wife’s doctor.

Elizabeth turned to him and shook her head. “No. Not really. We just both know the same people.” She continued to the cabinet and fished out the antiseptic she was looking for.

She returned to Brenda and set about cleaning the hand. The second the antiseptic touched her skin, Brenda hissed and tried to draw back her hand. Elizabeth held it in a steady grip.

“I know, it stings.” Elizabeth gave her a warm smile. She started to talk to her as she cleaned. “I always hate having to use this stuff–I keep telling the hospital it’s too harsh on skin.”

“You’re telling me,” Brenda grumbled as the antiseptic bit into her skin. She grimaced. “This is almost as bad as Jason’s cooking.”

Jason didn’t respond to the remark but Elizabeth laughed. “I know how that is–my best friend Nikolas thinks he’s some sort of gourmet, but he nearly blew up my kitchen the last time he was in it.”

“Men,” Brenda snorted. “They think they know everything.” She leaned forward, not even paying attention as Elizabeth finished cleaning the hand. “You know how this happened?”

“How?” Elizabeth asked, opening a suture kit.

“I was getting a glass in our kitchen and Sonny–my husband,” Brenda paused to glare at him. “He was worried because I was grabbing the glass the wrong way–said I’d smudged it. He tried to get the glass, I tried holding it away…and well…as you can see—OW!”

Elizabeth kept her hand steady even Brenda cried out in pain. “Sorry, but I need to give you a few stitches. Try not to concentrate on it.”

Brenda gritted her teeth. “All right. How old are you?”

Elizabeth didn’t look up as she answered. “Twenty-seven.”

“How long have you lived in Port Charles?” Brenda asked, trying to pull her hand back.

“Six years. Try and keep your hand steady,” Elizabeth said. “It’ll make this go faster.”

“Got a boyfriend?” Brenda asked. She looked over Elizabeth’s shoulder at Jason and tilted her head towards the brunette as if saying, she’s cute. Go for it. Jason just glared at her.

“Nope,” Elizabeth murmured.

“Why’d you become a doctor?” Brenda asked.

Elizabeth finished the last suture and pulled out a roll of gauze to wrap the hand. “It’s a strange story actually.”

“Tell me,” Brenda said, now curious.

“Well,” Elizabeth began, “I was a senior in college and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. One day, I had an accident and the surgery that saved my life inspired me to go into medicine.”

Brenda flexed her hand and winced a little in pain. Elizabeth started writing out a prescription. “What sort of accident?” Brenda asked.

“Don’t mind my wife,” Sonny said, speaking for the first time since Elizabeth had entered the room. “She’s naturally nosy.”

“It’s fine,” Elizabeth said, throwing the other man a smile. She looked back to his wife. “I was attacked in an alley.”

Brenda bit her lip. “Oh, sorry.”

Behind them, Jason frowned. Attacked in alley.

“My b-back. I t-think–he’s s-s-stabbed….Oh god…it h-hurts.”

“Don’t be,” Elizabeth said, oblivious to Jason’s memory flashes. “I was stabbed in the back, but someone came along and called 911.”

“That was lucky,” Brenda replied, taking the prescription.

“You’re going to want to take two of those a day, for the pain,” Elizabeth said. “I won’t need to take the stitches out; they should disintegrate by themselves in about two or three weeks. If not, come back and we’ll take them out.”

“Thanks,” Brenda said. She looked up and gave the doctor a bright smile. “You’re nice.”

“Thanks,” Elizabeth said, obviously amused. She picked up her clipboard and made a few notations. “You’re nice too.”

Jason snorted and Brenda glared at him. “Quiet you,” she directed pointing a finger at him.

“All right, I’d better get you home,” Sonny said, coming forward. He looked to Elizabeth. “Are there any special instructions I should know about?”

“Nope,” Elizabeth said. “As long as she takes the pills and doesn’t get the stitches wet, she’ll be fine. Of course, I do have a suggestion.”

“Okay,” Sonny nodded.

“Maybe you shouldn’t fight with her over the glass,” Elizabeth said, unable to keep the smile off her face.

Sonny grinned. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Brenda hopped off the bed. “What’s your first name?” she asked, allowing Sonny to drape her coat over her shoulders.

“Elizabeth,” she replied.

Brenda held out her uninjured hand. “Brenda Corinthos. This is my husband, Sonny. And I like you.”

“You sure you didn’t give her any medicine yet?” Sonny asked.

Brenda glared at him. “You know, since Robin moved to Paris, I’ve had just you and that lawyer of yours as a friend. And let me tell you something–Jason ain’t a great conversationalist. Excuse me for trying to make a new friend.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Sonny said, holding his hands up in surrender.

“Nice to meet you, Brenda,” Elizabeth said. “And I know what you mean–I’ve got two brothers for best friends and it’s not easy.”

“Great. Then…” Brenda looked to Sonny. “Give me a piece of paper.”

“What?” Sonny asked.

“I want to give her my number. Give me a piece of paper.”

Elizabeth smiled and tore off a piece from the bottom of her notepad in her pocket. She handed it to Brenda along with the pen. Brenda accepted it and wrote her number. She handed the scrap back to her. “Here, call me when you get time off. I know how crazy these shifts can be.”

“I’ll do that,” Elizabeth said. “It was nice to meet you.”

She watched the trio leave and had turned back to clean up the trash. She didn’t notice the way Jason lingered at the doorway and stared at her for a moment before moving on.

+3

Dr. Elizabeth Webber slid a chart in one of the slots and smiled at a passing nurse. She flexed her arms and rolled her head back and forth, trying to work out the kinks. After a fifteen hour shift, she was finally heading home.

She heading towards the emergency entrance–it was closer to where her car was parked–when they flung open. Automatically, she stepped to the side as a stretcher being rolled by two paramedics rolled past.

She spied her best friend, Nikolas Cassadine, among the two paramedics and stayed back to talk to him. With her crazy shifts, they’d barely had a chance to talk all a week.

She’d met Nikolas six months earlier when she started her internship at Port Charles Memorial Hospital. He’d been rolling in an gunshot wound and they’d started talking. He’d originally hit on her and they’d gone out on a date. Five minutes into the date, they both decided it wasn’t going to work and she’d ended up with a best friend instead.

Nikolas lived with his stepbrother, Lucky Spencer, a firefighter at the station Nikolas worked out of. Lucky was dating a nurse at the hospital, Emily Morgan. Emily worked a lot of night shifts on the maternity ward, so Elizabeth hadn’t had much of a chance to meet her.

She was only waiting a few minutes before Nikolas reappeared. “Webber,” he greeted. He called to his partner, “Hey, Donovan. Give me a few minutes!”

“Hey, Cassadine. Been a while,” Elizabeth said.

“Yeah, how was that fifteen hour shift?” Nikolas asked, grinning. He was constantly ribbing the brunette about her crazy shifts while he only worked the 3-11.

“About as much fun as your last date,” Elizabeth replied. She shifted her book bag higher on her shoulder. “I just wanted to confirm this weekend. Dinner on Friday, right?”

“Oh, I called you but I guess you didn’t get it yet. We’re meeting at Eli’s at 7. Lucky’s bringing Emily, she managed to get the night off, finally.”

“Great!” Elizabeth said. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting her.”

Nikolas hesitated for a minute before continuing. “Lucky invited Emily’s older brother, Jason. They’re good friends–grew up together. He just moved home after a few years away and opened up a bike shop. She’s trying to get him back into a swing of things.” Nikolas leaned forward to whisper confidentially. “He just broke off an engagement.”

Having had a similar experience, Elizabeth just smiled and nodded. “That’s fine. I’ve barely had a chance to hang out with anyone since this internship started. I’ll be glad when it’s over and I can just be an orthopedic surgeon,” she replied.

“You know you love the emergency room,” Nikolas said. He leaned back and looked towards the door. “Donovan’s giving me the look. I’ll see you at Eli’s on Friday if I don’t check you around here.”

Elizabeth fell in step as they walked towards the doors and separated–he went to the ambulance with his partner, Steven Donovan and she headed for the parking lot.

She was looking forward to meeting Emily–she’d lived in Port Charles for six years, but with medical school, she’d barely had five seconds to make any friends. She only knew Nikolas and Lucky because of the job.

She hadn’t had a clue what she wanted to do when she first transferred to PCU, but after her stabbing in an alley, she’d had surgery that had saved her life. She’d become fascinated with medicine.

She still avoided Courtland Street whenever possible–the police had said if the man who called 911 hadn’t found her, she might have bled to death. Elizabeth was grateful, but had never seen him again.

—-

She pushed open her apartment door and her eyes lit up at the sight of her couch. She was so tired she didn’t think she’d make it to her bedroom.

She dropped her jacket and purse next to the door and pushed play on her answering machine as she shuffled to the kitchen to make herself a cup of hot chocolate.

“Webber, it’s me,” Nikolas said. “Dinner at 7 at Eli’s on Friday. Em invited her brother Jason. No, Lucky assured me she’s not setting you up. Not yet anyway. See ya then.”

“Lizzie, it’s Johnny,” the voice of her younger brother came through. “Um…I kinda need some bail money. I’m in this town in Oklahoma and I don’t wanna call Mom and Dad. Uhh…I can’t really tell you what I did, sis…but um, just call Kiki for the details–you remember the number right?” 

Elizabeth sighed. Third time this year. She made a mental to note to call Kiki, her brother’s wife. The machine clicked off after Johnny’s message and she sighed in relief. No call from the disapproving parents in Los Angeles. They’d wanted her to stay close and go to Stanford or UCLA, but she’d chosen to leave and go to Boston University.

They’d supported her for three years, but had abruptly cut her off when Elizabeth made it clear that she wasn’t coming back home and marrying some rich little boy. She’d had to apply for scholarships and had won full tuition at PCU. Since then, her mother would call once a week to try and change Elizabeth’s mind.

She wrapped her hands around the warm coffee mug and padded towards her bedroom, grabbing the stack of mail she’d peen piling by the door.

—-

“Okay, let me get this straight,” Emily Morgan began pulling the covers more tightly around her body.

Her boyfriend grinned at her and rolled onto his back, clasping his hands behind his head. “What’s confusing you?”

“Nikolas has an actual female friend that he hasn’t slept with?” Emily asked, her eyebrows raised in amusement. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Lizzie’s not his type. She’s not blonde and she has a brain,” Lucky replied.

“I’ve heard a little about her,” Emily said, rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling. “She’s supposed to be a great doctor.”

“She’s a great girl–you’re gonna love each other.”

Emily sat up suddenly, her brown eyes sparkling. “Jason’s coming to dinner right?”

Lucky sat up slowly, his blue eyes suspicious. “Yeah…?”

“He needs to start dating again,” Emily said definitively.

“Honey, I don’t think Lizzie is the type of girl that Jason needs to start dating again,” Lucky said, trying to be nice.

Her eyes narrowed. “Why? What’s wrong with my brother?”

Lucky rolled his eyes. “Em. You know Jason and I are friends–there’s nothing wrong with him. Lizzie’s not a casual dater, y’know? She’s more of a relationship girl.”

“Oh.” Emily shrugged. “So, maybe they’ll hit it off.”

“Babe, you haven’t even met Lizzie yet. Wait until you do that before you plan the rest of her life.”

“Fine,” Emily grumbled. “Oh…don’t tell Elizabeth about Jason knowing Sonny.”

“Why not?” Lucky asked. “It’s not like Jason’s in the mob. He just happens to be best friends with the head of it.”

“It’s just scared off some people before and I want her to know Jason before she does that. Besides, how awkward will dinner be if she refuses to talk to him at all?”

“All right, all right. I’ll make sure to tell Nik to keep it on the dl, happy?”

“Happy.”

“Can we sleep now? Because we had two fires today and I’m beat.”

“We can sleep now.”

—-

Elizabeth stared at the gas gauge in mystery. Whenever her car broke down, it was the first place she looked, and she was usually only mildly surprised to find out that she hadn’t filled the tank and she’d run out of gas.

But today, on her way to the grocery store, her car had stalled at a light near Van Ness Street and had died.

And she saw the gas gauge was nearly full–she even remembered filling it the other day. She cursed under her breath as she reached for her cell in her purse. She dug through miscellaneous change, shoved her wallet outside, removed an old piece of string that had somehow made it in there, and grinned in triumph as she pulled the phone out from underneath a pile napkin.

“Hey, Lucky. Is Nik there?” Elizabeth asked.

“Nope. Can I give him a message?” Lucky asked.

“Well…it’s just…my car broke down and you know me and cars. I know Nikolas knows a few things….”

“Hold on, Lizzie,” Lucky said. “Where are you?”

“Van Ness and Jefferson. I’m stalled at the light. The cars are kinda going–hey, you too buddy!”

“Lizzie?”

“Sorry…some guy just gave me the finger.”

“Okay, here’s what I’m gonna do, kiddo. You’re in luck, because I happen to be best friends with the world’s best mechanic and his garage is only a few blocks from there. So, stay put and I’ll get him and we’ll come to you, k?”

“Thanks.”

—-

“There she is,” Lucky said, pulling his Ford truck over and parking a few feet from Elizabeth’s small Honda. “I keep telling her she needs a new car.”

Jason Morgan just shook his head. “Some people get attached to cars. I still have my first motorcycle.”

“Well, some people, like Lizzie…are just too stubborn,” Lucky grumbled, getting out the truck.

As soon as he was visible, Elizabeth shoved her door open and exited. She stopped when she realized she’d only made it out with the strap of her purse–the rest of it had been blocked by the door.

“Son of a…” she muttered, jerking the door open and pulling the purse out.

“Lizzie, Lizzie,” Lucky laughed. “You’re so scatterbrained.”

She glared at him. “You try thinking straight after fifteen hours in the emergency room and then five hours of sleep. Stupid alarm clock. Stupid thing never goes off when I want it to work, only when I want to sleep.”

“Yeah, it helps to turn it off, y’know?”

“Bite me.”

Someone cleared their throat from behind them and Elizabeth leaned around Lucky to catch a glimpse of this mechanic.

And she blinked.

She had no idea they made men like that. Six feet of muscle, topped off with one hell of a face.

Say something. Anything.

“Hi,” she said. “Elizabeth Webber,” she said, extending her hand.

Just before the mechanic’s hand connected with hers, Lucky chirped in, “Dr. Elizabeth Webber.”

She was about to glare at him before the other man shook her hand and she jumped a little.

“Hey, you’ll be okay. Stay with me. Keep talking. What’s your name?”

“Jason Morgan,” he replied, pulling his hand back. “So, what’s wrong with your car?”

Shaking the strange memory away, Elizabeth shrugged. “I haven’t a clue. We were getting along fine until I came to this light. It stalled and then died.” She chuckled. “What I know about cars amounts to what Lucky knows about women.”

“Hey,” Lucky said, clearly insulted.

She only gave him a bright smile before Jason’s name fully registered. “Oh, hey, you’re Emily’s brother.”

“Yeah,” Jason confirmed as he pulled the hood up.

“How did you know that?” Lucky asked. “You haven’t even met Emily.”

“Yeah, well I think the last name tipped me off, not to mention the fact that Nikolas mentioned she had a brother who was a mechanic.” She frowned. “Well, actually he said he opened a bike shop…anyway, I do have brain, Lucky. I’m not one of Nikolas’s bimbos.”

“Okay, okay,” Lucky said, holding his hands up in surrender.

She turned back to see Jason lifting his head from underneath the hood. “Your transmission is shot. There’s no way you’re gonna be using this car for a while.”

Elizabeth glared at the car and kicked the tire. “I should have gotten rid of you last year,” she grumbled.

“Yeah, you should have,” Lucky agreed.

“No one asked you,” Elizabeth muttered.

“Well, normally, people whose cars spend more time in a garage then they do on the street…they buy new ones,” Lucky replied.

“And how am I supposed to pay for a new car?” Elizabeth demanded.”I’ve got rent, I’ve got bills, I’ve got groceries, I’ve got student loans…do you have any idea how much medical school costs?”

“Okay, I’m sorry.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t talk anymore,” Jason suggested, eyeing the brunette with amusement.

“Hey, you…you’re supposed to be my friend,” Lucky reminded him.

“Yeah, well, I bet she could take you,” Jason replied, a half smile on his face.

“I could,” Elizabeth said. “Lucky’s a wussy.”

“You know what, Webber,” Lucky began. “I’ll remember that the next time you need help.”

“I’ll just call Nikolas,” Elizabeth said. “He wouldn’t abandon me.”

“Nik? Abandon a woman in distress?” Lucky snorted. “He considers that an invitation for sex.”

“Can we get back to my car?” Elizabeth asked. She turned to Jason. “How much is this gonna cost?”

“Well…I think you’d probably be better off just buying a new car,” Jason said, regretfully. “Because honestly, the transmission is only the immediate problem. You’ll end up spending more to fix this thing than it’ll take to get a new one.”

“I told you that last year,” Lucky reminded her.

“Yeah, well, are you a certified mechanic?” Elizabeth asked. “No. You’re a firefighter. And you only told me that because you’re a mean person who loves to kick me when I’m down.”

“I have never once kicked you,” Lucky said.

“It’s an expression!” Elizabeth said, irritated.

Jason put the hood down and stepped forward. “If you’ll put it into neutral, we can put it on the side of the road until you can figure out what to do with it.”

“Thanks,” Elizabeth said. “I really appreciate this.”

Jason shrugged. “Not a problem.” He looked to Lucky. “You think you can stop being an idiot long enough to help me?”

+4

Elizabeth Webber stepped off the city bus and looked around her neighborhood with trepidation. Her first goal was to move out of her apartment on Courtland Street and find some place a little safer to live. She shifted her purple book bag higher on her shoulder and pulled the flaps of her leather jacket closer to protect her from the biting January winds.

She was a senior at Port Charles University with no clue as to what she was going to do after graduation. She knew she had to decide–or she was going to be a screwed college graduate with a liberal arts degree. Some times she thought she might want to teach–but after spending most of her life baby-sitting her younger brother, Elizabeth had decided against it.

Courtland Street was mostly populated by prostitutes and drug dealers, all of whom were out in full force tonight. Elizabeth gripped her book bag tighter. She was only a block from home when someone grabbed her and dragged her into a nearby alley.

At first Elizabeth was too stunned to struggle but she managed to scream. She knew it wouldn’t do any good–residents of Courtland Street learned early to ignore screams.

The guy grabbed her book bag and flung it to the ground. He gripped the bottom of her shirt and started to pull it up.

Elizabeth had been frozen in fear until she felt the bitter wind on her skin. She drove her knee hard up into his groin. He stumbled back and Elizabeth made a run for it.

She barely made it three steps before he grabbed the back of her jacket and she felt a sharp pain explode in her lower back. She screamed again and fell to the ground. She heard footsteps running vaguely but all Elizabeth could concentrate on was the shooting fire in her back.

—-

Jason Morgan was heading towards the bus stop on Courtland Street when a scream ripped through the air. He stopped and waited to hear anything else. When he didn’t, he continued.

He’d walked a friend of his home–he never trusted Carly Benson to get home safely. He kept asking her to move away from Courtland Street, but Carly refused. She couldn’t afford it and adamantly turned down his offers to help with rent on a better apartment.

He was just a block from the bus stop when he heard another scream. He stopped again–it was closer this time. He had only taken a step towards the alley when a man rushed out. He nearly knocked Jason over, but he wasn’t paying attention.

Jason entered the alley and immediately spied a woman lying on her stomach, crying. She was small–he put her in her late teens. She was wearing tight pants and a black leather jacket. He kneeled next to her.

“Are you all right?” he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. It wasn’t the first time he’d found a crying girl in an alley on Courtland Street–walking Carly home as often as he did, he’d found three other girls who’d been raped.

“My b-back,” the girl gasped through her tears. “I t-think–he’s s-s-stabbed…” she trailed off and closed her eyes tightly. “Oh god…it h-hurts.”

Jason’s eyes darted towards her lower back. He couldn’t see anything through the dark jacket. He pulled the jacket up and swore. Her white t-shirt was rapidly becoming with blood. He pulled his cell phone out and called 911.

After hanging up the phone, he turned his attention back to the girl. “Hey, stay with me. The ambulance is coming.”

The girl’s were closed and her breathing was ragged. “Oh god,” she choked. She gritted her teeth. “I’m going to d-die.”

“Hey, you’ll be okay,” Jason said. He took her hand and squeezed it. “Stay with me. Keep talking. What’s your name?”

“L-Liz,” the girl managed to say.

“Hi, Liz. I’m Jason. How old are you?” Jason asked, trying to keep her awake.

“22,” Liz said. She managed to open her eyes to try and focus on the man next to her.

“Really? You look younger,” Jason said. He could hear the sirens. He didn’t want to be here when the police arrived–they’d take one look at him, realize he was a friend of Sonny, and he’d be arrested. He also didn’t want to leave her unless the paramedics were here. “You go to school?”

“Y-yeah,” Liz said. She suddenly arched her back. “Oh, god!”

“Hello? Where’s the girl?”

Jason looked up to see the paramedics starting to flood into the alley. He let go Liz’s hand and stood up. He faded into the background as he waited for the paramedics to concentrate on her. Then he left through the opposite entrance of the alley.

—

Elizabeth was taken to the hospital and had surgery to stop the bleeding. She’d survive–and the only reminder of her attack would be a thin scar on her back. She’d asked everyone about the man who’d stayed by her side until the paramedics arrived, but no one remembered seeing anyone.

She wondered if she’d dreamed his voice–but someone had called the authorities, so someone had to been there. But who was he? And where had he gone?

+5