Written in 69 minutes. Sorry, I wanted to get the final Liason scene just right. No time for spell check or typos.

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

Mac knew—from the battle light in Diane Miller’s eyes as the redheaded lawyer sauntered into his office the morning after Elizabeth had disappeared from lock-up—he knew that whatever papers she pulled out of her briefcase would not be good for him.

“Ms. Miller—”

“This—” Diane set the papers down. “This is a proposed order from the district attorney dropping all charges against Elizabeth Webber—her legal name,” she added coolly, “as she has not filed paperwork to change it.”

“We’re still looking for her—”

“If Baldwin declines to drop the charges, this—” She set down a thicker packet of paper next to the first pile. “This will be filed directly with the court, suing the PCPD for negligence and alleging corruption in allowing my client to be dragged and kidnapped from your custody, leading to Luis Alcazar putting a bullet in her shoulder and shoving her, bound and gagged, into Lake Ontario.”

Mac shoved to his feet, his stomach dropping as her words sank in. “What—” Elizabeth, shot and nearly drowned? “How—”

“He tried to trade her for Brenda Barrett. You get Ms. Barrett’s statement and an interview with Ms. Webber only when the charges are dropped.”

Mac hesitated. “She’s alive then.”

“No thanks to you and the others. You knew she didn’t do this, and you arrested her anyway. If you want to close your case in the Smith murder, you’ll make sure Baldwin drops these charges. Or I will sue you and Scott personally as well the city and the department for putting my client in danger.”

Diane arched her brow when Mac just stared at her. “What will it be, Commissioner?”

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

“What are you doing out of bed?” Carly demanded as she stalked down the stairs, finding Jason standing by the desk with Brenda and Sonny. “You nearly drowned—”

Jason frowned at his best friend. “Because I was tired. I slept.”

“For five minutes?”

“Until a half hour ago. Six hours is enough for me,” he told her patiently. “I’m fine—”

“You—”

“-should be checking on Elizabeth,” Brenda interrupted smoothly. “You know, staying with her to make sure she’s recovering. The girl dragged herself out with an infection and fever.”

Carly narrowed her eyes, pursed her lips, and took a long look at her nemesis before looking back at Jason. “Okay. Yeah. That. And you do that by being at home, resting.”

“If the two of you are done,” Sonny said dryly, “we’re waiting on Diane to tell us how things went at the PCPD—”

“Oh, and Jason can’t find that out, laying down and taking it easy?” Carly poked Sonny in the chest. “No. You can go tell him—”

Sonny scowled, but before he could respond, the phone on his desk rang. He snatched it up. “Yeah? Yeah. Okay. Thanks. Thanks. Yeah, worth every penny.”

“Well?” Brenda demanded when Sonny had hung up. He ignored the women and turned his atttention to Jason.

“Mac got Scott to sign off on it. Charges are dropped. It’s over,” he added. “Zander’s murder will probably go down as a cold case, but unofficially, Mac said he’s willing to accept Alcazar was behind it.”

“That’s a relief,” Brenda said. “Luis is dead, you and Elizabeth are off the hook,” she said to Jason. “So if one of the guards can help me take my stuff back to the cottage, I’ll figure out what’s next.” Her lips twisted. “With what time is left.”

“You keep talking about dying,” Carly said with a roll of her eyes, “but you barely even seem sick. How do we know you’re not just making this up?”

Sonny growled. “Carly!”

“Why would I—” Brenda stared at the blonde virago, her retort ending abruptly. “I never opened the results.”

“Brenda?” Jason asked, putting a hand on her shoulders as she pressed her hands to her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Before the accident,” she said softly. “I never had a chance to open them. Jax said he threw them out. But I had them done again. With Luis. In the beginning. Before—” She closed her eyes. “Before I realized who he was.”

“You think he was lying?” Sonny asked.

“Well, of course he was,” Carly said, her patience at its absolute end. “Look what he went through to make sure Brenda never had any choices. He came after you and Jax. He tried to kill Elizabeth and Jason so he could get to her—he stalked her—you’ve been taking his word for it all this time?” she demanded, disgusted. “How stupid are you?”

“Carly—” Jason began.

“No-no-” Brenda shook her head, her voice thick. “No. Don’t—she’s right. God, she’s absolutely right.”

“Of course I am. Go take another stupid test with a reputable doctor. Honestly.” Carly stomped off towards the stairs. “Do I have to do everything around here?”

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Jason left Sonny to deal with Brenda and getting her back to the cottage, still shaking his head over Carly and her bold, almost offensive ways of getting things done. It hadn’t occured to him that Brenda would have learned about her illness through Alcazar, but trust Carly to see right through it.

“What’s wrong?” Elizabeth asked as Jason closed the door behind him. She struggled to sit up, wincing as she accentally put pressure on her shoulder. He hurried over to help her sit up further, then felt her forehead.

“Fever still gone,” he said. “But you should be sleeping—”

“I’ve been sleeping forever. Isn’t that what you said when you got dressed? Only one of us spent half the night swimming in the lake,” she muttered, but laid back against the pillows. Her skin was still too pale, but he had to admit that she was doing better.

“I took a long swim. You were shot and dumped in the lake—”

“Yeah, I think I liked the first kidnapping better,” she decided.

“You’re not getting a third to help you decide.”

Elizabeth cracked open her eye, one irritated slit of blue glaring at him. “You’re not going to try anything stupid like pushing me away again, are you? I will soak you if you try to divorce me. I’ll take everything.”

He gently smoothed her hair off her forehead, tucking a piece behind her ear. “I’d give it all to you if it meant you were safe,” he admitted. “But no,” he added when she growled. “No. We settled that in Vegas. You’re going to have to doing the walking.”

“Okay. Well, at least we don’t have to fight that.” She forced her eyes open. “Did you hear from Diane or should I make sure I’m wearing pants in case I get hauled back to jail?”

“Charges are dropped. You—and I—are good. They didn’t want the lawsuit.”

“Good.” She stifled a yawn. “Do you have to go anywhere?”

“No.”

“Even better. Take a nap with me.”

“A nap?” Jason repeated, even as he kicked off his boots. “I’m not tired—”

“No, but you’re comfy and warm, and I need my rest.” She tugged him down next to her. “So stop complaining.”

Cottage: Living Room

Brenda folded her arms. “It’s so weird,” she told Elizabeth. “I don’t even know what to do with the rest of my life. I was so sure I’d be dead in a few years.”

“It’s good news,” Elizabeth reminded her.

“I know. I just…I have to rethink. I can go back to work. I can have a life again.” Brenda bit her lip. “I don’t even know where to start.” She nodded at Elizabeth who rotated her shoulder and winced. “That looks like it still hurts.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s been a week but it’s still sore. Jason is finally letting me out of his sight again. I convinced him to go to the warehouse.” Elizabeth rubbed the spot on her shoulder where the bullet had dug through, grimacing. “Diane dropped off a bunch of paperwork for me. Financial stuff. Name changing.”

“Ah.” Brenda nodded. “Marriage stuff.” She tipped her head. “So you’re staying married, then.”

“I guess. I don’t know. She said Jason didn’t ask about any of it, but that Sonny had. So I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it. We were…figuring things out, and then—” Elizabeth looked at her hand, still bare.

“Then you got dumped in the lake and Jason almost died saving your life.”

“Yeah.” Elizabeth met Brenda’s eyes. “I came over to hear about your results, but I also—you kept looking. I know Sonny had given up hope, but you stayed out there. Thank you. For bringing him back.”

“He promised me that you and I would get out of this alive,” Brenda said softly. “I knew he would have done anything to make that happen. Jason’s always taken care of me, even when I didn’t want him to. I wasn’t going to let him go. And you would have been right there with me if you were able to.”

“Still. Jason and I have a chance to figure things out because of you. And—don’t you dare tell Sonny this—but if you hadn’t started that insane marriage idea, then Sonny wouldn’t have dragged me to Vegas. Even with everything that happened—I’m grateful.”

“It’s kind of romantic if you forget why Jason was at the chapel in the first place,” Brenda said. “He looked so pissed when he dragged you through that door.”

“Very romantic,” she said dryly. “Glaring at me and asking me if I wanted proof or not—”

“But you married him.” Brenda tilted her head. “What made you go through with it? I would have jabbed the pen in his eye.”

Elizabeth hesitated, then just smiled at her. “Thank you,” she said again, getting to her feet. “For bringing Jason home.”

“Thank you for showing up in Vegas or I might be Mrs. Jason Morgan right now.” Brenda shuddered. “No, thank you.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Elizabeth grinned when she came in and found Jason lining up a shot at the pool table. “Hey. I thought you would still be at work.”

“I was, and then Diane asked if you’d signed the papers she dropped off.” He set the pool cue on the table and walked over to her.

“Oh. Yeah. She said Sonny suggested if—if I needed it—” Elizabeth bit her lip. “I didn’t really know. I mean, we haven’t really talked about it since before—well, before,” she added.

Jason leaned against the desk. “We can just let it sit,” he told her. “It’s just contracts. I mean, it doesn’t change anything—”

“But it would,” she said. “If I took your name and you put me on your bank accounts. I don’t need that—”

“I know—”

“But there’s other stuff Diane gave me. Life insurance from the warehouse, survivor’s benefits—” She folded her arms. “We can leave it alone and ignore it, but I don’t know. Maybe we shouldn’t.”

Jason was quiet for a minute. “What do you want to do?”

“I went to see Brenda today to thank her for bringing you home.” Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck and he parted his legs so that he could hold her against him. “And she asked me why I said yes. Back in Vegas. When you shoved that pen at me.”

Jason winced. “I’m sorry—”

“She asked me why,” Elizabeth repeated, “but I didn’t answer her. Because it’s your question to ask. You wanted to prove that you loved me. And I said yes because I believed you. Because of how it happened. I didn’t until then.”

“That’s…” Jason frowned. “You believed me because I was angry and rude?”

“You were angry, rude, almost offensive, and demanding I marry you because I’d been driving you crazy. Yeah.” She brushed her lips against his. “You weren’t worrying about me anymore, trying to spare my feelings. Trying to say the right thing. I was terrified you’d regret it later.”

“I don’t—” Jason rested his forehead against hers. “I thought you would.”

“I don’t. It might not have been right for anyone else, but it was perfect for me. I’ve had the proposal before, I’ve had the white dress. But Lucky didn’t love me. You do.”

“I do.” Jason kissed her again, then gently pushed her back so he could reach into the top drawer of the desk. “While I was out…” He took out an envelope. “I picked these up.”

Elizabeth pursed her lips as she stepped back and slid out the plane tickets. Two round trip tickets to Venice, Italy, leaving in three days. “Italy,” she murmured.

“Starting in Venice, but you should see Florence. And Sicily. Naples,” he added. “I want to show it to you.”

She raised her eyes from the tickets to find him holding out a ring. It wasn’t in a box and he wasn’t on one knee. It was just a tiny little gold bond with a few rubies and diamonds inset, held between his thumb and index finger. “I thought—”

“You wanted to wait to get rings until it was right.” Jason straightened and reached for her hand. He slid it on her finger. “Well?” he asked, and he grinned as he said, obviously remembering that he’d said the same thing to her that crazy dawn in Vegas when she’d hesitated and he’d snapped at her.

How different things were now, barely even two weeks later.

Elizabeth smirked, reached behind him for the folder that Diane had left and grabbed a pen, scrawling her name on the only piece of paper that mattered—taking Jason’s name and making them a family.

“Does that answer your question?”

Jason framed her face in his hands and kissed her, her smirk disappearing. “Yeah, it does,” he whispered against her mouth. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

0

Written in 48 minutes. Did a spellcheck.

Clinic

Carly bit down on her nail as she watched Elizabeth twist and turn in the small bed, her face flushed. “How bad is the fever?” she asked the doctor who had bandaged and cleaned the gun shot wound.

“High,” the man said grimly as he pressed down on Elizabeth’s good shoulder to keep her from reopening the wound. “But we’ll get it down with the antibiotics.” He looked at her. “She was partially lucid when they brought her in, asking for Jason.”

“They haven’t found him yet,” Carly murmured, forcing the words past the lump in her throat. Oh, God, what if they didn’t find him? What if he had already drowned—what if she’d never see him again?

She couldn’t stand to think of him sinking below the cold, dark waters of the lake. Dying alone. Drowning, desperate for air.

She turned away from Elizabeth and went back into the outside room where Max was pacing, talking into the cell phone.

“Any news?” she asked him, even though she knew the answer. She could see it from his face. “Max?”

“Hey, Mrs. C. One second—okay. Okay.” Max closed the phone and slipped it into the pocket of his trousers. His suit jacket had been discarded somewhere, and his dark hair was still damp from being out on the water. “Sonny’s on the pier, and Brenda and Richie and the others are still looking.”

“It’s been—” Carly folded her arms tightly around her upper torso. “It’s been an hour. Almost ninety minutes.” She’d been counting down since the moment the call had come over the radio that Elizabeth had gone overboard. Sonny had snapped into action and left their car to start the rescue.

Seventy-six minutes.

“The current is strong in the lake, Mrs. C. You know that. We think Jason just got caught up. Part of that current in some areas can bring him closer to the shore,” Max assured her. “He might even be on his way home now—”

“I want to be on the docks when Sonny comes back,” Carly said. “You can stay here with Elizabeth, can’t you? She’s—I’m not her favorite person on a good day, but, um—” She rubbed a finger across her bottom lip. “It’s my fault.”

“How do you figure that?”

“They weren’t telling anyone they were married because they knew the PCPD would go after her. She never would have been in lockup if it wasn’t for me.”

“Mrs. C—” Max stopped. He didn’t deny her statement, and somehow, that comforted Carly. “I’ll stay here, and have someone drive you down.”

Pier 52

Sonny paced from the cargo door of the Corinthos-Morgan warehouse to the pier where the rescue boat had launched, then back again.

Eighty-seven minutes. He, too, had started the count from the moment Jason had gone into the water after Elizabeth. It had taken almost twenty minutes to find them, another twenty to get Elizabeth to shore—

They’d been searching for Jason for almost an hour. He wanted to believe, like Richie and some of the other guards who seemed to understand these things better, that he might get lucky and get swept towards another part of the shore. He had men scouring the all the places Jason could have washed up—

But part of Sonny was terrified that the next time he saw his best friend, his partner, his brother would be when his body floated to the surface of Lake Ontario.

He picked up the radio. “Any sign?” he demanded. There was a crackling and then an exhausted voice came back.

“No. Not yet. But I’m coming back without him,” Brenda said. “Elizabeth?”

“Holding her own. Doc says infection is setting in and so is a fever, but she’s on meds. I want Jason next to her when she wakes up.”

Brenda was quiet for a moment. “Sonny—”

“I know.” He released the button, pressed the radio to his forehead and forced himself to take a deep breath.

“Sonny?”

He turned at the sound of his wife’s voice. Carly strode out of the dark, her sweater pulled tightly around her. “What are you—”

“Max is at the clinic. I couldn’t stand—” She stared out over the dark water, the lights of Spoon Island barely visible through the fog. “I couldn’t stand being there. I was afraid she’d wake up and I’d have to tell her. I can’t—” Her voice faltered. “I can’t be the one to tell her.”

“She was on these docks the night Zander was murdered because of me,” Sonny said faintly. Carly frowned at him. “Jason thought she was still being guarded after she left the penthouse, but I reassigned Marco. I didn’t realize—”

“Sonny—”

“Jason was right. I was selfish. I didn’t care about Elizabeth. I didn’t think about who Marco was protecting, even though I could have asked. Weeks when Alcazar could have grabbed her.”

“It—it worked out,” Carly said weakly. “They went to Vegas—”

“Because I dragged her there and lied to her.  Maybe it worked out—but at the end of the day, if I were a better friend—” Sonny stared out over the lake again. “I wouldn’t be waiting for his body to be brought back.”

Clinic

Elizabeth’s throat was scratchy and dry, her eyes almost too heavy to lift—but she forced them open when she realized the man sitting next to her wasn’t Jason.

“M-Max?”

“Mrs. M.” Max’s smile felt forced, even as he squeezed her hand. “Your fever’s better. Good. Doc was worried—”

“Where’s—” She licked her lips, sweeping her tongue over the cracked and sore skin. “Jason. Where’s…”

“Uh, we’re, um, trying to answer that question now,” Max told her.

“He’s—” It came back to her in a rush—the freezing water, the way Jasons’ body had trembled under hers as he’d pushed the life belt over her head. He’d been so tired—he’d dragged himself and her towards that boat—

“Max—”

“Don’t you worry a bit, okay? Mr. C is out there, and Brenda and the guys—we’re not coming home without him. And you know, Jason’s like a cat. He’s got nine lives, and he’s only used like…” Max’s voice sped up. “Oh, don’t cry. No. We’re going to find him.”

He’d gone into the water with no wet suit, no life preserver, to save her life, and then had used every ounce of strength to drag her to safety.

She couldn’t lay here and wait for someone to tell her was dead.

“I need to—” Elizabeth twisted, reaching for the IV in her arm, tried to drag it out of her wrist with trembling fingers. “I need to go—I need to help—”

“No, no. Jason wouldn’t want this, okay? He made Mr. C promise he’d make sure you were safe.”

But Elizabeth wasn’t listening. She tore the tape off the IV, barely even feeling the sear on her skin, then pulled the needle out. “Clothes. I need clothes.”

“Jason is going to kill me,” Max muttered as he got to his feet, holding Elizabeth up as she stumbled out of bed.

“What’s going on in here?” the doctor demanded as he appeared in the doorway. “What are you doing out of bed? Max—”

“Uh, find me some clothes—” Max said, wrapping an arm around Elizabeth’s waist as she swayed.

“She needs to be back in bed—”

“No! No! If you don’t take me to the pier, I’ll just walk,” Elizabeth said, shoving away the doctor’s hands. “No—”

“Listen,” Max said as Elizabeth stumbled towards a closet, hoping to find clothes, “she means it. I’ll go with her, and bring her right back as soon as we know.”

“It’ll be on your head,” the doctor muttered but went to find some sweats to put the patient in.

Pier 52

Ninety-eight minutes since he’d gone into the water.

Ninety-nine.

Then one hundred and five. One hundred and ten.

“She’s still out there,” Carly said as Sonny finished listening to Brenda’s increasingly weak voice say they’d cleared another part of the lake but were going to keep looking. “It’s almost two hours.”

“She blames herself.”

“A lot of that going around.” Carly rubbed her arms. “Sonny. It’s nearly one in the morning. I—I don’t know if—could he still be alive? If he’s still in the water—” Her husband turned to look at her. “It’s just—it’s so cold.”

“I can’t stop. He wouldn’t.” Sonny put an arm around her, drawing her into his embrace. “You’re freezing. Why don’t you—”

“So that you can get the news alone when they find him?” she shook her head. “No. If it’s the worst—” She cleared her throat. “No. We’ll face it together.”

There were footsteps shuffling behind them and they turned to find Max coming out of the darkness, carefully walking just in front of Elizabeth who looked like death warmed over.

“What the—” Carly blinked. “What you are doing here?”

“I couldn’t—” Elizabeth took a deep breath as the chill settled into her bones. Oh, God, the water was so cold. She knew Jason didn’t always feel the cold but it didn’t mean it didn’t effect him.

What if he was already—

“I couldn’t sit there and wait. I needed—” She winced as she moved her shoulder. “I needed to be here.”

“But—”

“You could go instead,” Sonny said, “into the warehouse or something—”

“I’m okay—”

There was a crackling over the radio as Brenda’s voice came in. “Sonny? Sonny!”

“I’m here,” Sonny said, raising the device to his lips. “What’s up? Where are you?”

“We—we found—just—” There was shuffle as Elizabeth’s heart began to pound and Carly clenched her hands into fists.

“Sonny?”

Sonny closed his eyes and Elizabeth’s knees buckled — because it was Jason’s voice, exhausted and faint, crackling over the connection.

“Hey,” Sonny managed. “Hey. She found you.”

“We’re heading back in, but he wanted to know about Elizabeth—”

“I can do you one better.” Sonny held the radio up to Elizabeth’s lips.

“Jason?”

“Elizabeth. You’re…okay.”

Tears stung her eyes as the wind bit into her cheeks. She didn’t feel the cold anymore. She took the radio from Sonny with her good hand. “Yeah. Yeah. I’m okay. Are you?”

“….tired…” His voice faded out and Brenda came back on the line.

“He washed up about three miles out. We were right about the currents, but he’s tired. He swam a long time. We’re trying to keep him awake until we come back—”

“I can help. I can help. Jason.”

“…yeah?”

“Remember that winter at my studio? When you were always trying to sleep and I kept you up because I hum and talk to myself?”

She could almost hear the smile in his voice. “Yeah.”

“This time I can do it on purpose. Oh, come all ye faithful,” her voice warbled and Sonny laughed. Carly pressed her hands to her face as Elizabeth continued to sing off-key and hoarsely to keep Jason awake as Brenda and the guards brought him home.

0

Written in 57   minutes.

Elm Street Pier

Jason grabbed Brenda’s elbow, holding her back from stepping out onto Pier 52 and the launch that would take them out to Alcazar’s yacht, anchored just off shore. “Repeat the plan to me.”

“Do you think that I wasn’t listening the first eight times you made me do this?” Brenda demanded. “Do you think I’ll be stupid and—” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I know it’s not about that. It’s how you’re keeping your cool. Okay. We get on the boat. You demand that Elizabeth be allowed to send back to shore first and Luis will refuse. Then you’ll start negotiating which will distract him because he’ll be annoyed, and while he’s annoyed, Sonny’s men will be getting into position.”

“The second they take the shot,” Jason told her, “I’m going to grab Elizabeth. You go for the boat. Don’t think of anything. Just go.”

“I can do that. But I need you to make me a promise—no, don’t shake your head at me, Jason Morgan. Luis Alcazar is my problem. He came here because I wanted to go home and he wanted to make sure I didn’t have a home to come back to.”

“You are not responsible for his obsessions—”

“No. But he’s not your problem to fix. I came to you because I was desperate and because I knew I could count on you,” she confessed. “I only tried to blackmail you with Sonny and Carly because I was scared. But over the last couple of days, I remembered what I’d always tried to forget.”

Jason’s brows drew together in confusion. “What?”

“You looked miserable the day Sonny sent you to stop the wedding. And I forced you to tell me the truth in front of everyone. You tried to be kind. And I made it your fault. I blamed you because I couldn’t bring myself to admit the truth. Sonny didn’t love me enough to find a way out of it.”

“Brenda, that was a long time ago—”

“I know it, but it’s always been there between us. I resented you because it hurt too much to put the blame where it belonged. And because of that, I need you to know that if anyone isn’t coming home today, it’s me—”

“Brenda—”

“You and Elizabeth have a whole lifetime in front of you. I need you to promise me that you will get her out of this. I can survive Luis. He can’t break me, and I can live to fight another day. Elizabeth—he doesn’t care about her. So if it actually does come down to saving her or me, I want you to know that I expect you to get her home alive.”

“Brenda—”

“You don’t make promises you don’t try to keep. It’s something I’ve always respected about you. I’m not stepping foot on that yacht until you promise me.”

Alcazar’s Yacht: Upper Deck

“Ah, right on time.”

Elizabeth glowered at Alcazar as he watched the boat moving towards him with some satisfaction. She couldn’t do more than that since he’d gagged her and tied her hands together—he’d also lightly tied her legs together. She could shuffle along, but there’d be no running.

“Let’s see if your husband has some good sense,” Alcazar said. He grabbed her arm and dragged her forward.

Jason stepped on board first, sweeping a brief look over Elizabeth before turning back to reach out a hand to Brenda.

“Search him,” Luis said to one of the men standing nearby. “Confiscate any weapons.”

Jason’s glare could cut ice as he spread out his arms and allowed himself to be subjected to the pat down by the guards. “You think I’d take a chance with Elizabeth’s life on the line?”

“A man can’t be too sure.” Alcazar’s greedy eyes took in Brenda, his eyes lighting up with something dark and twisted that sent shivers down Elizabeth’s spine. “I know you think you have a way out of this, but I’m ready for anything you have planned.”

He looked at Elizabeth, lifting his dark brows. “You’ve been a lovely, charming companion. Even amusing. Did you know, Mr. Morgan—” He returned his gaze to Jason. “She thought perhaps this kidnapping was better than her last. She’s waiting on a third to decide for sure.”

Alcazar took Elizabeth by the arm and gently maneuvered her in front of him. Elizabeth wasn’t entirely sure what she expected—maybe he was attempting to start the trade with a sign of good faith?

Was he really going to trade her? Did Jason have a plan—

But then Alcazar released her arm and she realized only in the second before it happened what he’d planned.

He had pushed her so that her back was against the railing, then reached into his suit jacket.

There was a scream, a shout, and then just the glint of the yacht’s light on the metal of the gun before the night exploded with the sound of fireworks and a hot slice of pain arrowed through her shoulder.

The force of the shot sent her reeling and then Alcazar shoved her over—

Elizabeth tried to scream as her body twisted and rolled before she hit the freezing dark waters of Lake Ontario, but her cries were muffled by the gag in her mouth. She tried to swim, tried to move her arms, but quickly the current of the lake dragged her under.

___

Brenda choked back a sob as Luis shoved Elizabeth, bound and gagged over the railing of the yacht. With little more than an apologetic glance at Brenda, Jason launched himself overboard after her.

Brenda rushed to the railing, a crazy thought of trying to go after them, trying to help—but that wouldn’t solve anything.

“I’m sure Morgan had a plan,” Luis murmured. “I knew you’d make it clear to them that allowing the sweet Elizabeth to disappear with me into the night would be a terrible future for her. At first,” he added. “I could have charmed her. Make her fall in love with me.”

“The way I did,” Brenda said softly. She could see nothing at all. No figures. No thrashing in the water. Elizabeth had probably already sank down, unable to keep herself afloat, and Jason would never come back without her.

“I do have a way about me,” Luis said. He turned away to one of the guards. “It’s time to go. Let’s leave while Corinthos and his men are distracted—”

“I thought I did love you,” Brenda said. “I thought I didn’t have anything else to live for, and you were kind. I didn’t want to have sex with you, but you made me feel like I owed it to you.” She turned to look at him. “And I guess you’re not a man who minds when the woman lays still beneath him like a corpse.”

His mouth twisted and he flicked his eyes to the guards. “Leave us,” he snarled. In less than a minute, they were alone on the deck.  “That’s not how it was—”

“You thought you had this all it planned out,” Brenda said, “but I know you, Luis. And I knew you’d find a way to separate me from Jason. I also knew that you never thought I was very smart. Or bright. Your mistake was assuming that everyone saw me that way.”

“Brenda—”

“I knew you wouldn’t have me searched.” Brenda reached beneath the bulky sweater she wore, drew out the gun Jason had given her, and leveled the barrel at him. Luis’s eyes bulged  and he put his hands up.

“Brenda—”

The bullet struck him between the eyes, his head exploding around him as his body hit the deck, already dead.

There were footsteps rushing towards her as the guards came towards her, but Brenda just pointed the gun at them. “He’s dead,” she snarled. “And now you’ll do exactly what I say or you’re next.”

___

Jason hit the water less than two minutes after Elizabeth, but he knew it might already be too late. He knew the odds, knew that she’d been tied up, unable to swim—

But he was never going to leave her behind. Either they both went home or neither of them did.

On his third dive beneath the frigid waters, his muscles aching and his lungs screaming, he found her. She was twisting and desperately trying to break free to the surface, using her tied hands like a shovel, digging at the water—

Jason used what energy he had left to drag Elizabeth to the surface and tug the gag from her mouth. He could have wept when he heard her drag in a long, desperate breath.

“You found me,” she managed. He looped her hands over his neck, using his legs to keep them both afloat. “You found me.”

He pushed her sodden hair away from her face, smoothing his thumb over her lips. “I will always find you,” he promised. He kissed her, just for a minute, just to feel her mouth against his.

Jason twisted them, trying to see how far they’d drifted from the yacht. He had to get her to shore before they both froze. The lights of the yacht looked distant, but he knew his eyes could be playing tricks on him. He didn’t know if Brenda had been able to pull the gun on Alcazar, but by now Sonny’s men would be in the water.

He had to believe that.

“Untie my hands. I c-can s-swim,” Elizabeth managed, her teeth chattered. He lifted her arms from around his neck to try to undo the ropes, but his fingers were fumbling and his legs were tiring from keeping them both afloat. If he couldn’t get these ropes undone, the ones around her ankles would be impossible.

“J-Jason—”

He put her arms back around his neck. “Can’t waste time. You need to get to shore. She’d been shot and nearly drowned. A bullet in the shoulder, the waters of the lake—she’d die from blood loss and infection if he didn’t get her to shore—

“But—”

He ignored her protests and started swimming towards the yacht. He had to believe Brenda had been able to defend herself or that Sonny had been able to get on board—

Had to believe it—

His arms were screaming and his body felt numb, but Jason kept swimming, the feeling of Elizabeth’s arms around his neck reminding him that he needed to keep going. Needed to get her to shore.

“Jason! Jason!”

His brain was foggy—he couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t hear the screams of his names—was that in his head?

A bright light blinded him, but then he realized it was the small boat that had ferried them between the pier and the yacht. He saw Sonny’s face dimly and Brenda’s just behind him. The boat was still maybe twenty feet away, but he’d know them anywhere. “Jason!” Brenda called again.

“Elizabeth—” Jason pulled her arms off his neck as Sonny threw a life ring out towards them. “Elizabeth, you need to hold onto this.”

“J-Jason—” Her voice slurred as her eyes drifted closed. “Y-You, too—”

“You first.” He fitted the ring over her. “I love you.”

“I love you, too—”

Then Sonny was pulling on the rope, dragging Elizabeth away from Jason, towards the boat. Towards safety.

Jason continued to tread water, but everything hurt and he was so tired. So cold.

____

“Get—Get Jason,” Elizabeth’s words were barely audible as Sonny and two of their men dragged her onto the boat. Brenda was sobbing as she frantically pressed gauze to Elizabeth’s shoulder and Max swiftly cut through her bindings.

Sonny threw the ring out back into the direction of where he’d last seen Jason, but there was no tug on the line to indicate it had been grabbed.

And by the time they reached the spot where Jason and Elizabeth had been sighted, there was no one.

Sonny sucked in a breath or horror he frantically pushed the light around the surrounding water.

“Jason—where’s Jason—” Brenda demanded, scrambling away from Elizabeth. “Jason!” she screamed. “Jason!”

“We—” Sonny sucked in a harsh breath. He traded a look with Max. “How is she?”

“Pulse is thready. Her body core temp is low,” Max told him. “And we can’t stop the bleeding.”

“Jason!” Brenda’s scream disappeared in the rough waters of the lake. “Jason!”

“Brenda, we need to get Elizabeth to shore—she needs medical attention—”

“No, no! We can’t—” Brenda’s breathing was labored and choppy, sobs breaking her speech. “No, I can’t leave him in the dark, in the water! Please—please—” She turned back to the water, and for a wild moment, Sonny thought she meant to throw herself overboard.

“Brenda—”

“I’ll go in, Boss—” one of the men offered. “Get the boat to the yacht and send it back out. We’ll keep looking for him. He must have drifted. I’ll find him.” The guard, Richie, Sonny strugged to remember, started to shove off his shirt and pants, revealing a wetsuit underneath. “Jason thought we might need to be ready for anything.”

“Okay, okay. Go in, Richie. We’ll come back for you,” Sonny promised, and the guard slipped beneath the waves. Sonny gave the order for the other guard to turn the boat back to the yacht while Sonny turned to the still sobbing Brenda.

“If Elizabeth dies while we’re searching for Jason, he’d never forgive me,” Sonny said. “He made it clear to me. She comes home.”

“I can’t stand leaving him in the water. I remember—I remember accident. I remember hitting the water—” Brenda pressed her hands to her eyes. “I made it out of the car, and I swam for hours. Hours. It was so cold, so dark—I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep. I finally did. I can’t leave him here.”

“We’re not—”

“We are!” Brenda looked back to the spot where Jason had disappeared, where they could just see Richie diving beneath the water. “Promise you won’t stop looking until you find him. However you find him.”

“I won’t,” Sonny said, hoping like hell he wouldn’t be bringing Elizabeth’s husband home in a body bag.

0

Written in 49 minutes. Did a spell check but not a reread.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“How the hell do you just lose a prisoner?” Brenda demanded as Jason tried to absorb what Mac had just told him.

Elizabeth was missing. She was gone.

“He’s bluffing!” Scott declared to Mac. “You know it—”

Mac narrowed his eyes at the district attorney. “If he was bluffing,” the man began, “then why the hell is he here and not with her?”

“We drag him into the PCPD, he won’t be able to join her—we let him on the loose—” Scott continued.

“No one answered my damn question! How the hell does someone waltz into lock up and take a prisoner away?” Brenda stepped in front of Jason. “Until you give us some answers, you should get out—”

“Which brunette did you marry or is this one of those sister-wives things?” Scott snarled. Brenda hissed and started for the district attorney, but Jason grabbed her arm and dragged her back.

“She’s right,” Jason said flatly. “You locked my wife up without any damn evidence and now she’s missing. Go find her. I’ve got nothing else to say to you. Get out.”

“Let’s go before he changes his mind and lets Brenda loose—” Mac sent Brenda a surly look. “And she bites—”

“Damn right—”

As soon as the elevator doors had closed on the law enforcement officers, Jason and Brenda were across the hall, Jason not even letting Max announce them.

Carly, Sonny, and Michael were sitting at the table, eating, but Sonny surged to his feet as Jason and Brenda came in. “What’s going on?” he demanded. He looked to Carly who hurried to grab Michael and hand him off to Leticia. The nanny went upstairs.

“Elizabeth disappeared from lock up last night,” Jason said and now the words were really sinking in. There was only one person who’d go after her this way. He knew he hadn’t arranged for it—even he didn’t have the connections to get her out under the PCPD’s nose. Neither did Sonny.

That left one option.

“Damn it—” Sonny growled. “Do they think you did it?”

“Scott does,” Brenda said, “but Mac didn’t seem convinced. Sonny—Jason—” She looked at the enforcer. “Luis could have done this—”

“There’s no could have—”

The landline across the room rang. The four of them looked at it for a minute before Jason stalked over to snatch up the receiver. “What?”

“Did you enjoy your visit from the DA and Commissioner?”

The cool, unaffected tone had Jason’s blood boiling but he knew how to handle this. He had to turn it off. He couldn’t do what he’d done this summer—when he’d lost his temper in a fit of rage and fear and killed the man who knew Elizabeth was in that crypt.

“Not really.”

“I didn’t think you would. Your wife is quite lovely, Mr. Morgan. And very smart. Did you know she didn’t even fight?”

His mouth was so dry he could barely force out the words. “Where is she?”

“Oh, she’s fine. Still alive anyway. I’m enjoying the sight. She looks like my Brenda, you know. All that lovely dark hair, big eyes—they’re the wrong color, but I could tolerate it. There’s not much to her, is there? Delicate. Fragile. Just my type.”

His knuckles ached as he tightened his fingers around the receiver. “I want proof of life.”

“You’re a cold one, aren’t you? That’s why I’m negotiating with you. Mr. Corinthos is more hot-headed—”

“Proof of life,” Jason cut in. “Or I hang up.” He waited, hearing the rustle, hearing something in the background, hushed tones.

Finally — “Jason?”

He closed his eyes. “Elizabeth. Are you all right?”

“Yes. He didn’t—he didn’t hurt me. They drugged me and I woke up wherever I am. Jason, he wants to trade—don’t do it—”

Her voice disappeared as Jason imagined someone yanking it away and Alcazar’s voice came over the line. “Brave girl, trying to ruin my surprise. But I’m sure you saw this coming. I thought about forcing Sonny to trade his wife, but I’m not so sure he wouldn’t leave the harpy with me for punishment and keep what’s mine. I want Brenda.”

“I don’t control her—”

“I didn’t say she had to be willing. You know how to get the job done. If you want your wife back, you’ll make the deal.” There was a pause. “You might need some time to think it over. I’ll call back in ten minutes.”

The line went dead and Jason slowly set it back down on the hook, trying to order his thoughts. He wanted to go to the yacht, kill everyone in sight until he found her and bring her home—but that clearly wasn’t an option.

“Jason?” Sonny asked. “You talked to her?”

“She’s alive. He wants a trade.”

“For me.” Brenda folded her arms tightly across her chest. Her cheeks were pale as she spoke, “He wants me.”

“Yes.” Jason met her eyes. “That’s not on the table, Brenda. Even if I wanted to, Elizabeth would never agree to it.”

Brenda took that in, then looked at Carly who had remained quiet, almost frozen. “It’d be an easy choice for you, huh?” she said, her tone light but laced with fear.

“No.” Carly’s eyes were direct. “No. It wouldn’t be.” She turned her attention to Jason. “What can I do?”

“Michael is probably scared,” Jason told her. “Go upstairs. Sit with him. If I think of something else—”

“Okay. Okay.” Carly dragged her hands through her hair, took another deep breath, and started for the stairs — but stopped at the knock on the door and the raised voices outside.

Max opened the door as Audrey Hardy pushed her way in.

“I just had a call from Mac Scorpio,” Elizabeth’s grandmother said, her voice hard and tight. “My granddaughter is missing. Either you sent her out of the country or one of your enemies kidnapped her. Which is it?”

“Mrs. Hardy,” Sonny began but Audrey silenced him with one hot glare.

“I was going to approve of this,” Audrey began, shaking a finger at Jason. “I had my reservations, but I didn’t want to fight with my granddaughter anymore. But I was right! You’ll be death of her—”

“Uh, weren’t you championing my idiot cousin like eight seconds ago?” Carly snapped, stepping in front of the older woman and her friend. “Didn’t you give Elizabeth a lot of grief for leaving him at the altar? Didn’t Lucky almost get her killed like eight times because of Helena Cassadine?”

Audrey narrowed her eyes. “That’s different—”

“Yeah, because Helena is certifiably insane. But Elizabeth knew that. She’s a big girl who puts her panties on one leg at a time. She knows who Jason is. What he does. So why the hell do you respect her choices when she takes on super villains but not a guy who’d literally walk through fire for her?”

Audrey stared at Carly for a long moment before swallowing hard and meeting Jason’s eyes. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know, Mrs. Hardy,” Jason said honestly. “But I’m going to get her back. I promise you that.”

Alcazar’s Yacht

Elizabeth was getting very tired of being kidnapped. The first time, she’d been dragged out of her studio kicking and screaming but this time she’d been drugged and hadn’t known what was going on. She couldn’t decide which was worse.

She really didn’t like the ropes and gag—but at least she was being held in a room with port-holes that received sunlight. It wasn’t dark.

“You have the strangest look on your face,” Luis Alcazar murmured as he sauntered across the room. He removed the gag from her mouth. “What’s going through that head of yours?”

“Honestly? Trying to decide which kidnapping I liked better.” Elizabeth rolled her shoulders. “The ropes are chafing my wrist,” she said, “but the last time, I was shoved in a crypt and held in the dark for days.”

“So I’m preferable?”

“I didn’t enjoy the drugging or waking up somewhere strange. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens when I get kidnapped a third time. I’ll need a tie breaker.”

“Fair enough.” The man lowered himself into a chair across from her. “You expect to be kidnapped again?”

“You never know in Port Charles.” Elizabeth waited a beat. “This isn’t going to work.”

“You’re going to tell me Morgan won’t sacrifice Brenda for you, and I know that.” Luis lifted an elegant shoulder in a dismissive shrug. “She’ll offer herself, and he’ll tell her now, and they’ll come up with another plan.”

“So why bother if it won’t work—” She stopped. “Because Jason won’t get near this boat without Brenda.”

“Once she’s on board, I have a chance. Right now, I don’t have many options.”

“But she doesn’t want you—you’re rich and you’re not hideous,” she admitted. “You could have almost anyone—”

“Could I have you?” Luis asked coolly. When she scowled at him. “I can have anyone I want. I want Brenda. She was perfectly happy for a long time—”

“Until she wasn’t. What are you going to do? Lock her up? Even if you win this time,” Elizabeth said, “she’ll just try to leave again. Are you going to spend the rest of your life chasing after her, kidnapping and killing to keep her?”

“If I have to.”

Elizabeth cleared her throat. “What if Jason refuses to bring Brenda to the boat?”

“Oh, he won’t. Excuse me, dear. I have a call to make.”

Luis slid the cell phone out of his jacket pocket. “Morgan? Hello. I just wanted to make the terms of my deal crystal clear. You either bring Brenda to the yacht tonight at eleven to make the trade or I’ll sail away with the beautiful Mrs. Morgan to keep me company on the dark, cold nights. You can ask Brenda how that might go.” His lips curled into a smile. “Yes, I thought you’d see it my way.”

He closed the phone and placed it back in his jacket as Elizabeth just stared at him. “Questions?”

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

“What are you going to do?”

Jason turned to Carly who hadn’t gone upstairs even after Audrey had gone. They’d only heard his side of the conversation, making the appointment.

“I don’t know yet, but if he doesn’t see you by eleven tonight—” he looked at Brenda whose dark eyes were somber, “he said he’d leave and keep Elizabeth to keep him company. The way you did.”

Brenda cleared her throat, stared down at the ground. “Okay. Okay. Well, we have to keep that from happening at all costs.”

“Brenda—” Sonny began, but Brenda jerked her head up to stare at her former lover.

“No. You don’t get to ask that question. No one gets to ask that question.”

“But—”

“She said no,” Carly said, surprising Sonny and Brenda. “Whatever she doesn’t want to talk about sounds like it’s bad enough we don’t want it for Elizabeth. Do you need the damned details, Sonny?”

“No. No, I’m sorry,” Sonny said, startled by his wife’s defense, but no more so than Brenda who stared at the blonde with wide eyes.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Carly muttered. “I’m a selfish, narcissistic bitch. There’s no rule that says I can’t occasionally be a good person when I feel like it.”

“Brenda—” Jason began.

“I’ll go with you,” Brenda said. “Because Luis doesn’t make idle threats. He’ll leave. And you’ll be chasing him for the rest of your life. It’s her or me.”

“No. It’s neither of you. You’ll go only because he won’t let me on the boat without you. But we’ll go in with a plan. You and Elizabeth, you’re both getting off that damn boat.”

It was only later that Brenda realized that Jason hadn’t said anything about making sure they all came home.

0

Written in 61 minutes.

Port Charles Courthouse: Court Room

Jason’s mood turn another dark turn when he slid into a chair next to Sonny and Carly and saw Baldwin behind the prosecution’s table. Brenda, sitting behind them, leaned forward to touch his shoulder.

“Were you able to see her?” Sonny asked, twisting in his chair slightly. Carly, mercifully, stayed silent.

“No,” Jason muttered. “No visitors before they drove her over here.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. He hadn’t slept in two nights—not since Taggert had dragged Elizabeth out of their bedroom and put her in handcuffs.

“Sonny said Diane Miller is the best defense lawyer in the state,” Carly said. Jason frowned at her. “I mean, he’d only hire the best. This will be okay, Jase.”

Jason squinted at her. “Are you…trying to be nice?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Yes, and it hurts, so don’t start with me.”

The lawyer in question strode into the room and went to the front of the room, setting her briefcase on the table before turning to the small group behind her.

Jason lurched to his feet. “Did you see her? Is she okay?” he demanded, pitching his low so that Baldwin, despite his straining, could not hear them.

“She’s managing,” the redhead said after a long pause. “When this is over, you take that girl on a nice vacation where she can get some sleep.”

Jason started to reply, but a door opened by the judge’s bench and a bailiff led Elizabeth into the courtroom and he swore under his breath when she looked over at them, focused on him. She’d changed into prison blues, the shirt practically swimming on her. Her hair hung limply down to her neck, and her skin—always pale—was nearly translucent with thick, dark purple circles digging grooves beneath her eyes.

“Jason,” she said softly as the bailiff unlocked the shackles at her ankles.

“Why the hell is she shackled head to toe?” Diane demanded off the bailiff. “She’s not a violent criminal—uncuff my client! Now!”

“Sorry, ma’am—” the bailiff slid his eyes to Baldwin who just lifted a brow. “I got my orders. Said this one is a flight risk—”

“Flight risk—” Sonny lunged to his feet. “How the hell—”

“It’s okay,” Elizabeth said faintly. She swallowed. “It’s just for a little while, isn’t it?” Her eyes found Jason’s. “Diane said they’ll set bail, and I’ll go home—” Her voice faltered. “So I can manage.”

Jason fisted his hands at his side, but he didn’t think getting himself arrested for pummeling a district attorney would help Elizabeth’s case. He glared at the bailiff, before looking back at Diane. “Whatever you have to do—get her out of here today.”

“I’ll do my best—” Diane turned as the bailiff hooked Elizabeth’s cuffs to the table, her lips thinning with distaste.

“Girl probably weighs a hundred pounds soaking weight,” Sonny muttered as he took his seat. “And they think she’ll overpower the damn cops—”

“They’re doing it rattle Jason,” Brenda said quietly. Jason turned to the brunette. “You know it. Baldwin just wants you to feel guilty.” She looked at Scott who was deliberately not looking at them. “Don’t let him see you get upset. It’s what he wants.”

“Brenda’s right,” Carly said, “and it’s a measure of my love for you,” she told Jason who just blinked at her, “that I’m admitting that.”

The bailiff called the hearing to order and the judge stepped up to the bench to begin the hearing. Jason’s blood boiled as Scott laid out the evidence against Elizabeth — she’d been on the pier when Zander had been killed, she had motive —

“And Your Honor, Elizabeth Webber fled the jurisdiction immediately after the crime,” Scott began.

“Objection,” Diane said coolly, not even bothering to stand. She sounded nearly bored. “My client traveled to Las Vegas and returned to Port Charles within twenty-four hours. She was already in the jursidiction when the PCPD questioned her. I find your characterization of her actions outrage and spurious—”

“She went to Las Vegas in the middle of the night on a private flight that wasn’t scheduled,” Scott shot back. “And she only came back when she’d married the witness in her case—”

“I’m sorry, since when is Jason Morgan a witness to a murder he wasn’t in town for?” Diane said pleasantly. “You have the receipts. His plane took off almost twenty minutes before Zander Smith was murdered—”

Scott opened his mouth, but the judge cut him off. “Neither one of you is earning any points here,” he said dryly, drawing both their attention. “You’ve made your case, D.A. Baldwin.” He looked at Diane. “How does your client plead?”

Diane nodded to Elizabeth. “Not guilty,” Elizabeth said quietly.

“All right. The court will reflect that and we’ll bound this over for trial.” The judge picked up a pen. “What’s the position on bail?”

“Since the defendant has married a man of considerable means with property in several countries without an extradition treaty,” Scott said, “we request that bail be denied.”

“Mmmm.” The judge looked at Diane. “I imagine you oppose that?”

“We do. My client has no criminal record and has ties to the community. She’s lived here since she was a teenager—”

“Which was practically last year,” Scott muttered.

“And her grandmother still lives here. In addition, her husband has ties to Port Charles. His parents are doctors at General Hospital, and the Quartermaines are prominent citizens. My client is the opposite of a flight risk.”

The judge studied Diane for a long moment, then focused on Jason in the audience with a furrowed brow. “I find your argument, Miss Miller, to be without basis. Your client’s husband has refused all ties to the Quartermaines in the past, and Miss Webber might not have been convicted of any crimes, but I do see several arrests on her record. I am denying bail at this time—”

“What?”

“That’s crap!” Carly announced at the same time Sonny sputtered out his protest, but Jason couldn’t find the words. Elizabeth didn’t look at him, but her head bowed slightly.

“Your Honor, this is without merit—”

“Your client is accused of murdering an ex-lover. She fled the jurisdiction, married a man who can get her out of the country before I finish my lunch,” the judge said dryly. “She gets no brownie points because she came back. You should have chosen your associates better, Miss Webber.” His voice hardened. “Or should I call you Mrs. Morgan?”

The judge banged the gavel as Diane was still sputtering in outrage. “Court is adjoined. Please return the defendant to lockup—”

“Wait—” Diane hissed. “Can my client have a minute with her husband—”

“So they can make plans for escape?” Scott said with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh, I am going to call my mother,” Carly told Scott. “You’re never getting her back after this—”

Scott made a face, but the judge nodded at Diane. “She can have a minute. One minute,” he added. He paused. “And bailiff, I think we can leave off the shackes. While she might be a flight risk, she’s unlikely to overpower you.”

The bailiff reluctantly uncufed Elizabeth from the table, and she stood turning to Jason. “I’ll be okay,” she told him.

“I am going to appeal,” Diane said immediately. “This is clearly retribution—”

“I’ll come as soon as they let me,” Jason promised her. “As often as they—” He took her hands in his, wincing at the way they trembled slightly. “I’m going to make this go away.”

“I know you’ll try.” Elizabeth licked her lips and looked up at him. “I guess it’s a good thing you didn’t get me a ring after all.” Her voice was nearly unaudible as she continued. “It’s not like they wouldn’t have let me keep it in here.”

He leaned down to brush his lips against hers but the bailiff jerked her back. “None of that,” he snapped. “Time to go—”

“I’ll be okay,” Elizabeth promised him. “I can handle this.”

And then she was gone, dragged through the door and back to lock up.

“How long before the appeal?’ Jason demanded of Diane. “If you file it now—”

“It might take a few days.” Diane paused. “Maybe even a week. Mr. Morgan—”

“Get it done,” Jason snapped and stormed out of the court room.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason stripped off his suit jacket and tossed it on the sofa before turning back to glare at the trio that had followed him in. “Sonny, who do we know at the PCPD that will get us into lock up?”

“Jason,” Carly began, “she’ll be okay for a few days—”

“Carly, go home and call your mother,” Sonny told his wife and she frowned at him. “Make her yell at Baldwin. If Baldwin agrees to bail, the appeal won’t take as long.”

“But—”

“It’s something you can do for me,” Jason told her, and that seemed to convince the blonde who still looked unhappy as she left. To Sonny, he said, “Get me a way into lock up. If that appeal doesn’t go through—”

“This is my fault,” Brenda said, drawing both of their attention.

“Brenda—” Jason began.

“No, if I hadn’t had that insane plan to blackmail you into marrying me, you wouldn’t have been on the plane when Elizabeth needed you,” she insisted. “You would have been here—”

“It shouldn’t have mattered,” Jason said. “And it’s not your fault.” He focused on Sonny who seemed to know what was coming. “It’s yours.”

Sonny wrinkled his nose. “Look, it’s not like I knew Zander was dead—”

“She came to you because she’d been shot at, and you didn’t handle it. You didn’t make sure the pier was clear. You lied to her, dragged her across the country — and now the PCPD is using that to keep her locked up—”

“If I hadn’t dragged her across the country, you wouldn’t be married to her right now!” Sonny retorted. “How about a little gratitude?”

Before Jason could lunge for his friend’s throat, Brenda slid in front of her ex-fiance and spread her arms wide. “You’ll only feel better for a hot minute if you pound his face in right now,” she told Jason. “You can yell at him later.”

“You dragged her across the country and you took away her guard,” Jason retorted. “Marco should have been with her. She never would have been on that pier if you’d thought about anyone other than yourself!”

“Hey, she wasn’t my girlfriend to take care of!” Sonny shot back. “You didn’t notice she didn’t have a guard for two weeks—how is that my fault?”

“Okay, so you’re going to go,” Brenda told Sonny. She opened the door and started to shove him through it. “Go get the guy at the PCPD while I keep Jason from murdering you on the spot—”

“I am sick and tired of being treated like I did something wrong,” Sonny said, shoving Brenda’s hands away from him. “You two were the insane ones, flying to Vegas to get married! I stopped it! And if I hadn’t brought Elizabeth—”

“You mean if you hadn’t lied to her about me being hurt? You used her — and why the hell do you care what Brenda and I do?” Jason demanded. “How is it any of your business? If you’d stayed here and protected Elizabeth, none of this would be happening! I’ve spent most of my life protecting your family and cleaning up your messes—”

“What the hell does that mean—”

“You refused to let me tell Elizabeth you were alive—you made me lie to her—”

“No, you were the one that lied to her. I told you to send her to the island so you—”

“You know,” Brenda said, almost conversationally as if the two men weren’t shouting at each other, “this might be the first time I’m glad you left me at the altar and you sent Jason to do it.”

That shut them both up as they stared at her. “What the hell—”

“You sent Jason to dump me, and I blamed him for a long time. But you’re just a coward, Sonny, when it really matters.” She turned to Jason. “He’s never going to admit he was wrong, so just drop it. Focus on what matters and that’s getting Elizabeth out of jail.”

She then looked back Sonny. “Get out and don’t bother coming back if you can’t be productive.”

Then Brenda shoved Sonny over the threshold and slammed the door. She exhaled in a huff. “He’ll never admit that the reason he came to Vegas to stop us was because he was jealous. He doesn’t want me, but he doesn’t want anyone else to have me.” She cleared her throat. “And he’ll never admit that he didn’t see Elizabeth as a person in that moment. He saw her as a tool to be used to get what he wanted. He knew you’d never go through with it if she was there to watch.”

Jason took a deep breath. “I already knew it was a mistake. At the altar. Before they showed up. I’m sorry, Brenda, but I was already going to stop it.”

“Good. It would have been wrong. Funny,” she added, “but wrong. And don’t let Sonny take credit. You and Elizabeth might have gotten married because you were in Vegas, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t make the decision. Maybe it was insane, but something good came out of it.”

“Good? Because of it, she’s trapped in jail—”

“No, she’s in jail because the PCPD refuse to believe you didn’t do this. You know that Scott probably thinks you’re lying about who was on which flight. He thinks you sent her ahead as an alibi for you, and then you came later. I don’t know this Zander guy, but I feel bad for anyone who cared about him. They don’t care who did this, not really.” Brenda took a deep breath. “Now, how do we get Elizabeth out of this?”

PCPD: Jail

Elizabeth had hoped that anoher woman would be sent to lock-up so that she wouldn’t be alone on the cell block. There were no windows, no way to see the outside world. Just the cinder block and bars and artificial, fluorescent lighting that made her eyes hurt—

Elizabeth lay on the cot, staring at the ceiling, hoping that something would change—that Diane would perform miracles—she didn’t want Jason to think she couldn’t handle this—but she wasn’t sure if she could really get through another night without sleeping—

The lights flickered, then went turned off, plunging the area in inky darkness so thick Elizabeth couldn’t even see her own fingers.

“Hello?” she called. “The lights—”

Then she heard footsteps and the clanking of metal as her cell opened. “Please—what’s wrong with the lights—”

A hand clamped over Elizabeth’s mouth and then something pricked her arm. “What—” Her head felt whoozy—everything started to spin—

Then she remembered nothing else.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

“Did Diane say anything about when she expects the appeal to be heard?” Brenda asked as Jason shrugged into his leather jacket the next morning. “Will the PCPD let you see her today?”

“They better,” he muttered. He needed to look at her for longer than five minutes, to hold her hand, to touch her—to be sure she was okay. The phone on his desk rang. “Yeah? What—”

“I’m sorry, Jason, the DA and the Comissioner wouldn’t wait—they said they had a warrant—”

“Damn it,” Jason muttered. He slammed the phone down and picked it up to call Diane. “The cops are on their way up,” he told Brenda. “Probably to arrest me—”

“But—”

There was a harsh knock, almost a pounding. Jason held out his phone. “Finish calling Diane,” he told Brenda, then went over to the door.

He barely had it open before Scott shoved his way in, followed by a more subdued Mac.

“Where the hell is she?” the district attorney spat out. “Where did you take her? I swear to God, Morgan, I will haunt you until the day you die—”

“What hell are you talking about?” Jason demanded as his blood began to pound in his ears. “Elizabeth’s at the PCPD—” he looked at Mac.

“When we did the count this morning,” the commissioner said, feeling slightly sick, “she was missing. Elizabeth is gone. And judging by the look on your face—” he sighed, “I’m guess she’s not on her way to Dubai.”

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