Category Archives: Flash Fiction

July 28, 2020

This entry is part 15 of 16 in the Flash Fiction: An Everlasting Love

Written in 20 minutes. No time for rereading.

Two days after the town of Diamond Springs lined up outside of the jail, Jason walked back to the cells, keys in hand.

Ric looked disheveled—his shirt was wrinkled and dirty, stubble on his face. He scowled, rising off the thin cot in the corner. “It’s about damned time you let me out! I’ll have your job for this—”

“No need,” Jason said simply. He unlocked the cell. “I’ve already submitted my resignation. Circuit judge is out front, waiting for you.”

Ric narrowed his eyes as he walked towards Jason who slapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. “Who’s the judge?”

“No one you know,” Jason told him. He grabbed his upper arm and shoved him towards the front of the jail. “You’ve been charged with sixteen counts of forgery and twelve counts of extortion. You know what that means if convicted, don’t you?”

Ric’s face paled as he turned to look at Jason. “Extortion—”

“Same sentence as stealing a horse, and out here, that’s still hanging offense.”

“No—”

“Did you really think that no one was ever going to stop you? You stole people’s homes, their life savings—”

Jason steered the banker into the room where the judge held his hearings when he came to town once a month. “And now it’s time to pay.”

—

He sent a telegram to Elizabeth as soon as the judge passed sentence on Ric—with the testimony of the people in town, the documents that he and Dillon had unearthed from the bank, including the mortgage foreclosure papers he’d prepared for the Webber ranch—

It had only taken the judge twenty minutes to convict Ric and sentence him to hang. Ric’s face had turned a ghastly white—he’d never expected anyone to come for him—to turn on him. But as his grandmother had told him—sometimes it just took one person to stand up and say no.

Elizabeth had responded to his telegram with a brief message — simply Thank You. He didn’t know how to take it—how to interpret it. She’d boarded that train with her son, and now he wondered if she really had meant that night to be one last memory—if she’d really intended it to be a goodbye.

“I am deeply unhappy to learn you won’t take back the resignation,” Lila declared as she swept into the jail the day Ric was due to be executed. “Clearly, we have a need of you here—”

“Grandmother.” Jason got to his feet. “I came home to take care of you, but to be honest, once I got here—” He looked around. “I’m not sure this is where I’m supposed to be.”

“Nonsense. Who is going to do this job as well as you? Barely two months back home and you’ve already freed this town from the clutches of that dreadful man.” Lila sniffed. “I won’t hear of it.”

Jason shook his head, walked over to the post and took down his hat. “Elizabeth can’t live here anymore,” he said quietly. He met his grandmother’s eyes. “She made that clear before she left. She knows the ranch is hers again, free and clear. Patrick is coming back to arrange a sale. She’s not coming back.”

“I can understand why she would be reluctant to stay, but surely, you could speak some sense into her. If she doesn’t want the ranch, why, you’ll inherit my home here in town—”

“I can’t ask her to come back, so I’ll go to her.” Jason put on the hat. “If you’ll excuse me, Grandmother, I have to attend the execution.”

“I do wish we didn’t have these in public,” Lila grumbled as she followed him out of the jail. She wrinkled her nose at the lot next door where the gallows had been erected. “Such things should be done in private.”

“Well, you try to tell this crowd that they don’t get to see Lansing swing from the rope.” Jason looked at the crowd already gathered. It didn’t sit well with him—he’d never been a fan of sentencing a man to death for anything less than murder — but maybe Lansing deserved it nonetheless for what he’d done to the Lewis family. Alexander and Peter would likely still be alive if Ric hadn’t stolen their inheritance.

“How soon will you go to San Francisco?” Lila asked.

“This is my last official duty.” Jason unpinned the badge, handed it to her. “I’ll be boarding the train tomorrow morning—”

Lila sighed. “Well, if I can’t talk you out of it—”

“You can’t—” Jason started to walk over to the lot, then stopped as someone stepped out of the crowd, towards him. He stared at her for a long moment. “Elizabeth.”

“Well, perhaps you may need this after all—” Lila took his hand and put the badge in it, then walked away as Elizabeth approached.

July 27, 2020

This entry is part 14 of 16 in the Flash Fiction: An Everlasting Love

Written in 20 minutes. No time for rereading.

Elizabeth stirred, feeling the bed beneath her sink and shift slightly. She opened her eyes, then rolled over to find Jason pulling on his clothes. She blinked blearily, then smiled lazily for a moment—

Then remembered. The smile faded, and she slowly sat up, holding the coverlet to her chest, watching Jason fasten the buttons on his pants, then tug his shirt over his bare chest. “Is it dawn?”

Jason nodded with a regretful smile. He slid the curtain away from the window a bit and Elizabeth could see the gray light creeping over the horizon in the distance. He rounded the bed and sat on the edge of it to lean forward and kiss her softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him there—

SHe wanted to stay in this moment, live here forever—pretend that this could be her life, her future—

“I didn’t want anyone to see my horse,” he murmured against her lips. Jason pulled back slightly, dancing his fingers over her temple. “Unless…” he tipped his head to the side, searched her eyes. “Stay,” he said. “Last night…Elizabeth—”

“Part of me wants to,” she admitted. “But I just—” Elizabeth bit her lip, touched his lips. “I want to, but I can’t live here—with all these memories. I stayed because I was terrified of what Ric might try if I left.” She sighed. “Until he tried to take my son, and I realized there was a line. There was a limit. I’d run forever if it meant Cameron was safe.”

Jason dipped his head, then nodded and stood, starting to button his shirt again. Elizabeth winced, slid her legs onto the floor, her toes brushing the cold hardwood. “Jason. I know you think this will work. I want it to work. I want Ric to pay—”

“But you can’t trust it.”

“I can’t.” Elizabeth’s throat tightened. “I don’t want to have the same argument again. Please. I—”

“You have no reason to trust me. To trust anyone,” Jason told her. He pulled her to her feet, framed her face in his hands and kissed her again. “And maybe you’re right—maybe this won’t work. You need to make sure you’re safe—that Cameron is safe. So go to San Francisco.”
‘
Elizabeth closed her eyes, let her head fall against his chest as he held her in his arms. “Will you—will you send me word? Tell me what happens?”

“Yeah. I will.” He kissed her one more time. “I’m not giving up on us yet,” he told her softly. “But I understand why you are.”

Elizabeth’s lips curved into a smile as she tightened the coverlet around her bare body. “Clearly, I didn’t give up after everything else that happened. So—maybe I’m not giving up either. I’m…just taking a break.”

“I promise that I will find a way to make this right and give us the chance we deserve,” he told her — then went to the door and left.

—

Jason didn’t go to his rooms after leaving the ranch — he knew he wouldn’t be able to find any more sleep, not after spending a few hours in the bed of the woman he’d loved all his life.

He’d let her down in so many wany ways — he wasn’t going to let anything come between them again.

When the clock on the court house rang that morning at eight, Jason was in the jail, pouring over documents that they’d taken from the bank after the arrest, looking for the evidence he knew the circuit judge was going to need.

Then he heard the train—the whine of the locomotive as it pulled out of the station on the other side of town—

He knew Elizabeth and Cameron were on board—he knew she wouldn’t change her mind at the last minute, so it was important to make sure this counted—

That Ric Lansing paid for everything he’d ever stolen from Elizabeth and anyone else.

“Hey, Jase—” Dillon came in, shoved his hat up his head. “Something very strange is happening outside.”

Jason blinked, then got to his feet. He walked over to his cousin, then stepped out of the building onto the sidewalk. There was a crowd lining up down Main Street, and first line — his grandmother.

Lila lifted her chin, met his eyes. “I heard that you’ve arrested that scoundrel.”

“I did—” Jason blinked, looked down the line to see Lucas Jones, his aunt Felicia, and some of the bank tellers—twenty or thirty more people behind them. “What is this? Did he threaten you?”

“Yes. And that’s why I came. I paid a few visits after I received word yesterday.” Lila leaned heavily on her cane. “I thought I was the only person Ric Lansing terrorized, blackmailed, but I wasn’t.”

Jason frowned, looked at the line again. “Are all of these people—”

“We’ve all been scared,” Felicia Jones murmured. “He threatened to take my home—”

“He threatened to take my mother’s store,” Lucas reported.

“I wasn’t strong enough when you needed me to be,” Lila told Jason. “And I think that I helped Ric take something very precious from you. I don’t want to help him anymore.”

“But—but why now?” Jason shook his head. “Why didn’t anyone say anything before?”

“We all thought we were the only ones,” Felicia admitted. She folded her arms. “But we’re not.”

“Sometimes, dearest,” Lila said, touching his arm. “It just takes one person to stand up first.”

July 21, 2020

This entry is part 13 of 20 in the Flash Fiction: Desperate Measures

Written in 20 minutes. No time for typos or edits. I mean it. I do not reread this before I post them, and I am aware there are errors. Please assume I have basic spelling comprehension and know how to reread and revise. Thank you. I can’t write almost 1000 words in 20 minutes if I worry about spelling or typos.

When Jason and Elizabeth went into the living room, they found that Diane and Cameron had let Drew into the apartment. He immediately strode over to Elizabeth and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Hey. I’m sorry I didn’t come by earlier—I didn’t—the PCPD wouldn’t tell me if you’d made bail—”

Elizabeth hugged him back briefly, then stepped back. She couldn’t forget that this was another man who had chosen Sam, who had protected her, She folded her arms, stepping gingerly away from the brothers, looking over at Cam. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Diane and I worked out a statement in case the PCPD gets a material witness order.” Cam flicked his eyes at his lawyer. “And she works for me now.”

“I should be able to buy a very nice pair of discount sneakers…on clearance,” Diane said dryly. She cleared her throat, looked at Elizabeth. “I’m…sorry…if what happened before gave you reason not to trust me. But—”

“It’s—” Elizabeth bit her lip, looked at Jason for a moment, before returning her attention to the redhead. “It’s fine. It’s just been a lot today.” She looked at Drew. “What are you doing here?”

“I—” Drew hesitated. “I’ve been trying to find Sam. I believe you—” he told Jason quickly who had furrowed his brow. “I—I hate that I do, but with what happened last year—” He looked Diane. “It could be her.”

“It is her,” Jason said flatly. “Elizabeth remembered seeing her there.”

Drew closed his eyes, absorbed the hit, and nodded. “Okay. Okay.” He dragged his hands through his hair, then down his face. “Okay. I tried to find her, but she’s not returning her calls. Alexis hasn’t heard her—”

“Spinelli is tracking her down,” Jason said. He folded his arms, then frowned. “What happened last year?”

“Sam got sick,” Elizabeth said softly. “After Scout was born, she was really sick. And she had some sort of—” She hesitated, looked at Drew. “What did Finn say? A kind of psychotic break?”

“Toxoplasmosis,” Drew clarified. “She—she tried to kill Sonny.” His smile was grim. “I ended up shot and nearly died. It was…she’s okay. She recovered—at least that’s what the doctors told her—”

“That’s what she said the doctors told her,” Diane pointed out. She folded her arms. “The PCPD dropped charges—they didn’t mandate reports from the doctors, so unless you spoke to Finn directly…?” she trailed off and Drew shook his head.

“No. I never—I took her word for it. I—” He looked at Elizabeth. “I thought she’d recovered, but maybe—maybe it explains it. I mean—I know she’s done terrible things, Elizabeth, but this—this is different.”

“Is it?” Elizabeth asked numbly. “You have no idea.” She closed her eyes. Maybe it was easier for Drew to believe that Sam was sick. Maybe he was right.

“Mom?” Cameron asked quietly. “What’s wrong? Why—what are they talking about? I know—I know Sam was part of what happened when the house caught on fire—she shouldn’t have been following Jake around—”

“Following Jake?” Jason said, sharply. “What?”

“She thought he was—she thought he was in trouble,” Drew said, almost faintly as if it sounded as ridiculous now as it had then.

“He got hit by a car—again—running away from her,” Elizabeth told Jason. “She came into my home, accused him of doing things that would make Drew want to come back. He got scared, and she fell down the stairs. He ran away and nearly died. Again.”

Jason exhaled slowly. “I—I didn’t know.”

“You wouldn’t. We don’t talk about Sam’s crimes very often.” Elizabeth flicked her eyes to Drew who couldn’t meet her gaze. “Somehow when she does it, there’s an explanation. A justification.”

“Elizabeth—”

“Mom—”

“Do you remember when Jake was kidnapped—the first time?” Elizabeth asked Cameron. “You were young. He had just been born.”

“Yeah.” Cameron rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. Everyone was crying a lot, but Jason found him. Brought him home.” He managed a faint smile. “I remember that.” His eyes widened. “Wait. Did—”

“Sam watched Maureen Harper take my child out of the stroller and walk away from him,” Elizabeth told her son. “Then she refused to let me and Lucky go on her show to beg for him back. She came over to my house — knowing where my baby was, knowing he was Jason’s son — and told me we were the same. We’d both lost a child. She never told the truth, by the way.”

“She would—” Drew trailed off, looked at Jason. “She would have—”

“No.” Jason met Elizabeth’s eyes. “No. She probably wouldn’t have.” He cleared his throat. “You never told me she came to the house.”

She raised a brow. “If I had, would you still have forgiven her? Married her?”

“I don’t understand,” Cameron said, holding up his hands. “I don’t—Sam basically kidnapped my little brother.” He turned his eyes on Drew and Jason, who both had the memory. “She has tormented my mother since Jake was born — I know that. I’ve been there for that. She made sure that Drew left Mom and enjoyed it, by the way,” he added sarcastically, “and you’re telling me—that you still—you both still—” He looked at his mother. “I don’t understand.”

“That makes two of us.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “But as I am often reminded by everyone, I am not entirely innocent. So let’s put all that away. Sam hates me and has for years. I can understand if she’s sick again that it might have escalated like this. So—” she faced the brothers who were both extremely uncomfortable. “Did Spinelli find her?”

“He hasn’t called yet,” Drew said, looking at Jason. “Did he call you?”

“No.” Jason took out his cell phone. “I’ll check in with him again.

—

Spinelli had found Sam, but he hadn’t told either Drew or Jason. He wanted to help—he wanted to fix things. He was sure it was all a giant mistake.

He knew Sam—he knew she wouldn’t do something so awful to Elizabeth and her children. Jason and Drew—they were wrong.

So he went by himself to the motel where he’d tracked down one of her aliases and knocked on the door. “Sam? It’s Spinelli.”

Sam answered the door a moment later, then stepped back. “Spinelli, come on in.”

A bit unnerved at the welcome, at the empty expression on her face, Spinelli gingerly stepped past her, into the rundown room. He looked around that water stained walls, the cracked drywall. “Sam, what are you doing here? No one—your kids—they haven’t heard from you.”

“They’re safe,” Sam said, closing the door. She turned to face him. “I had to make sure they stayed safe.”

Spinelli swallowed hard, searched her eyes, looking for some hint, some trace of the woman he’d considered a member of his family for so long. “Have you heard the news? What happened to Franco? And Elizabeth? At her house last night.”

“Yes. I know what happened.” Sam’s lips curved into a smile. “It’s about time someone ended his existence, don’t you think?”

“Uh. Yeah. Sure. But, uh, don’t you—I mean, Elizabeth was hurt—attacked,” Spinelli told her. “And she’s been charged with his murder—”

“I saw that.” Sam leaned against the door, her smile deepening. “Karma, ain’t it a bitch?”

Spinelli blinked, then shook his head again. “No—”

“She protected a rapist for years.” Sam shrugged a shoulder. “And now she’s paying for it. People generally get what they deserve, Spinelli. And she deserves this.”

July 20, 2020

This entry is part 13 of 16 in the Flash Fiction: An Everlasting Love

Written in 20 minutes.

The arrest of Ric Lansing by the still relatively new sheriff spread through Diamond Springs like wildfire, even to the ranches outside of the town proper. Patrick had brought the news to Elizabeth himself when he’d come out to take a look at the horses whose sale he was arranging on Elizabeth’s behalf.

Elizabeth had been stunned that Jason had not only meant it when he said he was taking on Ric directly, but that he’d followed through. She was sure the charges wouldn’t stick — Ric had stolen enough money over the years to keep him out of trouble—but no one had stood up to Ric like that before. She’d tried to report him — had tried to talk the previous sheriff into helping her and Cameron — but no one had believed her.

Jason had.

She wondered if Jason had planned to arrest Ric that day or if he had done so more quickly because she was leaving in the morning. She wondered if he’d come to see her, if he’d try to stop her again.

And believing he might, Elizabeth waved Gail Baldwin goodbye one last night as her son picked up for the ride back to town, tucked Cameron in tight for his last night in his room, then went to sit on her porch.

The moon was high over her head, after midnight when she caught sight of his horse in the distance. When Jason tied up the reins, Elizabeth stood and walked into the pool of moonlight. He blinked at her, then took a deep breath.

“You’re…awake.” He stepped onto the first step as she stood at the top of the staircase.

“I thought you might come.” She stepped down one step, then arched a brow. “What were you planning to do if I wasn’t?”

“Sit there.” Jason nodded at the bench. “Until morning. To stop you from leaving. I arrested Ric—”

“Patrick told me.”

They met on the middle step, but he didn’t touch her. Didn’t reach out to take her hand. She could only dimly see him in the moonlight.

“He’ll bribe someone,” Elizabeth told him, but she smiled faintly. “But he’ll spend a day or two in jail. That—that brings me more joy than it ought to—”

“He won’t buy himself out of this,” Jason insisted with a shake of his head. “He already tried to contact someone—but he didn’t remember something important.”

Elizabeth frowned, tried to search his gaze, but she couldn’t in the dark. “What?”

“My family—your family—the Lewises—they’ve been here longer. You remember Jimmy?”

“Jimmy? Your cousin?” Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Not really. He only visited a few times from San Francisco—”

“He’s a politician. And he remembers Dr. Lewis. And your grandparents. He also—” Jason exhaled slowly. “He was one of Ric’s victims. In exchange for political favors, Jimmy got to keep his house.”

“Then—”

“When he realized I could arrest Ric, he contacted two others in the legislature who had been exhorted by Ric. Ric played too many games. Went after too many people. He got greedy.” Jason reached for her hand. “They were just waiting for someone to stop him.”

Her lips trembled as she took that in, then she closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I wish I could—I know you believe it. I know you’re not lying to me, but I—”

“You’ve lost too much,” Jason finished. “I know. And no one else in this town stood up to Ric. You still plan to leave.” He rubbed his thumb over her palm. “I know.”

“I thought it would be enough to save the ranch,” Elizabeth admitted, “but I can’t. It’s not. Every where I look, I see something he destroyed. I want to start over. I want something new. I just—” She touched his jaw. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” he told her, roughly. “It’s not enough to fix it now. I should have came home when you didn’t answer the telegrams. I should have done more a long time ago.” He stepped closer to her, their bodies just brushing. “I should have taken you with me.”

Elizabeth bowed her head, her forehead leaning against his chest. “But I wouldn’t have my son. I can’t think about what ifs, Jason. I don’t have that luxury.”

“So we won’t talk about before anymore.” Jason tipped her head up, resting his fingers under her chin. “I know you have to leave tomorrow. I came here to tell you I understood. That it won’t stop me from making sure Ric pays, but that I—I think you deserve more. You deserve that new start.”

“Thank you,” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. He caught a tear with his thumb, then brushed it away. “But that’s tomorrow. There’s—” She cleared her throat, then licked her lips as their eyes met, somehow connected in the darkness and shadows. “There’s still tonight.”

They were standing so close that she felt his breathing change—the way his chest moved against hers. “Are you—Do you mean—”

“I just—I want a memory with you,” she told him.” Elizabeth leaned up to brush his lips against his. Once, then twice—and on the third time, Jason crushed her against him. “Cameron’s asleep, but his room is in the back of the house,” she told him when they parted, their breathing shallow and raspy. “Mine is in the front. Will you—”

He answered her with another kiss, then lifted her in his arms and started up the stairs.

July 19, 2020

This entry is part 8 of 16 in the Flash Fiction: Darkest Before the Dawn

Written in 20 minutes. No time for edits.

“Cameron Hardy Webber—”

The eight-year-old dressed as Flynn Rider paused, his eyes wide, the unwrapped lollipop a centimeter from his mouth.

“I told you she’d see you,” Emma Scorpio-Drake sniffed.

Elizabeth shoved the pumpkin-clad Aiden at Jason and stalked across her living room to glare at her eldest son. Still clutching the lollipop, Cameron grinned back at her.

Behind Jason, still in the entry of the house, Patrick grimaced. “A Webber stand-off. We could be here for hours. Shove over, I need to remind my kid about rules.”

“Daddy, I told Cameron not to eat the candy before his mommy told him he could,” Emma assured her father. She fluttered her eyelashes.

“Uh huh.” Patrick, standing next to his fellow parent and comrade in arms, raised a brow. “What’s that on your face?”

“Where?”

“Corner of your mouth.”

Emma’s tongue darted out to lick the spot, and then her eyes narrowed. “It was Cameron’s idea!”

Stunned at this betrayal, Cameron whirled on his—now former—best friend. “You lie! You said we should sneak a piece!”

“And we would have gotten away with it if you hadn’t picked a Blow Pop!” Emma shot back. Her Rapunzel wig slumped foreward on her forehead. She shoved it back.

“You have chocolate all over your face—”

“Candy.”

Jason looked down at the two-year-old he held and saw that Aiden’s chubby hand was reaching for the plastic container he had on his arm—filled with Aiden’s candy. “Uh—no,” he told him. With one hand he set the container on the table and stepped down into the living room, behind the sofa.

“They always dime themselves out,” Elizabeth said as she traded a grin with Patrick. “Works every time.”

“Divide and conquer,” Patrick agreed. “God help us if they ever figure out they’re stronger together.” They shared another smile before Patrick strode over to pick up his daughter before she landed a kick to Cameron’s shins.

“Cameron, go upstairs and change and wash up. We’ll have order pizza, and then you can have some candy.”

Cameron scowled as he stomped across the living room, up the raised stair to the entry, then up the stairs, grumbling all the way about dumb girls and their stupid plans.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Patrick told Elizabeth as Emma kicked over his shoulder, railing at the injustice of taking the blame for the candy crime. “Dinner? Emma made you a card, so you can’t skip it.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you then. Bye, Emma—”

“Bye Aunt ‘Lizabeth,” Emma muttered, remembering her manners as Elizabeth closed the door behind them. She turned back to Jason.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” she asked, as she retrieved the pumpkin from his arms. Aiden pouted, pointed at the candy on the table.

“No. I, uh, don’t think I’ve been trick or treating in a while,” Jason admitted. “Joss usually goes with Jax and Carly. And Michael hasn’t gone out—” His mouth tightened slightly, remembering that Michael’s last Halloween had likely been the year before he’d been shot in the head.

“Thanks for coming, by the way,” Elizabeth said as she dropped Aiden on the sofa and started to strip him of the costume. “With three adults and three kids, it’s easier to keep an eye on them.” She exhaled slowly. “Last year, Cameron almost wandered in front of a car.”

Jason sat next to her, Aiden between them. “Hey.”

She met his eyes, smiled ruefully. “Sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay. You want me to order the pizza?” he offered, relieved that the sadness in her eyes had been fleeting.

“Yeah, thanks. I’ll get Aiden washed up, and we’ll pick a movie.” She lifted Aiden, then hesitated. “Um…do you—do you want to stay? I mean, for the movie.”

“Sure.” Jason watched her go up stairs with her son, then pulled out his phone to make the call.

—

A few hours later, Cameron had passed out in front of the television, a pile of candy wrappers in front of him, the ending credits of his favorite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus, scrawling across the screen.

“I might just let him sleep on the floor,” Elizabeth told Jason as she reached for the last slice of pizza in the box on the coffee table. “You know…” She looked at her son again. “I read somewhere that one day, you’ll realize that you picked your kid up for the last time, and you didn’t even know it. He’s—he’ll be as tall as me in a few years.”

“I can take him up if you want,” Jason offered. Elizabeth bit her lip, looked at him. “If you want,” he repeated.

“I—” Elizabeth hesitated, set the pizza down. “This is going to sound insane,” she said. “But I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

“I won’t drop him—”

“No—” Elizabeth shook her head. “No, that’s not what I mean. I just—” She met his eyes. “I like having you around. With the boys. Tonight. I mean, Patrick and I—we’ve mostly got this single parent thing down. He’s struggling a lot, but he’s getting there. I’ve been doing it longer.” She paused. “I don’t want to depend on anyone to help me with the boys.”

She waited for him to tell her that it was just a trip up the stairs—that it wasn’t that serious—but Jason didn’t do that. He just took in her words, then nodded.

“I understand. I—” He looked at Cameron again. “I promised you once that I wanted to do that. To be with them. I thought—I thought he’d be mine,” Jason murmured, almost inaudibly. “And the last few weeks, sometimes I’ve….”

“Found yourself pretending,” Elizabeth offered when he trailed off. He managed a slightly embarassed smile.

“Yeah.”

“Me, too,” she admitted. It had been almost six weeks since that day at Sonny’s non-wedding. Since they’d brushed up against that line, and she’d run away from it.

And he was still here. Still not going back to Sam.

Was it time to stop being so scared?

“Why don’t you take him up?” Elizabeth told him. “I’ll be up in a minute to tuck him in.”

“You sure?” Jason asked as they both stood. He caught her elbow. “I don’t want to do anything that might hurt you—”

“I know.” She leaned up, their eyes met for a second before she brushed her lips across his. “But I think it’s time we stop pretending this isn’t happening, and find out if…this time…”

He tucked her hair behind her ear, leaned down to return the soft kiss. “This time, it’s different,” he promised her.

“I know,” Elizabeth said. She smiled at him, even as her stomach fluttered, even as her brain screamed at her that it never was. She was going to ignore all common sense and try—

Just one more time.

July 18, 2020

This entry is part 12 of 16 in the Flash Fiction: Whatever It Takes

Written in 20 minutes. No time for edits.

Smoke seared her lungs as Elizabeth struggled to think, struggled to make sense of what was going—the smell of gasoline seeped into her nostrils, and thne she became aware of arms dragging her away, dragging her across the grass lawn.

“No, no, no!” she slapped at the hands, tried to crawl towards the car. “Jason! Where—”

“We have to get out of here!” her brother’s voice filtered in through her panic, her terror. Not again. Not another bomb. Not another explosion to blow apart her life—

“Not without Jason!”

“I’m—” She heard his voice—heard Jason’s coughing as he limped towards them—he’d been blown clear of the car—the force of explosion had sent him away from Steven or Elizabeth, on the other side of the lawn—

“We have to get out of here before they realize you’re alive!” Steven hissed at her. With Jason in her sight, this time, she let her brother drag her to her feet and half-carry her back to the bushes—around the house, and to a back driveway where an ashen Kelly Lee was already in the driver’s seat of the SUV.

“Jason—where—”

“I’m right behind you,” he assured her, his voice barely audible through the rasp. Steven shoved her into the back seat, and barely allowed for time to Jason to climb in after her before he was screaming at Kelly to go.

Kelly backed out of the driveway just as fire engines and sirens rolled down her street—they sped past curious and panicked neighbors, past the broken hulk of the SUV they’d driven to the house only minutes before—

“What the hell is going on?” Elizabeth demanded. “Steven, where have you been? Who—how—”

“I’ll explain everything as soon as Kelly gets us out of town—” He glanced over at the doctor who nodded, and without question, took a turn that put them on the highway out of residential Port Charles and the town entirely.

—

Ten minutes later, Kelly took an exit that brought them into a heavily wooded area—down a back road where they pulled up in front of cabin. Elizabeth was shaky as she got out of the car, holding a piece of her jacket to Jason’s arm, bleeding heavily. He’d been more injured than he’d let on, and was struggling to keep alert.

“Just a few more minutes,” she told him. “Steven—STeven, you need to—”

“I got him, Bits. Go in with Kelly. Don’t worry—no one can find us here.”

“How—” Elizabeth swallowed her protests, then nodded. It could wait. It had to wait.

Kelly seemed to know where everything was—which made Elizabeth wonder what the hell was going on with the doctor and Elizabeth’s brother. She grabbed a first aid kit, and was already unpacking it when Steven laid Jason out on the sofa.

“You’re okay?” Jason asked, grabbing Elizabeth’s arms. He swallowed hard, his eyes drifting closed—then he jerked them open. “You didn’t get—”

“I’m fine,” she promised, looking over as Kelly started to clean the wound on Jason’s arm. Steven winced at the mess of Jason’s leg. “I’m fine. We’re okay. Just—just relax, okay? It can wait—”

“It can’t,” Steven said grimly. He looked at his sister. “You’re on to them. They’re probably already moving her.”

“Her.” Elizabeth’s heart felt like it was flipping in her chest. “You mean—”

“Lily.”

Elizabeth closed her eyes. “She’s—she’s really—”

“She’s alive,” Steven said grimly. “I didn’t—I had my suspicions from the beginning, but I couldn’t prove it. I still can’t. But I know it.”

“How—” Elizabeth looked at Kelly.

“I didn’t—I didn’t know. I thought both babies—” Kelly cleared her throat, focused on cleaning Jason’s arm, then searched the kit for the needle kit so she could stitch the gash. “I thought they’d both died. That wasn’t a lie. I didn’t know for months that you’d been told she was still born.”

“That was Devlin,” Steven bit out. Elizabeth blinked, shook her head.

“Ian? Ian told you—”

“He was on duty in the ER,” Steven said. “He took you in—he created the electronic records. He must have made the switch.”

“This—I can’t follow any of this. How do I get my daughter back?” Elizabeth demanded.

“I don’t know,” Steven admitted. He met her eyes, and she could see the anguish in them. “I should have told you—I was trying to protect you. I knew someone was trying to kill Jason—I didn’t want—”

Jason propped himself up on one elbow, and with all the energy he could muster. “You were out of town when I got shot in Cairo,” he managed. “Where—”

“I was trying to find you,” Steven admitted. “I caught up to you, but I think—I think I led them right to you. I’m sorry. I didn’t—” He looked at his sister. “It’s all my fault.”

“No.” Elizabeth shook her head. “No. Of course not—”

“Steven, let’s get him to one of the bedrooms,” Kelly murmured. “You can finish stitching that leg with more room and you can start at the beginning. We’ve pieced enough together.”

“Yeah.” Steven exhaled slowly. “Yeah. Jason, can you—”

“I can make it.” Jason grunted as Steven helped him to stand, then slowly the four of them went down a hallway to a bedroom.

“What is this place?” Elizabeth asked, frowning as she looked around.

“I bought it two years ago,” Steven told her. “Kelly and I have been using to compare notes and plan. They don’t know about it—”

“You keep saying they,” Jason cut in. “Who is they?”

“Ric,” Steven said. He cut away the bottom half of Jason’s jeans. “He was behind the car bomb. He meant to kill Jason. He wanted to leave Elizabeth alone.” He looked at his sister. “But then you decided to take the SUV to the appointment. And Ric must have scrambled. He couldn’t kill Jason, but you’d survived. So he—”

“He took our daughter,” Elizabeth said faintly.

“He hoped that would drive you apart until he could take another shot,” Steven continued. “I think. I don’t know for sure. He keeps everything close to his chest, but he set up Sonny and Carly to take the fall. Sonny ordered the explosives, and Carly—” He closed his eyes.

“Steven, what happened the night Carly died?”

Steven looked at her, tears in his eyes. “He caught us. In bed. We were having an affair. I heard footsteps, so I tried to get away. I didn’t—I left by the back stairs, I thought we got away with it—but then they found her the next morning—her neck was broken—”

“Oh, God.” Elizabeth pressed her fist to mouth. “Steven—”

“Sonny must have killed her, because then he tried to kill me. In my apartment.”

July 17, 2020

This entry is part 12 of 20 in the Flash Fiction: Desperate Measures

Written in 19 minutes. No time for edits or typos.

Before Jason could even think about answering Cameron’s question, Diane strode back into the room, her cell phone still in her hands.

“Okay, I’ve got my assistant writing up an emergency motion that Judge Worth will sign at—” Diane checked the time on her phone. “Two. The arrest warrant will be squashed then.” She lifted her brow, looking around at the room. “Where did Elizabeth go?”

“She needed a minute.” Cameron turned away from Jason, folded his arms. “Why doesn’t my mom trust you?” he asked, directing the uncomfortable question to Diane who pursed her lips. “I don’t understand what’s going on—”

“Well,” Diane drawled, looking at Jason with a bit of regret. “After the truth about Jake Doe came out—the truth as we knew it back then—you remember that a lot of people weren’t happy with your mother.”

“Yeah,” Cameron said, darkly. “It rings a bell.” Jason frowned at him, wondering how bad it had been. “But what did you have to do with it? You were always my mother’s lawyer before then.”

“Because Jason asked me to take her on as a client,” Diane clarified. “I felt—I suppose—that my loyalty was to him. And as I thought she’d lied to him—” She cleared her throat delicately. “I may not have been kind or understanding.”

Cameron scowled. “Because no one in this town ever lies, right? God forbid my mother just acts like everyone else for five minutes.” He took his his wallet from his jeans and removed a crumbled five dollar bill. He set it on the counter in the kitchen. “I agree with my mother. I’d feel better if I were paying for my own lawyer. Does this work?”

Diane stared at the five dollars, which Jason knew would barely pay for her fancy coffee, then reached for it. She stared at the wrinkled bill, then raised her eyes to Cameron. “I regret the way I acted, and I owe her an apology. This works.”

She looked at Jason. “If you don’t mind, I think my new client and I need to have a frank conversation about what happens if the PCPD still manages to get him in the seat for questioning. I can keep him from getting arrested, but it might be harder to argue against a material witness order.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Jason said. “I have to go—” He left them talking and went down the hall. He gently knocked on Jake’s door.

“Come in,” Elizabeth called, her voice muffled.

He found her standing by the window, looking out over the view of the waterfront. From his apartment he could see the warehouse, the pier, Kelly’s—and even the corner of her old studio building.

“Should I apologize?” Elizabeth asked without turning around.

Jason exhaled slowly, then closed the door behind him. “Do you feel like you said anything that was wrong?” he asked.

“No.”

“Then, no.” Jason folded his arms, remaining by the door. “Cameron just hired Diane, by the way. For five dollars. She’s on his retainer now.”

Elizabeth smiled faintly, then looked at him. He was struck by the sadness in her eyes, the tenseness in her shoulders—all of the anger, the fire, and determination she’d exhibited in the living room with Diane, Chase, and Jason—it had dissipated, almost like it had never existed.

“I should probably apologize to Diane,” she admitted. “She wasn’t all that nice after everyone found out the truth, but no one was. And I know she takes her job seriously. I just—” Elizabeth said nothing for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. “I don’t know. I guess I can’t see anything clearly when Sam’s involved.”

“I get it. She’s—she’s done a lot of damage over the years,” Jason told her. “And I know you don’t trust me—”

“It’s not that I don’t—” Elizabeth turned around to fully face him. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, Jason. It’s that I don’t—” She bit her lip. “I hate her.”

“I know—”

“No, you don’t—” Elizabeth shook her head. “You don’t know. I mean, I hate her. For what she did to me with Jake—all those weeks of terror—of not knowing where my baby was—then those men with the guns in the park—I just—I don’t think I could ever forgive her for it.” Her eyes burned into his. “And I don’t know why you did. So, yeah, when it comes to Sam, Jason, I don’t entirely think you’d put me first. You never have before.”

She looked away again when he said nothing—he had no defense to any of that. Sam had commited those crimes against Elizabeth, and it wasn’t his job to talk her out of the anger or attempt to explain how he could—only two years later, allow Sam back into his life.

“Then again, I married Ric after what he did to Carly, right? And I took Lucky back after all the damage—you know, I nearly married Ric again a few years ago? And I lied about Danny. I kept another son from you. First Jake, then Danny—”

“Elizabeth—”

“I thought—I thought at first I would just to do to her what she did to me,” Elizabeth admitted. “I’d lost Jake. I’d lost him, and Sam had stolen time from me. I’d never get those weeks back. It seemed—God, it seemed so fair that I’d do the same for her. And I’d get to finally win.” A tear slid down her cheek. “I was going to wait the exact same amount of time Jake was kidnapped.”

“You barely managed a week,” he murmured. “And I never blamed you. I never told Sam.”

She looked at him with a small smile. “I know. I’d like to think you wouldn’t have told her, but you were shot and kidnapped soon after. So, we’ll never know for sure, right?”

“I never blamed you for lying about the test,” Jason repeated. “And I believe you about Sam. I think—I know she’s capable of this. I know her history. What she did as a con artist before she came to Port Charles.”

“Well, I guess that’s something,” Elizabeth murmured. She cleared her throat. “Should we tell the police or—”

They looked towards the door as they heard a door open in the front of the apartment. “Mom?” Cameron called. “Drew’s here! He needs to talk to you about Sam!”

July 16, 2020

This entry is part 7 of 16 in the Flash Fiction: Darkest Before the Dawn

Written in 20 minutes. No time for rereading.

Jason set a twenty on the counter, picked up his coffee, and turned around to head out the door—stopping short when he saw Sam just behind him.

He cleared his throat, and she looked at the ground. He hadn’t seen Sam around all that much since they’d signed their divorce papers in August—just that one time, really, in the park two weeks earlier when he and Elizabeth had been on their way to Cameron’s fall picnic.

He’d turned a corner, and Elizabeth had stopped first. Jason hadn’t noticed Sam or John McBain at first—he’d been looking at Elizabeth, enjoying the way she talked about her day at work and her stories about the patients she’d treated. She’d been happy that day—happy in a way that she wasn’t often after they’d lost Jake.

Jason had looked over, followed Elizabeth’s eyes to the bench where his ex-wife was sitting with McBain. There’d been a slight tensing in his stomach, in his shoulders, and he’d almost said something—

But then he’d felt Elizabeth’s grip on his hand weaken, starting to slide away from him, and Jason was jolted back to where he was—and what her fears were. She didn’t trust him not to go back to Sam, not to drift back to the comfort of someone he knew wouldn’t challenge him. Wouldn’t make him want to be a better person.

He’d smiled at her, and they’d continued on to the picnic, even after he’d seen Sam look at them. Jason had handled that moment just right, and he’d swallowed any other feeling. It was better than upsetting Elizabeth even a little.

But now he was standing in front of his ex-wife. No Elizabeth around to influence the way he reacted, and no one in the diner that might take news of this back to her.

“Uh, hey,” Sam said, finally. She scratched her forehead, and offered him an awkward smile. “I haven’t seen you around in a while. Not since—” She cleared her throat. “Anyway.” She folded her arms. “How are you?”

“Good,” Jason said cautiously, not sure where she was going with this. “You?”

“Good,” she repeated, nodding. “Um. I—” She pursed her lips. “I don’t—I shouldn’t ask you this because it’s none of my business. It’s not,” she added as if he’d argued with her. “But I guess I can’t help myself.”

“Okay.” Jason waited as Sam’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she looked away. She rocked back on her heels, then took a deep breath.

“Are you and Elizabeth—I mean—are you—” Sam looked at him, and he could see the vulnerability in her eyes—and he realized that he’d left Sam with the same worry that Elizabeth had. Neither of these women were confident that he’d chosen them—that he would choose them—that they weren’t in competition with each other.

Jason hesitated, unsure how to answer the question, uncomfortable with the realization of what he’d done somehow, without meaning to. He didn’t want to lie to Sam, but he wasn’t sure of the truth.

Were he and Elizabeth together? No. Not technically. Not in a way that she was comfortable stating, but—

Jason didn’t want to lie to Sam, to himself, or anyone else. “Yeah,” he said finally. “We’re working on it.”

“Oh.” Sam’s mouth formed the word, but the sound was barely audible. She hadn’t expected that. “I—I didn’t—” She took a deep breath. “Okay, then.”

“Should I apologize?” Jason asked, uncertainly, conscious that he’d hurt her but not really sure what to do about it. They’d been separated for six months, and their relationship had already been on life support prior to that. He knew she’d drifted towards John McBain, so was it surprising that Jason had also moved on?

“No, no, of course not. That’s—” Sam coughed. “That’s the whole point of divorce, you know? Um, we don’t work, so it’s—we should go find people we do work with. I just—” She closed her eyes. “Yeah. I think—I don’t know, maybe you should. Or not. This is ridiculous.” Sam rolled her eyes. “You can’t be surprised that I’m jealous of Elizabeth, can you? I mean, she’s always been—” She wiggled her fingers. “There. In the background. Even the first time we broke up six years ago, you know?”

Jason furrowed his brow. “Sam—”

“So I guess maybe I’m looking for an apology I don’t really deserve,” she muttered. “Because I knew it, and I thought I could—this is stupid,” she said. “I’m not doing this to myself anymore. I asked you, you answered—thank you for not lying.”

She turned and stalked out of the restaurant as Jason frowned after her, not entirely sure he’d handled that right but unable to see how he could have done it differently.

—

The next day was Halloween, and Elizabeth was waiting outside of her house with her boys, rolling her eyes as Patrick scowled at the matching costumes Cameron and Emma had picked out from the store. Cameron was dressed as Flynn Rider, and Emma was ridiculously excited over the luxurious long wig she got to wear as Rapunzel.

“They’re babies,” Patrick said disgusted.

Elizabeth snickered as she lifted Aiden, dressed as a pumpkin, into his red wagon. “They’re eight, Patrick. How old were you when you had your first crush?” she teased.

Patrick’s eyes widened with horror. “I was five.” He pointed a finger at her. “You keep your kid away from my princess—”

“Hey, you want to know something really terrifying—” Elizabeth wiggled her eyebrows. “I was also five. Guess who my first crush was?”

“Oh, God.” Patrick groaned. “Who? Scott Baio?”

“Nope. Closer to home.” Elizabeth smiled as Jason stepped out his SUV and walked towards them. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Jason nodded at Patrick. “Sorry I’m late.”

“No problem. Patrick and I were just comparing notes on our first crushes,” Elizabeth told him. “He’s not comfortable with Emma and Cameron—they’re dressed as a couple from a Disney movie.”

“Okay,” Jason said. “I don’t remember mine,” he admitted. “I mean, from their age. But in the hospital, after the accident, I had—I guess you’d call it a crush on Bobbie.”

“Bobbie, huh? I’ve seen pictures.” Patrick looked at Elizabeth. “So if it’s not Scott Baio, who? Oh, God, a New Kid? Jordan?”

“We’re going to come back to your knowledge of 1980s heartthrubs in a minute,” Elizabeth said. “But, no. The summer I was visiting my grandparents when I was five.” She grinned at Jason. “My brother was hanging out with a couple of kids his age. AJ was his best friend back then, but ah, I had thought his twelve-year-old little brother was perfect.”

Jason raised his brows. “Me?” he repeated.

“Oh, yeah.” Elizabeth shrugged. “So, Patrick, it could be worse.”

“I hate all of you,” Patrick muttered.

This entry is part 12 of 16 in the Flash Fiction: An Everlasting Love

Written in 20 minutes. No time for rereading.

Elizabeth stared at Jason for a long moment, then slowly shook her head. “No. You don’t get to—” She fisted her hand and raised it slightly, trying to gather herself. “No. Ric is guilty of many things, but what happened with you—with me—you don’t get to lay that at his feet.”

Jason scowled, took a step towards her. “He kept you from getting my letters—he made sure I never got yours. He blackmailed my grandmother into lying to you—”

“And none of that explains why you never came back.”

Her flat statement, devoid of any emotion—her empty, betrayed eyes—had Jason swallowing hard. He looked away.

“I should have.”

“But you didn’t. I wrote you for two years before I gave you. You—you wrote for one. You never came home, Jason. You gave up on me first,” she reminded him. “You feel guilty, I understand that. And maybe—”

Elizabeth closed her eyes, took a deep breath. “We were young. And I can understand you giving up. You were out there in the world, and maybe it just—it was easier. I don’t know, but I can forgive it, Jason. And I do. Jason, look at me—”

She waited until his eyes focused on hers. “I forgive you for not coming back, for letting me go. I had to let you go, too. And maybe if it was just as simple as my father keeping our letters from each other—if that were the only thing standing between us, we could see if there was a future for us.”

Her lips twisted. “You want to rescue me from Ric, but I don’t need you to do it. I haven’t wasting away here, you know, married to a man twice my age and unhappy. It might be hard for you to understand this—but I let you go. I may not have loved Cameron the way I loved you, but I cared for him. He loved me, and he loved our son.”

“I’m glad—” Jason took a deep breath, looked at the ground for a moment, then raised his eyes to look at her. “I’m glad. And you’re right. It’s easy to blame Ric for everything. He was part of it—but I should have come back. I’m sorry I didn’t.”

He waited a long moment. “But you’re wrong that I just want to rescue you. I do—if you want to leave Diamond Springs, that’s okay. I can understand that. But—” He shook his head. “You are’t the only person who deseves justice. Your grandparents, my grandmother—Ric used them. And if you’re right about the Lewis family, he’s responisble for what happened to Alexander and Peter.”

“If you know what Ric is capable of and you still want to go after him, I can’t stop you. I just don’t want you to risk yourself on my account.” Elizabeth folded her arms tightly at her waist. “I’ve loved this ranch my whole life, but it’s not all there is. And I think I’ll enjoy living in San Francisco. The sale of my horses, the money I’ve put away from the ranch—I’ll be okay.”

“Can you wait a few days?” Jason asked. He took a step towards her, his voice softening. “I’ve got a plan—and you should be here to see it—”

“I need to make sure my son is safe. Ric can take the ranch, but he couldn’t take my horses. They’re owned by me free and clear. So I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”

“All right.” Jason nodded. He reached out, tucked a curl that had come loose from her top knot behind her ear. “I’ll let you know what happens.”

“I’m glad you came home,” Elizabeth told him. She leaned up to kiss his cheek. She lingered near him, her cheek brushing his, remembering the sweetness of their childhood, the bright future they’d planned. “I’m glad to know the truth.”

“I am, too.” His voice was low, husky. He brushed his fingers down her cheek. “And when Ric isn’t a threat anymore—maybe we can—”

“Don’t make promises,” she murmured. Elizabeth clasped her hand over his, held it to her cheek for another moment, then slowly drew it away.

“I won’t,” Jason told her. He kissed her forehead. “I need to get back to town. I have a lot to do, and I don’t have a lot of time.”

“Okay.”

He walked away from her, their hands clasped until the last moment as he walked backwards towards her steps. Elizabeth watched as he mounted his horse and rode towards the entrance to her ranch.

Then went back inside.

—

Jason had planned to take action the next day, but he couldn’t risk Ric learning of Elizabeth’s flight to San Francisco and going after her or causing her any more pain.

He returned to the jail and found his cousin reading another one of his Twain novels. “Dillon, let’s go. We’ve got an arrest to make.”

Dillon straightened in his chair, dropped the book to the desk and furrowed his brow. “Oh, yeah? Who?”

“You’ll see. I might need help bringing him in.” Not that Dillon would be much help, but there were some strength in numbers.

Dillon shrugged, and followed Jason out of the jail. They walked across the street, then Dillon gulped as they reached the bank. “Uh, Jase—”

“I know what I’m doing,” Jason muttered. “Stop looking like you’re about to faint. You’re a deputy, damn it.”

“Right. Right. Man of law. Man of action. Deputy.” Dillon squared his shoulders, then attempted to adopt a tough expression. Jason fought the urge to roll his eyes — it was better than he’d looked before.

He stalked into the bank and ignored the tellers working who tried to stop him as he went to Ric’s office.

“Sheriff.” Ric got to his feet, arched his brow. “I didn’t think we had any business—”

“You were wrong. I’m arresting you for forgery, exhortion, and theft.” Jason rounded the desk, put a hand on the gun holstered at his side. “Do me a favor, Lansing. Try to run.”

Ric searched Jason’s eyes for a moment, and Jason was gratified to see the flicker of fear in them before it smoothed out. “William,” he called out. “Please cable Holt in Sacremento. He’s a state legislator,” he informed Jason coolly. “He’ll have your badge.”

“Really? Is that James Holt? I grew up calling him Jimmy Lee.” Ric’s eyes narrowed, and Jason sneered, grabbing Ric’s arm and shoved him to the exit. “He’s a Quartermaine cousin, or didn’t you know that?”

July 15, 2020

This entry is part 11 of 16 in the Flash Fiction: Whatever It Takes

Written in 20 minutes. No time for typos.

Sonny’s condition was treated as part of an accidental overdose, and Jason and Elizabeth were able to leave the emergency room without further incident. Jason was quiet on the elevator ride to Patrick’s floor.

“I’m sorry about Sonny,” Elizabeth said, folding her arms.

He looked at her blankly, then shook his head. “It’s—it’s fine. They think he did it to himself because of Carly. But he wanted to warn me. And you’re telling me that someone screwed with the records after Lily was born—this all goes back to the bomb.”

“Why did it take so long to come out?” Elizabeth wondered as they stepped out of the elevator. “Shouldn’t we all have realized something then? I mean, I knew Kelly. I thought she was my friend, and did—did Sam know?”

“Sam?” Jason took her elbow, stopping her in the hall way. “McCall? Sonny’s old girlfriend?”

“She—she’s the mother of the other baby born the same day.” Elizabeth blinked. “Didn’t I say that? Patrick said she’d moved after her daughter was born—” She swallowed. “What if her daughter is ours? What if Lily is alive, Jason? And Steven found out? What does that have to do with Sonny and Carly?”

“They—they wouldn’t have—it couldn’t be them.” Jason exhaled on a sharp, frustrated breath. “They wouldn’t have done this. Carly never would have agreed to anything that involved Sam. Sonny’s affair with her was the last straw for them. She never forgave Sonny for that.”

They resumed their path towards Patrick’s office, and found the doctor immersed in records and files. He glanced up at their entrance. “Hey—what happened down in the ER? Elizabeth said Sonny was on his way in.”

“I found Sonny almost passed out in the penthouse,” Jason told him. “In my penthouse. He wanted me and Elizabeth to get out of town. He lost consciousness on his way here, and the doctors—” He took a deep breath. “The doctors said it was an overdose and he might not wake up.”

“Well, I don’t know if this helps anything, but I’m convinced something is screwed up. Because Baby Girl McCall has a full autopsy report in her file that says she died from loss of oxygen from placenta previa,” Patrick told them. “And there’s nothing in Lily’s file that suggests she ever died at all.”

Elizabeth’s heart skipped a beat as she absorbed that. “They switched her. Our—” She looked at Jason, saw the blank shock in his eyes. “They switched our little girl. Who—”

“Ric paid Sam to go away,” Jason told her softly. “He knew where she was. And he paid her seven months before the car bomb. She was pregnant. Ric paid her to get an abortion.”

Elizabeth clenched her fists in her lap. “But—but she didn’t. Obviously. But—why would Ric—” She closed her eyes. “He was so angry when I got pregnant—when we were planning for Lily. He tried to kill her, kill us, but when it didn’t work—”

“He wanted you to suffer anyway.” Patrick shook his head. “I can’t believe Kelly would have agreed—”

Jason’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out and took a deep breath. “Spinelli has her address. Let’s go ask her.”

—

Elizabeth had worked closely with Kelly Lee during her years at General Hospital. They’d gone drinking together, and Kelly had been—if not a close friend—a good one. She’d gone to Elizabeth’s wedding, attended her bridal shower—

And right up until Kelly opened her door, Elizabeth wanted to believe there was some sort of tragic misunderstanding—

But Kelly opened the door, saw them, and slammed it shut. Elizabeth’s heart started thudding. “Oh my God.”

Jason’s jaw clenched, and he pounded on the door. “Open up!”

“Kelly, please!” Elizabeth said, tapping her palm against the window. “Please!”

“Go away,” her voice came, muffled through the mail slot. “It’s not safe—”

“Did—is my daughter dead?” Elizabeth demanded. “I’ll break this goddamn window, Kelly, if you don’t tell me what the hell is going on!”

Kelly cracked the door slightly, her face pale. “Yes,” she said softly. “But I can’t say anything else. I told Steven. I told him I couldn’t. They’ll kill me. They won’t stop—”

“Kelly, is she with Sam? Is that my baby—”

“I have to go—” Kelly slammed the door again, and Jason nearly lost his fingers trying to keep it open.

“Damn it. She’s alive—” Elizabeth turned around, clenched her hands in her hair, wanting to scream. “Why can’t anyone just tell me what the hell is going on?”

“Spinelli is looking for Sam,” Jason told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure this out—”

“Not if Sam gets warned. She’ll disappear with her, and we’ll—” Elizabeth’s voice broke. “We’ll never saw her—I can’t do this, Jason—” She turned to him, clenching her hands in his shirt, her eyes wild wit grief. “I can’t lose her again, not after finding out she might be alive—”

Jason drew hard against him, wrapping his arms around her as if he could shield her from the world. All this time he’d thought he’d been the reason they’d lost their daughter—

“I’m not letting anyone take Lily from us again. Not when we’re this close,” he told her. “Let’s go meet with Justus, and figure out the next step.”

Just before they reached their car, a voice called out to them from a few cars away. Elizabeth blinked, turning towards it. “That sounds like—”

“Get away!” Came the cry of Steven Webber as he ran out from behind a set of bushes and hurled himself at Elizabeth, throwing her to the ground.

Behind them, Jason’s SUV exploded, and Elizabeth—

Elizabeth couldn’t find Jason.