Written in 20 minutes. No time for typos.

A week later, Elizabeth was released from the hospital. Since waking up in post-op, she hadn’t really wanted to talk about anything that had happened since Franco had broken into her home. The boys had stayed with Laura, and Jason wasn’t really sure what would happen when Elizabeth went home.

“Are you ready to go?” Jason asked, knocking on the door. He frowned when he saw her alone in the room, standing by the window. “You shouldn’t be up—I thought Epiphany was bringing a wheel chair—”

“I can walk a little,” Elizabeth murmured. She looked at him. “I haven’t been to the house since…” She bit her lip, focused on the view outside the hospital again. “Since it happened.”

“The PCPD released the scene a few days ago, and I had someone come in—I got it cleaned up. If you’re worried about that.”

“We just moved there.” Elizabeth rubbed her chest absently. “I wanted a fresh start. Away from Franco. And he ruined that. I have no one to blame but myself.” She exhaled slowly. “Are the boys still with Laura? I don’t know if I can—if I can go there at the same time and see them—”

“Laura said she’d bring Jake and Aiden over when you wanted them. I couldn’t keep Cam away. He went to the house with Joss to make sure things were ready.” Jason approached her slowly. “I’m sorry.”

“I want to be angry with you. In fact, some of the last few days, I’ve been really good at making myself hate you.” Elizabeth met his eyes. “It’d be so easy to blame you for what happened. For not killing Franco all those years ago. For forgiving Sam. But at the end of the day, she—” She closed her eyes. “She wasn’t wrong. He raped her. And I spent years defending him. How do I live with that?”

“You didn’t know—”

“The signs were there. And I know she’s sick, but I just—finding out the truth about Danny while going through all of this with his cancer—I can understand how it broke her.” She cleared her throat. “I did a lot of terrible things while I was grieving Jake. Did—do you know what’s going to happen to her?”

“Elizabeth—” Jason shook his head. It wasn’t the moment to convince that what happened wasn’t her fault. So he answered her question. “The DA’s office charged her with Franco and your shooting, but I don’t think she’ll be found competent to stand trial. Drew is trying to get her admitted to Ferncliffe. I—” He paused. “I don’t know other than that.”

“How’s Danny? I didn’t—I haven’t—the cancer?”

“Julian is donating again,” Jason told her. “And we’re hopeful. I talked to Drew—even though we told Danny I was his father, he and I aren’t—he’s closer to Drew. He still calls him Dad.”

“I’m glad. I hope you and Drew can really work through all of this.” Elizabeth turned away from the window. “I’m ready to go home—well, I’m ready to leave the hospital.”

“All right.” Jason went over to get her bag. “Let’s go.”

—

As Jason’s SUV wound through the streets of Port Charles towards her house, she touched his elbow gently at a light. “Can you turn down here?”

“Here?” Jason repeated. He looked around with a frown. “But—”

“I just—can we go down Lexington?”

Jason looked at her for a moment. “Lexington? Where your old house was?”

“Yeah. I just want to see—” The last place she’d felt like she’d been home. A few turns and blocks later, Jason pulled up in front of the old house.

The last time she’d been here, the house had been a charred shell, but the developer she’d sold it to had gutted and rebuilt it. It looked nearly as it had the last time she’d left it.

“I loved this house,” Elizabeth said, staring at it out the window, resting her head against the seat. “Emily helped me find it. You know? And she loaned me money for the down payment. I raised my boys here.” She looked at him. “I don’t know what to do. How to feel. What to think. All of this—what happened with Franco, with Sam—and I know Cameron is hurting, too—it’s too big, Jason. I can’t do this.”

“One thing at a time,” he told her quietly. “Look at the front yard.”

Elizabeth frowned, then turned back. “For Sale,” she murmured. “Oh—Oh, I want go home.” Her vision blurred as tears spilled down her cheek. “I want to go home. Can—can you help me?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll get Diane on the phone.” Jason reached over and took her hand. “I know everything happened fast,” he told her. “But we’ll just—one thing at a time,” he repeated.

She smiled faintly. “What did you used to tell me? Sometimes things happen fast, but you have to live through them slow?”

“Yeah. I should take my own advice.”

Elizabeth looked back at the house. “I’ll be okay. I’ll take my boys, and we’ll go home. And then we can figure everything else out.”

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