Went over! Written in 68 minutes. I was trying to get the ending just right. I hope I did it justice 😛 Timed writing is a bitch sometimes.

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“Jason.”

He ignored the call the first time he heard his name. He wasn’t interested in anything the man had to say. As far as Jason was concerned, everything that he needed to say to a single member of the Quartermaine family had been said in court three months earlier when the conservatorship had been dissolved, and Jason was finally free of them.

He’d keep Emily, and was okay with claiming her as his sister. And maybe Lila, too.

But the rest of the family could go to hell.

“Jason, wait—”

Jason stopped at the door to Luke’s, and turned to see Alan striding towards him. “You can’t come in. It’s a private party—”

“I—I know. Emily—” Alan stopped a few feet away. “Emily told me. I just…I know today was the last time I would be able to do this, and this was the only place I’d find you. I wouldn’t go to the apartment. That’s…you’ve made it clear how you feel—”

“Then we have nothing left to say—”

“Please.”

Jason didn’t like that the trembling in the older man’s voice bothered him, but it did, and since Emily said it was Alan who had triggered the petition that had ended the control, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to hear him out. Just this once.

Jason turned back to him. “You have two minutes.”

“I just…it’s hard as a father to know you’ve failed so spectacularly at the one job you were given,” Alan said, his hand falling to his side. “To raise and guide your child into becoming an adult, a good member of the world. A good human. And to protect them from those who would try to hurt them. I didn’t see that I’d become someone you needed to guard against. I simply assumed that I knew best, and I never questioned that.” He swallowed hard. “After the accident, they said you might never wake up. And if you did, that you’d never be the boy we’d raised.”

Jason had heard this all before. There was nothing new here — just the regrets of a bitter man who’d refused to listen until it was too late. “What’s your point?”

“Emily said the paperwork — all of it is final today.” Alan looked away, took a deep breath, then looked at Jason. “I hope one day you can understand how easy it is to think what you want is the best choice. The only choice. The lengths you will go to for your own child — you can’t know the depth of that love—you don’t remember it, but—”

“You’re sorry. I get that. But I don’t care,” Jason said, and Alan flinched. “I’m sorry those words hurt. That part is true. Justus told me that just because I don’t remember you doesn’t change the fact you remember me. And I am sorry that you lost whoever I used to be. I guess—thank you for ending the conservatorship. But you never should have done it in the first place, so I don’t really feel grateful. Just angry.”

“I know—”

“No, you don’t.” Jason shoved his hands in his pockets. “The doctors told you I’d be stupid and damaged, and you believed them. You made me believe it, too. Every time I got kicked out of a place to live or fired from a job without being told why, I thought maybe they were right. Maybe I couldn’t do it on my own. You and the old man — and Monica — you made all of this harder than it had to be. So I’m not grateful. And after a while, I won’t be angry. I’ll just be done with it. And you’re going to have to live with that.”

He turned back to the door, pulled the door open, then looked back at Alan. “Did Monica ever admit that she was wrong?”

“No,” Alan said, with a slight twitch to his mouth. “You’d have felt hell freezing over. She’ll always believe she did the wrong thing for right reasons.”

“Yeah, well, when you ask yourself why you’re not in my life, why I won’t ever be in the same room with you or her again, just look in the mirror. You had your chance. Over and over again. And blew it. After today? I don’t ever want to see either of you again.”

Jason went inside, leaving the father out in the parking lot, and putting him out of his mind.

At the bar, there was a cluster of people gathered around Luke who had put together a projection screen and was fiddling with the equipment.

Justus saw Jason first and strode over. “Hey. I brought the final paperwork. All finalized and ready to go. You’re officially done.”

“Thanks. I mean that. You didn’t have to go after them to do this for me—”

“Some things are just right,” Justus said.

“There you are!” Elizabeth left Luke’s side and slid arm around his waist, leaning up to kiss him. “What took so long?”

“There was a line.” Jason reached inside the bag he was carrying and handed her the brown package. “But I got it.”

“I guess it was too much to hope the camera had busted,” Elizabeth grumbled, tugging out the VHS tape. “Did Justus tell you?”

“That we’re divorced? Yeah.”

“Well, we knew that. But our replacements came.” She dragged him over to the bar where another envelope was laying. A new driver’s license for him, and for her. And then passports. He flipped through it — Jason Morgan.

“You sure you’re okay with taking back your maiden name?” Jason asked, sliding the license into his wallet, then handing her the passport to stow with hers in the larger bag she carried. “I wouldn’t have cared if you kept it because of Cady.”

“We talked about it,” Elizabeth reminded him. Her smile was only bittersweet now. “I think it’s right that Jason and Elizabeth Quartermaine are gone, too, you know? We shared that name with her. They’ll always be a family. I have my memories, and you can have the pictures and videos. I don’t need the name to know it was real. Even if I’ll miss seeing Edward and Monica’s faces do that twitch when I introduced myself as Mrs. Elizabeth Quartermaine. No, we wanted a fresh start. We’re going to take it.”

He kissed her again and caught her trying to hide the VHS in her bag. “No, we’re watching this—you promised.”

“Well, you played dirty when you asked,” she muttered. “How is a girl supposed to think when your head is—”

“Jason, hey,” Sonny said, coming up behind Elizabeth whose cheeks pinked up when she heard him. “Elizabeth tell you the good news?”

“No, she was too busy trying to renegotiate.” Jason handed the tape off to Justus who headed over to Luke and Laura. Elizabeth wrinkled her nose.

“Well, I signed the purchase documents this morning.” Sonny wiggled his brows. “You sure you don’t want to delay your plans until the first board meeting? Because I would think you’d want to be there when I walk in and demand my seat at the board.”

“I kind of do want to see that,” Elizabeth told Jason. “Can you imagine the gasket Edward’s going to blow? He was already furious when you liquidated the trust. Just imagine how he’ll feel when he finds out you how you used that money and what you’re doing with your ELQ shares.”

“See? Elizabeth wants to see the show. Come on.”

Jason shook his head. “We can stay, and you can go. But I don’t want it. I sold Sonny the shares because I don’t want anything to do with that family. Not their money, not their company. Fresh start?” he reminded her, and she made a face. “You can go.”

“Yeah, come on. How you gonna miss out on seeing me and Luke roll in there as board members?” Sonny straightened his jacket. “Edward’s going to shit a brick when he finds out your trust was used to get Luke into the company.”

“Now, now, it was a wise investment, and I’ll be paying you back just as soon as ELQ gives me that first dividend,” Luke said. “I got a lot of plans for the place.”

“We can postpone the flight,” Jason told Elizabeth who looked genuinely torn. “Really. I don’t mind.”

“Maybe,” she said. “I don’t know. We went through all that paperwork to get rid of everything Quartermaine in our life. It was my idea to get rid of all of that.” She took a deep breath, then looked at Sonny and Luke. “I’m sure you’ll raise a lot of hell for us, and when we get back, you can fill us in.”

“If you come back,” Luke said, tapping her nose. “Don’t you dare come home until you’re good and ready. Whole world out there for you to see.” He put an arm around her shoulders. “Now, why don’t we watch this video that Jason was so helpful to bring us?”

The front door burst open and Emily bound down the steps, taking them two at a time. “Did I miss it? Please tell me I didn’t miss it!”

“Just in time.”

“Oh, man. This is so embarassing,” Elizabeth muttered. Jason put his arm around her shoulders, hugged her against his body. “How did I ever let you talk me into this?”

“I could remind you later,” he murmured in her ear, and she lightly whacked his chest. “Is that a no?”

“I think we’ve proved I don’t know how to say no to you,” she retorted. He grinned, and she whacked him again, but her smile stretched from ear to ear, her eyes sparkling.

Across the room, Luke fiddled with the projector one more time, and Sonny leaned in, his voice pitched low. “You see that over there? I’m taking credit for it. That’s what we call successful meddling.”

“Hey, whose idea was it to bring him here?” Luke demanded.

“Because you wanted her to get some sense slapped into her—”

“Actions matter more than motivations.” Luke turned the group, clapping his hands to get their attention. “All right, without further delay, this here is a going away party for the best bar manager a guy could ask for, and, well, Jason, you—” He squinted. “You sure showed up.”

Jason, whose talent at bartending would never win him any awards, just rolled his eyes.  “You hired me.”

“Nepotism,” Luke replied. “Anyway, it’s always hard when your chicks leave the nest, so they tell me, but as much as I’m going to miss you, Lizzie—” He met her eyes, and grinned. “I’m actually glad to see you get out of here. You make that boy take you anywhere you want to go. Paint it all. Then come home.”

“That’s the plan,” Elizabeth said. “Who could leave you forever, Luke?”

“That’s what I’m saying. And this trip of dreams has been funded by Jason graciously selling his shares in ELQ to Sonny here, so you make sure there’s no crummy hotels. Our girl deserves the best.”

“Luke—” Elizabeth opened her mouth, probably to fire back at the sexism, but Luke was already turning to the projector.

“And as a going away present to us, Jason and Elizabeth have decided to share the first of their recent adventures. After weeks of persuasion and all the statistics a man could take — Jason got our Lizzie up in a plane with nothing more than a prayer and a parachute. And we’re lucky enough to have footage from their tandem partner’s. So, let’s watch them fall out of the sky. He pressed play.

The footage was shaky and the sound of the plane was nearly overwhelming, but it brought Elizabeth right back to that crazy day two weeks ago when she’d climbed inside a tiny plane because Jason wouldn’t do it without her and he’d really wanted to try it.

“All right, last minute reminders—” one of the instructors yelled, then began to reel off the reminders.

 

Then the door opened, and there was nothing but blue—the camera was shaky as it approached the door —

“Elizabeth went first,” Jason said. “I knew if I did, she’d change her mind.”

“I hate that you’re right. But hey, I didn’t even need to be pushed.”

The camera leapt into the blue and an shrill scream could be heard as the world plummeted towards her. Then a string of profanities, some creative curses and murder plots against Jason—

The camera switched to Jason still on the plane, whose jump was much calmer and less colorful. Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Of course, you’re perfect at it on the first go.”

“First, does that mean you do it again?”

“Not on your life, buddy.”

Then the video switched to the camera on the ground — aimed at the tiny pinpricks up in the sky — the blooming of their parachutes spreading and their gently glide down to the ground.

Elizabeth sighed, remembering that part more fondly than the rush of the fall. Though Jason had been right — the bastard — the rush and roar of the wind had been so overwhelming and scary—and the stark contrast of the gentle, almost relaxing glide — and the easy landing thanks to her tandem partner.

When she’d landed on the ground, her jumping partner unhooked them, and Elizabeth had waited for Jason to land and be unhooked, then launched herself into his arms, kissing him, and knocking him to the ground. The video ended there as the operator started laughing.

“That was worth the show,” Luke decided, grinning at Elizabeth who was beet red. “Launching herself into adventure. Of all kinds.”

“I didn’t mind it either,” Jason said, kissing the top of her forehead. “It was exactly what I wanted. I’m glad I waited until you changed your mind.”

“I’m glad I went, too. Even if the video is mortifying. I’m glad Luke wanted to see it, and that we made it part of tonight.” She bit her lip. “Before we go to the airport, can we…there’s a stop I want to make.”

“Yeah, sure.”

—

The party broke up and hour or so later, after drinks and some food. Some hugs and kisses, crying from Emily and Elizabeth. Even Jason had been surprised to find himself reluctant to part ways with Luke, Sonny, Justus, and his sister. But there’d be phone calls and letters, and visits.

But there would never quite be another time just like this, Jason thought. He and Elizabeth would be something different after a few months of traveling together. They were already a team, created through necessity thanks to the Quartermaines. Now they’d get a real chance to see who they were away from all of this.

Finally, though they were in the car Jason was borrowing from Sonny and leaving at the airport for them to pick up. The bike would be put in storage until they came back. A promise of sorts, to the people who cared, Elizabeth said, that they would be back. There was an entire storage locker with the contents of the apartment. They were taking very little but the clothes on their backs, some art supples, and a few pictures.

“Turn up here,” Elizabeth said, and Jason did so, sobering a little when he saw the cemetery. He parked, and she led him through the maze of graves to one in the back, beneath a tray.

There was a statue of an angel over the stone which simply read Cadence Audrey Quartermaine. Cherished and Precious. September 19, 1995 – November 4, 1995.

In all the months since he’d learned about her, he’d never been here. To her final resting place.

Elizabeth brushed some dirt from the top of the stone, then sank to her knees in front of him. Jason hesitantly got to one knee, unsure what she wanted from her.

“People come to these grave stones and talk to them like the person they mourn can hear them. I tried it once, but it didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel her here, you know? And if she’s not here, how can I talk to her?”  She traced the letters. “Is it strange to hope that there’s a way your memories are somehow with her? That the father who loved her so much is with her now, taking care of her because we can’t?”

Jason’s throat was tight. He knew scientifically that wasn’t how it worked. The memories were nothing more than electric impulses in his brain — the storage of them had been disrupted and they’d been erased. But he’d seen those pictures, and heard those videos. And maybe it was okay to believe in something so impossible. To hope that somewhere, the daughter he didn’t know was safe and loved by the father who no longer existed in the world.

“No, I don’t think so. If there’s something after all this, I hope she’s safe and loved.”

“I never came back here after that. And I mostly tried to forget her, you know. But I guess — we’re leaving, and we don’t know when we’re coming back. Her room is gone — I just—I wanted to be somewhere with her just one more time.” She looked at Jason. “Maybe that’s why I didn’t leave Port Charles after your accident. Leaving her here, leaving without you, it was too much. I couldn’t do both.”

“We don’t have to get on that plane for California tonight,” Jason told her. “We can—”

“No, I just wanted to say goodbye one more time. That’s all.” Elizabeth pressed two fingers to her lips, then set them against her name. “Goodbye, baby. Mommy loves you.”

Jason covered her hand with his own. “So do I,” he said, his voice a bit rough. Elizabeth leaned her head against his shoulder briefly, then let her hand fall to the ground. She rose to her feet, brushed the dirt from her pants.

Jason looked back at the stone, then let his hand fall to his side. He stood, laced his fingers through Elizabeth’s. “We’re not saying goodbye,” he told her, and Elizabeth lifted her brows. “Not to her.” He rested a hand on the top of the stone. “We’ll see you later, okay?”

“Yeah.” Her smile was small, but genuine. “We’ll see you again one day. But that day better be far away,” she told Jason, as they walked towards the parking lot. “No more getting in cars with drunken idiots. Or jumping out of planes.”

“You liked it.”

“I did not—”

“You did, too. You’ve got the bug.”

“Listen—”

“We’ll work up to jumping alone. That’ll be even better.”

“You are never, in a million years, getting me to jump out of plane alone. No more adventures like that, thank you very much.”

It only took him three weeks to talk her into bungee jumping.

THE END

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