After walking out on a disastrous wedding and unhappy relationship, Elizabeth Webber promised herself a fresh start. She moved into Bobbie’s Brownstone with Gia Campbell as an unlikely ally, and befriended AJ Quartermaine’s new wife and Sonny Corinthos’ long-lost sister, Courtney Matthews.
When Carly Corinthos goes missing after a car accident at Vista Point, Jason Morgan is forced to return to Port Charles, testing Elizabeth’s resolve to put all her bad decisions behind her. AJ begins to plan for a custody battle for Michael Benson which pits brother against brother, and putting Elizabeth right in the middle.
Bittersweet rewrites the return of Jason Morgan in the spring of 2002, exploring his relationships with Elizabeth Webber, Carly Benson, and Sonny Corinthos. It is the first of two stories that takes on the menace and malice of Luis Alcazar, a man determined to destroy Sonny Corinthos at all costs. Its sequel, Malice, is due out in 2023.
2 September 2020: Updated the Timeline & Setting page to give a better recap of the storylines at that point and changes in the show. I added the synopsis for Maice.
1 September 2020: Updated the site make it more readable on mobile devices. I also cleaned up the Inspiration & Dedication page, actually adding the Dedication. The main page has been completed.
2 July 2020: Pages cleaned up. Ebook added. Still some tweaks to be done.
27 June 2020 – Launched sub-site. All pages are live. Still a bit under construction.
Special thanks to Carla (kcke2pen) for supplying this story–one that’s been lost to me for nearly a decade. I wrote this story in September 2002, and it is the oldest piece of writing on this site now, with the exception of pieces of The Sisters.
This story is not particularly chipper. It deals with severe child abuse, and I’m more like the character of Emily in this, the hapless friend who learns of the abuse too late to do anything, than I am anyone else, but even that is very fictionalized. (The Law & Order fetish is all me, however :P)
Timeline
This is alternate universe story, in which no character has the same history as they do on the show so forget everything you know except what I tell you. I will say the rereading this that I’m surprised at how much I changed the way Jason acted after the accident. I’m not sure I would have done that today, but eh, you make choices 😛
This was a challenge from The Canvas, issued in early September. I’m so sorry that I can’t remember the username right now — I only remember that they wrote fanfiction I liked, lol. They wanted a montage like the good old days in the late 1990s and they specifically wanted the timestamps. This was right around the time Kelly Clarkson won the first season of American Idol, and I’d heard this song on the radio while driving to class.
Recap
This is set in September 2002, after Sonny faked his death, and Jason wasn’t coming home to the penthouse often. The story also features Carly and Sonny, AJ and Courtney, and Skye and Jax.
[00:00-00:18}
What if I told you
It was all meant to be
Would you believe me
Would you agree
Carly enters the room of the safe house. Her hand flies to her mouth as she sees Sonny standing before her. Tears fill her eyes as she drinks in the sight she thought she’d never see again.
[00:19-00:35]
It’s almost that feelin’
That we’ve met before
So tell me that you don’t think I’m crazy
When I tell you love has come here and now
AJ unlocks the door to the apartment and enters. He closes it behind him and turns to see the apartment decorated in candles. Courtney is leaning against their dining table, smiling. AJ closes his eyes and thanks whatever miracle brought him here.
[00:36-00:53]
A moment like this
Some people wait a lifetime
For a moment like this
Some people search forever
For that one special kiss
Skye’s eyes drift open and she looks over at Jax sleeping next to her. She can hear another storm raging outside—and she’s so thankful that she’s here, safe from her own personal thunder and rain.
[00:54-01:08]
Oh, I can’t believe it’s happening to me
Some people wait a lifetime
For a moment like this
Jason rubs his eyes as he enters the penthouse. He’d just dropped Carly off with Sonny—and he wasn’t looking forward to this moment. He spies Elizabeth sitting on the couch, wrapped in an afghan. A weak smile graces his face as he realizes she fell asleep sitting up, waiting for him.
[01:10-01:22]
Everything changes
But beauty remains
Something so tender
I can’t explain
Carly hesitates only a moment before throwing herself into Sonny’s arms. She clings to him, the tears she’d tried to desperately to hide spilling down her cheeks. Sonny wraps his arms tightly around her and hopes she’ll understand why he did this.
[01:23-01:40]
Well I may be dreamin
But still lie awake
Can we make this dream last forever
And I’ll cherish all the love we share
Courtney takes a short step from the table. AJ drops his keys next to the door and closes the rest of the distance. He touches her face, amazed at this beautiful woman who’s made his life worth living again.
[01:41-02:09]
A moment like this
Some people wait a lifetime
For a moment like this
Some people search forever
For that one special kiss
I can’t believe it’s happening to me
Some people wait a life time
For a moment like this
Skye tightens her grip on Jax and sighs. She’d be willing to elope tonight if he would let her. All she wanted to do was spend the rest of her life proving to him that trusting her again would not be a mistake.
[02:12-02:24]
Could this be the reign of love above
I wanna know that you will catch me when I fall
Jason crouches next to Elizabeth. Her head is resting on the armrest and her face is scrunched up. He knows he should go upstairs and not touch her but he can’t resist brushing a piece of hair out of her face.
[02:25-02:37]
So let me tell you this
Some people wait a lifetime
For a moment like this
Carly pulls away from Sonny and stares at him for a second. She shocks them both by slapping him—the sound echoing in the nearly empty room. She throws her arms around him all over again.
[02:38-02:47]
Some people spend two lifetimes
For a moment like this
Some people search forever
The dinner forgotten, AJ and Courtney are dancing to music only they can hear. He’s holding so tightly—he’s afraid that he ever lets go, she disappear like the angel that she is. He leans in to kiss her, relishing that for one moment in his life, it’s perfect.
[02:48-02:58]
For that one special kiss
Oh I can’t believe it’s happening to me
Some people wait a lifetime
Jax opens his eyes to look at Skye sleeping peacefully. Some might say he was justifiably insane for accepting her back in his life—but he couldn’t honestly imagine his life without the fiery redhead that made everything worth it.
[02:59-03:06]
For a moment like this
Elizabeth opens her eyes sleepily and smiles. Jason is home—he’s safe. “Hi,” she whispers. “I made you a sandwich—it’s in the fridge.” He stares at her, his blue eyes filled with emotion. Elizabeth notices his hair is wet and runs her hand through it. “You’ll catch a cold.” He clasps her hand as it traces his jaw and presses a soft kiss to her palm.
[03:07-03:22]
Oh, like this
Some people search forever oh yeah
Carly kisses Sonny passionately—scared to death that that he’ll disappear. She can’t quite believe he’s here with her. She just buried him—and now she’s standing here, with him. His warm body pressed against hers—Carly was floating and never wanted to come down.
[03:23-03:30]
Some people wait a lifetime
For a moment
Jason released her hand and moves to stand. She reaches out both hands and grasps his shoulders to keep him at eye level. “I’m glad you’re home.” Home. A foreign concept to Jason that he thinks might get used to.
“I had someone to come home to,” Jason whispers, touching her face. She smiles. And for one brief moment in his constantly changing and moving world—for this moment—he lets himself love her.
