August 15, 2020

Inspiration

I’m not really sure how this happened, to be honest. I was watching the show week it came back after the Covid-19 shutdown, and I just found myself interested in scenes that might have happened between other scenes. Did Jason tell Elizabeth about making Carly his POA? Does Jake have shares in ELQ? And then — I wrote the original If Wishes Came True in which it’s revealed Jason and Elizabeth signed POAs for each other to go to Italy in 2008 (they weren’t married and would be in a foreign country). Even though they didn’t go, they simply forgot them and POAs don’t expire.

This was meant to be sort of deleted scenes series, but then Tania wanted some ELQ fall out and I lost any hope of the show giving that to us properly, so I’m gonna let myself just go on this one.

Timeline & Setting

I’m going to briefly recap Jason & Elizabeth’s storylines as they exist when the show returned from Covid. If I continue just writing cut scenes where they talk about their lives, I may add on to these recaps. Also I’m sure Elizabeth probably changed her last name to Baldwin but I’m not living in a world where I acknowledge that, so I’m referring to her as Webber.

Sonny’s dad, Mike, has Alzheimer’s and has been taken to GH to have a feeding tube put in. Watching Sonny struggle with this decision inspires Jason to make a decision about his own end of life decisions, and for various reasons, asked Carly to have his power of attorney. Elizabeth has been one of Mike’s nurses and counsels Sonny about the feeding tube. Earlier, Felix told Sonny about a patient with Alzheimer’s on a feeding tube and ventilator. The patient is Yvonne Godfrey, someone that Mike connected with at the nursing home and, in their dementia, had a marriage ceremony with. Jason and Carly came to the hospital to talk to Sonny about the feeding tube and came in at the end of Elizabeth’s conversation with Sonny and know that Elizabeth helped him.

Sam is currently on parole for killing Shiloh last year. Her parole officer is strictly enforcing the no association with felon part of Sam’s parole. Jason and Sam have broken up because Jason feels like it’s not worth the risk of Sam losing the kids and going to jail again. Sam has been increasingly desperate to get this parole lifted.

Valentin, meanwhile, lost control of Cassadine Industries when Nikolas returned from the dead and revealed that Valentin was not Mikkos’s son, but Helena’s bastard (I think). Valentin is trying to get control of ELQ through a hostile takeover. He has a lot of shares already and offered Sam a trade — he’ll get her parole conditions lifted in exchange for Danny and Scout’s voting proxy (knowing it was unlikely she’d sell outright).

Elizabeth has been renewing her friendship with Nikolas since his return from the dead in the fall of 2019. Nikolas was forced into a marriage with Ava Jerome. If he divorces her, she gets pretty much everything. Ava commissioned Franco to paint her a portrait and has been using his past to drum up publicity for the gallery. Obviously, Elizabeth is struggling with Franco embracing his past because it involves murder and sexual assault. Franco, however, seems to think Elizabeth should be super supportive of this. Because he’s a narcissitic piece of–AHEM. Pardon me.

Hopefully that helps situate this!

And if my wishes came true
It would’ve been you
In my defense, I have none
For never leaving well enough alone
But it would’ve been fun
If you would’ve been the one

	Strong Enough August 5, 2020: After Elizabeth helps Sonny come to the difficult decision not to go forward with the feeding tube, Jason talks to her about Mike and what he wants for his own end of life.
	This Is Me Trying August 6, 2020: After Valentin offers Sam a deal for Danny and Scout’s proxy shares, Sam wants to ask someone else for advice about ELQ and voting proxy.
	Would Everything Be Different? August 8, 2020: After Jason is brought in requiring surgery, Diane informs Carly that Jason’s new power of attorney hasn’t been signed yet which means his previous paperwork is still in effect. Sam and Carly are stunned to learn just who that POA belongs to.
	All My What Ifs August 14, 2020: Before Elizabeth leaves for the portrait unveiling at Wyndemere, she checks in with Jason over the problems with ELQ.
	Ruining Everything August 21, 2020: Jason and Elizabeth meet with Diane to finally change the POA, and she talks to him about the conversation she overheard at the Nurse’s Ball.

August 12, 2020

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the Wishes Came True

Inspiration

All this talk of Power of Attorneys on General Hospital recently made me wonder how I could make it slightly more interesting. I tried to think of a reason Carly couldn’t have POA or who else might have it. And I’m a Liason fan, so you know where that led me.

Timeline

If you haven’t read Strong Enough or This Is Me Trying, my other 2020 Episode Tags, both of those give in depth recaps. To save myself some time and space here — Jason asks Carly to have his power of attorney for medical decisions. This happened on, canonically on GH, the day before his motorcycle accident. He had a few reasons for not giving it to Sam. Elizabeth’s story on GH is non-existent so there’s really not a lot you need to know. This takes place during August 7, 2020’s episode — after Jason was brought to General Hospital in the accident. Enjoy!

If one thing had been different
Would everything be different today?

Thursday, August 6, 2020

General Hospital: Emergency Room

There were few things that Diane Miller liked less than delivering bad news to clients who lacked the capacity to understand that screaming at the messenger rarely changed anything.

As her heels clicked on the linoleum floors of General Hospital, Diane girded her loins, touched her carefully coiffed red hair, and stepped up to the group of people waiting for her.

“It’s about damn time,” Carly Corinthos snapped, her eyes flashing as she whirled on the lawyer. Tears stained her cheeks. “I need to sign the paperwork—why couldn’t you just fax or email it—”

“Well—” Diane pursed her lips. “As you might know, Jason only asked me yesterday to draw up the new paperwork—he hasn’t signed it—”

“That shouldn’t matter,” Elizabeth Webber said softly. Diane turned to find the nurse standing at the hub, a clipboard in her hands. She looked nervously between Diane, Carly, and Sam Morgan. “Should it? You know his wishes, and it’s not as though the hospital would be liable—”

“Exactly—” Carly stabbed a finger at Elizabeth. “Thank you for being useful for the first time in your life—”

“Carly, shut up, and just sign the damn paperwork!” Sam retorted. “Diane—”

“Well, that might work if Jason didn’t already have a POA in existence.” Diane grimaced as Carly frowned at her. “POAs don’t expire,” she clarified. “Even if they were signed a decade or more ago.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Diane saw Elizabeth’s eyes widen briefly before closing in resignation.

“I don’t understand—I thought Sonny had Jason’s POA before—” Sam frowned, looking at Diane with confusion. “That doesn’t—I don’t—”

“He did have his POA until Jason was preparing to travel internationally in 2008 with another person to whom he did not share any legal ties,” Diane explained carefully. “As I said — they don’t expire—”

“Who was Jason going to—” Sam closed her mouth. She looked at Carly, who shook her head, indicating it wasn’t her. Then, in unison, they both turned to Elizabeth, whose cheeks were flushed.

“They don’t expire?” Elizabeth asked faintly.

“No, they don’t. So…” Diane set the paperwork on the table. “Here is the paperwork for the file, and I suppose you ought to sign that form you’re holding—”

“Wait, this can’t—” Sam scowled, then shoved herself forward, smacking the clipboard out of Elizabeth’s hand. “This can’t be—I was married to him—it should have been null and void—”

“Well, it might surprise you, but a spouse is only the default next of kin,” Diane said. She sniffed. “A person can name anyone they want to be in charge of their decisions—”

“Sam, this isn’t worth arguing about,” Carly hissed. “Just let her sign the damn form so Jason can go into surgery—”

Sam glared at Carly, then at Elizabeth before releasing her grip on the clipboard. Elizabeth hastily signed it and handed it to the waiting doctor.

“Good luck,” Portia Robinson murmured as she and Finn disappeared, leaving Elizabeth alone with Carly, Sam, and Diane.

“When Jason wakes up, we’ll get this sorted,” Carly told Elizabeth. “Don’t think this is your ticket back in.”

“No one wants a ticket to that circus, Carly,” Elizabeth said with exhaustion. “I will happily surrender this to you—I didn’t even know—”

“It wasn’t relevant prior to today,” Diane said with a shrug. “Jason had always been able to consent to treatment before now. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She left the area, returning the elevator.

“I can’t believe this.” Sam folded her arms and stalked forward—she made it three steps before spinning and walking back those three steps. “Why would he do this to me?”

“Sam, I really don’t think this is a big deal,” Carly said. She eyed Elizabeth. “I need to go update Sonny. He had to step out and check on the nanny—”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll text you if there’s any news.”

Elizabeth looked over at Sam, who was staring at the floor. “Sam—I doubt Jason even remembered we signed that paperwork—I forgot it, too, which means I have to get my paperwork fixed—”

“It’s not even—” Sam exhaled sharply. “He just never seems to put me first,” she murmured. “Even now. It should be me. It shouldn’t be Carly.” She raised her eyes, red with tears. “You get it, don’t you? How would you feel if Franco had put Ava or someone else he used to love in charge of everything?”

“It would hurt,” Elizabeth said carefully, “but it’s not like Jason asked me to do this last week. It was twelve years ago, Sam. You and I both know things were different then.”

“Yeah. He still hated me and loved you.” Sam rubbed her chest. “But he chose someone else yesterday—”

“I know, but—”

“I just—can you text me when you know anything?” Sam walked away before Elizabeth could answer, and finally, she was alone.

With a lot to think about.

General Hospital: ICU

Jason’s surgery was a success, and he woke up twenty-four hours later. His first visitor was, naturally, Carly, who could not wait to tell him that his first priority would be fixing the paperwork.

“I mean, how could you not sign the paperwork before you got on the bike without a helmet?” Carly said with a roll of her eyes as she tucked Jason’s blanket in. “And why didn’t you mention it was a revised POA?”

“Carly.” Jason’s eyes closed as he winced from the pain. “I didn’t remember—I was dead for a few years—”

“You know, this is Port Charles. You only get to the play the I was dead card twice,” Carly told him. She turned when she heard the door open, finding Elizabeth in the doorway. “I called Diane. She’s on her way to get Jason to sign the paperwork.”

“Can’t wait to be in complete control, huh?” Elizabeth said with a smirk. Carly narrowed her eyes, then nodded.

“Can’t wait to make sure you’re out of his life.” She stalked out, likely to hunt Diane down and drag her in kicking and screaming.

Elizabeth shook her head, turning away from Carly’s exit. “Sometimes, I think about asking her why exactly she hates me, but I’m not entirely sure she’d remember anymore.”

“Carly rarely needs a reason,” Jason managed. He opened his eyes, found hers. “I’m sorry. I forgot—”

“Me, too.” Elizabeth checked his vitals and made a note on his chart. “I guess I didn’t even think about it because we never made it to Italy.” She paused for a moment as the pain of it passed again—the faint wisp of memory, waiting at the gate so close to the dream—

“I’m sorry,” Jason repeated, and this time it sounded more like he was apologizing for something more than forgotten paperwork. She looked at him.

“Me, too,” she echoed. She tapped her pen against the clipboard. “Your vitals are stable, so if you could avoid doing this again for a while, that would be great.”

“I’ll try.” Jason hesitated. “Did you go to Italy?” he asked.

Elizabeth shook her head. “No, I, uh, thought about it a few times, but it wouldn’t have been the same.” She went to the doorway, then looked back at him. “Get some rest. I’ll bring Jake to see you later.”

“Thanks.”

On her way down the hallway, she ran into Carly and Diane. “Hey, I guess you’re here to get Jason to sign the revised POA?” Elizabeth asked.

“I’ll meet you in there,” Carly told Diane. “I made sure she brought the paperwork for you to rescind yours,” she told Elizabeth. “Just a little favor from me to you.” She left and went into Jason’s room.

“I know she’s paid for a great deal of my designer wardrobe, but I really don’t like her,” Diane said with a sigh. She held out a clipboard. “Here is the revocation of your POA. Sign this, and Jason will no longer be responsible for your medical decisions in the event you can’t consent.”

Elizabeth took the clipboard from her and the pen. The tip hovered over the signature space, but for some reason—she couldn’t quite bring herself to sign.

“Elizabeth—”

“You know—” Elizabeth looked at Diane. “All things considered, I think I’d enjoy annoying Carly a little longer.”

“I’ve always liked you, Elizabeth Webber.” Diane smiled at her, then took back the clipboard. “Now, excuse me while I go get Carly off my back.”

“Good luck.”

November 29, 2014

alleweare

We won’t say our goodbyes
You know it’s better that way
We won’t break, we won’t die
It’s just a moment of change

Inspiration

After I rewrote Poisonous Dreams as A Few Words Too Many, I eliminated the marriage of convenience angle. It’s a concept I like reading in general because there’s a vast difference between developing a relationship outside of marriage and then making it work once you’re in one. So I started to think how I could do that concept again. What would make Jason and Elizabeth take that step? Spousal privilege, of course.

And from there, I looked at different time periods until I found my favorite one: Summer 2006. My God, the amount of story I’ve planned that uses this as a jumping off point is legion. I loved 2006 so much.

Timeline

So, this begins in October 2006. All of the events of the summer have happened through the point Lucky leaves for rehab in mid-September after throwing Elizabeth to the floor. Ric has taken over as DA for Alexis due to her cancer. Elizabeth has told Jason about the paternity issue, but rather than running the test at GH, she had it done at Mercy for more secrecy. I haven’t changed much except for the Jason and Sam relationship. There’s been no real movement to getting back together. Also, while Sam and Carly are aware of the NOP, only Sonny knows about the paternity test.

2017 Update: I hadn’t really watched the 2006 scenes as closely as I should have before writing this and I completely forgot that Emily did know about the paternity and blackout night. I also forgot just how supportive of Elizabeth she ended up being. I also kind of flubbed the Sam stuff in this story. I didn’t want to deal with her, so I really didn’t. And I feel bad about it. Not bad enough to rewrite, but just note that I didn’t really stick as close to GH canon as I thought I had.

Media

+ Soundtrack, Volume 1: Mood Music
+ Soundtrack, Volume 2: Songs From the Story

Characters

Chapters

April 29, 2014

But remember the time I told you the way that I felt
That I’d be lost without you and never find myself
Let’s hold onto each other above everything else

Inspiration

This story has changed so much since I originally envisioned it in 2004. Lila Quartermaine had just died, and I found myself wondering how Port Charles would handle Audrey’s death. So I began writing based on that idea, and had six or seven chapters written before a computer crash killed them all. Almost ten years later, I returned to it, and changed it around so that there are very few aspects of that old story that remained: really just the title and the way I deal with Jason changing Sam’s paternity results.

Timeline

For the most part, the major backstory will be explained in the first few chapters. I’ve changed only a few things. I pick up the show about May 2004 (or whenever Jason changed the paternity results), and go from there. So from that period on, only what’s in my story is what happened. Basically — just how Sonny and Jason deal with his changing the results. Elizabeth does not come home in June 2004 and enroll the nursing program. Emily and Nikolas are together, after he comes back from the dead. None of the Mary Bishop going insane stuff happens. Not that it’s important, but I liked Mary so…pfft.

Steven Webber is played by Shaun Benson, rather than Scott Reeves, simply because I never really watched Scott as Steven, but I really liked Shaun’s portrayal back then. A note about Steven as a character: John Durant is not a factor in this story, so he’s just a normal doctor at General Hospital, having moved to Port Charles over the summer.

Carly is played by Tamara Braun because she was playing her in 2004 and her characterization drives Carly’s motives, rather than LW or SBr.

Thanks to Cora for her incredible help during the outlining stage, and then for her skills as a beta 🙂

Author’s Note

Sonny is going to struggle with mental illness in this story, particularly a type of bipolar disorder with mixed episodes. This basically means his mood swings occur much more rapidly, and even occasionally simultaneously. I don’t know anyone personally with this disorder–everything I know comes from hours of research. People who have this disorder are not innately violent, so I want to make that disclaimer. I just tried to adapt the disorder to someone with Sonny’s specific characteristics. I hope I do this illness justice and make Sonny less of a caricature and feel more like a living, breathing man struggling with a difficult illness.

If you have any experience with this, please contact me to let me know if I’m making this work or if I’m messing it up. I don’t want this to be a soap opera disease where I make it up as I go along.