If he hurried, he might be able to catch her. He might be able to stop her before she left, making a mistake that would affect the both of them. His bike rumbled to a stop in the alley behind her studio, and he quickly flung his leg over the side and sprinted through the door and up the stairs. By the time he reached her landing, he was a little out of breath, but he wasn't about to slow down. Not when his future happiness depended on making sure she was still there.

He knocked on the door, not wanting to sound too desperate, but not wanting to be too timid. Maybe that had been his mistake earlier in the week. He'd been too timid, too passive, hadn't put up enough resistance. But he didn't want to overwhelm her right now. Not when she was angry with him and he was anxious for her not to slam the door in his face. There was no answer and he knocked again; told himself he'd give her another thirty seconds before he used his key and let himself in.

But he didn't have to pull out his key ring, the door slowly swung open and Elizabeth was there. She didn't open the studio door all the way, just enough to send icy daggers at him while defensively crossing her arms over her chest.

"What do you want, Jason?" she asked, barely meeting his eyes.

"I wanted to talk to you," he told her. "Can I come in?"

"Why?"

"So that your neighbors don't hear our conversation," he said, looking down the hall at the woman who had stuck her head out of the door and was unabashedly staring at him.

"No, I mean, why do you want to talk?"

"Elizabeth," he sighed, once again glancing down the hallway. "May I please come in?"

"I think I should have my head examined," she chided herself and then stepped back. "But fine. The sooner we talk, the sooner you can leave and the sooner I can get on with my life."

He winced at the bitterness laced in her words, but stepped into her studio and closed the door behind him, flipping the locks out of habit. Elizabeth crossed the room, refusing to look at him. He saw a duffle bag on her couch, partially filled with clothes, and his chest tightened at the sight of it.

"Well?"

His head jerked up, his startled gaze meeting her lethal one. Elizabeth huffed and gestured vaguely, "You said you wanted to talk. So talk. I have things I need to do."

"Are you leaving?" he asked, his brain still stuck on the duffle bag.

"What does it matter to you?" she shot back at him, her arms once again crossed defensively in front of her.

"You can't leave," he told her. This conversation wasn't going well, he knew that from the start, but his mouth wouldn't slow down enough to let his brain catch up. "Especially with Lucky and Luke."

"Who told you about Lucky and Luke?" she demanded. "Are you...are you following me?"

He shook his head. "No. Well, I mean, I put a guard on you when you left the penthouse, but he doesn't report back to me and tell me what you're doing. He's just there to keep you safe."

She snorted and tossed her head. "Yeah, okay. Well, I don't want a guard anymore."

"It's not-"

"Don't you dare say safe," she hissed. "Right now I don't want to hear one word about safety and the business because that brings up Sonny and his death and I am too angry to think straight about that right now."

So Courtney maybe had been right. Elizabeth was angry and that was why she'd acted like she didn't know him that day in the diner. He knew she'd been hurt when she found out Sonny wasn't dead, but had been hiding and Jason had known, but she never gave him the chance to explain. She just packed up and left his penthouse.

"Alright," he said, "but it's not safe to leave with Luke and Lucky. Luke's half crazy with his grief about Laura and if you go off searching for proof to clear her-"

"You said the guard wasn't keeping you informed on me?" she eyed him angrily. "Then how come you know so much?"

"Bobbie," he informed her honestly. "She was talking to Carly about it and I overheard them. I don't think it's a good idea for you to go with them."

"Not that I really care what you think," she sniped at him, "but I wasn't planning to leave with them. I know that Luke's unstable and I don't have any interest in getting dragged into one of his crazy, on the run schemes. Lucky's going with him to keep him safe. I'm staying out of it."

"Then where are you going?" he asked, shaking his head with confusion.

"Out of town," she said succinctly.

"What?" Jason was surprised to hear her announcement and desperate to stop her. "No, you can't leave."

Her eyebrows rose up dangerously and she pointed a slender finger at him. "You don't get a say in it, Jason. You can't tell me what to do. This doesn't involve you. You remember how that goes right? Some things you can't tell me, like your best friend not really being dead, letting me look like a fool acting concerned for you and Carly and then letting me find out from the news that it was all just a sham. That didn't concern me; you told me yourself. Well, I'm telling you, this doesn't concern you."

"Look, Elizabeth," he sighed, taking a step towards her. "I know you're upset."

"No, you don't. You have no idea what I'm feeling right now."

"I've got a pretty good idea you're angry," he retorted.

"Do you know why?" she asked him heatedly. "Do you have any idea why I'm angry?"

"Because you didn't know Sonny was alive."

"No," she shook her head, her shoulders slumping slightly. "Because you didn't trust me, Jason. The lie hurt, but the complete lack of trust and disregard of my feelings hurt me worse than anything. And that is why I'm leaving town."

"I trust you, Elizabeth," he told her, his stunned voice low and husky.

"Once I would have believed that, Jason," she said sadly. "But now I'm not sure about anything. That's why I need to go. I need to get away from here, clear my head, think about things. I can't do that in town."

Her words had a familiar ring to them; he'd once said something similar when he left town the winter after he'd been shot. If she had felt half as devastated and lost as he was feeling right now, he understood better her tears and frustration. He was afraid that if she left town, she wouldn't come back. Or if she did, years would have elapsed, and he knew he didn't like to contemplate either scenario.

"So," he paused and swallowed thickly. "So, that's it? You're just going to leave?"

"I really think it's for the best," she told him, looking away from his piercing gaze. "There's really not a whole lot to hold me here except my grandmother and she understood when I told her I going."

"I..." He trailed off and let out a breath. He wanted to ask her not to go, but felt that given the nature of their relationship, especially as it was now, that he didn't have that right. But it was her lack of faith in him that compelled him to act. He couldn't have her leave thinking that he didn't trust her, that he disregarded her feelings.

"I wish you'd stay," he told her.

She tilted her head to the side and asked, "Why?"

"Because I'd miss you," he told her honestly.

"I doubt you'll notice," she shook her head. "I was living in your home and you never bothered to show up. Besides, you'll be so busy taking care of Sonny and Carly and Courtney and probably now Brenda that you won't have time to miss me."

"You're wrong." Jason shook his head and claimed another step across the room. "You're wrong. I'd miss you."

"I missed you too, but you still left," she sighed. "And I got used to it. You'll get used to me being gone. In a couple of weeks-"

He shook his head again and stepped even closer. "No. I won't get used to it, and I don't want to accept it. I'm sorry that I hurt you; that you feel like I don't trust you. I do trust you, Elizabeth. I want to make it up to you; I want to make this right. And that can't happen if you're not here."

She looked sad as she looked away and sighed. "I don't know that it can be fixed, Jason. Besides, you're going to be so busy, now that Sonny's back and Brenda's alive and-"

"I'm not guarding Courtney anymore," he told her. "They caught her stalker and Sonny assigned her another guard until A.J. comes home."

"Oh," Elizabeth said. "But that still doesn't-"

"Brenda's on an airplane to Las Vegas right now," he cut her off again. Her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "She's going there to marry Johnny. She wanted to marry me."

"What?"

"She's dying. She's got a disease that will destroy her brain and eventually kill her and she wanted me to marry her so I would take care of her. She threatened to break up Sonny and Carly's marriage if I didn't. She wanted someone who would do what she wanted, and not be trapped by the sentiments of the past."

"So why are you here?" she asked with a shake of her head. "If she's threatening Sonny and Carly's marriage-"

"Because I don't want to marry her," Jason told her. "I can't stand her. And if all she's looking for is someone to take care of her, Johnny can do that. He can actually tolerate her."

He took another step closer to Elizabeth and said, "Besides, I didn't want to hurt you."

"Me?" she asked in disbelief. "Why would-"

"Elizabeth," he sighed in frustration, cutting her off once more. She may want to act aloof, but he knew better. He wasn't going to let her get away with it this time. "Stop, please. It would hurt you if I married someone two weeks after you left. It would hurt both of us."

Her lips thinned and she looked away, but he'd seen the truth in her eyes. Even if she was trying to hide it.

"That's why I told her no. Sonny tried to get me to help her, and I did. I told her Johnny would marry her and take care of her. So he's on a flight to Vegas with her, and I'm here. With you."

Her eyes were large and shimmering with tears when she turned back to face him. "What do you want from me, Jason?"

"I want a chance to make this up to you," he told her. He could reach out and touch her, but he didn't. He didn't want to spook her by moving too soon. "I want to apologize to you, to show you that I care about you, I want to try again, Elizabeth."

"I...I just," she sighed, gave a small sniffle and rubbed her forehead wearily. "I don't know, Jason. I'm just...I'm so overwhelmed right now. You're saying all the right things, and if you'd said them a couple of weeks ago, maybe it would be different. But right now...it just feels...I don't know. I just...I think it would be best if I just left and cleared my head. And when I come back, then maybe we can see..."

With a half-hearted shrug she trailed off. She looked so tired and beat down. "Where were you going to go?" he asked her softly.

She peered up at him, "What?"

"Where were you going to go?" he asked again, the words killing him.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe south. Somewhere warm."

"There's this place down in Florida," he said. "Off the beaten path, quiet, I've been there before. If you want, I can give you directions."

He could see she was weighing it, not certain yet. "And then in a couple of days...maybe I could join you."

Her head snapped up and she stared at him. "What?"

"After you've had a couple of days to think, I could come down there and we could talk."

"But...what about Sonny and Carly?" she asked him. "I know that some men in the families were giving Carly problems and Luis Alcazar is still out there."

"He is," Jason nodded. "But by that time Johnny will be back and he can help out."

"You would leave Sonny now when he needs you?" she asked disbelievingly. "I wouldn't expect you to do that. I can't ask you to."

"You're not asking," he told her. "I'm making this suggestion on my own."

"But what will Sonny say?" she whispered. She looked torn, beginning to waver.

"Sonny's managed things with me being gone before," he told her. He knew Sonny would be angry and he'd bluster and yell and tell Jason he couldn't go, that he needed him here. But this was more important. "He'll survive for a couple of days. He needs to realize that there are things in my life that I have to take care of, that are just as important to me as his family is to him."

"Jason." The word was watery and wistful and it broke his heart to see that as much as she wanted to believe it, she just didn't trust the sentiment.

"Go to Florida," he urged her. "And I'll meet you there in two days, unless you think you'll need more time."

The moment Elizabeth stepped into the house in Florida that Jason had given her the key to and all but begged her to go to, she understood why Jason had bought this place. On the beach to the Gulf of Mexico in northern Florida, the house was comfortable and secluded. The town she'd passed through and stopped at to get groceries was small and relaxed, definitely a get away town. She could understand why Jason came here to relax and clear his head.

And why he'd sent her here.

He wanted her to get away from Port Charles since she was determined to leave anyways, and he wanted her to not have to worry about spending her money. But she was also protected here. The home had a security system that Jason had explained to her and given her the code to. He called ahead to let the company know that someone would be staying there so they could keep an eye on her, but also instructed them not to intrude on her.

He was trying to do all he could make her feel comfortable, while ensuring her safety, and also ensuring that she'd be some place he knew. So that he could come visit her and wouldn't have to track her down. It was the latter part of that reason that made her uncomfortable. That made her want to turn off the interstate she'd been following down to Florida and go somewhere else. Anywhere else, but to a house that Jason owned so that she could calm down and wait for him to come down and talk to her.

It wasn't that she wanted to punish him by taking off and making him worry about where she was, she just didn't know that she wanted to see him. To talk about what happened between them, or more specifically didn't happen between them, and hash it out while opening up wounds that needed to heal.

What would be served by talking? It wouldn't undo what happened. It wouldn't erase it. And she really didn't know if it would fix what was left of their relationship. After what he'd done and she'd said, could they really just repair everything?

Did she want to?

Elizabeth knew the answer to that. It was yes. She did want to fix things with Jason. They'd been on the cusp of a major breakthrough for them. They admitted to deeper feelings than friendship, they admitted they weren't with other people and they wanted to explore their relationship and see where it could go. And as much as she was hurt by the lies and the abandonment, she still wanted Jason in her life.

When she'd opened the door to her studio and found Jason standing there, her heart had flipped over in her chest. When he said that he'd sent Johnny to Las Vegas to marry Brenda instead of marrying her himself, she'd been stunned. Jason had actually not done something for Sonny. Of course, marrying Brenda hadn't exactly been a direct order from Sonny; it had been a crazy demand from the former model. But she admitted to herself that she was surprised Jason hadn't personally married her in order to ensure she didn't break up Sonny and Carly's marriage.

He told her it would hurt her and him if he married someone right after she walked out of the penthouse. She had tried to deny it, she hadn't wanted to hear him say it now, but it had touched her.

However, it also angered her that she felt that way. Why was he making all this effort now? Why hadn't he made an effort when she was living in the penthouse? Why hadn't he made an effort when she walked out? Why was it only when she was getting ready to leave town that he showed up at her doorstep frantic and desperate to keep her from leaving and begging her to give him a chance to talk to her?

Of course, when Elizabeth was honest with herself and squelched the anger, she knew that Jason had tried to talk to her after she left his penthouse. He came by Kelly's and had looked so pitiful that she'd been tempted to ask Courtney to cover her shift. But pride and anger had gotten the better of her that day and she'd acted cold and indifferent, claimed she didn't know him because she wanted to hurt him. It was childish and wrong of her, but she'd done it anyways. Why did he have to stop by her work and not her studio? Why did it have to be on his schedule?

It was that same petty childishness that had tempted her to go someplace else besides Florida. Let him think she was in Florida only to show up and discover she wasn't. Let him know how it felt to be wrong and humiliated when someone he trusted misled him and didn't have the common decency to talk to him. But as she sat in the hotel room in Virginia, she discarded that thought. Two wrongs wouldn't make a right and she wasn't going to prove a point to Jason by being deliberately cruel.

If they had a chance of making things better between them, she had to be honest with him and let him know that what he'd done to her had hurt. And she had to be calm and not so highly emotional when she was talking to him. She wanted Jason to really understand why it had hurt her so much to learn on the news that Sonny was really alive and that she'd been mourning a man she'd considered her friend and worrying about a man she felt she was on her way to falling in love with needlessly. She felt humiliated and hurt that after all she'd done for Sonny and Jason in the past, they would treat her with such callous disregard.

It was that thought that Elizabeth had been stuck on in Port Charles. He had done so many things for so many other people, but it felt like he hadn't thought of her at all. Apparently he could walk Courtney home, after hugging her in the hallway, and take care of Carly's problems, and she later found out he was out at the safe house where Sonny was hiding and Brenda was being kept, but he couldn't take the time to talk to her. He wouldn't come home, he wouldn't call, and she'd sat in the penthouse with an amnesiac Zander fretting and worrying about Jason and trying to be strong and not pester the guards or Carly, trying to prove to everyone - including herself - that she could handle Jason's job. Then she found out it had all been a lie.

Sonny wasn't dead; he was alive. Carly had known, and let Elizabeth bake her brownies and clean her penthouse, Jason had known and was aware she was worrying about him but she had been in the dark. Zander thought she had been in the inner circle, that since she was living with Jason and he so obviously cared about her, she'd known all along. He told her he understood why she hadn't said anything to him and complimented her on playing the part of a worried girlfriend so well. Until he realized that she had been just as unaware as he'd been.

He'd bolted, figuring the danger was over, and Elizabeth had sat on the couch waiting to hear from Jason. And she'd waited, and stewed, and waited some more until her anger reached a near boiling point. Then when Jason came in, he'd been dismissive. It was business. She should understand that there were things he couldn't tell her. After all, Courtney hadn't been upset about the fact. He'd found that out after taking her home from the police station.

While Elizabeth wanted to believe that Jason wasn't involved with Courtney in any way other than protecting her, an old demon was making it hard to hold that faith. Lucky and Sarah had sworn up and down that they weren't attracted to each other, and they'd been sleeping together. Even after Elizabeth confronted them and they promised that it was over, she caught them again. While she wanted to believe that Jason would never get involved with a married woman, she'd also believed that Jason would never lie to her and let her worry needlessly.

After all, she'd found him bleeding in the snow and had taken care of him. She'd hid him in her studio and let he entire town think they were sleeping together mere months after Lucky's death all so that the cops wouldn't know that Jason had been shot. She'd practically been called a slut by Nikolas in front of the entire hospital and had to face her grandmother's disapproval. She'd done all of that, at the mere age of 18, and never once cracked or told the wrong person. But Jason hadn't trusted her about Sonny.

That's why she had to get away and clear her head. She had to leave Port Charles behind, think about other things. Of course, it wouldn't be easy not to think about Jason while living in a house that he owned, that he'd sent her to, and knowing that he intended to come down in a couple of days and see her. But she was going to try.

She'd sit on the beach and listen to the ocean. She'd paint with the supplies she'd packed into the car Jason had loaned her for the trip - it was safe, it was reliable, it had GPS tracking and she could call for roadside assistance should anything happen - and see if she couldn't just lose herself for a little while.

She walked through the house, inspecting rooms, checking window locks and admiring the simple décor and architecture. She admired the view from the windows and felt as surrounded by Jason here as she had in his penthouse. As she walked down the hall towards the bedrooms, she briefly considered the master bedroom, but didn't take it. She was just a guest here, and if Jason was coming, she wasn't going to kick him out of his room. Even if he probably would tell her she should take it.

She stowed her bags in the guest room across from the master suite and then set to unloading the groceries and putting them away. Once that was done, she stepped outside onto the patio which led to the beach. She carried her dinner, a deli sandwich she'd picked up at the store not wanting to deal with cooking tonight after driving all day, and a drink and sat down on the beach. The sun was going down and even though Florida was warmer than Port Charles, there was still a chill settling into the air.

She ate her dinner as the waves caressed the shore, the water turning to fire as the sun set. Even long after it had disappeared and the air chilled, she continued to sit staring at nothing. Finally a chill that she couldn't ignore began to seep into her bones and she slowly stood making sure to take her trash with her. She brushed off the sand before entering the house and closed the doors behind her, making sure to arm the security system.

It was so tempting to just head to the shower, clean up and head to bed, but she'd made a promise before she left. And as much as she just wanted to put the call off to tomorrow, she wouldn't worry Jason unnecessarily. Making sure to grab her phone, she went down the hall to her bedroom and sat down on the bed. Taking a deep breath, she stared at her phone for a minute and then dialed Jason's number.

"Morgan."

"Jason," she said uneasily.

"Elizabeth?" His voice instantly changed, softened from his harsh greeting. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she told him. "I...I'm at the house."

"Did you just get in?" he asked. "How was your drive?"

"It was fine," she told him, just wanting to get off the phone but fearing that Jason would try to keep talking. "I got in about an hour ago and had some dinner. I'm pretty tired from the drive and am going to go to sleep, but I told you I'd call."

There was a sigh on the other end and when Jason finally spoke again, his voice sounded defeated and somewhat regretful. "Thank you for letting me know."

"Yeah," she nodded and rubbed her forehead in mental and physical exhaustion. "Listen, Jason? I know you said you'd come down in a couple of days, but...can you call before you do? I...I don't know if I'll be ready by then to see you."

"Yeah," he said slowly and she felt as if she'd hurt his feelings simply by being honest. "I'll call you, Elizabeth. In two days. And if you're not ready, then I'll call you two days later. I'll give you all the time you need...but I'm not giving up."

She didn't know whether to be afraid or relieved at his promise and so she merely told him goodnight before hanging up the phone. For better or for worse, she had two days to decide whether or not she was ready to face everything with Jason.

Somebody was going to get shot before he left Port Charles, and at the rate things were going, it would be Sonny. Jason was ready to go to Jake's and start a spectacular bar brawl just to release his anger and frustration, but he just couldn't do that to the bar owner. It wasn't her fault he wanted to punch his so-called friends; it wasn't her fault that Jason was wound up tighter than a spring and one more half-crank would send him flying out of control. It wasn't even Elizabeth's fault, despite what Sonny and Carly wanted to believe and had condescendingly stated.

No, the problem lay with him. He had let things get to this point and now he was paying the price. He had let Sonny and Carly drag him into their personal lives over and over expecting him to clean up their messes and take care of every little problem they had, and he'd done it because he thought that's what friends did. Then one day he realized that while he gave and gave, he got nothing in return. He got empty words and virtual pats on the head and he was sick and tired of it.

He'd once had Robin act like she knew better than him and could tell him what he should and shouldn't do and that had ended up costing him his son. Now, he had Sonny and Carly making demands and giving orders and it was nearly costing him Elizabeth. If it hadn't already. Who knew if they'd be able to work this out when he got down to Florida, but even though she'd asked him to give her another two days when they spoke yesterday, he was ready to hop on his bike and head south anyways. Just to get away from the craziness that surrounded his life here.

"Good, you're here," Carly announced as she opened the door and walked into his penthouse. "I need to talk to you."

"If you're here to complain about Sonny, Brenda, Johnny or Elizabeth, then turn around and walk back out, Carly," he told her, not even looking up from the cue ball he was aiming at the twelve ball. If he looked at Carly he might just throw the stick or one of the balls at her and he was frustrated enough that he might actually hit her instead of deliberately missing. "I'm not in the mood."

"Jason," she sighed as she sat down on the edge of the pool table and interrupted his game. "You've really got to get a grip. Elizabeth Webber is not worth you twisting yourself into knots over. She never deserved you and she proved it when she took off the first time it got a little hard."

"This from the woman who drove her car into a lake and then hid out letting her son think she was dead all because she caught her husband cheating on her," he growled as he picked her up roughly and deposited her by his couch. Then he went back to his game.

"Oh, please," she said dismissively. "You can't even compare the two incidents. He was sleeping with another woman...with Alexis Davis of all people. Elizabeth got upset because you didn't tell her Sonny was alive."

"You got upset Sonny didn't tell you about Brenda."

He could hear the edge enter her voice. "I'm his wife and his ex-fiancée was staying at the same house he was. I think that gives me a right to be upset. What does Elizabeth have a right to be upset over?"

"That her boyfriend lied to her about his best friend being dead," Jason answered succinctly.

"Her boyfriend?" Carly gasped. "You were not her boyfriend."

"I sat on that couch right behind you and told her that I wanted to be with her, that I wanted to make a relationship with her, I promised her that I'd try and that I'd be honest with her and then I let her believe a huge lie."

Carly spun away from the leather couch like her butt was on fire and scowled at the offending furniture. "This couch? Geez, Jason, warn a woman. You didn't...you didn't have sex with her on it, did you? If you did, I insist you get another one because I will never sit there again. Oh...ew," she gave a shudder, "now I'm picturing you and Elizabeth having sex there. I think I'm going to be sick."

"Then feel free to leave," Jason snapped at her. "I didn't ask you to come over. And I don't want to hear about how Elizabeth is wrong for me and that I'm so much better off without her and that she can't handle this life. She took care of me when I was shot, she's hidden me in her studio, and she's never lied to me, accused me of kidnapping her son or turned her husband into the FBI. So shut up about her."

Carly's eyes were wide and her face was pale as she stood gaping at him in disbelief. "Jason?"

"What do you want, Carly?" he demanded.

"Sonny's insisting Johnny and Brenda move into Harbor View," she informed him, sounding like Michael did when he whined about not getting dessert. "I refuse to live in the same building as that woman."

"She'll be on a different floor," Jason replied, really not caring if she got upset or not. "It's the safest place for her to be here since Alcazar is still trying to get her back. Think of it this way, Carly," he said with a wicked glint in his eye, "she could be living here right now if I'd married her like she'd asked."

Her nose once again wrinkled up in disgust. "I don't know who would be worse, Elizabeth or Brenda."

"Alright," he snapped, tossing his pool cue down on the table, "that's it. I've had enough, Carly. Every day it's the same old thing. You come over here and complain and tell me how to run my life and expect me to fix yours, well I'm done. Your life is your own and if you don't want to talk to Sonny and tell him how you feel and if you want to be petty and jealous and insecure and run off and do something stupid instead of actually trusting him, then go do it. Nothing I say to you will make any difference and I'm sick of listening to you talk."

He opened the door and actually shoved her out into the hallway. "I'm sick of you talking about Elizabeth and going off on her when she's done absolutely nothing to you, and in fact, was nice to you when you knew your husband was alive. She cleaned your penthouse, didn't get into fights with you, baked you brownies and tried to be kind to you when she thought you were grieving for your husband. I've told you to stop talking bad about her to me and I mean it. If you can't respect my privacy and respect my life, then stay out of it!"

Then he slammed the door shut and flipped the lock. He was halfway back to the pool table when she knocked on the door. He ignored her and picked up the pool stick, concentrating once more on sending the twelve ball into the corner pocket. The knocking continued, but he didn't let it interrupt him as he tapped the cue ball, sending it smacking into the other ball and depositing it neatly in the pocket.

"Jason!" He looked up at the sound of Sonny's voice and frowned. "I know you're in there, open the door. I need to talk to you."

Frustrated, he tossed the stick onto the green felt and stalked across the room. Untwisting the lock with a quick snap of his wrist, he wrenched the door open to face his boss. "What?"

"I sent Carly over to the penthouse," he informed the other man. "But you and I need to talk."

"Fine," he said and stepped back to let the older man in. "What do you want?"

"For you to not bite my head off," Sonny stated. "How 'bout we start with that."

Jason let out a breath and reached up to massage the bridge of his nose. "Sorry. I just...had enough of Carly."

"Yeah," the other man huffed. "I understand. She's been driving me crazy going on about Brenda and Johnny and how she doesn't want him to guard her anymore since he's married to Brenda now."

"Sonny," Jason interrupted softly. "What do you need? Because I'll tell you the same thing I told Carly. I'm not getting involved in yours and her lives anymore. Work it out, but stop dragging me into it. If she's upset, then deal with her yourself instead of expecting me to placate your wife."

"That's not why I came," Sonny shook his head. "I came to talk to you about Elizabeth."

Immediately Jason went tense. "What about her?"

"Are you really going to go down to wherever it is she's at when she gives you the okay?" It was clear by Sonny's tone that he didn't like it, he didn't want Jason to, and he expected Jason to give him the answer he wanted to hear. His friend was going to be disappointed.

"Yes," he answered. "I am."

"Jason, I know our last conversation didn't go well," the older man began.

"No, for it to be a conversation, you'd actually have to listen," Jason pointed out. "You don't like it, it's not a good time, Alcazar's still a threat...I heard you, Sonny, but you didn't hear me. I don't care that you don't like it. This is my life. Johnny's back, we have Max, we can bring Francis up from the island, and Ritchie and Enzo are here as well and are good men. Keep Brenda in the Towers and guard all the exits, and she'll be safe. You can manage for a couple of days while I'm gone."

"I don't want to manage," Sonny growled. "I want my enforcer here."

"I've left before and you've gotten along just fine," he stated. "This is important."

"Elizabeth is more important to you than doing your job?"

"At this moment?" Jason challenged back. "Yes, she is. You know she could have been trusted. She took care of me, she hid me, and she's never given you any reason to doubt her. Tell me why we didn't tell her?"

Sonny looked away and Jason huffed in frustration. "That's what I thought. It probably never crossed your mind and I was already jumping through hoops for you and worrying about you that I didn't want to push you on this. I should have."

The older man looked back, his eyes snapping with challenge, "What do you mean you were already worried about me?"

"I feared you were about to slip," Jason answered bluntly. "So much was going on, you were starting to act erratic; I thought that's why you were riding my case and challenging my every move. I felt it was better to not challenge this, but I didn't realize that you were just so wrapped up in yourself that you were blind to everyone else around you."

Sonny's eyes narrowed lethally. "If you're trying to piss me off so that I'll fire you or say go on and get out of here, you're walking a fine line, Jason."

"That's not what I'm doing," he countered back, although part of him wondered. "I'm being honest. I'm sick of being stuck in the middle of yours and Carly's dramas and fights. You're adults, work it out. If you'd just talk to her instead of treating her like a child, maybe she wouldn't run off and do these stupid stunts. But the fact remains that when Elizabeth calls, I'm leaving."

"Even if I give you a direct order?"

Jason walked slowly and calculatingly around the pool table until he was stopped in front of Sonny. "If this was about Carly, it wouldn't matter if we were in the middle of a shootout or the Feds were about to arrest the whole organization. So why is it so hard for you to understand that this is important to me? I already went against direct orders from you, I went to Taggert to help find her when she was missing, can you really not understand that Elizabeth is important to me?"

"Do you love her?" Sonny asked.

Jason licked his lips and looked down, settling his hands at his waist. He'd never said those words to her, although he'd told her that there were no words for what he felt. He did whatever he could to help her; he'd do whatever was in her power to see that she was happy. Maybe that was love, but he didn't think he had to answer Sonny's question just because his boss was curious.

"She means a lot to me," Jason answered. "And beyond that, it's nobody's business but ours."

Sonny sighed and shook his head, turning away. "I need you hear, Jason. You'll just have to figure things out with Elizabeth later."

"No," he told the older man and Sonny stopped at the door and turned to look at him.

"No," Jason repeated. "It's not going to wait. I'm leaving tonight."

Sonny's brow crept upwards and he crossed his arms. "I just told you it would have to wait."

"And I told you it's not going to. I'm leaving tonight. You'll just have to figure things out on your own, Sonny. You've done it before and you'll just have to remember that there are other people in this organization who can do things and you can use. I have a life of my own and whether you want to accept it, I'm your partner and I'm supposed to be your friend and so I'm telling you that I'm leaving. Tonight."

They stood in silent challenge for several long minutes. Jason wasn't going to back down and if this meant that he left Port Charles and never came back because he was over with Sonny completely, then that's the way it would be. But he knew Sonny and he knew that the other man would back down. He'd bluster and he'd be a bear to be around, but Jason knew he had the right to stand up for himself. Especially since if this was Carly who left, Sonny wouldn't think twice about leaving town to go talk to her. It was time the older man accepted that Jason had other priorities in his life as well.

"Fine," Sonny finally conceded with a growl. "Go, if that's what you want. I just hope Elizabeth is worth is. You better have your phone on and with you at all times because if something happens and I need you back, I will call you."

"Fine," Jason conceded. "But only if it's something no one else can handle. Because if you call me back just because you're having a fit and you want to prove something to me...you don't want to find out what I'll do."

"You're threatening me?"

"No," Jason shook his head. "I'm making sure we understand each other."

Sonny walked out the door and Jason waited a minute before bounding up the stairs and grabbing the bag he'd packed the moment he came home after seeing Elizabeth on her way to Florida. He'd wanted to be able to go at a moment's notice and now was the time. He didn't know if she'd tell him to come when he called her tomorrow and he wouldn't tell her that he'd left Port Charles - he didn't want to pressure her - but he was going to head towards Florida. He could watch her, try to gauge her mood, and when she finally did agree to meet him, he'd be there and waiting.

A moment later he was locking his front door and heading towards the elevator. Max nodded to him from his post in front of Sonny's penthouse, but the other man didn't say anything. The guards knew he might be leaving, because Jason and Sonny's argument hadn't exactly been a secret. He didn't like leaving with dissension in the organization, but this couldn't be avoided. He had made a promise to Elizabeth and this time he intended to keep it.

Even though she talked Jason yesterday and told him, in spite of part of her really wanting to see him, to not come down yet, she walked back into the house after spending the morning on the beach and picked up her cell phone. She dialed his number and waited, wondering if he'd pick up. She'd still felt too angry yesterday to talk to him without it turning into a slinging match of insults and accusations and she feared as long as she still felt that way that it wouldn't dissipate before he arrived, especially if he flew down to Florida instead of driving his bike. Better to wait until she truly wanted to see him.

But she'd seen something today while walking along the sand and now she was standing on the cool Saltillo tile and tapping her fingernails on the granite countertop. Her anger was slowly boiling.

"Morgan."

"Jason?" she queried, taking a deep breath. "Whatcha doing?"

"Elizabeth?" He sounded confused. "What-"

"Where are you?"

There was silence and Elizabeth put an edge to her voice. "Where are you Jason?"

"I'm sitting in a hotel room," he admitted.

"I knew it," she exploded. "I knew I saw you this morning when I was out walking on the beach. You were hanging on the edges of the tree line, but I saw you. What happened, you got tired of waiting and you just decided after you called me yesterday that you'd come down anyways?"

"No," he said slowly. "When I called you yesterday I was in a hotel room in North Carolina. I left Port Charles because I got tired of Sonny and Carly giving me grief every five seconds, thinking they could tell me what to do with my life and I didn't care if you weren't ready to see me yet, I had to leave. I planned to drive to Florida and wait until you said it was okay to come."

"Kinda a moot point, if you're already here," she huffed.

"No," he countered once again. "I told you that I would respect your privacy. I'm actually not even in the same town. I...I did stop by the house, because I just...I wanted to see if I could catch just a glimpse of you. I wasn't going to say anything to you; I wasn't going to force you to see me when you weren't ready yet. I'm sorry you saw me and it upset you. I just...I just wanted to at least see you for a few minutes because I missed you. When you continued on down the beach, I drove off and found a hotel in another town so that you wouldn't see me around and so I wouldn't be tempted to come to the house."

Elizabeth leaned back against the counter, crossing her bare feet at her ankles and sighed. It was obviously watery and she knew he would hear it. The great big sap. He'd spoken more to her than she'd heard in weeks, almost months, and he totally diffused her anger. He'd gotten fed up with his friends and he left town. But he was still trying to keep his word to her. The honesty and sincerity, the regret that she'd seen him and was upset, the resolve to keep his word were all clearly present and she found her heart melting towards him.

"Elizabeth?" he asked hesitantly. "Are...are you still there? Look, if you want me to leave Florida, I'll do that. I just...I'll give you whatever you need."

"Give me an hour," she told him.

"What?"

"Give me an hour to take a shower, I need to wash the salt water out of my hair and get dressed and all that. So...give me an hour and then...then you can come."

"Are...are you sure?" he asked. "I...you don't have to say that just because I couldn't stay away and showed up when you hadn't told me to."

"Actually," she said, blowing out a breath and blinking, "that's exactly why you should come. Look...we'll talk more when you get here. One hour from now."

"Alright," Jason said, his voice warring between hope and caution. "I'll see you in an hour."

Elizabeth flipped her cell phone shut and crossed her arms over her stomach. She had one hour to get cleaned up and calm the butterflies inside. Gone was the anger...in its place was an enormous swarm of butterflies. She didn't know which was worse.

By the time Jason arrived, prompt as ever, an hour later, Elizabeth almost felt ready to meet him. Her hair was still slightly damp and curling in the humidity she'd been unable to combat since coming to Florida and living on the Gulf, and so she merely went with it. She'd been sitting by the window for the past five minutes, chewing on her lip until it was chapped and raw, watching for Jason to arrive. When she finally did see him turn onto the ocean side street, her heart sped up while she fought for control. She had always loved seeing him on his motorcycle, and not just because it meant she might be able to get a ride on it later.

Taking a deep breath and wiping her sweaty palms off on her jeans, she stood and made her way into the living room, waiting for him to come in. She was surprised, however, when he knocked on the door and then waited. Surely he didn't mean to stand outside his own house. When he knocked once again, she realized that he did, and she crossed the room and flipped the lock, opening the door for him.

"Hi," he said softly, his hands tucked almost nervously into his pants pockets.

"Hi," she returned, and then stepped back. "Come in. I mean...after all, this is your house."

Jason didn't say anything as he stepped inside and then stood there looking at her. She closed the door and found herself standing by it, fumbling with the metal hardware. "Oh, this is ridiculous," she sighed. "We're standing around like teenagers in a hotel room on prom night. There's no reason to be this nervous or awkward."

His eyes widened slightly, but he still didn't say anything. Apparently it was up to her to take charge of the situation. "Have a seat, Jason."

He sat down on the sofa and she sat down in the wide, overstuffed chair that was quickly becoming a favorite of hers and pulled her feet up beside her. "Is your stuff out on your bike?"

He peered at her for a moment and then shook his head. "It's back at my hotel."

"Jason," she sighed, "this is your house."

"And I'm letting you use it," he countered. "And it's probably...for the best that I stay in the hotel. I...I want to work things out with you, Elizabeth, if we can and I don't want either of us to be uncomfortable. Maybe...maybe that was our problem back in Port Charles. We would have to stay together because of circumstances and we never had any in between phases."

"We never went on a date," she said softly, remembering that night in his penthouse before it all fell apart. He'd told her that if things worked out like they should, she could probably go back to her studio soon and she'd asked him, because it sounded like he was anxious for that to happen, if he would miss her if she left. If he would ask her out on a date. An actual real date that both of them wanted to be at, not like the time she tricked him up to Vista Point.

"Right," he agreed, just as softly. "I...I miss you, Elizabeth."

"Is that why you left Port Charles?" she asked him. "Or is it because you got tired of fighting with Sonny and Carly?"

"Both. Sonny didn't like it that I'd told him that as soon as you called I was going to leave. He claimed it was too busy, that it was too unsettled, but I told him that if the situation was reversed, if Carly had taken off and he was waiting for her call, he'd leave the moment he heard from her. I said that you were that important to me."

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she blinked them rapidly so she didn't become overwhelmed and start to cry. How could he say all the right things now and crumble her defenses? It wasn't fair.

"But I also..." Jason trailed off as he continued and then he shrugged. "I missed you, Elizabeth. I thought about you, and I wondered what you were doing. Did you like the house? Were you painting? Were you still upset? Would you say to come the next time I called? I just...I couldn't stay there in Port Charles and I came down here. And I...believe me, I didn't mean for you to see me because I wasn't trying to pressure you. I just...I had to see you at least once before I went somewhere and waited for you to say it was okay to come."

"I believe you," she told him with a soft smile tilting her lips. "It's...it's what convinced me to let you come, that you...that you were serious."

At his slightly confused look she continued. "You were fighting for what you wanted. You weren't just sitting back and waiting for me to say okay. You... Jason, I don't want to ever come between you and Sonny. I would never ask you to give up your job or to choose between us, but the fact that you said no to him...I'll admit, there's a part of me that likes that. That it was that important for you to say no. I...that probably makes me sound really selfish and I suddenly feel like Carly, so please let's not get into situations like this again. I'm not trying to change you, but I do remember when you said no to them and had your own life."

"So do I," he said ruefully. "I told Sonny I was tired of cleaning up his messes all the time with Carly. He needed to work things out with his wife on his own and stop expecting me to fix things."

She wondered if that would really work, if two of the most selfish people on the planet would actually deal with things themselves or still expect him to be there all the time, but maybe if Jason stood up to them more often, it would work. But she really didn't want to think about Sonny and Carly any longer. It honestly was none of her business how Jason chose to conduct his life and his relationship with the pair. While they might think that she had pushed him into this, Elizabeth planned on staying out of it. He had never told her to stop seeing Lucky, and she certainly wasn't going to tell him it was them or her.

"So..." Jason shifted slightly on the couch and thankfully changed the topic. "What...what have you been doing since you've been down here?"

"I slept a lot for the first couple of days," she told him, looking down at the arm of the chair as she traced her nail over the threads of the fabric. "I was tired from the drive and from...from staying up late at night worrying about you and wondering if you were alright."

She heard the guilt and anguish in his voice as he said, "Elizabeth."

"I," she looked up at him and had to look away from the tortured image and held up her hand to prevent him from saying more. "I'm not saying this to make you feel guilty or to make you feel bad. I just...I'm trying to be honest. I was worried about you, Jason. And when I found out the truth...then I was almost too angry and too hurt to sleep. So I've been sleeping."

She gave a little laugh. "I've always heard how it's supposed to be so calming to sleep by the ocean, to hear the waves, but until I actually experienced it." She shrugged, "I haven't slept so well in a long time."

"You do look good," he told her, and she felt a faint blush creep up from his words. "You also look like you've gotten a little sun."

He smiled and teased, "You have some freckles."

"Yeah," she nodded. "I've been taking walks. Just thinking and listening to the ocean. Sitting out on the back patio. Last night was the first time I had any desire to draw, so I grabbed a sketchbook. I watched the sun set over the water."

"I'm glad you're enjoying the place," Jason said, deep sincerity in his voice. "I thought you might like it here."

"I do," she admitted. Though she didn't tell him part of the reason was that it was connected to him. Even when she was angry and frustrated, she liked knowing she was living some place he had stayed at, that she could feel him in the simple décor and functionality of the place.

"Then you can stay as long as you want," he promised her. "Even if you want me to go, you can stay here, Elizabeth."

Swallowing, she looked away; uncomfortable with the deeper level he always seemed to take their conversations. Once she was in control again, she smiled and said, "So you have your bike."

"Yeah, I do," he laughed. "And, yes, we can go for a ride."

"Can we go now?" she asked. "I...I want to get out of here. Go do something. I'm not ready for more conversation at the moment."

If he was hurt or disappointed by her pronouncement, he didn't show it. Instead, he nodded and stood, reaching into his pocket for his keys. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "This is your house; you're familiar with the area. Why don't you show me where you go when you come here? Let's have lunch at your favorite restaurant."

"I know just the place," he said, his voice holding an enticing promise. "Let's go."

At any other time, in any other place, Jason Morgan would have thought his deepest wishes had come true. A man who normally didn't ask for things or believe in wishes, there had always been a little part of him that had wanted this. In Florida, in the sun and the early November warmth, alone with Elizabeth...it was all that he'd never dared hope to have one day. He'd spent her birthday with her, the first time since that night he'd found her on the docks after Bobbie threw her a surprise party she didn't want, and Nikolas had tried to kiss her. Back then she was still grieving over Lucky's death and he was dealing with Carly and her crazy schemes regarding Michael.

So much had changed since then. Now he was the one who wanted to kiss Elizabeth and Carly was still driving him crazy, but she also had a new husband to torment and Jason was more than happy to leave her craziness to Sonny. He'd spent the day with Elizabeth doing things he thought she would like. He took her to an art museum and listened to her as she described the paintings. They went for a long drive along the Gulf Coast and he surprised her by taking her to dinner in New Orleans. Somewhere nice but full of flavor and history, somewhere the tourists didn't normally go. If she'd been tired, he would have paid for separate hotel rooms for them, but she wanted to go back to Florida; she wanted to ride with him at night.

At the end, when they drove up to his house at two in the morning, he walked her to the door and unable to resist, he'd kissed her on her cheek and wished her a happy birthday. Then he stepped back, made sure she got inside safely and drove back to his hotel. He hadn't wanted to overwhelm her, he hadn't wanted to push. Unsure if she'd welcome a kiss from him, their last had been at Vista Point and then he'd walked away from her, he promised himself he'd take it slow.

There were still things that needed to be worked out between them and Jason intended to show her that he was listening to her. That he understood her hurt and her anger, her frustration and her humiliation. He would not treat her like she'd said her peace and then was just supposed to capitulate to his wants. He would keep his promise of walking away if that's what she wanted; if they were unable to work things out.

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, though. It was just so hard to tell. They talked, and they were honest - sometimes brutally so - but there were days he wondered if they were truly making any progress. Some days they didn't even talk about Port Charles, they would just spend the day together on the beach, him watching her paint or her listening as he taught her how to body surf out in the waves. Maybe it wasn't the best thing, maybe they were only prolonging the inevitable parting, but if it did come to that, then at least they would have more pleasant memories instead of their exchange in his penthouse when he'd come back from all his pointless and useless errands to trip over her suitcases and then watch her walk out his door.

He didn't know what today would hold when he showed up at her house - despite owning it, he wouldn't treat it that way, he didn't just walk in, he always knocked and waited for her to answer the door. As he stood on her front porch he wondered if he'd shown up too early and decided to knock one more time then he'd go down to the street, get a cup of coffee and wait for a little while before calling to see if she was up. A minute later, he determined he'd kept her up too late last night playing pool at a pool hall across town and decided to go when the door swung open behind him.

"Jason."

Her voice was slightly flat and he turned to find her standing in the doorway, her arms folded tight across her chest, her cell phone clutched in her hand. She stepped back and said, "Come in."

He followed behind her, closing the door and flipping the locks and worry began to settle into his stomach. "E-Elizabeth? Is everything okay?"

"No," she shook her head. "What are you doing here, Jason?"

He frowned and slowly approached the couch where he normally sat. "I...I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"You didn't," she shook her head.

"Then...then what's going on?"

"I was talking to my grandmother this morning," she informed him. "And she said that things are out of control back home. Sonny's been arrested on nearly a daily basis, Bobbie hasn't been into the hospital in weeks because she's busy with Carly, Brenda was put into the hospital after some accident, and things are getting a bit scary with Luis Alcazar running around town."

Jason swallowed. He got reports from Johnny, knew that Brenda's trip to the hospital was more of a precaution, but also a trap for Luis. If he thought she was there, he would follow and the guards could then infiltrate his house and look for evidence while planting bugs. Sonny hadn't been arrested nearly daily, Taggert was blustering and bluffing, but his friend wasn't a regular at the PCPD. He didn't know where Audrey Hardy was getting her information, but it was no doubt the normal rumor mill that exaggerated everything to epic proportions. Jason was about to tell Elizabeth that her grandmother was a little more worked up than the situation warranted when she continued.

"And then you know what my grandmother said?" she tilted her head to the side. "She said that nobody had seen Jason Morgan around town and if he was there, then she was certain things would calm down."

Jason's eyebrows rose at that statement.

"I don't know if she really believes that, or if she suspects or is worried that you followed after me and she would rather have you back home than with me. I haven't told her I'm staying at your house, just told her I found a beach house to rent since it's the off-season. You didn't leave right away, but maybe she's worried." Elizabeth's mouth quirked up slightly. "I also didn't tell her that you were visiting me."

Unsure of what to say, Jason leaned back against the couch and looked away. He knew Audrey Hardy didn't like him, and definitely didn't like his relationship with Elizabeth. Is this what was upsetting her, that her grandmother may suspect they were together out of town? It seemed unlikely given the times Elizabeth had stood up to the older woman, most notably when she was 18 and moved out because Elizabeth refused to tell Jason to leave her studio while he was recuperating.

"So I want to know why you're here, Jason," Elizabeth continued on. "Why you're down here in Florida when things are apparently falling apart back in Port Charles and Sonny most likely needs your help."

He looked over at her and wondered if this was some kind of test. "You know why I'm here, Elizabeth."

She looked away and sighed, "I never expected you to stay when there was a threat to Sonny and his family."

"There's always a threat to Sonny and his family," he said bluntly, but not maliciously. "It comes with the business. But he has Johnny protecting Brenda and the other guards are there. There have been times I was out of town and he had to deal with things. He can do it this time."

Looking sharply back at him, she sighed, worrying her bottom lip. "This is because of me, isn't it? Because of what I said that night. I was upset, Jason, when I said all you'd be was Sonny's enforcer."

"I know," he sighed heavily. "But you were right. And it's not enough, Elizabeth. Not if it costs me you."

"But Sonny sounds like he's in trouble. Luis Alcazar left Alexis Davis in the park when she was in premature labor; she nearly lost her baby. What kind of monster does that to a woman?" She stood up and paced across the room, running her hand agitatedly through her hair. "Jason...I...when I said that all you'd be was Sonny's enforcer...I never wanted you to give up your job. I know it's part of you, it's not just a job to you, it's not something that you can take off at the end of the day, you don't keep banker's hours. I know all that. I was hurt and I was lashing out, but I...I was never trying to make you choose between me and Sonny."

"I know, Elizabeth," he said, standing and tucking his hands into his pockets. "I've kept in contact with Sonny and the others back in Port Charles and while things are tense, they're not quite as bad as what your grandmother said. I'm not saying she's lying...but she doesn't know everything that's going on."

"Do you want to go back to Port Charles?" she asked him.

"I... A part of me worries about them, Sonny sometimes gets a little overwhelmed when there's too much and not enough time to process it, but I also know that he's a grownup and he can deal with things. I told him if it was a true emergency to call me, but so far he hasn't."

"But you would feel better if you were there."

"When I was there," he told her, "I wasn't much use to anybody because I was thinking about you, and worrying about you."

Blinking in surprise and coloring slightly, Elizabeth turned away. Jason stepped closer to her, taking a chance - but also because he couldn't stop himself, he needed to touch her - and rested his hand on her shoulder, slowly coaxing her around to face him. "What's going on, Elizabeth?"

"I'm scared, Jason," she admitted. "If something happens to Sonny or his family because you're down here with me, would they ever be able to forgive me? Would you? I...I'm not trying to make you choose between me and them, but...if something happens to Sonny..."

"Carly..." he said simply and understood what she was worried about. Carly would never forgive Elizabeth and eventually he would be forced to choose between the two women because Carly would never accept Elizabeth's presence in his life.

Elizabeth twisted her mouth to the side and nodded just once. "I know she's your friend..."

"It's okay," he told her. "So what...what do you want me to do, Elizabeth?"

"I want you to go back to Port Charles," she told him even though he saw a flicker of pain go through her eyes. "You need to, Jason. You know that things will go better if there's an extra person, and you...you said it the night you left... You know how to do your job, you don't take unnecessary risks...and Sonny needs that right now."

He knew what she was saying was true in his heart. He had pushed it aside to focus on her right now, but her worry was bleeding into him. What if Audrey Hardy was right and the organization was downplaying the threat because Sonny didn't want to appear weak? But Jason was also listening to Elizabeth and had only heard that he needed to go back to Port Charles. She'd said nothing about herself. And that scared him. Scared him that this was it, that he was losing her.

"You're not going back, are you?" he asked.

Regret floated through her eyes, before being replaced with hope. "I...no." She shook her head. "But I was...I was hoping I could stay here, still."

"You...you want to stay here?"

"I...I have some things I still need to think about, Jason," she admitted. "You've done so much to apologize to me for what happened with Sonny being alive, but...you've also given me some things to think about. I...I need to decide if I can live with your life. And I'm not talking about the danger, I'm talking about the other people in your life and how we'll relate to each other. I can't be selfish, but I also don't want to make a rushed decision just because you've been down here and these past few weeks have been wonderful. We...we always seem to work well when we're alone, but sometimes other people get in the way and I need to figure out what I really want and if I'm going to be strong enough to deal with everything."

Jason swallowed, feeling slightly overwhelmed. She wasn't saying no to them, but she wasn't saying yes. But she sounded more open to the possibility of a future for them than she had when he found her that day in her studio packing her bags, and even when he arrived in Florida.

"Can I call you?" he asked. "Just to talk? Not to ask if you're coming or if I can come down, but just to talk?"

"If you want to, yes," she granted him permission.

"Can I ask...can I ask that if you decide to leave Florida, even if it's not to come back to Port Charles, that you call me?" He knew he was wearing his heart on his sleeve, but she'd said once that sometimes she didn't know what he wanted from her and he was trying to fix that.

"I'll call you, Jason," she promised him. "But...no, I'll just say that I'll call you."

"So then I should probably go," he sighed.

Tears filled her eyes and she nodded. "I want to be selfish and say don't go, but I also know that you need to. I'm not trying to change you, Jason."

"But you have," he told her. "Hopefully it's for the better. Because I don't ever want to push you away again because of something I did or didn't do. I...I want you in my life, Elizabeth."

Maybe he shouldn't, but he threw caution to the wind and leaned down to capture her lips. This would not be a kiss of good-bye, it wouldn't be angry, and it wouldn't be bittersweet. He wanted this to be a kiss of hope, something for her to look forward to, and something for him to remember during the time he was away from her. He was slow at first, but she immediately responded to him and pulled him deeper until the need for air forced them apart.

"You better go," she told him when they finally separated. "Or I'm going to beg you to stay and I..."

She shook her head and leaned against his chest. He knew how she felt, and he needed to be the stronger of the two. So he kissed the crown of her head one last time, and then pulled back, heading for the door and not looking back, even when he heard a sob catch in Elizabeth's throat.

Elizabeth stepped outside and felt her breath catch in her throat. The air was cold and she almost forgot how it could burn when breathed in. For so long she'd dealt with the balmy autumn, temperate days that turned cooler at night but nothing compared to Port Charles. This was genuine winter and she took a moment to adjust to it as she stood outside the airport.

She carried her bags to a taxi waiting in line and lifted them in beside her. She gave the driver directions and then settled back against the seat. The storm that had caused her to rethink driving up from Florida because it was moving south had left a blanket of white behind on the city. Streets that had been dingy with the onset of fall when she left were now shrouded in snow casting a completely different look.

With eyes tempered by time and distance, she could now admit she'd missed Port Charles. When she'd first packed up to go, she openly doubted if she'd ever come back. All she had was her grandmother to come back to and while she loved the woman who had taken her in when she'd shown up unexpectedly in her back yard, she knew that her gram would understand if she decided to no longer call the city home. At times, her grandmother even felt that it was for the best. After all, it would keep her away from Jason and Audrey was not shy in voicing her disapproval regarding Elizabeth's relationship with the mobster.

When Elizabeth decided to stay in Florida for Thanksgiving, her gram hadn't been upset. She said she understood, she hoped Elizabeth was safe and finding whatever it was that she needed to be happier, and said that she would take the opportunity to go to New York City and spend the holiday with Elizabeth's brother Steven. She had planned on spending a quiet day watching the Thanksgiving parade and then eating a turkey sandwich. There was no sense in doing more for the holiday when it was only going to be herself.

Of course, that had all changed when Jason showed up unexpectedly and surprised her. He said that things were still dicey in Port Charles, but he had worked it out with Johnny to take the day off. Sonny and Carly didn't know he was gone, they thought he was tracking down a lead on Alcazar and that was why he couldn't join them for dinner. He didn't want to deal with the hassle he knew would ensue when he informed them he was planning on spending the day with Elizabeth. She had been stunned to see him, but also very happy. She'd found herself missing him more and more with each passing day and even though they talked when they could, she wasn't satisfied with it. But when she'd hesitantly voiced coming back, he had asked her to stay in Florida. Things were going to reach a head soon with Alcazar and he felt better knowing she was safe out of his reach.

She had no idea that he would instead come down to see her. If she'd known, she would have gone shopping since the cupboards were woefully bare given the fact that she didn't cook very much. Figuring they could find at least one restaurant open, she'd instead been told by Jason that he would fix them something to eat. It wasn't much, but it was no doubt better than anything she could have come up with. Who knew that it wasn't so much the meal that made Thanksgiving, but the company who shared it?

When the day finally ended and night had long since fallen, Jason had reluctantly stood and said he had to get back to Port Charles. He'd been away as long as he could, and he had to go. He needed to leave now, or he wouldn't be able to go later. It was his admission that this was just as hard on him, or maybe even harder, that finally broke through to Elizabeth. She finally realized that he was giving as much as he could here, and if their relationship was going to go anywhere, she had to make the next move. She had to be the one to bend next.

He had left in the middle of a mob war to spend precious hours with her because he'd had almost a physical need to see her. How could she cling any longer to the bitter belief that he wasn't invested? How could she say that it was always about Sonny and it would always be that way and she would just get the leftover bits? She knew that Sonny and Carly and Michael were important to Jason, and she knew that his job wasn't normal and he would never work banker's hours. But life wasn't always danger. There wasn't always someone trying to come after Sonny and the business.

And she wouldn't be getting leftovers, she would be getting precious time with Jason. Time that he carved out specifically to be with her. It might be cuddling on the couch and playing pool and taking rides every night, but when he got moments when he could leave work behind, he would spend them with her. He'd proven that by not having Thanksgiving dinner with Sonny and his family, but coming to Florida to be with her.

When she hugged him tightly before he left, Elizabeth wanted desperately to kiss Jason. She knew, though, that it wasn't the right time. Their first kiss in months shouldn't be a kiss of good-bye. The next time they kissed, it should be with a promise for the future. Which meant not playing the shrinking violet and kissing him as he headed out the door. Although she came very close. She held him tight, brought her hand up to the back of his neck and drew his head towards her, and then she kissed his cheek. Lingering, pressing hers against his and letting her lips get close to his without actually touching. She hoped that he would understand what she was trying to impart to him, and as he pulled back and his eyes seemed bright and soft, she thought that he might.

Now it was time to test that theory. She was back in Port Charles, although Jason didn't know she was coming. She had hoped to surprise him, but as the cab drove through the streets, getting closer to the docks, she wondered if she'd made the right choice. Although she knew that Luis Alcazar was dead, having taken a header off a Port Charles Hotel balcony, she didn't know if things were really settled down. Should she really just be walking back into the city without telling anyone first?

It was too late now, and the most she could do was quickly get inside and then figure out how she was going to connect up with Jason. When the cab stopped near the waterfront building, she handed over fare and a tip, grabbed her suitcases and stepped out. Quickly she made her way into the building, up the flights of stairs and then to the solid door of her studio. With the massive barrier Jason had installed, she knew that she would be safe here until she could tell him she was in Port Charles. Where they went from there, she wasn't entirely sure, but she was going to stick around long enough to find out. She had realized what she wanted, and this time she wasn't going to give up just because things might get a little difficult.

Her studio was cold when she went inside, and while it smelt a little musty, it wasn't as bad as she thought it might be. She wondered if the cold weather had kept the dust down, or if Jason had been coming by. He said that sometimes he'd stand on the docks and look up at her window and for a moment he wondered why her light wasn't on. Instead of feeling upset that he might have come in here while she was gone, she found herself hoping that he had. That he'd done so to be near her. It felt right for him to do so. She was living in his house in Florida and was able to be surrounded by his lingering presence, she hoped that he was able to find some small compensatory feeling.

Locking the door behind her, she dropped her bags by the flea market couch and then reached into her pocket for her cell phone. She hit the button for Jason's cell, walking over to the window as she did so. A part of her hoped that he would be on the docks, so that he was that much closer to her and her surprise could almost equal his when he showed up in Florida.

"Morgan."

"Jason," she said, trying to calm the fluttering in her stomach at hearing his voice. "It's Elizabeth. Is this...is this a bad time?"

"No," he answered. She could hear movement through the phone and then a door closed. "I was just down at the warehouse talking to the foreman about a shipment of coffee that came in."

Her eyes immediately lifted up, peering across the darkening docks until they rested on the coffee warehouse. To know that he was that close to her made her smile. "I'm glad," she told him. "I didn't want to interrupt anything."

"I'm glad you called," he told her. "I tried calling earlier, but it just went to your voice mail. I guess you were out."

"Yeah," she answered noncommittally. She'd been out. She wished she'd checked her messages first before calling him, then she might have an idea of why he'd called. "I just got in and I didn't check my messages, so I hadn't realized that you called. What...what..."

"I was going to see if you would mind company for Christmas," he said. "Things have finally settled down here, and...and it's been a month since I've seen you and I just..."

"Jason," she cut in when he trailed off. "Come to my studio."

Immediately there was a tension in his voice. "What?"

"Come to my studio," she repeated. "Like you said, it's been a month since we've seen each other and you surprised me at Thanksgiving and I...I wanted to surprise you for Christmas. I...I came home."

"Home?" His voice was soft, almost disbelieving.

"Home. It was time to come home," Elizabeth told him. "It was time to come back. I was hoping that things had settled down, because I really didn't want to have to leave again. I... You're the first person I called, you're the first person I want to see."

"Elizabeth?"

"Yes?"

"I'll be right there," Jason told her. "Don't leave your studio."

She tried to wait for him. She really did. She knew it was better to be safe. She knew that now that she had returned to Port Charles things were going to be different. While Alcazar might be dead, his employees could still be roaming around looking to cause trouble. She would be connected to Jason, she would be seen as a way to get to Sonny's organization, she was going to be assigned guards. She knew all that, and knew that the way to show Jason she understood and accepted it all was to stay in her studio.

But she couldn't. The moment she saw his form coming across the docks, hurrying towards her from the warehouse, she knew there was no way she could stand in her studio and wait for him to come to her. She turned, grabbed her keys, hastily took the time to secure at least one of the locks, and then she was afraid she'd break her neck flying down the stairs.

She burst out of the building's door and then ran towards the docks. She reached the top of the stairs just as Jason was nearing the bench where they'd sat on so many times together and talked. He paused when he heard her, and then she was down the stairs and into his arms before she could even process that she was moving.

Her feet no longer touched the wooden planks as he held her tight, his face buried in the crook of her neck. Her eyes were shut tight, but that couldn't stop the tears from flowing. "Jason," she whispered raggedly. "I've missed you so much."

He set her back down on her feet, but didn't let go of her. Just pulled back long enough to be able to look at her, and then his thumb gently brushed away her tears. "I missed you, too. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"I wanted to surprise you," she told him. "I wanted to show you that I made my decision. It wasn't enough to tell you that I wanted to be with you, that I wanted to see where we would go from here, I wanted to show you. I wanted to show you that I-"

The rest of her words were cut off, lost when Jason's mouth descended onto hers. She had hoped to be the one to initiate the kiss between them, as another way to show him that she was committed to their relationship, but apparently he wasn't going to give her the chance. It was full of pent-up passion, relief and joy at finally, finally happening.

Everything else she wanted to say was no longer necessary. Sometimes they left too much unsaid, leading to confusion between them, but that wasn't happening tonight. She knew that Jason understood her, knew what she was offering, what she meant, even though she hadn't completed her well-planned explanation that had taken her the entire plane ride to get right in her head. She was back, and she knew he understood what that meant.

"No way. Absolutely not. I won't allow it."

Jason looked over at Sonny whose eyebrows were lifted in disbelief and then over at Carly. His own eyebrows moved, but downward, slanting in frustration and anger he was struggling to conceal.

"You won't allow it?"

"No," she shook her head. "I won't. I can't believe you, Jason. You're not going to spend Christmas with Michael because you're going to spend it with Elizabeth?"

"Since you refuse to invite her over," he stated, "then, yes. I'll spend Christmas Eve with him. We'll meet at GH for the party, we'll leave after Alan reads the Christmas Story, and I'll come over here. Elizabeth is going to spend Christmas Eve with her grandmother, but we are spending the day together. No matter what Audrey or you says about it."

"This is Christmas," she implored him. "You're supposed to spend it with family. We're your family, and you would really disappoint Michael to spend it with some twit who took off months ago because she couldn't handle things?"

"I've already explained it to Michael," Jason told her. "I told him that I had somebody very special I wanted to spend Christmas with and that's why I was coming over Christmas Eve. He wasn't upset."

"Of course he was," Carly informed him. "He was just hiding it."

"Carly," Sonny growled, entering the conversation. "Stop it. Michael was not upset. At least with Jason. He was upset with you because he asked if it was okay if Jason brought his friend over and you said no. That Jason was family and welcome to come, but Elizabeth wasn't family and she could spend the day with hers instead of shoving her way into ours."

Jason's eyes narrowed at the blonde and she looked away nervously before huffing, "Well, she should. She should spend the day with Audrey. She's her grandmother after all."

"They're spending Christmas Eve together," Jason repeated, his voice firm. He wasn't giving in on this. "Just like I'll be spending Christmas Eve with you. Christmas, Elizabeth and I will be together. Unavailable."

"You mean having sex," Carly sneered. "You're really going to turn your back on us just so you can get the muffin into bed?"

Taking a breath, Jason placed his hands at his waist and glared at his friend. "Enough. You will not talk about Elizabeth like that."

"Spare me," she huffed, waving her hand lazily through the air. "We all know what this is about. She came back to town after running away, came straight to you and dangled herself out there and like a fool, you're panting after her. She'll play with you for a little while until she can't handle things again and then she'll run away. Or she'll find somebody else and she'll leave you, or jerk both of you around like she did to you and Lucky. Elizabeth Webber is nothing more than a little girl who's attracted to the bad boy image but when it comes down to it, she really can't handle you. She can't handle your life, she'll run off and break your heart again and you'll do something stupid or get hurt and I wish you would just stop this before it gets out of control."

"Carly," Sonny said, warning clear in his voice. Unlike her, he could see the signs that Jason was about to lose his temper and he was clearly trying to protect his wife.

"Don't start on me," she snapped at him. "You know I'm right. She'll only take off on him again like she did in October. She ran away and hid and then comes back before Christmas and tries to suck him in. She figured since he hadn't seen her, he'd be so happy to see her he'd forget that she walked out on him."

"I've seen her," Jason said softly, knowing that would break through to Carly better than him shouting at her. "I've known exactly where she's been this entire time."

"Wh-what?"

"I knew she was planning to leave town and I went to her studio to ask her not to leave. When she was determined to go, I gave her the keys to a place that I own and asked her to go there. Then I went see her a few days later."

Carly glared at him, and then over at Sonny. "Did you know? You said he was working, that's why he wasn't available."

"I knew," the older man confirmed. "I just didn't think it was any of your business."

"Not my business?!" she demanded. "Of course it's my business. Jason is my best friend and it's my job to protect him when he doesn't realize the danger he's in."

"He's not in any danger from Elizabeth," Sonny smiled. "The only danger is that you might actually have to put up with her."

"Fat chance," she sneered. "I'm not going to start going shopping with her or asking her to come over for drinks. I don't need to make nice with her because she won't be in Jason's life for very long."

"Yes, she will," Jason told her. "If I have anything to say about it, yes, she will."

"Look," Carly rolled her eyes. "Just because you want it, doesn't mean Elizabeth is going to go for it."

"Then why did she come back and tell me that she wants to see where our relationship goes?" he challenged her. "She left, and I followed after her. We talked, we worked through things, but she wasn't ready to come back. I spent Thanksgiving with her."

"You said you were tracking down a lead on Alcazar," Sonny stated. He wasn't really upset, he was just pointing out that Jason had told him something different.

"Johnny knew where I was," Jason told his friend. "I just didn't want to deal with anybody. You weren't entirely happy that I went to see Elizabeth the first time."

Sonny sighed and then nodded his head, looking away from Jason. "So she came back?"

"A couple of days ago," he confirmed. "She's staying at her studio. I've assigned her some guards."

"Good," the older man nodded. "That's good. We don't know if Alcazar's men might try to retaliate and she needs to be protected."

"Are you crazy?" Carly demanded of them. "Are the two of you even listening to yourselves? She's back and you're happy about that?"

"Yes," Sonny answered. "Because it makes Jason happy."

His wife shook her head and sighed. "I can't believe you're buying into that. Elizabeth can't make Jason happy."

"She does," Jason informed her. "She makes me very happy. To know that she's here, that I can see her, that I can spend time with her."

Carly's eyes widened and she shook her head, almost frantically. "No. No. Jason, please, no. Tell me you're not in love with her."

Jason remained silent; it wasn't her business and he wasn't going to get into a fight about this.

"No," she groaned. "You're in love with the muffin? I'm surprised you haven't asked her to move in with you already."

He had, and she wasn't ready. Elizabeth said that she wanted to see if what they'd worked on, if what they'd started to rebuild in Florida could survive back in Port Charles. If it could survive once everyone found out that she was back and she was dating him. Because she wasn't naïve and she knew it wasn't just his enemies that might make problems, it would be her friends and family who would tell her that she shouldn't date him. She also knew that Carly wouldn't be thrilled over the prospect.

So she wanted to make sure that back in reality, if what they had would continue. Which meant living apart until they were sure. It wasn't that she thought he would take the situation for granted if she moved in with him, but she knew that they would have to work, to carve out time to be together, if she was in her studio.

From a security standpoint, Jason wanted her close by. Selfishly he also wanted her near. But he did understand what she was saying. If she lived with him, he would come home and see her whenever. But with her in her studio, he would have to make more of an effort. It wasn't a test; she was quick to assure him. It wasn't punishment. It was to see if this would really work.

He was determined to make sure it did, which meant that he was making changes. He would stand up to Carly, and not let her guilt him into things by using Michael and claiming the young boy would be disappointed. He knew that Michael would be happiest if Jason spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with him, but he'd already explained to him that there was someone very important to Jason that he wanted to be with and since his mother and her didn't get along very well and he didn't want any fighting to ruin Micahel's Christmas, he would be spending Christmas Eve with Michael and Christmas with Elizabeth.

It was also the better solution for Elizabeth. Audrey Hardy had not been pleased at all when Jason drove Elizabeth to her grandmother's house so that Elizabeth could see her. While the older woman was happy to see her granddaughter, she was not pleased to discover that Elizabeth had seen Jason first and that the two of them appeared to be together.

"We're dating, Gram," Elizabeth had informed the older woman in a firm voice. "We're not just friends, and we're not just spending time together. We're dating."

She had seemed so thrilled when she announced it, and had stood firm when Audrey began telling her what a horrible mistake it was. That it was dangerous, that Jason would only get her hurt, or worse, and that Elizabeth deserved someone better than him. Elizabeth had declared herself ready to leave shortly after that, and when they later talked, trying to figure out plans for Christmas, she said it would probably be easier if she just went over by herself for a couple of hours after the hospital Christmas party while Jason spent the time with Sonny and his family. It would be a lot less contentious that way.

While Jason was looking forward to his time with Michael, of opening and playing with a gift that he knew Carly would allow, he was also looking forward to Christmas with Elizabeth. While Jason had once raised the little boy and had loved him like a son, things had changed. Michael was no longer his son and although Jason still loved him, he didn't see any point in trying to pretend that the little boy didn't call Sonny daddy, or that this was what he'd given up. Jason would always look out for him, would always protect Michael, and would always love him, but it was no longer the same. And he had other things to look forward to.

This was the first Christmas he'd spent with Elizabeth since the winter he was recuperating. She was still just as much of a Christmas nut and she'd asked him if he wanted to help her pick out a Christmas tree, or if he'd rather just see it when she got it decorated. Knowing that it would make her happiest, and wanting to spend time with her, he agreed to help her find a tree. He'd ended up carrying the saddest tree back to her studio, as she once again picked the tree that 'most wanted to come home'. They'd decorated it with paper and string, and then sat together on her couch, his arm wrapped around her, as they talked about that December long ago and other things.

When she fell asleep with her head against his shoulder, he didn't get up to leave; he'd taken the opportunity and freedom he had now to hold her. Her hair was soft like silk, her shampoo still was clean and light and he found himself on more than one occasion smelling it simply because he could. Finally, when he knew that he needed to leave and she wasn't going to wake up, he gently eased his arm out from behind her and stood. He pulled her shoes off, stretched her out on the sofa and covered her with a blanket. Her eyes lazily drifted open and she frowned when she realized he was leaving, but he kissed her forehead, then brushed a kiss across her lips and told her he'd call her the next day. He locked the door behind him and drove home to his penthouse where he'd wandered around for several hours wishing he was back at Elizabeth's.

Which was where he wished he was now instead of listening to Carly rant against Elizabeth. Finally fed up with her overbearing interference, he ordered, "Enough! No matter what you say, Carly, I'm not changing my plans. I'm spending Christmas with Elizabeth, I'll be spending more than Christmas with Elizabeth. I don't care if you like it, I don't care if you like her, but I don't want to hear you saying anything more about her. I'm tired of it; I'm not going to put up with it, so stop pushing it."

He turned for the door and she called out, "Jason, where are you going?"

"Elizabeth's," he told her honestly, and her eyes narrowed in unhappiness. "Christmas Eve is tomorrow, I'll meet you and Michael at General Hospital."

Saying good-bye to Sonny, he was relieved when he finally shut the door behind him and left his friends behind. He had known Carly wouldn't be happy, but he didn't care. He'd made his decision and it was up to Carly to deal with it. Right now, he had other things on his mind and other places he'd rather be, and they all centered on Elizabeth.

Elizabeth tried to be discreet, but there was no way she could hide the yawn that overtook her. She felt Jason shift slightly behind her, and then his hand brushed over her head, moving her hair out of the way as he peered down at her.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head. Even if she was, there was no way she'd tell him. He might think he should take her home and she absolutely did not want to move from her current position. Wrapped in his arms, entwined on the couch as they stared into the fireplace in his living room, why would she admit something that would have her back in her cold, drafty studio?

"You sure?" he asked. "You've been quiet for so long I actually thought you'd fallen asleep on me."

She could have been mistaken, but she thought she heard a bit of a laugh, but also a hint of pleasure, in his voice. "I'm sure," she told him. "I was just sitting here thinking."

"About what?" he asked, his hand once again carding through her hair. Now that he knew she was awake, he was apparently going to resume the wonderful sensation of his hands whispering over her.

"About today," she replied, her eyes closing and her head tipping to the side as she melted into his touch.

"You weren't disappointed were you?" he asked. "It just started snowing too hard to be safe to be out on the bike in."

She struggled to sit up enough so she could turn and look him in the eyes as she assured him, "Jason, I am not disappointed by anything that happened today."

A slight, almost hesitant smile crossed his face as he reached up to caress her cheek. "I'm glad. I enjoyed today, too."

"I got to spend the entire day with you," she smiled at him. "Nobody called, nobody stopped us and lectured us, it was you and me and I really enjoyed being with you."

Beginning with waking up early and waiting for Jason to come to her studio where they had a light breakfast together - where Jason found a place open on Christmas morning she didn't know and she really didn't want to think about how much money he had to bribe someone to get the food - before opening presents. They weren't anything extravagant, she didn't need gold and diamonds from Jason, her whole day with him was her present as far as she was concerned. Of course, that didn't mean she was going to turn down the new leather jacket her gave her to keep her warm as they went out for rides. Once presents were opened and she was properly bundled up, they headed out on his bike.

It didn't matter to her that the air was biting cold and stung her eyes as they flew along. Sonny had promised Jason that he would have an uninterrupted day with Elizabeth. That if anything came up, someone else would handle it. He got to spend the day with his family, and Jason deserved the same opportunity. She might just have to apologize to Sonny the next time she saw him for wishing he'd take a header off the pier back in October. It seemed that he was finally realizing his friend deserved a life of his own.

Snow began to fall while they were out, and while at first the fat, lazy flakes added just the perfect compliment to the walk she and Jason were taking in the woods near the old bridge, soon they turned less inviting. Visibility began to diminish, the roads were getting buried and Jason was worried about hitting a patch of hidden ice, so they cut their time short and headed back to town. By the time they reached the Towers, it seemed even Jason was worried. Elizabeth couldn't see the other side of the street and Jason was driving slow and cautious so it wasn't a surprise when he turned into the underground garage and got them out of the elements.

With a request to the guards to keep their arrival quiet, Jason led her onto the elevator, but they got out on the floor below his. He sheepishly said it was probably better if they went the rest of the way on the stairs because if Carly heard the elevator she'd come out to investigate and he didn't want to deal with her right now. He didn't want to get into a fight with his friend, and after their last encounter it was probably better they both just cooled down before seeing each other again. He didn't want to do anything to upset Michael's holiday, and Elizabeth nodded her acceptance.

They'd had lunch, sat on the couch in front of the fire and in general lazed away the afternoon. They played a game or two of pool, but her heart really wasn't in it. It was the perfect weather for curling up under a blanket, and it also gave her a perfect excuse to spend the day in Jason's arms. They talked, about everything, sat quietly together and while she suspected Jason would never admit it, she suspected they both dozed off in the afternoon before the fire died down a bit and they woke up hungry. A quick peak out the window as they headed towards the kitchen to find something to eat for dinner showed that the snow seemed to have lightened up, but she had no idea what the condition of the roads was. The snow plows probably wouldn't run until tomorrow morning.

It certainly wouldn't bother her if she had to stay here tonight, but she didn't voice that to Jason. There were some things she still had a hard time vocalizing to Jason, and the prospect of staying here - and all that it entailed with sleeping arrangements and sleeping arrangements - was still one of those things. She felt that some things should just happen organically without talking them to death first. This evening was one of those times.

"Are you tired?" Jason asked softly, his hand still moving rhythmically through the ends of her hair.

"Hmm," she sighed. "Not really; I'm just really relaxed."

"Are you going to relax right to sleep like you did this afternoon?" he asked with a teasing laugh.

"Are you upset about that?" Elizabeth asked, twisting slightly so she could look at his face while still resting her head against his shoulder. "You seemed to follow me in that relaxation."

"I like holding you while you sleep," Jason admitted with stunning honesty that flared warmth deep inside her. "I don't care if you fall asleep; you shouldn't stay awake just to try to stay here with me."

"I like falling asleep while you're holding me," she said, returning the favor of honesty. "I know it's probably not very comfortable for you-"

"I don't mind," he interjected softly.

She didn't know if he could see her face or not, but right now she had a blush on her cheeks and a pleased smile on her lips. "I like being with you, even if I do fall asleep on occasion. My mind knows you're there, and I like it."

"I like it, too," he said, assuring the uncertainty that had crept into her while they talked. She feared he was trying to tell her he didn't like her selfishness of being wrapped up in his arms, but her doubt quickly fled. "I just wondered if this was going to be a little catnap and I should just wait it out, or if you were going down for the count and I should prepare to take you upstairs."

"Upstairs?" she squeaked in surprise.

"The roads are blocked," he explained, his hand stilling. "We'll just have to wait until they plow the roads tomorrow before you can go back to your studio. So I was just going to take you up to the guest room."

"Oh," Elizabeth said softly, disappointment slamming into her. The guest room. Nearly as bad as when she lived here before, except now Jason knew she loved him. If she got a hug before she went upstairs, she was going to have to check to make sure Zander wasn't lurking around somewhere causing Jason to hesitate and restrain himself.

Or maybe, she told herself, Jason just wasn't ready. While he'd asked her to move in with him, she'd turned him down so quickly they'd never gotten around to talking about the logistics of it. Where would he have wanted her to sleep? In the guest room, or with him? While she had fallen asleep in his arms several times, there was something inherently different, innocent about sleeping fully clothed on a couch as opposed to sleeping arrangements with beds. It wasn't fair to be impatient with him when she was the one who had slowed down their relationship by saying she wasn't ready to move in until she was sure they would really work back here in Port Charles. Maybe he felt they shouldn't sleep together until they were sure.

Feeling decidedly less content now, not at all drowsy and peaceful anymore, she was ready to get up and challenge Jason to a game of pool simply to burn off a little energy. Before they both trudged upstairs to their separate bedrooms. What a perfectly dismal ending to what had up 'til then been the best Christmas.

"Or," Jason said softly, and then paused. She was so close she could hear him swallow nervously.

"Or," he repeated, "you could stay...with me."

Her breath caught in her throat and she sat up, turning on the couch so that she could look at Jason without twisting her neck into knots. He looked at her uncertainly and she found she couldn't read his thoughts. When it was just the two of them, he was normally so expressive, but now he seemed cautious, ready to pull back. And that told her all she needed to know.

She looked down, and slowly moved her hand over his. Twisting her fingers slightly, she twined her slender digits between his, reveling in contrast of size and skin tone. Her touch seemed to galvanize him into action, and she looked up when she felt his fingertips skirt the side of her face, grazing the apple of her cheek. He swept a lock of hair behind her ear, each touch lingering and intensifying with pressure. They were becoming deeper, less hesitant.

"I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you for anything you're not ready for..."

"Jason," she interrupted softly, bringing their joined hands up and then using his strength to leverage herself closer to him. "Shhh."

As she leaned forward, he read her intent and came to meet her. Their lips first touched softly, the barest whisper. The second pass lingered so they could taste each other, but the pressure was still light. The third time their mouths met, all previous hesitancy and uncertainty was gone. There was no more over-thinking, there was no more hesitancy, there was just the two of them in this moment doing what felt right. They loved each other and this was the next, natural step.

What happened tomorrow happened. How the town reacted to their relationship would still be there and they couldn't change it. They wouldn't accomplish anything by worrying about it tonight. This was about them tonight and nothing and no one else mattered but them.

For one glorious week, the world seemed to like them. Jason and Elizabeth spent whatever time they could together, locked away from others so they could focus on each other. Elizabeth had successfully managed to avoid Carly whenever she went to Jason's penthouse, and not once in their evenings together had Sonny called Jason away. It was just the two of them, and they took every opportunity they had to show just how much they loved each other.

It all fell apart, though, New Year's Eve. Someone was discovered dead on the doorstep of Jason and Sonny's warehouse, a holdout of the Alcazar organization who obviously thought that by resisting Sonny's takeover he would somehow avenge Luis Alcazar. The police showed up before dawn, pounding on Jason's door and attempting to arrest him. He'd told her to stay in his room, but as she could hear Taggart's angry voice drifting up the stairs, combined with Sonny and Carly's, she couldn't hide out any longer. Elizabeth dressed, drew a brush through her hair, and silently walked into the fray.

Her arrival on the stairs went unnoticed for a moment, until people realized Jason was distracted by something. Carly and Taggart looked over at nearly the same time and both individuals were less than thrilled by the implications of what her presence meant. The cop looked disappointed in her, and Carly looked ready to claw her hair out.

"No," she pleaded with Jason. "She...she was here last night?"

"Was she?" Taggart asked sharply.

"Yes," Elizabeth answered. She knew Jason would probably prefer for her not to say anything, but she wasn't going to see him arrested for something she knew he didn't do. And she wasn't going to be told to keep quiet and let it all be sorted out down at the police station. "I was with Jason last night."

"All night?" Taggart asked.

"He picked me up at my place around six," she stated. "We went for a drive, ate at a diner off Route 93, and came back here. We were together the entire time."

"Elizabeth," the cop sighed sadly. She knew he was gearing up for a lecture on why she shouldn't be involved with Jason, but she wasn't going to put up with it.

"What time did you return here?" another cop asked, apparently deciding to take over questioning.

"I wasn't paying that much attention, but I know it was after 11. The man down in the garage said there was less than hour until midnight when we parked the bike."

After she answered the question, she saw Sonny give her a brief reassuring smile, but then he gave just the slightest shake of his head. She understood; no more questions without a lawyer.

"M.E. puts TOD around 11," the other detective said. "The body was discovered about midnight. Are you sure Mr. Morgan didn't leave?"

Elizabeth arched her brow pointedly and stated, "I'm sure."

"Do you have any further questions?" Sonny asked. "Should I call our lawyer and have him come over? Or are you going to place someone under arrest? If not, I think you've gotten all you need."

"You're right," the detective stated. "We're done here."

"Elizabeth," Taggart said as he took a step towards her. Jason tensed and Elizabeth crossed her arms in front of her. "What are you doing getting mixed up with Morgan?"

"I've said all I'm going to say," she told him. "My personal life is none of your business."

The cop shook his head sadly and then sneered at Jason, "Looks like you've trained her well. Another mob wife in the making."

Then the two men walked out of Jason's penthouse and Carly waited until the door was closed before she rounded on Jason. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"Knock it off, Carly," he snapped at her. "It's none of your business."

Looking at Elizabeth, the blonde looked ready to breathe fire. "You better watch yourself. You've already hurt him by running when it got to be too much, how soon until you bail again?"

"Carly," Jason growled, stepping between the two women. "I said knock it off. I've told you already that Elizabeth and I are none of your business. You need to stop attacking her."

"No," she shook her head. "I'm not going to give up until you realize that Elizabeth Webber is nothing more than a scared little girl who wants a the thrill of the bad boy, but she'll soon turn you away and run off with someone else. She always does it. And I'm tired of watching you get hurt."

"Okay, that's enough, Carly," Sonny stepped in. "This is Jason's life and he makes his own decisions."

"No," Carly declared. "I'm not going to stand back and watch her use him and then dump him again."

"Shut up," Elizabeth snapped, fed up with the other woman's insults - not only to her, but to Jason. "Just stop. Do you realize how insulting you sound?"

"If you're bothered, then leave."

"No," she clarified. "I meant, how insulting you sound to Jason. You're acting like he's a child who can't make his own decisions. You think that you have to decide who his friends are, and who he can date, and who he can spend time with. What's next, are you going to cut his meat for him?"

She saw Sonny laugh, but he covered his mouth to hide it.

"I know I made mistakes with Jason, but they're between us. They don't have anything to do with you."

"Jason's my friend, that makes it my business," Carly said pointedly.

"No, it doesn't," Jason countered. "I know you think you're looking out for me, but stop. Elizabeth is right; this is between the two of us, nobody else."

"You won't cut me out of his life," the blonde hissed at Elizabeth, angrily pointing a finger. "No matter what you try, Jason will always be my friend."

"I know," Elizabeth replied. "I know he's your friend. I'm not trying to change Jason, and I'm not going to tell him he has to do anything. I don't want to fight with you, Carly. I know that Jason doesn't like it. I don't want to be your friend; I don't want to go shopping with you, or anything else. But you aren't going to shove me out of Jason's life."

She stepped off the stairs and stood beside Jason, but continued to look at Carly. "Do you remember what you told me that winter Jason was staying in my studio and you kept trying to sneak in to see him even after he told you to leave him alone?"

Carly pulled back slightly, her eyes darting over to Jason and then to Sonny, before they returned angrily to her. Elizabeth knew the other woman was upset she would dare to mention that winter, when Sonny and Carly had slept together and hurt Jason. She wasn't going to judge Carly, she was merely going to remind the other woman of a conversation they'd had.

"You told me that you got rid of one angel in Jason's life and you could easily get rid of me. I told you I wasn't anybody's angel. I'm not the one trying to run Jason's life or get rid of his friends, but I'm not going to stand by and let you attack me all the time."

"She's right, Carly," Jason concurred softly. "It stops now. Be my friend and support me; that's all I've ever asked from you."

She looked at the two of them, then over at Sonny and huffed and turned, sweeping out of the apartment. Sonny gave a sigh and a shrug of his eyebrows. "Sorry, man. I'll go talk to her."

He turned for the door and paused at the threshold, looking back at them, "Happy New Year, you two."

"Happy New Year, Sonny," Elizabeth smiled feebly.

After the door closed, Elizabeth sighed apprehensively and turned towards Jason. "I'm sorry."

He blinked and frowned, "What?"

"I know you said to wait up in your room, but I just...I couldn't, Jason. I know you don't want me to interfere in your business, but I could hear Taggart and then Carly and Sonny and I just, it felt like I was hiding upstairs because I was ashamed. Like we didn't want anyone to know that we were together. Kinda like when you hid in the closet at my studio because nobody could know you were in town." She shrugged, "Everyone knows I'm in town, everyone knows that we're dating, why should I hide when I don't care who knows that? Besides, it's not like I was inventing an alibi for you; it was the truth that we were together last night."

"I know," he said with a half smile, half sigh as he ran his hand over his face. "Taggart's going to use this as an excuse to come after me, and you."

"Like he really needs an excuse," she said regretfully. "He'll come after you no matter what. If he thinks I'm going to stand back and let him, or let him lecture me, especially considering Gia's his sister; he can forget it."

Jason let out a little chuckle and she was relieved to see his smile. But hers faded slightly as she said, "I'm sorry for what I said to Carly. I know that she's your friend and you don't want us to fight, especially about you. I made mistakes before and I know that, but I just..."

She trailed off with a shrug, "I shouldn't have fought with her."

With a shake of his head, and a look of resignation, he said, "It wouldn't have mattered if you'd stood here and let Carly just yell, she was going to do it anyways. She's my friend and I love her, but I've told her to back off. Though I doubt she's going to change any time soon. It's just who she is."

"She's very loyal to you."

"Just like you are," he grinned at her, as he stepped closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, giving a tug and pulling her close. "I made mistakes, she's made mistakes...I won't put up with her badmouthing you to me, but I also know I have very little chance at changing her. Hopefully she'll realize that I don't intend to stop seeing you, and she'll just accept that even if she doesn't like it, it's going to happen anyways."

His hand slowly trailed over her jaw, then moved up to brush her hair back. "Because I love you, Elizabeth, and I don't care who doesn't like it, or who's unhappy."

"I'm happy," she whispered warmly to him.

"So am I."

"Then let's focus on that," she said. "We'll deal with everything else, as long as we're most concerned about each other. For too long I put others' wants over yours, and mine, and I'm not going to do that anymore, Jason. I want to be with you, I love you, and that's what I'm going to focus on. I'm not worrying about anything else today."

Next year, she was going to skip the month of February entirely. It was a short month, anyways, what would it matter if she just added extra days to the other 11 months and created her own calendar? She hated February. Nothing good ever came from it.

She got strep throat as a child and spent two weeks in the hospital one February. Valentine's Day, even before her rape and the fire at the warehouse, had never been enjoyable. A day of misery for one who didn't have a boyfriend because Miss Perfect Sarah had to have every boy's adoration and made life miserable for anyone who looked twice at her sister. It was a cheap, contrived greeting card holiday and all it did was made those who were single feel like losers.

If it hadn't been for Jason, she wouldn't have been looking forward to the day at all. Not that she needed, or wanted, him to do something spectacular for her. No, she would have been perfectly happy with him actually being home so they could order dinner in, spend a quiet evening playing pool, and then fall asleep in each others' arms. When he left Port Charles at the end of January, he hadn't promised her anything but he said he'd do everything he could to make it back soon. It shouldn't take more than a week, two at the most. He should be home before the middle of the month. In his own way, she'd felt he was telling her he'd be back by the 14th.

She had been disappointed that he had to leave, but she knew that this was part of life with Jason. Sometimes he had to leave; she knew she was fortunate that he got the opportunity to tell her he had to go instead of finding out from Sonny or one of the guards that he'd already left. She took this as her way of proving to Jason, and to those around him, that she could accept and handle his job. She would worry about him private, but wouldn't appear to be a bothersome worry-wart in public. She handled Carly's jabs, Sonny's questions, and everyone else's annoying comments.

Elizabeth thought she'd handled it all very well. She'd even resisted the temptation to compare this time to only a few months prior when she'd wandered around Jason's penthouse wondering if he was alive or dead and how he was handling his best friend's death. She had at first refused Jason's offer to stay in the penthouse while he was gone, because she hadn't wanted to deal with unnecessary and unfair comparisons, but she'd relented when she realized it wasn't so much an offer of extra space from him or staying where she already was, but a request so that he'd know she was well-protected.

Thanks to Marcus Taggart and the rest of the vendetta-holding PCPD, anyone in town who didn't know that Jason and Elizabeth were together certainly knew after New Year's. In his off-the-cuff interview regarding the dead body found on the docks, the policeman had said that their prime suspect in the case had been conveniently alibied by his girlfriend Elizabeth Webber. Even though Justus sued both the police department and the newspaper for naming not only Jason even though he hadn't been arrested, but Elizabeth as well, the damage had already been done.

Not only did every criminal in Port Charles know that Elizabeth was dating Sonny Corinthos' enforcer Jason Morgan, but now those who didn't live in the city but had an interest in taking Sonny - and by extension, Jason - down, now knew she was someone who could be used in their plans. They got their first taste of that in January shortly before Jason left, and it was part of the reason he was so eager to go.

Despite the added security measures Jason had installed in her building and in her studio specifically, someone broke in one night and ransacked the place. The people had obviously been watching her and learning her routine, because that night she had been scheduled to work until closing at Kelly's. On the nights she worked late, she would go to her studio and not get together with Jason. After an eight hour shift on her feet, during the dinner hour, and then at least another hour spent cleaning everything and closing the place down, all she wanted to do was take a hot shower to wash the smell of grease off her and then collapse onto her couch to sleep. Jason understood her exhaustion, and knew she just wasn't up to a ride or pool that night. Sometimes he would surprise her the next morning by bringing over donuts and hot chocolate, simply because he wanted to spend some time with her.

If she hadn't switched shifts with another waitress so that the single mother could attend her daughter's school play during the day, she would have been at her studio at the time of the break-in. Instead, she'd been flying down the back roads with Jason, relishing that she got to see him on a day when she hadn't expected to be able to. When the guards called Jason, almost frantic with worry because the alarm had sounded and when they got to her studio she wasn't there, he had tensed until he finally understood what had them so worried. Then he was able to reassure them that the reason Elizabeth wasn't at her studio was because she was with him at the penthouse. Listening to his end of the conversation, Elizabeth knew that something had happened, but didn't know what until he said that he had to go meet Johnny over at her studio.

He hadn't been happy, but she'd insisted on going with him. After all, the place was safe now, and she had a right to see what had happened to her studio. Jason had warned her it probably wouldn't be easy to see, but nothing had quite prepared her for the violation of the place. It wasn't her art supplies that were destroyed and strewn about, it was the fact that all of her clothes had been rifled through, and her entire underwear drawer had been emptied on the floor and she never told Jason, but several pieces were missing.

After that, Jason had insisted she stay at his place while they installed all new security and cleaned everything up. It was only a few days later that Sonny ordered him out of town and Jason asked that she stay at the penthouse until he got back. She hadn't slept there since the break-in, and she had a feeling she never would again. Before he left, Jason said they needed to talk about her living arrangements and she suspected that he'd once again ask her to move in with him. If he did, she would definitely accept this time. But not solely for security reasons.

They were practically living together as it was. When she first returned from Florida, she'd felt it was right that she didn't move in with him. They needed to make their relationship work in Port Charles, and that meant going through all the steps. Not jumping ahead. But things had changed now, and she no longer felt uncertain or fearful that things wouldn't work out. She loved Jason, he loved her, there was no reason for her to have to come back to her studio every few days to do laundry or grab more clothes. She only slept there on nights she worked the late shift, and she painted there.

She was certain that she could keep the place for her art, but she had to admit that it was certainly more comfortable at the penthouse. And if she ever got out of her current predicament, she would voice that fact to Jason. Unless of course this latest development caused him to go all noble once again and try to push her away for her own good. If he tried it, she was going to fight him.

After once again being taken captive, there was no way she was going to idly stand by and let Jason tell her his life was too dangerous. Although if he wanted to yell at Sonny, she would stand back and let him have at it. She might even say a thing or two herself. Not that it was entirely his fault she'd been taken, but he certainly hadn't helped matters.

For some reason she didn't think he would have reassigned Carly's guards. Not when there was a threat hanging over their heads. Not when someone was clearly trying to get at them. But apparently her guards could be interchanged at will simply because Sonny wanted Max down at the warehouse since Jason was out of town. The reason she had Max in the first place was because Jason reassigned him before going out of town. That apparently didn't matter to Sonny, because Max left and she was stuck with some newbie who was now lying dead at the bottom of the harbor while she was sailing out of said harbor on a ship.

Quite frankly, if Jason didn't give Sonny a piece of his mind, she was going to do so anyways. What was it about her that was apparently so expendable, so forgettable, so not on his radar that she was easily cast aside? She hadn't had much interaction with him since her return from Florida, but she thought he understood that she was important to Jason. So why then was he with his wife and child all safe and protected while she was here?

Once again she'd become a pawn in the great war against Sonny Corinthos. The first time she'd been taken, it was because Luis Alcazar wanted leverage on the piers and warehouses Sonny and Jason controlled. Then she'd been thrown into a crypt and the only bright spot in her current situation was that she wasn't back there. Sure she was currently locked in a room, but she had a window where she could see sunlight. She wasn't in the dark, she wasn't surrounded by dead bodies, and she was grateful for small favors.

Of course, she was on a boat, sailing away from Port Charles. Back in the crypt, she was confident that Jason would find her. She was close by, he knew the city and the surrounding area, she merely did her best to hold on until he arrived. This time was different. She was on a boat, sailing out towards the ocean and who knew where she would end up. How would Jason track her down when he was currently out of town and she was seriously doubting that even when Sonny finally realized she was missing, he would call her boyfriend and let him know she was gone. Stupid, worthless, selfish mobster.

The only thing she knew to do was to remain calm. Whoever took her needed her alive; at least she hoped they did. She needed to pay attention to things that were said, try to figure out where she was, and if she got a chance to run, she had to be prepared to take it. She would not fall apart; she would not break down. She was going to survive this. If for no other reason than to come back and chew Sonny Corinthos out.

When the door opened, slamming into the wall so hard that the doorstop bent and the doorknob made a hole in the drywall, Jason's only regret about the action was that Michael was there to see it. The little boy, in his pajamas on the couch and covered with a blanket, was either staying home from school today for his safety or was sick. Jason hadn't thought he'd be there, his sole focus was on finding Sonny and finding out how exactly Elizabeth had been kidnapped yesterday. Michael looked up with wide eyes at the door, and then Jason standing just inside the room, his barely constrained fury visible to all.

"Come on, Michael," Carly immediately said, hurrying towards him and picking him off the couch. "Let's go upstairs and watch a movie."

She cast a wary glance at Jason, then over at Sonny and left without either of them having to tell her to go. That's when Jason knew the situation was bad.

"Jason," Sonny said softly, in a blatant attempt to try to calm the situation down. Jason didn't want calm, he wanted answers and he wanted them now.

When he heard the door close behind him, he turned to see who had unstuck it from the wall, and his fury exploded. Max didn't have time to react before Jason had him pinned against the heavy door, his forearm pressing into the guard's windpipe. "Where were you, Max?" he demanded. "Where were you when Elizabeth was taken?! You were supposed to be watching her. I trusted you to watch her and you let her be grabbed!"

"Jason. Jason!" Sonny grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back, trying to keep him from killing the guard right there. "Jason, it wasn't Max. It was Ritchie."

He pulled back slightly, but didn't release Max completely. Just moved enough for the guard to desperately gasp for air. Without looking away from the man he'd assigned to protect Elizabeth when he had to leave, he hissed at Sonny, "Ritchie?"

"He did this," the older man tried to explain. "Max didn't suddenly leave Elizabeth alone. Ritchie lured him away. He...he called Max and said that there had been a breech here...in my penthouse. He said that Max needed to get over here because I was hurt."

Jason contemplated the words, mulling them over before swallowing and directing his words mostly towards Max. "But Max would know better than to leave Elizabeth unguarded at work."

"Ritchie sent one of the new guys from the warehouse. He said that once Max got here and took over, he would personally go to Kelly's and guard Elizabeth. Max is next in command after you and Johnny, but Johnny was out of town with Brenda at the clinic. If I was hurt, he should be here to handle the situation. Max didn't leave until Dennis showed up."

"Dennis wasn't part of it," Max said, his voice slightly hoarse from the pressure Jason had applied. "We...we found him in the harbor."

"He died protecting Elizabeth," Sonny stated. "As soon as Max got here and realized there was no situation, he sent a team of men from the warehouse over to Kelly's and down to the docks."

Jason stepped back and released Max completely, still eyeing the man warily. The guard straightened his suit and rubbed his neck slightly, but didn't make any comment.

"This was a set up by Ritchie?" Jason clarified.

With a nod, Max answered. "He was supposed to be on Sonny's door yesterday; I knew that because I helped set up the schedule. He's a senior guard and he called and said Sonny was hurt. I knew Mrs. C. was supposed to be here also. On my way over, I called Michael's guards and had them take him from school. I followed protocol, Jason. I..."

He trailed off and sighed heavily. "I thought that Miss Webber would be alright with Dennis. He was new, but I'd overseen his training. I couldn't take her into an unknown situation, so I told her to stay there and not go anywhere unless Ritchie directed her to, that he would be coming to help Dennis."

"According to Tammy," Sonny took up the narration, "two men entered the diner from the back alley, they had guns, and they were wearing masks. They knocked out the cook and the dishwasher in the back; they went straight for Elizabeth. Dennis saw what was happening and came inside. He shot the man who'd been holding everyone else in the diner in a corner and took off through the back after Elizabeth."

Jason swallowed and ran his hand over his mouth, hating the brazen audacity of the men and hating that Elizabeth had to be scared. She'd already been grabbed once, only a few months before, and now she'd been taken again.

"Max rushed through the door, gun draw, scaring Carly half to death and when he saw that I wasn't hurt he didn't even stop to answer my questions. He grabbed the phone and called the warehouse, shouting for men to get to Kelly's and get down to the docks. He said Elizabeth was in danger and they needed to protect her. Then he asked me where Ritchie was and I told him that he'd called in, said he was down with the stomach flu, sent Milo over here. Max made another call and got men out searching for Ritchie. Then he told me to stay in the building and he left, personally going to the docks."

Jason sighed heavily, his shoulders dropping. Turning to the guard, he said regretfully, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Jason," he said with a gentle shake of his head. "You're worried about Miss Webber. I understand why you're upset. I am too, for falling for Ritchie's trap. I...I know you told me to keep her safe and I let you down."

"No," Jason shook his head. "You trusted Ritchie and reacted how you should have if the situation had been real. Ritchie was counting on that; there wasn't anything you could have done. As soon as you realized it was a set-up you sent men out."

He held out his hand and said, "I'm sorry for attacking you."

Max waved the apology away. "It's alright. I know you didn't mean it."

"So what do we know?" Jason demanded of Sonny.

"Our men from the warehouse got down to the docks in time to see Dennis floating face down in the water and a yacht sailing out of the harbor. They called the harbormaster to find out who owned the boat, where it was registered, everything. Benny hasn't slept at all unraveling the paper trail of numbered accounts and dummy corporations."

Jason nodded, knowing they were doing everything they could, that every man understood the serious nature of this and was doing there best. But just like last time when Elizabeth was taken, Jason was feeling frantic on edge. It was worse, though, because they knew she was on a yacht; who knew where the kidnappers would take her. They could keep her on the boat, not docking anywhere, or they could stop at some port and take Elizabeth on land. There was no telling where she might be, so Jason didn't know where to look.

"What about Ritchie?" he asked with a low growl.

"There we caught a break," Sonny said, giving him good news for the first time since Jason got the call telling him to get back home because Elizabeth had been taken.

"What do you mean?" he demanded, wondering why he hadn't mentioned this earlier.

"One of our guys spotted him on his way out of town. Total luck, but for once it was on our side. He tried to run, but once we'd spotted him, we had him. Our guys forced his car off the road, got him out and took him to the safehouse in Hayes Landing. Doc went out there to patch him up to keep him alive until you got back."

Jason looked up at his friend, wicked delight coursing through his eyes. Sonny nodded with evil resoluteness. "It was your girlfriend who was taken, Jason. We left him to you to interrogate."

Fisting his hand at his side and clenching his jaw, he looked at the two men and said, "So what are we waiting for?"

Max pulled out his phone and said, "I'll let the men know we're on our way."

When Jason walked into the safehouse in Hayes Landing, he was focused on only one thing. Getting the information from Ritchie about who had Elizabeth. The whys of the guard turning on Sonny didn't interest him. He'd leave that to Sonny, if there was anything left of the guard once Jason had his information. All he cared about was who had Elizabeth, and where they'd taken her.

They hadn't spoken in the car, but Jason had the feeling that Sonny understood Jason's main objective. And that he'd do whatever he had to do to get that information. And even if Sonny did object, he wasn't going to listen. One way or the other, Ritchie was going to tell him who had Elizabeth.

Jason only briefly acknowledged the men who were standing guard on the traitor. He'd heard that the doctor had patched up his wounds from the car wreck to keep the man from bleeding out, but he hadn't been gentle and he certainly hadn't bothered to prescribe him any pain meds. They'd given him water, but not any food. None of the men dealt well with a traitor, and none were feeling generous towards a man who was responsible for Elizabeth getting kidnapped.

Stripping off his jacket as he stepped into the room, Jason left his gloves on. They'd protect his hands against the blows he knew he was bound to deliver. Ritchie was gagged and tied to a chair, sitting in the middle of the mostly bare room. It had been stripped down in preparation for this event and Jason knew it would help with the cleanup that would get messy.

Starting with this moment.

Reaching behind him, he pulled his gun out from the waistband of his pants and made a show of disengaging the safety and chambering a round. Ritchie was attempting to appear brave, but there was no way to hide the fear that entered his eyes. Calmly, Jason lifted his gun and aimed it at the man.

"I want to know who has Elizabeth."

Then, to prove that he was serious, he suddenly changed aim from the traitor's forehead and put a bullet in the man's left kneecap. Ritchie screamed behind his gag and Jason stepped forward, careful to keep clear of the blood. Reaching out, he pulled the gag out of the man's mouth.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Ritchie," Jason growled. "But you will tell me who has Elizabeth. It's up to you how many bullets you'll end up with before you do. Me? I have an endless supply. How many do you think your body can hold?"

Jason walked out of the safehouse tired, frustrated but with a small amount of hope. For the first time since Sonny had called him and told him that Elizabeth was missing, Jason no longer felt that his stomach was in knots. Oh, he was still worried for Elizabeth, and hated that it was once again her being used as a pawn by his and Sonny's enemies, but he now had a purpose. He had something he could focus on.

Because he had a name.

The art of interrogation is knowing just how much pressure to exert in order to get answers. Not enough force and the person being questioned had no inducement to talk. Too much, and they'll make up anything just to stop the whole procedure. The key is finding that balance and knowing when the person is telling the truth.

If Jason had put too many bullets into Ritchie's non-vital body parts, the traitor could have either passed out from the pain or made up any story just to try to stop the torture. Not enough, and the man who had already turned on the organization and endangered the life of an innocent woman had no motivation to talk to Jason. The reason, Ritchie discovered tonight, that Jason was Sonny's enforcer was because Jason knew when to push and when to back off to lull Ritchie into a false sense of relief and allow his body to tolerate the newest level of pain.

But Ritchie talked. And he told everything. His motivations, his feelings about Sonny and the mob boss's ability to run the territory, and about the numbered accounts where he'd received his blood money and just who was behind this move.

Lorenzo Alcazar.

Luis Alcazar's younger brother, who had existed on the fringes of the family business but had tried to break free of it, was apparently now embracing all that he'd once left behind. He had quit his job as a professor, and returned to their native Venezuela after Luis' death. It was shortly after that he'd sent an emissary to begin reconnaissance and Ritchie had been approached.

Because Jason had desperately searched for Elizabeth last summer when Roscoe and his partner had taken her on Luis' orders, Lorenzo had decided to use her again. When she returned to Port Charles and it was obvious that she was involved again, even deeper this time, with Jason, Ritchie had begun working on a plan. He was anxious and eager to show his value and brains to Lorenzo by coming up with the abduction plan and being in charge of its execution.

Jason had doubts that Ritchie would have ever been fully trusted and welcomed into the fold by Lorenzo Alcazar. Rats were useful to wreak havoc and destruction and bringing about a desired goal, but they were never completely trusted. They'd already showed their disloyalty once; a person would have to be stupid to put them in a position of knowledge and power. What was to stop them from betraying again?

But Ritchie no longer had to worry about reaching the glass ceiling in Alcazar's organization. He was going to be disposed of like the vermin he was and his body would never be found. The other guards, disgusted that one of their own had so callously sold everybody out, were quite looking forward to the job. Jason was happy to leave them to it, because he needed to get Stan and Bernie researching Lorenzo Alcazar and the boat the man owned. And then he needed to catch a plane.

While it was possible that Alcazar could dock somewhere and take Elizabeth off the vessel, Jason doubted it. The Alcazars had a fortified compound in Venezuela. They had government connections and protection down there. They were feared by the local criminal element. Anyone trying to infiltrate the country to come at him would be met with resistance on many fronts. Since he'd never shown his face in Port Charles, he no doubt thought he had plenty of time to take Elizabeth from here to Venezuela.

It was about 1400 miles in a straight line from New York to Venezuela. According to Ritchie, Alcazar owned a luxury yacht like his brother. Some of the latest, high-speed boats could sustain speeds in excess of 42 knots which meant that Alcazar could reach his home port in a little over a day. Factoring in navigation through the Caribbean and the fact that he probably wouldn't run the yacht flat out all the time so as to avoid suspicion and Jason calculated that he could already be in Venezuela given that the abduction took place 48 hours ago.

While he would certainly have his men search for the yacht on the open waters, his instincts told him Elizabeth was already on land. He was going to Venezuela and he was going to get her back. Lorenzo Alcazar would realize he'd made a fatal mistake by taking Elizabeth and underestimating Jason and Sonny's might and determination. Jason didn't care about the U.S. Government needing the Alcazar family or the local Venezuelan criminals who might try to stop him. He knew where Elizabeth was and nothing was going to stand in his way of getting her back.

"Jason."

Not even Sonny.

He turned and faced his friend, the car door open, his intention to leave clear. "What?"

"I want you to take Max with you."

He raised his brow, his disagreement with Sonny evident to all. "Max should stay here to guard you."

"I called Johnny after Elizabeth was taken. Brenda is in the clinic, she's getting treatment, but he's leaving guards on her and he's coming home. He should be arriving as we speak. He'll look out for me, Carly and Michael as well deal with anything that comes up. You need to take someone with you."

"I can handle this, Sonny."

"If it was any other situation I would agree," the older man answered with a dip of his head. "But this isn't any other situation; this is about Elizabeth. And you love her and that makes it personal."

When Jason was ready to argue that he could do his job, Sonny asked, "If it was Carly that was missing, would you let me go by myself?"

He was silent for a moment and then he answered, "No."

"No," his friend repeated. "You wouldn't. You'd tell me that I was too close, too attached to the situation and you'd insist that either you go with me or someone else come along. I'm going to tell you the same thing that you'd tell me, Jason. You're too close to this. You're frantic and you're desperate because the woman you love is missing and that's why Max is going with you. He'll help you think things through and he'll keep you safe because I have no doubt that you will do whatever you have, take whatever risk you think is worth it - whether it's insane or not - and you won't see the bigger picture.

"I'm not telling you not to start a war with Lorenzo Alcazar. If you see the SOB, kill him. Nobody gets away with kidnapping family. But I don't want to lose you because you're not thinking clearly. I want you to bring Elizabeth and yourself back in one piece."

Jason blinked once, clearing his mind and then nodded slowly in agreement. He understood that Sonny was concerned about Elizabeth as well, and he knew that Jason would stop at nothing to get her back. He wasn't telling him not to go after her, but he was making sure that Jason didn't walk into a potentially deadly situation simply because he'd been too focused on one thing to see the danger coming from another direction. He appreciated his friend's concern.

"Okay," he conceded, then pointed at Max. "You drive; I need to call Stan and Bernie."

"You got it, Jason," the big guard said, catching the keys Jason tossed at him.

Walking around the car, Jason pulled out his cell phone and was already hitting the speed dial for Stan while climbing into the car.

As far as kidnappings went, Elizabeth much preferred this one to the last one. Lorenzo Alcazar, who looked so uncannily like his brother Luis that for a moment Elizabeth thought the man had returned from the dead, was at least kinder than his brother. She was kept locked in her stateroom on the yacht, but she got regular meals, drinks, even offers of movies and books to keep her from being bored. It was almost like this was supposed to be a vacation as opposed to being held against her will.

While Elizabeth was grateful that she wasn't trapped in the dark with dead bodies and a gas leak, she wasn't for a moment swayed by polished manners and kind smiles. As far as she was concerned, Lorenzo Alcazar was no different than his brother. Both were willing to use women to go after their true aims and Elizabeth thought it was cowardly and cheap. The only thing worse was using children.

Lorenzo explained to her that she was necessary to keep Jason and Sonny from doing something rash while he exacted his revenge by taking over Sonny's piers and shipping routes. It seemed a fair trade, Sonny's economic livelihood as recompense for his dead brother. She would be released as soon as Sonny signed over the piers and gave his promise that Lorenzo could transport his shipments through Sonny's network. Once the Venezuelan was satisfied, she would be released to return to her boyfriend.

Elizabeth wondered if she was supposed to think he was magnanimous, or if he thought she was a fool. She'd seen his face, she'd seen his compound, and she was supposed to believe that he'd just let her go once Sonny capitulated? Sonny wasn't going to capitulate. He'd switched her guards, there's no way he'd give up his territory just to get her back. And she would be in very big trouble once Lorenzo realized that.

Once the other man discovered that Sonny didn't care about her, he would have no reason to keep her alive. She would become a liability as opposed to an asset and while Elizabeth was consigned to the reality of the situation, there was no way she was just going to sit back and let it happen. There had to be a way to get out of this place. No, it wouldn't be easy - she had no delusions - but nothing was impossible. It was only a matter of biding her time, observing the guards and their rotations and taking her opportunity when it arose.

So she'd eat to keep her strength up. She'd pretend to be nervous when they escorted her around the property, she wasn't to be a prisoner in her room after all, while actually making mental notes about the layout and where the exits were located. She would try to stay calm, she would try to stay focused, she would hold tight to her faith in Jason - even if she had no faith in his friend - and she would ask herself one simple question, what would Jason do? She only hoped she could think enough like him in order to escape this place and get back to him.

The Alcazar family compound was huge. Jason had seen surveillance photos of it, but between his inability to view photographs easily and the fact that until one really saw something to know it, it was impossible to conjure up just how big the place would really be. The place was sprawling, and heavily fortified. It was rather formidable and intimidating. How was he supposed to find Elizabeth quickly?

He and Max at least had one slight advantage. When Brenda learned why Johnny had to leave, she called Jason and told him everything she could remember about her time at the compound with Luis. She told him about the grounds, the layout of the house from the inside and where Elizabeth would most likely be held. She also said that Lorenzo Alcazar wasn't as cold-blooded as his brother, Luis, but Jason wasn't very trusting in that. Lorenzo was out for revenge; Elizabeth was merely a pawn in his scheme.

Jason had to operate under the assumption that Lorenzo knew he was here. The Venezuelan was supposed to have tight control on the area, and so despite arriving on a commercial flight, under assumed names, Jason had to act like Alcazar knew he was there. It was safer that way. He could not afford to do anything that would jeopardize and already dangerous situation and put Elizabeth further at risk.

They didn't have time to try to get dissenting locals on their side, so Max and Jason were prepared to work on their own. They had equipment, had purchased some more down here, and now were sitting in wait hoping to spot their one chance they'd get and praying they didn't mess it up. Jason was normally a person who could wait patiently for hours and days to get the right shot, grab the enemy or gather the one piece of vital intelligence that turned the tide. But he couldn't do that now. The waiting was killing him because he knew that Elizabeth was inside and in danger.

They also knew that the longer they waited, the greater chance he and Max had of being captured by Alcazar and joining Elizabeth in captivity. The purpose of this was to rescue her, not join her and need saving as well. He lifted his night vision goggles to scan the area once more, looking for patterns among the guards, and tried to stifle a sigh. Max was being cautious and insisting that they needed to observe a little while longer. It made strategic sense, Jason knew that, but he didn't like it.

"I think they're changing guards again," Max stated moments before Jason picked up on the same thing.

"That means it's six hour shifts," Jason calculated after a quick glance at his watch.

"This is the watch to make our move," the guard declared and Jason looked over at him. "In three or four hours, we'll go in. They'll be too fresh right now and it's too risky. But it's after midnight, everyone's gonna be asleep, they're gonna get really bored in about three or four hours and their guard might be down. We know how often they walk the dogs around, so we know how to time when we slip past them."

"Yeah," Jason nodded, raising his head to look at the house. They could see the wing where Brenda suspected Elizabeth might be kept, but even though they'd seen shapes and shadows moving that indicated people, the two of them were too far away to clearly determine if one of those shapes might be Elizabeth.

"Jason," Max said, his voice sounding authoritative and Jason was a bit surprised. Usually the guard was easy-going and deferential, but he had actually been quite insistent at times on this trip. "Get some sleep."

"No," he immediately shook his head. "I'm going to keep watching, make sure something doesn't change."

"I'm going to take the watch right now, but you are going to get some sleep," Max commanded him. "You aren't going to do Elizabeth any good if your reflexes are off because you won't take some time for yourself. I'll wake you in a bit and then get some rest while you watch. But you need to get some sleep, Jason. I can't carry both you and Elizabeth out of here."

Guards were surprisingly easy to fool by feigning sleep. Elizabeth had made a racket earlier in the day, claiming she needed some supplies. Once the men understood exactly what she was asking for, they'd turned skittish but had hurried to fulfill her request. Apparently, all she needed to do to be left alone so she could plan and formulate was to fake having her period. Nobody was anxious to get close to her, and so they didn't do a very comprehensive bed check.

Having learned their schedule of when they came into her room, she knew it was time to act. The extra blankets she'd asked for, despite the heat, would provide the necessary material under the covers. She'd been sleeping curled up on her side with a hot water bottle pressed against her stomach to stave off the terrible cramps she got every month. That had also been the reason she requested extra blankets. Heat made her feel better.

Lorenzo Alcazar was going to feel like a fool when he realized he'd been duped, and she almost wished she could be around to see it. Men always turned into pansies whenever women's issues came up. But she considered it a fair trade; she'd make him feel like a fool in retaliation for him kidnapping her.

Throwing back the covers, she was careful not to disturb them too much, but she had to climb out of the sweltering cocoon she'd been wrapped in. She took off her bathrobe, placed it in the bed with blankets giving it shape, pulled the covers up and used the filled hot water bottle to dimple the pillow where her head should be. With the dark room, and the way the guards checked on her as they stood in the doorway, hopefully it would be enough to fool them. Nobody would discover she was missing until the maid came up at nine with her breakfast.

Elizabeth didn't know where she'd be by then, but hopefully far away from here. She knew some Spanish; she was now thankful that Lucky hadn't been interested in French. The only reason she'd been in Senor Fish's class was because Lucky had signed up for it and she wanted to be near him. Hopefully she could remember enough conversational words to catch a ride with someone and get far away from here. She didn't have any money, but somehow, some way - even if she had to steal - she was going to find a way to contact Jason. And if she couldn't do that, then she'd get to an American Embassy and pray for a little divine intervention.

Opening the door slowly, she was grateful that Lorenzo Alcazar was rich and liked the fine things of life. Squeaking door hinges were not fine and they would certainly be problematic right now. She turned to the left, away from where the direction she was led for meals with Lorenzo. While she knew where the exits were in that part of the house, she also knew how heavily patrolled the area was. She was the only person in this wing, she knew there was a balcony at the end of the hall, she intended to slip outside, scan the area, then climb down to the second floor. After that, she'd run like mad and hope she made it.

Someone was walking towards them. Jason held up his hand, stopping Max right behind him and froze against the exterior wall shrouded in shadows. They'd made it all this way across the grounds, up onto the second floor balcony and now they were potentially about to be discovered by some roving guard. Jason hoped the man went away, but he was prepared to neutralize him - however necessary - in order to get past the man so he could find Elizabeth.

He exchanged a rueful look with Max when the door they were planning to enter opened and a figure slowly emerged. Jason watched the individual, hidden by shadows as well, for a moment and then made a split-second decision. He rushed forward, bringing his hand up to cover the guard's mouth while flipping his gun around ready to use the butt of the weapon to knock the man out leaving him with a sizeable lump on his head. Max was moving right behind him and Jason knew that if the guard put up too much of a fight, his guard would be there for back-up.

But the moment his hand descended, he froze. Because his body was close to the other person's and he knew with surety that this wasn't one of Alcazar's men. This was a woman, and one he knew well.

"Elizabeth," he said softly, enough to reveal his presence and also to alert Max and stand him down.

Her body tensed, and then he felt it sag with relief. Her wide eyes searched the darkness for his and when they met, he felt her elation and surprise reach straight into him.

He moved his hand and she breathed out, "Jason? You're here?!"

"Of course I'm here," he told her, pulling her into his arms and then kissing her intensely. He kept it brief, but Max still coughed and shifted anxiously behind him.

"Come on," he urged. "Let's go."

Jason nodded, reaching for Elizabeth's hand to pull her along behind him, signaling for Max to take point. The guard didn't move, though, he looked once more at Elizabeth, then out at the grounds and quickly took off his jacket. Her clothes were light colored and Jason immediately saw what the guard was trying to do; conceal her, at least partially.

"Put this on," Jason instructed her, taking the jacket from Max. "And stay close."

She nodded as she followed instructions and then reached for his hand once again. "I'm ready."

"Max," he said, "lead us back across the yard."

The guard was silent as he led them down to the ground floor, the two men wordlessly helping Elizabeth down, and quickly retracing their steps. If the guards stayed on schedule, they had 15 minutes before the dogs once again reached their spot on the perimeter. They would be cutting it close, but it was more dangerous to wait here for the rotation to pass. He hoped Elizabeth could keep up with the pace they would have to set, but he was also prepared to carry her if needed. Max would provide any cover necessary, because Jason wasn't going to stop. He was going to get Elizabeth out of here. No matter what.

Being shot at sucked.

It was noisy. It was scary. And it could potentially leave you with a pretty nasty hole in your body. Jason had several of them. Elizabeth had seen one when she was 18 years old; finding him in the snow and nursing him back to health without the benefit of stitches of proper medical care. It was a wonder he hadn't died in her drafty studio given the infection, the fever, the loss of blood, and the hole closing up on its own. Sometimes she had nightmares about it.

She'd found other evidence of gunshot wounds on his body. It was rather hard to hide them with nothing covering him. She'd never asked about them; he'd probably never tell her anyways. She'd merely kissed them the same as she had the one on his side and if he noticed her tear that slipped from her eye that time they'd made love, he didn't mention it. Just like she hadn't mentioned that he'd been a little more tender that time, taking the time to linger on her body as if to erase the thoughts of the scars marring his.

Of course, she'd been shot at herself. She had a little pucker of flesh on her upper arm, despite Tony Jones' efforts to minimize the scar. And then she'd been shot at in the hospital as she'd sat with Zander waiting for the doctor to examine him after he'd been pulled out of the harbor with no memory. For a while, she thought Zander was her bad luck with guns. He shot her in the arm; she was shot at while sitting beside him. She had been foolishy, foolishly naïve.

A part of her knew that because of her involvement with Jason, danger would linger. One day she could be standing beside him and a shooter driving by could open fire. A sniper could be trying to take out Jason and hit her instead. Or he could be trying to send Jason a message by intentionally shooting her. But it was easy to push those things out of her mind and say that she'd deal with it if the day ever arrived, because she trusted Jason to do all he could to keep her safe.

The day had arrived. She was being shot at by Alcazar's men as Jason and Max led her across the property trying to get them all to safety after she'd been kidnapped by Lorenzo Alcazar. She was running as fast as she could, but given the disparity in height between her and her rescuers, she was bound to lag behind. Jason was doing all he could to encourage her, to drag her when needed and keep her upright when she stumbled, while returning fire when he could. She knew her ears were going to ring for a while from all the shots fired around her.

"Max! Cover us!" Jason shouted as Elizabeth stumbled once more. He turned and scooped her up, hoisting her over his shoulder in a classic fireman carry as he turned and sprinted once more for the fence. They were so close; it would be cruel for them to nearly taste freedom only to be stopped at the fence.

Somehow, though, they made it up and over the imposing wall, and then to where Max and Jason had hidden their vehicle they had acquired. Max proved he could do more than stand outside a door or drive a limo on occasion as he drove them away from Alcazar's property. It was like a controlled crash, or an imminent wreck the way he flew around corners, and then evaded the Jeeps of armed gunmen that came after them from the compound.

Jason shoved her down onto the floor of the car, spreading out his jacket over her as well to shield her from shards of glass as he knelt on the backseat and returned fire. Max fired as well, swerving - sometimes into the Jeeps, sometimes away from them - as they sped along. It was very disconcerting and slightly nauseating since she couldn't see where they were going or what was happening.

She knew Jason had a plan for their escape. He wouldn't have come to get her if he didn't have a plan. She just wished she knew what it was. She hadn't had a plan, and it had terrified her. It was somehow even more frightening to wonder if the sharp turns were all part of a bigger scheme, or Max was delaying their eventual capture. But she wouldn't distract Jason by asking the questions she was anxious to, and so she stayed where she was and tried to keep from smacking her chin on the floorboard every time they hit a rut in the road.

Eventually, though, the firefight around them stopped. The Jeeps full of men were no longer of concern, due to Max's maneuvering and Jason's shooting, and the silence became nearly as deafening as the shots. Finally, though, Jason pulled Elizabeth up off the floor and into his arms. He crushed her to him, running his hands over her as he asked her over and over again if she was alright.

Max slowed the car slightly and Elizabeth no longer feared an imminent wreck, but he was still moving with speed and purpose. She had no idea where they were going, and maybe it was wrong of her, but she simply didn't take the time to care. She was with Jason and that was all she could think about.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked her again, leaning against her, his arm wrapped tight around her.

She smiled in the darkness, even though he couldn't see her. "Yes, Jason. I'm alright."

"How did you get out of your room?" he asked. "Max and I were prepared to search every room in that house if we had to, and instead you walked right outside to where we were waiting."

"Never underestimate the power of being a woman," she smirked. "I faked having my period in order to get certain things, and then the guards left me alone because I was moody and crabby and all I wanted to do was sleep. There was no way I was going to sit idly by and be Lorenzo Alcazar's hostage."

"Didn't you know I'd come for you?" he asked, bringing his hand up to cup her cheek. His forehead came to rest against hers and he whispered, "Didn't you know that I'll always come for you?"

She brought up her hand to cover his and the words she was about to say were lost in her throat. The dampness she felt as his hand pressed against her flesh wasn't her tears trapped between them. Her tears weren't on the back of his hand. She brought her hand down and pushed back at Jason.

"Where?" she demanded. "Where did you get shot?"

"I'm okay," he hissed as she found the wound on his shoulder.

"Max!" she yelled. "Jason's been shot."

She saw his shadowy bulk turn on the seat to look back at her, before quickly glancing back to the road. The car perceptibly began to pick up speed. "Where?" he asked.

"His shoulder," Elizabeth answered, maneuvering on the seat so that Jason could recline against the door and the seat back. Her small hands reached around behind him, gently feeling his back. "I...I found an exit wound. It went through."

The bullet may not be lodged in his shoulder, but that didn't mean everything was okay. Who knew how much muscle damage had been done. Who knew how much blood he'd already lost and how much he was continuing to lose. They needed to get him examined right away.

"Max!" she pleaded as they passed by a light and she saw Jason's face covered with a fine sheen of sweat. "He needs a doctor!"

Turning back to Jason, she grabbed his face between her hands and leaned in close, "Jason, listen to me. You stay with me. I found you and I saved your life once before and I will not let you die on me now. Do you understand me? You are going to be fine; you just have to stay with me. Talk to me."

"What...what do you want to tal-talk about?"

"Tell me about some place you want to take me," she said. "Some place in Italy, or some other country. Just tell me about some place you want to show me."

When she'd been shot half a year ago, he'd kept her calm and focused by asking her about Italy. She needed to do the same now. She needed to get him talking so that he wouldn't be tempted to fall asleep. And it might be selfish, but listening to Jason talk would also keep her calm. It might also, she hoped, keep him distracted while she pulled off her shirts and pressed them against Jason's wounds, hoping to slow the flow of blood.

Elizabeth didn't know how Max knew where to go, but not long after she informed him that Jason was injured, they turned down a side street and pulled up in front of a dilapidated building. Max threw the car into park, reached for his gun with one hand while reaching into the backseat with the other and forcing Jason out of the car. She wanted to tell the guard to be careful. To be gentle with him, but she also understood that they couldn't stand around on the street. Not when the Alcazars were known for the power they held in this country and could have people anywhere.

An elderly man met them after Max shouldered his way inside and when he saw the guard, and then Jason, he nodded grimly and helped Max get Jason into a room in the back and up on the table. While the doctor, she hoped he was a doctor, removed Elizabeth's makeshift bandages and Jason's shirt, Max pulled her aside and looked slightly embarrassed to say.

"Elizabeth, you...you might want to put Jason's jacket on." She blushed bright red when she realized she was standing there in her bra and pants. She'd been so focused on getting help for Jason that she had quite forgotten she'd taken off both her shirts in order to apply pressure on Jason's wounds.

As she fumbled with the metal tabs of the zipper, Max pointed at the pocket on the right side. "There's a gun in there. This place should be safe, but keep an eye out. And stay close to Jason. I have to go ditch the car; we can't have it sitting in front of this building. I'll be back soon."

She nodded as she swallowed; not liking the idea of him going anywhere, but she understood why he needed to. Her hand shook slightly as she slipped it into the pocket of the jacket and she felt the heavy weight of the metal. She didn't bother to tell Max that she had no idea how to make sure the gun was loaded or that the safety off, she was simply going to have faith that nobody would find them, and that the other man would be back soon.

"Okay," he nodded, looking rather reluctant himself to leave. "I'll go move the car and scope out another one. Then I'll call the airfield not far from here, I know a guy there and hopefully I can get a plane. Once Jason is well enough to travel, we're going to go to the island."

She reached out impulsively and hugged him, "Thank you, Max."

"You're welcome, Elizabeth," he said with an awkward smile. "Stay close to the doctor and Jason. I'll be back soon."

Then he slipped out into the night and she could only hope that nothing happened to prevent Max from keeping his word.

Her head snapped up and she looked around the room, focusing on the bed and frowning in disappointment as Jason still lay unconscious. The doctor in Venezuela had sewed him up, but infection had quickly set in, and already weak from blood loss, Jason had quickly succumbed to it. The hack had only a limited amount of blood and Jason had been given just enough to stay alive, but not enough to truly be well. Once they arrived on the island, the doctor here had set to work, infusing him with blood and intravenous antibiotics in an attempt to get him better.

"Elizabeth?" This time a hand settled on her shoulder and she stood quickly, startled at the contact.

The greeting she was about to give Max, the assurances that she was fine and she didn't need to go to her own room, died in her throat as she realized that it wasn't the guard who had done such an amazing job in getting them out of the country. He had been shot at the airfield, as men either directly on Alcazar's payroll or just someone trying to get in good with the mobster, had fired on them as they were rushing towards the plane that Max had arranged. He had the doc stitch his leg only after Jason was tended to, and by that time he was looking rather pale himself. Elizabeth had sent him off to get some sleep, but like the stubborn bulldog he was, he said he would when she did. Since they both refused to give, they both took up position by Jason's bedside and waited for a change in his condition.

Looking around, she realized he was on the floor asleep, a blanket arranged over him and a pillow somehow wedged underneath him. The doctor had probably figured it was better to let him sleep where he'd no doubt fallen than wake him up. If only the doctor had been so thoughtful about stopping Jason's visitor at the door.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked at the man across from her and said, "Sonny. What are you doing here?"

If he noticed the acid dripping from her voice, he didn't respond to it. And suddenly she was very afraid. This was the man who had changed her guards, after all. What if he had been more than willing to have her disappear and Alcazar was just a convenient helper to that? After all, Jason hadn't been available for Sonny's every beck and call because he'd put limits on their relationship. What if Sonny resented her for that?

Taking a step back and letting her eyes glance around the room in case she needed to grab something to defend herself, she asked, "What-what do you want?"

Apparently he noticed the tremor in her voice because he frowned and tilted his head to the side. "Elizabeth? I...I came to see how everyone was. Max called on the way to the island and said that Jason had been shot. Then when I was in the air, the doctor called and informed me of Jason's condition and also about the fact that Max was shot. I... Why wouldn't I come down here to see how everyone was?"

"Did you really?" she arched her brow. "Or did you think that with Max and Jason out of the way that now was the perfect opportunity."

His frown deepened. "The perfect opportunity for what?"

"I know that you're the person who changed my guards," she hissed at him. "Jason goes out of town after my studio had been broken into and you change my guards! As long as your family is safe and Jason is doing your bidding, who cares about me, right?! I was surprised that Jason was down in Venezuela...I figured you wouldn't even bother letting him know I was missing and you'd order everyone else not to as well."

Sonny blinked at her in astonishment and then shook his head. "No, Elizabeth...that's not what happened. I...I didn't change your guards. I wouldn't do that to you."

"Why should I believe you?" she demanded. "After all, it wasn't that long ago that I found out on the TV that you'd faked your death. And I could tell that you weren't happy that Jason had come down to Florida to be with me. I figured all those times when we were together, you were just biding your time until you could get rid of me."

"No, no," the older man repeated as he shook his head sadly. "Elizabeth, I...I didn't change your guards. It...it was Richie. He…he threw in with Alcazar and he betrayed us. He knew that if you went missing that Jason would do everything he could to search for you and he believed with Jason out of the way I would be vulnerable to an attack."

He sighed and ran his hand over his face. "Sweetheart, I am so sorry that you were taken again. I know...I know when Roscoe and his men took you and held you in the crypt that was because of Luis' attempts on the docks, and now his brother and a traitor guard arranged for your capture again. When Max came into the penthouse to check on me and realized I wasn't hurt like Richie had told him, he immediately knew that something was wrong. He sent people after you, but by then it was too late. Your guard was dead and you were sailing out of the harbor. As soon as Max came back and explained what happened, I called Jason and had him come home."

She warred with herself, not sure whether to believe him or not. Once she and Sonny used to talk about Jason and how they both missed him, and then pretty soon she wasn't a blip on the man's radar. Carly hated her, and she wasn't at all happy about Jason's relationship with Elizabeth, what if Sonny had just been pretending to support them?

"You called him?" she asked.

"I did," he nodded. "Nothing that Jason was working on was more important than you, Elizabeth."

"It's so easy to say that now, Sonny. But there was a time when you got upset with Jason because of his involvement with me. You didn't like the way he did things, trying to find me when I was taken, because it interfered with your precious business."

The older man sighed and tucked his hands into his pants pockets and said, "I...I didn't always do right by you, Elizabeth, and Jason made me see that. When he left to go to Florida, he made me see that you were important to him. That he wasn't going to risk losing you just because I couldn't, or didn't want to see how he felt about you. I didn't want to have to send him out of town, Elizabeth, especially not after your studio had been broken into. But Jason insisted on tracking down the lead, and it is his job."

She narrowed her eyes at him, incensed that he would go there with her. "Are you seriously trying to lecture me on Jason's job, Sonny?"

"Well, you did walk out after I returned last October."

"That had nothing to do with Jason's job, it had to do with the fact that he'd lied to me."

"Sometimes he'll have to," Sonny said softly.

"Not the way Jason did it. Do you know what Jason did that night you miraculously returned from the dead? He was at the police station, he stopped by the hospital to see Alexis and he escorted your sister home. If you were so concerned about Courtney, how come you didn't take care of her? Jason never called me, he never came by the house, I had to get messages from Carly, who was quite gloating over the fact that she had seen Jason and I hadn't. I understand the need to keep things quiet, Sonny. Or are you forgetting that I let the entire town think I was sleeping with Jason after he'd been shot and he refused to let you help him?"

Sonny looked down, she could only guess in a gesture of embarrassment as he was reminded of what exactly it was that had led to Jason refusing to be around the older man or Carly. When he looked back up at her, he shook his head. "I didn't forget."

"Really?" she asked as her eyebrows drifted up her forehead in incredulity. "I lied to the police, to my family, to Jason's family, to Lucky's family, and I didn't just do it once, I did it twice. So are you seriously going to tell me that I don't understand the need for secrets in Jason's life? This wasn't about the secret, this was about how Jason avoided me and made me feel like a fool after I thought we were finally getting it right. I was treated like an afterthought by you and I refused to stick around for it."

"So your little stunt with leaving town was to make Jason choose you over me?" Sonny asked, mild challenge in his voice.

"I think you've confused me with your wife, Sonny. I don't play games."

"I doubt Lucky would say that."

She licked her lips and took a deep breath through her nose. "I suppose I deserve that. But you know what, that's between Jason and I and we got past it. But the problem is, you shove your way into places where you don't belong. Just like Carly."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"To paraphrase Princess Diana, it's hard to have a relationship when there are four people in it instead of two."

He looked at her in askance and she continued, "You and Carly pull Jason into your lives and push your way into Jason's even though it borders on sick, Sonny. When Michael has a problem, you call Jason to deal with it. Why don't you be a parent and take care of your own child? Or how 'bout you deal with your wife instead of sending Jason to calm her down and pass a message onto her like you guys are in high school? And let's not even get into the fact that you guys act like he can't have any kind of life except for you. You can take off and go be with your family, but Jason is supposed to be there for you whenever you snap your fingers. There are other people who can do things, Sonny."

"I know that, Elizabeth," he said gently. "And right now you're upset and you're worried and you're not thinking real clearly, but if you think back to these past couple of months, you'll realize that I have used other people instead of calling Jason all the time. That was something Jason insisted on. He said he wasn't going to lose you again because of me. And we worked on things."

She looked at him and knew he was right. Things had been different. She and Jason got to have time together, like Christmas and New Year's and Sonny only called when things got really dicey or nobody but Jason could handle the situation. It wasn't like before. But the thought that Sonny had changed her guards had left her with anger and fear that it was all just an illusion and Sonny was going to start fighting their relationship.

"You...you really didn't change my guard?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and tucking her hands under her arms.

"I didn't," he swore to her. "I would never do something like that to you. I know how important you are to Jason, and Jason is important to me. Once we used to be friends, Elizabeth, and I know things changed on my end. I...I'm trying to make up for that. I know Carly hasn't been easy, but I am happy Jason's worked things out with you."

Her lower lip wobbled as she looked over at the bed and Sonny took a step towards her. "I know you're scared and worried for him, Elizabeth. It's natural, and you love him."

She looked back at Sonny, her eyes rimmed with burning tears. "I do. When he passed out on the plane...I remembered that day that I found him in the snow and I just... I can't lose him, Sonny."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and said, "You aren't going to, Elizabeth. Jason's strong. And he's got a lot to fight for. Just give him a little while for his body to heal."

Sniffling and wiping at the tears that had escaped, Elizabeth nodded her head.

"Now," Sonny smiled, "When was the last time you had anything to eat or you slept?"

"I'm okay," she told him with a shake of her head, trying to pull away from him, but Sonny kept a grip on her shoulders and started steering them towards the door.

"No, you're not, Elizabeth," he contradicted her. "You look like you'd fall down at the first sign of a stiff breeze. We do not need to add another patient to Doc Ramirez's rotation. So I'm going to fix you something to eat, you are going to eat it; then you're going to lay down on the couch in Jason's room so you'll be close by in case he wakes up, but you are going to rest."

"Don't push your luck, Sonny," she huffed, even as he led her from the room. "You're not my father."

"Come on," he coaxed her. "While I'm fixing you some food, you can tell me how you fooled Alcazar's guards and were halfway on your way to freedom when you ran into Jason and Max."

When Jason finally broke through the fog he'd been fighting for what felt like hours, he regained consciousness in a room he recognized, but he was disappointed to see. He was on Sonny's island; he knew that immediately from the light wood and subdued tropical color palette. It was a room he'd stayed in before when he came down here for business, or to lay low until the heat subsided back home and the cops no longer suspected him for murder. It opened up onto the back porch, leading down to the beach and Jason liked that feature because he would prop open the French doors and listen to the surf all night.

The doors were shut tight, though, and the drapes were drawn over all the glass. A soft light came from a lamp on the nightstand, but other than that indicator that there was someone else present in the house, he was alone. And that worried him. Because Elizabeth wasn't here.

As the painkiller induced haze lifted, he immediately tried to remember recent events. He and Max had infiltrated Alcazar's compound, they found Elizabeth as she was about to escape, the three of them managed to get to the waiting car and somehow Max was able to drive them all to safety while eluding the henchmen. Elizabeth had discovered he'd been shot and she tended to him, begging him to stay with her and not die. After that, things were patchy. He remembered some kind of doctor, Max getting him onto a waiting plane and...he frowned as he stared at the ceiling. There was gunfire. And Elizabeth screamed.

Had she been recaptured? Had Max decided to get him to safety and get him healthy instead of fighting to get Elizabeth back? Where was Max? Jason had questions and he wanted answers and if someone didn't get in here in the next five seconds Jason was going to get out of this bed and find them. Actually, Jason was going to get out of bed and find Elizabeth. Even if that meant he had to go back to Venezuela.

With a groan, he pushed himself up on the bed, his shoulder twinging and letting him know that he'd been shot. His head swam and his vision blurred around the edges, but he took deep breaths and fought to stay conscious. He was not going to let Elizabeth slip farther away just because he was hurt. Nothing was more important than her. Not even his health.

When he no longer felt like he was going to pass out, he stood and shuffled across the room to his dresser. Clothes would be there; he always kept some here because sometimes it wasn't always possible to pack before leaving Port Charles. He bent over to retrieve them, and ended up resting his forehead on top of his arm, which was braced on top of the furniture. He had to get his strength back, and quickly. He couldn't afford to fail Elizabeth just because he was a little weak from blood loss. The doctor should have given him a transfusion and if he hadn't, then he was going to do so before Jason left.

Finally, with clothes in hand, Jason headed back for the bed. He knew he was going to have to sit in order to change from his sweatpants into his jeans. Maneuvering his injured arm into the shirt and then pulling it over his head, he paused when he heard the door open. At least he hadn't been in the process of changing his pants.

"Jason?" Max asked in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he hissed out, feeling the stitches pull as he finally got his shirt on. "I'm getting dressed so I can go find Elizabeth."

The guard's eyes widened and he said, "That's not necessary, Jason."

"Not necessary?" he demanded, shaking his head to clear the fuzz away that was forming. "Do you think I'm going to leave her down in Venezuela with Alcazar just because I'm injured? I'm going back for her, Max, and if you try to stop me I'll shoot you."

"I wouldn't stop you, Jason," the man said, catching Jason under his arms and lowering him back to the bed before Jason fell. "But it's not necessary. Miss Webber isn't in Venezuela. She's here."

Jason looked around the room and then back to Max. "I don't see her."

"That's because I finally got her to sleep for a little longer than twenty minutes on your couch over there," Sonny stated as he walked into the room. He was dressed in tan pants and a lightweight shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. "She's exhausted because she's been watching over you for the past three days. Every time you shift in your sleep she flies to your side expecting you to wake up. She was about ready to fall over and so I told her she either had to lie down in an actual bed or I was going to have the doctor give her a sedative the next time he came to check on you."

"She's here?" Jason asked, leaning his good arm against his leg and resting his head on his fist. "She's alright?"

"She's fine," Sonny assured him, sitting down in the chair near the bed.

"She wasn't shot?" he asked to clarify. "I remember her screaming."

"That's when," Max coughed and then continued, "That's when Alcazar's men found us at the airfield and opened fire again. She was still in the car and I was coming down the stairs after getting you in."

"You should have gotten her inside first," Jason told him and then scowled at the two men when they chuckled. "What?"

"That's what Sonny told me, and that's what I knew I should do," Max admitted. "But I think you two forget how stubborn Miss Webber can be. She wanted you on the plane first so you could rest and didn't try to climb the stairs yourself. She wouldn't back down and I got tired of sitting out there like a duck so I grabbed you and hauled you up to the plane."

"Max got shot in the leg getting Elizabeth inside," Sonny said in a casual tone that belied the pointed explanation. "It would have been worse if he'd been dealing with you. At least she could move under her own power, you were just dead weight."

Max made an embarrassed sound and shook his head, clearly trying to downplay his injury. Jason looked at him, then over at Sonny. "How bad?"

"He passed out once he got you here and had the doc take care of you. Refused to let the doctor deal with him until you were looked out. You had lost consciousness on the plane due to the infection and the blood loss. The doctor down in Venezuela didn't have your blood type and Max wasn't going to wait along longer."

Jason looked at the guard, and then straightened up, holding out his hand. "Thank you, Max. For looking out for me and Elizabeth."

"No problem, Jason," he shook off the thanks. "I'm just glad Miss Webber is safe and you're doing better."

"Get some rest, Max," Sonny said with kindness but authority. "You're not on duty and you're still healing. Stop trying to walk around."

The other man limped out of the room and the Cuban shook his head. "You and him are a pair, I tell you. Between worrying about the two of you and being as nervous around me as a mouse in a room full of cats, Elizabeth has been running herself ragged."

Jason frowned, not liking that he'd made Elizabeth lose sleep worrying about him. Then his frown deepened as he processed the other part of Sonny's statement. "What are you talking about?"

Sonny sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his palms over his thighs. "She wasn't happy to see me and we...had an interesting discussion."

"Sonny," he said, "cut the crap and talk."

"She thought I'd changed her guards," Sonny began and then went on to explain how Elizabeth didn't know about Richie and that the guard was responsible for Elizabeth being captured by Alcazar. She thought that Sonny had changed her guards, that he had disregarded Jason's orders to the men and she had blamed him for her kidnapping.

Jason shifted, easing down onto the bed and grimacing with not just pain, but also that Elizabeth had felt betrayed by the wrong man. "I never got a chance to tell her. Max and I were just trying to get us to safety and then I was shot and after that..."

"Don't worry about it, Jason," the other man shook his head. "I explained it to Elizabeth. She wasn't eager to believe me at first. She...uh...she had anger and resentment towards me from when I faked my death."

Frowning, he tried to prop himself up on his elbow, but his bad shoulder was towards Sonny and he couldn't raise himself up and look at his friend. Finally he just scowled and bit out, "What did you say?"

"I didn't say much," Sonny hedged. "She laid into me. I said a few things back about how she'd split on you, and she put me in my place. We cleared the air and I'm fine with things, but Elizabeth keeps trying to apologize every time she sees me. I've tried to tell her there's no need, but she's pretty high-strung at the moment. I think finding out you're awake will do a lot to help her, as well as her nap."

"Actually, you're partially right, Sonny." Both men turned to look at the sudden sound of her voice in the doorway. Jason had never seen anything more beautiful than the sight of her safe and whole, but he immediately saw what his friend had tried to counteract. Elizabeth looked like she was barely able to stand on her feet she was so tired. "Knowing that Jason's awake is exactly what I need."

"You should be resting," Jason told her. "I'm alright."

Sonny coughed awkwardly and stood, "I think this is my cue to leave. I'm glad you woke up, man. I'll have doc come look at you in a couple of hours."

Jason merely nodded his head, not taking his gaze off Elizabeth who had stepped into his room, but still hovered by the door. Sonny walked towards the exit and paused by Elizabeth. He looked about to speak, then apparently changed his mind and slipped out of the room, making sure to close the door behind him.

"Come here," Jason said, lifting his good arm slightly.

Elizabeth crossed the room immediately, climbing straight onto the bed and pressing herself up against his uninjured side, while taking care not to jostle him too much. He, frankly, didn't care if his stitches tore. Not at this moment when her eager lips met his anxiously waiting ones. He hadn't held her in weeks, hadn't kissed her in days, had missed her all the while he'd been gone and then had worried over her as soon as he found out she'd been kidnapped. There was a lot of fear, relief, worry and love all mixed into their kiss and now that they didn't have to try to make it to safety or censor themselves because Max was present, he was free to kiss her as he'd been longing to do the minute she stepped into his doorway looking rumpled and exhausted in her pajamas.

Elizabeth pulled back slightly to look at him, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he told her, pulling her back for a kiss. She touched his lips only briefly and he finally relented and said, "I've been shot before, Elizabeth, you know that."

She looked down and nodded. He kissed the crown of her head and then said, "I'm awake now, I'm a little weak, but I'm getting better."

He didn't want to talk; he wanted to show her how much he'd missed her. He wanted to reassure himself she was alright, to calm the half-out-of-his-mind worry that had gripped him when he'd heard she'd been kidnapped. He wasn't going to let her fuss over him right now, not when he had her in his arms and they were alone. He held his hand to the back of her head and kept it there as he kissed her, until she no longer tried to pull away. Then when he was secure she wasn't going to suddenly try to talk to him again, he let it drift down her back to rest at the base of her spine, pulling the rest of her body close to him.

When it slid under her shirt and made the path back up her bare skin, Elizabeth pulled back slightly, her eyes no longer cloudy with sleep and shook her head, "Jason, we can't."

"We can," he countered firmly, challenging her with his gaze. "Because nothing, especially not some wound in my shoulder, is going to stop me from showing you just how much I love you, Elizabeth. Not after everything I've been through in the past few weeks."

"Where have you been?"

Jason groaned and Elizabeth knew that if she looked over at him, he would be rolling his eyes. But she wasn't looking at him; she was closing her eyes and counting to ten in the hopes of not killing Carly.

"Not now, Carly," she bit out as Johnny opened Jason's penthouse and took their bags inside.

"Shut up, Muffin," the blonde snapped back. "I'm not talking to you. I doubt I'd ever willingly talk to you. I was talking to Jason."

"Johnny," she looked at the guard. "Help Jason upstairs."

"Elizabeth," her boyfriend sighed, no doubt planning to stay down here with her.

"Shut up," she took a page from Carly's book. "We're home, and Johnny will tell Sonny. If Sonny needs you, he can come over here. But I'm sure he'll agree with me in saying that tomorrow morning is early enough. Now go upstairs."

"Come on, Jason," Johnny coaxed. "She's right. You need to rest."

Once Jason was past the midpoint landing of the stairs, Elizabeth turned on Carly and said, "You need to get out of here right now. Go home. Hug your son. If Sonny's not there, then wait for him to come home but do it over there. But I swear, Carly, if you don't get out of here right now I am liable to do something I am going to regret."

"Like what?" the blonde laughed. "Hit me? Wouldn't that just ruin your sainted image?"

"Carly, right now I am so tempted to smack you it is by sheer willpower alone that I haven't," Elizabeth hissed. "How dare you pounce on Jason the moment he gets out of the elevator and act like he should have been here."

"He should have," Carly insisted with narrowed, lethal eyes. "And if he would have been if it wasn't for you. While he was down on the island playing house with you, Lorenzo Alcazar blew up the warehouse and nearly breached the security here at the Towers. My son was almost ambushed on his way home from school."

"And Jason almost died!" Elizabeth shot back. "Are you really that selfish, Carly, that you think he should have been here at your personal beck and call instead of healing? Do you not understand that it takes time to heal from a gunshot wound? He had a doctor taking care of him this time, not like that December when he wanted nothing to do with you but you kept showing up where you weren't wanted like a bad penny or a cheap hooker. But despite what you and half this organization thinks, he's not some superhero who bounces back unnaturally fast after being shot."

"What do you mean he was shot?" Carly demanded of her. "What do you mean he almost died?"

"He was shot after rescuing me from Alcazar. He went to some doctor, and I use the term loosely, who patched him up enough so we could get out of there before we were found and taken back to Lorenzo Alcazar's lovely compound. He was weak from blood loss, the doctor didn't have any blood to give him a transfusion, and he got an infection and passed out on the plane. He was unconscious for three days once we finally got to the island. Max was shot as well, in case you're concerned about him."

Elizabeth took a deep breath, fury rolling through her. "He wanted to come back when Sonny did three days ago, but the doctor and Sonny told him no. They said he needed to heal, to recover because he can barely walk without looking like he's ready to pass out. He was still losing blood and the doctor had to open him back up and repair what the first one had missed and he needs to recover."

"I...I didn't know," Carly shook her head, her visage transforming from anger to fear for Jason. "Sonny never told me."

"Then take it up with your husband," she hissed. "But I am not going to allow you to make Jason feel worse than he already does. As soon as he heard about the warehouse and Michael, he insisted on coming back. The doctor wanted to sedate him to keep him down on the island, but I knew that that point that there would be no stopping Jason. So we flew home. Because Jason has this belief that despite the fact that he's had two surgeries and two blood transfusions in a week's time, and in spite of the fact that he can barely stand up, that he can get out on the streets and hunt down Alcazar."

"Of course he can't," the other woman said in almost horrified disbelief.

"Then we finally agree on something," Elizabeth said. "So instead of attacking him and acting like he should have been here, back off and let me take care of him. If he actually heals he'll be able to help Sonny and take care of all of us."

"I didn't know," Carly insisted. "I...I would have never said anything if I'd known."

"But you should have, or you should have at least suspected something was going on if you know Jason so well," she sneered. "Do you honestly believe that Jason wouldn't be here when things were so unsettled?"

"I figured you batted your big, ol' poor me eyelashes at him and he stayed on the island to coddle you and placate you. I mean, you're the one who ran out on Jason after Sonny faked his death because you couldn't handle things. You want Jason's attention only on you; even at the expense of his job."

"Right," she nodded. "Which is why after my studio had been broken into, I pitched a fit and kept him from leaving when Sonny wanted to send him out of town to search for the people behind it."

She tipped her head mockingly to the side and said, "Oh, no, wait. Jason did go and I didn't see him for nearly three weeks. Well, before I got kidnapped and held captive and then it was over three weeks. When was the last time you haven't seen your husband for that length of time, Carly?"

Elizabeth walked over to the door and yanked it open, "Get used to it, Carly. I'm not going anywhere. I love Jason and I've come to terms with his life. I'm not running from the danger and I'm not choosing someone over him. Jason and I have worked through our relationship. There's no room in it for you, so stop trying to shove your way in and create problems just because you don't like me. Jason forgave you for sleeping with Sonny, so I suggest you suck it up and deal with the fact that I helped Jason when he wanted nothing to do with you. I also suggest you suck it up and deal with the fact that I'm a part of Jason's life now and I'm not leaving. I'm not going to let you run me off, and I'm growing really tired of your constant insults and attacks. Keep it up, Carly, and you'll find out that I really am nobody's angel."

Gesturing to the hallway she continued, "Now get out of my house. I'm going to take care of Jason and I swear that the first time you just barge in here without knocking and start dismissing me like I'm the maid you'll find out just how much the guards really like me. When Jason's able to walk to your penthouse on his own without falling down in the hallway, then you can see him and talk to him. But in the meantime, get out."

"Let's go, Mrs. Corinthos," Johnny said, stepping off the stairs and walking towards the two women. "Jason needs to rest and Elizabeth needs to get his medication. He said you knew where it was."

Elizabeth nodded, glancing at her watch to see if it really was time for his antibiotic or if Jason had merely contrived a way for Johnny to intervene.

"Fine," Carly huffed. "I'll go. Because Jason needs to recover. But don't think this is over, little girl."

"I'd be a fool to think that you'd ever shut up, Carly," Elizabeth said with a raise of her brow. "But I'm telling you now, I'm done being pushed around and being made to feel bad over anything in regards to my relationship with Jason anymore. So deal with it."

Johnny hung back as Carly stormed out of the penthouse, and looked over at Elizabeth, "Welcome home, Elizabeth. You handled things just fine. She might just even respect you now that you've stood up to her."

Elizabeth regarded him for a moment and then said, "Right. I figure right now she's marshalling the troops and gearing up for her next assault. Now, who's going to be on the door?"

"Enzo will be here tonight, and then Max's younger brother, Milo, will take over in the morning. I'll let you know tomorrow's rotation tomorrow. We're still working on a few things."

She gave him a grateful smile and said, "Thank you, Johnny. And thank you for helping out with Jason."

He grinned back and said, "No problem, Elizabeth. Now you better get upstairs before Jason comes searching for you."

Elizabeth chuckled as she closed the door and locked it, then turned off the lights and headed up to Jason's bedroom. As Johnny suspected, Jason was about to attempt to get out of bed and when she opened the door, he scowled at her. Whether it was at being caught, or because she'd taken so long she really didn't know. And tonight she really didn't care. She'd once fought his battles when he couldn't, and this time around she had an even bigger reason to do so. She loved Jason now, and she wasn't going to let him put his health at risk because of the stupidity of a woman who needed to learn when to shut up and go away.

"Going somewhere?" she asked as she stepped inside and then closed the door behind her.

"I was going to find you."

"I'm fine," she told him, her tone and demeanor softening. "I was just...explaining a few things to Carly."

"I heard," he answered. "Not every word, but your tone was pretty clear. Did Johnny have to intervene?"

"No," she shook her head at him, helping him lie back on the bed, situating pillows behind him to cushion his shoulder and his incisions. "And you don't need your medicine yet, either. You big fibber."

"I figured by now you'd told Carly I was hurt and the fastest way to get her to leave was to make her think I needed medicine."

She looked down at him, her eyebrow lifting. "I thought you didn't lie."

"I've learned where Carly is concerned that sometimes you have to...bend the truth a little bit."

"Yes, well, it worked. She left; I doubt she'll be coming back tonight. Johnny will tell Sonny we're home now and he'll probably check in in the morning. So for now, we're going to go to sleep, because that's what you need the most. Especially after a flight two days after having surgery."

"Elizabeth." He grabbed her hand and prevented her from walking away. "I needed to be here. Even if I can't be out there looking for Alcazar, I need to be here to help Sonny."

"I know," she admitted with a sigh as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "I don't like it, and I will insist that your guys' doctor come here and make sure you're alright, but I understand. It's important for you to take care of the people you care about, in any way that you can. That's why I wouldn't let the doctor sedate you and keep you on the island. That's why I helped you come home. And it's also why I am going to take care of you whether you like it or not. Because I remember what happens to you when you push yourself too hard and too fast and I don't want to go through it again."

"I'll try not to worry you," he said gently, lifting his good arm to brush his knuckles across the back of her cheek.

"That's all I ask. That, and that you get some sleep," she admonished.

"So you're staying?" he asked with a yawn as she walked over to her suitcase and pulled out Jason's medication for later.

She looked at him and tipped her head to the side, "Of course I'm staying. I know better than to think about leaving right now with Alcazar out there. Besides, who would take care of you?"

"No," Jason clarified. "You're staying?"

Turning out the lights except for the one in the bathroom which filtered around the partially closed door, she slipped into bed and propped her head on her elbow. Jason had asked her to move in, not just for safety purposes, but because he wanted her there and she said that when they got back to Port Charles they would talk. He'd just been given an antibiotic and a heavy pain killer after his second surgery and she wanted this conversation when he was actually coherent. Since he hadn't brought it up while they were on the island she had wondered if he remembered or not.

"Yeah, I'm staying, Jason," she promised him. "I'm home now, and I don't plan on leaving any time soon."

Jason paused as he stepped into the penthouse and felt a flicker of disappointment as he realized that Elizabeth wasn't asleep on the couch. It was late enough that she should be asleep, he hoped she was asleep and not trying to wait up for him, but he was oddly saddened that she hadn't fallen asleep on their couch. She would often have the TV on, or a book would be fanned out on her chest where it had slumped when she no longer had the strength to hold it up, but she would always be the couch. No matter how many times he told her he didn't know how late he would be, she would always try to wait up for him.

He realized that she had done this back when Sonny faked his death, and he once again cursed himself for being stupid. He could have talked with her while Zander was asleep up in his room, or he could have simply indulged in the pleasure of picking her up in his arms to carry her to her room so she could sleep in comfort. Instead, he'd watched over Courtney, babysat Brenda and dealt with Carly and Sonny's insanity, while ignoring the most important thing in his life. No wonder she'd walked out on him afterwards.

It was only by his perseverance, her grace, and a decent amount of luck, that they were once again back in this place. He would come home and Elizabeth would be waiting for him. No matter the hour, no matter the circumstance, she wouldn't go up to their bed until he was there to sleep beside her. Jason had always felt bad about having to wake her, but when he would come back from a late night meeting at the warehouse - Sonny still wouldn't let him go out on the streets searching for Lorenzo Alcazar - he would gently brush his hand over her shoulder or forehead and then frown thoughtfully when she would look at him with sleep-clouded eyes. He had to wake her though, because his shoulder hadn't healed fully yet and despite her not weighing much, he couldn't pick her up like he wanted to.

He hadn't realized just how much he looked forward to those moments with her, even when she was half-asleep and he had to guide her to keep her from walking into a wall. She was supporting him the only way she knew how to, simply by offering him her presence no matter the inconvenience to her. She didn't stop him from leaving for these meetings, she didn't resent it when Sonny called and told him they had a lead causing Jason to leave in the middle dinner, she simply hugged him and kissed him and told him to be careful so he could come home to her, and then she'd let him go out the door. It made Jason love Elizabeth all the more because he knew this was hard on her, but she was trying her best not to show it.

Maybe she was just extra tired tonight. A blue and yellow box of tampons had appeared beside the cabinet in the bathroom last night; maybe her body had simply forced her to attend to her need for sleep. While he had only ever shared his bathroom with one other woman before, he felt more in tune with Elizabeth than he had with Robin. Robin, because of her HIV status, had always been slightly reserved and he'd respected it.

Or maybe it was that she hadn't impacted his home quite the way Elizabeth had. While Robin had moved in, and even Carly for a while, he hadn't noticed their little belongings all over like he did with Elizabeth. Or maybe the two women were too territorial to have their personal items left out for potential theft or sabotage. But Elizabeth had certainly made her mark on his life and house, even though they were in small and subtle ways.

Little tubes of cream and make-up had appeared in the bathroom surrounding her sink. It was a definite contrast to the minimal items around his. Where he had one brush, she had three. Where he had one tube of toothpaste, she had two because apparently after using one for too long she grew tired of it and liked to switch things around. She had bottles of lotion on her nightstand and an ever-present glass that she filled up every night so it would be on hand in case she got thirsty. His dresser held his wallet, a dish to collect change and a few pieces of paper that he'd empty from his pockets before throwing his jeans in the hamper. Hers had a jewelry box she'd gotten as a graduation gift and glass and ceramic figurines she'd collected over the years.

She'd added pictures to their room and the rest of the house, and little by little, accents and splashes of color were being added to his monochromatic décor. She always asked before she bought something, or put something out, and she wasn't trying to change his place completely, but she was taking his charge to heart that he wanted her to feel comfortable and make this place her own. And he was glad.

He knew as soon as he walked into a room that Elizabeth lived here. Her jacket on the back of the chair, a sketchpad on the table, it all spoke to the fact that she had moved in with him. And he hoped that it was for good this time. He wanted her with him always, and he was glad that despite the threat that helped speed her moving in, he knew she had chosen to be with him. It gave him something to look forward to when he was frustrated going over reports and looking for clues while sitting behind a desk.

Of course, not everyone was happy about it. Carly definitely did not like Elizabeth's presence in his life. She kept pushing, and then was annoyed when Elizabeth pushed back. Jason had tried to tell her that this wasn't like the time they'd all lived together and she had pushed Robin out of his life. Carly was married now and Michael had a different father. She didn't have a claim on him anymore and if Elizabeth was annoyed with the blonde constantly walking in without knocking, then perhaps Carly needed to learn to knock. When his request hadn't made any impact on her behavior, it had been Jason himself that started flipping the lock every time he walked through the door and then Carly had been forced to knock.

He knew Elizabeth was not forcing him to choose, she actually had a lot more patience than he did sometimes; or maybe she just didn't want to do things since Carly was his friend. But Jason was nearing the end of his limits with Carly. Her disrespect had reached all-time highs and nothing anyone seemed to say to her made any difference. He suspected that until she pushed Elizabeth out of his life she wasn't going to back down. Considering that Jason was more determined than ever to keep his girlfriend by his side, his best friend was just going to have to learn to live with disappointment. He wasn't making her do this; she was the one making everyone miserable by insisting on having her way no matter what.

Just as he was about to head upstairs to seek a few hours' sleep beside Elizabeth, he heard a knock on the door behind him. It wasn't Sonny's brisk, three knocks, or the soft taps of the guards alerting him to their presence. This was without a doubt Carly with her spastic machine gun knocking that he hoped didn't wake Elizabeth.

Stalking over to the door, he twisted the locks and jerked the door open. "What?!"

"I need to talk to you," Carly said as she tried to push her way into the penthouse.

He stood firm and when she relaxed just enough that he could move, he stepped out into the hallway and glared at her. "What do you want?"

"Can't we go inside?"

He folded his arms over his chest. "Start talking or I'm going back inside. Alone"

She rolled her eyes and said, "Fine. I wanted to talk to you about Elizabeth."

"Carly," he warned, "I don't want to hear it. Elizabeth is in my life now, she lives with me; I'm sorry if you don't like it, but it's not changing. So if you're here to attack her and tell me she's not good enough for me, I really don't want to hear it."

She frowned and twisted her lips to the side. "She's going to break your heart again, Jason. You know she is. She may have said she chooses you and she's acting like she's willing to put up with your life, but you and I both know that sooner or later Elizabeth Webber is going to run back to Lucky or she'll find some new guy to hook up with and she'll leave you. If we'd been lucky, Lorenzo Alcazar would have kept her out of our lives."

Jason counted to ten, quickly, and then reached out and curled his fingers around her arm and nearly made her lose her footing as he dragged her back across the hallway separating the penthouses. Flinging open the door, he saw Sonny look up in surprise as they entered. Shoving Carly away from him he ignored his boss' questioning look as he raised a pointed finger and demanded of Carly, "Were you working with him?"

"Jason?" Sonny questioned.

Ignoring the older man, he asked again, taking a threatening step forward, "Were you working with him?"

"Who?" Carly asked, stepping back.

"Ritchie," Jason bit out. "Alcazar. You said if we'd been lucky Alcazar would have kept Elizabeth out of our lives for good."

"What?" Sonny asked, his head snapping around to look at Carly.

"Were you?" Jason shouted. "You don't like Elizabeth, you didn't like my relationship with her back when Sonny faked his death, you definitely didn't like that I was trying to work things out with her and you've done all you can to exclude her from everything. Did you think that if you offered her up your life would be easier?! Because it's all about you, isn't it? You don't want me to really be happy, you only want me happy on your terms. And those don't include Elizabeth. So did you try to get rid of her?"

When she didn't say anything, he quickly closed the distance and grabbed her by the arms, shaking her. "Did you?!"

"Jason," Sonny said softly but firmly, putting his hand on Jason's arm and forcing him to step back. He inserted himself between Carly and Jason and waited until Jason took a deep breath and swallowed, nodding his head just slightly and taking another step back.

"How could you think that I would work with Sonny's enemy?" Carly demanded.

"Maybe because you tried to cut a deal with the Feds once," Jason snapped. "You would certainly see getting rid of Elizabeth as a worthwhile reason to cut a deal with someone, no matter who they were."

"I wasn't working with Ritchie," she insisted, "and I certainly wasn't working with Lorenzo Alcazar. No, I don't like Elizabeth, and yes, I think you can certainly do better than the goody-goody muffin face. But I would not betray you or Sonny like that and I wouldn't put my own son in jeopardy."

"But if you could find a way to get Elizabeth out of my life, you'd take it."

When she remained silent and didn't deny it, he knew he had her. He knew he had her even if she had tried to deny it.

"Jason," she tried, "I didn't betray you."

"But you do wish that Max and I hadn't tracked Elizabeth down."

"Yeah," she shrugged. "I won't lie about that."

"How do I know you're not lying about betraying me?" he asked. "You've proven to me that you will do anything to get Elizabeth out of my life, so why should I believe you about this?"

"Because I'm telling the truth," Carly insisted indignantly.

"You'll understand that I'm going to investigate her," Jason told Sonny, not looking at Carly anymore. "I'm going to have Benny and Stan looking into this. And if I find out that she's lying to me I will deal with her."

"Jason," she pleaded with him.

"Save it, Carly. You're only begging me to listen to you because you're afraid. Well, I'm going to listen to you the same way you've listened to me. Which means if you did have anything to do with Elizabeth's kidnapping, you better tell me right now. Because this is your only chance for leniency. If I discover it through my investigation, you've got no hope."

Elizabeth bounded down the stairs and reached for the door, turning it, before stopping and looking back at Jason. "I'm going to meet my grandmother for lunch. It's her birthday and I-"

"I know," he said, smiling to show her he wasn't unhappy. "You told me."

"I figure lunch is a better option than sitting through a full-blown dinner with her. Besides, I get to have dinner with you and then maybe we could go for a ride?"

"Maybe," he shrugged. "If Sonny doesn't need something."

"Jason," she sighed, moving away from the door. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," he shook his head.

"But I feel like it is," she told him. "Carly hates me, I've long accepted it. I don't understand it and I think that it's stupid, but I know that she hates me. I know that she's never going to like me, and I know that we're never going to be friends. Sure it would be nice if we didn't fight every time we saw each other, but I know that she's not going to stop insulting me. It's just part of who she is. And you used to know that about her."

"Yeah," he agreed. "But I've grown tired of it."

"Then tell her that."

"I did," he insisted, getting up from his chair and pacing away from her. "You heard me, Elizabeth."

She nodded in agreement. "I know. But I also know that she'll always be jealous of any other woman in your life. The only reason she's not jealous of Lila is because you don't spend every day with your grandmother, plus she's older. She doesn't like Emily because Emily doesn't like her, but also because she's closer in age to Carly and she knows that you would do anything for your sister. Carly wants to be the most important woman in your life and she doesn't like anyone who threatens that."

"It's ridiculous that she acts this way," he said in frustration. He was grateful that Elizabeth knew he wasn't frustrated at her, just with the whole situation in general. "I will always be her friend, I've told her that. But it's hard to be her friend when she acts this way."

"I know," Elizabeth said softly, coming towards him and gently placing her hand on his arm. He leaned against the pool table and she stood in front of him, trying to offer him any comfort she could. "It's hard to be around her when she's like this; it's harder to ignore all her barbs and comments. But, Jason, when are you going to accept that she wasn't working with Alcazar?"

He twisted his mouth to the side and sighed. "I...I don't know."

"Nothing that you've found suggests that she was working with him," Elizabeth continued. "We know Ritchie was, and you found the proof for the other guards, but there is nothing that suggests she was part of it."

"She said she wished Alcazar had kept you," Jason insisted.

"She's probably also wished me dead," his girlfriend said. "Does that mean she's going to hire a contract killer?"

"She better not," he growled.

"She won't. Because while Carly may hate me and she may wish me out of your life, she's not completely stupid. She knows that there are certain things you would never forgive and she's got to keep a foothold in your life if she ever hopes to shove me out of it." Elizabeth stepped closer and wound her arms around Jason's waist and his lifted automatically to encompass her. It felt so good to hold her.

"You know," she continued on, "I actually feel sorry for Carly."

Jason frowned and looked down at the top of her head. "You do?"

"I do," she confirmed. "Because I know that you love me, and I know that your feelings for me aren't dependent on other people's approval. So while Carly doesn't like me, I know that you're not going to break up with me just to make her happy. You're choosing yourself."

"I'm choosing you," he corrected.

"I'm what makes you happy right now," she said. "And you're choosing to make yourself happy instead of someone else. And Carly doesn't know how to accept that because you so often try to make her happy. You got A.J. to sign away his rights to Michael so that Sonny could adopt him and Carly didn't have to worry about losing her son to the Quartermaines. You've protected her, and done all that you could to make her and her family happy, even when it made you miserable.

"I remember, Jason," she continued softly, looking up at him. "Because I was there when you would be sad after seeing Michael with Carly and A.J. and you missed the little boy you called your son and raised for a year. I saw the pain and devastation in your eyes and Carly never did because you hid it from her. If you'd shown it to her, she would have done something crazy and disrupted and confused Michael even more and you didn't want that, so you buried it."

He swallowed around the lump in his throat and held her a little tighter. "You saw all that?"

"Of course I did," she said as she pressed a kiss against his chest. "Just like you saw that I was miserable pretending to be alright for everyone else so they could get on with their lives and not feel guilty after Lucky's death. Why do you think we became such good friends?"

"I thought it was because of my motorcycle," he chuckled.

"That was just a bonus," she laughed along with him.

"So I feel sorry for Carly," Elizabeth repeated, bringing the conversation back around. "Because all she's doing is making you angry by not accepting your choices. And when you're angry, you're short-tempered with her, which makes her do even stupider things to try to get through to you. But all it does is make you want to be farther away from her. She's pushing you away by not accepting your choices, and she has no one to blame but herself. Oh, sure, she'll blame this on me, and I know that, but I can deal with that because I know she's crazy."

She pulled back slightly so she could look up at him and said, "If she was really your friend, she would accept you completely. But she wants to control you. And you know that and you put boundaries up and she does this because she can't accept them. I know it's not going to change your feelings for me. But Jason, you can't keep searching for something that's not there just so that you can have concrete proof and justification for pushing her away. I know you don't want to hurt Sonny and you don't want to hurt Michael, but it is hurting Sonny that you're continuing to search for something that isn't there."

"We don't know that," he said, but it was half-hearted at best and they both knew that.

"We do," she told him firmly. "Sonny supported you investigating his wife and he didn't try to stop it or cover anything up. Because there was nothing there to hide. Carly didn't work with him. Alcazar never mentioned her, but he did mention Richie. She just doesn't like me, that's why she said what she did."

Looking at him very pointedly, Elizabeth said, "So you need to stop this, Jason. If you don't want to be around Carly, then don't be around her. But have it be because she won't respect you or listen to you and you're tired of it. Don't go searching for something that's not there to justify your actions. That's no better than Carly saying the only reason I'm with you is because I'm after your money. It's unfounded and it's untrue and it cheapens everything."

"Okay," he nodded slowly. "I'll stop the investigation. But I'm not going to put up with her attacks on you, Elizabeth."

"I appreciate that," she smiled at him. "But I'm resigned to it. And I don't want you turning your back on your friend because of me. I accept that Carly and everything that comes with her is a part of your life and I don't love you any less for having a crazy friend."

He smiled before leaning down to kiss her. "Are you sure you have to go?"

"I'll be back soon. And then I'm yours for the rest of the day," she told him, a mischievous smirk playing at her lips. "Just be patient."

She gave him one last kiss, then turned and reached for her sweater and purse, then pulled the door open the rest of the way. "I really better go before I'm terribly late and then I'll have to deal with Gram's disapproval over that."

"Okay."

"See you later."

"See you later," he grinned at her.

She was almost out of sight when she suddenly reappeared in the doorway, "Oh, Jason?"

He tilted his head to the side, "Yeah?"

"I love you."

He smiled with warmth and pleasure, "I love you, too. Now go before I decide you're suddenly having car trouble."

She giggled as she headed into the hallway and he started across the room to close the door she'd left open when he stopped. Elizabeth's giggle had abruptly died and she said coolly, "Hello, Carly."

"Elizabeth," came the clipped reply.

Then the elevator chimed its arrival and Jason stepped into his doorway to look at Carly as she stopped across from it and looked up at him. "Jason."

"What do you want, Carly?"

"I wanted to talk to you," she said softly. "I just waited until Elizabeth left."

He looked at her, and then remembered that Elizabeth had left the door open before she walked over to talk to him. It was an absent-minded habit of hers sometimes that he didn't always chide her on because there were guards on the floor and they never really talked about, or did, anything that he was embarrassed to have the guards overhear. He wondered just how much of his conversation with his girlfriend that Carly had heard.

"So talk," he said.

"I'm sorry," she told him. "I'm sorry that I've acted in such a way that would make you think that I would ever go to yours and Sonny's enemy and try to cut a deal with him. I'm not stupid, Jason. If I had gone to Alcazar to get rid of Elizabeth, he would have wanted something in return, and it would have been inside information, or me trying to get you guys to give something to him and I would never do that to you or Sonny. You know that, right?"

He let out a breath and nodded, "I do. I know you weren't working with Alcazar."

"But you accused me," she pointed out, her eyebrow lifting.

"I was upset," he returned.

Her mouth twisted to the side and she sighed dramatically. "I know. I upset you because I kept attacking Elizabeth and kept trying to get you to dump her."

"Yeah," he said succinctly. "You did."

"So much so that you would accuse me of betraying you and my husband?"

When he didn't reply, merely crossed his arms over his chest and continued to look at her, she closed her eyes. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but Elizabeth is right."

He wasn't going to let this go. Before he might have, but he wanted to push this point home. He wasn't going to let her off easily because otherwise she'd go right back to the way she was before; he wanted to make sure she understood he wasn't going to put up with her antics.

"You want to repeat that?"

She shot him a sharp look. "Not really. But I will. Elizabeth is right."

"About what?"

"You're exasperating, you know that?" she huffed. "I'm trying to apologize and you won't even invite me into your house. And now you're making me spit it all out."

"Because I want to hear your explanation," Jason replied. "What is Elizabeth right about?"

"I don't like her. And I probably never will. But you're my friend and you're important to me and I'm the only one making you mad because I won't accept your choices."

"You agree that they're my choices to make and you don't have a say in them?" he asked.

He could see that the answer was killing her, but she looked him in the eye and said, "Yes."

"And you accept that I love Elizabeth and I want her in my life? That she lives here with me and this is her home and I will not tolerate you barging in and dismissing her or talking bad to or about her?"

"At least when you can hear," she admitted in her true fashion.

"I've changed the locks, Carly," he told her. "And I expect you to knock."

"I will," she nodded, holding up her hand.

"I'm not breaking up with Elizabeth just to make you happy."

She rolled her eyes, "I know, Jason. I know. Sonny's lectured me, you're lecturing me...I get it."

"Do you really?" he pressed.

"Yes," she huffed, slapping her hands against her thighs. "I get that you love her. I get that she's living with you. I get that you're probably going to ask her to marry you one day and I'm going to be expected to attend the wedding that I least want to see. But I will, Jason, because you're my friend and you tell me that she makes you happy. I'm going to try to accept it and not cause anymore problems for you."

"That's all I ever wanted, Carly," he said, his arms falling gently to his side. "I don't want to fight with you, but I want this life."

"I know," she nodded. "And I'm sorry it took me so long to finally realize it. I do care about you."

"I know," he chuckled, because in her own crazy, messed-up way, he truly believed she did.

"I've missed you," she smiled at him.

"I know," he nodded.

"That's it?" Carly pressed, sounding dismayed. "You're not going to say you missed me?"

"Why would I?" he asked, fighting a grin. "Why would I miss your constant screeching and harping on me?"

"I do not screech!"

He raised a pointed brow and said, "If you say so, Carly. If you say so. Now, do you want to come in?"

"Okay," Max said as he hung up the phone. Looking over at the driver he said, "we gotta make a detour."

The other man just nodded, and Elizabeth sighed from the backseat wondering if another road had been washed out or closed because of the rains that hadn't let up for nearly the past week. She was tired of the gray, tired of the damp that seemed to seep into everything, and tired of what should have been a quick trip to the art supply store but had turned into a massive ordeal. Although, she supposed she should be grateful that Jason okayed the trip. Ever since her return from South America, he hadn't been comfortable letting her leave the penthouse.

Part of her understood, and so while she didn't exactly enjoy it, she let Bobbie and Tammy know that she wouldn't be returning to work. It wasn't like Jason needed her money for the penthouse or the utilities and he had yet to let her buy any groceries or take out they'd ordered, but she'd put her foot down on her art supplies. These were hers, he couldn't claim that he should pay - like he did with groceries - because he'd end up consuming more. This was her hobby, and she would buy her own supplies.

Of course, that hadn't stopped Max from trying to step in with a wad of money Jason had given him and pay for the bags of paints and chalks. It also hadn't stopped the guard from trying to set up an account for Elizabeth at the store. She had remained firm and told Max to put the money away, that she was taking care of it. No, she didn't have a job at the moment, but she did have enough in her checking account to pay for her art supplies. Especially since she wasn't paying for anything else at the moment.

As the car maneuvered through the soggy and water-laden streets, Elizabeth closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the leather seats. Maybe she'd take a nap when she got home instead of starting on a new project. That way, maybe she'd be able to stay awake tonight and hopefully see Jason for more than a few brief moments as he picked her up from the couch and took her upstairs to their bedroom. She understood that he was busy trying to track down Alcazar or get any lead on what the man was truly up to and she didn't begrudge him for his work.

But she also couldn't deny the fact that it would be nice to see her boyfriend for more than a few moments in the morning when he disentangled himself from her arms and headed off for a shower. They didn't get to eat together, but at least Elizabeth was comforted in the knowledge that when she went downstairs in the morning, the food she'd fixed for Jason the night before had been consumed. It seemed the least she could do for him.

The car slowed and stopped all together and then the front door opened and Elizabeth sat up straighter. She looked around and frowned slightly when she saw a limo beside them with Max by the back door. The frowned deepened when the guard opened it and held an umbrella over Carly's head as she stepped out and walked towards the car Elizabeth was in.

The two women stared at each other when Max opened the door, and then Elizabeth picked up the bags off the seat and pulled them towards her, giving the blonde enough space to sit down. With her bags from Wyndam's. It was the first time the women had been alone together since Elizabeth's return from Venezuela and Jason's misdirected belief that Carly had worked with Alcazar on the kidnapping. It wasn't the first time they'd seen each other, they'd each endured a couple of awkward dinners together with Sonny, and even one with Jason, but they'd certainly not gone out of their way to speak to each other privately.

"There's not enough room in here for both our bags," Carly began the moment by snipping.

"You could have left yours in the limo," Elizabeth said with just enough acid to her sweet voice to show that she wasn't going to put up with Carly. "After all, how many clothes does one woman really need? Or are they shoes and you're trying to rival Imelda Marcos?"

"You could have put your bags in the trunk."

"I thought I was going to be alone," she smiled. "I didn't know we'd be picking up strays off the side of the road."

Carly's eyes narrowed and then she said, "Well, if you'd taken a limo we would have had space."

"I felt it was rather pretentious to take a limo to an art store."

The blonde eyed the bags and then sniffed. "I see. Spending Jason's money on your pathetic little hobby?"

"And how would that be any different than you spending your husband's money on your obsessive shopping? You know, the emperor learned that clothes don't make the man. Sometimes you just look foolish."

"At least I have style."

"Really? I thought you had to run out to replace your entire wardrobe every two weeks because Madison Avenue had brainwashed you. That's not fashion, that's stupidity."

"If you're going to spend Jason's money, at least spend it on something useful."

"Like you did when you were mooching off him?" Elizabeth questioned. "I doubt you'd believe me, but you might believe Max. Max, who paid for my art supplies?"

The guard looked distinctly uncomfortable as he turned around in the front seat. "Miss Webber bought her own supplies, and refused to take Mr. Morgan's money or let him set up an account for her at the store."

"See, unlike you, Carly," Elizabeth smiled sarcastically. "I actually have my own money. Since Jason owns the penthouse and won't accept rent, I figure the least I can do is distinguish myself from every other blood-sucking leech he's had in his life and prove to him that I'm not after him for his checkbook."

"Oh, so the kitten's trying to show she has claws," the blonde laughed, grabbing at her bags and holding them tighter to her chest.

"I've always had claws; you've just underestimated them. If you think that just because Jason will now actually talk to you that I'm going to roll over and let you continue to insult me, you're mistaken. If you're going to be mean and nasty, I figure I'll repay kind with kind. Besides...I figure you're pretty much in my debt."

Carly's mouth puckered into a peevish line and she asked, "How do you figure that?"

"Jason told me that you overheard us talking and Jason also told me that the only reason he ever talked to you the day that I left is because I made him realize that you had nothing to do with my kidnapping." She smirked at Carly. "Jason doesn't keep things from me. We talk about everything that doesn't have to do with business."

"How 'bout you just shut up until we reach the penthouse?" Carly huffed.

"I'm not the one who started this, but if you're willing to cease being nasty and give the guards a break, then I'll go along with it." Elizabeth said. She was pleased that she seemed to have achieved her goal in quieting Carly without backing down to the blonde. Without actually agreeing, Carly looked out the window and Elizabeth knew a temporary cease fire had been called.

Once they fell silent, Max sighed and his shoulders relaxed. Elizabeth was sorry for the man to be stuck in the middle of this, but it was probably better that it was him instead of Jason or Sonny. It wasn't that Elizabeth wanted to fight with Carly, and she always felt sullied afterwards for sinking down to the other woman's level, but there were a few things Elizabeth had decided that she was determined to follow through on. Carly only treated her this way because she thought she could get away with it or Elizabeth would be too nice to say anything back. Maybe if she was just brittle enough to show Jason's friend that she wasn't going to put up with it, Carly would back off. Or at least keep her complaints to herself. It was an experiment she wasn't ready to abandon yet just because she hadn't had immediate success.

Jason and Sonny didn't put up with Carly badmouthing Elizabeth, but she knew that it was only going to stop with her dealing with it on her own. And hopefully it would be soon and before Alcazar was dealt with. Because she did not want Jason to have to be caught in the middle of this. She knew that he would support her and wouldn't put up with Carly, but she never wanted him to feel like he had to choose between his girlfriend and his friend. She also knew that it was on Carly's head because she was the only one who wouldn't accept Elizabeth's place in Jason's life. Her goal was to make the blonde realize she wasn't going anywhere and it was better to co-exist without open hostilities.

"Marco!"

Max's shout brought Elizabeth out of her musings and she looked around to see what had made the normally quiet guard yell like he had. Whatever Max had seen, Marco had as well, because he suddenly accelerated the car. Max turned to look at the two women in the backseat and ordered, "Get down."

Elizabeth didn't need to be told twice. She'd lived through this once already in Venezuela; she knew it was better to get on the floor than to be caught in a stray bullet's path. Carly however, twisted in the seat and looked around.

"What's going on?"

"Get down, Carly," Elizabeth told her, reaching out and grabbing the other woman's arm and yanking her. "Are you really that stupid?"

A moment later the back window cracked and splintered from the impact of a shot.

"This is why I like the limo," Carly shrieked, bending low on the seat. "The windows are bulletproof."

"So are these windows," Elizabeth told her. "And the body's reinforced, but nothing will completely stop a bullet. Especially not ones designed specifically to go through reinforced steel. So shut-up and stop distracting Max and Marco."

She looked ready to make a retort, but Marco made a sharp turn and gunfire exploded out of Max's window and she wisely kept her mouth shut. It was slightly nauseating to be on the floor of a speeding, suddenly turning car, but Elizabeth much preferred that to once again being held captive by someone. She'd gone through that twice, she was not going to do it again without putting up a fight.

Marco pulled another quick turn and Elizabeth felt fear suddenly lance through her body. The slick ground caused the tires to temporarily hydroplane and until they once again caught traction and gripped the road, it felt like time had stretched abnormally long. Glancing at Carly out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blonde's face go pale and her clutch the edge of the seat.

"Marco," Max said, an uncomfortable edge to his voice, "you're letting them push us out of town, towards the cliffs and the ravine."

Elizabeth swallowed and met Carly's eyes. She wondered if the blonde's look of fear was mirrored on her own face.

Apparently determined to not get pushed into a trap, Marco began making more turns, heading back towards town. The roads were getting worse, and the car began slipping more and more. Elizabeth looked around, knowing that there was very little to hold onto in her current position. Trying to grab anything could result in a broken arm if they suddenly crashed.

"Marco, slow down," Max ordered, fear now audible in his words. His voice drifted over the seat towards them, "Hang on to something."

The driver made another sharp turn, this time with less speed than before, but it wasn't enough. The car hydroplaned, the tires floating on the water on top of the road, not getting traction on the asphalt. Elizabeth felt as Marco lightly tapped the brakes, hoping to get some control, but before that could occur, they were rear-ended. The collision sent them into a spin. Max yelled, Marco cursed and then Elizabeth's scream joined Carly's as the car hit an object on the right, bounced back, and then flipped, landing on its side.

Carly crashed on top of her and Elizabeth braced her arms against the seats she was sandwiched between as the car slid across the ground. She looked up and saw Max hanging from his seatbelt, suspended above them in the air, the gun in his hand hanging down. The car continued to slide, but slowed down, and then the gun slipped from Max's hand, landing on the floor beside Elizabeth. As the car stopped and her head throbbed, she forced herself to remain calm, to remain conscious and most of all to find that gun. Because she wasn't getting taken hostage a third time.

"Someone had better tell me right now that Alcazar has been tracked down," Jason growled as the car neared the section of Route 99 that looked like a police parking lot. "Because I will find him and I will put a bullet between his eyes"

"Jason," Sonny cautioned, reaching a hand out to settle lightly on the younger man's arm. "You need to calm down. If you go around making threats like that Taggart is gonna harass you even more than you know he's going to. Besides..."

"Yeah," he sighed. "It won't help Elizabeth."

It was a mantra his best friend had been repeating since they got the call from the secondary car that came upon the scene. As soon as Carly had transferred to Elizabeth's car from the broken down limo, a secondary car had been sent out to cover the women. It was a good thing Carly's guards had ordered it. It had no doubt saved their lives, and prevented Elizabeth and Carly from being taken hostage.

Stepping out into the rain, Jason scowled at the flashing lights and swarming people in uniform. He felt pressed in, even though they were all standing outside. A coroner's van was off to the side and several ambulances as well. One had already left to transport Max to General Hospital to treat him for injuries sustained in the crash. All Jason knew for certain was that the guard had a dislocated shoulder and a couple of cracked ribs - one which was perilously close to his lung - from hanging suspended from the seatbelt. However, the thin fabric was also what had saved his life.

"Morgan."

Taggart stepped in front of him and it was only due to Sonny's hand on his arm that kept him from punching the bald cop in the face for daring to step in front of him. Jason almost couldn't believe that the man would take this moment to harass him, but this was Taggart after all.

"Unless you're going to take me to Elizabeth," he hissed. "Get out of my way."

"I've got questions about Lorenzo Alcazar," the cop insisted.

"Taggart," Sonny spoke up. "He wants to see his girlfriend. Are you really gonna be this much of an SOB that you bust his chops when all he wants to know is if his girlfriend is hurt or not?"

"Morgan." Mac Scorpio appeared by his detective's side and shot the bald man an annoyed look. "Come on. Elizabeth and Carly are this way."

The police commissioner himself escorted them through the maze of firemen, paramedics and police officers to an ambulance where Elizabeth and Carly were sitting inside, wrapped in blankets. A uniformed officer stood outside, but moved away when Mac motioned him to. As soon as she saw them, Carly was standing and pushing her way outside, past the paramedic who was hovering near Elizabeth.

"Sonny," she cried as she threw himself into his arms.

"Are you alright?" her husband asked, pulling back from her to search her for injuries.

"Just a little banged up," she tried to brush it off. "A little glass, they took care of it. I'm alright. Really."

She turned and looked back into the ambulance, and then over at Jason. Not liking the look that passed over her face, Jason frowned and stepped forward. "What?"

"Your girlfriend shot Lorenzo Alcazar," Taggart informed them with a sneer.

Jason turned his head to shoot a glare at the cop, and then whipped around to face Elizabeth in the ambulance. She wouldn't meet his gaze, and when he stepped forward, he realized that she wasn't really looking at anything. Her eyes were suspiciously glassy and blank.

"Taggart," Mac sighed. "Shut up, or go away."

"I'm just stating the facts," he shrugged unapologetically. "As related by the suspect herself."

"She's not a suspect," Mac was quick to inform them. "From the sound of it, I think we're looking at a case of self-defense. At least that's how I'm going to argue it."

When Taggart sighed with clear irritation, Sonny rounded on him and goaded, "As opposed to your sister running a red light while drunk and causing potentially life-threatening injuries to Elizabeth and never getting charged for it? But you tried to crucify my sister to the wall? I want you off this case. You clearly can't be objective."

"Taggart," Mac ordered. "Take a walk. In fact...head back to the station."

They waited until the detective left and then Jason placed a foot on the bumper of the ambulance and pulled himself inside. The paramedic looked at him, and then moved farther towards the back allowing Jason to sit beside Elizabeth. "What happened?" he demanded, dipping his head to try to catch her eye.

"Carly," Mac prompted. "This is off the record."

"We were being shot at," she said, her voice hesitating. "Max and Marco were trying to keep us safe, but with the rain... The car spun, and then we were hit. The next thing I knew we were flipping and sliding along the ground. Elizabeth and I were in the back and...I don't know everything that happened. I...it was chaos and..."

"It's alright," Sonny soothed.

Jason wasn't looking at his friends, he was concentrating on Elizabeth who so far hadn't given any indication that she knew he was there. He wanted to touch her, but was afraid to.

"Then we heard people outside and I shifted around, trying to get off Elizabeth so I could look. Someone was on the car and then there was a face in the window looking down at us. He...he looked just like Luis Alcazar."

She fell silent and Jason looked over at her. "What happened?"

"I don't know how she had the gun, but she raised it up...aiming it at him. She said she wasn't going to let him take her again. He...he laughed, or said something...I don't remember it all. And then...she pulled the trigger. The gun just...exploded and then she fired again and then again and I yelled at her that he was dead and she just..."

She closed her mouth, her lips twisting as her eyes filled with tears. "I don't know why she stopped, but she did. And then we heard other people and more shots and I just covered my head and then... Then our guards were there and they said they wanted to get us out but they didn't want to injure us. And then we heard sirens and then everyone was here."

"Some people had called in the car chase and the gunshots," Mac informed them. "Apparently some patrol cars were responding. They called for backup when they arrived."

"The guards stayed with us and the firefighters got us out." Carly looked over at Mac and then at Sonny and Jason. "Elizabeth wouldn't let go of the gun. A guard tried to get it...so he could help her out, but...she wouldn't let go of it until Taggart finally pried it from her fingers. She just said that she wasn't going to go with Alcazar again...she wasn't going to be taken again. She...she actually seemed to respond to Taggart. He's the only person she's spoken to since the shooting."

Mac cleared his throat and looked at Jason. "He...he said she confessed to shooting Alcazar. Like Carly said, Elizabeth said she wasn't going to get taken again. Taggart mentioned...I don't think Elizabeth mentioned him but Marcus said something about Tom Baker."

Jason looked at the cop sharply, and then back to Elizabeth.

"Baker?" Sonny questioned.

He turned his head slightly so that he could see Sonny, but still keep most of his focus on Elizabeth. "He...he's the photographer who blackmailed Emily. She...she said that he had her and Elizabeth locked in his darkroom and...Elizabeth held a gun on him when she got out."

"He's the guy...?"

"Yeah."

"I...I'll give you guys a minute," Mac excused himself quietly. "Houston, come on."

The paramedic shuffled past Jason and once he and Mac were out of earshot Carly demanded, "What's going on?"

"Leave it alone, Carly," Jason said sharply. He wasn't going to say any more than he had. Sonny knew what happened to Emily, he knew that Tom Baker had done more than just blackmail Jason's sister. But while both men knew the bare facts that he was the man responsible for Elizabeth's attack in the park, neither man would ever divulge that.

"It's Elizabeth's past," Sonny said. His voice was gentler than Jason's, but still just as firm.

"Fine," Carly huffed. "Clearly you're going all silent and secretive. I'm guessing though that this isn't the first time Elizabeth has held a gun on someone."

Neither man said anything and she sighed, "Look, I don't care. All I know is she shot Lorenzo Alcazar. He was your enemy, he kidnapped her before and I have no doubt he was going to try to take both of us. So frankly I'm glad he's dead."

She paused and her voice was softer, "I'm just sorry that...that she's in shock because of it. But I'm...I'm glad she was there. Because she saved us."

Jason looked over at Sonny and then cautiously scooted closer to Elizabeth. "Find out if we can leave. I...I doubt she wants to go to the hospital. If we need to have a doctor come look at her, we'll do that."

Slowly, ready to pull back in case she spooked, he put his arm around Elizabeth and leaned forward so she could see his face. She flinched, and then blinked and for a brief moment he thought he saw recognition flicker through her eyes. She didn't try to get away from him, in fact she leaned closer to him. Then she fisted her hands in his shirt and hung on like her life depended on it.

Grateful, relieved and yet still worried, Jason swallowed past the lump in his throat and leaned his cheek on top of her head. He met Sonny and Carly's soft, concerned gazes and said, "I just want to take her home."

Elizabeth had been expecting this ever since Jason left the penthouse today. He hadn't wanted to leave, but in reality he'd had no choice. It had been obvious Sonny was reluctant to call him; the older man hadn't said anything to Jason about needing him in the days following the shooting. He'd merely rearranged things, had guards and other employees handle issues that came up, and kept phone calls to a minimum. He unobtrusively brought meals in while Elizabeth was upstairs and everyone seemed to walk on eggshells around her.

Including Jason. After the first night home when all she wanted to do was sleep and not talk, she noticed his changed behavior. He apologized, he hardly was away from her side, and while she certainly wasn't going to object to him wanting to hold her, when it got to the point of smothering she spoke up.

She didn't blame him for what happened with Lorenzo Alcazar. She had guards. He had done the best he could in searching for the man, but even Jason and Sonny weren't super men. They were in fact, despite not wishing it to be so, merely human. Which meant that sometimes they couldn't know all, see all, and prevent all bad things from happening. She appreciated that Jason hadn't kept her locked up in the penthouse, but tried to let her have as normal of a life as she could given the circumstances.

She had learned a long time ago that there were merely evil people in the world who were set on doing bad things no matter what. Lorenzo and his brother had been those types of men. The guards had done their best, Jason had done his best, and she understood and accepted that. She did not blame him for anything.

It was simply a matter of having to come to grips with the fact that she had shot a person. Her head understood that it was a matter of self-defense. Alcazar had kidnapped her. His men had shot at them while they were escaping from Venezuela. Jason had nearly died from the blood loss and infection of his bullet wound. And mere moments before Alcazar appeared above them, looking like death himself come to take them away, his men had forced a car chase and shot at them. Marco was dead from the crash, Max was still in the hospital recovering from his injuries, and in that moment fight or flight had kicked in and Elizabeth had refused to be a victim again.

But she'd taken a life. And it didn't matter that the cops were ruling it self-defense and the district attorney had told her he wasn't pressing charges. She was responsible for another person's death and she wasn't sure it was something she could forget.

She knew, though, that her inability to let go was affecting Jason. The longer she dwelt on it, the more he blamed himself. It was why she'd been hesitant to tell him she wanted to talk to Gail Baldwin, but as night after night went by and she got very little sleep despite Jason's best efforts to help her, she knew she needed to talk to someone before it ate her up from the inside out. Jason had supported her, of course, but she knew that it weighed on him.

So when he left for the warehouse today, Elizabeth had been expecting Carly to come over. The other woman had tried before, but Jason had turned her away, and Elizabeth figured that she'd make another attempt now that the men were gone. Which was why when Enzo knocked on the door and told her that Mrs. Corinthos was here to see her, she told the guard to let Carly in and braced herself for the inevitable tirade she was sure would come.

"Hi," Carly said as she walked in and let Enzo close the door behind her.

"Come in, Carly," Elizabeth said, her voice tired and weary. "Let's just get this over with."

"Get this over with?" the blonde questioned, her brow furrowing slightly. But it at least got her to stop hovering near the door and moving towards the chair.

"You're here to yell at me," she surmised. "Because I'm not being fair to Jason by not talking to him, or I shouldn't be talking to Gail Baldwin, or my reaction just proves I can't handle Jason's life, or any other insult, jibe and barb you intend to sling my way. So please just get it done and then-"

"I'm not here to fight with you," Carly interrupted, looking slightly offended. When Elizabeth merely arched her brow in disbelief at the other woman, Sonny's wife said, "I actually came here to thank you."

Her eyebrows rose higher. "Thank me?"

"You saved both our lives that day," Carly said and Elizabeth detected only sincerity in her voice. A fact which quite honestly surprised her.

"I know that violence is a part of Sonny and Jason's lives. I've seen Sonny get shot, I've been in danger before and I've accepted that Michael and I will always have guards because of our connection to Sonny. But that day in the car..." Carly lifted one shoulder and tilted her head to the side. "I had never gone through anything like that before. But you were so calm."

"I was scared out of my mind," Elizabeth confessed. "Because that's what happened in Venezuela and Jason got shot while he was in the car and all I wanted to do was get on the floor and stay as low as possible."

The blonde nodded. "And you pulled me down. And then the car flipped and suddenly there was this man looking down on us and the guards weren't around and I knew...I knew he was going to take us. I was scared. I was thinking about Sonny and Michael and what they were going to think and how they were going to react and I've thought about that a lot since we've gotten home."

Elizabeth didn't say anything, she merely rested her cheek on her drawn up knees and regarded the woman across from her. Carly rubbed her hands over her arms and let out a breath.

"I've been thinking about my reaction and how Sonny's been since I've been home and what he's said and I realize that I wasn't fair to Jason, or to you." She licked her lips and clearly looked uncomfortable admitting this, but she continued. "You were taken by Luis Alcazar and I didn't understand why Jason would go searching for you like he did. He missed mine and Sonny's wedding and part of me blamed you for that. You had clearly done something stupid, stuck your nose in where it didn't belong, tried to act like you could sit with the adults when you should still be at the kids' table and Jason had to run off and rescue you."

"Thanks," Elizabeth said dryly.

"But that wasn't how it was. Luis took you because he knew how Jason would react. And then his brother took you because he knew the same thing. Jason would do anything to get you back, and Sonny helped him. And that's exactly what Sonny and Jason would do for me. You were grabbed out of Kelly's with a guard standing right outside. You weren't wandering around being stupid. And we were in a car going home and were nearly run off the road all because somebody was determined to use us as bait."

Tucking her hair behind her ear, the blonde continued, "You've been kidnapped twice and you still want to be with Jason. I overheard Sonny and Jason talking about why you left last year; it wasn't because you couldn't handle the life. Jason and Sonny hurt you, and I realize that I did too. I didn't pass along your messages to Jason because I wanted him focused on Sonny and my family and I figured you would just be a distraction. That you would want him to spend time with you and placate you and I wasn't going to let that happen."

"All I wanted to know was that he was alright," Elizabeth said softly but firmly. "I thought his best friend was dead, that he'd held him as he died. I remembered how I fell apart when we thought Lucky was dead, and I understand that Jason's job is dangerous, but I was afraid that in his quest to avenge Sonny's death he would ignore signals and signs. I thought he wasn't sleeping or eating and all I wanted to do was offer him comfort as best I could and just let him know that I was thinking of him. You were grieving over Sonny, he needed to take care of you and Michael, but who was looking out for him?"

"Nobody," Carly admitted. "If Sonny had actually been dead, nobody would have been thinking of Jason. I didn't really even think about all that he was dealing with between the cops and the families and looking for Alcazar - not to mention I didn't even know about Brenda - and all I wanted was for him to do his job so that my husband could come home. I didn't even care that you didn't know."

"I appreciate your honesty," she replied. "But I already figured that out. I wasn't a blip on the Corinthos family radar and I never would be. And that's why I left. Because I refused to come last behind everybody. It wasn't fair to me, and it wasn't a healthy relationship and I just couldn't do it. It wasn't to tease Jason, or make him choose, it was simply me choosing me and deciding that I couldn't deal with being an afterthought to yet another person."

Carly peered at her for a moment and Elizabeth figured the next question or comment would be about her perceived spot on Jason's priority list. But instead, Carly surprised her.

"I don't know what's happened to you in the past, because I never cared enough to pay attention except to find proof of how you weren't right for Jason and you were treating him wrong. But there's something there that has everyone from Sonny and Jason to Taggart and Mac, men who never agree with Sonny and Jason on anything, all watching over you and all upset about you shooting someone."

Elizabeth stiffened, and Carly continued. "This is more than just the fact that you shot someone, it's something else. They all share looks, they all talk softer, they all tiptoe around something. And yeah, I'm curious, because it's some great big secret."

"So you've come to ask what happened?" she asked, drawing her arms tighter around her and regarding the other woman with growing dislike. "Say a few kind words and then ask for the dirt."

"No," the blonde shook her head. "I wanted to, I thought about asking Mama, I thought about badgering Sonny or one of the guards. And then I decided not to. Clearly it's something private, it's something bad given the way everyone's acting, and I've decided to listen to Jason and Sonny; it's none of my business. I just wanted to say...thank you, and I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"For giving you such a hard time. You've hurt Jason and crushed him, but you were right when you said I have too. And Jason's forgiven me, and if he's chosen to forgive you, then I don't understand it, but I'll try and accept it for his sake."

She was quick to point out, in a stern voice that Elizabeth realized was pretty much a bluff, "That's not to say I want to be friends and hang out and go shopping. But I'll try to give you a break and stop giving Jason such a hard time."

Elizabeth knew that Jason was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Not in her odd, new-found truce with Carly, but in her relationship with him.

Ever since the shooting, he had changed. At first she thought it was due to his guilt over the situation. He felt he should have protected her better, and hated that she'd been forced into a situation where she had to shoot Lorenzo Alcazar. But even after she'd tried to assure him that she didn't blame him and she just needed some time to come to terms with everything that happened, he still seemed different.

She hadn't realized it until she'd been in a session with Gail one afternoon. As they neared the end of their time, Elizabeth had sighed heavily and Gail, ever the perceptive doctor, had asked what was wrong. When Elizabeth admitted she wasn't looking forward to going home, her conversation quickly turned from talking about the aftermath of the shooting to her relationship with Jason. And somewhere in the middle of the conversation, that ran over her time but for which Gail didn't charge her for, she had her epiphany.

Jason was waiting for her to walk out on him.

He was waiting for her to decide that she didn't want to handle his life anymore and pack up her bags and leave. She knew that if she decided to do so, it would break his heart, but he would let her go. As she got upset with that realization, she also knew that she couldn't blame Jason for his way of thinking. She'd walked away from him so many times. In his room at Jake's when he'd washed off her make-up and nearly kissed her; the park when he asked her to go with him so she could be free of Lucky and be happy; and then most recently when she walked out of his penthouse after discovering Sonny was alive. She had a pattern and habit of spooking and running like a rabbit.

So he was no doubt waiting for her to declare that she could never get over what had happened and she had to leave. He'd already begun preparing himself for it. He didn't touch her like he used to. Not just intimate touches, but brushing his hand against hers as they passed a dish to the other person. He said all the right words, and he was still attentive, but his actions were betraying him.

The more she thought about it, even after leaving Gail's office, she realized that if there was anything intimate between them, it came at her initiation. He rarely did more than brush a kiss across her cheek, or a chaste, brief kiss on her lips. When she made overtures towards him, he was certainly receptive. And then he cherished her, took his time with her, and she wondered if he was trying to savor the moment in case it was the last he ever got with her.

Sitting in the back of the limo that she'd asked the guards to leave parked in the hospital's parking structure, her heart broke for Jason. He loved her; she had no doubt about that. But there was no denying that he was nervous, and definitely expecting the worst. He was acting that way, because she'd given him every reason to from her past actions.

She wondered how she could make it up to him. How she could assure him that she wasn't going to leave him. She sensed that if she talked to him, and tried to merely tell him, that he would say he believed her, but in the back of his mind would still be expecting the worst. She was going to have to show him. But how could she show him when she was already living with him? Clearly he was expecting her to pack up and go at any moment.

As she continued to ponder the question, slowly the answers came to her. Pulling out her phone, she sent up a silent prayer of hope that this would work and then she dialed. The phone on the other end rang once, twice, a third time and just when she was beginning to wonder, it was answered in the middle of the fourth ring.

"Hi," she cleared her throat nervously. "It's Elizabeth. I...I wanted to talk to you."

Elizabeth was late. As each minute passed, slowly ticking into hours and Elizabeth still hadn't returned from her appointment with Gail, Jason paced around the living room trying to fight the uneasy feeling growing inside him. He hated calling her guards because it felt like he was checking up on her, so he didn't ask where they were, he just asked if everything was alright and if there was any problem. The guard was quick to assure him that Elizabeth was fine, they were with her, she was just busy. The cryptic comment did nothing to calm Jason, but at least he was assured that she was safe.

All he could do was wait, and feel the rush of relief when he heard her keys in the door and she walked in. She looked tired and drawn, something he hated seeing on her and knew was his fault that she did. But she also had a brilliant smile on her face and he found himself searching her eyes to see if it was genuine and what was the cause. As she came to him and hugged him tightly, he wrapped his arms around her savoring the feel of Elizabeth pressed up against him. He loved her so much and it killed him that she was unhappy and hurt because of his job.

Jason didn't have much time to think beyond that because Elizabeth pulled back and then angled her mouth towards his. He hesitated just a moment, always careful to not overwhelm her; to let her lead where this went. His heart raced, as it always did when she kissed him, and he tried to show restraint, but she wasn't having any of it. Finally when his control snapped and he lifted her onto the pool table so he could plunder her mouth did he feel her smile against his lips.

She trailed kisses along his jaw and then stopped at the shell of his ear and whispered, "Jason, do you trust me?"

He paused, breathing heavy and looked down at her. "What?"

"Do you trust me?" she repeated, pulling her swollen lip between her teeth.

"Yes," he was quick to assure her.

"Then I want you to do something for me."

"Anything," he vowed. "Anything."

"I want you to come with me," she requested. "Don't ask any questions; just come with me."

Confused and puzzled, he still nodded. She pushed slightly against him and he took a step back, then helped her off the pool table when he saw that was her intent. Reaching out, Elizabeth took his hand and then pulled her along behind him. She didn't lead him upstairs like he was expecting, but out the door and onto the waiting elevator. When he looked down at her questioningly, she placed her finger on his lips and shook her head.

"Trust me."

He hadn't expected her to bring him to Florida. Sonny met them at the Port Charles airport, told them that the jet was fueled and waiting, and that they could take as much time as they needed. Jason had tried to protest, saying that it wasn't the right time to leave, especially in the aftermath of the Alcazar's shooting, but his friend assured him that everything would be fine. Elizabeth had merely pulled him along behind her to board the plane and like a lamb to the slaughter he followed.

They arrived late, and fell exhausted into bed in the house that he had come to think of as hers. If this was her good-bye, he would offer to switch the title over to her, and when she wouldn't accept it, he would keep the house but never come here again. He couldn't bear to be reminded of all that they'd shared, and then all that he'd lost again. Elizabeth, though, said nothing about why they were here, and instead, wrapped his arms around her as she fell asleep with the window open and the sound of the ocean drifting into their bedroom.

In the morning she woke him, her intention clear in the way she touched him. Stirring him, igniting his passion. Every time he tried to take control and gentle the situation, she wouldn't let him. She kissed and teased and touched until he was panting from desire. Once again his control snapped and Elizabeth laughed and further spurred him on. Their joining was wild and fast, loving but also raw. When it was over, he lay back against the bed, Elizabeth draped over him, and tried to catch his breath.

"Thank you," she said softly, as she placed a kiss against his chest. "I've missed that."

He frowned and twisted his head so he could look at her. Her eyes were wide and sincere as she looked up at him. "Ever since the shooting, you've been holding back. You're loving and gentle and it's always wonderful, but..."

She sighed and then said, "Jason, I'm not leaving you. I didn't bring you here to Florida to say good-bye. I brought you here to try to help you."

"I'm fine," he shook his head.

"No, you're not. You've waiting for me to leave; which is understandable considering the many times I've walked away from you. The reason I even know about this house is because I walked away from you. But I'm not doing that, Jason."

He tried to pull his arm out from under her so he could get up, pull on his jeans and put some distance between them. But she held on tight and refused to move.

"No," she said firmly. "You're not leaving me. And I'm not leaving you. I love you, Jason. I love you so much that if I left you, I would be lost because I would be leaving myself behind. You have my heart, because you proved to me that I can trust you with it. Trust me with yours, please."

"I do," he swore to her.

"You don't, because you don't believe that I won't leave you," she insisted sadly. "I killed a man, Jason. And it was self-defense and he was a monster just like Tom Baker. But I still killed him and I just...it's taking me a while to accept that. I'm not judging you for what you do, for what you've done; I just understand even better why you never wanted that part of your life to touch me.

"But I'm not a fragile doll that has to be wrapped in cotton and put on a shelf," she told him, repeating something she once told him angrily back when he tried to push her away and end their friendship for her safety. "I'm not going to break over this. I just have to process it. But you don't trust me not to bolt like a rabbit. So nothing I do or figure out with Gail will matter if we can't figure out a way to make things work."

Jason closed his eyes and pulled Elizabeth closer to him, burying his face in her hair. "I trust you," he swore to her raggedly. "I just...I was afraid you'd come to hate me and I..."

"No," she whispered softly against his neck. "No. I don't hate you. I love you, Jason. I love you so much that it would break my heart to ever walk away from you again."

He pulled her even tighter and then rolled them over, so he could kiss Elizabeth the way he wanted. The way she apparently wanted, and he had been denying himself. She clung to him, welcoming him, pulling him closer, letting him feel ever ounce of love and trust she had.

"I love you, too," he told her. "I love you so much, Elizabeth."

"I'm not leaving," she repeated.

"No," he nodded. "I...I know."

"Not today, not tomorrow, not next week or next month. I'm not leaving, Jason."

"I know," he stated. "I know. If you did, I'd pack up and go with you again."

"Just like you did last time," she smiled.

"Yeah," he confirmed.

"Good," Elizabeth smiled, bringing her legs up around his waist. "Now shut up and kiss me."

The End