Previous Page     Next Page

Chapter 9

The pain was like fire in her arm and if she tried to put any pressure on it in an attempt to get up, or even if she simply moved, it was pure torture. She felt that she had to get up, that she must do something, but it was so hard to move. It felt like time was moving in slow motion and it was taking forever for people to arrive, but Elizabeth knew that it was merely the shock from the pain. She was trying once again to push herself to sit up, when she heard running footsteps approaching the room.

"Elizabeth?" Patrick skidded to a stop inside the room. "What's going on?"

He rushed to her side as others flooded into the room. Security was there, nurses and Robin as well and Elizabeth gritted her teeth and tried to push the pain back so she could help Michael. Patrick gently pushed against her shoulder when he realized her intentions and ordered her, "Hold still so I can look at you."

She hissed in pain and tried to yank her arm out of his grasp. "Stop. Check Michael. There was someone in the room. He had a needle and was ready to inject something into Michael's IV. He was wearing scrubs and a mask and there was no guard on the door and I had no idea who he was and I told him to stop and to get away from Michael. He charged into me as he ran out."

"There's a hypo," Robin said softly. "Near the bed. There's some fluid in it, but not very much."

"Change the IV," Patrick ordered immediately, still not moving away from Elizabeth. "Flush the line. Take that needle and find out what's in it. We need to know how to counter it."

"Right away," his wife agreed. She picked up the needle with a glove and rushed from the room.

The doctor looked at a security guard and commanded, "Go with her. Get more guards up here and call the police. Make sure nobody comes back here or gets into the lab."

As the other nurses began taking care of Michael, her friend turned back to Elizabeth. "Now, let's take care of you. Michael's being looked after, so don't fight me."

She swallowed roughly and tried to breathe through the pain as he moved his hands over her arm. Patrick was gentle, but it was impossible to touch her and not cause pain. "We need ortho," he said and turned to look at nurse. "Regina, call ortho. Get a wheelchair in here because we need to get Elizabeth to radiology. We need films and we'll probably need an O.R. on stand-by."

"Patrick?" Elizabeth demanded of him, drawing his attention back. He needed to talk to her, not just give orders to everyone else. "What's going on?"

"You have a break above your elbow and I don't like it. It-it's not through the skin, but it's bad, Elizabeth," he told her. His eyes were soft and concerned, but he was trying to be reassuring and calm. "I can feel the bone under the skin and fluid's rushing into the area. So I want you examined right away."

She swallowed roughly, fear creeping up on her and Patrick took the hand of her uninjured arm. "It's going to be okay, Elizabeth. We're going to take care of you."

Lucky was sitting at his desk, going over the file for the Corinthos double-shooting and making some notes when the phones around the squad room suddenly started ringing. He looked across his desk to Cruz and saw his partner watching the other officers with equal curiosity. Officers and detectives were furiously scribbling notes and then Lucky watched as the men hung up the phones and reached for their coats as they stood. Mac stepped out of his office, pulling on his jacket and by now all the others in the room knew that something big had happened and were looking expectantly for someone to give them a clue as to what was going on.

People began speaking all at once and eventually Mac got them to slow down and speak one at a time so he could hear. Lucky looked over at his partner as they listened to the rundown of events. A car had exploded in the hospital garage killing Carly. Port Charles Fire Department was still on the scene taking care of the lingering fires from the surrounding cars. Meanwhile someone had tried to inject something in Michael's IV and Elizabeth had been hurt when she let the man escape. A dead guard of Jason's was found in a supply closet at the hospital and there was another dead guard outside Bobbie's brownstone. Someone else had broken into her place and tried to attack her and Morgan Corinthos, but Lucky's aunt had fought the person off.

When Mac began assigning men to the cases Lucky angrily strode forward. "Mac! Why are you assigning these cases out? Cruz and I are right here."

"Look, Lucky, I know you're concerned because it's Elizabeth and your family," Mac began. "But that's why you should let the others go. I'm going to the hospital because Robin called me. I'll check on Elizabeth and let you know how she's doing."

"These cases should mine and Cruz's," he said with an angry shake of his head. "They're connected to our case."

"You're investigating the shooting of Sonny and his wife," his boss said.

Lucky nodded immediately. "Right. And now his ex-wife and two of his children were attacked. Carly's dead; we need to be on the scene. This is connected."

"We don't know that," the commissioner shook his head.

"Mac!" he protested, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.

"Look," the older man held up his hands. "They may be related. I'm not discounting the possibility, but I'm not going to automatically jump to that conclusion. If we have to combine these into a task force, we'll do that. But for now, keep working on the shooting case."

Then he left and Lucky angrily put his hands on his hips. He couldn't believe he was being kept off these cases. It was no coincidence that Carly and the boys were attacked not long after Sonny was killed. "This is ridiculous."

"Look, man," Cruz said as he stood near his partner. "If you want to go to the hospital, go. I'm sure you want to find out how Elizabeth is. You may need to get the boys from daycare if she was working."

He looked down at his partner before saying, "I should probably call Audrey."

As he turned for his desk to get his coat he shook his head. "I told Elizabeth not to work Michael's case. Sonny was shot and she refused to ask to be reassigned."

He sneered as he repeated Elizabeth's words, "'Patrick asked for me to be on this case, Lucky; I'm not going to neglect my patient.' Jake gets taken because she can't stay away from Jason and still she insists on staying on Michael's case."

"Lucky?" Cruz asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Audrey will get the boys, I'm sure," he said with a shake of his head, moving on. "I know all the cases are linked together. Someone's taking out Corinthos and everyone connected to him. Of course, they couldn't do us a favor and take out Jason. We're going to prove to Mac that all these cases are connected and then he'll have to let us take the lead on the task force since we caught the first case."

"Look," his partner said, "I know you want to catch the killer, but your ex was hurt. Go check on her; check on the boys. Don't let Mac tell you to stay away. You have a right to be at the hospital; she's your boys' mother."

He looked at the other man for a moment, and then Lucky nodded. If he was at the hospital then he could check out the two crime scenes there. After giving his thanks to Cruz for the push, and the excuse, he left the station. As he got in his car he called Audrey and told her what he'd heard. He promised Elizabeth's grandmother he'd check on her granddaughter, but he was on a case so he wouldn't be able to pick up the boys from daycare. She assured him she understood and she would get Jake and Cameron and take them back to her place. This would let him focus on the case and showing Mac that the shooting of Sonny and Claudia was connected to everything that happened today.

"Ric made another trip to see Anthony Zacharra," Cody said as he walked into Jason's office at the coffee shop. "Our men watching him just called it in."

Jason shook his head as he leaned back in the chair. "Anthony isn't happy with Johnny. He's trying to stir up problems, but Johnny refuses to follow his dad. Diane is putting some papers together for us to sign to make it clear that I'm taking over the territories. She just didn't want to do it before the funeral."

"Ric isn't letting this go," his second stated. "Our men inside the prison are keeping an eye on Zacharra, because with Lansing as his lawyer he gets to meet with Anthony without sound monitoring. The video's limited to ensure attorney/client privilege, so we're having a tough time. Should we try to plant a listening device on one of them?"

Rubbing his hand over the back of his neck and tugging at his already loose collar he nodded. "Yeah, I want to know what they're doing. But…don't use Spinelli. I...I want him to start getting away from all this. So let's find another tech person to start using."

Spinelli said he understood Jason only wanted him working on stuff for the organization, but the younger man was constantly inviting Sam over to the penthouse. He would start talking about things in front of her until he would suddenly stop, remembering Jason telling him he didn't want her involved. But Sam was hearing things, and she kept trying to help him, or talk to him and comfort him, and Jason was spending less and less time at his penthouse because of it. If Spinelli had less to do for Jason, maybe he'd actually spend more time on his P.I. business.

"Are we still going to use him for research?" Cody asked.

"Maybe," Jason said. "But have him work here, and you don't talk to him when Sam's there. She's around a lot lately, and I won't want business discussed in front of her."

"I'll pass the word along and make sure everyone understands she's to be kept out of things," the ex-soldier promised him. "You might want to think about keeping his work laptop separate from his personal one."

Jason nodded to indicate he would consider it and the enforcer continued. "Have you given any thought to Max?"

He sighed and shook his head. "I know you think he disrespected me, but I don't want to fire him."

"It's not just that," Cody interrupted. "While it may be possible to excuse him abandoning you to go to work for Mr. Corinthos, it's the fact that I...I know that he has...feelings for Mrs. Jacks. I wonder how much he'll reveal about your business to her when she comes around, claiming to be your friend and wanting to help you. Will he disregard your orders because he feels Mrs. Jacks is only trying to help you, or will he take orders from her that countermand your direct orders?"

His brows furrowed in question and he said, "Explain what you mean."

"I've listened to the men," his second said. "He's had a crush on Mrs. Jacks for a while. He...he sometimes says and does things around her that he shouldn't. Mrs. Jacks knows how he feels about her and she sometimes plays on that to get her way. Flirts with him, flatters him and flusters him and then the next thing everyone knows, she knows things she shouldn't, she's doing things she shouldn't, involved in things she has no business being in. That to me says his loyalty is to her above you because his loyalty was to Mr. Corinthos above you. He still sometimes calls her Mrs. C. even though she's married to Mr. Jacks. When it comes down to following an order of yours, even if that order is keep Mrs. Jacks out of the way, will he follow it?"

A dull throb began to pulse behind his eyes as Jason listened to Cody's argument. It couldn't be discounted as wrong, because Jason had seen it himself. He'd looked the other way, because Sonny was in charge. Now that he was the boss, he didn't want Max making the same decisions and letting Carly into business matters. Finally, he said, "Like I said, don't fire him. Just...keep an eye on him. He may not ever be more than a guard if he stays here. And...yeah, we need to see if he'll follow the orders he's given, or let others sway him. Then we'll know how much trust we can give him."

The other man opened his mouth to speak, but his phone rang and at his questioning look, Jason indicated for him to answer it. Business issues went to Cody first, and after just getting out of a meeting with the Families after Sonny's funeral, he was happy to let someone else take the call that indicated there was trouble.

"Yeah," Cody said after flipping open his phone. He blanched and his eyes widened as he barked out, "What? What happened?"

Jason frowned at the agitated response from his normally in control employee and was impatient as Cody let out a heavy breath and said, "I'll tell him; we'll be there soon."

"What?" he demanded as soon the call ended.

"We need to get to the hospital," the other man said, turning for the door and looking expectantly at Jason.

"What happened?" he asked as he stood and came around the desk.

The ex-soldier looked very grave and his voice was regretful as he said, "Morgan and Bobbie Spencer were brought to the hospital because someone broke into the brownstone and attacked them."

"What?" Jason burst out as they went through the back exit and into the truck waiting there. "Where were the guards?"

"Attacked," the enforcer answered as he put the vehicle into gear and began to drive. "Eddie's dead, Sal's in the hospital for a concussion and stitches."

He paused and then said, "There's more, Jason. Troy was attacked when he was watching Michael. He was found dead in a supply closet...and someone was in Michael's room. Tried to inject something in his IV."

Jason's gut clenched, but the next words nearly undid him. Cody swallowed heavily and looked at him uneasily before turning his attention back to the road. "Miss Webber interrupted the man as she was making her rounds."

"Is...is she okay? Was she hurt?" he demanded as a heavy lump formed in his stomach. Someone who killed a guard and was trying to hurt Michael wouldn't hesitate attacking someone who interrupted him.

"She uh...she's been taken to surgery," the enforcer answered. "The guy ran into her as he ran from the room. She broke her arm pretty bad when she fell."

He closed his eyes and wearily ran his hand over his face. "Oh, man."

"Jason," Cody continued, "We'll find out how she is; I promise."

"Thank you," he said in relief. He didn't want Elizabeth hurt by anything and didn't like the thought of her in surgery.

"That's not the worst news," the other man, his voice heavy with regret as they neared the hospital. "Mrs. Jacks...her car exploded in the parking garage. She...she was inside. I-I'm very sorry, Jason."

Swallowing hard he collapsed back against the seat as they rounded the corner and saw fire trucks and police cars on the street outside the hospital. Their lights flashed in the fading afternoon sun and Jason felt like he was about to step into a war zone. Carly was dead, Elizabeth was hurt, Michael and Morgan had been attacked; today, the violence had simply exploded. Sonny and Claudia's deaths looked like they were just the tip of the iceberg that was looming ahead, and he feared just how big they'd find out it really was.

Jason Morgan was a stoic man. He felt emotions, but he controlled them most of the time. He didn't let them control him or become debilitated by them, even in highly charged and stressful situations. But today as he walked into the emergency room swarming with people and cops, Jason was having a hard time schooling his features.

On the day he buried his friend, a triple attack occurred on other people he cared about. While Cody may have thought Sonny Corinthos was a rather worthless man who certainly wasn't worth the loyalty Jason showed him, his boss had cared about his mentor deeply. He wasn't just searching for Sonny's killer because he was out for revenge to secure his place and reputation; he was seeking to avenge his friend's murder.

And now, his oldest friend was dead, her two children had been attacked, and the woman he'd once been involved with had been hurt. Cody never talked to Jason about Elizabeth Webber, but Cody remembered when she'd been around the coffee shop more, and he'd seen how much his boss cared about her. Maybe even loved her. And he was suspicious that one of her little boys was actually Jason's, but he didn't bring it up because after splitting up with Miss Webber Jason really shut down that part of himself and made it clear he didn't want to talk about her or the little boy's kidnapping.

Now that she was hurt along with the two Corinthos boys, he looked shaky and on edge. Add to the fact that the fire trucks that arrived to deal with the explosion in the garage were still visible outside the ER and Jason was having a hard time keeping it together. The room was crawling with cops who were looking at them both contemptuously. Jason was looking for anyone who could help him, but everyone was busy and bustling by him without stopping.

A curtain slid back along its track and Jax stepped out, holding Morgan in his arms. Jason turned immediately and started towards them. "Jax."

"Jason," the man said, his voice thick and slow. "What happened tonight?"

The mob boss shook his head. "I don't know. I just got the call. The guards are dead...I don't know much beyond what the cops have said."

He looked intently at the little boy whose head was resting on the businessman's shoulder and Jason asked, "How's Morgan?"

"A few scratches," the Australian said, running a hand softly over the boy's back. "He's really shaken up, but physically seems fine."

He let out a breath and then said, "We're going to the hotel. I...I don't know if I can go to the house yet."

"I-I'm sorry about Carly," Jason's voice was deep and rough. "I-I don't know what happened, but you need guards, Jax. They could try again and I...I don't want anything..."

Jax nodded without a fight and Cody was glad for it. Today was not the time for the other man to argue with Jason, and he seemed to sense it. Or maybe the attacks had scared him and he was ready to accept the help Jason was offering. "Will you check on Michael?" he asked. "I-I need to get Morgan out of here."

Jason licked his lips and nodded. "Yeah. I...I'll see how he is, and I'll call you."

"And...and Elizabeth," the businessman said and Jason's jaw clenched. But he nodded his agreement. Jax stepped closer and lowered his voice and Cody looked away so it wouldn't seem like he was listening to the conversation, even though he'd been standing right by Jason the entire time.

"She got hurt protecting Michael," Jax said. "She deserves our thanks and our help. And maybe this will get you to actually to her instead of always walking away."

Then the Australian left and Cody signaled a guard across the room to follow him and the little boy. Jason watched them go, and then sighed as his shoulders dropped. Cody merely stood there, doing his job which was to keep his boss safe. Jason was too distracted right now to pay attention to his surroundings, and Cody was going to make sure that another person didn't die tonight.

Chapter 10

"Spencer."

The cop stopped, unable to ignore Mac when the older man stepped right in front of him. The detective looked at his boss and Mac put his hands on his hips in annoyance. "What are you doing here? I told you to work the Corinthos case and we would find out what happened here at the hospital."

"Elizabeth was hurt," Lucky stated as if it was obviously why he had disregarded orders. "She's in surgery."

The police commissioner raised his brows. "The O.R. is two floors down. This is the floor Michael is on. You're here to investigate."

The younger man looked back almost defiantly at him and said. "This is connected to Sonny's shooting. It's ridiculous to pretend otherwise. I want to see the crime scene for myself instead of getting the notes later."

"Look, Lucky," Mac said. "The cases may be related, but we don't know that yet. So let everyone do their work. You do yours. If you need to take the night off to see your boys and see how Elizabeth is, then do that. But you are not working any of the cases from tonight."

"Mac," he began.

"No." Cutting off his detective forcefully he shook his head. "You have your own case. Work it or I'll write you up. Now get off this floor. Go see your boys, see Elizabeth or go home, but go."

The younger man turned and stalked away without a word. Mac was willing to cut him a break tonight because his ex-wife had just been hurt, but his leniency would only go so far. He was not going to allow Lucky to turn this into a witch hunt against Jason Morgan simply to cause problems.

"Mac."

He turned around when he heard his name and saw the mobster walking towards him. The younger man looked haggard and tired and the police officer had to remind himself that he'd just buried his friend this morning. Now another friend was dead and two children had been hurt. Mac was glad Spencer had already left because it would not have been a good encounter.

"Jason," he said.

"Jax took Morgan home and asked me to check on Michael. Where's Patrick?"

"Examining Michael," he answered. "I was just talking to Robin. They're analyzing what was in the syringe and what it might do, but they don't know yet."

Running his hand over his face, Jason asked, "Is she around? I...I want to talk to her if I can."

Mac nodded. "Yeah. Listen, I'm not trying to keep you, or...but I need you to tell me who's coming after your organization. First Sonny and Claudia are shot, then his ex-wife and two of his kids are targeted. Someone's coming into my town and coming after people connected to Sonny."

"I don't know who's doing this," the mob boss shook his head and the police commissioner actually felt he might be hearing the truth. Morgan simply looked too weary, too shell-shocked to be doing his normal stonewall routine.

"Could it be Anthony Zacharra?" the older man asked. "Despite what Claudia Zacharra said, Anthony tried to kill her before. He didn't like Sonny. He's been known to go after families."

Jason was silent, his face slipping into a blank mask, and then said, "We don't know who's behind this."

Knowing that was all he was going to get out of the younger man, Mac sighed and said, "I'll let you talk to Robin. I...I'm sorry about Carly."

The other man nodded stiffly and swallowed. Then he paused, but didn't turn to go; instead he asked, "How-how is Elizabeth doing?"

Letting out a breath, the police commissioner said, "She's in surgery. It was a pretty nasty break; Robin said she was lucky the bone didn't come through the skin."

"The guy ran into her?" Jason asked, looking agitated.

Mac nodded. "She stopped whatever he was planning; he had to go over her to get away because she moved towards him. We've collected all her clothing hoping to get some evidence, but most pros don't give us much. But maybe we'll get lucky this time."

Jason's jaw clenched and he rubbed his temple. "Thank you. I...I hope she's okay."

"Yeah," he agreed. He hoped so as well. He knew that there was a history between Elizabeth and Jason - after all, it came out at his trial that they'd slept together - but she was a mother and people around the mob were dying. Mac hoped the man stayed away from her because he wanted to keep the body count from going higher and the police commissioner didn't want to have to investigate the nurse's or her sons' deaths.

Jax wandered around the main room of the hotel suite, a bottle in one hand, a glass in the other. He was exhausted, but he couldn't sleep; he was numb but he couldn't seem to catch his breath because of the pain in his chest. Morgan had clung to him after they arrived and he had done everything he could to comfort the young boy whose world had once again been shattered. He'd eventually fallen asleep laying beside Morgan in an attempt to comfort him, but it wasn't Morgan's nightmares that woke Jax. His own dreams had robbed him from sleeping well before the little boy's cries filled the air.

The phone in the room rang and he ignored it, reaching over to unplugg it like he'd done in the bedroom earlier. He was not up to answering it or speaking to anybody. No press, no well-meaning friends or family, and no hotel employees. Marty had been given orders to keep the staff away unless he called. The only people he wanted to deal with at the moment were Morgan and Mercedes.

Tomorrow he'd have to call his mother, tomorrow he would talk to Bobbie, tomorrow he'd talk with the police...but it would be tomorrow. He simply could not do anything tonight.

His cell phone began to ring and he stalked across the room intending to turn it off. He'd deal with messages tomorrow, but he would not listen to phones ringing all night. He picked up the phone and clenched it hard in his hand when he saw the unknown number. Jerry had called a few times since he fled last year, but always from disposable phones. Jax never answered the calls, but would always have a message from his brother.

He hit the ignore button and then turned it off. He couldn't deal with Jerry tonight. While Jax didn't rejoice in the woman's death, he wasn't entirely bothered by Claudia Zacharra's death. Thoughts of her, Michael's shooting, the DVD Jerry sent him...it was all too much tonight after everything that happened and he just wanted to pretend the call was a wrong number.

For all her flaws, Jax did love Carly and he was devastated by her death. They had a life together, were raising a family and had been expecting a baby. He couldn't believe she was gone; that he would never see her again, hug her, kiss her or hold her ever again. She was gone, and she had been ripped from his life drastically and violently.

It wasn't that her death was most likely because of Sonny's lifestyle that angered him. For as much as it did bother him, he'd accepted her connection to Sonny and knew that there could be violence in their lives. He'd always known there was danger, but he'd lived with it and refused to let it be a pall over his life. It was simply the sudden, shocking violence of her death and the senselessness of it all.

Jax sat down and poured the golden liquid into the cut crystal tumbler. It was warm and rich going down his throat and he wished it would bring him relief, but peace eluded him. Maybe it was impossible, or maybe it was because he knew he couldn't get completely drunk and be hung over when Morgan woke up and needed someone.

A knock on the door startled him and he sloshed liquor over the edge of glass onto the couch and his pant leg. He glared at the door, wondering who could possibly be here to disturb him. Bobbie was in the hospital overnight for observation, his staff knew better than to bother him and it was doubtful Jason would show up here tonight. He'd probably check in tomorrow when Morgan would be awake and could talk. Jax expected Jason to be very busy tonight.

Whoever was on the other side of the door knocked again and Jax stood angrily. He stomped across the room and yanked the door open as he growled, "What?"

"Ja-Jax?"

Lulu stood in the hallway, her eyes red and damp and he felt bad for growling at her. "Lulu...I'm sorry..."

"So am I," she said. "I...I heard the news and I drove past the house and there was nobody there and I thought you might be here. I...I'm sorry to just come over...I tried to call...but I..."

"Come in," he told her softly, stepping back. He resigned himself to this visit, however much he just wished to tell her to go away.

"How are you?" she asked when he closed the door. "How's Morgan doing?"

"He's asleep right now," he answered. "I think it's for the best. Tomorrow will be hard enough."

Lulu looked down at her hands. "I'm so sorry about Carly, Jax. I know...I can't even imagine..."

She sat down and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her thighs. "I'm doing this all wrong. I just didn't know where else to go. I-I was out with Johnny and Maxie at an event for Crimson and Spinelli showed up with the news and I couldn't stay with them. They were saying they were sorry and Maxie was kind and mentioned Georgie and I just couldn't stay there. Johnny was concerned and didn't want me to go, but..."

She trailed off and said, "I'm sorry...I'm just rambling. You don't want to hear all this."

He reached out and covered her hand with his. "It's okay, Lulu. You're Carly's cousin and I know you two were close. I'm sure you're also worried about your aunt. Have you talked to your father?"

"I tried calling him earlier, but there was no answer," she shook her head. "I'm sure Lucky will track him down; he's waiting at the hospital to hear about Elizabeth."

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" Jax asked. "So that you're not alone?"

"I don't know," she shook her head. "I-I don't want to be a bother. You should probably tell Morgan your own way; I don't want to interfere. I just...I didn't know where else to go tonight. But maybe I'll call Johnny."

"Just let me know," he said. "I'm going to check on Morgan, so you can have a few minutes."

"Jason?"

He turned his head and looked at Robin as she came towards him. Standing anxiously while clenching his hands at his side, he asked, "Did you find out anything?"

She looked at him apologetically, then said, "It was poison."

He swallowed thickly against the bile in his throat. "Poison? Did...did any get into Michael?"

"Some," she answered. "But we gave him a common antigen as soon as we found him and Elizabeth, so hopefully it will counter it and he'll live."

She sat down in the hard plastic chair next to the one he'd been sitting in and indicated for him to sit as well. Taking a breath and letting it out she said, "If Elizabeth had come in any later...he would probably be dead."

Jason rubbed his hand over his face roughly. How could he be grateful Michael was still alive when Elizabeth had been hurt? He wanted everyone safe; that was why he'd tried to stay away from her.

"So the antigen...he'll be okay?" he pressed.

Robin could only shrug regretfully. "We don't know. The poison isn't anything we've seen. It's synthetic and complicated, but what little we've figured out about it, it would have been lethal. And quickly. We don't know what will happen because of the amount he did get in his IV line. Maybe the antigen just slowed it down. Maybe it countered it. We have to run a lot more tests until we can really say."

He nodded gravely. "When will you know?"

"It's too soon to know," the doctor shook her head sadly. "But I promise you we will let you know as soon as we find anything out."

He knew that was as much as they could do, especially only hours after the attack, and so he nodded his acceptance because there was really no other choice. Then Jason licked his lips and asked, "Can-can you tell me how Elizabeth is?"

His ex-girlfriend sighed and he thought she wasn't going to answer and then finally she said, "Patrick called the head of orthopedics in to work on her case. Doctor Williams is a really good doctor; he'll do a good job on the surgery."

"Have you heard anything about it? The surgery?" Jason asked.

She shook her head sadly. "I've been in the lab helping analyze the syringe. Patrick's been running tests on Michael. We had to turn Elizabeth's case over to other people. I'm sorry, Jason."

"No," he shook his head. "I know. You had to do your job. I just...I-"

"Wanted to know how she is," Robin finished for him. She looked at him for a long moment and then said, "I'll try to find out. But, Jason...don't hurt her."

He blinked at her in surprise and she pushed forward. "Patrick and I were there in December and...and we watched her fall apart. She was so happy before, and I know you two were together even if you weren't saying anything. Then...then suddenly she was devastated and broken and we were worried about her. Really worried, but she just shut everyone out."

Jason swallowed thickly and shifted and she looked at him sympathetically, but didn't stop the cuts she inflicted on him. "She has been alone, with you ignoring her and her children while you were around Carly and so many other people. She saw you around Sam...but you never talked to her. Came to her; saw her. Did you even know she was in the hospital in February?"

"Yeah," he answered gruffly. "I-I knew."

"But you never saw her," the doctor said pointed. "But now that she was hurt in Michael's room, you're asking about her."

Her voice softened as she sighed and she said, "I know you love Michael and you want the best for him, but I thought you loved Elizabeth and those two little boys."

"I do," he told her, his voice insistent for her to understand. "But look at what's happening, Robin. It's dangerous to be around me. I-I walked away from Elizabeth and her boys to keep them safe."

"That may have been your reasoning," she said, tilting her head to the side. "But what stands out most is that you walked away. But you're only asking about her now, you're only showing concern for her now because she was in Michael's room. So I'll ask about Elizabeth for you, but…please, just think before you do anything, Jason."

Then Robin walked away and he felt like he couldn't move. Jason knew Elizabeth had been hurting when he walked away that day in the courthouse; he had hurt as well. But he didn't like hearing words like broken and devastated and he especially didn't like hearing that her friends had been worried about her. He hadn't meant to hurt her; he just couldn't justify being with her and putting Jake and Cameron in danger again after what happened at the cabin.

She had agreed with him, but it hadn't taken the pain away. Especially when he was around Sam, but never came to see Elizabeth when she was in the hospital. He hadn't honored or respected her and their son and he realized that now. And he realized that when he went to see her after her surgery many people, possibly including her, would think he was only coming to see her because of Michael. If he hadn't come to see the woman he loved and the mother of his child when she was in a possible fatal condition after the biotoxin crisis, how could he convince her that his visit now was because he was truly concerned about her?

Jason could only hope that Elizabeth would give him the opportunity to explain and that she would have the faith in him to believe. He wasn't staying away because he didn't love her, but he didn't know if she would trust in that. He knew, though, that he had to see her and talk to her. He would do everything to convince her and he could only hope that she believed him, but he also knew that there was a chance she wouldn't. It wouldn't stop him from making the attempt, though.

Chapter 11

Lucky anxiously bounced his leg as he sat in the waiting room hoping that someone would finally come out and tell him how Elizabeth was. Audrey had come to the hospital hours ago to get Jake and Cameron, and he'd talked to her a little while ago and she said the boys were settled in and almost asleep. He would try to go by later the next day - or today, he realized as he glanced at his watch - but he wasn't going to leave the hospital until he knew how she was and he'd talked to her.

He loved her and he wasn't going to leave her. Despite what she said, he knew she cared about him. Maybe she just wasn't ready to try again, she was too hurt by Jason abandoning her and Jake to accept that he was here and he wasn't leaving her. She was holding out for a pie-in-the-sky dream that she and Jason would be together, but she couldn't see that it wasn't going to happen. Jason was back with Sam and had given up Elizabeth and Jake for good.

Lucky was going to show her that he was there for her, and in the aftermath of these killings he knew it would help her see his point. It was too dangerous to be around Jason and she needed to see that. Now was his time to help her realize it. He would even tell her that he'd waited here to hear how she was instead of working on the case, something Jason hadn't done. He hadn't waited outside the O.R.; he'd focused on everybody else. Once Elizabeth finally accepted that, then they would be together and be a family once more. Maybe he could even get her to consider a child of their own to complete things.

He looked up when he heard footsteps and sprang to his feet when he saw Robin coming down the hall. She would be able to help him out. She could call the O.R., or even go there and find out how Elizabeth was and why the operation was taking so long.

"Robin," he called to her and she stopped and looked up at him. "Robin, what's going on?"

"Lucky," she peered at him curiously. "What are you doing here? I thought Uncle Mac told you to get your boys and go home. He told several people you're not on the case; they're not to discuss things with you. Where are the boys? Daycare's closed."

He frowned angrily that Mac would undermine him like that, with the hospital staff and the cops, but he shook his head, dispelling the thoughts and Robin's questions. "Audrey has the boys," he explained. "I couldn't leave while Elizabeth was in surgery; that's who I was asking about. It's taking forever, Robin. Shouldn't it be done by now?"

"She is done," the doctor informed him.

"She's in recovery?" he asked anxiously. "How soon until she's moved to another room and I can see her?"

Robin let out a breath and said, "She's already been moved to a room, Lucky."

"How come nobody told me?" he demanded angrily, putting his hands on his hips and bracing his feet apart.

"We called Audrey to let her know," Elizabeth's co-worker said.

"I was sitting out here," Lucky pointed out. "Someone should have told me."

"Audrey is her emergency contact," she replied, "and family. We called her."

"I'm Elizabeth's husband," he said, his voice rising in indignation. He couldn't believe they had ignored him and called Audrey.

"Her ex-husband," Robin said pointedly. "After a rather vicious divorce during which you came to her work and called her a whore."

He shook his head dismissively. "We moved past that. We're getting back together. Someone should have told me."

The doctor's brows rose. "That's not what Elizabeth told me. She said you two aren't getting back together, despite what you may wish."

Embarrassed and angry that Elizabeth had been talking about him and declaring she wasn't getting back together with him, he huffed. He was about to refute Robin's claim, certain she was just making things up because she didn't like him for what happened with Maxie when she continued on.

"You were hanging all over Emily's sister not that long ago," she said. "Then suddenly you're in here ordering Elizabeth around about Michael's case, embarrassing her at work, ignoring those two, sweet little boys who call you Daddy, and thinking just because you want her back...that's it. That's all it takes."

She stood and declared, "Elizabeth hasn't woken up from her surgery and it's long after visiting hours. Come back tomorrow, Lucky, when she's awake. She can decide for herself if she wants to see you or not. But for now, you aren't going to see her tonight. You should go home, Lucky. You should see your boys."

She walked away from him, spoke to a security officer at the doorway she went into, and Lucky knew, when the man looked at him through narrowed eyes, that he was not going to be able to see Elizabeth tonight. He would have to come back first thing in the morning. A small smile curled his lips as he left; even though tonight hadn't worked out as he planned in any regard, he wasn't going to give up. He would pick up Elizabeth's favorite breakfast and be here as soon as visiting hours begin.

Mac would think he was focused on his family, but being here would let him hear what was happening in the investigations. And tomorrow would be the beginning of winning Elizabeth back. With that determination in mind, he left the hospital and went to his house. He would be back bright and early in the morning.

Jason stepped into the room and softly closed the door behind him. Robin had told him what room Elizabeth had been transferred to, and even though his ex-girlfriend hadn't looked happy about it, she told him he could see Elizabeth. Michael was back in room, but Patrick had no answers on his nephew's condition. He and Robin wanted to go over the results of the tests they'd run before they could say how the boy would be.

As soon as Robin told him Elizabeth had been moved from recovery, he left Michael and made his way through the darkened hallways to her room. He had to see her and he wasn't going to wait for the morning. Besides, it was actually better if he went when the hospital was less crowded. She was pale as she lay on the bed; still and quiet. He had seen her like this too many times, and he didn't like it. It wasn't supposed to be this way for her; he had walked away from her to keep her safe so she didn't end up like this.

Pulling a chair close to the bed, he sat down and reached out hesitantly to brush his fingers over the silky skin of her uninjured arm. He closed his eyes and pressed his fist against his mouth. It had been far too long since he'd been close to her and touched her and to let his guard down and give in...he breathed deeply as he allowed himself this small moment.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth," he said softly, opening his eyes to look at her and try to memorize her features that had begun to fade from his mind. "You were supposed to be safe if I wasn't near you. I...I don't like seeing you in the hospital. I look at you and I remember how worried I was after Jake's birth when you were so weak."

He let out a breath, remembering that time, when he'd found her unconscious at her house, watched from the observation room as Jake took his first breath but she crashed on the table and when he put their son into her arms and then what it felt like only moments later as she passed out and was whisked back into surgery. He'd struggled with the decision if he should come forward and state that he was Jake's father, all the while praying for her health. Not just to spare him having to actually make a decision, but because he couldn't imagine not having Elizabeth alive and in the world.

"Jake needed his mother," he voiced aloud. "And so did I. It was so hard to watch you in the hospital and not be able to visit you and show openly how much I loved you. And then when you hurt your leg rescuing Jake and then during the toxin crisis..."

He shook his head. "I know you think I didn't care you were sick, but I did. I came by, I saw you lying there, but I...Lucky was in with you and I told you I would stay away...and so I left. But that's really no excuse, is it?"

Jason let out his breath and brushed his hand over her arm. "That's really no excuse. I was afraid to see you; afraid that I'd weaken and sit by your and try to be with you again and I just couldn't. I never want anything to happen to you or Jake or Cameron. With all that's happened now, I know it was the right thing to stay away.

"I'm just sorry," he continued. "Sorry that you thought I was back with Sam. I'm not; I'm not, Elizabeth. She hurt Jake and you, and I could never trust her. But it's more than that; I love you, Elizabeth, and it hasn't changed just because I'm not with you. And so I'm sorry I hurt you."

He fell silent and he let out a heavy sigh. He watched her and her eyes fluttered slightly making him hold his breath as he wondered if she was going to wake up. But she slumbered on and slowly he released the trapped air from his lungs. He was almost relieved that she didn't wake up because he wasn't sure what to say to her when she was actually awake. It was easy to talk when she was asleep, but he knew he wouldn't have been so open with her if she was awake.

How would it help either of them for him to tell her that he loved her still and he missed her? They still wouldn't be able to be together; it would still be too dangerous for him to be around her. It was hard enough for him when he didn't see her; it would just make them both hurt all over again if he told her he still loved her, but then continued to stay away.

"I'm sorry you were hurt because of one of Sonny and my enemies," he finally said, giving her hand a squeeze. "But thank you for helping Michael. I want you to know that I will take care of you; I'll have some men discreetly watch you and the boys. I don't know who hurt you and Michael, but he saw you and I won't take a chance that he'll come back. I don't want you to hurt, Elizabeth; it's why I walked away. You deserve to be safe and I'm going to do my best to make sure everyone is safe."

He was quiet when he finished and he wished he could say more and he wished he could stay, but he knew he should go. It would be hard enough to leave now after touching her, after sitting beside her, but he knew that it would only get harder the longer he stayed. He brought her hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss against it. He longed to kiss her lips, but knew that he shouldn't. That was why he couldn't kiss her forehead; it would be too hard to resist being that close to her soft, full mouth.

"I really should go," he said. He'd stayed loner than he should have already and he didn't want someone to find him here. He didn't want Robin to get in trouble since she was the one who'd told him what room Elizabeth was in and said she'd try to keep others way from it for a little while. "I need to check in on Michael and meet with Spinelli. I..."

He had so much to say, nearly said 'I love you' but he swallowed thickly and instead simply said, "I have to go. I'll try to come back later."

Then he left Elizabeth's room and ran his hand over his face as he slipped back down the hallway to where Cody had discreetly stood guard. It was time to get back to work.

When the door closed, Elizabeth's eyes fluttered and opened and she blinked them rapidly, trying to clear her vision and her thoughts. Her eyelids drifted closed again simply because they were too heavy to keep open, but she didn't fall back asleep. She'd started to regain consciousness when Jason was here, but she hadn't been able to respond to him, or even stay away for more than a moment. She'd heard his voice, knew he was there talking to her, but the words hadn't made sense to her at first.

Eventually she was able to stay awake and concentrate on his words, understanding them even though she couldn't open her eyes or react to his presence. But she heard him and remembered what he was saying and it didn't surprise her that he spoke of her and Michael. He was concerned and he came to her room because she'd injured in Michael's room. That was the only reason he'd stopped by.

She let out a deep breath and forced her eyes open, looking at the door. She didn't want to be bitter and she was trying hard not to be. Elizabeth didn't want to forget all the wonder moments she and Jason had shared and only focus on her disappointments and pain, but it was so hard sometimes. Jason had been in the hospital when it was locked down during the toxin crisis, but he hadn't come to see her; even when she was gravely ill and feared she would die. Lucky broke through the barricade and came inside, but Jason who was here never visited her.

Now, though because she'd been hurt while protecting Michael, he came to visit her. While he thought she was unconscious after her surgery. He was going to assign guards to watch her and the boys so that whoever was in Michael's room wouldn't come after her for revenge because she'd interrupted his attack. As much as she appreciated Jason's concern, it also hurt that it only was motivated because of her connection to Michael.

The door to her room opened and her eyes automatically looked over, wondering who was there. Was it Jason coming back? Or was it somebody else?

"Hey," Robin said softly as she closed the door and saw Elizabeth watching her. "You're awake."

"Hey," she replied softly, clearly her scratchy, dry throat.

Her friend sat down in the chair Jason had been in earlier and poured a drink of water. After she'd taken a drink, Robin set the plastic cup on the side table and learned forward.

"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked. "Do you feel nauseous from the meds? Are you in pain? Do you need anything?"

"I'm okay, Robin," she said softly. "I'm not really in pain, probably because I'm not entirely awake and I'm sure I have plenty of drugs pumping through my system from the surgery."

"Okay," her friend smile, her voice a little less frantic than it had been at first. "You probably don't need me to tell you this, but if you are in pain, we can give you something. Pain doesn't help you heal any faster and it just makes you miserable."

The other woman sobered and said, "It was a bad break, Elizabeth. Dr. Hartwell had to put a rod in your arm. However the guy pushed you...however you fell...it was hard and you caught it in a bad place. It was amazing the bone didn't come through the skin. So you're going to have it immobilized for a bit; we're going to keep you here for a couple of days...at least. So trying to tough it out won't get you released any sooner."

Elizabeth let out a sigh and said, "Okay. I hear you, Robin."

She swallowed in disappointment as she felt her eyes sting. "I guess I won't get to be with the boys for several days. I guess they'll be with Lucky."

When Robin frowned, she asked, "What? He took them, right? I mean...they were in daycare. Someone had to pick them up."

"Audrey came to get them," her friend told her. "Uncle Mac didn't assign Lucky to any of the cases from last night, but that didn't stop him from hanging around the hospital, trying to find out what was going on. He told Audrey he was too busy working and she would need to get the boys. But when Uncle Mac told him to leave because he wasn't going to work on the case...then he suddenly changed."

Now Elizabeth frowned. Robin wasn't making any sense. "What happened?"

"He sat outside the O.R. waiting for word on your surgery and your condition and wanted to see you after you were taken to recovery. He got upset with me when I told him to go home and wouldn't tell him what room you were in. Went on about how he was your husband, or was getting back together with you and he had a right to see you." Robin looked regretful as she told the tale. "He wasn't happy when I said he was your ex and he wasn't your emergency contact and he needed to leave."

"He's going to use this as a way to try to get back together with me," Elizabeth sighed heavily, closing her eyes wearily.

The other woman let out a sigh as well, but agreed. "I'm sorry to dump this all on you tonight, Elizabeth, after you just got out of surgery, but I think you needed to know. And you're right; I don't think he's going to give up."

"I don't want to have to fight him," she groaned tiredly. "He's been after me about working on Michael's case, trying to...and now he could use the boys and me being in the hospital to."

"No," Robin said sharply and she looked up at her friend in surprise. "Don't fight him. And as for him trying to use your injury? You are a patient and it is the job of the doctors and nurses here to take care of you. I will make a note in your chart to limit visitors and not let Lucky spend all day here. He refused to take the boys because he was too busy working even though Uncle Mac didn't put him on the case. Tell him you want the boys to stay with Audrey. Patrick and I will help her out whenever we can so she's not worn out. But I'm not going to stand back and let him badger you, Elizabeth, and you know Epiphany will take him on if she has to."

Placing a hand on her arm, Robin said, "We'll take care of you, Elizabeth."

"Thank you, Robin," she said, tears burning her eyes as a few spilled onto her cheeks. Her friend's emphatic support combined with her fatigue and the medication had overwhelmed her. "You're a very good friend."

Then she looked at the doctor and asked, "What happened last night? You mentioned cases, and I heard people talking before my surgery. It...It sounded like there was more than just the attack on Michael."

"Yeah," the doctor said, her demeanor changing and she looked overwhelmed and heartbroken. "A lot happened."

"Is Michael okay?" she asked. "Start there and tell me everything that happened, Robin."

Chapter 12

Lucky stepped off the elevator and turned towards the right. He'd sweet talked the person at the information desk downstairs into telling him what room Elizabeth was in and now he was happily on his way to see her. He'd brought her favorite breakfast from Kelly's with him and some hot chocolate; they could sit and talk and she would see just how wonderful they were together; that he really cared about her. He was almost to the hallway that would take him to Elizabeth when Epiphany called him.

"Detective Spencer." He turned and looked at Elizabeth's co-worker and was a little surprised to see the older woman marching towards him angrily. "Where are you going?"

He held up the bag in one hand and the drink carrier in his other so it would be obvious and said, "I'm here to have breakfast with Elizabeth."

She lifted her brows and tipped her head to the side. "I don't think so."

"Excuse me?" he asked, irritated by the countermanding of his declaration.

"How did you get Elizabeth's room number?" she questioned. "Elizabeth asked for family members only. The aid at the information desk was not supposed to give out her information. So, what did you do? Sweet talk her like you did Maxie? Or did you flash your badge and abuse your power?"

"I'm here to see Elizabeth," he repeated. "What do you mean she requested family only? I'm her ex-husband, we're parents...I have a right to see her. You can't keep me away from her."

"Elizabeth told her doctors she only wants family right now; she did not put you on the list," Epiphany said firmly. She looked almost regretful and then said, "The staff have been told; we're not going to allow you to harass Elizabeth while she's our patient. So give her some time to heal and she'll see you when she's ready."

Crossing her arms over her chest she said pointedly, "So why don't you go see your aunt? Her daughter died last night and she was attacked along with your cousin. I'm sure it would do her good to see family right now."

Lucky glared at her, but Epiphany stared right back, refusing to move. Finally, Lucky turned on his heel and stalked away. He would have to call Audrey and tell her to talk to Elizabeth, or offer to pick up the boys and bring them to see their mother. They couldn't turn him away if he had Elizabeth's sons with him.

When he made his way down to Bobbie's room he was determined on his course of action. After giving Bobbie the food he would go over to Audrey's house and get the boys. She would probably be glad to rest after having them all night. Pushing open the door to his aunt's room he was a bit dismayed to see Jax and Lulu inside. By the look on his sister's face he was afraid she'd try to keep him there to talk and then he'd never get back to the hospital with the boys before his shift.

"Lucky," Bobbie smiled sadly at him, but looked happy to see him. "Hi."

"Hi, Aunt Bobbie," he replied, trying to act as if he wanted to be there. "How are you feeling?"

"They'll release me today," she answered, sounding exhausted. "It's just a few bumps and bruises. As for the rest..."

She trailed off and closed her eyes, but that didn't stop the tears from leaking out of the corners. Lulu took her hand and sniffed and Jax gently touched Bobbie's leg.

"I'm very sorry," he said, looking at her, and then Jax.

"Have you heard anything?" Lulu asked, turning to look at him.

Lucky shook his head. "It's not my case, yet. And I haven't been in to the station today, so I haven't caught any talk. I came by to see Elizabeth, but they're limiting her visitors at the moment."

"Oh," Jax said softly. "I was going to check how she was doing before I spoke to Patrick about Michael. Maybe I'll just ask Robin to have Elizabeth let me know when she's up for visitors."

Lucky narrowed his eyes at the other man, but said nothing. It wasn't like Jax would try to make a play for her and Elizabeth was still too hung up on Jason to care about anyone else. But it bugged him that she might see Jax while pushing him away. But she would probably do that, just to stick it to Lucky.

"I'll be back when they're going to release you," Jax told Bobbie. "I should know something about Michael by then."

"Thank you, Jax," his aunt told him.

After he left, Lulu held out her hand to Lucky and looked at him with such pleading that he resigned himself to staying until he had to leave for the station. He would have to get the boys another time. "You'll let me know what you find out," she pleaded with her big brother. "We were all shaken up when we heard the news last night. The four of us were out at another club Kate wanted to drum up some publicity for in Crimson and I made them take me to the hotel. Johnny doesn't know if Anthony was behind this, but he's going to try to find out."

"You should really stop seeing him," he said. "Especially now. And hanging around Jason Morgan's roommate is really stupid, too. People connected to those in the mob are dying, Lulu."

"Lucky," Bobbie cut him off. "Don't fight with your sister; not now."

He swallowed and nodded and she let out a relieved sigh. "Why don't you pull out what you brought? I forgot how bad patient food here is, and I'm hungry."

"Robin."

She stopped and turned and waited for Jax to reach her. "Hi, Jax."

Letting out a breath she said, "I'm so sorry abut Carly. How is Morgan doing?"

"Shaken up," he answered. "He's at the hotel with Mercedes and there are guards. I want to get back to him, but I need to find out how Michael is."

"Let me page Patrick," she said. "I know Jason's been anxious to find out as well and he's been waiting."

"Okay," he nodded. He wasn't going to worry about who may have the right to make decisions for Michael. It would probably be Jason, or even Bobbie, but he needed to know how the boy was. Morgan needed to know and so did Bobbie, and since she was still a patient, he had come.

"Robin," he stopped her from leaving. "I wanted to see how Elizabeth was, but Lucky said you were restricting her visitors. Will you please just tell her I'm thinking of her?"

"Just a moment," she said and moved down the hall. She stepped into a room for a minute and then she was back, beckoning him forward. When he reached her, he saw through the open door it was actually Elizabeth's room. Robin nodded and said, "I'll go page Patrick."

"Jax," Elizabeth said, keeping him from stepping back to wait elsewhere. "Come in."

"Are you sure?" he asked uncertainly as he stepped in hesitantly. "I don't want to keep you up if you need to rest."

She shook her head and almost looked embarrassed as she said, "I wasn't up for a visit from Lucky, so Robin made it sound like they were restricting my visitors for health reasons."

Gesturing to him she said, "It's okay; come in."

He stepped into the room and sat down in the chair beside her bed. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

She shrugged one shoulder. The heavy cast and sling prevented her from moving the other one. "I'm feeling a bit more pain than when I first woke up, but I'm still pretty drugged. How are you?"

Jax was silent and then said, "Numb, I think. In shock. It doesn't seem real. I know what the cops said, but it doesn't seem real. I keep expecting Carly to come in through the door, or to call me and tell me she'll be home soon. It just hasn't sunk in."

She nodded slowly and then answered softly. "It will be like that. I'm sorry about Carly."

He swallowed thickly. "She wasn't very kind to you...or many people. But especially you."

"That doesn't matter," she shook her head emphatically. "Nobody deserves what happened to her. And my feelings towards Carly doesn't change that I am very, very sorry you and Morgan are hurting."

"You're very generous, Elizabeth," he said, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on his knees. "I know she wasn't kind to you. She was rude to you when you worked on Michael's case and it was Patrick insisting you stay on as his nurse that kept you here. You never reacted to her barbs; you just did your work."

He looked at her and gestured to the bed she was lying in and said, "You protected him and never thought about your own safety."

Jax felt horrible for the thought the moment it entered his mind, but he knew that if Carly was alive she would care less about Elizabeth's injuries and instead wonder why the nurse hadn't done something more to protect Michael. It wouldn't matter that one of Jason's guards had been killed, or that Elizabeth had been injured and had to have surgery and would be laid up for days or weeks. Carly would be brash and loud and wonder why Elizabeth hadn't arrived sooner to save Michael.

"All I saw was someone about to harm my patient," she shook her head. "I guess I wasn't really thinking about anything else."

Robin's voice interrupted them when the doctor stepped in briefly to say, "Patrick is on his way and Jason's here, Jax."

Elizabeth tensed and looked away and Jax felt for the single mother as he thanked Robin. He looked back at the woman lying in the hospital bed and said, "I guess I should go. I want you to know that if you need anything, Elizabeth, please don't hesitate to ask. I know you'll claim you're fine, but you are going to need help."

He licked his lips and said, "We both know Morgan won't step up even though you're the mother of his son. And clearly Spencer's looking to work this to his advantage and you shouldn't have to be subjected to that just for his help. So please, let me help you."

"I'll keep it in mind," she replied in a voice that indicated she had no intention of calling him, "but I'm sure with my gram I'll be fine. I think you should get some rest after you talk to Patrick. You need to take care of yourself, Jax. You lost your wife and your baby and you're upset and you're not... I'll be fine, Jax; you don't have to worry about me."

"Yes, I do," he told her. "It's doubtful anyone else will. You're my friend, Elizabeth. You've done so much...not just for me and Carly...but going back to Courtney-"

"Jax," she interrupted softly, but firmly. "Take care of yourself and Morgan. That's what you need to focus on right now. Go see Patrick about Michael...then rest. I've got plenty of doctors and nurses to take care of me. And I'm going to be here several days...so don't worry."

His throat felt raw and his eyes stung and he nodded. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Elizabeth told him. "It's grief and it's natural. But don't let it overwhelm you. Morgan needs some stability, and you're it."

Letting out a cleansing breath he nodded and stood. He squeezed her good hand and said, "Thank you, Elizabeth. I'll see you later."

She nodded and then Jax left the room. He turned and came face-to-face abruptly with a stone-faced Jason Morgan, but there was anger in the other man's eyes. Jax opened his mouth to apologize in case Jason had overheard what he'd said to Elizabeth, but then closed it. Perhaps Morgan should hear someone criticize his actions in regards to Jake and Elizabeth. Carly never had, Jason was perfect and it was always somebody else's fault - usually Elizabeth's - that he wasn't with his son, and the man needed to know that abandoning his family for Sonny's wasn't noble or whatever justification he'd come up with.

"Come on," he said instead. "Robin said Patrick was on his way."

"Just a minute," Jason said, stepping in front of Jax. "I want to talk to you."

Jason was exhausted. After leaving Elizabeth's room last night and hearing from Patrick that the doctor wouldn't have any update until at least the morning, he'd headed back to his penthouse. The place had been dark and quiet and he saw Spinelli's door open when he went upstairs. He was glad for it because he wasn't up for the chatter the young man would fill the air with. Most of all, he was glad Maxie wasn't there because he really did not want to have to listen to her talking.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep, he took the files Cody had given him and began going through them. It was early in the morning when Spinelli finally came through the door and stumbled to an abrupt stop when he saw Jason sitting at the desk. It was only when the hacker said he'd been calling and calling his boss did the older man realize he'd turned his phone off during the meeting with the other families and had apparently never turned it back on.

He pulled it out and pressed the on button, discovering many missed calls once it was powered. His battery was also dying, but he quickly found his charger when he scrolled through the calls and saw one was from Carly. He knew that it might be painful to hear her voice, knowing she was dead now, but he wondered what she had called him about. From the timestamp on the call, it must have been only moments before her death. What he heard confused him and so he'd set out to get the hospital early to find Jax and get some explanation.

When he'd arrived at the hospital he was determined he wouldn't see Elizabeth. He'd ordered Cody to assign guards to her and her children; even though he loved her, the reasons for him staying away hadn't changed. In fact, they'd only increased. He was the head of the organization now and someone was killing people connected to Sonny. If this was someone coming after the territory, he would not expose her to any further danger by visiting her often at the hospital. One visit would be seen as him thanking her for Michael's safety, and the guards around her were because she'd stopped the attack on the comatose boy, but Jason couldn't see her every time he came to the hospital. It would be too dangerous, and too painful for both of them.

It hurt, though, to come and find Jax in her room. He didn't care what the man had said about him, Jason and Elizabeth knew their separation was about protecting Jake, but he simply didn't like that Jax could so openly visit her. It was a hard thing to face, especially because he wanted so much to sit by Elizabeth and ensure she was healing and would be okay.

So he was all business when Jax walked out of Elizabeth's room, and he hoped that she wasn't hurt if she heard him, but he didn't go in to see her. Jax stared at him when he saw him, and Jason felt the accusations the other man had voiced to Elizabeth shooting from his eyes. He wondered if Jax would say something to alert Elizabeth to the mobster's presence, but instead he just said, "Come on. Robin said Patrick was on his way."

He took a breath and stepped in front of Jax and said in a low voice he hoped wouldn't carry far. "Just a minute. I want to talk to you."

Taking the other man's arm and leading him away from Elizabeth's room he said, "Carly left a message for me...just a little before she died. She mentioned something about some kid of Olivia's she saw at Sonny's funeral. She said she thinks he's Sonny's son. I started Spinelli to research it, but I wanted to ask you what you saw since she mentioned it was when the two of you were leaving the church."

Jax frowned and then said, "I'm not sure. I was just trying to get Carly out of there, especially after Olivia's son insulted Sonny and wondered why his mother was still in Port Charles. I wasn't really paying attention to her kid, I just wanted to make sure she was okay, and get Carly away."

He was quiet, his brow furrowed as he thought and then said, "The guy's a cop...he's older. Sonny did know Olivia when they were younger and she said she had her son when she was in her teens; back when she and Sonny would have known each other. But she always said she didn't know who the father was. Maybe she didn't know...or maybe she hid his identity."

The Australian peered at Jason intently and asked with a curious frown, "Why does it matter?"

"I don't know," Jason shook his head. "He'd be entitled to some of Sonny's money if he actually is his son. I'm the executor of Sonny's estate."

Jax scoffed at the answer. "I highly doubt that's why you've come down here all of the sudden to ask. Look, Jason, I don't know. If he's Sonny's son and Olivia knew, then she had a reason to conceal it. Or maybe she truly didn't know. Either way, is it really any of your business? Is it really right for you to be digging into the guy's past? Is it up to you to tell the secret if his mother didn't want him to know?"

Jason felt uncomfortable with the questions Jax was posing because wasn't that what he and Elizabeth were doing? They were protecting Jake by not revealing the little boy's paternity. Was that what Olivia had done? Protected her son when Sonny became involved with Joe Scully and the mob?

"Just think about it, Jason," Carly's husband said. "Think about what you're doing and why, what you did with Michael, and why Olivia might be keeping a secret. If you press forward on this, then think about the consequences...the hurt that could hit everyone with this reveal."

With a swallow, he thought about Jax was saying and decided he'd stop Spinelli's search and let it go. It could have been Carly seeing something where nothing existed. Even if there was something there, he wasn't going to get involved. "Okay. I...I'll think about it. I...I'll let it go."

"Alright," the other man nodded. "Then let's go see Patrick and find out how Michael is doing."

Chapter 13

"Lulu?"

She looked over as Johnny sat down beside her, his arm on the bench behind her. His eyes were full of worry and concern as he leaned forward slightly and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said as she stared out across the harbor at Spoon Island.

"No," he shook his head. "You're not. It's not just that it's the middle of the day and you're sitting here instead of at work. You look upset."

"My cousin is dead," she said.

"I know," he said softly. "I'm very sorry. But you're mad...not sad."

"I overhead Kate and Olivia talking this morning," she confessed. "When I came into work this morning."

He frowned. "And that made you upset?"

"They were talking about Carly," Lulu said. "Olivia was upset and worried about some phone call from Carly. They were talking about it and then they said maybe it was a good thing Carly was dead. If she had figured it out, then she wouldn't be able to say anything to anyone now."

"Figured what out?" her boyfriend asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know. I couldn't hear everything they were saying; all I know is Olivia was worried. But it was awful of them to act like they were happy she was dead just so their secret wouldn't come out."

"It was," he agreed softly. "If that's what they were saying...they shouldn't have."

"If?" she asked. "You think they weren't? You think I'm making it up? Or maybe I'm still crazy and I only imagined it."

Johnny shook his head. "No, Lulu, that... You aren't crazy and I don't think you imagined it."

"Yes, you do," she snapped at him angrily. "I'm sure if Maxie had overheard them you'd believe her."

"What?" he asked, leaning back and shaking his head in confusion. "What does Maxie have to do with this? I believe you."

"But you'd believe her more," she said indignantly. "You listen to her about what clothes you should wear to the clubs. You stand beside her in the pictures."

"It's what Kate wants," he said. "I do this club stuff so that Kate won't cause problems for you at work."

"Because I shouldn't have the job, right?" Lulu demanded. Her eyes widened and she said, "I'm going to be fired. Carly was the only reason Kate hired me. Now that she's dead I bet Kate can't wait to get rid of me."

"Lulu," Johnny said quietly, putting his arm around her shoulder and trying to pull her closer. "Lulu, just take a breath. You're upset and it's natural to feel that way. I...I'm upset about Claudia. I don't think Kate is going to fire you. And if you're upset about what you heard, then talk to her. Say you heard her and her cousin when you came to work and you want to talk."

He stood and helped her to her feet. "But do it tomorrow. Go home; give yourself some time to relax. Take the day off. Kate will understand if you say you want a day off because of Carly's death."

"Yeah," she grumbled. "I bet she'll be happy I'm not there."

"Lulu," he said, trying again. "Let me take you home. I'll stay with you today if you want."

"No," the young woman shook her head. "I should go to the hospital. They're planning on releasing my Aunt Bobbie today. I shouldn't have tried to go to work today. Maxie said Kate told her I could take time off, but after spending all day yesterday at the hospital, I thought I'd do some work this morning, get a little break from all the worrying going on in my mind. I...I should go. I-I'll talk to Kate later."

"I'll give you a ride to the hospital," her boyfriend offered.

"I'm fine," Lulu shook her head. "Go see Maxie and find out where your club event is. Or go talk to your dad."

"Lulu," he sighed. "You're upset and you don't mean-"

"Don't tell me what I don't mean," she glared at him. "I'm going to see my aunt and my family."

Then she walked away and left Johnny standing there. It figured he'd defend Kate and Maxie. He probably didn't even care Carly was dead. Well, she'd go see Bobbie; she would support Lulu.

Lucky stormed off the elevator and turned for his car. Elizabeth had once again denied his visit, yet he had heard from Bobbie that Jax had visited his ex-wife earlier. She was doing this deliberately to hurt Lucky; to spit in his face after everything they'd been through. He was willing to take her back after all she'd put him through, and she treated him this way?

Well, he wasn't going to hang around like a fool. She would have to talk to him sooner or later, and if he had to wait until she was out of the hospital, then that's how it would be. He had plenty of work to do on this case. And he needed to keep on top of the stationhouse gossip so that when it was shown that these cases were connected to his he would be up to speed.

"Lucky?"

He faltered for just a moment, but kept going. He didn't have time to deal with Lulu. But his sister was persistent and she chased after him until he couldn't ignore her anymore.

"Lucky," she said, slightly out of breath from running. "Where are you going? Bobbie is supposed to be released today."

"I have to go to the station," he said. "I spoke with Bobbie already. She knows I need to go."

"Did you see Elizabeth?" she asked hopefully.

"She...she was asleep," he said with a shrug. "Rough night, I guess."

Lulu seemed to deflate. "Oh. I was hoping that maybe you'd get a chance today. I'm sure it was traumatic for her when she was hurt in Michael's room. You've always been there for her and been able to help her."

"I need to go, Lulu," he said. "Take care of Aunt Bobbie."

She nodded and gave him a hug. "Take care, Lucky. Be careful. And take care of Jake and Cam."

"They're with Audrey," he said. "They'll be fine."

It was good that they were with her. He had enough going on with his family; he couldn't watch two little boys."

"Jax," Elizabeth shook her head as she tried to sit up a little straighter. "You didn't need to do this."

"Yes, I did," he told her. "I shouldn't have criticized Jason yesterday. It's your past and your life and you've always been kind to me. You've never criticized Carly to me, even when she went out of her way to hurt you or cause problems. I should have done the same for you."

"It's okay, Jax," she told him as he pulled out containers the hotel kitchen had prepared that morning. "You're upset about your wife. Numb, in shock...I know about that. Sometimes you do things, say things...it's all just a jumble some days. I remember how I felt when we thought Lucky was dead."

"You're very kind, Elizabeth," he told her. "Just like when you agreed to be a surrogate for me and Courtney, even though you didn't particularly like her."

She just shrugged her good shoulder and looked away. "I'm either kind or I'm just a fool. Considering I'm the one who often ends up hurt and alone, then maybe I'm just a fool. Perhaps I should be brasher and care less about what people think."

Jax paused and looked at Elizabeth before sitting down beside her. "What's wrong?"

She looked down. "I'm sorry. I...it was just a long night. The pain's more noticeable."

"Can't they give you anything?" he asked. When she looked down he sighed. "You aren't taking it?"

Looking up at him, Elizabeth said, "I watched Lucky abuse pain pills. I saw what it did to Cameron. I just...I don't want to take them too often."

Jax picked up her hand and looked at her, moving his head to keep her gaze each time she tried to look away. "Lucky is Luke Spencer's son and that man is a walking alcoholic. You taking prescribed medicine, watched over by doctors and nurses, who are your friends, is not going to turn you into an addict."

"It wasn't just the pain," she admitted. "My mind wouldn't stop. Sonny, Claudia, Carly...Michael and Morgan. Someone's coming after the people connected to the mob. What if someone figures out about Jake?"

Drawing his lips between his teeth he took a breath and then said, "I think Jason's put guards on you. I saw one of his men in the hall watching your room. I'd be surprised if he didn't have people watching your grandmother's house."

She closed her eyes and her voice was almost pained as she said, "I know he put guards on us. But..."

"You're frightened," he said. "Natural. I'm terrified. Morgan, Michael...can they be safe? Who will take them? Should they stay here? It's not just missing Carly and thinking about our child that's kept me awake the past two nights. Even if Jason has guards on you and the boys, you're thinking what if...?"

She nodded and sighed. "Yeah. I...I love Jason. And we were together. And I was willing to take that chance and I tried to convince Jason to take that chance as well. That we could be together; with guards and be safe. And then I stood in a cabin after shooting a man and realized my children weren't safe. That Jake had been taken again. And now...I'm scared."

"That Jason's guards will fail again?" Jax asked.

With a shake of her head she said, "They didn't fail; there weren't any guards."

"Why not?" he demanded. "Why would Jason send you off without guards?"

"He wanted to send us to a safe house," she answered, looking around uneasily. "Instead I listened to Sam and Lucky and we went to a cabin Lucky arranged."

"Did you doubt Jason?" he wondered.

"I don't know. Suddenly Lucky was there and I...I've been protecting him for so long and deferring to him because he'd keeping my secret and..." She let out a sigh and pushed the tray of food away untouched.

"I'm not trying to make you upset," Jax said, reaching out to cover her hand. "I'd never heard the details about Jake's second kidnapping; I just knew he was taken and Carly was worried about Jason. I didn't know there weren't any guards."

"It was really stupid," she said dejectedly. "The Russians found us; Jake was nearly blown up in a building...that's why Jason and I decided we can't be together anymore. It just isn't worth it to risk the boys for a few moments with Jason."

Jax sat back in his chair and looked down at his hands. Then he said, "I fought Carly about Sonny and his guards so much. I understood why his boys needed them, but I fought them guarding her. She was my wife now. Having his guards were like saying I couldn't protect my own wife."

He shook his head. "After Sonny died, Jason increased the guards on the boys, but I thought Carly wasn't really in danger and I could protect her. Did I do this? Was it my pride and fighting the guards that led to this? The car wouldn't have been left alone. If it hadn't been alone, then there wouldn't have been a bomb. She didn't have guards because she was trying to placate me."

"I used to think it was my fault that Lucky died," his friend said softly. "I gave Lucky a candle for his room and I asked him to light it while we were talking...and then the garage burned down. I felt guilty for so long. Jax...don't do this. Nothing good comes from it; from going through all these what ifs."

The new widower looked up sadly. "It doesn't stop me from thinking it."

"No," Elizabeth agreed softly, sadly. "It doesn't."

A silence fell on them until Elizabeth cleared her throat. "Have you heard anything new about Michael?"

He slumped down in his seat. "No," he shook his head. "They're still trying to isolate everything in the poison. They've given Michael general antidote doses, but Patrick has noticed his vitals are fluctuating."

"They haven't stabilized?" she asked, concern flooding her voice. "Robin told me yesterday that they were monitoring him closely because there were some drops in his vitals. I was hoping there had been improvement; it's been over twenty-four hours."

"I know," he nodded. "That's what worries me. It's not even that he's deteriorated to where he couldn't have the surgery if we were still trying to go that route. It's that his condition seems to be deteriorating slowly, but surely."

"Oh, Jax," Elizabeth sighed softly. "I'm so sorry."

"Why? You couldn't stand Carly and you were only on Michael's case because you were hoping Jason would notice you."

Jax twisted in his seat and looked at Lulu who stood in the doorway, glaring at them. He stood and pulled her into the room and closed the door behind her. Who knew what she would say in her anger. It could be things that Elizabeth didn't want broadcast to the hospital.

"What are you doing?" he asked of her.

"I thought I'd look in on Elizabeth before going to see Bobbie," she answered. "Lucky said she was asleep so he couldn't spend time with her. But she was here with you. She's turning Lucky away so she can spend time with you."

Lulu walked towards the bed and planted her hands on her hips. "What? Want to trade up to a richer model? His wife isn't even buried and you're throwing yourself at him just like you did to Jason. You are always so horrible to Lucky."

"That is enough," Jax growled at her, shaking her arm as he grabbed it. "Elizabeth isn't throwing herself at me and you have no right to speak to her that way. What about what Lucky did to her? Or how about the fact that he didn't pick up the boys and hasn't been by to see them while she's been in the hospital? Your brother has been trying to bully the staff trying to force them to let him see Elizabeth. So just stop, Lulu. I know you're hurting, but stop making a fool of yourself."

He pushed the tray back towards Elizabeth, all while keeping a hold of Lulu and placing himself between the two women. Then he looked at the younger woman and said, "We're going. You wanted to see Bobbie; then let's go see your aunt. Let Elizabeth eat in peace. She needs her strength because her grandmother, not your brother, is bringing her sons to see her."

Looking at Elizabeth he said, "I hope you enjoy your breakfast. And I apologize for this."

"You have nothing to apologize for, and thank you for breakfast, even if I'm not very hungry. However, if Lulu has something to say to me, I want to hear it," she said while looking at the younger woman.

"No," Jax shook his head. "She's done here."

Then he pulled Lulu from the room and dragged her towards the elevator. She tried to get free and demanded he let her go, but he ignored her. "We're going to talk," he said.

"We don't have anything to talk about," she denied.

"Yes," he said. "We do."

The elevator dinged to signal its arrival and the door slid open. Jax went to get on, but was prevented when Jason stepped off, looking exasperated, followed by Olvia and her son.

Chapter 14

"Jason. Jason Morgan."

He turned when he heard his name called and looked over at his guard to indicate it was okay and the man didn't need to step in. He knew the voice and she wasn't a physical threat, just an annoyance. "Find out where Jax is," he told the man quietly.

Turning to face Olivia, he saw her approaching him rapidly through the parking garage and looking upset. A younger man followed behind her and Jason studied him, Carly's suspicions running through his mind. There were some similarities, but he wasn't able to study them long because Olivia was suddenly in front of him and in his face.

"Who do you think you are?" she demanded of him. "What are you doing? What right do you have? I know you're the one doing this."

"Ma." The younger man reached out and put his hand on her arm. "Ma, calm down. We shouldn't be here."

She shook off her son's arm and still advanced on Jason until Brad stepped in front of her and forced her back a step. Her eyes widened slightly, but she obviously was not going to let this go. The guard turned and leaned in to say so only Jason could hear, "Mr. Jacks is on the fifth floor."

Michael was on the seventh. Bobbie was on the fourth. Elizabeth was on the fifth floor. He must be visiting Elizabeth. Again.

The elevator arrived and Jason and his guard stepped on, followed by a determined Olivia and her apprehensive looking son. Once the door was closed, she continued her verbal attack, her anger reverberating off the steel walls.

"My son tells me someone's been running my name through search engines," she said. "But more than that, my files have been looked into. My government files have been hacked into. I'm sure it's that squirrelly little kid you have working for you. I want to know why."

Her son glared at Jason. "That's several laws I could get you on. And that kid already's had some trouble with the FBI because of hacking. What would happen if this came to their attention?"

Jason kept his face impassive and didn't react to the threats being thrown around. He'd told Spinelli to stop the search, but he must have already tripped some safeguards. Maybe put in place by her overprotective son, because Spinelli had become very cautious in his searches because of the trouble he'd had with the FBI. The mob boss didn't know how she'd found out so quickly, but he knew that if he ignored Olivia long enough, he'd get off the elevator and she wouldn't make a scene once they were on the hospital floor with people around to hear them.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said as they neared the fifth floor.

"Oh, really?" she demanded heatedly. "Carly called me and I'm sure she told you all about it. So then suddenly someone's digging into my past. That's all just a little too coincidental."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he repeated as he shook his head when the elevator dinged their arrival. "My friends are dead and my nephews were attacked. I have other things to focus on than some call Carly made to you."

She snapped her mouth shut and Jason stepped out onto the hospital floor. He didn't know if Jax was still in with Elizabeth; he just wanted to check in with her guards and see how she was doing. It surprised him a bit when he saw Jax and Lulu standing right in front of him with the Australian looking upset. Lulu wrenched her arm out of Jax's grasp and charged forward when she saw Jason. However, she didn't come towards him, she went straight towards Olivia.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, sticking her hand out to keep the elevator doors open.

The older woman blinked at the angry question. "What?"

"What are you doing here?" Lulu repeated. "Come to visit a patient? Who do you know that's here? You've only been in town a little while. You knew my cousin, but she's dead and you were rather happy about that fact this morning. Talking with Kate about some secret of yours you were afraid she'd blow and how you were relieved the secret died with her."

"No," Olivia shook her head while Jax frowned at the two women. "No, no, that wasn't...Lulu you misunderstood. That's the danger in eavesdropping."

"I wasn't eavesdropping," the younger woman said indignantly. "I showed up for work; Kate's door wasn't closed all the way. I'm sorry your argument was heard by someone, but you should be careful when you're maligning the dead."

"It wasn't what it seems like," the older woman repeated, her eyes darting around to the people watching her. "You only heard part of the conversation."

"I heard you say you hoped Carly hadn't figured it out and told anyone. If you were lucky, she died before she could tell anyone," Lulu said viciously as she raised her brows mockingly at the other woman. "So how did I misinterpret that? She was kind to you; you're working for her husband and you're happy she's dead?"

"No," Olivia shook her head, looking around now slightly desperately, especially when Jason pushed her forward so the elevator doors could close and stop beeping because they were being held open. He let out a soft breath and wondered if Carly's suspicions about Olivia and her son were correct. Looking at Jax, he saw similar thoughts reflected in the other man's eyes. Jax had been right to tell him to let this go. It wasn't for him to pry into her secrets; he wouldn't want someone digging into his and Elizabeth's.

"No," she repeated, looking at Lulu and Jax. "I'm very sorry she's dead."

"Then why are you here?" the younger woman demanded. "Come to visit Carly's mother? Her son? Or find out from Jason if she told him your dirty little secret before she died. What is it? You stab Kate in the back somehow and Carly find out? Were you working with Carly on something and now having regrets? But Kate seemed much too calm for it to be some confession to her, so it was something else...something you were terrified Carly had figured out."

"Hey, back off," Olivia's son said, stepping forward as Lulu had been advancing on his mother.

Jax had reached for the younger woman's arm trying to settle her down. "Lulu, calm down. This isn't the place."

But she ignored him and demanded of the cop who was staring her down, "Who are you?"

"Dante," Olivia said, holding up her hand and pushing him back, speaking softly in an attempt to ease the situation.

She looked at everyone and said, "Look, I'm not trying to cause problems. I...you're obviously upset and you think there are things going on that aren't. So I'm going to go. I...I'm sorry."

Turning to her son she said, "Let's go, Dante."

Jason watched them go and was relieved to get one volatile person gone. After this incident, it was doubtful Olivia would seek him out again and that was probably for the best. This was a situation that needed to just diffuse and go away. However, Lulu was still here and angry and Jax was not having success in calming her down and getting her to go. She glared at Jason and asked, "Why are you here? This is Elizabeth's floor. You just can't leave her alone, can you, and let her and Lucky be happy. You said you were going to leave her and-"

"That's enough," Jax hissed, seizing her arm roughly. She snapped her mouth shut and glared at both men.

"Get on the elevator," Jason growled as he stabbed the button and the doors thankfully opened right away. "Go see Bobbie. I came looking for Jax; his guard said he was here."

"Go," Jax said, pushing her on the elevator when it arrived. He reached in and pushed the button for a floor and said, "We'll talk later. For now...go help your aunt."

When the doors closed, he let out a breath and looked at Jason. "She attacked Elizabeth earlier. I...I'll talk to Bobbie. Maybe they can go somewhere after the funeral, have some time away and calm down."

"How is she?" Jason asked in a low voice, glancing around at the people who seemed to be walking away after watching Lulu's earlier altercation.

"Bobbie? She's fine," the other man answered. "Gets released today. But you want to know about Elizabeth, right? She's in pain; worried about taking her meds because of what happened to Lucky. She doesn't want to do that to her boys again. She's being harassed by Lucky and now Lulu and she misses her children. But she's just fine, Jason. Thanks for acting like you care."

"Jax," he said, his voice full of warning.

"Let's go meet with Robin and Patrick," Jax cut him off. "Maybe today I'll have good news for Bobbie. Then I need to plan a funeral. So if you want to know how Elizabeth is, be a man and go ask her yourself instead of being a coward and slipping in while she's asleep."

Diane waited outside the door for the people inside to emerge and clutched her attaché case in her hands. Around her, nurses and hospital staff bustled about, doing their jobs, while she felt stuck. She was not looking forward to this moment because she knew it would hurt people and there had been enough of that lately.

The door opened and Jason and Jax stepped out, followed by Patrick Drake. All three men looked grim and Diane sighed. It clearly wasn't good Dr. Drake had delivered today.

Jason saw her first, probably because his life depended on constantly being aware of his surroundings. "Diane."

The other two men acknowledged her and were about to step away when she spoke. "Jax...I need to see you...and Jason."

The blond looked surprised, but nodded. "Okay."

"We need to speak with Bobbie as well," she said. "So perhaps her room?"

Jason looked at her questioningly, but then nodded and motioned for her to go ahead of him. They were silent as they rode the elevator down to Bobbie's floor and then stepped inside her room. Lulu Spencer was present, but she glared at her two companions and said, "I'm going to the cafeteria."

Carly's mother frowned and asked, "What's that about? She's been angry since she got here, but she won't say why."

Jason just shook her head. "Diane needs to talk to us."

If Bobbie was upset that her question was ignored, she didn't show it. Perhaps she was used to it from her years of knowing Sonny. She looked at Diane expectantly and the lawyer took a breath and opened her case.

"I need to speak to you about Michael and Morgan," she began. "Because Jax is their stepfather, he's been given privileges to make medical decisions for them, especially because you'd been hurt, Mrs. Spencer. All of you have been cooperating, but we do need to formalize who has custody of Michael and Morgan and the power to make Michael's medical decisions."

The three other people in the room looked at each other and then back to her and she knew that she just needed to push forward and say it. Trying to soften the blow wouldn't mitigate the pain any, and it was best just to be honest. "Carly instructed that if Sonny preceded her in death that custody of the boys was to go to Jason."

The mob boss turned and walked across the room, dragging his hands over his face. Jax looked at him, then dropped his head as he shook it.

"Why am I not surprised?" the widower mumbled.

"I-I thought she would choose Jax since they were married," Bobbie said. "Or..."

"Or you," Jax finished. "Since you're their grandmother. No," he said with barely repressed bitterness. "She chose Michael's uncle and Morgan's godfather."

"I didn't ask her," Diane's employer began as he turned slightly to look back at the room.

"Of course you didn't," Carly's husband interrupted. He sighed wearily. "It's not surprising she did this. She has always trusted you above everyone. But she knows why she shouldn't have done this."

"Why?" Bobbie asked with a frown.

"Because if Sonny died before her, then I would most likely be in charge," Jason said. It was believable enough that Bobbie would probably never suspect the deeper meaning between the two men. "She wanted the boys safe; it's why she wanted them away from Sonny. Giving me custody of them doesn't keep them safe."

With a shake of his head he looked at Diane and asked, "Can I change it? Can I say I think custody should go to Bobbie or Jax? Michael and Morgan should be with one of them. I..."

"I thought you might feel this way," the lawyer said. "I think if you say you believe their grandmother should have custody, there shouldn't be a challenge to it."

"Do you object?" Jason asked Jax.

"No," the widower shook his head. "She's their grandmother. I just...I would like to still see them."

"Of course," she immediately assured him. "You offered to let me stay at the hotel with you and Morgan; I think that's a good idea. He's not ready to go to yours and Carly's house, and he probably would want to come back to my house even less."

"I'll take care of the paperwork and have it to you by the end of the day," Diane promised them all. "Then I can file them first thing in the morning."

"Thank you, Diane," Jason said, sounding tired but pushing on. "Bobbie, we'll increase your guards if you want since you're leaving the hospital today. Do you want someone to drive you to the hotel?"

"Jax will take me," she answered. "I appreciate all you're doing, Jason, but I know you have things to do. If we have guards, I'll be fine with Jax. You don't have to do it personally."

She looked at him and then Jax and asked, "What did Patrick and Robin say about Michael?"

"Do you want me to go?" Diane asked.

"No," the grandmother shook her head. "I know you're concerned about Michael as well." "Yes," she said, setting her case down on the chair beside her and grateful they were letting her stay. "I am. Will he be okay?"

"They think they might have figured out the level of antidote to give him. His vitals are still down a little, but they seem to be stabilizing," Jax told them. "So they're hopeful. But it also means he will probably never wake up."

"Because they can't do the surgery," Bobbie said softly.

Her son-in-law nodded. "His condition deteriorated because of the poisoning. Patrick said he no longer meets the parameters. We have...you need to look at long-term care again."

Diane swallowed thickly and said, "I'm very sorry. I'll get to work on the custody papers right away, and if there is anything I can do to help with either Michael or Morgan, please let me know. Jason, I'll call you later."

He met her gaze briefly as he nodded and then looked away. She knew this was hard on him. Sonny and Carly were his friends and however much her clients might have annoyed her, she knew there was a connection between the three of them. Jason was adjusting to their sudden and violent deaths, taking over the business and now the attacks on Michael and Morgan. Add into that Elizabeth Webber's injuries and the fact that he cared for her and their son and had to be worried about them...the man was stretched thin.

To have Carly appoint him as guardian of her children had been too much for him to deal with. Diane had seen the hurt, anger and guilt that swam over him when she made her revelation. He wasn't with Jake and Carly knew why, but she'd asked him to take her children. The lawyer knew her boss would say no. He didn't feel he was safe to be around, he had walked away from his own son, and he wouldn't want to be responsible for anything happening to any child.

However, Diane hoped he also said no because he thought about what it would to do Elizabeth and their son if she heard he'd taken guardianship of Carly's children. While the lawyer didn't agree with his decision to stay away from Jake, she tried to respect it and not cause him pain by bringing it up or arguing with him over it. But if he had given Carly's request any consideration she would have given him a piece of her mind. She would have fought him and his loyalty to Carly if he'd thought he could take those boys simply because it was known that they were Sonny's children.

Thankfully she hadn't had to do that, and so now she could go and finish the paperwork she'd begun, hopeful that Jason would request it.

"Spinelli?" Sam called out as she opened the wood and frosted glass door to their office. "What are you doing here?"

"Stone Cold requested I work on our business here on our rented premises," the computer geek said. "He is most busy at the moment and people are calling or coming by and he said he needed the penthouse for business today."

"Oh," she said, slumping down into a chair and letting out a disappointed breath. "He's been very busy lately?"

"Extremely," the young man said. He paused briefly and said, "With the death of Valkaryie and the attacks on Mr. Sir's children...he's very occupied."

She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, stretching her legs out in front of her. She'd been hoping to see Jason, but she hadn't crossed paths with him in days. He wasn't at the coffee shop's office or the warehouse when she stopped by, and even though the guards said they'd pass on her messages to him he hadn't called her. She waited around the hospital trying to see him when he stopped by to visit the different patients, but Epiphany Johnson always seemed to show up, no matter which floor Sam was on. The nurse would watch her and glare at her, sometimes asking which patient she was there to visit, and Sam felt it was better to leave than risk hospital security coming. She wasn't doing anything wrong, but she just didn't want the hassle.

"Has he said anything about who was behind the attacks?" she asked, leaning forward and looking at her partner curiously. "It was probably the same person who killed Sonny and Claudia. We could help him, Spinelli. You've told him that, right?"

"Stone Cold has said..." He stopped suddenly and then looked down as he quickly stammered out. "He has said he does not wish to interfere in our private sleuthing pursuits. And then because the Fair Maximista was upset when we heard about Carly, he has allowed me to spend some time with her."

"Well, tell him we'll help if he needs us," Sam told him. She looked at Spinelli and offered, "Or maybe I'll stop by tonight and talk to him so you can be with Maxie."

Chapter 15

"Oh, there are my boys," Elizabeth breathed out when they walked into the room with her grandmother. Her eyes misted over and she dashed with her fingers at the tears that escaped as Cameron and Jake rushed towards her bed.

"Mommy!" Cam shouted as he tried to climb up beside her. With her good arm she was able to help him, while her grandmother lifted Jake.

"Now be careful with your mother's arm," the older woman admonished the two rambunctious boys gently.

Jake climbed around Cam and snuggled up against her side, resting his head on her shoulder. "Mama."

She wrapped her good arm around him and kissed his fine, blond hair. "Hello, pumpkin."

Reaching out her hand, she took Cameron's and squeezed it. "I'm so happy to see both of you."

"Mommy, what happened?" Cam asked as he moved closer to her and was inspecting her cast.

"Mommy fell and hurt herself," she answered. "But the doctors are taking very good care of me and I'll get to go home soon."

Her grandmother frowned slightly, but stepped over to the side and let Elizabeth have some time with her sons. She held them, listened to them as they told about their time at their great-grandmother's. She smelled them, relishing in their sweet scent and simply just being able to hold them.

The door opened and Epiphany stepped in, smiling as she looked around. "Well, look who's come to visit. Are you boys being good for your grandmother?"

"Yes," Cam responded immediately. "We came to see Mommy today."

"Would you two boys like to come with me and get some applesauce?" the charge nurse asked. "Or maybe even some ice cream? I'm sure we can find something for you that you should share with your mom."

"Yes!" Cam exclaimed while Jake mimicked him with a softer, "Yes."

"Then let's go," the older nurse asked as she helped the two brothers down and took their hands.

"Thank you, Epiphany," Elizabeth told her.

"No problem," her friend smiled. "Maybe we'll even find a pen and come back and sign Mommy's cast."

After Epiphany and the boys left, she looked at her grandmother and asked, "How are the boys behaving? Are you doing okay with watching them?"

"We're fine," the older woman assured her. "They're good; they just miss you."

"I'm sorry I'm not there," she apologized.

"Darling," her grandmother came to sit beside her. "You're recovering from surgery. The doctors had to put a pin in your arm. That isn't your fault. Although it's not entirely surprising that someone was trying to hurt Michael Corinthos; given what happened to his parents."

"Don't start," she warned the older woman with a stern look. "He's a boy who had something awful happen to him. I was his nurse and we were hoping to help him. Just because people didn't like his parents doesn't mean he deserved what happened to him last year or just a few days ago."

"You were hurt protecting him," her grandmother stated with a lift of her brows. "Lucky was right to not want you on this case."

"Lucky doesn't get a say in how I do my job," Elizabeth shook her head.

"He cares about you," she said. "You and the boys."

Lifting her brow the young mother asked, "Really, Gram? Then why are you the one who picked up the boys that night? He was here, he wasn't working; Mac told him to get the boys and go home. He called you, instead. He hasn't come by to the see the boys. He's going around telling everyone we're getting back together even though I told him we aren't. He yells at me, thinks he can order me around and doesn't listen to me. How is that caring for me, Gram?"

Her grandmother let out a soft sigh. "You just have to be understanding, darling, and meet him half way."

Leaning back against her bed in disbelief she asked incredulously. "I have to be understanding? So it's okay that he was a drug addict, cheating on me with Maxie and then again with Sam?"

"You did sleep with Jason Morgan," the older woman tsked.

"Only once," she said. "After finding Lucky twice with Maxie in the same day; after finding them in my home. But I suppose his infidelity is excusable because he's a man and he was justified in calling me a slut and a whore."

Her grandmother pinched her lips together and looked down. Elizabeth lifted her brow and pressed. "I'm supposed to just forgive and forget that? What about the fact that he doesn't care about the boys?"

"Of course he cares about them," the older nurse said. "He loves them. He's their father."

"When it's convenient," the mother scoffed. "I don't want to see him, but I don't doubt he'd bring the boys to see me just so he could accompany them. But tell me the truth, Gram, has he called you at all about the boys after he called you to come get them?"

"No," her grandmother admitted after a momentary pause. "I'm sure he's just busy."

"Too busy to see his sons? The boys he cares about? That he loves?" She shook her head. "I don't have any illusions about Lucky, Gram, and I'd hoped that for once you'd be on my side and see him for what he really is."

"What about Mr. Morgan?"

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.

"You were hurt when someone tried to kill Michael Corinthos," the older woman said bluntly. "Are you in danger? Are your sons?"

"Perhaps," she conceded. "That's why Jason has put guards on me and the boys."

Her grandmother's eyes widened in shock. "What? What do you mean? You must take the boys and leave, Elizabeth. As soon as you get released from the hospital you have to leave."

"No," she shook her head. "We'll go to my house."

"Your house?" the elderly woman asked in shock. "You won't be safe. You...you'll need help."

"We'll have the guards watching us, and we'll be safe. I won't take the boys and run; they need stability, especially when I've been away from them. They need to be in their house," she said. "And Patrick and Robin are just around the corner if I need anything."

"Don't be foolish, Elizabeth," her grandmother implored her. "You could be in danger."

"Jason put guards on us," she stated once again. "I trust them."

"You trust them?"

Thinking back on her conversation that morning with Jax and what happened when she hadn't listened to Jason's suggestion she said, "Yes, I do. I trust Jason."

Her grandmother was about to argue more, but was prevented by the door opening and Cameron running into the room holding two cups of pudding in his hand. Epiphany walked in carrying Jake and some spoons and Elizabeth smiled broadly. Her boys were back, they had pudding and she was more than ready to stop talking about Jason and guards and just enjoy her time with her sons.

Audrey was angry as she left Elizabeth's room, but she had Cameron and Jake with her so she had to push it back and put on a smile for her great-grandsons. They were upset about leaving their mother and missing her and couldn't understand why she wasn't going home with them or why they couldn't stay with her. Jake had his head buried against her neck and his tears were turning the collar of her blouse wet. She wanted to rub his back in comfort, but Cameron was clinging tightly to her hand and cardigan and she was doing her best to comfort both of them while ensuring they left quickly so they didn't run back to their mother and start this whole emotional process all over again.

She did notice that they never reacted this badly when she mentioned Lucky couldn't take them or come to visit them. They didn't ask when Daddy was going to see them; they only asked when they could go see Mommy. Perhaps there was truth to Elizabeth's words, but she really wasn't happy thinking about the alternative. If her granddaughter wasn't with Lucky, Audrey feared who the younger woman would gravitate towards.

For years Elizabeth had been drawn to Jason Morgan and the elderly woman had not been pleased at all to hear it come out during his trial that Elizabeth had slept with the mobster. Thank goodness Lucky was Jake's father instead of Jason. It was bad enough to hear her grandchildren needed guards because Elizabeth had interrupted the attack on Michael Corinthos; how much worse would it have been if Jake had been Jason Morgan's son?

It did not make her happy to hear Elizabeth say she trusted his men to keep her and the boys safe. If they could be in danger, then the police should provide protection. Lucky could arrange something for his family and certainly Mac would approve it considering all that had happened. While she may not push Elizabeth anymore right now to forgive Lucky, Audrey was not going to pretend that she approved of, or was even comfortable, having Jason protect Elizabeth.

The elevator arrived and she tightened her grip on her grandsons and prepared to step on. But when the doors opened, she stopped short when she came face to face with the very man she didn't want around her family. Jason Morgan froze when he saw them, staring at Cameron and Jake with a look she did not like at all. There was so much she could hardly name it all, but she saw longing and it frightened Audrey.

"We'll take the next elevator," she said, stepping back.

But Cameron strained at her grasp, trying to move towards the older man. "Jason. Jason."

"Cameron," she called out as his hand slipped from hers.

Jason stepped forward, the bald man behind him immediately following just before the elevator doors closed. The mobster took Cameron's hand, unwinding the little boy from his leg and moved towards Audrey. "Cam," he said gently, but his voice was also firm. "You can't run from your grandmother like that. It isn't safe."

"I've missed you," her great-grandson said, even as he took Audrey's hand. "We haven't seen you."

"I'm sorry," he said softly, looking like he was actually regretful the little boy was disappointed. Audrey really didn't like this turn of events. "Things have been very busy."

"Are you here to see Mommy?" the little boy asked hopefully. "She got hurt."

"I know," Jason said, his voice thick.

"You should see her. She'd be happy like she used to be."

"Cameron," Audrey firmly interrupted him. He'd talk all day with Jason if she allowed it, and she wasn't going to. "We need to go home. I'm sure Mr. Morgan has things to do."

"See Mommy," the little boy pleaded with him.

"Cam," the mobster began.

"Mr. Morgan," she said. "I think it would be best if you did not see my granddaughter. It is bad enough she and my grandsons have guards and she refuses to get rid of them; she doesn't need the complications you bring to her life. She's been hurt simply by being around your life and she's now back to singing your praises, claiming she trusts you implicitly to protect her and her children."

Jason blinked at that statement, but Audrey kept going. "If she's going to be foolish again, then I have to appeal to you to think of her children and stay away."

Then she turned and walked off, tugging on Cameron's hand when the little boy turned to look back over his shoulder. She needed to get home, and she needed to make a phone call.

Dante looked at his mother and aunt and stared at them, his eyes narrowing as they shifted in their chairs and glanced uneasily at each other. "Dante," his mother began. "Dante, sweetheart, just-"

"No," he cut in, crossing his arms over his chest. He leaned back against the plush couch and stared across the living room of his aunt's house. "It's a simple question, Ma. Why did you go chasing after Jason Morgan this morning? Why did you have to see him after listening to some message on your phone and talking to Aunt Connie? Why did you two talk about Carly Jacks and hope she hadn't figured out your secret? Why was someone looking into your past and mine and you're so certain it's him?"

"Yours?" she asked, panic coloring her voice. "You didn't say someone was looking into your past. I'll-"

"You'll what?" he asked. "Why are you so frightened? What's your secret that you think Carly Jacks figured out?"

"Dante," she shook her head. "Honey, it was nothing."

"Nothing?" he asked in disbelief. "You and Aunt Connie look terrified. You're both acting like it's fine and you're not worried, but you are. You rushed off to Port Charles to stop her from marrying Sonny Corinthos, but then you stuck around."

Crossing one ankle over his knee he said, "I've heard the talk around the neighborhood back home. Sonny Corinthos grew up in Bensonhurst. You dated him and so did Aunt Connie...back before he joined the mob."

"You need to understand, Dante," his mother said, "it was many years ago. You're too young to understand."

That made him laugh. Low, bitterly and disgusted. "Too young? Too young? I'm older than you were when you had me. I went to school. I'm a cop. Don't tell me I'm too young, Ma. Especially when you've never respected me enough to tell me who my father is."

"Dante!" his aunt hissed at him while his mother paled. "That was...you know..."

"I know what she's told me," he countered, leaning forward to brace his elbows on his knees. "That she doesn't know. She apparently wants me to believe that she was so promiscuous that she has absolutely no idea which one of the many men she slept with could be my father."

He scoffed bitterly. "As if that makes me feel so good."

"Dante," his aunt tried.

"No," he shook his head. "Do you think I enjoy that scenario? That I didn't hear the whispers about how I was the bastard of who knew?"

"Sweetheart," his mother whispered. Almost whimpered.

"But there's a problem with those whispers," he said. Dante looked at the two women across from him. "When I'd talk with Mrs. Curello, she told me not to listen to the rumors. She didn't believe them. You may have been a little wild when you were younger, but you were a good girl like her Lois. You only hung around Sonny Corinthos seriously."

The name fell between them and he saw his mother and aunt flinch and look at one another. He swallowed bitterly and scrubbed his hand over his face. Looking at his mother he asked, "Is he my father?"

She shook her head, her eyes wide. "What? No! No, Dante...I...I told you. I...I don't know who your father is."

He looked at her sadly. "I know you...I know when you're lying. And you're lying to me right now."

"I'm not," she insisted, but he saw. He saw the fear in her eyes.

"He is," he said and stood. He turned away, shaking his head in disgust.

"I don't know if I'm relieved to finally know who my father is or whether I wish I still you were a tramp that slept with every guy in the neighborhood."

"Don't you talk to me that way," his mother insisted, charging across the room.

Whirling around he faced her. "That's why you stayed, isn't it? You stopped Aunt Connie from marrying him…but then you wanted him for yourself. You wanted him, but you wanted to keep me a secret."

Shaking his head he said, "You just don't know what you really want or what to do now."

"Dante," she said softly, slowly edging towards him. "Yes. Yes, Sonny...Sonny was your father. But he's dead...so it doesn't matter now."

"Yes, it does," he hissed at her, stepping away. "I watched him kill a man. A man I admired...that I looked up to. He's why I became a cop. I hated Sonny Corinthos. I wanted him in jail. To know that he's my father...I'm disgusted. I hate myself to know his blood runs through my veins. And I hate you for keeping the truth from me; for lying to me."

She looked at him pleadingly, but he stepped back before she could touch him. "I have to go," he said. "I have to get out of here. Out of this town...away from you. I...I have to go. I can't even look at you right now."

Chapter 16

Elizabeth shifted in her bed and frowned at the scratchy sheets, uncomfortable mattress and the itch that had already began under her cast. She was tired of being in the hospital, tired of the IV attached to her that made it a production every time she wanted to move and the surgical tape tugging at her skin. She wanted her home, her bed and boys and she wanted to be able to relax without someone coming into her room to constantly check on her. She wanted to not hurt, to not have doctors prescribing pain pills and sleeping pills and asking questions all the time.

She'd had so many naps because of the pain medication they insisted she take and simply from sheer boredom that now she was awake in the middle of the night and irritated. The hospital was quiet, the few channels the TV had had nothing decent on and she'd already had one of her colleagues look in on her and encourage her to get some sleep or they'd have to speak to the doctor about something to help her rest.

So when the door opened, she was prepared to argue with the nurse about not needing anything, but instead, Jason stepped inside the room. He stopped in surprise and looked at her awkwardly when he realized she was awake, but he closed the door behind him. He came towards her, but stopped several feet from her bed as if he was afraid to come closer.

She could only stare at him and finally, after licking her lips and swallowing thickly, she asked, "What-what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," he said softly, reaching for a chair and bringing it closer. Sitting down he looked at her and asked, "How are you? Are you okay? Are you having trouble sleeping? Nightmares? When you got hurt last year...your leg..."

She'd had nightmares about not reaching Jake in time and their little boy dying in the fire. She'd worried about her sons, missed Jason and hated being in the hospital. The only thing different about this time was she wasn't having nightmares.

"No," she shook her head. "With the meds...I'm all off on my sleep."

He stared at her intently, not saying anything for a long time and she shifted on the bed, trying to sit up straighter. She couldn't hide the pain the movement caused her and Jason immediately rose from his seat. Half-crouched, he reached towards her to help. "Are you okay? How come you're in this much pain? Can't they help you?"

"I'm fine," she tried to assure him but he looked at her skeptically. "I don't like taking too much pain medicine. I want to make sure I'm there for the boys. I can't put them through what..."

"Lucky did," he finished for her. "Do you think that would happen to you?"

She looked down at the grey blanket, picking at a spot, and said, "Probably not. I know my doctors and nurses...my friends would watch me. Keep that from happening if they could. It's just every time I take one, I don't like how it makes me feel or how I get tired and I just don't like it."

"You once told me that if I fought the medicine I fought getting better," he said, reminding her of when he'd hurt his hands and she'd worried about him so much. "Elizabeth...you can't do the same thing. Your...your sons need you back."

"I don't want to move in with my grams," she said. "I want to go home."

"Then you have to do your part to get better," Jason said.

"I know," she said, trying not to feel irritated at people telling her to take medicine. As a nurse, she knew being in pain wasn't necessary and wasn't helpful. It was just hard to take it as soon as she was allowed to because she remembered Lucky continually trying to take his next pill just a little early and all that happened because of that. "I just want to be able to take care of Cam and Jake."

"So you feel like if you don't take the meds it proves you can?" he asked, his brows furrowing together.

Letting out a breath, she looked down at the fingers that stuck out from the cast and wiggled them slightly. Then she lifted her gaze and met Jason's. "I don't want to argue," she said. "I do take the meds; I'm just not going to get dependent on them. But did you really come here to talk about my medicine?"

He shook his head. "No. I-I came to talk to you. I...I wanted to see how you were feeling; I wanted to talk to you about what you did, what you saw...and the guards."

"I've been in the hospital for two days," she said softly. "You never came during the day, Jason."

She sighed and leaned her head back against her pillow as she said, "I don't want to fight so I'm not trying to be contentious or angry with you. But if you're here because I walked in on the man in Michael's room, then why not just come during visiting hours? Coming in the middle of the night...it just seems odd. Not just to me but to other people. Why would you have to sneak into the nurse's room who saved Michael if this was just about that incident?"

He looked down and rubbed the back of his neck. Elizabeth sighed and said, "See, I'm not trying to make you feel bad, Jason. I just...I don't know what to do half the time. So let's just go through the questions you have."

She swallowed and then kept her voice even and business-like, not looking directly at him but close enough that she didn't appear to be avoiding his gaze. She was simply giving patient stats to a doctor. "I hurt, but I am confident it will get better. The first few days post-op are the worst. It's not just the broken bone, though; it's also the surgery, the pin, the cast that's uncomfortable. But I know it's going to get better. It has to. So I'll be released in a couple of days and by then I'll have less pain and I'll be able to take care of my boys."

He looked at her and she wasn't sure if he was going to try to interrupt her. He kept running his hands over his pant legs which was how she knew he was agitated, but she had to keep going. It was so hard to be in his presence and act like she was indifferent to him.

"As for Michael's room," she continued. She looked at a spot on the wall so she could stay detached. "I didn't see the guard outside his room when I came down the hall, but sometimes they have to go to the bathroom. Or sometimes they look in on him...Carly never liked him to be alone. I opened the door and there was someone in scrubs by his bed. At first I thought it was an orderly, but why would there be one in his room? Michael wasn't scheduled for tests, and he didn't need to be turned. And then I saw he had a needle and was injecting something into Michael's I.V. I yelled at him to stop, to get away from Michael and I-"

"You went towards him," Jason said, breaking into her narration. "Why would you do that, Elizabeth?"

She shrugged her shoulder. "Instinct. I needed to protect my patient."

"Did you get a look at the guy?" he asked after they fell silent.

"He was wearing scrubs and had a mask over his face," she answered. "He had dark hair...I could see that under his surgical cap. He was Caucasian. He was tall, slender...but when he ran into me it was like I ran into a brick wall. He was solid, all muscle. Other than that...it was so quick. I didn't see the color of his eyes, and I can't give you anything more than that."

Licking her lips, Elizabeth said, "As for the guards...I understand. I saw the man; I interrupted him. I can't pick him out of a line-up and I wouldn't know him if I passed him on the street, but I understand why I need guards. I'm a liability to him and whoever is behind all the attacks. That makes Cam and Jake targets as well. So we need to be protected."

"Just like that," he breathed out with a shake of his head.

"Should I fight you?" she asked, looking over at him, wondering if he'd expected her to.

Her ex-lover studied her for a minute and then said, "I ran into your grandmother earlier. She wanted me to stay away from you because she thinks you've fallen back into old behavior by claiming you trust me completely to protect you and keep your children safe."

She couldn't keep her gaze on him so she kept looking away. But he'd looked surprised as he spoke; as if he couldn't believe what he'd heard.

"Yes," she said, even though he hadn't really asked a question.

"You trust me," Jason said softly.

"I should have trusted you last year," she said, forcing herself to look at him. She couldn't be a coward. Not now. "I didn't want to hurt Lucky just because he was keeping Jake's paternity a secret. And I was so relieved he was doing that instead of just insisting we be honest and allow you to be a father to your son."

"Elizabeth," he said in a ragged whisper.

"If we had gone with your guards to a safe house...even if the Russians had followed us, there would have been more people to fight them," she continued. "We wouldn't have been alone, we wouldn't have been isolated...and maybe Jake wouldn't have been taken."

"There's no guarantee," he shook his head. "There were guards on Michael and Morgan...and look what happened to them."

"I know," Elizabeth nodded. "But...but I think...I think it's better to have guards than to not have them. I've been thinking about things, and then Jax asked me some questions that really got to me."

She looked at him earnestly, hoping to get him to understand that she'd been wrong. "My instinct has always been to go with what Lucky says or wants even when I don't want to or it turns out to be wrong. He sent me and the boys to a cabin that had no cell service. We were in danger and it only isolated us more. He let Sam be around the boys even after learning she watched Jake be kidnapped and hired men to come after us in the park with guns. It was okay that she be around because she was with him, but you couldn't be around them because he decided it."

She looked down because she didn't want to argue with Jason about all the time that he was spending with Sam again now after all the other woman had done and Elizabeth could feel herself becoming angry as she thought about it. She just wanted to keep going with the discussion and finish.

"So I have no doubt Lucky would offer police guards or himself to keep me and the boys safe," the single mother continued. "But I don't trust him like I trust your guards. They will do everything they can to keep us safe. And I'm not giving Lucky any reasons to believe we're anything more than ex-spouses. He doesn't try to see the boys unless it's convenient for him, or he wants to work an angle or lecture me. I'm not subjecting any of us to that."

Pausing she swallowed and looked back at him and said, "So I will accept your guards and whatever else you decide is best because I want my children to be safe."

Jason let out a breath and looked down wearily, scrubbing his hands over his jeans. "Okay," he said with a nod. "Thank you."

"I know you're doing your best, Jason," Elizabeth said softly, soothingly. "I know you're worried. I just...I just want to do what I can help you. Plus...I can't deny that I'm worried. But I've learned, maybe not as soon as I should have, that you will do your best. There are no guarantees, but we can do whatever we can to increase our chances."

It hurt to hear her say those things. Not because she was cruel, but because even though she was offering him her pure and beautiful trust, it really didn't change things. Sure, she and the boys would have a better level of protection, but it didn't change things for the two of them.

He sensed the sadness in her, because she seemed to know it as well. She wasn't doing this to try to convince him to be with her. She wasn't begging him to give them a chance like she had last year. But she was saying she was done deferring to Lucky and always going back to him; something he had wanted - wished - for many years. Jason couldn't help wondering why she was finally doing it all now. Now when he was the boss and there was someone coming after people connected to those in the organization.

"I hope you're right," he said. "I know why I stayed away; my instinct is to say Jake is safer without me in his life. But I don't know who's behind these attacks and I don't know if they'll be worried about you and try to get you. I've increased the guards on Michael, Morgan and Kristina...that's why I put guards on you and the boys. I didn't talk to you about it before; I just knew that you needed protection. I told them to be discreet, but now that you know about them, I'd like them to be more of a presence."

"Okay," Elizabeth nodded. "I told my gram I don't want her to fight them while I'm in the hospital. I know Jax said he saw some men watching my room, that's why I figured you had them on the boys as well. When I get released, I'll cooperate with them."

"Will-will you let me make some upgrades to your house?" Jason asked her, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "If you want to go there when you're released, then I want to make sure you're safe. It's still going to be hard for you to get around and do things, so I...I want to make sure you can contact someone if you need help."

She was quiet for a moment and then she nodded in agreement. "Okay. I-I don't need state-of-the-art, but you can make what changes you think are necessary."

His mind immediately started making a list. All her windows needed to be upgraded. Bulletproof, but not so thick she lost the light that made her house warm and inviting. He'd make sure they were sealed good as well so her house stayed warm. She needed reinforced doors, but he'd make sure they looked the same. And she needed a security system. Top of the line, despite her protests. He would get Cody working on it right away, and have him use the new tech guy his right hand man found. He wasn't going to deal with the questions and comments Spinelli would sure have, and he didn't want the other man to pass along any information to Sam.

"We'll start on it right away," Jason told her.

"Okay," she nodded. "I...I guess you can just tell my guard to give me any messages you need to. What's his name, by the way? Just so I know."

"There are several," he told her, trying not to feel the sting of her rejection in telling him to just give a message to her guard. It made sense for him not to be around her much, but she made it sound like she didn't want him to come. "You need to be guarded around the clock. So they're on eight hour shifts. There's Paul, Mark and Dan. I'm trying to get Francis here, because I know he's guarded you before. I want you to be comfortable with who's on you and the boys."

"Okay," Elizabeth said, "Whatever you decide. I...I appreciate your concern, Jason. But make sure you stay safe. You can't ignore your own safety as you try to take care of everyone else."

"I will," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. It touched him that she was concerned about him and was imploring him to stay safe. It reminded him of all the previous times she'd worried for him and only wanted him to come back to her safely. Even though he wouldn't be returning to her, she still wanted him safe, she still worried...she still cared about him.

He didn't want to leave her, but he knew he had to. He couldn't stay, despite every desire he had to simply talk to her, watch her when she fell asleep, be with her. So he needed to be strong. "Take care, Elizabeth. I... Please take care of yourself."

"You too, Jason," she said, but he barely heard her because her voice was soft and a sudden noise was coming from the hallway.

He stood and quickly moved to the door, his hand flexing as he reached behind him. It hovered near his gun, ready to get it in case there was trouble. Looking out the door he frowned when he saw the young man he'd seen with Olivia earlier that day, arguing with Jason's guard standing in the hall.

Reaching out, he grabbed the other man and pulled him into Elizabeth's room, holding up his hand to silence him. "Quiet down," he growled out. "It's the middle of the night and this is a hospital. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Dante Falconari said, shaking off the mobster's hold. "I called and found out where you were."

Jason knew he was being followed, but he thought he'd lost his tail before coming here. He wouldn't have subjected Elizabeth to that scrutiny. Hopefully it was only Dante who had found him in Elizabeth's room, and the other Feds would just think he'd come to visit Michael.

"I want to talk to you," the younger man said insistently. He was angry and agitated and Jason had no idea why.

"Then let's go," he said, gesturing towards the door. "Let the patients sleep instead of yelling."

"No," Dante shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere with you. I just wanted you to know the truth."

"The truth?" Jason asked, with a confused shake of his head. "What do you mean?"

"You were digging into my mother's past and mine," the young man spat out, flinging his arm out. "I don't know what tipped you off, but what you're probably thinking...it's true."

Drawing his brows together, the older man planted his hands on his hips while leaning forward and demanding, "What's true? Stop speaking in riddles and spit it out. You're disturbing a patient here."

"I confronted my mom and aunt and I figured out what they've been keeping from me," the angry man said. "Sonny Corinthos was my father. My ma lied to me."

Jason leaned back slightly and couldn't help glancing over at Elizabeth. "So what do you want?" he asked.

"Nothing," Dante said in a disgusted growl. "I don't want nothing. Especially from him or you. I hated Sonny Corinthos. He was a thug and a monster and I watched him kill a man I respected. I don't care that I now know who my father was. I want nothing from him or this place. I'm taking my mother and my aunt and we're leaving.

"I just want you to know this," he said fiercely, advancing on Jason and stabbing his finger in the mobster's chest. "You stay away from me and my family. I don't want a cent from the man who was nothing more than a thug. I don't want anything from you because you're just like him. If I ever see you again; I'll arrest you. Nobody knows I'm Sonny Corinthos' son and I want it to stay that way."

The cop stared up at him with pure fury and hatred and Jason wondered what the scene would look like with the blond hair and blue eyes of Jake replacing Dante's dark eyes and hair. "Do you understand me?" he repeated. "I don't want anything to do with anyone connected to my so-called father."

Then he turned and left the room and Jason looked over at Elizabeth again. Her eyes were wide and shimmering with tears while one coursed down her cheek. Her free hand clutched her blanket at her chest and she looked positively heartbroken. He wanted to comfort her, but could barely swallow past the lump in his throat. He never wanted to Jake to look at either of them the way Dante radiated pure fury from his body. That was why nobody could find out Jake was his son.

"I-I," Jason swallowed thick and cleared his throat. "I should go."

Then he left Elizabeth's room and slipped down the hall. He would have to pass messages to her through her guards; that's why he needed Francis from the island. Elizabeth knew the older guard and hopefully she would be comfortable with him. He

couldn't be followed by the OCB again and have the cops question Elizabeth or bother her and her sons. He loved her too much to expose her and the boys to that.

This was the last time he could give in to his wants again and see her. It just wasn't safe to be in her life. Or fair to anyone.

Continue On

Head Back to the Main Page