Previuos Page    Next Page

Chapter 19

Laughing with excitement, Elizabeth smiled at Francis as they walked into the courtyard of Kelly's. She stopped, pulled her prized possession out from her purse and showed it to Francis again. "Look."

His grin nearly matched hers. "Yep. You got it. Of course, all the studying you've done on it that's really no surprise. You going to call Jason?"

She shook her head and tried to ignore the frown that appeared on the guard's face. "Nope. He said he was going to be busy today, but would try to stop by around dinnertime. I'll surprise him then."

"He doesn't know you were going to take the test today?"

"I was going to tell him yesterday," she shrugged, "but then he said he and Johnny were going to be busy. Besides, I didn't want to jinx it. What if I'd failed?

"You?" Francis asked. "Right. You've been studying, I've quizzed you, Jason's quizzed you. In fact, I'm sure I could have passed the test myself. So, cut the bull and tell me what's really going on."

She folded her arms across her stomach and peered at him. "Wow, did you take courses from Jason? 'How to tell Elizabeth you think she's lying'?"

It was his turn to peer at her. "I've guarded you before. I know you. You're letting Jason back in slowly, but you're still holding his job against him. And you know I'm not taking your side or his, I'm just pointing it out. You were probably going to tell him you had the day off, ask him to come with you, but he got a call, right? Because I know Jason, he doesn't talk about business. So he wouldn't have said anything about being busy with Johnny when he first saw you. After the call you probably clammed up so he wouldn't feel like he'd disappointed you. Am I close?"

"Yeah," she said softly. "I know it's not fair."

"I told you, I'm not judging you. I just wanted to be sure you were aware of what you were doing."

She nodded and sighed. "I am. I'm trying not to be like that. It's not fair to him, especially when he's making such an effort this time."

"It's alright," he said. "Let's just get some lunch and catch the weather report so you can have all your bases covered when you try and convince Jason to give you a lesson."

Her wide smile was back. "Francis, have I told you lately how wonderful you are? Let's go. Then I can get a little painting done before Jason stops by."

He laughed with her and opened the door to Kelly's. Her smile fell away when she saw her sister sitting at a table with Lucky and Nikolas. Sarah looked up at the sound of the bell and waved her over when she saw it was her.

"Sarah?" Elizabeth asked as she reached the table and crouched down beside her sister. Taking in the tight, grim expressions around the table her concern immediately kicked in. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Elizabeth, here," Nikolas said as he touched her shoulder. He had stood up and was offering her his chair. Mumbling a quick thanks she sat down.

"What happened?" she repeated.

"He was in Wyndamere," Sarah whispered.

"What?" she gasped, and looked around the table. "The guy was on the island? He got in the house? Are you all right? Was anyone home? Wait, wait, where's Gia?"

"She's in the restroom," Nikolas told her.

"Oh, okay," she said, a faint measure of relief in her voice. "But what happened? You guys weren't hurt were you?"

Sarah looked at Nikolas and nodded her head shakily. Nikolas took a breath and said, "We all left this morning, and around noon I got a call from Mrs. Landsbury who said when they were cleaning the rooms they found the pictures."

"More pictures?" Geez, what was the guy going for, amateur photographer awards?

"Of all of us with Sarah," Lucky said, as Gia came back to the table. "But Sarah got something more."

Elizabeth cast a worried look back to her sister. She put her hand over Sarah's and gave it a squeeze. "What'd you get?"

"Gifts," Gia said, when Sarah sat silent. "Brand new monogrammed lab coat that was completely shredded, probably by a scalpel in her brand new medical bag."

She stopped and shook her head, obviously upset. Nikolas wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. He cleared his throat and told the rest to Elizabeth. "The bag and instruments were covered in blood."

Elizabeth sat back in her chair, stunned and horrified. "Blood? Why?"

"The note said he didn't like Sarah hiding from him," Lucky said. "The police said it was probably to prove he could get on the property, and to shake her up."

"Man, this guy is sick," Elizabeth said on a shudder. "He does nothing for a few days and then..."

Sarah had remained quiet during most the exchange. She was a little pale, and clearly shaken. Elizabeth put her arm around Sarah and rubbed her sister's shoulder. "So what are you going to do?"

"None of us want to stay there," Sarah said in a shaky voice.

"So I rented a floor at the Port Charles Hotel," Nikolas said. "And hired more security guards."

Elizabeth turned to him and blinked. "An entire floor?"

"It was the only way I could have guards stationed at the stairs and elevator."

"Right," she nodded. The table fell silent and she looked around the diner before back to them. "Could I talk to Sarah for a minute?"

Lucky and Nikolas looked at each other and then nodded. Standing, Lucky told her, "We actually have to go meet the launch from Spoon Island. Mrs. Landsbury had our clothes packed up."

"You going to come with us?" Nikolas asked Gia.

"No, I'll stay here," she smiled. When he frowned she rolled her eyes. "Oh come on. You've got a guy in here, Elizabeth has a guard. I'll be perfectly fine. So stop being so overprotective and go. Besides, I'd much rather wait inside where it's warm."

The three of them headed off, Nikolas and Lucky outside and Gia sat at the counter with her coffee. Elizabeth was glad to see them go, she and Sarah needed a moment alone so they could just talk. Sarah met her gaze and tears swam in the surface of her eyes.

"I'm so frightened," Sarah whispered shakily.

"Shhh, of course," Elizabeth soothed as she tucked a strand of hair behind Sarah's ear. "I know. I know. And I would be too. But the police are working on this, and Nikolas is doing everything he can to keep you safe. Do you want something more? Do you want to get out of town? When I faked my death Sonny hid me on his island. If I asked him-"

"Oh man, that sounds so wonderful. But I can't," she shook her head sadly. "I just, it's probably stupid but I don't want to run away."

"Sarah," she pleaded. "You're terrified. You're hands are shaking, you haven't touched the food in front of you. It's not wrong to want to be safe."

Her sister looked away for a minute and then looked back at her, questioning, "If it was you, would you go?"

"I-I don't know," she said. "But it's not me. It's you."

"And what does that mean?" Sarah snapped. "Because you were kidnapped and survived, because you're with Jason that makes you able to handle things better? Tough, little Lizzie Webber can do this but poor, weak Sarah better run off and hide. Is that it?"

"What? No," Elizabeth said, taken aback by the sudden change. "I never meant that. When I was kidnapped I was terrified. But I've never been stalked, so I don't know what I would do. That's all I mean."

"Right," Sarah drawled, shaking her head. "I'm sure. No, I don't want to leave and I don't need Sonny's guards...or you for that matter. I trust Nikolas and I know he'll keep me safe. Excuse me."

She stood and stalked over to the counter where Gia was sitting, observing the whole exchange. Elizabeth watched her go, feeling like she'd just been hit by a truck. She couldn't understand what had just happened. Sarah of old had just returned. Though she knew it had to be because her sister was stressed, it still hurt. Her throat tightened and she could feel hot tears flood her eyes, but Lizzie was back and refused to let her sister have the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

Standing and gathering her things she left the diner, Francis scrambling after her. Briskly she walked out of the courtyard and to the docks. When she got there Nikolas and Lucky were starting back to the diner with the luggage. She kept her head down until they were gone, and when she was finally alone hot tears came flooding out.

"Elizabeth?"

She shook off Francis's hand and stepped back. "Go."

"Elizabeth? What's wrong?"

She raised her eyes and saw only concern for her, but she felt like she was falling. "Just give me some space. Get back and stop hovering."

The guard blinked slowly, but nodded and took a step back. She turned and stalked a few steps away, blowing out harsh breaths. As if the expulsion of air from her lungs could force all the bad feelings out of her. She swiped at her cheeks, the initial burst over, and turned back towards Francis. He didn't mean anything wrong, he was just concerned about her.

The apology on the tip of her tongue died and she clamped her mouth shut when she saw him on the phone. It didn't take a genius to figure out who he was calling. Stalking forward, Elizabeth grabbed the phone from his hand and tossed it into the harbor with a flick of her wrist. Francis stared at her in shock while she stood there glowering at him.

"I know who you were calling. And you don't need to. I am not made of glass. I was upset, but that is no reason to call Jason. You do not need to call him every time I get a bump on my shin." She finished and took a deep breath, her eyes blazing.

"Elizabeth."

"No. I'm sorry I practically bit your head off, but seriously, that is no reason for you to call him."

"Elizabeth?"

The guard's eyes shot to the person behind her, and slowly she turned around. She hadn't seen him since that evening down here on the docks after Courtney's funeral. "Sonny."

He walked towards her, but stopped a couple of feet away, obviously not wanting to crowd her. Max stood behind his boss, casually scanning the area. "Is everything alright?"

She hugged herself and quickly nodded her head. Just when she already felt bad for snapping at Francis and throwing his phone in the harbor like a three-year-old, Sonny had to come along. Could her after afternoon get any worse? She would gladly take the embarrassment of Francis calling Jason over Sonny witnessing her tantrum with one of his guards.

Sonny studied her, and she turned her head to avoid his scrutiny. Taking another step towards her he gave her a slow, calming smile. "Let's take a seat, okay? Francis, how 'bout you go over to Kelly's and get Elizabeth some hot chocolate and me some coffee?"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, wondering how he knew she drank hot chocolate instead of coffee. Watching him, she took in his appearance, noticing the more subdued manner, the genuine feeling of concern emanating from him. It was so different than the last time they'd met. She had still been so angry with him, maybe it hadn't all been justified, and maybe it had. It was hard to say anymore.

What she felt now was nothing like that meeting. He wasn't as haunted, wasn't as withdrawn, and he wasn't pushing her. Sonny was giving her space, not immediately jumping in to demand why she'd been yelling at Francis.

Finally he shifted on the bench, gave her a dimpled grin and spoke. "I see you haven't lost it."

That was the last thing she was expecting to hear. "What?"

"Your fire. I'm not sure what Francis's cell phone did to you, but you sure showed it. It's swimming with the fishes now, isn't it?"

She laughed, clear and easy as he chuckled too. "Yeah, I guess."

"You know," he said. "I remember sitting here before with you. You'd gotten mad over something and stormed down those stairs over there wearing these ridiculously high heeled sandals and hurt your ankle."

Groaning she covered her eyes with one hand. "I remember that. You told me to wear better shoes."

"Yeah. The point is, you still got that fight. It's nice to see."

Elizabeth arched a brow at him. "Oh, you are so full of it. I'm just mad, and as usual I'm taking it out on the wrong person."

"So you're not mad at Francis?"

She wanted to roll her eyes, but she had to give him points for trying. "No. I'm just hurt. Sarah, she...well, she's being-"

"Stalked. I know. Jason's told me. Also that the police think it's the same guy who killed Courtney."

"Okay," she said, having been unsure how much he knew. Jason told her he told Sonny about the pictures, and Sonny had offered a guard, but she wasn't sure how to bring up the possible connection to Courtney. "Well, he was out at Wyndamere. Got on the island, in the house, past the security and he left pictures in everyone's room. But...but in Sarah's room he left a doctor's coat which he'd cut up, and a medical bag covered in blood."

"Oh sweet-"

"Yeah," Elizabeth cut him off. Feeling the same as she saw horror immediately cross his face. "So she's freaked out."

"Understandable," Sonny breathed.

"So I asked her if she wanted to get out of town. I mentioned your island, how you let me stay there when I had to fake my death. I didn't mean to presume...it just popped into my head and I-I want her safe."

"It's okay," Sonny said as he covered her gloved hand with one of his own.

"Then she asked me if it was me would I go? I said I didn't know. And she just - she just went off on me. It was like how we always were before. We would fight, and she would accuse me of acting like I was in trouble just to get people to notice me. That's what she called my kidnapping. She was sure I was hiding to get attention. So she said that if I could survive getting kidnapped then she wasn't going to run away from a stalker."

Sonny looked at her in disbelief. Giving a derisive chuckle she said, "Yeah. Classic Webber Sister Rivalry. Said she didn't need me or my friends to help her. I guess it shouldn't surprise me, we've never gotten along great before. But I thought we had connected now, but..." she shrugged. "Now it seems like we're right back where we were before. I just want to help her. I just want her safe."

"Of course you do," Sonny said. "Of course. So the deal with Francis?"

She ducked her head, feeling embarrassed again. "I wasn't going to let Sarah see me cry. Let her see that she hurt me, so I bolted from the diner and came down here. Francis was just trying to make sure I was all right, but I couldn't handle it right then. I needed some space. When I turned around he was on the phone. Since it hadn't rung I figured he was calling Jason and I didn't want him to."

"Why?"

"Because Jason is working," she said. "I know Jason doesn't keep normal hours. And Alcazar's still causing problems. Jason doesn't say anything, but I know when he's worried, when he's doing things. He's with Johnny today, and he said he'd try and meet me for dinner - so I knew it wasn't the coffee warehouse. I don't need Francis calling Jason away from whatever it is he's doing because I'm having a bad moment."

"Jason worries about you, Elizabeth," Sonny told her.

"I know that," she said a little defensively. Yes, it was nice to see Sonny actually acknowledge her and Jason's relationship, but still. "But it wasn't like I was in danger. Alcazar didn't approach me, I wasn't physically hurt, and there was no threat to me. I was just upset and had to get a handle on it. Francis does not need to call Jason for that. It would be like calling because I had a paper cut."

"Okay," he said. "Do you know Francis was calling Jason?"

"No," she admitted weakly. "I just figured because we'd been talking about calling him earlier and I'd told Francis no."

When Sonny only raised his eyebrows questioningly she said, "I got my learner's permit for a motorcycle today and I was going to tell Jason tonight. Francis thought I should call him sooner. It was really no big deal."

Suddenly she was uncomfortable, having talked to Sonny this long and she felt like a fool for basically having to explain that she'd had a mini-meltdown. She shifted on the bench and looked towards the stairs. What was taking Francis so long with that hot chocolate? Sonny wouldn't let her leave until Francis got back and all she wanted to do was just flee this whole embarrassing situation and go to her studio.

"Where is Francis?" she mumbled and rubbed her hands together anxiously.

"Are you cold?" Sonny asked. "We can walk you to your studio."

She heard footsteps on the stairs and turned towards them expectantly, hoping it was Francis. Instead, it wasn't.

"Well, well, well," Carly said as she stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "Isn't this a cozy little scene."

Chapter 20

Carly stood at the bottom of the stairs and ignored the warning glares from her husband. Instead, she focused on the reason her life was falling apart around her. Sure there was business and Alcazar was causing problems, but Brenda Barrett was the biggest thorn in her side. Carly had seen Sonny with Brenda many times, and she just knew it wouldn't be long before the viper tried to sink her claws into Sonny again.

Brenda had already broken up Jax and Skye's marriage; Carly wasn't about to let the same thing happen to hers. Skye may not have been able to hold onto her man, no big surprise there, but she was bound and determined to keep Sonny by her side. Sooner or later Brenda would tire of the Australian tycoon and fall back into her normal pattern of bouncing between him and Sonny. Carly didn't even want to deal with the annoyance of it all and wanted Jason to help her out.

Jason, however, was refusing. He said she needed to trust that Sonny loved her and believe him when he said he didn't want to be with Brenda. Part of her did believe her husband, but the other part of her wanted to be rid of the temptation. Jason normally would have understood, listened to her rant and then calmed her down. Now he told her he didn't have time to listen to the same paranoia day after day. If she didn't want to believe him or Sonny there wasn't anything he could do.

And little Elizabeth Webber was the reason Jason was telling her no. He was so snowed by her combination of sweet angel mixed with just enough wild child act that he was willing to turn his back on his friends. She had to hand it to the little nothing; she sure seemed to have a lot of men wrapped around her finger. Carly personally didn't see the appeal, but it infuriated her to no end. Jason had always been there for her, but now he would apparently rather please Little Miss Muffet to ensure that she never walked out on him again.

Her anger towards Elizabeth spiked when she walked down to the docks and saw an eerily familiar sight. Putting a finger on her chin she smiled falsely at the girl. "It seems like we've already played this scene out once before, doesn't it? Only this time Jason's in town, but you're still here trying to worm your way into Sonny's life. Thinking he might need a little sister figure now?"

"Carly," Sonny snapped, his voice taking on a deadly serious tone.

Inwardly she winced. That was a bit far and she didn't need to get Sonny too angry. But she was unhappy, and at this point she didn't want to hear it from him. Not when he ran out after dinner before Michael went to bed because there was a problem last night with precious little Brenda.

"So, what was your emergency?" she asked snidely. "You're real big on calling Sonny or Jason when you have a problem."

Sonny stepped towards her, placing himself between her and Elizabeth. "Carly, that's enough. Elizabeth didn't call me, and even if she did it's no reason for you to be this rude."

Typical. She's rude and Elizabeth can do no wrong. Her eyes narrowed as her temper climbed even more. "What is with the men in this town? Everyone leaps to sweet, little Lizzie's defense."

She stepped to the side, shaking off Sonny's arm and drew closer to Elizabeth. "There's nothing special about you. I knew that during the Face of Deception Campaign."

Elizabeth flinched just slightly and Carly barely suppressed a smile. She had to get some small satisfaction since Elizabeth was going to play the quiet victim and not say anything back. She should have waited until Sonny was gone. Hindsight was sometimes really a pain.

Sonny grabbed her arm, turning her around. "That is enough. Elizabeth is my friend and she is Jason's as well. You will stop this right now."

Her eyes flared as she looked at him. It would never be enough. Jason was ignoring her, his best friend, all because this pasty faced little girl had him thinking he should pay more attention to her. She couldn't be that good in bed. Certainly nothing compared to what Carly and Jason had.

"You're going home," Sonny commanded. "But first you're going to apologize to Elizabeth."

She would rather drink bleach, and she was pretty sure Sonny could read her thoughts. His obsidian eyes glittered deadly. "Marco, please walk Miss Webber to her studio and wait for Francis to arrive."

"Yes, Mr. Corinthos."

"Elizabeth," he said. "I'm sorry for this. I'll talk to you again soon, alright?"

"All right," she said. "Thank you for earlier."

"You're welcome. If she changes her mind you know I'll always help."

"I know. Thanks."

"Oh good grief," Carly snapped. She was angry that Sonny would dare to order her around like a talk and then talk all sweet to her. "Let go of my arm. I refuse to stand around and have you talk to me like I'm four years old."

Wrenching her arm free, she pointed a long, elegant finger at Elizabeth. "You're not going to succeed in getting me out of Jason's life, Little Girl. We have a connection you will never be able to touch. You will never win."

Sonny grabbed her arm and said nothing as he led her to the limo while Max followed. When they got inside he sat across from her and glared. Then, in an eerily calm voice she hated because she knew that Sonny was extremely angry, he finally spoke.

"I have always known you would do anything when you were frightened or felt threatened. I don't know how many ways I can tell you that I do not want to be with Brenda. I love you. But you have to trust me. Jason isn't going to help you get rid of her, and you can't keep pulling him into your schemes or expect him to clean up your messes because you won't think things through.

"And you know Jason would never throw you out of his life. But if you keep pulling stunts like that he's going to have problems. You're mad at me and Brenda, but you go after Elizabeth because you think she's taking Jason away from you."

"She is," Carly cried. "He's not around like he was before."

"Yes, he is," Sonny said. "He handles business, he plays with Michael, he's there for you. But you can't expect him to make us his whole life. Jason will always be your friend."

She turned and looked out the window. How could she make Sonny understand? Jason was the one thing she counted on, and she could feel him slipping away from her.

"I don't know what to do, Carly," Sonny sighed. "I don't know how to convince you. I don't know how to keep trying to ease your fears. I just don't know."

She looked back at Sonny, her eyes filling with tears at the broken despair in his voice. "Sonny?"

"I just don't know what to do, Carly," he said, then turned and looked out the window.

They pulled into the parking garage and rode in silence up to the penthouse. When they went upstairs Sonny didn't take off his jacket like normal, instead he grabbed his robe and pajamas and headed down the hall to the guest bedroom.

"Sonny?" she asked, worry creeping into her voice as she followed behind him.

"I'm spending the night here. I'm not leaving you, I'm not kicking you out, and I'm not ending our marriage. Tonight...tonight I just cannot take trying to make you understand. Michael will be home from hockey practice soon. I'm going to start dinner, and then I have some meetings after Michael's gone to bed."

He walked into the hallway and down the stairs, and Carly looked around the room she slept in when she first moved in with Sonny. Sure, she had changed the décor since then, but she still remembered the fear and uncertainty she felt knowing she cared for Sonny and was afraid he'd never feel the same. Now they were sleeping in separate bedrooms again, and she could feel the uncertainty settling in around her. And just like the first time, this was all Elizabeth Webber's fault.

Elizabeth stood there as Sonny and Carly walked away and closed her eyes. It was nice to know that some things in her life would never change. She and Carly would always be adversaries. She simply did not understand the older woman, and she knew she never would.

She just wasn't going to get into it with Carly, especially in front of Sonny. It was ludicrous years ago when Carly accused her of going after Sonny because Jason was gone, and it was even more so now. Sonny was her friend, a big brother of sorts, and even if he weren't married she wouldn't be attracted to him. And despite Carly's apparent fears, she would never make Jason choose between her and Carly.

Yes, when she walked out of the penthouse she said harsh words and that he would always choose Sonny over her. She had apologized for that, and they had moved past it. If Jason was saying no to Carly, then he was making that choice. Jason didn't do anything he didn't want to do, and she would never ask him to give up Carly as a friend. She didn't get the connection, but then again, he didn't understand her friendship with Zander.

"Miss Webber, you ready to go?"

She looked over at Marco and took a deep breath. Where was Francis? How long did it take to get coffee and hot chocolate? She knew Maxie could be a little slow, but not that slow.

"Yeah, I guess I am," she said, then paused when she heard footsteps on the pier.

"Hello, Elizabeth."

"Hi, A.J." she said. He looked better today, she noticed.

"Everything alright? I was walking up earlier and saw Sonny and Carly. I wasn't up for an encounter today, so I waited until they were gone."

"I don't blame you," she said mirthlessly. "I wasn't either, but that never stops Carly."

His brow furrowed in concern. "Everything okay?"

"Not really."

"Anything I can do?"

She glanced at him and shook her head. "No, and I don't really know if I should say anything. I don't want to upset you."

"If it's something to do with Jason, it won't upset me."

"It's not Jason," she sighed. She didn't want to tell him that the man who killed his wife was now apparently going after her sister. It wasn't fair to do that to him, but she personally hated when people dangled the bait, but then never reeled you in. "It's my sister, Sarah."

"Sarah? She's a doctor right? I think she was there...that night at the hospital."

"Yeah. She treated Courtney and came to the funeral with me. She's...she's being stalked," she finished on a whisper and felt bad when A.J. flinched.

"The...the same guy?"

"They think so," she nodded.

"How long?"

"She got pictures about a week ago or so, but he's been watching her since...since Courtney's funeral."

A.J. closed his eyes and she felt so bad for him. "I'm so sorry. I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want to bring this all up for you."

"It's-it's alright. I appreciate your concern. Are the police involved?"

She nodded.

"Jason and Sonny?"

Slowly Elizabeth shook her head no. "Nikolas Cassadine hired guards and rented a floor of the Port Charles Hotel. She doesn't want my help or Sonny's."

He put his hands in his coat pockets. "I'm sorry. I'm sure you're worried."

She nodded, shivering slightly. "I am. I'm really sorry, A.J. I didn't want to worry you with this and bring back the memories."

"It's alright," he said. "You listened to me last time."

"How have you been doing?"

He shrugged. "About the same. I still miss her. I know I always will, but I realize I have to start making some plans. I'm trying to decide if I want to stay here, or maybe go somewhere and just start over. I don't know."

"There's no rush," she told him. "It hasn't even been a month. Take another week or two. Take however long you want. You'll be ready when you're ready. There's no timetable."

He gave her a weak smile, and said, "Thanks. I should probably let you go. You look a little cold. Thanks for listening."

"I could say the same," she told him. "Take care."

"You too."

Then he was gone and Elizabeth looked over at Marco. She was cold and she knew she definitely had hot chocolate in her studio. "Okay."

Giving a nod, they started towards the stairs. As she approached, Marco suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him. Startled, she stopped and looked up. Luis Alcazar was now standing at the top, looking down at her.

"Miss Webber."

She said nothing, but stepped closer to the guard.

"Where's your friend Mr. Morgan?" he smiled at her as if they were old friends. He gave her the creeps and all she wanted to do was get up to her studio, but she didn't see him moving any time soon, even if she asked him to.

"Miss Webber has nothing to say to you and you're blocking her path. Good day."

Alcazar arched one brow at Marco's words, but stepped aside ever so gallantly. Marco turned and Elizabeth knew he wanted her to walk in front of him. She gave one sideways glance at the other man, but walked straight trying not to flinch as she passed him.

"Give my regards to Mr. Morgan," Alcazar said when she was right in front of him. Then he lowered his voice and leaned forward. "Unless of course I see him first, then I'll give him yours."

Marco shouldered his way between them, and grabbing her elbow propelled them forward and up the stairs. For once luck was on her side and she didn't falter or stumble. He kept his hand on her arm all the way up to her door and trained one eye on the entrance to the stairway while she fished out her keys and opened the door.

Once she had it opened he turned to her and said, "Lock the door. I'm calling Jason."

She nodded mutely and closed the door, flipping the locks. Then she made her way to the couch, dropping her coat halfway there and collapsed onto the cushions. The tears that had been threatening to fall since Kelly's wouldn't be held back any longer.

Chapter 21

Francis Donovan always considered himself a man in control of his emotions, of his life. Sure, he got angry, he'd been angry most of his youth, but he'd learned how to channel that anger. He didn't get too unnerved by things; he dealt with the situation in a manner that had been ingrained to him through the trials of life, and the tutelage of the organization. He was efficient; thought two steps ahead and adapted to the changes that would inevitably come up despite all the careful plans he made. It was one of the things that made him fit in perfectly in Sony Corinthos's organization.

He pretty much knew he was destined for a life on the wrong side of the law. His juvenile record had been quite colorful, and as an adult it hadn't changed. How he'd ended up working for a man like Sonny instead of Anthony Moreno and then Joseph Sorrel was a small miracle. And it was one he didn't question, even though some nights he wondered what exactly it was that made Sonny seek out a small time fence and street brawler like him.

He liked working for Sonny. At first he thought it was all bunk, the honor among thieves code Sonny lived by, but Francis had seen the devastation of drugs and prostitution and was glad he worked for a man who didn't believe in pushing either. He'd killed before he worked for Sonny, and since he'd joined the organization, but there was definitely a difference. One had been senseless. The deaths he'd caused under Sonny's orders felt last resort, all channels had been exhausted and it was the only way to preserve the order of the job. It was a messed up way of looking at life, he knew it, but he believed in it because the men around him that he considered friends believed and lived it.

There were some days, however, that he wished his life was different and he had a boring safe job like driving a bus, or counting the spots on a group of cheetahs. Some days it just didn't pay to get out of bed. And he was rapidly discovering that this day was definitely one of those.

Elizabeth throwing his cell phone into the harbor was an annoyance. He probably would have sat around with Max or Johnny and had a good laugh over it in a day or two. It was his fault for not being more circumspect. Just because she didn't know Jason had given him a standing order to call anytime something came up with Sarah's stalker didn't mean he couldn't have waited just a few more minutes before calling. It was just that he had been worried after hearing the account at Kelly's and then seeing how upset Elizabeth was after she rushed out.

After Sonny arrived, he'd rushed off to Kelly's knowing there was a payphone in the courtyard that he could use. Of course, just his luck some little old lady was on it calling for a cab, and apparently the dispatcher was as deaf as she was because she kept repeating herself. Very loudly, and very slowly, and Francis realized that there wasn't any quick resolution to the call.

Inside Kelly's hadn't been an improvement. A group of teenagers was gathered around the payphone with a stack of change. Didn't every teenager in America have a cell phone? What was up with the Brady Bunch phone escapade? Mommy and Daddy grounded them, so they gathered in the diner where they could order a plate of chili cheese fries to split seven ways and call their buddies who weren't there? Penny had apparently stepped out and Maxie Jones wouldn't let him use Kelly's phone, and Francis gave up after a couple of tries. At this rate he could have run down to the wireless store and signed up for a new plan by now.

Finally he resorted to bribery, and maybe just a few intimidating looks, to get the teens off the phone. Oh, alright, maybe he had not so quietly mentioned breaking all the fingers on the next person that touched the thing. Luck had finally swung to his side when he had correct change, and Jason answered, even though Francis knew it had to say pay phone on the caller ID.

"Morgan."

"Jason, it's Francis. You better get down to Elm Street Pier. There was an incident with Elizabeth's sister."

"Okay. Why aren't you on your phone?"

He ran a hand over his face and said, "Long story. It's in the harbor."

Hanging up, he glared at the kids crowding closer to the phone like vultures waiting to pick the bones of a zebra and ordered a coffee and hot chocolate to go. Then he headed back down to where he left Sonny and Elizabeth. Instead he saw Luis Alcazar and a man he'd never seen in Port Charles before, having a very intense looking conversation. Dark hair, slight graying at the temple, dark complexion and an utter look of distrust about him. Great, another person of Alcazar's ilk.

He stayed in the shadows, knowing that Sonny and Elizabeth weren't down there. Francis knew someone was with Elizabeth, and so he took the time to observe and maybe find out some information. His primary duty may be to guard her, but his overall job was to Sonny.

Fifteen minutes later the men moved off and Francis headed towards Elizabeth's building with the now cold beverages. Just his luck, the men hadn't spoken very loud, though he did catch snippets of the conversation. It wasn't much, but he would tell Sonny and Jason about it. When reached Elizabeth's floor he was a little surprised to see Marco at the door. He thought the other guard was assigned to Carly today.

"Hey," he said as Marco looked up. "I thought you were guarding Carly. How come you're here?"

"I was," he said. "But Max took her and Sonny home, and I brought Miss Webber here." He paused and looked uncomfortable, then told him, "Jason's on his way."

"I know, I called him."

"I did too. Luis Alcazar approached her on the docks, and as soon as I got her here I called."

The string of curses Francis let loose echoed off the hallway and made Marco blanch. He should have known it was looking too bright after he got a hold of Jason. He should have known when he woke up this morning to discover his radio had been changed from his normal station to one that actually played Milli Vanilli -he was going to kill Johnny slowly for that - that he should have just turned over and gone back to sleep. Some days, it really just didn't pay to get out of bed.

When Jason hung up the phone he let loose a muffled curse of frustration. It wasn't that he was mad at Francis for calling about Sarah, it was that his entire day had been wasted. He and Johnny had tracked down dead end after dead end all day. People who said they knew something about Alcazar were suddenly singing a different tune. Either they'd been playing him and Johnny for fools or they'd been persuaded to change their stories. He highly suspected the latter.

He and Johnny had just reached the car when his phone rang again. This time it was Marco saying as he'd been taking Elizabeth home Alcazar had stopped her. The exchange had been brief, but Marco wanted to tell him right away.

After what felt like an eternity they finally reached Elizabeth's building. The car was barely to a stop before he was out and bounding up the stairs two at a time to her floor. When he got there Marco and Francis both had decidedly unpleasant looks and it did nothing to improve his already black mood.

"Alright," he said, noting Johnny had made good time after parking the car. "Start at the beginning."

Francis took a breath and said, "The stalker got out onto Spoon Island and into the house."

When he finished explaining what he'd heard Nikolas and the others describe, Jason was sickened. This went beyond any little shrine the guy had built to Courtney. "Okay, Johnny you set up a schedule of people on Sarah Webber. They're passive unless there's a threat. They get as close as they can without raising suspicion."

"Right."

"It's not much, but clearly the people Cassadine hired haven't stopped this guy." That done, he turned to Marco. "What happened with Alcazar?"

"He was coming down the stairs as we were about to go up. He stood there just as smug as could be and I told him she had nothing to say so move. He did, but as we were walking past him he told her to give you his regards, unless he saw you first then he'd give you hers."

Jason clenched his jaw tight. All seemingly benign words, except there was nothing non-threatening about Alcazar.

"There's more, Jason," Francis said. "When I was coming back from Kelly's I saw Alcazar with someone I've never seen before, but they clearly knew each other. I didn't hear much, but I caught Brazil, jail, money and South America. The guy is bad news."

He took a deep breath and then said, "You go with Johnny and see what you can find. Check the hotels; see if anyone fitting his description checked in. I want to know something about him soon."

Both men nodded, and Jason felt better having gotten those two matters taken care of. But there was something else, something Francis and Marco were holding back. And he knew it had everything to do with Elizabeth.

"Why is your phone in the harbor?"

Johnny snickered until Francis elbowed him in the side. Blushing slightly he said, "Elizabeth threw it in when I was trying to call you."

"Why?"

"She said just because Sarah yelled at her wasn't a reason to call. She would tell you when you stopped by, but she was upset."

Okay, he'd have to talk to her about that. First about her sister, and then to assure her that Francis calling him wasn't a bother, it was his job. Looking at Marco he raised his brow, prompting the guard to talk.

"Mrs. Corinthos got mad at her. Sonny took her back to the penthouse and had me walk Miss Webber home."

He was almost afraid to ask, but he had a good idea what was bothering Carly. "I'm not there when she calls?"

"Something like that," he confirmed.

"Alright. Thank you. You guys can go for the night."

"Jason," Francis said, hanging back and letting the other two guards go on ahead. "If things seem bad, or she doesn't want to talk, ask her about her surprise."

Then he caught up to the others and headed down the stairs. Jason watched them go and wondered when exactly Francis had taken to giving him advice on Elizabeth. Had the day really been that bad?

Knocking on the door, he waited for Elizabeth to open it. He was just about to knock again when he heard her undoing the locks. Her eyes were pink and he could tell he she'd been crying earlier. She leaned against the door and peered up at him.

"Talked to Francis and Marco?"

He nodded. "Yeah, they told me."

"Suppose you want to talk."

"No, because it's obvious you don't. I'm sorry about Carly and your sister."

She shook her head and blinked several times. "I don't want to talk about it, please."

"Okay." Marco had filled him in on everything with Alcazar. She'd done everything the guard told her, got to her studio and he knew there wasn't anything new she could add. "Francis said to ask you about your surprise."

She gave a small shake of her head and finally let him into her studio. She picked up her purse and a smile grew on her face as she pulled something out. As he watched her bounce on her feet, he was thinking that Francis deserved a bonus. He didn't know how she could shift from one extreme to another because of a surprise, but he would do anything to see that smile on her face. Finally she handed over what she was holding and he looked down, a smile of his own growing. She got her learner's permit.

"You got it."

"Uh-huh. I was kinda nervous waiting for them to grade it, but I got it. You know what this means, don't you?"

"I don't have my bike."

Her face fell instantly. Even if he hadn't already been planning to take her to go get it, he would have after seeing her instantly deflate. "But what I was going to say was let's go get it."

"Really?" she asked, barely containing a squeal.

He loved that smile, the enthusiasm, the unbridled passion she had for something like a motorcycle. It lit up her entire face, making her blue eyes glow like sapphires. "Really."

Note to self, Elizabeth thought as she walked down the steps at Vista Point, have next driving lesson during the day.

Jason had spent some time teaching her the basics of the bike and showed her how to start it, before they left the garage. It was harder than it looked, but she did manage to start the machine all on her own. It was about the only thing she had done. She may have sat in front, but she knew Jason was doing most of the steering.

Still, it was one of the best nights of her life. She loved being on the motorcycle, and there was a certain thrill to see the lines on the street blur together. To see where they were going unimpeded by Jason's back, but still feel the strength of him behind her knowing he wouldn't let them crash. She loved his bike, and especially the fact that he was part of the ride, but she knew she was going to get a smaller one to learn on.

"Wow," she said, her breath condensing in the cool night air.

"Did you keep your eyes open this time?" he asked with a chuckle.

"You mean I was supposed to?"

She had to bite the inside of her cheek when he groaned, "Elizabeth."

"I'm joking," she grinned. "Yes, I kept them open. It was even better than the last time I drove. Thank you."

"I just kept a promise," he shrugged.

"No, it was more than that. You gave me freedom. You always have. No matter what's wrong, you don't push, you just let me deal with it how I want."

"I know if you want to talk about it you will, and you know I'll always listen," he said, his voice soft and sincere.

She nodded. She knew that. He had always let her have her space and never pushed. Other people would, but never Jason.

Walking forward she stopped mere inches from him and looked up. "Thank you. Before you say you didn't do anything, yes, you did. You always do. You have always been such a good friend, I know I can always trust you to be there."

"I would do anything I could for you," he said as he settled his hands on her waist.

She smiled and rested her hands on his upper arms. "You're my best friend, but you are so much more than that. There are no words for what I feel for you."

His blue eyes deepened, matching the shift in mood. He brought his right hand up to cup her jaw as a small smile that showed he remembered the time he said those words slowly formed. "There are no words for me either."

He lowered his head, but stopped, his eyes searching hers. Elizabeth remembered Francis's words from earlier that day. Jason was trying, he was there, and he was showing her she was important, and yet she was still holding back. It wasn't fair to either of them, and she knew it was time to stop holding onto the distance. He was stalled, prepared for her to pull back, protect herself like she had been doing. It was time to show him she trusted him not only with her safety, but also with her heart.

"Jason," she whispered just before she closed the distance between them. Their lips brushed gently at first, then harder, more insistently as the memories of their last kiss over three months ago washed over them.

His right hand tangled in her hair while his left hand, still on her waist, pulled her closer. She wound her arms around him, and rose up on her toes. They pulled apart for air and Jason feathered soft kisses against her temple.

They stood there long after their breathing returned to normal, just wrapped in each other's warm. Finally Jason pulled back, his eyes soft and full of emotion. "We should probably go."

She felt the same reluctance to leave. Afraid to leave and have the world intrude, breaking the peace and perfection they'd found for this moment. But she knew they couldn't stay there forever. "I guess we should."

"Do you want to drive?" he asked, as they walked back to his bike with their hands entwined.

"No," she said. "I want to take the curves fast. I want to fly."

Chapter 22

The toying with the blonde doctor just wasn't diverting anymore. It was time to end the little game. It was time to hunt again, to elude the guards and get close enough to touch her. He wanted to watch the realization wash over her that her life was truly in his hands, and then end it. The thought heated his blood and made his palms sweat with pure anticipation of the heady rush to come.

It was time to plan. He had to figure out the best opportunity and be prepared to strike at a moment's notice. The hotel and the hospital were too heavily guarded, so he just had to wait. Sooner or later she'd leave herself open, vulnerable and he'd move in for the kill. He laughed at his own little joke. The kill. Yes, indeed.

The time had come. Luis Alcazar had outlived his worth; he just didn't know it yet. He was merely a two-bit hood with silk shirts and government connections in six countries. No matter, there was nothing left for him to do but die.

He closed the file before him and stretched his back. What he wouldn't give for a full-bodied massage, preferably by a cute little masseuse. But the Shady Pines Hotel fifteen miles outside of Port Charles had no full service spa for their guests. He was lucky that his room had a working Magic Fingers machine. Of course, it shorted out on the left side after two minutes, but it would have to do.

Lying down and letting the vibrating bed work the tightness out of his back; he let his mind work through the one variable of his plan he couldn't control. Sonny Corinthos. Alcazar had been unable to bring down Corinthos, probably because he'd gotten too attached to Brenda Barrett and had been unwilling to use her properly against the mob boss. Well, he wouldn't make the same mistake.

He had researched the man and his organization; every one from his enforcer down to the gophers. Plus, he had a little inside information. He wouldn't make the mistake of getting attached to anyone, and he wasn't going to let anyone get in his way. Which meant it was time for Luis Alcazar to die. He knew Corinthos would probably be making a move soon, it fit his standard operating procedure. The tricky part was to kill Alcazar and successfully frame Corinthos for it.

It was time for Luis Alcazar to die. Sonny decided that, as Benny brought him information that one of his accounts in the Caymans had been raided and drained. Five million dollars gone. It made him want to smash the brand new crystal wear that Carly had just brought home. The man needed to go.

He sat in the living room sipping a brandy while waiting for Jason and Johnny to arrive. Carly and Michael were asleep upstairs and he sighed as he thought of them. Maybe with the threat of Alcazar no longer hanging over her head, Brenda could move on with her life. It would probably be with Jax, and as much as that chaffed him, Sonny had realized he had to let it go. He loved Carly, and if he held onto the competition over Brenda with Jax, it was just going to result in more nights in the guest bedroom.

With Alcazar gone, he could stop feeling protective of Brenda. Then maybe Carly would believe him when he said Brenda was his past. Carly was his future, and with the arms dealer gone he could concentrate on her. Plus, his accounts wouldn't be raided anymore.

A light tap on the door broke him from his reverie, and he looked up to see Jason and Johnny open the door and step inside.

"What's up?" Jason asked after they said hello and Sonny understood his eagerness to get down to business. Elizabeth had given him something to look forward to beyond work, and Sonny was happy his friend had found that.

"One of the accounts was emptied."

"Alcazar?"

"Probably. Either way, it's time to get rid of him. His obsession with destroying those who hurt Brenda isn't going to stop and I will not let him threaten my business or my family. He needs to be eliminated."

"Understood," Johnny said.

"Good. The two of you will work this out. I want him gone by this time next week."

Jason merely nodded and headed for the door, Johnny following behind. Sonny was glad he and Jason had gotten back to their previous level of trust. He could tell Jason didn't think the inclusion of Johnny was a question of his top enforcer's abilities, but insurance that the job got done and he didn't lose a man to an unforeseen complication. He wasn't going to underestimate Alcazar this time.

Elizabeth sighed and pushed her hair out of her face with a damp hand, and then went back to wiping down the tables. It had been a couple of days since her fallout with Sarah, and she hadn't seen anything of her sister. Her worry and concern had caused her to swallow her pride and call the hotel to find out if Sarah was okay. Lucky told her he was sorry, but Sarah didn't want to talk to her right now.

Lucky and Nikolas had stopped in the diner that afternoon and she was surprised to find them sincere in their behavior. Sarah was short and snappish with all of them, and they were sorry she wouldn't take Elizabeth's phone calls. There hadn't been any new notes or gifts from the stalker and each day that passed made them all nervous.

Elizabeth understood. Sarah needed someone to direct her rage against, and Elizabeth was her target. Sarah hated to feel helpless, and since she couldn't confront the person terrorizing her, she was lashing out at the next available person. And who better than the sister she had fought with most of her life?

The bell above the door sounded and she smiled in surprise as she looked up from wiping down the empty tables. "Hey you. I haven't seen you in a while."

"Hey," Zander said as he sat down at the counter. "I've been busy with stuff for Ned, but I wanted to stop in tonight. I got a call from Emily today."

"Oh?" she asked as she came behind the counter and reached for the coffeepot. She thought back over the last three weeks and how great it had been to have her friend back.

"Yeah, just kinda out of the blue. It was nice, though." He paused and then said, "She asked me to come visit her in California."

"Really?" Elizabeth said, only a little surprised. She was glad to be talking to Emily again, and she'd gotten the feeling in their conversations that Emily wasn't as over Zander as she'd claimed for so long. So Emily calling Zander didn't surprise her, but the invitation to come visit her did. "You going to go?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I miss her, I always have. I just don't know."

She understood. It had been hard moving past the incident in July, but she and Emily had managed it. She wasn't quite sure Emily knew what she was doing with this invitation, but maybe she did. If it was Elizabeth, she wouldn't want to have a conversation with her ex-boyfriend that she may still be in love with over the telephone. So, she couldn't help but caution, "If you go, just take it easy. She was angry for a while when she heard about us."

Zander sighed and she smiled at him, deciding to give him what he'd come for. "Do whatever you want. If you want to see her, then get your butt down to the airport and go. You know you'll kick yourself if you don't."

"Kinda like you and Jason?" he asked.

"Exactly," she nodded. "I know you and he have fought, but-"

"You care for him," he said without judgment.

The smile came from deep inside her. "I do. We worked through things, and this time...this time I think we're gonna get it right."

"Well, if he finally realized to treat you right, then I guess that's a point for him."

She shook her head, her defense of Jason rising automatically. "Hey, I made mistakes too. We're doing this together. No blame."

"Maybe Em and I could get to that point," he said, a hint of hopefulness in his voice.

She caught sight of movement outside the window and smiled when she recognized Jason's jacket. She looked back to Zander as the door opened. "So, when are you going to go?"

She knew Zander had been wanting to go visit Emily, he just felt like he needed someone to agree with his decision. Who was she to say no? Zander and Emily were her friends, and they stood by her choice to be with Jason. So she would support them. Jason stopped by the end of the counter, and looked at them curiously.

Zander glanced at him, then back at Elizabeth. "I'm going to go tomorrow. I'll tell Ned I need some time off, and I've still got some of that money Roy gave me."

"Say hi to her for me," she laughed.

"I will. Thanks for talking, Elizabeth." He stood and looked at Jason as he said, "See ya."

When he was gone she turned to Jason and tried very hard not to laugh at his scowl. He had never liked Zander, and yet he had tried to help him because of Emily. He had gone against Sonny and not hurt him this summer because Elizabeth asked him not to. She knew that the thought of Zander going to visit Emily was not going to sit well with him.

"What was that?"

"Emily called him today and asked him to come to California. Guess she's ready to talk to him now."

His eyebrows went up. "You encouraged him to go?"

"Whether you or I, or anyone, approves Emily asked him. She is my friend and so is he, so I'm going to support them however I can."

His face registered he didn't like it, but he understood. "Okay. I don't want to-"

"Talk about it. Good. I don't either," she said. "You have that look you get when you're preoccupied by business. So, since you're here, I just want to be with you and not talk about anything else."

Jason locked the door, after thanking Jake once again for letting him and Elizabeth have the place for a while, and turned around to face the bar. It hadn't taken her long to close Kelly's, but by the time they got outside it was starting to snow. He decided to change his plans for a ride, and instead they ended up at Jake's.

It had been a while since they'd been here, but it seemed right. He didn't remember the times she was torn up about Lucky and told him they couldn't see each other, he chose to think about their first talk, playing pool together, or - as he glanced at the stairs - washing the makeup off her face and nearly kissing her. After their kiss two nights ago, he knew he'd be kissing her in Jake's tonight.

He walked over to the pool table where Elizabeth stood waiting for him; her sleeves pushed casually up near her elbows. She shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you gave Jake five hundred dollars to let us stay here longer."

Jason gave an almost embarrassed shrug. "I didn't want to leave yet. Jake knows I'll lock up. Nothing'll happen."

"It's not that," she said. Giving a shake of her head, "We didn't have to stay here. We could have gone back to my studio."

With her pull out bed being all he would be able to think of. No, not tonight. "I wanted to play pool still. Did you want to go?"

"No, I'm having fun," she smiled. "But you do realize you have a pool table at your place, right? I remember it quite well. I played endless games on it."

His smile matched hers. "I know. I like Jake's. My pool table..."

"It's not the same atmosphere," she nodded. "It's fine, Jason. I'll go wherever you want to be. I know what you're doing. You've got a job to do, you're not going to be around very much so you're spending time with me before you have to leave."

He walked around the pool table and put his hands on her upper arms and squeezed them gently. "Are you mad?"

"Do I look mad?" she asked softly. "Jason, I understand. I know that night I called you Sonny's enforcer first, last and always, hurt you. You aren't just that, and you don't have to do this to prove it to me. I love being with you, you know that, but I'll still be around when you get done with your job. I'm not going to walk away."

He brought his hand up and brushed her hair behind her ear. "I know. I-we just wasted a lot of time. I don't know how long this is going to take."

She smiled. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm never going to make that mistake again." She pulled back slightly and glanced at the jukebox in the corner. "Dance with me?"

He nodded and watched as she walked over, dropped the quarters in the machine and made her selection. He didn't recognize the song as the first strands echoed through the empty bar, and he didn't care. Nearly three years ago she asked him to dance with her to help pretend Lucky was still with her. Tonight that wasn't the case. There was no ghost in the room; it was just the two of them and whatever they made of the future.

He reached for her and she stepped into his arms. They moved slowly, not speaking or having a need to. His left hand slid through her hair languidly as she snuggled into him. The song ended, and a new one began, slower than the last.

He looked down at Elizabeth and she raised her head to meet his gaze. Her dark eyes glowed in the neon beer signs and he saw her emotions swirling in them. Lowering his head he captured her lips with his. He knew that whatever happened, the one thing he fully believed was Elizabeth would be there when he got done taking care of Alcazar.

Sarah sat in the living room of the hotel suite, looking out at the lights of the city. It had been only two days since they'd moved here and she was already tired of Nikolas and Lucky's hovering. She would gladly have a fight with Gia just to have something to distract her, but apparently the model was going out of her way to be nice.

She'd been off from the hospital, and she was looking forward to going back the next day. She felt trapped, unable to go to the bathroom without everyone watching her every move. And if she had to keep fending off Lucky's attempts to comfort her she was going to slap him like Elizabeth did back in June.

Elizabeth. Her sister had called several times to find out how she was, even after being yelled at in public. She knew she should apologize, but for some reason she was avoiding her baby sister. Elizabeth had stood beside her, offered to help her, tried to be there any way that Sarah needed her. And what did she do, turned in Shrew Sarah and shoved her away.

The door to the bedroom opened behind her and Lucky stepped out into the dark room. "Couldn't sleep?"

She shook her head and looked back out the window. He sat on the chaise beside her, but for once didn't crowd. "Thinking of the guy? You don't have to go back to work tomorrow."

"I know. But I need to. I can't sit here all day. I need to do something," she said. Then her eyes turned mournful. "But I was also thinking about Elizabeth."

"Call her," he urged. "She's worried. When Nikolas and I talked to her she wasn't mad. She just wants to talk to you."

Her tears spilled down her cheeks and Lucky scooted closer and hugged her. "Just call her. This is Elizabeth, she loves you."

She nodded tiredly and then allowed him to pull her to her feet. As he led them to the bedroom, she wrapped her arm around him. "Please, just hold me tonight."

Chapter 23

Quietly he slipped into place and waited for just the right moment. Luis was ignoring him for the time being, feeling that somehow he was at the arms dealer's beck and call. He didn't mind, it allowed him the opportunity to do surveillance on the town and Sonny Corinthos. He settled in then grimaced when he saw Alcazar step out of his hotel room.

Slowly a smile crept across his face as it hit him it was actually a stroke of good luck. With the man gone he could get inside the room and be waiting for him, instead of trying to come up with a reason Alcazar would believe about why he'd just showed up at his hotel. He may be working with the man, but it was clear that it wasn't a very trusting relationship. And with good reason, considering what he was planning. He would have the element of surprise on his side, and he would succeed.

When he was sure the hallway was clear, he crossed the door and quickly let himself inside. As he surveyed the room, he took out his gun and made his determination.

Jason glanced over at Johnny as they watched Luis Alcazar's limo pull into the Quartermaine estate. What was the arms dealer doing coming here? The rest of the family wasn't important to him, but he didn't want Lila or Monica in danger. He told Johnny to park around the corner and he would slip inside to see what was going on.

The ensuing confrontation he witnessed between Alcazar and Brenda annoyed him, as did Jax's posturing. At Edward's threats to call the police, the other man finally agreed to leave looking slightly defeated. Jason shook his head. Another powerful man brought down because of his love for a beautiful woman. Alcazar had grown sloppy in the past month as his desperation to get Brenda back increased.

He followed Alcazar around to his limo, wanting to observe the man before he made his way back to the car and Johnny. When he watched the man climb inside, he glanced at the driver and did a double take. That looked like Johnny.

As the car pulled out and passed just a few feet from Jason's hiding place the driver turned his head ever so slightly. It was indeed Johnny. Jason realized he better get back to the car and follow along behind. It was actually a smart move Johnny made to get himself inside the car. Jason wouldn't have to follow so closely now and risk alerting Alcazar of his presence.

He stood outside the hospital and watched. He hated waiting, and that's all he seemed to be doing lately. Dr. Webber's shift was going to be over soon and he was probably just in for another night of seeing her head back to the hotel, but there he sat anyway. One of these nights he was going to get a break. It would just be her and rent-a-cop guard he'd be able to overpower and then he'd have his chance with Sarah.

Standing up straight, he peered close at the entrance in surprise. She had just emerged with her bodyguard in tow, half an hour early. He looked on as they climbed into the black sedan the Cassadine prince provided and drove off. In the opposite direction of the hotel.

Well, well, well, things just got interesting. Quickly he hurried over to his own car and got inside. His spirits improved even more when after following for a few minutes he saw them pull into the parking lot of Kelly's Diner. Giving a chuckle, he realized he couldn't have asked for a better opportunity.

He parked the car, pulled on his gloves and checked his gun. One nice thing about it being winter in Port Charles, nobody would question him wearing gloves. And somebody wearing a knit cap and walking quickly down the street wouldn't arouse suspicion; they would just look like another person hurrying to get out of the cold. He really couldn't have planned this any better.

Elizabeth looked up from her painting, glancing at the window. After a few seconds, she shook her head and sighed. Her ears were playing tricks on her. Again. She thought she'd heard a motorcycle, but as always the hope was quickly dashed as she realized she'd just imagined it. Three days since she'd seen Jason and already she was having auditory hallucinations. She was such a sap.

She picked up her paintbrush and swirled it into the burnt umber, adding the rich color to the painting of Vista Point she was doing. A few more strokes and she discovered she needed to put more paint on her palette. She reached for the bag of paints that she'd purchased that morning before work and came up empty handed. Searching her purse and her coat, she closed her eyes and her shoulders slumped as she visualized it sitting right where she left it on the shelf under the counter at work.

Giving a groan of frustration, she rinsed her brush and looked at the other colors to see what else she could paint on the picture. After a few minutes, and the liberal use of her artist's knife to scrape the paint off, she determined it wasn't going to work. She was mad at herself for leaving it at work and it just made her focus all the more on the section of the painting that needed the color.

Ripping her paint smock off, she grabbed her coat and purse and opened the door. She paused when she saw the empty hallway, until she remember that it was after midnight and she had promised Francis she was in for the night and he could go home and get some sleep. With whatever job Jason was doing, and Alcazar stopping her, Francis was being extra diligent.

She closed the door and grimaced. She could run to the diner and be back before Francis could even arrive if she called him. But she had promised Jason. Pulling her lip in between her teeth she looked at he phone, then the door, weighing the merits of each option. Finally with a sigh she released her lip. Decision made. She just hoped he wasn't too mad.

The key card clicked in the lock and the doorknob slowly turned. He relaxed his grip on his gun, and watched from the doorway of the bedroom as Alcazar came in and dropped his coat on the back of the couch. He fixed a drink and opened the balcony doors letting in the cool November air, all the while oblivious that he was firmly in the sights of a gun.

Alcazar moved towards the bedroom and he tensed slightly as he prepared. He planned on a double tap to the back of the head, perfect mob hit. All he had to do was wait...just a little bit more.

Frustration rose in his veins when a knock sounded on the door and the arms dealer turned. He also cursed softly when his position did not allow him to see who was in the room. Male, agitated, blaming Alcazar for coming to town and ruining everything. He could tell by the muted sounds that quickly followed that the two scuffled, and then the other man was gone.

Luis came into view again as he stepped out onto the balcony. Growing impatient, he slowly pulled the bedroom door all the way open and walked across the plush carpeting which muted his footsteps. The sheer curtains made it seem like he was viewing the scene before him through a fog, but it was evident the other man was hurt by the way he cradled his side. He had a clear shot, part the curtains slightly and it would be done.

But he always had a slight perverse streak, and wanted to see the look on his face when Alcazar realized he'd been bested by a man he underestimated. "Luis."

Sarah ran quickly down the staircase and through the darkened diner. She told Peter she would be fine, and he could wait downstairs. That was before every little noise sounded like an ax murderer waiting to jump out of the shadows. She just didn't want him in her room, and she knew right where the item she needed was so it would be quick. It may be silly, and she didn't care if it upset Lucky, she wanted this picture. She had realized it was missing that night during her break and she was not going back to the hotel without it.

It had been on the floor between her bed and the wall and she figured she must have dropped it when she was switching handbags before they moved to Wyndemere. Lucky had come into her room and she didn't want him to know she still kept a picture of her husband with her always. She had just missed him tonight, and when she couldn't find the picture in her purse she cut out early to get it so Lucky would never know.

Clutching it in her hand, and finding some comfort in the familiar image, she pushed the door open. After she locked it, she realized Peter wasn't waiting there for her. She shook her head in disgust and snorted. "Peter, I swear you need to see a doctor. You went to the bathroom just before we left. And if you're peeing in the bushes...that's just disgusting."

She rubbed her hands together and listened for any sound. Sudden unease washed over her. "Peter? Okay, I'm sorry. I'm a doctor though and I know frequent urination can be a sign of several different conditions. I won't say anything about it anymore, just let me make an appointment for you. Please just come out."

Again there was nothing but silence and she shifted through her keys as she backed towards the door. A rustle to the side made her jump and she willed herself to stand. "Peter?"

The man stepped out of the shadows and his coal black eyes glinted in the fluorescent lighting. "I'm not Peter."

It was like watching A Comedy of Errors Port Charles style. Johnny and Jason had met up in the garage, drugged the guard so he would think he just fell asleep, and switched videotapes for the security camera on Luis Alcazar's floor. The two men then hid in a linen closet watching for anything before they proceeded. Jason had just about been ready to step out when Johnny heard the whirring of the elevator and pulled his boss back.

Jax arrived, went inside and both men could hear the yelling from the other men. Alcazar must have rented out the rooms around him because Johnny was surprised when Hotel Security didn't show up. He bit back a groan when Brenda arrived, but Jax came barreling out of the door then looking shaken up and the two people rushed out of there.

Jason waited a few minutes to make sure neither person doubled back, before attempting again. He actually made it two feet out the door before he turned and came right back. The other elevator dinged and Alexis Davis walked up to the door. Johnny thought it was odd she was there, with her daughter still in the hospital.

The lawyer knocked on the door, but there was no response and he and Jason exchanged a confused glance. She tried the handle, but it didn't yield and soon she walked away. As Alexis passed by Johnny was taken aback by the look of pure anger on the woman's face.

When she was gone Johnny touched Jason's shoulder and shook his head. Something didn't feel right. This many people showing up wasn't a good sign. Alcazar not answering his door moments after Jax left didn't settle well with him. If the Australian businessman had murdered their target then they needed to get as far away from the hotel as possible. Jason nodded his head in agreement and stepped out of the closet and made his way to the stairs.

Johnny was about to leave when the door to Alcazar's room opened and someone stepped out. Medium height and build, dark hair, medium complexion. Johnny's eyes widened. This was the guy Francis had seen the other day on the pier with Alcazar; the guy they couldn't find. There was no doubt in Johnny's mind. The man closed the door and as he turned the guard caught a flash of gun in a shoulder holster.

Calm as could be the man walked to the elevator and boarded. Johnny waited thirty seconds to make sure the arms dealer didn't emerge and then went to the stairwell and all but flew down to the bottom. When he reached the garage Jason was waiting there, his anxiousness clear. Apparently he felt the situation was off as well.

"Where were you?" he growled.

"I think the guy Francis saw Alcazar with came out of the room after you left. Get in the car. Let's see if he comes into the garage."

They climbed in just before the elevator door slid open and the man walked out. They waited, and then followed the man's car as he headed out of the city.

He watched as Sarah's eyes grew wide with fear and she pressed herself against the door. A delighted grin spread over his face. This was going to be so much more fun than the bodyguard he'd struck over the head and then strangled with the coil of rope in his pocket. That had to be rushed so he could savor his time with Sarah.

He'd waited until he head just enough fear and panic in her voice and then he'd made himself known. "I'm not Peter."

Before she could scream he had a leather glove over her mouth and his other hand closed around her throat, just enough to convince her it was real. The way her eyes flared as she realized she was on borrowed time made the blood sing through his veins. He pulled her into the shadows and when she tried to claw his hands away from her throat his grin grew even wider.

He realized after watching her struggles that she was no match for him though, and she certainly wasn't going to give him the fight that Courtney had. This may not even be worth it, he concluded sadly. She was no comparison to Daisy, and he was wrong to even try. He took his hand off her mouth, confident she wouldn't be able to scream with his other hand still crushing her throat.

Her whimpered gasps for breath caught his attention. He'd never head another human being make quite those sounds before. He toyed with her briefly, changing the strength of his hold and watching and listening to her response. It was very arousing, to say the least, and he began to think the night wasn't going to be a complete waste.

Footsteps echoed in the parking lot and a jolt of panic hit him. How had he missed a car? He pulled her further to the side and took out his gun. Pressing his forearm across her neck he attached his silencer and leveled the gun at her chest.

"Good-bye, Sarah," he whispered. "It's been fun."

Then he stepped back and fired before she even had the chance to scream. He was already running before her body hit the ground. He heard running footsteps behind him, and then they stopped as the screaming began.

"Thank you, Francis," Elizabeth said when he arrived at her studio. She felt guilty when she heard his tired voice on the phone, but she was grateful he at least understood. He knew she painted while waiting to hear about Jason, and he knew she would obsess over this tube of paint. "I thought about running over there and getting it myself, but I promised you and Jason."

"It's okay, Elizabeth. Though I think we should give you the number for a back-up guard, you did the right thing."

He drove them over to Kelly's and she sat silently, trying not to draw Francis into too much conversation so he could go home and go back to sleep. Though Francis seemed to be like Jason in the fact that after two hours of sleep he may not be able to get any more for the night. She should have just gone to sleep and not bothered him. The man was entitled to a life. He didn't need to get up in the middle of the night because she was having a bout of Jason induced insomnia. How selfish could she be?

"Elizabeth," he said loudly, and she jolted from her thoughts.

"Huh?"

"We're here. You all right? You zoned there for a while."

"Sorry," she murmured as she climbed out of the car.

They started towards the courtyard when she heard a muffled whump and Francis grabbed her arm. His gun was out and he pulled her along in a crouched position. She didn't know what was happening, but she followed behind him and kept her head down.

"Get inside, lock the door and stay down until I come back." He waited until she had the door unlocked and then took off running.

She watched him go, and that's when she saw it. The picture of Sarah's husband her sister always carried with her was lying on the ground beside the door. She knew Francis told her to get inside, but she bent down to pick it up. Seeing the marks in the snow, she followed them, not realizing they were drag marks until she stumbled over something in the dark. She went down on all fours and found herself face to face with her sister's body.

The horror washed over her and settled into her stomach. She wasn't even aware she'd been screaming until Francis was back at her side, picking her up and shielding her from the view with his body. He called the cops, and held her back when she kept insisting she needed to be by Sarah's side. He told her she didn't need to see it, that she shouldn't remember her sister that way. And when the awful realization sunk in that Sarah wasn't hurt, but actually dead, he held her hair back as she threw up in the corner of the courtyard while policemen and paramedics swarmed around her.

Chapter 24

Bobbie came out of the trauma room and stopped short when she saw Elizabeth walk into the ER followed by one of Sonny and Jason's guards. The young woman was pale and shaky, but what stood out most was the blood on her. Racing over, she quickly scanned her friend, looking for the source of her injuries. "Elizabeth? Are you okay? Were you hurt?"

"What?" Elizabeth said, her eyes slowly focusing on Bobbie. "N-no. I came to see Gram."

The nurse cast a glance at the guard, searching his face for answers. Elizabeth was acting like she was in shock. Had she been in an accident? "Elizabeth why don't we sit down? Let me get a doctor to check you out."

"No." Her voice was weak, but full of conviction. "I need to find Gram. I have to tell her. S-she can't find out from someone else."

"Elizabeth," the guard said, "Bobbie can call your grandmother to come down here. You should have a doctor take a look at you."

"I'm fine, Francis," she said. "I'll see one after I find Gram. P-please, Francis, you have to help me find her."

"Bobbie," Francis said, "do you know where Mrs. Hardy is?"

Bobbie tore her eyes away from Elizabeth long enough to read the guard's face. The young woman wasn't going to relax until she saw Audrey. Nodding her head she said, "Yeah, I think she's working the eighth floor tonight. Let me go with you."

They made their way to the elevators, and Bobbie's concern for Elizabeth grew when she saw the way the guard was practically holding her up. By the time they reached the eighth floor, Bobbie thought Elizabeth was going to pass out before they ever found Audrey. Finally, the elevator doors opened and Elizabeth surged forward when she saw her grandmother at the desk.

"Gram!"

Audrey looked up and quickly came around to her granddaughter. "Elizabeth. Darling, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No, Gram," Elizabeth answered with a shake of her head. "It-It's not me. It's Sarah."

"Sarah? What happened?"

Elizabeth started to shake and Bobbie moved to help her, but Francis was already there steadying her. Looking solemnly at Audrey he said, "Mrs. Hardy, I'm sorry. We found Sarah at Kelly's. We called the police, but...it was too late."

"Too late?" Audrey questioned, then shook her head. "Oh, no, no, no."

Bobbie wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulders and held her as she started to shake. "Audrey, Elizabeth, let's go sit down."

She was grateful when Francis helped her steer the two women to a couch off to the side. They sat, and Bobbie and Francis stepped back when Audrey and Elizabeth held onto each other as they began crying. The nurse couldn't believe Sarah was dead, it just was so wrong. She was so young, still should have so much life ahead of her.

"I'm so sorry, Gram," she heard Elizabeth whisper. "She was gone, th-there wasn't anything we could do..."

"Darling, shh," Audrey soothed, even as tears ran down the older woman's face that seemed to have aged even further in the last five minutes.

Bobbie turned away, feeling like an intruder and wanting to give the family space. She noticed Francis was already standing at a discrete distance. He was scanning the area, alert for any threat, and yet his eyes registered great sadness as well.

The elevator dinged and Lt. Taggart stepped off. His gaze rested on Audrey and Elizabeth and slowly he walked towards them, his steps heavy and measured. Bobbie stepped in his path, intercepting him. "Elizabeth just told her."

He sighed and placed his hands at his waist, his shoulders slumped forward. "When she left I figured she was heading here."

"Was it her stalker?" Bobbie asked quietly, already fearing the answer.

"We can't say yet, but probably," he answered. His posture seemed tired and defeated already. "Excuse me."

Then he stopped in front of the coffee table and his hands fell limp at his sides. "Mrs. Hardy. I'm very sorry."

She and Elizabeth looked up, and she swiped errantly at her eyes. "What happened to her?"

Francis stood against the smooth plaster wall, and watched in concern as Lt. Taggart talked to Audrey Hardy. He and Elizabeth had both answered his questions at the scene, but they didn't have much to tell him. He was worried about Elizabeth, as she sat quietly next to her grandmother, her tears having stopped almost as soon as the police officer sat down. She seemed to be going into shock and he wanted to get someplace quiet where she could take a moment and catch her breath. It was all happening too fast for her, he knew it.

As Taggart described what they suspected happened Elizabeth's breathing was becoming shallow and irregular. She didn't need to hear this. She had found her sister's body, she had Sarah's blood on her, she needed a doctor to look at her knee, but she absolutely did not need to hear Taggart's rendition. Moving closer to Carly's mother, he touched Bobbie's arm and tipped his head towards Elizabeth. "Can we get her to see a doctor?"

"Yes, of course," she said, her brow furrowing as she observed Elizabeth. She walked up to his charge and placed her hand on the young woman's shoulder. "Elizabeth, let's have a doctor take a look at you, okay? You need to get your knee looked at."

"No, I can't-I can't leave Gram," she answered shakily.

Audrey turned to look at her, and finally seemed to recognize the state of her granddaughter. Francis didn't blame her, he was just glad that they finally realized that Elizabeth needed to get some help. Reacting to Sarah's death had numbed the two nurses and it was all they could focus on momentarily. But seeing Elizabeth hurt was finally breaking through the initial shock.

"Elizabeth," Mrs. Hardy said. "Dear, you're hurt. Bobbie's right. You need someone to look at you."

"Come on," Bobbie smiled gently. "Let's get you into a room. We'll page a doctor. I just think you need to lie down, sweetie."

Elizabeth slowly nodded, and Francis dared to let out his breath. Finally she was getting some attention, and finally he could focus on something other than standing around and watching her try to not fall apart. If she could lie down, let the tears come and just start to process it he'd feel better. He knew it would be hard on her, but he didn't want her to keep pushing it down.

He stepped forward and grabbed her other arm as Bobbie guided them to an empty room. Audrey and Taggart followed slowly behind, watching their progression. Once they had Elizabeth on the bed Bobbie said she was going to get a doctor and stepped out of the room. Francis walked up to her and took her hand. It looked so small, dwarfed by his scarred and callused hands. He waited until she looked up at him then said; "I'm going to go call Jason. Before you say don't, Elizabeth, you know he would want to know what happened. So don't fight me on this, Squirt."

She shook her head and closed her eyes. A few tears seeped out and onto the pillow, before she turned her face into the linens. He smoothed a hand over her hair and said, "Okay, I'll be back in a minute."

Then he stepped into the hallway and went in search of a payphone.

Johnny hurried back to the car, trying not to look suspicious as he crossed the darkened parking lot. Jason climbed out of the car and took off Johnny's suit coat. His boss waited for him to take off his signature leather jacket and long sleeve dark gray shirt. He pulled them on while Johnny pulled on his dove gray dress shirt and charcoal suit coat. Ah, to be back in his own clothes.

"Well?" Jason asked, as Johnny was buttoning his shirt.

"I got the room next to him," he said. "We'll need Max or someone to bring out some surveillance equipment. You know, I miss the days before computers took over everything. Back when you could sneak a peak at the sign in register."

"Couldn't get the guy's name?" Jason said with a hint of a laugh.

"I didn't want to arouse too much suspicion," Johnny shook his head.

"It's alright," Jason said. "We better call Sonny, tell him what happened. We gotta get more people on this."

Johnny watched as his boss pulled out his cell phone. He rubbed his hands together and wished he could grab his overcoat and gloves from the car. It was November, almost Thanksgiving, and it was cold. What was worse, there were no clouds overhead to hold in even a little heat. He wrinkled his nose as it began to sting, but of course there was that cold Canadian wind blowing.

Both men were surprised when Jason's phone began ringing just after he turned it on. Johnny really hoped it wasn't Sonny. When Sonny called them, things usually were in the crapper, or heading that way.

"Morgan."

Seeing that Jason was now distracted and wouldn't mouth the word 'wimp' at him, Johnny was just about to grab his coat but stopped when he saw Jason tense. "Francis, what is it? What? Is she all right? No...no, thank you for calling. Tell her I'll be there as soon as I can."

He ended the call and leaned against the car, letting out a heavy breath. Johnny's brows wrinkled in concern. "Jason, what is it? Is Elizabeth okay?"

His boss and friend opened his eyes. "Sarah Webber was murdered tonight."

"Oh, man," Johnny said, feeling some wind go out of his sails. Sure, Elizabeth had had a fight with her sister recently, but she still loved her. She had to be upset about this. "What happened?"

"The guy killed her outside of Kelly's. Elizabeth found the body."

"What?" he blurted out in surprise. "Is Elizabeth okay?"

"Francis said she's shaken up and she got hurt when she fell so he took her to General Hospital. I-"

"You gotta go," Johnny told him. "We're watching this guy. I"ll call Sonny, have him send out Max."

"Yeah," Jason said. "You'll be okay?"

"I'll go to the room. Keep an eye out, but I doubt the guy's gonna do anything more tonight. Jason, she needs you. We'll take care of this."

"Okay," he said as he headed for the car.

Johnny grabbed his overcoat from the backseat. He watched Jason drive away, then pulled out his phone. Sonny was going to be decidedly unhappy about everything that happened tonight, which made him glad he didn't have to make this report in person.

"Yeah."

"Boss, it's Johnny."

"What happened tonight? Alcazar's death is all over the news."

"He's dead?" Johnny asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Why does it sound like you didn't know?"

"'Cause we never made it inside the room. Jax, Brenda and Alexis all showed up and we decided to call it off when Alcazar never answered his door after Jax left. I was just about to follow after Jason when someone came out of the suite. We tailed the guy to a hotel outside of town and we think it may be the guy that Francis saw on the docks that day. Alcazar's really dead?"

"Uh-huh. Took a header off his balcony. It's all over the news." His boss paused, then said, "along with Sarah Webber's death."

"Yeah," Johnny sighed. "Francis called and told Jason. He and Elizabeth found the body at Kelly's. She was pretty shaken up, and I guess hurt so Francis took her over to GH."

"Did Jason go?"

"He did," Johnny said, and hoped that the changes he'd noticed in Sonny weren't just a flash in the pan.

"Good. So where are you and what do you need?"

He let out a silent breath of relief and told Sonny where he was, to send Max and a list of equipment and clothes he needed. Ending the call he headed around the back to room 25.

A.J. stood outside the entrance of General Hospital and shoved his hands in his pockets. He couldn't stand being inside the building, but he couldn't go home either. When he stepped off the elevator looking for Elizabeth and her grandmother after hearing the news, he was hit with the memory of sitting in the waiting room with Courtney's blood on him. He remembered Sarah and Dr. Thornhart telling him Courtney was dead, and tears immediately sprang to his eyes.

He was willing to put it all aside, though, because he could imagine how Elizabeth felt. She had talked to him, helped him in the aftermath of his wife's death, and he wanted to be there for her. But now, he was back outside, greedily sucking in cool air to clear his head and quell the nausea rising up.

And he was waiting.

A car pulled up, and he watched his brother climb out in a hurry. Squaring his shoulders he stepped forward before the other man made it inside. "Jason."

He stopped and glared at him. "What do you want?"

A.J. didn't want to be the one to tell him this, but he'd promised. "Elizabeth isn't in there."

"What?" Jason snapped. "I got a call."

"I know," A.J. said. "I heard the news and I don't know why, maybe it was because she's been nice to me, but I came to see how Elizabeth was."

"A.J.," his bother cut in. "What do you mean she's not in there. Where is she?"

"Nobody knows. Her guard, Francis, went to call you, and Bobbie was paging a doctor for Elizabeth. Mrs. Hardy said she went into the bathroom after she finished talking with Taggart and when she came out Elizabeth wasn't in the room. They looked for her, but Francis thinks she left the hospital."

"Is he in there?" Jason pointed at the building.

A.J. shook his head. "He called you, but you didn't answer so he got a hold of some other people and went to look for her. I told him I'd stay here to tell you what happened."

He watched as Jason's shoulders and face relaxed somewhat. "Thank you, A.J."

A.J. nodded, but he doubted his brother saw it because he was pulling out his cell phone. "Francis, it's me. Have you found her? Okay...where have you looked? Yeah...okay...who else is looking? No...no, it's not your fault. You look at Jake's, I'm going to check out a couple of places. I'll call you if I find her. Right...okay, thanks."

Jason ended the call and turned for the car. A.J. stepped forward quickly, before he lost his nerve and before Jason left. "Jason, is there anything I can do?"

The other man stopped and turned, his face relaxing from its hard, ready for business look. "No. Thanks for waiting around to tell me."

"She's been nice to me," A.J. said. "I consider her a friend."

Jason's face pinched when he heard that, and A.J. hadn't meant to upset him. "Look, can, can you call me when you find her? I-I just want to know she's okay."

Jason let out an uneasy breath, but slowly nodded in agreement. A.J. rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Thank you. I'll see Elizabeth some other time."

His brother nodded once then got in the car and left. He knew Jason was anxious to find Elizabeth, A.J. just wanted to make sure Elizabeth was all right. Watching the taillights of the car disappear he hoped Jason did what he seemed to do best - help Elizabeth Webber.

Chapter 25

He remembered the night the garage burned down. Before he became friends with Elizabeth, the memory of her crying and collapsing in Sonny's arms was forever seared in his mind. She was so broken, so devastated, and she never saw the body. But Francis told him that Elizabeth had found Sarah, had actually tripped over her sister's body; he knew it was going to hit her badly.

Death was something he faced regularly in his life. He'd killed people and he knew he would again. He didn't relish it, but did what was necessary to protect Sonny's business interests and his friends and family. He'd seen the aftermath of murder and cleaned up grisly messes that made him shudder on the inside. He never wanted that side of his life to touch Elizabeth, but death had reached her anyway. It hadn't been connected to him, and it killed him that he'd been unable to keep this from affecting her. The urgency in him continued to grow as he searched for her, needing to see her, to be there for her.

Francis and a few other guards were checking places around Port Charles. He knew they wouldn't find her any place close if they hadn't found her already. He had a pretty good idea where she'd go that was still close enough to walk to. Pulling into the park lot of Vista Point, he was already reaching for the door handle while still pulling the keys out of the ignition.

He jogged through the parking lot and across the observation area to the stairs. He stopped and let out a breath when he saw her sitting on a bench near the shadows. He frowned as he realized she was only wearing a sweater, no jacket. An orange tip flared in the night and it took him a minute to realize it was a cigarette. He had never seen her smoke before, never thought she did. Taking out his cell phone he dialed Francis.

"Francis, I found her."

The sigh of relief through the line was like a shot in the night. "Thank Heavens. Is she alright?"

"I think she's in shock," Jason sighed, as he watched her barely move. "Call the others, let them know. And could you call A.J.?"

"A.J.?"

"He waited for me at the hospital, and he was worried about her. Just let him know. And call Elizabeth's grandmother, tell her I'll take Elizabeth home."

"I will," Francis told him. "Do you need anything else?"

"No," he said. "You and the others can go home. Thank you, Francis, for taking care of her. I'll call you tomorrow."

He ended the call and slipped the phone in his pocket, then walked down the stairs and over to Elizabeth. She seemed unaware of his approach, as she sat and stared out over the city while taking the occasional pull off her cigarette.

"Elizabeth," he said. But she stared past him, one knee pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around it. He put his jacket around her, and softly said again, "Elizabeth."

She blinked, coughed slightly as she exhaled some smoke from her lungs. "Jason?"

"I'm here, Elizabeth, I'm here."

"How-"

"Francis called me," he said, trying to coax her arms into the sleeves of his jacket. She dropped her cigarette and he stubbed it out with his toe while she finally relaxed her hold on her knee. Zipping up the jacket he kept his voice calm. "I'm sorry about Sarah."

Her face twisted in pain and she looked away as she whispered. "I can't...I can't believe she's dead."

He sat beside her on the wooden bench and took her hands in his, rubbing them to warm the alarmingly cold appendages. "Where's your coat and gloves?"

"I-I threw them away. They had her b-blood on them," she choked out. Putting his arm around Elizabeth he pulled her close, bringing her head to rest on his shoulder.

"Shhh, it's okay," he said softly. "Let's get you home."

She didn't make a move, except for the pack of cigarettes beside her. He watched as she fished one out and put it to her lips with trembling fingers. The shaking was so bad that she couldn't get a match to strike on the cover, and he saw a tear slip down her cheek. He reached out and took them from her, lighting a match and bringing it up to the tip. He didn't know when or why she'd begun smoking, but he knew this was not the time to worry or say anything about it.

"How?" her voice shook with the question. "How could this happen? How?"

He closed his eyes and wished he had the answers for her. He didn't know what happened to Sarah, but he would do everything he could to find out. Even then, he knew that it wouldn't do anything to alleviate the pain she felt. But he knew he needed to get her out of the cold. She needed to rest, even though she probably wouldn't sleep.

"I don't know," he said as he rubbed her arm up and down in a feeble attempt to warm her up. "I'm sorry. But please, Elizabeth, please let me take you home."

He turned to face her more and put his hand on her thigh hoping to get her attention. Her hiss of pain rang out through the night and he jerked his hand back. Gently he lifted her leg and discovered her pant leg torn at the knee, the flesh cut and swollen. How had she walked up here and sat in the cold?

"Elizabeth, we need to get your knee looked at," Jason said as he stood and pulled her up. He wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her and asked, "can you walk?"

She didn't answer, and he knew the shock was setting in. There wasn't time to stand around trying to break through, she needed help. He picked her up and started for the car, settling her inside and turning the heater on high after he started the car. He wanted to get her warm, and he wanted to have someone look at her. Why would she walk out of the hospital when she had been there? As the lights of General Hospital came into view, she finally showed the first signs of life he'd seen since she reached for the cigarette.

"Please take me home," she whispered. He looked over at her, started by her voice breaking the silence. "Please. Don't take me to the hospital."

"Someone should look at your knee," he said, as they stopped at a light.

"Please don't take me there," she pleaded as she turned to him, her eyes wide and moist.

He didn't know why she was asking him this, but he turned right and headed away from the hospital and towards her studio. She fell silent again as he parked and walked around to help her out. She did look warmer so he wasn't as worried about the exposure to the cold. He helped her stand, closed and locked the door, and then picked her up to carry her into the building.

"I can walk," she protested feebly.

"Humor me," he said, not intending to put her down. Stubborn Webber pride or not, there was no way he was letting her walk on her knee until he looked at it.

Finally they made it to her door and into her studio. By then her hands were no longer cold against his neck, and her cheeks didn't look as pale. He set her down on the couch and softly kissed her forehead as he brushed her hair back. "I'll be back in just a minute, and then I'll take care of your knee."

For the first time since she stumbled over Sarah and came face to face with her sister's lifeless eyes, Elizabeth finally started to relax. She was exhausted and just couldn't go through the process anymore of being numb only to have the images come flooding back, making her heart race and her throat squeeze shut. Her throat was raw from the bile that kept rising every time the memories washed over her again.

Jason knelt down in front of her and gave her a reassuring smile as he gently brushed a stray piece of hair away from her face. She wasn't sure how Jason found her at Vista Point. Of course, she couldn't really remember how she got there, or how long she'd been sitting there until he came. All she remembered was she had to get out of the hospital.

"Thank you," she said softly, speaking for the first time since the car.

"I... You're welcome," he answered, though looking confused as to what she was thanking him for. She was glad this was one time he didn't do his customary 'I didn't do anything' or ask her for what, because she wasn't sure herself.

"Can I look at your knee?" he asked, setting some clothes beside her on the couch. "I brought you some shorts, to make it easier."

She nodded and he stood, heading for the door. Instantly she leaned forward, "where are you going?"

The panic in her voice surprised her and stopped him cold, bringing him back to her side instantly. "I was just going to give you some privacy."

She blushed, and dropped her head. "Of course. I-I'm sorry. I know you're not leaving."

"I'll just be in the hall," he said and stood again. The hall felt like miles away, and her studio too large. She didn't want him to leave her alone, but how could she tell him without sounding like a little girl afraid of her own shadow? He looked down and swallowed hard. "W-would you like me stay in here?"

She nodded shakily, too relieved to speak. With a long sigh he turned and went behind the couch. He stared intently at a painting on the wall, and she wanted to laugh, knowing he couldn't see it, but doing this for her privacy. Quickly she took off his jacket and her sweater and pulled on the sweatshirt he'd brought her. It was dry and warm and one of her softest; it made her feel like she was wearing a hug. Bending down and wincing when her knee throbbed from the change of pressure, she unlaced her shoes and pulled them and her socks off. Then she took her jeans off, hissing slightly as the fabric tugged at her wound.

"You okay?" Jason asked from behind her.

"Yeah," she said, as she slipped the shorts on and sat back down on the couch. "I'm dressed."

He walked back over, his cheeks slightly pink. Was he embarrassed? She couldn't dwell on that thought because his face became set in a scowl. "Why'd you take your socks off? You need to keep your feet warm."

"They were wet," she said, as a nervous giggle escaped her mouth. Her laughter quickly dissolved into tears and Jason sat down on the couch beside her.

He wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in his strength. Fisting her hands in his shirt, she held on tightly, afraid to let go as everything became too much to hold back and threatened to pull her down. The words he whispered never penetrated, but he held her, rubbed his hand up and down her back as she cried, and eventually the calmness in his voice transferred to her. When the fear, the anger and the helplessness waned, she finally relaxed in his hold and released her fists from his shirt.

"S-sorry," she hiccuped.

"Shhh," he murmured as he wiped the lingering tears from her eyes. "You never have to apologize. Lean back, I'll get you some socks."

Tiredly, Elizabeth leaned against the back of the couch and rested her cheek against the cool leather of Jason's jacket. She closed her eyes and felt him come back, the cushions shifting as he sat down and slipped thick, warm socks onto her feet. He opened her first aid kid, and cleaned and bandaged her wound. Putting ice in a bag he wrapped it in a towel, then came back and pulled her feet up on his lap as he held it against her knee which felt swollen and painful.

"Did you twist as you fell?" he asked in concern.

"I don't know," she said, squeezing her eyes tighter against the onslaught of memories. "When I saw Sarah's picture on the ground...I-I just followed the marks I saw. I didn't know what they were. Then I tripped and fell. When I looked back, th-that's when I saw it was Sarah."

She felt him shift her legs, setting then on the couch, then sit on the floor in front of her. His hand swept gently over her face, calming her with just his touch. Opening her eyes, the caring, concern - and was there something else there?- she saw were so intense she felt it physically.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "You don't need to talk about it. Not until you're ready. You need to sleep."

He helped her stand, and pushed the bag of ice that slid to the floor out of the way with his foot, before he pulled out the bed. He helped her sit back down and she eyed it warily over her shoulder. She didn't want to close her eyes and see Sarah's lifeless body, she didn't want to hear the muffled sound she was certain was the gunshot that killed her sister, and she didn't want to remember being shot at herself in the hospital with Zander, which had been all she could think of as she sat on the couch in the lobby with her grandmother. She was afraid to give into the sleep that her body was crying out for, because she was afraid of the dreams she knew would accompany it.

Jason turned off the lights and pulled off his boots, tucking them under her artist's table before sitting on the bed. "Come on."

"You're staying?" she asked on a broken whisper as her eyes once again filled with tears.

He kissed her tenderly on her temple, then guided her gently to lay down, careful to keep her knee that was injured from being jostled. She rested her head on his chest, as he once again enveloped her in his arms. "There's no place else I plan to be."

Chapter 26

He sat in the room, silent and staring unseeingly at the walls. He hated when, despite all the best plans, a glitch happened and he had to scramble to keep up. Luis Alcazar was supposed to die last night. He did, but it wasn't because Jason or Johnny had done it as planned. An unknown variable had entered into the equation, and now Johnny and Max were out in some dive motel watching the suspected killer.

The killer probably thought he was home free, because the PCPD couldn't find the bathroom even when someone held their hand. There was no way they would ever find the man, and that worked out well for Sonny. He knew he'd be a suspect, but he also knew there would be video surveillance of Jax, Brenda and Alexis entering the hotel. The fact that Candy Boy had fueled up and flown his jet out of the country during the night was going to paint he and Brenda in a very suspicious light.

The police would give him and Jason a cursory questioning, bluster about and then they'd be forced to give up their vendetta and do actual police work. In the meantime, his men would watch the real killer, let him get comfortable and then figure out what to do about him.

Rubbing his forehead against the headache he felt lying in wait, he knew that the police were going to be busy. Sarah Webber had been killed as well last night. Already there was speculation about a serial killer being on the loose, because despite the difference in the methods of killing, the reporters somehow knew both Courtney and Sarah had been stalked.

Even if it wasn't the same man, the media was building itself into a frenzy about Sarah. Granddaughter of Steve and Audrey Hardy, beloved deceased General Hospital doctor and nurse still working at the hospital; daughter of Jeff Webber, another prominent doctor…some reporter had even found a picture of him and Monica Quartermaine back when they won some intern contest and were married. The media were treating this as a devastating tragedy, as opposed to Courtney being the mere wife of the Quatermaine black sheep son and estranged sister of the town's alleged mob boss. Courtney's death was sad and a mild tragedy because she was so young and it was so violent, Sarah's was going to be a shock the community felt for a while.

At least that was how it played out on last night's news. He wondered what the papers were saying this morning, but didn't want to get up and get one yet. He wasn't overly bothered by it, the death a young woman was tragic - no matter whom she happened to be related to. The death of Sarah Webber was going to haunt Sonny, though.

Courtney hadn't been protected because he hadn't pushed the issue. She believed A.J. when he said Sonny was a criminal, she had refused to have anything to do with him so he felt no real guilt about washing his hands of her problem. She had paid with her life, and now so had Sarah, despite Jason putting men on her at a distance. He felt like he'd let both women down, but most all he felt he'd let Elizabeth down.

Her sister had died, and he hated the thought that she would mourn once again. He remembered when they thought Lucky had died and how devastated she'd been that night and the months to follow. He knew Jason had helped her finally start to move forward, and was actually glad he was with her now. He had left Johnny to watch Alcazar's killer and went to her without hesitation. Then Francis had called Sonny for some men because Elizabeth had left the hospital, and Sonny immediately authorized Francis to call as many as he needed. She had thankfully been found unharmed, but Sonny knew without even checking across the hall that after everything that happened Jason would be with Elizabeth.

Absently Sonny checked the clock, knowing it was still too early to call Jason. As much as he didn't want to appear unfeeling towards Elizabeth, or selfish in calling Jason away, there were things that he needed to speak to his right hand man about that couldn't be done over the phone. It was just a matter of waiting a little longer until he could call. He could at least give them that courtesy.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs drew his attention upward, and he watched as Carly descended, still tying the belt of her robe. Her forehead was creased as she studied him in concern. Sitting down beside him, she smoothed her hand over his back, "Hey. Have you been down here all night?"

"I couldn't sleep," he said, "and I didn't want to keep you awake."

"What's wrong?" When he looked at her she shook her head. "Come on, I'm not asking for business secrets. Besides, I know when you're worried about business and when it's something more."

She stopped suddenly and looked at him with panic. "Is it Jason? Sonny, did something happen to him? Why would you let me sleep? Sonny, he is my best friend and if something happened to him, even in business, I deserve to know."

He didn't want to set her off by telling her that there were times he couldn't tell her if something happened to Jason because he would always protect her from being harassed by the police. But this wasn't one of those times. He just hoped that in light of the way she'd been acting lately, she's understand and wouldn't say something off the cuff.

"Carly, Jason wasn't hurt," he told her gently. "Sarah Webber was killed last night outside of Kelly's. Elizabeth found her. Jason is with her."

"Her sister was killed?"

He nodded. "She was being stalked...they think by the same person who followed Courtney. There were pictures of her at Courtney's funeral."

He could tell her natural urge to be upset, or wonder why she should care about Elizabeth Webber and her sister, was being tempered. She looked away briefly, then looked him square in the eye. "So that's why Alcazar's death was screwed up. He's messing up again because of Elizabeth Webber."

In angry disgust he stood and stalked away from her. "Could you, just once, give up the past with Elizabeth? Her sister is dead. She tripped and fell over the body and came face to face with Sarah moments after she'd been killed. But all you can go on about is Jason and his job. Which in Carly speak means taking care of Alcazar so Brenda won't be a problem for you anymore. Right? If Alcazar's gone I won't need to be bothered with Brenda any longer, despite how many times I tell you I'm married to you. That I'm in love with you."

"Sonny," she said quickly, standing up. "No, that's not what I meant. Look, I'm sorry Elizabeth's sister died. I didn't mean to sound so callous-"

"I have to go," he said abruptly. He had to leave, get away before this escalated further and they said things they couldn't take back. "I'll be at the warehouse."

"Sonny, wait," Carly called out.

"I'll be back," he promised her. "I...I just have to go."

She felt so tired. She knew she had slept, and not all of it was plagued by nightmares, but as sunlight drifted in through the window she felt like she was trying to recover from running a marathon. As she became more awake and aware of her surroundings, she was calmed by the presence of Jason beside her, his warm breath washing over the top of her head and his fingers tracing light patterns on her shoulder.

"Morning," she said, slowly opening her eyes and yawning.

"Morning," he replied. "How's your knee feeling?"

She could feel it throbbing, and dreaded moving or even trying to stand right now. "It hurts," she admitted.

He shifted onto his side, propping his head on his right hand. His eyes were full of concern, but he seemed hesitant to ask her a question. She rolled a little, trying to see him better, but winced as she felt her wound throb and changed her mind. She reached for his hand, linking their fingers together and resting it on her stomach. "You can ask me questions. You don't have to worry."

He nodded once, and focused on their joined hands for a minute. "Can I take you to get your knee looked at? We, we don't have to go to the hospital. We have a doctor we use, I can call him, have him come over."

She smiled at him, and felt her eyes dampen. No questions about last night, or why she left the hospital, just could he take care of her? Elizabeth rubbed her thumb over the back of Jason's hand finding a small scar above a knuckle, then shook her head. "We can go to the hospital. You don't need to call your doctor."

"I will," he told her. "If you don't want to be at the hospital."

"I'll be okay," she said. "I don't remember everything about last night, like ending up at Vista Point, but I know why I left the hospital. As I was sitting there with Gram while Taggart was telling her what the police knew, I-I tried not to remember what I'd seen. I tried to think of something else, but...but then all I could think about was when Zander and I were at the hospital after he'd been pulled out of the harbor and somebody shot at us."

Jason stiffed and his fingers stopped brushing over the fabric of her sweatshirt. "You were shot at in the hospital?"

She nodded. "We were sitting on the couch and there was this whoosh and a vase or something shattered behind us. He pushed me down, but nobody seemed to notice. That's when we got the hotel room and I came looking for you."

"I-I didn't know you were shot at," he said huskily.

"It doesn't matter now," she said, not wanting to delve back into that time of her life. "I don't want to dwell on it. I-I should probably call my gram...and probably Lucky too."

She shifted, intending to get out of bed, but Jason stopped her and pulled her back close to him. He said nothing, probably knew that nothing he could say would really matter, but what she needed the most was simply for him to be there for her. She rested her head in the crook of his neck and just cried as she allowed herself to give into the grief.

Pulling back after a few minutes, she sniffled and went to wipe the tears away, but Jason was already there gently erasing them. "I'm sorry. I feel like such a mess, like I'm not sure of anything, what I'm doing, where I am."

"It's alright," he assured her softly. "You don't have to worry about anything, and I'll be there anytime you need me. To talk, or not, to ride so fast you can't hear anything else."

"Just like before?"

"I guess," he said, and his brow furrowed at the doubt in her voice. "But it's not like before. We're together now, and I will always be here for you. D-don't pull back from me because you think you're a burden or a bother. When you care about someone you help them."

Elizabeth looked away, too overcome once again to speak. Finally she managed to turn back and thickly whisper, "Thank you. I-I'm going to go shower. I have her b-blood on me and..."

"Okay," he said, getting up and walking around the bed to help her stand. Her knee protested, and she knew she didn't hide the grimace of pain that crossed her face. He made sure she was steady on her feet, his hands lingering on her waist a moment before he dropped them to his side. "I'll be here. Take your time."

She nodded shakily, then gingerly walked to gather up her clothes. She purposefully avoided looking in the mirror when she reached the bathroom, not wanting to see how pale she must be, how wild and pained her eyes probably were. Instead she turned the water on hot and stripped her clothes off. The water was harsh against her skin, and stung her knee immediately, but she just closed her eyes as she leaned against the wall and lost herself again to the pain.

When Elizabeth left to go shower, Jason straightened up the bed and the first aid supplies left out last night. He found himself looking out the window at the coffee warehouse, a habit he seemed to slip into whenever he was here. The interior was coming along quickly, and Sonny was promising a big bonus if it was completed before Christmas. Speaking of Sonny, Jason frowned as he realized he'd better call in about last night.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the penthouse. He didn't have any illusions that Sonny would be asleep, he just hoped he didn't wake Carly. The phone rang several times and he hung up; if Sonny was there he would have answered by now. With a look towards the warehouse, Jason dialed a different number.

"Yeah."

"It's me."

"How's Elizabeth? Francis told me she left the hospital last night."

"She's pretty shaken up," he said, a bit of helplessness in his voice. "She hurt her knee, so I'm taking her back to the hospital. Then I'll call Francis and he can watch her while she's at her grandmother's house so we can meet. Have you heard from Johnny or Max?"

"I called them when I got to the warehouse. There's been no change, the guy slept and that was it." Sonny paused and Jason could feel the tension on the other end of the line. "I'm not putting you on surveillance. You'll help me handle things from this end."

Jason wasn't about to argue, not at this time. Maybe when Elizabeth had processed everything a little more and didn't seem quite so shaken he would be able to get more involved. But for now, "Alright. I'll call you later after we're done at the hospital."

Chapter 27

Jason looked up as the curtain slid back on the metal track and Monica waved him over. Elizabeth was sitting on the bed, her face even more pale than when he'd brought her in. He looked at her, then at Monica, the question to know the diagnosis clear on his face. Standing next to Elizabeth, he put his hand on her shoulder, and frowned at how tense she felt.

"I'm going to get your discharge papers, and have them bring your crutches," Monica said before stepping out and drawing the curtains closed again.

Jason sat down and picked up Elizabeth's hand, trying to get her to meet his eye. "Why is she getting you crutches?"

"She just wants me to use them for a couple of days, keep my weight off my knee." Her voice was small and hollow. He wasn't sure why, but he suspected it was a good thing they would be leaving the hospital soon.

"But the MRI Monica ordered was just a precaution, right?" he asked, still trying to find out the extent to which she'd hurt her knee.

"It's what she said," she nodded stiffly.

Jason was prevented from saying anything else when Bobbie came in with the crutches and the discharge papers. "Just sign here, Elizabeth."

When all the papers were signed and dated, Bobbie handed over two small white pieces of paper. "Here's your prescriptions for antibiotics and a pain killer. Monica showed you how to wrap your knee and told you to keep the bandages dry?"

Elizabeth nodded mutely and Jason made a mental note to go over it again with her later, or tell Audrey. Bobbie glanced at him, and Jason inclined his head to let her know he would make sure Elizabeth was all right. The nurse apparently felt it was under control so she continued on, "Okay, you need to see Monica again in a week, and now we get to put you on these."

Jason took the papers from Elizabeth, glanced over them briefly, looking up as she went back and forth across the curtained area on the crutches. Monica arrived back with a wheelchair and helped Elizabeth settle in, and Jason grew more concerned as Elizabeth hardly spoke. Both women again told her how sorry they were about Sarah and to tell Audrey they would call her later in the day. Elizabeth nodded blankly, and by the time they were outside and Jason had her situated in the car she was paler than before and had a fine sheen of sweat on her face despite the cold.

He shifted into drive and left the hospital parking lot, not looking at the street signs, just needing to get Elizabeth away from the imposing structure. Spotting a small park, he pulled in and put the car in park while leaving the engine running to keep the car warm. She looked over at him, her eyes asking why they stopped.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned about how still she'd remained after they left.

She looked away and shrugged. "Everyone that I saw kept telling me how sorry they were. How tragic it was and was it true that I found her body? I couldn't take it anymore."

He knew there was more bothering her, so he just sat quietly, holding her hand in his. She was gripping it so tightly he was amazed at the power. "But, but I kept feeling like a fraud. We fought so much growing up, and even now it's barely been over a month we've been what could even be considered friends."

"Is that what's bothering you? It doesn't matter if you fought. She was your sister, you have a right to be upset."

"She shouldn't be dead," she cried. "She didn't deserve it. She was a doctor, she was doing important things...at the hospital it felt like they were all staring at me wondering why it wasn't me."

His breath seemed to suddenly rush out of him. "What?"

"Why wasn't it me? Why did Perfect Sarah, the doctor, have to die? Why not the eternal waitress and wanna-be artist Lizzie?"

Now it was his hand that tightened about hers. "Hey. Who's voice are you hearing? Do you really think anybody at the hospital really wished you had died instead of your sister? Or do you think someone else would feel that way?"

She turned away, painfully shrugging in reply. He closed his eyes at the hurt that rolled off her. "You think your family would think that. Audrey never would, Elizabeth."

"I know," came her broken whisper.

"Your parents," he surmised, but she refused to look at him. He wondered, would her parents even bother to show up, and if they did, what would they say to Elizabeth? "Are you sure you're up to this? You know your grandmother would understand."

"I have to go," she said. "I promised Gram I would come. I need to see her, to explain why I left last night. I...I just need to be with her."

He hadn't expected anything less of her. Despite her own pain, or maybe because of it, she needed to be with her grandmother. To mourn, to find comfort, to give strength. Their grip on each other's hands lessened, as a calm seemed to descend over the car. Her color was coming back, and Jason's worry was letting up.

He cleared his throat softly; "Francis will be with you at your grandmother's house. I know she won't be happy-"

"I don't care," she interrupted. "After last night... Did Francis tell you why we were there?"

Jason shook his head no. He'd wondered, but hadn't bothered to ask because he'd more worried about finding her, making sure she was all right. She looked down at their hands, resting on the leather seat between them, and spoke softly. "I was painting last night, and I ran out of a color I was using. I knew I'd bought some yesterday, but I couldn't find it and then I realized I'd left it at Kelly's. I opened the door to have Francis take me over, forgetting he'd gone home for the night."

She shifted on the seat and reached out for his other hand which had been resting on the steering wheel. She looked at him, a hint of guilt in her eyes. "I thought about going by myself. I felt foolish calling Francis because of some paint I'd forgot, but I promised you. I promised I would be careful and not do something foolish."

"If you hadn't called..." He couldn't finish the thought. Normally he didn't play the what-if game, but he couldn't help but think that she would have been there sooner, when the killer was grabbing Sarah. She could have died with her sister and he would have lost her not because of his life, but because of something beyond his control. Suddenly he understood the night in his penthouse better, when Elizabeth said that there were things beyond their control, not just his job that could be a danger to her.

"But I did call," she said. "Because I promised you...and because I was afraid not to call. Which is why Francis will stay with me at Gram's. I won't give in to make her feel better, not on this. Because this - what you do and the people who come after you, and the man who killed Sarah - it's not a game."

The car pulled onto the quiet street, and part of Elizabeth wished she could tell Jason to just drive away. But she needed to visit her grandmother, and she knew Jason needed to meet with Sonny and not watch her while she broke down crying once again. After the talk at the park, she began fidgeting in the silence and turned the radio on. She'd hoped for music to distract her thoughts, and instead all she got were news reports about Sarah's death and Alcazar's swan dive off his hotel balcony.

Jason had slightly tensed at the Alcazar mention and she turned off the radio, for both their sakes. She didn't want to know if he was involved, and she knew better than to ask. He'd been out doing something, something that caused him to have a car and not his motorcycle, and that usually meant business. She felt a little guilty that she'd pulled him away from business for Sonny and hoped the other man wouldn't be upset with them.

Jason stopped the car and turned off the ignition, then turned to look at her. "You okay?"

She managed a nod. "I'm sorry I kinda lost it back there."

The words he said, his fiercely determined tone to never say she should have been the one to die still echoed in her head. He brushed a strand of hair away from her face; "It's okay. You're upset and you're hurt, just don't for one minute think no one would mourn your passing. I would. I couldn't bear to lose you. I need you in my life, Elizabeth."

"I know," she said. She didn't doubt it, not anymore. "I need you too. And...and I should go before I start crying uncontrollably again."

"Okay. I'll walk you to the door."

"You don't have to," she quickly told him. "I know Sonny's waiting for you. I'm not mad, I just know you need to meet with him and I'm going to be forever walking to the door."

"I will meet with Sonny," he said, reaching for the handle. "But I'm still walking you to the door."

By the time he had her door opened and her crutches out for her, Francis was standing on the sidewalk, his eyes casually scanning the area. She got out, situated the crutches under her arms, and slowly started towards the door. Jason was giving Francis instructions and she tuned them out having heard them before, and concentrated on walking. Place crutches, swing forward. Place crutches, swing forward. Don't stumble as crutches catch on raised crack in the sidewalk. Place crutches, swing forward. Finally, she reached the porch and groaned. Steps.

Jason and Francis stood behind her, and she knew they would help her if needed, but it was only three steps. She better get used to maneuvering on stairs. Slowly, and with only a little bit of difficulty, she was up and on the porch. Jason cupped her elbow and stopped her before she could open the door.

"I don't know how long I'll be. Francis will take you home if I'm not back, but I'll try to be here before then."

"Okay," she smiled, hoping he wouldn't be too long, but prepared for the fact he might be.

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his thumb lightly caressing her cheek. Softly he brushed a kiss over her lips, then turned to Francis who was staring out at the street. "Take care of her."

"You know I will," the guard promised.

Elizabeth smiled at the exchange, then turned to the door. She was startled when the knob turned, just as she reached for it, and her grandmother opened the door. She looked at the crutches and frowned slightly, then called out to Jason who was starting down the steps, "Jason?"

She stepped out; pulling her wheat colored sweater tight around her shoulders. "Jason, I-I wanted to thank you for finding Elizabeth last night, and for taking her to the hospital today."

"You're welcome," he said softly, as he stepped back up on the porch.

"I've never been very nice to you, and it's no secret that I don't like your association with Elizabeth-"

"Gram," she cut in, not believing her grandmother would pick this of all times to once again berate Jason, and her for choosing to be friends with him.

Gram smiled at her, and it looked like it was meant to reassure her, but Elizabeth still felt wary. Her grandmother looked back to Jason. "I know what I've said in the past, but last night...last night I was very glad that you and your were men were out looking for Elizabeth. I've lost one granddaughter, and I realize that this fight I've had with the two of you...it just doesn't seem important now."

Elizabeth was slightly stunned. Her grandmother wasn't yelling at Jason. She didn't apologize, but ending the fight was a big step and Elizabeth was glad this hadn't turned into another round of stay away from my granddaughter before you get her killed. Jason looked at her and then at her grandmother and nodded.

"I'm glad. I'll be back as soon as I can," he said to Elizabeth, then turned and headed for the car.

Elizabeth watched him go, then turned to her grandmother and tearfully smiled, "Thank you for not fighting with him today."

The elderly woman placed a soft, time worn hand on her cheek. "Darling, I may never approve of his job, but you consider him your friend. And last night I-I realized that wasting time fighting serves no purpose. If - Heaven forbid - it had been you last night the police came to tell me about...I just don't want to look back and only remember our fights."

Tears were falling from both their eyes and Elizabeth reached for her crutches to take a step forward, but Gram moved first. Wrapped in each other's arms, they stood there for a moment until finally her grandmother pulled back. "I'm so glad you're here, Darling. Come on; let's get you inside and off that knee. Tell me what the doctor said."

Elizabeth followed her inside and tried not to resist too much when her grandmother combined the two biggest fussing jobs in the world, nurse and grandmother, and immediately began taking care of her. She asked about her knee, her medications and generally fluttered about until Elizabeth insisted she sit down when she brought out their tea. Taking a small sip of the chamomile and honey tea, Elizabeth warily looked over the rim of her cup. She didn't want to ask the question, but she needed to. She promised Lucky and Nikolas that she would call them and let them know about the funeral and any way they could help.

But to do that she had to ask. "Have you talked to my parents?"

Continue On

Head Back to the Main Page