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Chapter 10

Sonny stared out the glass doors as the first traces of soft pink and purple light hinted at the sky. He ran a tired hand over his face and turned away from the door. He had been awake all night, unable to sleep, unable to calm his raging emotions.

Carly told him last night what happened with Ric Lansing on Valentine's Day. Even before he heard she had told Jason and what he suspected happened, he was seething. Not at her, as he was sure she expected, but at Ric and mostly at himself. He had suspected Ric was up to no good, never trusted the man who was too perfect, too eager to just help out. Yet he allowed him to get close to his family, gave him business to do, let him stay in Port Charles. He should have run the snake out long ago.

Instead, he'd been soft, had been distracted by Brenda, Alcazar's trial, and trying to hide the fact he felt he was losing his grip and sinking into the darkness again. He'd missed his wife being in pain, his best friend sleeping with his sister, and a young woman he once considered a friend getting sucked into a dangerous situation. He knew what happened to Elizabeth all those years ago, and he shuddered. Ric had violated Carly, and Elizabeth was now charged with his murder.

He heard Jason's door click closed and echo in the hallway. Quickly he crossed the room and opened his own door, needing to talk to Jason. He rounded the corner and saw his friend waiting at the elevator. "Jason?"

The younger man looked up, then tilted his head slightly to the side. "Sonny, what's wrong?"

Sonny smoothed a hand over his unruly hair and waved off Jason's question. "I'm fine. It's not me. Can we talk?"

"Sure," Jason said, and then moved towards Sonny's penthouse.

"Let's go to yours," Sonny said, shaking his head.

Jason nodded, then turned silently towards his home. Sonny followed, and when he closed the door Jason turned and crossed his arms over his chest as he settled his feet slightly apart. "What is it? Is something wrong with Carly or Michael?"

Sonny shook his head and scrubbed a hand over his face. "No. Carly...last night she told me about Ric...what he did to her."

Jason shifted his weight to his left foot and brought one hand up to rub his forehead. "She told me yesterday. I told her to tell you."

Sonny leaned against the desk and swallowed. "She told me that too. I just...just can't imagine what she felt when she woke up. She didn't want to tell me because she was afraid of what I'd do. She thought I'd blame her. How could she think..."

Jason looked away and Sonny closed his eyes. Of course Carly would be afraid he'd blame her. He was always so quick to believe the worst, to jump to the conclusion she was scheming something. As Carly tearfully told him last night, she slept with him when she was sure Jason wanted Elizabeth, why wouldn't she sleep with Ric if she thought Sonny was leaving her for Brenda?

He cleared his throat and asked, "Did you find anything?"

"Coleman confirmed Ric left with her, he just thought Carly was drunk. But he said she was already acting that way before Ric showed up."

"Do you think it was drugs?"

"Could be. Seems like it. But I don't know who gave it to her."

"I'll have someone check that out," Sonny said.

Jason started to speak, "I'll-"

"No," he shook his head. "No. You need to focus on Elizabeth. I know you're worried about her, you don't need to take this on too. Have...have you found out anything?"

A flash of pain crossed his friend's face, and Sonny straightened. Jason turned and walked over to the pool table and placed his hands on the edge, his arms taught, his head hanging down. Sonny took a step forward, then stopped. "Jason?"

The younger man turned and his face was calm, but Sonny could see the turmoil in Jason's eyes. "They had to sedate her again yesterday. She met with Baldwin and something set her off. Emily and Zander said she was screaming 'not again' and Dara and Gail were talking about attempted rape."

Sonny felt the bile burn the back of his throat. Ric raped Carly; had he tried to hurt Elizabeth as well? He closed his eyes, sickened at the thought of her being attacked again. "Is she…how is she?"

Jason looked away. "She's not getting better. She can't stay in the hospital."

"Why?" Sonny asked. "If she's in the hospital Baldwin can't have her arrested."

"Her PTSD started after she was locked in the crypt last summer," Jason said softly. "She's trapped physically, and she's locked up in her mind. She's not going to get better like that."

Sonny nodded his head in understanding. Close spaces were his undoing; he knew what it was like when the walls felt like they were caving in. He also knew Jason wasn't going to let her stay in the hospital. "What are you planning?"

Jason looked slightly uncomfortable. "I was going to tell you today."

"Don't apologize," Sonny told him. "I know you, you've been focused, as you should be."

"I called Esteban. He's setting up a house, guards and a doctor out of the country. He's taking care of travel arrangements."

"When?"

"End of the week at the latest."

Sonny nodded and looked down at his feet. End of the week and Jason would be gone. Sure, he knew the other man would offer to help in any way he could out of the country, but Jason couldn't come back to the States. "Do you need anything?"

"I'd like to take Johnny," Jason admitted, "but he needs to stay here. He's the best for promotion to second."

"That will always be you," Sonny said with fierce loyalty.

"It can't be," Jason shook his head. "Because we know I can't come back. Even if Elizabeth gets better, I can't return."

"I know, I know," he said sadly. "I just never thought I'd have to replace you."

"I'll help however-"

"Yeah," Sonny said. He paused then said, "I can pull Francis off Puerto Rico, or I can give you Marco."

"Pull Francis. If two of us disappear, it'll give Baldwin an excuse to come after you."

"Like Baldwin needs one," he chuckled humorlessly.

"I'm sorry, Sonny," Jason said softly.

"Don't be. You need to take care of Elizabeth."

"Take care of Carly. Just be there for her, that's what she needs most." He looked down at his watch and sighed. "I need to meet with Hunt."

"Yeah, okay," Sonny said, remembering Jason had been on his way out. He should get back to the penthouse and be there in case Carly woke up. "I'll see you later then."

Jason slid into the chair near the end of the counter at a diner several blocks from the waterfront, and ignored everyone just as they ignored him. The place wasn't crowded, most of the dockworkers were already at their jobs, but there were several around. He had made it a practice to stop in occasion, usually under the guise of needing a cup of coffee while he was out, but never really much else. That way when he stopped in for meetings with informants, people wouldn't think he was out of place.

Twelve minutes later, Nathan Hunt sat down several chairs away and ordered a cup of coffee while he looked over his menu. He was dressed in civilian clothes, but they didn't acknowledge each other as they drank their coffee. Hunt ordered a steak and eggs breakfast, then headed to the bathroom. Less than a minute later, Jason finished his coffee, placed some bills on the counter and walked towards the bathroom. Nathan was washing his hands as he walked in, and left the water running while Jason locked the door quietly behind him.

"I got a copy of Taggart's preliminary write up of Miss Webber's interview. Give me a couple of days and I can probably get Baldwin's version. There's a problem though, I heard him ranting about wanting to get her committed."

Jason's gut tensed. "Committed?"

"He's determined to see her go down because she knows you, and because you've been visiting her. He thinks she's faking it, or she's being coached as some sort of cover-up, and he wants her locked away."

"When?"

"As soon as he gets a judge who'll believe his snow job," the police officer said as he rolled his eyes.

Jason was sure that wouldn't take any longer than a day or two. Dara could fight it, but the judge could always just say Elizabeth should be committed in the interim. This was going to speed things up. He promised Emily he wouldn't let Elizabeth get locked away, and he intended to keep that promise, no matter what.

"Thanks," he said as he pulled an envelope out of his pocket. Hunt handed over the report, turned off the water and unlocked the door.

When Jason left the bathroom shortly afterwards and went outside, Hunt never looked up from his steak. Jason headed to the warehouse and went into his office, where he finally allowed himself to open the report and read it over.

Elizabeth and Ric fought, he already knew that, but she still didn't remember why. Then Scott dropped the bombshell; she had used the baseball bat he gave her. Hunt included a copy of the forensics report. Ric's blood and skin had been found on the bat, along with Elizabeth's fingerprints. He closed his eyes as he read the next line. His fingerprints were on the bat as well. Baldwin would probably use that as an excuse to come after him.

The D.A. would never believe they were from July when he purchased the bat. Baldwin would try and claim he'd been there that night, or something along those lines. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew he needed to be there for Elizabeth, he'd almost welcome Scott's harassment as a diversion away from her. That was going to mean they needed to leave tonight, before Scott could arrest him on some trumped up charges and then he wouldn't be able to get Elizabeth out of the hospital.

He pulled out his phone and dialed a number that was becoming increasingly familiar. "It's Morgan. It has to happen tonight."

"Señor Morgan, the house is not yet prepared as you requested," the other man said apologetically.

"It has to be tonight," he said. "Find us a temporary place out of the country if you can, but we need to leave tonight."

"Mexico City," Esteban said after a moment's pause. "I can put you in Mexico City until your house is ready in forty-eight hours."

"Thank you," Jason said. "I'll be sending a man there to check things over, he'll contact you within the hour."

Ending the call he sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck. He'd left Port Charles before, but this time the difference was weighing on him. Maybe years from now he could slip into town and visit those still here, but every tie that had ever been important to him would be left behind. It had been hard to contact people previously, but it would be even harder now. The police would be after him for taking Elizabeth; he couldn't put those he loved and cared about in a position of having to lie for him.

A knock on the doorframe brought his attention back to the present. Looking up he saw Sonny in the doorway. "You okay?"

Jason pushed the report silently across the desk and gestured at it. Sonny closed the door and sat down in the chair as he picked up the papers. Halfway through he looked up, "Baldwin just can't let up, can he?"

"He's pushing to have her committed," Jason said.

"Committed?" Sonny asked in surprise. "Why?"

"He thinks she's faking it or being coached, according to Hunt."

"She's also connected to you," his friend said in realization. "He's using her to bait you."

"Well it's working," Jason ground out in frustration. "I'm not letting her get locked away. I'm taking off tonight, and it's going to leave you open to him coming after you."

"Don't worry about it," Sonny said, waving him off.

"I do," he said. "My job is to protect you, to take care of you."

"You've always done everything to protect my family and the organization, but that's changed now, Jason. I should have seen it when you went to Taggart last summer, instead I felt you betrayed me. Maybe...maybe things would have been different if I'd seen it; remembered you were my friend."

"You taught me the life-"

"But I didn't teach you how to balance it," he said sadly. "Maybe it's because I'm selfish and didn't think about you ever needing or wanting a family of your own, or maybe because I'm still trying to figure it out myself. But you're doing what I would do if Carly was in trouble, and I can't fault you for it. How can I help for tonight?"

Jason was welcome for the change of focus. He didn't want to dwell too much on leaving Carly, Michael and Sonny behind. They were his family, his friends, and though he'd left them before, the heavy weight of permanence was pressing on him. Planning everything down to the smallest so that there wouldn't be any problems was not only a necessity, but a welcome distraction.

"Esteban will have a place in Mexico City for us to stay at until he gets the place I asked for ready. I need Francis to go there to secure it and be there when we arrive."

"That's the easy part," Sonny said. "The hard part's going to be getting her out of the hospital."

Chapter 11

As he sat in the richly furnished room, Zander shifted on the mahogany colored leather sofa and sighed. He hadn't been in Wyndamere before, and he found himself not caring for the stuffy appearance of it all. Too dark, too oppressive; it reminded him of his father's study, of the guilt and blame that had been placed on his shoulders for Peter's death.

He shook his head, putting one pang of guilt in the past as he focused on another. He looked around the room, at Lucky and Nikolas talking quietly about their mother as they stood near the wet bar, and Emily as she looked through the books on the bookshelf. She turned, smiled at him over her shoulder, then made her way back to his side.

"Are you alright?" she asked, as she sat down beside him. She reached for his hand, but he kept them tightly linked in his lap.

"I'm fine," he said, hoping she would take his distance as lingering self-loathing. He still felt disgusted by that night last July, but he was also nervous. Jason had called him this afternoon and said he wanted Zander to get the others together. It had to be tonight, and they couldn't know why.

Jason was taking Elizabeth out of the hospital, and Zander had his suspicions out of the country as well, tonight. Jason didn't want any of them to be in his way, but more than that, he wanted them to have alibis. The only one that hadn't arrived yet was Gia, but she was due any moment as she came from a late class, then dinner with her brother.

She walked in a few minutes later and the room fell silent and turned to Zander. Lucky cleared his throat, then said, "Alright, we're all here. What was so important that we had to meet tonight?"

Zander leaned forward, then stood abruptly when Emily put her hand on his back. He knew it was meant to comfort him, but he couldn't take it tonight. He didn't look at her, didn't want to see the hurt on her face, knew he couldn't if he was going to get through this. "I called us together to talk about Elizabeth."

"What happened?" Lucky immediately demanded.

"Elizabeth was questioned by Baldwin yesterday, and she had another episode."

"Oh," Gia gasped as she covered her mouth.

"What set her off?" Nikolas asked.

Emily was about to tell everyone, but he didn't want to want to get into that now. He couldn't think about the rape and his actions again. "It doesn't matter," he cut her off. "What matters is Baldwin was talking to my father about committing Elizabeth."

His words had the intended effect. Immediately they all began talking, questioning and throwing out suggestions. Emily wanted to get a lawyer to push through getting her made Elizabeth's power of attorney. Nikolas promised his money and power to make it happen. Lucky suggested they might need to take more drastic measures, like spiriting her out of the hospital, but it was Gia who managed to steer the topic back to the legal side.

The four of them became more involved, and Zander sat back, observing and contributing occasionally. The plans continued, and the hours passed. Zander hoped that whatever Jason planned went off quickly, without any problems, and most of all helped Elizabeth.

She wasn't sure what made her wake up, but she knew enough not to jackknife up in bed. She tried to keep her breathing even, as she strained her ears listening. Someone was in her studio, she knew it. She thought it had been a dream, thought that she'd heard someone come in - then leave? - but now there was someone new. Or maybe the person never really left.

There was a sound to her left and it took everything she had not to turn her head. Where was her baseball bat? All she could think of was Jason telling her to go for the guy's kneecaps. How could she do that, though, when she was on her couch and her bat was behind the door?

"Elizabeth."

A soft voice whispered over her, as the person beside her brushed the hair off her face. She couldn't help but flinch, and her breathing shallowed.

"Don't be afraid," the person whispered. "I know you're awake, Elizabeth. It's Jason. I'm here to help you."

The tears wouldn't stay locked away, and two silent streams made tracks down her face and pooled in her ears. Why would Ric break into her studio, and why would he pretend he was Jason? Was this a test? Was he sick enough to try and trick her? Did he think in her sleep she would slip up and say that she loved Jason still, that she still longed for him and wanted to be with him, and that she didn't really want to be with Ric? How could she ever have believed he was a good, kind and gentle man? Especially after what she found out.

She shivered when a thumb brushed the tears off her face. Her skin crawled and she felt sick to her stomach. How had she ever let this man touch her? How could she let him touch her now? "No."

"Elizabeth, open your eyes," Ric pleaded with her. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She could feel his hand hovering just above her skin, moving down her arm. He cupped the side of her arm, and when she felt pressure on the inside of her elbow she jerked her arm away and blindly scrambled from him. She fell to the floor and crawled across it.

Footsteps hurried after her and she looked around frantically for something to defend herself with. There was nothing and she felt bitter tears of disappointment sting her eyes. He was behind her, and she knew her only chance was to hope someone heard her scream. Drawing in a large breath she opened her mouth, but Ric clamped his hand over it, trapping the air in her lungs and making them burn.

"Elizabeth, please," he whispered. "Don't scream. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to move my hand, but you can't scream."

He moved his hand slowly, and her breath exploded out of her. She was shaking, tears streaming down her face. "Please, Ric, don't do this. Please don't hurt me. Whatever it is, please..."

There was a strangled groan behind her, and he sat down and pulled her close to him. "Elizabeth, I'm not Ric. I'm promise. I'm Jason."

"No, no, no," she shook her head. "Jason doesn't make promises. You screwed up, Ric."

He turned her on the floor, and put his hands on her shoulders. The light was dim, but she could sense his face very close to hers. "I am Jason. Please believe me."

"No, no. You'll say anything," she protested. "Jason is with Courtney, but you knew that. Why would you do this to me?"

His hands moved from her shoulders to her face and she tried to shake them off. "Elizabeth, it is Jason. You found me in the snow, fed me gallons of soup, we decorated a tree with paper chains and you painted me the wind. I am your friend, more than your friend and I am going to help you."

"How...how could you know?" she asked, cold shock settling over her. Ric couldn't know all that, except... "The files. You researched us."

"No, Elizabeth," he said, sounding weary and lost. "I'm so sorry, Elizabeth. I don't want to do this, but we have to leave."

He held out his hand, and someone handed him something. A needle. No, no, no, no more needles. She tried to get away, but Ric held her tight.

"I have to do this, Elizabeth. It'll be for the best," he said, his voice husky. "I'm so sorry."

"It really is for the best, Elizabeth," he told her as he blocked her exit from the room. "You'll see. Just come with me."

"Never," she shook her head violently. "I'll never go anywhere with you."

"I'm going to help you. It will be alright," he told her.

"Please," she whimpered, even as she felt the drug beginning to work. She hated drugs, hated how they made her feel thick and sluggish. "Please don't hurt me."

"I'm not going to hurt you," Ric whispered beside her.

No, it wasn't Ric. It sounded like Jason. But that couldn't be, could it? Hadn't Ric just been here? How did Jason know, how did he get here? She turned her head and a surprised gasp came out. "J-Jason?"

He closed his eyes and dipped his head. "Yes, I'm here, Elizabeth."

"Ho-how did you know?" she whispered. "How did you know about Ric?"

"Ric?"

"He was here, he was going to hurt me, he wanted me to go with him." She stopped and looked around the room frantically. "He's gone, right? He's not coming back, is he? P-please don't let him hurt me."

Jason pulled her close and smoothed his hand over her hair and down her back. "He's gone. He won't hurt you. Nobody will hurt you, Elizabeth."

"Thank you," she said drowsily, leaning her head against his chest. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Elizabeth," he said as he pulled back slightly. "I need you to come with me. Can you put your coat on?"

"Yeah," she said, even as her arms felt heavy and detached from her body. She was so tired and the couch was so far away.

Jason reached for her arm and helped guide it into the sleeve of her coat. "Here."

He buttoned the near floor length coat, helped her stand up, then moved them over to the door. He opened it, and looked out into the hall. Then with one arm around her waist, he led her to the stairwell. She was feeling so tired she wasn't sure how she made it there or down the first flight. With each step she leaned more heavily on Jason.

"Elizabeth?" he asked, as they stopped on the landing. He picked her up and cradled her to him. "It's alright, I've got you now."

Drowsily she mumbled, and then gave into the sleep calling her. Jason would protect her from Ric. She was finally safe now.

Jason took a deep breath as he prepared to head back into the cabin of the plane from the cockpit. They had just deviated from their filed flight plan to Nova Scotia, and were jetting out to international waters where they would switch their transponder signal and turn south. Sonny's pilots knew all about deviating from flight plans, and he knew they would never say anything to the authorities, but he wouldn't rest easy until they arrived in Mexico City.

He pushed the curtain aside and paused as it fell closed behind him. Elizabeth lay asleep on one of the couches near the cabin wall. He knew it was because of the sedative, and that she would be all right, he just hated it. Hated that he had to drug her, but he'd had no choice. They never would have gotten her out of the hospital if she'd been fighting with them, convinced it was Ric trying to take her away.

He walked over to the couch and shifted her, so he could sit down beside her. Her head was now on his lap, and she curled her hand slightly resting it on his thigh. Gently he put his hand on her side, feeling reassured with each rise and fall signaling a breath. The drugs made her abnormally still and it unnerved Jason; the December he stayed at her studio he'd grown used to her constant shifting on the floor as she slept.

Running his hand along the length of her arm, he gave in and allowed himself a selfish moment. Elizabeth probably wouldn't want him to touch her like this; she'd probably try to push him away while she was undergoing therapy, but it had been too long since he'd been this close to her. All his time with Courtney was forgotten as he tried to hold onto this feeling. He'd jumped too fast from Elizabeth to Courtney, trying to forget the stinging words Elizabeth told him when she walked out. Maybe if he had waited, given himself some time to sort through everything with Elizabeth instead of acting like it didn't exist he and Courtney could have worked out. But in the weeks they'd been apart, he hadn't found himself lost and aching for her, his thoughts had turned to Elizabeth instead. Courtney had never, and would never, fill the space Elizabeth had left.

He wouldn't say those things to her though while she was recovering. No matter how she railed against him, or cut him with her feelings of worthlessness, he wasn't going to add to her problems. She needed to heal, needed to be able to deal with what Ric had done to her and the fact that she killed him. Then, and only then, would he talk to her about their past, the mistakes they'd made and try and figure out if they could repair their relationship.

Relationship would have to wait. He hadn't broken her out of the hospital to try to romance her or seduce her. He hadn't had one of their guys inside the hospital slip into Dr. Baldwin's office and copy Elizabeth's file, along with her complete medical history from Central Records, to screw up her recovery because he wanted her back in his life. The minute she became lucid again, he was going to have to go back to exercising self-restraint and do what the doctor felt was best for her recovery.

The files, he thought tiredly, had been the easy part. The hard part had been figuring how to get Elizabeth out of the hospital. He didn't want overly complicated plots, but he was not going to get caught. Scott Baldwin was watching, Jason knew that, but she hadn't been arrested so they technically couldn't have a guard on her room. Technicalities weren't really something Scott worried about, so Jason had to plan for not only the hospital personnel, but the wild card factor of the D.A. In the end it had been more tense than actually risky.

Johnny and Marco had been stationed at strategic points on the floor, Nathan Hunt had slipped into the security office of the hospital and taken care of the security cameras on the floor, and a nurse's aide Johnny charmed into turning a blind eye to a boyfriend visiting his girlfriend after hours, was on desk duty during rounds. Jason and a lab tech who fed them information, slipped into Elizabeth's room after the nurse left. After he sedated Elizabeth, the tech left to go distract the nurse and the aide over bogus lab orders and Jason got Elizabeth to the stairway and down to the car. It was then that Jason relaxed a little, but not fully until Johnny got them to the airport and the plane took off.

He gave a tired sigh, and stretched his legs out while he rubbed Elizabeth's shoulder lightly. He had fulfilled his promise and gotten her out of the hospital. He had been in his element at that moment, planning, evading, taking action. Now he would have to step back and let others take over. He would keep her safe, but it was up to Elizabeth and the doctor whether she got better.

Chapter 12

When she reached the door, she opened it quietly. Most patients were still asleep at this hour, and she always felt bad that they had to wake them but it was necessary to prepare for the day. As the door closed behind her she stopped dead in her tracks. Elizabeth wasn't in her bed, the blanket and sheet hung half off the mattress, and the bathroom door was open. Elizabeth was gone.

It didn't take a great leap of the imagination to figure out what happened. There were few people who could get her out of the hospital like this. Her brother Luke and Jason Morgan came to mind, and while she knew her brother and nephew cared deeply for Elizabeth, Bobbie put her money on Jason. He had helped Carly when she was in Ferncliff and he had helped Elizabeth before, not to mention visiting her every day since her admission into the hospital.

Knowing she couldn't keep Elizabeth's disappearance a secret, she headed back to the nurses' station. The other nurse looked at her quizzically. "You need to finish rounds. Elizabeth Webber is missing and I have to call the police."

It wasn't that she wanted to get Jason in trouble, and it probably would be better for Elizabeth to be away from here. But there was simply no hiding the fact Elizabeth was gone. She didn't even dare call Sonny or anyone else for fear Scott Baldwin would subpoena all phone records and she didn't want to give him any fuel for the wild crusade she knew he was about to undertake. She could only hope that Jason had covered his tracks well and they were never found at all.

The first call came at 6:30. Nathan Hunt wasn't on duty, but like any good officer he listened to the police scanner during the times he couldn't sleep, and his insomnia was well known around the squad room. He'd heard the reports about Elizabeth Webber's disappearance from the hospital and he called Sonny to alert him. He then told the man he worked for he was going to call the shift commander to see if they needed his help.

Sonny sat in the dark living room, wondering how Jason was doing. He knew from Johnny that they'd gotten Elizabeth out, and his pilots called after they'd landed in Mexico City. He told them to fly to the island and lay low for a while. The plane had been reported missing when it didn't show up in Nova Scotia and neither they nor the plane could be seen - especially near the Caribbean - but he couldn't chance them flying back yet so it was best they hid quickly. He knew they wouldn't be seen; his people were very good at hiding things down there.

It wasn't too long after Hunt's call that the front desk phoned to inform him Taggart and Baldwin had just stormed onto the elevator. Minutes later there was angry yelling from the hallway and then a knock on the door. He opened the door and looked at Marco, deliberately ignoring the other two men.

"Lieutenant Taggart and D.A. Baldwin here to see you and Mr. Morgan."

"But Stone Cold Silence is gone, isn't he?" Scott asked, as he rocked forward on the balls of his feet.

"What are you going on about this time?" Sonny asked, in not-so-feigned annoyance.

"Elizabeth Webber has just poof, disappeared from the hospital and I'm betting anything you and your flunky were behind it," the D.A. said, pushing his way into the penthouse. "Let me guess, Morgan's suddenly gone on vacation and you don't know when he'll be back."

Sonny rubbed a hand over his face. "Wait, wait, Elizabeth Webber is missing? Why are you here harassing me instead of out looking for her? Or why aren't you checking to see where Faith Roscoe is? She seems to have developed an interest in Ric Lansing and with you prosecuting Elizabeth daily on TV for his murder, maybe she decided not to wait for the justice system before extracting revenge."

"Faith Roscoe would just smother her with a pillow," Scott scoffed. "It was Morgan and you helped him. So let's go take a peek in his penthouse and we can all act surprised when we see he's not there."

"Sure," Sonny smiled. "You, Taggart, your warrant and I will all go over there. Oh, wait, you just gave each other the 'Drats, foiled again, we don't have a warrant' look. No warrant, I don't have to do jack for you. So get out of my house and get out of my building."

He opened the door and looked at Marco, who met his dark glare with one of his own. "Escort them personally down to the lobby."

When the door was closed and the penthouse was silent once again, he sank to the sofa cushions and sighed. It would be days before he would hear from Jason, and he could only wish his friend luck.

Now, he was going to go back to bed. Or not, as he saw Carly standing on the landing. "Jason's gone?"

He was up early, or maybe he'd never fully fallen asleep. He certainly didn't feel rested after finally getting back from Spoon Island at two in the morning. Emily had asked him to come with her for the night, but he'd declined. Not only did he not feel like dealing with Edward and the rest of the Quartermaines when they discovered his overnight stay, he wanted to be alone when he first watched the news.

He sat on the bed, sipping a cup of coffee and watching perky housewives rave about the latest and greatest laundry detergent. He'd turned it on during a commercial break and he didn't feel like flipping through the channels when soon enough the overly happy and awake anchors would be back on with the local news. Finally the commercials ended and Frank Pickle and Kris Fields were back.

"Welcome back," Kris smiled from the TV. "Our top story this morning has been the disappearance of murder suspect Elizabeth Webber from General Hospital."

"He got her out," Zander mumbled in relief.

"As you may remember," Frank picked up the story, "No arrest has been made in the death of Ric Lansing. Officially police say they just want to question her about the death that took place inside her studio apartment."

"Right," he snorted. "Question her...good one, Pickle."

"Her disappearance raises new questions, though officially they have no suspects or leads."

"Stay with us throughout the day," Kris cut in with a plastic smile, "and we'll keep you informed on the latest developments. Now stay tuned for the Today Show."

Zander got up and turned off the TV. No news, no suspects, no leads. Sure. He bet they'd already gone over to the penthouse, and they were only looking at Jason as a possibility for helping her. The plastic faces would speculate it to death and Scott would lay on the innuendo thickly. So long as Elizabeth was safe and she and Jason couldn't be traced he guessed it really didn't matter what the town thought. Especially since the town would be right, only would be unable to prove it.

He finished his coffee and headed into the shower. He wanted to see Emily, be with her when she found out her best friend was gone. He could only imagine that Edward would catch wind of it and start yelling about how it had to be Jason's fault. He'd wail about Sonny Corinthos corrupting his grandson and how Jason would only bring shame on the family, but he'd never think about Emily and how Jason was her brother and Elizabeth was her best friend.

Fifteen minutes later, Zander was showered, dressed and in his car. The news talked about Elizabeth's vanishing act, and some eager reported had found out and shared with his colleagues that the police were also trying to locate Jason. His foot pressed down harder on the accelerator; it was imperative to get to Emily now. They could call the others later; he just wanted to get to Em before Edward woke her up.

She waited until Sonny left for the warehouse and Leticia took Michael to school. She felt that she owed it to Courtney to tell her Jason was gone before she heard it at Kelly's. Her sister-in-law didn't really care about watching the news or getting the newspaper, and Carly didn't feel she could let her find out what happened from anyone else.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Courtney," she said softly. "Sorry I woke you up, I know you closed last night."

"It's alright," the other woman yawned. "Is everything alright?"

"Not really," she said. "But it's not us, it's...it's Jason."

"Was he hurt? What happened? Did he ask for me? I don't care what Sonny says, if he's hurt I want to be with him."

Carly closed her eyes at the panic, desperation, anger and hope in the younger woman's voice. "No, Courtney, he's not hurt. Eliz...Elizabeth was taken from the hospital last night. The police came by to talk to Jason and Sonny, but Sonny held them off since they don't have a warrant. After they left, Sonny wouldn't answer my questions about if Jason was here or if he was gone. I...I think he's gone though, and I think he's with Elizabeth. I wanted to tell you, sweetie."

"Why?" she choked out on a sob. "Why did he have to leave? And with Elizabeth?"

Carly thought she knew why, she just didn't know how to tell Courtney and not hurt the younger woman's feelings. Jason's words from the hospital came back to her mind, and her heart hurt for Courtney and for Jason as well. Courtney had fallen completely in love with Jason, but Jason's heart belonged to Elizabeth and Courtney never stood a chance of cracking the hold. Jason had thrown himself into the relationship to forget Elizabeth, but had found only a pale imitation. And Carly had added to those problems, by not really seeing what was going on, just being thrilled that Jason was finally away from Elizabeth.

"He felt he..." had to, wanted to, could help her, couldn't leave her alone? All of those were probably true, but how could she explain that to Courtney?

"I've lost him, haven't I?" Courtney asked, the tears evident in her voice. "I-I thought he would come back, that he would stand up to Sonny. I mean we were together when he was married to Brenda and on trial."

"It wasn't Sonny," Carly said, understanding her sister-in-law's anguish, but still feeling the need to defend her husband. "Jason made the decision."

"So you're saying he didn't love me enough, or maybe he never loved me at all. He just used me to get over Elizabeth and he went running back to her the moment she got into trouble."

Anger was now clear in the other woman's voice and Carly treaded carefully. "I don't know, Courtney. I just wanted to let you know what happened and what other people were saying. I'm sorry, sweetie."

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I-I feel like such a fool. I love him and I want to be with him, but...he's gone. Will he ever come back?"

"I don't know," Carly lied. When she asked Sonny the same question, the way he reacted set off warning bells in her mind. She highly doubted Jason would ever return.

"I...I need to go," Courtney whispered. "Thank you for telling me."

"Of course. If you want to talk, you know I'm here."

"Right. Bye."

Carly hung up the phone and rubbed her forehead. She hadn't expected Courtney to take the news well; she was barely processing it herself. But Carly at least knew Jason's true feelings towards Courtney and had seen his long history with Elizabeth. She still didn't like it very much, but Jason had made his decision and there would be no chances to change his mind.

She found herself thinking about Elizabeth and the young woman's state of mind. She had heard parts of conversations between Sonny and Jason, and Jason's worry and concern for Elizabeth because she couldn't remember what happened and wasn't aware of reality sometimes. Carly had seen patients like that in Ferncliff and she'd thanked her lucky stars she wasn't like those poor saps.

But now Elizabeth was that poor sap, and Carly couldn't imagine what her life was like. She understood why Jason was determined to help her, having been on the receiving end of Jason's concern and care before when she hadn't trusted him and made things worse after she shot Tony Jones. What made this different though, was she no longer felt Elizabeth was playing Jason. Ric Lansing had raped Carly, and he'd done something to Elizabeth. Life had thrown both women a heinous curve, and Carly was finding herself very concerned about what the future held for Elizabeth. And for maybe the first time, she wished nothing but the best for Elizabeth.

Chapter 13

The door opened quietly, muted steps barely a whisper in the room due to the thick carpeting. Jason heard wood scrape softly on wood and a faint clink of silverware. Opening one eye, he looked over at Francis as the guard shifted on his feet and slipped a hand in his pocket.

"I brought you some breakfast," he said in a quiet voice.

"I'm not hungry," Jason replied.

"Uh-huh. And how long have you been going, not eating, drinking nothing but coffee and getting little if any sleep?"

He shrugged, looking away. Francis gave a soft snort, which caused him to snap his gaze back to the guard. Pointing a finger at the plate the blond man ordered, "Eat."

Jason raised an eyebrow, but Francis held his stare. "Spare me, Morgan. I've got enough to worry about guarding you two and making sure we get to our next destination safely. I know you won't sleep until she wakes up and you see for yourself how she is, but I am not going to allow you to make yourself sick by not eating. You wanna play macho, worried man in quiet solitude? Fine, I'll leave.

"But," he said, pointing at Elizabeth's still form on the bed, "you think about how much good you'll do her passed out from piss-poor care of yourself. You broke her out of a hospital, put your life on the line and you'll probably never be able to return to the States again. You gonna screw all of that up now?"

Jason stood and crossed over to Francis. "I see the tropics have done nothing for your sparkling personality. But I get your point. I'll eat. Thanks."

Francis smiled and chuckled. "Good. Playing the heavy isn't easy with you." His smile slipped and he looked over at Elizabeth. "Don't worry, Jason, she'll wake up soon. Her mind and her body have been through a lot, she's drained. I-it's strange to think of something like this happening to her. When I guarded her...I don't know, I never thought I'd see her like this."

"Yeah," Jason sighed. "I...I just worry that I gave her too much you know."

"The sedative?"

Jason nodded and Francis shook his head. "Nah, you had Josh with you, he measured it out, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then she's fine. You didn't nearly O.D. her. She's just resting. Well, I'll let you eat. I'll go check with Esteban about when the house will be ready."

"Thanks, Francis," he said as the guard left the room.

Picking the tray up off the dresser, he sat back down in the chair by Elizabeth's bed. He didn't want to eat, but he knew Francis was right. The guard kept the food light, but still Jason had to force himself to choke down it. He finished almost all of it, then placed the tray back on the hardwood dresser and walked over to the window.

He parted the heavy drapes and peered out at the bright, sun drenched landscape. It was mid-morning in Port Charles, more than ten hours since he'd sedated Elizabeth and he wondered how long it would be until she woke up. Maybe Francis was right and she had just been stretched beyond her limit and her body had responded by the only means available, sleep. It made logical sense, but he was still anxious for her to awake.

He also wondered what state she'd be in when it happened. Would she recognize him? He would gladly take her being angry at him for the past five months because she would at least be lucid and in the present. It was hard for him to deal with her when she thought it was a different time - or even worse - or when she thought he was Ric. He never knew what to say or do. Should he indulge her false beliefs? Try to bring her back to reality? And if he tried, how hard should he push?

He wasn't a doctor, and he hoped that he didn't cause too much - or long lasting - damage by having to move her before he had the house and the doctor set up. With a sigh, he let the curtain fall and settle into place. Turning around he scrubbed his hands over his face and through his hair. He wouldn't know anything until she woke up. With a twist of his back to work the knots out, he returned to the chair.

Sitting down, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and steepled his fingers together. "Elizabeth, you need to wake up. Scream at me for all I care, but...but this isn't you. You're too full of energy and life to lie here like this. I know I haven't said much since we left the hospital, but if forcing you to listen to me drone on and on is what gets you to wake up, then I'll do it. At this point, I'll try anything.

"I wish I was better with words," he said, reaching out to pick up one of her hands. "I could tell you what it looks like outside, like you told me about the painting you gave me. But that's not me. I can't paint a picture with words, though I love to hear you do it. That night in my penthouse...before it all seemed to fall apart, I told you I believed in your dreams."

He took a shallow breath and pinched his lips together. "I-I don't know what to do here, Elizabeth. When I woke up from my accident everybody had all these expectations...all these demands. They pushed and pushed until I snapped and pushed them all away. I don't want to do that to you. But it's getting awfully hard to sit here watching you be this still. So...just wake up, okay? You wake up and I won't make anymore demands."

Silence hung heavy in the air and Jason ran his free hand over his face. "How 'bout this? You like surprises, but you hate waiting to find out what they are. So, I'm going to tell you a little about where we're going...but I'm not going to tell you where. See if you can guess, okay?

"There's a lot of things to see there. I thought...I think you'll like it. There are volcanoes, beaches...and there's this little town, Sarchi, where they make these ox-carts that you would love. The color, the detail is amazing...and I promise you we'll go there as soon as the doctor says it's okay."

Brushing a strand of hair away from her forehead he pleaded with her, "Just please wake up for me."

"Jason?"

His head snapped around and he stared at Francis. "How...I didn't hear you come in."

"I know, I'm sorry," the guard apologized. "Esteban wanted you to call him, so I thought I'd see if you felt like a break. Jason, take…take just a few minutes for yourself. I'll sit with her, she won't be alone. Sit out in the hall if you want, but you're just going to make yourself crazy if you keep staring, waiting for her to wake up."

"Okay, okay," he said, gently placing Elizabeth's hand back on the covers. "I'll just be at the end of the hall in the study."

"Good," Francis said. "Don't worry, I'll be here and I'll get you if there's any change."

Someone had wrapped her head in cotton, thrown a wool blanket over her and then tossed her down a deep, muddy well for kicks. Drugs. She hated drugs. And getting heavy sedatives that made her feel like this meant she must have had an episode. She tried to think of what could have set her off, and she wasn't able to think of anything right away.

Slowly though, it seemed to filter in; she'd been asleep...and then she'd had a nightmare. Ric was there...pretending to be Jason...he wanted her to go with him...and then Jason was there and Ric wasn't. No, that couldn't be right. It must have been a doctor or an orderly and she just thought he was Jason. Oh man, it was going to be an interesting session with Gail today.

She groaned and stretched on the bed, trying to shake away the remaining vestiges of the sedatives. Something was different. Her mind wasn't that fogged anymore, and something was very different. There were no muted hospital sounds outside the door, no clinical smells, or scratchy sheets. It was silly, but she kept her eyes closed, almost afraid to see where she was. Because she certainly wasn't in the hospital.

Slowly, cautiously, she opened her eyes. A blue and silver fabric met her eyes, draped over a canopy bed. Frowning, she wondered where she was, and who had brought her there. Her muscles ached as she pushed herself to a sitting position and then wrapped her arms around her knees. The room was comfortably furnished, but she could tell by the fabrics that the pieces were expensive. She would almost think she was at Wyndamere, except for the lack of heavy, dark wood paneling on the walls.

No, this room was light, bright, cheerful, inviting. It reminded her of the accommodations she had on Sonny's island, but she knew she wasn't there. Slowly, she brought her hand up to rub her forehead. "Where am I?"

"Elizabeth?"

She jumped at the sound of her name and twisted on the mattress. Jason was sitting beside the bed, looking unsure of himself. "Jason? Wh-what are you doing here? Better yet, where is here?"

"We're in Mexico City," he said, relaxing a bit and leaning forward.

"Mexico City?" She felt like Dorothy finding out she'd just woken up in Oz. "I-I just don't even know what to think. How did I get in Mexico City, with you of all people?"

Jason frowned slightly, then as quickly as it'd appeared it was gone. "I took you out of the hospital last night."

"You were at the hospital last night?" she asked, remembering her nightmare. "I-I...last night I thought I was in my studio and Ric was there."

"I know," he said softly. "You-you were fighting me, when I was trying to get you out. I had...had to-"

"Sedate me," she finished for him.

"I'm sorry. I know you said you hate the drugs."

"I do," she agreed. "I always feel so detached, not completely in control, plus I always feel like I'm pushing through rubber afterwards.

"I don't know," she said as she slowly untangled herself from the sheets and stood up. She was grateful she was in a pair of her own pajamas and not a hospital gown. "I know I've had some bad episodes this past week. I've scared myself, when Gail and I have tried to sort through them later on. I...I guess I can understand why the drugs were needed, I just hate that I can't control myself better."

"You think you should be able to stop yourself when you're in the middle of an episode?" he asked with a frown as he stood up.

She shrugged and turned away, absently rubbing one shoulder. "I feel weak. Like I'm...like something is broken inside me. I hate that I'm not able to stop them, that...that I get so lost inside my mind that I can't tell what's real and what's not."

"You're not broken, Elizabeth," he said, taking a step towards her. She couldn't see him, but she could sense that he'd moved closer. "I - you have a medical condition, that doesn't make you damaged like you told me back in the hospital."

She wouldn't look at him and only shook her head. "You don't understand."

"I don't understand?" he challenged. "To know something's wrong with me?"

She looked at him, "Jason...I don't mean that. I know about your accident...but they could explain to you what to expect. I never know when this is going to hit me, what's going to cause an episode."

"But the doctors can help you," he said. "You won't always be stuck having episodes like this."

"I shouldn't, I guess," she admitted with a shrug. "If we can just figure out what happened, but it's just...it's stuck inside me. I never know what's going to trigger a memory, and then the memory just overwhelms me and I can't slow it down enough to deal with it. It-it just hits me and I'm helpless."

"Don't rush it," he told her. "I only got frustrated every time I tried or wished I could remember something from who I was before. That's…that's why I took you out of the hospital."

"Yeah, I was wondering why you would do that," she said, not wanting to talk anymore about feeling broken. She knew it wasn't fair to say he didn't understand, he probably understood better than anybody the frustration, the fear, the unease she felt. But she just didn't want to keep talking about, or thinking about it, because there was a part of her that as afraid of what she might find out if she remembered.

"I-I wanted to help you. You were in a hospital room, and your...your PTSD started after you were locked in the crypt. You were constantly being watched, and...and after you met with Scott Baldwin you had an episode."

"Ho-how did you know about that?" she asked, taking a step back and wrapping her arms around herself. He hadn't been to see her since before that happened, since the night she told him about her PTSD.

"Emily and Zander were coming to visit you and they heard you screaming. Then...then an informant told me Scott wanted to get you committed and I couldn't let that happen to you."

"An informant?" she asked him. "Who knew what Scott Baldwin was planning. You've had someone inside the police department giving you information on me?"

"Look, I know that...that things weren't good between us for a while, but I never stopped wanting the best for you."

"The best for me," she murmured softly. "Yeah, that worked out well. So, you knew about my episode and then what?"

"I told you, Baldwin was threatening to commit you. I-I couldn't let that happen to you. You don't deserve that. I don't care what happened with Ric...what's important is that you get better. And that wasn't going to happen in Port Charles."

"So you took me out of the hospital, out of the country, to get better in Mexico City?" She really had woken up in Oz.

"Actually, this is just a stop over point. The house I was getting set up wasn't ready, so we came here."

Her head was spinning and it had nothing to do with the drugs she'd been given. She turned around and pushed her hands through her hair. "Why? I don't understand why you would do all this. You don't just whisk someone out of the country you've barely spoken to in months because you… Of course. I should have seen this. Pity. Poor Elizabeth, screwed up her life again and so you swoop in and rescue her."

"That's not what this is," Jason said softly.

Like she'd believe anything he told her at this point. He may have gone to all this trouble, but he also took her away from the doctor she knew, and she wasn't going to just fall down at his feet because he pitied her and came to her rescue. "So, this place we're going to, where is it? Is there going to be a doctor there? 'Cause you know, I liked Gail, I felt comfortable with her, and somehow I don't think you'd get away with kidnapping her."

"I know," he sighed. "We got your files, and there will be a doctor who specializes in trauma."

"You've thought of everything," she said with false praise. She saw his face darken, but she just kept going. "So is it a mystery where we're going? You going to keep me in the dark, I don't need to know, hide the truth once again from poor, little Elizabeth?"

"There's no mystery," he said, his voice tight. "We're going to Costa Rica tomorrow morning."

Chapter 14

Dropping a pile of papers on his desk, Sonny leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Coffee contracts were such a nuisance of his time, especially without a decent lawyer to handle them. Just another thing he needed to take care of, on top of fending off Taggart and Baldwin daily, and dealing with the Five Families who were mighty jumpy about Jason's disappearance.

The families were acting as nervous as a virgin on her wedding night. Despite Jason having left town before, they were demanding reassurance that Jason hadn't gone rogue. Apparently taking off and leaving his position of power for a woman was a suspect thing to do. Especially since they'd heard of the fight he and Sonny had over the younger man's involvement with Courtney. Sonny knew they'd eventually settle down; they were just acting out because of the sudden change.

Massaging his temple and forehead he sighed. The warehouse was quiet; the workers had gone home hours ago and yet he was in no hurry to leave. He did not feel up to dealing with another night of Carly asking if he'd heard any news from Jason, and Courtney crying about how unfair it was Jason had left and the whole town was staring at her and whispering behind her back. It was getting so bad he'd once again made the offer to send her off to college.

The ringing of his cell phone drew his attention back to his office as he reached into his pocket. "Yeah?"

"It's Jason."

"Hey man," he said, his shoulders feeling slightly lighter. "How-how's everything going? How's Elizabeth?"

"She-she's doing okay. She's gotten used to the doctor, spends a lot of time with her."

There was a tightness, a heaviness to his friend's voice. The weight of the world was clearly resting on him, and Sonny wondered what happened. "Is she...is she having more episodes?"

"No. The doctor says she's doing fine in their sessions."

"The doctor?" Sonny asked, picking up the slightest tremor in Jason's voice. "What does Elizabeth say?"

A long breath was let out. "She's not really talking to me. Sometimes she'll eat dinner with me and Francis, but she spends a lot of time by herself or with her doctor."

"I'm sorry."

"I expected it," Jason admitted. "When she was in the hospital she...I think she was trying to push me away. She said she was glad I was with Courtney, because she could never make me happy with her condition."

"The PTSD?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah. She thinks she's broken, damaged somehow, so she doesn't belong with me." Jason took a strained breath, "She said she got what she deserved with Ric."

"Why-why would she say that?" Sonny questioned in surprise. He couldn't imagine Elizabeth thinking she deserved anything as awful as being involved with Ric Lansing. "Was she in an episode?"

"I don't think so. She was on medication, but...no, she wasn't in an episode."

"I'm sorry, Jason," Sonny told him. "Maybe, maybe it was the medication or something. Or, like you said, she's trying to push you away. It sounds like she still thinks you're with Courtney. She thinks you pity her and as soon as she's better you'll leave to go back to Courtney."

"She-she does think I pity her. She said that when she woke up in Mexico City. She...it's like one minute she's unsure and the next she's angry at me."

"You know that-"

"She doesn't mean it?" Jason questioned. "Yeah. She lashes out when she's hurt and I know that...I-I just..."

Sonny could almost find the situation amusing if it wasn't such a tragedy. There were so many things Jason didn't know because of the accident, but sometimes it was easy to forget because of the calmed, controlled manner he'd adopted. Yet in many ways, he was like a teenager, and Sonny was the older brother tutoring him in the ways of a relationship and women. Except, he probably wasn't any more qualified to give advice on relationships than Alan Quartermaine was on marital fidelity.

"You just feel frustrated, because she's probably pushing your buttons. And you don't want to be mad at her."

"I don't," Jason said quickly. "I-I promised myself I would just be patient, give her the space she needed to get better. So I expected her to pull away."

Sonny sighed. "Expecting it and dealing with it are two different things though, Jason. You're human and it's a hard situation."

"I just want her to get better," Jason said softly. "And if she needs to be angry with me right now, then that's how it needs to be."

"You really do love her, don't you?" Jason remained silent and Sonny understood. "You've never told her, have you?"

"I don't think I ever wanted to admit it. She was always special, important to me, but I...I never felt like I had to label it. It just was."

"Of course. Anybody who watched you knew, even if you two were too dense to admit it."

"Thanks, Sonny," Jason said dryly.

"It'll be alright, Jason," Sonny told him. "Elizabeth is strong and she's always fought back against the things that have happened to her. She may try and fight you, so if you feel like this again, call me. Or talk to Francis."

"I don't want to put Francis in the middle. Elizabeth remembers him from before, she feels comfortable, I...I don't want him to feel like he's got to choose sides in this. I want Elizabeth to feel comfortable with him here."

"Okay," he said with a shrug, "so call me. You've listened to me go on and on about the women in my life. The least I can do is give you a way to get it out of your system. You'll have to do something, since I can't give you assignments that take you away from there."

"She probably wouldn't notice...or mind even if she did."

"She would, Jason, trust me. You may not think so, but you have always made her feel safe. Even if she's fighting you, if you take off, she's going to notice. She'll think you're leaving to go back to Courtney, or that you do think she's broken and not worth it. Do you have a pool table, a gym, a motorcycle?"

"Yeah, I've got them. I understand, Sonny. And...and thanks."

"You're welcome," Sonny told him sincerely. He had lost sight of a few things recently, but no more. Jason was, and always would be his friend. He hoped that they wouldn't lose contact for months at a time like before. He was going to support Jason, be there in any way he could, even if it was to let him vent so he could deal with the situation. "Anytime you feel like this-"

"Thank you. I-I'll call," Jason promised. "How are things there?"

"Interesting," Sonny said. "The Five Families are being old women over your disappearance. But they'll realize you're not going to rat everyone out to the Feds. Johnny has stepped up even though he still feels like he's only filling in 'til you get back."

"Johnny's good. He'll handle it. You just need to tell him to talk to you like I did. What...what about the police investigation?"

"As usual, they're clueless. Of course, they're looking in Europe for you guys."

"Europe?"

"Well, somebody discovered a call made to Brenda on your phone the day before you left," Sonny chuckled.

"You doctored my phone records?"

"With a little help. And of course, after Emily made sure it was okay, she accidentally slipped up in front of Taggart at Kelly's that you and Elizabeth talked about Italy a lot."

"I don't want Emily involved in this," Jason said automatically. "You tell her that."

"I will," he promised, even though he knew it would do no good. "So the PCPD have contacted Interpol, as well as looking at the island, but they're nowhere near where you are."

"That's good. Thank you, Sonny."

"Any time, man. Call back whenever, I'm usually at the warehouse. Coffee contracts are giving me a headache," he chuckled. Then he sobered slightly. "Like I said, Jason, Elizabeth's a fighter. She'll get through this. If there's one I thing I believe, I believe that. So, you hang in there, and call when you need to."

"I will. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye," Sonny replied, and then ended the all. He looked down at the contracts on his desk and shook his head. He didn't want to deal with them anymore. Turning out the desk lamp, he grabbed his coat and headed home.

The window seat had quickly become one of her favorite spots in the house Jason purchased for her recovery. On the second floor, it overlooked the yard full of trees, and she could sit for hours and watch their surroundings. There was a family of squirrels that nested in one tree and a myriad of colorful birds that passed through the others. Once the varying shades of green, the brilliant hues of the birds would have had her physically craving her paints and brushes. Instead, she just sighed and rested her head against the windowpane.

Absently she heard Jason's boots echo down the hallway. She wondered if he'd stop in the room under the pretense of reading in the sunlit area, or if he'd pause, look in and then keep going. It was actually a fifty-fifty toss up. Today he apparently decided to come in, she mused as the footsteps drew closer and turned at the doorway. Well, she'd spent many an afternoon ignoring him, she could do it again now.

But instead of sitting on one of the sofas with his book, he came over and stood beside her. He leaned against the wall opposite her so as to not really crowd her; still she couldn't help but tense. What was he doing? She kept her view trained on the scene outside, but she also watched him out of the corner of her eye. He stood silent, looking out the window and she nervously picked at the hem of her shirt.

"It's a nice view."

"Yeah, I guess," she shrugged.

"You spend a lot of time here, figured there must be something you liked."

She shrugged, but said nothing. If she stayed quiet, he'd eventually give up and go away. Sure, it was a new tactic for him to stand by her and talk, but she could wait him out. The drugs the doctor had her on made it easier for her to bear the silence and tension.

"I asked the guy who found the house to make sure it had a good view," Jason continued on. "I thought maybe you'd want to sketch or paint. I was going to head into town tomorrow to set up a few things and I thought I could pick up some supplies for you if you wanted."

Drawing her lips tight together she shook her head.

He turned to face her and put his hands in his pocket as he leaned against the wall. "Do you want to come with me? We could talk to the doctor, see if she thinks a trip is okay."

"I don't want to paint. I don't want any art supplies."

"Why-why not?" he asked. She'd surprised him, she could tell. He expected her to be dying to paint, but she wasn't.

"Because I don't," she retorted. "I've not painted before, it's no big deal.

"The last time I remember you not painting was when Lucky wanted you to be a model. And I remember how unhappy you were then."

What was he doing? She wondered yet again. So what if she didn't feel like painting, why did he care? Why couldn't he just go read and leave her alone like he normally did, like she wanted?

"Yeah," she finally said, "so what? I don't feel like painting. Why don't you just go off and read and leave me alone. I'm perfectly happy just sitting here."

"I don't think you are," he said, then shrugged. "But you're probably thinking what do I know, right?"

Elizabeth let out a small snort. "Finally you got something right. Is that what you want, for me to say 'Yes, Jason, you're absolutely right'. Man, you need someone to stroke your ego now? Sorry, but it's been a while since I thought you were the next best thing since sliced bread and Courtney's not around to fawn all over you, so I guess you're outta luck."

She turned and appraised his tense shoulders and clenched jaw and knew she'd pushed him correctly. She knew she was stuck with him. Mr. White Knight had decided she was going to be his long-term pity project, whether she liked it or not. Well, she didn't like it and she wasn't just going to roll over and acquiesce.

"What, don't like knowing I no longer have you on a pedestal?" she jeered at him.

"I never wanted you to view me that way," he said painfully and sadly. "What I don't like is that you're putting all your effort into fighting me, instead of your sessions."

"What do you know about my sessions?"

"I know that the first week you were working with the doctor. She said you seemed like you wanted to find out what happened, but the past couple of days you haven't been participating in them. She also says that despite the anti-depressants you're taking you've been withdrawing and shutting down. The doctor's worried about you. I'm worried about you, Elizabeth."

"I don't want your worry anymore than I want your pity," she shouted at him. Why couldn't he understand that? Why couldn't he just accept that?

"I-I don't pity you, Elizabeth. I care about you. I want you to get better. That's why I'm doing this. Why are you fighting it? Why are you fighting us when we just want to help you get better?"

"Because I'm scared," she blurted out, and then turned her head wishing she could take it back.

Jason sat down on the window seat and she pulled her legs closer to her. "Wh-what are you frightened of?"

When she didn't answer he moved closer and it was the first time he'd deliberately moved into her space since they'd arrived. He touched her shoulder lightly, ever so tenderly, and asked again, "What are you scared of, Elizabeth?"

Despite her efforts she couldn't hold back her tears which quickly turned into all-encompassing sobs. "I'm scared...of what I'll remember. And I'm scared of letting you in...because each time you leave it kills a bigger piece of me. I-I'm just so scared, Jason."

When he put his arms around her and pulled her close, she was just too drained to fight against him. And when he whispered that he wouldn't leave, that he would always be there for her, she was just too tired to call him on what obviously had to be a lie.

Chapter 15

When her cousin Enrique called saying he had a job for her, she was hesitant at first. She knew Enrique wasn't always involved in legitimate ventures, so she was cautious about committing herself. Helping people kidnapped by guerrillas deal with their experiences and readjust to life after their rescues her cousin helped arrange was one thing. Being asked to help create a profile to exploit weaknesses in rivaling drug cartels was something she refused to have any part of.

This case, when she'd learned the particulars, had made her willingly hand over her patients to another doctor and relocate from Puerto Rico. It wasn't the money Jason Morgan promised, it was the prospect of helping someone who truly needed her. Elizabeth Webber had suffered an unknown violent trauma, most likely killing Ric Lansing, that had brought back her post traumatic stress disorder. A disorder she'd first been diagnosed with in July of the previous year by Dr. Gail Baldwin, the same doctor who'd treated her years before after she'd been raped.

So much trauma, so much violence, but Dr. Baldwin had done excellent work with the young woman. Yvette had read all of the files Jason brought with him, the initial diagnosis, the sessions, the off and on drug therapies they had tried. What she studied most were the notes and observations from the sessions after the incident in Elizabeth's apartment.

Her own notes since working with Elizabeth weren't that great, though. When she first met with the young woman, she observed Elizabeth was unsure, a little frightened, but Yvette attributed that to the change of location. Her patient seemed agreeable and open to the therapy and Dr. Torres was hopeful. Then, Elizabeth became withdrawn, unwilling to actively participate in her therapy, and Yvette had to increase her medication to keep her calm.

That seemed to change several days ago when Jason talked to her. Yvette knew there were a lot of problems between Elizabeth and Jason, problems that were going to have to be dealt with at some point. But the issue that had to be dealt with first was what happened between her and Ric that night. Elizabeth's problems with Jason were making it slightly difficult to address that topic though, as if the two were somehow intertwined. It was a double-edged sword and she was trying hard to find the right balance. How much should she push about whatever was happening with Jason, in order to move forward in relation to the incident with Ric?

Elizabeth seemed intent on pushing Jason away, and there was a deep underlying anger and resentment towards him. But the doctor had also seen how Elizabeth would watch Jason when he wasn't aware of it. She would appear slightly calmer, a little more relaxed and settled into place with him near by. It would all change if Jason happened to glance her way, but Yvette realized that despite the animosity Elizabeth trusted him, felt safe around him. Her guess was reinforced two days ago when Jason went into town for a couple of hours and Elizabeth was tense until he returned. She ate dinner with him that night, and her attitude was definitely softer, almost relieved, yet surprised, that he had returned.

She didn't want to spend too much of her focus or their time on Elizabeth's past with Jason, she felt the most important problem was the night in Elizabeth's studio. All of the episodes dealt with Ric, and Elizabeth's fear of him, but they also were either triggered when Jason was in the room, or if he was mentioned. She wasn't sure what to make of the situation, which intrigued her intellectually, but frustrated her when she felt she wasn't providing the best treatment for her patient. It was a matter of patience, and she knew she couldn't be bogged down, or sidetracked by Elizabeth's relationship with Jason.

"Good morning," Elizabeth said quietly as she walked into the room.

"Good morning," she smiled in return. Elizabeth was looking better this morning, she noted. The younger woman looked less pale, more rested, even though she'd decreased the strength of her medication. It was a very promising sign.

Elizabeth sat down on the couch, pulling her legs up against her chest. She brushed a hand through her hair and gave a wan smile. "Sorry I'm late. I couldn't believe what time it was when I woke up, usually...usually I'm awake much earlier"

"That's okay," Dr. Torres said. "Your body needed rest. It's really good that you were able to sleep so well with the decreased med dose."

"I kinda like taking less," her patient replied, her smile a little brighter. "Course I've never liked taking them at all."

Yvette knew that from reading through her files, but it was the first time she'd heard that from Elizabeth, and she considered it another good sign. "If you start responding well to the sessions, we may be able to cut the dose down even more, and maybe eventually stop unless you have a really bad episode."

"Yeah, I guess. That'd be nice," Elizabeth said, a little uncomfortable after the mention of episodes.

The doctor turned her head towards the window and finished the last of her juice. "What would say to a walk this morning, Elizabeth?"

"What?"

"Let's take a walk outside," Yvette suggested, seeing the hesitancy in Elizabeth's eyes. "It's nice outside and I don't know about you, but I've been feeling cooped up lately. Got a bit of cabin fever."

She didn't think Elizabeth had been outside since arriving two weeks ago, even though she spent a lot of time sitting on the window seat looking out. In addition to being a nice day, it would be good for Elizabeth to venture out and get outside the safety bubble she'd hidden herself in.

"Alright," the younger woman said a little hesitantly. "I guess maybe a walk would be nice."

Dr. Torres gave her a beaming smile and stood before her patient could change her mind. "Let's go then."

With a slowness Yvette attributed to the medication and fatigue, along with trepidation, Elizabeth stood and turned for the door. Dr. Torres followed her outside and fell into step beside the young woman, letting her set the pace and direction. As they started through the little grove of mango trees, she looked back at the house and was certain she saw Jason watching them through the window of his study. As much as Elizabeth was a mystery she hadn't scratched the surface of, Jason Morgan was even more of an enigma. He puzzled her, and she wondered if she shouldn't try to delve a little deeper into his quiet persona. He might be able to shed some light on what Elizabeth was keeping silent on, and at this point, she was willing to try anything to find that right piece to turn and get Elizabeth on the road to recovery.

By the way the door blew open and the folder was thrown down on his desk, Mac knew it was Scott and that he was there about the Elizabeth Webber case. Every day since her disappearance from the hospital he was in the office grousing about the lack of leads. Sometimes Mac was particularly unlucky and Scott came more than once. Today was one of those days.

"Hello, Scott, what can I do for you this afternoon?" he asked without looking up from his paperwork.

Baldwin collapsed into the visitor's chair and put his feet up on the commissioner's desk. "I just got off the phone with one of the Interpol people we've been talking with. They're pulling most of their people off the Morgan-Webber case."

Mac looked up and tiredly rubbed his eyes. He wasn't surprised, he was going to have pull most of his own officers off the case and reassign them elsewhere. After three weeks, it was time to admit that Jason and Elizabeth weren't going to be found. He also knew Scott wasn't going to like it - or accept it - one bit.

"It's a lost cause," he said. "I've got to reassign most of my own men on the case."

"If we do that we're never going to find them," Scott protested.

"We're not going to find them anyway," he replied. "They've disappeared, Scott. Three weeks ago Jason took Elizabeth out of the hospital, we think since there's no fingerprints, no videotape, no clear or concrete evidence; and they disappeared off the face of the earth. We are never going to find them unless we get very lucky and Jason screws up. And given our track record against him and Sonny, what do you think our chances of that ever happening are?"

"Yeah," the D.A. scoffed. "But we shouldn't just give up."

"We've examined the phone records, bank accounts and followed Sonny, Carly, Lucky, Nikolas, Emily, Zander and even Luke, Bobbie, Monica and Alan. Not one of them has done anything suspicious."

"They could be waiting for you to pull your men off before doing anything."

"It's a game of what-ifs," Mac shrugged. "Jason also has enough money of his own, in accounts I'm sure we'll never find. He doesn't need to contact anybody for a handout. Europe was a washout. He's not there, probably never was. And now if we go searching in other countries, he's had plenty of time to set himself up and disappear."

Baldwin dropped his feet off the desk and leaned forward. "You know, it almost sounds like you don't mind they got away. Did you look for them as hard as you could, or did your soft spot for Elizabeth make you turn a blind eye to some things?"

Folding his arms on top of his desk, the police commissioner glared at his guest. "I know my job, Scott, and I did not hold my men back because of what happened to Elizabeth all those years ago. They are gone and we have very little chance of ever finding them."

"So, that's it? Just give up?"

"What do you want me to say, Scott?" Mac asked in exasperation. "We don't have the manpower to keep up the constant surveillance. We have a string of robberies that popped up on the north side, and I have a responsibility to the whole town. The people who are having their homes broken into aren't going to care about your quest to bring down Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan, they want me to catch the people who took their belongings and put them behind bars."

Scott growled and it seemed to be his last available protest. Mac felt for him, and understood his frustration. Jason and Sonny always seemed to slip out of whatever charges they faced. They were worse than the Teflon Don; at least Gotti had eventually been sent to prison. Jason and Sonny always escaped, and this time was no different.

Standing, Scott turned partway towards the door then asked, "When are you taking your people off?"

"End of the week. I'll have a couple of people available to follow up on any new leads we might get lucky enough to find."

"But it's going to be a cold case," he groused with resignation.

"It was a cold case the minute we discovered Elizabeth gone," Mac replied. "We just had to keep investigating for a while."

Without saying anything further, Scott nodded and left the police commissioner's office. Mac sighed and leaned back in his cheap office chair. His success rate would suffer for this, but what else was new in a town dominated by Sonny Corinthos. The file would go down to Central Records and languish in the unsolved section. It would certainly have a lot of company.

He checked his watch and decided he might as well head over to Kelly's and grab some dinner. Maybe Maxie or Georgie would be there and wouldn't mind eating with him. It might just be the only bright spot in his abysmal day.

Chapter 16

With a laugh and a shake of her head she thought back to last week. When Dr. Torres asked about her childhood it seemed like something straight out a bad movie. Tell me about your relationship with your parents. Yet, as she talked about Steven and Sarah, growing up Colorado and her parents' careers she grew relaxed, more comfortable with the doctor. She knew the questions her therapist asked were for specific reasons, to steer the conversation a certain way, but she never felt pushed or encroached on.

In the past week they had discussed her resentment towards her parents and how she felt abandoned by them, even all these years later. They talked about her rape, her relationship with Lucky, his death, her forming friendship with Jason and the mess that ensued when Lucky came back from the dead. It was exhausting to rehash it all again and it was hard sometimes to talk about everything that happened with Jason because she saw him every day.

The one thing she'd come to realize was she missed the great, easy friendship she'd had with him. It seemed that the second time Jason came home and she realized she was attracted to him and that he might actually feel the same it got all screwed up. It was unfair to say it was all Lucky's fault for being jealous or controlling, or Helena's fault, or anyone's fault. It was a difficult situation and she'd done the best she could, but hindsight was cruelly unforgiving in pointing out the things she should have done but didn't.

She'd spent a lot of her therapy sessions talking about her friendship with Jason. She told Dr. Torres about the Christmas tree and the bike rides, but she still held back on the more than friends aspect of their relationship.

Until today.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath trying to calm the swirling emotions inside her. Today she had told the doctor about Jason's return in May, that night in her studio and how she'd give anything to go back and change her mind. She talked about getting kidnapped and being stuck in the crypt, how she held on believing beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jason would find her. She talked about Zander being thrown in with her and the mistake she made by sleeping him with the night that changed everything.

Even all these months later it still felt like it was yesterday and tears sprang to her eyes as she described how Jason had looked right through her the next day. She explained how she was later diagnosed with PTSD, even though she knew Dr. Torres had her medical records and Dr. Baldwin's notes. She didn't even want to think about how Jason accomplished that. The day's session ended with her regretfully recounting her decision not to tell Jason about her condition and get together with him before he knew the truth.

They hadn't even talked about that night at Jason's when they finally seemed to work through all their problems. It was going to be embarrassing to tell her how wrong she'd been. Elizabeth was sure Dr. Torres would be professional enough not to laugh at the thought that Jason wanted to be with her romantically all that time later. After all, the way he'd gotten together so quickly with Courtney was proof positive that he hadn't been serious.

Turning to wave at Francis, she then started walking knowing the guard would follow. She brought a hand up to rub her eyes, and push back the tears that she could feel forming. She wondered if Jason would contact his girlfriend and arrange to meet her at some point. It wasn't fair to think that they would never see each other again, and the thought made her throat tighten. Jason probably wouldn't bring Courtney to the house in Costa Rica so that she wouldn't be able to disclose their location, and Elizabeth was grateful for that. There was no way she would be able to stomach Jason and Courtney in love, sharing little glances, tender moments alone…a bed.

She paused and reached out a hand to steady herself against a tree. Hopefully he would lie to her when he left, say he had something to take care of for Sonny. Because she never wanted to know that he was going off to meet with his girlfriend. With a shaky hand she pushed her hair off her face and stood straight. As her grandmother would say, there was no sense borrowing trouble. She wasn't going to make herself sick worrying about something in the future that honestly was no concern of hers. Right now she was living day to day and just trying to get through it all.

Maybe when she got better, because she was going to figure out what happened to her, Jason wouldn't feel the need to stick around all the time. She could keep Francis as her guard, and Jason...Jason could go be with Courtney. He claimed he wasn't leaving, that he was her friend and he was going to help her, but that just couldn't be true.

Jason always helped her, probably because he always saw her as the seventeen-year-old in over her head at Jake's. He'd befriended her then, got her mixed up in his life and so therefore he was responsible for what happened to her. Her PTSD started after she got kidnapped because of him, so he had to help her out of this mess. She understood Jason's mind in regards to her, and it was built solely on guilt and obligation.

She rounded a curve in the path and sniffled pitifully. She'd ended up with a big brother. Even worse, she'd ended up in the sad and pathetic situation of being madly in love with her older brother's friend and all he saw was the once gawky girl with braces and bruises on her shins. Boy, could she pick a winning relationship or what?

"Elizabeth?"

She froze at the sound of Jason's voice and looked to her right. The path had led right by a freestanding garage. A cloth was spread on the gravel next a motorcycle was covered with tools, and he'd obviously been working on the bike. A smudge of grease was on his chin capturing her attention and drawing her notice up to his lips she'd once kissed, and his short sleeve shirt showed off his muscles as he reached behind him and grabbed a rag out of his pocket to wipe his hands. She knew she was staring, couldn't help herself until she remembered that he was with Courtney.

She took a step back, as much to distance herself mentally from the situation, and wrapped her arms around her middle. "Jason...wh-...I didn't see you there."

"That's okay," he smiled, stuffing the rag back in his pocket. "I was just saying hi."

"Okay," she said, taking another step back. "Well, I don't want to be in your way. So...so I'll go."

She turned and stuttered a step as she headed away from him. She couldn't be around him, not now, not after everything she'd talked about this past week, not with the fact that despite everything he was doing for her right now he would go back to Courtney in the end.

"Elizabeth." His voice stopped her and she cursed herself for being affected, instead of just continuing on. "Would you like to stick around? Maybe go for a ride?"

He stood there tense, barely allowing himself to breathe as he waited. He'd been surprised when he heard her walking along the path, and cautiously he watched her approach. Clearly she wasn't aware he was there, he didn't think she was aware of much around her, but he could tell she was troubled about something. Her eyes seemed large and glassy, as if she wasn't crying by sheer willpower, and he watched as she errantly wiped her nose a couple of times. She almost passed by him and he could have let her go by on what he knew was her first walk this far out on the property without her knowing he was there, but he didn't want to.

So he called her name and she immediately shut down, drew back, fortified her walls. He hated that he was still eliciting those responses. There were times she seemed to soften, that she didn't mind he was there - might actually like that he was - but that was not the case today. She had once accused him of shutting down and being a frozen block of concrete. He hated that he had taught her that technique and was the reason she was using it.

Slowly she turned around, her eyes refusing to meet his. She looked like she was ready to flee at any moment, but it wasn't the same look as when she was in an episode. He wondered what was causing her distance this time.

"I guess I should have realized you'd have a motorcycle," she said finally, breaking the silence that hung over them.

"Actually, I have two," he said a bit sheepishly. "I found this one the other day and bought it to fix it up. I think I may have it figured out."

"Lucky always said you were a good mechanic," she said with a nod. "Back when you had the garage."

He watched for any signs of suddenly realizing what she'd said and becoming uncomfortable. When she merely continued to just look at him, he shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "I like it. It gives me something to do."

"Yeah. I can't imagine it's very interesting sitting around while I get my head shrunk."

All seemingly benign words, but once again the self-loathing crept into her voice. As if this was some kind of hardship for him to be there with her. He had a feeling that no matter what she said she would find a way to fault it and pick a fight.

"I like a good puzzle," he said finally. "I think it was the timing belt. I was going to take it out for a test ride."

"Oh, right. So I should-"

"Come with me?" Jason asked.

He wanted to hold out his hand to her, but something made him keep it in his pocket. She looked from him to the bike, her face softening briefly and taking on a look of longing. Then it faded away and she looked back at him blankly and shook her head.

"No, thanks, but I don't think it's a good idea."

"Why not?" he pressed. "We could go fast, just forget everything for a little while."

"That's exactly why we shouldn't do it," she replied sadly.

"I don't understand, Elizabeth."

A whisper of a smile twitched at her lips and she shook her head. "No, I-I suppose it doesn't make sense. It would be so easy. So easy for me to just pretend...to let myself use you, depend on you...but I can't."

She turned and took a few steps toward the bike. "Don't you see, this is how we started. You rescued me from my own stupidity at Jake's, gave me rides on your motorcycle and even offered to take me away from Port Charles. You're always rescuing me, Jason. From myself, from your enemies...if I climb on that motorcycle I am just saying that all you give me is pool lessons and motorcycle rides."

He blinked and swallowed hard. Had she lost her faith in him? She was using his own words against him and he felt like he couldn't breathe. But he realized it was because of everything he didn't do in regards to Elizabeth, but had for others, that caused her to doubt him, to doubt what they shared.

"This is how it all began, and I can't go back. One day you'll leave, because you always do, and I can't let you back inside. You once were inside me so deep that I'm still lost without you." She took a deep breath and looked away into the darkening night. "Maybe that's not fair to say to you when all you're trying to do is help in your own way. But that's just the way it is."

"You're just protecting yourself," he said.

"I'm taking care of myself," she shook her head. "Nobody else will. I'm the only person I can depend on, no matter how easy it would be to let you in and lean on you. I can't, Jason. Because the day you leave...I won't survive."

"I've told you before, Elizabeth, that I'm not leaving. Nothing is more important to me than you and you getting better. But I understand why you don't believe me."

Taking in a shaky breath she looked at him with tear-filled eyes that sliced his soul. "Please don't say what you think I want to hear."

"I'm not," he vowed. "In fact, I'm saying what I want to hear. I want to ride with you tonight. I want to see if the stars are just as close here after a ride as they are in Port Charles. I want to find a road that twists and hear you scream through the turns. I want to take that ride you asked for a rain-check on that night on the docks."

He slid his hand out of his pocket and stepped towards her. Reaching out, he took her hand and pried it away from her vice-like grip around herself. He licked his lips and swallowed. "Just for tonight, just for this moment...let's just see the wind."

Wordlessly she followed him and climbed on the bike behind him. He brought her hand firm against his stomach and waited for her to grab it with her other one. As he started the bike, he simultaneously heard and felt the muffled sob against his shirt. Tears began to soak through the fabric and into his skin as he pulled out onto the road and he felt his own form in his eyes.

Sending up a silent plea, he prayed for this to be a beginning, and not the good-bye it felt like.

Chapter 17

Watching the two other occupants at the table, she was tempted to join Francis in eating down at the guards' quarters as well. The silence was oppressive, and yet she couldn't seem to break through it. She knew something had shifted between them a couple of weeks ago, but what she wasn't sure. All she knew was the normally quiet Jason became even more reserved, spending a lot of time at his garage or down in the gym. Elizabeth was losing weight, walking around the house like a specter, and even through she claimed she was sleeping fine Yvette had noticed dark smudges under her eyes that weren't being fully hidden with concealer.

She was worried about the unhealthy behavior in both of them. Elizabeth seemed to be throwing herself into their sessions, eager to find out what happened with Ric, but she was holding back. She clammed up about her relationship with Jason, only allowing that it didn't work. So while she would talk about meeting and being with Ric, she wasn't telling everything, leading Yvette to conclude that Jason had been tied into the relationship somehow.

Setting her glass down with a thunk that echoed in the room, she stood. Two pairs of blue eyes regarded her questioningly as she wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Jason, could I speak to you in my office?"

"Uh...yeah," he said, clearly surprised by her request. He glanced at Elizabeth, but the younger woman had gone back to staring at her plate while mindlessly moving the food about.

"Good," she replied, her tone pure business. She turned and left the room, hearing Jason follow her a moment later.

"Please close the door," she requested when he entered the mutely lit room shortly after her.

He frowned, but did so anyways. "I-is there something wrong? Is there a problem with-"

"I'm not leaving, or whatever else you might be thinking," she cut him off. "No, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

With a sigh, she sat down in her armchair and motioned at the couch. "Go ahead, sit. I know that something happened between you and Elizabeth a couple of weeks ago. The two of you have pulled back, you're both tense, uneasy. I also know that long before you brought Elizabeth here you were involved, but aren't anymore."

"Yeah," he sighed as he ran his hand over his face. "We...we-"

Waving her hand, she stopped him. "Don't tell me. For whatever reason Elizabeth is very hesitant to talk about your past together. While I think it's what's causing part of her block in remembering that night, I'm not asking you to tell me. I want my reactions, my responses to her to be real, and I lose that - and my connection to her - if I already know."

"Okay," Jason said with a nod of his head. "I can understand that. So...so if you don't want to know about that, then what?"

"Elizabeth has been talking about her friends a lot in her sessions, about some things they all went through." She paused, meeting Jason's gaze. "I don't know all of the circumstances about you being here. My cousin isn't always on the right side of the law, but I love him so I overlook it. He told me there was a young woman who had gone through some severe emotional traumas, and that I needed to be discrete when I took a leave of absence from my practice. I know from her files that she's suspected of murder, so I imagine the police are looking for her, and you."

Jason said nothing, just slightly raised his eyebrows and Yvette nodded. It was as she suspected, and she really didn't expect him to give her an answer. "I don't want to cause any situation that puts your freedom in jeopardy, but my primary concern right now is about the mental state of Elizabeth. She feels isolated here, whatever is going on between the two of you is only adding to that, and that is affecting how she's doing in her therapy.

"I think she needs some contact with someone from home. Sometimes having an unexpected change that isn't threatening can be beneficial. I think that something needs to be done for her. If it can be done," she said, letting him know that she was leaving it up to him for safety reasons, but also getting it across that as Elizabeth's doctor she thought it would do her good, "then I'd like to see if it can help her."

"Give me a couple of days," Jason said through a labored breath. "I-I think that we can get a phone call to someone. Do you have a specific person in mind?"

"She's talked most about her best friend Emily. I think she would make Elizabeth the happiest, as well as also being a safe choice."

"Okay," he said as he swallowed, then stood. "It may take a couple of days, or more. But I'll let you know."

"Thank you, Jason."

Sonny loved to cook, but he hated cooking for one. Food wasn't as flavorful or fun when he only had himself to feed. Half the joy was preparing a feast for the palate and the eyes for others to delight in. So he wasn't looking forward to being home and dining alone this evening.

Michael was staying the night at Bobbie's since she had the next day off and she wanted to take him to the zoo. He could hardly say no to the boy just because he wanted a little company. Carly had been gone for nearly a week helping Courtney settle in to the new house Sonny bought for her in Hawaii. His sister had decided the humiliation of being left by Jason while he whisked Elizabeth away was too much for her to bear and she took him up on his offer to leave town.

So, he bought her a house in Hawaii, arranged for security and guards, and shipped all of her belongings. Carly had gone along to console her, help her decorate her house, and hopefully to cheer her up. He didn't expect his wife to come back for another week, possibly two.

It gave him a lot of time alone to think, and that wasn't always a good thing. The police investigation into Jason and Elizabeth's disappearance had been officially closed, and while Taggart was keeping a close watch on him, the policeman had been restricted by the filing of yet another harassment complaint. Sonny hadn't spoken to Jason in a couple of weeks and all he could do - without the distraction of throwing off the police investigation - was wonder and worry about how Elizabeth's treatment was going.

He had seen Emily and her friends around town and he couldn't believe it, but he was actually envious they had each other to talk to. He had kept his distance so as to not arouse suspicion, and while Carly seemed to have reached some level of understanding about the situation and wasn't as acerbic towards Elizabeth as before, he still didn't feel he could talk to her. He appreciated her not nagging and snapping about Jason being gone, but he didn't want to push his luck.

Sitting down at the table, he took a healthy swallow of wine before cutting into his eggplant parmesan. The ringing of the phone shattered the silence, and he put his napkin down before crossing the room. "Yeah?"

"Don't say my name if you're not alone."

There was a note to Jason's voice that made Sonny suddenly glad Carly and Michael were gone. "I'm alone, Jason. Michael's at Bobbie's and Carly is...Carly is with Courtney in Hawaii. She's moving there."

"Oh," Jason said softly. "I-I'm glad that you're helping her. I...I never meant..."

"I know, Jason," he told him. Things had spiraled out of control for a while, he could understand that happening. He would never tell Jason, but he was glad it all had actually happened. While he didn't like his sister getting hurt, it made her want to leave and get away from Port Charles. That got her out of danger, made it possible for him to put her in a place, in a situation he could control, and he was grateful for that. His sister deserved a shot at a normal life, happiness without mob violence looming over her. "I know. I doubt you want to talk about that though, and whatever it is, it must be important for you to risk calling here."

"Yeah. I need a favor."

"Of course," he instantly agreed. "Whatever you need."

There was a long sigh before his friend spoke. "Elizabeth's doctor is worried about her...says she feels isolated and it's affecting her therapy. She thought if Elizabeth could talk to a friend from home it would help."

Sonny could hear the defeat and worry in Jason's voice and felt it enter him. "Who did she have in mind?"

"Emily."

That made sense. Emily was Elizabeth's best friend, the two girls had gone through a lot together over the years. Aside from Jason, Emily had been the most frequent visitor while Elizabeth was in the hospital. And she'd been very worried not knowing how the other woman was. "That's a good idea; they've always been close. Do you have something in mind?"

"No," he admitted. "I don't know the situation is back there. I need you to come up with something that won't raise suspicions."

"Alright, I'll come up with something," Sonny promised. His mind was already running through several possibilities. "How soon do you want the call in place?"

"As soon as you can," Jason said. "Elizabeth...she's just been very withdrawn...the doctor thinks the sooner this happens the better."

"Jason," Sonny began cautiously, "is there something more to this?"

"I...I'm afraid I'm hurting her recovery, Sonny. Her withdrawal started a couple of weeks ago after we...after we talked and went for a ride. She thinks I'm going to leave and she's working so hard to keep me out, that I think it's interfering with her getting better. Man, the last thing I want to do is hurt her or jeopardize her recovery...but it's getting so bad that Francis has stopped eating with us. I just-"

"You're thinking maybe it'd be better if you left," Sonny surmised. He knew Jason wouldn't leave, he'd made a promise to himself and most of all to Elizabeth. But his friend was also human, and he was frustrated, he was worried, and he was doing the only thing he could at the moment. He was blowing off steam, voicing something he really wouldn't do, so he didn't explode completely. Jason didn't do it often, but sometimes it needed to happen.

"Sometimes I think that," he admitted. "but I know that if I do it will hurt her more. I won't give up...I just can't."

"I know," he murmured, even though he knew Jason didn't need the reassurance. "She'll recover, Jason. If there's one thing I believe about Elizabeth, it's that she'll recover. So I'll get things in place and I'll give you a call."

"Thank you, Sonny," Jason said softly, emotionally. "Thank you for everything."

"I'll give you a call," he promised, then hung up the phone. Stepping over to the door he opened it and Max turned. "Call Johnny and Stan. I've got a job for them and I need to see them right away."

Chapter 18

To say Emily had been surprised when Zander gave her the phone was an understatement. Johnny had delivered it, along with a note from Sonny, to her boyfriend at Jake's late one night and he had passed it on to her. She used it to call Sonny and let him know, as requested, when her parents and grandfather would be gone and he said he would let Jason know. Now she was just waiting for her brother to call.

When the shrill ring cut through the air she dropped the phone, then scrambled for it while her heart raced. "Hello?"

"Emily, hi," her brother said softly.

"Jase," she squealed quietly, knowing that even though the most meddlesome members of her family were gone she still wasn't alone. "How are you? How's Elizabeth? I couldn't believe it when Sonny got this phone to me. I figured I'd just have to settle for the occasional postcard or short phone call like before."

"Emily," he laughed at her rambling. "I'm okay. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you I was leaving."

"It's okay," she quickly assured him. "I understand why you had to. You had to have us acting like nothing was different. I...I'm sad you're gone, but mostly I'm just really glad that you helped Elizabeth."

"I miss you too, but I couldn't let her stay there and have Baldwin go after her. She needed to get better."

"I know. How-how is she doing?" she asked hesitantly, his tone not lost on her.

"She hasn't remembered yet," he told her. "The doctor thought maybe if she talked to a friend she wouldn't feel so alone and it might help her."

"Is she there?"

"No, not yet. The doctor is bringing her here in a few minutes."

"So I have a few more minutes to talk to you?" she smiled. She was glad, because while she definitely wanted to talk to Elizabeth, she also wanted a little more time with her brother. She had a feeling he could use it just as much as Elizabeth.

She didn't understand why Dr. Torres was insistent they talk right now. Ever since the older woman had left with Jason several nights ago after dinner Elizabeth had been expecting this. Elizabeth knew that since the bike ride she had been retreating, running away, from Jason, from everyone, and that her doctor was very aware of her actions.

She was reticent in her therapy sessions, not opening up like she had before. Dr. Torres was trying to get her to relax, to share again, but wasn't forcing it. She merely told Elizabeth that by putting limits on her answers and what topics she'd discuss it would only impede her recovery. She knew that, but she just wasn't willing to discuss Jason and everything that went along with their relationship.

Apparently the kid glove treatment ended tonight. Silently she walked beside her doctor towards the office feeling a little like she was heading to the principal's after a fight on the playground. As they neared the doorway she slowed, recognizing Jason's voice coming out of the room. Why was he in there? Casting a frantic look at Dr. Torres a horrible thought occurred to her. The older woman couldn't mean to make them confront this issue together could she?

"Hang on, they've arrived," Jason said as they entered the room. She stood rooted in the doorway, unwilling, unable, to go farther until she knew what was going on.

"Come on in, Elizabeth," her doctor instructed, motioning towards the couch. "Jason is here because I asked for his help."

Elizabeth looked from one to the other, yet said nothing. Jason was watching her cautiously, but didn't speak either. He seemed content to let Dr. Torres explain what was happening.

"I've noticed you seem unhappy Elizabeth. Isolated, cut off out here. I thought maybe talking to someone from home would help, so I asked Jason to set it up so it wouldn't cause any problems with the police looking for you."

Police looking for her? She'd never thought about what must have been going on back home. She'd been so focused on missing her friends, on the injustice of having to spend this time with Jason, that she hadn't thought about the police. They must be going ballistic, especially over Jason. This would be just the thing that would make Taggart salivate. Her eyes immediately searched Jason out, but his face revealed nothing.

"So," the Puerto Rican said, walking towards her. "We'll let you talk to your friend. If you want to find me afterwards I'll be down in the kitchen, or in the sun room reading."

Elizabeth nodded, her eyes still locked on Jason and the phone in his hand. He stepped in front of her, extending it out. "It-it's Emily," he told her as she reached for it. "Take as long as you want. Nobody can trace the call."

"T-thank you," she whispered, her voice shaky. She took a deep breath, then slowly raised the phone, tears forming in her eyes. "Em? Is it really you?"

"Hey, Elizabeth."

Emily's heart was breaking. For both Jason and Elizabeth.

Her brother loved her friend, even though he had never admitted it out loud to her, and it was hurting him that Elizabeth was being distant. He tried to ask how her physical therapy was going, how her plans for enrolling at PCU were progressing, but she knew he was distracted and worried. All he wanted was for Elizabeth to get better, and so he would put what he wanted aside. It was Jason's pattern of action with everyone, especially Elizabeth.

But it was Elizabeth that really made her chest constrict. Her friend's voice was small, timid, unsure. She seemed so confused and lost that Emily couldn't help but remember how fragile and broken she'd been after the rape. It was hard to imagine her friend in this state again, and she hoped she found the strength to fight back.

Elizabeth had asked about the police investigation and felt bad that she hadn't thought about the police questioning them. She kept thanking Emily for everything she and the others had done and then surprised her by apologizing.

"I'm sorry that you won't see Jason because of me, Em. It's not fair to you...it's not fair to him or anyone he cares about that he's stuck here with me."

"I don't think Jason considers himself stuck," Emily laughed.

"He has to," she insisted. "He left his life behind because he once again had to clean up my mess. I'm no better than Carly. I'm always screwing up his life."

Tears came to Emily's eyes at the pain and self-loathing in Elizabeth's voice. "No," she said, "no you didn't. You don't, Elizabeth. He's always thought you were the best thing in his life."

"I used to hope that was true, Emily, but it's just not. He found someone who's better for him than I could ever be."

"You mean Courtney?" she asked, not keeping the disbelief out of her voice. Did she really think Courtney was better for Jason?

"Yes, Em. She is his girlfriend after all." There was a bark of laughter over the phone. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I can only imagine how she feels. Her boyfriend is off guarding the girl with the pathetic school-girl crush on him. I know how I felt when he was guarding her back when I was at the penthouse. She probably hates me and Jason shouldn't have to deal with her being upset at him because of me."

"Oh man," Emily breathed out. Elizabeth really had no idea; no wonder she was keeping her distance from Jason. "Elizabeth, Jason isn't dating Courtney anymore. They broke up...even before the incident with Ric."

"What?"

"They broke up," she repeated. "I don't know all the details because when I found out you were already in the hospital and Jason didn't want to talk about it. All his attention was on you."

"No, no," Elizabeth whispered.

"I'm not lying," Emily promised, tears cresting. "He's not with Courtney anymore. He won't leave you to go to her. He's exactly where he wants to be, Elizabeth, and I know my brother. He won't leave you if he says he won't; he won't give up on you no matter how hard you try to make him."

"Th-that's not what I'm doing." Her voice was broken and Emily knew Elizabeth wasn't convinced of what she'd said.

"I love you, Elizabeth," Emily whispered fiercely. "No matter what happens with your therapy, with Jason, or anything else. I will always be there for you. You know that, right?"

"Thank you, Em," Elizabeth choked out. "I love you, too. I...I should go...I gotta go."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later," she promised. Then she hung up the phone and sank to the floor as she dissolved into tears. Elizabeth was breaking her heart.

It wasn't true. It couldn't be. Jason and Courtney had broken up before the whole thing with Ric. He wasn't together with her, he wasn't going to leave her to meet Courtney.

Suddenly all of the quiet, earnest promises that he wasn't leaving, that he was exactly where he wanted to be rang through her head. He was so sincere, open...but how could that be? He couldn't mean them.

"I'm happy with you."

No, no, no, he couldn't be. Why couldn't he see that? She wasn't what he needed. He didn't need to be saddled with someone like her. Someone who was damaged and so lost inside her head she couldn't find her way out.

"You're crazy."

"No," she whispered, pressing her hands to her head.

"Why would Jason believe you?"

"Because he knows me."

"And what, he trusts you?" he scoffed. "He threw you away for Courtney. Sonny turned his back on you. Nobody will believe you."

"Yes they will." They would, they would believe her on this. Especially Jason.

Shaking his head he advanced on her. "No, they won't. They'll say you're crazy. Desperate to get back in their graces. They'll just pity you."

She moaned and shook her head. No, no, no, it wasn't true.

"He won't give up on you."

Pity.

"I-I'm here because you need help."

He said it wasn't pity. But he lied. All it was was pity.

"They'll just pity you."

A sob ripped from her throat.

"You're crazy."

"No."

"You're crazy."

"No!"

"You're crazy."

"No! I'm not...I'm not."

"You're crazy."

Her knees gave out and she fell on the floor, her hands pressed against the pain exploding in her head.

"You're crazy."

Broken, she curled on her side. Tears fell, pooling under head.

"You're crazy."

"Yes."

Chapter 19

He frowned and cast a glance at the door, tipping his head in study. Setting the cup down on the counter he crossed the room and stopped in the doorway. The sound came again, low, not natural. He took a step forward and spun around when he felt a hand on his arm.

Brows arched curiously, Dr. Torres asked. "Where you going?"

"Something's wrong."

"Whoa," she said when he took another step. "Nothing's wrong. She's on the phone, stop being paranoid."

"No!"

Both of them looked down the hall and Jason took another step. The doctor followed behind, trying to stop him. "She's on the phone, Jason."

He stopped and spun around, stabbing a finger in the direction of Elizabeth. "That tone isn't normal for her."

He'd heard that frightened tone before, and he wasn't going to let anyone stop him from checking on her. Dr. Torres had never seen Elizabeth in a full-blown episode, she didn't know. He kept going down the hallway and slowed as he reached the door.

"No! I'm not...I'm not."

Elizabeth's voice was strangled and Jason shot a look at the doctor who, this time, did look worried. They stepped into the room as Elizabeth fell to the floor, her hands pressed tightly against her temples.

"Yes," she whispered and Jason saw her eyes were open, fixed on a distant point.

"It's an episode," he whispered, his chest constricting painfully. "What do we do?"

The doctor held up her hand to silence him and cautiously, slowly, approached Elizabeth. "Elizabeth, can you hear me?"

Instantly she stilled, tried to control her breathing. Jason stayed rooted near the door, not wanting to do anything that would agitate her. The two times he had come upon her in an episode she thought he was Ric and it tore strips of his soul away that she was so frightened, so terrified of him - even if in her mind she thought it was Ric. He wasn't anxious to do it again, or further inflame the problem.

"Elizabeth," the doctor said softly again. "Elizabeth, you're okay."

She reached out and grabbed the older woman's hand tightly. "He's here...he won't stop... I am, I am...he's right...crazy...they'll never believe me. Jason, Sonny...why would they believe me? They won't...they won't... He's right...I'm crazy."

Dr. Torres looked over her shoulder at Jason, then turned back to Elizabeth. "Listen to me, Elizabeth, you're not crazy. Ric is wrong. I know Jason and Sonny. They won't think you're crazy either. They'll believe you. Whatever you have to tell them, they'll believe you."

"No," she whispered. "They won't. They don't talk to me anymore...they hate me...they won't believe me."

"Jason's here with me, Elizabeth. He believes you. You can tell him anything."

Laughter, bordering on hysteria, bubbled forth and he shivered at the sound. "You're wrong," she whispered. "Jason's not here."

Yvette turned and sternly waved him forward. His feet felt detached, but somehow he made it. "Yes, I am, Elizabeth. I'm here."

Elizabeth gasped in surprise and the doctor pressed forward. "See, Elizabeth, he's here. You can tell him."

"You can, Elizabeth," Jason told her, nearly pleading. This could be the key to breaking through her block, and despite himself - everything telling him it was dangerous to do so - he hoped this was the turning point. "You can tell me anything."

"But he said-"

"He was wrong," he said evenly, though inside he was raging that Ric had affected her like this. "Ric was wrong."

"What happened, Elizabeth?" Dr. Torres asked. "What do you need to tell Jason?"

"I saw Ric."

When she didn't say anything more the doctor prompted, "In your studio?"

"The park. He...he didn't see me. I-I went to talk to him and..."

She stiffened and Jason could only watch helpless as she went back inside herself, hesitant or scared, to find the truth. They sat there beside her on the floor as she lay curled on her side, tightly clutching her doctor's hand. His legs protested their position, but he was afraid to move, afraid to do anything that would interrupt the flow of her talking.

"What happened, what did you see?"

"He was fighting with Carly...they were arguing...she was accusing...oh, no, no, no." She jerked her hand back and covered her face, beginning to shake violently.

Jason swallowed rapidly against the bile that rose in his throat. Gently he touched the doctor's arm and whispered low. "Ric...he-he raped Carly."

She nodded in understanding. "The park. I know. In my safe, thirty-ten-seventeen, get a needle and a vial."

"You're drugging her?"

"We know the trigger," she said under her breath. "We know why she fought with Ric, but right now…right now she's reliving her rape. I need to calm her down. Now go get the vial."

He nodded mutely and stood, his legs protesting and he stumbled, landing on one knee. His hands shook as he turned the combination and reached in for the needed items, then gave them to the doctor. Once she had them, she plunged the needle into the vial and he turned his hands fisting at his sides as he struggled to remain calm, to not give into the desire to smash something. He couldn't watch as Elizabeth was sedated. He just couldn't.

She needed something sweet. If she had to drink one more cup of coffee without something sugary to go along with it she couldn't be held accountable for what happened next. Of course, nothing that was sweet and sugary appealed to her. She knew it was worry that was making her obsess about sweets in the house, but she was just going to ride with it for now.

Turning when she heard the door open, she gave Francis a fleeting smile. "Hi."

"Hey," he smiled back. "How's it going? Jason told me they were arranging a call back home for Elizabeth. I wanted to see how it went."

Her shoulders slumped and he frowned. "What happened?"

"She had an episode," Yvette said as she pulled a chair out at the table and sat down. "We were in here waiting and Jason heard something. She was responding to something or someone only she could hear. We got her to talk a bit, found out some of what happened and then..."

"And then?" he asked, leaning forward.

"She started to panic, she-" Yvette cut herself off, remembering that while Francis may know about the rape, Elizabeth was still her patient first and foremost. "I had to sedate her," she finished.

"Oh boy," the guard breathed out. "Jason didn't handle that too well, did he?"

She tilted her head to the side. No, Jason hadn't handled it well, but it was odd that of all the questions he could have asked, that was the one Francis did. "Yeah."

He nodded. "When Jason got Elizabeth out of the hospital he had to sedate her. He was bothered by it because she'd told him she hated the drugs, how they made her feel and all, you know? He sat with her until she woke up because he didn't want her to be alone or afraid." Casting a glance at the ceiling he asked, "He's with her now, isn't he?"

"He is," she confirmed. "After she calmed down he practically shoved me out of the way and carried her up to her room. He's refused to come down since."

"I wouldn't expect anything different," the guard said gravely. "He's committed to her, he always has been. But he also knows that she doesn't really want him around her, so he keeps his distance. To him it's more important that she get better, than he get what he wants. But while she's asleep, he'll stay with her, allow himself to have something he won't when she's awake. When she gets better, if she never wants to see him again, he'll walk away. He's done it before."

She leaned back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap. She knew about the park and Jason asking Elizabeth to leave with him, but she was a bit surprised at the way Francis talked about Jason. Clearly the guard had learned a few things she hadn't yet in her observation of the quiet man. Slowly, she reached out and traced a finger over the table top. "I tried to get him to eat something, but he said he wasn't hungry."

"You leave that to me," he chuckled. "We've gone through this before. I'll get him to eat. You want me to go up and check on him?"

"Why don't you walk up with me?" she asked as she stood. "I'm going to check on her. I'm not worried if she sleeps for a while yet, she hasn't been sleeping well, but I want to just check her vitals."

They made their way up to the second floor, not really saying anything. She hadn't spent much time with the guard, and now that they weren't discussing Jason and Elizabeth she didn't really feel up for small talk. When they reached Elizabeth's room, she gently pushed open the partially closed door. The curtains were closed and the lamp on a low setting. She wondered why Jason hadn't said something to them when they walked in, he seemed to have an eerie sixth sense about knowing where people were, and then she saw he was asleep in the chair pulled next to the bed.

She cast a glance over her shoulder at Francis who smiled crookedly at his boss and friend, he then waved to her and headed out of the room. Yvette quietly walked up to the bed and picked up Elizabeth's hand, her fingers pressing against the pulse point on the inside of the younger woman's wrist. The beat was strong and even and she gently placed her hand back on the covers. She stood for a moment, listening to the breathing of the two people in the room, smiling to herself when she noticed they were nearly in harmony.

Her patient was fine and sleeping well. Jason was asleep and the idea sounded pretty good to her. Closing the door partially behind her she wasn't really surprised that Francis wasn't around. He'd apparently gone back to his duties. Heading down to her room, she closed the drapes and pulled the covers down on the bed. Who knew when Elizabeth would wake up or what condition she'd be when she did. The moment reminded her of medical school, she realized as she set her alarm for a couple of hours later. Sleep when there's a lull in patients, and then hope that you were awake and coherent enough to provide the best medical treatment when the patients needed you. Because she figured that today was only the first of a long series of moments that while breaking through the barriers in Elizabeth's mind, were going to be taxing and painful to deal with.

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