Chapter Text
October 2002
Kelly's: Kitchen
Elizabeth Webber often wondered who she'd murdered in a previous life to deserve the existence she was currently living.
In fact, to deserve this specific moment — Elizabeth Imogene Webber must have been a vicious serial killer.
"I'm really sorry," Courtney Quartermaine said with a wrinkle of her nose and a flash of sympathy in her baby blue eyes. She set down the tub of dirty dishes on the counter in the kitchen of Kelly's. "It just happened."
She'd decided that while closing the diner where they both worked and cleaning things up in the back, that it was time she opened her heart and was honest with Elizabeth. After all — Courtney didn't want things to be awkward.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, turned away from the sink, and studied the other waitress, a woman she'd considered a friend. Not a close friend — but Courtney had been more than an acquaintance. A friendly face.
"Explain it to me again," Elizabeth said coolly. She folded her arms, leaned against the counter. "Like I'm a five-year-old."
Courtney winced. "I know you're upset because you thought you were dating him—"
"Thought?" Elizabeth repeated, with a lift of her brows. Oh, man, was this chick lucky that the butcher block full of knives was across the kitchen. "I thought I was dating him? Yeah, you're going to need to start at the beginning."
Courtney bit her lip. "It was just—all that time we spent together, you know? I mean, you know how sweet he is—"
Might be worth making a leap for one of those knives after all.
"And with this stalking thing going on, I really needed to feel safe. Jason makes me feel safe—"
"So does a golden retriever," Elizabeth bit out, even as she heard her own feelings, her own thoughts echoed back at her. "He was guarding you. Because Sonny wanted him to. You're married."
"I know. And that's why it's wrong. And why I really didn't intend for anything to happen—"
Against her better judgment, Elizabeth's heart began to beat faster, her pulse throbbing in her wrist. "But it did."
"A few days ago. That's why I had to tell you. Because I know you were upset after everything that happened," Courtney said, widening her eyes. "But you have to see now — it's obvious that Jason was just being nice—"
"Being nice to who?" Elizabeth asked, her voice flat. If Courtney had known her for long, she'd have heard the sound of a woman who was not in the damn mood.
"To you," Courtney continued. "I mean, you were dating Zander for a while and he hated Zander, so maybe Jason just didn't want to hurt your feelings. I mean, you know how much he hates hurting people."
"No, tell me more how Jason Morgan hates to hurt people." Elizabeth fluttered her lashes. "I'm dying to hear your analysis of the man who works for your brother and that you've known for ten minutes. This is fascinating."
Courtney scowled. "I'm trying to be nice—"
"You're not very good at it," Elizabeth retorted, even as Courtney's words sunk in. She had been sort of seeing Zander for a hot minute in early August, and she did know how much that had hurt Jason.
She'd thought they were past it. She'd thought he'd forgiven her—not that she needed to be forgiven as they weren't dating.
But—had they been dating at all? Or was Courtney right? Was it all in her head?
"What happened a few days ago?" Elizabeth asked with a sigh. Might as well rip off the bandage and let the air hit the wound.
"He kissed me," Courtney confessed, her voice small and a bit ashamed. "I don't know what to do. I love my husband—"
"I am not the one—" Elizabeth put a hand up in front her, then curled it into a fist. "He kissed you. A few days ago," she repeated.
"Yes."
"Okay." Elizabeth nodded. "Okay. Well, that's—that's just—" She cleared her throat. "Listen. Thank you. For telling me. Good luck with your marriage and your affair. I'll finish cleaning up. Go home."
"Oh, no, Elizabeth, let me—"
"Go home, Courtney," Elizabeth snapped. She whirled around, a box cutter in her hand. "Or I swear to God, I am going to hold you down and cut your fucking blonde hair off!"
Courtney actually squealed, jumped back, hitting the counter in the kitchen. "Elizabeth—"
Elizabeth made a jabbing motion with the knife, and Courtney rushed out of the kitchen, barely stopping to grab her coat and purse before slamming the door behind her, the little bell above it jangling.
"I wonder if I would have done it," Elizabeth muttered. She tossed the knife aside, put both hands on the counter, then closed her eyes.
He'd kissed Courtney.
Logically, it shouldn't hurt this way. It absolutely shouldn't. Elizabeth had walked out of the penthouse, tossing some cruel and angry words at him in her wake—then shut him down the one time he'd come after her to talk.
Elizabeth had needed more than twenty-four hours, but instead of just telling him like a grown up that she needed a minute, she'd lashed out and slashed at him.
"Okay. Okay." She dragged her hands through her hair, took a deep breath. "Okay," she repeated. "This is—this is good. This is good. I needed this. I needed to know. And now I know. He's moving on."
Elizabeth finished stacking the last of the dishes in the dishwasher, shoving it from her mind, desperate to stop thinking about it. To stop wondering exactly when she'd ruined everything — when she'd slept with Zander? When she'd asked him not to hurt Zander?
When she'd left the penthouse? Here, the next day, at Kelly's?
When had Jason stopped caring—
And when had he started caring about Courtney—
Elizabeth exhaled slowly, looked around the diner. The tables were clear, the chairs neatly stacked. She was done. It was time to go home.
Home to an empty studio with crappy heating.
"You know," Elizabeth said to no one at all—just a crazy idiot standing in the middle of an empty diner. "It would be nice just once to lose out to anyone other than Courtney." After years of losing to Sarah, to lose again to another goddamn blonde—
She dragged on her coat, looped her purse over her shoulder and left the diner, clocking the door behind her.
"A fucking blonde," she muttered as she started towards the waterfront. The air was cold, but Elizabeth didn't want to go home just yet. Maybe a walk on the docks would clear her mind.
Maybe she hadn't been just a serial killer in a previous life, Elizabeth thought idly as she stepped down towards Elm Street Pier. Maybe she'd killed bunnies or something. Or puppies.
Yeah, a puppy killer definitely deserved her life.
Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room
Sonny Corinthos stifled a yawn as he snatched up the phone ringing off the hook in the living room. "Damn it, who the hell—What?" he demanded.
"Sonny—" His wife, Carly, rubbed her eyes from the stairs, as she stepped off the landing. "Tell them to call in the morning—"
Sonny cupped his hand over the phone for a minute, scowling at her. "Go upstairs, Carly. I need to handle this."
Carly scowled, but he waited until he heard her stomping back up the stairs—then waited for the door to slam.
Sonny turned his attention back to the phone, took a deep breath. "Can you repeat that one more time, Francis? Who the hell is going to Vegas?"
Port Charles Airport: Hangar B
Jason Morgan did not believe in karma. Carly did—Carly believed in all kinds of spiritual crazy stuff. She'd always wanted to read his horoscope — apparently, Jason was a Virgo, whatever the hell that was.
And karma was Carly's current favorite belief. "You get what you put into the world, Jase," she'd told him a few months ago just after she'd married Sonny for what was probably the third time—but it might have been the fourth.
It was hard to tell sometimes.
If Carly was right—if you got what you put into the world—
Then Jason was getting exactly what he deserved.
"How much longer do we have to wait?" the brunette at his side snapped as she shifted from one foot to another. "I'm tired, and I just want this over with."
"I told you. We have to wait until the pilot files the flight plan," Jason said blandly. He rubbed the back of his neck, and looked towards the private jet. "You getting cold feet?"
Brenda Barrett snorted. "No. That's not me. I don't get cold feet. That's you and your boss." She folded her arms. "It's freezing."
"Then go inside."
"Hey! You're supposed to care about my well-being—"
"Not until the paperwork is signed," he muttered.
"Look, if you're having second thoughts," Brenda said with huff, "then have them here. Before we get on a plane and haul our asses to Vegas—"
"I'm not—" Jason shook his head. He was way past second thoughts and onto fifth thoughts. "I'm trying to retrace my steps to figure out how exactly I ended up here. At midnight. With you."
Brenda pursed her lips. "Well, it started with me coming to your penthouse and threatening to break up Sonny and Carly's marriage—you really need to work on your priorities by the way. You're sacrificing your happiness so Carly can be happy. I mean—don't you have a life?"
"I used to," Jason said. He rubbed the side of his face. He thought he had one. But there wasn't anything left for him. Not after the last few weeks. After the last few days. He'd just been minding his own business, standing in the rain, and then Courtney had just—
He had tried to be very nice about the whole thing—and she'd left immediately afterwards. Jason had gone to Sonny, told him very nicely that he had other things that needed to be done and Courtney needed an actual guard.
Sonny had looked at him suspiciously, but had agreed. And then Jason had found Brenda in his penthouse. Sitting on his sofa, looking at the yellow knitted blanket Elizabeth had left behind.
What was the point of worrying about his future? The only woman he was interested in wanted to set him on fire, and maybe if he weren't single, Courtney Quartermaine would stay away from him. And Carly would be happy.
An unhappy Carly was a destroyer of worlds, which Jason knew all too well. No, this was for the best.
"Jason, I'm serious." Brenda's tone had shifted to something less bitchy, and more quiet. "You don't remember this, but we were friends before your accident. And we were almost friends before you—" She cleared her throat and looked away.
Before he'd humiliated her at the altar for Sonny. "Brenda—"
"Do not do this if you're having second thoughts. I wouldn't really mess up Sonny's marriage. Not on purpose," she added. "I just—" Her voice sounded tight. "I don't want to be alone when it gets bad. And I know Robin would take care of me. Or the Quartermaines. But they love me. I don't want them to have to make decisions. I know why this is a good idea for me. But I need to know I'm not hurting you."
Jason hesitated, looked away, towards the doorway of the hangar—towards the flickering lights of downtown Port Charles, where the waterfront lay beyond it. He wondered where Elizabeth was right now. Was she at her studio? Closing Kelly's? Was she painting?
"Jason?"
Wherever she was, she'd left him. Again. And this time, Jason hadn't seen any hint that she'd change her mind.
"You're not hurting me, Brenda. And I want to help you," Jason told her. Because that much, at least, wasn't a lie. "Let me go check on the flight plan. See how much longer it'll be."
Pier 52
At some point, Elizabeth lost track of where she was walking — she'd only meant to walk along Elm Street Pier where it merged onto Bannister's Wharf, but then she'd looked up and realized—
"Pier 52," she muttered. The Corinthos-Morgan warehouse loomed at the end of the pier, construction cranes scattered around the parking lot as they worked to rebuild after the explosion in August.
Elizabeth idly touched her arm where a faint scar still rested. She'd thought of that night as a turning point. Standing outside the burning building, watching Jason and Zander fight—Zander with a gun—
The sound of the shot—the searing pain in her arm—
The way Jason had looked at her—asked her about Italy—she'd thought for a minute that she hadn't broken everything between them.
But maybe Courtney was right. Maybe Elizabeth had finally burnt the final bridge with Zander, and Jason was just too kind to tell her. Had ignored her all those weeks in the penthouse, hoping she'd get the message.
No. No, that wasn't fair. She sighed, and started to turn back, intending to head back up the pier, to Elm Street, and to her studio. It was stupid to be wandering out here this late in the dark, after midnight—
"What the hell were you thinking?"
The angry voices startled Elizabeth out of her maudlin wallowing, and she turned — but the voice wasn't talking to her. Footsteps were getting closer, and without thinking, Elizabeth ducked behind a a pallet stacked with boxes and metal barrels.
"You had one job!" a man snarled—Elizabeth frowned—she knew that voice. Why did she know that voice?
"You were to keep your eyes on my property, and now she's gone!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Alcazar—" And that one sounded familiar, too, but—
Oh….fuck. Elizabeth closed her eyes. Walked right into a scene between Luis Alcazar and a flunky.
What was worse than a puppy killer? Because surely—
A gunshot echoed in the night, and Elizabeth heard a thud and a cry — Then another shot—this one sounded closer — and the man's cry stopped abruptly.
Elizabeth shoved a fist in her mouth, choking back the sound that wanted to leap from her throat. Oh, damn, damn, damn —
She started to inch backwards — she knew a back way to the waterfront, one that would take longer — but was hidden —
Just as Elizabeth was a few feet from safety, from freedom — she tripped over a nail jutting out from a board and hit the ground with a crash, her arm slapping against a building on the way down.
"Who's there?" Alcazar demanded. "Who is that? Morgan?"
Elizabeth didn't stop, didn't even think. She leapt to her feet, turned, and ran for the shorter route to safety—even as Alcazar shot after her, bullets hitting the corrugated metal just inches from her head.
She only had one thought. One person who she knew she could trust.
She ran up the pier, up to Elm Street, then instead of taking the turn towards her studio, she turned towards the large building a few blocks away.
To Jason.
Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room
Sonny scowled into the phone, rubbed his forehead. "I'm not asking you to shoot the fucking plane out of the sky! Just keep them at the airport in Vegas as long as you can—" He glanced at the clock on the desk. It was a quarter after midnight. If they could hold Jason at the airport for just fifteen more minutes — Sonny could be in the air by one.
He'd be less than a half hour behind them —
Why the hell were Jason and Brenda going to Las Vegas? Who went to Vegas in the middle of the night with no word to the people in their lives?
Idiots. That's who.
And there was only one reason to sneak away to Vegas without a word.
Sonny didn't know which one of them he was going to kill first —
He yanked open the door to find Max standing there. "Call down to the garage," he started, but then the elevator doors opened, and Elizabeth practically fell out of them as she turned the corner towards Jason's penthouse —
"Elizabeth?" Sonny said, stepping out into the hallway. "He's not there—"
Elizabeth whirled around to face him, her eyes wide, her pupils tiny pinpricks. "What? Why? Where—" She pressed a hand to her chest, took a deep breath. "I need—I need help."
"I gathered that if you're storming the penthouse at midnight," Sonny said. He squinted. But maybe the universe was giving him a break. If Sonny couldn't talk Jason and Brenda out of this madness—
Jason would never do this if Elizabeth was in the room.
"Max, call down to the garage," he said, looking at the guard. "Get a limo ready. Elizabeth and I are heading to the airport."
"Uh, okay, Boss. Do you need me to grab luggage—"
"No, I can get what I need on the ground," Sonny said. He turned back to Elizabeth whose face was stark white. "You can tell me what happened on the way to the airport."
"The airport?" Elizabeth shook her head. "What? Why? What's going on—"
Sonny pressed the button for the elevator, then ushered her on board. "Jason's in trouble and he needs you."
"He—" Elizabeth stared at him, blankly as the doors closed. "What? Is he hurt? Did—" She swallowed. "Did he ask for me?"
Sonny didn't even think. "Yes," he said, because if he didn't lie, she might not go with him.
And he needed to stop whatever was happening in Vegas.
"Oh," Elizabeth said shakily. "I didn't—okay. Okay, well, you should send someone down to Pier 52. There might be a body."
Sonny closed his eyes. "What happened?" he asked.
Airplane: Jason & Brenda
Somewhere over the Midwest, Jason took out his phone and adjusted the time zone to Vegas time and noticed three missed calls from Sonny. He turned off the phone, looked at Brenda was curled up on a sofa on the other side of the plane. "Sonny called."
Brenda frowned, looked at him. "Why? Is there a chance he knows—"
"No," Jason said after a moment. But maybe someone at the airport had called about Jason taking the private jet. They should have flown commercial but Jason didn't want their names showing up on a flight list.
The whole point of this was to make Brenda safe and he didn't want Alcazar tracking her movements.
"So what have you been up to lately?" Brenda asked. She folded her arms, then unfolded them and laid them at her side.
"Nothing," Jason said shortly.
"Friendly as ever," she muttered. "I guess if you had a life you wouldn't be marrying me." She glared at him. "So no one other than Sonny is going to be mad about this?"
Jason hesitated. Oh, man, he really hadn't thought that far ahead. What if he was wrong—what if he went back to Port Charles, legally married to another woman, and Elizabeth—
"Jason, if you're having second thoughts—"
"No," Jason said finally. "It's too late."
Airplane: Sonny & Elizabeth
Elizabeth looked at her watch, then twisted the band back and forth on her wrist. "Where are we going?" she asked Sonny.
"Why were you down at Pier 52?" Sonny asked, once again declining to answer any of her questions. He'd thrown her into a limo, they'd boarded a jet waiting at the airport, and he'd spent the first hour of the flight in another room of the plane, on the phone with someone.
"I was just walking," Elizabeth said. "I didn't want to go home yet." She rubbed the cheek. "I wasn't paying attention—"
"Why didn't you have a guard?" Sonny said with a growl. "Damn it. Don't tell me Jason let you go back to the penthouse without a guard? You were living there for six weeks. You think Alcazar doesn't know about you?"
Elizabeth stared him, then squinted. "I—I don't—I didn't—" She chewed on her lip. "I don't know," she said. "I had Marco when I was living there. He took me to Kelly's and back." But he hadn't gone with her when she'd left.
"Just lucky Alcazar didn't grab you before this for leverage," Sonny muttered. "After all the crap Jason did to get you out that damn crypt—he probably would have sold me out to get you back."
"I—" Elizabeth's eyes bulged. "What are you talking about? I don't—" She shook her head. "No. I don't matter like that. Jason said I didn't—" She looked away, out the window. "He said it wasn't about me," she said softly.
"Well, then you misunderstood," Sonny bit out. "Clearly."
If Jason was asking for her—then she must have. Just as that lifted her spirits for a moment, they plummeted. "How hurt is he, Sonny?" Elizabeth asked. She looked at him, met his eyes. "Was he shot? Is—is he going—is that we had to come in the middle of the night like this? Where are we going?"
"I'll answer everything when we get there," Sonny said. "Just—just trust me. Everything will be fine if everyone just trusts me."
McCarran International Airport: Car Rentals
Brenda scowled, looked at her watch. "It's two AM. How can there not be a single car available in all of Las Vegas?" she demanded.
Jason rubbed his eyes, looked at the woman he was going to marry shortly, and glared. "It might be two AM, but it's six AM in Port Charles, which means I've been awake for forty-eight hours."
"Well, that would be your problem, not mine. Get some sleep like a normal human," she shot back. She looked at the clerk who snapped to attention when she slapped a hand on the counter. "I want a car. Now. I don't care how old it is, how crappy—"
"Perhaps a taxi—"
Jason dragged his hands over his face. This was such a mistake. At every single step of this trip, they'd been delayed. First, the flight plan had taken forever, then they had had to circle the airport for twenty minutes before they were cleared to land—
And now—now they couldn't even rent a car.
Jason hated being driven around. He hated taxis. Hated not knowing his driver. You couldn't trust them—
He exhaled slowly, looked at the clerk. "I want a car. Now," he said, in a flat tone. This time, the clerk swallowed and nodded.
"I can see if we can move another reservation around," he said in a weak voice. He started furiously typing on his computer.
"Finally, using your powers for good," Brenda said. She wrinkled her nose. "Can you come with me the next time I go shopping? I could use a discount since all my money was given to charity after I died—"
"Brenda—" Jason bit off the harsh words he'd been out to say, knowing that she tended to ramble when she got nervous. Which only reminded him of Elizabeth— "Look, it's the middle of the night. Do you want to check into a hotel and get a few hours of sleep—"
"No. Not yet. After." Brenda stared ahead at the bland gray walls of the car rental department. "Let's get this over with." She flicked a glance at him, and he could see the nerves in her eyes.
It was one thing to suggest this in his penthouse in Port Charles. It was another to have actually flown across the country to Las Vegas and be literally one stop away from getting married.
Something that had made some sort of sense almost eight hours earlier —
"Alright," Jason said. Probably for the best — if they stopped now, they might not go through with it at all.
Limo: Route 15
Elizabeth stared at out the dim windows at the blinking and glittering lights of the Las Vegas strip, her suspicions and worry mixing into a strange sense of dread. When she'd first seen the bright lights as they'd prepared to land, she'd looked at Sonny, demanding to know why they were in Vegas.
Why was Jason in Vegas?
But Sonny had just shrugged. "Business." Which meant Elizabeth was supposed to shut up and let it go.
And she tried to. Reminded herself that she'd seen The Godfather—she knew that Vegas was a mob town underneath the glitz and glamor. It wasn't a stretch that Sonny had business out here — that Jason would be doing something for him here.
But Sonny was acting strangely—irritated with Jason—irritated with Elizabeth—as if whatever Jason had done — it was pissing him off.
And if he was angry at Jason—why had he brought Elizabeth? If she hadn't shown up at the penthouse at the same time he was leaving—
Would he have called or picked her up?
Then the limo pulled into a parking lot for a large building with a blinking light over top — A Chapel of Love — 24 Hour Weddings!
Elizabeth looked at Sonny. "I'm not going in there until you tell me what the hell is going on," she said. She folded her arms. "You have dragged me across the country, refused to tell me if Jason is alive or dead—and now—now we're in Vegas at one of these stupid wedding chapels—"
"Jason's—he's hiding. Okay?" Sonny snapped. He shoved the door open. "You know better. We have work with what we've got. He got himself here, and now he needs us to get him somewhere safe."
She bit her lip, and there was just enough truth in that statement that she slid across the leather seat and stepped out of the car. If she went inside, at least Sonny would be out of time — if she didn't find out what the hell was going on after all this —
"Fine. But this is the last place I'm going. I want answers."
"You'll have them," Sonny promised. "I'm doing this for all of us."
"Sonny—"
"Let's just go."
The Chapel of Love: Main Chapel
This was stupid. This was the dumbest thing Jason had ever done, and he had done a lot of idiotic things since he'd woken up in the hospital six years earlier.
He was standing next to a woman that he barely even tolerated on a good day, preparing to legally marry her and take care of her until whatever disease eating her brain killed her —
He was marrying another woman, and the longer he thought about it, the more Jason thought this was probably not the best way to convince Elizabeth that he was sorry about the lying. And maybe he should be doing that instead.
But this was a runaway train, and Jason turned to look at Brenda, to start their vows. Her face was pale as well.
They both knew this was stupid, but neither of them were going to admit it first.
"Are you ready for your vows?" The officiant asked Jason. He checked the paper. "Uh, Jason, do you promise to take Brenda to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish—"
This was insane—Jason opened his mouth to interrupt him, to stop this because there was no way in hell he was going to promise to do any of that —
But then the double doors at the end of the room were thrown open. Jason and Brenda both turned to look at the same time Sonny strode through the doors, his face florid with fury — but Jason didn't see him. Barely registered his presence—
He only saw Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was just behind Sonny, her eyes taking in the room, the garish decorations, the empty pews—before finally looking at him. At the woman next to him.
Elizabeth stared at Jason, blinking rapidly because at some point, the nightmare would dissolve and she'd wake up.
Sonny had dragged her across the country to stop a wedding.
To stop Jason's wedding.
Jason's wedding to Brenda.
She tore her eyes away from Jason's startled gaze to look at Sonny. "You son of bitch," Elizabeth bit out. Sonny looked at her, frowning.
"Uh, that's him, not me — he's the one marrying—"
She didn't let him finish. Instead, she curled her hand into a fist and let it fly.
Sonny grunted, falling back, holding his hands over his nose, spurting blood.
Then Elizabeth spun on her heel and fled. She dimly heard someone—Jason—calling her name—
But she just ran.
"Damn it," Sonny winced, barely even noticing as Jason ran past him after Elizabeth. He turned to Brenda who was sauntering down the aisle. She planted a hand on her hip and glared.
"Two questions," she snarled. "One, who the hell was that? And two, why the hell do you only show up at my weddings when you're trying to stop them?"
The Chapel of Love: Parking Lot
Elizabeth might have had a head start, but Jason's legs were longer and he did more running than she did — he caught up just as she passed the Fountains at the Bellagio, darting in front of her so he could stop her in her tracks.
Elizabeth scowled and nearly managed to adjust at the last minute to run past him, but he snagged her elbow and dragged her back.
"Would you just stop!" he snapped. He grimaced when he realized he was almost digging into her forearm with his fingers. He forced himself to gentle his hold and guide her back in front of him. "Just—just let me explain—"
"Explain?" Elizabeth yanked her arm away from him, cradling it against her chest, her eyes shadowed, almost hidden from him even as the bright lights of the Strip washed over them. "There's nothing to explain! I am done humiliating myself—I'm getting a cab, I'm going back to Port Charles, and then I am never going to speak to either one of you again—"
"Why—" Jason hissed as she turned sharply and started towards the street. He should just let her go.
She was always walking away from him.
Never giving him a chance to explain.
Never believing him even when he did—
After nearly forty-eight hours without sleep, after hours spent in Brenda's vexing company—Jason finally snapped.
"Why do you always do this?" he called after her, his tone scathing. "Why did you even come?"
Elizabeth halted, nearly six feet from him, her shoulders snapping straight. She turned slowly, lifting her chin, her fists clenched at her side.
"Are you really going to get mad at me right now? I—" She scowled, stalked back. Elizabeth jabbed a finger in chest, the tip of her index finger poking just below his collar bone. "You want to know why I came to Vegas? Why I showed up at your wedding to another woman like a bad romantic comedy?"
Jason narrowed his eyes. "Yeah—I want to know. If you're not even going to let me explain—"
"I came," she bit out with a depth of bitterness that he'd never heard from her before, "because Sonny told me you were hurt."
Jason's mouth closed. He stared at her. "What?"
"He told me that you were hurt. That you needed—" Elizabeth closed her eyes, squeezing them shut as if it could protect her. "You needed me. Worse. He told you'd asked for me."
He was going to murder Sonny.
Slowly.
And he was going to enjoy it.
Jason drew in a sharp breath. "Elizabeth—"
"And like the clearly stupid girl that I am—" Elizabeth opened her eyes, tears spilling over her lashes, sliding down her cheeks. Her voice broke. "I didn't argue. Not until we landed in Vegas, and I realized that none of it made sense. He brought me here because he wanted to stop you from getting married. And he knew if he'd told me the truth, I never would have gotten on the plane."
"It's not what it looks like—"
"Really?" Elizabeth sneered. "Because it looked like you were marrying Brenda Barrett. How is there any way to explain that? How many times do you have to lie to me before I finally get it—"
"I have never lied to you—" Jason wanted to drag the words back even as they flew out of his mouth. Once he could have claimed that.
"For someone who prides himself on honesty," Elizabeth retorted, "you're really racking up the lies—"
"I tried to tell you that there things I couldn't tell you—"
"No!" She sliced her hand through the air, the word exploding out of her like a bullet. "No! That is absolutely not going to work. No! Here are the things you can't tell me—things I would never ask — what did you do at work today? When will you be home? Where did you go?"
"I—"
"You do not get to lie to me about the death of your best friend!" Elizabeth shook her head. "No. No, I'm not doing this—" She turned away again.
"You're the only one who gets to make mistakes?" Jason demanded as he followed her towards the street. "How many times have you lied to me?"
Her eyes widened, and she whirled back around. "I—"
"How many times have you done things that anyone else would find unforgivable?" he continued, the rage boiling in his chest. "You knew Zander had betrayed Sonny. That he was my enemy, Elizabeth, and what did you do?"
"I—"
"You took him into your home. You—" He broke off as Elizabeth stared at him. "You slept with him. You asked me to leave him alone—"
"I thought you—" She swallowed hard, her lip trembling. "I thought you forgave me—"
"Because that's what I do. I forgive you. Because, damn it, I love you!"
The words hung between them as she closed her eyes and Jason winced. That was not—that not the way that should have happened.
"I don't believe you," Elizabeth said softly. She cleared her throat, opened her eyes to meet his. "Because someone who loves me wouldn't do the things you've done—"
"Damn it—"
"You sat in your penthouse, you looked me in the eye, and you told me that you wanted to be with me. That you wanted to try—and you lied. And then you kissed Courtney—"
"What?"
"And you were just marrying another woman—" Elizabeth gestured wildly at the Chapel of Love a hundred yards behind them.
Jason clenched his jaw. "And you came across the country because you thought I was hurt. What does that say about you? You love me, too, Elizabeth—"
"No, I don't—" she snapped. "Don't tell me how I feel—"
"Then don't tell me how I feel," he threw back at her.
"How the hell am I supposed to believe you?" Elizabeth threw up her hands. "What have you done except lie to me for weeks—"
If he could just convince her—if they could just get past this minute—he could explain everything about Brenda—and he'd fix that crap about Courtney — but she looked ready to bolt at any minute—
She'd flown across the country with little more than Sonny's word because she thought he needed her.
Well, he did. Even though he wanted to shake her until her teeth rattled. She was so damn stubborn—
"You want proof?" Jason scowled, his mind racing. He dragged a hand through his hair, stared at the wedding chapel for a long moment, then looked back at Elizabeth. "I can prove it."
"I'd like to see you try—"
"Come with me," Jason said, grabbing her hand, then all but dragged her back towards the chapel.
If she wanted proof—
He'd make her see that he wasn't lying if it was the last thing he did.
Chapter 2: Part 2
Chapter Text
The Chapel of Love: Lobby
Sonny pressed the ice pack to his nose, wincing as he watched Brenda examine her nails. "Are you ever going to forgive me?" he asked.
"You're going to have to be way more specific because your list of crimes is very long," she said sweetly. She frowned. "This polish is chipped. I need my luggage. It's in the car—"
"And what the hell are you doing in Vegas?" Sonny demanded, out of patience with her. "I came all the way here and all I've gotten so far is a busted nose—"
"That was a thing of beauty," Brenda started to say, but then the double doors to the chapel opened and Jason stalked in, practically dragging Elizabeth after him.
Sonny thought Elizabeth had told Jason that instead of taking a minute to protect her after what had happened on the pier, Sonny had lied to her. He got to his feet, bracing himself to get another sock to the jaw—
But instead, Jason ignored Sonny and Brenda entirely and walked over to the front desk. "I need a new certificate," he said, flatly.
Elizabeth's face drained of color and Sonny saw her muscles bunch. If Jason hadn't tightened his grip, she might have taken another run for it.
"Wait—what did he just say?" Brenda asked.
"Uh, Mr. Morgan—"
"A new marriage certificate," Jason repeated. "Now."
"Uh—" The clerk blinked rapidly, looked over at Sonny and Brenda, looked at Elizabeth. "Okay," he said slowly. He set a fresh sheet of paper on the desk. "But it'll cost you double. You were halfway through—"
"Put it on the card—"
"Jason," Elizabeth hissed.
"Do you want proof or not?" Jason demanded, and Sonny raised his brows at the sharpness in his friend's tone. He didn't think Jason had ever spoken to her that way.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "You think this is proof?" She jerked a thumb at Brenda. "Your last fiancée is right over there—"
"Oh, well, fiancée is a strong word," Brenda said, wrinkling her nose.
"So is wife," Elizabeth snarled, tossing a dirty look at her. "Stay out of it."
"I like her," Brenda decided.
"You could find out where they're registered later," Sonny muttered. What the hell was going on—
Jason was ignoring them all as he grabbed a pen and filled out the form, signing his name at the bottom. He shoved the pen at Elizabeth and slid the paper closer to her. "Well?"
Sonny was sure Elizabeth was going to stab Jason in the eye or something else violent from the way that she looked at him. But then she drew in a shaky breath, signed the form.
"Huh," Brenda said with a nod. "Well, at least this won't be a wasted trip."
Elizabeth couldn't quite decide exactly why she'd signed the form or how she'd ended up in front of the same officiant that had nearly married Jason and Brenda less than thirty minutes earlier.
She almost felt like she was floating above it all and had been since the moment Jason had bit out a declaration of love like he wanted to hit over the head with it.
He never got angry with her.
And when she'd asked for proof—
He'd gone to find a way to prove it.
So—
She married him.
When the officiant declared them husband and wife and told Jason he could kiss his bride, Elizabeth blinked, looked at Jason, wondering what he would do.
He gently pressed on her shoulder so that she was facing him, tipped her head back and kissed her, drawing her against him like he had that night in her studio. Tired of fighting it, tired of pretending, of being angry and sad — Elizabeth kissed him back, threading her fingers through his hair, dragging him closer to her, wishing she could just disappear into him.
She didn't want to let go, didn't want the moment to end, because then reality would hit — and he'd realize he'd made a mistake —
Elizabeth didn't know if she could bear to see that in his eyes. If she never let him go—never opened her eyes —
But then there was a slight coughing from the front of the pew, and Jason drew back. Their eyes met as he slowly stepped back, sliding his hands down the length of her body until they rested at her waist.
She turned to look at Sonny and Brenda in the front row, blinking rapidly.
"Maybe we should go to the hotel," Sonny said, getting to his feet.
Jason glanced behind them to see the officiant offering them a smile and a reminder to pick up the license out front. When he'd left the room, Jason looked at Sonny, his eyes hard. "Don't ever lie to Elizabeth again. Especially not about me being hurt."
Sonny winced, then he gasped in pain as Brenda whacked him hard in the ribs. "Damn it—" he grunted. "What the hell—"
"You dragged that poor girl all the way here and she thought he was hurt the whole time—I hope your nose heals crooked," Brenda said. She whacked him one more time with the back of her hand.
"We'll meet you at the hotel," Jason told Sonny. "We're taking the limo. You can drive there with Brenda."
He took Elizabeth's hand and led her out of the chapel.
Brenda scowled after him, planting her hands on her hips. "I think he thinks that's a punishment. You're lucky I didn't marry you!" she called after them. "I would have made you miserable!"
She huffed, looked back at Sonny. "Well, let's go. I need food and sleep. And a new plan because my best idea just walked out of the room married to someone else."
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas: Owner's Suite
Jason shoved the door open and waited for Elizabeth to walk in front of him. She had been silent during the short ride to the hotel that Sonny controlled in downtown Vegas, and Jason hadn't known how to start the conversation.
Elizabeth walked over to the large floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the Strip, folding her arms across her chest. The sun was just beginning to rise in the west, peeking out over the horizon in the distance. Jason closed the door, took a deep breath. "Elizabeth—"
"If you're sorry already," she said softly, "can you just…wait to say it?" She looked at him. "Just a little longer."
"I'm not sorry," Jason said roughly. He crossed over to her. He reached out to touch her, but faltered, let his hand drop down. "I don't really—I'm not sorry," he repeated. "But I thought you might be."
"I'm not really sure what I'm feeling," Elizabeth admitted. "This is—" She laughed slightly, nerves making the sound shaky and fragile. "This is not exactly what I thought would happen last night when I left Kelly's."
"Me either," Jason said. He framed her face in his hands, leaned his forehead against hers. "I missed you," he murmured.
"I missed you, too." She slid her arms around his waist and they stood there for a long moment, just letting the silence around them settle.
"Let's get some sleep," Jason suggested. "And we'll—we'll figure everything else out later."
Master Bedroom
Deciding to go to sleep had been the easy part — the location of said sleep was more complicated. Jason had walked Elizabeth into the large master bedroom with the palatial king-sized bed. He'd hesitated as they both looked at the bed — then he'd started to say something about leaving the other room in the suite for Brenda, and he'd take the sofa —
Elizabeth had nearly let him walk out, but at least second—she'd twisted her fingers in the cotton fabric of his shirt, holding him back.
He'd gone temporarily insane and now they were married — she still couldn't quite wrap her mind around any of that — but maybe it was her turn to take a risk.
"I'm really tired," she told him. Jason turned to her, drawing his brows together in a bewildered frown. "And that bed is huge. If you're on the sofa when Brenda and Sonny get here, you won't get any sleep at all."
He searched her eyes. "Elizabeth—"
"Let's just go to sleep. You look so tired, Jason, and that sofa isn't big enough." Her fingers still holding his shirt, she drew back over the threshold of the room. With her free hand, she pushed it lightly until it closed.
"I—"
"Like you said — neither of us expected this to be happening. I trust you." At least in this she did.
Elizabeth gently pushed his leather jacket off his shoulders, and it hit the marble tile of the floor. "I think we can share the bed. We used to sleep in the studio, didn't we?"
"Yeah." Jason cleared his throat. He brushed his fingers against her jaw. "Yeah, okay."
He'd given her his t-shirt to sleep in, and while she changed in the bathroom, he had pulled the light blocking curtains over the window. She knew he could sleep through anything, and had done it for her.
They climbed into the bed, on opposite sides. She'd stared at the ceiling for a long time once he'd switched off the lamp, listening to him breathe. She'd dreamed of this once. Not precisely this — in her dreams, he had always been holding her — just laying in the dark, listening to him breathe.
She'd done that in the studio during the few short weeks they'd shared that pace, and it had been calming then. Reassuring. He was alive, and she'd saved him the way he'd saved her.
Now, it was strange to listen to him breathing, listening to the way it slowed and relaxed as he slid into sleep, and she was still trying to understand exactly she'd ended up as Jason's wife when she followed him into slumber.
Jason opened his eyes, blinking just once as his eyes adjusted to the dim light of the room. He took in the silk sheets beneath him, the top sheet covering — then turned his head slightly find out that he hadn't hallucinated the last twelve hours.
Not that he'd ever been one for dreams or hallucinations. There had just been that one time — last year — when he'd picked up Elizabeth's gloves and for a moment—she'd been in the room with him. Smiling at him.
Then she'd been gone, and Jason decided he was just fine not be able to picture things.
She was laying in the bed next to him, her face turned towards him, her body twisted on its side. He could only dimly make out her features as light seeped around the edges of the heavy blackout fabric covering the window.
He'd come to Vegas to marry Brenda Barrett, and instead —
Instead, Elizabeth had shown up and, in a fit of temper and insanity—he'd decided that marrying her would be proof that he loved her.
He exhaled slowly, turning his face to the ceiling. What had he been thinking? And why had she agreed?
He'd never really pictured himself getting married before. Robin had mentioned it a few times, and he'd always thought they'd get married one day because it was something she wanted. But that was a life time ago.
Do you want proof or not?
He flinched, hearing his own angry words echoing in his brain as Elizabeth had looked at him with wide, confused eyes when he'd demanded a new marriage certificate. He didn't have any practice with marriage proposals, but that probably wasn't a good one.
She'd married him anyway.
Jason turned back to her, only half-surprised to find her eyes open, staring back at him. "Hey," he said softly.
"Hey," she replied. She slowly sat up, the sheet pooling at her waist. His shirt was too big for her and listed to one side, baring her shoulder. "What time is it?"
"Just before eight," Jason told her. He sat up, but neither of them made a move to leave the bed.
If they got of bed—if they faced the day—
This was real.
And he was almost sure that she'd take it back. That the craziness would have sunk in and she'd want to run away.
And he wasn't sure if he'd blame her. He hadn't proposed to her, had shoved the certificate at her—and married her in the chapel, with the same officiant where he'd nearly married another woman.
She should be running from the suite screaming.
Instead, Elizabeth rubbed the heel of her hand against her chest and looked at him. "You should sleep longer," she told him. "You—you said you hadn't slept in two days—three hours isn't really enough—"
"I'm fine," Jason said with a shake of his head. "But you worked yesterday—"
At the mention of her job, Elizabeth's face dimmed and she looked away. "Yeah, I did. Um, I don't—" She drew her bottom lip between her teeth and bit down. "We said we'd figure it out when we woke up." Elizabeth met his eyes again. "Any idea how to start that?"
"No." And he felt a bit lighter when she laughed at him— a genuine laugh of amusement.
"Me, either." She exhaled on a shorter laugh. "This is insane. I've never done anything as crazy as this, and I've faked my death."
"Marrying me is crazier than taking poison?" Jason asked skeptically. "Should I be insulted?"
"Oh, that—" Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "That was nothing compared to this. All I did was drink some wine. Nikolas and Sonny did everything else. Actually, it was a relief," she admitted. "I woke up on the island and didn't have to go home until it was over. This—" She gestured at the space between them. "This is definitely crazier."
She still didn't look sad or upset, so Jason decided not to take crazy as a bad thing. She wasn't asking for an annulment. Or a divorce.
And she was still in bed.
Elizabeth bit her lip, looked at him, and he had a feeling if he could see her face in full light, her cheeks would be flaming red. "Do you wanna know something really weird?"
"What?" Jason slid closer. Just an inch. Well, maybe three inches.
"I really thought we'd both wake up, look at each other, and — I don't know—we'd trip over each other to apologize. Or call it a mistake. Or, I don't know, something. I thought I'd wake up and…regret it."
Her soft confession took his breath away, and everything inside him tightened. "And you don't?"
"Do you?"
He shook his head. He wasn't going to let her deflect. Not again. "I asked you first."
"No," she said finally. "I'm—I'm not sure this was a good idea, but as insane as it sounds, I don't really regret it either."
"Me either."
"Really?" Elizabeth tipped her head to the side. "Not even a little?"
"No." Jason slid closer again, leaving less than a foot of space between them. He cupped her cheek with his hand, and she leaned into it. "Not even a little."
"I do…I do kind of wish one thing had been different." Elizabeth opened her eyes, met his. "I wish we hadn't been so tired when we got back to the hotel."
Jason lifted his brows as she covered his hand with her own, then kissed his palm. "Are you tired now?" he murmured.
Elizabeth grinned at him, and he felt his mouth curve up in response. She hadn't smiled at him like that in a long time. "Not even a little bit."
She was still smiling when he cupped the back of her neck and dragged her him, crushing his mouth against hers, not giving her a chance to change her mind.
She pressed herself against him, wrapping her legs around his waist as they rolled over on the bed, nipping each other's lips, both struggling to take control. When her fingers slid beneath the fabric of his briefs, Jason grabbed her hands and pressed them back against the bed. She arched her brows. "No?"
"Not yet," he said, leaning down to kiss her neck, trailing his mouth down her collarbone. He released her hands so his own could slide down her body, push his shirt higher on her hips—
"Not fair—" she moaned.
He started to laugh—
Then there was a knock on the door. "Jase? You up? We got stuff to go over—"
Jason felt Elizabeth tense beneath him, like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over her. "Elizabeth—"
She closed her eyes. "You should go," she said, flatly. "It might be important."
It might be. But it also might be bullshit. Like it had been nearly every time Sonny or Carly had called him last summer and dragged him away from her.
And if Jason got out of this bed right now—
Elizabeth would start regretting everything.
"I was going to say," he said, "the door isn't locked. And Sonny doesn't know how to mind his own business. Don't move."
"Jason—"
"I mean it." He kissed her, hard, tangling his hands in her hair, hoping she could taste his frustration, impatience, and desire. "Don't move."
"Not a muscle," she managed as he rolled away from her.
Sitting Room
On the other side of the door, Sonny was about to knock again when there was a CLICK sound. He stared at the door for a minute, frowning until he realized what he'd heard —
The bolt sliding home.
Locking the door.
"He—" Sonny turned to find Brenda, freshly showered and sipping a cup of a tea like she'd had a full eight hours of sleep and a morning at a spa rather than less than three hours of sleep.
Probably came from sleeping in a luxurious bed and not a crappy sofa. He rolled his neck. He'd be feeling this for weeks. He was not as young as he used to be. "He locked it."
"Yes, he did." Brenda saluted him with the cup. "He just got married three hours ago, Sonny. Let the boy off the leash."
Sonny scowled. "But—"
"You know, when they come up for air," Brenda continued, ignoring him, "I've decided that I'm not even going to ask him to thank me."
"Thank you—"
"I mean, yes, it was close," she said, "but if I hadn't dragged him to Vegas, he wouldn't be knocking boots with his new wife. Whatever they were fighting about — seems like they've taken care of it."
"I'm the reason she's here," Sonny said, irritated, stomping away from the door and all thoughts about what might be happening on the other side. "I get some credit."
"Uh, I didn't lie to him. You lied to her." Brenda pointed at herself. "Winner."
"Listen—"
It was nearly three hours—three hours—before the bedroom door unlocked, and Brenda was perusing the room service menu for lunch while Sonny was scowling at the list of voice mail messages from Carly who was not taking his silence kindly.
She was going to be seriously unhappy when they finally got home tonight.
Jason stepped out of the room, dressed again in the jeans and t-shirt he'd worn the night before. He walked over to the table where Brenda was sitting and sat down as if he hadn't ignored Sonny for the last three hours —
A minute later, Elizabeth—flushed and avoiding everyone's eyes—followed him out. She glanced at Jason for a minute, bit her lip, then sat down, reaching for a bottle of water from the basket in the middle of the table.
Sonny wanted to say something cutting and obnoxious, but since he'd just barely gotten away without being pummeled by Jason for his lies to Elizabeth — and both of them seemed in a good enough mood that he might end up being forgiven —
Well, he decided to just let it go.
"Uh, I woke up to a voice mail this morning," Sonny said to them. "From our guy at the PCPD."
Jason frowned, glanced at Brenda and Elizabeth as if confused why Sonny was saying anything in front of them. "Sonny—"
"We can go," Elizabeth offered. "Um, maybe downstairs—"
"No, this is—" Sonny took a deep breath, met Elizabeth's eyes. "The PCPD is looking for you. With a material witness order."
"Material witness order?" Elizabeth shook her head as Jason scowled. "What's that?"
"It's faster than an arrest warrant," Brenda said, almost cheerfully. "The cops want to haul you in, but warrants need evidence and judges and stuff like that. I've had a few of them."
"Arrested—" Jason began as Elizabeth just wrinkled her nose.
"Oh, my God, don't tell me she's pressing charges." With a roll of her eyes. "I didn't get anywhere near her with the box cutter, and it's not like I was really going to cut all her damn hair off."
Jason broke off in mid sentence as he stared at her. "What?"
"I don't even think the box cutter would have worked," Elizabeth continued with a shrug. "And, in my defense, I told Courtney to shut up."
Sonny hesitated. "Uh—"
"Courtney? The cheap blonde? No, I don't think a box cutter would work—"
"Elizabeth," Jason began.
"As interested as I am in why you threatened my sister with a knife," Sonny said, slowly, drawing all their attention, "and believe me—we'll circle back to that—the PCPD wants to talk to you about last night. On the pier."
"Pier?" Jason repeated.
"I thought you said your guys didn't find anything," Elizabeth said, focusing on Sonny. "You said that before we were even in the air—"
"I know. But what was true at one in the morning—" Sonny shook his head. "It wasn't true at five. They found a body."
Elizabeth's face paled. "A body—"
"And you were seen on security footage running from the pier," he said with a wince. "Around the same time the gunshots were reported."
"What the hell is going on—" Jason got to his feet, looking at Elizabeth. "Elizabeth—"
"There's more, isn't there?" Elizabeth slowly stood up, keeping her eyes on Sonny. "What's the rest of it? The PCPD wouldn't be coming after me with a material witness order otherwise."
"The body was Zander Smith," Sonny said with a sigh. "You were seen running from the scene of his murder. So, yeah, they kind of want to talk to you."
Elizabeth closed her eyes. "Zander's dead."
"Yes."
"And—" She opened her eyes, looked at Jason. "Oh, God."
"What—" Then Sonny saw it hit Jason at the same time, his cheeks losing a bit of color. "They think I did it."
"And that Elizabeth saw something."
"Which means this, uh, marriage thing—" Sonny wrinkled his nose. "Which was impetuous and funny about an hour ago now looks like a cover-up."
Brenda prided herself on being observant. She didn't care that most people thought she was self-absorbed to the point of narcissism because she knew the truth. She understood people.
And right know, she understood that Sonny Corinthos was a jackass who couldn't read a room. The minute he'd called Jason and Elizabeth's marriage impetuous and funny, Elizabeth's face drained of color, all life left cheeks, and she stared down at her lap.
Five minutes earlier, this same woman had been sparkling with irritation, with amusement, even happiness—and now all of that emotion had blinked out of existence.
Because Sonny had called her marriage impetuous and funny—and Jason hadn't said a word in response.
Men.
"But it's not," Brenda said, hoping to bring the conversation and give Jason an opportunity to speak up. But her ex-fiancé (she was going to love calling him that for the rest of her life though she'd probably wait until Elizabeth thought it was funny because Brenda's almost marriage was impetuous and funny—why couldn't Sonny see there was a damn difference—idiot) was just frowning at Sonny.
"I don't understand," Jason said slowly. "What happened last night?" He looked at Elizabeth, his light brows drawn together in confusion. "How did—why were you on the pier?"
"I didn't want to go home after work," Elizabeth muttered, staring at hands like they had the answers to all of life's questions. And Brenda wondered if Elizabeth's reluctance to go home had anything to do with the beach blonde bimbo Barbie she'd threatened with the box cutter—
"But the pier—why the hell did Marco let you—"
Sonny frowned. "Marco wasn't with her last night. He's been guarding Courtney—"
"No, he isn't," Jason argued. "He's been Elizabeth's guard since the shooting at the hospital—" He looked at Elizabeth. "Where—"
"I—" Elizabeth finally looked up with a squint of her eyes, a little impatient. "Jason, I haven't had a guard since I left the penthouse."
Left the penthouse? Brenda filed that away for later. So much for no one being back in Port Charles who'd mind if he got married.
"But—"
"I—" Sonny cleared his throat. "When you told me on the plane," he said to Elizabeth a bit painfully, "that Marco had taken you to work while you were there, I didn't—I didn't make the connection—"
"What connection? I don't—I don't have a guard," Elizabeth said. She looked back and forth between Jason and Sonny, and Brenda was surprised to see fury flash in Jason's blue eyes—fury directed at Sonny.
She leaned back, crossed her legs, and smirked. "Oh, I see. Jason thought you had a guard this entire time, and it looks like Sonny reassigned him." Brenda just lifted her brows when both men turned to scowl at her. "Or did I get it wrong?"
"When did you reassign Marco?" Jason bit out, shoving himself to his feet. "Didn't he tell you—"
"He told me that—" Sonny winced, rubbing his temple. "He told he was working on something, but I—I told him I'd take care of it—I never—I forgot—"
"Damn it, Sonny—"
"Wait—" Elizabeth looked at Jason, her eyes wide. "You thought I had a guard this whole time?"
"Of course I did! You were living with me, Elizabeth! You think Alcazar didn't know that? I didn't—" Some of the anger drained out of him and he sat back down, his head in his hands. "I didn't ask Marco. He's not there to spy on you, so I figured—no report was good news. That you were okay."
Brenda saw Elizabeth's hand tremble as she lifted it, nearly reaching out to Jason, but it fell into her lap at the last minute. Oh, man, they were both idiots. "I think we're getting off topic," she murmured. "Elizabeth didn't have a guard. Jason can smack Sonny around about it later—"
"Right," Elizabeth said slowly, focusing on Brenda, then flicking a quick, confused glance at Jason who wasn't looking at her. "Um, I was just gonna walk on Bannister's Wharf, but I wasn't paying attention—"
Jason muttered something under his breath Brenda couldn't make out, but whatever it was had Elizabeth narrowing her eyes into slits. "I'd just been told something that made me feel very violent," she said, her jaw clenched.
The boxcutter. Brenda nodded. "Fair enough. We've all been there."
"I realized where I was, but before I could get out of there, I heard voices. I thought they both sounded familiar, but one of them was more quiet—Alcazar was louder," Elizabeth said. "I'd heard him at Kelly's with Roy, so I knew what he sounded like. He was angry with someone—I didn't see either of them. I ducked behind some boxes. Then—" Elizabeth rubbed her wrist, restless. "I heard a gunshot. Something dropped to the docks. I tried to get out of there without being heard, but I tripped—" She paused. "Alcazar thought it was you," she murmured to Jason who looked at her. "And he shot at me. That's why there's footage of me running away from the pier."
"Could it have been Zander you overheard with Alcazar?" Sonny asked.
"I—" Elizabeth bit her bottom lip. "Maybe. Now that I think about it—Alcazar was really angry—the guy had lost sight of his property—" Her face paled as she focused on Brenda. "And he said she's gone. I think—"
"This would have been around the time you and Jason started this whole jaunt to Vegas," Sonny said dryly. "So whoever Alcazar had watching you, Jason was able to lose him long enough for you to get to the airport."
"But—if that was Zander—" Elizabeth sighed. "That means he got his memory back and went back to work for Alcazar. I just saw him two days ago," she muttered. "He didn't say anything about his memory being back—"
"Of course not. You're more useful to him in the dark," Sonny said. Elizabeth scowled at him as Jason winced.
"Yeah, that's how you like your women, too," Elizabeth retorted. "Out of the loop, walking around like idiots."
"Elizabeth—" Jason began.
"It doesn't matter. Look, can't I just tell the PCPD what I saw?" Elizabeth asked.
"No, because you're not credible," Sonny said. "The PCPD knows you'd lie for Jason. You've done it before."
"Funny you remember that now," Elizabeth said, acid dripping from her words. Well, at least that cleared something up — Elizabeth had been left out of the whole Sonny not being dead secret, too, and she was still pissed about it.
"Sonny, can you just shut up?" Jason demanded. "You're not helping—"
"What—"
"So if I can't tell the PCPD what I saw," Elizabeth said, cutting off Sonny's bewildered reply, "what do I do?"
"Honestly?" Sonny shrugged, leaned back, and studied the two of them. "The best option for all of us is to pretend this Vegas trip never happened. Or at least that you never came here," he told Elizabeth.
Elizabeth blinked at him. "Wait, what?"
"Sonny—"
"We go back to Port Charles," Sonny said. "Liz goes back to her life, Jason goes back to his. Their breakup was well-known. People commented on it—"
"Oh, you are a lot dumber than you used to be," Brenda breathed as Elizabeth closed her eyes and Jason winced.
"We can prove Jason was in Vegas," Sonny continued ignoring her. "We can prove he was at the airport, and I'm betting—based on when you got to the Towers—that the plane had just taken off when the shots were fired."
Sonny looked at Brenda. "You can alibi him, and I can give a statement about the flight taking off because I was tracking it, trying to charter another plane. I stalled you at the airport—"
"I knew something was off," Brenda said.
"But Elizabeth, you just went home. And if Jason's not a suspect, they're not going to care about you," he told her. "You guys lay low, just keep acting like you've been acting for the last few weeks, and this won't be an issue."
Except Elizabeth had come to Vegas, and Jason had practically marched her to the altar. Brenda watched Jason and Elizabeth absorb Sonny's plan. "You mean," she said, deciding to help them when Jason kept his mouth closed, "pretend they never got married."
Or spent the morning locked in suite's master bedroom.
"Yes," Sonny said. "I think it's the best way to get Jason clear of this as quickly as possible. Then we can get back to focusing on Alcazar."
Jason opened his mouth, looked at Elizabeth who was staring at her hands, then sighed. "It keeps you out of it, too," he said softly.
Brenda closed her eyes. Absolute idiot.
"Okay." Elizabeth's lips trembled slightly, but she pressed them together, then nodded. "Okay, Sonny. You should—you should probably make sure I get separate transportation home from the airport or something. I can't be dropped off in the limo or anything."
"Right, I'll call Benny—" Sonny got to his feet. "We'll work out everything else—" He stopped when Elizabeth shoved away from the table and disappeared into the master bedroom. "On the plane," he finished.
Jason exhaled slowly, looked at Sonny. "She came to you at the Towers after she was shot at—"
"She came to you," Brenda corrected Jason quietly. She turned back to her other ex-fiancé. "Didn't she, Sonny? She was nearly killed, and came looking for Jason. And you patted her head, told her Jason was on the brink of death, loaded her on the plane because, obviously, you knew he'd never go through with marrying me if she was anywhere near it."
Sonny slid his hands into his pockets. "You're making it sound more calculated than it was—"
"No, I think I've got it right. And now, because you don't want Jason to be distracted by someone else when he should be dealing with Luis, you want her to pretend that the last twelve hours didn't happen. Which, in case you forgot, includes her getting married to Jason."
"I—" Sonny looked at Jason. "You see it the way I do. She's safer this way—"
"As safe as she was without the guard I assigned her," Jason bit out. He got to his feet. "The only reason I'm doing this is because I don't want the PCPD harassing her—"
"That isn't your decision," Brenda said bluntly. He turned his attention to her, frowning. "I don't know the history, Jase, but Sonny seems to think Elizabeth has had run ins with the cops about you before. And she's clearly still standing. I swear—" She took a deep breath. "I swear to God, if you leave her standing in the rain, I will never, ever forgive you."
And with that, Brenda stalked into the other bedroom, slamming the door.
Sonny scowled after her. "What the hell crawled up her ass—" He turned when he heard another door, catching Jason just as he followed Elizabeth.
"How the hell did I end up as the bad guy?" Sonny muttered.
Master Bedroom
Jason closed the door behind him, Brenda's words echoing in his head.
If you leave her standing in the rain… The way Sonny had left her, walking away over and over again, leaving Brenda to doubt how he felt about her—leaving her to wonder what she'd done wrong—
Jason was a literal man, but even he understood the connection Brenda had been trying to make.
Elizabeth was sitting on the bed, staring down at her hands. At her fingers. She was twisting a small silver ring she wore on her right hand, and he found himself wondering if they should have stopped somewhere so he could buy her a wedding ring.
It'd be something small, that wouldn't get in the way when she painted or sketched—
"Are we leaving for the airport?" Elizabeth said, her voice empty. He knew that tone—he'd heard it before. When she'd talked about modeling and the dreams Lucky had wanted for them —
"I don't know," Jason said. He glanced past her, at the bed and the sheets that were still strewn across the bed. They'd spent hours in that bed earlier—he'd learned every inch of her body and he finally learned how she tasted when she laughed—
She didn't even look like the same woman.
"I agreed to Sonny's plan because I don't want you in the middle of this," Jason began. "But—"
"Same old story." Elizabeth got to her feet and walked over to the window, yanking back the blackout curtain, sunlight streaming into the room. Jason blinked, stepped out of a direct beam. "Fine. Whatever."
"Elizabeth—"
"When are we leaving?" Elizabeth interrupted. She folded her arms. "I'm tired, and I want to sleep on the way home."
"But it's not my decision to make," Jason finished. "If we go back and tell everyone that we got married, the PCPD won't care that I have an alibi. They'll still think we got married because of what happened to Zander. Alcazar will come after you harder because he'll know you came to us."
"And Carly will make my life a living hell, my grandmother will be disappointed like she always is, and everyone will look at me, wondering what I was thinking," Elizabeth said. "What's your point?"
"My point is that since you're the one that has to deal with all of that," Jason said, "then you should be the one to decide if it's what you want."
Elizabeth frowned at him, then took a few steps forward, finally pulling herself out of the sunlight that had blocked her face from his view. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that it's going to be harder for you this way, but if you don't want to go with Sonny's plan, we won't."
"If I want?" Elizabeth snorted. "You've never cared what I wanted—"
"That's not true—"
"No, you're right. You don't care about it when it looks like I want you," she said. "Because every single time I've given you the signal I want more, you run as fast as you can in the other direction." She held up a finger. "And yeah, I've done it, too. But this is different. Because when I ran, it was because I was scared of getting hurt. When you run, it's because you pretend the danger is too much for me."
"I pretend—" Jason sighed, then dipped his head. "Yeah," he admitted. "I know."
"And I'm really tired, Jason. I can live with you pushing me away because I've hurt you. I wouldn't blame you. God knows, I've dragged you through the mud and run over you a few times—" Her voice faltered. "I deserve to be pushed away for that—"
"Hey—" He strode forward, took her hands in his, drawing them away from her waist. "No—"
"But when you tell me it's too dangerous when Sonny gets to have a wife and you hang around with Carly and Michael and you nearly marry another woman, and kiss Courtney—" A tear spilled down her cheek. "It starts to feel like it's me you don't want—"
"I didn't kiss Courtney—" He paused. "Is that what she told you?" When Elizabeth just wrinkled her nose, looked away. "Is that why you threatened her with a boxcutter?"
"No," Elizabeth muttered. "I did that because she wouldn't stop talking. I just wanted her to stop talking about how I'd been wrong, and how you'd fallen in love with her while you were guarding her—I just wanted her to shut up and go away—"
"She was wrong—she kissed me," Jason told Elizabeth. "Half the reason I agreed to Brenda's insane plan was to get Courtney stop—" He shook his head. "Never mind. That's not—I don't want you to get hurt. But if you're willing to take that risk, then—"
"I've always been willing," Elizabeth reminded him. "You're the one that keeps changing his mind."
"Then I'll tell Sonny we need a new plan." Jason grasped her chin in his fingers, lifting her eyes to meet his. "And you'll come home with me. If that's where you want to be."
"Yes." With her free hand, Elizabeth fisted her hand in his shirt. "Is that where you want me?"
"It's where I always wanted you." Jason cut off anything else she had to say with a kiss, and if Sonny hadn't banged on the door a minute later, telling them the plane would be ready in fifteen minutes, they might have gone back to bed.
Chapter 3: Part 3
Chapter Text
Sitting Room
With Elizabeth's hand in his, Jason walked out of the bedroom and stopped in front of Sonny. "We need a new plan," he said bluntly.
Sonny frowned, narrowing his eyes. "I thought we agreed—ow!" He glared at Brenda who whacked him in the stomach. "Will you stop hitting me? I already have a busted nose—" He sent Elizabeth an irritated look.
"You've deserved every smack," Brenda retorted.
Sonny's scowl only deepened when he turned back to Jason. "I thought you wanted her out of this—that you wanted the PCPD to lose the scent. As soon as they get over this—"
"We need a new plan," Jason repeated. "Elizabeth is coming back to the penthouse. That's not negotiable—" He glanced at her and the sight of her tremulous smile bolstered him. He focused on Sonny again. "She's coming home with me, but I don't—we don't have to volunteer that we got married in Vegas."
Sonny narrowed his eyes. "So how we do explain this whole—" He waved his finger in a circle indicating the room. "The two of you came to Vegas and didn't get married? They're never going to buy it—"
"They will," Elizabeth said. "Because—" She sighed. "You're right, Sonny. The second Taggert or Scott find out that Jason and I got married, they're not going to believe it's not related. But—" She met Jason's eyes. "But if I tell them that I came to Vegas with Jason because he was on business for you so that we could get away from things in Port Charles, that's not too far from the truth."
"And the pier?" Sonny retorted. "You're going to lie—"
"It's not the first time," Elizabeth reminded him caustically. "And I don't even have to lie much. I was walking on the pier after work, heard gunshots, got scared, and ran. I went to see Jason, and you told me he was in Vegas. So I came here to see him. We're coming back because he's done and, well, there's a warrant out for me." She shrugged. "Some of that is even true."
Sonny pressed his lips together. "It might work," he admitted. He rubbed the back of his neck. "All right. We'll try it. But, uh—" He looked at Jason. "Do you want to call Carly before we get back or wait until we get home?"
"Scared of a tiny blonde," Brenda sighed. "You hate to see it."
"After," Jason definitively. "And she—" He winced, looked at Elizabeth. "We can't tell her," he said. "She'll never keep it to herself."
With a sigh, Elizabeth shrugged a shoulder. "She's your friend, not mine. I mean, it's not like I want to see her head explode." When Brenda snorted, Elizabeth's mouth twitched. "Okay, maybe a little."
Port Charles: Limo
With the time difference, it was nearly nine at night by the time the limo pulled into Harborview Towers — Brenda had attempted to get a car to her cottage, but Sonny had vetoed it. Brenda had sulked and threatened to run away, and they'd bickered the entire drive home.
Elizabeth sat next to Jason, their hands still laced together. She stared at his fingers, wrapped around hers, still not sure how anything in the last twenty-four hours had really happened. Had she really been shot at on the pier? Dragged to Vegas —
Had she really married Jason?
She looked at Jason who was frowning at Sonny and Brenda across the car. "At some point," she said softly, too softly for the bickering ex-couple to hear her. "We're going to have to figure this out."
Jason glanced at her, then nodded. "Yeah. I know." He drew their hands into his lap, sliding his thumb over the back of her hand. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. Their eyes met. "For hurting you. Back at the hotel. When I agreed to the first plan."
"You were trying to keep me safe," Elizabeth said. She leaned her head against his shoulder, her eyes drifting closed. "I'm used to it."
"But I shouldn't do it by making decisions for you. And I'm sorry," he said again.
"I'm sorry, too," she murmured. "For running. Won't do that…" Her voice trailed off, and she slid into sleep.
Harborview Towers: Hallway
Unfortunately for Sonny, Carly was waiting for him in the hallway and her eyes nearly bulged out of her face when the elevators doors open, and Jason stepped out, cradling a sleeping Elizabeth and Brenda trailing after him.
"What the—"
Sonny grimaced, putting a hand up. "Just—just don't. We'll—"
"Don't tell me—what is she doing here?" Carly hissed as Brenda unlocked Jason's door and he carried Elizabeth in. "Damn it, Sonny — what the hell is going on—"
"Are you always like this?" Brenda asked. She folded her arms. "You know, I think I liked my life better when I never had to see you. When I died, you were locked up in the loony bin. Why did they let you out?"
Carly hissed and took a step forward. Sonny stepped between the two of them, holding his hands up as he faced Carly. "Carly—"
Jason stepped back out of the penthouse, scrubbing a hand down his face. "Carly, go home," he said, flatly. "We'll talk in the morning. Brenda is staying in my guest room because she's not safe at the cottage—"
"Don't tell me to go home—you don't get to give me orders—"
"I do when I've barely slept in the last three days," Jason cut in. He took a short breath. "Carly. I'm tired. You can yell at Sonny in your penthouse. Go do that. He deserves it."
Sonny tossed his friend a beleaguered look, but clearly he hadn't been forgiven for dragging Elizabeth across the country on a lie then asking them to pretend to be broken up for a few more weeks.
"Good night, Carly," Jason said. He took Brenda's elbow and swung her into the penthouse. For once, the brunette didn't argue with him.
"And why is the muffin back!" Carly threw up her hands as she whirled around and stalked back into the penthouse. "I was so close to getting him to date Courtney—"
"You weren't even remotely in the ball park," Sonny said, exhausted. "I'm going to sleep—"
"Oh, hell no. You're going to tell me where you disappeared to last night, how Brenda ended up there—why didn't return my phone calls—" Carly broke off abruptly as Sonny walked past her and started up the stairs. "I'm not done talking to you—"
"I'll start listening again in the morning."
Morgan Penthouse: Living Room
Jason winced at the sight of Brenda's bags next to the sofa, a harsh reminder of her visit the day before and how close he'd come to making such a terrible decision. "I'm going to bed," he said, walking over to the sofa to pick up Elizabeth where he'd left her.
"She's really out, huh?" Brenda asked conversationally as she walked up the stairs behind them, one of her bags over her shoulder. "You'd think she'd wake up with that harpy—"
"Brenda—" Jason turned at the top of the stairs. "Pick a room and leave me alone."
"You know," Brenda said, putting her hands on her hips. "You could be nicer to me. I did you a favor." She nodded at the sleeping woman in his arms. "You think you'd be waking up to married to her tomorrow if I hadn't started this—"
Jason started to reply, then nodded. "You're right. In a way that is barely related to you, I—" He looked down at Elizabeth, who shifted a little in her sleep, burrowing her face deeper into his shoulder. "I have everything I want."
Startled, Brenda just stared at him. "Wait. Really?"
"So tomorrow, when we've all had a chance to sleep, we're going to figure out how to get you what you want," Jason promised her. "So—pick a room."
"All right." She waited until he was nearly down the end of the hall. "I'm glad, Jase. That we didn't go through with it. It would have been really stupid."
"Yeah, it would have. Good night, Brenda."
Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom
Elizabeth moaned slightly as a beam of sunlight hit her eyes. She rolled over and buried her face in the soft pillow beneath her cheek. "Five more minutes," she murmured. "I'll go to school later."
A light laugh broke through her hazy mind, and Elizabeth opened her eyes. She rolled over to find Jason leaning up on his elbow, laying stretched out next to her on his bed.
His bed.
She jackknifed into a sitting position, blinking around the room. "Wait. We're—how long—" She cleared her throat, scrubbing her hands down her face. "I barely remember getting off the plane."
"Yeah, you fell sleep not long after we left the airport," Jason told her. He tipped his head to the side. "It's almost eight."
Elizabeth winced. "Oh, man, Mike is gonna kill me. I think I was supposed to open—" She hesitated. "Wait, what day is it?"
"Thursday," Jason said. "I'm sure Mike will understand—"
"Yeah, but Penny won't. She's the only other waitress Mike trusts to open—" Elizabeth flopped back on the bed. "Oh well. We were supposed to open three hours ago, so I guess there's no point in getting irritated. I'll just have to make it up to her." She bit her lip, and looked at him, all that gorgeous golden skin in the sunlight. She grinned. "Hey."
"Hey," he replied. He leaned down to kiss her lightly, just a brush of his mouth against hers. She sighed dreamily, tracing his cheekbone with her fingertips. "I need clothes," she murmured.
"You left a few things here," Jason said. He twirled a piece of her hair around his finger. "We'll get your things from the studio." He paused. "If you want."
"There's no point in me coming back here if I don't have clothes." Her smile deepened. "I mean, I guess we could stay naked the whole time, but I don't think Sonny would appreciate it."
"Hey, I have clothes," Jason said with another grin. He leaned down to kiss her bare shoulders. "You can wear my shirts."
"Hmm—the idea has merit but—" She sighed as his mouth trailed across her collarbone. "Do we have to get up?"
"No—" Jason began, then winced as something pounded below them. He let his forehead drop to her chest. "That's the door."
"We could ignore it," Elizabeth suggested, helpfully. "I mean, the PCPD can't just come in without a warrant, but—"
She frowned when she heard voices. "Jason — is that—"
With a scowl, Jason sat up. "Yeah, that's Brenda and Carly." He rubbed his cheek. "I told Carly I'd talk to her in the morning. I guess I should be relieved she didn't come over at dawn."
"It's the little things," Elizabeth said, forcing a smile. "Are my things still in the guest room? I didn't know what I left—"
"Uh, a dress, I think. And some—" He scratched his neck. "Some jeans. They were in the laundry room," he mumbled. "And they're—" He nodded at the closet. "They're in there."
"In—" Elizabeth frowned at him. "In your closet? Why?"
"I—" Jason's cheeks were a bit red as he took a deep breath. "I meant to give them to you, but then I—" He paused. "Then I thought you'd come back for them. And then—" He shook his head. "I cleaned out the guest room," he muttered, "so that Brenda could use it. Before we went to Vegas."
"Oh." Elizabeth bit her lip, staring at the comforter. "She was going to stay in there—"
"She is—" Jason winced. "She's there now or at least that's where I think she ended up. You fell asleep in the car, I guess you didn't hear—"
Elizabeth absorbed the fact that Jason had cleaned what little she'd left behind from the room where she'd slept so that he could park the woman he'd nearly married. And then that woman had slept there anyway last night.
She wasn't really sure how she felt about it.
"Elizabeth—"
"It's okay," she said finally. "I have something I can wear," she said. "I'll get the jeans, and if Brenda's here, maybe she can loan me a shirt. It's too cold for the dress." She pushed the comforter aside and slid out of bed. "I'll get a shower while you go deal with Brenda and Carly."
"Can't I just stay up here?" Jason asked, with a wince. Her mood lightened and she leaned forward to kiss him.
"We'll have plenty of time for showers," she promised him. "But only if Carly and Brenda aren't here."
Morgan Penthouse: Living Room
Jason thought he should be relieved that Carly and Brenda hadn't come to blows in the time they'd been alone downstairs. Brenda was lounging on the sofa, paging through a magazine as Carly glowered near the door.
"Uh, when I said the morning," Jason told Carly, "I mean I would come to see you when I was ready—"
"You went to Vegas," Carly said, jabbing a finger in his chest. "And I saw that bitch's luggage—why the hell did you take her to Vegas, Jase? And don't give me the bullshit story Sonny's trying to feed me. You and Brenda went there first. Sonny and Elizabeth followed. How dumb do you think I am?"
"Don't answer that," Jason said to Brenda, not even turning around. He heard Brenda grumbling in the background. "In fact — can you loan Elizabeth something to wear until we get her things?"
"I wanna watch the show," Brenda complained, but she crossed over to a suitcase, and unzipped it.
"Jason," Carly began but Jason turned back to her, irritated beyond belief. How many times had he been alone with Elizabeth when Carly had called—
"It's none of your business why I was in Vegas," Jason said shortly. "All you need to know is Elizabeth is living here. Don't make that face—"
"Jason—"
"And don't start. I've got enough problems without you adding to them."
"Hey, you wanna get dirty with the muffin—" Carly held up her hands. "Listen, we all need to make mistakes. But you know the PCPD came by yesterday looking for her. Zander—" She hesitated. "Zander's dead, Jase. And they think Elizabeth knows something."
"I know that—"
"So please tell me," Carly began, "that you didn't do anything stupid—"
The front door opened behind them as Sonny came in, and Jason winced as he saw Taggert and Scott right behind him.
"—like marry Elizabeth in Vegas—" Carly's words were spoken nearly at the same time the men walked in and Sonny just closed his eyes. Carly turned at the intrusion, saw Sonny's face and the men with him. "Oh, damn it, Jason!" she swore.
"That's an excellent question, Anger Boy," Taggert drawled as he leaned against the door frame. "Care to answer it?"
He needed to change the locks on the penthouse. If he'd had another set of locks, he'd still be upstairs with Elizabeth where everything made sense. Instead, Jason was standing in his living room, glaring at a stricken Carly while Baldwin and Taggert awaited his answer to Carly's question.
Why the hell had Sonny—
"Well?" Baldwin demanded, shoving the detective aside. "You marry the witness against you, Morgan, or what? Is that why Elizabeth didn't show up for work today? You dragged her to Vegas?"
"If you have any questions for me, you can talk to my lawyer," Jason said flatly. "And I don't have one right now, so unless you're arresting me—"
"Oh, we're not here for you, Anger Boy," Taggert sneered. "We got a material witness order for Elizabeth so we're bringing her in—"
"What's the criminal proceeding?" Brenda asked as she joined Jason's side. "I thought you could only get them if there was a pending proceeding and you wanted to make sure she was available. So what's the case? Who's the bad guy?"
"Brenda," Taggert said with an impatient sigh, "this doesn't concern you—"
"Unless—" Scott gestured at the set of suitcases by the stairs that Brenda had been pawing through. "Unless Mrs. Corinthos here is wrong and the blushing bridal brunette is not Elizabeth Webber. Maybe we got the wrong idea—"
"What's going on?"
Jason kept his expression blank as they all turned towards the staircase and Elizabeth stepped off the bottom stair. She'd taken the shower, so her hair was damp, already curling at the ends, and she'd put on the purple summer dress she'd left behind. She'd probably gotten impatient waiting for Brenda.
"So you are here," Scott said, narrowing his eyes, looking at the luggage, then Brenda, then Elizabeth again. "You know polygamy ain't legal in New York."
"Polygamy?" she repeated.
"Carly here let your good news slip," Scott continued, "but we were debating the actual identity of the bride since Brenda looks like she's all moved in. Or maybe you're just a really understanding type of wife. I mean, you practically look alike—"
"Elizabeth, we got an order to bring you down to the PCPD," Taggert interrupted as Elizabeth just stared at the DA with wide eyes. "So—"
"Am I under arrest?" She folded her arms. "Because I need to call a lawyer—"
"No, we got questions and we want to make sure you answer them—"
"I don't understand. How do you get a material witness order if you don't even know the witness has any material?" Carly demanded. "You haven't talked to her—"
"Carly," Sonny hissed. "You've done enough."
Elizabeth bit her lip, looked at Jason hesitantly, and he knew she was regretting the decision to come downstairs. He hated this. Hated her being in the middle of all of this, and hated even more than it was his friend that tipped Baldwin and Taggert off about their marriage. They hadn't even really figured any of it out yet, and now—
"Where have you been for the last forty-eight hours?" Taggert asked. "You didn't show up for work, and night before last, you were seen running from Pier 52 after gunshots were fired. You didn't call to report them—"
"It's Port Charles," Elizabeth said, walking forward, glancing at Brenda who was next to Jason. The older brunette stepped back, but Elizabeth remained several feet from him, and he just wanted to reach out, take her hand, pull her close to him and make them stop asking questions. "Someone is always shooting at someone."
Taggert lifted his brows. "I went to see you at your studio when we got the footage. It was almost three in the morning. You weren't there—"
"No, I wasn't. I flew to Las Vegas that night with Sonny." Elizabeth twisted a silver ring on her right hand. "Jason was already there, and we were meeting him."
"You closed at Kelly's at midnight. You went to Vegas after that?" Taggert said. "What the hell is in Vegas?"
"We have a hotel on the Strip," Sonny interjected. "The Cosmopolitan. We checked in around five AM Vegas time. You can call the hotel." He flashed a dimpled smile. "We just got back last night—"
"Short trip," Scott said. He focused on Elizabeth. "Marriages are public record, Elizabeth. All I gotta do is call the registrar in Vegas—"
"Yes," Elizabeth said, making a face. "We got married that night when I got to Vegas. I'm sorry if I didn't send you an invitation, but you know, you're not exactly high on my list, Mr. Baldwin." She flicked her eyes over Taggert's. "You either, for that matter. "
"You got shot at on the pier," Taggert said slowly, "then ran to Harborview Towers, hopped a plane with Sonny, and got married to Jason. I'm supposed to think it's a coincidence that Zander Smith showed up dead the same day?"
"I can't tell you what to think," Elizabeth told him. "All I can tell you is that getting married to Jason had absolutely nothing to do with Zander or what happened on the pier." She met Taggert's gaze head on, and Jason knew that she'd phrased the response deliberately so that every word was the truth.
"Wait—" Scott held up a hand. "Morgan was already in Vegas?" His head snapped to Jason who just stared at him blandly. "When did you get there?"
"You can talk to my lawyer," Jason said. "Elizabeth already told you. Our marriage doesn't have anything to do with what happened in Port Charles."
"I doubt that. We can subpoena flight records," Scott reminded him. "Passenger lists. Car rentals. If you were in Vegas at the time of death—" He shrugged. "Then we can let this go." He glanced at Elizabeth. "Unless Miss Webber—I'm sorry—Mrs. Morgan—" he said with such venom that Elizabeth nearly flinched. "Unless Mrs. Morgan wants to tell us what the hell she was doing on Pier 52 after midnight? Maybe getting rid of an old boyfriend to clear the way—"
Elizabeth's mouth dropped as Jason clenched his jaw. "Lawyer," he repeated. "Get out."
"Is that it, Elizabeth? Wanted to make sure Smith couldn't mess up a good thing? Got tired of playing them off one on another—"
Elizabeth put an arm out just Jason started to step forward, blocking him from committing assault. "If you expect me to answer any other questions," she said, icily, "then you should get an arrest warrant. Do I need to call my lawyer?"
"Do you have a lawyer?" Taggert asked with interest. He gestured at Jason and Sonny. "Their lawyer quit after her sister got blown up because of them—"
"I'll get a lawyer within the hour," she retorted. "And I'll press charges for violating my constitutional rights and for trespassing. We've told you to leave. Twice."
"We'll be in touch."
Scott closed the door behind him as Elizabeth let her head drop down, her shoulders slumping. Jason looked at Sonny, who nodded.
"Carly," he began.
"Wait—" The blonde frowned as her husband took her arm. "No, we need to fix this—why the hell did you get married? What is going on?"
"We're going home," Sonny told her, "so you can do all the yelling I ignored last night." When they were gone, Jason turned to Brenda who put her hands up.
"I already told you I wanted to be anywhere else," she reminded him.
"I need to get my things from the studio," Elizabeth said to Jason. She tucked her hair behind her ears. "I can do that on my own if you can get a guard—"
"No." He shook his head, then went over the closet to get his jacket and tossed her the one she'd worn in Vegas. "No, I want to get that done." Jason looked at Brenda. "Don't go anywhere. We still need to figure this out."
"Always nice to be an item on the list," Brenda said with a roll of her eyes, but Jason was already ignoring her and steering Elizabeth towards the door.
Studio
They didn't talk on the ride over—Jason took her on the bike with a guard following in one of their SUVs so she'd have a way to get her things to the penthouse. The guard waited downstairs while she led him upstairs, unlocking the door and shoving it open.
She'd only been gone a few days, but already the studio felt like another lifetime. Elizabeth sat on the arm of the sofa and looked at Jason. "Do you think they're really going to come after me for this?"
"No," Jason said, but he didn't sound nearly as sure as she'd hope he would. "No," he repeated. "They wanted to piss me off, make me mad enough to give them something. Taggert still thinks I did this—"
"I don't know, Scott sounded like he was halfway to a motive for me," Elizabeth admitted. She stared down at her chipped nail polish. "I mean, you think he couldn't sell it to a jury?"
"Elizabeth—"
"Imagine me, some kind of femme fatale," she said, trying hard to force a smile on her face. "Got a rich lover on the hook, but I gotta make the last guy get out of the picture—"
"Hey—" Jason pulled Elizabeth up to her feet and into his arms. She pressed her face against his leather jacket. "We both know that's not what happened."
"No, it's actually worse," she admitted. Elizabeth tipped her head back to look at him. "And you said it yourself. Zander made himself your enemy, and I—I didn't do what I should have. He didn't matter to me. Not really. We weren't even friends, and I only—" She sighed, sliding one of her fingers down the smooth material of his jacket. "I just went to see him in the hospital, and then Lucky was there, telling me what I couldn't do—I wasn't going to ask Zander to stay until that happened—"
"And then I came over and told you the same thing," Jason said, with a slight wince. "I'm sorry—"
"It still doesn't change what I did later." Elizabeth stepped back, that false smile still on her face. "Maybe it was partly just being scared of being alone. Of not trusting that you and I were going to go anywhere. I don't know."
"You made a mistake—"
"And you forgave me because that's what you do." Elizabeth bit her lip as she picked up the suitcase she'd brought home from the penthouse two weeks earlier and flipped it open. "And I just run away. Isn't that what you said?"
Jason came up behind her, drawing her against his chest, wrapping an arm around her waist. "That night—in Vegas—I didn't mean it—I was just—I was angry," he admitted. "At you, at Sonny, myself for letting it get so crazy—"
"You meant it." Elizabeth turned. "You're right. You forgive me, and I just go on to the next terrible thing. And the one time that you mess up, I didn't even—" She bit her lip. "I'm sorry," she said. "I should have let you explain. Or just accepted it and forgiven you like you do for me."
"Elizabeth—"
"Let's just get this stuff and go. I didn't even really unpack from when I moved out," she told him. "You have so much to do, to worry about—"
"It can wait," Jason insisted. He gently pressed her shoulder so that she faced him again. He traced his fingertips down her jawline, waiting for her to meet his eyes. "I know there's a lot going on," he began. "And we're not—we're not okay yet. You and me. We can't fix everything with screaming at each other on the street and getting married five minutes later."
She dipped her gaze down, her chest tightening. "I know," she said in a painful whisper. "I wish we could just pretend the rest of it isn't there."
"Sometimes we will," he told her, tipping her chin up again until she looked at him. "And sometimes we won't. Right now, I just want us to promise each other something. I don't want you to run away again when you get scared."
"And I don't want you to let me go because you think I'm better off." Elizabeth gripped the sides of his jacket, leaned up to press her lips against his. "You were right," she whispered against his mouth.
"When?" he replied, his breath hot against her cheek as his lips traced a line to the pulse point in her neck.
"Sonny told you were hurt, and I would have gone to the ends of the Earth to get to you," she said softly. He drew back, their eyes holding. "I do love you."
"I love you, too. I just wish I hadn't shouted it at you the first time I said it," Jason said with regret in his eyes.
"I'm glad you did," Elizabeth said. "It was actually—" She bit her lip, then grinned at him, a more genuine one that she could feel down to the tips of her toes. "Once I got past the whole being screamed at part, I think it was kind of hot."
He laughed, leaned his forehead against hers, tugging her closer. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Elizabeth pressed her mouth to his collarbone. "So let's get my stuff, go home and deal with Brenda so we can be alone."
"That sounds like a great idea."
Morgan Penthouse: Living Room
The last thing Jason wanted to see when he opened the door to the penthouse an hour later was people sitting on the sofa. He knew Brenda would be lurking, but why the hell were Sonny and Benny with her—
Elizabeth wrinkled her nose as she walked in behind him, setting a duffel bag on the desk. Jason put down her suitcases—he'd been strangely relieved when she hadn't just put things back into the single bag she'd brought with her in September. The majority of her clothes were now in his penthouse.
And Brenda's luggage was still at the base of the stairs, a glaring reminder of how close he'd come to ruining everything.
"I'll go upstairs," Elizabeth began, but Brenda shook her head.
"Oh, no, if this trio of morons is going to be deciding how the hell to save my life, I am not going to be the only woman in the room." Brenda sprang up. "Look, I know we got off the wrong foot when I almost married your husband—"
Jason scowled at her, but Brenda kept going, "But in a very strange way, I'm like a fairy godmother, you know? Because if I hadn't dragged him to Vegas, Sonny wouldn't have dragged you there either, and now I'd be married to him."
Elizabeth squinted. "Wasn't that the plan?"
"Yes, and I think we can all agree marrying this—" Brenda flicked her eyes at him, frowning. "Well, some people like him but it would have been a terrible mistake. Tell her, Jason—"
"Huge mistake," Jason muttered.
"Elizabeth, maybe you should go upstairs—" Sonny said. "Brenda's just upset with the plan we came up with—"
"Upset?" Brenda whirled around, her dark eyes flashing dangerously. "Upset? Listen, Don Corleone, just because one time in my life, I was dumb enough—" Her hands were shaking, Jason noticed, and reluctantly he looked at Elizabeth.
"This is going to sound really insane, and I am so sorry," he began.
"But Brenda could use someone in the room without testosterone," Elizabeth finished. Her smile was thin, but he didn't think it was disappointed. "I understand. Brenda—"
The other woman turned back to her. "They want to send me away. Lock me up, just like Luis. I can't lose my life again—"
"I don't want to lock you up," Sonny said. "I would never do that to you." He exhaled slowly. "I suggested the island," he told Jason. "With guards to keep Alcazar from finding her—"
"But why can't we talk about options that keep me in Port Charles? I don't—" Brenda closed her eyes. "I just want some control," she said after a moment. "It's been four years, Sonny. And I wasn't allowed to do anything. I couldn't contact my friends. My family. I don't know how much time I have left before—"
"I don't understand," Elizabeth said, "and maybe I'm not allowed to ask this, but, um, can't you just…" She made a wave with her hands, looking at Jason. "You know."
Jason paused. "That's on the table, too," he said.
"We've talked about this," Sonny said, with a warning look. "He's protected by the government—you wanna bring down more heat?"
"You got any other ideas?" Jason demanded. "Brenda shouldn't be so desperate to get her life back that she suggested marrying me for protection."
"Well, that, and your sparkling personality," the woman in question muttered.
"I thought it was about your—" Sonny hesitated. "I thought you wanted someone to take care of you at the end," he said finally as Benny looked away.
"I can do that with a power of attorney," Brenda said. "It's a side benefit. But I thought I might have a better chance of surviving if Jason was standing in front of me. I never said it made sense, Sonny. I said I was desperate." As an afterthought, she shrugged to Jason. "No offense."
"Then—"
"If the man Elizabeth overheard on the pier was someone watching Brenda, Alcazar isn't giving up," Jason said. "He's not going to let Brenda go. It doesn't matter where she goes, where we send her—"
"Sonny—" Brenda turned her attention on her former fiancé. "If I thought I could get away with it, if there was any other way—I'd do it myself. I just want to live again."
Sonny held her eyes for a long time, then nodded. "All right," he said finally. "But that's where the two of you are out of it," he said to her, before looking at Elizabeth.
"Don't wanna be in it in the first place," Elizabeth grumbled, "but Alcazar keeps shooting at me."
Sonny and Benny left then with plans for Jason to head over to the warehouse later that evening to work. Brenda went up to her room, waiting for Jason to deliver her luggage.
Elizabeth followed her, busying herself with her own unpacking, still not entirely sure how she'd gone from listening to Courtney tell her about her future romance with Jason to married to him and back in the penthouse.
A smile flitted on her lips as she closed a drawer in the bureau. She couldn't wait to go to work the next morning. She and Courtney were working the opening shift.
"I don't know how long I'll be gone tonight," Jason said. He closed the bedroom door behind him, looking at her with a hesitant expression. "And I don't know if I can call to tell you."
"Okay." Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed. "Thank you."
"I'm sorry I didn't—" He sat next to her, drew her hand into his lap, playing with her fingers. "That I wasn't around when you were here last. Every time I looked at you—" Their eyes met. "I was lying to you. And I hated it."
"I know you can't tell me everything," she said. "And I don't want to know. But I also need to know when you can't say something. Like right now—I would have been worried if you left and didn't come back tonight. I'll still worry," she added, "but not the same way."
"It's been a while since where I was mattered to someone," he admitted. "I'll do better this time."
"I'll do better, too," she assured him. "I wasn't fair before, and I'm sorry." Elizabeth frowned as he reached for her left hand, his fingers sliding over her ring finger.
"Do you want a ring?" he asked after a long moment. "I can get one."
Elizabeth pressed her lips together, considering the question. She should say yes. They were married. It was real and within a few days, everyone would know. Everyone would look at her hand and ask questions.
"I don't know," she said finally. "I know—I'm not sorry that we did it—that you dragged me into the chapel to win an argument—" Elizabeth smiled when he winced. "And it's not like I'm telling you that I want undo it. I'm here. And I want to make this work. I just—"
She waited, trying to find the right words, hoping she wasn't hurting him by being honest. He didn't look upset—only curious. He tipped his head, encouraging her to finish.
"We got married on a whim," she said. "We didn't plan it. That's not—it's not how I want to make promises to you, Jason. You know? So, no, right now, I don't want a ring." She leaned forward to kiss him lightly, hoping it could take the sting out of her words.
His hand, strong and warm, touched her neck, his long fingers tilting her chin to the side to deepen the kiss. "You deserve more than Vegas," Jason murmured.
"We both do, but I'm still glad we did it." Elizabeth's eyes drifted close as his mouth moved down her jaw. "Did you lock the door?"
"Yes," Jason confirmed.
"Then if you don't know when you'll be home—" Elizabeth scooted back on the bed towards the headboard and grinned at him. "We should make the most of it."
Chapter 4: Part 4
Chapter Text
Kelly's: Kitchen
The next morning, Elizabeth breezed into the kitchen and flashed a bright smile at the cook who was busy with his morning prep. "Morning, DJ." He saluted as she hung up her purse and went into the dining room to start the side work.
Courtney was already there, frowning at her smile as Elizabeth joined her and started making the coffee. "I thought you'd quit."
"Why? Because I flaked my on shift yesterday?" Elizabeth shrugged, measuring the coffee. "I promised Penny I'd cover for her soon, and Mike said it was okay."
"But—" Courtney edged away from her. "You…were mad at me the last time we talked."
"I was," Elizabeth said. She switched on the machine, then turned to fully face the other man. "But then I ran into Sonny, and he asked me to go to Vegas with him to see Jason."
"Jason—" Courtney squinted. "Vegas? What—"
"And Jason and I talked about it, but it's okay now. It's easy to mistake a crush for something else," Elizabeth said. "But I don't have anything to worry about—"
"You don't—"
"No, not since I moved back into the penthouse." Elizabeth stared at her hand. "Jason and I decided to wait to get rings, but—"
"Rings? Penthouse—" Courtney held up her hands, her blue eyes wide. "Elizabeth, what the hell—"
"Jason and I got married in Vegas," she explained patiently, enjoying the flash of anger in the other woman's eyes as Courtney clenched her jaw.
"You—" Courtney cleared her throat. "You married Jason. Jason Morgan."
"It was spontaneous, but—" Elizabeth went around the other woman to start unstacking the chairs. "But I'm glad you told me what you did. If you hadn't, Jason and I might not have talked. At least not so soon. And once we'd sorted things out—well, we were in already in Vegas—"
"This is a joke, right? Or—or it's business." Courtney lifted her chin. "Taggert came in here yesterday, asking about you. Zander's dead, didn't you hear? Is that why Sonny took you to Vegas? Did you see Jason doing something?"
"No, believe it or not," Elizabeth said softly, "Jason married me because he loves me. And I said yes because I love him."
"No. No. I know what I felt, what he felt—"
"I'm sorry, Courtney," Elizabeth said, attempting to keep her temper, "but you were wrong. And it would be best if you just forgot about it. You're married—"
"This is a trick. You're tricking the police, and you're just trying to be mean to get back at me. You're probably in the guest room again," Courtney accused, her eyes flashing as she stormed out from the counter.
"No, Brenda's in the guest room." Elizabeth folded her arms. "I'm in Jason's bed." It might be small of her to enjoy this moment so much, but damn it—Courtney had pretended to be her friend.
Hurt flared in Courtney's expression now as her lip trembled. "But he said—he told me—he told me it was over with you—"
"He thought it was. Now it's not. Get over it." Elizabeth walked away from her, and didn't even flinch when she heard the bell over the door jingle as it swung open.
"Where did Barbie go?" DJ asked, leaning out from the kitchen. "We're opening in ten."
"She got some bad news," Elizabeth said, returning to the counter to finish prepping for her shift. "I'll take care of the morning rush."
Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room
"You don't have to worry, Carly already left for the club," Sonny assured Jason as he handed him a cup of black coffee. "What did you find out? Can we get a line on Alcazar?"
"It might be easier than we thought," Jason said, "since he's in the hotel—"
They both turned at the sound of raised voices in the hall. Jason sat the coffee on the desk just as the door flew open and Max threw up his hands. He couldn't stop the blonde who shoved her way in without tackling her.
"Sonny—" Courtney drew up short at the sight of Jason. She glared at him. "I hope you're happy."
Jason frowned, confused. "What—"
"If you're here to tell me AJ dropped dead in the middle of the night," Sonny said, "then, yes, I'm very happy—"
"I'm not talking to you," Courtney snarled at her brother. "I'm talking to Jason."
"Jason would also be happy with that news—"
"Sonny—" Jason said with a shake of his head. He looked back to Courtney. "I don't know what's going on—"
"What's going on is that you lied to me," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "You told me that you and Elizabeth were over, that it never really started—"
Sonny pursed his lips as Jason just stared at the other woman, baffled. "Uh, what am I missing?" He looked at Max who was waving his arms. "Max—"
"So why the hell did you marry Elizabeth Webber two days after you kissed me?" Courtney demanded.
"You know," Taggert said from the doorway where he'd just appeared around the corner from the elevator. Max dropped his head with a sigh. "The universe is really on my side these days."
Jason exhaled slowly and ignored the detective because there was no point in giving him any attention. Taggert reminded him of Michael as a toddler — if you looked at him when he was throwing a tantrum, it just encouraged him to keep going.
Instead, he focused on Sonny's sister and one of the reasons he'd decided to get on a plane and marry Brenda Barrett. "You," he said, deliberately, "kissed me."
Courtney narrowed her eyes. "That is—"
"What happened," Jason finished, bluntly. "I'm sorry if you thought there was something more. There wasn't. There isn't."
"Is this because I'm married?" Courtney demanded. "Because—"
"You know, this is really fun and everything," Sonny said, throwing Jason a dirty look, "but maybe we get should see what Taggert wants—" He offered his sister another look of his own, and Courtney closed her mouth.
"Well, I came to get proof of Morgan's alibi," Taggert said, with a shrug. "I thought you might want to take care of this without lawyers. You give me the flight records that prove you took off before the gunshots were heard—"
"If you want paperwork, then you tell Baldwin to get a subpoena," Sonny said, darkly. He stalked over to the desk and grabbed a business card off the desk. He shoved it at Taggert who took it, holding it between his thumb and index finger. "Our new lawyer. Diane Miller. Call her from now on. Don't come back without a warrant—"
"You sure I can't stay and watch?" Taggert asked with a smirk as Sonny slammed the door in his face, then turned to his sister and Jason.
"What the hell is going on?" Sonny demanded. "Is this why Elizabeth said the thing about the box cutter?"
"She told you?" Courtney said, her eyes widening. "And you didn't do anything? Sonny, she threatened me!"
"To cut off your hair with a box cutter. Yeah, I got that. You'd live," Sonny said, dryly, dismissing her as Courtney squawked in protest. "Jason—"
"Nothing is going on," Jason said, gritting his teeth. Hadn't he just said that? "And you had no right to tell Elizabeth it was—" he said, turning his irritation on the blonde. "What is wrong with you? I didn't kiss you back. I didn't call you, and I immediately put another guard on you. How did you not get the point?"
"I thought—" Courtney pursed her lips. "So everything that happened between us meant nothing to you."
"What else happened?" Sonny demanded.
"Nothing," Jason repeated. He didn't often lose his temper, especially with women, but there was something about this whole thing that was really pissing him off. If Courtney hadn't told Elizabeth anything, she wouldn't have been upset enough to wander down to the pier. She wouldn't be in danger or even involved with the PCPD's case.
"That's—"
"I'm leaving," Jason decided. "I have more important things to deal with. I told you, Sonny, I'm done guarding your sister. You deal with this." Then he left the penthouse, slamming the door behind him.
Sonny looked at his sister, shocked and open-mouthed at Jason's hasty exit. "Well," he said, slightly uncomfortable, "I guess you got your answer."
"But I don't understand. How did I get it so wrong?" Courtney asked, tears stinging her eyes. "I really thought—"
"This definitely sounds like a conversation I want nothing to do with, so maybe you go home and think about why you're so angry about Jason not returning your feelings, and leave me out of it," Sonny suggested. He opened the door. "Here you go."
"You're a real bastard," Courtney snarled as she stormed out.
"I can live with that," Sonny called after her. Then he closed the door and leaned his head against the door. From now on, he was staying out of everything.
Kelly's: Kitchen
"I can't believe Courtney just ditched her shift like this," Mike muttered as he dumped plates into the sink. "You know, bad enough you did it—"
Elizabeth winced. "Still really sorry—"
"But you've worked here forever," Mike continued. "You've built a little credit, you know? She's been here eight minutes. And she just left? No word on where she was going or why? I can't just let this go because she's my daughter—"
"I mean, she didn't say," Elizabeth replied, "but I have a pretty good idea she was heading over to see Sonny."
"I thought she hated Michael," Mike said, baffled. "Why would she—" He shook his head. "She and I are going to have to talk about this."
"Well, you have a good time with that," Elizabeth said, waltzing out of the kitchen and straight into her grandmother.
Audrey Hardy arched a brow. "Mrs. Morgan, I presume," she said stiffly.
Elizabeth grimaced. "Well, I hadn't really decided on that," she muttered, then looked down at the ground. "Gram, I know you're mad—"
"Mad is hardly the word I would use," Audrey said slowly. "While I may not approve of the groom, I am very disappointed that you didn't include me in any of this. I thought we'd come further than this, Elizabeth."
"Wait, what—" Elizabeth snapped her head up, stared at her grandmother. "You're…not mad?"
"As long as you assure me that it's not what Scott told me," Audrey said, drawing her brows together with worry. "You didn't marry Jason to protect yourself or him from the PCPD."
Elizabeth paused, then saw Jason come into Kelly's behind her grandmother. She waved him over. Hesitantly, Jason approached the two of them.
"Mrs. Hardy," Jason said with a nod. Elizabeth slid her hand in one of his. "Hello."
"Jason," Audrey said, before looking back at her granddaughter. "Elizabeth?"
"I married Jason because I love him," Elizabeth said. She glanced up at Jason. "And he asked because he loves me." His lips curved into a hesitant smile before she focused on her grandmother again. "I hope that's something you can be okay with."
Morgan Penthouse: Living Room
Brenda frowned as she stepped down off the bottom step and looked around the living room. "Uh, usually Jason is glued to your side," she said as she sat next to Elizabeth on the sofa. "Where'd he go?"
"Across the hall," Elizabeth said absently as she reached into the bowl of popcorn at her side, then furrowed her brow at the television screen in front of her. "Why?"
"I bet they're discussing how to run my life," Brenda muttered darkly. She flopped back against the back of the sofa. "What are you watching?"
"That 70s' Show."
"That's still on? I remember it came on right before I died. I thought it was a really stupid idea for a show." Brenda shrugged. "What're you gonna do?"
Startled by her casual reference to her death, Elizabeth turned her attention fully to Brenda. "Uh, how are you, um, doing with all of this?"
"Being back from the dead? I could do without it." Brenda bit her lip. "It's weird," she admitted, "because I knew everyone thought I was dead, but I guess I didn't think about what it meant. I didn't want to come back," she told Elizabeth. "Because I'm going to die anyway."
"But you could have had four years with your friends and family. And you still might have years, right?"
"I could," Brenda said. "But my mother told me that her illness happened fast. And she—she actually did die in that accident." She sighed. "If I had tried to come back sooner, obviously Luis wouldn't have let me come. I didn't know I was being held hostage until I tried to leave." She was quiet for a moment. "I thought he loved me. That he was taking care of me."
She picked at a loose thread on her black pants. "But that's not love, you know. It's obsession. I'm not a person to him, I'm just something he can own. A beautiful thing to put on a shelf. Going after Sonny and Jax because I loved them once—eliminating anyone who might be competition—"
"I'm glad you got away from that," Elizabeth said. "Before it got worse."
"Yeah. I mean, he was always kind to me, but that's because I didn't push him. Didn't disagree. What if I had?" Brenda pressed her lips together. "I just wish this was over. I hate depending on Sonny and Jason for anything. After what they put me through—"
"But you knew they'd help. That's why you came to them—"
"Old habits die hard. I really am sorry about asking Jason to marry me. Or blackmailing him into it," Brenda added. "I didn't know about you."
"You don't have anything to apologize for," Elizabeth said. "And—" She made a face. "Neither does Jason. We weren't dating. He could do what he wanted—even marry someone else—"
"Doesn't mean it wouldn't hurt. Sonny and I weren't dating when he married Lily, and it nearly killed me anyway." Brenda squinted at Elizabeth. "How did this happen anyway? I mean, you and Jason. I remember you from before, sort of. You were a baby though."
"Sixteen," Elizabeth muttered. "But yeah, it felt like it came out of nowhere. We connected after your accident. Robin had…well, Jason had lost custody of Michael and wasn't handling it well. I thought Lucky was dead. And we just…I could talk to him and he'd just listen. It kind of grew from there."
"That's how it was with me and Sonny at first." Brenda smiled faintly. "I was on the docks, with my suitcase, and there he was. And it just—pow. Like lightning. I messed it up, though. I didn't trust him enough."
"Yeah, I've heard about the wire," Elizabeth said and Brenda closed her eyes. "But he forgave you."
"Yeah, but I don't think he ever trusted me again. Or maybe anyone else. I mean, look what he did to you. Dragged you across the country, making you feel terrified for Jason, and it was just so Jason didn't marry me." Brenda snorted. "Best day of my life was seeing you punch him. I wish I could have done that the day he abandoned me at the altar." She closed her eyes. "Talk about humiliation. Standing there, so sure he was just late—"
"I remember."
Brenda's eyes flew open and she looked at Elizabeth, surprised. "You were there? What, with the Spencers?"
"No, I, uh, stole Ruby's invitation," Elizabeth admitted with a sheepish smile. "I'd seen your picture in magazines, and you were so glamorous. I just wanted to be part of it."
Brenda laughed. "Oh, man, that's amazing! I can't believe this." Her laughter tapered off into snorting giggles. "The guards probably didn't know what to do with you."
"No, they really didn't. Lucky vouched for me, but man, he was irritated with me." Elizabeth shrugged. "It was a terrible day. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, well, I held it against Jason for a long time, but I think he was just doing the best he could. He didn't want to leave me alone, and I took it out on him. I hated him," Brenda murmured, "but he just took it. It seems unfair now, you know. By the time I saw Sonny again, I don't think I was angry enough for him for what he'd done. He could have found another way to handle it."
"Yeah, he could have actually said words to you, but it might have broken his brain to try it," Elizabeth said. "What is it about men and refusing to just tell the truth? Open a vein? They'd rather be stupid."
"Honestly." Brenda wiggled her shoulders. "Who's this Zander guy anyway? I don't remember him. Why does the PCPD think you or Jason killed him?"
"Oh. God. Talk about humiliating mistakes." Elizabeth dragged a hand through her hair. "He was Emily's boyfriend for a while, and then he worked for Jason and Sonny. He did something stupid—I think he was talking to someone he shouldn't be. Jason beat him up—which I knew—and when he got out of the hospital, I let him stay in my studio."
Brenda blinked at her. "Uh, why?"
"Pride. I went to see him in the hospital because I felt bad. I knew Carly had hurt him—and Lucky and Nikolas showed up, telling me that I needed to get out, leave him alone—trying to boss me around, and I lost my head. Then Jason came over, told me I couldn't help him—"
"Oh, yeah, that'll do it."
"Still, it was stupid beyond the speaking of it." Elizabeth chewed on her bottom lip. "Jason and I were just—I don't know, we weren't saying the words. I think we both knew we were interested, but Carly and Sonny were always calling, and Zander was being stupid—then I got kidnapped—Zander ended up in the crypt with me—"
"Crypt—"
"Long story short, after we got out, I slept with Zander. And Jason—apparently, he—well, he saw it. I mean, he saw Zander at my place, and left." Elizabeth stared at her hands, rubbing one finger over her bare ring finger. "And we've been doing dumb things ever since."
"But you're better now."
"Sure. I mean, better than July." Elizabeth flashed her a hesitant smile. "But I don't know. We promised not to make the same mistakes, but we're just going to make new ones." She shook her head. "Jason almost marrying you isn't even as bad as the worst thing I've ever done to him. And I sort of get why he did it."
"Really? Because it feels like a fever dream to me," Brenda told her. She shrugged. "So they think one of you murdered the competition."
"It's more likely Zander went to work for Alcazar and got killed because of it." Elizabeth frowned. "You know, it's strange how I can't even—I don't know. He was someone I sort of dated, and I haven't even really thought about the fact that he's dead. What kind of person does that make me?"
"Well, you were accused of killing him," Brenda reminded her. "It kind of takes you out of the moment."
Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom
Jason frowned when he opened the door to find Elizabeth sitting up in bed, the lamp next to her switched on, as she thumbed through a magazine. "I didn't think you'd still be up."
"Oh, well you said you didn't think you'd be too late." Elizabeth set the magazine aside. "Thanks, by the way, for being nice to my grandmother earlier."
"Well, she was being nice to you," Jason said as he sat on the bed to pull off his boots. "I've always liked your grandmother."
She snorted. "Okay. Well, the feeling isn't always mutual, but still."
Jason turned slightly on the bed so he was looking at her. "Courtney came over to the penthouse earlier this morning. I guess working with her didn't go well."
Elizabeth flushed. "Okay, so I definitely was getting back at her for—well, it's not important. I'm sorry. Did she make a scene?"
"Depends on your definition of scene," Jason admitted. "Taggert showed up—"
Elizabeth groaned and put her head in her hands. "Oh, no."
"So he knows that Courtney kissed me a few days before Vegas—"
"This isn't helping the whole we didn't get married because of Zander," she muttered. She flopped back on the bed, staring the ceiling. "The worst thing is that it's the truth. We really didn't get married because of that, but no one will ever believe us."
"The PCPD probably isn't going to let go of this yet." Jason paused. "Are you sorry we didn't go with Sonny's plan?"
She sat up, frowning at him. "What? Where I go back to the studio and we pretend it didn't happen? Are you sorry we didn't do it?"
"I never thought the PCPD would go after you," Jason told her. "I can prove where I was when it happened—"
"But I was on the pier and didn't report it. They're not going to believe me now." She sighed. "Maybe Sonny was right," she admitted. "If we could have kept this quiet—if I hadn't come here after we got back, Carly wouldn't have said anything—" She looked up, met his eyes. "Do you wish we'd gone back to the way things were?"
"I—" Jason hesitated. "No. Not—not like that. I want you here. I told you that. I just—I don't know. I don't want the PCPD coming after you." He shook his head. "I'm the criminal, not you."
"Well, I've been accessory to a few crimes," Elizabeth reminded him. "Or at least an accessory after the fact, depending on how you look at it." She drew a leg up, tucking her knee under her chin. "It just feels like there's so much pressure now."
He wanted to ask what she meant but he already knew the answer. What had seemed like a crazy, heat of moment decision to prove he wasn't lying about loving her had turned into this complicated mess with Elizabeth right in the cross hairs of a vindictive police department who weren't above going after people he cared about.
Any chance they had of figuring out what exactly this was between them or if they should even be married had been twisted into being everyone else's business. If Carly had just kept her damn mouth shut—
"I was thinking about what you asked me yesterday," Elizabeth said, drawing his attention back to her. "About a ring. Um, I still mean what I said then, but I also think—" She sighed. "People are going to ask."
"Right." He managed a smile at her. "Let's just make sure this goes away, and we'll—we'll figure everything out later. Okay?"
"Okay—"
Elizabeth blinked at the sound of someone—of Brenda's sharp voice—just as the phone beside the night table began to ring. Jason got to his feet and went towards the door to deal with Brenda while Elizabeth reached for the phone.
"Hello?"
"Mrs. Morgan, it's Wally at the front desk—"
Elizabeth frowned as she heard footsteps on the steps and Jason disappeared down the hall. "Wally?"
"They told me I couldn't call, but I wanted to warn you—"
"Where's the warrant?" she heard Jason demand—and now there were other voices.
"Warn us about what?"
"The PCPD—"
"Get out of my way, Anger Boy, or you're coming with her—"
The bedroom door swung open as Taggert stalked in, Capelli on his heels and Jason following after him, a piece of paper clenched in his hand. Brenda trailed after them.
"They're on their way up—"
"Thanks," Elizabeth said numbly. She set the phone back on the hook, then climbed out bed, tugging the shirt she wore to cover more of her thighs. "I'm guessing this isn't a social call."
"Elizabeth Webber, you're under arrest for the murder of Zander Smith." Taggert went behind her and roughly pulled her hands behind her back.
"Can't she get dressed?" Brenda demanded.
"Brenda—"
"It's okay." Elizabeth took a deep breath, looked at Jason, his face red with suppressed fury. "I'm okay. You'll get the lawyer down to the station, and I'll be home by breakfast, right? Bring, um, pants, or something—"
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say—" Taggert began, wrapping an arm around her forearm and pulling her towards the door.
She winced at the grip, but bit her lip—if she made a sound that even resembled pain or discomfort, she was worried what Jason would do.
"You have the right to an attorney," Taggert continued as he all but dragged her towards the stairs. She looked back over her shoulders to find Capelli following them and Jason in the doorway of the bedroom.
"I'll call Diane," Jason told her. "And I'll be right behind you."
"Okay." Then she closed her mouth, resolving not to open it again until she was in a room with her lawyer.
"Do you understand the rights I've just spoken to you?" Taggert demanded in the hallway by the penthouses. "With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?"
She locked eyes with him—this man who had always been so kind to her—and nodded. "Just one thing. I hope you rot in hell."
Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room
By the time Brenda got across the hall to tell Sonny what had happened, he was already downstairs and on the phone with Diane. He waved Brenda in as he continued to speak. "Yeah, yeah, I don't know anything, but get to the PCPD—okay—okay. Thanks." He set the phone down on the receiver, then focused on Brenda. "What happened?"
"I was downstairs and they just came in—they had a warrant—" Brenda grimaced as Carly sauntered down the stairs, running her fingers through her hair and yawning. "They wouldn't even let her get dressed—they dragged her out in cuffs—"
"What's going on?" Carly asked, furrowing her brow. "Sonny—what was Wally calling about—"
"Elizabeth just got arrested for murder," Sonny muttered. "Diane's on her way—where's Jason—"
"He grabbed some clothes for Elizabeth and was, like, ten seconds behind the cops." Brenda folded her arms. "I thought you and Jason said this was under control—that she wasn't in any danger—"
"Clearly I underestimated them," Sonny said, his teeth clenched. "Look, just go across the hall. I've got it handled—"
"No, I'm going down to the PCPD—"
"Neither of us are going anywhere," Sonny snapped. "Jason and Diane will handle this. We'll just make things worse—" He turned to Carly who was opening her mouth. "That goes for you—"
"I was just offering to help Brenda find the door," Carly said sweetly. Sonny rolled his eyes as Brenda scowled.
She yanked the door open and stormed out. She knew Sonny was right, that there was nothing she could do at the police department, but damn it—Brenda was tired of sitting back waiting for things to happen.
This was all happening because of her. She should be able to fix it.
PCPD: Interrogation Room
"Just tell me how Morgan managed it," Taggert said, leaning in. "And I'll get something for you to wear."
"Lawyer," Elizabeth said. She took a deep breath, trying to keep from shuddering. The room was freezing cold and she was wearing one of Jason's t-shirts and a pair of panties. Her legs were bare from the mid-thigh to her toes—they hadn't even let her grab shoes—
"Elizabeth—"
"Lawyer—"
"You and me, we go way back—"
"Let me spell it," Elizabeth said, narrowing her eyes. "L-A-W—"
"Have it your way." Taggert shoved away from the table and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. She closed her eyes and finally gave into the urge to shiver—her teeth chattering. They'd handcuffed her to the table so she couldn't even rub her arms—
She could hear some sort of commotion in the squad room and raised voices—then the door opened again to reveal a woman with bright red hair cut in a stylish crop and an elegant suit. Behind her, Jason hovered—and she almost wept in relief to see the jeans over his arm with a pair of sneakers in his hands.
"You already searched the damn clothes!" the woman called over her shoulder. "Now shut up and let me meet with my client." She turned to look at Elizabeth, then hissed. "Come get these cuffs off of her. Now—"
"Not with Morgan in the room—" Taggert began, but Mac moved past the detective with a roll of his eyes.
"You're determined to get us sued, aren't you?" Mac demanded as he slid a key into Elizabeth's cuffs. "There. I'm sorry, Elizabeth. They should have let you get changed—"
"Oh, it's going into the lawsuit I'm preparing. Leave us."
Mac made a face, but then closed the door behind him. Jason came around the table to give Elizabeth the clothes as the lawyer set her briefcase on the table.
"Diane Miller," the redhead said as Elizabeth shimmied into the jeans Jason had brought, then sat back down to pull on the socks and shoes. "You didn't say anything did you?"
"Just the word lawyer. I said it in Spanish a few times," Elizabeth said. "I started to spell it, too."
"Oh, good. I like a smart client." Diane flipped through her copy of the arrest warrant with a sigh. "All right, they have you in the area at the time of the murder with a history of knowing the victim. It's flimsy, but the video of you fleeing the scene shortly after the gunshots will probably be enough to bind you over for a trial."
"But you can get me out on bail, can't you?" Elizabeth asked. "I mean—"
"They'll set the bail pretty high," Diane murmured. "And there's a slight chance they'll decide you're a flight risk, so we'll see." She hesitated. "They might deny bail at the hearing in the morning. I'll appeal — and most of the time, they overturn those decisions particularly when there's no physical evidence, a clean record, and no danger to the community. But—" She slid her eyes to Jason.
"But I'm a problem," he muttered.
"You are. I'm good at this, but Port Charles does not like you. Or your partner. And many of the judges in the criminal division would love a shot at you," Diane told him. She glanced out the window. "Baldwin's out there. I'm going to make sure he's put this on the docket for the morning so you'll only be here for the night. I'll be back."
When their lawyer had left and closed the door, Jason dragged his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry. I told you this wouldn't happen—"
"I know." Elizabeth bit her lip. "But I knew you didn't believe that even when you said it. The PCPD is always looking for a way to get to you. Taggert still thinks you did this. He wanted me to tell him how you managed it even though he knows you couldn't have."
"I'm sorry." Jason sat across from her. "I'll make this go away. Somehow."
"I know." Elizabeth stared at her hands, then flexed her fingers. "I'll be okay—"
"This is my fault," he interrupted. "They're coming after you because of me—"
"No, they're coming after me because of me," she told him. "You have an alibi, Jason. You did not do this. I'm the one that—" She took a deep breath. "I didn't trust you. I didn't listen to you. And I wasn't paying attention. I was reckless, and I walked right out onto that pier. This is my fault. And the only reason they can hold me is motive. Because of what happened this summer." Her voice faltered. "All of this—this is my fault, Jason. I put myself in this position, and I wish like hell I knew how to get out of it—"
"Elizabeth—"
"Yeah, they're going to offer me a deal to testify against you or Sonny or something, but that doesn't change the fact that if I had done a thousand things differently these last few months, I would not be here right now."
"I could have done things differently, too," he insisted. "We both made mistakes—"
"Not like me." She closed her eyes. "You told me one lie. How many ways did I hurt you?"
"What I did—" He paused. "It wasn't just one lie. It was weeks of lying to you. Don't let me off the hook. I don't deserve that. I lied to you, I didn't trust you to keep Sonny's secret, and then instead of trying to make you understand, instead of apologizing, I nearly married another woman."
"You didn't want to marry her," Elizabeth said with half a smile. He reached across the table to take her hands in his.
"No, but I nearly did it anyway. I was standing at the altar, and I realized—" Jason waited for her to look up, to meet his eyes. "I realized that the only person I wanted to make promises to was you, and there was no way I could ever get you to listen to me if I came back to Port Charles with Brenda as my wife. I promise you, I was going to stop it before you and Sonny showed up."
"Really?" Elizabeth asked. "I mean—"
"I hate that Sonny lied to you, I hate that you were hurt, but I'm glad you were there. That I could get you to listen. You deserve more than that stupid chapel," he continued, "but I don't regret any of it."
"Me either." She waited a beat. "I'll be okay in here," she promised him. "You and Sonny—you only hire the best. Even if she loses tomorrow—"
"She won't—"
"But if she does," Elizabeth continued, "I'll be okay. I know you and Sonny will get me out."
"Count on that," he promised. He got to his feet and came around the table to pull her into his arms. She sank into his embrace, burying her face in his chest, his strength chasing the last bit of chill.
"I love you," she said softly. Elizabeth tilted her head up to meet his eyes.
"I love you, too." He leaned down and kissed her.
"Enough of that—"
They both jumped when the door opened and Taggert's voice barked out the command. "Anger Boy, you're done. She's heading to booking and lock up."
Elizabeth could feel Jason's muscles tensing beneath her fingers. "I'll be okay," she reminded him. "And I'll see you in the morning."
"Let's go," Taggert said. He reached for Elizabeth's arm. "Now—"
"You know, I used to respect you," she snapped as she followed him into the squad room.
"Yeah, well, I used to think you were a good person," he retorted. "I guess we're both disappointed."
Jason followed them out of the interrogation room, but wasn't able to go any farther when Taggert took her into another room—to be fingerprinted and have her mugshot taken.
"I'll get the fingerprints thrown out," Diane murmured. "And the mugshot destroyed. There won't be a record of this when we're done."
Jason gritted his teeth, then stalked out of the PCPD, irritated at the idea of Elizabeth spending the night in lock up. If Diane couldn't get her out of here legally, Jason would get her out any other way he could.
She wasn't going to spend a minute longer behind bars than necessary.
Morgan Penthouse: Living Room
Brenda jumped off the sofa and Sonny turned away from the terrace window when Jason came in. "Is she okay?" the brunette asked. "I wanted to come down—"
"Better you stay away," Jason muttered, dropping his keys on the table. He glared at Sonny. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see if there was anything I could do," Sonny began. "Jason, we both knew there was a chance—"
"When she came to you after being shot at, why didn't you take care of it?" Jason demanded.
"I did—I sent men down to the docks—"
"If she'd had Marco—if she'd had the guard I gave her, he never would have let her go down to that pier—" Jason growled. "He told you he was working on a job for me, but it didn't matter to you, didn't it?'
"Listen—" Sonny bristled. "If you hadn't screwed up with her in the first place or just asked Marco—"
"Okay, okay—" Brenda stepped between them as Jason fisted his hands at his side. "This isn't helping anyone. We need to focus because Luis is going to hear about this, and he's going to know you're distracted," she told Jason. "Which means he'll come after Sonny —and me. So while Diane is getting Elizabeth out—"
"Alcazar is your problem," Jason told Sonny. "Take care of it yourself. Elizabeth is the only thing I'm worried about."
"But—" Brenda began.
"I'll take care of it," Sonny said stiffly. "Make sure Elizabeth has what she needs." He stalked out of the penthouse, slamming the door behind him.
Brenda wrinkled her nose, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, this was productive—"
"Go to bed," Jason muttered as he went over to the sofa.
"What about you? You need some sleep, too—"
"Go to bed," he repeated, turning back to face the other woman. "Please."
"All right." She hesitated. "Jason, you'll get her out. I know you—"
"Brenda—"
"I'm going. Good night."
Jason waited until he heard the door upstairs shut before he sank onto the sofa and put his head in his hands. Even if he could sleep tonight, he wasn't going upstairs to sleep. Even after only a few nights, he knew that the room and the bed would feel empty without her.
PCPD: Jail
"Last chance," Taggert said as he pulled the cell closed behind her and slid a key into the lock. Elizabeth looked around at the small space, with the cot in the corner. She was the only prisoner in this part of the jail tonight—the only woman in lockup.
She turned to face him. "Good night, Detective."
He scowled, then stalked out. A few minutes later, the lights in the lockup went out — the cell was now pitch black.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and felt her way towards the cot. It wasn't the crypt. It wasn't the same. She was safe.
She found the cot, laid down, and curled up in a ball. It wasn't the same, she reminded herself again. Jason was going to get her out. Just like he had before.
But she still didn't sleep.
Chapter 5: Part 5
Chapter Text
Port Charles Courthouse: Court Room
Jason's mood turn another dark turn when he slid into a chair next to Sonny and Carly and saw Baldwin behind the prosecution's table. Brenda, sitting behind them, leaned forward to touch his shoulder.
"Were you able to see her?" Sonny asked, twisting in his chair slightly. Carly, mercifully, stayed silent.
"No," Jason muttered. "No visitors before they drove her over here." He scrubbed a hand over his face. He hadn't slept in two nights—not since Taggert had dragged Elizabeth out of their bedroom and put her in handcuffs.
"Sonny said Diane Miller is the best defense lawyer in the state," Carly said. Jason frowned at her. "I mean, he'd only hire the best. This will be okay, Jase."
Jason squinted at her. "Are you…trying to be nice?"
She wrinkled her nose. "Yes, and it hurts, so don't start with me."
The lawyer in question strode into the room and went to the front of the room, setting her briefcase on the table before turning to the small group behind her.
Jason lurched to his feet. "Did you see her? Is she okay?" he demanded, pitching his low so that Baldwin, despite his straining, could not hear them.
"She's managing," the redhead said after a long pause. "When this is over, you take that girl on a nice vacation where she can get some sleep."
Jason started to reply, but a door opened by the judge's bench and a bailiff led Elizabeth into the courtroom and he swore under his breath when she looked over at them, focused on him. She'd changed into prison blues, the shirt practically swimming on her. Her hair hung limply down to her neck, and her skin—always pale—was nearly translucent with thick, dark purple circles digging grooves beneath her eyes.
"Jason," she said softly as the bailiff unlocked the shackles at her ankles.
"Why the hell is she shackled head to toe?" Diane demanded off the bailiff. "She's not a violent criminal—uncuff my client! Now!"
"Sorry, ma'am—" the bailiff slid his eyes to Baldwin who just lifted a brow. "I got my orders. Said this one is a flight risk—"
"Flight risk—" Sonny lunged to his feet. "How the hell—"
"It's okay," Elizabeth said faintly. She swallowed. "It's just for a little while, isn't it?" Her eyes found Jason's. "Diane said they'll set bail, and I'll go home—" Her voice faltered. "So I can manage."
Jason fisted his hands at his side, but he didn't think getting himself arrested for pummeling a district attorney would help Elizabeth's case. He glared at the bailiff, before looking back at Diane. "Whatever you have to do—get her out of here today."
"I'll do my best—" Diane turned as the bailiff hooked Elizabeth's cuffs to the table, her lips thinning with distaste.
"Girl probably weighs a hundred pounds soaking weight," Sonny muttered as he took his seat. "And they think she'll overpower the damn cops—"
"They're doing it to rattle Jason," Brenda said quietly. Jason turned to the brunette. "You know it. Baldwin just wants you to feel guilty and do something stupid." She looked at Scott who was deliberately not looking at them. "Don't let him see you get upset. It's what he wants."
"Brenda's right," Carly said, "and it's a measure of my love for you," she told Jason who just blinked at her, "that I'm admitting that."
The bailiff called the hearing to order and the judge stepped up to the bench to begin the hearing. Jason's blood boiled as Scott laid out the evidence against Elizabeth — she'd been on the pier when Zander had been killed, she had motive —
"And Your Honor, Elizabeth Webber fled the jurisdiction immediately after the crime," Scott began.
"Objection," Diane said coolly, not even bothering to stand. She sounded nearly bored. "My client traveled to Las Vegas and returned to Port Charles within twenty-four hours. She was already in the jurisdiction when the PCPD questioned her. I find your characterization of her actions outrageous and spurious—"
"She went to Las Vegas in the middle of the night on a private flight that wasn't scheduled," Scott shot back. "And she only came back when she'd married the witness in her case—"
"I'm sorry, since when is Jason Morgan a witness to a murder he wasn't in town for?" Diane said pleasantly. "You have the receipts. His plane took off almost twenty minutes before Zander Smith was shot—"
Scott opened his mouth, but the judge cut him off. "Neither one of you is earning any points here," he said dryly, drawing both their attention. "You've made your case, D.A. Baldwin." He looked at Diane. "How does your client plead?"
Diane nodded to Elizabeth. "Not guilty," Elizabeth said quietly.
"All right. The court will reflect that and we'll bound this over for trial." The judge picked up a pen. "What's the position on bail?"
"Since the defendant has married a man of considerable means with property in several countries without an extradition treaty," Scott said, "we request that bail be denied."
The judge looked at Diane. "I imagine you oppose that?"
"We do. My client has no criminal record and has ties to the community. She's lived here since she was a teenager—"
"Which was practically last year," Scott muttered.
"And her grandmother still lives here. In addition, her husband has ties to Port Charles. His parents are doctors at General Hospital, and the Quartermaines are prominent citizens. My client is the opposite of a flight risk."
The judge studied Diane for a long moment, then focused on Jason in the audience with a furrowed brow. "Your client's husband has refused all ties to the Quartermaines in the past, and Miss Webber might not have been convicted of any crimes, but I do see several arrests on her record. I am denying bail at this time—"
"What?"
"That's crap!" Carly announced at the same time Sonny sputtered out his protest, but Jason couldn't find the words. Elizabeth didn't look at him, but her head bowed slightly.
"Your Honor, this is without merit—"
"Your client is accused of murdering an ex-lover. She fled the jurisdiction, then married a man who can get her out of the country before I finish my lunch," the judge said dryly. "She gets no brownie points because she came back. You should have chosen your associates better, Miss Webber." His voice hardened. "Or should I call you Mrs. Morgan?"
The judge banged the gavel as Diane was still sputtering in outrage. "Court is adjoined. Please return the defendant to lockup—"
"Wait—" Diane hissed. "Can my client have a minute with her husband—"
"So they can make plans for escape?" Scott said with a roll of his eyes.
"Oh, I am going to call my mother," Carly told Scott. "You're never getting her back after this—"
Scott made a face, but the judge nodded at Diane. "She can have a minute. One minute," he added. He paused. "And bailiff, I think we can leave off the shackles. While she might be a flight risk, she's unlikely to overpower you."
The bailiff reluctantly uncuffed Elizabeth from the table, and she stood turning to Jason. "I'll be okay," she told him.
"I am going to appeal," Diane said immediately. "This is clearly retribution—"
"I'll come as soon as they let me," Jason promised her. "As often as they—" He took her hands in his, wincing at the way they trembled slightly. "I'm going to make this go away."
"I know you'll try." Elizabeth licked her lips and looked up at him. "I guess it's a good thing you didn't get me a ring after all." Her voice was nearly inaudible as she continued. "It's not like they wouldn't have let me keep it in here."
He leaned down to brush his lips against hers but the bailiff jerked her back. "None of that," he snapped. "Time to go—"
"I'll be okay," Elizabeth promised him. "I can handle this."
And then she was gone, dragged through the door and back to lockup.
"How long before the appeal?' Jason demanded of Diane. "If you file it now—"
"It might take a few days." Diane paused. "Maybe even a week. Mr. Morgan—"
"Get it done," Jason snapped and stormed out of the court room.
Morgan Penthouse: Living Room
Jason stripped off his suit jacket and tossed it on the sofa before turning back to glare at the trio that had followed him in. "Sonny, who do we know at the PCPD that will get us into lock up?"
"Jason," Carly began, "she'll be okay for a few days—"
"Carly, go home and call your mother," Sonny told his wife and she frowned at him. "Make her yell at Baldwin. If Baldwin agrees to withdraw his opposition, the appeal won't take as long."
"But—"
"It's something you can do for me," Jason told her, and that seemed to convince the blonde who still looked unhappy as she left. To Sonny, he said, "Get me a way into lockup. If that appeal doesn't go through—"
"This is my fault," Brenda said, drawing both of their attention.
"Brenda—" Jason began.
"No, if I hadn't had that insane idea to blackmail you into marrying me, you wouldn't have been on the plane when Elizabeth needed you," she insisted. "You would have been here—"
"It shouldn't have mattered," Jason said. "And it's not your fault." He focused on Sonny who seemed to know what was coming. "It's yours."
Sonny wrinkled his nose. "Look, it's not like I knew Zander was dead—"
"She came to you because she'd been shot at, and you didn't handle it. You didn't make sure the pier was clear. You lied to her, dragged her across the country — and now the PCPD is using that to keep her locked up—"
"If I hadn't dragged her across the country, you wouldn't be married to her right now!" Sonny retorted. "How about a little gratitude?"
Before Jason could lunge for his friend's throat, Brenda slid in front of her ex-fiancé and spread her arms wide. "You'll only feel better for a hot minute if you pound his face in right now," she told Jason. "You can yell at him later."
"You dragged her across the country and you took away her guard," Jason retorted. "Marco should have been with her. She never would have been on that pier if you'd thought about anyone other than yourself!"
"Hey, she wasn't my girlfriend to take care of!" Sonny shot back. "You didn't notice she didn't have a guard for two weeks—how is that my fault?"
"Okay, so you're going to go," Brenda told Sonny. She opened the door and started to shove him through it. "Go get the guy at the PCPD while I keep Jason from murdering you on the spot—"
"I am sick and tired of being treated like I did something wrong," Sonny said, shoving Brenda's hands away from him. "You two were the insane ones, flying to Vegas to get married! I stopped it! And if I hadn't brought Elizabeth—"
"You mean if you hadn't lied to her about me being hurt? You used her — and why the hell do you care what Brenda and I do?" Jason demanded. "How is it any of your business? If you'd stayed here and protected Elizabeth, none of this would be happening! I've spent most of my life protecting your family and cleaning up your messes—"
"What the hell does that mean—"
"You refused to let me tell Elizabeth you were alive—you made me lie to her—"
"No, you were the one that lied to her. I told you to send her to the island so you—"
"You know," Brenda said, almost conversationally as if the two men weren't shouting at each other, "this might be the first time I'm glad you left me at the altar and you sent Jason to do it."
That shut them both up. "What the hell—" Sonny began.
"You sent Jason to dump me, and I blamed him for a long time. But you're just a coward, Sonny, when it really matters." She turned to Jason. "He's never going to admit he was wrong, so just drop it. Focus on what matters and that's getting Elizabeth out of jail."
She then looked back Sonny. "Get out and don't bother coming back if you can't be productive."
Then Brenda shoved Sonny over the threshold and slammed the door. She exhaled in a huff. "He'll never admit that the reason he came to Vegas to stop us was because he was jealous. He doesn't want me, but he doesn't want anyone else to have me. And he'll never admit that he didn't see Elizabeth as a person in that moment. He saw her as a tool to be used to get what he wanted. He knew you'd never go through with it if she was there to watch."
Jason took a deep breath. "I already knew it was a mistake. At the altar. Before they showed up. I'm sorry, Brenda, but I was already going to stop it."
"Good. It would have been wrong. Funny," she added, "but wrong. And don't let Sonny take credit. You and Elizabeth might have gotten married because you were in Vegas, but that doesn't mean you didn't make the decision. Maybe it was insane, but something good came out of it."
"Good? Because of it, she's trapped in jail—"
"No, she's in jail because the PCPD refuse to believe you didn't do this. You know that Scott probably thinks you're lying about who was on which flight. He thinks you sent her ahead as an alibi for you, and then you came later. I don't know this Zander guy, but I feel bad for anyone who cared about him. They don't care who did this, not really." Brenda took a deep breath. "Now, how do we get Elizabeth out of this?"
PCPD: Jail
Elizabeth had hoped that another woman would be sent to lockup so that she wouldn't be alone on the cell block. There were no windows, no way to see the outside world. Just the cinder block and bars and artificial, fluorescent lighting that made her eyes hurt—
Elizabeth lay on the cot, staring at the ceiling, hoping that something would change—that Diane would perform miracles—she didn't want Jason to think she couldn't handle this—but she wasn't sure if she could really get through another night without sleeping—
The lights flickered, then went turned off, plunging the area into inky darkness so thick Elizabeth couldn't even see her own fingers.
"Hello?" she called. "The lights—"
Then she heard footsteps and the clanking of metal as her cell opened. "Please—what's wrong with the lights—"
A hand clamped over Elizabeth's mouth and then something pricked her arm. "What—" Her head felt whoozy—everything started to spin—
Then she remembered nothing else.
Morgan Penthouse: Living Room
"Did Diane say anything about when she expects the appeal to be heard?" Brenda asked as Jason shrugged into his leather jacket the next morning. "Will the PCPD let you see her today?"
"They better," he muttered. He needed to look at her for longer than five minutes, to hold her hand, to touch her—to be sure she was okay. The phone on his desk rang. "Yeah? What—"
"I'm sorry, Jason, the DA and the Commissioner wouldn't wait—they said they had a warrant—"
"Damn it," Jason muttered. He slammed the phone down and picked it up to call Diane. "The cops are on their way up," he told Brenda. "Probably to arrest me—"
"But—"
There was a harsh knock, almost pounding. Jason held out his phone. "Finish calling Diane," he told Brenda, then went over to the door.
He barely had it open before Scott shoved his way in, followed by a more subdued Mac.
"Where the hell is she?" the district attorney spat out. "Where did you take her? I swear to God, Morgan, I will haunt you until the day you die—"
"What hell are you talking about?" Jason demanded as his blood began to pound in his ears. "Elizabeth's at the PCPD—" he looked at Mac.
"When we did the count this morning," the commissioner said, feeling slightly sick, "she was missing. Elizabeth is gone. And judging by the look on your face—" he sighed, "I'm guess she's not on her way to Dubai."
"How the hell do you just lose a prisoner?" Brenda demanded as Jason tried to absorb what Mac had just told him.
"He's bluffing!" Scott declared to Mac. "You know it—"
Mac narrowed his eyes at the district attorney. "If he was bluffing," the man began, "then why the hell is he here and not with her?"
"We drag him into the PCPD, he won't be able to join her—we let him on the loose—" Scott continued.
"No one answered my damn question! How the hell does someone waltz into lockup and take a prisoner away?" Brenda stepped in front of Jason. "Until you give us some answers, you should get out—"
"Which brunette did you marry or is this one of those sister-wives things?" Scott snarled. Brenda hissed and started for the district attorney, but Jason grabbed her arm and dragged her back.
"She's right," Jason said flatly. "You locked my wife up without any damn evidence and now she's missing. Go find her. I've got nothing else to say to you. Get out."
"Let's go before he changes his mind and lets Brenda loose—" Mac sent Brenda a surly look. "And she bites—"
"Damn right—"
As soon as the elevator doors had closed on the law enforcement officers, Jason and Brenda were across the hall, Jason not even letting Max announce them.
Carly, Sonny, and Michael were sitting at the table, eating, but Sonny surged to his feet as Jason and Brenda came in. "What's going on?" he demanded. He looked to Carly who hurried to grab Michael and hand him off to Leticia. The nanny went upstairs.
"Elizabeth disappeared from lockup last night," Jason said and now the words were really sinking in. There was only one person who'd go after her this way. He knew he hadn't arranged for it—even he didn't have the connections to get her out under the PCPD's nose. Neither did Sonny.
That left one option.
"Damn it—" Sonny growled. "Do they think you did it?"
"Scott does," Brenda said, "but Mac didn't seem convinced. Sonny—Jason—" She looked at the enforcer. "Luis could have done this—"
"There's no could have—he's the only one—"
The landline across the room rang. The four of them looked at it for a minute before Jason stalked over to snatch up the receiver. "What?"
"Did you enjoy your visit from the DA and Commissioner?"
The cool, unaffected tone had Jason's blood boiling but he knew how to handle this. He had to turn it off. He couldn't do what he'd done this summer—when he'd lost his temper in a fit of rage and fear and killed the man who knew Elizabeth was in that crypt.
"Not really."
"I didn't think you would. Your wife is quite lovely, Mr. Morgan. And very smart. Did you know she didn't even fight?"
His mouth was so dry he could barely force out the words. "Where is she?"
"Oh, she's fine. Still alive anyway. I'm enjoying the sight. She looks like my Brenda, you know. All that lovely dark hair, big eyes—they're the wrong color, but I could tolerate it. There's not much to her, is there? Delicate. Fragile. Just my type."
His knuckles ached as he tightened his fingers around the receiver. "I want proof of life."
"You're a cold one, aren't you? That's why I'm negotiating with you. Mr. Corinthos is more hot-headed—"
"Proof of life," Jason cut in. "Or I hang up." He waited, hearing the rustle, hearing something in the background, hushed tones.
Finally — "Jason?"
He closed his eyes. "Elizabeth. Are you all right?"
"Yes. He didn't—he didn't hurt me. They drugged me and I woke up wherever I am. Jason, he wants to trade—don't do it—"
Her voice disappeared as Jason imagined someone yanking it away and Alcazar's voice came over the line. "Brave girl, trying to ruin my surprise. But I'm sure you saw this coming. I thought about forcing Sonny to trade his wife, but I'm not so sure he wouldn't leave the harpy with me for punishment and keep what's mine. I want Brenda."
"I don't control her—"
"I didn't say she had to be willing. You know how to get the job done. If you want your wife back, you'll make the deal." There was a pause. "You might need some time to think it over. I'll call back in ten minutes."
The line went dead and Jason slowly set it back down on the hook, trying to order his thoughts. He wanted to go to the yacht, kill everyone in sight until he found her and bring her home—but that clearly wasn't an option.
"Jason?" Sonny asked. "You talked to her?"
"She's alive. He wants a trade."
"For me." Brenda folded her arms tightly across her chest. Her cheeks were pale as she spoke, "He wants me."
"Yes." Jason met her eyes. "That's not on the table, Brenda. Even if I wanted to, Elizabeth would never agree to it."
Brenda took that in, then looked at Carly who had remained quiet, almost frozen. "It'd be an easy choice for you, huh?" she said, her tone light but laced with fear.
"No." Carly's eyes were direct. "No. It wouldn't be." She turned her attention to Jason. "What can I do?"
"Michael is probably scared," Jason told her. "Go upstairs. Sit with him. If I think of something else—"
"Okay. Okay." Carly dragged her hands through her hair, took another deep breath, and started for the stairs — but stopped at the knock on the door and the raised voices outside.
Max opened the door as Audrey Hardy pushed her way in.
"I just had a call from Mac Scorpio," Elizabeth's grandmother said, her voice hard and tight. "My granddaughter is missing. Either you sent her out of the country or one of your enemies kidnapped her. Which is it?"
"Mrs. Hardy," Sonny began but Audrey silenced him with one hot glare.
"I was going to approve of this," Audrey began, shaking a finger at Jason. "I had my reservations, but I didn't want to fight with my granddaughter anymore. But I was right! You'll be death of her—"
"Uh, weren't you championing my idiot cousin like eight seconds ago?" Carly snapped, stepping between older woman and her friend. "Didn't you give Elizabeth a lot of grief for leaving him at the altar? Didn't Lucky almost get her killed like eight times because of Helena Cassadine?"
Audrey narrowed her eyes. "That's different—"
"Yeah, because Helena is certifiably insane. But Elizabeth knew that. She's a big girl who puts her panties on one leg at a time. She knows who Jason is. What he does. So why the hell do you respect her choices when she takes on super villains but not a guy who'd literally walk through fire for her?"
Audrey stared at Carly for a long moment before swallowing hard and meeting Jason's eyes. "Where is she?"
"I don't know, Mrs. Hardy," Jason said honestly. "But I'm going to get her back. I promise you that."
Alcazar's Yacht
Elizabeth was getting tired of being kidnapped. The first time, she'd been dragged out of her studio kicking and screaming but this time she'd been drugged and hadn't known what was going on. She couldn't decide which was worse.
She really didn't like the ropes and gag—but at least she was being held in a room with port-holes that received sunlight. It wasn't dark.
"You have the strangest look on your face," Luis Alcazar murmured as he sauntered across the room. He removed the gag from her mouth. "What's going through that head of yours?"
"Honestly? Trying to decide which kidnapping I liked better." Elizabeth rolled her shoulders. "The ropes are chafing my wrist," she said, "but the last time, I was shoved in a crypt and held in the dark for days."
"So I'm preferable?"
"I didn't enjoy the drugging or waking up somewhere strange. I don't know. We'll see what happens when I get kidnapped a third time. I'll need a tie breaker."
"Fair enough." The man lowered himself into a chair across from her. "You expect to be kidnapped again?"
"You never know in Port Charles." Elizabeth waited a beat. "This isn't going to work."
"You're going to tell me Morgan won't sacrifice Brenda for you, and I know that." Luis lifted an elegant shoulder in a dismissive shrug. "She'll offer herself, and he'll tell her no, and they'll come up with another plan."
"So why bother if it won't work—" She stopped. "Because Jason won't get near this boat without Brenda."
"Once she's on board, I have a chance. Right now, I don't have many options."
"But she doesn't want you—you're rich and you're not hideous," she admitted. "You could have almost anyone—"
"Could I have you?" Luis asked coolly. When she scowled at him. "I can have anyone I want. I want Brenda. She was perfectly happy for a long time—"
"Until she wasn't. What are you going to do? Lock her up? Even if you win this time," Elizabeth said, "she'll just try to leave again. Are you going to spend the rest of your life chasing after her, kidnapping and killing to keep her?"
"If I have to."
Elizabeth cleared her throat. "What if Jason refuses to bring Brenda to the boat?"
"Oh, he won't. Excuse me, dear. I have a call to make."
Luis slid the cell phone out of his jacket pocket. "Morgan? Hello. I just wanted to make the terms of my deal crystal clear. You either bring Brenda to the yacht tonight at eleven to make the trade or I'll sail away with the beautiful Mrs. Morgan to keep me company on the dark, cold nights. You can ask Brenda how that might go." His lips curled into a smile. "Yes, I thought you'd see it my way."
He closed the phone and placed it back in his jacket as Elizabeth just stared at him. "Questions?"
Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room
"What are you going to do?"
Jason turned to Carly who hadn't gone upstairs even after Audrey had gone. They'd only heard his side of the conversation, making the appointment.
"I don't know yet, but if he doesn't see you by eleven tonight—" he looked at Brenda whose dark eyes were somber, "he said he'd leave and keep Elizabeth to keep him company. The way you did."
Brenda cleared her throat, stared down at the ground. "Okay. Okay. Well, we have to keep that from happening at all costs."
"Brenda—" Sonny began, but Brenda jerked her head up to stare at her former lover.
"No. You don't get to ask that question. No one gets to ask that question."
"But—"
"She said no," Carly said, surprising Sonny and Brenda. "Whatever she doesn't want to talk about sounds like it's bad enough we don't want it for Elizabeth. Do you need the damned details, Sonny?"
"No. No, I'm sorry," Sonny said, startled by his wife's defense, but no more so than Brenda who stared at the blonde with wide eyes.
"Stop looking at me like that," Carly muttered. "I'm a selfish, narcissistic bitch. There's no rule that says I can't occasionally be a good person when I feel like it."
"Brenda—" Jason began.
"I'll go with you," Brenda said. "Because Luis doesn't make idle threats. He'll leave. And you'll be chasing him for the rest of your life. It's her or me."
"No. It's neither of you. You'll go only because he won't let me on the boat without you. But we'll go in with a plan. You and Elizabeth, you're both getting off that damn boat."
It was only later that Brenda realized that Jason hadn't said anything about making sure they all came home.
Elm Street Pier
Jason grabbed Brenda's elbow, holding her back from stepping out onto Pier 52 and the launch that would take them out to Alcazar's yacht, anchored just off shore. "Repeat the plan to me."
"Do you think that I wasn't listening the first eight times you made me do this?" Brenda demanded. "Do you think I'll be stupid and—" She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I know it's not about that. It's how you're keeping your cool. Okay. We get on the boat. You demand that Elizabeth be allowed to send back to shore first and Luis will refuse. Then you'll start negotiating which will distract him because he'll be annoyed, and while he's annoyed, Sonny's men will be getting into position."
"The second they take the shot," Jason told her, "I'm going to grab Elizabeth. You go for the boat. Don't think of anything. Just go."
"I can do that. But I need you to make me a promise—no, don't shake your head at me, Jason Morgan. Luis Alcazar is my problem. He came here because I wanted to go home and he wanted to make sure I didn't have a home to come back to."
"You are not responsible for his obsessions—"
"No. But he's not your problem to fix. I came to you because I was desperate and because I knew I could count on you," she confessed. "I only tried to blackmail you with Sonny and Carly because I was scared. But over the last couple of days, I remembered what I'd always tried to forget."
Jason's brows drew together in confusion. "What?"
"You looked miserable the day Sonny sent you to stop the wedding. And I forced you to tell me the truth in front of everyone. You tried to be kind. And I made it your fault. I blamed you because I couldn't bring myself to admit the truth. Sonny didn't love me enough to find a way out of it."
"Brenda, that was a long time ago—"
"I know it, but it's always been there between us. I resented you because it hurt too much to put the blame where it belonged. And because of that, I need you to know that if anyone isn't coming home today, it's me—"
"Brenda—"
"You and Elizabeth have a whole lifetime in front of you. I need you to promise me that you will get her out of this. I can survive Luis. He can't break me, and I can live to fight another day. Elizabeth—he doesn't care about her. So if it actually does come down to saving her or me, I want you to know that I expect you to get her home alive."
"Brenda—"
"You don't make promises you don't try to keep. It's something I've always respected about you. I'm not stepping foot on that yacht until you promise me."
Alcazar's Yacht: Upper Deck
"Ah, right on time."
Elizabeth glowered at Alcazar as he watched the boat moving towards him with some satisfaction. She couldn't do more than that since he'd gagged her and tied her hands together—he'd also lightly tied her legs together. She could shuffle along, but there'd be no running.
"Let's see if your husband has some good sense," Alcazar said. He grabbed her arm and dragged her forward.
Jason stepped on board first, sweeping a brief look over Elizabeth before turning back to reach out a hand to Brenda.
"Search him," Luis said to one of the men standing nearby. "Confiscate any weapons."
Jason's glare could cut ice as he spread out his arms and allowed himself to be subjected to the pat down by the guards. "You think I'd take a chance with Elizabeth's life on the line?"
"A man can't be too sure." Alcazar's greedy eyes took in Brenda, his eyes lighting up with something dark and twisted that sent shivers down Elizabeth's spine. "I know you think you have a way out of this, but I'm ready for anything you have planned."
He looked at Elizabeth, lifting his dark brows. "You've been a lovely, charming companion. Even amusing. Did you know, Mr. Morgan—" He returned his gaze to Jason. "She thought perhaps this kidnapping was better than her last. She's waiting on a third to decide for sure."
Alcazar took Elizabeth by the arm and gently maneuvered her in front of him. Elizabeth wasn't entirely sure what she expected—maybe he was attempting to start the trade with a sign of good faith?
But then Alcazar released her arm and she realized only in the second before it happened what he'd planned.
He had pushed her so that her back was against the railing, then reached into his suit jacket.
There was a scream, a shout, and then just the glint of the yacht's light on the metal of the gun before the night exploded with the sound of fireworks and a hot slice of pain arrowed through her shoulder.
The force of the shot sent her reeling and then Alcazar shoved her over—
Elizabeth tried to scream as her body twisted and rolled before she hit the freezing dark waters of Lake Ontario, but her cries were muffled by the gag in her mouth. She tried to swim, tried to move her arms, but quickly the current of the lake dragged her under.
___
Brenda choked back a sob as Luis shoved Elizabeth, bound and gagged over the railing of the yacht. With little more than an apologetic glance at Brenda, Jason launched himself overboard after her.
Brenda rushed to the railing, a crazy thought of trying to go after them, trying to help—but that wouldn't solve anything.
"I'm sure Morgan had a plan," Luis murmured. "I knew you'd make it clear to them that allowing the sweet Elizabeth to disappear with me into the night would be a terrible future for her. At first," he added. "I could have charmed her. Make her fall in love with me."
"The way I did," Brenda said softly. She could see nothing at all. No figures. No thrashing in the water. Elizabeth had probably already sank down, unable to keep herself afloat, and Jason would never come back without her.
"I do have a way about me," Luis said. He turned away to one of the guards. "It's time to go. Let's leave while Corinthos and his men are distracted—"
"I thought I did love you," Brenda said. "I thought I didn't have anything else to live for, and you were kind. I didn't want to have sex with you, but you made me feel like I owed it to you." She turned to look at him. "And I guess you're not a man who minds when the woman lays still beneath him like a corpse."
His mouth twisted and he flicked his eyes to the guards. "Leave us," he snarled. In less than a minute, they were alone on the deck. "That's not how it was—"
"You thought you had this all it planned out," Brenda said, "but I know you, Luis. And I knew you'd find a way to separate me from Jason. I also knew that you never thought I was very smart. Or bright. Your mistake was assuming that everyone saw me that way."
"Brenda—"
"I knew you wouldn't have me searched." Brenda reached beneath the bulky sweater she wore, drew out the gun Jason had given her, and leveled the barrel at him. Luis's eyes bulged and he put his hands up.
"Brenda—"
The bullet struck him between the eyes, his head exploding around him as his body hit the deck, already dead.
There were footsteps rushing towards her as the guards came towards her, but Brenda just pointed the gun at them. "He's dead," she snarled. "And now you'll do exactly what I say or you're next."
Chapter Text
Lake Ontario
Jason hit the water less than two minutes after Elizabeth, but he knew it might already be too late. He knew the odds, knew that she'd been tied up, unable to swim—
But he was never going to leave her behind. Either they both went home or neither of them did.
On his third dive beneath the frigid waters, his muscles aching and his lungs screaming, he found her. She was twisting and desperately trying to break free to the surface, using her tied hands like a shovel, digging at the water—
Jason used what energy he had left to drag Elizabeth to the surface and tug the gag from her mouth. He could have wept when he heard her drag in a long, desperate breath.
"You found me," she managed. He looped her hands over his neck, using his legs to keep them both afloat. "You found me."
He pushed her sodden hair away from her face, smoothing his thumb over her lips. "I will always find you," he promised. He kissed her, just for a minute, just to feel her mouth against his.
Jason twisted them, trying to see how far they'd drifted from the yacht. He had to get her to shore before they both froze. The lights of the yacht looked distant, but he knew his eyes could be playing tricks on him. He didn't know if Brenda had been able to pull the gun on Alcazar, but by now Sonny's men would be in the water.
He had to believe that.
"Untie my hands. I c-can s-swim," Elizabeth managed, her teeth chattered. He lifted her arms from around his neck to try to undo the ropes, but his fingers were fumbling and his legs were tiring from keeping them both afloat. If he couldn't get these ropes undone, the ones around her ankles would be impossible.
"J-Jason—"
He put her arms back around his neck. "Can't waste time. You need to get to shore. She'd been shot and nearly drowned. A bullet in the shoulder, the waters of the lake—she'd die from blood loss and infection if he didn't get her to dry land—
"But—"
He ignored her protests and started swimming towards the yacht. He had to believe Brenda had been able to defend herself or that Sonny had been able to get on board—
Had to believe it—
His arms were screaming and his body felt numb, but Jason kept swimming, the feeling of Elizabeth's arms around his neck reminding him that he needed to keep going. Needed to get her to shore.
"Jason! Jason!"
His brain was foggy—he couldn't concentrate, couldn't hear the screams of his names—was that in his head?
A bright light blinded him, but then he realized it was the small boat that had ferried them between the pier and the yacht. He saw Sonny's face dimly and Brenda's just behind him. The boat was still maybe twenty feet away, but he'd know them anywhere. "Jason!" Brenda called again.
"Elizabeth—" Jason pulled her arms off his neck as Sonny threw a life ring out towards them. "Elizabeth, you need to hold onto this."
"J-Jason—" Her voice slurred as her eyes drifted closed. "Y-You, too—"
"You first." He fitted the ring over her. "I love you."
"I love you, too—"
Then Sonny was pulling on the rope, dragging Elizabeth away from Jason, towards the boat. Towards safety.
Jason continued to tread water, but everything hurt and he was so tired. So cold.
"Get—Get Jason," Elizabeth's words were barely audible as Sonny and two of their men dragged her onto the boat. Brenda was sobbing as she frantically pressed gauze to Elizabeth's shoulder and Max swiftly cut through her bindings.
Sonny threw the ring out back into the direction of where he'd last seen Jason, but there was no tug on the line to indicate it had been grabbed.
And by the time they reached the spot where Jason and Elizabeth had been sighted, there was no one.
Sonny sucked in a breath of horror he frantically pushed the light around the surrounding water.
"Jason—where's Jason—" Brenda demanded, scrambling away from Elizabeth. "Jason!" she screamed. "Jason!"
"We—" Sonny sucked in a harsh breath. He traded a look with Max. "How is she?"
"Pulse is thready. Her body core temp is low," Max told him. "And we can't stop the bleeding."
"Jason!" Brenda's scream disappeared in the rough waters of the lake. "Jason!"
"Brenda, we need to get Elizabeth to shore—she needs medical attention—"
"No, no! We can't—" Brenda's breathing was labored and choppy, sobs breaking her speech. "No, I can't leave him in the dark, in the water! Please—please—" She turned back to the water, and for a wild moment, Sonny thought she meant to throw herself overboard.
"Brenda—"
"I'll go in, Boss—" one of the men offered. "Get the boat to the yacht and send it back out. We'll keep looking for him. He must have drifted. I'll find him." The guard, Richie, Sonny struggled to remember, started to shove off his shirt and pants, revealing a wetsuit underneath. "Jason thought we might need to be ready for anything."
"Okay, okay. Go in, Richie. We'll come back for you," Sonny promised, and the guard slipped beneath the waves. Sonny gave the order for the other guard to turn the boat back to the yacht while Sonny turned to the still sobbing Brenda.
"If Elizabeth dies while we're searching for Jason, he'd never forgive me," Sonny said. "He made it clear to me. She comes home."
"I can't stand leaving him in the water. I remember—I remember the accident. I remember hitting the water—" Brenda pressed her hands to her eyes. "I made it out of the car, and I swam for hours. Hours. It was so cold, so dark—I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep. I finally did. I can't leave him here."
"We're not—"
"We are!" Brenda looked back to the spot where Jason had disappeared, where they could just see Richie diving beneath the water. "Promise you won't stop looking until you find him. However you find him."
"I won't," Sonny said, hoping like hell he wouldn't be bringing Elizabeth's husband home in a body bag.
Clinic
Carly bit down on her nail as she watched Elizabeth twist and turn in the small bed, her face flushed. "How bad is the fever?" she asked the doctor who had bandaged and cleaned the gun shot wound.
"High," the man said grimly as he pressed down on Elizabeth's good shoulder to keep her from reopening the wound. "But we'll get it down with the antibiotics." He looked at her. "She was partially lucid when they brought her in, asking for Jason."
"They haven't found him yet," Carly murmured, forcing the words past the lump in her throat. Oh, God, what if they didn't find him? What if he had already drowned—what if she'd never see him again?
She couldn't stand to think of him sinking below the cold, dark waters of the lake. Dying alone. Drowning, desperate for air.
She turned away from Elizabeth and went back into the outside room where Max was pacing, talking into the cell phone.
"Any news?" she asked him, even though she knew the answer. She could see it from his face. "Max?"
"Hey, Mrs. C. One second—okay. Okay." Max closed the phone and slipped it into the pocket of his trousers. His suit jacket had been discarded somewhere, and his dark hair was still damp from being out on the water. "Sonny's on the pier, and Brenda and Richie and the others are still looking."
"It's been—" Carly folded her arms tightly around her upper torso. "It's been an hour. Almost ninety minutes." She'd been counting down since the moment the call had come over the radio that Elizabeth had gone overboard. Sonny had snapped into action and left their car to start the rescue.
Seventy-six minutes.
"The current is strong in the lake, Mrs. C. You know that. We think Jason just got caught up. Part of that current in some areas can bring him closer to the shore," Max assured her. "He might even be on his way home now—"
"I want to be on the docks when Sonny comes back," Carly said. "You can stay here with Elizabeth, can't you? She's—I'm not her favorite person on a good day, but, um—" She rubbed a finger across her bottom lip. "It's my fault."
"How do you figure that?"
"They weren't telling anyone they were married because they knew the PCPD would go after her. She never would have been in lockup if it wasn't for me."
"Mrs. C—" Max stopped. He didn't deny her statement, and somehow, that comforted Carly. "I'll stay here, and have someone drive you down."
Pier 52
Sonny paced from the cargo door of the Corinthos-Morgan warehouse to the pier where the rescue boat had launched, then back again.
Eighty-seven minutes. He, too, had started the count from the moment Jason had gone into the water after Elizabeth. It had taken almost twenty minutes to find them, another twenty to get Elizabeth to shore—
They'd been searching for Jason for almost an hour. He wanted to believe, like Richie and some of the other guards who seemed to understand these things better, that he might get lucky and get swept towards another part of the shore. He had men scouring the all the places Jason could have washed up—
But part of Sonny was terrified that the next time he saw his best friend, his partner, his brother, would be when his body floated to the surface of Lake Ontario.
He picked up the radio. "Any sign?" he demanded. There was a crackling and then an exhausted voice came back.
"No. Not yet. But I'm coming back without him," Brenda said. "Elizabeth?"
"Holding her own. Doc says infection is setting in and so is a fever, but she's on meds. I want Jason next to her when she wakes up."
Brenda was quiet for a moment. "Sonny—"
"I know." He released the button, pressed the radio to his forehead and forced himself to take a deep breath.
"Sonny?"
He turned at the sound of his wife's voice. Carly strode out of the dark, her sweater pulled tightly around her. "What are you—"
"Max is at the clinic. I couldn't stand—" She stared out over the dark water, the lights of Spoon Island barely visible through the fog. "I couldn't stand being there. I was afraid she'd wake up and I'd have to tell her. I can't—" Her voice faltered. "I can't be the one to tell her."
"She was on these docks the night Zander was murdered because of me," Sonny said faintly. Carly frowned at him. "Jason thought she was still being guarded after she left the penthouse, but I reassigned Marco. I didn't realize—"
"Sonny—"
"Jason was right. I was selfish. I didn't care about Elizabeth. I didn't think about who Marco was protecting, even though I could have asked. Weeks when Alcazar could have grabbed her."
"It—it worked out," Carly said weakly. "They went to Vegas—"
"Because I dragged her there and lied to her. Maybe it worked out—but at the end of the day, if I were a better friend—" Sonny stared out over the lake again. "I wouldn't be waiting for his body to be brought back."
Clinic
Elizabeth's throat was scratchy and dry, her eyes almost too heavy to lift—but she forced them open when she realized the man sitting next to her wasn't Jason.
"M-Max?"
"Mrs. M." Max's smile felt forced, even as he squeezed her hand. "Your fever's better. Good. Doc was worried—"
"Where's—" She licked her lips, sweeping her tongue over the cracked and sore skin. "Jason. Where's…"
"Uh, we're, um, trying to answer that question now," Max told her.
"He's—" It came back to her in a rush—the freezing water, the way Jasons' body had trembled under hers as he'd pushed the life belt over her head. He'd been so tired—he'd dragged himself and her towards that boat—
"Max—"
"Don't you worry a bit, okay? Mr. C is out there, and Brenda and the guys—we're not coming home without him. And you know, Jason's like a cat. He's got nine lives, and he's only used like…" Max's voice sped up. "Oh, don't cry. No. We're going to find him."
He'd gone into the water with no wet suit, no life preserver, to save her life, and then had used every ounce of strength to drag her to safety.
She couldn't lay here and wait for someone to tell her was dead.
"I need to—" Elizabeth twisted, reaching for the IV in her arm, tried to drag it out of her wrist with trembling fingers. "I need to go—I need to help—"
"No, no. Jason wouldn't want this, okay? He made Mr. C promise he'd make sure you were safe."
But Elizabeth wasn't listening. She tore the tape off the IV, barely even feeling the sear on her skin, then pulled the needle out. "Clothes. I need clothes."
"Jason is going to kill me," Max muttered as he got to his feet, holding Elizabeth up as she stumbled out of bed.
"What's going on in here?" the doctor demanded as he appeared in the doorway. "What are you doing out of bed? Max—"
"Uh, find me some clothes—" Max said, wrapping an arm around Elizabeth's waist as she swayed.
"She needs to be back in bed—"
"No! No! If you don't take me to the pier, I'll just walk," Elizabeth said, shoving away the doctor's hands. "No—"
"Listen," Max said as Elizabeth stumbled towards a closet, hoping to find clothes, "she means it. I'll go with her, and bring her right back as soon as we know."
"It'll be on your head," the doctor muttered but went to find some sweats to put the patient in.
Pier 52
Ninety-eight minutes since he'd gone into the water.
Ninety-nine.
Then one hundred and five. One hundred and ten.
"She's still out there," Carly said as Sonny finished listening to Brenda's increasingly weak voice say they'd cleared another part of the lake but were going to keep looking. "It's almost two hours."
"She blames herself."
"A lot of that going around." Carly rubbed her arms. "Sonny. It's nearly one in the morning. I—I don't know if—could he still be alive? If he's still in the water—" Her husband turned to look at her. "It's just—it's so cold."
"I can't stop. He wouldn't." Sonny put an arm around her, drawing her into his embrace. "You're freezing. Why don't you—"
"So that you can get the news alone when they find him?" she shook her head. "No. If it's the worst—" She cleared her throat. "No. We'll face it together."
There were footsteps shuffling behind them and they turned to find Max coming out of the darkness, carefully walking just in front of Elizabeth who looked like death warmed over.
"What the—" Carly blinked. "What you are doing here?"
"I couldn't—" Elizabeth took a deep breath as the chill settled into her bones. Oh, God, the water was so cold. She knew Jason didn't always feel the cold but it didn't mean it didn't effect him.
What if he was already—
"I couldn't sit there and wait. I needed—" She winced as she moved her shoulder. "I needed to be here."
"But—"
"You could go," Sonny said, "to the warehouse or something—"
"I'm okay—"
There was a crackling over the radio as Brenda's voice came in. "Sonny? Sonny!"
"I'm here," Sonny said, raising the device to his lips. "What's up? Where are you?"
"We—we found—just—" There was shuffle as Elizabeth's heart began to pound and Carly clenched her hands into fists.
"Sonny?"
Sonny closed his eyes and Elizabeth's knees buckled — because it was Jason's voice, exhausted and faint, crackling over the connection now.
"Hey," Sonny managed. "Hey. She found you."
"We're heading back in, but he wanted to know about Elizabeth—"
"I can do you one better." Sonny held the radio up to Elizabeth's lips.
"Jason?"
"Elizabeth. You're…okay."
Tears stung her eyes as the wind bit into her cheeks. She didn't feel the cold anymore. She took the radio from Sonny with her good hand. "Yeah. Yeah. I'm okay. Are you?"
"….tired…" His voice faded out and Brenda came back on the line.
"He washed up about three miles out. We were right about the currents, but he's tired. He swam a long time. We're trying to keep him awake until we come back—"
"I can help. I can help. Jason."
"…yeah?"
"Remember that winter at my studio? When you were always trying to sleep and I kept you up because I hum and talk to myself?"
She could almost hear the smile in his voice. "Yeah."
"This time I can do it on purpose. Oh, come all ye faithful," her voice warbled and Sonny laughed. Carly pressed her hands to her face as Elizabeth continued to sing off-key and hoarsely to keep Jason awake as Brenda and the guards brought him home.
PCPD: Commissioner's Office
Mac knew—from the battle light in Diane Miller's eyes as the redheaded lawyer sauntered into his office the morning after Elizabeth had disappeared from lock-up—he knew that whatever papers she pulled out of her briefcase would not be good for him.
"Ms. Miller—"
"This—" Diane set the papers down. "This is a proposed order from the district attorney dropping all charges against Elizabeth Webber—her legal name," she added coolly, "as she has not filed paperwork to change it."
"We're still looking for her—"
"If Baldwin declines to drop the charges, this—" She set down a thicker packet of paper next to the first pile. "This will be filed directly with the court, suing the PCPD for negligence and alleging corruption in allowing my client to be dragged and kidnapped from your custody, leading to Luis Alcazar putting a bullet in her shoulder and shoving her, bound and gagged, into Lake Ontario."
Mac shoved to his feet, his stomach dropping as her words sank in. "What—" Elizabeth, shot and nearly drowned? "How—"
"He tried to trade her for Brenda Barrett. You get Ms. Barrett's statement and an interview with Ms. Webber only when the charges are dropped."
Mac hesitated. "She's alive then."
"No thanks to you and the others. You knew she didn't do this, and you arrested her anyway. If you want to close your case in the Smith murder, you'll make sure Baldwin drops these charges. Or I will sue you and Scott personally as well the city and the department for putting my client in danger."
Diane arched her brow when Mac just stared at her. "What will it be, Commissioner?"
Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room
"What are you doing out of bed?" Carly demanded as she stalked down the stairs, finding Jason standing by the desk with Brenda and Sonny. "You nearly drowned—"
Jason frowned at his best friend. "Because I was tired. I slept."
"For five minutes?"
"Until a half hour ago. Six hours is enough for me," he told her patiently. "I'm fine—"
"You—"
"—should be checking on Elizabeth," Brenda interrupted smoothly. "You know, staying with her to make sure she's recovering. The girl dragged herself out that clinic with an infection and fever."
Carly narrowed her eyes, pursed her lips, and took a long look at her nemesis before looking back at Jason. "Okay. Yeah. That. And you can do it by being at home, resting."
"If the two of you are done," Sonny said dryly, "we're waiting on Diane to tell us how things went at the PCPD—"
"Oh, and Jason can't find that out, laying down and taking it easy?" Carly poked Sonny in the chest. "No. You can go tell him—"
Sonny scowled, but before he could respond, the phone on his desk rang. He snatched it up. "Yeah? Yeah. Okay. Thanks. Thanks. Yeah, worth every penny."
"Well?" Brenda demanded when Sonny had hung up. He ignored the women and turned his attention to Jason.
"Mac got Scott to sign off on it. Charges are dropped. It's over," he added. "Zander's murder will probably go down as a cold case, but unofficially, Mac said he's willing to accept Alcazar was behind it."
"That's a relief," Brenda said. "Luis is dead, you and Elizabeth are off the hook," she said to Jason. "So if one of the guards can help me take my stuff back to the cottage, I'll figure out what's next." Her lips twisted. "With what time is left."
"You keep talking about dying," Carly said with a roll of her eyes, "but you barely even seem sick. How do we know you're not just making this up?"
Sonny growled. "Carly!"
"Why would I—" Brenda stared at the blonde virago, her retort ending abruptly. "I never opened the results."
"Brenda?" Jason asked, putting a hand on her shoulders as she pressed her hands to her face. "What's wrong?"
"Before the accident," she said softly. "I never had a chance to open them. Jax said he threw them out. But I had them done again. With Luis. In the beginning. Before—" She closed her eyes. "Before I realized who he was."
"You think he was lying?" Sonny asked.
"Well, of course he was," Carly said, her patience at its absolute end. "Look what he went through to make sure Brenda never had any choices. He came after you and Jax. He tried to kill Elizabeth and Jason so he could get to her—he stalked her—you've been taking his word for it all this time?" she demanded, disgusted. "How stupid are you?"
"Carly—" Jason began.
"No—no—" Brenda shook her head, her voice thick. "No. Don't—she's right. God, she's absolutely right."
"Of course I am. Go take another stupid test with a reputable doctor. Honestly." Carly stomped off towards the stairs. "Do I have to do everything around here?"
Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom
Jason left Sonny to deal with Brenda and getting her back to the cottage, still shaking his head over Carly and her bold, almost offensive ways of getting things done. It hadn't occurred to him that Brenda would have learned about her illness through Alcazar, but trust Carly to see right through it.
"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked as Jason closed the door behind him. She struggled to sit up, wincing as she accidentally put pressure on her shoulder. He hurried over to help her sit up further, then felt her forehead.
"No fever," he said. "But you should be sleeping—"
"I've been sleeping forever. Isn't that what you said when you got dressed? Only one of us spent half the night swimming in the lake," she muttered, but laid back against the pillows. Her skin was still too pale, but he had to admit that she was doing better.
"I took a long swim. You were shot and dumped in the lake—"
"Yeah, I think I liked the first kidnapping better," she decided.
"You're not getting a third to help you decide."
Elizabeth cracked open her eye, one irritated slit of blue glaring at him. "You're not going to try anything stupid like pushing me away again, are you? I will soak you if you try to divorce me. I'll take everything."
He gently smoothed her hair off her forehead, tucking a piece behind her ear. "I'd give it all to you if it meant you were safe," he admitted. "But no," he added when she growled. "No. We settled that in Vegas. You're going to have to doing the walking."
"Okay. Well, at least we don't have to fight about that." She forced her eyes open. "Did you hear from Diane or should I make sure I'm wearing pants in case I get hauled back to jail?"
"Charges are dropped. You—and I—are good. They didn't want the lawsuit."
"Good." She stifled a yawn. "Do you have to go anywhere?"
"No."
"Even better. Take a nap with me."
"A nap?" Jason repeated, even as he kicked off his boots. "I'm not tired—"
"No, but you're comfy and warm, and I need my rest." She tugged him down next to her. "So stop complaining."
Cottage: Living Room
Brenda folded her arms. "It's so weird," she told Elizabeth. "I don't even know what to do with the rest of my life. I was so sure I'd be dead in a few years."
"It's good news," Elizabeth reminded her.
"I know. I just…I have to rethink. I can go back to work. I can have a life again." Brenda bit her lip. "I don't even know where to start." She nodded at Elizabeth who rotated her shoulder and winced. "That looks like it still hurts."
"Yeah, I know, it's been a week but it's still sore. Jason is finally letting me out of his sight again. I convinced him to go to the warehouse." Elizabeth rubbed the spot on her shoulder where the bullet had dug through, grimacing. "Diane dropped off a bunch of paperwork for me. Financial stuff. Name changing."
"Ah." Brenda nodded. "Marriage stuff." She tipped her head. "So you're staying married, then."
"I guess. I don't know. She said Jason didn't ask about any of it, but that Sonny had. So I don't know. We haven't talked about it. We were figuring things out, and then—" Elizabeth looked at her hand, still bare.
"Then you got dumped in the lake and Jason almost died saving your life."
"Yeah." Elizabeth met Brenda's eyes. "I came over to hear about your results, but I also—you kept looking. I know Sonny had given up hope, but you stayed out there. Thank you. For bringing him back."
"He promised me that you and I would get out of this alive," Brenda said softly. "I knew he would have done anything to make that happen. Jason's always taken care of me, even when I didn't want him to. I wasn't going to let him go. And you would have been right there with me if you were able to."
"Still. Jason and I have a chance to figure things out because of you. And—don't you dare tell Sonny this—but if you hadn't started that insane marriage idea, then Sonny wouldn't have dragged me to Vegas. Even with everything that happened—I'm grateful."
"It's kind of romantic if you forget why Jason was at the chapel in the first place," Brenda said. "He looked so pissed when he dragged you through that door."
"Very romantic," she said dryly. "Glaring at me and asking me if I wanted proof or not—"
"But you married him." Brenda tilted her head. "What made you go through with it? I would have jabbed the pen in his eye."
Elizabeth just smiled at her. "Thank you," she said again, getting to her feet. "For bringing Jason home."
"Thank you for showing up in Vegas or I might be Mrs. Jason Morgan right now." Brenda shuddered. "No, thank you."
Morgan Penthouse: Living Room
Elizabeth grinned when she came in and found Jason lining up a shot at the pool table. "Hey. I thought you would still be at work."
"I was, and then Diane asked if you'd signed the papers she dropped off." He set the pool cue on the table and walked over to her. "I didn't know she was going to do that today. I was going to talk to yo first."
"Oh. Yeah." Elizabeth bit her lip. "We haven't really talked about it since before—well, before," she added.
Jason leaned against the desk. "We can just let it sit," he told her. "It's just contracts. I mean, it doesn't change anything—"
"But it would," she said. "If I took your name and you put me on your bank accounts, it would change things. I don't need or want the money—"
"I know—"
"But there's other stuff Diane gave me. Life insurance from the warehouse, survivor's benefits—" She folded her arms. "We can leave it alone and ignore it, but I don't know. Maybe we shouldn't."
Jason was quiet for a minute. "What do you want to do?"
"I went to see Brenda today to thank her for bringing you home." Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck and he parted his legs so that he could hold her against him. "And she asked me why I said yes. Back in Vegas. When you shoved that pen at me."
Jason winced. "I'm sorry—"
"She asked me why," Elizabeth repeated, "but I didn't answer her. Because it's your question to ask. You wanted to prove that you loved me. And I said yes because I believed you. Because of how it happened. I didn't until then."
"That's…" Jason frowned. "You believed me because I was angry and rude?"
"You were angry, rude, almost offensive, and demanding I marry you because I'd been driving you crazy. Yeah." She brushed her lips against hers. "You weren't worrying about me anymore, trying to spare my feelings. Trying to say the right thing. I was terrified you'd regret it later."
"I don't." Jason rested his forehead against hers. "I thought you would."
"I don't, either. It might not have been right for anyone else, but it was perfect for me. I've had the proposal before, I've had the white dress. But Lucky didn't love me. You do."
"I do." Jason kissed her again, then gently pushed her back so he could reach into the top drawer of the desk. "While I was out…" He took out an envelope. "I picked these up."
Elizabeth pursed her lips as she stepped back and slid out the plane tickets. Two round trip tickets to Venice, Italy, leaving in three days. "Italy," she murmured.
"Starting in Venice, but you should see Florence. And Sicily. Naples," he added. "I want to show it to you."
She raised her eyes from the tickets to find him holding out a ring. It wasn't in a box and he wasn't on one knee. It was just a tiny little gold band with a few rubies and diamonds inset, held between his thumb and index finger. "I thought—"
"You wanted to wait to get rings until it was right." Jason straightened and reached for her hand. He slid it on her finger. "Well?" he asked, and he grinned as he said, obviously remembering that he'd said the same thing to her that crazy dawn in Vegas when she'd hesitated and he'd snapped at her.
How different things were now, barely even two weeks later.
Elizabeth smirked, reached behind him for the folder that Diane had left and grabbed a pen, scrawling her name on the only piece of paper that mattered—taking Jason's name and making them a family.
"Does that answer your question?"
Jason framed her face in his hands and kissed her, her smirk disappearing. "Yeah, it does," he whispered against her mouth. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
THE END
Notes:
Hope you enjoyed this! I write Flash Fiction several times a week during the summer and weekly during the academic year. When completed, if I feel like they're good enough, I revise and repost. Check out my site at http://www.crimsonglass.org
Matalala on Chapter 2 Tue 19 Jul 2022 02:57AM UTC
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kkcnelson2002 on Chapter 6 Mon 08 May 2023 08:57PM UTC
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