December

“When was the last time we did this?” Lucky split the last brownie in half and dropped a piece on Elizabeth’s empty plate. Around them, Kelly’s was quite, partially in shadows. After closing, she and Lucky had cleaned up and then had dinner on their own.

“Oh, probably since before Thanksgiving,” Elizabeth said, her smile fading just a bit when she remembered their last dinner date had ended with the rushed trip to the airport and the humiliating fight in the courtyard. She cleared her throat. “But hey, my last final is this week, , so I’ll be all yours for a month.”

“Just like old times.” He flashed her that grin she’d fallen for first, then popped a piece of brownie in his mouth. “Are you tomorrow? I thought we could take a look at few places. I know you want to be on the bus route so you can get to campus—”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose, sat back in her chair. “Lucky, we’ve talked about this—”

“No, I’ve talked about this, and you keep acting like we didn’t have a plan.” He pushed aside his plate, folded his arms, leaned forward. “When you didn’t get into New York, we sat down, remember?”

“I do—”

“And we looked at our savings — neither of us had pretty much anything. We were going to get housing from your school, and I’d pick up jobs, but we were always planning to live together eventually. You said you’d room with Emily for the first semester because her housing was already paid for. The old man just picked up a phone and pulled a few strings to get you in.”

“I remember all of this. And yeah, that was the plan in June. But I also remember telling you in August that I thought we were better off waiting until next summer to get a place. I’d be able to save up so much more, and you said you were going to pick up some courier jobs with Jason and Sonny.” She lifted her brows. “Did I imagine that conversation, Lucky? Because it sure feels like only one of us was listening.”

“Come on—you can’t really want to be on campus for six more months. That room is so small and you’re sharing a bathroom with half the floor. That’s better than living with me. I’m sorry I don’t rate—I just wish you’d told me you changed the plan.”

“I’m talking to myself obviously because I told you in August. Why can’t you just be okay with this?”

“I don’t know. Because we used to see each other practically every day,” Lucky said. “But now you’re off at college, and you’re never around. You’re always working or in class and you have time for parties—”

“I make time for you, Lucky—I just—” Elizabeth sighed. “Okay, maybe I didn’t make you a priority. I’m sorry. I just—I had so much fun the first few weeks. It was a lot of fun living with Emily, and I didn’t expect that. I think maybe—maybe I want to put off living together until…maybe after graduation—”

“After graduation—” Lucky scowled. “In four years?”

“Well, three and a half—”

“Don’t get technical. We had a plan, Elizabeth. It’s not fair you to just to change it without talking to me.”

“I’m talking to you right now but you’re not listening—”

“Are you nervous about us living together? Because you know…” Lucky reached across the table, took her hand. “You know, I’m okay with waiting however long you need. But if we live together, you might get more comfortable—”

“It’s not about that. It’s not. And I—” She chewed on her lip. “I’m working on that. I want us to be together. All the ways. And you’ve been really great about that. You know how much I appreciate you not pressuring me. But I’m telling you I’m not ready for us to live together and it’s like you can’t hear me.” Her throat was tight and she had to blink back tears. “We fight all the time now. I don’t know. I don’t know what I did to make you so mad.”

“I’m not mad. I just—” He stroked her hand with his thumb. “I miss you. We were basically attached at the hip for over a year. You know? Always together. We slept under docks together and you’ve spent the night at the garage with me a few times. You can trust me to keep waiting.”

“But you’re always so annoyed when I bring up anything about school. Or when I want to do something you don’t agree with — like, that whole thing with Juan—”

“Oh—” Lucky rolled his eyes. “Come on. You know I’m right about him—he’s no one, Elizabeth. He came to town looking for a hand out, and he picked up the richest girl in town. Emily’s naive when it comes to these kinds of things—”

“Emily’s been through so much in her life, Lucky. She’s happy with him. So what if he doesn’t have any money? It’s not like you and I are rich. I didn’t think you were a snob—”

“I’m not. I’m just looking out for Em. When Juan shows his true colors—”

“You’ll be right there to tell you I told you so. Just like the airport thing. It was fixed and no real harm was done, but you just had to make sure everyone knew you’d been against the whole thing. I mean, you were willing to abandon Emily at the airport—”

“I don’t want to get into that—”

“Why? Because you don’t want to talk about how mortifying it was with you berating me in front of Jason—who by the way, doesn’t like Juan either, but he doesn’t make it his whole personality.”

“Yeah, Jason’s great. He saved the day. So what? What does any of this have to do with getting a place or changing the plan so that it’s four years away instead of a few weeks?”

“Here’s a newsflash, Lucky, I get to change the plan when it’s about me. I’m the one who has to live there, too. And I don’t want to live together yet. I want to go to college. I want to stay up late with Emily and be silly. I want to have fun. It took so long for me to get back there, you know? To be light, and happy. To not have—” She closed her eyes. “To not be afraid all the time. I just want to be eighteen and stupid sometimes. I want to help my best friend be in love even if sometimes we do foolish things. And I want the guy who says he loves me to understand that just because I don’t want to live together, it doesn’t mean I don’t love him anymore.”

“I’m sorry if I take it a little personally that everything you want to do has nothing to do with me.” Lucky shoved his chair back. “Fine. Stay with Emily this summer. Whatever. Do what you want.”

He jerked his jacket from the hook by the door and had left the diner before she’d even processed the whole thing.

Shaken, Elizabeth rose and started to clean up. She’d unpack all of this later — and maybe when Lucky had time to cool down, he’d see that she was right.

—

Jason headed into the office, surprised to find Lucky already in there, on the computer just like always. He tossed the work orders on his desk. “Hey. Did I know you were working today?”

“No, I’m just trying to distract myself,” the younger man muttered. “Figured I’d get a head start on the paperwork from yesterday. I was supposed to be looking for apartments today, but that got cancelled.”

Jason heard the petulant tone in his voice and wondered if Lucky had finally started listening to his girlfriend. Jason barely knew Elizabeth, and even he knew Elizabeth and Emily were planning to keep rooming together.

“Hey, can I ask a question? You don’t have to answer, but —” Lucky swirled on the stool. “When you and Robin starting dating, she’d just been diagnosed, right?”

Surprised, Jason nodded. “A few months earlier, yeah. They didn’t get the medication—the protocol—until we were together. But yeah, why?”

“Sex was an issue, wasn’t it?”

Jason stared at him. “Excuse me?”

“I know, I know, it’s none of my business — I just—” He grimaced, looked back at the computer screen. “Emily said she’d told you about that photographer last year. What he did to Elizabeth.”

Jason tensed, the memory flooding back of Emily painfully telling Jason she wanted to be as brave as Elizabeth had been when confronted with her rapist. He hadn’t thought about it much after that — Tom Baker had made a deal, and Jason had made a promise to himself to handle the situation before the asshole would ever see the light of day again. “What does that have to do with Robin?”

“Elizabeth and I—we haven’t—she’s not—”

“Lucky, I really don’t think this is something she’d want you talking about with me,” Jason said, realizing too late where the kid was  going with all of this. “I’m not even sure Emily should have told me, either—”

“Yeah, well, Emily does a lot of things she shouldn’t,” Lucky muttered. “But I think that’s why Elizabeth doesn’t want to live together, and I just—I figured you had that problem with Robin—”

“I am not talking about this with you,” Jason said, heading for the door. He stopped at the threshold, feeling irritated with himself because he liked Elizabeth and the way this idiot was talking, he’d probably say something to put that look in her eye again. “Look, I won’t pretend to know what Elizabeth went through with that—”

“It was awful, but I’m not going to hurt her—”

“I don’t know what she went through. But I do know that she has repeatedly said to me and to anyone who listens that she’s happy rooming with Emily. Did she tell you it was about this…other thing or that she just wanted to be in the dorm?”

“She said it was the dorm—”

“Then do yourself a favor and listen to her. It’s not the end of the world. Robin was away at school a lot, and we were just fin.”

“You broke up with her, though—”

“This conversation is closed,” Jason said. “Listen when she talks Lucky. That’s the end of it.”

—

He put the conversation out of his mind entirely the moment he left the office because he absolutely did not want to be in the middle of Lucky’s romantic issues. He was staying out of everyone’s business, even if Lucky seemed determined to drag him through it.

A few days passed, and Jason forgot about it. Lucky didn’t bring it up again, and Jason was all too happy to send the kid out of town for a few days on a courier assignment, giving him the garage all to himself. He didn’t need to do the volume of business that required him to hire anyone else, and he liked the solitude of working by himself.

So when the door opened, and he heard footsteps, Jason sighed and slid out on the car roller, trying to find the patience to deal with another customer. He rose to his feet, reached for a rag to deal with his oil-stained hands and frowned when Elizabeth came around the corner.

She wore a white jacket, and her hair tucked up in a matching hat. In her hands she held a thick black leather portfolio, and she’d been crying. Jason knew enough about women to recognize the red-rimmed slightly swollen eyes.

“Is Lucky here? He didn’t answer his phone, but I thought—”

“He’s out of town until tomorrow,” Jason said, and she made a face, looked down at the portfolio in her hands. “He didn’t tell you?”

“No, he told me that he’d be around this weekend. He knew—” Her voice was wobbly. “He knew I was getting this back today, and I said I’d come by, but he must have forgotten.” Elizabeth sighed, then looked at him. “I’m sorry. I always seem to be bothering you when you’re working. Was it last minute or—no, I know. You can’t tell me.”

“He knew about it two days ago,” Jason said, and she flinched. “I’m sorry—”

“For what? It’s not your responsibility to tell me Lucky’s schedule or to listen when I talk so I don’t come all the way into town when there’s no reason—” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “Never mind. Never mind. Just forget it.”

“I can take you back to campus—”

“Aren’t you tired of offering to drive me somewhere every time Lucky disappoints me?” Elizabeth asked, looking back with a half smile. “I’m fine. The bus stop is just around the corner—and there’s one in like twenty minutes—”

“Then wait here where it’s warm until it gets here,” Jason said, heading to the sink. He’d use that time convince her, and maybe he’d look into talking to Emily about this. He didn’t like her on the bus all the time, especially when she was upset.

“Um, thanks, I guess. It’s pretty cold out.” Elizabeth set her purse and the portfolio on a nearby table. “Are you…excited for Christmas?”

“What’s to be excited about?” Jason asked, drying his arms off with a towel. “It’s just a day.” He saw her drop her eyes, and felt bad. “I mean, it’s good for other people. But it’ll just me and Sonny. You probably spend it with your family?”

“Yeah. With my grandmother. We used to come out for the holidays every Christmas when I was kid so we could listen to my grandfather read the story. Dad said it was one of his favorite memories of Gramps. I always thought it was weird because Dad didn’t even know Gramps was his father until he came to Port Charles, but it was also kind of nice, you know? That you could make your own family if you wanted to.” Elizabeth made a face. “Sorry — I tend to get going and just ramble. You don’t have to listen,” she added.

“I remember your grandfather a little,” Jason said. “He passed away not long after my accident, but he was one of the few doctors who didn’t…” He paused, squinted. “He didn’t look at me like I was a puzzle to figure out.”

“He really was the best. I miss him all the time this time of year. Anyway, Gram and I will decorate a tree next week, and Emily invited me over for a Christmas party at the Quartermaines, and Laura said I could come to their place. It’s nice to have options—” Elizabeth stopped. “Oh. I forgot. Um, about the Quartermaines. And—” She cleared her throat. “Anyway. I should go. The bus stop—”

“Still have ten minutes,” Jason said, and she sighed, looked at him. “You don’t have to worry. I know Michael’s at the house. I’m glad Emily will be there with him. She’s been the one constant for him.”

“Yeah, she told me she’s his godmother. I’m sorry. Is that why Christmas is so hard?” Her eyes widened. “Never mind. I didn’t ask that. Sorry. I’m always doing that.”

“Yes,” Jason said. “But every day is hard,” he added, and there was a little bit of a release inside when he admitted that. “Like I said, it’s just another day for me.”  He nodded at the portfolio, hoping to change the topic. “What’s that?”

“Oh.” She slid her hand over it. “My project for art class. I…” And her voice faltered. “I passed because I technically completed the requirements, but my professor didn’t like it.”

“Why not?”

Elizabeth jerked a shoulder. “She’s always telling me that I need to push harder and dig deeper, but I don’t know how to do that.” She flipped it open and showed him what was inside. There was a white background with swirls and colors that he couldn’t really make out. “I didn’t think it was that bad.”

“Uh—it’s nice.”

Her cheeks flushed. “Right. Right. That’s what she said.”

Damn it — “No—”

“It’s okay. It’s okay. I think maybe I just have to start facing the fact that I’m not supposed to be an artist. New York didn’t want me and Dr. Watts says I’m not doing enough but maybe that’s her way of saying I don’t have what it takes—” She flipped it shut and headed for the nearby metal trash can. Jason snatched it before she could drop it inside.

“No, wait. Let me explain,” he told her.

“There’s nothing—”

“My accident,” Jason interrupted, and she closed her mouth, frowning. “I can’t always see…things that are abstract. Or—I mean, photographs are okay. Because they’re realistic. But art? It doesn’t make sense to me. A processing thing.” His cheeks warmed, and he handed her back the portfolio. “You could be Van Gogh and I’d never know.”

She studied him for a moment, then nodded. “Oh, that’s fine. Well, it’s — it’s just Lucky playing a guitar.” Elizabeth flipped it open — pointed to a color  “That’s the guitar, and Lucky’s holding it. She said it was nice, technically correct. But—” She wrinkled her nose. “Soulless.”

“Ouch,” Jason said, and then she laughed.

“I guess she’s right. There’s nothing really in this.” Elizabeth studied it. “I drew it from memory. I wanted Lucky to pose for it but we couldn’t get our schedules together, so maybe that’s why it’s like that. She asked why I always did portraits and landscapes, and I told her I didn’t know what else I could do. And she just told me that I should paint me, something inside of me, and —” Elizabeth bit her lip. “I don’t know. There’s too much sometimes, and what if I tried, and she still hated it?”

“What do you have to lose?” Jason asked, and she looked at him, startled. “She doesn’t like what you’re doing now. You might as well try something new.”

“That—” Elizabeth smiled, and some of the sparkle came back in her eyes. “Makes complete sense. You’re right. She’s not impressed with me as it is, I doubt it could get worse. And maybe it won’t. If I never try, the answer is always no. Thank you.”

“Sure. And—” Jason reached for his jacket and keys. “We missed your bus, so now you have no choice but to let me give you a ride back to campus.”

“Fine,” Elizabeth said, but her smile twitched. “Did you do that on purpose so I wouldn’t take the bus? Distract me?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He steered her towards the door, grimacing when he saw through the window that snow had begun to fall, sticking to the streets. “Hold on, I have to grab the keys to the SUV. We can’t take my bike in this.”

“Oh—” Elizabeth looked over at his Harley, inside the garage for protection from the elements. “That’s a shame. I’ve never been on one before.”

“Maybe some other time since we’re making a habit of this,” Jason said, and she laughed, following him out the door.

Written in 63 minutes.

---

Story 2: The Juan of It All

October

Elizabeth counted the tip left at one her tables, wrinkling her nose as she walked back to the counter. “Man, people get cheaper all the time. They’re not even bothering with ten percent, much less fifteen.”

Emily swirled her straw in the vanilla milkshake. “You know, if you want, I could have my brother sit in your section and glare at the cheapskates. I bet that would work—”

“Why don’t I hold off on the intimidation until I get desperate.” Elizabeth slid the tips in her apron and continued her sidework, wrapping utensils in napkins. “You look miserable. Still avoiding the essay?”

“I’ll be avoiding that essay until three hours before it’s due.” Emily sighed. “It’s Juan. We’re trying to call each other three times a week, but it’s not easy with my schedule and his stepdad always breathing down his neck. I just—” She jerked one shoulder. “I miss him—”

“You miss who?” Lucky came through the kitchen entrance, wrapped his arms around Elizabeth’s waist, then kissed her cheek. “Hey,” he said, nuzzling her neck. Elizabeth leaned against him for a minute, then returned the kiss on his cheek. He came around the counter, dropped onto the stool. “Em? Who do you miss?”

“You’ll just make fun of me,” Emily muttered. She sipped her milkshake, and Elizabeth sighed. Neither Lucky nor Nikolas had let up on making sure Emily knew exactly how they felt about Emily’s boyfriend, which was stupid because the guy had been gone for six weeks.

“No, I won’t. Come on—” Lucky nudged her shoulder. “Juan, right? You’re still trying long-distance.”

“Yeah. It’s hard. But let’s talk about something else.” Emily straightened. “Liz, did you get your first art project back yet?”

“Not yet, but I’m really looking forward to it. Dr. Watts is the first, like, real artist to look at my work, and I really want to know what she thinks.” Elizabeth set a soda in front of Lucky. “But I’m also, like, terrified, because what if she hates it?” Her smile faded slightly. “I mean, there’s a reason I didn’t get into New York, right?”

“It’ll be fine,” Lucky assured. “Don’t I tell you all the time how good you are?”

“Well, yeah, and I love that. Really. But—”

“But my opinion doesn’t matter?” he asked, lifting his brows. He picked up the soda. “Used to matter a lot.”

“Of course it matters,” Elizabeth said. “If you hadn’t believed in me, I’d never even be this far. But Dr. Watts has connections, you know? And she’s head of the department. If I could impress her, it would make such a huge difference in my career.”

“You’ll be great.” Lucky turned back to Emily. “I hate seeing you so down all the time. Come on. We should do something Friday night. All of us, like we used to—”

“Oh, I wish I could, but I already told Tammy I’d work,” Elizabeth said.

“And Friday’s my night to call Juan,” Emily added. “But Saturday—”

“I have work at the garage.” Lucky rolled his eyes. “What about three weeks from now?” he asked sarcastically. “Is that enough advance notice? I mean, what’s a guy gotta do to get some time with his girlfriend?” He was smiling as he said, but there was an edge in his voice.

“I’ve been so busy, I know. I’m sorry,” Elizabeth said. “Just getting used to the new classes and everything on campus, juggling work. But we’re already almost halfway through this semester. And we’ll have Thanksgiving break—”

Emily pursed her lips. “About that. Um, what would you say about covering for me if I tell my parents I’m gonna have Thanksgiving dinner with you and stay at your house?”

Elizabeth frowned. “I’d say your parents would be confused because we live ten minutes apart. Why?”

“Oh, you’re not going to do something stupid like run off to Puerto Rico—” Lucky stopped when Emily dropped her eyes. “Em. Come on. He’s not worth it.”

“You don’t even know him—”

“I know enough—Look, you’re just making this harder on yourself than it has to be.”

“Lucky, hey, give her break,” Elizabeth said, a bit startled by how forceful he was being. It wasn’t like him to be so dismissive of someone else’s feelings, especially not Emily’s. “Em, we’ll work on a cover story, okay? Let’s get you to Puerto Rico.”

Emily brightened. “Yeah?”

Lucky scowled. “You’re just making it worse,” he told Elizabeth. “This guy is probably already dating someone else—”

“He’s not! Juan loves me—” Emily said, her eyes hot with indignation. “We talk all the time and he misses me! He’s writing songs about me and he sings them to me—”

“And he’s probably singing them to a thousand girls.” Lucky softened his tone. “I love you, Em. You know that. And I want you to be happy. With someone who deserves you. Not this guy.”

He tossed some money down for his drink. “Look, I gotta get to work. But you need to be realistic, Em. This is only going to end badly if you keep stringing yourself along.”

Emily watched him go, then looked to Elizabeth, her eyes stricken. “Is he right? Do you think Juan is already dating someone else? Maybe the songs aren’t for me—”

“Don’t listen to him. I don’t know what crawled up his butt lately, maybe he’s spending too much time with his dad. You know how cynical Luke is, especially these days with Laura dating Stefan Cassadine.” Elizabeth leaned over the counter. “Listen, I got you, okay? Here’s what we’ll do…”

—

Not too far away from Kelly’s, Jason was giving serious consideration to locking the door to the garage, getting on the bike, and riding out of town without a word to anyone else.

Because maybe then Carly would stay the hell away from him and stop dragging him back into her plans — into her life—

And maybe she wouldn’t be standing here, Michael in her arms, smiling at him like she’d done him a favor.

“I just knew you’d want to see how big he’s getting,” Carly said, shoving the toddler at Jason who fumbled to get hold of the little boy. Michael, nearly two, squirmed and struggled. Jason set him on his feet, then scowled at Carly.

“He doesn’t know me anymore,” he hissed, the pain of that statement—the accuracy—slicing at him. He’d given the little boy up the previous spring, ending their visitation and it had nearly killed him.

It had been the right decision — the only one — and if he could just get Carly to see that —

“No, but I could start showing him your picture and, come on, Jase, don’t—” she grimaced and went to grab Michael before he could get into any trouble. “I was thinking maybe I could come to your place and bring him so that when I finally get out of all this—”

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I said months ago,” Jason said, and her expression only turned more stubborn. “This isn’t going to work. You got a good thing up at the mansion—”

“You hate them—”

“But you like their money,” Jason said, and she rolled her eyes, didn’t deny it. “And Michael—he looks good. Happy,” he said, looking at the little boy he loved so much. “That’s what I wanted for him. So you need to go—”

The door behind them slammed open and Lucky stalked in, stopping when he saw Carly there. “Oh. I can come back—”

“No. No.” Almost grateful for the younger man, Jason waved him forward. “I need to talk to you about something. Carly was leaving. Say goodbye, Carly.”

Carly made a face, then lifted Michael in her arms. “Goodbye, Carly,” she said in a mocking tone, and flounced off.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Lucky said, after the blonde had left. “I thought you said—”

“I did. I got a job for you from Sonny. Come into the office.” Jason jerked his thumb in that direction and headed there, trusting the other man to follow.

“You know, Emily’s still talking to Juan all the time,” Lucky said darkly. “I thought she’d be over it by now.”

Jason looked for the package he’d set aside, only half-listening. “Yeah, I guess I thought she might meet someone on campus. She’s always telling me about some party they’re going to.”

“That’s what I’m talking about! How does she have time to go to class, talk to Juan, and go out all the time! Every time I try to see Elizabeth, she’s got something to do.” Lucky sighed. “Man, maybe I should have gone to college or something, so at least I’d be there with them.”

“What?” Jason tuned back in, frowning. “Maybe next semester.”

“No, we’ll be in our place by then. Just gotta suck it up for now,” Lucky said, taking the package. “But this Juan stuff — you gotta talk to her, man. She’s setting herself up for some real disappointment.”

“I’ll be there if she needs me,” he replied. “Now, here’s what Sonny needs from you.”

November

The night before Thanksgiving, Elizabeth had just completed step one in the GET EMILY TO PUERTO RICO ACTION PLAN, and had headed to Kelly’s to meet Lucky for a long-overdue dinner date.

She dropped into the chair across from him, grinning when she saw he’d already ordered her usual. “Oh, thanks! I’m sorry I’m late, I got hung up—”

“Did you at least remember to put gas in my car this time?” Lucky said, taking the keys from her. “What did you need it for? And do I have any new dents?”

“You back into one measly fire hydrant,” she said with a sigh, then picked up her milkshake. “I had to drop someone off. Anyway, the car is golden, and I am all yours. Just like I promised.”

Lucky smiled, his face lighting up. “I’ve missed this. Just you and me.”

“Me, too. And I really am sorry. I got so carried away these last few months, but, oh, it’s so much more fun than I thought it’d be, you know? I love my classes, well except for Dr. Watts—” her face fell slightly. “But I just know she’ll like the new project I’m working on—”

“I told you not to worry so much about what other people think—”

“It’s not just other—” The bell over the door jingled, and Elizabeth glanced over, her face falling when she recognized the man who’d come in.

Lucky twisted in his seat, and he grimaced. “Oh, damn. I really thought we were done with this.”

“What are you doing here?” Elizabeth lunged from her seat, crossing to where Juan freaking Santiago was standing in Port Charles. “You’re supposed to be in Puerto Rico!”

“I know, but it’s a surprise. Emily will never see it coming—”

“Oh, God—” Lucky hissed. “Elizabeth, please tell me Emily isn’t the person you had to drop off.”

“Um—” Elizabeth looked at Lucky, her eyes wide. “Maybe.”

“Oh, no,” Juan groaned, realizing what must have happened. “She’s on her way to Puerto Rico?”

“See? This is why I told you not to get involved.”

“Yell at me later,” Elizabeth said. “First, we have to get to the airport to stop Emily from getting on that plane—”

“No. No, this is exactly what needs to happen.” Lucky folded his arms. “Emily never thinks before she does anything—and you’re just as bad when you’re trying to help—” He shook his head. “I’m not helping you out of this one.”

“Dude—” Juan frowned, then looked at Elizabeth. “What time is her flight?”

“Ninety minutes, so we still have time. Lucky, if you don’t want to drive us, then just give me your keys—” She held out her hands, but Lucky sat down, picked up his drink. “Lucky, you’ve got to be kidding.”

“I told Emily not to waste her time on this idiot—”

“This idiot came all this way to see her—” Elizabeth wanted to stomp her foot. “Why are you being like this? Emily’s in trouble—”

“This isn’t like when she got blackmailed, Elizabeth. That was trouble—”

“Oh, forget it. I’ll argue with you later.” Elizabeth went around the counter. “I know just who to call. Someone who will actually drop everything when someone’s in trouble, no matter how they got there.”

“You’re trying to make me feel guilty, and it won’t work,” Lucky called.

“You’re not calling him, are you? Because he hates me—”

“He loves his sister more,” Elizabeth said. She dialed a number, waited for the call to connect. “Jason? Hey, it’s Elizabeth. Um, Emily and I have a small problem. I need a ride to the airport. Yes—” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll explain everything when you get here. I’m at Kelly’s.”

—

Jason strode over to the gate where his little sister was waiting patiently for her flight to be called. She sat in one of the seats, flipped through a magazine.

He placed two fingers on the magazine, plucked it out of her hands. “Going somewhere?”

Emily looked at him, guilt flashing on her expression, then it slid into determination and she jumped up. “You can’t stop me! I already bought my ticket!” She jabbed a finger in his face. “And I am eighteen so I can do whatever I want—”

“Seems like a waste of time to go all the way to Puerto Rico when you can just look over there—”

Emily frowned, then turned her head. Her eyes grew comically wide, and she squealed when she spied Juan standing next to Elizabeth by a bank of pay phones. She practically danced over to him. “You’re here! You’re really here!”

Jason just sighed and went to stand next to Elizabeth. He didn’t like Juan Santiago much, but the kid could be worse. And his sister looked so happy — she could probably power an entire small village from the wattage in her smile and light in her eyes.

Elizabeth had her hands clasped together and was practically vibrating with happiness. “We made it! Thank you so much! I thought we’d miss her plane when we got stuff in that traffic—”

“Yeah, it was close.” He folded his arms, looked at her with the glower he usually reserved for work. “Don’t think this gets you out of trouble.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “Please. I saw you smile when Emily saw Juan.” She poked his bicep lightly. “You’re a softy for her, and you know it.”

“I am not,” he argued, but it was tough to keep up the facade when she was sneaking peeks at Emily and Juan, still talking excitedly. Elizabeth continued to grin, and he couldn’t really pretend to be unhappy with her when the only thing she’d cared was taking care of Emily.

“Look how happy she is,” Elizabeth said, putting a hand on his arm, pointing. “You can hate him all you want, but he’s not that bad if he makes her that happy right?”

“I like her being happy,” Jason said with a beleaguered sigh. “But does it have to be with him?”

“You can’t choose who you love,” Elizabeth told him, and he nodded, because of course that was true.

Emily bounced over to them, practically dragging Juan. “Liz! Liz! Oh my God, Juan gets to stay! He’s coming to PCU this spring!”

“Oh my God, that’s amazing!” Elizabeth hugged Emily, then Juan, then beamed at Jason. “Isn’t that the best news?”

“Yeah,” Jason said, then said nothing else. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, then went back to laughing with Emily.

—

“I just need somewhere to stay until my room is ready in January,” Juan said, his hand firmly tucked in Emily’s hand as they walked into Kelly’s courtyard. “You think Tammy will rent to me again?”

“Oh for sure.” Elizabeth rocked back on her heels. “She’s working right now. You guys should go ask her.”

“Come on, I’ll plead your case.” Emily dragged Juan into the diner. “We have a lot to catch up on.”

“Did you have to suggest Kelly’s?” Jason asked, with a wince. “Do you know how much I come in here? How much I’m going to have to see him?”

“Wow, it’s almost like I didn’t take you into consideration at all,” Elizabeth said, her eyes comically wide. “I was just thinking about Emily.” But then she laughed, and he knew she’d realized he was just teasing her. “Listen, this is actually a really good thing,” Elizabeth told him.

“I’m going to need you to expand on that,” Jason said, folding his arms. “How exactly is Juan being back in Port Charles, at PCU, and at Kelly’s a good thing—”

“Juan is what?”

They both turned to see Lucky striding towards them from the parking lot, scowling. “Tell me you’re joking,” he said to Jason. “Juan’s not really back for good—”

“He is, and listen, I know you guys aren’t sold on him, and I get it, but I promise you, this is a good thing—”

“You keep saying that,” Jason said.

“Before it was like Romeo and Juliet, separated by time—”

“That’s not the plot of Romeo and Juliet,” Lucky complained. “Their families hated each other—”

“Oh my God, are you going to correct my Shakespeare? Really? I watched the Leo version until my VHS tape broke. I know my Leo,” Elizabeth said, dismissing Lucky’s complaint. “Juan being in Puerto Rico meant that Emily would just keep making up stories about him in her head, making it harder for her to get over him. But he’s here. And he’ll either make her happy or he won’t. But at least it’s not her just mooning over him anymore. She’ll get to really know him this time. And we’ll see if he’s actually good enough.”

“Let me save you some time. He’s not,” Lucky said flatly, and Elizabeth just made a face. “And you’re just making it worse by egging her on—”

“I’m not—”

“And I told you not to get involved with all of this. Now we’re stuck with Juan. Why can’t you just admit you were wrong?”

Elizabeth frowned. “But I wasn’t—”

“You nearly sent Emily to Puerto Rico on her own for no reason—”

“I didn’t—”

“Jason, come on, tell her, man. You agree with me. You hate Juan. Tell her it was stupid for her to encourage Emily in all of this.”

Elizabeth’s smile had faded and so had all the light from her eyes. She looked at him, and he felt like someone had sucked all the air out of the world. “I didn’t mean for Emily to almost end up down there by herself—”

“It’s not that serious,” Jason said. He looked at Lucky. “It just isn’t. Emily would have just booked a flight home. We could have left a message at the airport down there. You’d have laughed about it later,” he told Elizabeth, and her smile bloomed again.

Lucky scowled. “It must be nice to have money to throw around like that. But some of us have to be realistic—”

“Well, lucky for both of us, I have enough money to send my sister to Puerto Rico every day for the next fifty years if I want,” Jason said, his tone more annoyed than he’d realized. Lucky flinched. “It’s not a big deal. Elizabeth’s right,” he added. “More exposure to Juan will either prove to us that she’s right about him or she’ll get over him faster.” He looked back at her. “I still don’t like him,” he said, hoping she’d see it as another tease.

But she was more subdued. “I’m gonna head back to my grandmother, I guess. Tell Emily I’ll call her tomorrow.”

“I’ll drive you,” Lucky said. “We were supposed to have a date anyway—”

“I’m not in the mood anymore. I’ll just take the bus.” Elizabeth hurried away, and Jason frowned after her, before looking at Lucky.

“Why did you do that?” he asked. He’d been around the two of them for over a year now, and he’d never heard Lucky talk to Elizabeth that way. “What’s your problem?”

“Elizabeth just—she used to be rational. Reasonable. Ever since she started college and is spending all this time there—” Lucky pressed his lips together. “I don’t know. It’s like she’s a different person.”

He went inside the diner, and Jason headed for the street where he knew the bus stop was located.

He found her sitting on the bench, picking at one of her nails. He sat next to her. “I can drop you at your grandmother’s,” Jason offered.

She looked up at him, smiled again, though it was weak and didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s really okay. I don’t mind taking the bus.”

“I mind,” he said. “You spent your entire day racing to my sister’s rescue. Thank you. She’s lucky to have a friend like you. Let me take you home so I don’t worry about you on the bus.”

She smiled again, and now it was a little bit brighter. “Even if I made it easier for her to see Juan?”

“Nobody’s perfect.” He stood, and held out his hand. “Come on.”

“Thanks.” She took his hand, let him pull her to her feet. “I hope you’re wrong about Juan.”

“Me, too.”

A note on structure: Each update for Part 1 of Warning Shots will be like an episodic short story to provide a prequel to the main event. It’ll make sense later, I promise.

Written in 60 minutes.

---

STORY 1: And in the Beginning…

Port Charles, New York

September 1999

It had all started with a letter.

On bright April morning, Elizabeth Webber had rushed to her mailbox, eagerly anticipating acceptance to the New York School of the Visual Arts, Step One on the Lucky & Elizabeth Life Plan, a decorated poster board that held a prominent position on the wall in her bedroom.

Step 1: Get into Art School!
Step 2: Move to New York City!
Step 3: Get Lucky a gig playing guitar in the West Village!
Step 4: Get My First Art Show!
Step 5: Get married in Central Park!
Step 6: Live Happily Ever After!

Each step had been illustrated, and Elizabeth couldn’t wait to check off the very first one—

And then she’d seen the letter.

It was a slim envelope, nothing like the large, thick white ones that rolled in for her older sister Sarah year before or the one her best friend Emily Bowen Quartermaine had been receiving for a few weeks now. Or even the one from Elizabeth’s back up school, PCU.

No, this one could hold nothing more than a single sheet of paper.

She had stood on her step staring at it for a long time, the front door wide open enough that her grandmother’s annoying cat, Gatsby, had escaped, and Audrey Hardy had come to admonish her.

“Elizabeth, what is it—” Audrey had stopped when she saw Elizabeth staring at the letter. “Oh. Have you heard from New York then?”

With trembling fingers, Elizabeth opened the envelope, slid it out —

We regret to inform you…

It had been devastating. Soul crushing. She’d pinned everything on this one hope — they’d even gone to New York City a few weeks earlier to start scouting out their new neighborhood. Lucky wore a subway token around his neck in memory — and now —

She’d cried in her grandmother’s arms, then had gone to the phone to call Lucky. Lucky had been disappointed, but sweet as always. They’d figure out a new plan. No worries. Good thing she’d applied to her back up school, right?

Within a few weeks, Elizabeth had a new plan. Not as carefully or intricately designed — this was more of a paper ripped from a notebook type of thing.

Step 1: Go to PCU.
Step 2: Room with Emily.
Step 3: Graduate.
Step 4: Move to New York.

And now, five months later, Elizabeth was embarking on step two. Emily had convinced that for their first year, they absolutely had to live together in a dorm on campus. It would be the most awesome experience ever. Lucky had been disappointed — he’d been saving for an apartment for them, but Elizabeth had started to warm up to the idea of going to PCU. Especially with Emily. They’d pored over all the orientation materials, gone to all the opening house events —

Today, Elizabeth and Emily were moving into their dorm — Room 314 on the third floor of Barrington Hall, and Elizabeth was driving Emily’s older brother crazy. Not that Jason Morgan would ever admit it — he’d have to talk in order to do that.

“You’re going to be really mad,” she said, a breathless as she came back into the room to see Jason sliding the desk into the spot Elizabeth had just promised was the absolute perfect place.

Jason looked at her, his light blue eyes locked on hers. “No.” Normally, men like Jason made Elizabeth nervous. He wasn’t particularly tall, but everyone towered over Elizabeth’s short height. He was muscular, and Elizabeth knew he could throw a punch. He was Jason Morgan, notoriously mixed up with the local mafia. She’d been at Luke’s the night someone had tried to kill him and snagged Nikolas Cassadine in the throat.

But he was just Jason to her these days, the guy who ran the garage and rented a room above it to Lucky. He was so different around his sister — he even smiled, and even someone happily devoted to her boyfriend like Elizabeth was, could objectively admit he was attractive. Gorgeous. Sexy, actually with light blonde hair always worn with spikes — sometimes she tried to picture him arranging his hair in the morning with gel, and it made her giggle.

But mostly he was just Jason, the guy who would do anything for his little sister. And his little sister’s best friend.

Jason sighed, pressed one thumb to his eyebrow. “Where do you want it?”

“You are the best!” She squealed, actually jumped a little, then darted around him. “I had this vision as I was coming up the stairs — because you know, Em and I are going to be studying but this is going to be like home, too—”

“Elizabeth.”

She broke off, startled because she didn’t think she’d ever heard Jason say her name. Which made sense — how many conversations had they ever had? She bit her lip. “Right. You don’t care why. I promise this is it. We want the beds here—” She gestured by the window. “And then the desk over here—oh, and—” She bent down as if to pick up one end of the desk. “I can help—”

He brushed her hands aside, the callused fingers startling her — Lucky was the only man who’d ever really touched her, and his hands were so much softer. “Thanks, but I can do this quicker by myself.” Then in one light move, he lifted the desk without even exerting himself.

“You’re really the best. I’m so sorry Lucky ditched us. He had to do something with Laura, and well, Emily would have invited Juan—”

Jason looked at her and Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Right. I know. That’s why she didn’t. Plus, um, she didn’t tell you this yet, but I thought I’d warn you. Juan’s step dad is making him go back to Puerto Rico.”

“Warn me?” Jason said, furrowing his brow. He slid the desk into the space she’d indicated, then moved the beds. “Why do I need a warning?”

“Emily’s trying not to be upset about it, you know, but when she told Lucky and Nikolas they practically cheered in her face. They really don’t like him—and I know you don’t either, but she was hurt—”

“I might not like the guy,” Jason said, his tone changing, a bit more serious now. “But my sister does. And until he gives me a good reason to punch him, she doesn’t need to know that.”

“I figured, but you know, I just wanted to protect her.” Elizabeth looked over her shoulder. “Here she comes now. Remember, you don’t know anything, okay? This will be the first you’re hearing about it!”

Jason just shook his head, but nodded, clearly humoring her. Emily came in now, a forced smile on her face. “Oh, you changed it again. I like this so much better.”

“Good, because I have to go. I should have been gone already, but—” Jason looked at Elizabeth, whose cheeks pinked up. He hugged Emily. “Call me if you need anything. I mean it. Don’t make any headlines.”

“I’ll walk you down,” Emily said, wrapping her arm around Jason’s bicep. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

—

Though he didn’t think he’d needed the forewarning, Jason was glad Elizabeth had previewed Emily’s news for him. He hadn’t cared for Juan Santiago the minute the little bastard had rolled into town over the summer, but Emily had hearts in her eyes almost immediately. Her first real boyfriend was leaving abruptly, and she’d probably never see him again. She’d been hesitant about sharing the news, prefacing it with —

“I know you don’t like so you’re probably glad—” she’d said with a heavy sigh.

“I care about you,” Jason told her, and had hugged her, reminding her again to call him with anything she needed. He knew Emily could take care of herself — and he was glad she was going to be with Elizabeth. He’d seen her around this last year and knew Elizabeth was tougher than she looked.

He left the campus and headed downtown to the garage he’d opened two years earlier. He left  his motorcycle parked in the usual spot, and went inside to the office where Lucky Spencer was tapping away at something on the garage’s ancient computer.

Jason had snagged the mail on his way in and didn’t notice the younger man until he was almost on top of him. He furrowed his brow. “I thought you had something to do today.”

“I finished an hour ago, thought I’d get a head start on logging the new inventory.” Lucky looked over at him. “They get moved in okay?”

“Yeah, all set.” He tossed aside the junk, set the bills on his desk. He didn’t really care that Lucky hadn’t shown up to help move the girls in — Jason could have done it in twenty minutes if Elizabeth hadn’t kept changing her mind on the set up. But it was the first time either had lived on their own, and he wanted his sister to be happy.

But Elizabeth had spent the first half hour apologizing over and over again for Lucky not being there — it had been an emergency, and Lucky said he’d try to hurry up because he hadn’t seen their dorm yet — and yet here he sat, no emergency in sight.

“I wanted to run something by you,” Lucky said twisting on his stool. “Going back to courier jobs.”

Jason grimaced. “Lucky—”

“I know you didn’t get me involved again after you, uh, left the last time,” Lucky said quickly, “and I was supposed to be leaving for New York so it was no big deal. But we’re stuck in Port Charles now, and we’re not going to have the money we thought we’d have for an apartment. That’s why Elizabeth is stuck on campus this semester—”

Jason frowned, looked at him. He knew all about semesters from Robin — this one would end in December. “Just this semester?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m saving up for the security deposit for us to get a place together. That was the plan in New York, but we had to put it on the back burner.”

That wasn’t the impression Jason had gotten, moving pieces around the room a thousand times until Elizabeth had been sure it was comfortable — it was going to be their home away from home, she’d told him, hadn’t she?

But it wasn’t any of his business, so he just shrugged. “So you want some courier work again?”

“Yeah. Just something extra. I can do it—”

“I don’t doubt that. I just—I figured—” Jason shook his head. He wasn’t going to tell Lucky Spencer about getting involved with him and Sonny wasn’t a great idea. Lucky had grown up at Luke’s feet. The kid had been raised inside the life. If he wanted to make stupid choices — “I’ll talk to Sonny.”

“Great. Thanks. This whole thing is just a bump in the road. Elizabeth being stuck at PCU. Maybe she can transfer after a year or something, and we can go to New York. Just as long as we’re together.” Lucky gathered up the things at his desk. “I’m gonna head over to my mom’s and see Lu. If Elizabeth stops by or calls, let her know.”

Jason opened his mouth, then closed it. Lucky had supposedly been with his mother all morning — but it wasn’t any of his business.

Jason was done minding the business of other people. After ending things with Robin and losing custody of Michael earlier that spring, all he wanted to do was stay in his own lane and stay far away from anyone else’s problems.

—

A few days later, Jason was stretched out underneath a Honda with a leaking oil pan. He heard the outside door open, and then a pair of legs appeared in his view. Long, slender, and bare — at least from the calf to the ankle. The toes were painted a bright pink and encased in a pair of sandals with at least two inches of platform underneath them.

“Hello?”

Jason slid out from the car and Elizabeth danced back, not having seen him. She had a messenger bag slung diagonally across her chest, over a white shirt. The legs weren’t completely bare — she wore a pair of cropped jeans that stopped just below her knees.

“Hey! Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you. I’m supposed to be meeting Lucky here.” She checked her watch. “He told me to just come in and grab him because he’d be in the office.”

“Lucky’s not working today. I don’t know where he is.”

“Oh.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “That’s annoying. And he refuses to get a phone, you know? Gram made me get the one second she found out I was going to be on campus.” She removed it now from a pocket on her bag, flipped it open. “Maybe I messed up the message. He’s been impossible to get a hold of the last few days.”

Maybe Sonny had called Lucky directly and hooked the kid up with a job, Jason thought, though he didn’t really know how say that to Elizabeth. She’d known Lucky was working for him the year before, but Jason didn’t think it was his place to mention it now.

Jason frowned. “You don’t have a car,” he remembered, and she looked at him with some surprise. “Emily said you take the bus,” he added. “You won’t even borrow her car.”

“Well, no, have you seen it? It’s brand new. I can’t park to save my life. Gram and Lucky won’t let me borrow theirs either.” She rolled her eyes. “How am I supposed to get better, I ask you? But whatever. No, I take the bus everywhere. It’s pretty reliable.” She fished into another pocket, waved the PC Bus schedule at him. “I’ll just leave a message at his mom’s and you tell him I was here, then I’ll head back to school, I guess.”

Jason didn’t know why it bothered him — except now he remembered hearing Lucky make the plans with Elizabeth that morning on the phone in the office. She hadn’t messed them up — he had.

But he wasn’t going to tell her that and cause problems. No one else’s business but his own, he reminded himself.

Elizabeth started for the door, then turned back. “Since I ran into you, thanks again for putting up with me the day we moved in. It was really nice of you not to just dump everything in the first place I pointed to. I know I was super annoying—” Her cheeks flushed, the color spreading down her neck. “But I’m pretty sure Emily went to PCU because I did. She could have gone lots of places, you know? But she picked PCU so we could do it together, and I really wanted it to be perfect. The dorm room is gonna be like —”

“Home,” Jason finished and she lit up, her eyes sparkling.

“Exactly! And it’s the first one I’ve ever really had that I get to sort of do my own thing in. It’s just ours. And maybe next year, we could do suite apartment thing so we could—” She stopped. “Anyway, like I said, it was really nice of you. And whatever you said to Emily about Juan, she felt so much better. It’s really cool of you not to make not liking him her problem. She’s lucky to have you.”

“She’s my sister,” Jason said as if that said everything and she wrinkled her nose.

“It should be that simple, right? But it’s not all the time. Family is—well, they can be the worst. Anyway, Lucky called him a loser, and it made her cry. I didn’t tell you that then but—I don’t even know why I’m telling you now except it made mad because we’re supposed to be a family, too, of sorts. Me, Em, Lucky, Nikolas—we made a pact—” She shrugged. “Anyway. It bothered me. And just because it’s the right thing to do, it doesn’t mean you doing it should go unnoticed.”

“Thanks,” Jason said, feeling a little like a heel staying quite about Lucky being the one to screw up her plans. “Listen, I’m about done here for the day. I can run you back to campus so you don’t have to deal with the bus.”

“Oh, thanks, but I’m gonna stop by my grandmother’s anyway. Thanks. Tell Lucky I was here when you see him!” She tossed him a wave over her shoulders, and he watched her leave.