Inspiration

I’m four months behind on watching General Hospital, so I started my catch-up this morning. I’m back in January, and well, I got inspired. I imagine this might happen a few more times in my quest to get caught up. Might end being a weird little series, lol.

Timeline

Set January 2025. After Willow and Drew’s affair was exposed, she took the kids and went to stay with Nina. Michael has been struggling with what to do in response, not wanting to repeat the mistakes of his childhood. While discussing it with his father, the penthouse was firebombed and Michael was seriously injured. Jason is devastated, and sitting at his side in the burn unit.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth was suspended after the second suspicious digitalis death. Sam and Dex’s families don’t know about the hospital’s investigation, and Elizabeth is keeping quiet for now as the process plays out, confident in her innocence and not wanting to be the one to tell anyone that Sam was murdered.

---

January 2025

Lucas Jones leaned against the wall, cell phone in hand, occasionally glancing up to smile or exchange a greeting with someone who passed. When the hall had cleared, he pressed SEND on the already typed message.

now

The door next to him, leading to the stairwell of General Hospital creaked open and a figure with wide-rimmed dark sunglasses and a knit cap pulled down over her hair slid through the slim opening. Lucas ushered her across the hall to the supply closet, then closed the door behind them.

Elizabeth Webber breathed a sigh of release, whipping off the hat and glasses, and running a hand through her short, chestnut hair. “I hate this,” she muttered, shoving both items into the tote bag she carried over her arm. “Sneaking into the hospital my grandparents built like some kind of damn criminal just—” she huffed, took a deep breath. “I appreciate this, Lucas.”

“I just want it on record that I tried to talk you out of this,” Lucas said to her. “There’s nothing stopping you from waiting until he leaves the hospital—”

“He’s not going to leave, believe me. Not until he knows Michael’s out of danger.” Elizabeth pressed her lips together. “He doesn’t know about the suspension. Or the investigation. The hospital hasn’t turned it over to the PCPD yet.”

“Irresponsible,” Lucas muttered. “Portia—”

“-is following the advice of the hospital attorney. The family doesn’t know what happened to Sam yet, and with what they’re dealing with now, I’m not going to add to that. Look, I’m in and out of the hospital in less than twenty minutes, I promise. If you don’t want to be involved—”

“Too late, I smuggled you in, I might as well make my crime worth it.” Lucas pointed a finger at her. “But don’t you leave this room.”

“I won’t. Cross my heart.”

“All right.” Lucas reached for the door, shook his head again. “I don’t understand how this is worth it, but—”

“You’ll do it anyway, and that’s why you’re my favorite person.”

“Yeah, yeah, well you owe me one. A big one.”

Lucas left Elizabeth in the supply closet, went down one hallway, then another before swiping his pass to get into the burn unit. He made sure to take his time, smiling at the nurses on duty as he passed their station until he was at his nephew’s room.

The plastic curtains distorted the view of the interior, but Michael was visible, still sedated, his body covered in thick bandaging to protect the healing skin. Lucas swallowed hard, remembering the moment in the emergency room when he’d froze, staring down at his sister’s son.

At the little boy his father had once told him would be his new brother. Lucas’s family was an exhausting, tangled complicated web, but never more so now. He knocked against the window, drawing Jason’s attention.

“Is everything okay? Do they need to debride him again?” Jason asked, closing the door softly behind him, though it would have made no difference to Michael in his sedated state.

“No, no, they won’t need to do that for another week or so as new skin begins to grow.” Lucas scratched his ear. “If I ask you to come with me, no questions asked, would you?”

The older man furrowed his brow. “Okay, but—”

“That’s a question,” Lucas interrupted. “I promise,” he said when Jason opened his mouth again. “It will make sense when we get there. Probably.” It wouldn’t, of course, since Elizabeth was toeing the company line and keeping the investigation into Sam McCall and Dex Heller’s deaths to themselves. She wanted to protect her future at the hospital, and sure, to protect the families until there was something to tell them, but it was frustrating to remain quiet.

Jason clearly wanted to argue, but he finally nodded. “All right, fine.” He removed his protective gown, balled it up and discarded it into the trash by the room. “But I don’t want to be gone long. I don’t want Michael to wake up alone.”

“He won’t. Less than fifteen minutes.” He’d drag Elizabeth out of the hospital by the hair if he had to. They’d waited for the shift change so that security guards were clocking out, clocking in, and less attentive at the cameras. But the window to get her in and out was small, and Lucas wasn’t going to let the hospital blame her for one more thing.

He led Jason out of the burn unit, down the hallways until they reached the supply closet. Lucas opened the door and Jason went in— turning around in confusion when he realized where he was, only for Lucas to close the door on him.

—

Jason only had a moment to wonder what the hell Lucas was thinking before he realized he wasn’t alone in the supply closet —

“Elizabeth?” he asked, bewildered. “What’s going on?”

“I tried to call but it kept going to voicemail.” Elizabeth stepped forward, embraced him. “I’m so sorry about Michael. How is he?”

“It’s—” Jason felt some of the tension ease out of his body and he held her just for a minute longer before stepping back. “It’s early. He’s sedated, but there’s still a chance for infection.” He rubbed his face, the long hours at Michael’s side taking their toll. “And we don’t know what his recovery will look like.” He fished his phone out of his pocket—the charge had died a long time ago, and he winced. “I didn’t realize. It’s dead.”

“Well, you’ve been distracted, I’m sure. Danny called Jake, and he left you some messages, too. This…this is just awful, Jason. I’m so sorry.”

“I know—” Jason stopped, frowned. “Wait. Why did Lucas have to come get me? And why—” He looked around them. “Why are we in a supply closet?”

Elizabeth bit her lip, and he looked at her. “If I tell you that I’m not supposed to be here right now and no one can know I am, would you be willing to leave it that?”

He hesitated, then made a face. “I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“Not right now, no. I appreciate that—”

“But as soon as Michael’s out of the woods—”

“I still might not be able to tell you, but as soon as I can, I will.” Elizabeth checked her phone. “I still have a few minutes. Is there anything I can do? Anything that’s outside the hospital?”

“I…could you check in on Danny in the morning? I’m sure he’s fine at the mansion, but—” Jason dragged his hands down his face. “I should go see him myself. It’s just…it’s hard to leave here. Carly and Sonny are with Diane, dealing with Michael’s custody problems—”

“You don’t have to explain yourself. I know what Michael means to you, and I’m sure Danny does, too. Of course I’ll go see him. But please make sure you’re getting some sleep. And something to eat.” She rubbed his shoulder. “Keep your phone charged and call me if you need anything.”

“You, too. As soon as Michael is all right,” Jason told her, “I’m going to come by and ask some questions.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” she replied. “I’ll let you get back to Michael, and I’ll call you when I talk to Danny.”

“Thanks.” He squeezed her hand, then sighed. “And I guess you want me to go ahead of you so we’re not leaving together.”

“Would you mind?”

“I’ll do it, but we’re going to have a long conversation the first chance I get,” Jason warned her. He reached for the door, looked at her. “But thank you for coming.”

“Any time.”

—

Elizabeth had congratulated herself on getting out of the hospital without getting caught. The next day, she’d gone to the Quartermaine mansion, checked in with Danny, and left Jason a message reporting that Danny was all right, though he was worried about his cousin.

She should have known.

Not long after she’d returned from the mansion, there was a knock at the door. And on the other side—

Elizabeth pressed her lips together and took in the worried expression of General Hospital’s chief of staff. “I gather this isn’t a social call, is it? I should call my lawyer—”

Portia Ashford snagged her arm as Elizabeth turned away. “I told you to stay away from the hospital for a reason, Elizabeth. Not because I think you did anything—

“Oh, yeah, definitely my lawyer—”

“I did it to protect you, and damn it, if they found out I was here, I’d be in real trouble.”

Elizabeth hesitated, then looked back, dread curling up her throat. “What happened?”

“Last night. Michael—”

“He’s not dead. He’s not. I would know—” Elizabeth grabbed Portia’s arm. “He’s not—”

“He’s in stable condition. I can’t tell you anything else other than we know there was an attempt made on him last night.” Portia’s expression was grave. “I saw you last night. You were there to see Jason, weren’t you?”

“I—” Her throat was dry. “Portia.”

“I saw you and I said nothing because I knew, but I have to—” Her friend’s eyes watered and voice trembled. “The hospital is turning it over to the PCPD today. The entire file. And if I saw you, someone else might have. Please tell me that you were with someone the entire time.”

Elizabeth’s heart pounded. She wasn’t throwing Lucas under the bus, and even if she did — “Not the whole time.”

“Elizabeth.” Portia waited until Elizabeth looked at her. “You need to call your lawyer. Now. “