Author Archives: Melissa

July 13, 2021

Hey, just popping in to let you know that I won’t be updating today. I have blood work scheduled for 8:30, and I’m fasting so I’ll be starving when it’s over, lol, so I probably won’t be able to get to it when I come back because I have other things to get done today.

I’ll be back tomorrow for Signs of Life!

Meanwhile, I’ve been working on the Facelift, and all 2003 stories have been organized chronologically on Alternate History and their story pages have been updated. 2002/2003 stories are pretty much half of everything I’ve written. Have you read them all?

This entry is part 11 of 41 in the Flash Fiction: Signs of Life

Written in 61 minutes.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

She was hallucinating. That was the only explanation for what Elizabeth had just heard.

If we were married, we couldn’t testify against each other.

“Can you—” She stepped back from him, desperately needing a bit of space. Her head was spinning and she couldn’t make sense of anything. He hadn’t really—

Had he?

She made a little circle with her finger. “Can you repeat that?”

“I talked to Alexis,” Jason said, “and she said that the best way to handle this was to make sure you couldn’t be forced to testify against me — and to damage Carly’s credibility in court.”

“Does she have any credibility to start with?” Elizabeth asked doubtfully. “Can’t I just refuse—”

“You could,” he said slowly, “but if Carly walks into the PCPD and says she knows I was shot, that she knows it happened the same night Moreno went missing, and that you were hiding me in the studio, Taggert is going to take her over every single detail. He’s going to be looking for leverage.”

“And the fact that I brought you pain medication is something you think Carly might remember.”

“Maybe. Elizabeth—”

“If they charge you—”

“Are they going to do that on Carly’s word?” she said doubtfully. “Carly’s spent time in a mental institution—”

“And if she were making this statement against anyone else, I’d agree with you. But this is the PCPD—”

“And they hate you. They’ll use anything.” On a shaky sigh, she rubbed her forehead. Well, she’d asked Jason for all their options.  “I guess we can’t really make Carly disappear because  that would probably solve a few problems.” When he grimaced, she added, “That was a joke. Mostly.”

“I told you, Elizabeth, this wasn’t something I was even going to suggest. It asks too much—”

“Of both of us,” she cut in. “Don’t pretend like this isn’t something that would just be on me.  A week ago, we were just friends. We were just figuring out what this is, and now—”

Now, they were putting gasoline on their relationship and lighting the match. It was like skipping a year of dating—

“If either of us leaves Port Charles,” she murmured, “it would be harder to come back. If I left, Carly would still be harassing you about leaving town with her.”

“That would be my problem—”

“But it wouldn’t solve anything. Carly could still throw me under the bus—and worse, she might go after Bobbie without me here. I can’t let that happen, Jason. I went to Bobbie and asked for help. I didn’t do a good enough job of hiding my tracks. I led Carly right to you.” She wrinkled her nose. “And Nikolas. And my grandmother. Everyone knows about you being here because of them.”

“I could have let Sonny help me. Or moved to a safe house after a day or two. You saved my life, Elizabeth. I’m not going to let you get in trouble for doing it—”

“And I made the choice to do it. I came back to the boxcar because I knew you weren’t going to let Sonny help. You hadn’t gone to him in the first place for a reason.” She folded her arms. “If one of us leaves, it doesn’t solve anything. Does…does getting—” Oh, Gd, if she couldn’t say the word, how was she supposed to actually go through with it— “Does getting married help you with Sorel?”

Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “We need to get you off his radar. There’d be a certain level of protection if you—I mean—” He hesitated. “It’s not a guarantee, and things are up in the air. He’s trying to take over for Moreno, but not everyone agrees he should be the next guy in charge.”

“Right, but it wouldn’t hurt.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Do you see another way out of this, Jason?”

“We could wait to see if Carly is bluffing—”

“But you said Alexis wanted to damage her credibility,” Elizabeth pointed out. “If we do it before she goes to the PCPD, that’s what makes it look like she’s just…you know, jealous or whatever. Doing it later makes it look like a cover-up.”

“I know.” He looked away, then shook his head. “No. If the goal is minimize the danger to everyone from Carly and Sorel, then this might be the best choice.”

“Okay. Then that—” She swallowed hard. “That settles it, right? Um, we’ll get married and then see what happens.”

Had she really said that out loud? Was this really her life?

“Are you sure?” He reached for her hands, drew her closer to him.

“I think so. I guess—I mean, it’s not like a lot of things would change, right? We’ve been mostly living together for the last six weeks,” she reminded him. “I was gonna stay here anyway. The PCPD and Carly already hate me. My family hates you. I mean, honestly, the only thing that changes is that it’ll take more paperwork to…” To walk away from each other but she did not want to bring that up right now.

“Yeah, I guess when you put it that way—” Jason looked down at her hands. He turned one of her palms over and traced the lines with the tips of her finger. “It doesn’t change what we talked about last night, Elizabeth. It’s just paperwork. Nothing between us has to change.”

She had a feeling that even he didn’t believe it when he said it, but she nodded. “I know. So, um, what’s next?”

“What’s next is that I tell Sonny and Alexis. Better to get it done as soon as we can,” he said.  “We could to Vegas or something—”

“We could. Or, um, I think there’s only a twenty-four waiting period in New York. Emily told me that when she and Juan were separated last fall—”

“Oh, man—”

“Yeah, she definitely thought if she and Juan got married, he’d get to stay in New York—she didn’t do it, but—” She cleared her throat. “We could get a license tomorrow. Has Carly asked you again about getting her out of town?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Why?”

“Because if she only asked you once, she’ll probably try one more time before she goes nuclear. We probably have a few days, I mean. And—and we don’t want this to look like a cover-up.”

“Right. That’s—” Jason nodded, a bit surprised. “That’s a good point.”

“So if we take a few days to do it here in Port Charles, it’ll give the PCPD one less thing to argue about.” Elizabeth smiled nervously at him. “You keep being surprised when I’m not an idiot. I don’t know whether to be insulted or—”

“No. It’s not that—I just—” Jason paused, clearly searching for the right words. “You understand all of this more than a lot of people who’ve been in this longer,” he said finally. “I know how smart you are, but your instincts for handling the cops, for last night—and this—I just didn’t expect it.”

“Oh.” Ridiculously pleased, her smile widened. “Well, I’m glad a lifetime of constantly getting into trouble has finally started to pay off.”

“I’m just happy to have you on my side.” He leaned down to brush his lips against hers. “I better go tell Sonny I’m staying in Port Charles.”

“Thank you,” she said as he drew back. “For trusting me enough to do this.”

Jason started towards the door, then turned back to her. “I didn’t want to go, Elizabeth. I just—I didn’t think I had a choice.”

She watched him leave, then sighed. No, maybe he hadn’t wanted to go but he’d certainly settled on that option easily. She’d talked him out of it, but she would have to remember that  staying with her hadn’t been all that important to him either.

They might be signing some paperwork that made them a team, but Elizabeth wouldn’t make the mistake of thinking that it meant any more than that.

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

Sonny raised his brows when Jason strode in. “I thought you’d be spending tonight with Elizabeth,” he said. “Since you’re leaving in the morning—”

“It turns out,” Jason said, “there was another option. Do you know any judges that will waive the twenty-four hour waiting period for a marriage license?”

Quartermaine Mansion: Bathroom

Carly squeezed her eyes shut, avoiding the sight of the little plastic stick on the counter. It was going to be negative. It had to be negative.

There was no way in hell she’d be able to hide this from AJ. They hadn’t slept together in months, and while she was pretty sure she could seduce him, he’d be suspicious as hell if she popped up pregnant.

So she wasn’t pregnant. It was going to be negative.

She would just have to manifest it into reality. Negative, negative, negative—

Her watch beeped, and Carly opened her eyes to see the double lines.

Damn it.

Carly dragged her hands through her hair. Okay. Okay. She could handle this. She could do this. She’d make Jason get her out of town, and then she’d seduce him right away. As long as this kid came out looking like her and not Sonny Corinthos, she still had a prayer of this working.

She would just have to remind Jason just what was at stake. Clearly, he hadn’t taken her seriously so she’d have to make him.

If AJ found out she’d cheated, she’d lose everything.

January 2, 2000

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Unlike the previous morning, Elizabeth woke up on her own side of the bed, curled up on her side with Jason next to her.

In the studio, once he’d started to feel better, he’d rarely slept and had always seemed to be awake before her.

But this morning, he was still asleep—stretched out on his stomach, his arms partially hidden by the pillow.

Would she feel more comfortable with all of this if their relationship was more than four days old? Or would it be worse? If they’d been together for months, and then were suddenly married. Would it feel like more pressure?

Maybe it would be easier if they were sleeping together. Wasn’t some of the tension Elizabeth felt inside of her? Being around Jason, knowing he cared for her and wanted to be with her—it was making it hard to concentrate sometimes. Her stomach always felt like it was on a roller coaster, and it could be difficult to breathe.

What if she never felt ready? What if she did try and the worst happened—what if he was on top of her and she was shoved back to that moment, of feeling the bitterly cold and hard dirt beneath her, the scrape of rock against her back and shoulders—

She swallowed a sob, turning over to bury her face in the pillow. God, would it ever go away? Would it ever fade into a dim memory?

Was she ever going to be able to be normal? Would this insanity with Jason be the only marriage she’d ever have? She’d never thought about kids but maybe she’d want to be a mother one day. What if she could never learn to like sex? Would she have to grit and

bear it so she could have a family?

What if sex always hurt and she always felt like she was being ripped apart—

“Elizabeth?”

She heard the rustling of sheets behind her, but Elizabeth kept her face in the pillow. Her breathing was shallow and fast—she’d walked herself right into a panic attack.

“Hey—” Jason touched her shoulder lightly.

She jerked into a sitting position, her lungs starting to burn. Elizabeth twisted, sliding her legs off the bed. “I’m okay,” she choked out. “I just—sometimes—” She squeezed her eyes shut. Count to ten. Count to ten.

You’re not in the park. It’s not happening. It’s not real. You’re safe.

The pressure finally eased and Elizabeth could finally take a full breath. Her cheeks were flaming when she turned to look at Jason, his face creased in worry. “Sometimes,” she said softly, her voice hoarse, “I get panic attacks. From nothing.”

“From nothing?” he echoed.

She scrubbed her hands over her face. “No, I guess not. I start to think too loud, and my brain goes in directions I don’t want it to. I usually stop it, but, um, I can’t always.” She forced a smile. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize. What can I do? Do I leave you alone? Can I help?”

Her eyes stung with tears. “Not really. Um, it’s just—it’s me. I have a lot of anxiety. I didn’t used to,” she remembered with regret. “I mean, not like this. I hated a lot about my life, but I was always able to roll with the punches. Most of the time. It’s just—I think there’s a part of me that’s always—” She faltered. “It’s always going to be locked in that night. I’ll always be in the bushes and I can’t get out.”

“But you did.”

Elizabeth met his eyes. “I know. But I told you the other night. I don’t know what’s going to trigger it. It’ll be something that makes sense — bumping into someone — or it’ll be me just laying in bed here, thinking about something else, and bam—it’s happening again.” She sighed. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I was damaged.”

He didn’t argue with her, not like he had the last time she’d said it to him. “Is this because of last night? Because of what we talked about—”

“Yes. And no. I don’t know.” She got to her feet. “I don’t really want to talk about it. I’m not changing my mind, so it doesn’t matter.”

“It does,” Jason said, “but we don’t have to talk about it.”

“No, we have a lot to do if we’re getting married tomorrow.” She managed to say it without stuttering over the words, but it still sounded insane to her ears.

Was she really marrying Jason Morgan in twenty-four hours?

This entry is part 6 of 25 in the Flash Fiction: Scars

Written in 50 minutes.

General Hospital: Hallway

Cameron had nearly made it to the service stairs before Emma snagged his elbow and made him stop. “Hey, Cam. Come on—”

“I just really want to be alone right now, okay?” Cameron said, jerking out of her grasp. When her pretty face crumpled with hurt, he hissed. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I just—I don’t know what you want from me, okay?”

“I don’t want anything, Cam, I just—” She bit her lip. “I want you to be okay. I shouldn’t have told you—”

“No, you shouldn’t have. I don’t want to know this. I don’t want to think about what my mom—” His chest felt six sizes too small. “I’ve seen this happen on TV, you know, and I can’t stop—”

“It was so long ago, Cam—”

“It doesn’t matter. I just keep seeing her in my head, crying. She cried all the time when Jake was gone, and now I—” He closed his eyes. “Just leave me alone.”

“Cam—”

He shoved open the door to the stairwell, and this time, Emma didn’t follow.

General Hospital: Hub

Elizabeth knew even before Laura reached her why she was here. As her mother-in-law approached the counter, Elizabeth put up a hand. “Before you start, I’m fine.”

“I wasn’t—” Laura winced. “Okay, I was a little,” she admitted. “But I’ve been worried—”

“You and Patrick. And Robin. And Jason. I guess I should be relieved you’re really the only people left that know.” She felt a twist of grief for Emily and for the boy Lucky had been once. For her grandmother. Elizabeth turned back to the monitor and kept updating charts. “I freaked out yesterday. I know it upset everyone. It scared me. But once I got home, and I was with my boys, I remembered something very important.”

“What’s that?”

Elizabeth met Laura’s eyes. “That sixteen-year-old girl crawled out of the bushes a long time ago. I worked damn hard to put it behind me.”

“I know you did, Elizabeth, but—”

“I wasn’t prepared to see him. That’s all. I can handle this, Laura. I refuse to let him take over my life. Not again. Never again,” Elizabeth said, her teeth clenched. “For nearly a year, it consumed my every waking thought. I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t look at anyone in the eye. I saw the man who raped me in the face of every man I came into contact with. I couldn’t see a future for myself where I would be able to let anyone touch me.” Her breath hitched. “That’s not me anymore. I have three gorgeous, perfect boys who are a miracle. I have a husband who loves me. I have another baby to dream for. There is no room in my life for Tom Baker and what he put me through.”

“Okay.” Laura stepped back. “Then we’ll let that be the end of it. I love you, Elizabeth. Without you these last few years, without your family, I would  have been lost.” She reached forward, squeezed Elizabeth’s hand. “If you need me, I’m here. I just wanted to make that clear.”

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t even get a chance to congratulate you on the baby,” Laura continued. “I’m so excited for you. Both of you. I hope you don’t mind if I cross my fingers for a girl.”

“A daughter would be nice,” Elizabeth admitted, “but I just want a healthy baby that Jason and I can enjoy together.” She paused. “I have to get back to work.”

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

Jordan heard his voice before she saw the man, so by the time DEA Agent Marcus Taggert strode in, she was on her feet and ready. She’d already heard his angry message the night before.

“Before you say anything,” she began, “it’s really not my job to inform former PCPD officers of parole releases. The department did everything by the book on this Baker thing—”

“By the book?” Taggert demanded. “I called Laura Spencer. She said Elizabeth came face to face with the bastard—”

“He wasn’t convicted of a violent felony against her. We weren’t legally obligated to notify her,” Jordan continued. “Like it or not, Marcus, this is our system. If you’d been here, maybe if Mac had still been in charge—things would be different. There’s been a lot of turnover since you left.”

Taggert growled. “A violent rapist gets released—”

“He wasn’t convicted of rape, and—” Jordan reached for the file. “I know what the Webber statement says, but sure are you that Baker was the guy? I don’t see much of an investigation—”

“Are you telling me I screwed up her case? He confessed—”

“To a terrified, traumatized teenaged girl he was trying to keep under control,” Jordan said. “I called Mac after I looked at the file. He told you that eighteen years ago. No DNA, no case. He wasn’t convicted of this, Marcus. And without you here leading the charge, no one knew.”

Taggert exhaled slowly. “She was traumatized,” he remembered his voice quiet now. “Desperate. Came in over and over again with any scrap she could remember. I dragged her in for line ups, for questioning again—there was never anywhere to go with her case. I tried, Jordan—”

“I know. You followed the leads, but it was a stranger rape, and unfortunately, she did everything wrong—” She winced. “That seems like I’m judging her, I’m not. She did what she needed to for her own sanity. It just limited the investigation.”

“I know. She really beat herself up about that.” Taggert dropped into the seat, the rage extinguished. “I keep attacking everyone but the bastard who did this,” he muttered. “Portia nearly ripped me a new asshole—”

“Yeah, well if you call as often as you did when we worked together, she probably had a reason. No one wanted Elizabeth Morgan to be blindsided like this. I promise you.”

“He’s working at the hospital?” Taggert wanted to know. He straightened in the chair. “Who put him there? The parole officer?”

“I don’t know—”

“Because if he applied for that job on his own—Elizabeth isn’t someone who flies under the radar. I bet the whole town knows where she works,” he continued.

“He’d have to be suicidal to go after Elizabeth again. Marcus—she’s married to the number two guy in the Port Charles mafia. Morgan might look domesticated,” Jordan continued, “but he’s the suspect in three open homicide cases in the last five years.”

“Yeah, how close are you to making those cases?”

“They’re dead in the water,” Jordan muttered. “He’s good at what he does. All of them were low level operatives who were biting at the territory.” She pursed her lips. “I’m trying to get surveillance on him approved based on this Baker thing.”

“Jordan—”

“I don’t care if Baker is the scum of the Earth. He’s a citizen that I’ve sworn an oath to protect. He did his time. That’s the system,” she repeated to him. “You don’t have to like it, but we will sure as hell respect it. If Baker goes missing, I want eyes on Jason Morgan. I’m going to nail his ass to the wall.”

Taggert snorted as he rose to his feet. “And then you’ll take Corinthos down with him. Good luck, Jordan. Why the hell do you think I transferred out? I got tired of beating my head against a brick wall. Good luck with that.”

Morgan House: Kitchen

Cameron slunk into the back door a few hours later, stopping short when he saw his mother at the stove. “I thought you were at work.”

She smiled at him. “No. I had the early shift today, so I thought we’d heat up some pasta from last night—” Elizabeth tipped her head. “Your brothers are in the living room playing video games. As usual.”

“I’m fine.” He dropped the bookbag on the table and went to the fridge to get a can of pop.

“I saw Emma at the hospital,” Elizabeth continued as she took out a bag of rolls and started to prep garlic bread. “You didn’t volunteer?”

“I went, but I didn’t feel like it.” Cameron took a long sip of his drink. “Trina and Joss were arguing again.”

“Ah, the blue hair thing?”

“Yeah. I didn’t wanna listen.” He stared at the butcher block surface of the counter. “Mom.”

“Yeah, baby?”

He’d asked her ages ago to stop calling him that, but today—today he couldn’t be irritated by it. “Mom,” he said again.

Elizabeth set down the shaker of garlic powder and focused on him. “Cameron, what’s wrong? I can tell something this—”

“Emma heard her parents talking.” He took a deep breath. “The other night. She told me—” His eyes burned and his throat felt too small to speak. “She told me you—you were—”

His mother’s face was pale. “She told you what happened to me. When I was a kid.”

“Yeah.” He sucked in the breath. “That you were raped.” He found the courage to meet his mother’s eyes. “She’s not lying, is she?”

“No. She’s not.” Elizabeth exhaled slowly. “When I was sixteen,” she began quietly, “I was walking in the park after dark. I sat on a bench, and a man grabbed me. He hurt me. For a long time, it was hard to be okay.”

“But you are now.”

“I am now. I worked very hard to be okay, Cam. Because I wanted my life to be my own again. I didn’t want to think about it anymore. So I got past it, and I had my boys. I built a life that has nothing to do with any of it.”

Cameron took that in, squinted at his mother. She was a good liar, but he could usually tell when she was pretending. She didn’t seem to be now. “Can I—can I ask you questions? I mean—”

“You can ask. I might not answer.”

He furrowed his brow. “Did they catch who did it?”

“They did, but there wasn’t enough evidence. He went to jail for something else.”

“Oh.” Well, at least he’d gone to jail. “Did—I mean, did you know Dad back then? Did he help?”

“Later, he was important. He helped me in other ways. But, no, at first it was just your grandma Audrey and—” She sighed. “Lucky. He became my best friend and took care of me.”

“You said he was different before the fire. He got hurt and his  head was messed up.”

“Yeah, he was a very sweet boy who kept me sane for that first year,” Elizabeth remembered. “I loved him very much, and when I thought he was dead, I didn’t think I would survive it. I was just a little older than you. Then, I met your dad. Between the two of them, I knew I’d be okay.”

“What about my biological dad? The one that—” He gestured weakly.

“Zander? He came later. He was a friend for a while, but by that time, I had mostly put it in my past. Cameron, baby, I’m so sorry you found out this way. It’s part of my history, but it isn’t a story we need to tell.”

“I guess not. It’s just—you know, I see it on television and the movies, and it was just hard because I kept seeing you,” Cameron continued, “and I didn’t like thinking of you being hurt like that, you know?”

“I know.”

He felt better now, talking it through with his mother. “Thanks. For letting me ask questions.” Cameron paused. “But you’re really okay now? I mean, it doesn’t bother you anymore?”

Elizabeth opened her mouth, then closed it. “Most of the time, I don’t think about it. In fact, before this week, I couldn’t tell you the last time I had. Maybe sometimes when I thought about Lucky since he was part of it. I’d be lying to you, Cam, if I said it doesn’t bother me. I wish it didn’t happen. I wish it didn’t happen to anyone.”

“Is it like when we were missing Jake?” he wanted to know. “Because we have him back now and I love him but I also remember what it was like when he wasn’t here and we were really sad. And like before Dad came to live with us. I remember the unhappy stuff, and sometimes it makes me sad that Jake didn’t get to be with us all the time.” He hesitated. “But then I think maybe I’m a better brother because of it. Because I know how hard life was without Jake, and I don’t wanna be without my brothers.”

“Yeah, I think it’s something like that. I remember what it was like when it was still fresh and new—and sometimes that comes back and makes me unhappy. But I think I’m a better person for what I went through.” She smiled at him. “You’re an amazing brother, did you know that? And an even better son.”

“Well, I have a pretty good mom to help me do things right.” That terrible, aching feeling had dissipated. His mom really was okay. This terrible thing had happened to her—all the terrible things that had happened — and she’d come out being who she was. “I gotta go remind Jake and Aiden who rules at Call of Duty.”

“You do that,” Elizabeth said with a smile.

General Hospital: Locker Room

Tom carefully slid the combination lock out of the slot and opened it, glancing around to make sure he was still alone. Then he took out the wallet and rifled through the photos, hoping that the doctor was still old fashioned enough to carry them.

The first in his collection, he thought, as he lifted out a photograph that looked crisp and new. The pretty little girl who had run into his earlier that day beamed back at him—and what was this—

Tucked behind the pretty little girl was a photo of the girl’s father with Elizabeth. Tom smiled down at the woman the vibrant girl had grown into. She really was very lovely, but old now. With children.

No, he preferred a fresher prey to hunt. Still, knowing that his pretty girl was connected to his first love?

Well, wasn’t that sweet?

This entry is part 10 of 41 in the Flash Fiction: Signs of Life

Written in 66 minutes.

January 1, 1999

Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room

“Isn’t this a little early?” Jason asked Sonny as Max closed the door behind him, stifling a yawn. “It’s barely six—”

“Some of us haven’t been to bed yet,” Sonny muttered. He stalked towards the kitchen. “I need coffee. You want some?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Heard from Roscoe a few hours ago,” Sonny said, dumping some beans into the grinder. “He says Sorel is denying the bomb was on him.”

Jason scowled. “He told Elizabeth it was—”

“A voice on the phone only she heard—” Sonny held up a hand when Jason glared at him. “I’m not saying I don’t believe her. I’m saying this complicates things. Because he might be telling the truth. It might not be Sorel.”

“Sonny—”

“It could be guys who worked for Moreno wanting us to take Sorel out.” And at that, Jason fell silent. Sorel’s takeover of Moreno’s organization wasn’t a done deal, and he knew there had been issues. Shipments that didn’t make it to port, guys going missing —

And if it was true—if it hadn’t been Sorel ordering the bomb, then it put Elizabeth in the middle of a civil war with another organization. That was the worst possible scenario. “Damn it—”

“I spent half the night with the guys tracking down everything. Paulie went to our explosives contact with the bomb. He can’t tag the maker from it — it’s generic.”

Jason grimaced. A bomb that couldn’t be traced made it harder to pin this on Sorel. “So we don’t know anything.”

“Well, we know that Sorel and his guys know about you being targeted by the PCPD, and that Elizabeth is part of the whole thing. That Christmas party—it put you two on the map,” Sonny continued. “No one knew where you’d been in those weeks, but Nikolas Cassadine made it very clear. Apparently, after we left, Stefan confronted him and Nikolas told him—in front of witnesses—he’d caught you at the studio.”

Jason exhaled slowly, then leaned back against the counter. “Am I supposed to keep Elizabeth locked up in the penthouse until we do know—”

“We need this PCPD crap to go away. I think Elizabeth should take herself out of this by coming clean about the whole thing. You were right to make sure she didn’t alibi you. She needs to tell them she saw you and then you left. She doesn’t know where you were the rest of the night. Sorel’s guys can’t go after her for what she doesn’t know.” Sonny poured the coffee, avoiding Jason’s eyes. “The thing is—”

“If she does that, Taggert’s coming right at me. I dropped out of sight when Moreno did. He’ll know Elizabeth is involved in that, thanks to Cassadine.” Jason took the cup of coffee from Sonny but set it on the counter. “We have another problem.”

“Of course we do,” Sonny muttered. “What is it?”

“Carly.”

Sonny’s hand fumbled slightly as he spooned sugar into his cup. “What about her?” he said evenly.

“She’s making noise about telling the cops I was shot. She does that and Elizabeth makes sure the PCPD know I have no alibi—”

“Why the hell—” Sonny whirled on him. “Why is she doing that?”

“She wants me to get her out of town with Michael.” Jason scrubbed a hand down his face. “She’s insisting I go with them. I told her no, and I don’t care if she goes to the PCPD about me, but—”

“But Cassadine has put Elizabeth with you in the same time period you’d be recovering. She’s on the hook as an accomplice. It’s circumstantial, but it’s a distraction we don’t need with all of this—”

“I talked to Alexis—she’s worried they might come after Elizabeth with drug charges. For the pain medication,” Jason admitted. “I’ve been thinking about it—Carly made Bobbie come to the studio one day and Bobbie and I talked about it. I said I’d only used pain meds the first day, but that Elizabeth flushed the rest.”

Sonny stared him for a long moment, then nodded. “Well, there you go. All Taggert has to do is hear that, charge Elizabeth with distribution which carries like twenty years if they want to be bitchy about it. She’ll have to flip on you to save her own skin, but somehow I doubt she’d go that way without kicking and screaming—”

“Sonny—”

“The only way to make this go away is to get one of you out of town.” Sonny paused. “Or both of you, but that will just make it harder for you to come back. At least if it just one disappears before things are charged, we got a shot of this going cold.”

Jason said nothing. He knew Sonny was right. To keep Elizabeth from being used by Carly and Sorel’s organization, Jason needed to remove himself from the situation.

“I know this isn’t what you want,” Sonny said slowly. “And I’m sorry. I should have taken the meeting—”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jason said flatly. He could do this job if he didn’t think about that morning. If he didn’t remember how it had felt to watch Carly coming down the stairs in Sonny’s shirt or the way Sonny had tried to spin it like he was doing Jason a favor—

He’d been thinking about leaving town before his relationship with Elizabeth had changed, but now—

“Jason—”

“I gotta think about it,” he said. “It’s not that easy.”

“No, I know—” Sonny closed his mouth.

“I need to go. Elizabeth needs to go to work, and I want her to get some things from the studio. If I—” He hesitated. “If I go, I want her to stay here. At least until you know it’s safe. She might argue, but I’ll figure that out—”

“I’ll make sure she’s safe, Jason. She’s in this because of me—”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it.” And with that, Jason left the kitchen wondering how the hell he was going to explain to Elizabeth he needed to leave Port Charles, probably for good.

Quartermaine Mansion: Bathroom

Carly dipped her hands into the cool water streaming from the faucet, then splashed the water over her face.

She hadn’t heard a word from Jason.

She would have thought he’d get the picture pretty quick. Either Jason went with Carly, or the little bitch was going to pay the price. How was he going to argue with that?

He was angry at her now, Carly considered as she looked at her reflection in the mirror over the sink, but once she had him to herself — once they were away and they had Michael with them—

He’d remember that he loved her. Hadn’t he told her that only weeks ago? Elizabeth Webber was a distraction, Carly assured herself. Jason was only a man, and the waif probably made him feel better after the year he’d had. Carly had even meant what she’d said to her the day before — she really did feel sorry that the girl had been raped so young.

Not that there was ever a good age for it, Carly decided as she went back into the bedroom and wandered over to the walk in closet. But to be violated that way before you even got a chance to experience how good sex could be?

Carly didn’t mind if the waitress used Jason to get back out there, but her generosity only went so far. Jason was hers. He’d forgotten that for a little while, but she could remind him. When it was just the two of them, she’d lure him back to bed.

She’d get pregnant, Carly decided. She’d find out when she was fertile—maybe some of those ovulation tests or—

And just like that—her brain skittered to a stop.

It was January 1.

And she was late.

“Oh, God. Please, God, no.” Carly closed her eyes, pressed her hands against her face. “Oh, no. No. No.”

Kelly’s: Kitchen

“Hey, DJ. Table ten is still waiting on their order,” Elizabeth said as she untied her apron. She tossed it on the hook. “Penny’s taking over my section, but—”

“I got you, Lizzie,” the cook said affably. “You look better today. Must have been one of those bugs going around.”

“Yeah, must have,” Elizabeth said with a weak smile. She wasn’t sure she shared DJ’s optimistic outlook — she and Jason seemed to have resolved the issue of their non-existent sex life, but he’d been strange when he’d come back to Sonny’s that morning.

He’d been quiet, Elizabeth remembered as she cashed out her receipts and separated her tips.  Not that Jason was every much of a talker, she considered, but there was quiet and then there was quiet.

When she went out into the alley, she realized she was almost surprised to see Jason there, the engine on the bike idling. She’d half thought he’d make an excuse and send her home with Francis.

“Hey.” She accepted the helmet from him, but didn’t put it on right away.

“Hey,” he said, returning the greeting with a half smile. There it was again—that flicker of something in his eyes. She didn’t know him well enough yet to know what it was—but she could tell something was not okay.

Elizabeth chewed on her bottom lip, then pulled on the helmet. She’d try to get it sorted out when they got back to his place. Maybe he’d just had a bad day.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason dumped the keys on the desk when he came in, Elizabeth trailing behind him. “We need to talk,” he said finally after he’d taken her jacket from her and hung it up with his. Anything to stall and keep his mind away from the conversation they needed to have.

He didn’t want to do this, he realized now as he looked at her standing in his living room. This place was too big for him and he’d only come to stay there because the cottage had been too painful. Too many memories of Michael. But he liked seeing Elizabeth in this room—in his bedroom.

He’d wanted more of that, not to be telling her he needed to leave Port Charles, likely for good.

“Okay.” She folded her arms. “Um, what’s going on?”

“A lot,” he admitted. “I don’t really know where to start.” Jason paused. “I guess with the most important part — we don’t know for sure that Sorel put the bomb in your studio. I know the guy said it was him—” he said when she opened her mouth, “but it could also be—it’s complicated. Long story short, we need to get you off Sorel’s radar.”

“Okay, but I don’t know how that—” Elizabeth stopped, swallowed hard. “Off his radar,” she replied softly. “I would imagine there’s really only way to do that.”

“Yeah.” Jason looked away from her, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “You need to go to the PCPD and tell them that I dropped you off around midnight. You didn’t see me the rest of the night.”

Elizabeth drew her brows together, puzzled. “I don’t understand. That gives you no alibi. How does that get me off the radar—”

“It will because the PCPD won’t be coming after you for a statement anymore,” Jason continued.

“But they’ll go after you—”

“I know, but you won’t be something Sorel or his guys can use. He can’t scare you into not giving me an alibi if I’m telling you to do the same thing.”

“Oh. Well, that doesn’t sound great for you,” Elizabeth said slowly, “but that doesn’t sound so bad. You had me—” Then she closed her mouth. “That’s not everything, is it?”

“No,” Jason admitted. Uncomfortable, he walked over to sit on the arm of the sofa. “Carly gave me an ultimatum yesterday. I turned it down,” he continued, “which is why she went to you. But I can’t ignore the threats. They’re about you. And Bobbie.”

“About us?” Elizabeth blinked. “What was—Jason, I wish you’d just tell me what’s going on. You’re making me nervous. Are you breaking up with me? Is this what’s happening? Is that what she threatened—”

“She wants to disappear with Michael. She’s demanding that I go with her,” Jason continued. “If I don’t do it, she’s going to tell the PCPD that I was shot—and turn you and Bobbie in as accomplices.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? She’s going to throw her own mother under the bus? I can’t—” She pressed her hand to her chest. “Oh, God. If she tells the PCPD that you were shot and I make sure they know about you not having an alibi—Jason—that’s bad. For you. I can’t go to the PCPD—”

“You have to,” Jason told her. “And you need to tell them everything. You need to tell them that I threatened you.”

“Wait—”

“Because Carly is going to tell them that you gave me pain meds. She knows you did. She might not remember it, but if she makes this statement, Taggert will make sure she goes over every detail. Bobbie and I talked about it when she was in the room. So you need to tell them I threatened you—”

“There’s no way in hell—first of all, I made you go to my studio, and I went to Sonny—” Elizabeth shook her head. “I am not going to testify against you—”

“I won’t be here to go on trial.”

She stumbled to a stop. “What the hell does that mean?”

“I’m going to leave,” Jason said. “Before any of this happens. With any luck, if I’m not here to go after, Sorel’s men will back down on the alibi, and Carly—”

“Let me get this straight,” Elizabeth said, clenching her jaw. “You think these are our choices? One, you stay and I throw you under the bus to save myself and you end up in jail, or two, you leave Port Charles, and Carly will somehow not take that out on me?”

“Wait, what?” Jason shook his head. “No—”

“Yes,” Elizabeth cut in, slicing her hand through the air. “You’ll leave, and Carly will know you did it to get away from her. She won’t blame herself, she’ll blame me. And maybe even Bobbie, but mostly me. And she’ll be furious at you. Carly’s going to do this thing whether you’re here or not, Jason. Only if you’re not here—” Tears stung her eyes and he just stared at her in shock. “Why are you giving up?”

“I’m not—”

“This happened last night! And you’re already—you’re probably half-packed, aren’t you?” Elizabeth accused.

“Elizabeth—”

“You’re going to run away and leave me and Bobbie to deal with Carly? How is that fair?”

He hadn’t thought about it that way—he’d just thought if he took himself out of it— “Elizabeth—”

Her voice faltered. “You have to leave me, too. Or doesn’t that matter? Is it that easy to walk away from me?”

“No!” He didn’t know how to walk this back, how to fix this. It had seemed so simple when he and Sonny had talked about it. If Jason wasn’t here—the situation would cool down. “No, I don’t want to leave you. If it weren’t for you—” He’d be dead right now. She dragged him back into the world of living—how couldn’t she— “I’m doing this protect you. To keep you safe—”

“Safe.” Elizabeth laughed, a jagged, harsh sound he didn’t recognize from her. “Sure. Okay. Tell yourself that. Fine.”

“There’s no other way—” He stopped because to say that to her was a lie. There was another way that might work, but — “Anything else — it’s a risk and it just keeps you in the middle of it—”

“So there is another way and you’d rather leave? How am I supposed to take that, Jason?”

“It’s—I mean it, it’s asking too much—”

“You don’t get to decide what’s asking too much. If it keeps both us in Port Charles, out of jail, and together—” Her eyes burned into his. “Or isn’t that important to you?”

“It is,” he insisted. He took her hands and pulled her towards him. “You know it is. I just—” Jason paused. “There’s no guarantee it would work, and we might be right where we started.”

“Then at least we’ll say we tried everything. Jason—”

“If we were married, we couldn’t testify against each other.”

This entry is part 5 of 25 in the Flash Fiction: Scars

Written in 56 minutes.

Morgan House: Kitchen

Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder as she opened the fridge and frowned when she caught Cameron’s eye again. Her eldest son immediately broke eye contact and slumped over his cereal, scooping up the Lucky Charms like it was the most important thing in his life.

It was the third time she’d caught him looking at her—maybe even the fourth. She rolled her shoulders and retrieved the juices she needed for Aiden’s lunch box and went over to the counter to continue packing his lunch. “Everything okay?” she asked Cameron.

“What?” Cameron blinked at her. “Yeah, why?”

She pursed her lips. “No reason.”

“I don’t care what Rocco Falconieri is doing,” Jason said as he walked into the kitchen behind a sullen Aiden. “You’re not going.”

“You act like I’m a baby,” he muttered, starting to climb onto the stool next to Cameron. He glared at Jason as his father rounded the counter and reached for a bowl to pour cereal for him.

“You still got your baby teeth?” Jake wanted to know from the other side of Cameron. “Because I think that’s how it works. You start losing those, you level up.”

Aiden scowled — because of course, he hadn’t lost any of his teeth yet. The bottom center tooth was loose but it refused to come out. “If it comes out, can I go?”

“It’s a school night—”

“That is not how it works,” Elizabeth said at the same time. Jake just grinned at her, his mission of agitation completed for the morning. “No one goes anyone on school nights.”

“But Rocco is family,” Aiden pointed out. “You said we gotta do for family.”

“When they’re in trouble. Not when they have a game system in their room and you’re trying to get around the rules.” Elizabeth zipped his lunch box shut, then looked at Cameron. He was usually in the middle of these morning clashes — whether he teaming up with Jake against who ever the target was that day or he was taking his parents’s side just to be contrary.

Instead, he sat between his brothers, his attention focused on the bowl of cereal like it had all the answers.

“Cameron gets to go places all the time,” Aiden muttered. “He gets to stay at Grandma Laura’s longer and he goes to the hospital by himself. I get locked up like a criminal.”

“Aiden, cool it,” Cameron said, his spoon clinking against the bowl as he glared at his little brother. “No one is locking you up.”

“Yeah, I know what that’s like,” Jake offered helpfully. “You’re not on a island, you got your own room, no crazy person is telling you he’s your dad and you’re gonna help him rule the world—” He was ticking these items off on his fingers as Elizabeth’s mouth dropped and Jason stilled next to him.

Aiden’s eyes were as round as saucers. “Whoa. Is that what it was like with the Cassadines? Do they really rule the world? Is that why Spencer is a giant—”

“Eat your cereal,” Jason said, shoving the bowl in front of Aiden. “Jake—” He didn’t even really know what to say. Jake had been so young when they’d rescued him from the Cassadines, and he rarely spoke about the two long years he’d spent locked up with Stavros playing his father.

“I didn’t know you remembered that much,” Elizabeth said finally. “Do you need—um, Grandma can talk to Kevin—”

“No, it’s cool.” Jake shrugged. “Aiden just doesn’t get it. That’s why he’s the baby.”

Aiden’s eyes narrowed into little slits. “I am not—”

“Here’s his lunch,” Elizabeth said to Jason in a rush as she shoved the box towards her husband. “Cam, Jake, let’s go. I’ll drop you off at school.”

“It’s not like he can hurt me,” Jake said, confidently hopping off the stool. “He kicks like a fly—”

Jason quickly put an arm out to lock Aiden in place. “Jake—”

“Someone has to make up for Cam since he’s all quiet.” Jake sauntered out towards the living room.

“It’s not fair,” Aiden muttered.

“One day, you’ll get to do all the things Cam does,” Elizabeth assured him. “Right, Cam?”

Cameron blinked at her. “Uh. Yeah. Sure. I didn’t even tie anyone up until I was eleven, so you got time, Aiden.” He slurped up his cereal. “I’ll go get my jacket and bookbag.”

“Not the help I was looking for,” she muttered as she followed him out, hearing Aiden ask Jason who Cameron had tied up.

Corinthos & Morgan Warehouse: Office

Jason usually hated to be interrupted when he was working on the books, but he was glad when Sonny knocked on the door late that morning. He hadn’t been able to concentrate on the numbers or the invoices.

“You know, Spinelli could set you up with a program that would do this for you,” Sonny said, nodding to the pile of paper and pencils on the desk. “What does he always say? Something about it being the twenty-first century—”

“Programs can be hacked,” Jason said. “I like double checking. I thought you were at the restaurant today—”

“Yeah, I’m headed over there, but—uh, Brick said you left here yesterday like things were on fire. He was worried and called me.” Sonny sat down in the rickety chair, wincing. “I’m too old for this,” he muttered.

“It’s fine—” Jason shook his head and reached for the pencil.

“I figure it wasn’t too serious since you didn’t call me, but I still wanted to check in.” Sonny paused. “You didn’t come back either, according to Brick—”

“I didn’t know he was watching me—” Jason bit back the irritated remark. “There was something at the hospital. Elizabeth—” He stared down at the pencil, twisting the yellow wood in his fingers. “Tom Baker was released from prison.”

Sonny squinted. “Tom Baker,” he repeated. “Do I know that name?”

“He was the photographer who blackmailed my sister and held her hostage in the photography studio,” Jason said.

“Then he’s also the garbage that raped Elizabeth. I remember they were the same person,” Sonny added when Jason blinked at him. “I just never took in the name. I figured you’d handled that. I didn’t know he was still alive.”

“Emily—” Jason rubbed his face. “She wanted it that way. Baker grabbed her and Elizabeth, shoved them into the dark room. Lucky and Nikolas got them out, but Baker confronted them. There was a fight, and Elizabeth got her hands on the gun.” He hated thinking of his sister going through that alone, of Elizabeth being shoved into a room by the same man who’d terrorized her— “Emily said Elizabeth was brave in facing him down. Confronting him. Elizabeth wanted him to get arrested. To get justice. She put down the gun.”

“But now he’s out—”

“Baker never got charged with the rape,” Jason said bluntly. “He’s out and he’s working at the hospital. Elizabeth didn’t know and ran into him. She, uh, had a pretty bad panic attack.”

“Wouldn’t be hard to get rid of him now,” Sonny said after a long moment. “Make him look like he split town. Spinelli could handle setting a trail—”

“She doesn’t want that.”

His best friend absorbed that, nodded. “Okay. I guess I can understand that—”

“She doesn’t want the PCPD to look at me. I’d be the primary suspect even if he just disappeared.”

“She should know you better. Like you’d get caught,” Sonny scoffed, but Jason shook his head.

“It’s not that. She just doesn’t want to take any chances. Not with—we just finalized the adoption for Aiden, and we’re—” A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “We’re having another baby. Due in May or June We’re not sure—”

“Oh, man—” Sonny’s eyes lit up. “That’s great news. I knew you were thinking about it, but—okay, okay, that tracks. Elizabeth doesn’t want the old stuff coming back. Not when you got so much going right.” He tipped his head. “You’re okay with him being at the hospital, though?”

“I don’t want him breathing the same air as her, much less in the same building,” Jason bit out. “But it’s not my call.”

“No, I guess it’s not.” Sonny tapped his fingers on his thigh. “How many guys we got working at GH now?”

“Uh, three orderlys and a few of the security guards are ours. I got two more in when Cam started volunteering,” Jason admitted.

“Grab one and assign him to Baker. Just to keep an eye out,” Sonny suggested. “You’re not doing anything but it might help you sleep at night. We can toss someone on him when he’s not in the hospital.”

“Yeah. Maybe. I’ll talk to Elizabeth.”

Sonny got to his feet. “It’s a hell of a thing,” he said. “Special place in hell for rapists.”

General Hospital: Pediatric Wing

Emma folded her arms and followed Cameron off the elevator. “Are you really not going to talk about it?” she asked him as they headed for the nurse’s station on the floor. “You just went inside last night—”

“Emma—” Cameron just shook his head. “No. I really don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just get this shift over with.”

She sighed and they turned a corner. She scowled, then swallowed her protest at seeing Joss Jacks standing by Spencer Cassadine at the nurse’s station. A few feet away, Trina was glaring daggers at the blonde—

“No one said she was working today,” Trina said as Cameron and Emma joined her. “They really just take anyone in this program—”

“Hey, my dad paid for this program!” Joss said, planting her hands on her hips. “Tell her, Spencer!”

“Not a chance in hell,” Spencer said politely. “Dig your own grave.”

“Do you know how long it took my stylist to get that blue crap out of my hair?” Joss demanded. She turned her wounded eyes on Cameron who stared at the linoleum. “I thought we were friends!”

“We are,” Cameron said, dully. “I’m sorry—”

“Sorry?”

“Hey, cool it, Cujo,” Trina snarled. “You started this and you know it! You told Oscar Nero that I had head lice!”

“Well, you—”

“And that I don’t shower or wash my hair because of my braids—”

Joss’s cheeks were stained with red. “Okay, that was out of line—”

“Out of line? Out of line? I should have acid, you spoiled bitch—”

Before Trina could launch herself at Joss and finish this for good, Cameron suddenly turned and stalked off in the opposite direction.

Trina and Joss both stopped dead in their tracks at his departure. “What’s his problem?” Joss tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I’m the victim!”

“All your life,” Trina said sweetly and Joss glared at her. Emma ignored them both and took after her boyfriend.

She knew what this was about, and honestly should have dragged him in the opposite direction when she saw Trina and Joss sharing the same oxygen. They had been like oil and water since kindergarten and it was just getting worse. They’d been bickering over Oscar for almost a month, and eventually someone was going to get really hurt.

Emma turned a corner and stumbled, her toe catching on the edge of a custodian’s cart. She nearly face planted on the floor, but a hand snagged her elbow and righted her.

“You okay, little girl?”

“I’m fine,” Emma said, automatically pasting a polite smile on her face as she faced the custodian behind the cart. But the man was smiling at her already, his dark eyes fixed on her in a way that made her feel vaguely dirty. She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I should watch where I’m going. Um, thank you.”

She edged around the man and continued down the hall, feeling an itch between her shoulders as she turned another corner and disappeared.

Tom Baker straightened out the cart and smiled to himself as he continued on his rounds. He’d missed the sight of a pretty young girl flying through life, bright eyes and smiles. This one had long legs and a delicate build. Long brown hair.  He’d always been partial to brunettes.

He found the puddle he’d been sent to clean and got started, then started to whistle. Oh, yeah, it was good to be free.