Note: I’ve updated the registration page with a more thorough explanation on registering and then making sure you’re receiving emails.
So as the first part of my site overhaul, the following changes were made to the site
1. I redesigned the short stories section. They used to be in four categories, but that wasn’t really helpful because what did you guys care if they were episode tags or not? So I merged all the categories together and then split them according to length. Ficlets are stories up to 1500 words, and Short Stories go from 1501 – 9,999. Anything over that will be novellas or novels.
By the way, the short stories section alone has 64 stories. Holy crud. Factor in around twenty novellas and novels, and…wow. That’s a lot of fanfiction.
2. I streamlined some of the menus. The Readers section is now the Extras section, and the Lost Stories page has been merged into the regular short story pages. The Fiction Graveyard remains for now until I figure out how to get better at that. I’m going to be doing a lot more with that section, so stay tuned in the future. Right now, it’s mostly bare.
3. The site section now has the online, about and distribution links. I also added the links for logging in and registering. This is the first post since I changed over my subscription list, so please don’t forget to register for the site and then set your subscription options. I have to overhaul the online and about section. That will happen at some point.
4. I have some more ideas planned (converting some stories into novellas, for example) but the short stories section was annoying me the most. I hope you guys find this slightly helpful.
5. And for being so understanding about my neuroses, I’ve updated with three stories.
+ Traditions: Set in 2010. Nominally in the Hand Me Down Universe, the Morgan/Jacks clan celebrate the Fourth of July with other prominent families in attendance.
+ Come On Eileen: Set in 2006. A fluffy fic in which Elizabeth, Robin and Brenda plan an 80s bash to support the Stone Cates Foundation. The first part is posted, but I need your help to post the rest!
+ Turning Points, Parts 1-4: Set in 2006. I write a part and ask you guys some questions. You respond, and I pick the responses I like the best or think will be most difficult and write the next part accordingly. I haven’t set up a story page for it yet, so more information for now, is on the first part.
6. An update to where I think I’ll be going next fiction wise. Thanks to Cora and her amazing input on The Best Thing outline, I’m ironing out some of the kinks, adding some layers. But at some point, I’ll be storyboarding it, and it’ll probably be that and These Small Hours as my next projects. I’ll be finishing the Mad World plot sketch at some point over the next two weeks, and hopefully Tangle will be speaking to me then (and will have its new name).
Oh, so the last two months, I’ve been amusing myself by purchasing DVD edits. I usually order four at time. First, I ordered Patrick & Robin, 2005, 2006, 2008. Then I ordered Lucky & Liz, 1997-1998 and Jason & Liz, 1999-2001. Now this month, I’m debating because I actually need to do some research for some of the stories I’m writing, so I’m leaning towards the edits for Elizabeth that go from June 2004-December 2004, which includes some stuff with Jason, as well as the Liason DVD edits from November 2002-November 2006. But ugh, I want the 2002 edits from summer 2002, even though I can’t justify the need through fic writing.
Ugh. It sucks being responsible.
Sorry for the rambles, but admit it, you missed my long updates in which I pretend this is my blog.
This is set in the era of 2006 GH, but isn’t tied to any specific storyline. It takes place vaguely after the spring, but before Sam got shot and Lucky’s drug addiction.
Inspiration
I wanted to write fluff. I wrote about half of this back in 2006, and then let it sit until finishing it in 2019. I recommend the YouTube playlist for this because it’s basically an ode to eighties music.
Banner Here
July 2006
Kelly’s: Courtyard
If you’re blue and you don’t know where to go to
Why don’t you go where fashion sits
Puttin’ on the ritz
“Absolutely not.” Robin Scorpio leaned forward and switched off the CD player. “No one even likes that song.”
Brenda Barrett stuck her finger in the air and wagged it at her friend. “If no one liked that song, how did it become a hit?”
“It was the eighties,” Robin sighed. “They were all high.”
“You’re thinking of the sixties,” Elizabeth Webber corrected. She pressed the skip button on the CD player a few times. “What about this one?”
If you see a faded sign by the side of the road that says
15 miles to the Love Shack!
Love Shack, yeah
“It’s predictable,” Brenda vetoed. She started to flip through her stack of CDs.
“Exactly. We’re not picking music we like,” Elizabeth reminded her. “We’re picking music that’ll appeal to the masses.”
Brenda snorted. “The masses of Port Charles have no taste.” She noted it down anyway for the play list. “We have to get serious about this or we’re going to find ourselves at the Metro Court with no music and a lot of bored people. Not the way to raise money for the Stone Cates Foundation if you ask me.”
“Okay, okay,” Robin consulted the list of songs on the current CD. “We’ve got ten, that’s not a bad start. Liz and I have another fifteen minutes before we have to get back to work and you have to go check on the caterer.”
Brenda leaned towards Elizabeth. “You’d think I’d never planned a party before. Chica keeps forgetting that I am the original party girl. Hello!”
“How about this?” Elizabeth pressed play.
Poor old Johnny Ray
Sounded sad upon the radio
He moved a million hearts in mono
Our mothers cried and sang along and who’d blame them
“Hell yeah!” Brenda leapt to her feet and pulled Robin up with her. “I love this song!”
“Brenda—“ Robin laughed as her friend pulled her into a dance.
Now you’re grown, so grown, now I must say more than ever
Go toora loora toora loo rye aye
And we can sing just like our fathers
“Girl can still move!” Brenda bumped butts with Robin before launching into some kind of weird combination that had both her co-hostesses laughing. Robin pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to control herself.
Come on Eileen, well I swear (what he means)
At this moment you mean everything
“Come on, Liz!” Brenda tugged the nurse to her feet and dragged her into their dance. “Get down with your bad self, you’re way too young to look so sad!”
With you in that dress my thoughts I confess
Verge on dirty
Ah come on Eileen
Robin laughed as Brenda tried to dip Elizabeth, forgetting that all three of them were basically the same height. Elizabeth was laughing to hard to keep her own balance and slipped, pulling Brenda down with her.
“You—guys—look—so—ridiculous!” Robin managed to choke out between the giggles.
Brenda and Elizabeth looked up at the doctor from their positions on the ground and each reached out to grasp Robin’s ankles and yanked her down to the ground with them.
These people round here wear beaten down eyes
Sunk in smoke dried faces
They’re so resigned to what their fate is
“You are horrible!” Robin gasped as she rolled her to her knees. She tried to be mad but just started giggling again. “It’s no wonder this benefit is next week and we’re still not getting anywhere.”
“Yeah, we totally can’t work together anymore,” Elizabeth sighed with a snorting giggle. She hoisted herself to her feet.
But not us, no—
She switched off the song and plopped back down in the chair. “Come on, we’ve only got another ten minutes before we have to get back.”
Brenda sighed. “Yes, ma’am.” She saluted. “What’s the next song?” She and Robin sat back down.
“Well, we probably need a ballad,” Elizabeth said. “Some people do bring dates to these things.” She snorted. “Can’t imagine why. Men suck.”
“I hear that,” Brenda sighed heavily.
“They’re the root of all evil,” Robin agreed. She glanced over the list of songs. “How come no one’s ever written a song called Men Are Pigs?”
“Probably have but there’s no commercial success in that,” Brenda sipped her soda with a loud slurp. “Everyone wants happy sappy songs or unbearably angsty breakup songs. You know—I love you girl, I screwed up girl, I want you back girl. They just don’t write the song—I’m sorry I screwed your best friend girl, I’m sorry I left you at the altar or in the rain—”
“I’m sorry that I refused to adopt your son and blamed you for the death of your partner,” Elizabeth chimed in.
“I’m sorry I’m a rotten lying cheating man whore who needs to sleep with every trashy blonde that comes my way,” Robin added dryly.
“Well, there is always the country music genre,” Brenda perked up. “Goodbye Earl is one of my personal favorites. Give the old man a what for and all that.”
“Anyway, angsty ballads, cue—” Robin pressed play.
All alone on a Sunday morning
Outside I see the rain is falling
Inside I’m slowly dying
But the rain will hide my crying
Elizabeth snapped it off. “Okay, that’s enough angsty goodness. We’ll just okay it and then I’ll duck out of the room when it plays.” She noted the title and song down, “Next?”
Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you’re never coming round.
Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears.
Robin grimaced. “I hate the eighties.” She pressed stop. “Let’s go for a love song, eh? It’s gotta be better than angst.”
I can’t fight this feeling any longer
And yet I’m still afraid to let it flow
What started out as friendship has grown stronger
I only wish I had the strength to let it show
Elizabeth switched off the CD player. “And on that note, I’m going back to work. Brenda—”
“Caterer, yes, yes,” Brenda started shoving the CDs and notes into her bag and both Robin and Elizabeth watched in horror as all their hard work disappeared into the abyss of Brenda’s tote. “Chill, chicas. I have a system.”
“Dear God,” Robin moaned. She hit her forehead with her palm. “Brenda, just remember—we’re feeding the masses, not Brenda Barrett.”
“Chill out,” Brenda rolled her eyes. “Look, sweetie, I’m all about pining away for the guy—do you remember my post Sonny days when he married Lily?”
Robin snorted. “There’s pining and there’s stalking, Brenda.”
“Details,” Brenda sniffed. “Anyway, it’s been two months since you caught Doc Hot in a tryst with the bottle blonde from hell. Move on, already.” She turned to Elizabeth, “And you—”
Elizabeth arched an eyebrow. “Yes, oh wise one?”
“Lucky is an ass. Go find a hottie in a bar and boink his brains out.” She frowned. “Just not Robin’s hottie, understood?” She stood and tossed her tote over her shoulder. “Now if you don’t mind, I have a charity benefit to finish planning.”
“You know, I’m glad she’s back home,” Robin said after a long moment. “Even if she could take lessons in subtlety.”
“Nah,” Elizabeth finished her soda. “I prefer the bluntness. Too many people never tell the truth anymore.” She eyed Robin warily. “Don’t you have a consult with Patrick scheduled when we get back?”
“Don’t remind me,” Robin pursed her lips. “I’d really rather not think about him if I don’t have to.” She tossed her cup in a nearby trash and stood. “Don’t you have a meeting with Justus after work?”
Elizabeth grimaced. “Don’t remind me. The next time I want to get to married, just smack me.”
“Not a problem.” The duo headed for the parking lot. “So, are you bringing a date next week?”
Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Oh, definitely. I blackmailed Jason into taking me. I figure he can’t sit around in that penthouse any longer. He’s got to get up and move on with his life. So what if his ex-fiancé went totally all stalker psycho on her birth mother and then left him to rot in jail because he didn’t agree with her?” She slid a sly glance to Robin. “And you, my fellow loser in love?”
“I have a fabulous escort, I must confess,” Robin said breezily. She unlocked her car door. “He’s a perfect gentleman and he’s adorable to boot.”
Elizabeth frowned at her. “Have I met this paragon?”
“Unfortunately yes,” Robin sighed. “Ned’s taking me. How much of a loser am I? You at least get someone who’s…well…” she pursed her lips. “Well, you’re actually right there with me on the loser scale. I’m taking one of my oldest friends and you’re taking one of your oldest friends and I believe we both had to blackmail them into doing that, so…” she stuck her tongue out at Elizabeth.
General Hospital: Fourth Floor Nurse’s Station
“How was the planning lunch?” Emily asked as Elizabeth stepped up at the nurse’s station to scan her patient’s charts.
“It was okay—we settled about on about five more songs, so it’s an improvement.” Elizabeth flashed a smile at her oldest friend. “Brenda’s meeting with the caterer, Robin’s finalizing the Metro Court with Jax later tonight and I’m supposed to meet the party designer there after work.” She reached for a chart only to find that someone else wanted it.
“Sorry,” Elizabeth muttered, releasing the folder like it had scalded her hands. Dr. Patrick Drake sighed heavily.
“How long is the deep freeze going to last?” he asked pointedly. “I didn’t even do anything to you.”
Elizabeth sniffed. “That’s a matter of opinion. I happen to be very loyal to my friends.” She picked up a different folder and walked away.
“She’s not really mad at you,” Emily offered. “Well—that’s probably not true.” She laughed and tucked her hair behind her ears. “The divorce is not going well and she’s just taking it out on you.”
“So everyone who knows Robin is going through a tough time and just taking it out on me?” Patrick asked, resigned. “That’s fine. I probably deserve it.”
Emily snorted. “Probably? More like definitely and absolutely but hey, that’s just my opinion.”
Metro Court: Banquet Hall
“Okay, look, I know what you’re trying to tell me,” Elizabeth said, frustrated. “But bright clashing colors and balloons and streamers is what we’re going for.”
“It’s just unseemly, Mrs. Spencer,” Elton said with a sniff. “It’s garish and unappealing—”
“So was most of the eighties which is the decade we’re shooting for.” Elizabeth tossed Elton’s proposed colors of silver and blue aside and reached for the material book again. “And when it comes down to it, the client gets what they want, remember?”
“It’s the designer’s job to inform them when they’re making a ghastly mistake,” Elton replied. He yanked the book from her grasp. “After all we know better.”
“Hey, if you want me to take my money elsewhere,” Elizabeth said.
“Well, as I understand it, Mrs. Spencer, it’s not your money,” Elton corrected. “It’s Ms. Barrett’s and she has impeccable taste.”
“Oh, I highly doubt that,” Carly drawled from behind her. “Elton, we already went over this remember?”
“What do you mean?” Elizabeth demanded. “What do you have to do with this?”
“Elton brought his concerns to me and while I agree in theory, classy and elegant isn’t the theme,” Carly shrugged. “I remember the eighties and I’ve seen all the movies. It was not a fun time for fashion and matching colors. It was almost as bad as the seventies.” She patted Elton’s shoulder. “Now someone who hopes to have our customers referred to him on a consistent basis should know that the customer is always right.”
“Fine,” Elton sighed. “I will find a way to make this room as garish as necessary.” He gathered up his materials and left the room in a snit.
“Good grief,” Elizabeth muttered. “Thanks for the help—apparently, a divorced nurse’s opinion doesn’t count for much in this town.”
“And apparently a divorced reformed con artist and town tramp’s opinion does,” Carly remarked wryly. “It’s a strange world. Jax called—he had to cancel his meeting with Robin and sent me.”
Elizabeth arched an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
“That’s what I told him. So I knew you were still here and maybe you’d want to play referee so I don’t go for her hair and she doesn’t try to kick me in the knees as midgets are inclined to do.”
“You know, one day, Carly—you and Robin are going to find you have something in common,” Elizabeth replied. “I hope I’m there to see it.”
“We do have something in common—utter loathing for each other.” Carly sat down at the table across from Elizabeth. “So I asked Jason if he was coming—he always supports these AIDS benefits and he told me that you had talked him into it.”
“I needed a date, and he needs to leave that penthouse every once in a while,” Elizabeth replied. “Besides, there’s nothing that’ll piss Lucky off more.” Elizabeth started to shred a piece of paper into pieces. “Not that it’s totally why I asked Jason but it is a nice side benefit.”
“Oh, no I totally agree that Jason needs to start moving on with his life. He’s just been shut in since Sam left him in jail and then took off to—” Carly faked quotes in the air using her hands, “find herself.” She snorted. “And then with the Sonny and Emily implosion —which I totally predicted—he’s not talking to Sonny now.” She exhaled in a huff. “I swear, he just needs one night out where his life doesn’t suck.”
“Don’t we all,” Elizabeth muttered. “I met with Justus about the divorce and can you believe Lucky’s trying to go for custody of Cameron?”
“Men,” Carly sighed. “Can’t live with them and can’t shoot ‘em.” She snorted. “But apparently, they can shoot you.”
GeneralHospital: Fourth Floor Nurse’s Station
Robin stomped up to the desk and slapped a medical chart on the counter, muttering to herself. “Arrogant, self-centered, egotistical…”
“I don’t need a crystal ball to tell me who you’re talking about,” Emily said, with a sympathetic gaze. “The consult went badly?”
“I don’t even know why the parents even bothered with me. They had all but decided on surgery and then Patrick just had to tell them I haven’t had much success with my trials.” Robin huffed. “How am I supposed to get any kind of progress in my research if he never lets me have a patient?”
“Well, you know, we could always do what my mother did with a doctor that pissed her off once. He sued her for sexual harassment, remember?”
“Dr. Dorman,” Robin nodded. “Another man who thought he’s was God’s gift to the female race. I remember that because Jason stopped her. Probably should have let her put a bullet between his eyes.
“Yeah, well he was a worthless human being. I’m not advocating the killing part of it, but I wouldn’t mind shoving Patrick Drake into a supply closet and leaving him there to starve for a few days,” Emily said.
“There’s an idea I could get behind,” Robin sighed, “Unfortunately, I have to go meet Jax about the benefit—”
“Oh, he called and left a message. He had to cancel and you’ll have to meet with Carly,” Emily said, braced for Robin’s reaction.
“Yep, that’s just the way the day’s been going,” Robin muttered. She finished making her notes and shoved the chart away. “I’m going to go get changed,” she told Emily and turned away—smacking into the object of her annoyance. “Watch where you’re going,” she snarled.
Patrick steadied her on her feet before taking a step back. “I’m sorry if you’re pissed because I told the kid’s parents the truth but they deserve to know all the options.”
“No, you mean that you just wanted to slice his head open and the only way to make sure to do that is to badmouth my research every time we have a consult,” Robin retorted. “That’s fine—because the only place where you’re actually as good as you think you are is in the operating room.” She stalked away.
“Hey, she complimented you,” Emily said, a little surprised. “That’s new.”
“Only Robin Scorpio could compliment someone while telling them exactly what she thinks of them.” Patrick rubbed his eyes. “Does she hold grudges for a long time?”
“Have you seen Robin with Carly?” Emily asked seriously.
“So the answer would be yes.” Patrick grimaced. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
Metro Court: Ball Room
I never meant to be so bad to you
One thing I said that I would never do
“I’m going,” Jason said immediately after entering the garishly decorated room. He made a face and started to turn.
“Hey, hey, remember the part about my complete and utter humiliation as the dumped divorcee?” Elizabeth demanded, catching his arm. “We made a deal.”
“And what do I get in return for this?” Jason sighed, allowing himself to be led towards one of the front tables.
“My undying devotion,” Elizabeth replied perkily. She grinned up at him and Jason reluctantly decided inwardly that if his being here was going to make her smile like that, then he would stay until the bitter end or die trying.
Unfortunately, he was pretty sure it was going to be the latter.
One look from you and I would fall from grace
And that would wipe this smile right from my face
“She actually managed to drag Jason here,” Ned Ashton remarked, highly impressed. Robin smiled brightly and started to lead him to the same table.
“There is very little that man won’t do for her. If I still believed in fairy tales and happily ever after, I’d think they were in love.” She scowled at seeing Patrick enter the ballroom solo. “Luckily, I know that’s all a load of crap.”
“Ah, there’s my sweet and sentimental Robin.”
Do you remember when we used to dance And incidence arose from circumstance
“My girls!” Brenda proclaimed as they all reached the table. “My fabulous chicas! We did such an amazing job, didn’t we?” She rounded the table and hugged an irritated Jason. “How’s my favorite ex-husband?”
“Considering I’m the only legal one you have, I’ll take that for what it’s worth,” Jason said dryly. Brenda pinched him. “Ow! Hey!”
Elizabeth flicked Brenda in her bare upper arm. “Hey! What did I tell you about bugging Jason tonight?”
“To make sure to do it out of your sight?” Brenda asked innocently.
“Right,” Elizabeth nodded.
“Duly noted. Let’s get this party rolling!” Brenda grabbed the other two women by the arms and all but dragged them to the stage erected at the front of the room. She made a motion to the DJ to cut the music. “Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the best eighties bash ever held in Port Charles!”
There was smattering of applause and several catcalls as Brenda twirled in a circle, showing off her skimpy silver grown. “Before we get this party started, we need to be serious for a moment and remember why we’re here.”
She cleared her throat and smiled at Robin before turning her attention back to the crowd. “Ten years ago last November, we lost a very special person. Most of you knew him and I’m sure you would all agree—he would have had a blast tonight. Stone Cates meant a lot to all of us, and tonight, we honor him with the first benefit held by the Stone Cates Foundation. To explain a bit more about this organization, I’d like to introduce its founder and one of my fabulous co-hostesses, Robin Scorpio.” Brenda handed the microphone to her friend and stepped back next to Elizabeth.
“Before I talk about the Foundation, I want to thank Brenda and Elizabeth Webber for all their help and support in getting tonight ready. I couldn’t have done it without you guys,” Robin remarked. “Stone Cates died due to complications of the AIDs virus. In the ten years since his death, we’ve raised so much money right here in Port Charles for research and we have one of the country’s most prestigious outpatient care facilities at Genera lHospital, donated by Sonny Corinthos. We’ve come a long way and prolonged so many lives, including my own. If not for the research that led to development of the cocktail I currently take, my HIV might have developed into AIDs years ago and I might not be here today.”
“Unfortunately, there is still no cure in sight and until that day, we have to continue the fight, both here and around the world. So in memory of Stone, I ask you to donate all that you can, even if it’s just a few dollars. Every bit helps.” She handed the microphone to Elizabeth.
“Before I hand the reins back to Brenda, we wanted to take a moment to single out some of the donations we have already received.” She held up a paper. “First and foremost, a million dollars has been donated from each Sonny Corinthos, Jason Morgan and Jasper Jacks. Due to the generosity of Jasper Jacks and Carly Corinthos, the use of the MetroCourt was given to the foundation tonight free of charge and the Quartermaine family has graciously underwritten the rest of tonight’s expenses.” She paused for a moment. “Nikolas Cassadine has pledged three hundred thousand dollars, Michael and Morgan Corinthos have each donated what I’m told is their entire life savings—three hundred dollars.” Elizabeth smiled. “And Cameron Webber, with the help of Audrey Hardy, has donated fifty dollars he was saving for a Chuggin’ Charlie train.” She flicked her eyes to Patrick. “And fifty thousand dollars from Dr. Patrick Drake.”
“Let’s hear a round of applause for the generous donations so far,” Brenda called, clapping her hands. “Port Charles has the best citizens—with the exception of Carly.”
“Hey!” came the outraged cry from the back the room.
“I’m kidding!” Brenda grinned. “Mostly.” She threw her hands up. “Let’s party! Play some music!”
If you see a faded sign by the side of the road that says 15 miles to the… Love Shack! Love Shack yeah
“Thanks, Jason,” Robin said. “That was a very generous donation.”
“No problem,” Jason replied. He eyed the people on the dance floor warily before looking at Elizabeth. “You’re not going to make me dance are you?”
“Make you do something you despise?” Elizabeth sniffed. “As if I would ever do that!”
“I think it would be great to see Jason dance to the Love Shack!” Brenda declared. She wiggled her hips. “Love Shack, baby!”
“Please, I beg you,” Ned winced. “Don’t sing.”
“I have an amazingly melodic voice!” Brenda said, scandalized.
“If the definition of melodic is nails on a chalk board,” Jason muttered. Ned broke into laughter.
“That’s exactly what it sounds like!”
“I’m going to go where I’m appreciated,” Brenda flounced off to flirt with Jax and drive Carly insane.
“Sometimes I’m almost sure I missed her,” Ned remarked.
“And then she opens her mouth,” Jason finished.
“If you’re going to keep badmouthing Brenda, I’m going to go flirt with some cute doctor,” Elizabeth warned her date.
“I’d hate to break his legs,” Jason replied simply. “But if it comes to that—”
“Come on, Ned,” Robin tugged her old friend to his feet. “Let’s go show all these people why the women used to throw their underwear at you.”
Hop in my Chrysler,
It’s as big as a whale And it’s about to set sail!
“She’s only flirting with him to make me jealous,” Patrick told Emily confidently. Emily raised her eyebrow.
“Yeah, okay, Captain Delusional,” she rolled her eyes. “Do you think you can pay attention to me? Remember? Your date?”
“I remember. I also remember that you keep making googly eyes at the Cassadine over there so don’t be a hypocrite,” Patrick replied.
“Jerk,” Emily muttered. “I was not making googly eyes.”
“You so were.” Patrick narrowed his eyes when Ned wrapped one hand around Robin’s waist and started to twirl her. “Show off.”
“I thought you didn’t do jealous,” Emily teased.
“I’m not jealous,” Patrick denied. “I’m…perturbed.”
“Uh huh.”
“I never get jealous.”
“Right.”
“Jealous is for guys who haven’t been given the deep freeze.”
“I’m not arguing.”
Love Shack, baby Love Shack! Love Shack, baby Love Shack!
As the song transitioned into the next one, Brenda abandoned Jax to saunter over to Jason and Elizabeth. “You are too young to be a wallflower,” she told the younger woman as she took Elizabeth’s hand and all but dragged her to the dance floor.
Some boys take a beautiful girl And hide her away from the rest of the world
Elizabeth rolled her eyes but Brenda’s enthusiasm was contagious as she shimmied and sang the words in her incredibly off-key voice. “Come on!” she declared, snagging Robin as she and Ned tried to sneak past Elizabeth and Brenda.
“I want to be the one to walk in the sun!” Brenda wailed as she twirled Robin.
Oh girls, they wanna have fun Oh girls just wanna have That’s all they really want
Ned was still laughing as he found Jason grimacing back at his table. “It’s nice to see Robin smiling and laughing,” he told his cousin. “And Elizabeth, too. Emily told me she’s been down since she left Lucky.”
“Yeah,” Jason said as he watched the trio of women dancing and singing to one another. “Nothing is ever boring when Brenda is involved.”
Some fun When the working day is done Oh girls, they wanna have fun
Robin was still laughing as the song ended and Nikolas caught her hand before she could leave the dance floor.
“Have some time for an old friend?” he asked as he pulled into a dance.
“I haven’t seen you around lately,” she said with a smile. “I’m glad to see you getting back into the swing of things.”
“Having Spencer helps,” Nikolas told her. “Thanks for convincing Jax to tell me.” He grimaced, catching the blond Australian heading back towards Carly. “Who knows how long he would have kept that secret.”
We’ve known each other for so long Your heart’s been aching but you’re too shy to say it
“Why does he have to hold her so close?” Patrick muttered as he finished his drink. Sitting next to him, Emily folded her arms and rolled her eyes.
“Patrick.”
“What?” he asked after she repeated his name. “What?”
“Why exactly did you and Robin break up if she’s all you can think about?”
Patrick scowled and glared at his date. “She is not all I can think about.”
“Sure, because that’s why we’re currently sitting here while you glare at every dance partner.” Emily got to her feet. “Listen, when you graduate high school and can admit you like a girl a lot, maybe we can be friends. But I really don’t have time for this.”
She stalked off.
Inside we both know what’s been going on We know the game and we’re gonna play it I just wanna tell you how I’m feeling
Elizabeth sighed and put her head on her chin as she watched her best friend storm out of the ballroom. “How much longer do you think you and Emily are going to be fighting?”
“We’re not fighting,” Jason said, almost defensively. “She doesn’t talk to me.”
“I’m glad you took a stand against that Sonny crap,” Ned declared. “So was Grandfather.” He got up and went to go annoy Alexis across the room where she stood with Ric.
Elizabeth snickered as Jason glared at her. “It’s nice to see you agreeing with the Quartermaines. Next thing you know, you’ll be throwing chicken wings at their annual Fourth of July food fight.”
Gotta make you understand Never gonna give you up
Jason arched a brow at her. “You think that’s funny?”
“I think it’s hysterical.” Even as her lips continued to twitch, she swallowed a giggle. “Seriously. She and Sonny have broken up. You were right. He broke her heart. Would it kill you to offer the olive branch? You know Emily never will.”
“She doesn’t want to hear from me,” Jason muttered as he looked down at the table. Elizabeth reached over to touch his hand.
Never gonna let you down Never gonna run around and desert you
“She does, but she’ll never admit it—” Elizabeth blinked as she watched Patrick stalk across the dance floor towards Robin and Nikolas. “Oh…that’s not good.”
Never gonna make you cry Never gonna say goodbye Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
“I’ll take the next dance, Cassadine. Thanks,” Patrick said as he smoothly cut between the friends, took Robin’s hand and tugged her away from the prince.
Robin scowled up at him. “You know, it’s the twenty-first century, Gronk. You could have asked.”
I believe it’s meant to be, darling
I watch you when you are sleeping
“You would have said no.”
“Oh, so that makes it okay?”
“See, this is why we broke up. You have to argue with every little thing I say—”
You belong with me Do you feel the same?
“I thought we broke up because I was getting too attached,” Robin snarled. She shoved him back and stormed out. “Isn’t that what you said after I found you feeling up that nurse?”
“Second woman in ten minutes,” his father quipped as he twirled Bobbie Spencer past him. “You’re losing your touch.”
Patrick all but growled at his father as he chased after Robin.
Am I only dreaming Or is this burning an eternal flame?
Jason set down another soda for Elizabeth, then sat in a different seat than he had before he’d gone over to the bar. Elizabeth smiled at him.
“You know, I saw Lucky and Maxie when they came in. You don’t have to block my view of them,” she told him as she gestured at her ex-husband and the woman he’d left her for. They were intertwined on the dance floor, with her stepfather and his sister glaring at them.
“I just didn’t want anything to ruin your night,” Jason told her. “You worked too hard on this.”
Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling
“First of all,” Patrick declared as he caught up to Robin outside of the ballroom. He took her elbow and spun her around to face him. “I wasn’t feeling up the nurse. I was talking to her.”
“You were doing that thing your eyes!” Robin retorted, jabbing her finger in his face. “You were looking at her.”
“Because she was in front of me! How else am I supposed to interact with the human race?” He threw his hands up. “You were so ready for me to cheat on you, you decided looking at another woman was enough!”
Do you feel my heart beating Do you understand?
“Well—” Robin huffed. “That’s just…It’s not true. If you weren’t sleeping with her, you would have—”
Patrick forced himself to take a deep breath. “I get that you’ve been hurt before. I get that your father turned out to be an idiot, that your first love died, and Jason was also a dick—”
“That has nothing to do with it!”
Do you feel the same Am I only dreaming Is this burning an eternal flame?
“We’ve separated four months ago,” Elizabeth said with a shrug of her shoulder. “Our divorce is finalized. It turns out…for once…it was really easy to let go of Lucky Spencer.” She smiled at him. “He can’t ruin my night. Not anymore.”
She held out her hand. “Dance with me.”
Jason sighed, but took her hand and allowed her to lead him onto the dance floor—far away from Lucky and Maxie.
Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling
“The way I see it, Robin, we could either make each other’s lives miserable the way we have for the last few weeks,” Patrick told her, “or we could knock it off and just—” He shook his head. “Stop running away.”
Robin’s heart pounded as she shook her head. “I’m not running away—”
“You were literally running away five minutes ago. I care about you, Robin. I’ve missed you. If you don’t feel the same—”
When she just stared up at him, his shoulders slumped. “I get it. Fine. I’ll see you around—”
She grabbed his arm to stop him from going back into the ballroom, fisted her hand in his white dress shirt, and tugged him down to kiss him.
Do you feel my heart beating Do you understand? Do you feel the same
“Thank you for coming with me tonight,” Elizabeth said looking up at Jason. “Even if I did have to blackmail you.”
“Do you think I’d really be here if I didn’t want to be?” he asked her, with that old sweet look in his eyes. She grinned.
Am I only dreaming, ah
“No. But it was nice of you to let me think I could make you do something.” She smoothed her hand down the lapel of his suit jacket. “If only you’d agreed to the lime-green blazer.”
“I have my limits.”
“There’s always next year,” she threatened, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “I’ll figure out how to get you to dress for the theme. Did I mention Brenda’s already planning it?” She giggled as he grimaced, but neither of them remarked on her assumption they’d be attending next year together.
Is this burning an eternal flame? Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling
“Thank you, Port Charles!” Brenda declared several hours later as she stood in the center of the stage solo. She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at her co-hostesses who remained in the audience. “It’s always nice when we can get together without explosions or mayhem!”
“Night’s still young!” Lulu Spencer called out.
“Haha. Very funny. Thanks for your generosity and we’ll see you back next year!” She turned to their DJ. “Play one more for the road!”
Because I’ve had the time of my life
No, I never felt this way before
Yes I swear it’s the truth
And I owe it all to you
Sonny Corinthos didn’t pull his hand back, merely left it hanging and when he didn’t answer, Sam slid her hand into his and allowed him to pull her to her feet. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Mike called,” Sonny replied. “Mentioned you might need a ride somewhere.” He scratched his chin. “I hear you got yourself into a spot of trouble.”
Sam chuckled bitterly. “Don’t be nice to me. You don’t mean it. I blew up my life and now you’re here to pick up the pieces.” She narrowed her eyes. “Why, exactly, are you going to the trouble?”
“Because of our daughter,” Sonny said bluntly. “I will watch out for you, I will worry about you for the sake of our daughter. But don’t for one second think that I’m taking your side in this. Jason didn’t deserve this, Sam.”
“We don’t deserve a lot of things that happen to us,” Sam said caustically. “Doesn’t stop them from happening all the same.” She stepped away from him. “I don’t need you. I don’t need Jason, I don’t need anyone to fix this.”
“That’s usually what Carly says right before she makes things worse,” Sonny warned.
“I’m not Carly,” Sam retorted. “I’m not your selfish and insane ex-wife, I’m not your perfect saintly sister, I’m not pretty porcelain Emily and I’m sure as hell not damsel in distress Elizabeth. I’m me.” She flattened her hand against her chest. “I’m wrong side of the tracks, white trash, con artist Sam. And I’m so sick and tired of pretending to be otherwise. So, yeah, I blew up my life, but maybe my life was just a fucking wasteland, Sonny.”
“You and Jason loved each other–”
“Jason loved the person I was trying to be,” Sam interrupted. “And I don’t like that person. That person had no life. Had no ambition, no life separate from Jason. And it was fine for the first year because it was nice to feel loved and wanted but I woke up one day and I realized that I didn’t know who that was in the mirror. My life revolves around Jason, and that makes me sick. And he didn’t even realize that I wasn’t real. So what the hell was this grand love all about?”
“Sam–”
“And as for your saintly pity and concern,” Sam spat, “you can shove it because I don’t need you feeling sorry for me for the sake of a daughter you couldn’t give a shit about. You didn’t even bother to name her before you shoved her into the ground. You told the doctors not to bother.” She shoved him. “So get the hell out of my life and stay out. From now on, I’m on my own.”
“I don’t believe for that one for one second,” Patrick shook his head.
“Oh, it’s so true. I was thisclose to being the Face of Deception,” Elizabeth said earnestly. “But I decided I didn’t want to be a model and finally Lucky accepted the decision so Gia was chosen.” She wrinkled her nose. “Is it so hard to believe I could be a model?”
“That’s not a trap or anything,” he replied. “I remember when Brenda Barrett was the Face,” he said, fondly. “I had her picture in my locker for nearly a year in high school.”
Elizabeth snorted. “Don’t tell Robin that, that’s her best friend.”
Patrick straightened. “Are you kidding? Robin’s Brenda is the Brenda Barrett?” his face lit up. “Well, clearly, we’re going to have to go visit her in Italy.”
Elizabeth whacked him in the arm. “Pervert.” She narrowed her eyes. “So, what, I’m not model material?”
“Oh, you are definitely pretty enough to be a model,” Patrick said quickly. “But you don’t have the personality.” He shook his head. “You’re happier having dinner at home with your kid.”
“Hmm…nice save.” Elizabeth studied him for a moment. “Okay, well that was my closest brush with fame. And it’s my turn to ask a question. Were you ever in love before Robin?”
“That’s not sneaky or anything,” Patrick grumbled. “Without admitting anything, no. I was never in love before. You?”
“Before Lucky, no,” Elizabeth shook her head. “But I’ve been in love twice before I married him. Lucky was in a fire and we thought he was dead, so Jason and I became close–”
“What is with all the women in this town and Jason freaking Morgan?” Patrick muttered. “Robin moves heaven and earth to save his life, Carly offers to sleep with me if I’ll perform the surgery, you dated him–”
“Carly will offer to sleep with a dog if she thinks there’s something in it for her,” Elizabeth said dryly. “And Jason is a wonderful person. You just don’t like to share the spotlight. Anyway, Jason and I were close but he left town and Lucky came home. When Jason came back, things were complicated but there was definitely something there. And I don’t think it was until he came home the last time that I realized that I had been in love with him since I was eighteen.” She sighed. “But our timing was never right so that fell apart. And then there was Ric, my first–and my second husband. I loved him but I never knew him, not really.”
“Three great loves,” Patrick remarked. “So much for the theory that there’s one person for all of us.”
“I still believe there is,” Elizabeth said. “I just don’t think I’m ever going to end up with him.” She sighed and tilted her head up to the stars. “Thank you for staying, Patrick. You really got my mind off things.” She paused. “But I think I’m ready to go now.”
“Great.” Patrick got to his feet. “So Brownstone? So I can take you to Robin and Bobbie?”
“No, I think I’d rather be alone,” Elizabeth replied honestly. “Seriously, I appreciate the effort and I will be sure to tell Robin that she’s got a very sweet boyfriend–”
“We’re not really into labels,” Patrick said uncomfortably.
“–but I’m just going to go and see my son at my grandmother’s.”
“Fine,” Patrick nodded. “I’ll walk you there.”
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. “I can make it on my own.”
“I’ll just walk behind you if want you, but I’m not letting you walk around Port Charles by yourself at this time of night.” He shook his head. “Not going to happen.”
“Listen, if I wanted someone to be in charge of my life, I never would have moved out of my grandmother’s house,” Elizabeth said hotly. “I don’t need to be told where I can go and who I can go with.”
“Miss Webber, thank God!”
Elizabeth and Patrick turned to find Max Giambetti at the top of the stairs. “You would not believe how many places I have looked for you tonight,” he began.
Elizabeth frowned. “And why are you looking for me?” she asked curiously.
“Because Jason sent me to look for you–he’s got a few guys combing the city for you. I’m under orders to bring you back to the penthouse,” Max told her, joining them.
“Well, don’t worry, I’ve got it covered,” Patrick said arrogantly. “You can tell your boss I’m looking after her.”
“You are not,” Elizabeth said, irritated. “Max, I appreciate it–”
“If you’ll just come with me, Miss Webber, you can tell Jason to leave you alone but I got my orders–”
“I don’t give a damn about your orders,” Patrick stepped in front of Elizabeth. “I’ve got it under control and I’ll make sure she gets home safely–”
“And you were too sissy to do anything but throw a pool ball in bar fight,” Max remarked sardonically. “How you gonna protect Miss Webber if you’re not willing to get your hands dirty?”
“Hey, I was not injuring my hands over Emily Quartermaine,” Patrick retorted. “These hands are worth more than eight of you–”
“Exactly my point. You can see why I’m not leaving Miss Webber with a pansy ass neurosurgeon,” Max returned. “Now if you’ll just come with me–” he glanced around. “Miss Webber?”
Patrick frowned and turned to where he’d last seen Elizabeth. She was gone. “Elizabeth?” he called.
“Great, you lost her,” Max said disgustedly. “I just spent four hours looking for her and now I have to find her again.”
“I lost her?” Patrick repeated, offended. “Hey, buddy, she wasn’t running away from me until you showed up. This is clearly your fault!”
Elizabeth blinked at Patrick. The wave of confusion filtering through her brain was the first emotion she’d allowed herself to feel in hours. She tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips. “Why?”
The doctor grinned and stepped closer. “You want the ulterior motive or the selfless one?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’ve had about all I can take of men and their lying tonight so why don’t you give me the ulterior motive?”
Patrick sighed. “Okay, so Robin and Bobbie wanted to check on you. They couldn’t find you, I figured if I could deliver you to Robin, she might not be so damn mad at me.”
Elizabeth folded her arms underneath her breasts and scowled at him. “What’d you do to her? Cheat on her?”
He hesitated. “No. But she thinks I did—look, it’s not important. So let me just take you back to the Brownstone–that’s where they’re waiting. I’ll take you back, you’ll do the girl thing with the ice cream and creating voodoo dolls, and I’ll have myself back in Robin’s good graces. Everybody wins.”
“Maybe if you men kept your pants on, you wouldn’t have to worry about it,” Elizabeth retorted. “Is sex really that important? I mean, is it really worth destroying everything you’ve built? Blowing your life out of the water? Making your children’s lives miserable?”
Uncomfortable, Patrick slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks and rocked back and forth on his feet. Clearly, she wasn’t going to go without a fight. Tracking her down had made a lot more sense an hour ago. “Well, it’s important but I don’t see the point in cheating,” he said after a moment. “Which is why I don’t make commitments so I can avoid hurting people like you’re hurting now.”
“Right,” Elizabeth drawled sarcastically. “It’s so much better for Robin to think you’d rather be with a lot of women and that you enjoy rolling from her bed to another woman’s. That’s so much more compassionate of you.”
“Hey, how did I become the villain here?” he demanded, a little put out. “I came looking for you out of the goodness of my heart–”
“You came looking for me because you wanted to further your own agenda,” Elizabeth shot back. “Don’t delude yourself. You men are all alike–”
“Hey, just because you’re pissed at Lucky–and rightfully so because he’s an ass–it doesn’t mean you get to dump all over me,” Patrick interrupted. “Ulterior motive be damned, I don’t see anyone else standing here.”
Suddenly tired, Elizabeth slumped on a park bench. “That’s because there is no one else. Nikolas is Lucky’s brother, Emily was Lucky’s best friend long before she was mine and I bet anyone else gave up the search a long time ago.” She shook her head. “Thank you for the attempt, as lame as it is.”
Still a little chagrined, Patrick jerked a shoulder. “Whatever. And for the record, it’s not my fault Carly decided to list all her past deeds in an effort to make Sam look even worse. And there was barely any attempt to seduce me so really, I don’t know what Robin’s all put out about.”
“Maybe because Carly almost single handedly destroyed Robin’s life the last time she lived in town.” Elizabeth frowned. “What did Carly do tonight?”
“She laid into Sam, and then Sam tried to turn it around on her. It would have been more amusing if she’d left me out of it.” He held out a hand. “Come on, I’ll take you back to Bobbie’s, so you can curse men around people who’ll appreciate it.”
“I’d rather not be around people right now, if it’s all the same to you.” She hesitated. “However, I will be sure to tell Robin that you very nicely came after me and that she’s lucky to be sleeping with the one jackass in town that’s not completely worthless–”
She stopped talking when Patrick sat down next to her and stretched out his legs, clearly settling in. “Can I help you?”
“Nope, I’m fine. I’m just staving off the hitting that’ll come from both Bobbie and Robin if I left you in the park after dark. So you just sit there with your thoughts, I’ll sit here with mine and then I’ll walk you wherever you want to go.”
Elizabeth stared at him for a long moment before turning her attention back to the fountain. She’d walked all over Port Charles that evening but had found herself back here–a place that she had rarely visited in the nine years since the rape. “Don’t you have a hot date tonight?”
“I would have if Carly hadn’t chased her away,” Patrick scowled. “Though I don’t know how many hot dates start as double dates with one’s father.” He paused thoughtfully. “I blame Robin for this you know.”
“For what?”
“A year ago, I could have ignored the entire situation, even if it had happened to someone I knew. And I’d be out, trying to pick someone up.” Patrick shifted. “Thanks to Robin, I’m sitting in the middle of the park, being verbally abused by someone who has hit me with a chart every time I’ve tried to pick her up. Thanks to her, my dinner dates are at a diner with my father and thanks to her, I’ve haven’t slept with anyone else since December.” He scowled. “So I blame Robin for this.”
“Yes, feel free to blame Robin for teaching you about compassion, kindness and the value of being selective with one’s partners. Oh and for giving you back your father. Clearly, she’s a menace to society and must be stopped,” Elizabeth said dryly.
“You’re not kidding,” Patrick grumbled.
There was a long silence before she spoke again. “Thank you,” she said softly. “For not walking away. People usually find it easy to walk away from me. Or to let me go. So thank you.”
Highly uncomfortable now, Patrick shrugged. “I’m only doing this to get Robin to not be irritated with me. It has nothing to do with you.”
Not convinced, Elizabeth smiled faintly. “Of course not. You just go out of your way for all of Robin’s friends. It’s nice that she’s important to you.”
“That’s not–I never–” he glared at her. “You’re a pain.”
She patted his arm. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”
She’d been crying for hours, or maybe it had been minutes. It was all bleeding together into one long miserable nightmare. She had sabotaged the best thing that had ever happened to her for an affair with someone who had run after his wife. Lucky didn’t love her–Sam didn’t delude herself about that, and if Jason had ever felt anything other obligation for her (she was not convinced he’d ever really loved her but she didn’t really know what love felt like so maybe he had) it was gone now, replaced with disgust and hatred.
But Jason could never hate her as much as Sam hated herself.
A hand appeared in front of her face and Sam looked up, blinking through her tears. “What do you want?” she demanded.
Samantha McCall knew panic. She knew what it was to taste it, to feel it in her bones, for it to choke at her throat and black out everything in sight. She knew panic, she knew desperation–she had been here before.
But it was keener this time, its edge sharper and dug more deeply into her flesh. She grabbed at the sides of his leather jacket, desperate to keep him from leaving her, from turning his back and walking away but at the same time, knowing it was inevitable.
“I can explain,” Sam assured him. “There’s an explanation and it’s a good one, you just–you–”
Jason Morgan reached up and pried her fingers from his jacket. He released the slender digits as though the very touch offended him, as if he’d touched scalding water. “I don’t have to do anything,” he said coldly. His stony gaze flickered around the dining room–to the eyes of those who pretended they weren’t watching, weren’t hanging on every single word. He looked to the sympathetic eyes of his best friend and the confused eyes of her son.
He never met Sam’s eyes.
“Don’t be at the penthouse after tonight,” Jason said. “I don’t care where you go, but I want you out.”
“Jason–” Sam reached for him but he was already slipping away from her. Stepping back, stepping towards the double doors of the diner. Walking away from her, from their future and their life together. He was walking away, turning his back and he’d never turn to her again unless she stopped him. “Jason, please–”
“You make me sick,” Carly Corinthos muttered. She stepped forward and grabbed Sam’s arm to keep her from running after him. “You’ve wrecked one marriage tonight and broke Jason’s heart. Aren’t you finished yet?”
Sam yanked her arm from Carly’s grasp. “You have room to speak,” she spat. “How many marriages have you destroyed? How many lives lay in your wake, how many hearts have you smashed?” She waved her arms at those standing around them. “How many of those people are in this room?”
Carly smirked. “Michael, go in the back with your grandfather.”
“But, Mom–”
“Now!” Carly ordered. After Michael had huffed and stalked into the back room, Carly put a hand on her hip and pointed to a table in the back of the room where her mother was sitting with Noah Drake, his son and Robin Scorpio “I think there’s only two here tonight. There’s my mother–whose husband I seduced and there’s Robin. I seduced her boyfriend, ran her out of town and then tried to seduce her newboy toy.”
She paused and thought for a moment. “Jason–he just left–but I destroyed his life more than once. Sonny’s not here but I turned him into the Feds once.” She paused. “Well, twice, but the first time was an accident. We can’t forget AJ–I drugged him and then lied to him for months about the paternity of his son.” Carly arched an eyebrow. “If you were trying to make me feel guilty or ashamed, Sam, it didn’t work. You know why?”
She didn’t wait for an answer, only took another step closer to the brunette. “Because I have never tried to pretend that I am anything less than I who I am. I’m not the con artist who came to town, got pregnant and then decided I was the Virgin Freaking Mary. You’ve pretended that your shit doesn’t stink since the second you latched on to Jason but we both know who you are and where you come from.”
Carly leaned closer and put her lips next to Sam’s ear. “We’re the same, you and I. But you know what sets us apart? I accept myself. I know who I am and I don’t care. You’re ashamed to be in your own skin and you’re just going to keep destroying your life until you learn to accept that you came from trash and part of you will always be trash.”
She stepped back and yanked her coat from the back of the chair. “You know, Jason’s going to need comfort, someone who understands him and has never let him down.”
“And I suppose that’s you,” Sam said caustically.
“No.” Carly tilted her head to the side, her hair cascading over one shoulder. An unholy glimmer of amusement slid into her eyes. “But you know, Elizabeth and Jason have been friends for a very long time. And right now, she’s probably feeling as shell shocked and heartbroken as he is. It wouldn’t surprise me if the lovely Mrs. Spencer found him on her doorstep.” Her smile widened then. “You know, just to check on her.”
“You don’t even like Elizabeth,” Sam retorted.
“No, but I like her a hell of lot more than you right now.” With taking her eyes from Sam, Carly raised her voice. “Michael, we’re going.”
Michael, whom Mike hadn’t been able to keep from eavesdropping ran out from the back and looked at his mother questioning. “Mom, what’s seduced mean?”
“Adult word, I’ll tell you when you’re older.” Carly gripped his shoulder and led him from the diner.
Sam stood alone in the middle of the diner for another long moment, feeling the stares of all those present. Humiliation began to sink in. Her face flushed and her hands shook. But Sam did not run, she didn’t flee. She turned on her heel and stalked out of the diner, keeping her composure until she was out of the courtyard and in the parking lot. And then she sank to her knees and began to cry.
Inside, Jesse Beaudry sat back in his chair and grinned at his girlfriend. “Man, I love living here. That kind of stuff happens every week.” She scowled at him and kicked him under the table.
“That’s your partner that just cheated on his wife that that hussy,” Maxie Jones huffed. “You should go after him and kick his ass, aren’t you supposed to be his friend?”
“I don’t really think Lucky wants to see anyone right now–” Jesse began but the glare from her silenced him. “Okay, okay, I’m going.”
Robin tossed her napkin on the table and turned a fulminating glare at the man seated next to her. “Carly tried to seduce you, huh?” she demanded. “When?”
“I don’t think that’s really all that important,” Patrick Drake began carefully. “What’s important is that you should, ah–” he looked to his father for help but Noah just held up his hands as if to say you’re on your own, son. “I bet Liz could use an ear right now,” he said in a lame attempt to deflect attention from him.
“I’ll go check on her,” Bobbie practically leapt from her seat in an attempt to escape the situation. Robin glared again at Patrick before grabbing her purse and getting to her feet.
“This isn’t over,” she warned him before following the redhead out of the diner. Patrick slumped his chair and glared at his father.
“Thank you so much for all the help, you lousy bastard.”
Jason waited by her apartment door for nearly an hour before realizing that Elizabeth didn’t intend on returning. He put the word out on the streets that he was looking for her and even pried Max away from Sonny and ordered him to find her.
To concentrate on Elizabeth and her well-being focused him, kept him from remembering the slicing pain that had ripped through him when Elizabeth had barreled past his table, followed by her half-dressed husband and Sam, buttoning her shirt rapidly.
He hadn’t needed a second look, hadn’t needed to consider that the scene was anything but what it was. He’d let himself feel it, and then he’d shut down. It was easier to worry about Elizabeth, she was the one who had walked in, had found them, had had the betrayal shoved in her face.
It had happened this way once before for her, four years ago. She walked into a room–he wondered briefly it was the same room–to find Lucky with someone else. She’d fled the scene, had found him and he’d been there for her.
He wanted to be there for her again and maybe she’d be able to tell him how you lived with that image in your brain. Because somehow, this was worse than Sonny and Carly. He knew now that he hadn’t loved Carly, not really. But he’d loved Sam. Planned a life with her.
He wondered if Elizabeth could tell him how to forgive the unforgivable.
She’d walked the street of Port Charles for hours–Elizabeth had had every intention on going home and packing before picking Cameron up at Emily’s and then going to her grandmother’s. But every time she tried to turn her feet in that direction, they’d disobeyed and gone the opposite way.
She wasn’t yet ready to go home.
Footsteps bled out from the darkness behind her and Elizabeth whirled around, planting herself against the side of the business, still edgy from being at the fountain. “Who’s there?” she demanded shrilly.
A familiar figure came into view. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” he said.
So, I guess in 2006 I decided to go with a recent trend and start a story where I would write a part, offer two choices on how the next part could go, people would comment, and I’d write the next part with that input. For whatever reason, I stopped after Part Four.
I’m cleaning out my writing folders, making sure that everything that needs to be on my site is there, and I found this. I actually don’t hate it, so I thought I’d post the first four parts and see if I can make this happen again.
So at the end of Part 4, I’ll offer a series of questions. You guys answer them, offer some suggestions. I’ll write the one that seems the most fun 😛 Make it difficult for me, people. I get bored easily.
So, this is set in 2006. Sam wasn’t shot, Lucky’s not on drugs. Jesse’s not dead, so Maxie is less skanky.
Part One
There is a theory that in every life, there is a turning point. That one decision puts your life on entirely different path than it would have been if you’d made another choice.
There is not one person in the history of the world that has not looked at their life and felt that if they had just done that one thing differently, everything that came after that would be all right.
For Elizabeth Webber Spencer, that moment felt as though it had come a thousand times. The night she decided to hop on a plane and fly to Port Charles. The night she walked through a park instead of going to a school dance. The night her first love died in a fire. The morning she walked through the snow and found her friend bleeding to death. The day she decided not to marry her first love. The day she found out she was pregnant for the first time. The moment she found out she had lost her child. The moment she held her son. The moment she looked into her first love’s eyes and saw a future once again.
All were defining moments in her life but none of those was the quintessential turning moment. Her turning moment–one that would abruptly separate her life into a before and after was the moment she opened a door.
It was a door that she had passed through a thousand times in her nine years of living in Port Charles, in the six years that she had worked in Kelly’s and in the two that she had lived here. It was a door that matched the other four on the floor above the diner. It was a door that led to a room that she had once slept in, lived in and shared moments with her now-husband in.
She opened the door and everything she knew to be true was found false in that moment as she relived a nightmare that she thought was four years in her past.
She opened the door and would have thought she’d stepped back in time except the woman clutching a sheet to her bare breasts was a brunette and not blonde. The woman with the wide eyes and startled gasp was not her sister, but the fiancée of her best friend’s brother.
And the man in the bed with the guilty eyes was not her sort-of boyfriend who no longer remembered their love. The man with the apologies spilling from his lips was not the sweet first love of her youth, but the husband that she had stood before God, family, and friends and pledged her eternal devotion.
Elizabeth Webber Spencer would always remember that before she opened the door, she had the perfect life of a wife, mother and nurse and that afterwards, she was still all of those things but the perfection had been shattered and she wondered if it had ever existed at all.
“I’m so sorry,” Elizabeth murmured. She stepped back and calmly shut the door before hurrying down the hallway. She could hear shouts and some thuds from the room but still she fled.
Her steps quickened as she heard the door open and he called out her name. She clattered down the steps and flew into the kitchen, her breathing as fast as her pace. The further away from that room, the more her breathing hitched, the more the tears burned behind her eyes.
In the dining room of Kelly’s, a crowd of people that she knew were seated. They were gathered at different tables, there for different purposes, but all she could focus on was that they were present at the scene of her humiliation. She hesitated in the doorway and thought that she might escape from the back door when she heard his footsteps on the steps.
She rushed through the dining room and heard no less than five people call after her but she ignored them and broke into a run when the door to the diner swung shut.
She ran so hard and so fast that her heart was pounding in her chest and she thought for sure any moment it would burst and she almost wanted that because then this would be over and she wouldn’t feel like this anymore.
When she couldn’t run anymore, when her legs simply gave out and she collapsed, she gave into the grief that had choked at her since the moment she opened the door to Lucky’s old room above Kelly’s.
Her head buried in her hands, her sobs ripping from her throat as though she’d surely die if they did not escape, she did not even register the scene of her breakdown until she heard the water rushing into the fountain behind her and it was only then she took in the concrete benches surrounding the fountain at the Port Charles Park.
It was a sick joke that her life would end here, that it would end again the way it had ended so brutally eight years ago.
A voice broke through her misery and Elizabeth reluctantly raised her eyes to the compassionate ones of an old friend. “Go away,” she muttered. She swiped at her eyes and ignored the hurt look in Nikolas Cassadine’s dark gaze. “I d-don’t want anyone to see me.”
“Liz…” Nikolas knelt down and held out a handkerchief to her. “I don’t have to ask what’s wrong, I already know.”
Her head snapped up, her eyes met his and the horror of what he admitted seared her soul. “You–You knew?” she demanded, brokenly. She sat back on her heels and stared at him. “You k-knew and you l-let me go on l-looking like a fool?”
“No, no–” Nikolas held up his hands. “Lucky came down after you and not far behind–well, it was an unfortunate moment for them to choose to…because Jason was there with Carly and Michael, too. It was pretty clear what happened since neither of them was fully dressed.”
“Oh, God…” Elizabeth’s hands started to shake. “I d-don’t u-understand, N-Nikolas. What’s going on? Why?” She shook her head and dragged herself to her feet. She wanted to snap at him when he put an arm around her waist to steady at her but she needed the support too much to complain. “We were happy, weren’t we?”
“I thought so,” Nikolas murmured. He gently led her to a bench and helped her sit down. “Elizabeth, I wish I knew what to say, what to do.”
“There’s nothing.” She swallowed hard, ignoring the bile in her throat. She took a deep breath, and forced her insides to freeze. The only way she could survive this experience was to be numb. When she felt like she could speak again, when she could function again, she looked at him. “There’s nothing you can do. I have to go to the apartment, I have to pack some things and go to my grandmother’s.”
She felt his body tense but she gave him some credit, his expression remained neutral–remained concerned. “Are you sure you want to do that?”
“The only thing in my life that I am absolutely sure about is that I just found my husband in bed with Samantha McCall,” Elizabeth said. “And I’m not sure you’re the right person to give me advice since you left Emily for a married woman.” She pushed herself to her feet and felt a calm settle over her.
There was no going back, there was no changing what she had seen. The only thing she could do was move forward, to make a decision and to figure out the next step.
This takes place in 2010, but it’s part of the Hand Me Down universe, so you should read If I Don’t Try With You first. I haven’t really worked on the HMD universe in a long time, but it begins after Michael’s shooting. Michael ended up dying, and Sonny died after going after Johnny. Jason and Elizabeth stayed together. That’s basically what you need to know.
Inspiration
This was definitely inspired by a challenge to write about a GH holiday with some fluff, but I only know that because of the topic of the story and the fact that I found the OG file in my Challenge response folder on my computer when I brought back the site in 2014.
Banner Here
July 4, 2010
The annual Fourth of July picnic was one of the few days of the year when the citizens of Port Charles gathered and managed to remain civil to one another for at least three hours. That particular record had been set by the Quartermaines themselves in the early nineties. They had been within fifteen minutes of three and a half hours, but Edward had blustered about something that Alan had taken offense to and somehow, the mayor had ended up with mashed potatoes in his hair.
Each year, the celebration had grown in attendance until one couldn’t go to the park on that day and not tread over a picnic blanket, a table or in the case of more well-to-do residents – an entire tent.
On this particular day, the tent in question belonged to Jason Morgan. He was there with his wife, their two boys and their newborn daughter, Juliet. He had invited his best friend Carly, her husband Jax and their two children. It was a bittersweet celebration as neither Jason nor Carly were completely adjusted to spending this holiday without Carly’s ex-husband Sonny Corinthos and son Michael. Both had died just two years earlier.
They had endeavored to move on with their lives and both had done so with the birth of subsequent children. Each had solid marriages to their spouses and if life wasn’t exactly perfect, it was as close as either of them had ever been.
Despite the shade the tent offered, the day was steaming hot and sweat dripped from Jason’s adopted six-year-old son Cameron’s face. Cam had been chasing Carly’s son Morgan in a circle and both were red-faced and panting from the heat.
His wife, Elizabeth, bit down on her lower lip. “Maybe I should take them back to the car. Sit in the air conditioning for a while.” She adjusted her two month old daughter in the portable crib that had been set up and studied Cameron and their three-year-old Jake, who didn’t look much cooler. “It’s hotter than it was supposed to be.”
Carly gripped the front of her sweat-soaked cherry red tank top and pulled it away from her chest. “Well, it is summer,” she said with a smirk. “I’d be surprised if it was chilly.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “Anyway,” she said, directing her remarks to Jason. “Maybe we should feed the kids and take them home. We can bring them back for the fireworks.”
“No!” Cameron argued. He shook his head. “I want to stay!”
“It’s too hot out here.” Elizabeth reached for a napkin, dipped it into a glass of iced water and started to wipe down her son’s face. Cameron squirmed.
“Come on, Mom!” he complained, twisting away. “I’m not a baby!”
“Which is why I didn’t spit on it first.” She sighed and released him. “Fine. Go. Run. Get heatstroke.”
“Thanks, Mom!” Cameron immediately tagged Morgan. “You’re it!” he crowed and took off.
“I’m taking Jules back to the car,” Elizabeth told Jason. She reached down and picked up the infant. “I can take Cece if you want.”
Carly glanced over to her fourteen month old daughter who was chattering away to her daddy about a ladybug she’d seen crawling on her arm. “I think she’s okay for now. I’ll make sure the boys don’t keel over from too much sun.” She glanced over at them and narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me. My kid is wandering too close to the Quartermaine tent. Nothing good comes from that.” She made a quick exit to grab head off Cameron and Morgan.
“We can all go back to the house,” Jason offered. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, I’m okay, but if you think the kids are going to get too sick—”
“No, no,” Elizabeth shook her head. She smiled. “It’s the first year we’ve all been together as a family. Last year Carly and Jax were visiting Lady Jane, and I know Cam’s having a good time with Morgan.” She brushed her hand over Juliet’s almost existent fluff of blonde hair. “I just don’t think it’s good for Jules.”
“I wasn’t able to stop Edward from coming over to see his great-grandchildren,” Carly huffed, hauling both boys back, a hand wrapped around each one of their arms. “What did we say about wandering away from the tent?” she demanded.
“To stay away from Robin Drake,” Morgan said with an impish smile.
“And the Zacchara tent,” Cameron added dutifully. He grinned, revealing his dimples.
“I’m pretty sure that’s not what I said,” Carly muttered.
“And I’m almost positive that I said not to leave the immediate area,” Elizabeth said, arching an eyebrow. “Isn’t that right?”
“Possibly,” Morgan nodded. “But Cam was gonna tackle me and the last time he did that, I ate dirt.” He shook his head. “So not interested in repeating that experience, Aunt Liz. I think you can get what I’m saying.”
“I can get that you didn’t follow my instructions or your mother’s,” Elizabeth remarked. She grinned. “Because I’m pretty sure we both said to stay away from the Quartermaine tent.”
“That is…” Cameron paused. “Entirely possible.”
“Mayday,” Carly hissed to Elizabeth. “Incoming. Quartermaine at ten o’clock.”
“You think if I hide Jake under the table, he won’t notice him?” Elizabeth asked. “The last time we took the kids over, Edward was trying to convince us it was time for Cam to go away to boarding school.”
“I told you visiting Edward was a mistake,” Jason shook his head. “But you insisted.”
“To be fair, I took them to see Monica,” Elizabeth reminded him. She pasted a smile on her face as Jason’s grandfather joined them. “Mr. Quartermaine,” she greed politely.
Edward rubbed his hands together, looking uncharacteristically harmless in a pair of khakis and a polo shirt. Elizabeth wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen him out of a suit. “Now, now, my dear, I’ve told you to call me Edward.” He smiled charmingly. “Or Grandfather.”
“Right, Mr. Quartermaine,” Elizabeth nodded. She turned to Jason. “I think I should take the kids to the car for the air conditioning. They need a break from the heat.”
“Oh, but I’ve just arrived.” Edward leaned closer trying to get a closer look at Juliet. “And I’ve hardly had time to meet my great-granddaughter.”
“Will you try to enroll her in college before she can walk?” Jason asked, a little resigned.
“It’s never too early to plan for the future,” Edward advised firmly. “If you have a firm idea now, you will be able to execute it without a flaw later. It’s solid parenting advice that Lila and I followed for our children and it worked. Alan was a splendid doctor and Tracy is well…” he paused. “She had great potential at one time. I can’t quite fathom her marital choices, but she’s not bad at business.”
Elizabeth glanced at her husband, looking for some direction. Jason just shrugged. When it came to Edward, it was best to let him have his say and avoid conflict. “That’s very nice advice, Mr. Quartermaine,” she said. “Jason and I appreciate it.”
“Don’t patronize me, young lady,” Edward said sternly. “It’s not my fault that they were both incapable of raising their own children. Lila and I did a fine job but our entire crop of grandchildren was worthless. Except for Emily, of course. She was a fine girl who is still missed greatly.”
“Of course,” Elizabeth replied, softening. She held out her daughter. “Would you like to hold Juliet for a moment? It’s a bit warm out here for her so I’m going to take her into some air for a while, but I’m sure she’d like to meet her great-grandfather first.”
Edward’s eyes lit up as she placed the infant in his arms. “That’s very kind of you, my dear.” He cradled Juliet in his embrace and smiled down at her. “I was very pleased when Monica told me Jason was marrying you, you know.”
Jason shook his head, knowing that Elizabeth was a lost cause now. She’d insist Edward have regular visits from now on, she’d feel obligated to both the old man and his sister. His wife had always been a soft touch.
“You were always so good to Emily,” Edward continued, “and you had such a good work ethic and a strong moral compass. You are the exactly the right woman for my grandson and for the mother of his children. He is very lucky you chose him.”
He handed the baby back to her. “You get that child out of the sun,” he cautioned. He looked to Jason. “You have a very nice family. Don’t screw it up.”
Edward ambled back over to his tent where Monica and Tracy were arguing, Dillon was attempting to hide behind Alice and Ned was ignoring everyone and speaking to his daughter, Brook Lynn. Another day at the Quartermaines.
“I give them five minutes before Tracy throws water in her face,” Carly nodded.
“Ten before the ribs goes flying,” Elizabeth replied.
“I doubt they’ll hold out that long,” Jax joined them. “I can see Monica eyeing up the hot dogs.”
“You’re all wrong,” Jason surprised them by speaking up. “Tracy’s hand is inching towards the chicken wings.”
Sure enough, a moment later, Tracy flung the first chicken wing at her sister-in-law. Monica retaliated with a hot dog and Dillon ducked in the picnic table entirely to avoid the ribs that flew a moment later.
“They’re going to need that water,” Carly remarked. “To cool down and to clean up.”
Elizabeth laughed and reached up to kiss Jason’s cheek. “I think I can take Jules back to the car now. I’m glad I didn’t miss the annual food fight. It’s just not the Fourth of July without it.”
Hey! If you’ve subscribed to this website via the widget to the right, then this post is crucial to you!
I’ve become aware that the plugin I’m using to power that subscription service is quite bloated and using too much of my resources on the server. I’m looking into upgrading, but I have to bring down my memory usage. If I only have to bump up my hosting plan from $10 a month to $15, I’m not too worried, but if I have to go higher than that, it’ll be out of my budget.
So, if I’m moving away from the Jetpack plugin, and trying to replace the functions I received from that plugin in other ways. The most important thing was the subscriptions.
So! If you’re a registered member of this blog already (you’ve registered and you log in to comment), then you’re covered by my new service. In fact, you can log in and look at some amazing new options for receiving updates. How often (you can even ask for them once every few hours if you’re insane, haha). You can subscribe to a category (like Site News, which is where I summarize all major updates). It’s kind of nifty and I think, works a bit better than the old one.
I thought about adding everyone who’d subscribed to the site, but it looks like some of you signed up twice (through registering and then signing up separately), and I don’t want to accidentally sign you up again for possibly a third email.
I receive a ton of spam users every day, and I’m never sure if I’m deleting real people. So, I’m going to set up a page for registering, so I can make it easier on myself to make sure actual readers get through. I also want to go through and figure out if I have any spam users registered, so anyone who hasn’t activated their accounts will be deleted. It’s the best way to do it.
There is a new widget to the right that replaces the old one. If you are already logged in, you’ll see that it gives you the option to manage your subscriptions from your profile. If you don’t see it, you can subscribe below without registering, but being registered makes it easier to adjust your preferences, I think. We’ll see how this works out.
This post is the first in a series of changes I’ll be making to this site to make it better for you guys in the long run. Most of it you won’t even notice, except things may move around and links may occasionally get broken. Please bear with me 🙂 I always planned to get back to site functionality once I had finished writing for a while.
I will be disabling Jetpack tomorrow. Until that point, you may receive extra emails. I want to make sure everyone sees this message.
So I know that the majority of my audience are Jason/Elizabeth fans, so you guys would prefer to have a handy list of the stories have them together as a pairing. On this site, I’ve written stories for more then fifteen other couples and usually include anywhere from three to twelve extra characters in the story.
So I’ve been trying to find a way to sort my stories so you guys can view them based on the couple or character, and also the year it was written to avoid ending up with the not so good story. I’m not hapy with my first pass at it — I want to work it out a bit more, but here is my first effort: Tag Archive: Stories Sorted by Couple, Character & Year.
There’s also some reorganization I want to do on the site — adjust how some of the stories are posted (some are in two-four parts and could honestly be just one. I’m going to go through and adjust them, just to make browsing the site more user friendly. It’s my aim to include extra material wherever possible, and I want to make sure it’s actually listed in a way you guys can find it.
If there’s anything exta on this site that you guys might be interested in, please let me know.
So I know it’s not always easy to find stories for your favorite couples or characters. I’ve arranged the top four pairings I tend to write (Johnny/Nadine have fewer stories, but are in a bunch of things coming up). I’m going through all my stories to make sure they’ve been tagged accordingly. Right now, these are listed in order by the date they were posted, so they’re all different lengths.
I apologize that this page is a bit of a mess. I’m organizing how I want to display this information, so hopefully I’ll get it in gear. For now, try to make some sense of this 🙂
If you’d like to see a character or another couple listed (see below for possibilities), please comment.
I don’t always write a story centered around a pairing. For example, I have several stories in which Jason and Elizabeth are separate characters and not in any pairing whatsoever. Also, if you like Carly, there are stories I write about her in which she’s not in a major pairing, etc.
Like most writers, I’ve improved over the last twelve years, so I thought it might be a useful for you to have a handy way to weed out the best (beginning with 2014 and going backward). Remember — this is not necessarily the year the story is set, but the year in which I wrote it.
2002 – Stories written in this year run a gamut–some are all right, but the majority are weak.
If there’s any other type of sorting method you’d like to see, please let me know. Otherwise, please comment if you’d like a character listed.
Regarding romantic pairings: Not all couples on this site are featured on the list above. . If you’d like me to add another couple from the list below to the archive, please comment. These couples are listed alphabetically by the male character in the pairing, and include, to the best of my knowledge, every couple I’ve used in a story.
If you’d like to see a character added to the archive, let me know. I’ve written for nearly every single character over a period.
AJ Quartermaine/Courtney Matthews
Brian Beck/Courtney Matthews
Nikolas Cassadine/Emily Quartermaine
Jason Morgan/Courtney Matthews
Dillon Quartermaine/Georgie Jones
Dillon Quartermaine/Lulu Spencer
Jason Morgan/Sam McCall
Jasper Jacks/Carly Corinthos
Jasper Jacks/Skye Chandler-Quartermaine
Kyle Radcliffe/Maxie Jones
Lorenzo Alcazar/Carly Corinthos
Lucas Jones/Sage Alcazar
Lucky Spencer/Elizabeth Webber
Lucky Spencer/Leyla Mir
Lucky Spencer/Sam McCall
Patrick Drake/Elizabeth Webber
Ric Lansing/Alexis Davis
Sonny Corinthos/Brenda Barrett
Zander Smith/Emily Quartermaine
