“Okay, forget the idiot you saw yesterday,” Emily began over a cup of hot chocolate the next morning in the hospital cafeteria. They were both due to start their shifts in about a half hour and Elizabeth looked like she hadn’t slept a wink the previous night–which she hadn’t. “Forget him and concentrate on the guy who asked you out and all that. Do you want to work this out?”

Elizabeth sighed and leaned back in her chair, her eyes concentrating on anything but her friend. “There’s nothing to work out, Em. My family…it’s baggage and it’s obviously baggage he can’t handle–”

“The news took him by surprise,” Emily interrupted. “He really likes you, Elizabeth. And you’re the first girl he’s gotten serious about since he’s been home.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “Besides, it was just one non-date. He really just took me home. There wasn’t anything more than that.”

“Oh, come on. Look, when you told me about your first kiss, you were blushing so badly–it’s a good memory for you and the second time was, too. That’s who my brother is–not the idiotic male he was yesterday.”

“Well it doesn’t matter anyway. I was completely violent yesterday, so there’s no going back now.”

“You never know,” Emily replied, cheerfully. “Really…I promise if you go and apologize for trying to kill him, he’ll apologize for being a moron.”

“I did not try to kill him,” she protested.

“Okay, then apologize for being violent,” Emily corrected. “When your shift is over–”

“I don’t get off until one in the morning,” Elizabeth reminded her.

“Okay, but you have the next two days off before you start a thirty-six hour on Thursday. Go see him tomorrow,” Emily urged.

“Em–”

“Look, I’d love to sit here and argue with you but I promised Lucky I’d bring him a bagel before my shift starts, so you stew about this for a little while before you decide that I’m right, okay?” Emily grinned and stood. “Trust me, Liz. My brother is a good guy–but he is a guy. You’ve got to give him a little room to be an idiot.”

—-

The next day…

“So, I guess Brenda’s tactic worked a little better than she hoped,” Sonny remarked, leaning against the wall of the garage as Jason ducked his head underneath the hood of one the cars.

“What tactic?” Jason asked, absently.

“The one where she pisses you off into distraction allowing her to win the game.”

Jason shrugged. “She was just telling me the truth for once. Nothing wrong with that.” He straightened and took a rag from his back jeans pocket to wipe his greasy hands. “Who knows how long Elizabeth was going to wait before she told me she was engaged?”

“Maybe she didn’t think it was important enough to bring up,” Sonny offered. “After all, she doesn’t wear the ring and doesn’t consider herself engaged. So what if there’s some guy three thousand miles away who thinks differently?”

“Look, I went to talk to her and she slammed the door in my face–and threw a lamp at the door.” He shook his head. “That pretty much ends it there doesn’t it?”

“Only if you want it to,” a hesitant Elizabeth said, startling both Sonny and Jason as she approached them. “Hey, Mr. Corinthos.”

“Sonny,” he corrected.

“What are you doing here?” Jason asked, bluntly. Elizabeth folded her arms and looked away.

“I came to apologize for throwing a lamp at you,” she said softly.

“You know what?” Sonny said. He gestured towards the front of the garage. “I’m going to, ah, go. I’ll give your love to Brenda. See ya, Elizabeth.”

“Bye, Mr. Corinthos,” Elizabeth said.

“Sonny,” he corrected again as he left.

“I thought you threw it at the door,” Jason said when his friend was gone. He shut the hood on the car and went over to the sink to wash his hands.

“The door was in the way,” she reported. “But you came at a bad time–my brother had just called for more bail money and I’m about to go into default on my student loans as it is so I had just crushed my answering machine into smithereens when you showed up.”

“So you were mad at your brother and took it out on me?” Jason asked skeptically.

“No, I was plenty mad at you,” Elizabeth retorted. “But I wouldn’t have thrown a lamp at you under other circumstances.” So much for Emily’s theory of a double apology, she thought bitterly. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “Well, I came to apologize and now I have.”

Jason grabbed a towel from a nearby table and dried his hands. “Were you ever gonna tell me?”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “Hey, let’s be realistic here. We kissed twice and we made plans for dinner. That does not in any way entitle you to my life story.”

“I didn’t want your life story but I figure I had a right to know if you were engaged or not.”

Elizabeth threw her hands up in frustration. “God damn it, I wasn’t engaged!”

“Brenda said–”

“Brenda embellished it,” she cut in. “I talked to her yesterday–first of all, my mother is well aware of the fact that I don’t intend on marrying Ted. No, this has not stopped her from hoping I’ll com to my senses–and yes, occasionally, she calls with thoughts about a wedding consultant but I put up with it because she is my mother and because my brother is a waste of space.” She took a deep breath. “Secondly, Ted knows we’re not getting married but he’s a lawyer with my father’s firm so he goes along with my mother, too. Maybe instead of believing everything you hear, you could trust me.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

She glared at him. “It would have come up eventually if things ever got far enough to talk about our families. Yes, I would have told you that I have an overbearing mother who at times borders on the delusional.” She folded her arms tightly. “You’re not at all sorry you freaked out on me and decided that I was another man’s property?”

He winced. “Yeah…I didn’t mean that part.”

“Which part?” Elizabeth demanded. “Because I have to tell you, the whole scene in the cafeteria, the hallway, the elevator and the room–it was all offensive.”

Jason sighed and crossed his arms. “Look, I like you Elizabeth,” he told her bluntly. “And I haven’t been involved with anyone since I broke up with Carly and moved home. I would really hate to think I messed it up by being an idiot yesterday.”

Elizabeth smiled and looked away. “You haven’t,” she admitted softly.

He moved closer to her then. “Do you have a shift at the hospital?” Jason asked.

She shook her head. “No. I’m off until Thursday morning. And then I have to work thirty-six hours straight.”

“That’s like…a day and a half. Don’t you have to sleep?” Jason asked pointedly. He set the towel on the table and moved around her towards the stairs in the back. She followed him.

“We get sleep breaks,” Elizabeth replied. “There’s a shortage of interns and I need to pull a double shift.” She frowned as he started up the stairs. “Where you going?”

“Come upstairs,” Jason said, turning on the step and holding out a hand.

She frowned. “What?”

“I need to shower and change,” Jason explained. “I’m covered in grease and we can’t go out to lunch with me like this.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Out to lunch? You know…a girl generally likes to be asked first.”

He smirked. “Are you gonna say no?”

“No.” Elizabeth smiled and slipped her hand in his. “Okay.”

—

“You can wait out here,” Jason told her once they were in his apartment. He jerked a thumb towards one of the two closed doors on the right side of the room. “I won’t be long.”

Elizabeth nodded and watched him disappear into the bathroom before wandering around his small apartment. There was mainly just the living room and a small kitchenette. She assumed the other room was his bedroom.

Elizabeth heard the shower click on and immediately an image of Jason in the shower flashed through her mind. She flushed and shook her head to clear that real quick. It was too early for thoughts like that.

Not that she hadn’t already thought about it. Saturday night alone had been filled with some interesting dreams–and if she was honest, so had Sunday and Monday nights.

She moved over to one of the shelves on the wall and studied the various picture frames–Emily’s touch, no doubt. One of Emily and Jason in front of the garage, a picture of the siblings at a much younger age with two people she assumed were their parents.

She wondered briefly about that–neither Emily or Jason had brought them up and this was the first time she’d seen any kind of picture.

Elizabeth took the picture off the shelf to study it further. They were standing in front of a house–Jason was in his mid-teens and Emily, her pre-teens. Their mother had been blonde and petite–her facial features resembling Emily’s while Jason was definitely his father’s son.

“They were killed in a car accident when I was seventeen.”

Startled, Elizabeth turned to see Jason standing in the doorway of the bathroom, clean and dressed in a different color t-shirt with another pair of blue jeans. She hastily put the picture back. “I’m sorry…I was just–”

“It’s okay,” Jason assured her. He walked over and picked it up himself. “We lived with an aunt until I was eighteen and Em was sixteen. After that, I took care of her–put her through college.”

“I’m so sorry,” Elizabeth said softly. “I can’t imagine what it must have been like.”

“It was hard,” Jason admitted. “But Emily and I are a lot closer than a lot of siblings because of it.”

She smiled faintly. “Must be nice,” she murmured. She looked away and sighed. “Johnny dropped out of college–freshman year. My parents wrote him off and he’s been kind of drifting ever since. I hoped when he met Kiki that it might change, but she’s content to follow him everywhere.”

“You said he needed bail money again–how often does that happen?”

“Third time in two months,” she sighed. Elizabeth shrugged. “I can’t do anything about it anyway–I don’t have the money, so he’s going to have to sit in jail this time.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m pretty used to it,” Elizabeth said, shaking her head. “Anyway, lunch?”

Jason nodded. “Yeah, where do you want to go?”

“Doesn’t really matter to me.” She smiled then. “You know…when I was in the hospital, after the surgery…I wondered if I’d ever get the chance to see you again.” She tilted her head to the side. “Why’d you leave?”

Jason exhaled slowly. “Because the cops know me. They know I’m a friend of Sonny’s and he doesn’t always have the best reputation with them. I try to avoid them most of the time.” He put his hands in his pockets. “I thought about you, though. I was actually really glad to see you–that you were okay.”

“Brenda and Emily seemed to think this was all fate,” Elizabeth told him wryly. “They explained their whole theory over lunch right after we met.”

“Fate?” Jason echoed. “How do you figure?”

“Yeah, because of all the different ways we could have met. That night in the alley, Lucky dating Emily, my crappy car, Brenda…” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “It’s so silly.”

“Maybe,” Jason said, “but you have to admit, they’ve got a point.”

Elizabeth laughed. “You think we were destined to meet?”

“Nah,” Jason replied, smirking. “That’s a little much. No, they’re right about all the ways we could have met–but I’m glad that it happened the way it did.”

“So, what do you think it was?” Elizabeth asked. “We know all of the same people, I work somewhere you seem to frequent..”

Jason shrugged. “Maybe it was just one of life’s little quirks.”

The End

+6

“Sort of,” Jason repeated slowly. He nodded. “I see.”

“Jason, no you don’t–” Elizabeth began. Jason stood as abruptly as he’d sat down.

“I have to go.”

He walked away but it only took her a second to recover and go after him. He was in the hallway before she caught up. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she demanded.

Jason halted and turned. “What’s wrong with me? You’re the one who’s engaged–”

“I said that I was sort of engaged and you just walked away without even bothering to hear what I had to say,” Elizabeth snapped. “If that’s the way it’s going to be between us, then forget it. Forget the whole damn thing.” She brushed past him and headed for the elevators.

He swore under his breath before taking off after her. “I’m sorry–will you…”

“I have about had it with domineering people who only think about themselves and don’t give a damn about other people–” The doors opened and Elizabeth went in, hitting the button for Lucky’s floor. Before the doors closed, Jason slid in. “I don’t want to talk to you right now,” she bit out angrily.

“Elizabeth–”

“No. I don’t think I want to hear it,” she muttered. “First my mother thinking she can just marry me off to the first rich boy she sees and then said rich boy thinking that he just has to wait out my rebellion and then he’ll marry me and now you decide when and if I’ll explain things to you. Fine. Doesn’t matter to me.” The doors opened and Jason followed her down the hall.

“Elizabeth, will you just wait a second?” he called after her, garnering the reactions of the people around them.

Emily heard her brother’s voice from inside Lucky’s room and peeked her head out into the hallway into time to see Jason catch up to Elizabeth and use her elbow to yank her around to face him.

“Nikolas, you have to go see this,” she said, waving him over.

“I’m eating.”

“Jason and Liz are fighting.”

Nikolas was up in a flash, peeking over Emily’s head. “I’ve never seen him look so irritated.”

Emily grinned. “Yeah, it’s great isn’t it?”

“Look, what I was supposed to think when Brenda told me you were engaged?” Jason demanded.

“Oh, I don’t know–you could have asked me!” Elizabeth retorted. “Or do you not trust me at all?”

“I barely know you!” Jason returned.

“Exactly! So why should I dump my insane family history on you before we even had one date?” she asked furiously. “Excuse me for wanting to save that for the third date or whatever.”

“I think something like an engagement should have come up before the first kiss!” he tossed back.

“He does know he’s in public, doesn’t he?” Nikolas asked.

“I don’t think that matters to him anymore,” Emily said, highly amused.

“I’m not engaged!” Elizabeth exploded.

“Then why did you say sort of when I asked?”

“Because, technically as far as my mother and my so-called fiancé are concerned, yes I’m engaged. But as far as I’m concerned, that boy can rot in hell for all I care!”

“Then why didn’t you just say that?” he asked her.

“Because you took me by surprise,” she retorted. She heard someone snicker and she flushed, quickly remembering they were yelling at each other in the middle of the hallway during one of the busiest visiting days. “Can we not do this right now?”

He shook his head and took her by the arm, nearly dragging her down the hall to Lucky’s room.

When Emily and Nikolas realized his intent they crashed into each other in their haste to get back to their seats. No sooner had they sat down then the door burst open and the two entered.

“Jesus, you Neanderthal,” Elizabeth muttered, rubbing her upper arm.

“I see that my brother has found out about Ted,” Emily said cheerfully.

Jason glared at his sister. “You knew about this?”

“I knew too,” Nikolas piped in helpfully. Elizabeth shot him a nasty look.

“Look, we’ve only known each other a month,” she pointed out to him. “And only as…well…more for the past few days so I really don’t think you have the right to be upset.”

“I don’t poach,” Jason said, nearly arrogantly. She narrowed her eyes.

“Excuse me?”

“Uh oh,” Nikolas muttered. He shoved his chair back a little. “Watch out.”

“You don’t poach?” Elizabeth repeated. She stepped towards him. “As in you don’t date another man’s woman?”

“Exactly.”

She slapped him and stalked out of the room. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered, rubbing his jaw. “What the hell was that for?”

“Jason, how many times did she tell that she wasn’t engaged?” Emily asked him.

“Look, the guy still thinks they’re engaged,” Jason pointed out. “That means she hasn’t told him.”

“Morgan.”

Emily gasped and leaned towards her boyfriend. “You’re awake!” she announced gleefully.

Lucky shifted painfully on the bed. “I’ve been awake for a few minutes. Heard those two barrel in here. Morgan, let me tell you–you handled that all wrong.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Jason muttered.

“So, go after her,” Lucky encouraged. He gestured limply towards the door. “Now.”

“So I can get slapped again? No thanks.”

Lucky scowled. “Guess I figured you gave a damn.” He looked at Nikolas. “Dude. Get me some real food before they sic this hospital crap on me.”

Emily frowned. “Hey. I work here.”

“Yeah, but you don’t make the food so it’s not technically insulting you,” Lucky reminded her.

“You’re awfully wordy for someone recovering from major surgery,” Emily muttered. She glared at Nikolas. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go get him some food.”

“Why do I have to do it?” Nikolas muttered reaching for his jacket. “Didn’t I just spend the night cramped in the chair? The things I do for family,” he grumbled all the way to the door.

“I give a damn,” Jason said finally, garnering the attention of his sister and friend. “I just don’t understand why she thought mentioning she’s engaged wasn’t important.”

“Maybe because Elizabeth doesn’t consider herself engaged?” Emily pointed out.

“That’s…that’s not the point.”

Lucky rolled his eyes. “Morgan hates being proved wrong, that’s all.”

Jason scowled. “I’m not wrong.”

“Then go after her if you give a damn.”

—-

Elizabeth slammed into her apartment and hit the answering machines for her messages. She’d never been irritated with a human being before in her entire life. What the hell had she been thinking when she’d decided to go out with him? She must have been out of her ever loving mind.

Her brother Johnny’s voice came through the machine and she narrowed her eyes when she heard the words.

“Hey…it’s me…listen…I had a little mishap and I’m in jail again. Could you wire Kiki–“

With an enraged cry, she ripped the machine away from the table it was on and hurled it towards the front door. It smashed against the wood and splintered in at least a dozen pieces.

She heard a hesitant knock on her door. “Elizabeth?”

Oh…there was no way he’d had the nerve to come here. She stalked towards the door and kicked pieces of her decimated answering machine out of the way.

“What the hell do you want?” she demanded.

Jason’s eyes swept past into the room where he saw the machine. “What happened?”

“It’s none of your damn business. What do you want?” she asked again. She tapped her fingers against her door, the slight tips of her nails making a rat-tat-tat noise.

“To apologize.”

“Anything else?” Elizabeth asked shortly.

“No–”

He was cut off when she slammed the door shut. He knocked again only to hear something else smash against the door. Not sure if he wanted to deal with her in such a violent mood, he backed up and walked down the hall towards the stairs.

Elizabeth was about to hurl another lamp when she heard his footsteps fading away. She lowered it back to the table and sighed. Well…it was for the best anyway, she decided. The lamp in her hands had been one of her favorites.

+6

She had the next day off, but as soon as Elizabeth woke up, she took a shower, ate a quick breakfast and headed to the hospital to check on Lucky.

Emily and Nikolas were in his room when she got there and once again the other woman hugged her tightly. “They said he came through better than they expected,” she reported cheerfully. “He’ll be in and out most of the day, but I couldn’t leave him.”

“I’m glad he’s okay,” Elizabeth remarked, casting a look towards the sleeping patient. “Do you want anything from the cafeteria?”

Emily nodded. “I’ll go with you. Nikolas, do you want a bagel and some coffee?”

“Sure,” Nikolas replied. He leaned back in his chair and stretched. “Don’t dawdle you two, I’m starving.”

Emily rolled her eyes as she steered the intern out of the room. “Okay, spill.”

Elizabeth frowned and turned down the hall towards the elevators. “Spill?”

“You left with my brother, I know you had a date last night. So…?” Emily tugged on her friend’s arm. “How’d he ask you out? What did you do last night?”

Elizabeth smiled and pushed the button for the elevator. “He came in yesterday to have his fingers checked. Your brother is so stubborn, Emily. He took the tape off a week ago, so of course they weren’t healed yet.”

“Ah…so you gave him some your own brand of medication,” Emily teased. She stepped onto the elevator and hit the button for the second floor where the cafeteria was.

“It wasn’t like that,” Elizabeth protested. “I was feeling the bones in his fingers and I looked up…and he was right there.”

“So it was like a magnetic pull or something?” Emily asked. She grinned. “You know, I’ve heard my brother is a good kisser.”

“Okay, we’re not having this conversation,” Elizabeth said, her cheeks flushed.

“Okay…so after you left last night, what happened?”

The doors opened and the two women stepped onto the second floor. Being staff members, they automatically turned to the left for the cafeteria. “Nothing. I was too tired to go out to dinner so he just took me home.”

“Are you going to see him again?” Emily asked. She reached for a tray and started in the line. Elizabeth followed her.

“Yeah…definitely,” Elizabeth agreed.

“Good. You know…Brenda and me…we told you so.”

“Yeah…okay…”

—

Brenda studied the thin scar on the palm of her hand. “It doesn’t look that bad,” she mused.

Jason glanced up from the card game they were playing. “What’s that?”

“The scar from where Sonny abused me.”

“From where you cut yourself,” Sonny corrected. He shuffled through his cards. “Don’t be so dramatic.”

“I’ll take two,” Brenda said, slipping the cards down. “Tell me again why we’re playing poker with three people?”

“Because Ned and Lois cancelled on us and there’s nothing else to do in Port Charles on a Sunday morning, save going to church,” Sonny said. He slid his wife two cards. “Jason?”

“I’m good,” Jason murmured.

“So, Jase, I notice that your hand is re-taped. Pay another visit to the good doctor?” Brenda asked. She reached for the bowl of chips and munched on one absently as she studied her cards.

“I had to go yesterday. My fingers weren’t healed,” Jason replied.

“I told you not to take the tape off,” Sonny reminded him. “I’ll call. Full House,” he announced, fanning his cards on the table.

“Bah,” Brenda muttered. “Two pair.”

“Royal Flush,” Jason said, setting his cards down. Sonny glared at his friend as the blond pulled the chips towards him.

“You didn’t even take any cards!” he complained.

“Lay off, Sonny. We’re not playing for money.” Brenda glanced down at her meager winnings. “Good thing, too.”

Jason started shuffling the cards and began dealing. “Brenda, I don’t know why you bother to play. If I’m not beating you, Lois is bankrupting us all.”

Brenda smirked. “My day is coming. I’m sure of it.” She decided to distract Jason as he studied his new cards. “So, Elizabeth Webber…you saw her yesterday right?”

“It’s not going to work, Brenda,” Jason said, organizing his cards.

“Ah…she rejected you,” Brenda said knowingly. “Well, I knew she was too good for you. Smart girl like that…why would she date you?”

Jason glanced at her, irritated. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well…you know…she’s from a wealthy family,” Brenda replied. “I’ll take three,” she told her husband. “She told me that her parents haven’t given up on her returning to San Francisco to marry a good boy and give up her foolish medicine.”

Jason shifted. “So?”

“So…word is she hasn’t actually broken off the engagement back home,” Brenda mused. She took some chips and tossed them into the middle. “I wouldn’t worry, though, Jase, even if she is nuts enough to go out with you…she hasn’t been back home for a few years so the guy must have bought a clue by now.”

Jason narrowed his eyes. “She told you this?” He absently slid a card to Sonny who handed him another.

“Yup. Told me and Emily over lunch last week. She and the guy were high school sweethearts but she came to PC before her senior year of college and he stayed in Boston for the last year. Her parents figure out of the two kids, Liz is the one with the best shot.”

“What about the other one?” Sonny cut in, trying to divert Brenda’s purpose of irritating Jason into losing.

“Johnny’s somewhere out west. Liz is always wiring him bail money for some thing or another. Apparently, he’s a loser of some sort, but Liz adores him so I guess there has to be something to him.” Brenda flipped through her cards again. “I’ll call.”

“When you say she hasn’t broken the engagement off,” Jason began, ignoring Brenda’s triumphant victory with another set of two pairs. He handed his useless cards back to Sonny. “What does that mean?”

“It means that her mother is still at home blissfully planning the wedding,” Brenda replied. She shrugged. “Mother Webber just never sets the date but the girl is always getting pictures of wedding dresses and addresses of wedding consultants in the mail.”

“She hasn’t just…told her mother that she’s not going to do it?” Jason asked pointedly.

“Saying no to your parents is a strange thing,” Brenda replied. She shuffled the cards and started dealing. “I’m sure in her own way, Elizabeth has tried, but sometimes you just can’t. I wouldn’t be surprised if Elizabeth was Mrs. Theodore Evans before her thirtieth birthday.”

Jason stood abruptly. “I need to go,” he told Sonny. Without another word, he left the penthouse and Brenda studied his substantial winnings.

“You want to split them?” she asked Sonny.

Sonny sighed and set his cards down. “Please tell me for Elizabeth’s sake…that what you said was true.”

Brenda widened her eyes and pressed a hand to her chest. “Are you accusing me of trying to hurt poor Jason just to win a poker game?” Sonny said nothing, just studied her. “Okay…I admit…I was trying to distract him, but what I said came straight from the horse’s mouth. Except that last part about her marrying the guy before her thirtieth birthday. I added it for effect.” Brenda shrugged. “I know he likes the girl, but when I talked to her, I didn’t get any kind of feeling from her.”

“Well, that’s changed,” Sonny said. He started to clean up the table. “I talked to Emily this morning about Lucky Spencer being hurt in the latest warehouse fire and she told me that Elizabeth and Jason had a date last night, so I’ll give you two guesses where our friend is heading.”

Brenda flushed. “Uh oh.”

—

He went to her apartment first, but when she wasn’t there, he headed straight for the hospital.

“She’s in the cafeteria with Emily,” an exhausted Nikolas told him. “When you find them, tell them to hurry up. I’m still waiting for my bagel and coffee.”

They were sitting in the cafeteria at a table in the corner, laughing over cups of hot chocolate and bagels of their own.

Jason strode towards them and startled them when he sat down abruptly.

“Jason!” Emily chastised, whacking him on the arm. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Jason ignored his sister and focused on the other brunette. “Why didn’t you tell me you were engaged?”

Elizabeth’s mouth dropped open and Emily stifled a giggle. “I’d better take Nikolas’s breakfast to him,” she mumbled, standing up. “I’ll leave you two alone.” She stood and grabbed her tray with her trash and Nikolas’s food on it and walked away.

“Where did you hear about that?” Elizabeth asked finally.

Jason frowned. “From Brenda, so it’s true?”

“Well…” Elizabeth trailed off and stared at the table. “Sort of.”

+5

When Jason arrived in the ER at eleven to pick her up, he found his sister crying in Nikolas Cassadine’s arms. He strode towards them and touched Emily’s shoulder. “Hey…”

Emily pulled away from her friend and launched herself into her brother’s arms. “Jason! What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to pick up Elizabeth…what’s going on?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Lucky,” Emily sniffled. “There was an accident and he’s in there now. That’s where Liz is.”

He looked at Nikolas. “What kind of accident?”

“A beam hit him at a fire,” Nikolas explained. “Knocked him out and then landed on his leg.” He swallowed hard. “It took some of the guys a few minutes to get it off him. They’re trying to save his leg now.”

Emily started to cry even harder and Jason steered her to a seat in the waiting room, Nikolas followed them.

She sat down and took a deep breath. “He’ll be okay,” she told herself. “He will. He has to be.” After a moment, she seemed to have herself under control and she turned to her brother. “What do you mean you’re here to pick up Elizabeth?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Jason said. “Do you need anything?”

“Yes,” Emily said, nodding urgently, “I need to distract myself. I don’t know when we’re going to find out anything so please…humor me.”

Jason shot Nikolas a look but the other man had drifted towards the entrance, anxious for word on his stepbrother. He looked back at his sister and sighed. “Okay. I’m taking her out for dinner after her shift.”

Emily managed a weak smile. “I told her you two would be perfect for each other. Fate and all.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Fate?”

Emily nodded and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Me and Brenda explained it to her a few weeks ago–”

“This should be good,” Jason mused.

“And we decided that the two of you were fated to meet.” Emily crackled her knuckles. Even with the levity of the conversation, her eyes kept darting to doors of the trauma room.

Trying to keep his sister distracted, Jason asked, “How so?”

“Well…you saved her life five years ago,” Emily reminded him, almost absently. “And now five years later, it just…felt like there’s no way you wouldn’t meet. She was friends with Lucky and Nikolas, Lucky and I…” she faltered for a moment at the thought of her boyfriend but managed to continue her voice hoarse, “Lucky and I are dating and you’re my brother.”

“Just coincidences,” Jason told her.

“Not to mention she was on duty the last two times you were here with Brenda’s hand and your hand, too,” Emily reminded him. “Add in her crappy car and your being a mechanic…Fate.”

“Fate,” Jason repeated. “I still don’t think so.”

“Brenda really likes her,” Emily told her brother. “She thinks Elizabeth is the perfect girl to make you forget Carly.”

Jason sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t need to forget her? It was a mutual break up.”

Emily was about to argue when she noticed Elizabeth push her way out of the trauma room. She blanched at the sight of blood on Elizabeth’s yellow scrubs but she stood anyway and joined Nikolas.

“He’s okay,” Elizabeth reported. She pulled her white surgical gloves off her hands and tossed it into a nearby trash can. “He made it through the emergency surgery a-and he’s stable. He’s going up for more surgery.”

“His leg,” Nikolas asked urgently. “Did you save it?”

Elizabeth nodded. “Yeah. He’ll, uh, need some therapy but he’s going to be fine.”

Emily let out a long relieved breath and threw her arms around Nikolas. “Thank God!”

“I’m going to go change and clock out,” Elizabeth told them quietly. She strode away from them, feeling out of place. Lucky may be her best friend but he was Nikolas’s brother and Emily’s boyfriend. It was different somehow.

She was around the corner when she finally pulled off the scrubs she wore over her clothes and once that was in the trash can, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

“You okay?”

Jason’s voice caused her eyes to fly open. “Jason.”

He was next to her, his body facing her and his hip leaning against the wall. He braced an elbow over his head. “It couldn’t have been easy to operate on a friend.”

She shrugged. “Once we started…it didn’t matter. He was just another patient.”

“I don’t believe that,” Jason said. He shook his head. “You don’t seem like the type.”

“Jason…” she protested softly. He just stared at her and she finally sighed and looked at her feet. “I think if…if something had gone wrong…I don’t think I would have ever been able to forgive myself.” She pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. “I’m exhausted.”

“I guess we’ll reschedule dinner,” Jason remarked.

She frowned a little and then managed a faint smile. “Dinner. I’m sorry. I…it slipped my mind.”

“It’s okay.” He straightened. “Do you need a ride home or something?”

“Yeah…” Elizabeth nodded. She took another deep breath and stood straight. “Just let me get changed. I’ll be out in a couple of minutes.”

“I’ll be here.”

—

Emily had found her brother by the time Elizabeth emerged from the staff room and when she spied the intern, Emily threw her arms around her, nearly cutting off Elizabeth’s airway.

“Thank you so much for saving his life,” Emily told her firmly. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“I was just doing my job,” Elizabeth replied a little uncomfortable. She smiled at the brunette when Emily finally pulled away.

“The other doctor said he’d be in surgery for most of the night,” Nikolas said. “So, if you need a ride home, I’m stopping by the apartment to grab a change of clothes. I can drop you off.”

Elizabeth shook her head and gestured towards Jason. “Jason’s giving me a ride.”

“Oh, that’s right, you two had a date,” Emily said. She smiled. “I told you so, didn’t I?”

Elizabeth flushed and looked away. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Come on, you can take me home instead,” Emily told Nikolas. “I need to get changed myself.” She tugged on the paramedic’s hand and led him away.

“Sorry about Emily,” Jason said as he and Elizabeth started for the doors of the emergency room. “She tends to get carried away.”

Elizabeth smiled. “She loves you. All siblings get carried away sometimes. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my brother.”

“You have a brother?” Jason asked.

“Yeah…he’s younger…he’s about twenty years old and…well…kind of wild,” Elizabeth remarked. They left the hospital and she followed him into the parking lot. “Johnny’s always getting arrested. I feel sorry for his wife Kiki.”

Jason smirked. “Her name is actually Kiki?”

“It’s short for Kathleen.” They stopped in front of a motorcycle and she raised her eyebrows. “I should have figured.”

“Figured what?” Jason asked, unhooking the helmet from the back.

“That you rode one of these,” Elizabeth said. She smiled as she pulled the helmet over her hair. “It just…I don’t know fits you.”

He straddled the bike and gestured for her to get on behind him. “You ever been on one of these before?”

“Yeah, the last time I visited Johnny,” Elizabeth told him. She wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight grip and waited for him to start the bike.

—

“Wow!” Elizabeth exclaimed, pulling the helmet off. Her hair was somewhat flattened by the helmet but the wind immediately picked up the curls and started to blow them around her face. “You go way faster than Johnny.”

Jason grinned and hooked the helmet on the bike. “I should take you out on the cliffs then. I think you’d like the turns.”

“I think I would.” She pulled her keys out of her jeans and bit her lip for a moment. “Do you want to come up?”

“Yeah,” Jason admitted. “But I probably shouldn’t.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She stepped closer to him. “I’m sorry about dinner.”

“It’s no big deal,” Jason said shrugging. “I’m sure it won’t be the last time we have to cancel.”

She smiled then and looked down at her feet for a moment before glancing back at him. “Does that mean there’ll be a next time?” she asked shyly.

“Well…if it’s okay with you…yeah,” Jason agreed. He cut off further conversation by pressing lips against hers gently. She moved close and wound her arms around his neck. He made no move to deepen the kiss–almost like they were taking a step back.

Taking a step back…taking it slowly…was just fine with her.

+5

Two weeks later

Elizabeth finished the cast on the four-year-old patient’s arm. “Keep it dry,” she advised the mother. “Don’t let him get stick anything down there to scratch his arm and keep it clean.”

“Thanks, Dr. Webber,” the young mother said. She smiled and lifted her son into her arms and left the cubicle.

Elizabeth filing the chart when she felt eyes watching her. She turned and smiled when she saw Jason Morgan near the entrance. He’d come back after all.

“Well, hello, Mr. Morgan,” she greeted. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t expect to see you back.”

“I wasn’t going to come but Emily kept after me,” Jason admitted. “And, it’s Jason.”

“Okay then. Come with me and we’ll take a look at your hand,” Elizabeth told him. She led him to an empty examining room and held out her hand. “Sit down and let me see your hand.”

Feeling stupid, Jason did as she said, sitting on the bed and placing his hand in hers. He’d taken the tape off almost a week ago, irritated by it.

She felt the two broken fingers and frowned. She leaned closer to peer at them. “How long did you leave the tape on?” She glanced up at him and inhaled sharply when she realized how close their faces were. She could see her reflection in his sky blue eyes.

“A week,” Jason confessed. “I got irritated. It kept getting caught on things when I was fixing cars.”

She smirked. “You were fixing cars with broken fingers?” she asked, trying to keep her voice even. He hadn’t pulled back and neither had she. She could feel his hot breath against her skin, sending tingles throughout her body.

“I…is that bad?” Jason asked, concentrating on her eyes, instead of the way her body was hanging over his, the way she was kind of standing in between his legs. If she wanted to, he could just reach out and pull her even closer–

“Well, it’s not smart,” Elizabeth replied, amused. Her voice was soft, almost breathless. “You…you, ah, should have left the tape on the full two weeks.”

“So, they’re still broken?” Jason asked.

“I’d need an x-ray to be sure,” Elizabeth murmured, telling herself to look down at his hand instead of focusing his almost unreal blue eyes. “But more than likely.”

“So, I have to come back?” Jason asked, unconsciously leaning closer to her. She licked her lips, sending his eyes to her mouth, making him think of really inappropriate things she could be doing with that tongue.

“Yeah…and I’ll have to tape your hand again,” Elizabeth replied, neglecting to mention it was usually a nurse’s job to do. “And this time, don’t fix any cars,” she tried to joke.

“But it’s my job,” Jason replied, meeting her eyes again.

“I’m sure you’re very good at it,” Elizabeth murmured.

“I’m good at a lot of things,” he said, nearly bragging.

Her eyebrows lifted. “Oh, really?” she asked, making it sound like a dare. He never was one to back down when he was challenged. He smirked and closed the miniscule distance between them, pressing her lips against hers firmly.

Her lips were as soft as the rest of her skin, smooth and pliant. She sighed a little, opening her mouth to him. He nipped at her bottom lip and used his tongue to soothe it.

Her hand smoothed up his t-shirt clad chest, resting on his shoulder. She let go of his hand and threaded her fingers through the short hairs at his nape.

She could have gone on kissing him forever and not have complained, except the door flew open.

“Dr. Webber, trauma coming in fifteen!”

She pulled away quickly, her cheeks flaming as she took in the smirking nurse. “Thanks, Mollie. I’ll be right out.”

Mollie nodded and pulled the door shut. Elizabeth looked back at Jason who looked just a little too satisfied for his own good.

“I have to go,” she told him, unable to keep from smiling. She hesitated. “I’ll get someone in here to tape that hand.”

Jason frowned. “Why don’t I just wait for you?” he asked, pointedly.

She flushed and shrugged. “I guess. But you might get kicked out of the room soon…”

“I’ll wait in the lobby.”

“What about your garage?” Elizabeth reminded him.

“I’m not supposed to work on cars, remember?” Jason said.

“I guess in that case, you can just wait here,” Elizabeth replied. She smiled and left the room.

It was nearly an hour later when she returned. He’d spent that time thinking about her, wondering what had made him kiss her and why he was determined to see her again, to see where it was going.

When she came back, her eyes were dulled, her movements were listless. He frowned. “What’s wrong?”

She cleared her throat and reached for a roll of gauze. “We lost two patients,” she told him softly as she began to unwrap it. “A two-year-old and an ten-year-old. Their father was drinking and drove off a bridge.”

“Jesus,” he swore. He stopped her movements and cupped her face in his hands. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, biting her lip. “Yeah…I just…it never gets any easier. Whether it’s a child or an elderly patient…it still hurts when you can’t save them.” Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes. “I wonder sometimes if I’m cut out to be a doctor.”

“You are,” Jason assured her. “You just have a lot of compassion. That’s not a bad thing.”

“I guess.” She closed her eyes.

“When do you get off work?” he asked.

“Around eleven,” she answered softly. “Why?”

“I’ll pick you up,” Jason told her. Her eyes opened and she frowned at him. “We’ll go out for a late dinner.”

She managed a watery smile. “I’d like that,” she replied. He leaned forward and kissed her softly. “I’d like that a lot.”

+7

“Okay, so he’s a bit of a mute.”

Elizabeth shook her head and laughed. She, Brenda and Emily had found a day in their schedules when they all had lunch free and they’d gotten together at the Port Charles Grille.

Emily had immediately jumped in to tell Elizabeth all of Jason’s good traits while Brenda tossed in a few of his infuriating ones. Somewhere in between them, she’d gotten quite a few stories about the man who’d been mostly silent at dinner three days before.

“Okay, so he’s not a conversationalist,” Emily said. “I personally prefer men who don’t talk. It makes life so much easier.”

“Yeah, and then they don’t argue,” Brenda pointed out. “So, you’re automatically right.”

“As much fun as it’s been to spend an hour talking about Jason Morgan,” Elizabeth said, “I’m slightly confused as to why we’re doing it.”

Emily adjusted herself in her chair and exchanged a smile with her other friend. “Because, my dear, Brenda and I have discussed this and we think you’re just the woman for my brother.”

“You’ve known me for a week,” Elizabeth protested. “And I’ve met Jason twice.”

“Four times,” Brenda corrected. “When he saved your life, when you car broke down, that night at the hospital and at dinner.”

“All right, all right. Four times, then. Still, I don’t know him and how do you know I’m right for him?”

Brenda grinned. “It actually doesn’t matter to me. I just want to torture him and the quickest way to do that is butt in his life.”

Emily smacked in her the arm. “You’re not helping, Brenda. Anyway, Elizabeth, like I said, we’ve discussed this and I think you and Jason were destined to meet.”

Elizabeth quirked her eyebrows. “Destined?”

“Destined,” Emily confirmed. She shoved her empty plate out of the way and leaned forward, resting her elbows. “I mean, he saved your life and then disappeared for five years.”

“Right,” Elizabeth replied. “I thought I’d never be able to see him again.”

“But, you end up in a lot of situations where you’d have to run into him,” Emily said. “You work at the same hospital as I do. Your best friend is his best friend. You had a crappy car–”

“All right, now you’re stretching it,” Elizabeth cut in.

“And,” Brenda said, “You were on duty the night I cut my hand. What a million in one chance that was, right? I mean, how many other doctors could I have gotten?”

“There were five others on duty that night,” Elizabeth admitted. “Look, they’re just coincidences.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Emily said. “I think there’s a reason for everything.”

“I think she’s nuts,” Brenda said, jerking a thumb towards Emily. “But even I admit it’s a strange set of circumstances.”

“Gee, thanks,” Emily said, dryly. She looked back to Elizabeth. “Anyway, Lucky and Nik are always talking about you and I think you’re a great person and Jason really needs someone good–someone…”

“Normal?” Brenda cut in with. She gave Elizabeth a charming smile. “Jason’s last relationship bordered on the peculiar.”

Emily snorted. “This from the wife of the godfather.” She bit her lip and looked at Elizabeth. “The, ah, alleged godfather that is.”

“Don’t worry,” Elizabeth said, smiling. She leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially, “I left the wire in my other purse.”

The joke eased the tension and they laughed. A few moments later, Elizabeth asked, “So, what happened with his last relationship?”

“See, you’re interested,” Emily teased. “And Brenda’s kidding. Carly wasn’t that bad.”

“Wasn’t that bad?” Brenda said. “Are you insane? She convinced him to move to California and then dumped him.”

“Careful, Bren, you don’t want someone getting the idea that you care what happens to Jason,” Emily warned, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief.

“I don’t,” Brenda protested. “I just don’t think anyone deserved to get dumped like that.”

“Dumped like what?” Elizabeth asked curiously.

“See, Jason maintains he ended it,” Brenda began eagerly. She shoved her plate aside and leaned forward. “I don’t know–maybe he did. Who knows, right?”

“Bren–” Emily tried to cut in.

“Carly and Jase had this complicated relationship even before they moved,” Brenda continued, ignoring her friend. “She was a bitch who slept around. Everyone knew it but it didn’t seem to faze Jason in the slightest. I don’t know what made him think leaving Port Charles was a good idea–”

“Once again, she’s telling a skewed version of events,” Emily interrupted. “Carly and my brother met about five years ago. Yes, Carly had a reputation, but there’s every indication that she settled down once she and Jason began dating. They stuck around PC for about a year before Carly got offered a job in California. They both decided to move there.”

Brenda snorted. “My version was so much more fun.”

“So what happened?” Elizabeth asked, curiously. “How’d they break up?”

Emily shrugged. “She did cheat on him a few times towards the end. Jason found out and left.”

“So why do you say Jason got dumped?” Elizabeth asked Brenda.

The other woman grinned. “Because it’s so much more fun that way. No, I got to give Jason credit. He knew when it was time to cut his losses.” She glared at Emily. “Don’t ever tell him I said that.”

Emily giggled. “Your secret is safe with me.”

Elizabeth laughed at the antics of the two women but her beeper went off. She unclipped it from the waist of her jeans and sighed. “Sorry to cut out, ladies, but I’ve got to back. There’s a 911 – it must be bad.” She pulled her wallet out of her purse.

“No, no. Sonny’s got a tab,” Brenda said, waving it off. “I’ll take care of it.”

She was in too much of a hurry to argue.

—-

Elizabeth rubbed her eyes as she headed towards another trauma room. Since leaving Brenda and Emily at lunch, there’d been a major car accident, a gun shot victim and child who had fallen off a roof.

She drew the curtain back. “I’m Dr. Webber–” she cut off her normal spiel and smiled when she realized who her patient was. “This is becoming a regular occurrence.”

Jason scowled. “I wouldn’t even be here if this idiot had made me come.”

Lucky rolled his eyes. “The moron was going to just put some ice on his hand over a car hood slammed on it.”

Elizabeth smirked and set the chart aside. She reached for Jason’s hand and started to test the fingers. Jason flinched and she made a tsk sound. “I’m going to have to get some x-rays done,” she murmured. “You might have broken a finger or two.”

“Told you so,” Lucky crowed.

“I’ll put the order in,” Elizabeth said, making a notation in the chart. “A technician will come get you.”

“How long is this going to take?” Jason demanded. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

Elizabeth shrugged. “Depends on how crazy it gets around here.” She eyed Lucky. “Try not to annoy him.”

“Me?” Lucky asked, pressing a hand to his chest innocently.

“Yes, you.” Elizabeth shook her head and walked away to file the order.

Lucky grinned. “What a woman, eh?”

Jason glared at him. “Remember you’re talking to Emily’s brother.”

“Hey, I love Emily, I’m just mentioning that Lizzie is a great person,” Lucky tried to assure him. “Smart, spunky…”

Jason frowned. “You got a point?”

Lucky shrugged. “No. Not really.”

—

Elizabeth clipped the x-ray to a light board and gestured towards it. “You’ve broken your middle finger and your pinky,” she said.

Lucky smirked. “There goes your main form of communication.”

“You want to stay or what?” Elizabeth asked, throwing her friend a nasty look. Ignoring him, she looked at Jason. “You’re just going to have to tape your hand up for about a week or so. Broken fingers are honestly the best bones in the body to break. Quick healing time.”

“Lizzie’s going to be an orthopedic surgeon,” Lucky volunteered.

“Anyway, I’ll have one of the nurses tape your hand,” Elizabeth told Jason. “But you’ll need to go to your doctor in about two weeks to make sure everything’s good.”

“I don’t have a doctor,” Jason said.

“I can recommend one,” Elizabeth offered.

“Jason doesn’t really like doctors,” Lucky said. “Like he said, he’s only here because I forced him to come.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth frowned. “Well, I suppose you’ll be fine. If you had any lingering problems, you could always come back.”

“Why don’t you examine him yourself?” Lucky suggested. Jason and Elizabeth both turned to look at him oddly. Lucky shrugged. “Well, you are specializing in orthopedic surgery when your internship is over. You can do the examination, right? And it wouldn’t be like a normal doctor since you already know her,” he told Jason.

Jason hesitated and looked towards Elizabeth. “If that’s okay with you.”

“It’s fine,” Elizabeth said. “So, you’ll come back in two weeks? Just ask for me at the desk, okay?”

“Okay,” Jason agreed. Elizabeth made a final notation in his chart, said goodbye to the two of them and left.

Lucky watched in satisfaction as Jason’s eyes followed Elizabeth across the emergency room. This was almost too easy.

+6

Brenda’s drugs had kicked in by the time they returned to the penthouse. She was chattering away about the ER doctor and was busy telling Sonny all the reasons Elizabeth should turn Jason down if he asked her out.

Jason had been uncharacteristically quiet during Brenda’s tirade. Brenda Corinthos was the only woman that seemed to get the best of Jason, but even she couldn’t get a ride out of him tonight.

Jason was too busy thinking about that night in the alley, with the stabbing victim. She’d said her name was Liz and that she was twenty-two. Five years later, it was possible that Dr. Elizabeth Webber, at age twenty-seven, was the girl.

Hell, if Jason really wanted to be honest with himself, he’d say it was more than a possibility. How many other girls were attacked in alley–stabbed–and someone came to call 911? Port Charles wasn’t that large of a town–the odds that another girl with the same name, same injury and whose age and size would match was slim to none.

But what did it really matter if Elizabeth Webber was the girl? He’d tell her, she’d say thank you and that’d be the end of it. What good would it do to tell her?

No, he’d keep it to himself. It wasn’t like he’d see her around. Jason wasn’t fond of hospitals–had only gone tonight because Sonny asked him too. He didn’t even visit Emily all that much.

Emily. Shit. She was dating Lucky Spencer, one of Elizabeth’s best friends. And Jason knew that Emily would jump at the chance to be friends with Elizabeth–and he could tell the two women would get along.

He might have to see the doctor after all.

“You’re acting awfully weird,” Brenda murmured, plopping down on the couch. She peered up at him, her eyes slightly glazed over. She giggled. “Well, weirder than usual.”

Jason shook his head. “I’m going home.”

“You’re not staying for dinner?” Sonny asked.

Jason gestured towards the clock sitting on the desk. “It’s after ten. I’ll just grab something at Kelly’s.”

Brenda leaned over the arm of the couch. “I know what’s bothering him!” she announced gleefully. “He likes her.”

Sonny just laughed and shook his head. “Upstairs, honey.”

Brenda frowned. “No. Because I’m right, aren’t I? Jason’s got a crush,” she sang. She tried to stand and only made it halfway before thinking better of it and took her seat again. “She’s pretty.”

“Brenda,” Sonny said, sternly. His voice had a hint of amusement in it and his wife picked up on it.

“Aww, knock it off. You know she is,” Brenda said. She leaned her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes. “You gotta let go of the blonde, Jase. Y’know you were too good for her anyways. Be glad she dumped ya.”

“I left her,” Jason corrected without thinking.

Brenda peeked an eye open and grinned. “Good. Means you’re not completely stupid. You want her number?”

“No,” Jason said firmly.

“You know you want it,” Brenda teased. She reached blindly behind her for the purse she’d dropped, intent on searching for Elizabeth’s number.

“Pay no attention to her–she’s on drugs, remember?” Sonny said, trying to contain his laughter at Brenda’s antics.

“I’d better go before she finds it,” Jason replied. “I’ll see ya.”

“Bye.”

—-

Elizabeth was fifteen minutes late when she arrived at Eli’s for the dinner with Lucky, Nikolas, Emily and Jason. Her shift at the hospital had been particularly brutal today–she’d lost two patients.

She’d taken a quick shower in the staff room before changing into the black jeans and light blue sweater she’d brought to work. She’d rushed out of the hospital, her hair still wet and curling at the ends.

Entering Eli’s, she rolled her eyes. She shouldn’t have rushed–Lucky and Nikolas weren’t there. She was suddenly thankful that she’d run into Jason twice that week, since she never would have found the table.

Seated beside Jason was a dark-haired woman with large brown eyes. She was wearing a pink and red peasant blouse with flared jeans and she was laughing at her brother.

Elizabeth walked forward and approached the table. “Hi, I’m–”

“Lizzie,” Emily Morgan said, standing. The other woman towered over her slightly. “Lucky and Nik talk about you all the time.”

“I prefer Elizabeth or Liz,” Elizabeth said. She smiled. “Lucky and Nik don’t seem to understand that.”

Emily laughed. “Yeah, they’re kind of thick-headed.” She sat back down and Elizabeth took a seat across from them. “This is my brother Jason–”

“Actually, we’ve met,” Elizabeth said.

Emily raised her eyebrows. “Really.”

“Her car broke down,” Jason told her. “And Lucky called me.”

“I also gave his friend Brenda a few stitches last night,” Elizabeth replied.

“She’s not my friend,” Jason muttered. “She’s just Sonny’s wife.”

Emily giggled. “Don’t listen to him. He can’t stand it because Brenda gets under her skin. You should see the two of go at one another–it’s hysterical.”

“So, where are Dumb and Dumber?” Elizabeth asked, twisting in her seat.

“Nik had a call right before his shift ended, so he’ll be late. As for my wonderful boyfriend, who knows?” Emily rolled her eyes. “That boy couldn’t be on time if his life depended on it.”

“Oh, I know. I asked Lucky to pick me up Wednesday since my car died and he was two hours late. I could have walked home in the time it took him.” Elizabeth sighed. “His defense? He hasn’t changed his clock back yet.”

“That’s so pathetic,” Emily grumbled. Her eyes lit up and she gave the other woman a charming smile. “Jason is always on time. Sometimes, he’s even early.”

“Really?” Elizabeth asked, grinning. She knew exactly what the brunette was trying to do and she thought it was funny. “Now there’s a rarity.”

“He also owns his own business,” Emily told her.

“Emily,” Jason said. “She knows this, remember?”

Emily glared at him. “You know what? Don’t be so difficult.” She turned back to Elizabeth. “So, you work at the hospital, too?”

“Yeah, I’m an intern,” Elizabeth replied. “You’re a nurse up in maternity right?”

“Yep. Two years now,” Emily said. “I love it. Being around babies is the best. I can’t wait to have kids of my own.”

“So what made you decide to become a nurse?” Elizabeth asked.

“Actually, I was in the middle of my sophomore year at PCU,” Emily began, “And I was still an undeclared major. One of my teachers went into labor right there in the classroom. I kind of held her hand through it, went to the hospital with her and stayed until her husband showed up. I really like helping people, so I looked into a medical degree. I decided I didn’t want to go to all that school, so I went into nursing. What about you?” Emily asked, reaching for her glass.

“I didn’t have any idea what I was going to do almost until I graduated. I was a liberal arts major, concentrating on science until my senior year five years ago. One night, I was attacked in an alley and stabbed. The surgery that saved my life kind of got me fascinated with surgical medicine, so that’s what I became. Right now, I’m doing my internship in the emergency room, but eventually I’m going to do surgeries.”

“Wow, you know, it’s the strangest thing,” Emily said.

Jason frowned at his sister’s words and sat up. “Emily–”

“My brother found a girl about five years ago. She was stabbed, too.” Emily turned to him. “What did you say the girl’s name was?”

“Liz,” Jason said, flicking his eyes to the girl sitting across from him. “Was that you? On Courtland Street? January?”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “Oh my God. Yeah. I…wow…” She laughed. “This is a small world, isn’t it?”

“My brother here is a moron. He didn’t stick around,” Emily said. “See, Jase? I told you’d it come back to haunt ya.” She frowned. “This isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

“I’ve wanted to thank you for so long,” Elizabeth said. “The doctors said that if I hadn’t been found so quickly, I probably would have bled to death. Thank you.”

Jason shifted in his chair. “You’re welcome.”

Lucky and Nikolas arrived a few minutes later, and the topic was quickly changed away from Elizabeth’s attack, but she found herself sneaking glances at Emily’s brother throughout the meal.

She’d never dreamed she’d find the guy who called 911 and managed to keep her awake and at least somewhat calm until the ambulance arrived. It was actually an incredible thing to find him and have friends in common like this.

She found herself engaging in comfortable banter with Emily, quickly learning that the other woman had a bottomless sense of humor and absolutely no one, especially the men sitting with them, was safe from it. She was also warm and compassionate and Elizabeth felt like she’d made a good friend.

The girls made plans to meet for lunch next week, and Emily decided to switch some shifts around so that they might see each other at the hospital. Elizabeth mentioned Brenda had given her number to her, and Emily immediately leaped at the chance to make the lunch date for all three of them. Jason grimaced at the mention of Brenda, which Emily teased him unmercifully for.

By the time the dinner was over, Elizabeth had learned most of Emily’s life story, but hadn’t added much to what she knew about her handsome brooding older brother.

To her surprise, she realized she’d wanted to know more.

—-

“I think they really hit it off,” Emily said later that night, lying next to Lucky in the darkened room. “She’s really nice and you know the fact that he’s the one that saved her life–well, that just makes it better, y’know?”

“Uh huh,” Lucky mumbled. He turned over and buried his head in the blankets.

“It’s funny how it all worked out,” Emily continued, oblivious to Lucky’s snores. “It was almost like they had to meet. I mean, she’s got a crappy car. He’s a mechanic. You’re his best friend. You’re her best friend. She works at the hospital and Brenda cut her hand. Don’t you think that’s weird?”

After Lucky didn’t answer, Emily frowned and turned her head on the pillow to look at him. “Lucky? Lucky?”

She poked him and he sprang up. “I didn’t do it, it was Nik!” came out his mouth and Emily started laughing hysterically. Lucky shot her a nasty look and laid back down to go back to sleep.

+5