I told you guys I wanted to play a bit with some of the projects on my drawing board to see if I felt drawn to any of them, particularly the ones that I haven’t touched at all or in years. These Small Hours was actually a project I started back in 2008. It was originally a Johnny/Nadine story with some Liason flavor, but in the last 13 years, the Nohnny fanbase (which was tiny to begin with) has, uh, drifted and I might be the sole survivor. So it has to be refashioned into a Liason story with Nohnny flavor. You can read the original version in the Fiction Graveyard.

This is kind of the opening for Burn in Heaven, the sequel to A Few Words Too Many, a story I wrote in 2014. I think one of the reasons I never got around to the sequel in 7 years was that because I was writing about Liz’s first pregnancy, it meant that Cameron didn’t exist. Cam is legit my favorite Webber boy, so it felt weird. I decided to fit him in anyway, lol. This is set in 2007, four years after A Few Words ended.  I also want to play a bit with Kismet, Mad World, Broken Girl, and Malice as well as some of the AU stories before I make a final decision, and maybe do another poll once you guys have more to work with. I wrote this just this morning, so I haven’t reread or anything. It’s like extended flash fic over two hours, lol.

I hope you enjoy! I’ll be back tonight with Flash Fiction.

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August 2007

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

When Jason Morgan had been dragged into work that morning, he’d left chaos behind in his wake. He hadn’t wanted to go to work—it was a Sunday and it was supposed to be his day off. He’d told his best friend and business partner that Sundays were off limits except for emergencies, and Sonny Corinthos mostly listened to that.

So when Sonny had claimed an emergency that morning, Jason had looked at his exhausted wife and reluctantly left her and their three small children behind to head down to the warehouse. An emergency in his business meant life or death, and that had to come first. Elizabeth had smiled wanly at him, assured him she understood, and sent him on her way. She could handle the kids.

Jason had been livid when he arrived at Sonny’s office to learn that the emergency was just some contracts that needed to be filed the next day, and Sonny needed Jason to witness his signature right now because he was heading to Rome that afternoon with Kate Howard, the new woman in Sonny’s life.

“This isn’t an emergency,” Jason had told him tightly, but Sonny just shrugged. It was an hour out of Jason’s life, what was the big deal? Elizabeth could deal with the kids for an hour.

By the time Jason got home, it was closer to three hours since he’d left Elizabeth alone. The contracts had taken longer than Sonny thought they would, and there had been a crisis on the floor that Jason needed to deal with—

He didn’t know what he expected when he came home later that morning, but it wasn’t the sight of potato chips crumbled all over the sofa and a glass of juice tipped over the coffee table so that the red liquid pooled over glass top and trickled to the carpet.

Jason frowned, then went into the kitchen where Cadence, who would turn four that December, was carefully putting a handful of Fruity Pebbles in her younger brother’s palm. “It has fruit,” she told two-year-old Cameron seriously. “That means it’s good for you. It’s on the box.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Jason said, leaning against the doorway, charmed despite himself.

Cady gasped, her dark brown eyes widening with joy. “Daddy! Daddy! You’re home!” She dropped the box and ran at him. He lifted her into his arms, hugging her tightly as if they’d been separated for days rather than hours. “I took care of Cam.”

“I can see that—” Jason glanced down, feeling Cameron attach himself to his jeans. He took in the kitchen—it didn’t look much better than the living room and hadn’t been cleaned up from breakfast. His heart began to pound just a bit faster, and his fingers tightened around Cady. “Where’s Mom? And Jake?”

“She took Jake upstairs to clean up,” Cady said. She pressed a finger to her lips. “But shhhh. I think she’s sleeping. She’s laying on the bed and her eyes are closed.”

“Okay.” He forced himself to stay calm—he didn’t want the kids to be upset. They’d been through enough three months earlier when Elizabeth had given birth to Jake and nearly died. Jason had been at the hospital for days with her, and Cady and Cameron had been bounced around relatives.

“I’m going to go upstairs and check on her, okay? Can you finish feeding your brother?”

“I can,” Cady told him proudly. “I’m all grown up. I’m gonna be four. That’s this many.” She held up four fingers. “Aunt Emmie said I can run the world.”

“I know you can.” He kissed her cheek, then set her back on the ground. “I’ll be right back.”

“‘Kay, Daddy. Cam, come eat your cereal—”

Jason walked as quickly as he could back through the living room, and took the steps two at a time. She’d probably laid down for just a minute—she was fine, she was okay—

Their bedroom was dark and quiet, the blackout curtains pulled so that Jake could nap when he needed to throughout the day.

Elizabeth was curled up on her side and Jake was laying next to her. She’d arranged pillows around the three-month-old infant so that he couldn’t roll too far away from her and his eyes were closed but his chest was rising—he was just sleeping.

And Cady was right. Her mother was sound asleep, one hand tucked under her cheek, the other stretched out to cover Jake’s stomach. The muscles in his chest relaxed and he exhaled slowly, scrubbing his hands over his face. For Elizabeth to fall asleep like this while Cady and Cameron were both downstairs, alone—

She was so tired and worn out. He never should have left.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. He leaned down to kiss her forehead, then left the room.

He returned to the kitchen and found actual food for the kids to have for lunch, careful to keep the monitor close. If Jake stirred, Jason didn’t want him to wake Elizabeth until she was ready to be awake.

While Cady and Cam were eating, he cleaned up the kitchen and the living room, then returned to sit next to them at the table. “Hey, do you guys want to go over Aunt Carly’s tonight?”

Cady squinted her eyes. “Mommy didn’t have another baby, did she? I always go to Aunt Carly’s when there’s a new baby.” She glared at Cameron who frowned at her, a spoonful of Spaghettios in his hand. “No more babies.”

“No more babies. Just for fun.”

“Not a baby,” Cameron informed his sister, offended. He help up two fingers. “I’m this many now. Mommy said that made me a big boy. Not baby. Jake is a baby.”

Cady rolled her eyes, looking like such a perfect miniature version of her mother that it made Jason smile. She looked at her father. “Okay. Aunt Carly. But if I come home and there’s a new baby—”

“No new babies,” Jason repeated. “Finish eating and I’ll pack for you.”

Jake stirred while Jason was putting together their overnight bags, and Jason was able to grab his son before Elizabeth could hear him crying—and that worried him, too. She’d always been the first to get up with Cady and Cameron. She’d had a sixth sense with them, but since she’d come home from the hospital—

“She’s tired,” Carly told Jason when she got to the penthouse to pick up the kids. She folded her arms. “Three kids in four years is insane. I told you both that when the stick turned blue with this one.” She nodded at Jake in Jason’s arms. “What are you, rabbits?”

Jason scowled. “It’s not just my fault—”

“No, she’s definitely a moron, too.” Carly arched a brow. “Get a nanny and get a snip.” She frowned. “Wait. You said Sonny called you in today. It’s Sunday.”

“Carly—”

“Sundays are supposed to be for emergencies—” She stabbed a finger at him. “You see, this is why I divorced him—”

“He divorced you because you lied about Kristina being his daughter,” Jason reminded her.

“Look, Alexis and I thought we were going to die!” Carly threw up her hands. “It was a deathbed confession!”

“I didn’t say I didn’t understand—look, Carly—don’t start. Can you just take Cady and Cam? Jake’s too young—”

“Hire a nanny. Don’t let her talk you out of this again. She’s basically a single mother when you go off to work—”

“She is not—” Jason closed his mouth. “Things are quiet—”

“Which is why the schedule Sonny has you working is insane. You’re supposed to be partners,” Carly said flatly. “He’s a father, too. Not that he remembers. Where did he need to go this time?”

Jason paused. “Rome.”

“Rome,” Carly repeated. She nodded. “He has time to follow Kate to Rome, and he had lots of time to take Amelia and Jordan to the island, and he took that whore Sam on a freakin’ cruise with that yacht she wanted—”

“Carly—”

“When was the last time you got to take a damn vacation? When has Elizabeth left the country?”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I know, Carly—”

“Your first anniversary. More than two years ago. I’m surprised you found the time to make an extra kid—” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want to think about that.”

“Then don’t—”

“I love you, Jason. You know that.” Carly sighed. “I just—you’re letting him take you for granted. He’s taking Elizabeth for granted. It’s what he did to me. After everything we went through to be together—I thought he respected me. I thought he loved me. But I was never my own person with him. He might have moved out, but you know I’m the one that filed the papers.”

“I know that—”

“And I’m still not wild you forced her into my life, but now she’s here. I got stuck with her in the divorce—”

Jason squinted. “That’s not even remotely true—”

“And I’m telling you that she’s at the end of her rope. If she’s falling asleep for this long with the kids down stairs making a mess and on their own—”

“I know things have to change—”

“Then make a change. Do it today.” She paused. “You know I’m happy to take the kids. I love them like they were my own, and I’m glad to be able to finally be here for you the way you’ve always been there for me. But four years ago, you refused to listen to me and she nearly walked away.”

His chest tightened. “I know that.”

“Don’t think because she loves you and you keep breeding like bunnies that she’s going to stick around. She’s got options. Places to go.”

“Wait—” Jason stared at her, his arms tightening reflexively around his son. “She’s not—”

“No,” Carly said. “She’s an idiot and loves you. But there are people in her life who are telling her she should.” She pressed her lips together. “You didn’t hear that from me and I’m not saying another word.” Her eyes softened. “I love you. And for some reason, I don’t hate her. Don’t let Sonny screw up your family the way he screwed up ours.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

“Okay.” Satisfied, Carly held out her hands. “Now give me that baby so I can get my cuddles in. I need to imprint on him just like the others so I’ll always be the favorite aunt.”

Jason rolled his eyes, then went to get Cady and Cameron from the kitchen. Carly might have grown up in a lot of ways, but in others, she would always be the same.

“Remember, Daddy,” Cady told him seriously as she slung her sparkly unicorn backpack over her shoulder. “I better not come home to no more babies. I’m tired. They cry.”

Carly snorted and handed Jake back to his father. “Even your kid knows. Snip, snip, Jase.”

Jason scowled, kissed the kids goodbye, and closed the door behind his best friend. “Let’s go upstairs and check on Mommy,” he told Jake who just shoved his fist into his mouth. “Right.”

Elizabeth slept for maybe another half hour, then rolled over onto her back to find Jason sitting next to her, his back against the head back, his legs stretched out with Jake dozing on his chest. “Hey.” She smiled lazily. “How long—”

She jackknifed into a sitting position, looking around wildly. “What time is it? I fell sleep—where are Cam and Cady—”

“At Carly’s for the night.”

“What—” Elizabeth pressed her hands to her face. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry—”

“Hey—” Jason slid off the bed and settled Jake into his bassinet before coming back to the bed and gathering her in his arms just as she started to cry. “Why are you sorry? I’m the one that left—”

“But you had an emergency—I told you I could handle it—”

“And you have,” Jason said, more sharply than he meant to, but he couldn’t stand that she thought she’d disappointed him. No one could have handled his life better than she did. Than she had for the last four years. He dropped his face in her neck, tightening his hold on you. “I’m the one that let you down—”

“But I fell asleep and anything could have happened—”

“Look at me.” He drew back, smoothing her hair out of her face, waited for her to meet his eyes, then pressed his forehead against hers. “You’re only human. And Kelly only cleared you medically three weeks ago. That doesn’t mean you’re one hundred percent yet.”

“But—”

“Sonny’s out of town for the week,” Jason told her. “He’s in Rome—which means he can’t call or bother me. I told Bernie and Tommy to take care of anything that comes up. I’m here. For the week. And when Sonny comes back, things are going to change.” He paused. “I promise.”

“Okay, but—” Elizabeth chewed on her bottom lip. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I just—Jake was taking a while to go down, and I just—I thought he’d sleep if I closed my eyes—”

“And he did. He was still sleeping when I got home. Cady came up, saw you were asleep, and went downstairs to take care of Cameron. She was feeding him when I got him.”

“Feeding him.” Elizabeth managed a smile. “I can only imagine.”

“Fruity Pebbles. But only after she’d tried juice and potato chips which he decorated the living room. My point is—” He sighed, then moved back to sit against the headboard, tucking her under his arm. “Cady made me promise if she went to Aunt Carly’s, there wouldn’t be new babies when she came home.”

“Oh, God. She didn’t. She’s too young to remember Cam—”

“Apparently not. Or people talk when she’s around.” Neither of their boys had been planned in the slightest, and Cameron had been a genuine surprise, conceived on their honeymoon in Venice. He wouldn’t trade either of them for the world, but— “She’s right. I love all three of them, but we need to be more careful.”

“I know.” Elizabeth sighed. “Kelly told me when I got pregnant last year with Jake she was worried I wasn’t taking enough time between them, but in our defense—” She tilted her back to look at him. “He’s only here because of the Quartermaines, and Emily had Cady and Cam that night.”

Jason scowled at the reminder of the failure of the Enduro condoms that ELQ manufactured, then sighed. “Yeah, well, the blackout didn’t help.”

“No, you looked really sexy in the candlelight.” She grinned and he laughed, relieved to see her happier. “I love you, Jason. And I know you love the kids. I—” She hesitated. “We don’t talk about it much, but I want you know how much it means to me that you love Cady the way you do.”

Jason didn’t ask what she meant. Their oldest daughter was not his biological child, a fact that had become clear to most people as she’d gotten older. Her facial features were all Elizabeth, but she shared her biological father’s coloring, from the dark eyes to the dark hair. Jason’s mother had carefully broached the topic a few years ago, worried that maybe Jason didn’t know.

“She’s been mine since the day I found out you were pregnant,” Jason told her. “I don’t even think about it.”

“I know. And that’s what I mean. I just—there are enough people in this town who do remember…him. And one day, we’re going to have to tell her because she deserves to know the truth about who she is. And where she comes from.” Elizabeth paused. “When did you know? About Monica, I mean? And Susan? Or I mean, do you know when you found out before the accident?”

“I—I don’t know. I don’t really remember. I think Monica told me because she was trying to explain how blood didn’t matter. I don’t think I cared before the accident. We should ask her at some point. I know we have to tell Cady when she’s older because if we don’t, someone else will. And I’d rather it came from us.”

“That’s one thing you can depend on in Port Charles,” Elizabeth said. She snuggled into Jason’s embrace. “If you don’t tell the truth, someone will tell it for you.”

“But we don’t have to worry about that for a long time. Everyone who knows the truth loves Cady. They’re not going to do anything to hurt her. Or us.”

“No. She’s safe. We made sure of it.”

Crimson Pointe, New York

Zacchara Estate: Study

Anthony Zacchara leaned back in his chair and lifted the cigar to his mouth, studying the woman in front of him. “Your proposal intrigues me,” he admitted. “And I do enjoy the idea of torturing Corinthos and Morgan until they bleed, but, uh, what do I get from this?”

Faith Roscoe’s lips curved into a smile as she examined her nails, flicking at a chip in the blood red polish. “Haven’t you ever pulled wings from a fly just to see what would happen?”  She shrugged one shoulder elegantly. “I’ll get my revenge, and you’ll get to take over Port Charles. Send one of those kids of yours to run the place if you want.”

“You don’t want the power?” Anthony lifted his brow. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Breaking Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan is all the power I need.” Faith lifted a perfectly arched brow. “Are you in or out?”

Hey. Checking in real quick before I go to make sure my car is cleaned up before my vaccination appointment in about an hour. I didn’t get a chance to do a flash fic earlier, so either I might not get to it when I get back or it will be late tonight. We’ll see.

The, uh, reason I didn’t do a flash fiction earlier is that I got distracted by playing with These Small Hours, mostly because I thought I’d try to play with a lot of different ideas and see if anything caught my fancy. So to make up for a possible lack of flash fic, here’s the snippet of These Small Hours I wrote today, beginning after Kate’s shooting back in September 2008.

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September 29, 2008

Downtown Port Charles

The traffic light at the next intersection flipped from yellow to red, and the three cars in front of Elizabeth Webber’s Honda Civic slowed to a stop. She made a face, then picked up the phone she had tossed on the passenger side. She had a missed call from her best friend, Patrick Drake, and another from her ex-husband.

But none from the man who had stood her up at the airport, leaving her standing by the gate watching as the flight to Venice had boarded and pulled away from the runway.

Jason hadn’t called until the plane was in the air.

She’d been so sure that he was simply running late—she’d nearly boarded the plane, convinced that he’d make it before the plane took off, but something had kept her from making that leap of faith.

Maybe it was the dim memory as a teenager of watching Brenda Barrett waltz down the aisle in a wedding dress, convinced Sonny Corinthos would keep his promise to marry her, and the humiliation that had followed.

Now the only thing headed to Italy was her luggage.

She’d listened to his hurried apology and explanation—Kate Howard had been shot at her wedding just while Jason was on his way to the airport. He’d had to turn around and hastily get to St. Timothy’s Church to stop Sonny from doing whatever he was going to do.

Elizabeth had accepted the apology, assured him she understood, and had headed to the parking garage where she’d paid in advance for the week. She didn’t even blink when the parking attendant told her it was nonrefundable.

Of course it was.

Elizabeth leaned back in her seat, staring at the traffic light, waiting for it to turn green. She was going to General Hospital, going to work, because it was all she could do to keep her mind off what she knew would happen next.

It had taken every ounce of energy, of faith, of love to keep fighting for Jason to trust that she knew what she was doing, that she was willing to step into his world. He’d finally come around—they had finally been so close to the dream he’d claimed he wanted back in April—

And now Kate Howard had been shot trying to marry the man who had only recently given up the business Jason now ran.

Are we really doing this?

Unless you back out.

Not gonna happen.

“Liar,” she murmured.  She was never going to be allowed to have more than moments, more than a brief glimpse of what life with Jason could be like. And Jake was never going to have his father. She couldn’t believe that after what happened to Kate that Jason would ever give them that chance.  No, not when it had barely been six months since Michael had been shot in the head.

The light turned green, and Elizabeth eased her foot off the brake as the cars in front of her moved. Soon, she’d be back at work, and she’d have the blessed distraction of paperwork to numb her thoughts.

Her phone rang just as Elizabeth was halfway across the intersection, and she reached out with one hand, blindly trying to find it—

She heard the blaring of a horn just a second before the world in front of her spun—a horrifying slam and screech—her car spun, turning it back into oncoming traffic—Elizabeth saw a car heading straight for her—

She screamed and then her car was flying through the air, flipping twice in front of horrified onlookers. Her head was aching, her vision was spotty—and she could hear people shouting—but—

Elizabeth closed her eyes, listening to the sound of her phone still ringing, and everything disappeared.

St. Timothy’s Church: Parking Lot

Jason Morgan grimaced as his second phone call to Elizabeth’s phone went to voice mail. He hoped she wasn’t answering because she was driving and not because she was angry—

Not that she didn’t have every right to be angry, he decided as he turned and scanned the front of the church, waiting for the Port Charles Police Department to release the scene so that Jason could get a look at what the hell had happened.

He’d waited too long to call her, but there hadn’t been time to explain to her that he’d really been hoping that whatever was happening with Kate was something he could delegate even for a few days in Italy. By the time he’d realized how terrible it was—

He’d broken too many promises her to her this last year, and he knew she wasn’t going to wait around much longer.

“They took Sonny to the PCPD.”

Jason turned with a scowl as Cody Paul, his second in command approached. “When? How long ago?”

“Maybe twenty minutes. They just let Max go—” Cody nodded to the man who was coming up behind him with an exhausted air. Max Giambetti had chosen to stay with Sonny as his personal guard when Sonny had turned over the business a few months ago. “We couldn’t find out sooner—”

“What happened inside?” Jason demanded. “They wouldn’t let us near the place—”

“Miss Kate—” Max swallowed hard. “Looked like an angel. Shot right through the back just as she reached the end of the aisle. She’s at GH, and Sonny—he’s not doing good. He’s convinced Johnny Zacchara did this.”

“Johnny?” Jason repeated, blinking. “But he was at the wedding. He brought Lulu, didn’t he?” He scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “Damn it. Where is he? Where’s Spinelli? He’s not answering my calls either—”

“Lulu went crazy at the sounds of the shot,” Max said grimly. “Zacchara and Spinelli took her to GH, hoping they could get her calmed down, but looks like she’s headed right back to Shadybrooke after this. Shame. She looked a lot better.”

Jason exhaled on an irritated huff. “You said Sonny’s at the PCPD?”

“Yeah—”

“Good. That means he’s not on his way to GH to go after Johnny. We got Anthony and Claudia to back down after the last dumbass thing he did—” Sonny had locked Johnny in abandoned mental institution for weeks, convinced he’d taken Michael. Jason closed his eyes at the memory of his nephew, the little boy who would always feel like his own son.

Michael had gone missing for a few weeks earlier that year, but he’d been hiding after accidentally shooting Kate. Then he’d ended up in a coma, the victim of a bullet meant for Sonny.

If Sonny went after Johnny Zacchara again, his psychotic family wouldn’t be so easy to back down, and they’d be out for blood—

His phone rang and Jason looked down at the device in his hand, frowning when he saw Patrick Drake’s name on the screen. Why would—

“Patrick?”

“Jason, I just got a message from dispatch that Elizabeth was in a car accident—”

Jason’s breath caught as he forced himself to ask, “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know. It just—it just happened. They only know it’s her because a paramedic recognized her. It’s—Christ, it’s bad. I’m sure you’re busy but—”

“I’ll be right there.” Jason snapped his phone shut.

“Jason?” Max asked as Cody furrowed his brows.

“Elizabeth—” He took a deep breath. Elizabeth in a car accident just after Kate was shot? What if someone knew about them? What if it hadn’t been an accident—

“Jase?”

Jason snapped to attention when Cody said his name. “Car accident,” he said. “I need you to call the guards on Audrey Hardy’s house. The boys are with her today because—” He couldn’t remember why. They were supposed to be with Lucky— “Call them. Double them.”

“Is Miss Webber okay?”

“I don’t know. I need—I need to—”

“I got this handled, Jason,” Cody told him. “Sonny’s at the PCPD, I’ll get men there to keep him from Zacchara.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Okay.” Jason yanked open his car door and it wasn’t until he was halfway to the hospital before he even had time to wonder how Patrick had known to call him.

General Hospital: Emergency Room

Patrick emerged from a cubicle just as Jason rushed through the doors. He called the enforcer’s name, stopping Jason from going to the nurse’s desk.

“Where is she? Is she okay? What happened?” Jason demanded.

“She’s being taken down to X-Ray,” Patrick said, stripping off his gloves and tossing them in a nearby medical waste bin. “Her car was broadsided by some asshole running a red light. Her car got shoved into oncoming traffic. The car flipped a few times. Thank God—” He dragged a hand through his shaggy dark hair. “Thank God for seat belts and airbags or she’d be dead. And if she’d been even six inches more through that intersection, that car would have hit her and not her fucking front end—”

He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, cleared his throat. “Sorry. Sorry. The paramedics just—she’s alive. She’s banged up, pretty bruised. I’m worried about some cracked ribs, but she’s alive.”

The relief on the other man’s face was so stark, so palpable that it made Patrick feel irrationally angry. “Why wasn’t she on the goddamn plane? She was supposed to be somewhere over Canada—”

Jason frowned, then glanced around them and now Patrick really wanted to punch him. The knowledge that his hands were more important and that Jason could probably crack him in two without blinking kept him from throwing the punch.

But he really wanted to.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Are you worried someone might see that you give a damn? Sorry to interrupt whatever was more important. She’s alive. You can go back to ignoring her—”

“What the hell—”

Patrick didn’t even bother waiting for him to finish his statement. He whirled around and started for the main desk to find another chart, to search out another patient so he could get his mind off Elizabeth and the worry about her ribs—

“I wasn’t ignoring her. I would never—”

“Except that you do.” Patrick took a deep breath. “She told me she was going to Italy with you because she wanted someone to know where she was since she couldn’t tell her grandmother, and Lucky is, on his best day, a giant fucking piece of shit. She was excited, you know that, don’t you? She’s talked about going to Italy for as long as I’ve known her—”

“I know that—” Jason started.

“When I heard about the accident on the dispatch, I thought—I thought she was on her way to the airport. I called you because I thought you’d be waiting for her.” Patrick’s eyes burned into Jason’s. “But then I rechecked the flight info. She was coming home. And she was only on that road at the minute because you didn’t show up at the airport.”

“I—” Jason’s mouth tightened, and he dipped his head. “I know.”

“She’s my best friend. My family,” Patrick said, gritting his teeth. “You and I both know she can do better than you.”

“I do—”

“But she’s picked you. Either end it for good, Morgan, or man up, and stop wasting time. After what’s happened this last year, you’d think you of all people would remember that life is too damn short to waste time.”

General Hospital: Hospital Room

Everything hurt.

Elizabeth forced her eyes open and tried to breathe through the pain. Her wrist felt heavy and sore—more sore than the rest of her body, but man, it was actually hard to figure out which part of her hurt the most.

The room was dark—the only light peeked through the bottom of the closed door—and gradually, she realized she was in a hospital room.

A few other things started to come back to her—the airport, the call from Jason—the crunch of metal—

“Elizabeth?”

She cleared her throat, then licked her lips, and turned towards the voice. “J-Jason?”  She could dimly make out the shape of his torso,  the movement of his head as he leaned towards her. “What…what happened…”

“You were in a car accident.” He picked up her hand—the one that didn’t feel heavy and sore— “You’re okay. I mean, you bruised your ribs and broke your wrist—there’s a concussion—”

“That explains the pain.” She closed her eyes. “A car accident.”

“On the way home from the airport.”

“Right.” The airport. The trip to Italy that she was never going to take. “My bags. They’re on the plane.”

“I’ll call the airline and get them back. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Kate was shot. Sonny tends to go insane when you’re not looking.” Elizabeth stared at the ceiling. “Gram has the boys?”

“She does—it’s not okay.”

“Jason.” She took a deep breath. “I remember what happened earlier this year. I know you have things to do. You can—you can go. I’m okay—”

“I’m not going anywhere—”

“Someone might see you—”

“People have already seen me,” Jason interrupted. “You’ve been unconscious for six hours, and I haven’t left this room. I didn’t know when you’d wake up, and I didn’t want you to be alone.”

“Six—” Elizabeth turned her head towards him, wincing at the movement. The room was still dark. “But things—you need to be doing things.”

“I’ve got it handled.” Jason hesitated. “I mean, eventually, I have to do a few things, but they can wait. You come first.”

Her lip trembled. “That’s—but Kate was shot. I thought you’d—”

“All year,” he said slowly, “you told me that you understood the risks, and that it was your choice to make.”

She felt his lips, soft and gentle against her forehead. “We don’t need to do this tonight. You’re tired, and Patrick says you can go home tomorrow. Why don’t you get some rest? We can talk in the morning.”

“You’ll be here?”

“I’m not leaving you. I promise.”