Written in 58 minutes.

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“When the conservatorship is dissolved, we’ll ask Justus to draw up divorce papers.”

The words lingered in the air for long moment, Jason simply staring at Elizabeth as if she’d suddenly grown a second head. She wrinkled her nose. “That sounded dramatic, didn’t it? I’m sorry—”

“You want a divorce?” Jason said, furrowing his brow, trying to understand where he’d lost the thread of the conversation. He thought he’d been doing much better noting social cues from others — the way Luke always seemed just a little bit irritated with the world, or how Sonny hid his penchant for controlling others by maintaining an air of detachment or disinterest. And Elizabeth — he’d spent the most time with her and she wore nearly every emotion on her face, in her eyes, on her lips.

But a divorce? They’d been together for weeks, sharing the same bed, at the bar—just that morning—

“Not the way it sounds. I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I said it that way.” Elizabeth kicked off her shoes, then padded into the kitchen, tugging open the fridge for a can of soda. “Maybe because I’ve been thinking about it for a few weeks—”

Weeks. She’d been thinking about ending everything for weeks. His head swam and suddenly everything Jason thought he’d understood or even mastered since he’d woken up with nothing to call his own, not even his name. None of this made any sense—

But Elizabeth had continued talking, somehow unaware that Jason was having some sort of existential crisis just a few feet away.

“—and I’ve wanted to bring it up to you a thousand times, but I always lost my courage. I’m not even sure I’m explaining this well—” She cracked open the soda,  then turned and looked at him for the first time since she’d said. Something in his expression must have given it away. “I don’t—I mean, I don’t want us to stop—to stop being us.”

“Maybe I don’t understand what divorce means then,” Jason said slowly. “Because—”

“I married Jason Quartermaine,” Elizabeth said, and he stopped. “A really nice guy who didn’t always stand up for me the way I wanted him to, but who loved me enough that I didn’t really notice it most of the time. We were happy, and I think—” She smiled faintly, looking at her rings. “I think we would have made it. A week ago, I wasn’t so sure about that. But you went to that lawyer and AJ—I’m glad I went. It gave me back that sweet boy, and I think I can let him go now.”

“But I’m him,” Jason said, a bit hesitantly.

“You are. But you didn’t want to be, and you shouldn’t feel obligated to be, either. I know that we’ve built something there that’s just ours, but I’m afraid—” She set the soda aside, then twisted her wedding ring again. “I’m afraid that I might always wonder just a little bit if you’re here because you were already sort of stuck with me and you like me well enough—”

Insulted, Jason opened his mouth to argue and defend himself, but she continued talking. “And you might wonder sometimes if I love you or who you used to be. Are we really here because we want to be?” She folded her arms, bit her lip. “I guess maybe I’m hoping we can give each other a fresh start. A real one. Justus said when this all started that we need to take this choice back for ourselves, and I’m glad I did. That I didn’t just let the Quartermaines steamroll over us. I know it hasn’t happened yet, but we’re going to win in court, and you’re going to be free. I want you to really be free, Jason.”

“I am free right now. I’m where I want to be,” Jason said, stepping towards her. “You don’t have to do this—”

“I believe you.” Her smile was nervous, but real when she closed the distance between them, slid her arms around his waist, loosely clasping her hands at the small of his back. “And I hope you believe me. But I never want there to be any questions.”

He didn’t hate the idea when she talked about it this way — all he’d ever wanted was to make his own choices, and hadn’t he come back to her a little bit because of the history they shared that he would never be able to reclaim.

“Lila told me once I had all the pieces of the puzzle of who I used to be, I’d have to decide which pieces to keep.” He reached for her hands, still wrapped his back and brought them up between them, looked down at the ring he didn’t remember giving her. The bracelet she wore that he had no memory of. “Son, grandson, brother, cousin, medical student, husband….father.”

“And what do you think now?”

“I think maybe none of those pieces are mine now,” Jason said finally. “Most of them don’t mean anything to me, but—” He looked past her to the shelf where the photo of Jason and Cady sleeping on the sofa, the one that had triggered a cascade of emotions that he’d only barely begun to understand. “But I’m only going to regret losing one of them. The rest — I could have if I want. But I don’t ever get to be her father again, and I’m sorry for it.”

“So am I. I envied you not remembering, not feeling this black hole in the center of your world—” Her voice faltered and he looked back, met her eyes. “It kept growing and growing, swallowing me whole, until there was no light left to remind that there was anything left to live for. I wished I could bash my head on a rock and just make it go away. But—”

He brushed a tear from her cheek using the pad of his thumb, and she leaned into his touch. “But it wasn’t a black hole after all. Just a shadow. Like the way night crawls over everything, disappearing the light and joy and good in the world. But eventually, the night ends. And I can remember the good. The way I felt when I was pregnant, her kicks—” Elizabeth pressed a hand to her belly. “I had nine more months with her, you know. I carried her everywhere and kept her safe. Then she was gone. And it took a long time for me to forgive myself for not keeping her safe anymore. I’m sorry you don’t get to remember her. The joy of waiting for her to arrive, the wonder at what we’d created, and even the despair of losing her. I’m so sorry I ever wished that I could lose that.”

She cleared her throat. “I think maybe that’s really why I want that fresh start. Why I need it. I hope you can understand it.”

“At the Quartermaines, they kept looking for who I used to be. For the Jason they wanted me to be. You did, too, in the beginning,” he said, and she nodded, bit her lip. “I thought I could just tell you that it was separate and have it be true. It was, mostly. But sometimes, yeah, I wondered if you’d be here if we hadn’t been married before the accident. If we had had these legal issues to deal with. So if you think getting a divorce will fix that, or help, we should do it.”

Elizabeth smiled, leaned up to kiss him. He cradled her jaw, deepening the embrace until she sank against him, and he had to wrap his arms around her to keep her standing. “But first, we have to finish what we started,” Jason said, stepping back slightly. “There’s still time to call the sky diving place—”

“I am never jumping out of plane. You can just forget about that.”

—

Across town, another father was standing in front of his family, with an announcement of his own. Monica sat on the sofa, her eyes rimmed with red, her mouth pinched, with a sour expression etched into her features.

“I’ve hired a lawyer of my own to represent me in the probate hearing,” Alan said, and Edward scowled, nearly pushed himself to his feet but a quick look from his wife stopped him.

Ned, lounging by the window, lifted his brows. “Why? You and Grandfather have a spat?”

“I won’t blame Monica entirely for what’s happened in the four or five months.” Alan smiled sadly. “The last few years. I made a judgment about Elizabeth, finding her to be unworthy of my son. Not good enough for the man I wanted him to be. I thought that as his father I had a right to weigh in on that decision, to press my thumb on the scales to achieve the outcome that I deemed just.”

“Spare me the speech,” Monica muttered.

“I didn’t give her a chance. She was barely good enough to be your friend, Emily, but to be a member of this family? To stand by Jason’s side as he took on the medical world and became a shining star? No. She couldn’t be. So I meddled. I schemed. I pushed, and I pushed Jason right out the door. Even before the accident, he could barely be here without one of us making a scene. I deprived myself of time that I will never get back. My son is never coming home.”

“This is all well and good, you know, but you owe an apology to Elizabeth,” Emily said, sitting stiffly in an armchair, her eyes stony. “A huge one.”

“I know that. I chose to believe Monica’s story that Jason wanted a divorce. I turned a blind eye to the ragged edges of her facts, and ignored how they didn’t quite fit together. They were good enough to confirm what I already believed, so I went after the power of attorney to maintain control of my son in he hospital. And when Father suggested we take this further, to protect Jason’s estate, to make his wishes permanent, I didn’t hesitate. I ought to have.”

He paused. “I’ll be asking my lawyer to petition to dissolve the conservatorship. I’m asking you, Father, to stand down. Not to object. Jason shouldn’t have to waste one more minute of his life fighting either one of us for the right to make his own decisions.” His lips twisted. “He’s been doing that too long.”

Edward made a face, but looked at Lila again, and inclined his head. “I’ll direct our lawyer to do the same,” he said finally. “Jason seems capable of making his own choices. Terrible choices,” he muttered, “but he’s capable nonetheless.”

“Mother?” Emily prompted when Monica said nothing. “Do you have anything you want to say?”

Monica just snorted, rose to her feet. “Why? And take some of the attention from Father of the Year? Jason would have seen her for the social climbing, gold digging bitch eventually, and turning control of his trust fund back over to him is a mistake—”

“I created that trust fund so that Jason would never have to beg for anything. When Father was poised to prevent Jason from having any piece of this family because he was born out a wedlock,” Alan said, giving Edward a dirty look. “I should have remembered that. How hard I had to fight to give my son the life, wealth, and name he ought to have been entitled to by birth.”

“If you think I’m going to apologize for using every resource at my disposal to do right by my son, you’ll be waiting until hell freezes over.” Monica lifted her chin. “I did what I did for the right reasons, and no one will ever convince me otherwise. Do whatever you want. Just don’t blame me when it all goes horribly wrong.”

She left the room then, and Emily just said. “You know, I’m glad I’m adopted. And that Jason is — at least on his mother’s side.” She got to her feet. “I love you all, I really do. But there are days when I’m glad your blood doesn’t run through my veins.” She looked at her father. “You’re doing the right thing, Dad, but it’s too little too late. Jason will never forgive you for this.”

“I know. But it’s the only way I know how to right any of these wrongs. I’m sorry, Emily, that we so often fail to live up to the family you deserve.”

“Yeah, well, I guess life could have been worse. I could have ended up adopted by the Manson family,” she muttered, and left the room.

“Father—”

“You have to know when to fold,” Edward said gruffly. “Better to retreat then to be beaten with witnesses. We’ll lose in court. At least this way, I don’t have to sit in front of a judge and listen to a lecture. Put your lawyer in touch with mine. We’ll get it done.”

—

A few days later, it was Tuesday night, one of the slower nights at the club. Elizabeth didn’t need a second bartender on shift, but Jason thought he was beginning to wear her down on sky diving lessons and had shown up after the happy hour rush with new facts to convince her.

“Fatalites occur in less than 1 per 100,000 cases,” Jason said, sliding the pamphlet over to her. “And serious injuries are 2 in 10,000—”

“See, that second thousand number is much smaller — and someone has to be the one or the two.” Elizabeth leaned over the bar, smirked at him. “You are never, in a million years, getting me on one of those rinky planes thousands of feet in the air—”

“But just think about how much better the rush will be,” Jason argued. “The wind roaring in your ears, so loud you can’t think—you don’t think that’s worth the risk?”

“I like going fast. On the ground—”

“Skydiving is statistically safer than driving—”

“I told you teaching him to read would be a mistake,” Luke quipped, a cigar sticking out of one side of his mouth. He came past Elizabeth to pour himself a glass of whiskey. “Kid, when are you going to give it up—”

“I just haven’t found the right facts.” Jason looked at a different brochure, scanning it. Elizabeth snickered, went to the end of the bar to fill an order.

Luke followed her. “When are you going to put that boy out of his misery and go on the plane?”

She rolled her eyes, pressed the button for the blender. After she’d delivered the margarita to the customer, she looked at her boss. “What makes you think I’m going to fold?”

“Darlin’, I’ve known you way too long. You’re going to cave.”

She shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out someday.”

“Skydiving,” Jason began when she returned to his side of the bar, “is safer than driving—more than three million people go skydiving every year—” he broke off when Justus slid onto the stool next to him. “Hey. I thought we weren’t meeting you until tomorrow.”

“Got a late note from the court.” Justus tossed a sheaf of legal papers on the bar. Jason picked them up, his eyes widening.

“Is this what I think it is?”

Elizabeth leaned over. “What?”

“Petition to dissolve the conservatorship filed by Alan and Edward—they both caved?” Jason wanted to know.

“Yeah, I thought for sure we’d get a dramatic scene when we had mediation in a few days. You didn’t even get to confront Monica with what we found out from AJ. And now you don’t need to.” Justus made a face. “I was kind of looking forward to seeing the face crack when she realized we were on to.”

“Feel free to do it on my behalf, but I don’t need to tell Monica it was a lie. She knows it was. I know it was. And it wouldn’t make me feel better.” Elizabeth shrugged. “She’ll just defend herself. But you said Ned was asking the right questions, and Alan must have had his doubts.”

Justus looked at Jason. “It’ll take a week for the hearing, but it’s basically over. The court isn’t going to hold you to something that even the conservators don’t want. Do you want to schedule a meeting with the Qs?”

“Why? I wanted them out of my life. You’re making that happen. As long as Elizabeth gets her money back, I’m good.”

“Well, you’ll need to sign papers for the trust fund—”

“I don’t want that,” Jason said immediately. “Any of it. Tell them to keep their money. And everything else—”

“Well—” Justus lifted his brows. “You did say you were hoping to get a little revenge on the family for the way they’d treated Elizabeth.”

“What?” Elizabeth blinked, looked at Jason who just returned her look a bit defiantly. “When did you say that?”

“A while ago. And yeah, I do. Why, do you have any ideas?”

“Oh. I have a few. And if Sonny’s around, maybe he’ll be interested in what I have to say.”

“I do like a plot twist,” Luke decided. “Let me go get him.”

“While you’re cooking that up,” Elizabeth said to Justus, “can you make time to do something else for us?”

“Anything.”

“Divorce papers,” Jason said. He laid a hand over Elizabeth’s on the bar. “And a name change.”

Went over! Written in 68 minutes. I was trying to get the ending just right. I hope I did it justice 😛 Timed writing is a bitch sometimes.

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“Jason.”

He ignored the call the first time he heard his name. He wasn’t interested in anything the man had to say. As far as Jason was concerned, everything that he needed to say to a single member of the Quartermaine family had been said in court three months earlier when the conservatorship had been dissolved, and Jason was finally free of them.

He’d keep Emily, and was okay with claiming her as his sister. And maybe Lila, too.

But the rest of the family could go to hell.

“Jason, wait—”

Jason stopped at the door to Luke’s, and turned to see Alan striding towards him. “You can’t come in. It’s a private party—”

“I—I know. Emily—” Alan stopped a few feet away. “Emily told me. I just…I know today was the last time I would be able to do this, and this was the only place I’d find you. I wouldn’t go to the apartment. That’s…you’ve made it clear how you feel—”

“Then we have nothing left to say—”

“Please.”

Jason didn’t like that the trembling in the older man’s voice bothered him, but it did, and since Emily said it was Alan who had triggered the petition that had ended the control, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to hear him out. Just this once.

Jason turned back to him. “You have two minutes.”

“I just…it’s hard as a father to know you’ve failed so spectacularly at the one job you were given,” Alan said, his hand falling to his side. “To raise and guide your child into becoming an adult, a good member of the world. A good human. And to protect them from those who would try to hurt them. I didn’t see that I’d become someone you needed to guard against. I simply assumed that I knew best, and I never questioned that.” He swallowed hard. “After the accident, they said you might never wake up. And if you did, that you’d never be the boy we’d raised.”

Jason had heard this all before. There was nothing new here — just the regrets of a bitter man who’d refused to listen until it was too late. “What’s your point?”

“Emily said the paperwork — all of it is final today.” Alan looked away, took a deep breath, then looked at Jason. “I hope one day you can understand how easy it is to think what you want is the best choice. The only choice. The lengths you will go to for your own child — you can’t know the depth of that love—you don’t remember it, but—”

“You’re sorry. I get that. But I don’t care,” Jason said, and Alan flinched. “I’m sorry those words hurt. That part is true. Justus told me that just because I don’t remember you doesn’t change the fact you remember me. And I am sorry that you lost whoever I used to be. I guess—thank you for ending the conservatorship. But you never should have done it in the first place, so I don’t really feel grateful. Just angry.”

“I know—”

“No, you don’t.” Jason shoved his hands in his pockets. “The doctors told you I’d be stupid and damaged, and you believed them. You made me believe it, too. Every time I got kicked out of a place to live or fired from a job without being told why, I thought maybe they were right. Maybe I couldn’t do it on my own. You and the old man — and Monica — you made all of this harder than it had to be. So I’m not grateful. And after a while, I won’t be angry. I’ll just be done with it. And you’re going to have to live with that.”

He turned back to the door, pulled the door open, then looked back at Alan. “Did Monica ever admit that she was wrong?”

“No,” Alan said, with a slight twitch to his mouth. “You’d have felt hell freezing over. She’ll always believe she did the wrong thing for right reasons.”

“Yeah, well, when you ask yourself why you’re not in my life, why I won’t ever be in the same room with you or her again, just look in the mirror. You had your chance. Over and over again. And blew it. After today? I don’t ever want to see either of you again.”

Jason went inside, leaving the father out in the parking lot, and putting him out of his mind.

At the bar, there was a cluster of people gathered around Luke who had put together a projection screen and was fiddling with the equipment.

Justus saw Jason first and strode over. “Hey. I brought the final paperwork. All finalized and ready to go. You’re officially done.”

“Thanks. I mean that. You didn’t have to go after them to do this for me—”

“Some things are just right,” Justus said.

“There you are!” Elizabeth left Luke’s side and slid arm around his waist, leaning up to kiss him. “What took so long?”

“There was a line.” Jason reached inside the bag he was carrying and handed her the brown package. “But I got it.”

“I guess it was too much to hope the camera had busted,” Elizabeth grumbled, tugging out the VHS tape. “Did Justus tell you?”

“That we’re divorced? Yeah.”

“Well, we knew that. But our replacements came.” She dragged him over to the bar where another envelope was laying. A new driver’s license for him, and for her. And then passports. He flipped through it — Jason Morgan.

“You sure you’re okay with taking back your maiden name?” Jason asked, sliding the license into his wallet, then handing her the passport to stow with hers in the larger bag she carried. “I wouldn’t have cared if you kept it because of Cady.”

“We talked about it,” Elizabeth reminded him. Her smile was only bittersweet now. “I think it’s right that Jason and Elizabeth Quartermaine are gone, too, you know? We shared that name with her. They’ll always be a family. I have my memories, and you can have the pictures and videos. I don’t need the name to know it was real. Even if I’ll miss seeing Edward and Monica’s faces do that twitch when I introduced myself as Mrs. Elizabeth Quartermaine. No, we wanted a fresh start. We’re going to take it.”

He kissed her again and caught her trying to hide the VHS in her bag. “No, we’re watching this—you promised.”

“Well, you played dirty when you asked,” she muttered. “How is a girl supposed to think when your head is—”

“Jason, hey,” Sonny said, coming up behind Elizabeth whose cheeks pinked up when she heard him. “Elizabeth tell you the good news?”

“No, she was too busy trying to renegotiate.” Jason handed the tape off to Justus who headed over to Luke and Laura. Elizabeth wrinkled her nose.

“Well, I signed the purchase documents this morning.” Sonny wiggled his brows. “You sure you don’t want to delay your plans until the first board meeting? Because I would think you’d want to be there when I walk in and demand my seat at the board.”

“I kind of do want to see that,” Elizabeth told Jason. “Can you imagine the gasket Edward’s going to blow? He was already furious when you liquidated the trust. Just imagine how he’ll feel when he finds out you how you used that money and what you’re doing with your ELQ shares.”

“See? Elizabeth wants to see the show. Come on.”

Jason shook his head. “We can stay, and you can go. But I don’t want it. I sold Sonny the shares because I don’t want anything to do with that family. Not their money, not their company. Fresh start?” he reminded her, and she made a face. “You can go.”

“Yeah, come on. How you gonna miss out on seeing me and Luke roll in there as board members?” Sonny straightened his jacket. “Edward’s going to shit a brick when he finds out your trust was used to get Luke into the company.”

“Now, now, it was a wise investment, and I’ll be paying you back just as soon as ELQ gives me that first dividend,” Luke said. “I got a lot of plans for the place.”

“We can postpone the flight,” Jason told Elizabeth who looked genuinely torn. “Really. I don’t mind.”

“Maybe,” she said. “I don’t know. We went through all that paperwork to get rid of everything Quartermaine in our life. It was my idea to get rid of all of that.” She took a deep breath, then looked at Sonny and Luke. “I’m sure you’ll raise a lot of hell for us, and when we get back, you can fill us in.”

“If you come back,” Luke said, tapping her nose. “Don’t you dare come home until you’re good and ready. Whole world out there for you to see.” He put an arm around her shoulders. “Now, why don’t we watch this video that Jason was so helpful to bring us?”

The front door burst open and Emily bound down the steps, taking them two at a time. “Did I miss it? Please tell me I didn’t miss it!”

“Just in time.”

“Oh, man. This is so embarassing,” Elizabeth muttered. Jason put his arm around her shoulders, hugged her against his body. “How did I ever let you talk me into this?”

“I could remind you later,” he murmured in her ear, and she lightly whacked his chest. “Is that a no?”

“I think we’ve proved I don’t know how to say no to you,” she retorted. He grinned, and she whacked him again, but her smile stretched from ear to ear, her eyes sparkling.

Across the room, Luke fiddled with the projector one more time, and Sonny leaned in, his voice pitched low. “You see that over there? I’m taking credit for it. That’s what we call successful meddling.”

“Hey, whose idea was it to bring him here?” Luke demanded.

“Because you wanted her to get some sense slapped into her—”

“Actions matter more than motivations.” Luke turned the group, clapping his hands to get their attention. “All right, without further delay, this here is a going away party for the best bar manager a guy could ask for, and, well, Jason, you—” He squinted. “You sure showed up.”

Jason, whose talent at bartending would never win him any awards, just rolled his eyes.  “You hired me.”

“Nepotism,” Luke replied. “Anyway, it’s always hard when your chicks leave the nest, so they tell me, but as much as I’m going to miss you, Lizzie—” He met her eyes, and grinned. “I’m actually glad to see you get out of here. You make that boy take you anywhere you want to go. Paint it all. Then come home.”

“That’s the plan,” Elizabeth said. “Who could leave you forever, Luke?”

“That’s what I’m saying. And this trip of dreams has been funded by Jason graciously selling his shares in ELQ to Sonny here, so you make sure there’s no crummy hotels. Our girl deserves the best.”

“Luke—” Elizabeth opened her mouth, probably to fire back at the sexism, but Luke was already turning to the projector.

“And as a going away present to us, Jason and Elizabeth have decided to share the first of their recent adventures. After weeks of persuasion and all the statistics a man could take — Jason got our Lizzie up in a plane with nothing more than a prayer and a parachute. And we’re lucky enough to have footage from their tandem partner’s. So, let’s watch them fall out of the sky. He pressed play.

The footage was shaky and the sound of the plane was nearly overwhelming, but it brought Elizabeth right back to that crazy day two weeks ago when she’d climbed inside a tiny plane because Jason wouldn’t do it without her and he’d really wanted to try it.

“All right, last minute reminders—” one of the instructors yelled, then began to reel off the reminders.

 

Then the door opened, and there was nothing but blue—the camera was shaky as it approached the door —

“Elizabeth went first,” Jason said. “I knew if I did, she’d change her mind.”

“I hate that you’re right. But hey, I didn’t even need to be pushed.”

The camera leapt into the blue and an shrill scream could be heard as the world plummeted towards her. Then a string of profanities, some creative curses and murder plots against Jason—

The camera switched to Jason still on the plane, whose jump was much calmer and less colorful. Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Of course, you’re perfect at it on the first go.”

“First, does that mean you do it again?”

“Not on your life, buddy.”

Then the video switched to the camera on the ground — aimed at the tiny pinpricks up in the sky — the blooming of their parachutes spreading and their gently glide down to the ground.

Elizabeth sighed, remembering that part more fondly than the rush of the fall. Though Jason had been right — the bastard — the rush and roar of the wind had been so overwhelming and scary—and the stark contrast of the gentle, almost relaxing glide — and the easy landing thanks to her tandem partner.

When she’d landed on the ground, her jumping partner unhooked them, and Elizabeth had waited for Jason to land and be unhooked, then launched herself into his arms, kissing him, and knocking him to the ground. The video ended there as the operator started laughing.

“That was worth the show,” Luke decided, grinning at Elizabeth who was beet red. “Launching herself into adventure. Of all kinds.”

“I didn’t mind it either,” Jason said, kissing the top of her forehead. “It was exactly what I wanted. I’m glad I waited until you changed your mind.”

“I’m glad I went, too. Even if the video is mortifying. I’m glad Luke wanted to see it, and that we made it part of tonight.” She bit her lip. “Before we go to the airport, can we…there’s a stop I want to make.”

“Yeah, sure.”

—

The party broke up and hour or so later, after drinks and some food. Some hugs and kisses, crying from Emily and Elizabeth. Even Jason had been surprised to find himself reluctant to part ways with Luke, Sonny, Justus, and his sister. But there’d be phone calls and letters, and visits.

But there would never quite be another time just like this, Jason thought. He and Elizabeth would be something different after a few months of traveling together. They were already a team, created through necessity thanks to the Quartermaines. Now they’d get a real chance to see who they were away from all of this.

Finally, though they were in the car Jason was borrowing from Sonny and leaving at the airport for them to pick up. The bike would be put in storage until they came back. A promise of sorts, to the people who cared, Elizabeth said, that they would be back. There was an entire storage locker with the contents of the apartment. They were taking very little but the clothes on their backs, some art supples, and a few pictures.

“Turn up here,” Elizabeth said, and Jason did so, sobering a little when he saw the cemetery. He parked, and she led him through the maze of graves to one in the back, beneath a tray.

There was a statue of an angel over the stone which simply read Cadence Audrey Quartermaine. Cherished and Precious. September 19, 1995 – November 4, 1995.

In all the months since he’d learned about her, he’d never been here. To her final resting place.

Elizabeth brushed some dirt from the top of the stone, then sank to her knees in front of him. Jason hesitantly got to one knee, unsure what she wanted from her.

“People come to these grave stones and talk to them like the person they mourn can hear them. I tried it once, but it didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel her here, you know? And if she’s not here, how can I talk to her?”  She traced the letters. “Is it strange to hope that there’s a way your memories are somehow with her? That the father who loved her so much is with her now, taking care of her because we can’t?”

Jason’s throat was tight. He knew scientifically that wasn’t how it worked. The memories were nothing more than electric impulses in his brain — the storage of them had been disrupted and they’d been erased. But he’d seen those pictures, and heard those videos. And maybe it was okay to believe in something so impossible. To hope that somewhere, the daughter he didn’t know was safe and loved by the father who no longer existed in the world.

“No, I don’t think so. If there’s something after all this, I hope she’s safe and loved.”

“I never came back here after that. And I mostly tried to forget her, you know. But I guess — we’re leaving, and we don’t know when we’re coming back. Her room is gone — I just—I wanted to be somewhere with her just one more time.” She looked at Jason. “Maybe that’s why I didn’t leave Port Charles after your accident. Leaving her here, leaving without you, it was too much. I couldn’t do both.”

“We don’t have to get on that plane for California tonight,” Jason told her. “We can—”

“No, I just wanted to say goodbye one more time. That’s all.” Elizabeth pressed two fingers to her lips, then set them against her name. “Goodbye, baby. Mommy loves you.”

Jason covered her hand with his own. “So do I,” he said, his voice a bit rough. Elizabeth leaned her head against his shoulder briefly, then let her hand fall to the ground. She rose to her feet, brushed the dirt from her pants.

Jason looked back at the stone, then let his hand fall to his side. He stood, laced his fingers through Elizabeth’s. “We’re not saying goodbye,” he told her, and Elizabeth lifted her brows. “Not to her.” He rested a hand on the top of the stone. “We’ll see you later, okay?”

“Yeah.” Her smile was small, but genuine. “We’ll see you again one day. But that day better be far away,” she told Jason, as they walked towards the parking lot. “No more getting in cars with drunken idiots. Or jumping out of planes.”

“You liked it.”

“I did not—”

“You did, too. You’ve got the bug.”

“Listen—”

“We’ll work up to jumping alone. That’ll be even better.”

“You are never, in a million years, getting me to jump out of plane alone. No more adventures like that, thank you very much.”

It only took him three weeks to talk her into bungee jumping.

THE END