Recap

When Jason returned to town for a brief visit at the end of January 2001, he needed a place to stay with a view of the docks. Elizabeth let him stay in the studio, while keeping it a secret from everyone else. Over the next few weeks, it was clear they were both crushing on each other — though Elizabeth didn’t really seem to realize it, and Jason did.  Jason was forced to reveal his existence when he saved Sonny after a warehouse fire, and Elizabeth, seeing Jason come out of the warehouse, seemed to recognize for the first time that she had feelings. Lucky also saw her seeing Jason come out of the fire — and didn’t miss the looks they exchanged. Jason moved out of the studio and to a room at Jake’s. Lucky later asked Elizabeth to stop seeing Jason, and she reluctantly agreed.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Lucky were struggling with their own relationship woes. Lucky was working at Deception as a photographer and convinced Elizabeth to go out for the Face of Deception spot, sparring with Gia Campbell for the position. Elizabeth was uncomfortable with it, but Lucky was excited and she agreed. Carly and Laura who were running Deception at that point battled over who should be the Face — but Laura with the bigger share of the company won.

On the day Elizabeth fled to Jake’s and Jason, she had been at a Face of Deception photoshoot, dressed as Audrey Hepburn from Tiffany’s. It was in the same studio where Tom Baker had held Elizabeth and Emily hostage in 1998, but Elizabeth seemed to get over her nerves and begin the shoot. She did her best, but Carly disagreed and was really aggressively critical of Elizabeth’s posture. Lucky and Laura both defended Elizabeth, but when asked by Carly to say Elizabeth was the better model other than Gia, Lucky couldn’t or wouldn’t, and frustrated, upset, Elizabeth left.  She went to Jake’s, and Jason took her in, worried. Elizabeth tried to take off the heavy makeup she was wearing, but worried about ruining the long white gloves she was wearing. Jason started to wash her face.

Hence the scene in the in the banner and the kiss that wasn’t.

Until now.

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Written in 60 minutes. No time for spell check or typos.

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Part One

March 13, 2001

Jake’s: Jason’s Room

Elizabeth Webber could feel his breath against his lips, the scent of his aftershave lingering — Jason Morgan had fastened those beautiful blue eyes of his on hers — then dropped them to her lips, leaned in — and paused.

She should pull away.

She should absolutely stop this.

But another voice—the devil on her shoulder, the ever present reminder of who she’d been one — her Lizzie voice reminded her that she’d been such a good girl lately, and what had it earned her?

Nothing but humiliation. Standing in that studio, listening to Carly Corinthos deride Elizabeth’s looks, her figure, the way she stood, the way she smiled—picked her apart until Elizabeth thought everyone could see her bleeding —

And her own boyfriend couldn’t even muster the ability to say that his own girlfriend was more important that Gia, the woman Elizabeth had defeated for the job he insisted she deserved fair and square.

She’d been the good and dutiful girlfriend, agreeing not to see Jason anymore, to become a model, to stand in that studio of all places where Tom Baker had terrorized her barely two years ago —

And for what?

When Jason paused, Elizabeth knew why. His breath was quicker—his hand still on her face, his wrist against her cheek—his pulse had picked up. This man—this gorgeous, sexy man wanted to kiss her but he’d stopped.

Because it needed to be her choice. He wanted it to be her decision. It had to be something she wanted.

And what she wanted mattered to him.

What could be sexier than that?

So Elizabeth shut down the good girl inside of her that screaming, and listened to Lizzie for the first time in three years.

She leaned in, brushing her mouth against his, against the smoothness of his lips. Jason’s breath intake was shape—he hadn’t expected it—but that moment of surprised disappeared in an instant as his mouth became more insistent, covering her hungrily.

Elizabeth snaked an arm around his neck, moaning as Jason stood, lifting her against him. One of his hands speared through her hair, dislodging the up swept hair that had taken the stylist nearly an hour to achieve, the other arm was around her waist, holding her up. She clung to him, his chest hard against her softness—

Then Jason stopped—he drew back, carefully setting her down on her feet, the pads of his thumbs sweeping over her cheeks. Their breathing shallow, their eyes met for a long moment before Jason rested his forehead against hers.

It was some time before Elizabeth could form any words—before coherent thought set in. And even when she could form them —

What could she say?

She knew what she should say.

She should tell him it was a mistake.

Jason’s thumb slid across her lips before falling away, and she nearly protested — she wanted him to keep touching her—to kiss her again — to make the world fall away again —

“Should I apologize?” Jason managed finally.

“Are you sorry?” Elizabeth said, her voice rusty. She cleared her throat, stepped back, her knees brushing the back of the bed. But she didn’t sit down.

Jason studied her for a long moment, then shook her head. “No,” he admitted.

“G-Good.” Elizabeth licked her lips, and her stomach fluttered when his eyes dropped to her mouth again. Oh my God. I just want to lick him everywhere.

“B-Because I kissed you,” she continued. She pressed a hand to her belly, trying to calm the butterflies that swirled inside.

“I—” Jason exhaled slowly. Carefully. He stepped back, a foot of space separating them. “I know.”

“I need a minute,” Elizabeth admitted. She edged away from him, toward the other side of the room. She rubbed her neck, her hand encircling her throat. “I wasn’t—um, that wasn’t the plan when I came here.”

“I didn’t think it was.”

“I just—” She bit her lip. “I think it’s obvious that I have—that I—” Elizabeth closed her eyes. Honesty. Jason respected honesty. With that in mind, she opened them and looked at him directly. “I have feelings for you. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Elizabeth—”

“It’s important to me that I don’t hurt you. Because you matter so much. You shouldn’t,” she said quickly, her voice tightening. “Because I’ve got everything I wanted. Everything I’m supposed to want.”

Jason just stared at her and she broke the gaze, rubbing her finger against her mouth again. “It’s so strange,” she murmured. “Before you came home, I would have said I was happy. But I’m not. And I haven’t been. When did that change? When did Lucky change?” She looked back at Jason. “How can someone change right in front of you with you noticing? I—”

She sat on the bed, staring blindly at the dingy paint on the wall. “I keep telling myself that he’s so excited about this new job that he just can’t hear me right now. And I want him to be happy. He’s had such a hard time since he came home finding something again. He kept telling me all the dreams we’d had once—those were for kids. Going to the city, living on art and music—just a silly dream.”

Jason carefully sat on the bed, keeping several feet between them. “Why is it silly?”

“That’s what I wanted to know. And if he didn’t want music anymore, well, why did that mean my dreams had to change? Why can’t I have dreams of my own?” Elizabeth looked at him, tears stinging her lashes. “Why do I have to share his dream? Why do I have to dress like this and pretend that I like being a model? Carly was right.”

Jason’s mouth pinched. “Carly doesn’t think—”

“No, she just says whatever she’s thinking.” Elizabeth smiled, faintly. “I used to be like that. I used to be in the moment. What I wanted, I took, and I didn’t think much about other people.”

She stared at her manicured nails, at the clear polish, wishing it was the red polish she preferred, even with it’s chipped. “I keep telling myself that Lucky can’t hear me right now,” she repeated, “because I need to believe that he’ll hear me eventually. But I think—” She met Jason’s eyes. “I think he does hear me. And he just doesn’t care. And that’s—” Her voice trembled. “That’s really hard to admit. That what I want and need isn’t important to the one person it should matter to the most.”

“I’m sorry—” Jason paused. “Elizabeth—”

“I just—I don’t want to hurt you,” Elizabeth repeated. “Because I do—this—this feels real. The way I feel when you look at me—but I’m just scared that it’s because I’m unhappy with the rest of my life. I shouldn’t—” She sighed, looked away.

“You shouldn’t what?”

“When we became friends, you were an escape,” she confessed, “a way to get away from all the things that hurt me. The pieces of my life that were suffocating me. I didn’t have to think or be anything when I was with you. And I shouldn’t need that anymore.”

Jason said nothing, and she couldn’t bare to look at him. She didn’t want to know if she was hurting him. She just couldn’t keep lying to herself.

“How can I tell myself I’m in love with Lucky and feel this way about you?” Elizabeth murmured. “How does that even work?”

She shoved herself to her feet, dragging her hands across her face, then through her hair. “You know, I talked to Lucky about wanting to see Italy one day.”

Now she looked at him, saw Jason inhale sharply, then let out a slow breath. “What did he say?”

“He said that maybe Deception could sponsor a photo shoot there and we could go that way. And I—I said that if I went there working—how would I see the art and museums and just exist? He laughed at me.”

Jason got to his feet with a scowl. “He laughed—”

“When was I going to give up on my silly dream?” Elizabeth murmured. “When was I going to grow up?”

“Elizabeth—”

“I should have seen it then. He didn’t believe me in me anymore. And, God, that’s almost worst than the rest of it. He was the first person who ever saw me. And now—now I don’t even trust those memories. It’s not the now he’s destroying, it’s the before. I don’t know what was real. If I ever knew him at all.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason said. “I don’t—I’m sorry.”

She met his eyes, and he looked so upset, his eyes pained. “Jason—”

“I know how much your art means to you. How much Lucky believing in you meant. It was the first thing I ever learned about you,” he continued. “When your professor didn’t like that portrait of him—” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth. And I don’t want to make things worse—”

“You couldn’t,” she assured him softly. “I just—I need time. I need—I need to sort myself out. I can’t—I can’t let myself travel down this road with you until I know it’s—” She pressed her lips together. “Which is so conceited because I don’t even know what you want—”

“What I want,” Jason told her, sliding a piece of hair behind her ear, his fingers trailing down her neck to her collar bone. “What I want is for you to be happy. To see you smile again with your whole face. You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.

Elizabeth’s cheeks heated and she bit her lip. “Jason—”

“Whether that’s with me or alone—” Jason paused, “or even with Lucky,” he added with a pained tone, “if you’re really happy—that’s what I want.”

“Okay,” Elizabeth drew out, “but do you, um, have a preference?” She tipped her head up, met his eyes.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice little more than a whisper as he leaned down to kiss her—just one more time.

“Oh man,” Elizabeth muttered when he pulled back. She let her head drop against his chest. “It wasn’t a fluke, was it?”

“No,” Jason said with a shake of his head, the corner of his mouth curving up. “No, it wasn’t. Do you want a ride home?”

“I should probably take a cab,” she admitted as she stepped back. “I don’t think this dress travels well on a bike. And I need—I need to think.”

Studio

Elizabeth wasn’t entirely surprised to find Lucky pacing the room when she unlocked the door. He stopped at the sound of her key in the lock, then turned to glare at her. “Where have you been?” she demanded.

Elizabeth arched her brow, closed the door behind her, and looked at her boyfriend, waiting for the mixture of guilt and nerves to set in. She’d run to another man, let him hold her, then kiss her—

And the guilt never came.

Because she’d been upset when she’d left, and Lucky didn’t seem to care about that.

“I don’t think that’s the question you should be asking me,” Elizabeth said coolly. She set her purse on her table, then removed her scarf and jacket. “I forgot my phone at Kelly’s.”

“And what should I be asking?” Lucky retorted, his hands clenched into fists at his waist. “You embarrassed me and wasted a whole lot of people’s time and money when you stormed off—”

“Stormed off,” Elizabeth said. She folded her arms. “You mean when I left the studio after being insulted repeatedly by one of the owners of the company—”

“That’s just Carly—”

“I don’t want to be a model, Lucky,” Elizabeth said, flatly. “And Carly just sees it better than the rest of you. So I’m going to thank your mother for her time—”

“Elizabeth!”

“—but we both know it should be Gia.” She took a deep breath even as his features folded into a thunderous mask of anger. “And that’s not the only change I’m making.”

“How can you do this to me?” he demanded.

“You can photograph Gia. Your dreams are not mine,” she said. “I don’t want it. And you don’t have the right to force them on me—”

“It was our dream—”

“Because you wanted it, and I wanted you to be happy. But I don’t want it for me. I want to be an artist—” She stopped. “I am an artist—”

Lucky rolled his eyes. “Again? With this? Come on—”

“And since you can’t believe in me, then I guess we should start thinking about seeing other people.”

Lucky’s mouth hung open for a long moment as his eyes bulged at her. “What did you just say to me? Are you—”

“We’re clearly not seeing eye to eye, we’re arguing all the time,” Elizabeth continued, “and I’m not happy—”

“This is because of Jason,” he said with a sneer. “Because of him—he’s poisoned you against me—”

“This is because of me. Because I need to know what I want, and I can’t do that with you shoving your dreams on me—”

“Damn it, tell me the truth!” Lucky demanded. “Is this about Jason?”

She met his angry eyes directly, then nodded. “I have feelings for him. And I don’t know if they’re real or if they’re just because I’m unhappy. So I need a break from all of it—”

“That’s bullshit.” Lucky sliced his hand through the air. “You don’t need anything except to stay the hell away from Jason—”

“I need you to leave.” Elizabeth opened the door and gestured at the hallway. “Now.”

Lucky’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard—not from nerves but from anger, from rage—and she really wanted him out of her studio right this second. Her pulse started to skitter as she wondered what she’d do if he didn’t leave.

“Fine,” Lucky snarled. “But you’ll come crawling back when he leaves again.” He stormed past her and out of the studio.

Elizabeth closed the door behind him, locked it, and exhaled slowly. She leaned back against the door, touched her lips, closed her eyes, and brought back the way Jason tasted.

No, she wouldn’t be crawling back.

Written in ___ minutes. Time for a basic spell check but not a read through for typos.

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Friday, March 14, 2001

Kelly’s: Diner 

Elizabeth glanced warily at the stairs that led to the second floor of the diner before returning her attention to finishing her side work behind the counter.

She had stayed the night on her uncomfortable couch at the studio and didn’t know if Lucky was upstairs — and was not looking forward to seeing him again.

She’d left Jake’s yesterday, feeling genuinely conflicted about her feelings for Jason, nearly convinced that if she just tried to explain things to Lucky — he would take a minute and look at her.

He would see her the way he had once.

But Lucky couldn’t—or wouldn’t—do that. Instead of being worried about her, instead of listening — he had been cruel.

He had been mean.

And this was a side of Lucky Elizabeth simply had no reference for. Even when Lucky hadn’t liked her during her first few months in Port Charles, he might have been sarcastic and cutting, but he’d never been mean or dismissive.

She felt her phone vibrate in her apron pocket. Elizabeth tugged it out, then grimaced when she saw Laura Spencer’s name flash on the identification screen. She put the phone back. Clearly, Laura had received Elizabeth’s message.

She was very sorry she’d wasted every one’s time, but she wasn’t cut out to be a model. She thanked Laura for her time and energy and hoped there were no hard feelings.

Elizabeth turned away from the counter to check on the coffee pots behind her, to make sure there were full pots for the lunch rush due in soon. Dimly, she heard the bell over the door ring as the door either opened or closed.

Then she turned back and nearly jumped out of her skin when she found Nikolas Cassadine glaring at her while Gia Campbell smirked in the background.

“What the hell is going on?” Nikolas bit out, slapping a hand on the counter. “My brother is devastated, my mother is furious—”

“I told Lucky and Laura that I don’t want to be a model.” She glanced at Gia who arched a brow. “I’m sure you’re not surprised.”

“No,” Gia began but Nikolas sent her a hot look that had the former black-mailer pressed her lips together.

“How could you do this?” Nikolas demanded. “After everything my mother has done for you, this is how you repay her? Do you have any idea how much money and time you’ve wasted?”

“I do,” Elizabeth said slowly, “but I also know that it’s my right to quit a job at any time. Particularly a job where I am subjected to abuse and harassment by co-workers and supervisors.” She tipped her head at Gia. “Did they call you yet?”

“Yes.” Gia lifted her chin.

“Good,” Elizabeth said. “Because you and Carly deserve each other.” She turned back to begin another pot of coffee.

“What does that mean—” Gia began but Nikolas had launched into his next complaint.

“And what about Lucky? You’re ruining his dream—”

“Is he not capable of pushing the button on a camera if I’m not there to hold his hand?” Elizabeth asked. She measured out the coffee, ignoring the way her hand shook. She pressed the start button.

“That’s not the point—”

“What is the point?” Elizabeth asked. “I don’t need anyone’s permission to quit a job that I’m unhappy in, and I also don’t need your permission to break up with my boyfriend.”

“After everything we’ve been through with Lucky, you’re just abandoning him—”

“It doesn’t even matter to you,” Elizabeth said softly. She met Nikolas’s angry eyes. “It’s never mattered to you what makes me happy. What makes me sad. I wonder when that changed. Why I didn’t see it—”

“I—” Nikolas growled. “You’re just confused—”

“No, I think I’m seeing clearly for the first time.” She tipped her head as something even more devastating slipped into her consciousness. “How did Gia know?”

“What?” Nikolas blinked, shook his head. “Know what?” He looked at Gia, whose eyes had widened. “What?”

“Nothing—” Gia began.

“She talked about people looking at me, watching me. All the eyes on me. I didn’t know for sure—” Elizabeth flicked a glance at Gia who looked at the ground. “Until right now. You know I was raped by a photographer. That’s why you were trying to talk me out of taking the job.”

“I wasn’t wrong,” Gia said dully.

“No,” Elizabeth said. She took a deep breath. “No, your intent was to scare me away from the job, but you weren’t wrong. And I think part of me doesn’t even blame you. Because I know who you are. I’ve always known.” She focused on Nikolas. “But how did she know?”

“Elizabeth—” Nikolas faltered, and Elizabeth knew—she knew.

“I thought we were friends once,” she said. “But that was wrong. You told someone that does not like me about the worst thing that ever happened to me.” Her eyes stung. “But I guess I should have known from the beginning who you were. You threw my rape in my face before.”

“I didn’t—”

“I don’t care what your little girlfriend has been through,” Elizabeth quoted, watching the color in Nikolas’s face fade. “You said that night of the Nurse’s Ball when I had an attitude with you. And Lucky went after you. Because we both knew what you meant. You apologized later—you’re good at that. Being cruel without thinking, and then being sorry for it later.”

“Just—wait—” Nikolas put up his hands. “Let me—you’re twisting this—”

“Am I?” Elizabeth made a face and shook her head. “I don’t think so. You couldn’t stand that I didn’t want you. You tried to kiss me, and I said no—”

“Excuse me,” Gia snapped.

“And that’s when it changed between us. You became possessive, jealous, and cruel after that. You were never my friend. Not really. And this—this is just more proof.”

“Elizabeth—”

Emily bounced down the stairs and approached them with a sunny smile on her face. “Hey—” Then that smile faded as she looked between them. “What’s going on?”

“I quit modeling and broke up with Lucky,” Elizabeth said, not taking her eyes off Nikolas. “And Nikolas told Gia I was raped.”

“You told Gia—” Emily glared at Nikolas. “What’s wrong with you? She blackmailed me! It’s bad enough you’re sleeping with her—but then you go and give her ammunition—”

“Oh, my God, I am not the anti-Christ!” Gia said, throwing up her hands. “All I did was remind Elizabeth that people would be looking at her, particularly photographers! How is that a bad thing? Am I the only one who thinks that the last place she should be in a photography studio? I mean, Jesus—” She scowled when no one said anything and stormed out of the otherwise empty diner.

Emily pressed her lips together. “You broke up with Lucky?” she said.

“She told him she has feelings for Jason—”

“Of course that’s the only part he concentrated on,” Elizabeth muttered, but Emily was already shaking her head.

“Elizabeth, how could you do that—”

Elizabeth retrieved her phone from her apron, untied it, then tossed it on the counter. She stalked away from the counter and towards the front the diner where her coat and purse were hanging.

“Are you quitting another job?” Nikolas asked sarcastically. “Jason going to pay for everything now?”

“Emily’s shift starts in ten minutes. She can cover until Penny gets here at noon.” Elizabeth stared back at two of her oldest and—until this moment—closest friends. “You can both go to hell.”

“Wait—”

“Elizabeth—”

She slammed the door behind her so hard the building shook, and stormed out of the courtyard.

To hell with all of this.

Port Charles Park

Jason sighed and rolled his neck as he turned back to Carly. “Is there a chance you’re not going to make a stupid plan to get us all in trouble?” he asked.

“Oh, my God, just once, I’d like you to give me the benefit of the doubt!” Carly said, planting her hands on her hips.

“I’d like to,” Jason said slowly, “but you were also the one that shot Tony Jones in open court, then faked mental illness and ended up locked up for almost a year.”

“Oh, come on—”

“Then you had me arrested for kidnapping—”

Carly narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t file those charges, AJ did!”

“You also tried to help Sonny and Mike, and what happened?” Jason asked with an arch of his brows.

Carly huffed, looked away, muttering something.

“I’m sorry—can you say that louder?”

She glared at him. “I ended up getting Sonny arrested for drug trafficking. You know, when you just make a list of my worst crimes like that, it sounds bad.”

“Is there another way to make that list?”

“Context,” Carly told him through clenched teeth, “adds a lot.”

Not convinced, Jason shook his head. “I also don’t hear you telling me you’re not planning something stupid that’s going to get us all arrested.”

“I—” Carly pursed her lips. “I’m not planning to get anyone arrested—”

“No, that’s usually just a bonus—”

“I don’t even know why I talk to you,” she muttered as she stalked away. Five seconds later, she heard a thud and a groan—Carly turned back, saw Jason on the ground with some crazy bastard on top of him. She broke into a run.

“Hey! Get off of him!” Carly grabbed the attacker’s jacket, yanking him back. “Holy shit—” She leapt back as she saw the flash of a knife—then she realized who was holding the blade to Jason’s throat. “Lucky—what the hell—” Her fingers shaking, she dived for her purse which she’d tossed to get to Jason. Sonny. She needed to call Sonny—

But then, Jason got the upper hand and with an explosion of fists, he’d thrown Lucky off him, the knife skittering away. He was just getting the upper hand, raising his fist to knock the little shit out when he froze.

Carly scowled, then turned to follow his gaze—only to find Elizabeth Webber standing on the steps into the park, her face pale, her eyes wide. “Screw her, Jason! Finish the little shit!”

Jason was distracted long enough for Lucky to get breath back and land another punch to Jason’s jaw, knocking the enforcer into a nearby bench. Breathing hard, he got to his feet, then saw Elizabeth.

Carly watched as his eyes shifted, his angry, murderous expression melted into a hurt, confused, and scared one. “Elizabeth—thank God. You stopped him. He—he came out of nowhere—”

“Oh, fuck that all the way to next Sunday—” Carly snarled as Jason wearily got to his feet, looking away from Elizabeth. She glared at Elizabeth. “You really are the dumbest person alive—”

Elizabeth swallowed hard and walked towards them, edging away from Lucky, but never taking her eyes off him, and Carly realized—she realized that Elizabeth hadn’t said a word.

But her eyes said it all.

She was scared.

Of Lucky.

“Are you okay?” she asked Jason softly. “I—I saw—” She looked away, where the switch blade had fallen, the blade glinting against the snow. She touched Jason’s throat. “He didn’t—”

“I’m fine,” Jason said roughly, staring at her like he’d never seen her before.

“Elizabeth, get away from him—” Lucky started forward but Carly swung her purse—heavy with cosmetics and a flat iron she never went anywhere without—and cracked him across the face. Lucky ended up sprawled in the snow, blinking at the sky.

“You come near him again, and I will end you!” she retorted.

“Carly—” Jason winced as Lucky rolled to his side, coughing out blood. “Get over here—”

“Little piece of shit, coming at you like he’s worth anything,” Carly muttered. She kept one eye on Jason as she crossed over to Jason and Elizabeth. “With a knife! A freakin’ knife!” She scowled, turned back as if she was going to take another whack at him.

“I saw it,” Jason said, dryly, and she was relieved to see that blank look had vanished. He’d been so sure Elizabeth would take Lucky’s side, and not that Carly even liked the little wench, but at least she hadn’t hurt Jason.

If she had—Carly might have let her purse swing in her direction next.

“What is in there?” Jason asked Carly as Lucky rose unsteadily to his feet, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. “He looks worse now than when I hit him.”

“You need to get away from him,” Lucky tried again. He attempted to step towards the three of them, but Jason stepped in front of Carly and Elizabeth, making sure to kick the knife away from Lucky.

“Walk away,” Jason said in a voice that would have frozen even boiling water. “You’re not attacking me from the front this time.”

“Yeah, and I’m packing!” Carly tossed out. She looked at Elizabeth. “You got anything to back us up?”

Elizabeth blinked, but actually started to search inside her much smaller purse.

“Carly—” Jason bit out.

“Shutting up.”

Lucky glared at Jason before leveling a malevolent look at his—Carly was hoping—ex-girlfriend. “This isn’t over.”

“If it wasn’t before now,” Elizabeth said, her voice a bit shaky, “it is now. You—you attacked him with a knife! How—” She pressed a hand to her chest. “What is wrong with you?”

Lucky said nothing else, but slunk away, disappearing around the corner of the park. Jason turned slightly, but kept an eye on the entrance.

“What—”

“Carly, it’s time for you to go home,” he said, finally. He looked at her. “Don’t do anything stupid until I talk to you.”

Carly narrowed her eyes. “That’s not helpful. You know I don’t know it’s stupid until after I do it—”

“Then go home, sit on the sofa, and do nothing,” Jason said, with a roll of his eyes.

“That—” Carly pursed her lips. “I can do.” She looked at Elizabeth. “Thank you for saving me the energy of firing you. You’re a terrible model—”

“Carly—”

“And you’re a terrible boss,” Elizabeth retorted. “So I think we’re even.”

“That’s right.” Carly nodded, then walked out of the park — leaving Jason and Elizabeth alone, against her better judgment.

The final part of this story! I’ll be editing it and distributing it later this week on all the platforms.

Written in 61 minutes. No time for spellcheck.

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Friday, March 24, 2001

 Port Charles Park

Elizabeth watched Carly walk out of the park, almost wishing the acerbic blonde had stuck around a little longer. She wasn’t entirely ready to face Jason — not alone.

“Elizabeth?”

She sighed, then met his concerned eyes. “Are you okay?” she asked him again. “I don’t think I’ll ever get that image out of my mind—he had a knife—” Elizabeth looked down at the switchblade where Jason had kicked it uder a bench.

“I’m fine,” Jason told her. He touched her elbow. “I—”

“And then he tried to make it seem like you’d attacked him!” Elizabeth dragged her hands through her hair, walked away a few steps, trying to settle her thoughts. Would she have believed Lucky if she hadn’t seen it?

Would she have believed Jason had thrown the first punch?

Or would she have known the truth?

“Elizabeth—”

“I think if I hadn’t seen it,” she said slowly, squeezing her eyes shut, “I think maybe I would have taken his side. I don’t know what—” She turned back to him, meeting his eyes, seeing the hurt and confusion.

“You think I’d do that—”

“No, I don’t.” She sighed. “But I think I feel guilty enough about all of this that I might have taken his side to make it stop. To stop him from being angry.”

And what did that say about her?

She wandered over to the bench and sat down. “I was really selfish when I was younger,” she told him. “I hurt people. I didn’t care what anyone else wanted—I just took what I thought I deserved—”

Elizabeth laughed lightly as he sat on the other end of the bench. “I wasn’t much better than Carly.”

“I find that hard to believe—” He was smiling now, and she was relieved to see that.

“Everything changed after the rape. I couldn’t think past the minute, past the next breath—I couldn’t plan or scheme. I just wanted to survive the day.” She stared at her hands. “All the people in my life—they’re in my life because of the rape.”

“Elizabeth—”

“Lucky didn’t like me before it happened. And I always knew he felt guilty about it. He’d changed his mind about the dance at the last minute, and I lied to save face. And Emily—she didn’t like me either. Nikolas—” Tears stung her eyes. “They didn’t like who I was. And so I wasn’t her anymore.”

“Hey—”

“But it’s so hard to be someone you’re not all the time. To always swallow what you’re thinking, to try so hard to keep people in your life—and why—” Elizabeth swiped her hand roughly against her cheek. “Why can’t I ever be enough? Just the way I am?”

“You are enough—”

Elizabeth looked at him, smiling wistfully. He’d slid closer to her, his eyes intent on hers. “You’re the only one who’s ever thought so. Nikolas came to Kelly’s to yell at me for quitting, and Emily’s first thought was for Lucky — no one even asked me why.”

She drew in a ragged breath. “Nikolas told Gia I was raped. And she was the only one who seemed to think it wasn’t a great idea for me to be a model, to be around photographers, in the same studio where Tom Baker—” She stopped. “She used that information to hurt me, but she wasn’t wrong. And it almost feels like she’s the only one who could see it. Nikolas told her about the worst thing that ever happened to me, and when I realized that—”

Jason reached over to take one of her hands—she hadn’t even realized how badly it was shaking. “I’m sorry,” he said tightly.

“It’s my truth to tell. Not his. And I never even told him, you know? He saw me coming out of a support group a few months after it happened, and—he threw it in my face.” She bit her lip. “Do you remember that Nurse’s Ball? You and Robin were still together. You broke up a fight between Lucky and Nikolas?”

Jason squinted, then nodded. “Yeah, I—” He drew back a bit “It was that night?”

“I was angry at him for hurting my sister, breaking up with her the way he had. And I copped an attitude. The first time I’ve felt like myself,” she admitted. “I let Lizzie Webber out to play—and he slapped me with it.” Elizabeth pushed her hair behind her ear with her free hand. “He told Lucky he didn’t care what his little girlfriend had been through—”

Jason’s mouth tightened. “And Lucky punched him—”

“Yeah. But I couldn’t breathe—I couldn’t even think. I was so scared people would find out—and what they’d say if they did—and Nikolas—I mean, he apologized later. But I think I pushed Lizzie away again. I buried her deep, and I didn’t need her. I told myself she was before. And Lizzie was why we were in the park in the first place—”

“Lizzie,” Jason repeated. “I don’t—”

“I blamed myself for the rape—who I was. I blamed the voice in my head that impulsive and angry—and I told myself that was the Lizzie part. The part of me no one liked, so she had to go away.”

She met his eyes. “And she did. I didn’t need her because I had Lucky, and I thought he loved me. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. Because I’m always going to be Lizzie. And he never wanted her.”

On a shaky breath, Elizabeth smiled. “But I needed Lizzie to stand up to Carly that December. To protect you, I need her again. And I got angry. And I was mean. And I was snarky. And impulsive—” She grinned at him. “When I told Nikolas we were lovers—”

Jason smiled at the memory. “I remember.”

“I like that part of me. I don’t want to shut it out anymore.”

“I like that part of you, too,” he said, his fingers moving lightly back and forth over the palm of her hand. “I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone take care of me the way you did.”

They sat there for a long moment in a comfortable silence, as Elizabeth just watched the way he touched her hand, the light brush of their skin against each other.

“I’m just so tired,” she admitted. “Of this place. Of these people. Of constantly pretending to be happy. To be someone I’m not. I need a minute to breathe.” Their eyes met. “I care about you. You know that.”

“I care about you, too,” he said softly. “But you need more time.”

“I need to be sure,” she said with a nod. “I don’t expect you to wait around or—”

“Where am I going?” Jason tipped his head.

“Nowhere, I guess, but I think I need to. I was thinking—my parents keep telling me I can come see them in Europe. They’re in, um, Croatia now, I think. I don’t really want to see them or deal with them. But I also think I need to get away. To have space.”

“If you don’t want to see your parents,” Jason said slowly, “then maybe you’d be okay with the island. The one Sonny has in the Caribbean?”

“I—” Elizabeth blinked. “I don’t know—”

“I wouldn’t be there,” he added quickly. “I just—” Jason shook his head. “Never mind. I want you to be comfortable. To have that space—”

“No, I—I really don’t want to go to Europe. I mean, not to Croatia, I’d rather see Italy.” She bit her lip. “But I’m not ready for that.”

“I know.”

Elizabeth looked away, looked straight head, pressing her lips together as she considered it. She wanted a break. She thought she might even deserve it —

“Yeah. Yeah. That actually sounds—that sounds great. Um, I can’t afford it, but—” She wrinkled her nose when Jason just stared at her. “I’m not a charity case—”

“No, but you never let me pay for anything when I stayed at the studio,” he reminded her. “The way I see it, I owe six weeks of rent so why don’t you take a villa at the hotel for as long as you want it and we’ll call it even.”

“A luxury villa in a Carribbean resort is not even with a one-room studio with no heat during a New York winter.” She rolled her eyes.

“I needed a place, and you gave it to me.” Jason pulled her to her feet. “It’s exactly the same.”

“It’s really not,” she argued even as he walked her out of the park, knowing she was going to lose this fight — but enjoying it all the same.

May 2001

West Plana Cays: Airport

“Did you call her?” Sonny Corinthos asked as he put on a pair of sunglasses to protect his eyes from the bright, nearly blinding Caribbean sunshine.

“No,” Jason muttered as he watched their bags be taken off the plane. “She came down here to be alone. And she hasn’t called.”

Which told him everything he needed to know. Elizabeth had come down to the island a few days after their conversation in the parks nearly two months ago, and she hadn’t come home.

She’d stayed in the villa for a few weeks, but then she’d moved somewhere else on the island, and Jason wasn’t sure where.

Elizabeth had been right to ask for space, he’d finally realized the week before. She’d been unsure if the way she felt about him was due to unhappiness — and well, of course—

“Hey, these are new—” Sonny reached over to a counter and picked up a postcard with a watercolor painting on the front. “I thought I recognized the brush strokes—”

“What?” Jason frowned at him. Brush strokes? What the—

“Elizabeth,” Sonny said, handing him the post card. “She had this art thing I went to while you were gone. You know, to show my support. She’d moved out of oils and into watercolors at that point. This is hers.”

“Hers—” Jason stared down at the back of the postcard — West Plana Cays at Sunset by Elizabeth Webber, and the name of the store. “I don’t—”

“You never called her once,” Sonny said with a sigh. He looked at the ceiling. “Where did I go wrong with this boy?”

“Sonny,” Jason said tightly.

“I mean, I knew you didn’t call her to tell her we were coming on business, but did you not call her at all?”

Jason stared at him, feeling oddly defensive. “No. She came down here for space.”

“From the other idiots. Not you. Oh, man, she’s going to be pissed.” Sonny’s white teeth flashd in a grin. “This will be fun to watch—”

“Shut up and tell me what’s going on.”

Agathe’s Curiosities & Trinkets: Second Floor

Elizabeth grinned, then bounced on her feet as the owner of the store and her boss looked over her newest designs. “What do you think? Will they sell as fast as the others?”

Agathe Rolle, Elizabeth’s favorite person in the world and personal savior, smiled then nodded. “Faster,” she assured. She wagged a finger at her. “Didn’t I tell you when I saw you that day? You were going to make both of us a lot of money. I’ll take these to the printer, and we’ll get an idea how long it will take to get them in the shop.”

Elizabeth sighed happily as Agathe left and she settled back at her drafting desk, picking up a pencil to get back to work. A few minutes later, she heard footsteps on the steps.

“Did you forget something?” Elizabeth said, twisting on her stool, then stopping when she saw Jason in the doorway of her studio, not Agathe. “Jason.”

She drank in the sight of him, the first after all these weeks—he looked the same, of course, but he’d traded the jeans and long-sleeves for a loose pair of linen pants and a white t-shirt to match the island weather.

Elizabeth got to her feet, folded her arms nervously. “Um, hey. I didn’t know you were coming.” Because he hadn’t called her once since the day he’d put her on the plane in March.

“I—” Jason cleared his throat, then stepped over the threshold. “I thought you—you wanted space. I was giving it to you.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks flushed. “Oh—I thought—um—” Elizabeth smiled then, feeling the butterflies in her belly again. “Then it was just—it was a misunderstanding. I got a job. I think I kind of live here now. Or at least for right now.”

“I—” Jason held up a postcard. “I saw.”

Elizabeth walked forward, plucked it out of his hand, beaming at her name on the other side. “People are buying these so fast—the first week, I was here, I was drawing in this cafe, and Agathe said she wanted to sell them in her shop. I couldn’t beleive it—but I figured why not. And then a week later, she asked for more. Then she talked about making postcards—”

“You left the hotel,” Jason said. “I didn’t know where you were.”

Elizabeth sighed. “I should have called,” she admitted. “I think I was just scared. It all felt like a dream. She offered me this studio, and there’s a room in the back. The postcards are selling so fast we can’t keep up. They’re in the shop, at the airport, and another store wants them now—” She met his eyes. “I’m an artist, Jason. People like what I draw. What I create. And I keep thinking it’s going to stop. Or end. But it just keeps getting better.”

“I’m glad.” He tucked her hair behind her ears. “That’s what I wanted for you. I mean, I didn’t expect you to move to the island,” he teased.

“Me either, but it’s so beautiful here.” She gestured out the window which overlooked the main street of the village, then out to the sparkling waters beyond it. “Every morning, I wake up, and I can’t believe how lucky I am. How happy I am. Being a model—all of that. It feels so far away.”

He said nothing, and she looked at back at him. “But I’ve had my space. More of it than I thought,” she added. Elizabeth twisted her fingers in front of her. “And I know—I know how I feel. I guess I just—I wasn’t sure if you felt the same—”

Jason stepped up to her, closing the distance between them, their eyes searching each others. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” And grabbing of a bit of that Lizzie courage, Elizabeth leaned up on the tops of her toes, rested her hands on his shoulders and kissed him. A moment later, he dragged her closer, pressing her against him.

When they parted a long time later, their breaths shallow, chests rising fast in time to one another, Elizabeth smiled at him. “Do you have a bike down here?”

Jason laughed, then took her by the hand to show her that, yes—

He did have a bike, and he’d take her anywhere.