Marriage of Convenience by lizjason4ever

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 10


Harborview Towers - PH 4

Sonny was seated on the chair with Alexis perched on its arm, across from Jason and Elizabeth, who were holding hands on the couch.

Alexis looked around the room and since it appeared that everyone had fallen mute now that the moment of truth had arrived, she decided to dive right in, not that she wanted to mind you, the strained silence between the foursome was worse than nails on a chalkboard.

“This marriage between Sonny and Elizabeth is valid. And it will have to play out that way, as a marriage in truth...” Alexis began.

Jason’s wrenched his gaze from Elizabeth’s eyes beside him, but he retained his grip on her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as he locked eyes with Alexis. “Just how long are you talking about?” From the look of resignation on Alexis’ face Jason steeled himself for answer he most definitely didn’t expect to like.

“At least a year,” Alexis informed him in a quiet tone, looking sympathetically at the young couple who were so clearly in love. How much worse will it be when he finds out the rest? But that’s for Elizabeth to reveal in her own time. Alexis thought.

“Isn’t there some way around that?” Jason asked, desperately reaching for a loophole that would allow him to step into Sonny’s shoes and become Elizabeth’s husband.

“None that I’m aware of,” Alexis replied, deflating the hope in the couple’s eyes. “I know this might not help right now, but the bright side is that we prevented Elizabeth from being deported.”

Jason nodded. “And I’m grateful for that. It’s just...”

Sonny broke in to offer, “I know this has got to be hard. But at least we’re all in this together.” He walked over to Jason and put a hand on his best friend’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “We’ll find a way to make this work. And at the end of a year, Elizabeth and I will get a divorce and then you two can get married.”

“What is it that you’re all not telling me?” Jason asked, sure that there was a deeper mystery that neither his friend nor his lover were letting him in on.

“You’re right, there is something we need to talk about. But its something I’d prefer to talk about alone,” Elizabeth

“Alexis, why don’t we go into the kitchen,” Sonny suggested, taking her hand and helping her from her seat on the chair.

“Sure,” Alexis agreed, privately thinking great... that’s the last place in this place that I feel comfortable spending time.

They ducked into the kitchen where Sonny motioned toward a barstool situated behind the breakfast bar in the center of the kitchen.

Oh yeah, he certainly wouldn’t want me near any of his precious kitchen gadgets. I might break something simply by looking at it.

“Why are you frowning?” Sonny asked.

Living Room

“Elizabeth, what is it? What’s bothering you?” Jason asked.

Elizabeth took Jason’s hands in hers, noticing once again how they fit together so perfectly with his larger hands gently holding and stroking her smaller hands. She looked up and found Jason’s gaze riveted to her own. “This is far from the way that I imagined telling you. I wanted you to be the first person that I told this news to, but instead you’re almost the last.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Jason said reassuringly.

“But it does matter. It matters to me,” Elizabeth countered, reaching up to tuck a stray lock of her own chestnut hair behind one ear, then interlocking the fingers of their right and his left hand together. “This should have been something that was all about us and instead its gotten all tangled up with other people.”

“Elizabeth, I love you. Whatever it is, we’ll find a way to handle it... together,” Jason assured her, reaching up to stroke his hand over her hair and cup her face in his hand.

Jason’s gentle touch sent shivers down Elizabeth’s spine and made her recall how long it had been since they’d spent any time alone together. Then she pulled her wayward thoughts back to the matter at hand.

“Jason, I’m pregnant. We’re going to have a baby,” Elizabeth said matter of factly.

Jason shook his head as if he wasn’t sure what exactly he was hearing or perhaps that he’d heard it wrong. “We’re going to have a baby?” he repeated as a query.

“Yes, we’re going to have a little boy or a little girl about 7 months from now, around the end of March,” Elizabeth elaborated.

Jason looked at Elizabeth’s stomach and didn’t see any change in her shape to point out the little miracle they had created together.

Then Jason held his hand just over her stomach and looked into her eyes, “can I?”

Elizabeth pulled his hand down into contact with her stomach and confirmed, “of course you can. The most you might feel is something like the brush of a butterflies wings. That’s all that I’ve felt so far. The baby is extremely tiny right now.”

Jason kept looking down at his hand and waiting breathless for the slightest motion that might occur. Then finally after what seemed like an eternity, he felt a slight tremor, just like she’d said, like the brush of a butterflies wings and knew that he’d just felt the first stirrings of their child. Jason wrapped his arms around Elizabeth and held her close.

Elizabeth was startled when she felt a warm wetness on her shoulder and she realized that Jason was crying.

“Are you all right?” Elizabeth asked, pulling back slightly so she could see Jason.

Jason looked up at her with tears in his eyes and nodded. “I’m fine. What about you? And the baby? Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine. The baby’s fine and everything is going just fine with the pregnancy according to Dr. Fredrickson,” Elizabeth confirmed with a smile, finally allowing some of her own joy to shine through now that Jason’s reaction to the news was out of the way.

Jason looked at the closed door to the kitchen and remembered what Alexis had told them earlier this morning. She’d said that Elizabeth and Sonny would have to stay married for at least a year. That meant...

“There’s got to be something we can do about this marriage. We need to be able to raise our child together,” Jason stated. “I don’t want to miss the first half a year of our child’s life. And I don’t want to watch someone else taking care of you while you’re pregnant.”

“Alexis is the lawyer. She said she’d exhausted every other option she could think of before I married Sonny,” Elizabeth countered gently.

Jason still winced slightly at the reference to his boss as his lover’s husband.

Breckinridge - Woods

“I know this place was around here somewhere. This infernal wilderness is getting on my nerves,” Johnny whispered to himself under his breath.

When he looked up from the barely discernible pine needle strewn path through the woods that he’d been following for what felt like days, he saw a white rambler with red shutters. There were a couple of rocking chairs out on the front porch which ran about three quarters of the length of the house. A little strange to find a place that would have looked more comfortable in a residential neighborhood than out in the middle of the woods.

Come to think of it, what was he expecting Hansel and Gretel’s gingerbread cottage? Complete with a witch ready to bake him in her oven? Those thoughts almost made him chuckle until he saw the two guards patrolling the area with high powered rifles with scopes. That was enough to make him duck back behind the underbrush he’d been using for cover and rethink just what he was getting into all on his lonesome.

It was almost too late to worry about the fact that he had no backup though, because by the time he could get reinforcements up here, much less out to his location in the woods it could well be too late to get the drop on their enemies.

And he was feeling pretty pissed at the goons that had held Jason captive just long enough to mess up his life. Johnny was pretty sure that the pretty Miss Taleski was either in a great deal of trouble or if the trouble was taken care of it had only landed her in an even stickier mess.

PH4 - Dining Room

Sonny poked his head out of the kitchen to find Jason and Elizabeth still huddled together on the couch.

“Are you two ready for breakfast yet?” Sonny asked.

Alexis jumped off the bar stool and got ready to make a fast exit into the dining room, crossing her fingers that the other couple had had enough time to talk though Elizabeth’s pregnancy.

Elizabeth nodded and Jason replied, “yes, we’re ready.” Even though the last thing he was ready to think about was eating. But Elizabeth was pregnant and she needed to keep up her strength, so Jason had to put her needs and their child’s needs ahead of his own, as he led her to the table and helped her into a chair.

Elizabeth smiled up at Jason, pleased that something in this tangled mess seemed to be going smoothly.

As soon as Sonny and Alexis were seated at the table, after Sonny brought out the eggs, bacon, waffles, french toast with cinnamon and coffee, Jason asked the question that was practically burning holes in his brain.

“Isn’t there anything we can do so Elizabeth can marry me before she has the baby?”

Alexis tipped her head to the side before she shook it definitively. “I’ve gone over every immigration law statute and every related statute I could think of before Elizabeth and Sonny got married. Now that they’re married, Elizabeth’s best chance of staying in the United States is to remain married to Sonny. Once the child is born, maybe... just maybe, there might be some other options we could explore,” Alexis admitted, providing a ray of hope to an otherwise gloomy situation.

“How can Elizabeth and I spend any time together?” Jason asked.

“I had a thought about that,” Sonny admitted.

When every set of eyes shifted to focus on him, he continued, “Jason could move into Alexis’ penthouse.”

“What?” Alexis exclaimed in shocked surprise. They’d just spent the past 45 minutes alone in the kitchen, yet not one word of this so-called plan of Sonny’s had passed his lips.

“It makes perfect sense,” Sonny added.

Alexis’ dubious chagrin and the way she shook her head in exasperation with her lover expressed her feelings more eloquently than words.

When Sonny looked to his right he saw that Jason was shaking his head as well.

“Sonny, it would never work,” Jason stated. “No one would buy that Alexis and I were involved.”

“After Alexis mentioned the marriages of convenience that she was involved in and the way it kept each of the two real couples in close proximity, it seemed like the ideal solution,” Sonny explained.

“You’re not suggesting that I marry Jason I hope,” Alexis interjected. “Because that definitely won’t work. Not with my history regarding marriage.”

“No, not marriage,” Sonny agreed. “I just thought you two could live together and that would keep the 4 of us a mere hallway apart, rather than having Jason halfway across town.”

“Fine. Jason can move into the guest room,” Alexis agreed grudgingly. “Okay?”

“In public you’ll have to act like lovers,” Sonny reminded them. “You managed it with Candyboy. Is Jason so much worse?”

“Worse? No,” Alexis admitted, with a chuckle. “Just terribly unlikely, I’d say.”

Quartermaine Mansion ~ 2 Days Later

“Miss Quartermaine. Its so good to have you home,” Reggie said, surprised to see the youngest member of the family standing unexpectedly at the front door. “We weren’t expecting you until Friday.”

“I completed my exams earlier than I expected so I decided to catch an earlier flight,” Emily explained. She shrugged out of her fuchsia wool coat and handed Reggie both her coat and the gray and white scarf from around her neck, while she shook out her curtain of burgundy hair. Despite the fashion for shorter hair she couldn’t bear to have hers cut, maybe because it was one thing that reminded her of times with her mother when she was little, sitting in front of the mirror while her mom brushed it out. Even though she had another mother now, and Monica was great, she never wanted to forget her real mother.

Besides now that she was in college, fashion counted for a lot less than it had when she’d been in high school.

“Emily, its so good to see you,” Monica exclaimed from behind her.

“Mom, its good to be home,” Emily said, giving her mother a hug, then stepping back to give her a critical look.

“New haircut?” Emily asked, then noticed the chic mauve wrap skirt paired with a sparkly silver long sleeve top. “Are you and dad going out tonight?”

“Yes, it is and yes we were going to Maisson Blanche, but...” Monica began.

Emily cut in, “now, don’t even think of changing your plans because I’m home. I wanted to give Elizabeth a call and find out how Jason’s doing anyway. We’ll do something tomorrow or the next day. I promise.”

“If you’re sure,” Monica agreed with a smile.

“I’m sure. You go have fun,” Emily encouraged her mom with a saucy smile and a wink. “You’ll knock dad out in that outfit.”

Monica gave Emily a grin, then walked over to the closet to pull out a black wool coat, scarf and gloves.

Emily picked up the phone and dialed Elizabeth and Jason’s number, but after four rings she got the answering machine, so she hung up muttering to herself, “I guess I’ll just have to make my own fun. Maybe I’ll go over to The Grille and have dinner since I’d be on my own here anyway.” She grabbed her coat, then yelled up to Reggie, “I’m going to The Grille. I’ll be back later.”

The Grille

Sonny strode into The Grille in his black Armani suit, with a dark gray silk shirt and burgundy tie.

Elizabeth held onto Sonny’s arm nervously. She felt ill at ease next to the mob boss who she didn’t know very well at all. With her right hand she smoothed the fabric of the lavender and cream colored silk dress that fell to just below her knees. It was a dress she’d bought but never had a chance to wear for Jason, that’s why the neckline was temptingly daring as the bodice crossed over into a deep v in the front and the sleeves flared out at the wrist. Right now, it simply made her feel like all eyes in the room were on her, which made her want to shrink back into a corner somewhere.

Jason Morgan had on a pair of black dress pants and a white cotton dress shirt, with a couple of the top buttons undone. The black wool sport coat he had on was already making him feel itchy, or maybe it was the sight of the woman he loved on his bosses’ arm. It wasn’t easy to take knowing that legally she was married to his best friend. He knew that it wasn’t by choice, but somehow that didn’t make it feel any better. Jason kept getting a low sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, as if he’d failed Elizabeth because he hadn’t been there to marry her when she needed him.

Alexis squeezed Jason’s arm reassuringly and gave him a brief smile that flashed her dimples in his direction before she looked over at Sonny and gave him an even more dazzling smile.

Over in the far corner, Emily couldn’t believe what she was seeing as the two couples came strolling in the room. Her best friend Elizabeth Taleski was on Sonny Corinthos’ arm, while Alexis Davis, Sonny’s attorney was on Jason’s arm. It didn’t make any sense. All Emily could think was that her best friend had broken her brother’s heart by thowing him over for a man who had more money and power. And that made her see red.

Emily threw her napkin on the table and walked over to the two couples who were standing beside their table, getting ready to seat themselves.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 11

The Grille

Sparks fairly flew from Emily’s eyes as she walked up to Elizabeth, with a dangerous smile on her face.

“So, it looks like congratulations are in order?” Emily inquired, with a cocked eyebrow.

Although Elizabeth caught the sarcasm in her friend’s tone, she chose to answer the question directly, “yes, I suppose so.”

“Well, then congratulations for breaking my brother’s heart,” Emily stated coolly.

Emily’s hand flew through the air, connecting solidly with Elizabeth’s left cheek and rocking her back on her heels. The hit was so solid that if Sonny still hadn’t had a grip on her, Elizabeth might have fallen back into their table.

In an instant, Elizabeth’s hand cradled her own cheek as she looked over at her friend with tears glistening in her azure eyes. Even though she knew why Emily was so mad, it cut her to the quick that she would assume the worst about her.

Although Jason wanted to go to Elizabeth, he quickly grabbed Emily’s arm and pulled her aside and whispered for her ears only. “If that little scene with Elizabeth was to protect me, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave me to fight my own battles in future.”

Two spots of red burned in Emily’s cheeks, illustrating the fury which still burned in Emily’s heart at the thought of her best friend’s betrayal of her brother’s affections. “Jason, I don’t know how you could be here with them. She’s married to your boss and supposed best friend. And I thought Elizabeth was my best friend.”

“Emily, please don’t write off your friendship with Elizabeth on my account,” Jason requested. Before Emily could break in he continued, “There are things that you don’t know... things that I can’t explain right now. But Elizabeth isn’t to blame for this situation.”

Emily shook her head, unable to wrap her mind around the twinkling engagement and wedding rings she’d seen on Elizabeth’s left ring finger and the way that Sonny was trying to sooth her over at their table.

“I don’t understand,” Emily admitted. “But, if you say Elizabeth isn’t to blame, I guess I have to believe you. I don’t know about our friendship though. I don’t know if she’ll want to be friends after what I just did...”

“Why don’t you go ask her,” Jason suggested, putting his hand in the small of her back and giving her just the slightest nudge in the right direction.

Emily slowly walked back over to where her best friend was sitting at the table, dabbing her tear-stained eyes with a white handkerchief. She crouched down to be at eye level with her friend and admitted softly, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

Elizabeth dropped the handkerchief and reached out to her best friend. “I’m sorry too. I should have let you know, so you wouldn’t find out this way,” she admitted. “I didn’t think...”

Emily put her arms around Elizabeth and they hugged each other warmly, allowing a few more tears to fall on each other’s shoulders.

“I don’t know...” Emily began.

Elizabeth chimed in tune with her friend, “what I’d do without you.”

They each gave a little laugh as they broke apart.

“Were you eating alone?” Jason asked.

Emily nodded.

“Why don’t you join us?” Jason inquired, reaching behind them to drag a fifth chair over to their table, so Emily could sit between Elizabeth and himself, before she even had a chance to answer.

“Thanks Jason,” Emily said, giving her brother a quick hug before taking her seat at their table.

Breckenridge, Nova Scotia - The Woods

Johnny thought he might have to wait it out all night, but when he saw half of the force patrolling the inside and outside of the grounds get into the black Lincoln Navigator parked in the driveway and drive out on the path that could barely be called a trail, he knew his moment had come.

He’d timed the sentries and now that the vehicle had been gone for fifteen minutes, it seemed a safe bet that although the protection had been halved, their patterns of patrolling the grounds remained the same.

Johnny made it to the front right corner of the house in a crouching jog. It took him less than a minute to cross the small bare patch of ground. Once there, he ducked down behind the bushes to wait. Once the sentry had passed the front and was headed for the back, he took a look in through a corner of the front window. He could see one man sitting back in an armchair relaxing in the living room. That appeared to be it.

No, wait... there was another man, coming in from what appeared to be the kitchen, holding a plate in his hands.

Johnny headed around the house in a crouching run that kept him invisible to anyone inside. When he found the back door, he tried the knob and amazingly found it unlocked. The back door took him into the kitchen, through which he could see the dining room and living room where the two men sat. Through the other exit from the kitchen into the house, he could see a short hallway that led to the stairway.

Unfortunately there appeared to be a open archway from the living room, giving a perfect view of the hall and stairway, with no other obvious way upstairs.

When he heard a shout from outside and running from the other room, he judged it as the perfect and possibly only opportunity he’d get to slip past and up the stairs. Once he reached the upstairs hallway, he crept to each door, opening them silently unsure what to expect.

When he came to the last door at the end of the hall, he certainly didn’t expect what he found, nor could he walk away from it regardless of the fact that it was probably none of his business. He’d stumbled into it and now he had to deal with it.

Johnny walked into the room and closed the door behind him.

Maisson Blanche

Alan escorted Monica to their table, held out the chair and assisted her with it before he took his own seat.

“I can’t tell you how nice it is to spend a night out on our own,” Monica confessed.

Alan nodded, bringing his boyish charm into play. “There’s nothing that I’d rather be doing right now than spending the evening with my beautiful and talented wife. I heard you had a couple of harrowing surgeries just this past week.”

Monica nodded, her stylishly short blonde hair, curled around her face giving her an almost angelic appearance. “Alan, let’s not focus on work tonight.”

“That’s no problem, when I’ve got such a vision in front of me,” Alan admitted.

"Thank you. You're such a flatterer tonight," Monica said with a laugh. “Emily made it home early.”

“I didn’t realize.”

“She told me we should go out and she’d spend some time with us in the next few days,” Monica reported.

“I’m glad that at least one of our children doesn’t treat us like we’re pariahs,” Alan admitted with a sigh.

“I know things haven’t always been easy, with any of the children... but, I just know that someday we’ll reach an accord with all of them,” Monica predicted.

“Even Skye?” Alan inquired, with one brow raised. Although he kept his question light, his attention was enough to let her know how seriously he took her answer.

Monica tapped her fingers against the edge of the menu, unwilling to commit herself to the notion entirely and yet as she looked up she found herself nodding. “Yes, maybe someday both of us will be able to reach an accord with Skye as well.”

The Grille

“So Emily, how is your undergraduate program coming?” Alexis asked, anxious to find a topic that they could all discuss without having to prevaricate.

“I finally decided on pre-med, so that set me back a couple of quarters,” Emily admitted. “But I plan on taking some classes over the summer to try and get back on track.”

“That’s exciting. I bet your parents are excited,” Alexis commented.

“They don’t know yet. I haven’t had a chance to tell them,” Emily revealed.

Jason worried that she might be trying to please their parents, inquired, “You’re sure that this is what you want? You’re not just trying to do what would make them the happiest are you?”

Emily shook her head. “No, I’m doing what I want. Ever since my mom got cancer I’ve thought that some type of a career in medicine was what I wanted to do with my life. So, becoming a doctor is definitely my choice.”

Elizabeth piped in, “You can actually put all those hours you spent volunteering at General Hospital to good use on your resume.”

“That’s true,” Emily agreed, with a grin.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 12

Harborview Towers

Sonny guided a wilting Elizabeth and Jason walked beside a calm yet silent Alexis as they exited the elevator and turned toward Sonny’s penthouse. All four of them passed by a silent Tony, who had the late shift guarding Sonny’s door.

“So, what now?” Jason asked.

“What do you mean?” Alexis asked.

“We got through what could have been a major situation with Emily, but what’s next?” Jason inquired, raking a hand through his hair and looking back at Alexis, with doubt, hope and fear mingled in his eyes.

Alexis shook her head. “Just what I told you was next. Sonny and Elizabeth will need to stay married for the next year.”

Elizabeth looked up from where she was sitting on the couch and interjected, “you mean I have to lie to Emily for the next year? Why can’t I tell her the truth? She wouldn’t give us away.”

Jason was quick to nod at Elizabeth’s reasoning and looked once again at Alexis for confirmation.

Alexis was already shaking her head. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. For two reasons. One, this secret has already got at least four knowing participants. Two, if you tell Emily, you put her in the position of having to add her lies to the mix. Its better if she believes this is the truth,” Alexis motioned at Sonny who stood next to Elizabeth’s seat on the couch and then to herself and Jason. “At least for now.”

“So maybe sometime...” Elizabeth trailed off.

“Maybe,” Alexis agreed softly, her tone leaving no one in any doubt of her opinion of that course of action.

Sonny interrupted, noticing that Elizabeth was looking pretty tired. “Should we call it a night?” he asked the group.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Alexis was quick to agree. Sonny pulled Alexis into a hug and whispered in her ear, “I’ll be over later.”

Alexis whispered in his ear, teasingly, “how much later?”

“I’ll be there before your head hits the pillow,” Sonny teased.

Quartermaine Mansion - Emily’s Bedroom

Emily held the hot pink cell phone up to her ear anxious to hear the answer on the other end.

“Hello,” Zander answered.

“Hi Zan,” Emily greeted him.

“Emmy!” Zander exclaimed. “How are you?”

“Zander, you know I hate it when you call me that,” Emily reminded him, knowing that he didn’t need reminding.

“Sure thing Emmy,” Zander replied, pushing her buttons yet again.

“Are you going to be in Port Charles soon?” Emily asked, suddenly serious. She twisted a lock of her long, straight, red hair around her finger, unconsciously releasing it to pay attention to Zander’s reply.

“I told you I’ll be there by the weekend. Did you need me there sooner?” Zander asked, suddenly concerned. “Is there something wrong?”

“Nothing I want to talk about on the phone,” Emily replied, confirming Zander’s suspicion of some problem or trouble she wanted or needed to talk out.

“Are you sure?” Zander asked softly. “I could see if there’s an earlier flight I could catch. Maybe even tomorrow,” he offered.

Emily shook her head, knowing full well Zander couldn’t see her gestures over the phone. “There’s no need. There’s nothing you can do anyway. I’m just looking forward to having you here.”

“I’m looking forward to getting there Em,” Zander confessed. “I’ve missed you.”

Emily blushed, then told him, “I’ve missed you too. I can’t wait to see you.”

“I’ll be there in a few more days and you can show me how much you missed me,” Zander teased.

If anything the red in Emily’s face deepened at Zander’s suggestive tone. “I’ll look forward to it.”

“Me too,” Zander admitted.

“Okay then. Bye,” Emily said.

“Bye.”

Emily set down the phone and sprawled out on the white eyelet bedspread, looking up at the girlish canopy that was above her. It seemed like years... it had been years since she’d spent more than a hand full of days in this bed in a row. Of course, since she went away to high school, it had only been holidays and summers that she’d spent here at home. Then, once she’d started college, it had been even less frequently that she’d flown home to spend more than a brief stretch of days in a row here.

She hadn’t told Zander about her decision to change her major yet. And it was a major life change, because it would affect their plans as well. Part of the reason she hadn’t told him was because she didn’t want to upset him and the other part was, well... she wasn’t quite sure what his reaction would be. They’d been taking so many classes together. Because of that they’d been spending almost every waking and an awful lot of sleeping hours together. Her switch from pre-law to pre-med would mean that she’d have precious little time to spend with Zander. And it would probably mean that they couldn’t get married for another 3 or 4 years, maybe even longer.

Emily pulled out her journal and began to write, since she couldn’t seem to exorcise her morose thoughts any other way. If she wrote them down, maybe she could let them go and finally be ready to talk to Zander when he got here. Telling her family would definitely be the easy part, at least where it came to her decision about medical school.

Quartermaine Mansion - Main Entrance

Alan helped Monica off with her coat and hung both hers and his in the coat closet.

“Should we check on Emily?” Monica asked.

Alan shook his head. “She’s probably already asleep. We’ll catch up with her in the morning. Besides, we’ve got more important business to take care of tonight.”

“What exactly are you talking about?” Monica asked, mirroring his flirtatious tone.

“Why don’t you come upstairs with me and we can discuss it,” Alan flirted, with a grin.

“I’d be happy too,” she said, laughing as she followed him up the stairs.

Breckenridge Woods - House - 2nd Floor

Johnny heard the door click shut behind him and looked into a pair of wide brown eyes that if anything appeared wider and more frightened than when he first peeked inside.

“I’m not one of them,” Johnny whispered, motioning towards downstairs. “Did you need help?”

The girl nodded, then held out her bound hands, which Johnny crossed over to and untied for her. Then she reached up and ripped off the piece of duct tape they’d used to silence her screams. “Thanks,” she whispered. “Now what?”

“Now, we get out of here,” Johnny whispered. He went over to the window to check and see what had the guards running all over the perimeter. Since they all appeared to be scattered over the rear perimeter, the time for escape seemed to be right now.

He walked back over to the door, opened it a crack, checking for any activity up here, when it appeared clear, he motioned the girl to follow him.

Since the stairs appeared equally clear, Johnny cautiously started down them, hoping that no one had made their way back inside the house. Then, since the trouble seemed to be out back, the front door seemed the logical exit point. He motioned for the girl to follow him through the front door. As she did, the moonlight caught and held her cap of blonde hair, making it reflect like a halo.

She looked like an angel, Johnny thought to himself for a second.

The black Lincoln Navigator was back in the driveway, but the occupants were nowhere to be seen. So he approached the vehicle cautiously and when he found it empty, he opened the driver’s door and motioned her to get in and crawl over to the passenger side.

It had been a few years since he’d hot wired a car, but it came back to him in a big hurry in a pinch like this. It was less than a minute before he had the engine purring and in gear. Once he’d pulled away from the driveway, he turned the car around and drove out on the path he’d followed into the woods.

“I’m Johnny, Johnny O’Brian,” he told her. “What’s your name?”

“My name is Camille, Camille Sorel,” she admitted.

Johnny was glad he wasn’t looking at her when she made that admission, since he’d just rescued the daughter of one of Sonny’s enemies. Now, what was he supposed to do with her?

Penthouse 4

Jason looked around the room and a palpable tension flared between the two men over Sonny’s innocent enough sounding question.

“Just where would you suggest we all sleep?” Jason asked.

The tension grew like a dark cloud in the room, casting a palpable gloom over the group.

“Elizabeth has the guest room. I’d suggest she use it to get some sleep,” Sonny suggested. “It’s already almost 11 o’clock. Jason, why don’t you go over to Alexis’ place for now,” Sonny suggested. Seeing the frown that formed on the younger man’s face, he added, “Tony will be off shift in an hour. Then you can come back over here to be with Elizabeth.” He flashed a quick dimpled grin at Alexis, knowing that she’d pick up his hint, based on their whispered conversation earlier.

When he was answered with one of Alexis’ fulsome dimpled smiles in return, he knew that she’d welcome the exchange of roommates when Jason came over to his place.

“Fine,” Jason said grudgingly. He walked over and gave Elizabeth a quick kiss on the forehead and held both her hands tenderly for a moment that stretched into a short eternity between them. “I’ll see you later.”

Elizabeth smiled up into his crystal blue eyes. “I’ll be waiting.”

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 13


Harborview Towers

Penthouse 4

After a soft knock sounded, the door to Elizabeth’s room creaked open, sending a shaft of light to illuminate his goal, the woman who held his heart in her hands, Elizabeth Taleski... now -- Elizabeth Corinthos. It was impossible to think about her new last name without pondering the reason she’d been forced to marry someone else. He was away from home, taking care of business for Sonny - out of the country. Unreachable. Johnny arrived too late to pull him out in time to marry Elizabeth, so Sonny married her instead.

Jason’s child would be born with Sonny’s last name. Yet maybe... there might be no reason to hide their child’s true paternity. Once Elizabeth was finally free, he planned to marry her and he wanted their son or daughter to know his father, no matter what. His child would know that he or she was loved, from the moment they were born.

Jason finally entered Elizabeth’s room silently, kneeling beside her bed, in the sliver of light cast by the hallway fixture. He reached out to brush a stray lock of curly hair away from her peaceful, sleeping profile. A hint of the subtle vanilla scent she always wore hung in the air.

There was no point in waking her now, yet he had no intention of leaving. Despite knowing he needed to be gone before Francis arrived for the morning shift guarding Elizabeth, he planned to sleep beside her all night.

Jason walked around to the other side of the bed while he finished unbuttoning his white dress shirt. He’d rolled up the sleeves earlier, so he unrolled them as he peeled the offending garment off. The shirt was tossed unceremoniously on the chair in the corner. Soon it was joined by his black dress pants, after he kicked off his black loafers and wool socks. Damn, wool was itchy.

Pretending to be involved with Alexis was playing hell with his wardrobe already and it would probably get worse. Instead of jeans, t-shirts and the occasional pullover sweater, he was consigned to the type of clothes he typically kept in reserve for funerals.

He slid under the sheets wearing only his boxers. Once he pulled the covers up to his neck, Elizabeth rolled over and nestled into his embrace, murmuring something in Russian he didn’t understand.

Jason pulled her closer, his heart swelling at the thought that she preferred his shoulder to a pillow. He probably wouldn’t get much sleep, but since his presence seemed to settle her into a deeper slumber, it was well worth it.

Elizabeth needed all the sleep she could get to protect and nurture the little one she was carrying. He still couldn’t hardly believe it was true.

A smile curved Jason’s lips as he murmured reverently, “I’m going to be a father.”

Penthouse 2

Sonny unlocked the front door of Penthouse 2, with his key and entered to find Alexis reclining on the couch.

White pillar candles were lit and arranged on the mantle, the coffee table and around the living room. When Alexis unfolded from her position on the couch, his eyes were riveted to her pale rose negligee and wrap, which left little to the imagination. Back-lit as she was, she was a temptress; a siren from ancient tales. His smile revealed his cavernous dimples.

“Alexis, you look...” Sonny began, only to have Alexis stop him by placing her index finger across his lips.

She shushed him with one come hither look, stilling any further speech he might have been capable of.

Alexis reached out to push his black Armani jacket off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Ever so slowly she worked her way down the front of his gray silk shirt, freeing each button with one hand, while reaching inside his rapidly loosening clothing to fondle his chest, lingering on his nipples, then moving down to his abs as she pulled his shirt tails free, sending his shirt to the floor to land atop his jacket.

“Let’s see what we can do about the rest of these constricting clothes, shall we?” she teased, reaching out to unbuckle his belt, unzip his pants and push them down his thighs to join the rest of his clothes, leaving him standing there in his black silk boxers.

Sonny finally reached out to untie the lace trimmed rose silk wrap, reaching up to caress the fabric that enfolded her arms, before slipping inside to push the garment off her shoulders and send it slithering to the floor. Two could play at this game. Very well indeed, thank you.

Sonny slipped off his shoes and socks, then in a bold move, swept Alexis into his arms.

“I think it’s time we took this dance upstairs counselor.”

“Tonight, it’s Alexis, Sonny. Just Alexis,” she replied.

“Never just anything,” he refuted. “Alexis. Darling. Mi corazon.”

Sonny carried her up the stairs and into her bedroom, where he deposited her on the bed, only to join her moments later.

Vancouver airport

Johnny escorted Camille in the front door of the airport. They had almost reached the ticket counter, when she began to realize she might have some difficulty.

“I don’t have my I.D.,” Camille exclaimed. “They took it when they grabbed me three days ago. I forgot I didn’t have it when, well, when you rescued me. Thank you.”

Johnny nodded, a lock of brown hair falling fetchingly over his forehead. She reached up to brush it behind his ear.

Her brown eyes widened, as he tucked her hand through his elbow and led her back outside.

“I can take care of that with a couple phone calls,” he admitted. If anything her eyes widened further, yet there was neither fear nor panic in her gaze. “We’ll have to wait a couple of hours, then we can catch a flight to Port Charles.”

“How did you know...” she began, only to be cut off.

“Can you trust me, for just a little longer?” he asked.

Camille found herself nodding and smiling at the gentle giant who stood before her. “Yes, as long as you promise to explain later.”

“I’ll tell you what I can, when we’re safe,” Johnny replied, hoping to hedge his bets. It was going to take some mighty creative fast-talking to come up with a believable explanation by the time they reached Port Charles, much less any earlier.

He steered Camille into the Stone Cafe, just a couple of blocks away from the Vancouver terminal. Once she was seated, sipping at a cup of coffee - black, he excused himself to make a few phone calls. Walking over to the pay phone by the restrooms, he pulled out his cell phone and made a call to his Vancouver contact.

Two minutes was all it took to describe Camille and get an I.D. started for Karen O’Brian, a petite, 5’2” blonde, with brown eyes. He figured the girl for at least 21, or he hoped so anyway, because if she was any younger than that, his thoughts would surely be criminal. Valentine laughed at him, almost giggled actually, when Johnny gave him the name to put on the fake I.D. He asked if Johnny had gone and done it, gotten himself a wide eyed bride.

The scary thing was, he was tempted to find out if she was interested, because once she found out who he was and who he worked for, he’d be persona non-grata in her father’s house. A bodyguard? No way Sorel would want that for his daughter. Much less one who worked for his enemy.

Johnny walked back to the table, where Camille was chatting amicably with the waitress. She’d obviously ordered, since a basket of chips and salsa sat in the middle of the table.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she said, munching down on a chip, liberally laden with salsa. “I was hungry.”

Johnny smiled. “I don’t mind at all.” He looked over at her, marveling at her resilience, yet she was the daughter of a mob kingpin, so perhaps she’d lived through similar situations before. “A set of papers, suitcases and clothing will be brought here in two hours. Then we’ll book a flight and be on our way back to Port Charles.”

Camille looked towards the entrance and saw one of the goons who kidnapped her before. “Don’t look now,” she whispered, “but we’ve got company.”

Johnny followed her gaze, motioned for her to duck her head in their booth and mentally evaluated their best move. Out without being seen was their best bet. Second best, escape without gunshot wounds. He pulled out a twenty dollar bill and set in on the table, so the waitress wouldn’t chase after them, then he got up and hid her from view as he guided her toward the restrooms and the entrance to the kitchen.

When they heard a shout behind them, they took off for the kitchen door like a shot. They navigated the maze inside, found the back door and found themselves in the back alley.

“Now what?” Camille asked.

“We run, go to ground and I call my contact with a new drop point,” Johnny said, perfectly cool, calm and collected; although that was far from how he felt.

Quartermaine Mansion

Emily poked her head in the living room. Since Skye was the only occupant, Emily came inside.

“Is the coast clear?” Emily asked, only half-joking.

“Grandfather is out, Grandmother is at one of her charity to-dos, Ned and your parents are at work. I have no idea where A.J. is, but then I rarely do these days,” Skye admitted.

“Skye, do you have a minute to chat?” Emily asked. She unconsciously wrung her hands as she stood waiting for her sister’s answer.

“Sure,” Skye agreed. “Is there something wrong?”

“Just my whole life going up in smoke,” Emily admitted.

“Come on, it can’t be that bad.” Skye patted the couch beside her, inviting Emily to sit.

Emily looked at Skye and shook her head. “I’ve changed my major and I don’t know how to tell Zander.”

“Take my advice, just tell him and be done with it. If he loves you, he’ll understand and be supportive. If he doesn’t, isn’t it better to find out now?” Skye asked.

“I suppose,” Emily agreed.

“I’ve played it the other way enough times to realize, sometimes telling the truth makes things a whole lot easier,” Skye admitted.

“Thanks Skye.”

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 14


Quartermaine Mansion

Emily jumped up from the couch when she heard the doorbell. Grandfather would have been bellowing for Reginald, but she didn’t bother. Besides, Reginald was probably taking care of something more important for Grandmother, if he wasn’t rushing to answer the door.

The door swung wide in her grip, almost banging against the inside wall, as she stood there in stunned surprise. “Zander,” she gasped. “You’re early.”

“Are you going to invite me in?” he asked, with a cheeky grin.

“Yes, of course. Come in.” She waved him through the entrance and closed the door, while she tried in vain to get a grip on herself. It was supposed to be another two days before he got here, yet here he was, plain as day. In her parent’s house.

“Let’s go in the living room.” Emily led the way, wondering what brought him here earlier than his plans called for. “Why are you here?”

“Anyone might think you weren’t glad to see me,” Zander pointed out, with a slight pout. “You are, aren’t you?”

“Zander, don’t be silly. Of course, I’m glad to see you. I’m just surprised, that’s all.” Emily sat on the edge of the chair, leaving Zander to his seat on the couch, all alone kitty-corner from her. “Is there some reason you’re here early?”

“It sounded like you needed me, so I arranged to take an earlier flight. I left after I finished my last final. Plus, I figured if I got here early, we could spend more time together.”

Emily smiled half heartedly, realizing that it was now or never. She needed to break the news to Zander, before her secret undid them.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” Emily admitted in a rush, at the same time as Zander said, “There’s something I wanted to ask you.” Their voices got as tangled as their eyes.

“Go ahead,” Emily said, willing to procrastinate on voicing her news a little longer.

“No, you go first,” Zander insisted.

“Alright.” Emily cleared her throat and looked into Zander’s intent brown eyes. “You know I haven’t been doing that well in my pre-law studies this quarter,” she began.

“I’ll help you more with your...”

Emily cut in, “That’s not it. You’ve helped me a lot. That’s not the problem. I finally realized I need to change my major, so before I left for home, I put in the paperwork to change my major to pre-med.”

Zander sat silently, looking at the floor.

With no word or look to go on, Emily could only assume that her news had disappointed Zander even more than she’d expected. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about this before...”

Zander looked up and Emily’s gaze was arrested by the way his eyes glimmered with unshed tears.

“I didn’t mean to keep this from you,” Emily explained.

“No, Emily. It’s me. I’m sorry, sorry you didn’t feel comfortable telling me about how you were feeling. I want you to be able to tell me anything. I want us to share our lives.”

“We do,” she insisted. “We have been.”

“Not enough for you to feel you can share your secret fears and dreams with me.”

“That’s not true,” Emily argued.

Zander raised a brow, as he glanced sidelong out of half hooded eyes, stilling further protests before they could pass her lips.

“If anything, this makes me more sure that it’s the right time for me to ask you this question.” Zander got down on one knee in front of Emily’s perch on the straightback armchair. He pulled a square black velvet box out of his suit jacket pocket.

Emily gasped in surprise and wonder.

“Emily Bowen Quartermaine, would you do me the honor of agreeing to become my wife?” Zander asked. He opened the box to reveal a half carat marquis cut diamond solitaire set in white gold.

Tears streaked down Emily’s face and for a moment Zander was sure that he’d misjudged her feelings... the timing... something.

Then Emily lifted her gaze to his and smiled. “Yes, I’ll marry you Zander.” She held out her hand, so he could put the ring on her finger.

Zander pulled the ring out of the box and slid it onto the fourth finger of her left hand. Then he pulled her out of the chair and enveloped her in a bear hug. “You’ve made me the happiest man alive. I love you Em.”

“I love you Zander. I love you so much.”

Vancouver streets

Camille was gasping for breath by the time they stopped for a moment and she waited for Johnny to get his bearings. She’d swear they’d run, jogged and walked for miles by this point, although she knew they probably hadn’t covered as much distance as her aching feet were telling her they had.

“How much further?” Camille asked, a hint of her fatigue creeping into her tone.

“Only a few blocks, I think.” Johnny smiled, then took off only glancing behind him to make sure Camille was keeping up with his brisk pace.

When they stopped Camille looked around and Camille realized they’d entered an industrial section of the town. There were factories and warehouses in every direction. The building in front of them was one such warehouse. The sign above the door was crooked, yet it hung there with tenacity seemingly held up by a single nail. S&W Fine Foods was all it said.

Johnny pried open the door, which was miraculously unlocked and led her into the dusty, midnight depths inside.

“Is there a light?” she whispered.

“Shhh,” he cautioned. Then he took her hand and led her through the stygian darkness into an office on the opposite side of the building. Once inside, he closed the door and flipped the light-switch. The 40 Watt bulb that swung from a wire above them bathed the room in light, yet left the corners eerily shadowed.

Camille shrugged her shoulders and held out her hands imploringly. She wanted to ask him a question, yet she didn’t want to be shushed all over again.

“It’s alright to talk in here. Just keep it low.”

“Where are we?” she asked.

“S&W Fine Foods warehouse,” he answered. “Didn’t you see the sign out front?”

Camille pushed the sweat dampened hair off her forehead and glared at him. He was being deliberately obtuse, she just knew it. She’d have to trick him to get any useful information out of him. Well, it wouldn’t do any good to get mad, instead she’d get sneaky. The way she did with her dad, when he tried to hide things. Or her guards.

Poor Matt.

Matt stood up to her kidnappers and it had gotten him killed. She’d seen the impact of what seemed like dozens of gunshot wounds. There was no way he could have survived. Before, she’d been so focused on her own survival -- despite her slim changes -- there was no time to contemplate his fate. Tears pooled in her eyes, yet remained unshed.

Johnny came closer, tipping her head up into the light. “Are you alright?”

Camille jerked her head free and nodded. Her throat was too tight for words. Besides sympathy right now would send her right over the edge... and that would be bad. She needed to hold it together. They were almost home free. But Matt would never see home again.

Camille choked on the hot tears that threatened to spill, despite her iron resolve to hold them in.

For a moment, Johnny hesitated. Then he put his arms around her and pulled her close. “We’re going to be fine. Everything is all right now,” he reassured, hoping his words would comfort and calm her.

Instead he felt her tears soaking the front of his shirt. Her silent sobs wrenched through her body, tearing her asunder. Finally, when she seemed cried out, she looked up.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Johnny looked perplexed, yet for the most part relieved that she’d finally finished using his shirt as a handkerchief. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Camille shook her head. There went her plan. She must look a mess after crying all over him. Getting him twisted around her little finger would have to wait until she freshened up a bit. “Is there any water?”

“To drink?” he asked.

“No, I was hoping I could splash some on my face,”

“Through there,” Johnny said, motioning toward a door in the right rear corner of the room, which she’d over looked when they entered.

Penthouse 4

Sonny woke up at 4:25 AM and gave Alexis a kiss on the cheek. She rolled over and pulled the covers up to her neck, nestling in to get some more sleep. He pulled on the clothes he’d discarded so recklessly last night. Everything was wrinkled and half askew, giving him a casual appearance, leagues different from his impeccably turned out mobster persona. The smile on his lips and a jaunty swagger in his step testified to his happiness, as he crossed the hall to his apartment.

It had been a long time -- if ever -- since he’d felt this way.

Sonny didn’t want to jinx it, but he was nearly positive nothing could erase such energy and effervescence from his life.

Yes, Alexis was his lawyer, but she was so much more. Friend. Confessor. Lover.

This was it for him. He didn’t need any other woman in his life. Alexis was his match. Both in the bedroom and in handling business. Her deft legal hand kept him out of jail, while he kept her straight laced tendencies from strangling her.

Alexis would never admit it, but her life was more fun since she’d let him in it. It was much more exciting than the boring corporate struggles she’d engaged in before he persuaded her to come work for him.

Since he had managed to get her to expand their relationship from business to personal, he’d seen those dimples of hers more often than he could count. And he meant to keep it that way.

Sonny had closed and locked Alexis’ front door behind him, striding into his own penthouse, which was as dark and quiet as the one he’d just left. Jason must still be asleep. He’d have to get a move on, or he’d still be here when the day shift guards came on duty.

He knocked on the guest bedroom door, then opened it and peeked inside to see Jason sitting up in bed, Elizabeth’s head cradled on his lap - a gun pointed at the intruder.

“Sorry man,” Sonny whispered.

Jason lowered the gun, realizing the intruder had a valid reason for being there. It was his home they were in after all.

“I just wanted to warn you, it’s 4:40, so the day shift will be arriving soon. You might want to get a move on over to Alexis’ place, if we’re going to make this charade work.”

“I want Elizabeth to wake up with me here,” Jason admitted. “She was asleep by the time I got here and I didn’t have the heart to wake her.”

“Why don’t you bring Alexis back over around 7 and we’ll all have breakfast together?” Sonny asked. At Jason’s nod, Sonny turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Jason threw back the covers and lowered his sleeping beauty’s head back onto the pillow. She murmured a low protest, reached out for him, then subsided back into sleep, once her hand was curled into his. Once again, he had to extricate himself, not that he wanted to.

He pulled on his scratchy, irritating dress clothes, although he draped the jacket over his arm, the tie jammed haphazardly in the pocket. There was no way he was going to pull the whole thing on, when he was going to change out of it once he went over to Alexis’ place.

Their plan to keep Elizabeth in the country was insane, yet he was willing to go along with it. Anything to keep her and their child here. Once their baby was born, there might be something they could do to straighten things out.

Jason opened the door to Sonny’s penthouse, intending to go across the hall, but it was already too late. Max was already on duty, standing just outside Sonny’s door.

Jason clicked the door to Sonny’s penthouse closed, then walked into the kitchen, where Sonny was making coffee.

“Is something wrong?” Sonny asked.

“Max is already here.”

“I’ll send him down to the garage, to get something out of the limo,” Sonny offered.

“Something he won’t find?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Sonny confessed.

Jason made his dash across the hall as soon as Max left his post on Sonny’s errand. He found Alexis already up and dressed, sitting in the living room, poring over a legal pad with several open books strewn across the couch and coffee table.

“Morning,” she greeted him absently.

“Morning,” he replied. “Sonny invited us for breakfast.”

“Great. What time?”

“Seven o’clock.”