Strangers When We Met by MaggyWood

[JRK Archiver]

You can also find this fic on The Canvas and FFW.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 1


It was just what she was looking for. Standing in the entrance of the rundown bar Elizabeth Webber scanned the room assessing her surroundings. It was habit, something she did without thought. In her line of work it paid to be ready for any situation.

But she wasn’t here on business. Tonight was personal. She needed to escape her life and Jake’s was the perfect place to do that. The place was quiet with only a few people scattered throughout the room. Her entrance had only garnered mild interest. The people who frequented the bar weren’t here to be noticed, and that was exactly why she was there. Everyone minded their own business.

Taking a seat at the bar, she ordered a Jack Daniel’s beginning her goal for the night. She wanted to drown her sorrows as cliched as it sounded. She needed to escape her past and this was her last resort. She’d tried pretty much everything else. She’d isolated herself from her friends and family. She’d quit her job. She’d relocated to another city. All in an attempt to leave the pain and emptiness behind her, but it hadn’t worked. No matter where she went or what she did they were her constant companion. Alcohol was her last option. If she couldn’t escape the pain, she could numb it.

Swallowing her drink in one gulp, she ordered another this time asking to keep the bottle.

“Hey, baby, I haven’t seen you here before,” a voice on her right said. “You must be new.”

Elizabeth didn’t need to turn to know who was sitting beside her. Oh, she didn’t know this particular gentleman, but she knew his type - slicked back hair, tight t-shirt, thinks he’s God’s gift to women, doesn’t take no for an answer. She’d dealt with guys like him before. Her heart started beating faster as an idea came to her. Maybe this was the answer to what she was looking for.

“I’ve been around,” she said before swallowing her second glass of Jack Daniel’s. “You just haven’t noticed.”

“Oh, baby, trust me. I would have noticed a fine looking woman like you.”

Elizabeth could hear the slime oozing from his every word. “Yeah, well. I guess you did,” she said not wanting to admit this was her first time at Jake’s. “What are you going to do about it?”

He smiled encouraged by her response. “Let me buy you a drink.”

“Too late,” she said holding up her glass for her third round. “Try again.”

“How about a dance then?”

“There’s no music,” she replied smiling to herself. She was having fun playing with him. He was so pathetic.

“We don’t need music, baby,” he said pulling her to the center of the room.

She didn’t resist. Instead, she let him pull her against him, his hands moving down her body. The alcohol was starting to take affect giving her a buzzed feeling. She wasn’t drunk, but she was surely on her way. They continued to sway back and forth until his hand found its way in between her thighs.

She gave him a swift push sending him careening into the nearby table knocking over the empty beer bottles left there. “I didn’t say you could do that,” she stated.

He smiled, “You didn’t say I couldn’t either.” He grabbed her arm intending to finish their dance.

Elizabeth tried to pull her arm free, but he wouldn’t release her. “Take your hand off me.”

“Hey, Phil,” yelled the bartender, “take your problems with your girlfriend outside, will you?”

“No problem,” said Phil turning to the door.

Elizabeth refused to move. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Phil yanked her arm propelling her into his body. He wrapped his arms around her preventing her from moving away. “Did I mention I kind of like it when they fight me a little?” He said before lifting her off the floor.

Before she could decide her next step, Phil suddenly released her dropping her to the floor. After getting her balance, she saw that Phil was on his knees wincing in pain.


“I didn’t know she was yours, all right?” He whispered to the man squeezing his throat. “I don’t want any trouble.”

“Get in your car,” her rescuer told Phil, “and go home. Don’t let me find out you came within 10 feet of her or this place again.”

“Okay, okay,” Phil said getting up and bolting for the exit without looking in her direction.

“Who the hell do you think you are?”

Jason Morgan gave one last look at Phil’s retreating form and turned to the woman he’d just helped. Instead of the gratitude he expected, anger radiated from her every pore.

“If I needed help, I would have asked for it,” she yelled.

Jason raised his hands in front of him in an attempt to appease her. “Hey, look, you can get handled by anybody you want -”

“Damn straight I can,” she said.

“My mistake thinking you needed help, but let me just say that that guy was trouble you don’t need.”

“Yeah, maybe trouble’s what I’m looking for,” she said defiantly unwilling to release her anger even though she knew she should. It wasn’t this guy’s fault she felt this way.

Jason looked into her eyes and saw the pain she was trying to conceal. “You sure it’s what you want? Because looking the way you do, trouble will come easy.” He eyed her up and down taking in her ultra low ride skin tight jeans and midriff showing tank top.

“Maybe I am sure,” she said. “Maybe having someone to fight right now sounds like a relief. Nothing else seems to work. Not friends, not family, not time ...” She stopped not wanting this stranger to know the full extent of her misery. Seeing the pity in his eyes told her she’d said too much already. “You know what, never mind,” she said turning to leave.

“I tried that once,” he said stopping her.

She turned to face him. “Tried what?”

“I’ve tried to fix what hurt by finding something that hurt worse. Now, you’re not going to believe me, but it doesn’t work.”

Elizabeth could feel the tears stinging her eyes. “How would you know? You never had one good thing in your life and you lost it. You never had someone come along who made you understand what the point was - the point of being alive at all - and then proved it by being gone and leaving you with nothing. Do you know what nothing feels like?”

Michael, the son he’d been forced to give up, immediately entered his mind. “Yeah, that’s pretty much where I live.”

Elizabeth stared into his pale blue eyes and realized the pity she’d seen before was really understanding. The pain and emptiness she felt was reflected in his eyes. This man understood what she was feeling because he was feeling it too.

He held out his hand to her. “Come on.”

Without a second thought, she took his hand.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 2


She’d lost her mind. What else could explain why she was following a man she didn’t know through the back of a rundown bar. Yes, somewhere between entering Jake’s and this man extending his hand to her, her mind had ceased to function.

Instead of taking her upstairs, he led her towards the back alley where a motorcycle was parked.

“Here, put this on,” he said tossing her a helmet.

Elizabeth did what she was told without objection. “Where are we going?”

Lifting his leg over the bike, he looked back to her and said, “Nowhere.”

Nowhere? What the hell did he mean? It didn’t make sense, but then again nothing seemed to make sense to her anymore. What was one more thing in her already messed up life? She swung her leg over the bike just as he started the engine. She leaned into him wrapping her arms around his waist.

“If you don’t like something, just yell,” he told her over the roar of the engine. Before she could say anything, he released the brake and took off.

At first she held on as tight as she could pressing her face into his back afraid she would fall off. But as he increased the speed and the wind hit her face, she loosened her grip and opened her eyes. They were going so fast the city buildings were a big blur. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. It was exhilarating.

Once they’d left the city limits, he increased the speed again. They were going so fast she couldn’t make out anything of her surrounding. The wind was screaming in her ear so loud she couldn’t even hear the motorcycle. She’d been rendered both deaf and blind; all she could do was feel. It was wonderful. Her heart was beating so fast, she thought she would have a heart attack. She’d never felt so alive, so free, like nothing mattered but this moment.

After what seemed like only minutes, he turned onto a deserted road and slowed down. About a mile later, he came to a complete stop. She didn’t think she could walk. She was afraid if she stepped off the bike her whole body would just take off and fly away - it was so full of energy. She practically jumped off the bike and spun around.

Her adventure guide leaned back on his bike and looked at her. “So what do you think?”

“The wind was so loud, I couldn’t think,” she said unable to contain the smile covering her face.

He returned her smile with a small one of his own. “That’s the idea,” he said getting off the bike.

“It was amazing, exhilarating. I can’t explain it. I don’t know what was louder, the wind or my heart.” She pressed two fingers to her neck. “It’s beating so fast, almost as fast as we were going.”

“Faster,” he said remembering the first time he’d ridden his bike. He knew exactly what she was feeling.

She turned around again surveying where they were. Because of the darkness, there wasn’t much she could see. “Where are we?”

“I told you,” he said, “nowhere.”

She scanned the area again trying to find any road signs or markers. “Come on, we have to be somewhere. We’re on a road. It must lead to someplace.”

Shaking his head he pointed down the road. “There use to be a house here years ago. A mansion. But when the owner died, the property was given to the government and the building was taken down. All that’s left is the outline of where the house used to stand.”

“That’s a shame,” she said peering into the darkness. She didn’t know what she expected to see it was just too dark to make anything out. When she finally admitted defeat, she turned her head up towards the heavens. “Oh, my God. I’ve never seen so many stars. They’re so big. I feel like I could reach out and touch them they’re so close.”

“Yeah, I know,” he replied. “The lights from the city are too far away to affect the sky.”

“It’s just amazing,” she said keeping her head tilted upwards.

He did the same, and they fell into a quiet moment where neither spoke. He didn’t ask, but she knew he was waiting for her to talk about it. She didn’t know how she knew. She couldn’t explain it. Just like she knew he wasn’t carting her off to rape and kill her, she knew he was offering himself up as listener to ease her pain. He would stay just as they were until she made the next step. If she chose not to talk, he would accept it and take her back to the bar. She felt it deep within her.

“I was supposed to get married today,” she said quietly staring out into the darkness in front of her. It was as if she was staring into her future - a gaping black hole devoid of light or happiness. “It’s been six months, but sometimes it still feels like yesterday. People said he would always be with me - people who know me, people who mean well - that he would always live in my heart, in my memories - some vague location that no one can point to. It gave me this idea that losing Lucky should be beautiful and uplifting.

“But I don’t feel uplifted. All I feel is nothing. When I woke up today, I thought he would come to me. That I would feel his arms around me and I would know that they were right - he would always be with me. But that didn’t happen. I don’t feel his presence. Where he’s supposed to be,” she said touching her chest, “there’s nothing.”

Jason didn’t say anything. There wasn’t anything to say. The woman beside him was grieving and nothing he said would make it better. She didn’t need someone to tell her it would get better. She just needed someone to listen and understand her pain.

“Today was supposed to be the happiness day of my life, instead it was just an ordinary day like every other. I realizes all our dreams have died, too. The house we were going to buy in the country, the children we were going to have, growing old together, they’re all gone.”

Her hands drifted to her flat stomach. “I wanted to wait to have children, he didn’t. I thought we had all the time in the world. We were young, why did we need to tie us down so quickly. We need time for ourselves first, I told him. If I’d listened to Lucky, I could have had Lucky’s child growing inside of me right now. Instead I’ve got nothing. No child, no Lucky, just nothing. I would give anything to have Lucky’s child. Then a part of him would still be here, with me.”

“It’s no good to think about things that can never happen,” he said quietly beside her.

“It could have happened if I wasn’t so stupid,” she said angrily.

“Stupid?” He said, “You’re not stupid.”

She turned and looked at him for the first time since getting off the motorcycle. “No, what else do you call someone who can’t stop wanting to live the life they can never have? I can’t let it go, let him go. What am I supposed to do instead? How am I supposed to live without him? Am I supposed to go backward to who I was before I met him? I don’t know who that person is anymore. Lucky made me into someone better. And I don’t know how to go back to the person I was before him.”

“He didn’t make you into somebody better. No one can make another person. You make yourself. ”

“You don’t understand,” she said. “You don’t know what I went through, what we went through. I was raped when I was fifteen. That monster left me lying in the snow under the bushes to die, and that’s what I wanted, too. I wanted to just curl up and die. Lucky found me. Lucky picked me up and carried me to the hospital. Lucky forced me to talk to the police.

“When I left the hospital, Lucky wouldn’t let me hide in my room. He made me go back to school. He pushed me to overcome everything and start again. Without him, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”

Jason lifted her chin to look into her tear soaked eyes. “I don’t believe that. You’re not the type of person to give up,” he said wiping the tears from her eyes.

She pushed his hand away and took a step away from him. “How can you say that? You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know you’re a fighter. You showed me that in the bar, and I see it in your eyes right now,” he told her. “Your fiancee didn’t give that to you.”

She gave a hysterical laugh. “What you saw was desperation nothing more. Look at me, I went to that bar to get into trouble, to drink my pain away. If I was a fighter would I have gone with you, someone I’ve never met before, to some Godforsaken place where you can do whatever you want to me and there would be no witnesses. God, you might as well write victim across my forehead.”

“You’re not a victim,” he said before swinging his fist at her.

By instinct she raised her arm to deflect his assault and countered with a direct hit to his abdomen that sent him back a few steps.

“What are you doing?” She asked in shock. Had she really misjudged this man and his intentions? Was she really that stupid?

He recovered instantly from her punch. “Giving you what you wanted,” he said taking another swing at her.

Again she was able to easily deflect his attack and land one of her own. It was then she realized what he was trying to do. He was giving her the fight she’d carved at the bar without the worry of getting seriously hurt. He, on the other hand, would get the brunt of all her frustration and anger.

They continued their fight for a few more minutes both beginning to work up a sweat. They were so into it she forgot everything but the man in front of her as she punched him in the face. She ducked from his attempt and swung her leg around to knock him to the ground. On his way down, he grabbed her arm and brought her down with him. Before she could recover, he’d rolled them over pinning her to the ground, his face only inches from hers.

Neither moved. They seemed to be frozen in place unwilling to break whatever it was that was between them. He was the first to move shifting off of her and standing. Quietly he offered his hand to her to help her up. She took it but didn’t let go when she was on her feet.

“Thank you,” she said trying catch her breathe.

“I didn’t do anything,” he told her releasing her hand. He turned to walk to his motorcycle.

“That’s not true,” she said catching up to him. “Twice tonight you’ve made me forget my life and made me feel alive something I haven’t felt in a long time. How did you know it was what I needed?”

He stopped and looked at her. “I told you, I know where you’re coming from. It’s no big deal.”

“Do you do this every Friday night? Find a damsel in distress and save them from themselves, remind them what it feels like to be alive?”

“No,” he said turning back to the bike. “It’s time to go.”

“Then why me?” she asked needing to know the answer.

For a minute she thought he wouldn’t answer her question. He swung his leg over the back and started the engine. He revved the engine a few times ignoring her. She could see he was trying to decide what to say to her. Finally he looked at her and said, “You reminded me of myself.”

When he didn’t elaborate, she wanted to push but knew she wouldn’t get anything else from him. He wasn’t the type to bare his inner feelings to anyone, especially a stranger, and after tonight they weren’t going to meet each other again. A sudden feeling of sadness filled her at the thought of never seeing this man again. It would be nice to have a friend she could turn to in her new life. But that wasn’t what tonight was supposed to be about.

She swung her leg over the bike and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Do you want to go back the way we came or go the long way?” he yelled over the engine.

“The long way,” she yelled back glad the night wasn’t completely over yet.

“Then hold on,” he said releasing the brake

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 3


“What happened to you?” Sonny asked as Jason entered the penthouse the following day.

Jason touched the small bruise under his right eye without thinking. “Nothing.”

Sonny gave the younger man a knowing look. “You go bar fighting again last night?”

A small smile formed before Jason could stop it. “You could say that,” he replied thinking of the petite brunette he’d met the night before. She may have been small but she packed quite a punch.

Sonny sighed not sure what to say to his friend. “Jason, I know you’re going through a lot right now,” he said, “but getting arrested isn’t the answer.”

“I’m not going to get arrested,” Jason reassured his friend and boss. “I’ve got everything under control.”

“Do you?” The mob boss questioned. “Because from where I’m standing, it doesn’t look like it. You go out drinking every night. Usually end up in some bar room brawl that Johnny has to clean up.”

Jason raised his hand to quiet the older man. “If I wanted a lecture, I would move back to the Quartermaine mansion.”

Sonny sighed again. He wasn’t handling this well. “I’m not trying to lecture you,” he said. “I’m worried about you. You’re not sleeping. When you’re not fighting in bars, you’re out on your motorcycle.

“Jason, I need you in the game here. I need your complete focus. Moreno and Sorel are raising the stakes. They’re going to try something soon and I need to know that my enforcer is one hundred percent ready to take care of the situation not half conscious from lack of sleep or in jail for assaulting some dockworker.”

Jason’s back stiffened from his boss’s lack of confidence. “Since you hired me, I have never been anything but hundred percent. I know how to do my job. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Yes, I do,” Sonny stressed. “Jason, you’re not just an employee, you’re my friend, as well.”

He sighed and ran a hand across his face. “I know you’re still hurting about Michael...”

“Sonny,” Jason cut the older man off before Sonny could complete his thought. He didn’t want to discuss Michael with anyone. “If you think I can’t handle Moreno, just tell me and we’ll get Johnny to do it.”

“I’m not saying that,” the mob boss said shaking his head. “I’m just saying I’m worried about you. Losing Michael ...”

“Well, you don’t have to be,” Jason replied cutting Sonny off again at the mention of Michael. “I just came by to get the files Benny wanted before I head to the warehouse. Do you have them?”

Sonny didn’t answer right away. He wanted to push Jason to talk about Michael but could see Jason wasn’t ready. He sighed once more. He wasn’t sure Jason would ever be ready to talk about Michael.

“Yeah,” he finally said and walked to his desk.

“I’ll be at the warehouse if you need me,” Jason said taking the envelope Sonny handed him and turning to the door. He left before Sonny could say anything else.

Jason waited until he was alone in the elevator to take a deep breath. Memories of Michael flooded his brain. Memories he wanted to forget.

Sonny was right. Jason wasn’t sleeping. The memories he kept back during the day would over take him at night. They forced him to go out and quiet them. If it meant fighting in bars or spending hours on his motorcycle, he didn’t care as long as he could keep the images of Michael at bay.

Getting off the elevator, Jason decided to against taking the bike and walk to the warehouse instead. If he got on his motorcycle right now, he might not want to get off.

Maybe Sonny was right to worry about his state of mind, he thought as he made his way to the Elm Street Pier. During the first few days, Jason could have sworn he heard Michael crying. He would run into Michael’s room to comfort the baby only to remember Michael wasn’t there. Even now after eight weeks, he would forget Michael was no longer with him and expect to see his smiling face when he got home from work. Instead, he would come home to an empty house that contained all the evidence of a baby but the baby himself. There were still baby bottles on the dish rack and baby food in the cupboards. Michael’s room was still filled with baby furniture and all the toys Jason had bought. A baby blanket still hung over the couch back. Jason had removed nothing. He couldn’t. They were the only things he had left of the son he’d lost.

He rounded the street and was about to descend the stairs to the pier when the image before him brought him to a complete stop. Jason stood frozen in place. He couldn’t go forward, and he couldn’t force himself to retreat to the street behind him. Jason could just stand there and stare at the cause of his heartache.

Elizabeth was walking home from having breakfast at a diner called Kelly’s when she saw her mystery man at the other end of the pier. She shut her eyes expecting him to vanish when she opened them. It was too much of a coincidence to see him when she’d spent the whole morning thinking of him. She woke up thinking about him. She wondered what his name was? Where did he come from? Would she meet him again? She didn’t know she would get an answer to her last question so soon.

He was still there. She hadn’t imagined him. Elizabeth wasn’t sure what to do or what she was feeling. She didn’t even know his name, yet she was happy to see him. She would have descended the stairs to greet him only his face stopped her from moving.

He looked like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. The pain exuding from him was palpable. She could see it, almost reach out and touch it. Her heart ached for him. What could have caused this man so much pain?

She followed his line of vision to see a man with a baby stroller on the docks. The man was squatting by the stroller pointing to something in the water. He spoke to the baby, but she was too far away to hear what he was saying. She turned back to her mystery man wondering how the man and child were connected to him. Or maybe they weren’t connected at all. Maybe it was just the image they represented that was causing him grief. Whatever the cause, he still hadn’t moved from his spot. Should she go up to him and offer him comfort, or should she walk away and leave him alone?

He would want her to leave him alone, she thought. She didn’t know how she knew that, she just did. He wasn’t the type of man to share his emotions. He would probably hate knowing she was there to witness his lack of emotional control. If she was smart, she would leave before he noticed her presence. Unfortunately, no one ever accused her of being smart.

Before she could take a step in either direction, he moved. She turned to look for the man and baby, but they were gone. She saw her stranger stop at the spot the pair had just vacated. He bent down to pick up something she couldn’t identify. Instead of straightening, he remained crouched down staring out into the ocean.

Without thinking, she walked quietly up behind him and placed a hand on his right shoulder.

“Are you okay?” She asked her voice barely a whisper.

He turned his head only slightly to see who was standing behind him, but showed no surprise at who he was there. It was like he was expecting it to be her.

“No,” he replied honestly to the woman he thought he’d never meet again.

She took his hands and pulled him over to a nearby bench before he could do anything to stop her. He didn’t want to stop her.

“I saw you watching them,” she admitted when she realized he wasn’t going to start. “I was walking by, and then I saw you standing practically still with this look on your face like someone was hitting you or - I don’t know, but - and then I realized you were watching the man with the baby stroller.”


“That was my son,” he said quietly staring at the object he still held in his hands. Elizabeth could now see that it was a small sock that must have fallen from the stroller.

“What?” She couldn’t hide the shock in her voice. She looked back to the spot where the stroller had been expecting for it to suddenly reappear.

“His name is Michael,” he told her. “The man with him was AJ Quartermaine.”

Elizabeth was confused. “Why didn’t you go up to him? Why was he with that other man?”

“AJ is his father,” he replied forcing him to say the words. If he said them enough times maybe he would start to accept it and the pain would go away.

“I don’t understand,” she said shifting her gaze from the empty spot to the man and back. “You said Michael was your son.”

“Did I?” He asked only now realizing what he had said. “I shouldn’t have. I’m not his father anymore.”

“I don’t understand,” she said again. Even if the mother had moved on with someone new, it didn’t mean he couldn’t be a father to his child.

She waited for him to answer but he didn’t. She could see just how much this was affecting him. “It’s okay,” she said. “You don’t have to tell me.”

“A few months ago, I found out Michael wasn’t my child,” he finally said. “AJ arrived on my doorstep with DNA evidence and court papers giving him full custody.”

“Oh, my God,” she said reaching hor his hand. “What about Michael’s mother?”

“Carly died in childbirth,” he told her staring at their joined hands.

“I’m so sorry,” she said softly causing him to finally look at her.

“You didn’t do anything,” he said.

She touched his cheek. “I’m sorry this happened to you.”

“Thank you,” he said when he saw understanding in her eyes. She, too, knew what it felt like to lose someone you loved.

“If you want, I’m a pretty good sparing partner,” she offered thinking of what he’d done for her the night before.

Jason gave a small smile. “Maybe next time.”

“Okay, not up for a few rounds. I understand,” she told him deciding to go a different route. “Tell me about him.”

“Who?” Jason asked not sure who she was talking about.

She gave him a pointed look. “Your son. Tell me about him,” she said again. She wondered if she’d made a mistake when his face fell.

“Michael loves the water,” he told her. “I used to take him to the ocean from the time he was really little. Florida, Puerto Rico. Women would always come up to me on the beach and say, ‘No, he’s too young to go in the water.’ But I knew. I knew how much he loved it.

“When I first brought him home, I was so afraid of doing everything wrong. I didn’t know anything about taking care of a baby. I thought he would be able to look at me and know that I wasn’t the right person to care for him. But when I held him for the first time, I realized just how much he needed me. It didn’t matter how afraid I was, he was depending on me.

“I didn’t know I would turn out to know things that nobody taught me. Important things. Michael would cry and I knew what he wanted. I could tell if he was hungry or needed changing or just wanted to hear my voice. And whatever he needed, I got for him. Suddenly, I was this guy who could do just about anything if I had to.”

“Do you suppose that’s what love is?” She wondered aloud. “Because that’s what happened to me with Lucky. You know, I thought I could do anything. And now that’s he’s gone, I wonder what made me think that.”

“I don’t know,” he said. He was the last person to know what love was all about.

“Do you ever get to see him?”

“At first, I fought for visitation, but AJ and I don’t get along. Even before Michael, we had our differences. AJ would pick a fight with me whenever I would go to get Michael. We would argue. Once we almost came to blows. I knew AJ was doing it just to use it against me at trial but I couldn’t stop myself.

“Then I realized what we were doing to Michael. Every time we argued he would start crying. He was confused. I realized I was hurting him by forcing AJ to give me visitation. So I dropped the custody suit and told AJ I wasn’t going to fight him anymore.”

“You loved him enough to put him first,” she said. A tear fell down her cheek.

He brought a hand up to brush away the tear. “I didn’t tell you that to make you cry.”

“I know you didn’t,” she said. “You’re a wonderful father. Thank you for telling me about your son.”

“You’re welcome,” he said feeling his eyes begin to sting. “It felt good to talk about him.”

“I’m glad I was here to listen,” she told him.

“Me, too,” he admitted.

“Do you have your motorcycle?” She asked changing the subject.

“Not here,” he replied with a shake of his head.

“Oh,” she said disappointed. “Because I was going to make you give me a ride.”

The small smile returned. “So you like riding on it?”

“Mm-hmm,” she replied.

“Maybe another time.”

Elizabeth’s breath caught in her throat. It was the second time he’d mention another meeting. Was he hoping this was more than just strangers confiding in each other. Could they become friends?

He stood and looked at his watch. He needed to get to the warehouse. “I have to go,” he said. He started to go but then stopped. “It was nice talking to you.”

“Same here,” she said. “Bye.”

Elizabeth didn’t leave as soon as he walked away. She remained seated for a long time thinking about Lucky and Michael and her friend - if she could call him that. She still didn’t know his name. She’d forgotten to ask. How was she going to meet him again if she didn’t know his name or where to contact him? She could be so stupid sometimes.

He didn’t ask for her name either, she realized. Did that mean he wasn’t interested in continuing this relationship whatever it was? Maybe it was better they didn’t know each other. Wasn’t it easier to confide in a stranger than to someone you knew? Would things change if they became friends? It was pointless to think about it when he was already gone. With no way of contacting him, she could only trust they would meet again.

She stood and continued on to her new home. She stopped at the top of the stairs when he noticed an envelope lying on the step. It was sealed but was not addressed to anyone. Did it belong to her stranger? If she opened it, she might be able to find out who he was. Did she really want to know? A part of her did, but another part was afraid. She was afraid of what he might think it meant. Would he think she wanted more than friendship? Did she want more than friendship? She wasn’t sure what she wanted.

Maybe that was her answer. If she wasn’t ready to look to the future, she wasn’t ready to know who her stranger was. Placing the envelope in her purse she started off for the apartment. When she was ready, she would have the envelope to help her find him.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 4


Two days later, the file was still on her kitchen table unopened when she entered the room to pour herself a glass of orange juice. She tried to ignore it as she reached for a glass and opened the refrigerator, but subconsciously it taunted her begging to be opened.

Every time she entered her kitchen, it was there, practically screaming ‘Open Me’. A few times she’d reached for it but stopped herself before she could open it. It was crazy. She wanted to know who her mystery stranger was but was scared to find out at the same time.

Theirs was an unusual relationship, she thought as she drank the juice staring at the file. She had shared her most deepest part of herself to this man and he had done the same with her. She couldn’t explain it but she felt connected to him in a weird way. Would that connection change if she found out who he was? Would they be comfortable talking to each other if their masks of strangers were taken away?

God, she needed to stop thinking about this. She’d already spent two days consumed with the file. She didn’t need to spend another day as well. Especially when she only had one more day left before she started her new job. She needed to buy groceries for the week. She needed to pick up a few more accessories to make her new apartment a home. She needed to find the right thing to wear on her first day on the job. What she didn’t need was to obsess over a file and the identity of a man she would probably never meet again.

After putting the glass in the sink, she grabbed her purse and headed for the door fully intending to forget about the file for the entire day.

She opened her door and ran into the man poised to knock.

“Elizabeth,” the man said as he grabbed her to stop her forward motion.

“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be outside my door …” she was saying trying to calm her nerves from the jolt she felt when she realized who was standing in front of her. “Nikolas? What are you doing here?”

“Surprise,” he replied. “I was worried. No one has heard from you since you left. I wanted to know you were okay.”

“How did you know where I was? I didn’t tell anyone where I was going.” She couldn’t believe Nikolas was here in Port Charles in her apartment building in front of her apartment door.

“Do we have to have this conversation here?” he asked indicating the hallway they were standing in.

“Uh, umm, sure. Why don’t you come in,” Elizabeth replied reluctantly as she moved to allow him to enter. Nikolas was the last person she wanted to talk to at this moment.

She waited for him to take off his jacket and take a seat before asking her question again.

“This is a nice place, Elizabeth,” he replied ignoring her question.

“Nikolas,” she said firmly trying to keep her anger at bay. She didn’t want to get into another argument with her one time future brother-in-law.

“I hired a PI after I realized you were gone,” he admitted when he could see she wasn’t going to let the question go. “What did you expect, Elizabeth? You quit your job, sell you house and leave town without telling anyone where you were going. You didn’t think we would be worried about you?”

“I sent everyone letters explaining why I did what I did,” she said defending her actions.

“Dear Nikolas, there’s too many memories here and you are all smothering me. I need to get out,” he said accusingly.

“I never said that,” she exclaimed.

“Yes, you did,” he replied. “It just took you three pages to do it. You weren’t the only one surrounded by memories. We were all suffering.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” she said. “You were all looking to me to help you through it. You needed me to be all right so that you could be all right. Well, I wasn’t. I couldn’t pretend anymore. I couldn’t go to your parents home and act like a family when Lucky died before we could make this a reality. I hated that you would all act like everything was normal when Lucky was dead and nothing would be normal again. I just couldn’t do it anymore, Nikolas. I needed to get away from the memories of Lucky and yes, away from you and everyone that was connected with me and Lucky.”

He reached over and took her hands in his. “If you were feeling this way, why didn’t you come to me? You know I would have tried to help you anyway I could.”

She pulled her hands away. What could she say to that? She couldn’t tell him, he was part of the problem. She didn’t want to hurt him more than he already was. “I just need to be on my own. To deal with losing Lucky by myself.”

“But you don’t have to. I can be there to lend a shoulder to cry on,” he insisted. She could see the hope in his eyes. Hope, she knew, of them becoming more than in-laws. “I can be there for you if you just give me a chance.”

Oh, God. It was worse than she thought. “Nikolas, please, this is what I want. What I need,” Elizabeth asserted. “Please be my friend and give me the space I need.” She knew it was wrong. She should just tell him a relationship between them was never going to happen, but she didn’t want to hurt him anymore than she had too. He was already hurting over the loss of his brother.

Nikolas was quiet, trying to decide if he should push the issue any further. He could see Elizabeth wasn’t ready for what he had in mind. She wasn’t over his brother yet. He was hoping to be the one to help her get passed it, but he could see now that that wasn’t going to be the case. But he wasn’t going to give up on his ultimate goal. He knew they would be great together and he wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of that. If Elizabeth wanted space, he would give her space. If Elizabeth wanted to live in this two-bit town, he would let her. But that didn’t mean he was going to just walk away from her either. She needed him even if she didn’t want to admit it, and he was going to make sure he was there for her to count on.

“Okay,” he finally said ideas already forming in his mind. “If moving here is what you need to do, then I’m not going to fight it. I just want you to be happy.”

He stood and made his way to the door. “I’ll tell everyone back home that you’re okay and doing well.” He stopped with his hand on the knob. “You should call your grandmother. I know she’s worried about you.”

“I will,” she said relieved he was leaving. She could only pray that with time he’ll realize this image he has of the two of them together is foolish and move on with his life. “Thank you, Nikolas.”

He didn’t say anything, just nodded and walked out the door. Elizabeth took a deep breath and rested her head on the back of the closed door. Guilt was weighing heavily on her shoulders. How had everything become so complicated? She wished she could go back to when her life was simple, when she and Lucky were happy and Nikolas was one of her best friends.

She turned to look into the kitchen to the file on the table. She was so tempted to open it. She could really her stranger and his motorcycle. But she couldn’t do it. This man was becoming too important to her, and she didn’t need another complication in her life right now.

Grabbing her purse, she left her apartment fully intending to put both men out of her mind.

~*~

Elizabeth tried as hard as she could, but she couldn’t forget about Nikolas or her stranger. She went from store to store not really looking at the merchandise. By eleven, she’d decided to give up and have lunch a Kelly’s before going back to her apartment.

As she sat at the counter eating her sandwich, the scene with Nikolas kept replaying in her head. She’d know Nikolas was interested in her even before Lucky had died. He’d never done anything about it and she’d never said anything to make him feel uncomfortable. At the time she hadn’t been worried. She and Lucky were planning to get married and she knew that Nikolas would eventually realize that the love he felt was not romantic love but friendship. All he needed was to find the right girl. She’d even been planning to set him up with a girl she knew was perfect for him. After Lucky’s death she never thought Nikolas would still be harboring any dreams about them getting together. How could he possibly think that she would be able to be with him and not think about Lucky? She loved Nikolas but only as a friend and future brother-in-law.

She should have just told him the truth. When had she become such a coward? If Lucky was still alive, she knew he’d be disappointed in her. Maybe she should call Nikolas and tell him over the phone. Maybe then it would be easier. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and stared at it. No, she needed to give him time. She was sure that once he was back home she would just become his brother’s fiancée again, nothing more.

She paid her bill and stood to retrieve her jacket from the seat back. She had one arm in the jacket when she froze. Her stranger was standing at the diner’s entrance and he was staring at her. He hesitated for a second then walked over to where she was.

“Hi,” he said awkwardly.

“Hi,” she replied just as awkwardly.

“Um, do you come here often?” she asked when she saw he wasn’t going to say anything else.

He nodded, “They have good coffee here.”

She nodded in agreement. This was torture. Maybe she was right about not finding out his identity if this was how they were going to be. They just couldn’t be comfortable in a normal setting. Maybe they were better often not knowing anything about the other person and staying strangers. All she needed to do was tell him about the file she had and then it would be over. She could leave and go back to her normal life. Whatever that was.

“How are you?”

“I – I’m sorry. What did you say?” she asked realizing he had asked her something.

He gave her a small smile. “I asked how you were?”

“I’m fine,” she said a little too quickly.

He gave her that look that made her feel like he was looking into her soul. “No, you’re not,” he said.

She didn’t know if she liked that he was able to read her so well. “How can you be so sure?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know. I just am.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked pointing to the empty table beside them.

She should say no, but before the word could leave her mouth, she was nodding and reaching for the chair. She waited for him to order his coffee before telling him about the morning she had with Nikolas.

“So, you think I’m a coward too, don’t you?” she asked when he didn’t say anything.

“It doesn’t matter what I think. It’s what you think that counts,” he replied.

“I lied to him about needing space. Well, I really didn’t lie about that, but I didn’t tell him the truth either,” she said.

“What is the truth?”

“That I’m not in love with him - not that way – and I never will be,” she confessed.

“And telling him that would hurt him?”

“Yes, and he’s already been hurt enough.”

He took a deep breath. “I can’t tell you what to do, but I know what it feels like to be lied to. The longer you wait to tell the truth the worse it’s going t be.”

She reached for his hand on the table. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you think of Michael.”

“It’s okay. I was thinking about Carly. She didn’t have to lie to me. I would have helped her even if she’d told me the truth,” he admitted.

“Well, maybe she wasn’t lying,” Elizabeth offered. “Maybe she really thought you were the father.”

“No, she was trying to get away from AJ and used me to do it,” he insisted.

“You don’t know that. Even if she knew the truth, that doesn’t mean she was using you. I’m sure she loved you and just wanted the three of you to be a happy family. She probably was going to tell you the truth but died before she could,” she suggested.

“I’d like to think that but I know Carly. She wouldn’t tell the truth unless she was forced to,” he told her not liking to think badly of his friend.

Elizabeth didn’t have a reply to that. She didn’t know the mother of his child. All she could do was squeeze his hand and give him a reassuring smile. “I’m sorry.”

“Why? You didn’t do anything,” he said confused.

“I know but I don’t like that you’re hurting. I wish there was something I could do to make it better for you,” she told him.

“Just be honest with yourself.”

She nodded. “You’re right. I will,” she said not thinking about Nikolas but about the file in her possession that belonged to the man sitting across from her. Should she just ask him his name and have it done with?

He gave her another pointed look. “Something else is bothering you, isn’t it?”

“Tomorrow, is my first day of my new job,” she confessed chickening out of telling him the truth. She wasn’t ready for that conversation yet. She needed more time to decide how she felt about everything. “I guess I’m just not sure if I’ll be able to handle it.”

“Why?”

“Lucky and I used to work together,” she answered. “We were partners. I don’t know if I have the confidence without him.”

“Do you like what you do?”

She nodded slowly. “Yeah, I guess so. It was Lucky’s dream job really. I kind of just tagged along. I wanted to be with him. But I was good at it. Sometimes even better than him. And I enjoyed it.”

“What’s the worst that could happen tomorrow?” he asked.

She thought about it for a minute. “I could spend the entire day thinking about Lucky. I could do something stupid and get fired.”

“And getting fired would be a bad thing?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “This job is my last connection to Lucky. Without it, he truly will be gone from my life. I don’t think I could deal with that.”

“Getting fired won’t break your connection,” he told her. “It’s just a job. You either enjoy or you don’t. If you don’t, then you can find something new to do, something you will enjoy. Your memories are in here,” he touched the side of her head, “not in a job.”

“You’re right. If I don’t like it, it won’t be the end of the world,” she acknowledged truly believing it wouldn’t be. “Lucky always told me to be true to myself, so I guess I should listen.”

Before he could say anything else, his cell phone rang. He excused himself to talk to whoever was on the line only to return almost immediately to tell her he had to go. They walked out the diner together and said their goodbyes outside.

Elizabeth waited a few moments after he left before walking in the direction of her apartment. She didn't know it, but she had a smile on her face.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 5


Elizabeth took deep breath to calm her nerves before she entered the building. Once inside, she was hit with sights and sounds that triggered many images from her past. The shrilling phone, the bustling movement, the smell of day old coffee all reminded her of the pivotal moments of her life.

Ten years ago, the phone kept ringing non-stop as she sat and waited for the policeman to come and get her statement. He had only kept her waiting for ten minutes, but to her it seemed like an eternity. She hadn’t wanted to be there. She’d wanted to crawl under her bed and never come out again. If not for Lucky, she would have. Instead she sat on the wooden bench and waited to tell the police what had happened to her in the park.

Back then a police station was the last place Elizabeth wanted to be. Even before the rape, she’d been a little wild – smoking, joyriding, skipping school, shop lifting. She’d always expected to end up in a police precinct as a perpetrator rather than victim. It was amazing how one event could change a person’s life so drastically. In an instant she’d gone from juvenile delinquent to crime stopper.

Lucky was the one who first initiated the idea of working with the law rather than break them. He’d been obsessed with finding her rapist. He hounded the police department in Colorado until they finally relented and found something he could do to help. Who’d have thought Lucky would begin to like police work and decide after high school to become a cop? Certainly not her.

Lucky had had an adventurous childhood with his parents running from the mob. Lucky’s parents had been wanted by a mob boss in New York. Lucky had grown up living in a suitcase constantly having to hide his real identity. When she’d first met him, after his family had settled in her small town, she’d been struck by his worldliness. He could speak five languages and hot wire a car. He’s seen places she had only read about and knew how to make fake ids. To a girl who’d never been outside her hometown, Lucky was every movie hero she’d ever seen rolled into one.

When he told her he was joining the police force and wanted her to do the dame, there was never any other choice but to agree. After police academy, they became partners in the same precinct. For two glorious years they worked together, lived together and loved together. It was heaven. Until one night when it ended with the barrel of gun.

“Can I help you?”

Elizabeth jumped and realized the phone had stopped ringing.

“Can I help you?” The Desk Sergeant asked again.

“Yes, um, can you tell me where I can find Commissioner Scorpio?” she asked trying to regain her composer.

“Down the hall, to the right,” he replied just as the phone began to ring.

She left the Desk Sergeant to his phone and followed his directions down the hall. It didn’t take her long the find what she was looking for. She knocked and waited for entry.

“Enter,” yelled a voice from inside.

“Commissioner Scorpio?” she asked. At his nod, she held out her hand and continued, “My name is Elizabeth Webber. I’m your new detective.”

The commissioner rose and shook her hand. “Yes, Webber,” he said indicating she have a seat. “I was just reading your file. Quite impressive for someone so young.”

“Thank you, but I can’t take all the credit,” she told him. “My partner had a lot to do with it.”

“Yes,” he said looking back to the file, “Lucky Spencer. Damn fine cop from what I’ve heard. A shame about what happened.” He gave a moment of silence to honour his fellow policeman then continued. “What prompted the move across the country?”

“Well, after Lucky died, I just felt like I needed a change,” she admitted. “When this transfer came up, I jumped at the chance to come east.”

“We’re happy you did,” he smiled. “Welcome to the Port Charles Police Department. Let me find your new partner, so I can introduce you two.”

Just as he picked up the phone, a large bald black man walked into the office without knocking.

“Mac, the FBI are here with an arrest warrant for Corinthos and Morgan.”

The commissioner dropped the phone and grabbed the paper the other man was holding. “Okay, take four uniform officers with you. Don’t let the FBI control the situation. Corinthos is in our city and we’re going the make the collar.”

Elizabeth stood as the two men motioned to leave. It appeared as if the commissioner had forgotten about her. Before she could say anything, he stopped and looked back at her.

“Taggart,” he yelled to stop the other man. “This is Elizabeth Webber, your new partner.”

Taggart looked her over without showing any emotion. She couldn’t tell whether he liked the idea or not.

“Webber,” he said after a moment, “grab your stuff. You’re about to help arrest Port Charles’ most wanted men.”

~*~

Jason sat behind his desk and stared out the window. His desk was littered with invoices and packing slips but he couldn’t concentrate on any of it. He could only think of her. The brunette with no name. At the most odd times he found himself thinking about her and what she was doing.

Today, he couldn’t stop wondering about her new job. Was she doing okay? Had her nervousness abated once she started or was she still unsure of herself? When would he meet her again?

Yesterday, he’d been happy to see her at Kelly’s. At first he was uncomfortable, not sure what to say, but that hadn’t lasted long. He didn’t know why, but he felt at ease talking to her and that was something he never felt before. With both Robin and Carly he’d never felt completely comfortable with them.

With Robin, it was because of fear. He’d been so worried about Robin accepting him. He was always afraid of saying or doing the wrong things in front of her afraid she was always comparing him to Jason Quartermaine. Even though she never mentioned him, Jason worried Robin was secretly waiting for him to turn back into the man she had grown up with. He could see her struggling to accept his job with Sonny and all it entailed. He always suspected she wished he’d quit and become the doctor Jason Quartermaine wanted to be. He hadn’t been surprised when Robin decided to move to Paris – saddened but not surprised. He knew Jason Morgan could never make her truly happy.

With Carly, guilt stopped him from giving all of himself. He knew Carly loved him and he loved her, too, just not the way she wanted. When they first met, he was in love with Robin. He only thought of Carly as a sex partner, and he knew she thought of him that way as well. They had only come together to release their pent up frustrations. It was never meant to be anything more than that.

But somewhere between that first night and her arrival on his doorstep announcing her pregnancy something changed for her. He had become the love of her life. He’d tried to convince her they didn’t have that kind of relationship, but she wouldn’t listen. She’d decided they were going to become the perfect family and nothing he said was going to change her mind.

When Carly died, he suffered more from guilt than grief. He blamed himself for her death. If he had been a better man, he could have loved her the way she deserved. Maybe if he had, she would have lived and they would have been the family she so desperately wanted. Instead, she was gone and his son was taken from him.

Jason couldn’t believe he told a stranger about Michael. He wouldn’t even talk to Sonny about Michael, and Sonny was his friend, brother, father all in one. Sonny was his family, yet he couldn’t share what he was feeling with him. He could only open up to this woman. He didn’t know anything about her, but he felt like he had known her his entire life. He didn’t understand what that meant. He’d never felt that way before.

“Jason, you okay?”

He turned from the window to see Sonny standing by the door. “Yeah, Sonny,” he replied hiding his surprise. “Why do you ask?”

Sonny closed the door and sighed. “I’ve been standing here watching you stare out the window for the past five minutes. You didn’t even hear me come in. What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing. What do you need?” he asked immediately changing the topic.

Sonny stared at him for a few moments trying to decide if he should press the issue or not. “Benny’s missing one of the files I gave you the other day. Do you know where it is?”

The brunette’s face came instantly to Jason’s mind. He must have left the file behind when he finished talking to her the other day on the docks. He wondered if she had picked it up. If she had though, wouldn’t she have mentioned it yesterday when they met at Kelly’s?

“I must have left it on my desk at the penthouse,” he told Sonny.

Sonny nodded, “Make sure Benny gets that file by the end of the day. There are some important transactions he has to take care of before the end of the month.”

“That’s no problem,” Jason replied already thinking about how he was going to find the brunette. “I’ll go and get it now and take it to him.”

Jason stood and was about to grab his jacket from behind his chair when the door opened to reveal a smug looking Detective Taggart.

“Taggart, to what do we pleasure of your company?” Sonny asked sardonically.

Taggart smiled and waved the warrant in front of Sonny’s face. “Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan, you’re under arrest for drug trafficking. You have the right …”

Jason stopped listening as two uniform officers grabbed his hands behind his back to handcuff him. Neither he nor Sonny gave any indication of surprise at the charge against them. He was already thinking of which enemy had set them up when he noticed a figure standing out in the hall. As the officers escorted him from his office, he was able to get a clear look at the individual. The woman he’d spent the entire morning thinking about was standing in front of him with a detective badge hanging around her neck, and from the expression on her face, she was in even more shock than he was.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 6


Once they arrived at the police station, the two men were taken to separate interrogation rooms. The FBI interviewed Sonny Corinthos and Taggart interviewed Jason Morgan. Elizabeth chose to witness Morgan’s interview behind the scenes in the viewing room. Since she was new, she knew she would be of no help to her new partner. Plus, she wasn’t sure she was ready to face the man she, until this moment, had considered a friend.

She still couldn’t quite believe that the man she was looking at behind the two-way mirror was the man who helped her that night at Jake’s. The man she thought she knew was kind and considerate. He cared deeply and was suffering because of it. The man in front of her was cold and emotionless. He sat as still as a statue as her partner laid out their evidence against him. His only movement came when he looked straight into Taggart’s eyes and asked for his lawyer. Even that wasn’t the same as Elizabeth remembered. Gone was the soft, husky voice she knew placed by a hard, neutral sound. If she hadn’t been looking at him, she wouldn’t have recognized him.

Elizabeth turned to open the door expecting Taggart to leave the interrogation room now that the suspect had requested council. As she reached for the door, she realized Taggart was not leaving the room. Instead, he sat in front of the suspect and couldn’t his line of questions. Only they weren’t really questions anymore. Taggart began taunting the other man insulting him, calling him anger boy and brain damaged. She could see that Taggart was enjoying himself even though the other man’s facial expression had not changed. He just sat and took the verbal abuse he was receiving. It didn’t seem to faze him.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, was affected. With each insult, her protective side increased for the man she knew. He was inside that man somewhere, and he didn’t deserve the abuse Taggart was giving him. She wanted to run into the interrogation room and tell Taggart to shut up. The only thing stopping her was the shock she was feeling about the protectiveness she was feeling. Even knowing this man was involved in organized crime and drug trafficking, she still cared about him. What did that say about her and her job? Or for that matter, what did it mean for the relationship she and this man had?

Unable to watch the interrogation any longer, Elizabeth left the viewing room intending to find out everything she could about Jason Morgan.

Two hours later, her stinging eyes could take no more. She dropped Jason Morgan’s extensive police file on her desk and rubbed her eyes. Elizabeth took a deep breath before slowly reopening them. For a brief second before her eyes could focus, she wished the file would disappear. Without the file, she could almost be able to pretend the man she had befriended, the man she connected with through grief, the man who was beginning to give her hope for her future was not the cold-blooded killer its pages claimed he was.

It was her last bit of hope. She had already gone through mistaken identity and twin brother to no success and as the file came to focus in front of her, she knew her wish had also failed. She had to admit the truth. The man she’d been thinking about for the past week was in fact Jason Morgan, the mob enforcer for Sonny Corinthos, crime lord of the eastern seaboard.

Over the past ten years, Corinthos’ empire increased to cover New York and New Jersey. He had his fingers in Chicago, Miami and Puerto Rico, and he owned a private island where he ran a casino. All this achieved through force as all of Corinthos’ enemies have either died or disappeared never to be seen again. Morgan was a suspect in over ten open murder cases and more assault cases than she could count, but had yet to be convicted of any crimes.

In fact, he’d never even gone to trial for any of his crimes. An excellent lawyer and overzealous police work always created a loophole for him to slip through. Until now, if she believed Taggart. Somehow, Elizabeth couldn’t quite believe Corinthos and Morgan were finally going to be punished for their crimes. You didn’t stay at the top for over ten years without knowing every trick in the book. She wouldn’t even be surprised if the two were released by nightfall.

She covered her face with her hands. What was she going to do? Should she tell Taggart and Commissioner Scorpio about her friendship with Morgan? Should she pretend she didn’t know him? Should she go and talk to him in his cell? She wondered what he must be thinking. Did he think she was working him that they hadn’t met by chance? The file! It was still sitting on her kitchen table. Did it possibly have damaging evidence that could be used to convict them? If she returned it would he think she was just getting him to trust her? Oh God, what was she going to do?

Before she could change her mind, she stood and made her way to the holding cells. If nothing else, she knew she needed to talk to him.

When she reached central booking, Elizabeth was surprised to discover Jason had already been released. His lawyer, it seemed, worked faster than she thought. It wasn’t even lunch yet. Without a second thought, she found the nearest exit determined to talk to Jason Morgan.

~*~

Jason felt shell-shocked. Once he arrived at his penthouse, he’d practically fallen onto his couch and hadn’t moved since. All he could do was stare at the ceiling and recall the moment when he was her standing outside his office wearing a detective badge.

Even though he never saw her again, he knew she was watching the exchange between Taggart and himself in the interrogation room. He could feel her eyes looking at him. He wanted to turn his head in her direction on the off chance that by some magical ability he could see through the one-sided glass. Only his concern over her stopped him.

He knew she was just as shocked to discover who he was as he was to find out about her. He was immediately worried about what she would do. If she admitted her connection to him, there was no telling what Taggart would do. Jason didn’t think Taggart would believe the story of coincidental meetings. He was sure she would be accused of being Sonny’s inside source and fired all on her first day on the job, and Jason didn’t want that to happen. She didn’t deserve to be fired because of him.

But there wasn’t anything he could do. He still didn’t even know her name. He certainly couldn’t go to the PCPD and demand Mac not fire her. If he did that, it would only reinforce their belief that she was working for him. And even if he was able to convince Mac, they were just friends, Taggart might then want her to use that friendship against him. She would be put in an uncomfortable position having to decide between doing her job and protecting him. And Jason wasn’t sure what her decision would be.

He would like to think the friendship they’d started meant something to her enough to not use it against him. It did to him, which was why he hadn’t mentioned her to Sonny after they were released. He knew Sonny wouldn’t be as trusting of her innocence as Jason was. Sonny would either want him to stop seeing her or devise a plan to use her for police information, and Jason didn’t want to do either one. The problem was he didn’t know what he wanted to do. No, that wasn’t true. He knew what he wanted – to keep her friendship – but he didn’t know how they would be able to do that. He wished he could talk to her.

A soft knock at his door brought him out of his deep thoughts. He knew it wasn’t Sonny since he wouldn’t knock. Sonny would just walk in. Figuring it was his sister upset over his newest arrest, Jason was shocked to see the woman he’d been worrying all morning about standing in his doorway. She looked equally as shocked. They simply stared at each other trying to find any difference in the other now that they knew the truth. Elizabeth was the first to break the silence.

“Can I come in?” she asked quietly not sure of his answer. She feared he would just throw her out. Instead, he moved aside to allow her entry.

She surveyed her surrounding. It was and yet wasn’t what she had expected. The room was filled sparingly with a beat up leather chair and couch, a coffee table she was sure he bought at a thrift store and a pool table where a dinning table should be. It fit the man she knew but not the multimillionaire she didn’t.

Elizabeth knew he was waiting for her to start. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath not really sure where to begin. She had practiced on the way here, but now that she was standing in front of him, her mind had gone blank.

“I think before we say anything else, we should have a proper introduction,” she said extending her hand. “Detective Elizabeth Webber of the Port Charles Police Department.”

Jason eyed her hand for a second before taking it. “Jason Morgan.”

Another awkward silence followed. It seemed the comfortableness they’d shared in the past was now gone. That realization almost brought her to tears.

“I have something that belongs to you,” she said pulling the file from her bag. “I found it after you had left that day but didn’t have any way of returning it to you. Until now, that is.”

Jason took the file but didn’t open it. He placed it on his desk without really looking at it.

“I didn’t open it,” she told him nervously. “I want you to know that. This wasn’t some undercover thing or anything like that.”

“I know,” he replied.

“You do?” she asked not expecting his response.

He nodded, “You wouldn’t have been there this morning if your assignment was to get close to me. You hadn’t learned anything important yet.”

“The file?” she asked pointing to it.

“It’s nothing,” he shrugged, “just some coffee invoices our accountant needed.”

Elizabeth sighed in relief. Even though she never would have given it to the police, she was glad it wasn’t a possible smoking gun that could have put away the city’s most wanted men either. She was, after all, still a policewoman sworn to arrest criminals.

“Are you really the cold-blooded killer Taggart says you are?” she asked. There was still a part of her hoping none of this was really happening.

“What do you think?” he asked keeping his face devoid of emotion.

“I don’t know what to think,” she admitted. “If someone had asked me yesterday, I would have said no. Sure, you were dark and mysterious with an edge to you. I figured you weren’t a boy scout, but I also didn’t think you were the second in command of New York’s crime syndicate.”

“I run a coffee business,” he told her.

“I know you do,” she said looking him straight in the eye, “but that’s not all you do, is it?”

“You know I can’t answer that,” he said.

“You don’t have to,” she replied seeing the truth on his face. “I already know the answer.”

The shock she’d been feeling since his arrest was now replaced with disappointment and overwhelming sadness. Her legs began to shake, and she knew she had to sit down before she fell down. She took a seat on his couch burying her face in her hands.

Jason remained standing looking at her. He could see she was distraught but didn’t know what to do about it. He was afraid of her reaction if he tried to comfort her.

“Elizabeth,” he said quietly.

Her body tensed. “I don’t even know why I’m so upset,” she told him. “It’s not like we were in a relationship or anything like that.”

“We’re friends,” he stated.

She turned to give him a direct look. “Are we? How could we be friends? We didn’t even know each other’s name. We didn’t know anything about each other.”

“We didn’t need to,” he said.

“Well, look at where that got us,” she said her voice rising. “I’m a police officer and you work for the mob. We can’t be friends. It wouldn’t work.”

Jason wanted to argue with her but knew she was telling the truth. They couldn’t be friends. Neither side would allow it.

Elizabeth waited for him to argue. She didn’t really know what she expected him to say – just something, anything that would prove she was wrong. Instead he remained silent. He said nothing because there was nothing to say. Nothing could fix the situation they were in.

She sighed in resignation. “I guess that’s it then. We pretend we don’t know each other and go about our normal business.”

“If that’s what you want,” he replied.

She could feel her anger returning. “What I want? I want all of this to be a really bad dream. I want to go back to yesterday when I didn’t know who you were and what you did for a living. I want to be able to talk to you and spend time with you after today. None of this is what I want but it’s what I have to do. We have to stop this now before it gets any worse.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Me, too,” she said quietly giving him one last look before going to the door.

As her hand reached for the door knob, he said, “Just take care of yourself, okay.”

“You, too,” she replied without turning around. She opened the door and walked out before she could change her mind.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 7


Elizabeth opened her apartment door and turned on the entry hall light. Placing her keys on the hall table, she made her way to the kitchen. She discarded her jacket on the back of a chair before opening the freezer and taking out one of the frozen dinners found there.

As she turned in the direction of the microwave, her side brushed against the refrigerator handle. The resultant tapping sound reminded her of the shoulder holster she still wore. She removed the gun and placed it on top of the microwave before putting in the frozen dinner and setting the time. She sat on the nearest chair to wait for her dinner.

Elizabeth was tired. So tired she didn’t even realized the kitchen light wasn’t on, or more accurately, she was too tired to care that the kitchen light wasn’t on. She wasn’t going to get back up to turn it on. She wasn’t even going to go and turn on the radio, one of her normal routines. Instead she sat in the semi-dark room listening to the humming of the microwave oven.

She closed her eyes and reflected on the day she had. She and Taggert spent the morning investigating a house burglary that happened the night before. The suspect had been careless leaving behind a fingerprint. The crime lab was able to match the print to a recent parolee who had just been paroled after three years in prison for armed robbery. It seemed the only thing he learned in prison was that it was more lucrative to break and enter than robbing people on the street. At least it would have been if he hadn’t gotten caught.

Not that he gave himself up willing. When they knocked on his apartment door, they could here rustling that, to them, sounded like their suspect was trying to make a run for it. Marcus kicked in the door just in time to see the prep run down the fire escape. Elizabeth followed him while Taggert went back out the way they had come in. The prep reached the ground before Taggert could arrive which resulted in Elizabeth chasing the suspect three blocks. She had him on the ground and handcuffed by the time Taggert drove up in their car.

Adrenalin coursed through her for the rest of the morning giving her a natural high that lasted until noon when Jason entered Kelly’s. Elizabeth’s first reaction was to run up to him and tell him about her collar. Only two things stopped her – her partner sitting in front of her and the woman Jason came in with.

She was approximately Elizabeth’s height with long reddish brown hair. She was younger than Elizabeth would have thought was Jason’s type. About nineteen or twenty if she had to guess. And she adored the man she was with. It was obvious in the brightness of her eyes and the warmth of her smile. What was just as obvious, but surprising to Elizabeth, was Jason’s feeling for the other woman. He loved her. Elizabeth was sure of it. There wasn’t any one thing that jumped out and said he loved her, but she still knew he did. Maybe it was because she’d been able to see inside the mask he always wore that gave her the power to read him so well.

Elizabeth tried not to stare at the other couple. She, especially, didn’t want to give Taggert anything to be suspicious about. But she also couldn’t ignore them. She wanted to know who the woman was and how she was connected to Jason. Was she his girlfriend? She couldn’t be, Elizabeth decided. To begin with, she was too young and innocent. Elizabeth couldn’t see Jason bringing such a girl into the life he led. Secondly, she was sure Jason would have told her of a girlfriend during their conversations. It wasn’t as if they had had a romantic relationship. They had been friends.

Elizabeth was only able to sneak a look in their direction a couple of times during her lunch with Taggert. During both times, Jason’s full attention was devoted to the woman in front of him. In fact, Elizabeth realized, as she and Taggert walked to the exit, Jason hadn’t once looked in her direction since he’d entered the diner. Maybe not even then. At the door, she turned for one final look hoping he would take the opportunity with Taggert outside to look at her, but he didn’t. She wasn’t sure he even knew she was there.

She wondered now sitting at her kitchen table what exactly she’d expected from him. She had been the one to end their friendship over a week ago. Why would she think he would still acknowledge her in public? Why would she expect him to still care about her and want to still talk to her? Maybe because you still want to yourself, a little voice inside her said.

Sure she still wanted to. There were many times during the past eight days where she’d wanted to hop on the back of his motorcycle and leave her problems behind in Port Charles. But that didn’t mean she was going to do it. The reasons they couldn’t be friends were still there between them. Nothing had changed since that afternoon. Jason still worked for the mob and she was still a police detective. It wouldn’t work.

So then why was she so worked up about Jason not seeing her at the diner? Why did Jason’s non-reaction bother her so much? Could it be because even though the reasons were still there, she still hoped for some way for them to work it out? Was she holding out for some magic godmother to wave her wand and make everything okay? Elizabeth would have thought she’d learned her lesson after Lucky died. There was no magic wand and nothing was going to magically fix the problems between her and Jason. He was the criminal and she was the police. The sooner she accepted that the better it would be for everyone.

~*~

“Dammit!” Taggert yelled slamming down the phone receiver.

Elizabeth looked up from her paperwork just in time to see Taggert grab his jacket from behind his chair.

“What is it?” she asked picking up her coat to follow him.

“Another teenager was brought to the ER this morning of a drug overdose, only this time they couldn’t save him,” he said as he walked to the door. He was out before Elizabeth could say anything. She had to run to catch up to him.

In the car, she kept silent. She could tell Taggert wasn’t up for talking. She could almost feel the rage radiating from every pore in his body. It was only when he made the wrong turn to get to the hospital did she ask where they were going.

“We’re gong to have chat with our friendly neighborhood crime lord,” he replied.

Elizabeth tried to reason with him, but Taggert refused to listen. He didn’t care that they had no evidence against Sonny Corinthos. Someone was dead and Corinthos was to blame.

As they walked along the docks towards the Corinthos Morgan Warehouse, Elizabeth tried again to get Taggert to calm own only to run into him when he stopped short. It took her a second to steady herself and another to see what caused Taggert to stop. Jason Morgan was standing on the other side of the pier. He looked annoyed at seeing the two of them. That only seemed to make Taggert angrier.

“Well, this must be my lucky day,” Taggert said advancing toward the other man his every word laced with controlled rage. “Now I won’t have to go through your guards at the warehouse. You’re not the man I was hoping to see but you’ll do.”

“Taggert, what do you want?” Jason asked his face devoid of emotion. “I’m busy.”

“On your way to meet your dealers are you?” Taggert sneered. “Need to pick up last night’s profits, do you? Well let me tell you something. One of you customers died this morning.”

Taggert paused to see Jason’s reaction. When there was none, he gave Elizabeth a sadistic smile and continued. “I guess your brain-damaged head is too stupid to realize what that means. I’ve got you,” he said jabbing a finger into Jason’s chest. “I’ve got you and Corinthos for murder. Your drugs killed that boy and I’m going to prove it.

“You’re going away for a long time, Anger boy. How does it feel knowing I’ve got you and your precious little lawyer will not be able to sweep this under the rug? You’re going down.”

Jason remained stoic refusing to let Taggert see how his words were affecting him. “If you’re here to arrest me, then let’s go,” he said raising his hands in front of him to be handcuffed. When neither detective moved to take them, he dropped his arms and turned to leave.

Taggert grabbed Jason’s arm and yanked him back in front of him. “Don’t you walk away from me.”

“Taggert, stop,” Elizabeth yelled as she grabbed his hand. “What are you doing?” She pulled on his hand but he refused to let go. She glanced quickly at Jason. He was ready for whatever Taggert intended.

“Don’t do it,” she said to Taggert but hoped Jason would listen as well. “You could get fired for this. Is that what you want?”

Taggert tightened his grip on Jason’s arm seemingly oblivious to Elizabeth’s attempt at intervention. She pulled harder on his hand and tried to push him away from Jason, but he wouldn’t budge.

“Taggert, if you do this, you’re not only off the force but Corinthos and Morgan won’t be punished. All the evidence we have will be tainted. Do you want to give them an acquittal? Do you?”

“Do you?” she yelled again when Taggert didn’t move.

After what seemed like the longest second of her life, Taggert let Jason go and took a step back. Elizabeth turned to Jason and said, “Mr. Morgan, you’re free to go.”

Jason said nothing. He didn’t even look in her direction. He kept his eyes on Taggert and only when he was sure Taggert wasn’t going to do anything did he turn and walk away.

“What is wrong with you?” Taggert yelled once Jason was out of sight.

“What’s wrong with me?” Elizabeth asked incredulous. “What’s wrong with you? You could have destroyed your career and you’re asking me what’s wrong with me. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that Jason Morgan and Sonny Corinthos have controlled Port Charles long enough. They need to be taken down,” he yelled his fist still clenched wanting to hit something.

“Well, that wouldn’t happen if you took a swing at Morgan. What would have happened is you would be suspended and the evidence you have collected would be discredited,” she yelled back to get him to listen.

When that didn’t seem to work, she tried another approach. “Marcus, you’re letting this case get to you. I know you want Corinthos in jail but if you’re not careful, you’ll burn out. You can’t make this personal.”

“Not personal? What do you know about making this personal?” he asked now directing all his anger in her direction. “You have only worked here for a week. You haven’t struggled for years trying to bring those killers to justice. You haven’t worked day and night to build a solid case only to have some hotshot lawyer come in and tear it apart with some technicality. You haven’t had to stand back and watch as Corinthos and Morgan walk out the precinct doors because evidence has mysteriously vanished from the evidence room. You go through all of that and then tell me not to make this personal.”

He walked off before Elizabeth could say anything further. Her first instinct was to follow him but then decided not to. He was right. She didn’t have the right to lecture him about making this case personal when she was doing the exact same thing. So many times she wanted to defend Jason from Taggert’s malicious attack. But she didn’t. She couldn’t. If she had, she would have lost her job and she was sure she would never be a cop again. She knew no city would believe she wasn’t in bed with the mob.

But wasn’t that where she was now. Maybe not literally but figuratively. The case against Jason was building, but she wasn’t sure she could actually arrest him when the time came. The way she was feeling right now, she didn’t think she could. Even though she knew he deserved to be in prison for what he was doing, she didn’t want it to happen. She didn’t want Jason to spend the rest of his life behind bars. What would Lucky say if he knew she wanted to let a killer go free?

“Elizabeth.”

She froze sure her ears were playing a trick on her. She quickly scanned the area to be sure there was no one around before facing the man usurping her thoughts. “Jason, I thought you had left.”

“I went around the corner and waited for Taggert to leave,” he said moving closer to her.

“Why?”

“I needed to talk to you,” he admitted.

“Jason, this isn’t a good idea,” she said taking a step away from him. “Anyone could walk by and see us.”

“If that happens, you can pretend you’re arresting me,” he said. “No one would think twice about that. I get arrested a lot.”

“I know,” she replied with a half smile, “I have the files. Alright, what is it?”

“Sonny and I do not deal in drugs,” he said coming right to the point.

“What?” Of all the possible things he could have said, Elizabeth wasn’t prepared for that.

“My sister almost died a few years ago from a drug overdose. I wouldn’t work for Sonny if he was involved with the drug trade.”

“Why are you telling me this?” she wondered. “If you’re hoping I’ll go to Taggert…”

“This has nothing to do with Taggert,” he admitted. “I don’t care about Taggert. I just need for you to know that whatever else you think of me, drug trafficker isn’t one of them.”

Elizabeth looked into his eyes trying to decide if he was telling the truth. Could she believe him or was he trying to use their relationship to sway the case?

“How do I know you’re not lying?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you, Elizabeth,” he insisted. “Not about this.”

“If what you’re saying is true, then who put the drugs in your coffee shipments?” She didn’t know it yet but she already believed him.

Jason gave her a pointed look. “I can’t tell you that.”

She smiled. Jason was beginning to sound like a broken record. “You want me to trust you when you say you aren’t the ones bringing the drugs into Port Charles, but you can’t trust me to tell me who really is? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t,” he replied. “I shouldn’t even be having this conversation with you. But I, I just, … needed you to know we’re not involved.”

Placing her hands on her hips, she sighed, “Jason, come on. You need to give me more than this. Taggert’s got a one-track mind when it comes to you and Corinthos. He’s not going to stop digging unless we have somewhere else to look.”

“I already told you, I don’t care about Taggert,” he replied emphatically. “This is only between us. I don’t expect you to do anything with this information. I just need you to believe me.”

She stared at him in disbelief. “I do believe you. That’s why I’m asking for more. You can’t tell me you’re not causing the drug problem in this city and not expect me to try and prove it. If I do nothing, you could end up in jail.”

He shook his head. “It’s not going to go that far.”

“What does that mean?” she asked suspicious of his reply. “Should I be expecting a piece of evidence to disappear, or an unsolved murder to appear on my desk soon? Is that how you’re going to handle the situation?”

At Jason’s silence, she knew the answer to her question. “That’s not the way to solve the problem. If you just worked with me rather than against me, we could stop the drugs and put the guilty party behind bars.”

Jason rubbed his forehead in frustration. “You know that can’t happen.”

“Why not?” she asked also frustrated by the line separating the two of them.

“Jason, if you want me to trust you, then you need to trust me,” she insisted. “Just give me a name. Something I can work from. I promise Taggert will not be involved. I’ll keep everything quiet until I have enough evidence for an arrest.”

Jason could tell she wasn’t lying. She wouldn’t use anything he gave her against him. Taking a deep breath, he weighed the pros and cons of his decision. Sonny wouldn’t like the police knowing their business. He would rather solve their problem internally. But if the police could remove their problem for them, then why not. What did they have to lose?

“Moreno,” he said quietly. “Anthony Moreno. That’s all I can tell you.”

Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s all I need.”

He nodded. “I need to get to the warehouse,” he said turning to leave.

“Jason, wait,” she called to him.

He stopped and faced her.

This was it, the voice inside her said. Tell him you made a mistake. Tell him they could figure something out. Didn’t they just now prove they could still be friends even though they were on opposite sides. Tell him you’ve changed your mind.

Elizabeth wanted to say all of those things, but instead just said, “Thank you.”

He nodded again and walked away.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 8


Jason was in pain. His rippling muscles screamed for relief but he refused to comply. Sweat ran down his face stinging his eyes but he refused to stop. He wanted the pain, he thought as he slammed his fist one more time into the sand-filled bag. He needed it to take away the turmoil that was raging inside of him.

He was lying to Sonny. The one thing he thought he would never do, he was doing. Jason had yet to tell Sonny about his involvement with Elizabeth or that she was a police detective, or that he had given her Moreno’s name, for that matter. And Jason knew he wasn’t going to. He could rationalize Elizabeth digging into Moreno’s operation would benefit Sonny. If Elizabeth could prove Moreno was responsible for the drugs in Port Charles then she would be removing one of their enemies for them. That was something Sonny would be very happy about. The Moreno problem would be solved without Jason having to take care of it and the Five Families could not voice any objections.

But the police knowing about Moreno wasn’t why he was lying to Sonny, he thought as he continued to smash his fists into the punching bag. He was lying because he didn’t want Sonny to know about Elizabeth. Once Sonny learned of Elizabeth and her job in the police department, Jason knew he would want to bring her over to their side. They had people already on the police force, but no one who worked directly with Taggert, no one who could keep them one step a head of any police investigation that was going on. Elizabeth was in a perfect position to do just that. Sonny would be a fool not to use such a gift, but Jason didn’t want his friendship with her to be used against her.

This was his fault. He had put Elizabeth in this position by telling her they weren’t the drugs suppliers. Why had he done that? Why couldn’t he have just left and let Elizabeth think what she wanted to think? Why did he need her to know the truth? He didn’t care what people thought of him, so why had it bothered him so much that Elizabeth believed he was bringing drugs into Port Charles? As crazy as it sounds, he just didn’t want Elizabeth to think badly of him.

It was ridiculous, he thought as he continued to hit the bag with his full force. He was a killer. He couldn’t escape from that. He didn’t want to escape from that. That was what he was and he wasn’t going to apologize for it. How could he expect Elizabeth not think badly of him? She knew who he was and what he was. He couldn’t change that. He couldn’t go back in time, and it was pointless to wish he could. He and Elizabeth were on opposite sides and nothing he did was going to fix that. All he had done was put Elizabeth into a position of defending him. A part of him loved that she wanted to prove his innocence, but to do so could cost her her job and Jason didn’t want that to happen. He didn’t want to be the reason she stopped doing something she loved.

After one final hit, his body forced Jason to search for water. He bent to retrieve the towel and water bottle he’d left nearby and wiped away the sweat from his face and chest before taking a drink. It wasn’t until he had swallowed half of the bottle that he noticed the blood on his towel and realized his knuckles were raw and bleeding. He was wrapping his hands when Sonny walked in.

“Hey, man, you okay?” he asked pointing to Jason’s hands.

“Yeah,” Jason replied. “What do you need?”

Sonny’s gaze lingered on Jason’s hands before looking towards the punching bag. Jason could see the indecision in Sonny’s eyes. Jason knew Sonny was worried about him, but he also knew Sonny respected him and wouldn’t press him for answers. It made Jason’s duplicity even worse. What was Sonny going to do when he learned of Jason’s betrayal?

Sonny sighed and looked back to Jason. “Moreno’s stepping up his move against me. I need you to find out where he is bringing in his drug shipments and put a stop to it. I will not tolerate him dealing drugs in my city.”

Jason nodded. “You know Moreno’s looking to start a war. If you make the first move, the Five Families will support him in the fight for our territory.”

“I didn’t make the first move. Moreno did when he planted the drugs in our coffee shipments,” Sonny replied. “The Five Families would be stupid to back him. They know I still control this city and Moreno’s little attempt to take over will fail. Just find out how the drugs are coming in. I’ll handle the Five Families.”

“Okay,” Jason said. “I’ll take care of it.”

Sonny nodded at Jason’s response and turned to leave the room. At the door’s threshold he stopped and turned back. “Jason, are you sure you’re okay? I know Michael’s birthday is coming up. If you want I could give this job to Johnny.”

“Sonny, I can do my job,” he told the older gentleman.

“I know you can,” Sonny said. “That isn’t the issue.”

“That’s all that matters,” Jason insisted hoping Sonny would not press for more. He didn’t want to lie to his best friend any more than he had to.

Sonny hesitated for a moment then sighed and left the room. As Jason stared at the empty doorway, the frustration over the situation he’d put himself in returned. He threw down the towel in his hands and gave the bag a final punch ignoring the pain that ran up his arm.

Boxing wasn’t working, he decided, and his hands couldn’t take a fight at Jake’s. He needed to get out, to go for a ride and clear his head. Maybe then he’d find the solution he was looking for.

~*~

Jason brought his motorcycle to a stop in the back alley behind Kelly’s. It had taken him only fifteen minutes to figure out riding was not going to help him. From the time he turned on the engine memories of Elizabeth flooded him. It made no sense. She had only been on the bike once, twice if the trip back to Port Charles was counted separately. After thousands of rides, why would that one still haunt him?

Leaving the bike in the alley, he made is way to Kelly’s where he ordered a coffee to go. He surveyed the diner as the waitress poured his coffee. There were only two other patrons sitting in the far corner and from what Jason could see, they were more interested in each other than in anyone who may have entered the diner. For that, Jason was grateful. Even with the late night, there was always the risk of running into someone he didn’t want to meet.

He paid the waitress and turned to leave only to stop at the sight of the entering patron. Elizabeth froze as soon as she noticed he was standing by the counter. He glanced around the room again. The waitress had stepped into the back and the couple in the corner had begun kissing. No one was paying attention to the two people staring at each other across the room.

“Jason, hi” Elizabeth said quietly as she walked closer to him.

“Hi,” he replied with a head nod. Even though he wanted to talk to her, he didn’t know what to say. He gripped his coffee cup and took a sip.

“What happened to your hand?” she asked reaching for it without thinking.

“It’s nothing,” he told her as her fingers brushed against his bandaged wrapped knuckles.

Elizabeth knew it was more than nothing. She was the reason his hands were bandaged. Did he regret telling her he wasn’t involved with the drugs coming into the city? Maybe she shouldn’t have pushed for him to give her Moreno’s name. It certainly blurred the line they had created separating them as police and criminal. Now she didn’t know what hey were. Friends? Enemies? Partners? More importantly, she didn’t know what she wanted them to be. She had been the one to decide they couldn’t be friends, but at the time she hadn’t known just how difficult that was going to be. What would he say if she told him she’d changed her mind?

“Jason, …” she began only to be interrupted by the waitress.

“Can I get you anything?” she asked oblivious to the tension between the couple standing in front of her. “The grill is closed for the night, but we still have pie and coffee.”

“Um, I, …” Elizabeth hesitated looking at Jason for direction.

“I have to go,” he said stepping around the two women and leaving before Elizabeth could stop him.

It took her only a second to decide to follow him. She caught up with him in the courtyard just outside the diner. “Jason, wait.”

He stopped and turned to face her but didn’t say anything. He just waited for her to say what she needed to say.

“Do you miss me?” she asked quickly before her courage failed. “I know it’s crazy. We’ve really only talked about three times and we didn’t even know who we were, but I miss you. I know I was the one to end whatever it was that we had. And it seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but I can’t stop thinking about you. And I was wondering if you can’t stop thinking about me in the same way.”

“Elizabeth—” Jason tried to answer but she wouldn’t let him.

“I know this will only make everything more complicated. I mean I’m still investigating the drug situation and you’re still our number one suspect. Even what I’m doing right now could put the investigation at risk. Taggart would kill me if he found out I was even talking to you, but I don’t care.”

“Elizabeth,” he tried again.

“I know we can’t pretend that none of that exists, but can’t we just put it aside, agree not to talk about it? I just want us to be ourselves without all of the other stuff between us. Like we were before. Do you think that’s possible? Can we go back to how it was before all of this happened?” she finally stopped to catch her breath and waited for his answer.

He didn’t answer right away. Elizabeth could see he was struggling with what he wanted to say. The more he struggled the more apprehensive she felt. She’d made a mistake. It was stupid to think they could try and forget everything that stood between them. She was about to retract what she had said when he held out his hand to her.

“Do you want to go for a ride?”

Elizabeth sighed in relief. “More than anything in the world,” she said taking his hand.