Dreams Change by MaggieWood

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 26

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Lucky pointed the gun at Jason and pulled the trigger. Before Jason could stop her, Elizabeth ran in front of him falling into his arms as the bullet entered her body. Lucky cried out and dropped to his knees. Jason ignored him and laid Elizabeth gently on the ground. Her sweater was already covered in blood.

“Elizabeth, Elizabeth. You have to open your eyes.” He took off his jacket and used it to apply pressure to her wound.

Her eyes slowly opened. “Jason,” she whispered. She raised her hand to his cheek and tried to smile. She opened her mouth to say something but couldn’t catch her breath. Her hand fell to the ground as she lost consciousness.

“No, Elizabeth, you need to stay awake,” Jason shouted taking her face in his hands. She had stopped breathing. He reached for his cell phone to call an ambulance.

He tried to find a pulse and couldn’t. Without thinking he began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation pumping air into her lungs. He needed to keep her breathing. He continued until a hand touched his shoulder. “Sir, you have to step away. We need to look at her,” said a paramedic.

Jason stopped and looked around. The ambulance had arrived and two paramedics were waiting for him to move away and let them do their job. He hadn’t even heard the sirens. He stood giving the paramedics space to work on her. He noticed people nearby watching the events. How long had they been there? Did they see the whole shooting or did they arrive after? Elizabeth would hate this, he thought. She wouldn’t like knowing these people were seeing her at her weakest moment.

He looked at the blood on his hands. Elizabeth’s blood. He couldn’t think, couldn’t move. All he could do was stare helplessly while the paramedics tried to keep her alive.

He snapped out of his trance when he realized they were placing her into the ambulance. He moved to join her. When the paramedic refused, he grabbed him and shoved him up against the ambulance door. He wasn’t going to let her out of his sight. The paramedic reluctantly agreed.

Jason held her hand the entire way to the hospital. She arrested twice during the journey. The paramedic was forced to shock her to get her heart beating each time. In his mind, it didn’t seem real. He was in the back of an ambulance with Elizabeth clinging to life, but he felt separate from everything. It was like he was dreaming. He thought if he reached out she would disappear like his other dreams. He touched her cheek. She didn’t disappear.

He followed the gurney into the emergency room of General Hospital refusing to break his connection with her. The paramedics recited her vital statistics, but he just concentrated on her. Her eyes had not opened since that first time. Her skin was pale and lifeless. She barely resembled the smiling happy woman who had kissed him goodbye only two hours ago at Jake’s.

Two orderlies were needed to pry their hands apart and keep him from entering the trauma room. He wasn’t allowed passed the doors. Instead he could stare through the window at the doctors and nurses working. He worried they were trying for nothing. She’s dead he wanted to scream. He didn’t want them butchering her beautiful body if she was already dead.

“Jason?” Bobbie came up behind him. “Are you all right?” She saw the blood on his clothes and hands. “What happened?”

He couldn’t tear his eyes from the window. “Elizabeth was shot.” His voice was devoid of emotion. He sounded as if this happened everyday.

“What? Where’s Lucky? Does he know?” She didn’t wait for a reply. She entered the room to see where she was needed.

Jason wanted to laugh. Does Lucky know? Lucky shot her. Anger began to break through the nothingness he was felling. He wanted to kill Lucky. His hands clenched into fists. Had Lucky been standing beside him, he would have ripped him apart with his bare hands. He couldn’t remember what happened to Lucky after Elizabeth was shot. He was sure he wasn’t there when the ambulance arrived. He must have run off when Jason was trying to keep Elizabeth alive. He wanted to hunt him down. He wanted to spend days punishing Lucky for hurting Elizabeth, but he wouldn’t. She wouldn’t have wanted him to hurt Lucky. She would never forgive him if he caused Lucky’s death.

The doors flew open as they brought her out. They didn’t stop. They rushed her to the elevators. He was able to only catch a glimpse of her before the elevator closed. A hand touched his shoulder. Bobbie had stayed behind to let him know what was happening.

“They’re taking her up to surgery, Jason,” she said removing her mask. “The bullet is lodged near her aorta, and they need to remove it before it causes anymore damage.”

“Will she be okay?”

She gave a sad smile. “I don’t know. She’s lost a lot of blood. Her heart is weak. They need to go in and find out just how much damage the bullet has done to it.
If she makes it through the surgery, that will be a good sign. Why don’t you go up to the surgical waiting area? One of the doctors will see you as soon as the surgery is over. I need to go call Audrey and Lucky. They’ll want to know what’s happened.”

He watched her leave not sure what he should do. He couldn’t sit in a waiting room until the doctor showed his face. He couldn’t handle it. The hospital walls seemed to be closing in on him. He needed air. He needed to feel the wind on his face and get control of his emotions. Since the accident, he had spent his life keeping his emotions in check. At the time they were the only things he had control over. Now he couldn’t. He felt lost. Without her he didn’t have any direction. He wanted to run but he didn’t know where to run to. He couldn’t leave her, but he couldn’t stay there.

He took the stairs two at a time to the roof. It was the next best thing to being on his motorcycle he could think of. He could feel the wind on his face and stare out to the water. He used to come up here after he came out of his coma. Whenever he couldn’t handle another visitor, he would escape to the roof to hide out. He didn’t know if they had looked for him, but he knew they never found him up there. He would sit for hours staring out to the water trying to figure out who he was and how he fit into his family domain since he couldn’t remember them. The water always gave him a sense of peace. It had calmed him allowing him to face his family without breaking anything.

As he stared out over the water he waited for the calm to come, but it didn’t. All he could see was Elizabeth’s blood soaked body. She couldn’t die. Without her he didn’t think he could live. His body would function, but he would be dead inside. He would live in the nothingness that was his life before Elizabeth entered it. Was this what she felt when she had lost Lucky in the fire? Was this the torment she had gone through? This despair that his life was over. Was that what had driven her to go to Jake’s that night? He understood her need to feel anything but the pain of losing the one you loved. He wished he could feel anything but this nothingness that encased his heart.

Tears fell down his cheeks, but he did nothing to stop them. He needed to suffer. Elizabeth was struggling to live because of him. His selfish desire to be with her was going to kill her. He thought of all the people who had warned her to stay away from him. They were right. He did only bring her pain and misery. If she died, he would be the one who killed her. He shouldn’t have came back. Her life was perfect before he entered it. He selfishly thought he knew what was right for her. He thought she was living a lie, but it was better to live a lie then die with the truth wasn’t it.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed on the roof, but when he finally made his way to the surgical waiting area, it was with purpose. He needed to know how she was then he was going to leave. He didn’t want to cause her anymore pain. He needed to protect her from him.

He stopped by the nurses’ desk when he saw who was in the waiting area. Audrey and Laura clung to each other both deep in tears. Luke was trying desperately to console them without much success. They were inconsolable. Sonny and Carly sat across from them quiet mourning in their own way. The scene told him everything he needed to know. Elizabeth was dead. They wouldn’t be this distraught if she had survived the surgery. For a second his heart stopped beating.

Sonny must have said something to set Luke off. He left his grieving wife and grabbed Sonny shoving him up against the wall. Jason couldn’t understand what could cause Luke to attack Sonny. None of this was Sonny’s fault. He was to blame for Elizabeth’s death, not Sonny, not Carly, not Lucky, but him. He would have to live with that knowledge the rest of his life.

“Oh my God,” Laura whispered seeing Jason standing in front of her covered in blood. “You murderer,” she yelled rushing over to strike him. Jason didn’t defend himself. He stood letting her hit him repeatedly. It was only the first in many punishments he deserved.

Carly grabbed Laura’s arms and pulled her away from him. He almost told her ‘no, let her continue’, but he couldn’t say anything. What was there to say? He was standing with Elizabeth’s blood on his hands. Laura was right. He was a murderer.

Before Laura or anyone else could do anything, Taggert approached him. Jason hadn’t seen Taggert standing by the wall. He’d been too focused on the people mourning Elizabeth to notice the other people near the waiting area.

“Jason Morgan,” Taggert came up behind him handcuffs in his hands, “you’re under arrest for the murder of Lucky Spencer and the attempted murder of Elizabeth Webber. You have the right…”

Jason didn’t hear a word. He didn’t care what Taggert had to say. Elizabeth was dead. Anything Taggert had to say was unimportant. He didn’t resist as Taggert handcuffed him. He could hear Audrey’s sobbing and Sonny and Carly yelling at Taggert, but couldn’t see them. All he saw was Elizabeth smiling face, and knew he would never see it again. Elizabeth was dead. Taggert pushed him towards the elevators. Sonny was telling him Alexis would meet him at the station, but he didn’t want Alexis there. He wasn’t going to fight the charge. Elizabeth was dead. It didn’t matter what happened to him.

Chapter 27

“I wondered how long it would take for you to show up,” Taggert said sipping his coffee. “Tell me, Alexis, do you ever get tired of defending this man? How many people does he have to kill before you stop playing ignorant and realize he’s not worth your talent?”

Alexis sighed. She’d heard this argument too many times to count. She didn’t need to get into this again with the detective. She just wanted to see her client. Of all the times she’d defended Jason, this was the first time she truly believed he was innocent. There was no way in hell Jason could have hurt Elizabeth. She was sure he loved her. She couldn’t see him shooting her or Lucky either for that matter.

“I’d like to see my client,” she said with determination.

“Where is he?” Carly came barging into the police station with Sonny following behind her. “I demand to see him.”

Sonny had tried to get her to calm down in the limo, but Carly wouldn’t listen. He didn’t like what was going on either, but they needed to keep clear heads. Jason needed them to be level headed and find out a way to solve this problem. Above all, Sonny needed to know what really happened. He knew Jason, knew that he would never have harmed Elizabeth. Jason didn’t have it in him.

“Carly, calm down,” he said touching her shoulder.

She swung around and stared at him like he was the enemy. “What? I will not calm down. Jason’s been arrested on a trumped up charge, and I’m not going to let this corrupt police department get away with it.”

“With all due respect, Mrs. Corinthos,” Taggert responded trying to sound respectful but the underlying anger could be heard. “The evidence speaks for itself. Jason Morgan shot and Lucky Spencer in cold blood, and then went after Elizabeth Webber. You coming here and yelling isn’t going to change those facts. I suggest you sit quietly or else I’ll have you removed from the building.”

She was about to reply when Sonny clamped a hand over her mouth. “Taggert, please excuse my wife. She’s understandably upset over Jason’s arrest and her cousin’s death. She will be quiet from now on or I’ll remove her myself.” He gave her a pointed look that she couldn’t ignore. She raised her hand agreeing to stay silent. She wanted to see Jason, and if causing trouble was going to prevent that, she would keep quiet.

Taggert nodded and looked at the crime boss. As much as he wanted it to, he knew Jason’s arrest couldn’t be used to bring Sonny down. Corinthos wasn’t involved with this. Shooting Elizabeth and Lucky was personal not business related. “I’m afraid Morgan isn’t allowed any visitors right now,” he smiled knowing Corinthos couldn’t fix this problem. Even if he couldn’t get the boss, his second in command was just as good. Corinthos was nothing without Morgan. Once he was in jail Corinthos would soon follow.

“He can see me,” Alexis insisted. She had stayed quiet during Carly’s disruption contemplating her defence. First she needed to talk to her client.

Taggert waved his hand towards the interrogation room door. “Be my guest.”

Alexis entered unsure what to expect. Jason sat motionless staring at something – she wasn’t sure what – on the table. His face was devoid of any emotion. He wore prison blues. His shirt had been taken as evidence. “Jason?” When she got no reply, she called him again. “Jason?” She touched his arm to snap him out of wherever he was. When he still didn’t respond, she feared there was something wrong with him.

“Why are you here?” His voiced matched his expression. His eyes were fixed on a coffee stain on the table, but he wasn’t really seeing the stain. In his mind he was Elizabeth’s body was she was struck by the bullet. It was on a continuous loop in his mind. He wished the doctors had been right about his inability to dream. He wished he wasn’t able to relive her death every ten seconds.

“Sonny called me,” she said talking as if she were speaking to a child.

“You’ve wasted a trip. I don’t need you this time.”

“What do you mean?” She had never seen Jason like this before. This wasn’t his usual empty stare he used to when he didn’t want to answer a question. He looked dejected, like a man who’s lost everything he possessed in the world.

“I don’t need you, Alexis. I’m guilty,” he said quietly.

She shook her head sure she hadn’t heard correctly. “No, Jason. I know you. You couldn’t have done this.”

He flashed her an angry look. It was the first show of emotion she’d seen from him. “You don’t know me. I’ve killed many people. You just don’t want to admit it. Your conscience couldn’t handle getting me off each time if you did.”

He was partially right. She did like to live in ignorance of what he did, but deep down she knew and she accepted it. She was just as involved in this business as he was. She just like to pretend her hands were clean since she’d never pulled the trigger. She used her skill as a lawyer to protect Sonny and Jason from prosecution. That was her role, and she wasn’t going to be sorry for it. In any other mob hit, she wouldn’t care if he was guilty or not. She would just do her job. But this wasn’t an ordinary mob hit. She knew Jason wasn’t capable of what Taggert had accused him of.

She grabbed his hand with her urging him to see the truth. “Jason, you didn’t do this. I know it. It’s not in you. You kill for business not personal. You do not have it in you to kill for your own purposes, especially hurting Elizabeth. There is no way you can convince me you wanted to hurt her. I know you love her.” She stared at him amazed as tears began to form in his eyes. “Please tell me what happened,” she pleaded.

“I killed her. She’s dead because of me,” he whispered.

“What? No, Jason …” she wanted to continue but Taggert entered with a file in his hand.

“Forensics’ preliminary report is in. I only have a few questions for your client.” He sat across from them and opened the file. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He was struck dumb by the sight in front of him. Jason Morgan, mob enforcer and hit man had tears running down his face. Taggert hadn’t thought the man was capable of such emotion. He had such despair it hurt Taggert to look at him. For a second he felt sympathy until he remembered to whom it was directed to. Morgan didn’t need anyone’s sympathy. What he needed was to be punished for his crimes.

“Here’s how it went down. You wanted Elizabeth. You’ve had a thing for her for years, haven’t you? Everyone knows it. Two Christmases ago, the two of you had something going on, but you left, probably some business for Corinthos. Someone he needed you to kill.”

“Detective,” Alexis interrupted.

“Sorry.” Taggert gave her an innocent look. “Now you’re back, but she’s with Lucky Spencer. You wanted him out of the way, so you cornered him at the docks. He was shot at close range with a 9 mm automatic, died almost instantly from reports. A dockworker found him earlier this evening in a pool of blood. Forensics is working on time of death. They tell me he put up a fight before dying. His arms and hands were covered with bruises consistent with a struggle, probably for the gun.” Taggert paused to stare directly at Jason. “Did you get too close? Or was it like Sorel? Did you feel the need to beat Lucky until he was unrecognizable before you killed him?” He waited for a response but knew he wouldn’t get anything.

“Either way, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that forensics is searching the body with a fine-toothed comb looking for anything you may have left behind. We just need a tiny portion of DNA and you’ll be toast,” he smiled.

“When you were finished with Lucky Spencer, you went looking for Elizabeth. I know you’re brain damaged, but did you really think you could kill her boyfriend and she would come running to you? You did, didn’t you? You found her in the park and told her you two would be together. She resisted, told you she loved Lucky and you went crazy. You shot her because she wouldn’t go with you. Am I right?”

“Taggert, you can’t seriously think Jason shot Elizabeth,” Alexis insisted. “He called for an ambulance. He was giving mouth to mouth when the paramedics arrived. Does that sound like a deranged killer who shot a girl because she couldn’t love him?”

Taggert shrugged. “It sounds to me as if maybe he had an attack of conscience and regretted shooting her. Or maybe he wanted the paramedics to think he was trying to save her when he was really trying to finish the job before they could arrive.”

Alexis couldn’t believe the crap coming out of Taggert’s mouth. “You don’t seriously expect anyone to believe that do you?”

“It doesn’t matter what they believe about why he called the ambulance. The point is he shot her. Trying to save her later doesn’t change that fact. I have blood evidence on his person. I have a gun found in your client’s room over Jake’s – Oh, you weren’t aware of that, Morgan?” Taggert wanted to jump with joy. I got you, he thought. “We found your gun tucked inside one of your dresser drawers. Forensics is working on it as we speak. I know they are going to match your gun to the murder weapon.

“So let’s review again. I have motive and the murder weapon. I can place you at the scene of the second crime and your gun at the first. And soon I’ll have a witness. Once she wakes up, I’m sure Elizabeth Webber will be a fountain of information.”

“What?” Jason spoke for the first time since Taggert entered the room.

Taggert grinned his sadistic grin relishing this moment. “You screwed up, Morgan. Elizabeth isn’t dead. She made it through the surgery. Once she regains consciousness, I know she’ll be able to corroborate everything that I have said and more.”

Jason’s mouth widened into the biggest smile Taggert had ever seen. Joy replaced the nothingness and despair he was feeling. Elizabeth was alive. She wasn’t dead. He looked to Alexis for confirmation. Taggert could be playing with him. What he saw in her eyes caused his mouth to widen even more. Elizabeth was alive. She was alive. He needed to see her. He needed to see for himself that she wasn’t dead. Forgetting where he was, he got up and started for the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Taggert grabbed Jason’s arm halting his movements.

He looked at Taggert ready to push him out of his way. Didn’t he understand? Elizabeth was alive. All of this was minute in comparison. “I have to see her,” he said without thinking.

Taggert pulled him back and cuffed him to the table. “You’re not going anywhere near Elizabeth Webber. The only place you’ll be going is to jail. Do you honestly think Elizabeth will forgive you for shooting her and killing Lucky? You’re more deluded than I thought.”

“That’s enough, Taggert,” Alexis positioned herself between the two men. She didn’t want Jason to get into any more trouble than he already was. “I’d like to speak to my client alone if you don’t mind.”

“I’ll be outside,” Taggert replied before leaving the room.

“She’s not dead,” Jason said quietly still not sure Taggert was telling the truth.

Alexis sighed. “No, Jason, she’s not. You saved her by giving mouth to mouth. You kept her alive until the paramedics could get to her.”

“Did she wake up? Will she be okay? Has she asked for me?” He wanted to know everything.

“I don’t know. I was just told she made it through the surgery. Jason, you need to tell me what happened,” she urged. Maybe now he would fight knowing Elizabeth was alive.

Jason was quiet for a long time. He thought of everything Taggert had said. Lucky was dead, and they thought he had killed him. Lucky was who Laura was referring to not Elizabeth. How did Lucky end up dead? What gun did Taggert find at Jake’s? He never kept any weapons hidden in his drawer. Someone must have planted it there.

“I didn’t shoot Elizabeth,” he said. “It was Lucky.”

Alexis was shocked. She hadn’t expected that. “Lucky?”

Jason nodded. “He came at me in the park and pointed a gun at me.”

“Why would Lucky do that?” Alexis couldn’t picture Lucky holding a gun on Jason.

“He wanted me away from Elizabeth. He was possessive of her. He thought I was coming between them.”

“Was he right?”

Jason hesitated. He wasn’t sure he wanted Alexis or anyone else knowing what had happened between him and Elizabeth. “She was going to break it off with Lucky. She was tired of his controlling her every move. She wanted to be free of him.”

“So that she could be with you,” she added when he stopped.

“Yes,” he admitted. He decided that Alexis needed to know everything if she was going to help him. “Lucky held the gun on me and before I could take it off him, Elizabeth appeared. She tried to get him to give it to her, but he wouldn’t. She jumped in front of me when he pulled the trigger. I couldn’t push her away in time. I couldn’t protect her.”

“Jason, this is not your fault,” she assured him. “What did Lucky do then?”

He thought about it for a while. “I don’t know. All I remember is taking care of Elizabeth. I know he wasn’t there when the ambulance arrived.”

“Where did you go after Elizabeth went up to surgery?” That was going to be the problem, she thought. If everything Jason told her was true, then Lucky was killed after Elizabeth was shot not before. Elizabeth could validate Jason’s story about her shooting, but there was nothing to stop Taggert from continuing on with his case for Lucky’s murder.

“I went to the roof of General Hospital. I used to go up there after the accident. I didn’t want to leave Elizabeth, but I couldn’t stay at the hospital.”

“Did anyone see you?” She already knew the answer but was praying for a miracle.

“No, not until I came down and Taggert arrested me.”

“What about the gun?”

“I don’t know how it got there, but it isn’t mine. Taggert’s stupid if he thinks I would hide the murder weapon in my room.”

Alexis sighed. “He just sees an open and shut case. He’s not really thinking.”

Jason clenched his fists and pulled against the handcuffs. “I need to get out of here, Alexis. I need to see her with my own eyes.”

“I know you do,” she gave him a sad smile. “Your arraignment won’t happen until tomorrow morning. You’ll have to wait until then. Can you handle that?”

“Yeah, if I have to.”

She picked up her briefcase. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, okay.” She gave him one last glance before leaving. She was worried about Elizabeth. Would Elizabeth think Jason killed Lucky? Would she believe Jason or the evidence?

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 28


She looked peaceful, Audrey thought. She could almost pretend Elizabeth was just sleeping in her room rather than lying in a hospital bed hooked up to wires and tubes. She grasped the unconscious girl’s hand needing to reassure herself that Elizabeth wasn’t dead.

It had been three days since Elizabeth was shot and she hadn’t regained consciousness. The doctors were keeping her sedated to give her body time to recover from the surgery. They hadn’t been sure she would have survived the surgery, but Audrey had known better. Elizabeth was a fighter. She wasn’t going to let a gunshot wound keep her down.

A tear fell down Audrey’s cheek thinking about what Elizabeth had to wake up to. Lucky was dead and she was badly injured. Elizabeth would be in intense pain both physical and emotional. Audrey remembered how hard Elizabeth had taken Lucky’s first death. She had turned wild, going to bars and hanging out with Jason Morgan. Audrey had tried to warn her about what a dangerous man he was, but Elizabeth hadn’t listened. Now look at where that got her. She was fighting for her life.

That monster killed Lucky and shot Elizabeth. Audrey was glad he was in jail. She didn’t want Elizabeth to worry about him coming after her again. The police had put a guard at the door to insure that wouldn’t happen. Not that Jason himself could touch her in jail, but Taggert was afraid Sonny Corinthos would try something to remove the only witness to the shooting.

Audrey couldn’t believe Elizabeth had called these people friends - these men who would kill her without a second thought. She couldn’t believe the gall of Sonny Corinthos asking her how Elizabeth’s was. She doubted Mr. Corinthos cared one bit about Elizabeth’s condition. He was more concerned about his employee in jail than Elizabeth.

“No, Jason,” Elizabeth whispered.

Audrey leaned down to see if she was waking but realized Elizabeth was just dreaming. She brought her hand up to Elizabeth’s forehead. She hated that even in sleep Jason Morgan was tormenting Elizabeth. She promised herself that as soon as Elizabeth was able, Audrey would take her away from Port Charles and protect her from that horrible man.

Elizabeth was screaming but no sound was coming out. She saw Lucky and Jason. She wanted to run to Jason, but she couldn’t. She looked down and realized her feet weren’t moving. They were rooted to the ground and she couldn’t lift them. She tried to scream again. She couldn’t let Lucky hurt Jason. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t be able to live if Jason died. In slow motion she saw the bullet leave the gun heading straight for Jason. As hard as she tried she couldn’t move. She could just stand and watch as the bullet entered Jason’s body causing him to fall back to the ground. He was dying, and she could do nothing.

“Jason!” She opened her eyes and tried to sit up. The intense pain stopped her.

“Elizabeth, shhh, it’s okay,” she heard her grandmother’s voice but couldn’t see her. “Jason can’t hurt you anymore.”

Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut. She tried to raise her hand but the pain was too much. Where was she? Why did she hurt? Where was Jason? Was he all right? “Where am I?”

Audrey rested a hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder. “You’re at the hospital. You were shot, but you’re going to be okay.”

Elizabeth looked around as much as her head could allow. She saw the IVs and machines verifying what her grandmother told her. She was in the hospital. She’d been shot. For a second she couldn’t remember how she could have been shot, then it all came back - Lucky, Jason, the gun.

“Jason! Where’s Jason?” She needed to know if Lucky had shot him too. She didn’t want to think that Jason was dead.

Audrey tried to calm her. “Jason can’t hurt you anymore. You don’t have to worry.”

No, she couldn’t mean Jason was dead, Elizabeth thought. Jason couldn’t be dead. She would know. “Don’t lie to me. Jason’s not dead. Tell me where he is.”

Audrey was stunned. She hadn’t expected this kind of reaction from her granddaughter. “Elizabeth, you need to calm down. You don’t want to pull any stitches. You’re still recovering from surgery. Your heart is still weak. You don’t want to cause a set back.”

Elizabeth refused to listen. She tried to sit up again ignoring the pain. She needed to make sure Jason was all right. She wasn’t going to calm down until she saw him. “I want to see Jason. Where is he? Take me to his hospital room. I want to make sure he’s going to be okay.”

Audrey reached for the call button. She needed help to stop Elizabeth from hurting herself. A nurse ran into the room going to the opposite side of the bed. She injected a sedative into the IV. Within seconds Elizabeth stopped struggling and was asleep.

Audrey was stunned. Something wasn’t right. Elizabeth was worried about Jason. She was ready to injure herself to find out where he was. Elizabeth hadn’t even asked about Lucky. What kind of control did Jason Morgan have over Elizabeth to make her forget about Lucky? Audrey knew she’d made the right decision. She was going to get Elizabeth away from Jason Morgan. She didn’t care what she had to do.

~*~

Elizabeth woke the next day to hear shouting in her room. She glanced around remembering she was in the hospital. She’d been shot. She remembered getting upset the last time she woke, and her grandmother getting a nurse to sedate her. She wasn’t going to cause any trouble this time. She needed to know what had happened that day at the park. She needed to make sure Jason was all right. She needed to convince Lucky to get the help he needed. None of that would happen if she were unconscious. She turned her attention to the two people still arguing in her door way.

“I don’t care what you say. Jason did not shoot her,” Emily yelled. “He is not capable of doing that.”

“My God, can you hear yourself?” Nikolas reciprocated. “Your brother is a killer. That’s his job.”

Elizabeth was confused. Who did Jason shoot? How could he have shot someone if he was in the hospital fighting for his life? Nikolas must be mistaken. “Nikolas,” she called to him quietly.

“My brother would never hurt her. He would protect her with his life,” Emily continued arguing. She couldn’t hear Elizabeth over the yelling.

“Emily,” Elizabeth tried a little louder.

“Oh, really. Then explain why she almost died, and he didn’t have a scratch on him,” Nikolas countered.

“Nikolas. Emily. You guys stop shouting,” Elizabeth yelled as loud as she could, causing pain to shoot throughout her body.

Her friends immediately abandoned their argument and rushed to her bedside.

“Elizabeth, how are you?” They both spoke at once.

She remained still allowing the pain to become a dull ache. “I’m going to be okay. What are you two arguing about?”

They turned to each other then back to her.

“Nothing, it’s not important,” answered Nikolas.

Emily agreed, “Yeah, you don’t have to worry about it. You just need to concentrate on getting well.”

Elizabeth could tell they were hiding something. “You were arguing about Jason. Is he all right? What room is he in?”

Nikolas didn’t understand her question. “What do you mean ‘what room is he in’? Do you mean in the hospital?”

Elizabeth gave him an exasperated look. “Of course I mean the hospital. Where else would he be with a gunshot wound?”

Emily shared Nikolas’ confusion. “What gunshot wound? Jason wasn’t shot, you were.”

Elizabeth looked to Nikolas for confirmation. “He’s not hurt? He wasn’t shot?” She sighed in relief when he shook his head. Jason wasn’t hurt – more importantly, he wasn’t dead. “Then where is he? Why isn’t he here? What were you arguing about?”

“Jason’s in jail,” Nikolas said. He couldn’t believe Elizabeth was concerned about the man that shot her.

Elizabeth wondered if her hearing need checking. She couldn’t have heard Nikolas correctly. “Why is he in jail?”

“That’s where they put violent criminals,” he replied.

“Nikolas don’t,” Emily’s words were laced with warning. She didn’t want him upsetting Elizabeth. She didn’t know if Elizabeth was strong enough to deal with what was going on.

“I’m sorry, Emily, but I’m tired of the two of you gushing over the great Jason Morgan. You both refused to see who he really is. You are arguing with me telling me he isn’t capable of killing when we both know he’s killed more people than he could probably count. Elizabeth is so brainwashed her first thoughts when she wakes up are about the person who shot her rather than her boyfriend.” He gave Elizabeth a pointed look. “Have you even thought about Lucky? Do you even care about what happened to him?”

The image of Lucky’s hate-filled face came to her. Did she care what happened to Lucky? As much as he hurt her, she did still care about him. He was her first love. She wanted to help him, to find the right doctors that could make him better. “Of course, I care about Lucky. He needs professional help. Maybe you could help me convince his parents to get him the attention he needs.”

Nikolas looked at her as if she had lost her mind. “Lucky’s dead,” he said harshly. “Jason killed him.”

Elizabeth heard Nikolas but couldn’t seem to understand the words he had spoken. It took a moment for his words to finally sink in. Lucky was dead. Jason killed him. Tears formed in her eyes. She cried for her first love. Guilt filled her. If she had only seen how troubled Lucky was maybe she could have gotten him the help he needed and none of this would have happened. Instead she’d been shot and Jason had killed Lucky in self-defence.

Emily sat beside her and gave her a gentle hug. She didn’t want to hurt Elizabeth more than she already was. She didn’t know what to say. What do you say to a woman whose boyfriend had died for the second time, murdered by her best friend?

“This is all my fault,” Elizabeth said wiping away a tear. “I should have known he needed help. I should have been honest with him. It didn’t have to be this way.”

Nikolas’ mouth twitched. “This is not your fault. Jason Morgan is an animal. He deserves to be punished for what he did. I hope the DA asks for the death penalty.”

“Nikolas, please,” Emily didn’t want to hear that anymore. For four days that’s all he could say. She had tried, but he refused to listen to her. He wouldn’t accept that Jason hadn’t killed his brother. He sided with the evidence even it was circumstantial.

Elizabeth couldn’t believe the hate she heard coming from Nikolas. If she closed her eyes she could swear Lucky was in the room. “Jason was defending himself. He shouldn’t be punished for that.”

Her statement shocked both of her friends.

“Have you lost your mind?” Nikolas was livid. He didn’t care that Elizabeth was lying on a hospital bed. What kind of blinders did both Emily and Elizabeth have about Jason? “That man shoots you and kills your boyfriend in cold blood, and you say he was defending himself.”

“What is going on here?” Bobbie came running into the hospital room. “Nikolas, what are you doing? Elizabeth is still recovering from her surgery. She doesn’t need you yelling at her. If you can’t calm down, I’ll have the police officer remove you from this room.”

Nikolas couldn’t look at Elizabeth. He wanted to shake her until she saw the truth. He clenched his hands. He needed to leave before he did something he would regret. Without another word he stalked out the room leaving the three women stunned. They had never seen him like that before.

“Elizabeth, are you okay?” Emily was worried this was all too much for her. Jason would never forgive her if something else happened to Elizabeth. She realized now that this was what Jason had tried to warn her about. He knew something like this would happen and wanted to make sure she was there to help Elizabeth through it.

Elizabeth was lost in thought. Did Nikolas say Jason shot her? Why would he think that? Was that why Jason was in jail? Did they think he shot her and then killed Lucky? She needed to talk to Taggert to set the record straight. “I’m fine. Emily, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m not going to break if Nikolas yells at me.” She squeezed her friend’s hand to reassure her then focused on the nurse checking her IV. “Bobbie, can you call Taggert and tell him I want to make my statement?”

Bobbie wasn’t sure Elizabeth could handle any more conflict today. She was about to decline when she saw the determination in the younger woman’s face. She could see Elizabeth wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “I’ll speak to the policeman outside.”

“Could you also call Alexis for me and tell her to come too?” She knew Jason trusted Alexis with all his legal problems. If Jason had been arrested, Alexis was his lawyer. Elizabeth knew it would be a good thing to have her present when she spoke to Taggert.

“Sure,” Bobbie replied. “But I don’t want you to overexert yourself. You need to rest to give your body a chance to heal. I want to you sleep for a while. I’ll get both Taggert and Alexis to come by after lunch okay.”

Elizabeth hadn’t realized just how tired she was until Bobbie spoke. She needed to be alert when she made her statement. She shifted her gaze to Emily. As tired as she was, she wanted to know about Jason. How was he doing? Why was he in jail when he should be out on bail? What was she thinking? He shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place. He was only defending himself, wasn’t he? She needed to know everything that had happened after she was shot and since she been in the hospital.

Emily could see Elizabeth had lots of questions for her, but she knew Elizabeth needed to rest. Emily wasn’t sure she could answer any of her questions anyway. Taggert was keeping everything very hush-hush. She figured he was doing everything he could to make sure Sonny couldn’t make any of the evidence disappear. Taggert wouldn’t even let her see Jason. She couldn’t believe it. What did he think she was going to do, slip her brother a nail file or attack the guards so Jason could escape?

“I haven’t been able to see him, but Alexis tells me he’s okay,” she answered Elizabeth’s silent question. “He’s worried about you. I know he’ll be happy to hear you’re awake. Alexis is the only one who’s been able to see him. She knows more about what’s going on than I do. Why don’t I let you sleep, so you’ll be strong enough to deal with Taggert when he comes? They’ll be here before you know it, and Alexis can answer all of your questions. I’ll come back later, okay, if you’re not too tired.”

Elizabeth agreed and gave Emily a small wave as she left the room. She was tired but she didn’t want to go to sleep. She didn’t want to dream about Jason dying. If she closed her eyes, she knew she would she Lucky’s face staring back at her. He was dead and Jason was in jail because of her. This was all her fault. She didn’t deserve either man’s love. She needed to make everything right. She couldn’t save Lucky but she could Jason. She could get Jason out of the nightmare he was living and then she would leave Port Charles. Carly was right. She wasn’t good enough for him. He deserved someone who would love him and put him first. All she had done was played with his emotions and cause him to fight for his life. Jason was better off without her, she thought before closing her eyes and falling asleep

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 29

Alexis was frustrated. Things weren’t going well for Jason. He’d been in jail the last four days since being denied bail. The prosecution had argued Jason was a flight risk given his habit of leaving the city at a moments notice. The DA was afraid Jason would run at the first opportunity. Even though Alexis had countered with evidence of Jason ties to the community and family the judge sided with the prosecution.

Sonny had understood the ruling. He actually expected it, but Carly was another matter. Alexis had had to sit in her office and listen to Carly go off on how terrible a lawyer she was and how she had better get Jason off if she knew what was good for her. She sighed. She wished Carly would just stay out of it and let her do her job. This trial would be hard enough to win without Carly causing her more stress.
Sonny was trying his best, but even he couldn’t seem to control Carly. Alexis could only imagine what she would be like during the trial. Maybe Alexis could petition the judge to bar her from the courtroom.

She scanned the files on her desk. Each day brought more damaging evidence against Jason. Ballistics matched both the bullet that killed Lucky and the one the doctors removed from Elizabeth to the gun Taggert had found at Jake’s. The only thing she had going in her favour was that there were no fingerprints found on the gun. Why would Jason wipe down the gun then stash it in his own room? It didn’t make sense, especially considering who Jason was. If the DA wanted the jury to see Jason as the big mob enforcer that he was, then she could argue that Jason wouldn’t make such a stupid mistake.

The blood on Jason shirt was Elizabeth’s, but she was never going to argue that fact. There was, she thought, a big difference between Taggert’s belief that Jason was trying to kill Elizabeth and her argument that he was trying to save her. However, Taggert had found a witness to Elizabeth’s shooting. The woman hadn’t seen the shooting, but said she heard two people arguing just before the shooting. When she reached them, she saw Jason giving Elizabeth mouth-to-mouth. Alexis wished the witness had seen Lucky, but he had already run off before she arrived.

She argued Jason hadn’t had time to hide the gun since the witness came so quickly after the gunshot. Taggert figured Jason kept the gun on his person and was able to leave the crime scene before the police arrived by forcing himself into the ambulance when the paramedics would have left him. By the time Taggert had arrested him, he’d already had enough time to stash the gun at Jake’s. She wished Taggert would get his head out of his ass sometimes. Why would Jason keep the gun then hide it in his room at Jake’s when he could have easily thrown it off the pier after he killed Lucky? The police would never have found it then. Did they really think Jason would want to keep the gun?

Her arguments were sound but she worried that the jury wouldn’t care about common sense. She feared they would just see Jason Morgan, mob enforcer and convict solely on that. They wouldn’t feel guilty convicting Jason figuring even if he didn’t kill Lucky, he’s sure to have killed others that he wasn’t tried for. This would be their way of punishing Jason for past crimes rather than the one he was being accused of.

The only person the jury would listen to was Elizabeth, and she had yet to wake up. If she could convince the jury that Jason didn’t shoot her and couldn’t have killed Lucky then maybe Jason had a chance. Alexis hoped that would be the case. She didn’t want to think about the alternative. She didn’t want to think about Jason spending the rest of his life in jail. It was ironic. After all the times she’d kept Jason from jail, the one time Alexis was sure Jason was innocent would be the one time she couldn’t save him.

She jumped at the sound of her ringing phone.

“Alexis, it’s Bobbie,” the nurse told her after Alexis’ hello. “Elizabeth is awake, and Taggert is on his way to see her. She wants you there when she speaks to him.”

Here we go, she thought. “Tell her I’ll be right there,” she replied setting the phone down without saying goodbye. She needed to let Jason know Elizabeth was wake. She didn’t have time to go to the prison to see him before going to the hospital. She called the one man she knew could get that information to Jason even in jail. “Sonny,” she didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Elizabeth’s awake. I’m going to the hospital now to see her. Taggert’s going to get her statement and she wants me present. Can you please tell Jason she’s awake?”

“I’ll let him know,” he said matching her tone. He hung up without any further discussion and dialed his contact at the jail. After a brief conversation where he did most of the talking, Sonny replaced the phone and headed for the door. He wanted to get to the hospital and see Elizabeth.

He was relieved. He cared about Elizabeth and was worried about her. He had been unable to see her because of Taggert. Sometimes he wished he could just eliminate Taggert. The idea that Sonny would cause Elizabeth harm was preposterous. Elizabeth was his friend and more importantly Jason loved her. He would use all his power to protect her not hurt her.

He still couldn’t believe Jason was in this situation. After four days he still couldn’t find out who was trying to set Jason up. He had gone to the five families to see who would dare try something against him, but they had nothing to do with it. He thought of Roscoe, Sorel second in command but couldn’t figure out how Roscoe would know that Lucky and Jason had a confrontation in the park unless he was following Jason. It was possible, but he doubted it. Roscoe had no backing therefore, no protection. If Sonny found out Roscoe was involved, there wasn’t anywhere for Roscoe to hide that Sonny couldn’t find him.

Deep down Sonny knew that Roscoe wasn’t involved. He was on his last suspects but he wouldn’t give up. He was not going to let Jason go to prison for something he didn’t do. Even if Jason had to escape if convicted, Sonny would make that happen. Jason was his family and he wouldn’t let his brother spend the rest of his life in jail.


~*~

He hated prison. He hated the structure, the rules – being told when to eat and when to sleep. He hated being stripped of his clothes and being forced to wear the ill-fitting blue shirt and jean uniform. Above all he hated being locked up. He hated that his freedom was taken away from him. More than anything right now he just wanted to take off on his motorcycle and feel the wind on his face and the adrenalin in his veins.

Jason stood in the courtyard alone, watching from the corners of his eyes the other inmates scattered throughout the area. There wasn’t an immediate threat, but it didn’t hurt to be ready. Since his arrival, stories had circulated about his reputation as a vicious killer. He once crushed a man’s skull with his boot because the man had spilled his drink on the enforcer, one inmate said. He sliced a man open just because he looked at Sonny Corinthos the wrong way, claimed another inmate. A third story told of him breaking a man’s neck with his bare hands during a bar room brawl one night.

Jason laughed at the rumours. While some, he admitted, were true, others were just lies he never disputed. There was nothing wrong with letting his enemies and would be enemies think he was a brutal killer. In his line of work, fear and respect walked hand in hand. It certainly benefited him in prison. Most of the inmates feared him and therefore left him alone. No one was willing to see if even a third of the stories circulating the prison were true. The rest respected his power and position. Even though he was a new inmate, he wasn’t low on the totem pole.

Jason was almost disappointed. He could have used to good brawl to alleviate some of the anxiousness and worry he was feeling. While he knew Elizabeth was alive, he hadn’t learned anything else. Was she still unconscious? How badly was she hurt? Did she know about his imprisonment? Did she think he killed Lucky? Would she hate him?

He ached to see her. He didn’t wanted her to be alone when she heard of Lucky’s death. Even though they had had problems, she stilled loved him and wouldn’t take his second death well. He knew she would blame herself for what happened, but none of this was her fault. Lucky was the one who became possessive and controlling. He was the one who refused to accept the person she really was.

Jason hoped this wouldn’t give Elizabeth a reason to turn away from him. Would she believe Taggert and the evidence? Would she think she’d made a mistake and decide she really didn’t love him after all? Their relationship was only beginning. He wasn’t sure it was strong enough to survive everything that was about to happen.

Not that it mattered anyway. Even if she did still love him and stood by him, what kind of relationship could they have? He was in jail. While Alexis tried to be confident, he knew there was a strong case against him. He was probably going to spend the rest of his life in this prison. What kind of relationship could he possibly offer her in jail? She needed to be free. She had already sacrificed enough of herself with Lucky. He didn’t want her to give up her dreams of Italy and family just to be with him. She didn’t need to be tied to a man whose future would be a six by ten cell.

He laughed. It was ironic. Until Elizabeth he hadn’t really thought much of the future. He hadn’t understood why people spent so much time worrying about something they didn’t have control of. He had lived his life in the present not really caring what would happen tomorrow.

Elizabeth had changed all that. For that brief period of time between Elizabeth leaving Jake’s in the cab and Lucky shooting her, he had started thinking about their lives together. He wanted to give her everything she wanted. He wanted to make all her dreams real. He thought about marriage and children. He could almost picture Elizabeth holding their little girl in her arms. Now all he could see is Elizabeth talking to him through bulletproof glass. That wasn’t a real relationship.

Not that he would spend a day in jail if convicted. Jason knew Sonny and his people on the inside would help him escape, but did he want Elizabeth to go on the run with him? Was that any better for her? They would be constantly looking over their shoulders waiting for the day the police found them. He couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t ask her to give up her life just to be with him.

The bell signalling the return to cells went off.

“Morgan, the warden wants to see you,” a guard said as Jason entered the facility.

The two walked silently to the warden’s office. When they entered the office the warden was going through files at his desk. He waited until the guard left the room before addressing Jason.

“Mr. Morgan, I hope there hasn’t been any problems for you since you arrived.”

“No, Mr Krebs, everything has been fine,” he replied.

Krebs nodded liking what he heard. “Good. If you need anything just let me know. I’ll make sure you get it before you know it.” He was a little nervous. While he had had dealings with Sonny Corinthos for many years, he’d never met Jason Morgan face to face. He wanted the make sure he didn’t get on Morgan’s bad side while he stayed in his prison.

“I have a message from Mr. Corinthos,” he told Jason. “He wanted you to know Elizabeth Webber was awake. She woke up this morning. Mr. Corinthos is going to the hospital now to see her.”

While Jason was elated by the news, he didn’t show it. “Thank you for telling me. Did Sonny say anything else?”

Krebs shook his head. “Just that he and Miss Davis are working on getting you out of here.”

Jason nodded. He knew Sonny and Alexis were doing everything they could to get the judge to change his mind about bail, but he knew it wasn’t going to happen. He would have to stay in prison until the trial. He turned to leave.

“Mr. Morgan, was there anything you wanted me to tell Mr. Corinthos?”

“No,” he replied before opening the door, “not at this time. I’ll let you know if I need something in the future.”

“Sam, take the prisoner back to his cell,” the warden commanded the guard waiting outside the door.

Jason could think of nothing but Elizabeth as he walked back to his cell. She was awake. She would be okay. Those two sentences lightened his heart. Elizabeth would be able to recover from her injuries and begin a new life. She would be able to live out her dreams and be happy. He only wished, he could share in that happiness.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 30

Alexis arrived at the hospital to find a confrontation between Taggert and Sonny in progress in front of Elizabeth’s room. She could tell this was going to be a long day.

“Listen, Corinthos, I’m not letting you anywhere near that girl.” Taggert was close to shouting.

Sonny was calm. “Elizabeth is a friend of mine. I just want to see that she’s okay. Ask her if she needs anything.”

“So you can pressure her about her statement.”

Sonny couldn’t help but play with him. “Would I do that?”

Taggert moved to grab Sonny jacket causing Alexis to intervene. “Gentlemen, if we could remember that this is a hospital. I’m sure the nurses would appreciate you not disturbing the patients by fighting in the hallway.”

Taggert forced himself to calm down. He knew he shouldn’t let Corinthos get to him, but he couldn’t help it. One day, he promised. One day he was going to get the evidence he needed to send Sonny Corinthos to jail. “Alexis, what are you doing here?”

She gripped her briefcase in front of her. “Bobbie called me and told me Elizabeth wanted me present during your questioning.”

“What?” Taggert didn’t like this turn of events. Had Jason already gotten to her? How could he have? Jason was in jail. “Why would Elizabeth want you there?”

“Maybe she doesn’t feel comfortable talking to you without an attorney present,” Alexis replied. “Why don’t we go in and find out what she has to say?” She gave Sonny a quick nod before entering the room. Taggert joined her leaving Sonny to wait outside.

Elizabeth’s eyes were closed, but opened when she heard the door shut. She gave Alexis a weak smile. “Hi, Alexis.”

Alexis took the seat next to Elizabeth’s bed. “Hi, how are you? Are you sure you’re ready to do this? We can wait a few more days.”

Elizabeth shook her head then winched at the pain it invoked. “No, the quicker we do this, the quicker Jason can be released.”

Taggert stopped just before he sat down. “I’m sorry. Why would he be released?”

Elizabeth didn’t shrink under his scrutiny. “Because Jason didn’t shoot me, that’s why.”

Taggert was speechless. He wasn’t expecting Elizabeth to jump right into defending Morgan. “Is that right?”

“Yes, detective, that’s right. Lucky pulled a gun on Jason. I tried to get him to give it to me but he wouldn’t.”

Taggert took a deep breath. “You want me to believe that Lucky Spencer pulled a gun on Jason Morgan?”

“Yes,” she said confidently.

“Why would he do that?” Taggert couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Elizabeth asked Alexis for some water before she replied. “We had gotten into an argument earlier in the day. I went to Jason.”

“Why?” Taggert interrupted her. “Why did you go to Morgan?”

“I know you don’t understand this, but Jason is my friend. When I’m upset, he makes things better.”

Taggert didn’t want to hear about how great a friend Jason Morgan was. He didn’t care if Morgan gave to the poor or fed the hungry. He was a killer, anything else was irrelevant. “I don’t see what this has to do with what happened in the park.”

“After I left Jason’s I went looking for Lucky. We needed to talk about our relationship, but I couldn’t find him. I called his mother, Nikolas, and Emily. No one knew where he was. I knew there was something wrong. I decided to find Jason to get his help, and I found them in the park. Lucky was crazy. He wouldn’t listen to me. He kept saying Jason was causing our problems. He was going to kill Jason so that we could be together. I told him that wasn’t going to happen that I didn’t want to be with him anymore. That’s when he pulled the trigger.”

“If Lucky was firing at Jason, how did you get shot?” Taggert couldn’t quite believe what Elizabeth was saying. Lucky Spencer would never have shot Elizabeth.

“I stepped in front of Jason.”

“You stepped in front of Morgan and took the bullet? Are you really expecting me to believe Morgan was the innocent bystander? Lucky threatened him with a gun, and he stood by while you took the bullet for him.”

The way he made it sound even Elizabeth found it hard to believe, but she didn’t care. It was the truth. “Yes,” she said. “It’s exactly what I’m telling you. Everything happened so fast Jason didn’t have time to push me aside.”

Taggert couldn’t think. “Why would Lucky pull a gun on Morgan?”

Elizabeth sighed. “I already told you. He thought Jason was causing our problems.”

“What problems?”

Elizabeth didn’t want to talk about that. She was sure he would try and use it against Jason. “Over the last few months Lucky had become very possessive. He wanted to know where I was at all times. He was suspicious of everything I did. He even accused me of having an affair with Sonny Corinthos. When Jason came back Lucky began accusing Jason of trying to take me away from him.”

“Was he right? You and Morgan used to have something going,” he hinted. “Maybe he thought you guys would continue now that he was back.”

Elizabeth thought of the Valentine’s Day kiss. “No, Jason and I are only friends. I tired to tell Lucky that but he wouldn’t listen.”

Looking at Elizabeth Taggert got the feeling she was keeping something. “If you were just friends, why were you breaking up with Lucky.”

“We got into an argument over the Face of Deception thing. He wouldn’t listen when I tried to tell him I didn’t want to be the next Face of Deception. That morning was the first shoot for the campaign. It was horrible. I realized I couldn’t do it anymore.”

“Do what anymore?”

“I couldn’t pretend that modelling was my dream. Lucky was so happy about us working together. That’s all he could talk about. Until then I went along with it even though I hated every minute of it. It was terrible. Every second felt like torture. I knew I couldn’t do it. As much as I loved Lucky I couldn’t do what he wanted.”

“How did he feel about that?”

“He didn’t think I loved him that it was my way of ending our relationship. He grabbed me and said I couldn’t leave him. He said I belonged to him. I couldn’t believe he was talking to me like that. It was like I was seeing him for the first time. I realized Lucky didn’t love me. He just wanted to control me, so I shoved him and walked out.”

“And went to Jason?”

She didn’t reply. Was she helping or making everything worse? She turned to Alexis. So far she’d been quiet. Had Jason told her everything? Did she know Elizabeth was breaking up with Lucky so she could be with Jason? Alexis gave her a small smile of encouragement. “Lucky had problems. He admitted that Helena tortured him for over a year. He needed psychiatric help. Jason was only defending himself.”

Taggert’s mouth twitched. “I would buy that if Lucky was killed at the park, but he wasn’t. He was shot on the docks. That means Jason went after him. He hunted Lucky down and punished him for hurting you.”

Before Elizabeth could say anything, Alexis spoke up. “Taggert you don’t have any evidence to prove that.”

He smiled, “I have the murder weapon found in Morgan’s room.”

“With no fingerprints,” Alexis countered. “Anyone could have planted the gun in Jason’s room. You’ll have to do better than that.”

Taggert stood. “Don’t worry, the investigation isn’t over. I will be combing the waterfront making sure we haven’t missed anything. Morgan’s finally going to jail.”

“He didn’t do it,” Elizabeth insisted.

“I’ll let a jury decide that,” he said opening the door. “Detective Capelli will come by tomorrow so you can sign your statement.”

“Alexis, Jason didn’t kill Lucky,” she said. “I don’t care what evidence Taggert thinks he has. He wouldn’t kill Lucky.”

Alexis nodded. “I know he didn’t. But Taggert found the murder weapon in Jason’s room. He doesn’t want to believe Jason is being framed.”

“I didn’t help, did I?” Elizabeth was sure she had given Taggert too much information about her relationship with Jason.

“No, you did well,” Alexis replied. “You told the truth but didn’t go into detail about any one thing. Taggert only thinks he knows what is going on between you and Jason. He doesn’t have any proof.”

Elizabeth wasn’t sure how much Alexis knew. “Did Jason tell you everything?”

“That you were leaving Lucky to be with him?” At Elizabeth nod, she continued. “Yes, he did. He knew I needed all the facts before I went into trial.”

Elizabeth was close to tears. “It makes him look guilty. Lucky shoots me to keep me from leaving him. Jason kills Lucky in revenge. Jason could be convicted. He could spend the rest of his life in prison, and it will be all my fault.”

“Hey, don’t think like that. None of this is your fault.”

“Yes, it is. I am the reason he is in prison.” She knew how much he must hate being in jail. He wouldn’t like his freedom taken away from him.

Alexis wouldn’t let her continue. “No, Jason is in jail because he was denied bail. He won’t be there forever. Sonny and I are working on his defence. I know the jury is going to side with him. Taggert’s version of the events doesn’t make sense. Any jury in their right mind isn’t going to believe Jason is stupid enough to keep the murder weapon in his room. There are too many holes and I plan to make sure the jury knows about each and every one of them.”

Elizabeth gave a small smile. She wanted to believe Alexis but couldn’t quite let go of the doubt she had. “How is he, Alexis?”

Alexis paused. “He’s going to be much better when he hears you’ve woken up.”

Elizabeth could see Alexis was hiding something. “Please, tell me the truth. Does he hate me?”

Alexis was stunned. “Hate you? Jason doesn’t hate you. He loves you. He saved your life after you were shot. He broke down in front of Taggert when he thought you were dead. He wasn’t going to fight. He didn’t want me there. He didn’t care what happened to him. He was going to confess that he killed you.”

It was Elizabeth’s turn to be stunned. “Why would he do that?”

“He blamed himself because he couldn’t protect you. He felt that he was just as guilty as Lucky for killing you. It was only when Taggert told him you were alive that he started to care about anything.”

“Jason shouldn’t love me," she said wiping a tear from her cheek. "All I’ve done is hurt him every chance I get, Alexis. First I jerked him around because I thought I had to be with Lucky. I thought I loved Lucky, but I was really trying to relive the past. Now Jason is hurting because Lucky couldn’t accept that I didn’t want to be with him anymore. Lucky would have killed Jason because of me.”

“But you saved him,” Alexis pointed out. “Jason is alive and so are you. Don’t let Lucky control you even when he’s dead.”

“He would be better off without me,” she whispered.

Alexis shook her head. “No, he wouldn’t. He loves you, Elizabeth. He needs you to support him through this trial.”

“I don’t think I can. I can’t face him knowing this is all my fault.”

Alexis had had enough. She gripped Elizabeth’s shoulders forcing her to look into her eyes. “I want you to listen to me. Jason doesn’t blame you for this. All he wants is for you to get better. You want to start laying blame, then you have to start with Lucky. He was the one who was obsessed and controlling. He’s the one who pulled the trigger and shot you. Then there’s Helena. She kidnapped Lucky in the first place and turned him into the man capable of hurting you. What about Luke and Laura? Lucky was kidnapped because of the Spencer-Cassadine war. Was that your fault too? No. You didn’t have any say in anything that led up to this point. You are just an innocent participant.”

“But I should have seen that Lucky needed help. If I had stood up for myself sooner maybe Lucky would be alive today, and Jason wouldn’t be going on trial for his murder.”

“You don’t know that. From Lucky’s actions, I don’t think standing up for yourself any sooner would have done much except maybe you would be the one dead.” Alexis paused to see if her point was getting through to Elizabeth. “Don’t let ifs stop you from loving Jason. Don’t let things you had no control over dictate how you live your life. You deserve to be happy. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.”

Elizabeth didn’t know how to respond. Everything Alexis said was true, but she still couldn’t let go of the guilt she felt. Jason was going on trial for murder because of her. How could they ever get past that to have a real relationship? She wasn’t sure it was possible.

Alexis could see Elizabeth wasn’t completely convinced. “Do you love him?”

She couldn’t speak. She knew Alexis was waiting for an answer. She remembered the joy she felt when she realized she loved him and wanted to be with him. If she had known what was to come would she have still told him? She knew the answer was yes. For that brief period of time, they were both truly happy.

She couldn’t get the words out. All she could do was nod. Yes, she did love him.

“Listen to your heart, Elizabeth,” Alexis insisted before leaving the room. “It will point you in the right direction.”

Elizabeth scoffed at the idea. Listen to your heart. What did her heart know? Last week she thought she was in love with Lucky, now she loved Jason. Her heart didn’t know anything. How could she possibly listen to it? You didn’t love Lucky, a tiny voice inside her insisted. You let your brain dictate who you loved not your heart. And you’re still doing it. You’re going to let guilt stop you from loving Jason. He can’t love me now, she argued. Not after everything that’s happened and still to happen. You don’t know that.

She remembered how easily Jason had forgiven her for every hurt she had caused him. Would he be able to forgive her this time? She thought about what Alexis had said. He blamed himself for not protecting her. She didn’t want him to feel guilty when none of this was his fault. It’s not your fault either. Deep down she knew that was true. She knew Jason wouldn’t blame her for being in jail. Deep down she knew this wasn’t about Jason’s forgiving her. It was about her forgiving herself. She wasn’t sure she would ever be able to do that.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 31

Taggert slumped into his chair at the PCPD. His case against Jason Morgan was slipping away from him. Elizabeth Webber was not the star witness he thought she would be. She insisted Lucky Spencer shot her not Morgan.

Lucky was crazy, she insisted. He went after Jason not the other way around like Taggert had thought. This meant he didn’t have strong enough evidence to convict Morgan of killing Lucky Spencer. Alexis was right. The gun wasn’t enough to prove guilt. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew Morgan wasn’t stupid. There was no way he would keep the murder weapon in his room for the police to find. Taggert had been willing to overlook that to get a conviction, but now he knew a jury wouldn’t be able to convict on the gun alone. He needed to get more evidence. He needed a witness.

“Taggert, vice just brought in a hooker who claims she saw Lucky Spencer buy a gun from this guy she knew a week before the shooting,” Capelli said walking up to Taggert’s desk.

“Dammit,” Taggert grunted hitting his desk with his fist. “Is she sure it was Spencer?”

Capelli nodded. “Yeah. She said Corinthos and Morgan have always been good to her and her friends, and she wanted to help him. She said she heard Spencer say ‘He isn’t going to take her away from him’. Do you think he was talking about Morgan?”

“Yeah,” Taggert begrudgingly admitted. “I just left Elizabeth Webber. She said Lucky Spencer pulled a gun on Morgan. Lucky was obsessed and thought Morgan was coming between him and Elizabeth. Lucky tried to shoot Morgan and Elizabeth got in the way.”

Capelli thought for a moment. He knew the importance of her statement. “So we have nothing on Morgan for Elizabeth’s shooting.”

Taggert didn’t want to hear the words. “No, we don’t, and unless something turns up we don’t have anything linking him to Spencer’s murder either.”

“We have the gun,” Capelli insisted.

Taggert scoffed. “With no fingerprints. Alexis will be able to argue that it was planted. Without evidence putting Morgan at the crime scene no jury is going to convict just because the gun was in his room.”

Taggert thought back to Jason’s tears the night of the shooting and Elizabeth’s guarded answers at the hospital. “I don’t think Lucky was that delusional. Something was going on between Morgan and Elizabeth. I’m sure of it. We just need to prove it.”

“You think they planned to kill Lucky?”

He shook his head. “No, but if we can prove they were involved then the jury would buy Morgan going after Spencer. No one is going to believe Morgan didn’t kill the man who shot the woman he loved.

“I want to interview the dockworker who found Spencer’s body again. Maybe he saw something or heard something he doesn’t think is important.” He looked at Capelli. “I want you to question the regulars at Jake’s and Kelly’s. Talk to Elizabeth’s neighbours at her studio. If they were involved somebody would have seen them together. Canvas the docks as well. I know somebody saw the shooting. We just have to find them.”

“I’m looking for Detective Taggert.”

Taggert turned to the man standing by the entry gate. He was a short balding man, the kind of man most people wouldn’t give a second glance to. “What can I do for you?”

“I saw Jason Morgan kill Lucky Spencer.”

Both Taggert and Capelli stared at him speechless. They couldn’t believe this man had just walked into their precinct from out of nowhere. Taggert was the first to recover from the shock. He pointed to the interrogation room. “Why don’t we go inside and you can tell me exactly what you think you saw.”

The man nodded and moved towards the doorway without another word. Taggert turned back to Capelli. “Get started on what I told you,” he said before following the potential witness into the room.

Taggert sat down and took a deep breath before he began. “Okay, let’s start with your name.”

“My name is Tom Madigan.”

“Okay, Mr. Madigan, why have you waited so long to come forward?” As much as Taggert wanted to nail Morgan, he didn’t want some witness who was only seeking fame. For all he knew Madigan hadn’t seen the crime at all. He probably just read about it in the news and thought he could make a name for himself by helping to convict Jason Morgan.

Tom looked shocked at the question. “Are you kidding? I know who Jason Morgan is. Only a fool would go against Sonny Corinthos’ second in command.”

“Then why are you here now?”

“My wife convinced me it was the right thing to do. She said my conscience wouldn’t forgive me for letting a murderer go free when I could have prevented it.” He nervously played with his hands. “Please, you have to protect me and my wife. I don’t want to die.”

“Mr. Madigan, you don’t have to worry. The police will protect you. I’ll make sure of it,” Taggert assured him. “Why don’t you tell me what you saw.”

“I was walking to my office …”

“What do you do?”

“I’m an accountant. I was going to my office when I saw two men arguing on the docks. I recognized Jason Morgan right away, but I didn’t know who the other man was. I found out his name from the paper the next day.

“They were arguing over a woman. Mr. Morgan was angry about something the younger man had done. He said he wasn’t going to let Spencer get away with hurting Elizabeth. The Spencer boy claimed it was Morgan that hurt the girl. He said everything was Morgan’s fault. Spencer pulled out a gun and pointed it at Morgan.”

Taggert interrupted, “Are you sure it was Lucky that had the gun?”

Tom nodded. “Yes, but before he could do anything, Morgan knocked it out of his hand. He hit Spencer in the side. They fought for a while then Spencer fell to the ground. Morgan picked up the gun and shot him.”

“You’re sure when Morgan fired Lucky was on the ground?” Taggert needed to be sure Morgan couldn’t claim self-defence. “Lucky wasn’t attacking Morgan? They weren’t struggling for the gun and it went off?”

Tom shook his head. “No, Spencer was on the ground holding his side. He wasn’t a threat to Morgan.”

“Where was Lucky shot?” Taggert hadn’t released that piece of information to the public. If Tom Madigan were just trying to get his name in the paper, this would tell him.

Tom thought for a second then answered, “In the chest. He didn’t have a chance. Morgan stood over him and pulled the trigger.”

Taggert smiled. He liked Madigan’s answer. “What did Morgan do then?”

“He took off in the opposite direction. Then before I could do anything the dockworker came and found the body.”

“Why didn’t you say anything at the time?”

Tom hesitated before speaking. “I was frozen. I had never seen anyone kill someone before. I saw Morgan’s face. It was cold and unfeeling. He didn’t even blink when he pulled the trigger. It was like he was swatting a fly or something. Not a human being. When I heard the police sirens, I ran. I didn’t want him to come after me.”

Taggert could see how frighten Madigan was. He gave the man a lot of credit for coming forward. It took a lot of gusts to come here and put his life on the line. He would make sure Corinthos wouldn't be able to touch this man. He would protect him with his life if he needed to. Morgan was finally going to go to jail.

“I’ll make sure you’re protected Mr. Madigan. Corinthos and Morgan won’t be able to touch you or your wife,” he promised.

He left Madigan to call Dara Jensen, the District Attorney. He needed her to come down and speak to the witness, and then start the ball rolling for witness protection. It was amazing how quickly life changes, he thought. Only a few hours ago, he thought Morgan was going to get off. Now they had everything they needed to put him away for the rest of his life. He ignored the voice inside him telling him it was too good to be true. All he cared about was Morgan behind bars, and Tom Madigan was going to put him there.

Chapter 32

Walking into her old room, her first thought was that it hadn’t changed. It looked exactly the same as it did 18 months ago when she’d declared her independence and moved out to live in her studio. Her grandmother hadn’t changed a thing. Everything was exactly the way she remembered it.

When her grandmother had first suggested she come to stay with her after her release from the hospital, Elizabeth had refused the idea. She’d thought it would be taking a step backwards, like she wanted to hide from the world. But after running through the hoard reporters at the hospital, she knew her grandmother’s was the best place to be. The reporters wouldn’t bother her here. They were probably stalking out Kelly’s right this minute hoping Elizabeth would talk to them.

Those vultures didn’t care about anything but a juicy story. At first Audrey and Emily had tried to keep her from seeing the news. They refused to bring her a newspaper and would not allow her to watch television during news time. They’d argued she shouldn’t get upset while she was trying to heal. She loved them for trying to protect her, but she knew they were only prolonging the inevitable. She couldn’t ignore what was going on outside her hospital room.

However bad she thought it would be, it turned out to be worse. The headlines roared of a love triangle between the next Face of Deception, the mob enforcer and the lowly photographer. Each article painted Lucky as the innocent victim. They completely ignored her and Lucky’s past relationship saying that Elizabeth was only using Lucky to get the Face of Deception position. They quoted an anonymous source who claimed Elizabeth was seeing Jason on the side and was only waiting for Laura to give her the job before she dumped Lucky. It was so funny she wanted to laugh but knew she would end up crying. How could this be happening?

She jumped as the phone began to ring. She knew Emily was worried about her. Emily had wanted to come home with her, but she’d told her she would be okay, especially when her grandmother was here. Emily had spent almost everyday with her at the hospital. Elizabeth told her she needed to spend some time with Zander before he forgot what his girlfriend looks like. She looked at the clock on her desk. Emily couldn’t even last fifteen minutes without checking on her.

“Emily, I’m fine,” she said into the phone. “You shouldn’t be checking up on me. You should be making out with Zander. He’s …”

Miss Webber? My name is Sandra Parker from The Port Charles Gazette. Do have a moment to answer some questions about the up coming murder trial?”

“No. Leave me alone,” she shouted before slamming the phone down. God, she had thought it would take them longer to figure out where she was. She’d hoped for at least a day to herself before the media started pounding on her door.

She moved to her window to see if there were any reporters outside. She scanned the street but couldn’t see anyone. Yet. She knew it would only be a matter of minutes before they made their appearance. She needed to leave before they could follow her. She didn’t want them to hound her every move, especially with what she needed to do. Grabbing her coat she headed downstairs to tell her grandmother.

“Grams,” she yelled. “I’m going out for a few hours.”

“What?” Audrey came into the living from the kitchen. “What do you mean? Where are you going?”

Elizabeth stopped at the front door. “I needed to do some things. I was going to go later, but that call was from a reporter. All of them are going to be here soon, and then I won’t be able to leave.”

“Well, you shouldn’t,” Audrey voiced. “You just got out of the hospital. You need to rest.”

“Grams, I’ve been resting for weeks. I need to go. Please don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” She opened the door and walked out before Audrey could object.


~*~

She walked tentatively through the cemetery. She knew she had to do this but was still hesitant. She wished she had let Emily come with her. Maybe then it wouldn’t seem so surreal. It wasn’t everyday a person went to the place their boyfriend had been buried for the second time. She had come by here so often the first time around that she didn’t need directions to Lucky’s grave site. She stopped near the gravestone. Everything was exactly the same except for the date of Lucky’s death - now it read March 12, 2001.

Elizabeth remembered the first time she had come here. At the time, she’d felt like her world was over. Lucky was dead, and she was struggling to live without him. She’d wanted to die too. Now the second time around she was glad she was alive. She brought her hand to her scar. It was covered by her sweater, but she could still feel it.

A tear fell down her cheek. She didn’t know how she would feel coming here. Lucky had almost ended her life. Should she hate him? She couldn’t. She refused to think about the Lucky who’d manipulated and controlled her. She preferred to remember Lucky to way he was before the kidnapping. That was who was buried here. If she closed her eyes, she could almost forget these past two years and pretend that Lucky never came back. She wanted to mourn the loss of the friend who helped her through the most horrible time in her life. She missed that friend. When she’d left Jason’s that day, she naively hoped Lucky and her could remain friends after they broke up. She hadn’t realized just how obsessed he was.

The guilt attacked her again. Was there something she could have done differently that day? Said something differently to change the outcome? If she had maybe Lucky would still be alive. Maybe he could have gotten the help he needed. Then he would realize that they weren’t meant to be together. All she’d ever wanted was for Lucky to be happy. Now he would never get that chance.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Elizabeth turned to see Nikolas standing a few feet away. She had been so deep in thought she hadn’t heard him walk up. The day she woke up was the last day she’d seen him. Emily tried to cover by saying he was tied up in funeral arrangements and business matters, but she knew Nikolas was angry at her for telling the police Lucky shot her.

“I just wanted to say goodbye to Lucky,” she said wiping the tears from her face.

Nikolas’ mouth twisted in anger. “Don’t give me that mourned lover act. You don’t have the right to stand here and shed tears over Lucky’s grave when your lover killed him.”

Elizabeth knew Nikolas was angry, she just didn’t realize how much he hated her. “That’s not true.”

Nikolas took a step closer to her. “It is true. Lucky suspected you were cheating on him, but I told him no, not Elizabeth. She loves you. Boy, was I stupid. When he confronted you, your lover shot him.”

Elizabeth took a step back. “That’s not what happened. Lucky went after Jason with a gun. Lucky pulled the trigger. Lucky shot me.”

“You’re lying,” he screamed. “Lucky would never hurt you. You know that. He loved you, would do anything for you.”

“He didn’t mean to shoot me,” she argued. “He was trying to kill Jason.”

“How can you stand over Lucky’s grave and lie to me?” Nikolas refused to listen to what Elizabeth was saying. He didn’t want to hear anymore of her lies.

“I’m not lying, Nikolas,” she insisted. “Lucky needed help. I’m sorry I didn’t realize that before it was too late. I wish things could have been different. You don’t know how much I wish Lucky was still alive.”

“But he’s not. Your boyfriend killed him, and now he’s going to jail,” he smiled sinisterly. “If it was up to me, you would be in the next cell. You may not have pulled the trigger, but you killed Lucky as easily as if you did. He tore himself up wondering why you couldn’t love him like he loved you.”

“I did love him,” she yelled but Nikolas wasn’t listening.

“He would tell me about how you flirted with all the male customers to get bigger tips. He told me he thought there was something going on between you and Sonny Corinthos. I didn’t believe it. You were in love with me brother, and Sonny was happily married. But then I saw you two at the launch party. You were so comfortable with each other. I could tell there was something more between you than just a casual friendship.

“Then there was Jason. He didn’t even have to say anything about Jason. I knew as soon as Jason returned you would go running to him. My God, you didn’t even wait a year before sleeping with him when Lucky was kidnapped. If you couldn’t respect Lucky in death, you certainly weren’t going to while he was alive.

“Why couldn’t you have just broken up with him? Why did you have to string Lucky along and go behind his back with Morgan? Did you know he was going to propose? Did you?”

Elizabeth couldn’t speak. She could only shake her head. She couldn’t believe Nikolas would think she was capable of what he accused her of. Didn’t he know her at all? How could he think she was sleeping with Sonny and Jason behind Lucky’s back? Because Lucky told him. Nikolas loved his brother and would always be on his side.

He looked down at her as if she was some peasant beneath his royal standing. “We went out together. He picked out a beautiful ring he was sure you were going to love. He had it all planned. He was going to ask you after you were voted the Face of Deception. Your world tour was going to be your honeymoon.”

Elizabeth had had enough. Her guilt was only going to allow her to take so much. “I never wanted to be the Face of Deception. I only did it to make Lucky happy. Everything I have done since Lucky’s return I did to make him happy. When he threw me aside and said he didn’t love me, I accepted it and didn’t argue. When he came knocking on my door, saying it was all a trick and he wanted me back, I opened my arms to him. He didn’t even say he was sorry for hurting me that whole summer. He didn’t care. He just assumed I would take him back, and stupid me, I did. He decided he wanted to be a photographer, then I had to be the model. You know, he didn’t even ask me if I wanted to be a model. He just mentioned it like it was already agreed on. I didn’t get a say in my own life.”

She paused to take a breath. “Lucky didn’t love me. He wanted to control me. He didn’t like me living in my studio, I took the room beside him at Kelly’s. He didn’t want me to be friends with Jason, I ended my friendship. By the launch party, he was practically speaking for me, telling me when to eat and when to sleep. I couldn’t live that way anymore.”

“So you got your ‘friend’ Jason to take care of him.”

Elizabeth was dumbstruck. Had Nikolas heard anything she’d just said? “No, I didn’t. Lucky shot me, Nikolas, not the other way around. I didn’t make him buy a gun and go after Jason. That was his decision. You can’t blame me for that. I don’t know who killed him, and frankly, right now I don’t care. I didn’t come here to mourn the man who died. I’m here to remember the boy I loved. The boy that died in the fire. He’s the person lying in this grave, not the person you buried four weeks ago. He is the one I will never forget and love till the day I die. If you don’t want to believe that then we have nothing else to say to each other.”

She turned and walked away without waiting for his response. She didn’t want to fight with him anymore. Nikolas wanted to believe Lucky was the victim. Maybe he needed to believe it. As much as it pained her to lose another friend, she knew she didn’t have a choice. There was no way they could get past this. He refused to listen to the truth, and she refused to lie to make him feel better. She hoped there will come a time when they can be friends again, but she doubted it.

She made her way through the park to get to Harbour View Towers, but made a point to avoid the place where she was shot. She knew she wasn’t strong enough to go there and relive the shooting. The dreams were almost gone, and she didn’t want to do anything to cause them to return. She entered the elevator with little difficulty from the guards. They all knew who she was by now even if they’d never seen her in person. She was the reason one of their bosses was behind bars.

She stopped at the door to Penthouse 4. There was no guard, so she knocked herself. She was wondering if Sonny was home when the door opened to reveal that man she wanted to see.

“Elizabeth,” he said. She could hear the surprise in his voice. He hadn’t expected her to be on his doorstep.

“Hi, Sonny,” she began hesitantly. He hadn’t moved or gestured for her to come in. “Can I come in?”

He moved quickly away from the door to let her enter the penthouse. “Come in, come in. I’m sorry. You were the last person I expected to see at my door. Alexis told me you were being released today, but I figured you’d want to rest at your grandmother’s.”

She walked to the couch but didn’t sit down. “I’m tired of resting. I needed to get out.”

He closed the door and looked tentatively to the stairs. Carly was upstairs with Michael. He hoped she wouldn’t decide to come down. He didn’t want Elizabeth to have to deal with Carly while Jason was still in prison. “Are you okay? Everything is all right? Has the press been bothering you? Is there anything I can do?”

Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I’m fine. Everything is good. Yes, the press are bothering me, but I can take care of them. Yes, there is something you can do for me.” She paused not sure how to ask what she came to ask.

Sonny could see Elizabeth was struggling with something. “What? I’ll do anything for you, you know that?”

She decided straight forward was always the best method. “I want to see Jason, and I know you can make that happen.”

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 33

Sonny was at a loss for words. He wasn’t expecting Elizabeth to ask for that. “Jason is in a maximum security prison.”

“I know that,” she said deciding to sit down. “But I also know you are who you are. I’m sure you’ve been in constant contact with him.”

He nodded. He wasn’t going to lie to Elizabeth, especially about Jason. “Yes, I have, but I haven’t seen him. We communicate through a third party.”

She thought for a moment. “This third party works inside the prison, right?”

Sonny didn’t know how the respond. Unlike Carly, who wanted to involve herself in his business, Elizabeth already was. Grant it, she’d only been involved on the outer edges of the business, she still knew more than he would like.

Elizabeth took his silence as a yes. Ideas started forming in her head. “Sonny, this third party can smuggle me into the prison.”

“What?” Sonny needed to check his hearing. “You did not just ask me to smuggle you into a maximum security prison filled with rapists and murderers. You don’t even know who this third party is. He could be another inmate.”

She smiled as the idea took shape in her mind. “I know you would protect me. You wouldn’t let anything happen to me. Beside, I’m pretty sure your third party isn’t some inmate. I know you, Sonny, you have a lot of power. This person has got to be high up the prison system to be able to constantly talk to Jason without anyone questioning it.” She stopped to think of possible candidates. “A doctor in the infirmary, perhaps or someone who works with the warden.”

Sonny’s face hardened at the last choice. Elizabeth didn’t miss it. “That’s it. You have someone working in the warden’s office. He probably calls Jason in in the guise of relaying info from Alexis or to take Alexis’ call, when really it’s you.”

He almost swore. Had he lost his touch or was Elizabeth that good? “Elizabeth, you’re letting your mind run away with you.”

“You don’t have to worry. I won’t tell anyone,” she told him. “I just need to see Jason. I don’t care how risky it is. I need to do this.”

“Why? The trial begins next week. You’ll be able to see him then.”

“No, I won’t. As a witness, I won’t be allowed in the courtroom. And the DA is still restricting Jason’s visits to Alexis.” She stood and walked to him. “There is a lot I need to say to him before the trial starts.”

He sighed. He didn’t think this was a good idea. What if someone found out about Elizabeth visit? “I understand you need to talk to him, but ...”

“No, you don’t understand,” she insisted. “You don’t know what it’s like to wake up every day screaming because you dream the person you love is dying in front of you and you can’t do a thing to stop it. I see Jason die every night. I need to see him alive. I need to touch him and know that the dreams aren’t real.”

Sonny wanted to refuse her but couldn’t. He knew the dreams that plagued her. He had had similar dreams after Lily’s death. In his case they were real. Lily had died in the car bomb, but Jason was still alive. She needed to see Jason to put those dreams to rest.

He looked at the woman in front of him. She had become more than just a friend. She was part of his family. “Okay, let me make some calls,” he said walking to the stairs. “I’ll see when it can be arranged.”

Sonny climbed the stairs and headed for his study leaving Elizabeth alone to pace around the living room. She couldn’t sit and await for Sonny. There was too much nervous energy racing through her. Would Jason want to see her? Would he turn away from her and tell her to leave? What would she do if Jason didn’t want to see her?

She had had more arguments with herself about this than she could remember. Both Emily and Alexis assured her that Jason loved her and wouldn’t blame her for what happened. While she agreed, it didn’t mean Jason would welcome seeing her. She knew him too well. He would refuse to see her for her own protection. He would use this as a reason to keep them apart. She remembered when Sorel had tried to bomb her studio. Jason ended their friendship to protect her, but all it did was hurt the two of them. She had convinced him then that their friendship was worth the risk, and she was sure she would have to do it again.

Only this time she wasn’t sure she could. She wasn’t even really sure she wanted to. There was so much standing between them. Jason was going on trial for killing Lucky. How could they get past that? She knew Jason didn’t kill Lucky, but the didn’t mean he would be acquitted. Elizabeth could see Alexis was worried. She tried to present a brave face in front of Elizabeth , but with the eye witness, she knew it didn’t look good. She didn’t want think about the possibility of Jason being convicted. It couldn’t happen. He didn’t kill Lucky, and he wouldn’t spend the rest of his life behind bars.

But what about their life together when he was acquitted? Only Sonny and Emily were happy about their relationship. Were they strong enough to survive everyone else that wanted them apart? Carly hated her. There was no way she was going to accept Elizabeth in Jason’s life. As much as she didn’t understand it, Carly meant a lot to Jason. Jason would always be connected to Carly through Michael and Sonny. Would Carly prevent Jason from seeing Michael if he stayed with her? Elizabeth didn’t want to be the reason Jason lost Michael again.

There was also Nikolas and her grandmother to consider. They both hated Jason and wanted her away from him. Right now Elizabeth didn’t care about Nikolas. He had said enough at the cemetery for her to know their friendship was over, but her grandmother was different. Elizabeth knew Audrey wasn’t happy with her past relationship with Jason. She had been so sure Jason was going to get her killed. Little did she know then that Elizabeth would almost die because of Lucky not Jason. She knew Audrey would not accept Jason in Elizabeth’s life. Was she willing to lose the only relationship she had with her family to be with Jason?

She didn’t even want to think about Luke and Laura. Neither had come to see her in the hospital after she woke up. She didn’t know if it was because they blamed her for Lucky’s death, or if they felt guilty about Lucky shooting her. Either way, her surrogate family was falling apart. She knew they wouldn’t be able to see her with Jason. It would be a constant reminder of what they had lost.

Was it worth losing everything and everyone in their lives to be together? As much as she wanted to say yes, she couldn’t. On the other hand, could she go back to the pretense her life had been? Could she live without Jason and pretend she was happy? Because she knew she would be pretending. She was only happy with Jason. She couldn’t see how her family could ask her to give up the one thing that mad her truly happy just to make them happy.

She slumped back down on the couch. Why was everything so complicated? She wished she could just jump on the back on Jason’s motorcycle and ride the cliff road as fast as they could. She just wanted to feel the wind on her face and forget everything and everyone.

“What are you doing in my house?”

She turned to see Carly at the top of the stairs. “I needed to talk to Sonny.”

“No, what you need is to leave and stay away from my family,” Carly commanded as she approached the younger woman.

“Carly, I didn’t come here to fight with you,” Elizabeth tried to appease her before things went too far.

“I don’t care why you came here,” she stated. “I don’t want you here. You are the reason Jason is in prison right now as we speak. I always knew you weren’t good enough for him and now I have proof. You have played him since he came back, pretending to care about him then breaking it off only to go running back when Lucky did something you didn’t like. You have hurt Jason enough, and I am not going to let you get another chance.”

“Don’t talk about things you know nothing about.” Elizabeth tried to move away from Carly, but Carly wouldn’t let her.

“I do know what I’m talking about. I heard Jason tell Sonny that you wanted to be with Lucky. I heard the pain in his voice. I saw him bury himself in his work to try and forget what you had done to him. You couldn’t stay away could you. You needed to make Lucky jealous so you went running to Jason. I’m sure you didn’t expect Lucky to have a gun, but I do know you didn’t care if Jason got hurt. You only wanted to punish Lucky for whatever crime you thought he had done to you.”

Elizabeth refused to let Carly make her feel guilty. She blamed herself enough without having Carly point out all of her mistakes. “Do you really want to get into a who hurt Jason more contest? Because I didn’t take his son away from him. I didn’t try to run his girlfriend out of town and then marry his brother, the brother that almost killed him and hates everything about him. I didn’t sleep with his best friend while he was shot and bleeding to death.”

“Why you little bitch!” Carly raised her hand to slap Elizabeth, but Elizabeth caught her wrist before she could make contact.

“I may have just gotten out of the hospital, Carly, but I can still take you,” she said shoving Carly aside, so Elizabeth could move away.

“What is going on here?” Sonny’s booming voice came from the top of the stairs.

“Sonny, I want Elizabeth out of my house right now!”

Sonny sighed. “Carly, why don’t you go back upstairs and let me finish my business with Elizabeth.”

She shook her head. “No, Jason is my friend. I have a right to know what is going on and to stop you from making a big mistake. That woman is the reason Jason is in jail rather than here playing with Michael. Don’t you care about that?”

“Carly, stop it. Elizabeth is not the reason Jason in jail. Someone is trying to frame him and using Lucky’s death to do it.”

“But Jason wouldn’t even be involved if it wasn’t for her,” Carly insisted. “She has done nothing but hurt Jason and I am not going let her continue.”

“That is not your decision to make,” he replied. “Jason loves Elizabeth. Do you think he would be happy about you trying to hit her the day she got out of the hospital?”

Carly thought of the last conversation she had with Jason. He’d threatened to end their friendship if she couldn’t be nice to Elizabeth. She’d promised to be nice on the condition Elizabeth didn’t hurt him. In her mind that promise became null and void when Jason was arrested for killing Lucky. Elizabeth was to blame. “Jason’s not thinking clearly. He’s going to come to his senses and realize Elizabeth is only using him. She was having trouble with Lucky and needed Jason to get her out of it. She doesn’t love him.”

“You don’t have the right to speak for me,” Elizabeth finally speaking since Sonny arrived. “You have no idea how I feel about Jason. You have never cared. The only thing you care about is yourself. You have used Jason more times than any of us can remember. You don’t love Jason. You’re just afraid if he’s with me, he won’t be at your beck and call anymore.”

“Why you ...,” she lunged for the younger woman again only to be stopped by Sonny.

“Carly, stop,” he ordered. “Elizabeth, why don’t we go in the hall to finish our discussion?”

Elizabeth nodded and followed Sonny out the room. She took a deep breath to calm down. “Sonny, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have provoked her.”

He sighed. “It’s not your fault. Carly's just scared about the trial and needs to blame someone.”

“It’s more than that and you know it,” she insisted. “Carly has hated me ever since I became friends with Jason. She’s never going to accept him and me together.”

Sonny took her hand. “Don’t let Carly influence your relationship with Jason.”

She gave him a weak smile. “How can I not? Except for you and Emily, no one thinks we are a good idea. How could any relationship we have survive all the opposition to it?”

Sonny could see her point. There were many people in Port Charles who wouldn’t like to see Elizabeth and Jason together not just his wife. “Just listen to your heart. It will lead you in the right direction.” He paused and checked the door before continuing. “Everything is set for tomorrow. I’ll send a limo in the morning to pick you up.”

She shook her head, “No, the press will be at the house. I’ll meet you downstairs in the lobby, okay.”

He nodded, “Okay. Are you sure you don’t want me to do anything about the media hounding you?”

“No, Sonny, you’ve done enough for me already,” she said pushing the button to bring the elevator. “Thank you so much.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and hugged him just as the elevator doors opened. With a final kiss, she entered the elevator. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Sonny stared at the closed elevator doors readying himself to face his wife. He took a deep breath and entered his home.

“I want to know what she wanted from you,” she yelled as soon as he stepped into the room.

“Carly, you need to stop blaming Elizabeth for what we did to Jason.”

Carly paused in her retort. She was stunned by Sonny’s assessment of her. “I’m not doing that.”

He took her hands and led her to the couch. “You have hated Elizabeth because Jason turned to her when we betrayed him. Elizabeth was not at fault, we were.”

She shook her head not wanting to hear what he was saying. “No, I don’t like Elizabeth Webber because she’s not good enough for Jason.”

“Only Jason can decide that, and Jason loves her,” he said.

She yanked her hands away and crossed the room. She needed to separate herself from Sonny and his words. “He doesn’t love her,” she insisted.

Sonny stood. “Yes, he does. I don’t know when he started, but I do know that he was in love with her when he left here the second time after he saved Emily. I think he came back to see if Elizabeth was ready to start a new relationship. It had been a year since Lucky’s death. What he didn’t know was Lucky had returned. Even though Elizabeth and Lucky were having problems, he didn’t want to come between them.”

“You see,” she pointed her finger at him, “that just proves my point. She was stupid to want Lucky when Jason was there.”

Sonny sighed. “This isn’t about Elizabeth, Carly. This isn’t even really about Jason. It’s about you and your fear of losing Jason. You’ve hated Elizabeth from the beginning because you could see that Jason was falling for her. You were afraid Jason wouldn’t want you in his life if he was with her. That’s what drove you to me that night and that’s what drives you today. You’re afraid of losing Jason and you need to blame someone for that happening.”

Tears began to form in her eyes, “He can’t be convicted, Sonny.”

He walked to her and took her in his arms. “He won’t be.”

“You don’t know that,” she said as she cried on his shoulder. “You don’t know that Alexis will be able to get him off. He could spend the rest of his life in jail. Beside you, he’s the only friend I have. I can’t lose him.”

He pulled back and took her face in his hands. “Listen to me. You not going to lose Jason. He’s going to get out of this, I promise. Jason didn’t kill Lucky and the DA doesn’t have enough evidence to say he did. This trial will be over before you know it , and Jason will be coming home. Do you want him to come home to you fighting with the woman he loves?”

She jerked her head away. Why did it always come back to that girl? What was so special about her? “She doesn’t love him, Sonny.”

“She loved him enough to step in front of a bullet for him. She saved his life, and almost lost her own. And he would do the same for her. Don’t you think they deserve the chance to try and see what kind of relationship they could have?”

Carly couldn’t reply. She didn’t know what to think of Elizabeth protecting Jason. Could Elizabeth really love him like he deserves to be loved? Jason meant so much to her. She looked around her and knew that she wouldn’t have had any of this without him. She was happy with her husband and child, and she wanted the same thing for Jason. Elizabeth was right when she said Carly had hurt Jason more than anyone. She had done everything Elizabeth accused her of. That was why she hated Elizabeth so much. She didn’t want Jason to hurt anymore. She wanted to make up for all the hurt she had put him through. She wanted him to be happy. She wanted him to have someone to love and be loved. Carly just didn’t think Elizabeth was that someone.

“He deserves someone so much better than the would be artist and model,” she said.

“That’s his decision, Carly, not yours. If Elizabeth will make him happy, then you shouldn’t get in the way of that. You need to accept Elizabeth in Jason’s life.”

“I don’t think I can,” she replied.

Sonny sighed. “You have to try because if you make Jason choose between you and Elizabeth, you might not like the outcome,” he warned before going into the kitchen to start dinner.

Carly followed Sonny’s exit with her eyes. She knew he was right. Jason had warned her already about his choice, she just wouldn’t accept it. She and Elizabeth could never be good friends, she thought, not after everything she had done to the younger woman. But she had made a promise to Jason, and she needed to keep it. She needed to work with Elizabeth rather than against her. Then she could have the happy family she’d always wanted.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 34 NC-17

Elizabeth sat in the back of the limo nervously gripping her hands and staring out the window. For the millionth time since seeing Sonny, she wondered if this was the right thing. What if Jason turned her away? What if he hated her? What would she do then?

She didn’t have an answer to that question. She didn’t know what she would do. Right now her life was in chaos. Lucky was dead. Jason was in jail. Nikolas hated her, blaming her for Lucky’s death. Her grandmother was insisting they leave Port Charles after the trial. She had even begun looking at art schools in the west that Elizabeth could transfer to. She didn’t want to leave Port Charles. This was her home. She wasn’t going to let her grandmother take her away from the only home she’d ever really known, even if she knew Audrey was trying to protect her.

She knew her grandmother was worried about her and her involvement with Jason. Audrey still blamed Jason for what happened even though Lucky pulled the trigger. She refused to believe that Lucky was the person Elizabeth said he was. Elizabeth couldn’t blame her. She had kept everything that was going on between her and Lucky to herself. The only person who really knew what Lucky was like was Jason, and now it was hard for everyone else to believe Lucky was the controlling possessive boyfriend she claimed he was.

Looking back, she could see all the times she lied and told her grandmother she and Lucky were so happy. At the time, she didn’t want anyone to know about the problems they were having. She didn’t want anyone to see how unhappy she was. She shouldn’t have been. Her first love had miraculously returned from the dead, what did she have to be unhappy about? But if she had confided in someone before Jason even came back, maybe none of this would have happened.

Oh, God, she needed to stop this. Stop with the second guessing and self blame. As much as she regretted the way she handled the situation, she couldn’t change what happened. She needed to think about what she could do, she thought looking at the big grey building they were pulling up to. She hadn’t saved Lucky, but she could save Jason. She just needed to figure out how.

The limo drove past the main entrance and continued around to the side of the large enclosure. It stopped at a door with no handle. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do. She looked to Johnny sitting behind the wheel for guidance. He could see the question in her eyes from the rear view mirror.

“Wait inside, Miss Webber, while I go check things out,” he said before he exited the car.

He walked to the door and knocked. After a few seconds, the door opened. From her position, she couldn’t see inside. She could only watch as Johnny went inside leaving her alone in the car. Her heart was beating so fast she thought she would have a heart attack. Should she go to the door and knock or wait for Johnny? Before she could make a decision, Johnny returned.

“Miss Webber, please follow me,” he said after he opened her door.

She exited the car and followed him into the building. The door, she realized upon entering, was an emergency exit. She looked up and down the stairwell searching for the person who let them in but saw no one. Who was it? Where did they go now without someone to show them the way?

“This way, Miss Webber,” Johnny said indicating the stairs going up.

She followed quietly behind both worried and excited at the same time. Each step was bringing her closer to Jason but it was also taking her deeper into the prison. Were they anywhere near the inmates? Would she have to pass any of them to meet Jason? Was she strong enough to walk in front of rapists and murderers? She wondered if her rapist was somewhere in this prison. Would she have to see him again? She shook her head to shake away her thoughts. None of that mattered if she saw Jason. She would do anything she had to to make that happen. Even face her old demons.

Johnny led her to the top floor of the building and into a deserted office. She wondered where the employees were. How had Sonny gotten them away from their desks so that she could be here? She looked around the office as if something on a desk or chair could give her the clues to figure it out? It looked like at least two people worked here, but not today. It didn’t look like anyone had come in to work today. Were they all given the day off? How much power did Sonny have? She knew he was a powerful man, but she hadn’t realized how powerful.

They stopped at the warden’s office and Johnny gave a soft knock on the door. Elizabeth’s eyes widened in amazement when the door opened and a short balding man welcomed them in. The third party Sonny spoke of was the warden?

“Hello, Miss Webber, my name is Anthony Krebs. I’m the warden of this facility,” he said pointing to a chair for her to sit down.

“Thank you, Mr. Krebs, for indulging my request,” she said nervously. Now that she was here, she realized just how much this person was risking to accommodate her desire to see Jason. If anyone suspected he was connected to Sonny Corinthos in anyway, he would lose his position at this facility. He might even become a resident of one himself. She wouldn’t want that to happen.

“It is my pleasure, I assure you,” he replied as he took his seat behind his desk. “I am glad to honour any request of Mr. Corinthos. He has always been very generous to me and my family.”

Elizabeth nodded not sure how to respond to that. She didn’t want to comment on Sonny’s business, and she really didn’t want to know how he and Jason ran their territory. She was just happy they both trusted her enough to let her in once and a while. She didn’t need to be completely involved in that life. She was quite happy to paint and work at Kelly’s and let Jason and Sonny take care of the business.

A knock at the door prevented her from responding to the warden’s comment. Krebs quickly moved to the door and opened it just enough to talk to the person or persons outside. Elizabeth strained to listen, but only heard muffled sounds she couldn’t make into words.

After a brief conversation, Krebs opened the door fully and wave the person outside to come in. Elizabeth stood holding her breath in anticipation of seeing Jason. He stepped into the room but kept his head turned to the warden as he continued to speak.

“Jason.”

He stopped when he heard his name. For a moment he thought it was Elizabeth calling his name, but that couldn’t be. Elizabeth wouldn’t be here in Krebs’ office in a maximum security prison. He turned expecting to see Alexis, instead stared into eyes he hadn’t seen in over a month.

Neither moved. Both were too overcome by emotion to do anything but stare into each other’s eyes. Neither noticed when Johnny and Krebs left the office closing the door behind them.

“Elizabeth, are you really here?” Jason asked unsure if who he was seeing was real or in his head.

She couldn’t speak. She could only nod and gorge herself on the sight of him. His hair was longer then usual and he had lost some weight, but he was perfect to her eyes. When her eyes finally had their fill, her feet sprung into action and propelled her into his arms. She held him so tightly, she was afraid he couldn’t breathe. She would have pulled back, but he held her just as tightly. She buried her head into the crook of his neck savouring the feel of his arms around her.

All her anxiety and doubt vanished. This was where she wanted to be. It didn’t matter that her grandmother or Carly or Nikolas or the Spencers were against them. There wasn’t anywhere on this earth she wanted to be if Jason couldn’t be there with her.


Finally he released her just enough to pull back and take her face in his hands. He still couldn’t believe Elizabeth was standing in front of him. This couldn’t be real, and yet he was holding her in his hands.

Without speaking, they both moved closer until their mouths met and fused. Neither held anything back creating an explosion of sensation that nearly knocked both of them off their feet. The kiss was heightened not only because of their month separation but from their desperate need to assure themselves that the other was alive and well.

Jason’s body pressed against hers, and she could feel his warmth in her breasts, in her thighs - and deep inside her, where desire had begun to stir and simmer. He drew a hand slowly down her back, tracing the shallow dip of her spine and then settling at her hip. He shifted her closer to him and she realized that she wasn’t the only one who was becoming aroused by the embrace. Elizabeth rocked lightly against him eliciting a heartfelt groan for her efforts.

“Elizabeth,” he muttered, cupping her face between his hands. “We can’t do this, not here.”

She didn’t want to listen to common sense. She didn’t care where she was, she just wanted to feel him on every part of her body and know that they were alive and together. She pulled him down for another kiss before he could say anything else.

He took the lead thrusting his tongue between her lips. His leg pushed between her, settling her even more firmly against him. He kissed her until her head buzzed from lack of oxygen. She didn’t complain. Right now, she needed Jason more than she needed her next breath. Elizabeth was trembling when the kiss finally ended. And even more amazingly, he was, too.

He drew her to the couch by the far wall and pulled her down into his arms. She made no effort to resist. When he lowered her to the cushions, she pulled him down with her, sliding her hands over his shoulders to lock behind his neck.

He nuzzled her temple, rubbed his lips across her cheek, kissed the tip of her nose and chin. He nibbled at her lower lip and traced her mouth with the tip of his tongue. Even as Elizabeth concentrated on the pleasure he gave her with his clever mouth, she was aware of his hand slipping beneath the hem of her sweater. His fingers slid across her stomach, which contracted in reaction. He sketched a circle around her navel, then finger-walked up her ribs.

He pulled back just far enough to lift her sweater over her head and discard it on the floor. He stopped when he saw the scar running down her chest. She gasped and tried to cover it with her hands, but he gripped them and brought them to her sides. He traced the scar with his finger then leaned down and followed his finger with gentle kisses. He rested his ear above her left breast and listened to her heart beat.

Elizabeth gripped his head and forced him to face her. She could see the gambit of emotions flowing through him. He had almost lost her, and he didn’t know if he could survive losing her a second time. She was so amazed at the depth of emotion he felt for her. She chided herself once more for not realizing sooner that this was who she wanted to be with.

She loved everything about him - everything she had come to know during the past two years, and everything she had discovered in the past half hour. She was deeply, desperately in love with Jason Morgan, and she was more than ready to show him. She pulled him down for another earth-shattering kiss.

She didn’t know how it happened but the next time Jason looked down at her the remaining of their clothes had found their way to the floor. He needed a final assurance that this was what she wanted. Even though his body was screaming for completion, he was willing to stop if she changed her mind. She wrapped herself around him as an answer and he lowered himself to her.

She rose to welcome him when he joined them with one deep, smooth thrust. She gasped, quivered and then moved eagerly with him. The explosion came swiftly, rocking through her, forcing a cry from her throat. He held her, murmured her name, waited until she’d wrung every ripple of pleasure from the experience before giving in to his own need. He stiffened and gasped her name. Holding him closely, she thought how right her name sounded on his lips - and knew she would never forget this moment of pure joy.

No matter what the future had in store for them.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 35

Jason didn’t want to open his eyes and see the stark, cold walls of his cell. He was dreaming of Elizabeth. Until now all of his dreams were nightmares where he was forced to stand aside and watch Elizabeth fall to the ground as the bullet entered her body. He tried to move his feet but they were attached to the ground. All he could do was watch helplessly as she died in front of him. The dreams plagued him every night, sometimes even during the day. Today was the first good dream, he’d ever had. Elizabeth was alive and she’d come to him. They’d made love in the warden’s office. He’d never had an erotic dream before. It had felt so real, he wanted it to continue. If these were the dreams he would have from now on, he might never want to wake up again.

He felt a small movement under his arms and opened his eyes instantly. He was holding something - someone - in his arms. He reached up to rubbed his eyes only to feel hair covering his face. The person beside him moaned and shifted closer to him. It wasn’t a dream, he realized. Elizabeth really did come to see him. They really were lying on the warden’s couch naked. How long had they been there? He tried to lift his head to find a clock but couldn’t see one. However, the sun coming through the window told him they couldn’t have been there very long.

He shifted his attention back to the sleeping woman. He should wake her. He didn’t know how long the warden was going to give them, but he didn’t want Elizabeth to be embarrassed if Krebs walked in on them like this. He brushed back her hair to whisper in her ear but couldn’t say the words. He didn’t want to disturb this moment. When Elizabeth woke, they would be forced back to the present where he was about to go on trial for murdering her boyfriend. He wanted to close his eyes and pretend they were lying on the couch in her studio rather than in a maximum security prison but knew he couldn’t.

How did she get here? She must have gone to Sonny, but he couldn’t believe Sonny had okayed it. He wondered just how long Sonny resisted Elizabeth’s stubborn determination. Obviously not long since she was here. He remembered how hard she fought for him that winter when he’d tried to protect her by staying away. Elizabeth got her way then and it seems she’d gotten her way again.

He’d been so afraid she would allow her friends and family to influence her belief in him, but the second he saw her, he knew she hadn’t. Her coming to see him told him everything he needed to know. She loved him. He knew that without her having to say the words. He tightened his hold around her wishing he didn’t have to let her go.

She shifted again and brought her hand up to his arm. “Jason?”

“I’m here,” he whispered. “Elizabeth, we can’t stay like this. We have to get dress before Krebs comes back.”

Her eyes flew open. Oh, my God, she thought. She was lying naked on a couch in the warden’s office of a maximum security prison with Jason’s arms around her. Images of the last hour came back to her. She couldn’t believe everything she had done. She’d practically attacked him the minute he walked into the office. She remembered Jason pulling back trying to stop things before they went too far, but she wouldn’t listen. She’d never done anything like this before. She’d never been the one to initiate sex. She always thought it was because of the rape she was apprehensive about sex, but with Jason it never entered her mind. In fact, her brain had been empty. She hadn’t thought; she just felt. She let herself be taken away to a place where only she and Jason existed. Looking around the room now she realized they were back in reality.

She sat up and bent over to grab her clothes from the floor. She gripped them tightly in front of her and moved to the chair by the desk keeping her back to Jason. She didn’t know what to say. What do you say after attacking someone and having sex with them in someone’s office? What could he be thinking? Did he think she was like Carly - ready to have sex anywhere and everywhere? She began dressing quietly never turning to look at him.

Jason slowly sat up and stared at her rigid back. Did she regret what happened between them? Is that why she wouldn’t look at him? Was she ashamed of what they had done? He quickly got dresses never taking his eyes from her back. This wasn’t how he’d wanted their first time together to be like, but he couldn’t wish it didn’t happen. He had loved her and wanted her for so long that he couldn’t regret it happening. Even if it happened while he was in prison.

Pulling his shirt over his head, he reached for her. She stiffened. “Elizabeth, do you regret what we did?”

She turned around shocked by his question. “No, never.” She shifted nervously gripping her hands in front of her.

Jason was worried. He thought coming here proved Elizabeth loved him and believed in him, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe, she came here to tell him she didn’t want anything to do with him, that she hoped he would be convicted. No, he thought, that couldn’t be right. She wouldn’t have made love to him if she believed he was guilty.

“Please tell me what’s wrong,” he said as he touched her cheek.

She closed her eyes loving the feeling she got when he touched her. She was being a fool, she thought. Jason loved her. He wouldn’t think less of her for being the aggressor during sex. "Do you think I’m a slut?”


“What?” It was Jason’s turn to be shocked. “Why would I think that?”

She moved away to stand by the window. It looked out to the prison courtyard. She could see the inmates participating in a variety of activities. “I attacked you, Jason. You wanted to stop and I wouldn’t let you. I took advantage of you.”

He sighed. Where did she get a crazy idea like that? He moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “Elizabeth, you didn’t take advantage of me. I wanted it just as much as you did, even more so.” He took her shoulders to turn her around and face him. “The only reason I tried to stop was because I didn’t think you’d like our first time to be in a prison office. This wasn’t what I wanted for you. You deserve better than this.”

She shook her head. “No, I deserve you. That’s all I want, Jason. I love you.”

He cupped her face with his hands. “I love you, too,” he said before leaning in to kiss her.

This kiss didn’t have the passion and desire as the others. Instead it contained all the feelings neither could put into words. Even after everything that had happened and could still happen, they were together.

As the kiss ended, the activity in the courtyard caught his eye. What was he doing? He didn’t have a future with Elizabeth. His future was a conviction for first degree murder, with a quiet prison break and private plane trip to Mexico before taking off under a new identity. He and Sonny had already planned everything. Everything, but Elizabeth. He couldn’t ask her to give up her life and go with him. It was too much to ask. All he’d ever wanted was for Elizabeth to be happy, and he knew that she couldn’t be happy running from country to country always looking over her shoulder waiting for when the police would finally catch up with them. That wasn’t a life.

He didn’t want her to wake up one morning and realize she had made a mistake in going with him. He didn’t think he could handle loving her then losing her. It would be better for her and for him to end it now. Then she could meet someone who she could love and would love her. She could have the happy family with a husband, children and her painting without worrying that one day it would be taken away from her. And he could leave knowing that Elizabeth was safe, protected and happy.

“Elizabeth,” he said.

She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked into his eyes. He didn’t have to say anything. She could see it. He was going to push her away because of the trial. He was afraid he’d be convicted and wanted to protect her. She wasn’t going to let him distance himself from her. They had been through too much to be apart now.

She pushed away from him shaking her head. “I won’t let you push me away, Jason. I know you. You think you’re doing what’s best for me but it’s not. You are what’s best for me, nothing else.”

“Elizabeth, we are standing in the warden’s office of a maximum security prison. Outside are thousands of rapists and murderers that are my neighbours in the cellblock. I’m sure you had to be smuggled in here just to see me. Is that what’s best for you?”

She nodded. “Yes, if it means I get to be with you. It took me a long time to figure that out, so I’m not going to waste anymore time because you think you’re doing the noble thing.”

He sighed. “I could be here for the rest of my life. Do you really want to do this every week? Are you really going to put aside your dreams again just to be with me? You already sacrificed yourself once with Lucky. I don’t want you to do it again because of me.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You sound like you know you’re going to be convicted. You didn’t kill Lucky. The jury is going to see that. They won’t convict you for something you didn’t do.”

He loved that she had complete faith in him and his innocence, but he didn’t have the same confidence. Someone was going to a lot of trouble to frame him for Lucky’s death. He knew Sonny was going through their enemies, but hadn’t found anyone with motive, money, and opportunity to pull it off. The longer he thought about it, the more he believed he would be convicted.

Elizabeth took his silence for an answer. He couldn’t give up. She wouldn’t let him. “Jason, you have to believe you’re getting out of here. You’re not going to spend the rest of your life in this prison.”

“I know I’m not,” he said quietly.

She was confused. He thought he would be convicted but wouldn’t go to jail. What did that mean? It came to her immediately. “You’re going to run, aren’t you?” She asked even though she knew the answer. That was why he was pushing her away. “You’re going to run and you don’t want me with you. I’m so stupid. I thought you loved me and wanted to be with me, but really you were planning to leave me behind.”

“No,” he said, “it’s not like that. Elizabeth, I want more than anything to spend the rest of my life with you. But not on the run.” He ran his hand through his hair. “You deserve so much more than to be looking over your shoulder wondering when the police will be knocking on our door. What kind of life is that? I love you too much to put you through all that. You will be better off staying here and making a happy life without me.” He walked away and sat down on the couch holding his head in his hands.

Elizabeth stared at him for a long time before she moved. She knelt in front of him and raised his head to look into his eyes. “Do you really think I could be happy without you in my life? I love you. If you run, I will run with you.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying. You don’t understand what it will be like.”

“I don’t care, Jason,” she said adamantly. “I don’t care where we go. I just want to be with you. That’s all that matters.” She placed her finger on his mouth to prevent him from arguing. “For the past month all I’ve thought about is you and how much I have hurt you. Carly was right when she said I was selfish. I kept running to you when I had problems with Lucky then turned around and kept going back to him. I ended our friendship even though I didn’t want to to make Lucky happy. Lucky went after you because of me.” She looked around the office. “You’re in here because of me.”

He pulled her hand away from his mouth. “That’s not true.”

“It is true, but I’m not going to fight about that. My point is, for a long time I thought the best thing I could do for you would be to leave and never come back. I thought you would be better off without me in your life causing you so much heartache. But then I saw you today, and I knew anywhere I went, I would want you to be there. I can’t function without you.

“I know you think leaving me is the right thing, but it isn’t. The right thing for me is to be with you. That’s the only way I will ever be truly happy,” she paused to see if her words were getting through to him. “If you leave without me, then I’ll follow you. Is that what you want? Me chasing after you from country to country. Now what kind of life would that be.”

“Elizabeth, you’re not making this easy,” he sighed.

“Did you think I would?” She asked. She could see she was getting to him. “I would have thought you knew me better than that.”

“You’ll have to leave everyone and everything you love behind without a moment’s notice,” he said. He needed her to really understand what she was getting in for. “You won’t be able to tell them goodbye. No one can know you were leaving until after it was over. Can you do that? Can you leave your grandmother without looking back?”

She frowned. Her grandmother would be so upset if she took off without saying anything. When she realized Elizabeth had run off with a fugitive, Audrey would be worried sick. Could she put her grandmother through that just to be with Jason? She looked at the man she loved and knew the answer.

“Yes,” she said with determination. “I know I’ll be hurting Grams, but this is my life. I’m not going to let other people dictate how I live my life and who I should love, including you.

“Jason, this isn’t like before. With Lucky everything I did was to make him happy. Going with you isn’t about making you happy, it’s about making me happy.” She smiled. “If you’re happy, that’s just a bonus.”

He smiled in return and pulled her to him. He couldn’t believe that this woman loved him and wanted to spend her life with him. The heaviness in his heart lifted. He wasn’t going to lose her. He silently promised from that moment on, he would do everything in his power to make all of her dreams come true.

She pulled away and wiped a tear from her cheek. “Why are we even discussing this? We won’t have to run. You are not going to be convicted. I know it. Alexis will do her magic and show the jury just how stupid the DA and police are. And even if I have to investigate on my own, we will find the person who is doing this to us and then you’ll be free and we’ll be together.”

Jason was about to find out exactly what she meant when Johnny knocked on the door before sticking his head inside. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth, but it’s time to go.”

Elizabeth turned back to Jason and gave him a quick kiss before heading for the door. “I’ll see you next week at the trial.” She turned at the door and gave him sultry smile and said, “I love you.”

She left without waiting for his reply leaving him standing in the middle of the room stunned. He needed to call Sonny. He wasn’t sure what Elizabeth was up to, but he knew he didn’t want her to get involved. Whoever was behind this had already killed Lucky. He didn’t want Elizabeth to be his next victim.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 36

The courtroom was empty but for one lone person. Dara Jensen sat at the prosecutor’s table with her eyes closed. Soon this room would be jammed with people wanting to witness what was turning into the trial of the century for Port Charles. In a little under three hours, she would begin her prosecution of Jason Morgan for the first degree murder of Lucky Spencer. It was a trial that could make or break her career.

To most it seemed like an open and shut case. A love triangle that ended in death. Lucky Spencer was the jealous boyfriend going after the other man only to shoot the woman in question instead, with Jason Morgan taking matters into his own hands and killing his rival. Dara had all the evidence she needed to prove her case but was still worried something would go wrong.

Since Sonny Corinthos became the mob boss of Port Charles ten years ago, the police and DA’s office had never come close to bringing him or his associates to justice. That she knew was largely due to Jason Morgan, Corinthos’ enforcer and second-in-command. Morgan was cool and calculating. He never did anything without knowing all the angles and covering every minute detail.

That was what worried her. This case was too open and shut. Taggert liked to believe that Jason had let his feelings for Elizabeth Webber get in the way and that was why they had all the evidence they did against him. Jason Morgan finally made something personal and got caught. Dara wanted to agree with Taggert but couldn’t. Not completely. The idea that someone was framing Jason just wouldn’t go away. It just seemed too easy for a witness to just walk into the PCPD and prove their case, especially when the crime was mob related. In her experience witnesses rarely spoke up against the mob for fear of retaliation. Tom Madigan’s sudden arrival made her suspicious. Could his testimony be paid for? No, Taggert had made a thorough check into Madigan’s financial situation. He was clean, so why couldn’t she let her suspicions go?

Maybe that wasn’t what bothered her. Maybe it was the idea of convicting an innocent man. Not that Jason Morgan was really an innocent man, she thought. Still, would she be happy putting him away for life for something he didn’t do as punishment for everything she knew he had done but couldn’t prove? Did she care that she would be allowing a murderer to escape prosecution and be free to kill again? If it was any other defendant, this wouldn’t be an issue. But Jason Morgan was a professional killer. If someone else killed Lucky then Jason would be free to kill again. She couldn’t win either way. She would just be exchanging one murderer for another. Did it really matter which murderer was punished for the crime?

“Dara, are you sitting here alone praying for a victory?” Alexis asked as she entered the courtroom and made her way to the defence table. She dropped the box she was carrying and opened it to removed the files inside.

Dara looked over to her pushing aside her feelings of doubt. “I don’t need tp pray. I have enough evidence to get the conviction I want.” She paused. “You know, the deal for manslaughter 10-15 is still open.”

Alexis put down the file she was scanning to consider the offer. “My client will not plead guilty to a crime he did not commit, and you know it. That tells me you’re worried about the trial. Not 100% sure of your case are you, Dara?”

Dara shook her head regretting her plea bargain offer. “I know I’ll get a conviction. I just thought I would be generous since this case was really a crime of passion than a mob killing. Jason’s still young. He could be out in fifteen years and still be able to have a good life rather than sitting on death row waiting for his execution.”

“Well, isn’t that nice of you to consider the best interests of my client. I suggest you spend more time finding Lucky’s real killer than worrying about how long Jason is going to spend in jail,” Alexis said before turning back to her file.

Dara stared at her for a moment before leaving the courtroom to confirm the arrival of her witnesses. She looked at her watch. The trial would be starting soon.

~*~

“My, my, my, don’t we look nice,” Taggert said sarcastically when he saw Morgan in his cell. He was wearing a black suit and blue dress shirt that was unbuttoned at the collar. He looked more like the successful businessman he pretended to be than the cold-blooded killer he really was.

“I’m here to walk you to the courtroom,” he continued when Jason remained silent. Morgan had been transferred to the courthouse lock-up for the trial. Taggert made sure to arrange for extra security in case Corinthos had any ideas of a prison break. “Let’s go,” he said as he opened the cell door. “Your day of judgement awaits.”

Jason walked slowly out of the cell stopping beside Taggert to raise his hands. He knew they weren’t going to let him enter the courtroom without handcuffs. It had been the same since the start of jury deliberation. He knew Taggert didn’t think Jason was going to try anything in the courtroom. Taggert just wanted the media and everyone to see him for the dangerous criminal that he was. Jason Morgan was capable of anything, and he wanted everyone to know it and be afraid of it.

The elevator ride was silent. Neither man desiring to converse with the other. As the elevator door opened, Jason was blinded by the flashbulbs.

“Mr. Morgan, is it true you are Sonny Corinthos’ enforcer?”

“Was Lucky Spencer’s death a mob hit?”

“Were you and Elizabeth Webber having a secret liaison?”

“Did you conspire with Miss Webber to kill Lucky Spencer?”

Jason kept his face blank refusing to acknowledge any of the ridiculous questions being thrown at him. He waited patiently for Taggert to push their way clear before following closely behind. Since the start of jury deliberation the media have hounded him with question after question, but he had yet to answer anything. Jason hadn’t even glanced in their direction but still they persisted. He worried about Elizabeth and how she was handling the media pressure. Sonny told him they were camped out on her grandmother’s front lawn. He’d offered to help but Elizabeth had refused. He knew Sonny’s involvement would only create more speculation, but he wished Elizabeth didn’t have to go through all of this alone.

Taggert led him into the crowded courtroom. Jason scanned the room as he walked to the defence table. Even though he knew she wouldn’t be present, he couldn’t help but search for her face. He saw everyone but her. The Quartermaines were sitting in the back two rows, Luke and Laura were behind the prosecutor’s table with an angry Nikolas beside them, and Emily sat with Sonny and Carly behind the defence table. Emily stood as he was about to pass. She stopped him to give him a hug of encouragement.

“Emily Quartermaine, what do you think you’re doing?” Edward yelled as he walked towards them. It was bad enough that Jason was disgracing this family by this trial, they didn’t need Emily to contribute as well.

“I’m giving my brother a hug. Do you have a problem with that?” Emily was tired of listening to her grandfather continued insults about Jason. She knew he was only here to save face with the media. He didn’t really care if Jason went to prison. He was probably hoping for it. Then Edward wouldn’t have to face another of his mistakes in town.

“I do if it means you’re planning to sit beside this deviant Sonny Corinthos and his psycho of a wife. You are a Quartermaine and as such you should be with your family to show the media that we support Jason. I want you to sit beside AJ,” he ordered.

“You don’t care about Jason. You’re just worried about how this trial makes the family look,” she accused him. “I am going to sit beside the people who really love him and support him.” She looked to Sonny and Carly. “They are his true family.”

Edward huffed and wanted to argue but he could see she wasn’t going to back down. With a final look of condemnation, he stalked back to the rest of his family waving his hand in the air to prevent the photographers from taking a good picture of him.

He slumped into the seat next to his son and said, “You need to control that girl.”

Monica was the one the reply. “Edward, shut up. Emily is standing by her brother and I for one agree with her.”

She stood and made her way to her younger son. She knew without a doubt that Jason was innocent. Whatever his mob dealings, Jason would never kill someone that was a friend to Emily. She stopped and waited for him to turn in her direction.

“Jason,” she started nervously, “I just wanted to tell you I know you didn’t do this. I wondered if you would mind if I sat with Emily and Mr. Corinthos to show my support.”

Jason stared at the woman who was his mother. Gone was the look of sadness and regret he always saw. She wasn’t wishing for the son she’d lost. Instead, she was reaching out to the man he was now. He didn’t know what to say. He was too overcome with emotions he hadn’t felt before to do anything but nod his approval.

“Thank you,” she said as she took a hesitant step to hug him. When it looked like he wouldn’t protest, she wrapped her arms around him. It had been so long since she’d been able to touch him in a loving way that she was overcome with joy.

As she stepped back a single tear fell down her cheek. She raised her hand to wipe it away, but Jason beat her to it. With his cuffed hands he gently brushed the tear away and said, “I’m glad you’re here.”

Monica wanted to burst into tears, but instead took her son’s hand and gave it a small squeeze before taking her seat next to her daughter. Emily wiped the tears forming in her eyes and took her mother’s hand. Monica smiled at her encouragingly. It was the first step to reconnecting with her son. She just hoped it wouldn’t be for nothing if Jason was convicted.

Jason took his seat beside Alexis and raised his hands up to Taggert to remove the handcuffs.

“Are those really necessary?” Alexis asked the detective.

“You never know what Morgan here might do, counsellor,” replied Taggert with a smirk. He walked away to find his own seat on the prosecution side.

Jason looked over his shoulder once more to see if maybe Elizabeth had just entered.

“She’s not here, Jason. She’s waiting in the witness room for when she’ll be called,” Alexis said.

He faced forward never showing his disappointment.

Alexis opened her briefcase and retrieved what looked like a page of notepaper that was folded over. She handed it to him and said, “She wanted you to have this.”

Jason took the note and read it. “I’m sorry I can’t be there in person, but remember that I love you and am with you always, Elizabeth.” He read it two more times before handing it back to Alexis.

“Thank you,” he whispered, his voiced betraying the depth of his emotions.

Alexis squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile. She wanted more than anything to tell him they would get through this, but even she couldn’t say that for sure. Everything depended on the jury and what they thought.

“All rise,” the bailiff ordered, “the honourable Judge Agnes Torrie presiding over the matter of the state verses Jason Morgan on the count of first degree of Lucas Spencer, Jr.”

The judge took her seat and commanded the court to be seated. She then ordered the jury to be brought in. Jason looked over to the twelve people that would decide his fate. Eight women and four men who were supposed to be his peers. What could they possibly have in common with him? They didn’t know him. All they saw was a mob enforcer. How could they decide if he was guilty or not?

He shifted his attention to the DA as she stood to begin her opening statements.

She positioned herself in front of the jury and began. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we are here to decide the guilt or innocence of the defendant Jason Morgan. The prosecution will show that the defendant blatantly and without malice took the law into his own hands to punish Lucky Spencer for the shooting of Elizabeth Webber.”

Jason didn’t want to here anymore. He hated how Lucky was being painted as the victim when really he was the controlling bastard that caused this to happen. Lucky wasn’t the loving boyfriend that was wronged by his girlfriend. He didn’t love Elizabeth. He'd just wanted to possess her.

When Dara finished, she thanked the jury and returned to her seat. Alexis stood to take her place in front of the jury.

“Members of the jury, what the DA conveniently failed to add in her opening statement were the words beyond a reasonable doubt. You can only convict if you are sure of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. She would love for you to ignore that statement and concentrate on my client’s alleged illegal activities to cover up the fact that she doesn’t have enough evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

“The evidence she is so confident will prove guilt is really just circumstantial. A murder weapon found in my client’s dresser drawer without fingerprints. Now I ask you, why would my client take the time to wipe the gun of fingerprints then leave it in his room to be found. Her star witness, placing my client with the murder victim at the time of the shooting, suspiciously appeared just as the police’s case against him was falling apart. The police didn’t find this witness. He came to them out of the blue one day a week after the shooting took place. Where did he come from? And why didn’t he talk to the police the day of the shooting instead of a week later?

“I intend to provided you with enough reasonable doubt that your only verdict must be an acquittal because anything else would be an injustice. Thank you.”

Judge Torrie waited for Alexis to return to her seat at the defence table before addressing the prosecution.

“Is the state ready to begin their case?”

Dara stood. “Yes, your honour.”

“Then call your first witness.”

Chapter 37

“Detective Taggert, can you please tell this court the events that took place on March 14, 2001?”

Taggert took a deep breath and addressed the jury. “At approximately 3 PM I was called to the Port Charles Memorial Park because a shooting had taken place. When I got there I was informed that Elizabeth Webber had been shot and on her way to the hospital. Her condition was critical. She had taken a bullet to the chest and had lost a lot of blood. The first officer on the scene told me that Jason Morgan was present at the shooting, but he’d left with the ambulance. Witnesses questioned said they heard an argument between a man and a woman before hearing the gun shot. I then went to the hospital to find out about Elizabeth’s condition and question Jason Morgan.”

“Was Mr. Morgan at the hospital?” Dara asked looking over to Jason.

Taggert shook his head. “No, I spoke with Bobbie Spencer, the head nurse. She told me Morgan went to the surgical waiting area, but he wasn’t there when I checked.”

Dara nodded as if drawing a conclusion from the detective’s response. “What happened next?”

“As I was leaving the hospital, I got another call informing me that a body had been found on the Elm Street Pier. When I got there, I was able to identify the body as Lucky Spencer.” He paused to look at the jury. “Lucky was Elizabeth’s boyfriend. It seemed he’d been shot in the chest at close range. Forensics speculated the gun was a 9 mm automatic, possibly the same gun that had shot Elizabeth.”

“What did you do then?”

Taggert shifted in the witness box then answered. “I got a search warrant for Jason Morgan’s room over Jake’s Bar.”

“Why did you suspect Jason Morgan?”

Taggert looked over to Jason and gave him a cold stare. “Jason Morgan is a known hit man for the mob. He kills people for a living.”

“Objection, your honour,” Alexis said as she rose from her chair. “My client has never been convicted of any crime, mob related or not. Detective Taggert is just trying to influence the jury about my client.”

“I agree,” the judge replied. “Your objection is sustained. The jury is instructed to disregard the detective’s comments and Detective Taggert, if you make another unfounded remark, you will be charged with contempt. Is that understood?”

Taggert nodded silently cursing Morgan and Corinthos. “Yes, your honour.”

Dara looked to the jury. She knew even though the judge order them to ignore Taggert’s comments, they really wouldn’t be able too. “Did you find anything at the defendant’s room?”

He nodded. “Yes. We found a 9 mm automatic in one of Morgan’s dresser drawers.”

Dara went back to her table to retrieve the said gun. “Is this the gun you found in Jason Morgan’s room?” When Taggert said yes, she addressed the judge. “Your honour, I would like to admit this gun into evidence, prosecution’s exhibit A,” she said handing the gun the Judge Torrie and turning back to Taggert. “Was this the gun that shot Elizabeth Webber and killed Lucky Spencer?”

“Yes. The gun had been wiped clean, but forensics was able to determine that it had been fired that day and then ballistics was able to match the gun to the bullets taken from both victims. Later we discovered that Lucky Spencer had purchased the gun illegally a week before.”

“Why did he do that?”

“From witness statements, he was going to go after Morgan because he believed Morgan was trying to take Elizabeth found him.”

“Did he have a reason to believe that?” Dara asked looking at the jury.

“I don’t know for sure. I do know Morgan and Elizabeth had a previous relationship when Lucky was kidnapped for a year. When Lucky came back, he and Elizabeth got back together, but Morgan wasn’t in the city at that time. He only came back about a month before the shootings. I can only speculate on what could have occurred during that month, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Morgan returns and little after a month Lucky Spencer is dead.”

Dara could see some of the jury looking at Jason with questions in their eyes. Maybe they thought it was too much of a coincidence, too. “If Lucky bought the gun, how did it end up in the defendant’s room?”

“Witness statement’s say that Morgan and Spencer struggled for the gun and Morgan won. He must have taken it with him after he shot the boy.”

Dara was confused, “If the gun didn’t belong to Mr. Morgan, why did he keep it?”


Taggert shrugged, “I don’t know what Morgan’s brain-damaged mind was thinking. He obviously didn’t think he would get caught.”

Before Alexis could say anything, the judge intervened, “Detective, you are treading on very thin ice. I will not warn you again. Counsellor,” she said looking over at the DA, “let’s move on.”

Dara nodded deciding they had gotten enough from Taggert. “What did you do after you found the gun?”

“I arrested Jason Morgan,” he said calmly.

Dara looked at the jury then back at the witness box. “Thank you, Detective. I have no more questions at this time.”

Alexis stood and waited for Dara to sit down before walking towards the witness box. “Detective, when you arrested my client, did you know the gun you found was the murder weapon?

Taggert shifted uncomfortably. “No, but I was pretty confidant it was.”

“Okay,” she said letting the comment go. “Besides the gun, did you have any evidence placing my client at the pier? Was there a witness?”

“No, but when Morgan wasn’t at the hospital, I knew he would go after Spencer.”

“Oh, why?”

He looked over at Jason again. “He has a thing for Miss Webber. He would go after the person that hurt her.”

“But you didn’t know that Lucky shot Elizabeth, did you?”

“No...”

Alexis didn’t let him continue, “In fact, you believed my client shot Elizabeth. You initially arrested him for her attempted murder.”

“That’s true, but -”

She stopped him again, “When did you learn the real story?”

“When I was able to question Miss Webber.”

She brought her hand to her chin, pretending to think for a minute. “That was four days after you arrested my client, isn’t that right?”

“Yes...”

“That was also around the time you found out that Lucky had purchased the gun. So for days you thought you knew what had happened. You were sure of it, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And now you know differently. Tell me, Detective, what’s to say you won’t change your mind again tomorrow?”

Taggert seethed with anger, “I just follow the evidence as it comes.”

Alexis nodded. “You claim my client wasn’t at the hospital when you checked. Other than the surgical waiting area did you look anywhere else?”

Taggert shook his head. “No, by then I had gotten the other call.”

“So how can you say for sure that he wasn’t at the hospital?”

Taggert frowned. He didn’t have a response to the question.

“What if I told you my client was on the roof the entire time waiting for Elizabeth to come out of surgery?”

Taggert smiled, “I find that hard to believe without proof.”

Alexis smiled back. “Oh, I have proof.”

She walked back to her table and pulled three files from her briefcase. She handed one to the DA, one to the judge, and one to Taggert.

“I had a private forensics lab inspect the roof of General Hospital. They found my client’s fingerprints on the roof door and handle.”

Taggert glanced at the file and said, “That doesn’t mean he was there that day. He could have been up there any time.”

Alexis nodded in agreement. “True, but if you read a little more, you will see they also found traces of Elizabeth Webber’s blood with the fingerprints. Jason had Elizabeth’s blood on his hands because he had given her CPR when she was shot.”

Loud whispering and mumbling could be heard from the back of the courtroom. The judge had to quiet them down before she allowed the questioning to continue.

Taggert spoke up before Alexis could speak. “This doesn’t mean that Morgan was there all the time. For all you know he could have just gone up there to leave the evidence then left to hunt down Lucky Spencer.”

Alexis nodded. “That’s true, but it does tell me something about you, Detective. You have a one track mind when it comes to my client. You never even considered that Jason may have been somewhere else in the hospital. It never even entered your mind. When you arrested my client you didn’t know what had happened. You didn’t even know that the gun you found was the murder weapon. All you knew was that Jason Morgan was somehow involved therefore he must be the murderer.”

Taggert shook his head, “That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?” She asked. “Did you even consider any other suspects besides my client?”

“There were none,” he insisted.

“Weren’t there? I find that hard to believe when Lucky was a Spencer and everyone in this town knows about the Spencer-Cassadine feud. In fact, Lucky was kidnapped and held against his will for over a year because of it, isn’t that true?”

“Yes...”

“And last year, both he and Elizabeth were involved in the events that led to the death of Helena Cassadine, the person that kidnapped Lucky.”

“Yes.”

“So why, if both Elizabeth and Lucky had enemies, did you immediately jump to my client as the murderer?”

Taggert shifted again. “He was there at the park and the gun was found in his room.”

Alexis jumped at that comment. “A gun that had no fingerprints. You never thought that maybe, just possibly, that the gun had been planted that someone was trying to frame my client.”

“No.”

“Oh, come now, Detective. You would like this jury to believe that Jason Morgan is a cold blooded killer, a professional hit man working for the mob. If that’s true, then why would a professional keep a murder weapon that didn’t belong to him instead of throwing it in the ocean.”

“I don’t know. Maybe he wanted to keep it as a souvenir,” he suggested grasping at straws.

Alexis gave him a look that said you could do better than that. “You refuse to admit that it is possible someone could be framing my client because then you would have no case against him. You don’t care if Jason is guilty or not. You just want him to be convicted and go to jail. You’d rather let the real killer go if it meant Jason went to jail, isn’t that true?”

“Objection...” Dara was on her feet.

“I withdraw the question,” Alexis interrupted before Dara could begin her objection. “I have no more questions,” she said and walked back to her chair beside Jason.

Dara remained standing. “Redirect, your honour?” At the judge’s nod she looked at Taggert.

“Detective Taggert, have you let your personal feeling influence your handling of this case?”

“No, I have not,” he said confidently. “I followed the evidence and it led me to Jason Morgan.”

She nodded accepting his answer. “When you arrested the defendant, was he surprised to learn of Lucky Spencer’s death?”

“No, he didn’t appear to be.” he said knowing that Alexis couldn’t object to his answer.

“Did he profess his innocence at any time during your questioning?”

Taggert leaned into the microphone to make sure he was heard. “No, he did not.”

Dara nodded liking his answer. “Thank you,” she said walking back to the prosecution table.

“Detective, you may leave the witness stand,” the judge said. “Counsellor call your next witness.”

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 38

“Would you please stop pacing. You’re making me dizzy.”

Elizabeth stopped and looked at the man whose testimony could send Jason to prison. There was nothing suspicious about him. He looked just like the average everyday man. A little over weight, slightly balding, he didn’t look like someone being paid to lie on the witness stand. Although, she thought, what did someone willing to perjure themselves for money look like? Did she really think he would be wearing a sign saying ‘I lie for money’? If it was that easy, they wouldn’t be in this mess.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m just nervous about the trial. I’ve never been a witness in a murder case before.”

Tom glanced over to the officer standing by the door before replying. “Yeah, well pacing isn’t going to solve anything.”

“I know,” she admitted, “but when I’m nervous, I have to do something. Usually I paint, but I very well can’t do that here.” She smiled indicating the empty room but for them and the officer. “Moving around helps me.”

She started then stopped and eyed him again. Upon second look she did see something suspicious about him. “Aren’t you nervous?”

“No,” he replied without hesitation.

She raised her eyebrows. “Not even a little?” That didn’t seem right. She was petrified, and she knew the all the people in the courtroom. She knew Alexis would treat her well on the witness stand. She knew Sonny would not be plotting her death to protect his employee. How can this man be so calm about his testimony?

“No,” he responded again without looking at her.

She moved to sit beside him on the bench. She wanted to see just how far she could go with this. “I wish I had your confidence. Alexis Davis worries me. She’s probably the best attorney in the state, maybe even the country. I just know she’ll be able to twist everything I say and make it sound like the opposite.”

Tom shrugged and glanced at the officer again before speaking. “Alexis Davis doesn’t scare me. The only way she could make you change your story is if you weren’t 100% sure of what you know. I know what I saw, and Miss Davis isn’t going to make me change my mind.”

Elizabeth didn’t know what to say to that. She quickly glanced at the officer and then back to Tom. Was he telling the truth or was he just playing up the officer? Or maybe he was playing up to her. Maybe he knew about her connection to Jason and was just playing a game with her. Whatever he was doing, she knew she couldn’t back down. She needed to push a little more to see just how far he would go.

“What about Sonny Corinthos?” She asked as timidly as she could.

He didn’t even flinch. “What about him?”

She couldn’t hide the shock she felt at his attitude. “You’re not afraid he might try to kill you before you can testify?”

Tom looked straight into her eyes. “Corinthos can’t touch me,” he said with such conviction she believed him.

Before Elizabeth could reply, Tom stood and walked to the officer. The two spoke softly by the door preventing her from hearing anything that was being said. At one point they both turned and looked at her causing a chill to run down her back. The officer then nodded and Tom left the room with the officer trailing behind.

Elizabeth sat motionless unsure of what had just happened. Was Tom Madigan sure Sonny wouldn’t be able to touch him because of police protection or was there something or someone else involved? She shook her head. Either way, she couldn’t believe Madigan was so confidant. Sonny was very powerful. He was able to take out Joseph Sorel even with all of Sorel’s security. How could Madigan not worry about Sonny doing the same to him?

No, she thought, Sonny didn’t kill Sorel. Jason did. Was that what this was all about? Was this someone’s way to remove Jason and leave Sonny vulnerable to attack? If so, how could they know? How could they anticipate that Lucky would go after Jason that day? Were they following Lucky? Were they following her and Jason? How long had it been going on? Did they know that Jason had stayed in her studio looking for the traitor? Did this go all the way back to that? Was it possible that Sorel wasn’t the person that bombed the warehouse?

She looked back to the closed door. Was the officer involved? Was he working for the person trying to take down Sonny? Were they plotting to get rid of her? Was this all in her head? Was she seeing things that weren’t there? God, she didn’t know. Maybe she was. She was beginning to think she wasn’t cut out for all this mafia business. She wished she could talk to Jason. He would tell her if she was being paranoid or not. He would also tell her to not get involved and let Sonny deal with Madigan. She knew Jason wanted to protect her from his world, but he was in jail because of her not his business. There was no way she was going to sit back and do nothing to help him. She could go to Sonny, but she knew he wouldn’t talk to her about business. No she would just continue with what she was doing. Madigan was the key. She was sure of it.

~*~

Carly sat quietly beside her husband as the DA’s next witness took the stand, but she wasn’t interested in the testimony. Nothing the forensics specialist had to say would convince her that Jason was guilty of what he was charged with. The jury, on the other hand, was a different story. They were revetted to the man’s every word. Carly hated them. She had never seen these people before, didn’t even know their names, but she hated them. These people would soon be deciding the fate of her best friend and they had, yet, to look at him. Maybe if they did, they knew they would see that he was human and not the monster the DA would like them to believe.

A movement in front of her took her attention away from the jury. Alexis had leaned over the speak to Jason. In the past month, Carly had treated Alexis terribly. She was finally willing to admit that but only to herself. She had given Alexis such a hard time over every little aspect of the case. She was sure Alexis would be given sainthood for all the patience and restraint she’d shown against Carly’s attacks. Her only excuse was that it was Jason, her best friend, the man who saved her from herself, the man who had accepted her for who she was stupid mistakes and all. Jason had protected her and her son when she needed it the most.

Carly didn’t even want to think about what her life would have been like without Jason. She probably would have lost custody of Michael and run out of town by the Quartermaines. Even worse, she would have ended up in jail for shooting Tony Jones. Instead, she had the family she’d always wanted; a loving mother, a rich husband that she loved and who loved her, and a wonderful son. Carly unconsciously rested her hand on her stomach. Soon there would be another addition to her family. She couldn’t wait to tell the news. Michael, she knew, will be trilled, and Sonny - Sonny will be over-protective and second guess everything she ate until the baby was born. She couldn’t wait. Everything in her life was perfect, except for one thing. The man responsible for everything she had was fighting for his life.

Carly felt helpless, and she didn’t like that feeling. The only thing stopping her from taking her husband’s gun and attempting a prison break was Sonny’s confident demeanour. He insisted Jason would not be convicted and even though Carly was sure he was only saying that to calm her down, it was working. Rather than obsess about losing Jason, she tried to concentrate on their lives after the trial. More importantly, she tried to come to terms with Elizabeth Webber’s place in Jason’s life.

God, Elizabeth Webber. What could Jason possibly see in that whining little girl? Jason needed a strong independent woman not some weak cry baby who ran when the chips were down. Carly didn’t care what Sonny said about Elizabeth taking a bullet for Jason. She knew the painter wouldn’t be able to handle Jason’s life. At the first hint of danger, Elizabeth would run. She just wished she could convince Jason of that. If she could do that, then there was a lot of swamp land in Florida she’d like to sell. No, she was never going to be able to get Jason to see Elizabeth for who she really was.

Carly was faced with the same problem she had over a month ago; either accept Elizabeth as a part of Jason’s life or lose his friendship. The latter she was unprepared to do. Elizabeth Webber was not going to take her best friend away from her. That she was sure of. What she wasn’t sure of was how to accomplish the former. How could she accept a person she hated with a passion into her life? She’d done it before, she mused. She hated Sonny when she first met him and now he was the love of her life. She hated her mother when she first arrived and now they were closer than mothers that raised their daughters. In fact, Bobbie was her closest female friend. God, she wanted to barf just thinking about being friends with Elizabeth Webber. She could just imagine the heart warming talks at Kelly’s while drinking hot chocolate and fixing each other’s hair. Carly didn’t think she could take all the sugary sweetness that constantly came out of the other woman’s mouth. It was enough to make even the healthiest person sick not to mention a pregnant woman.

But she was going to stomach it, pregnant or not. She would anything to make Jason happy, and if that meant being nice to a girl she detested, well then so be it. If Elizabeth made Jason happy then Carly was happy. She could only pray that Jason’s infatuation ends quickly, so she won’t have to spend too much time pretending to be nice.

~*~

Alexis stood ready to cross examine the forensics specialist the DA had just finished questioning.

“Mr. Lee, you’ve testified that the gun found in my client’s room had recently been fired.”

The young Asian man nodded before giving a verbal yes to Alexis’ indirect question.

“Also, that the bullet from this gun matched the bullets recovered from Miss Webber and Mr. Spencer.” Alexis paused again as the witness agreed to her statement. She glanced at the jury before asking, “Were you able to find any gun powder residue on my client?”

Kevin Lee shifted comfortably in the witness stand. “No, but ...”

“Not on his hands, or on his jacket or jeans?”

“No, it’s ...”

“Wouldn’t it be difficult for my client to have fired the gun you retrieved from his room and not have accumulated powder residue on his person?” Alexis attacked not wanting to give the man a chance to catch his thoughts.

The witness shook his head, “Not if he was wearing gloves.”

Alexis jumped at his answer. “Did you find gloves in my client’s room during your search?”

Lee shook his head again. “No, we concluded the suspect must have thrown them away.”

“I see,” she said quietly. The defence attorney brought her hand up to her chin in a calm and cool manner as if she was pondering some universal paradox. After a few moments, she asked the question she hoped the jury were wondering. “If Mr. Morgan, threw away the gloves he used while shooting Lucky Spencer, why do you think he kept the gun?”

“Uh, I’m...” Lee stammered, “I’m not sure.” He looked to the prosecutor’s table for guidance but received none.

Alexis nodded sure she was getting the jury thinking. “That’s okay. We’ll come back to that question. When you examined Lucky Spencer, his arms and side were covered with bruises, isn’t that correct?”

“Yes.”

“You were able to determine that those bruises were only a few hours old.”

“Yes.”

“You concluded that Lucky Spencer struggled with his killer before getting shot.”

“Yes.”

Alexis nodded and leaned against the jury railing. “Did you find any DNA evidence on the body that matched my clients?”

“No, I did not.”

The attorney looked at each member of the jury to make sure they were understanding what the witness was telling them. “Did you find any bruises similar to Lucky Spencer’s on my client?”

Lee shook his head. “No.”

Alexis straightened and stared directly at the witness. “Is it possible for the victim to sustain those bruises and not injure his assailant in anyway?”

The forensic specialist nodded. “Yes, if the attacker were wearing a jacket.”

Alexis looked back to Jason before continuing her questions. “When my client was arrested, he was wearing a leather jacket.”

Lee nodded again, “Yes, he was.”

“Did you examine the jacket?”

“Yes,” he replied hesitantly.

Alexis sighed at having to pull the information from the prosecutor’s witness. “What did you find?”

Lee paused to take a drink of water before answering the question. “I found blood matching Elizabeth Webber on the cuffs and arms.”

Alexis raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. “Was that it? No trace of Lucky Spencer’s blood, no hair follicles that might have landed on the jacket during the struggle?”

“No, I wasn’t able to find any evidence of the victim on the jacket,” he admitted.

Alexis walked up to the witness box. “If my client fought with Lucky Spencer, shouldn’t you have been able to find something on his jacket?”

Lee squirmed under the defence attorney’s scrutiny. “Yes, there should have been...”

“Were you able to find any of Elizabeth Webber’s blood on Lucky Spencer’s hands or clothes?” Alexis continued without letting the witness finish his thought.

Lee looked slightly flustered by the change in question but was able to reply. “No.”

“If Lucky fought with Jason, wouldn’t some of Elizabeth’s blood rub off onto Lucky?”

“Yes, it should have.”

Alexis took a step back and faced the jury once more. “Okay, Mr. Lee, let me see I understand this. You are trying to tell this jury that my client fought with the victim then shot him in the chest, yet you have no evidence to support your conclusion. My client did not have any bruises consistent with being in a fight. There was no DNA of any kind found on Mr. Morgan’s jacket that matches Lucky Spencer, and the DNA that was there was not transferred to the victim during the struggle. And you were unable to find any gun powder residue of my clients hands or clothes.” She paused in her listings to catch her breath. “Have I left anything out?”

“I ...” Lee tried to answer but Alexis continued.

“Besides where the gun was found, do you have any physical evidence connecting my client to the murder of Lucky Spencer?”

Lee took a moment to collect his thoughts. “No, I don’t.”

“Thank you,” she said trying to keep herself from smiling. “Your honour, I finished with this witness.” Alexis returned to her seat without looking at the prosecutor’s table. She could only imagine what the DA must look like as her specialist stepped down from the witness box.

Dara sat wondering if she had made the biggest mistake of her life. Alexis was killing her, but she knew that was going to happen. From the beginning she knew they didn’t have any real strong evidence against Jason. She just wished at this moment it wasn’t that weak. The physical evidence hurt her case, but that wasn’t all she had. Dara had a strong witness, and she was sure the jury would believe Tom Madigan over forensic evidence any day. She wasn’t down for the count yet.

“Councilor? Councilor?”

Dara stood to answer the judge. “I’m sorry, your honour.”

“Is the prosecution ready to call their next witness?”

Dara nodded. “Yes, your honour. I would like to call Elizabeth Webber to the stand.”