Home Sweet Home by pinkcow4

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter Ten

Thirteen years old...

"What are we doing here?"

"You told me you wanted to make pitcher this year."

"And..."

"And I want to help."

"Right... so what are doing here again?"

The sun shone above them with nothing but clear skies. The grass had long ago lost its morning dew, but glistened none-the-less. It was the perfect day to relax in the park, go for a swim in the lake, or, in this case, to throw the ball around.

"Jason, I'm going to teach you how to pitch."

He didn't laugh. He didn't even smirk. He merely stared at her unbelievingly. "Right. And then I'm going to show you how to crochet a scarf."

She wrinkled her brow. "Why would I want to know how to crochet a scarf?"

"Elizabeth, what makes you think YOU can teach ME how to pitch a baseball?"

She placed her hands on hips, indignant with his question. "Hello, I was only taught by the best--my Gram."

He was still unbelieving. "Mrs. Hardy? The nurse?"

"That NURSE was star pitcher of her all girls college softball team."

"Girls softball?" Jason rolled his eyes. "Gimmee a break."

She poked him in the chest with a pointed finger. "Hey, don't insult my Gram, and don't you dare make fun of girls or me and Em will stuff you in your locker, like the last time. I'll show you the trophies if you want, Gram was THE best."

"Even if that were true, what does that have to do with YOU teaching me."

"Gram and I toss the ball around all the time. She taught me everything I know. Remember when I threw a juice carton at A.J.'s head for making Emily cry? I was far across the cafeteria and it hit him square between the eyes, exploded juice all over his face and knocked him out for a good minute. How can you say I don't know anything about pitching?"

He recalled their first day of junior high school vividly. He would've beaten the crap out of A.J. himself, if Elizabeth hadn't beaten him to it with the juice carton. He had to admit, the throw was indeed very impressive. And he did want to make pitcher this year. What did he have to lose? Sighing hesitantly, he pulled on his baseball glove.

"And why exactly are you helping me?"

She smiled innocently at him as she twirled the baseball between her hands. "I can't just do a favor for my best friend's brother?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?"

She grinned, her eyes sparkling both hopefully and mischievously. "Pool lessons."

Jason looked at her, dumbfounded. "I don't have a pool table."

"Sonny Corinthos does," she pointed out quickly. "And he's your best friend."

Jason shook his head. "Sonny isn't going to let you anywhere near his pool table. You're a GIRL."

Elizabeth didn't back down. She continued on with her request without flinching. "I'm sure you could convince him otherwise."

"And why would I do that?"

She spoke with confidence and without reserve. "Because with my help, I could GUARANTEE you the pitcher position on the team. And then you'd have to repay me."

Jason had to smile at the confidence that poured from her. "You sound pretty sure of yourself."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Do we have a deal?"

He stared evenly into her eyes and marveled at the wondrous life that shone from the blue orbs. Elizabeth Webber was fast becoming a beautiful girl and it was hard not to notice. He would've given her those pool lessons, even without the pitching lesson.

Even Elizabeth knew that, but she would keep that little secret to herself.

Elizabeth got his affirmation from the slight nod of his head. Happy to have the chance to do him a favor, her smile widened even more. She held the baseball in her hand and began to demonstrate her illustrious knowledge. "Good, okay, let's start with..."

*****

Present Day

Elizabeth drunkenly stumbled into the dark penthouse. In one hand she carried the shoe she had broken when she had fallen out of the cab that had taken her to the penthouse from Jake's. Frustration combined with the alcohol in her system made her unable to remove the other shoe, and so, she limped awkwardly across the threshold. She immediately stubbed her toe on the desk by her chair and cursed.

Having only acquainted herself that morning with the place and just recently thoroughly inebriating herself at Jake's, she found great difficulty in turning the lights on. After a few unsuccessful tries from blindly feeling the wall, she gave up. Abandoning her purse and lone shoe by the closed door, she moved towards the general direction of the couch.

She didn't have the chance to make it there, however, for she heard faint voices on the other side of the door. Elizabeth realized, with great irritation, that one of the voices belonged to Courtney. She heard keys being inserted into the door. Despite being aghast that Jason was actually bringing the Barbie wannabe into his home, Elizabeth gathered enough of her wit to hurriedly limp up the stairs. From her eavesdropping position, she heard the door open and close.

"I had a really great time, Jason," Courtney gushed. Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Although, I don't know why you wanted to go to a place that far. We couldve just gone to Jake's."

As if he would take her anywhere someone might recognize him. Jason turned the lights on and blanched slightly at the pain they induced on his alcohol-drenched senses.

"Oh my God!" Courtney exclaimed, her high-pitched squeal eliciting more pain on him. Elizabeth feared for a moment that she had been caught, but Courtney's exclamation was directed towards the massacre that was Jason's living room. "Did someone break in or something?"

"No," Jason replied tiredly. "I-uh... the guys were here earlier and they were rough housing. It's not big deal. Emily's been wanting to redecorate anyways."

"Your friends messed up your home and then they didn't clean up?"

Jason shrugged.

"Well, here, let me help you tidy up."

Jason would've preferred if she would just leave instead, but seeing as how he did not want to clean the mess up himself, he simply shrugged again. "I have a broom in the hallway closet upstairs."

Elizabeth belatedly realized that said closet was directly behind her. She scurried into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. To be on the safe side, she jumped into the bathtub and drew the show curtain to hide her. It was a smart move on her part. Rather than open the hallway closet door as expected, Courtney instead entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Elizabeth was able to see her through the crack of an opening between the curtain and the tiled wall.

"Okay," the blonde said. "You can do this girl. He's yours for the taking."

Elizabeth could see that the girl was speaking to her reflection in the mirror.

"Hair, good. Make-up, good." She pushed her breasts together with her two large hands. "Boobs, good."

Elizabeth could not resist the urge to roll her eyes.

"Okay, Court-Court."

'Court-Court?' Elizabeth mouthed to herself in disbelief.

"He likes you. He really likes you. He can't get enough of you. You are too irresistible for words."

Elizabeth made a silent gagging gesture. Was this chick for real?

And then came the bad part. The blond proceeded to stretch her limbs, while at the same time, make peculiar 'oooooh'-ing and 'ahhhh'-ing noises.

"Alright, show time." Finally, the self-pep talk and stretching exercises ended, much to the relief of Elizabeth's sanity. Courtney left the bathroom and Elizabeth sighed a thank you to no on in particular.

Eager to keep an eye on the vapid airhead, Elizabeth limped out of the bathroom, first making sure that the coast was clear. She crept over to the loft overlooking Jason's living room. Peeking over the edge, she found Courtney, sweeping and using her trademark move of sticking out her chest and ass. Elizabeth briefly wondered how the girl managed to do that all the time without hurting her back. She would've gagged again, if it weren't for the sight of her 'husband' openly ogling the blond. A rage she'd only felt once before boiled inside of her and mixed with the alcohol already coursing through her veins.

He certainly didn't LOOK annoyed.

"Courtney," Jason said in a soothing voice. The blonde perked immediately. "Why don't you come over and sit down?"

"Okay!" she happily agreed. She positioned herself next to Jason on the couch within a split second, forgetting all about the shards of glass.

"I had a good time tonight," Jason said.

Elizabeth's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe her eyes or ears.

"Really?" Courtney sighed. "I wasn't sure. You were kinda grumpy for awhile."

"I had a lot on my mind." He reached out for a strand of her hair. "You have nice hair."

"Thanks. I use Pantene."

The pair leaned closer together, forcing Elizabeth to look away before she became blind. She couldn't take it anymore, the night from Port Charles needed to end NOW.

Elizabeth looked around and saw that the closet door was still open from when Courtney retrieved the broom. Her eyes landed on a collection of old baseballs that littered the floor, giving her an idea. Grabbing an armful and moving back towards the wall, she peered over the edge once more. The happy pair was now laying down on the couch, with Courtney spread languishly over him. Elizabeth briefly entertained the idea of throwing the baseball at the blonde's head, but proceeded to think of different ideas.

Quickly scanning the living room as best she could with her alcohol goggles on, she finally saw where the light switch was. Taking one baseball in her right hand, she pulled back and with perfect precision, threw the ball such that it hit the switch, effectively turning the lights off. She did it well enough so that the baseball didn't even made a loud thud.

Courtney gasped audibly. "What just happened?"

Elizabeth grinned, greatly pleased with herself. Even alcohol couldn't take the pitch out of her. She leaned closer to hear the nervous whispers.

"The lights just went out."

"Yeah, I can see that."

"Was it a ghost?"

"No, Courtney. It's probably just an electrical shortage"

"I'm scared. Hold me close."

That certainly wasn't going to do. Elizabeth picked up another baseball, then peered through the dark to find her next target. The damaged pool table was right beneath her, it's balls gathered one side of the table. She threw the baseball such that it collided with the pool balls, causing them to scatter haphazardly and clack loudly.

Courtney squealed. "Oh my god, what was that? It's the ghost again."

"There's no ghost, Courtney."

The remainders of the glass coffee table shattered as another unseen baseball came crashing through.

"Holy shit!" Courtney cried, sitting up straight and climbing over the backside of the couch in utter fear. Elizabeth would have sought out another target, but she found her job to be finished as Courtney quickly fled towards the door. Elizabeth was surprised the girl didn't pee in her dress. She had to fight to contain her laughter to herself.

Courtney threw the door open and ran across the hall. She could be heard banging on the opposite door. "Sonny, SONNY! Open the door!!"

Shaking his head, Jason left the couch and closed the door, after which, he flicked the lights back on. He looked around at the room and the massacre that his 'date' had just raced away from as if her life depended on it.

"Alright," he called into the room. "You can come out now."

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter Eleven

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As an artist, Elizabeth saw beauty everywhere that she looked. She saw it in the leaves, in the sky, in people's hearts. And yet, no sight was as magnificent nor gratifying as the one she had just witnessed mere seconds ago. Watching Courtney fly out of the penthouse like a headless chicken was more than she could bear and she could hardly manage to suppress her laughter. Her shoulders shook with irrefutable hysteria.

"Alright, you can come out now."

Elizabeth stilled her shaking laughter. Jason's attention to her presence cut her giggling fit short. Not willing to give up her location, she kept her silence.

"I only know one person who can hook a baseball like that." Elizabeth heard his padded footsteps up the carpeted steps. She glanced down at the few remaining baseballs lying around her, then grabbed one in preparation. As soon as he emerged at the top of the landing, she let one fly. As if anticipating the gesture, he ducked bacwards quickly to dodge it.

Poking his head back out, he smirked. "Next time you want to sneak in, don't leave your shoes and purse by the door."

Elizabeth threw another baseball and this time he narrowly missed it as bent his knees and then pusshed off his feet to jump towards her. Not realizing his move, she was caught by suprise when he was able to grab her arms and prevent her from tossing more baseballs in his direction.

"Lemme go you neanderthal!" she slurred angrily while struggling at the same time to break free of his steel grip.

"Only if you promise to stop breaking my things!" he shot back.

"They're half my things anyway," she retorted hotly. "And after the divorce, it'll all belong to me!"

Using his impressive strength to his advantage, he managed to pin her directly beneath him. He was even smart enough to pin her legs down so that she couldn't try kicking any of his more sensitive areas.

"Not if my lawyer has anything to say about it," Jason replied to her declaration.

"Ha, my lawyer is Alexis Davis."

"So?" he scoffed. "My lawyer is Justus Ward."

"My lawyer's better." In her tone he detected a subtle throwback to their childhood days, of when they fought over mundane things such as who was better: Batman or Superman.

"Batman's better."

"No, Superman is."

"Is not."

"Is too!"

Their eyes caught and even in the darkness he could see the sparks of anger and heat in her eyes. It was all too easy to lean down and close the gap between them, turn the anger into something entirely more pleasant. How often did they end up like this? Starting out by fighting like cats and dogs, and then making up like-

Well, he supposed they still needed to get to the making up part.

Just as the idea formed in his head the impulse to make it happen came upon him, the door crashed open. Elizabeth turned her head towards the general direction, while Jason visibly slumped and sighed.

"Jason!" Sonny's irritated voice boomed into the penthouse. "What's going on? Where are you?"

Clearly disappointed at being interrupted yet again, he released Elizabeth from his grasp and rolled off of her to lay beside her. Too her credit, she stopped struggling and didn't move to assault him once she was free.

"I'm up here."

"Courtney just barged into our bedroom and wouldn't leave until I came over to inspect your place. She says there's ghosts over here. What the hell happened?"

Elizabeth took the opportunity to pull herself up and poked her head over the bannister. "Sonny!" she cried with delight. "Long time no see!"

Sonny, merely clad in a robe and slippers, squinted up in the darkness. "Elizabeth?" And then, it all made sense to him. The mess that was Jason's living room as well as the mess that was his sister, it could only be attributed to one thing.

"Elizabeth," he said again, this time with a smile. He almost had to laugh.

Elizabeth got to her feet and walked down the stairs to the best of her ability. She nearly tripped and fell several times. Sonny had to catch her at the bottom of the landing. She hugged him tightly.

"How've you been, Webber? Carly told me you were back in town." Sonny grimaced good-naturedly. "And whoa, did you swallow a decanter?"

"I've been grrrrreat! I just blew into town to finish some unfinished business."

Sonny looked over Elizabeth's head to see a bemused and disgruntled Jason descend the stairs. Unfinished business seemed to be a gross understatement. He grinned cheekily, showcasing his famous dimples, then hooked an arm around Jason's shoulder while keeping his other arm around Elizabeth.

"Geez, so nice to see you two kids together again," he remarked, "doing what you two do best."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly would that be?"

Sonny sighed, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. "Oh you know, make this place so much more... interesting."

Elizabeth snorted and pulled away from Sonny's arm. "Just so we're clear, Jason and I are NOT back together again."

"Oh?" Sonny looked back and forth between the pair, taking in their dishevelled and inebriated state. From the looks of things, he had assumed that he had interrupted something important. "So what is this unfinished business that you're talking about?"

Elizabeth bent down and retrieved her discarded bag by the door. She fished around in the tote until she pulled out a sheath of blue papers.

"That would be my unfinished marriage," she stated, showing the papers to Sonny, "which WILL be finished as soon as your stubborn and pig-headed friend signs on the dotted line."

Sonny read the first few lines of the papers and his eyebrows furrowed. "Divorce? Wait, let me get this straight, you guys are STILL married?"

"Unfortunately," Elizabeth replied sourly. Jason merely shrugged.

"Well," Sonny said thoughtfully as he handed the papers back to Elizabeth. "That's very, very interesting."

"Isn't it though?" Jason replied cheekily, a cool grin on his features.

Elizabeth scowled. "Could you PLEASE talk some sense into him? He seems to enjoy making my life miserable."

"I don't know how it's possible for me to make your life miserable when you haven't even been around for me to participate in it."

"As if you actually participated in my life when I WAS around," Elizabeth retorted. "And believe me, the misery had far reaching effects, all the way to Italy."

"You've been in Italy?" Sonny asked, genuinely curious and hoping to diffuse another argument.

"I participated in your life," Jason growled, angry at her accusation. Despite their differences as newlyweds, he had always loved her more than life itself. "And not only that, but I also participated in OUR life."

"Right, when you weren't too busy hanging out with the boys or flirting with Courtney!"

"I never flirted with Courtney," Jason replied, indignant.

"I just saw you two!" she exclaimed, gesturing angrily towards the couch. "You were ready to maul her! All I needed was a video camera and I could've made twenty dollars a tape!"

"I wasn't going to do anything with her." Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Jason pressed on. "I knew you were here the whole time, I just wanted to piss you off. I knew it would make you jealous."

"I am NOT jealous!" she cried. Sonny looked at the door, wondering if he could escape unnoticed. Jason had wanted to make her angry; well, he succeeded.

"I couldn't care less what you do and who you do it with," Elizabeth declared.

"Your anger says otherwise."

"You didn't do this much while we were married, so I'm gonna give you a hint. I'm going to speak and I want you to hear me, to actually listen to what I've gotta say instead of zoning out and letting it slip from one ear to the other." Elizabeth looked at him square in the eye, never one blinking or flinching or allowing her true feelings to emerge. "Your affair with Courtney, whatever the hell it is, it doesn't matter to me. YOU don't matter to me."

Her words stung him, she knew, and hurting him stung her too, but she carried on anyways. Years of pent up frustration, anger and pain ceased to be held back after finally being freed. "You and our marriage were the worst things to happen to me. It was a miserable mistake and if you'd finally pull your head out of your selfish ass, you could actually do right by me for once and grant me the goddamn divorce. Then I can happily move on with my life and you can move onto Courtney."

She regreted her words the moment they fell from her lips, but fallen they had and she couldn't take them back. She hoped that he would respond by erupting in anger or blowing up with indignation. That was their routine, wasn't it? Push each other's buttons, fight and yell, and then make up and start all over again. The routine was getting old though, she realized. She knew she had tired of it long ago.

And the making up part was distinctly absent from the cycle.

He stared silently back at her. Then, startling both her and Sonny, he grabbed the sheath of papers from her and moved quietly over to the desk. From there, he picked up a random pen and scribbled haphazardly on all three copies. His back was to her and he missed the wrinkle of her brow. After siging all the papers, he held the pen mid-air for a moment and exhaled a sigh. Without another thought, he dropped the pen. He opened the door and exited. The door clicked softly behind him.

He never looked back.

[shellyme]

Very good story, I always kinda like the fiesty Lizzie Webber better than the Elizabeth Webber of today. With that said she is still an idoit most of the time when it comes to her mouth. Honestly I'm loving their interaction together and I can't wait to read more. Please Update soon!!!!

[ejliason]

really need more soooo funny. love it please finish it.

[kaydimz]

I always came to JRK to check on this fic...I loved this fic it was too Funny and I loved it. you need to come back and give it another chapter and an ending..