It was snowing outside and in the morning Port Charles would look like the cover of a Christmas Card, covered in a blanket of white. Elizabeth wrapped the afghan tighter around her shoulders as she watched the flakes fall one by one.

It’s funny how much can change in a year. She died a year ago . . . at least, she pretended to. Nothing like a good lie to start off a journey down memory lane. That was lie number one. Then she was going to marry Lucky a few months after that. The permanent lock was going to be made official, or so she thought. Lie number two. Then the car accident happened when Sarah came crashing back into her life. Just when she thought she was making progress, becoming independent from Lucky and building a relationship with her sister . . . well, lie number three and four happened instead. Then Jason came back.

He was the one who had taught her years ago that she didn’t have to pretend or lie with him. She could just be and that was okay. Life was starting to turn around. Her friend was back and he didn’t blame her for turning him away the year before. She could feel herself become stronger and it was okay to smile again. She could build a new life. Then she got kidnapped.

God, she lost her mind in that crypt. She lied to herself by thinking that Zander had kept her sane, but she wasn’t. She just pretended she was. Lie number five. And then when Jason rescued her, what did she do? She made one of the biggest mistakes of her life. She slept with someone she didn’t love. That was when Jason turned away. He looked through her for the first time since they had become friends. So, instead of telling the truth, she gave up and told Zander she had chosen him over Jason. She wished. Lie number six.

Then, she came to her senses. She told Zander the truth and told Jason that she wanted to be with him. That honesty lasted all of a few days. She finally told him the truth and that was when he lied to her for the first time. Lucky number seven, right?

He told her it didn’t involve her and that it was only his job, but that didn’t matter. She knew what was beneath all that. She had tried her best to be the person he could love and trust again after all the mistakes she had made with him in the past but it didn’t work. She told him that she was leaving because she couldn’t trust him anymore but what was one more lie? That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that he didn’t trust her.

Elizabeth looked out the window and touched the cold glass that was starting to freeze under the harsh coat of ice. Lizzie Webber was a great liar. Elizabeth was not.

“But somehow, I pulled it off,” she thought. “I heard him, you know. Talking to Courtney the next day. He told her that I couldn’t deal with his lies or his job anymore. He bought it.”

Elizabeth thought back to a time when she knew her life was going to change. Didn’t he remember? She reached to touch the painting lying against the windowsill. “I told him that I counted, I mattered. But who did he think taught me that? It was the man who three years ago, walked into a bar and showed me that it was okay to want my feelings to be important. He taught me that it was okay that I wanted to count for something. Something other than being an extension of someone else,” Elizabeth remembered.

She stood up from the couch and wandered to her easel. She paused as she touched the canvas. It was blank . . . and empty canvas. She didn’t want a new start but she was good at pretending now.

That night at Luke’s he came in the room and for a minute, she let her guard down and gave into the connection that always lay beneath the surface between her and Jason. He came over to speak to her, but before he could, she blurted out something about his marriage. As he started to explain to her that it was over, she couldn’t help but hold onto the hope that he still felt something . . . that he remembered. But he didn’t. Instead she told him that she didn’t want to know anymore about his life. She didn’t want to be his obligation or his mistake. If he wasn’t going to fight for her, she wasn’t going to fight for them either.

“So I told him I couldn’t care less,” she recalled.

She laughed at herself. Oops, a Freudian slip. It was true, she couldn’t care less, she could only care more. Who was she fooling?

“I’ll always be your friend,” he had told her once upon a time. But then she hurt him.

“I’ll always protect you and you’ll always be grateful,” he said then. The way he said those words could freeze her heart, but maybe it was his heart that had frozen.

Maybe that was the moment when their chance had slipped away. He said he forgave her and that it didn’t matter, but what he did afterwards proved otherwise. He left her alone in the penthouse night after night, doing God knows what as she stayed in the empty rooms wondering where he was. She was afraid that something had happened to him but worse, she was afraid that he was running from her. When the truth finally came out, she finally understood. He had been out, helping Sonny lie to the whole town about being dead. But why didn’t he tell her?

It wasn’t because he couldn’t trust her with that secret. He had already shown her that he trusted her when he let her take care of him that Christmas when he was shot. He had shown that he trusted her when he asked her to let him hide in her studio. He had even shown her that he trusted her when he told her about Alcazar and his yacht. No, the only reason she could come up with was that he didn’t want to be near her.

He had just promised her he’d try, but by not telling her the truth about Sonny, he had an excuse not to be around her. “He couldn’t try anymore,” Elizabeth rationalized. “I have hurt him too much and this time, I went too far.” He could have trusted her with Sonny’s secret, but she realized he couldn’t trust her with his heart.

The thought of it made her future seem as bleak as the winter night outside her window. She put down her brush as she realized what she had painted. She sighed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t deny how much it hurt inside knowing that she lost her chance. All she had left were the memories. She stared at the painting as the reds and the lines and the shadows started to form a picture. If Jason were standing next to her she would have explained to him what it was.

But he wasn’t, so she was alone in her quiet studio, staring at a picture of red glass shining in the light that only shone in Italy. “What do I do now?” she thought.

That was when the snow stopped.

*knock* *knock*

It had been three days, 2 hours, 5 minutes and 15 seconds since he had last seen her. He stared at the fireplace, the last place she had stood before she finally left him. Was he surprised? He shouldn’t have been.

He had even warned her. What had he said?

“One day you're going to look at me, and see exactly what I am. And your face will change and you'll back away, and I can't deal with that,” he had admitted to her.

He never lied and that was exactly what had happened. The first test of their relationship and she couldn’t handle it. Not that he blamed her. He had kept the truth from her and left her at the penthouse to worry. Everything she had said before she left was the truth.

He knew it, all along. His life was too dangerous, yes, but he was more afraid that when she saw what he really did, who he really was, she would be disgusted and turn away. And that was exactly what had happened.

The penthouse, it was a different place now. She was everywhere. The pool table was stained with her memories. So was the couch. The window looking out on the balcony . . . the kitchen . . . the whole second floor. He couldn’t escape it.

He knew this would happen and he tried to protect himself. He tried so hard, but even he couldn’t perform miracles. He couldn’t change his entire life for her. He couldn’t keep her safe. He could protect her from his enemies but not from the person that he was.

Jason walked over the couch and sat down, his hands on his knees as he remembered that night. He had tried once more to push her away. As long as he could keep her at an arm’s length maybe she wouldn’t see him like the animal he knew she would see if she got closer. But she didn’t let him. Instead, she reached for his hand and told him she could deal.

He knew she wasn’t knowingly lying to him, but it was a lie. He knew her. He knew her dreams and what she believed in. In the past three years she had shown him all that. But for him, he always kept that part of him hidden. Not on purpose, but mostly because Sonny needed him to keep his secrets and also because he didn’t want Elizabeth to get hurt. He never considered that she would turn away if she knew who he really was. But then she showed him.

The night Lucky attacked him on the pier, she had looked at him like a stranger. A violent, primitive animal who had attacked someone she loved. Sure, it wasn’t his fault that time, but that look on her face was burned into his memory. He never ever wanted to see her look at him like that again.

But who was he kidding? He killed people for a living. These people were scum, but it was by his hand that they died and he knew Elizabeth wouldn’t accept it.

“Do you think any of this is acceptable?” she had shouted at him the night she left.

He shook his head as he leaned back on his couch. No, she didn’t understand and she shouldn’t have had to.

He remembered repeating over and over again that it was because of his job and not because of her, but that wasn’t the truth. It was just a partial truth. An excuse. What he hadn’t said was that he would give anything to take away the pain on her face. He didn’t tell her that it WAS about her. Sonny made sure he didn’t tell anyone but when it came to Elizabeth, Sonny couldn’t order him to do anything anymore. Not about Zander and not about this. It was his choice and he had chosen not to tell her. It hurt like hell, but the alternative was much worse.

So he had escaped. Turned himself inside out doing anything but look her in the eye. He went to the safehouse to talk to Sonny. He baby-sat two grown women and spent all his time doing anything but being with her.

She was beautiful, smart and deserved so much more than the life he could give her. So he pushed her out of it. He didn’t want her tainted with the lies that he had to tell or rather the truth that he couldn’t tell. He didn’t want her involved in the scam with Alcazar. After the kidnapping and the warehouse and the shooting . . . he couldn’t risk her life again. So, instead, he chose not to tell her.

Was it a mistake? Yes. “But if she couldn’t handle my life now, it was better that she left sooner rather than later,” he rationalized to himself.

The last time he had left, he had traveled the world. He was hurt at first knowing that she had not taken his hand, but he figured that it was for the best. If she chose not to be with him then maybe she knew better than he did. Thinking about it now, she was probably right. He couldn’t give her the life she deserved. His life was about secrets, lies and other things better left unsaid.

That night he told her that he wanted to be with her, he was telling the truth. There was nothing he wanted more. Every bone in his body wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her until next Christmas, but he knew even then that it wouldn’t last. So instead, he pulled her into a soulful embrace.

Jason stood up and walked to the balcony, staring up at the sky, just like that night. He remembered thinking about his life and the light in her eyes. Those things couldn’t exist at the same time, he had told himself. As badly as he wanted it and as badly as he wanted her, he couldn’t make it work. He couldn’t change who she was any more than he could change the way he lived. He had felt her looking down at him from the top of the stairs and that was when he decided he couldn’t involve her in his life anymore.

He remembered when she told him that she didn’t want to feel like some precious thing that needed to be protected. That was the strength he loved about her. But he knew, deep down, that one day, she would see who he really was and that light would be wiped out and she would never look at him the same again.

And so it happened.

Jason shut the doors to the balcony as the snow began to fall at Harborview Towers. Winter had come again, but this time, he didn’t have an angel to watch over him. Instead, he was alone inside that quiet penthouse, surrounded by memories of what could have been.

“What do I do now?” he thought to himself. He shook his head. Not that it would matter anymore. The choices he made from that point on wouldn’t matter, not to him. The one thing that mattered had walked out that door.

Just when he looked up at that door, a sound broke the silence.

*knock* *knock*

Elizabeth sighed at the knock of the studio door. She really wasn’t in the mood for company. As she leaned against the door, she wished Jason had installed a peephole somewhere in the solid steel but no such luck.

“Who is it?” she called out from behind the door.

“It’s Sonny, Elizabeth,” a low voice sounded into the room.

Elizabeth sighed and leaned her forehead against the doorway. “Great, just what I needed,” she thought. “Is it too late to tell him I’m not home?”

After a few moments, she reached for the bolts and unlocked the door. “Hi Sonny,” she attempted to smile.

As she gestured for him to walk into the room, she noticed a piece of paper in his hand. “What’s that?”

Sonny shrugged and handed it to her. “It was taped outside your door.”

She reached for the yellow slip of paper and her eyes widened. “An eviction notice?!”

“Wow, I’m sorry about that,” Sonny sympathized.

She shook her head. “Figures. Another great addition to this already great day,” she muttered sarcastically.

She crumpled up the paper and tossed it across the room. As she took a seat on the couch, she remembered she wasn’t alone. She looked curiously at Sonny. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Um, no reason, I was just passing through,” Sonny explained.

She looked at him suspiciously. “Sonny, as much as I appreciate your words, I don’t buy it for a second. Maybe if you said them to me a year ago after you let me stay at your casino, I might, but now . . . well, I don’t anymore.”

Sonny looked at her, confused. “Is something wrong, Elizabeth?”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s nice of you to ask, but I don’t feel like sharing.”

“What happened, Elizabeth? Ever since you left the penthouse I have barely seen you or spoken to you,” Sonny inquired.

“You mean since you miraculously came back to life?” she snapped at him.

He looked at her again with that look of confusion.

She sighed and stood up from the couch to walk towards the windowsill. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so angry,” she apologized.

“Elizabeth, you don’t have to apologize, but why are you so upset?” he voiced.

“It’s not Sonny’s fault,” Elizabeth thought to herself. “He didn’t push Jason away, I did. He didn’t force me to sleep with Zander. No, I made that disaster happen all on my own. I shouldn’t take it out on him.”

“I’m not,” she lied. “Not with you, anyway.”

“I haven’t been a very good friend to you this past year,” Sonny replied. Was she mad at Jason? Was that why his friend had been so distant lately?

Elizabeth was surprised he even noticed. She was amazed he would admit it.

Sonny took a seat on the couch. “This year has been really hard on me and not that my problems excuse the way I’ve treated our friendship, but I just wanted you to know.”

“Yeah, you and your wife both had to pull off some pretty huge scams this year. I don’t blame you for being distracted,” Elizabeth said.

Sonny sighed. “Did I, did I do something? I mean, I don’t understand why my fake death bothers you so much.”

“It doesn’t,” Elizabeth told him. “It was just another reason why things didn’t work out for me.”

There were another couple moments of silence before she spoke again. “You must need something. Why are you here?” she asked again.

“To tell you the truth,” he began, “It’s not just you I’ve been a bad friend to. It’s Jason too.”

Elizabeth shook your head. “Jason’s not a part of my life anymore, so if you are having problems with him, I can’t help you.”

Once again, disbelief crossed Sonny’s eyes. “I noticed he’s been . . . different lately.”

Elizabeth decided to pass on that small hope that he was different because she wasn’t in his life. Hope wasn’t her friend.

“Did you walk out or did he?” Sonny asked.

It was a simple question but the answer wasn’t. She had physically walked out that night Jax was shot but he had walked away many times before then. “Both of us,” she said honestly. “It just wasn’t going to work.” It was funny how easily Jason’s words slipped through her lips.

Sonny shook his head, “I’m sorry, but I find it so hard to believe.”

“We’re different people,” Elizabeth stated. “Too different to be together.”

“But you were always different,” Sonny said.

Elizabeth nodded, accepting his words. “But there’s a distance between us that wasn’t there before.”

“Does this have to do with the fact that Jason didn’t tell you I was alive?” Sonny questioned.

“Only partly,” Elizabeth admitted. “When Jason and I first became friends, there was nothing we had to hide from each other. I could hurt because Lucky was gone and he could hurt because he had to give up Michael. It was just right between us. Like nothing I’d ever had before.”

“You know, this scam had nothing to do with you,” Sonny explained.

“I know,” Elizabeth nodded. “Jason told me as much.”

“Was that the problem?” Sonny asked. “Are you mad that we didn’t involve you?”

Elizabeth thought about that for a moment but shook her head. “No, after being kidnapped I had more than my share of your dealings with Alcazar.”

“Then what was it?”

“It was the fact that Jason could leave me behind in the penthouse night after night to worry whether he would come home or not,” Elizabeth explained. “I could feel him pushing me away.”

“He had to, Elizabeth. It was a part of his job,” Sonny explained.

“No, his job was his excuse,” she said.

"You think he was hurting you on purpose, but he wasn't Elizabeth," Sonny insisted. "It wasn't his fault."

"No, it wasn't, that's not what I meant. It was my fault," she explained.

“What?! Why would you think that?” Sonny exclaimed.

“I hurt him, Sonny. Last year, when I turned him away, when I believed Lucky over him, I ripped out his heart when he was only trying to be my . . . friend. I thought we still had a chance when he came back. I thought I could make it up to him and prove to him how much he meant to me and how much he changed my life. Instead, I made the same stupid mistake again. I’m not the person he was friends with three years ago. I pushed him too far and I can’t make it better,” she confessed.

Sonny stared at her, knowing that she didn’t know everything. He may not have been a good friend to Jason, but he knew enough about Jason’s actions this past summer to know that Elizabeth couldn’t be more wrong.

Here he was, thinking that Elizabeth was mad at Jason for keeping his secret and for lying to her, but she didn't seem to care about that. All she could see was the blame she put on herself.

She looked up at him with a plea in her eyes. "So tell me, Sonny, what do I do now?"

Jason breathed out a sigh of frustration. The last thing he needed that moment was a visitor. As he walked towards the door, he promised himself a ride to Vista Point as soon as the unwelcome guest left.

When he opened the door, the last person he expected to be there was leaning against the doorframe.

“Little brother,” the man greeted.

Jason blocked the door before A.J. could enter.

“Hey, I come in peace,” the shorter man said, holding his hands up in surrender.

“If you’re here about your wife, she’s not here,” Jason growled at A.J., but the shorter man slipped by into the room.

“That’s not why I am here, although that reminds me, you must be pretty desperate to be going after my leftovers, Jase,” A.J. taunted him.

“Real nice, A.J. And you wonder why she left you,” Jason replied.

“Congratulations, you won again. You and Sonny managed to take away another person I love. I bet you’re pretty proud of yourself, huh, Jase? First Michael, then Carly and now the one person who really believed in me,” A.J. said, looking at him with that familiar self-satisfying grin.

Jason didn’t even blink. He knew A.J. had something up his sleeve.

“Sonny’s loyal right hand man . . . do you even CARE that I told you that I loved her? Do you remember that night you came to threaten me for putting a fake body in the lake? I told you that I had fallen in love with her and you’ve conveniently forgotten. Or maybe you just misunderstood me,” A.J. said bitterly.

“I doubt you’d understand what love is. You don’t know what it’s like to finally find the one person who loves you, believes in you and accepts you for who you are, no questions asked. I guess a little bit of understanding is too much to ask from Sonny’s enforcer.”

Jason flinched at the reference. Why was he letting A.J. talk? He could so easily throw the weasel out faster than A.J. could say “meatlocker.” Instead, he glared at him. It was so strange to think that he had once been related to this lying, self-pitying little . . .

“That’s all you are, aren’t you Jason? Sonny’s enforcer. It’s all you’ll ever be,” A.J. said spitefully.

Before Jason could react to A.J.’s rant, the other man turned to face Jason with a smug look on his face.

“But that’s not why I’m here. I just thought I should warn you ahead of time that Taggert is on his way over here with an arrest warrant for you for the murder of Luis Alcazar,” A.J. informed him.

“And you came here to gloat?” Jason questioned him.

A.J. tilted his head. “Nah, little brother. Just to warn you. The pure joy of seeing you behind bars will be satisfaction in itself.”

“How long do you think this is going to last A.J.?” Jason asked. “Not that the arrest is going to stick, but if I do end up behind bars, who are you gonna blame for all your problems, huh? You’ll have no one to blame for the pathetic excuse you call living. When are you gonna grow up?”

A.J.’s jaw twitched in anger. “Don’t talk to me about growing up. You’re the one following Sonny around like some mindless zombie. Look at your life. Can you honestly say that you’re any better a person than I am? I’ve made my share of mistakes, but God, Jason, you KILL people for a living. Or does your damaged little brain not register the immoral implications of murder?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I have absolutely no conscience so what makes you think you’re safe?” Jason glared at him. He felt the anger rise in the pit of his stomach. Why was he letting A.J. get to him like this?

“Go ahead, Jason. Do what you do best. Keep those empty threats coming. And when you finally have the guts to see them through, I hope Courtney is there to see it,” A.J. spat at his brother.

A.J. walked out the door and Jason slammed it after him. “What an idiot!” Jason mumbled under his breath, but even through his anger, even he couldn’t deny that there was some truth in A.J.’s words.

Outside, in the penthouse hallway, A.J. pushed angrily at the elevator button. “There has to be another angle,” A.J. thought to himself. “Jason’s obviously not going to let a little jail time keep him from stealing my wife.”

A.J. had never been more desperate in his life. When he first met Courtney, she wasn’t anything but a way to get to Sonny. She wasn’t even a person. But when Sonny slammed the door on any chance he had of getting Michael back, Courtney opened his eyes to an entirely new life. This life was one where he didn’t need to prove himself to be deserving of her love. He had told her every misdeed he had ever committed, except for his real reason for marrying her, and she didn’t hate him. Talk about a plan backfiring. But it wasn’t that either. Instead of getting revenge on Sonny, he got the best thing of all.

A.J. pressed the button more forcefully this time, frustrated at how he had ruined things. He had let his insecurities get the best of him. He would never admit it but he was the one to blame for Courtney walking out on him just as much as Jason. If he had just believed in her the way she had believed in him, none of this would have happened.

He could have had a comfortable life, living at their apartment with her and Rosie. It was okay for awhile with her working at Kelly’s and him working at the construction yard. But she just kept running to Jason, his brother, the hero.

But he couldn’t go back in time, and he had to fix things. If Jason wasn’t going to be taken down by the legal system, there had to be another way. If only there was a way to get revenge, make Jason feel what he was feeling and even better, if he could do that and get Courtney back.

He was SO close. If he hadn't slipped about Rosie and if Coleman hadn't doublecrossed him, he would be in Manhattan right now building a new life out of his brother's shadow. He should never have thrown that party at Kelly's. They should have just packed and left.

As the elevator door opened, a smile touched his lips. "Hmmm," he thought to himself. "Kelly's . . ." He knew EXACTLY what he had to do now.

“I can’t tell you what to do, Elizabeth,” Sonny replied.

Elizabeth nodded, “I know, but it didn’t hurt to ask, right?”

Sonny paused, seeing the forlorn look on her face. It wasn’t his place. If Jason wasn’t going to open up and tell Elizabeth the truth, then who was he to intrude? On the other hand, a little nudge couldn’t hurt . . .

“Are you sure he is still holding onto that grudge?” Sonny asked gently.

“Why wouldn’t he? I did everything in my power to hurt him,” Elizabeth said, her eyes glistening with tears.

“Not on purpose,” Sonny interjected.

Elizabeth shook her head. “Does it matter why I did it? It happened, and I can’t take that back. Can we talk about something else?”

Sonny nodded knowing not to push it. “So how is your art going? I notice you’re working on a new piece,” he said, gesturing to the painting of the red glass.

Elizabeth blushed, but she was glad Sonny didn’t know the real story behind that painting. “I felt inspired,” she relented.

“You’re still working at Kelly’s,” Sonny commented. “You know, if you ever need money to go to art school, you only have to ask. And this whole eviction thing, I can take care of that for you.”

“No, I couldn’t ask you, not that I want to. I can take care of myself,” Elizabeth replied.

Sonny smiled. He knew she could, but it didn’t hurt to offer. “Thanks, by the way.”

“For what?” Elizabeth asked.

“I know you had something to do with my sister getting a job at Kelly’s,” Sonny answered.

Elizabeth sighed. “It wasn’t a problem. She’s . . . enthusiastic.”

“And you’ve been a really good friend to her too. She was new here and being married to that weasel A.J. didn’t exactly help her situation,” Sonny said. “Thanks for covering for her so I could speak to her.”

Elizabeth managed a smile. “It wasn’t a problem. Courtney covered for me when I was gone too.”

Sonny chuckled. “I heard about your adventure to rescue Luke.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Don’t tell me, let me guess, you saw the newspaper picture too?”

He smiled, “It was a pretty daring get-up.”

Elizabeth blushed. “I just wanted to get Luke out of that chain gang, that’s all. He’s been really good to me and I owed it to Lucky.”

Sonny nodded. “I don’t know if you really did Luke a favor. I got a good laugh out of the little incident at the PCPD though.”

“You mean when he burned it down?” Elizabeth asked, amazed.

Sonny laughed again. “That place needed a change of decoration.”

Just then, Sonny’s cell phone rang. “Excuse me,” he said to Elizabeth as he reached for the phone.

Elizabeth quickly covered up the painting with a linen sheet while Sonny was on the phone.

“Okay. Already? Okay, I’ll be right there,” Sonny said before he turned off the phone. “I’m sorry to cut my visit so short, but . . .”

“Oh, it’s okay. Thanks for coming to see me,” Elizabeth said.

“Remember my offer. If they give you any more trouble about the studio, don’t hesitate to . . .”

“I’ll be fine,” Elizabeth reassured him.

Sonny nodded and walked out the door.

As Elizabeth shut it she sighed to herself. She was anything but fine. She had this awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong.

“Jason, they can’t arrest you. They have no evidence!” Carly said to her friend. She turned to the police commissioner, “Mac, you KNOW you have nothing on him. When are you going to stop finding excuses to put Jason and my husband behind bars?”

“Carly, be quiet!” Jason warned the blonde woman.

“I’m sorry, Carly. It’s standard procedure. We have an eye witness placing Jason with Alcazar before his murder and on his hotel floor right after Alcazar was pushed off the balcony,” Mac explained. “We have to question every possible suspect.”

“Then why don’t you arrest, Br---“

“Carly! Shut up!” Jason yelled at her.

“What, Jason?! I am not going to let them harass you for something they know you didn’t do!” Carly exclaimed.

“Carly, just call Sonny and keep your mouth shut,” Jason ordered.

“I already did Jason when I saw them drag you out of the penthouse. He said he’d be on his way,” Carly said. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you---“

“You’re not letting me do anything, Carly. Go outside and wait for Sonny,” Jason instructed.

“Fine,” Carly snapped back at him. “Sorry for trying to be your friend.”

Jason let out a big sigh as Carly stalked out to the lobby of the PCPD. He stared at the cuffs around his wrists. Just what he needed, a visit to the PCPD. As he glared at the policemen staring at him from the other side of the glass, he remembered Elizabeth’s words.

“You’re Sonny’s enforcer, first, last and always. I hope that’s enough.”

He tugged at the cuffs. It wasn’t enough. So what could he do now?

As Elizabeth put her coat on the coat rack near the door of Kelly’s she could feel a pair of eyes watching her. To her surprise, when she turned around, she found A.J. Quartermaine smiling at her over a cup of coffee. She looked at him with a question in her eyes and he waved her over.

“Hi, Elizabeth,” A.J. greeted her.

“Hi, A.J. Is there something I can help you with? Do you need a refill on your coffee?”

He smiled again. “No, I’m fine. Has your shift started?”

Elizabeth felt a little uneasy under his gaze but he was just being polite. “No, not for another 15 minutes.”

“Good, would you mind joining me for a few minutes?” A.J. gestured to the seat across from him.

Her curiosity piqued, Elizabeth took a seat. “Was there something in particular you wanted to talk about?”

“Courtney, actually,” A.J. said, the smile unwavering from his face.

“Why does everyone want to talk about Courtney, suddenly?” Elizabeth thought to herself. “What about?” she said aloud.

“I wanted to thank you for helping at that party. Even though we aren’t moving after all, I’m glad my wife has a friend at work,” A.J. explained.

“What should I say? I’m glad you’re glad Courtney has a buddy at work?” Elizabeth thought.

“It’s just,” A.J. said with a sigh, “things have been a little rough in my marriage these past few days and I was hoping you could give me a little insight.”

Elizabeth nodded. Even though she and Courtney had only known each other a little while, Elizabeth felt a little guilty for making Courtney feel guilty for being friends with Jason. She had used Courtney as an excuse both for herself and for Jason. “Sure, A.J.,” Elizabeth said to him. “What can I do to help?”

“Well, I just want you to keep an eye on her for me. Let me know if there’s something that’s bothering her that she’s not telling me,” A.J. informed her.

“You want me to spy on her?” Elizabeth said, feeling suddenly suspicious.

“No, no,” A.J. said shaking his head. “It’s just that I work so much now and I am not always around and I feel guilty that I’m not there for her as much as I used to be. I mean, ever since my grandfather disowned me, I’ve spent so much time trying to build a life for my wife that I haven’t been around to find out what’s bothering her. I just want to prove to her that I can be the kind of husband she married. She’s the first person to really see me and love me for me. My whole life I’ve lived in the shadow of my brother and she’s shown me that I don’t have to do that anymore.”

Elizabeth felt a tug of sympathy for him. She knew what it was like to struggle for respect. Sarah’s shadow was a familiar place for her. “Okay, I’ll let you know if I notice anything. But, A.J., if she tells me anything in confidence, I won’t be able to share that with you.”

“No, I know that,” A.J. said. He reached for her hand. “Thank you, Elizabeth. I really mean it. You’re really helping me out here.”

Elizabeth pulled her hand away, uncomfortable with A.J.’s gesture. “It’s not a problem. I better get started before Bobbie yells at me,” Elizabeth lied.

A.J. smiled that cold smile once more. “Okay, I’ll see you around.”

Elizabeth nodded and quickly walked to the kitchen. As soon as she was in the back room by herself she shook her head. “That was weird,” she said to herself.

Outside of Kelly’s, A.J. rubbed his hands together with glee. Now he could keep an eye on Courtney without her knowing it. He was proud of himself for finding an ally. The thing was, he had no idea exactly how useful his new friend could be in his plan to get Courtney back and seek revenge on Jason. She wasn’t just Courtney’s friend. But he didn’t know that. Not yet.

Meanwhile at the PCPD, Sonny had finally arrived to see his friend staring angrily at the handcuffs around his wrists.

“Sonny, thank GOD you’re here!” his wife shouted as she ran towards him.

“Carly, I thought I told you to stay at the penthouse,” Sonny said, not the least bit surprised that she was there.

“And let you have Jason take the fall for Little Miss Husband-Stealer?” Carly snapped at him. “Jason may work for you, but he’s your friend.”

Sonny nodded, not denying that he had neglected his friendship with Jason the past few months since Jason had returned to Port Charles. “I’m not going to let them send him to jail, Carly. Why don’t you go home and stay with Michael? Give Leticia a break. In fact, go to Kelly’s and get those turnovers you love and bring them home. I’ll meet you at the penthouse.”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily,” Carly glared at him.

“Carly, do you really think I’d let Jason rot in a jail cell for a woman who has done nothing but turn my life upside down?” Sonny asked her.

“Stranger things have happened,” Carly said bitterly remembering his affair with Alexis.

“Look, I’m going to find Jason a lawyer, okay? They have no evidence and he’s not going to jail,” Sonny reassured her.

“That’s what you think, Corinthos,” Scott Baldwin smirked at the mobster.

“You let Jason go, right now,” Carly insisted.

“Sorry, Mrs. Corinthos. I can’t do that. He’s the prime suspect in this investigation and we can’t just let him out. He could kill someone else,” Scott said.

“Since when did you adopt this new policy of keeping the guilty in jail, Scotty?” Sonny questioned the District Attorney.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I heard you just let out Luke Spencer after he burned down the PCPD,” Sonny retorted.

“Allegedly! He allegedly set the fire,” Scott interjected. “It was nothing but faulty wiring.”

“Yeah right,” Taggert mumbled under his breath as he walked by.

“Anyway,” Scott said, glaring at the lieutenant. “I suggest you get your lawyer, oh wait, Alexis won’t help you because your little mob war killed her sister. Well, I hope you find one quick because Mr. Morgan will need a good one with the evidence we have against him.”

“And what would that be? You have nothing on him, Scotty, but I’ll let you play your little game. It’ll be fun to see you proven to be the incompetent attorney that you are,” Sonny grinned at him.

Scott sneered at him before walking towards the police commissioner to discuss the lack of evidence he had against Jason.

“What if he isn’t bluffing, Sonny? Scott’s desperate. He’ll probably make up evidence just to put Jason in jail,” Carly said to her husband.

“Don’t worry about it. I am going to talk to Jason, you go home,” Sonny insisted.

“Alright, but you get him out of here. Promise me,” Carly ordered.

“I’ll get him out of this,” Sonny promised.

Carly gave him a peck on the cheek and with one last glare at Scott, walked out of the PCPD.

Sonny looked towards his friend inside the interrogation room. He shook his head. Jason wouldn’t be staying in jail. His friend still had some explaining to do for a young woman waiting for him on the outside.

Sonny opened the door and greeted his friend. “Hey, Jason. What happened?”

“The usual. Taggert came and dragged me in here based on some lame story about an eyewitness who saw me in the limo that night,” Jason explained.

“I’ll call Benny and see what he can do about finding us a lawyer,” Sonny said. “I’m sorry this happened to you, Jason.”

Jason looked at Sonny with surprise on his face. It had been so long since Sonny had looked at him like a concerned friend. “Just get me out of here. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”

Sonny smiled, remembering that Elizabeth said similar words earlier. Right then, he promised himself that he would make things right for Jason. “Okay, this is what we do now . . .”

A.J. stood skipped down the steps towards the pier, the wheels turning in his head. When he looked up, he was surprised to find his wife standing at the edge of the docks by herself. “Perfect,” he thought to himself.

“Courtney?” he called out as he approached her.

“Oh, A.J.,” Courtney gasped as she turned to him.

His eyes narrowed, noticing that there was a slight mist in her eyes. Had she been crying? “I’m glad I found you. Before you push me away again, I just have something to say and then I’ll leave you alone,” A.J. promised.

“Okay,” she conceded to his surprise.

He gestured towards the bench on the pier as he took a seat. “I did a lot of thinking last night and you’re right, I haven’t been fair to you or to our marriage. I blamed everything on Jason and that wasn’t right. You hate me for what I did and nothing I can say or do will change the fact that it was my fault.”

Courtney looked at him, bewildered at his confession.

“So, from now on, I’ll leave you alone. I won’t come to Kelly’s or go to the apartment. I’ll stop bothering you and I’ll stay out of your life,” A.J. explained. As his voice started to choke up he managed to add, “But you have to know, Courtney, I loved you and I still do. You said it was control and maybe you’re right about that, but underneath everything, I loved you.”

Courtney nodded solemnly. “Okay, A.J. Is that it?”

A.J. sighed. “That’s all.” As he stood up, he looked at her like it was going to be the last time. “Goodbye, Courtney.”

As he walked away, Courtney looked down at her wedding ring. After everything he had done, using her, lying to her, terrorizing her, she still couldn’t shut it off. A piece of her heart still remained with her husband.

She stood up and straightened herself out. “Get a grip, Courtney,” she told herself. “You have to move on.”

She looked in the direction of Kelly’s where she had stood outside the window a few moments before. “He already has,” she said remembering what she saw.

Courtney ran up the steps towards Kelly’s as A.J. watched in the distance. Phase One was complete.

“Can I get a box of apple turnovers when you get the chance?” Carly asked the brown-haired waitress as she took a seat on the stool in front of the counter.

“Sure, Carly,” Elizabeth answered, putting down the coffeepot in her hand.

“So I’m surprised you aren’t waiting outside the PCPD mooning after Jason,” Carly teased her.

Elizabeth looked at her curiously. “Why would I be?”

“Well, you know, since he’s been arrested,” Carly explained.

Elizabeth tried to stay calm and not reveal anything in her face. “That doesn’t concern me anymore.”

Before Elizabeth could escape into the back kitchen, Carly called after her, “What? Just a few days ago you were telling me how worried you were about him. Did you change your mind again?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “Carly, things change.”

“How? You gave up on him, right? Why am I not surprised?” Carly said.

“It wasn’t like that. How would you feel if Sonny left you by yourself at the penthouse wondering where he was night after night? Would you like it if he kept secrets from you about what he was doing and who he was with while you were worrying about him at home?” Elizabeth asked.

Suddenly, it dawned on Carly. Her eyes narrowed realizing her own situation. “No, I wouldn’t like it, but it had to be done Elizabeth. Sonny’s fake death had to be kept a secret.”

“I know that,” Elizabeth said. “It’s not that. It’s the other things. Jason was at Courtney’s all the time and I know he was doing it for Sonny, but why couldn’t he tell me that? Do you know how it felt knowing that he wanted to spend time with another woman rather than look me in the eye?”

“It wasn’t like that,” Carly said. But she was more telling herself that Sonny hadn’t been betraying her with Brenda. “Things are complicated,” Carly insisted.

“Actually, it’s pretty simple, Carly. He didn’t want me in his life,” Elizabeth conceded.

“Elizabeth, you remember that day we had a talk right here at this counter about Jason?” Carly asked.

Elizabeth nodded. “Yes, when you told me I was being a jerk for insulting you after you just “lost” your husband.”

Carly sneered at her. “Right. Anyway, that’s not the point. What I’m saying is that Jason pushed you away because it was part of his job. I warned you about that. There are things you can’t know and there are going to be lots of nights where you’ll be staying up late at night wondering if Jason will come back alive. That’s just part of being with someone who lives the life that Jason and Sonny do.”

“And maybe you’re right, I can’t handle it,” Elizabeth lied. She knew she could. She had worried herself to death over Jason after she thought Sonny had died, but she hadn’t run away from him then. It wasn’t until after she found out the truth and realized that Jason was doing his own running away that she left the penthouse behind.

Elizabeth headed towards the kitchen to get the turnovers.

“Fine,” Carly said, still wary of Elizabeth’s quick response. As she stood from her chair she noticed her sister-in-law standing outside of Kelly’s.

Elizabeth returned with the box and handed it to the other woman. “Here you go. Will you, um, will you let me know if Jason makes it out okay?” Elizabeth asked. As soon as the words slipped out, Elizabeth regretted it. She needed to let go.

Carly looked at the young woman sympathetically. “Sure. And about Courtney . . .”

“No, I don’t really feel like talking about her,” Elizabeth said. She had enough Courtney talk to last her a week.

“He never did anything with her, you know,” Carly said. “I would know if he did and he didn’t. It’s not who Jason is.”

Elizabeth shook her head, “Why are you telling me this Carly?”

“Because I know that was what had you so wound up,” Carly explained.

“It’s over,” Elizabeth said. “I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

“Okay, well I’ll talk to you later, Elizabeth,” Carly said as she grabbed her coat and the box of turnovers. As Carly walked towards the door and saw Courtney enter she thought to herself, “This is anything but over.”

Carly felt a plan coming on and she smiled to herself. She knew what she had to now.

Elizabeth wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as she leaned over the messy counter. She couldn’t believe that her first job in Port Charles had become her only job. She remembered back to why she had gotten it and smiled as she thought of her former self . . . the scheming Lizzie Webber.

She had become a waitress to be closer to Lucky and well, that time had passed. As she stared at the coffee stain at the edge of the counter that she was trying her best to remove, she wondered what she could be doing instead of what she was doing now. She was so happy and excited once at the prospect of becoming an artist but was it just a leftover dream from when she was with Lucky? Was there more to Elizabeth Webber than what she had become when she and Lucky were together?

She sighed as the constant memory of Jason returned for the fifth time since her shift started. Yes, there were parts of her that had nothing to do with Lucky. Parts of her that had grown during the time she had spent with Jason that year that Lucky had been gone. She had learned to stand up for herself, a trait that had been lost with her innocence. She had become comfortable in her beliefs and she started to remember that she mattered.

But then, how did she lose herself when Lucky returned? Jason had left, but only for a little while. When he got back she still managed to forget who she was to make Lucky happy. She had tried to be someone she was not in order to fit a mold. Then, after Lucky was brainwashed for the second time, she tried on another mold to make him love her again. What was the phrase? Hurt me once, shame on you. Hurt me twice, shame on me. After that she swore she wouldn’t change for anyone else.

Was she overcompensating when she told Lucky that she wouldn’t try with Jason? What came after the third time? Like she told Lucky, she wasn’t ready to hurt again.

She looked up as she heard the door of Kelly’s open. It was nearly closing time and she was surprised anyone would show up, especially when it was starting to snow again. She smiled as she recognized the tan trenchcoat and the dark head of hair.

“Sonny, you just missed her,” Elizabeth smiled to her friend.

“Who?” Sonny asked, his mind seemingly elsewhere.

“Carly,” Elizabeth replied. After Sonny didn’t respond, she added, “You know, your wife?”

Sonny shook his head, “Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about something.”

“Brenda?” Elizabeth asked.

Sonny looked at her surprised, “How did you know?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “Call it a woman’s intuition.”

“I’m only thinking about her because they just arrested her,” Sonny admitted.

“For Alcazar’s murder?” she questioned. “I thought they brought in Jason for that?”

“You heard?” Sonny countered.

Elizabeth nodded. “It was in the paper and every customer and their dog was reading about it.”

“Well, they’ll be reading that he’s been released in tomorrow’s paper,” Sonny informed her.

Elizabeth couldn’t help but feel relieved but she hid her emotion from Sonny. “Because they think Brenda did it?”

Sonny nodded. “But they don’t have enough evidence either way. I just need to get Brenda a lawyer and she’ll be free.”

“But you wish she didn’t have to be arrested in the first place,” Elizabeth suggested.

Sonny agreed, “Yeah. She’s already had 4 years stolen by this guy, she doesn’t need to suffer anymore.”

“Can I give you some advice, Sonny?” Elizabeth asked, noting the tenderness in his voice and the regret.

“Sure,” Sonny replied, “Although I can’t guarantee I’ll take it.”

“Make a choice,” Elizabeth said.

“A choice about what?” Sonny asked.

“Between Brenda and Carly,” Elizabeth said.

“What are you talking about? My relationship with my wife is totally separate from my relationship with Brenda,” Sonny insisted.

“Is it?” Elizabeth asked. “Then why when I asked you about Carly, you seemed too preoccupied with Brenda to even recognize your wife’s name.”

“Being worried about Brenda doesn’t mean I love Carly any less,” Sonny said defensively. “She’s my wife.”

“It may not seem that way to you, but it does to Carly. I’ve been there Sonny, remember? Last spring, I was torn between being Jason’s friend and being Lucky’s girlfriend and I ended up hurting both of them,” Elizabeth reminded him.

“That’s not the same thing. Carly’s my wife, not my girlfriend. I’ve made a commitment to her and Michael,” Sonny replied.

“Which makes it that much more important that you don’t hesitate even for a second in putting her first in your life,” Elizabeth explained. “You can’t be a good husband when you run to Brenda the minute anything goes wrong and leave Carly behind in the penthouse to worry. How would you feel if Carly left you every night to go do something with Jason? If her every thought and worry was about Jason instead of you?”

“Jason’s my friend and hers. I wouldn’t deny her a relationship with him. I don’t,” Sonny said, though the hesitation in his voice betrayed him.

“I’m just saying, Sonny, that sometimes, when you’re in a relationship, you aren’t the only one that matters. When you are with someone, what they want matters too,” Elizabeth explained.

“Is that why you turned Jason away last spring?” Sonny asked. “Because it was what Lucky wanted?”

Elizabeth didn’t want to remember that night in the park. It had been a terrible mistake and by the time she had realized it, Jason had left Port Charles. “What I’m saying is that your feelings aren’t the only ones involved. Make a choice Sonny so that next time I say that you just missed her, you won’t hesitate to know who I am talking about.”

“Can I ask you a question then?” Sonny said.

Elizabeth paused, but nodded.

“If you could go back in time, would you have made the same choice or would you have left Lucky to be with Jason?”

Elizabeth replied, “If you’re asking whether you should stay with your wife or if you should leave her for Brenda, I can’t tell you what to do.”

Sonny smiled. “No, Elizabeth, I am asking you what YOU would do if you had the chance to choose. Would you pick the person you promised to stand by and who you were committed to or take a chance on the person who set your heart on fire and made you want to take risks that you never thought possible before?”

Elizabeth looked at Sonny skeptically. “Isn’t your question a little biased?”

Sonny shook his head. “If you don’t have a definite answer, I hope you find one soon. Who’s hesitating now?” he asked her.

Elizabeth watched as he picked up his coat and she began to think deeply about his words. The results of her choice had made her think that turning Jason away was a mistake, but now that she had been with him, was it still a mistake? He had turned out to be just another person who lied to her . . . or maybe that was a place she had shoved him into in order to protect herself.

“Elizabeth, you’re both running away,” Sonny said to her. “He’s running from his past trying to change his life so that he won’t hurt someone else because he’s in the business. You’re running away because you are clinging onto the idea that he is just like every person who has hurt you before.”

“It’s not that simple,” Elizabeth said weakly.

“No? You’re both doing everything you can to not love each other . . . but I’ve learned something, Elizabeth. You can’t run away from love. It’ll just hit you harder the next time around,” he said.

Elizabeth sighed. “Goodnight, Sonny.”

He bowed his head in respect. “Thanks for the talk, Elizabeth. You gave me a lot to think about.”

She nodded in reply as he walked out the door. She had a lot to think about now too.

*knock**knock*

Jason groaned at the unwelcome interruption as he threw the pool stick on the table. As he opened the door, the smiling blonde woman looking at him didn’t comfort him.

“Awww, come on Jase, cheer up. Be glad that you’re not behind bars, no thanks to that whiny twit Brenda,” Carly said, barging into the living room.

“What do you want, Carly?”

Carly picked up the pool stick, “Isn’t it a little early for a game of pool?” she asked, disregarding his question.

“Carly,” Jason said, grabbing the pool stick from her. “What do you WANT?”

She leaned back on the pool table and smiled with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, “You remember that night at Jake’s when we first met,” she said, a look on her face that reflected the memories that were floating through her head.

Jason sighed. “Okay, Carly. I get it. You’re trying to piss me off. Tell me why.”

“I am not,” Carly said, acting offended. “I am merely trying to brighten your day.”

Jason stared at her amazed at her Carly-logic. “Okay, so I’ll ask one more time, what do you want?”

“Well,” Carly began, hopping off of the pool table. “I was hoping you’d come over to dinner tonight. Michael hasn’t seen you in awhile and . . .”

“Stop right there. We both know this has nothing to do with Michael. What are you really up to?”

“Okay,” Carly said, throwing her hands up. “You caught me. I am just hoping to spend some time with you so I can make sure that Sonny doesn’t sacrifice you for Brenda the first chance he gets. If I invite you to dinner, then he won’t. At least not today.”

Jason shook his head, bewildered by the way Carly made things up in her head. “Fine, Carly, I’ll be there.”

As Carly gave him a hug of gratitude, she let the wheels in her head do a little more turning. She smiled and walked out the door. Before closing it, she added, “It’s at eight and by the way, Courtney will be there!”

“Carly!” Jason shouted, but she had already slammed the door and was halfway into her penthouse by the time her words registered and he reacted.

As he pulled his jacket off the chair he realized that Carly’s meddling ways weren’t some of the things he missed when he left Port Charles last time. As he gazed at his jacket, he could almost smell the scent of the woman who had last held it. The woman was one of the things he missed. And the way she always smelled like lilies and vanilla. And that woman wasn’t Courtney.

Down the hall, Carly was walking around the kitchen contemplating what to cook for the special dinner. She laughed. Who was she kidding? She was really thinking about what to order. She picked up the phone but quickly hung up as she heard footsteps.

“Carly, what are you doing in my kitchen?” Sonny teased his wife, giving her a kiss as he pulled on his suit jacket.

“I am just looking for a, a can opener,” she said quickly.

“And you thought the phone might be a good place to look?” Sonny smiled.

“Okay, you caught me. It was going to be a surprise. I invited Jason over for dinner tonight and I was going to make a call but then you came in and well, you know the rest,” Carly said.

“Well, I am just glad you’re not cooking,” Sonny laughed.

“Where are you going?” Carly asked, noticing that he had his suit on already. “Oh, wait, am I not supposed to ask?” she added sarcastically.

“I’m going out to get a lawyer for Brenda,” Sonny said.

“Oh,” Carly said as her features darkened. “Just make sure she doesn’t get Jason or you in trouble.”

Sonny observed her carefully remembering Elizabeth’s words the night before. “I’ll be home as soon as I can. I can’t miss a dinner with you and Michael, even if it is takeout.”

Carly smiled for the first time since he had walked in. “Oh, by the way, I invited Courtney too.”

Sonny’s eyes narrowed. “Carly, I really wish you would stop trying to set my sister up with Jason.”

“Why not?” Carly asked. “He’s perfect for her, how can she resist? Have you seen how she acts when she talks about him? Besides, it’ll get her away from A.J. that much quicker.”

“Jason’s not right for her,” Sonny replied.

“Why not? What, he isn’t good enough for your sister, is that it? But he’s good enough to sacrifice for that idiot Brenda?” Carly said defensively.

“That’s not what I meant, Carly,” Sonny said, exasperated. “Carly, I’m serious,” Sonny warned. “Don’t make trouble, okay?”

“Fine,” Carly said, frowning. “Hurry and get Brenda a lawyer before she opens her big mouth and gets both of you into trouble.”

Sonny paused. “I love you, Carly. You know that, right?”

Carly sighed. “Yeah, Sonny, I know.”

He nodded and walked out of the kitchen.

Carly leaned back towards the kitchen counter. Well, if she couldn’t fix her relationship, she could at least fix Jason’s. She smiled. Now, both Sonny and Jason thought she was trying to hook Jason up with Courtney. That was perfect.

They would never see it coming. Her, that is. They wouldn’t see her coming.

A short, brunette, wannabe artist kind of “her”.

Carly picked up the phone and dialed the number that was labeled on her box of apple turnovers.

“Kelly’s,” a voice greeted on the phone.

“Hi Courtney,” Carly said. “Are you still up for dinner tonight?”

“Yeah,” Courtney replied unenthusiastically.

“Great,” Carly replied. “Jason said yes so we’re all set.”

Carly could almost hear Courtney brighten at the prospect of Jason being present at the dinner. “That’s wonderful, Carly,” Courtney said, thinly veiling her excitement.

“Is Elizabeth there?” Carly asked.

Courtney shook her head, but then realized she was on the phone and replied, “No. She’s working the closing shift.”

“Perfect,” Carly said to herself.

“What’s that?” Courtney asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Carly replied. “I’ll see you tonight. Could you put in an order for me for dinner?”

“Sure,” Courtney replied. “If you want, I can pick it up before I go to the penthouse.”

“No!” Carly said abruptly.

“Oh, okay,” Courtney said, unsure of Carly’s outburst.

“Actually, we have a deal with Gavin the busboy whose uncle lives in Harborview Towers. He’ll bring it over,” Carly said.

“But Gavin is working late tonight and it might be easier if I---“

Carly groaned, her patience diminishing at an alarming rate. “Michael is friends with Gavin and he hasn’t seen Gavin for weeks so I think it would be better if Gavin brought it,” Carly lied.

“Oh, okay. If it would make Michael happy, that’s fine. What did you want to order?” Courtney asked.

“Pizza? No, too informal. Lobster? You guys don’t have lobster there do you?” Carly asked. Before Courtney could answer, she quickly replied, “No, I think Michael’s allergic to shellfish.”

“He might be. A.J. is,” Courtney supplied.

Carly’s eyes narrowed at the mention of A.J.’s name. Her patience was damn near gone at this point. “Just give us five orders of whatever the specials are.”

“Okay,” Courtney said, oblivious to Carly’s cold tone of voice. “I’ll leave a note for Gavin to bring it to the penthouse.”

“Great,” Carly said and she hung up the phone. “And I’ll make sure that Gavin won’t be there to bring it over,” Carly thought to herself.

Carly walked to the penthouse living room and picked up her jacket. “Leticia, I’m going out. I’ll be back in an hour. Make sure Michael’s finished his homework!”

Walking out of the penthouse, she looked at Jason’s door and smiled. Everything was working out just the way she wanted it to. She only had one thing left to do now.

Carly walked into Kelly’s with a gleam in her eye. There was no love lost between her and Elizabeth Webber, but for some reason, Jason had a thing for the girl and Carly was going to do something since Jason wasn’t going to do it himself. After the way she saw Sonny treat her best friend, she promised she would make things right for Jason even if it meant helping out a girl she despised.

“Gavin,” Carly said to the young man behind the counter. “Just the man I wanted to see.”

“Hi Mrs. Corinthos,” Gavin said shyly. “What can I do for you?”

“Please, call me Carly,” she said flirtatiously. “Listen, I have an order for tonight and---“

“I’ll make sure it’ll be on time,” Gavin said immediately.

Carly smiled at his eager-to-please nature. If only she could pass some of that energy onto her husband. “Actually, I was wondering if you could have Elizabeth Webber bring it over for me. Take the night off early or something.”

“Oh, I couldn’t do that,” Gavin insisted.

“Sure, you can. I’ll talk to my mom for you. It’s just that, I’m worried about Elizabeth. She’s a close friend of mine,” Carly lied, nearly choking on having to say the words. “And well, I haven’t seen her in awhile and my husband hasn’t either. We’d like it if she’d come tonight.”

“Okay, I’ll let her know,” the young boy replied.

“But please, keep this between you and me, okay? I want it to be a surprise. Make up some excuse, just be sure she is the one bringing over the food,” Carly explained.

The boy nodded eagerly. “Of course Mrs., er, Carly.”

Carly smiled brightly. “Thanks, Gavin. I owe you one.”

“It’s not a problem,” he blushed.

Carly nodded as Gavin went back to the kitchen. “Well that takes care of that,” she thought to herself, proud that her plan was working out so well.

“Carly?” a voice called out from behind her.

Carly groaned as she turned to find Elizabeth looking at her. “How much did she hear?” Carly asked herself. “What can I do for you, Elizabeth?” Carly asked aloud. “I don’t have a lot of time right now.”

“Well, I spoke to Sonny yesterday and he sounded pretty worried,” Elizabeth said. “And, since you’re here, I thought you’d like to know that the new guest staying here has been acting pretty suspicious. I was in his room earlier and I saw all these papers about Sonny. With the whole Alcazar thing, I thought Sonny would like a heads up. It doesn’t sound like he needs any more trouble right now.”

Carly’s eyes narrowed as she thought carefully. “What did he look like? Who is he?”

“I don’t really know that much about him except that he’s pretty rude and secretive,” Elizabeth explained. As a man walked out of Kelly’s behind Elizabeth, she pointed him out to Carly. “That’s the guy.”

Carly recognized him immediately. “Okay, Elizabeth. Thanks for the information. I’ll talk to you later.”

As Carly walked out, Elizabeth sighed. She couldn’t help but worry if this guy was trouble for Sonny. Well, for Jason, really, but she wouldn’t admit that. She could have told Jason about him, but that would mean seeing Jason and she couldn’t do that right now. Not with the way she was feeling.

As she grabbed the apron behind the counter she was glad that she could work. As long as Jason didn’t come in for coffee, she would be fine. Being Jason-free for a day sounded pretty good right about now.

Meanwhile, on the docks, Jason stood staring into the water. He flashed to a memory of a young woman leaning over the water sketching on her sketchpad, seeing something there that most people wouldn’t even bother to notice.

She had showed him a painting once, made him understand something that his brain couldn’t make sense of. She had taught him a lot of things.

She had told him once that he had touched her life. He had changed it to the point that her life before him wasn’t the same as the life after him. If only he was a man who was good with words. He could have told her how much she had changed his life. Instead, all he could tell her was that she was smart, beautiful and that she gave him dreams to believe in. Maybe if he had said more, he wouldn’t be standing alone, staring at the water that seemed to have lost its magic.

“Jason!” he heard someone call out his name.

He turned to find his best friend’s sister smiling at him. He liked Courtney. She was sweet, naïve and caring; three qualities rarely found in Port Charles and rarely in one person. He admired her for that and felt badly for everything she had been put through, all because she was unlucky enough to be Sonny’s sister and unlucky enough to meet A.J. He felt an instant sense of loyalty to her because she was Sonny’s sister. He asked Sonny once to watch out for Emily and he felt like he should do the same for Sonny’s sister.

“Hi, Courtney,” he greeted her.

She smiled shyly. “Carly invited me over for dinner tonight. She mentioned that you’d be there.”

He nodded. He knew Carly was trying to set him up, but Courtney didn’t need to know that. He was quite aware of Courtney’s attraction to him ever since she kissed him that night outside of Jake’s, but he stubbornly hoped that it had passed.

“So, I, um, I talked to Sonny about A.J. like you asked me to,” Courtney explained. “You were right. He listened to me for once instead of giving me orders.”

Jason replied, “You just have to understand him and be patient with him.”

Courtney smiled. “Thanks for the advice.”

“Do you need a ride home?” Jason asked, unsure of what else to say.

Courtney blushed. “It’s okay, it’s not that far and it’s daylight still. Besides, we already found the stalker, so I don’t think I have much to worry about.”

Jason nodded. “Okay, if you say so.”

“I’ll see you tonight,” she said as she walked up the steps towards her apartment.

“Sure,” Jason replied simply as he headed in the other direction.

As they both disappeared from view, a dark-haired man walked out from behind a bush on the other side of the docks.

A.J. didn’t look very happy. He was sick and tired of seeing Jason with his wife every time he turned around. Jason was not going to steal Courtney from him. No way in hell.

He felt heartsick seeing Courtney smile around Jason. He had finally managed to find true happiness and in true form, Jason had ripped it away from him. “Well, think again, little brother,” A.J. thought. “I am going to get you back for this, one way or another.”

He walked up the steps towards Kelly’s with an angry aura surrounding him as he scrambled for what to do next. He still had Elizabeth in his corner, he thought as he walked towards Kelly’s. It was time to check in and see what Elizabeth had for him.

As he turned the corner, he noticed Jason pause outside the door, watching something though the window. A.J. hid behind a tree, watching curiously at his brother. He couldn’t see what Jason was looking at, but his brother seemed deep in thought. A.J. observed as Jason hesitated a few more moments before finally walking the other direction.

“That was strange,” A.J. thought. “What’s up with him?”

A.J. shrugged as he continued strolling towards the small restaurant.

Elizabeth looked up when she saw A.J. walk into Kelly’s. She sighed. She was hoping for a peaceful night.

“Hi, Elizabeth,” A.J. greeted.

“Hi, A.J. Can I get you something?”

He shook his head. “No, I was just wondering if you’ve seen Courtney today.”

“No, I’m sorry,” she apologized. “She had an early shift today.”

A.J. nodded, hiding his disappointment. “Great, that was a bust,” he thought to himself. “Well, thanks anyway,” he said to Elizabeth.

He looked around and noticed that the place was pretty empty except for one other waitress and a man finishing his coffee. He wondered what was so fascinating for Jason that kept him standing outside for so long.

A.J. decided to take a seat. He might as well eat dinner since there wasn’t anyone waiting for him at home, he thought sadly.

“Here’s a menu,” Elizabeth smiled at him, feeling bad that he was eating dinner alone.

A.J. accepted it graciously but handed it back to Elizabeth soon after. “Thanks, but I’ll have whatever you put in front of me.”

Elizabeth nodded. “One liver and onions, coming right up.”

“Wait, wait!” A.J. said, laughing. “Okay, I’ll have the roast beef and a salad.”

Elizabeth smiled, glad that she could cheer someone up today since she was having such a hard time with happiness herself.

“Hey, Liz,” she heard someone call her name.

“Gavin?” she replied.

“Yeah, look, I have to run. I had a last minute study session at the library with my friend. I was hoping you could cover for me,” he said, pausing and stuttering every other word.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll clean up.”

“No, there’s actually a delivery left. Cook said it’d be done in half an hour. Could you deliver it for me?” Gavin asked.

Elizabeth chewed on her bottom lip for a second. “I guess.”

“Thanks,” he said as he rushed out of Kelly’s.

“That was strange,” Elizabeth said to herself.

“What was?” A.J. asked.

Elizabeth blushed, realizing that she was talking to herself. “Nothing, I’ll get that order for you.”

As she hurried to the kitchen area, A.J. watched her go. It was funny. He had been in Port Charles for longer than he could remember, but it wasn’t until his grandfather disowned him that he really took the time to notice people. He had a feeling that Elizabeth Webber would turn out to be more than just another waitress at Kelly’s.

Elizabeth walked out of the kitchen with an order pad in one hand and a salad plate in the other. “Here you go. The roast beef should be done in 15,” she said to A.J.

“Thanks,” he replied.

He watched as she walked behind the counter and picked up a slip of paper. He observed as he saw her eyes grow wide and her face transform. Whatever she was reading had gotten her spooked.

“Great, what am I going to do now?” Elizabeth said as she looked at the order Gavin had left for her. Just what she needed, a trip to Harborview Towers.

“What’s wrong?” A.J. asked after watching Elizabeth stare at the paper in her hand for several moments.

“What?” she asked, startled. “Oh, sorry, nothing. I’m fine.”

A.J. nodded. “Okay.”

“Actually, no, I’m not fine and I am going to stop pretending like I am,” she blurted suddenly.

“Well that’s good. Lying to yourself and to other people probably isn’t a good way to live,” A.J. said, hoping that this was the right advice to give in this situation. He felt awkward and uncertain. He had never been someone to listen to other people’s problems, but there was a first time for everything.

Elizabeth nodded. It sounded like something Jason had told her once. “I am tired of running away.”

A.J. wasn’t really sure what Elizabeth was talking about but her change in attitude piqued his interest. “What were you running from?”

“Everything,” she admitted. “I ran because I was afraid. I pretended with the one person I never had to pretend with, all because I was scared.”

A.J. tilted his head in thought. “We all get afraid. When something you don’t expect suddenly becomes everything to you, you make mistakes. Do things you wouldn’t normally do.”

Elizabeth agreed, “Exactly. I was so scared of losing that I didn’t stop to think. I made assumptions and decisions based on fear. Well, that stops now.”

A.J. admired her resolve. “That’s really brave of you. Most people wouldn’t have the strength to face their fears,” he admitted. He was one of those people. He had paid Coleman to stalk Courtney out of fear of losing her. He had seen her with Jason. He had told her what kind of person Jason was, but Courtney didn’t listen. When he had tried that tactic to turn her against Sonny, she had believed in him. But he never could win against his brother. Courtney just became one more person who walked away from him for Jason. Too bad he had taken the risk and given her his heart before he realized this.

“I wouldn’t say brave. Like I said, I’m just tired,” Elizabeth confessed. “Have you ever had someone you care about become someone you almost don’t recognize? Like you just want to grab them and shake them back into being the person you wanted them to be? Someone you thought they were?”

A.J. absorbed her words for a moment. He nodded. She was reading his mind. He felt like doing it to Courtney every time she fell for Jason’s hero routine. He thought she was different. He thought she believed in him and that she wasn’t just another person who would fall under his brother’s spell. “I guess I was wrong,” A.J. thought.

Elizabeth sighed. She had to face Jason some time and now was as good a time as any. She wouldn’t run away. She needed to realize that Jason didn’t want her anymore. Maybe then she could move on. Maybe.

A.J. remembered back to the night of their wedding. He remembered how beautiful Courtney looked and how trusting she was. He had told her every horrible thing he ever did and all she did in return was love him. Even his mother wasn’t that good with him. He had everything he ever wanted but he let his fear rip it away.

Elizabeth excused herself. She walked back to the kitchen to get A.J.’s order and mentally prepared herself. “Maybe I’ll be lucky and Jason won’t be there,” Elizabeth tried to convince herself. “After all, it’s Sonny’s penthouse that’s written on the order.”

“Here’s the roast beef,” the cook said to Elizabeth, handing her a warm plate.

“Thanks,” Elizabeth grinned as she took it. Walking back to A.J., she realized she wasn’t that lucky. “Here you go.”

“Looks great,” A.J. said, taking the plate. “But, actually, I’m not that hungry. Could I get it “to go”?”

Elizabeth nodded. “Sure.”

As she brought the food back towards the kitchen, she took off her apron. While packing A.J.’s dinner, she waited for Carly’s order to be done. “If I hurry, maybe I’ll get it there before Jason shows up for dinner,” Elizabeth said to herself.

She shook her head. No, it was better to see Jason. She could show him that she meant it when she said she didn’t want to be in his life anymore. She needed to prove that he didn’t hurt her as much as he did. If she could convince him of that, she could convince herself and then she might have a chance at building a life without him.

Tying up A.J.’s food in a bag and grabbing Carly’s order, Elizabeth headed out to the front counter. “Here’s your receipt,” she said to A.J.

A.J. took the food and handed her the appropriate bills.

Elizabeth rang up the order and gave him the change. “Thank you, A.J., for listening.”

A.J. looked at her in surprise. Very few people thanked him for anything. When they did, they either didn’t mean it or they said it bitterly. “Your welcome,” he replied, feeling awkward about the whole situation. It was too weird to have someone be thankful about him.

Elizabeth grabbed her coat and Carly’s order.

“Is your shift done?” A.J. asked as he headed outside to his car.

Elizabeth nodded and followed him to the street. “I just have to make this delivery.”

A.J. hesitated, looking at the keys in his hand. “Do you, um, want a ride?” The least he could do was offer considering the favor she was doing for him, albeit unknowingly.

Elizabeth looked around. It was beginning to snow and she didn’t really feel like standing around waiting for a cab. She didn’t want to take the bus either at this time of night. She looked at A.J. skeptically. “I don’t think you wanna take me where I’m headed,” she said.

“Why not?” A.J. asked curiously.

“Well, this order is for Carly and I have to go---“

“It’s okay. You kept me company tonight and you made me laugh despite my horrible day. I don’t mind taking you there,” A.J. said, although he really wasn’t up to a visit to Sonny’s penthouse.

Elizabeth could tell that A.J. wasn’t thrilled with the idea. “It’s okay, I’ll catch a cab.”

“Okay, you’re sure?” A.J. questioned.

Elizabeth shivered a bit in the cold but nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

A.J. nodded and proceeded to his car. Noticing how dark it was and with the snow starting to hit pretty hard, he sighed and then turned around. Normally, he would just walk away, but he was feeling indebted to Elizabeth for being the first person in a long time who was genuine with him and didn’t treat him like A.J. Quartermaine, the crowned loser of Port Charles.

He walked towards her. “It would make me feel better if you let me give you a ride.”

Elizabeth, too cold to pretend, nodded. “Thanks.”

Meanwhile, at the penthouse, Carly was busy making preparations. “Courtney, could you grab the white napkins from the cupboard next to that big thing with the black door that opens funny?”

“You mean the dishwasher?” Courtney laughed, walking out with a stack of white linens.

“Yeah, yeah,” Carly said, too distracted to listen to what Courtney was saying. Putting the wine bottle in the bucket of ice, she smiled to herself. “Perfect.”

“When is Sonny going to be here?” Courtney asked.

Carly’s eyes narrowed. “You mean Jason?” Carly thought to herself. She knew her sister-in-law. Courtney wore her heart on her sleeve and was a really bad liar. Courtney had a thing for Jason, which was very important for Carly’s plans tonight. But Carly had no use for Courtney otherwise.

Courtney had done nothing but cause Sonny trouble since she had come to town. Carly had watched Sonny struggle with building a relationship with his sister, but Courtney kept falling into the wrong crowd and trusting the wrong people. Carly was amazed that any single person could be so naïve as to fall for A.J.’s schemes. A.J. was a weasel but he was a transparent one.

“Carly?” Courtney asked again.

“Oh, he should be here any minute,” Carly said, snapping out of her train of thought. She should be nice to the younger woman, though. Courtney was, after all, Sonny’s sister. “Jason should be showing up soon too.”

As if on cue, the two men walked into the penthouse. Sonny kissed Carly on the cheek and smiled at his sister. “Thanks for coming, Courtney.”

Courtney smiled shyly. “Thanks for inviting me.”

Jason, taking off his jacket and throwing it on the couch, noticed Courtney’s eyes on him and he shifted on his feet. “Hey Carly,” he greeted. “Courtney,” he acknowledged.

“Carly, this is nice and all, but where’s the food?” Sonny laughed, pointing to the empty table.

*knock**knock*

“Right on time,” Carly smirked at her husband. Carly walked briskly to the door, preparing herself to be surprised when she saw Elizabeth standing in the hallway.

Pulling open the door, Carly began, “Hi, thanks for bringing the ---- A.J.?!”

“Hi Carly,” A.J. smiled at his former wife and current mother of his child.

“Hi Carly,” a more feminine voice called out from behind A.J. Elizabeth Webber stepped in front of A.J., steeling herself against reacting in case Jason was there.

Just her luck, he was. And he looked as gorgeous as ever in a tight shirt and his usual pair of jeans that hung on him perfectly.

“Here is your dinner,” Elizabeth said, handing Carly the boxes in her hand.

Carly wasn’t listening however, upset that A.J. was at her home and ruining her plans. “What are you doing here A.J.? Get out!”

“Carly, please, he just gave me a ride. We’re leaving,” Elizabeth said, grabbing A.J.’s hand and walking towards the elevator.

Carly huffed, feeling completely off kilter. What was she going to do now? Her original plan was to invite Elizabeth to stay, but now she couldn’t. How was Elizabeth going to see Jason and Courtney together if she left? How was Carly going to use Elizabeth’s jealousy to force the little brunette to act on her feelings for Jason if she didn’t have the chance to instigate it? Carly had to think and fast.

Meanwhile, Carly wasn’t the only one affected by Elizabeth and A.J.’s appearance. Courtney watched cautiously as she saw the two of them standing in the doorway. She had seen them at Kelly’s the day before but decided that there was nothing for her to worry about. She had hoped that she had imagined A.J. reaching for Elizabeth’s hand, but seeing Elizabeth do the same thing in front of her made her wary. “Wait, what am I thinking?” Courtney asked herself. “What do I care whether A.J. spends time with Elizabeth? He paid a guy to stalk me and terrorize me. I need to stop worrying about what he’s doing and who he’s with!”

Across the living room, Jason stood stiffly, clenching and unclenching his fists. He was curious when he saw A.J. standing there, but he was shocked when he saw Elizabeth behind A.J. He had to blink twice to make sure he was seeing correctly. When he realized he was, he couldn’t help but drink in the sight of her. She looked amazing even in the awful lighting of the small hallway. He had ached to see her since their last meeting at Luke’s. She had pushed him away again but he couldn’t forget her so easily. He almost stopped in to see her at Kelly’s before he came to the penthouse, but he had stopped himself.

Remembering who she was with, he felt the anger build inside of him. First Courtney, now Elizabeth. He wasn’t going to let A.J. hurt another young woman, especially not this one.

Sonny, on the other hand, was the surprisingly calm observer. He knew Carly was up to something, but he had a feeling A.J. wasn’t a part of her plans. The look of disgust and shock on Carly’s face said everything. Although, he was curious what Carly was really up to. He saw Elizabeth’s face too and knew that it took a lot for Elizabeth to come to the penthouse. He also worried for her considering she had accepted help from A.J. What was A.J. up to? Did A.J. know about Elizabeth and Jason? Was A.J. planning on manipulating Elizabeth the way he manipulated Sonny’s sister?

Jason stalked outside the door to the elevator as the other three in the penthouse watched.

Sonny turned to his wife. “Carly . . . what were you planning?”

Carly looked at him innocently. “What are you talking about?”

They both watched as Courtney ran into the kitchen for a reason unknown to them.

“What’s wrong with Courtney?” Carly asked, gesturing towards the kitchen.

Sonny stared sternly at her. “Don’t change the subject.”

Carly groaned. “Okay, okay. I just thought that I could get Elizabeth to come over for dinner.”

“Why?” Sonny asked.

“Because of Jason, why else?” Carly said, her voice growing angry. “I happen to CARE about him.”

“And I don’t?” Sonny replied.

“You could have fooled me,” Carly snapped back at him. She wasn’t really mad at him, just upset that her plans had been messed up. “Look, Sonny, I thought that if they were in the same room together they could work things out.”

“Like we do?” Sonny asked, embracing his wife.

Carly couldn’t help but smile. “No. No one makes up like we do.”

Sonny leaned in for a kiss. “Jason doesn’t like you interfering with his life, you know.”

Carly grinned. “Yeah, but Jason doesn’t know what’s best for him. He needs a nudge every once in awhile.”

Sonny laughed. “So you thought you’d damn near shove him off a cliff because it was best for him?”

Carly shook her head. “No. But it’s not like it worked. Stupid A.J. had to show up and mess everything up.”

Sonny held his wife and looked towards the hallway. Somehow, he doubted that A.J. could stop the force that was Jason and Elizabeth.

Jason ran towards the elevator and put his hand on the door, stopping it from closing. “Wait,” he said to Elizabeth, standing in front of the elevator. He looked at her, his eyes not even acknowledging A.J.’s presence.

“Look, Jason, I came to deliver dinner from Kelly’s, that’s all,” Elizabeth said, realizing that she wasn’t as ready to face him as she thought she was.

“Elizabeth, stay away from him,” Jason warned, not looking at anything but Elizabeth’s eyes.

His gaze unsettled Elizabeth. “Like I said, Jason, A.J. was just giving me a ride. Don’t make such a big deal about it. Besides, you don’t have to worry about me anymore,” Elizabeth said, pushing the close button on the elevator.

Jason slammed his hand against the elevator door to make sure it didn’t close. “He’s just using you to get to me,” Jason said, his voice barely controlled by his anger.

“Jason, I just gave her a ride, okay? Stop giving her the third degree,” A.J. defended Elizabeth. He was genuinely bewildered by Jason’s behavior. Why was Jason acting so protective of the brunette standing next to him?

“Elizabeth, you can’t trust him,” Jason said, ignoring A.J.’s words.

Elizabeth grew angry. What right did Jason have to tell her how to feel and who to trust? She laughed. “You’re telling me I can’t trust him? I can’t trust YOU.”

How dare he? Elizabeth thought to herself. At least she knew that A.J. was a liar. She was prepared for that and she knew not to trust A.J. Did he think she was that stupid? That helpless? He must have since he thought he could lie to her and she wouldn’t react. He thought he could pull away and she wouldn’t notice. “Well, Jason, think again,” she said to herself.

Jason’s eyes started to glaze over, feeling helpless for the first time since he found out Elizabeth had been kidnapped by Roscoe’s men. And he knew she was right. She couldn’t trust him to be honest with her and tell her everything he was doing all the time. But that was a part of his job. He couldn’t help it. But, damn it that didn’t mean he wasn’t right about A.J.

Seeing the look on Jason’s face, it was starting to dawn on A.J. what was going on. Jason clearly had feelings for Elizabeth. “Of course,” A.J. thought to himself. “Elizabeth was who Jason was staring at earlier at Kelly’s.”

Looking back and forth between Elizabeth’s rebellious glare and Jason’s hurt face A.J. smiled inwardly. This he could use.

“Elizabeth---“ Jason began, his voice starting to be coated with tears.

She held up her hand. “No, Jason. Like I told you before, I don’t want to know about your life which means you don’t get to know about mine,” Elizabeth said defiantly.

Jason stood back, frozen by her words. She meant it. She had told him so many times that it was over, but he couldn’t accept it. He couldn’t stop worrying about her. But how many times could she say it before he understood that this was what she wanted? His head dropped in defeat. This time, he let the elevator door close and take away the best thing that had ever happened to him.

All he could do now was let go . . . right?

“Do you wanna talk about it?” A.J. asked as he turned off the engine of his car after parking outside of Kelly’s near Elizabeth’s studio.

Elizabeth had been silent the whole ride there, but A.J. could feel the anger and hurt radiating off of her. She stayed silent.

“Is he the one?” A.J. questioned.

Elizabeth stared up at A.J., shocked. What did A.J. mean by that?

“You know, you were saying earlier that there was someone you cared about who turned out to be someone you didn’t know,” A.J. completed his thought.

Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief. So her feelings weren’t written all over her face. There was comfort in that. She nodded slowly.

A.J.’s brain was running a mile a minute. He had finally found Jason’s weakness, but what was he going to do to exploit it?

Elizabeth finally spoke. “Jason and I, well, things have never been simple between us. And I guess, in all the chaos and rush of it all, I made assumptions about him that didn’t turn out to be true.”

“You seemed angry earlier. Did he hurt you?” A.J. asked, trying to keep from sounding too eager to find information.

Elizabeth didn’t really know why she was talking to A.J. about this, but it felt right. She needed to talk to someone besides Sonny or Carly. At least with A.J. she knew that he wasn’t biased. “He didn’t really hurt me . . . I just set myself up to be hurt. The person who I thought he was turned out to be a figment of my imagination. The way he lives his life and how he chooses to treat people, how he treated me . . . it wasn’t what I thought.”

A.J. smirked. It seemed that happened around Jason a lot. Right now, Courtney was building up Jason to be something other than the cold hitman-for-hire that Jason really was.

“He uses his job as an excuse for his actions, but I know there’s something else. A part of who he was that I didn’t see until recently,” Elizabeth sighed. Elizabeth thought Jason could forgive her. She thought he still loved her. But she was wrong. At least that was what she was telling herself.

“You can’t blame yourself for all of it. It takes two people to walk away from a relationship,” A.J. said, thinking of his marriage.

Elizabeth nodded. “But that doesn’t change the fact that it is over. I imagined this connection, this beautiful and amazing thing that we shared, but it wasn’t real. It had faded away a long time ago.”

A.J. nodded in sympathy. “But all you can really do is learn from it and move on.” He hoped his advice was convincing. He figured if he had the opportunity to take away what Jason cared about, he could finally show Jason what he had gone through all these years.

“I keep telling myself that, but I can’t seem to stop. Every time I see him or something that reminds me of him, the feelings come rushing back even more intense than before,” Elizabeth explained.

“But you told him you didn’t want him in your life,” A.J. reminded her. “That’s a start.”

“I guess,” Elizabeth replied. “But those are just words.”

“Turn them into actions,” A.J. advised. “Make a life for yourself, a brand new one that doesn’t involve him. Show him that you don’t need him in your life.”

Elizabeth felt a tear fall. “I tried to convince myself of doing that tonight, but it’s so hard. We were so close to something incredible and then it disappeared.”

A.J. definitely empathized with that. He and Courtney . . . well, they still could be incredible as soon as he got his revenge on Jason. “Dwelling on the pain won’t help you,” A.J. said. That was one hard thing to say and sound sincere considering A.J.’s life story was built on revenge.

“Could you tell my heart that? Because it’s being stubborn,” Elizabeth said, managing a smile.

A.J. smiled in return, his focus on revenge starting to fade slightly. “You know, I never really understood what it was all about, this love thing, until I met my wife.”

Elizabeth nodded. “I think it’s great that you are trying so hard to be a part of her life even though she’s being distant.”

A.J. noted that Elizabeth words seemed personal. Maybe it was because Jason didn’t try with her? “I think when you love someone, you can’t help but try to keep your relationship together. You fight for it because it is what’s most important,” A.J. said, guessing that this was Jason’s mistake.

Seeing the look on Elizabeth’s face confirmed it for A.J. She tried to hide her pain though. “You’re absolutely right. If someone really matters, you don’t push them away or hide from them or . . .”

“Or what?” A.J. asked.

Elizabeth chewed her lower lip, and lifted her hand to push her hair behind her ear. “Or let them walk away.”

A.J. panicked slightly. That wasn’t what he had in mind. He didn’t want Elizabeth chasing after Jason. That would defeat the purpose of his well-worded advice.

“But he did,” Elizabeth added.

A.J. let out a sigh of relief. So Elizabeth was talking about Jason letting her walk away and not the other way around. That was useful information.

“Anyway, thanks for the ride, A.J.,” Elizabeth smiled. “I’m sorry that Carly and Jason got on your case about it.”

A.J. shook his head. “No problem.”

“I owe you one,” Elizabeth said as she opened the car door and walked out. “I’ll keep an eye out for Courtney for you.”

A.J. nodded and watched as Elizabeth closed the door and walked to her studio. “No, Elizabeth. I’m the one that owes you,” he said, smiling at the sudden turn of events. This situation had potential. He just had to use it the right way.

At the penthouse, Carly cleaned up the dinner table and watched as Courtney grabbed her coat.

“I hope A.J. showing up didn’t bother you,” Jason said to Courtney as he walked towards her.

Courtney shrugged. “He paid someone to stalk me. It’s always going to bother me,” she said. “But I’m over it.” That was a lie.

“Walk away, Jase. Don’t offer her a ride,” Carly said silently to herself as she saw Jason with their collective sister-in-law.

“Did you need a ride home?” Jason asked.

Carly groaned in the background.

Courtney shook her head. She needed time alone to think. She couldn’t do that around Jason. “No, I’m fine. I called Mike and he’s meeting me down in the lobby.”

“Okay,” Jason said. He was disappointed. He needed a distraction.

“Thanks for dinner, Carly,” Courtney said, walking out the door.

“Thanks for coming,” Carly smiled at the younger woman.

“Bye Jason,” Courtney smiled at him. “Carly, tell Sonny goodbye for me.”

Carly nodded. “I’ll tell him as soon as he gets back from his meeting. I’m sorry he had to leave in the middle of dinner.”

“It was business, I understand,” Courtney said, although she didn’t, really.

Carly closed the door and as soon as she was sure Courtney was out of earshot, she turned to her best friend and asked, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Jason said, walking towards the door.

Carly blocked it. “Don’t do that with me Jason. You know I hate it when you and Sonny stonewall me.”

“If you weren’t so nosy, we wouldn’t have to,” Jason said, losing patience with his friend.

“Look, I know you’re trying to hide it, but it bothers you, doesn’t it?” Carly asked.

Jason sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration. “What, Carly? What do you think bothers me?”

“Seeing her with that slime A.J.,” Carly offered. “It bothered you when she showed up with him.”

“Of course it bothers me,” Jason slipped. “A.J. is just using her to get to me,” he quickly added.

“As much as I hate him, even I know he wasn’t smart enough to figure out anything was up with you and Elizabeth. But I guess you showed him, right Jase?” Carly said, pointing out Jason’s angered reaction.

Jason shook his head, knowing that Carly was right. He might have just given A.J. some ammunition against him. “Carly, move. I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Finally! You admit there’s something to talk about,” Carly smiled, moving away from the door.

He reached for the doorknob but hesitated. What could it hurt? “What do you expect me to do, Carly? She told me she hated that I lied to her and that she hated my job. Everything I expected, but why . . .”

“Why does it still hurt?” Carly asked.

Jason nodded, tears forming in his eyes. “I thought I was prepared. I even told her that I knew there would be a day when she saw me for who I really was and her face would change and I knew I couldn’t handle it. So why did I let it happen?”

Carly instantly felt for her friend whose voice was being choked back with tears so that it was barely a whisper. “You took a risk, Jason. It’s what we all do when we care about someone.”

“She walked away because I didn’t tell her about Sonny being alive, but it’s just a part of my job,” Jason said.

“Is that what you think?” Carly asked. “Or do you remember that you did it to test her?”

Jason looked at Carly shocked. Once again with the Carly-logic. “I don’t test people, Carly. I don’t play games that way.”

Carly nodded. “Not intentionally,” Carly muttered.

“I don’t!” Jason yelled suddenly.

“Okay!” Carly said, raising her hands in surrender. “No reason to raise your voice. It’s just, Jason, people do things subconsciously sometimes.”

Jason shook his head. “Not me, I wouldn’t test her. I knew I should have just walked away.”

“But don’t you see, Jason? You couldn’t. You still hoped there was a way for you to be with her,” Carly said. “Hope makes you do funny things, just like love does. For a year I did nothing but hope that Sonny and I would get back together. I know how it changes you.”

“That’s not me, though,” Jason insisted.

“Did you tell her the truth or did someone else?” Carly asked.

“She already knew,” his voice broke remembering that night at the penthouse.

“Why didn’t you tell her?” Carly continued.

“I didn’t get the chance,” Jason said.

“No, you could have told her as soon as you knew Sonny was going to get Alcazar. You could have called her from the PCPD. You could have called her on your way home. Even more, you could have told her any time between the night Sonny was shot and the night she found out the truth,” Carly said, naming off all the opportunities he had to be honest.

Jason remained silent, knowing that Carly was speaking the truth.

“But you didn’t,” Carly said. “You know why?”

“I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” Jason replied.

“Because you wanted to know how she’d react finding out the truth from someone else. You wanted to know if she would turn away if she finally saw the things you had to do,” Carly said. “But you did one thing wrong, Jason.”

“What’s that?” Jason asked.

“You didn’t have to leave her every night worrying. You could have reassured her, told her that you were dealing with things she couldn’t know but that you were alright,” Carly explained.

“I can’t change what I did,” Jason said, admitting finally that he had made a mistake.

“Want some advice, Jase?” Carly questioned.

“Why do you even ask? You’re going to tell me either way,” Jason said.

“First thing you do,” Carly began, pausing dramatically. “Come on, ask me . . .”

Jason sighed. “Okay, Carly. What do I do now?”

Carly smiled triumphantly. “First thing you do: don’t give up.”

“Do you need a hand with that?” Elizabeth asked as she watched Courtney fumbling behind the counter.

It had been a long day for both of them and Courtney had seemed distracted ever since she showed up for her short shift.

“I’ll be fine,” Courtney said, dropping a strainer as she stood up.

Elizabeth laughed, handing the other girl a carton. “Here, put them in here. Although, may I ask, what all of this stuff is for?”

Courtney blushed, unsure if she should admit it to Elizabeth. “She’s moved on,” Courtney told herself. “You saw her with A.J. yesterday.”

“It’s for Jason actually,” Courtney said aloud. “I invited him over for dinner . . . as a kind of thank-you.”

Elizabeth froze. She knew she had to let Jason go but she had a long way ahead of her before she could control her reactions. Still, it hurt because Courtney was the one Jason had gone to all those nights she was alone at the penthouse. She should have been prepared for this.

Of course Courtney would be grateful and of course Jason would like the girl. She was sweet, pretty and Sonny’s sister. But something bothered Elizabeth. What about A.J.?

“What about A.J.?” Elizabeth said aloud. “He and Jason aren’t exactly the best of friends and I doubt A.J. would want Jason over for dinner.”

Courtney stared at Elizabeth, surprised that the brunette didn’t know. “A.J. and I are separated.”

Elizabeth was surprised by the news. Suddenly, she felt angry on behalf of A.J. Courtney sure was moving fast while A.J. was still trying to keep their marriage together. It hit a sore spot that Courtney wouldn’t even try. “What happened? I mean, I know it must have been horrible to have to strip at the Oasis, but that was your choice. You don’t care that this will hurt your husband?”

Courtney’s eyes grew wide. Elizabeth really had no idea. “A.J. paid someone to stalk me so that I would be afraid in my own home. So, no, I don’t care if anything I do hurts A.J.”

Elizabeth was too stunned by the news to recognize that Courtney was hesitating with her words. “He what?! Why would he do that?”

Elizabeth had known that A.J. wasn’t exactly the model citizen but to victimize a woman like that . . . there was no excuse.

“He did it because he didn’t trust that I loved him. He needed to control me, make me need his help and his protection so he could hold onto me,” Courtney spat out, disgusted at him for what he made her feel. But something kept her from truly feeling the anger. Something Courtney couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“That’s . . . that’s just sick,” Elizabeth said, her voice showing how stunned she was by this revelation.

Courtney nodded, quickly wiping a tear from her eye. “I loved him and I believed him when he said he loved me, but that was all a lie. He married me so that he could use me to bargain with my brother. He tried to trade me for my own nephew.”

“Oh my God,” Elizabeth gasped. Elizabeth suddenly grew angry, VERY angry. He had made a fool of her. She told him things she didn’t tell anyone else and the whole time he was probably wondering how he could use her words against Jason. He was a sick man who preyed on his wife’s innocence. There was no forgiveness for that.

And to think, she almost trusted him. Jason was right after all. She had turned out to be just another puppet A.J. could use against his brother.

“I know you told me about your rape,” Courtney said. “I wasn’t hurt like that, but I hope you understand why I can’t be with him anymore.”

“No, no,” Elizabeth said, shaking her head emphatically, “I completely understand. Anyone who could do that to another person, use their fear like that deserves nothing.”

Courtney smiled. “Thanks for understanding.” She picked up the carton and headed towards the door.

Elizabeth stood behind the counter still gripped by the anger she felt for letting herself be used by A.J.

Courtney walked outside and looked at Elizabeth through the window. Why did she tell Elizabeth all that?

Hugging the box close to her chest and walking towards her apartment, she thought carefully. Why did she feel a sense of happiness that Elizabeth hated A.J.?

Courtney stood outside the window watching the other young woman. Why was she hoping that this meant Elizabeth would stay away from him?

Courtney shook the thoughts from her head. “No, stop it,” she told herself. “He never loved you and he used you and lied to your face day after day.”

“He never loved me,” Courtney whispered to herself. Sadly, she walked to her apartment, a heavy weight bearing down on her.

Meanwhile, at the penthouse, Carly was busy making calls. She felt a sudden burst of energy, a sense of purpose ever since her talk with Jason. Her friend still had a long way to go, but she had a feeling that things were going to change.

Plan A didn’t work, but Carly had other ideas in mind. This time, she was making sure there were no unexpected guests.

Back at Kelly’s, Elizabeth threw the trash bag into the dumpster with all her anger focused on slamming the lid shut. Of all the nerve. What exactly did A.J. Quartermaine want with her? What was the purpose of asking her to watch his wife?

“Elizabeth?” a voice called out from behind her.

Elizabeth turned around. Speak of the devil. She had the sudden urge to slap him, but restrained herself. “A.J.,” she nodded. She wasn’t going to let him know that he had fooled her. If he wanted to play games, she’d play. But it was by her rules now.

“Are you okay? Are you still upset about Jason?” A.J. asked.

Elizabeth felt the bile build up in her throat thinking about how A.J. had used her feelings about Jason for his own selfish purposes. Alright, she’d give him something to use. “Yes,” she said, fishing for what his intentions were.

“You know, it’s alright to be hurting,” A.J. said.

“And wouldn’t that make your day?” Elizabeth thought sarcastically, but she hid it well. “I know,” she said aloud. “It’s just . . . Courtney.”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but get a small sense of joy, seeing the stunned look on A.J.’s face. He wanted to play the manipulation game so she was going to make her move. “I saw her getting ready for a date with Jason and I thought you should know.”

A.J.’s body language revealed how tightly he was restraining himself from acting out. “I’m not surprised,” he admitted.

“I wasn’t going to tell you, but knowing how much you want things to work out with Courtney, I felt like telling you was the right thing,” Elizabeth lied through her teeth.

A.J. shook his head, trying his best to not let his anger get the best of him. “Thank you, Elizabeth,” he said finally.

“Do you want to come inside for a cup of coffee?” Elizabeth asked, playing the part of the concerned friend.

A.J. nodded, following her into the darkened restaurant.

Elizabeth grabbed a coffeepot and fought every urge to put something into the cup as she poured A.J. some coffee.

A.J. took a seat, his mind reeling with all the possibilities of Jason and Courtney being together right at that moment. As Elizabeth placed the cup of brown liquid in front of him, he wished it were something else. He could use a distraction right about now. Something clear and cold that warmed him when he had his third glass. “Focus, A.J. This is not the time for another vodka craving,” he told himself.

Elizabeth sat down across from A.J. wondering what was going through his mind. “Has this been going on for awhile?”

“What?” A.J. asked, distracted.

“Courtney and Jason,” Elizabeth supplied.

A.J. looked up at her. “I’m sorry, I’m being so insensitive. I’m not the only one hurting over this. You must be feeling something knowing that Jason . . . well, knowing this.”

Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed. What was A.J.’s angle? “I guess, but to be honest, I’ve suspected this for awhile.”

“So have I,” A.J. admitted. “I could feel her pulling away. When we got married, it was us against the world. It was a rush, like how you described your relationship with Jason.”

“Jason would never terrorize me or be so weak as to play tricks to be with me,” Elizabeth thought angrily. Out loud, she said, “Jason was pulling away too.”

“I just don’t get it,” A.J. said, frustrated. “I finally had everything I ever dreamed about and I wasn’t even expecting it. Not from her.”

“No, you were too busy plotting to blackmail Sonny with his sister,” Elizabeth thought to herself.

A.J. continued, “And then Jason came back. Everyone loves Jason before they even know him. And when they do, they just overlook his mistakes. The fact that he’s a hitman working for the mob doesn’t seem to phase anyone. But me? No, they always see me as a drunken loser who can’t do anything right. But with Courtney, it was different. I didn’t have to pretend with her.”

Elizabeth stared at him. Was he so pathetic that he could blame all his problems on Jason?

“And I was afraid of that,” A.J. admitted. “It was too good to be true. And maybe I was right. Things started to change. She didn’t look at me the way that she used to. She didn’t believe in me like she did when we got married.”

“Because you’re a manipulative, lying asshole,” Elizabeth said to herself.

“She started lying to me and I didn’t know why,” A.J. explained. “When I found out what was really going on and how she let Jason help her but not me, I realized that my fears had become true. My mistakes had cost Courtney her dignity.”

“She chose to strip, you didn’t make her,” Elizabeth interrupted. “Woah, where did that come from? Why are you sympathizing with him?” she scolded herself.

A.J. nodded, oblivious to Elizabeth’s inner struggle. “But it was because of me. I hurt her and I knew that was when our love started to fade away. She couldn’t love me after that. Look at what my actions forced her to do.”

“So you thought, hey, maybe I’ll stalk her and that will make her love me again?” Elizabeth thought. “Focus on that, Elizabeth. He’s just playing some kind of angle. Stop feeling sorry for him.”

A.J. shrugged. “That was when I felt like I was drowning, struggling for any air, any sign that we could make things work again. I finally got a job and I hoped that it meant a new start for us. But then, she kept getting taunted by my boss for what she did before and I was helpless. She felt humiliated and dirty and I couldn’t do anything to change that for her. I loved her so much but I couldn’t help her.”

Elizabeth felt some of her guard slip as A.J. choked on those last words.

“But Jason could,” A.J. said bitterly. Forgetting that Elizabeth was a part of his plans he let the words spill out. “Every time I turned around she was with him. She started to depend on him the way she used to depend on me. When we first met, she came to me to solve her problems, to help her face against her brother for her independence. She wasn’t doing that anymore. She was going to Jason because she knew I wasn’t enough. I had become less in her eyes because of what happened before. I couldn’t handle it. Once again, my brother proved to be the better man.”

Elizabeth struggled to fight her compassion. She knew what it was like to hurt because people always saw her sister as being superior even though Elizabeth knew better. Sarah wasn’t the saintly person she pretended to be. But Elizabeth never lied to Lucky or manipulated him to hold onto him because she was afraid he would go to Sarah.

There was no excuse for A.J. doing what he did. At least now, Elizabeth knew why. She didn’t understand or sympathize, but she knew he had reasons. Elizabeth thought, “How do I deal with him now?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to bad mouth Jason in front of you,” A.J. said. “I just can’t help it sometimes. I never win with him.”

Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed. “Let me give you some advice, A.J. Maybe your problem isn’t Jason. Maybe it’s the fact that you think your wife is a prize to be won.”

A.J. looked at her, startled. He had crossed the line with her and he knew it. “I don’t think that,” A.J. said, “Not really. I said it all wrong, okay? I mean that I keep losing my chances at happiness and it’s always Jason who takes it away. First my parents, then Michael and Carly and now Courtney.”

“Jason isn’t taking away anyone who isn’t already leaving you, A.J.,” Elizabeth said, restraining herself from adding other choice words to her statement.

A.J. nodded. “You’re right. But what I find interesting is not the fact that Courtney went to Jason, because she only sees that hero side of him, but why Jason wants her? What other reason than to make me suffer?"

Elizabeth shook her head. This guy’s ego was unbelievable. Still, it hurt to admit that Jason even wanted Courtney, but Elizabeth had firsthand experience and she knew that Jason was more than just friends with Courtney. He obviously cared about Courtney or he wouldn’t have gone to personally protect Courtney every chance he got. But could she say it now? Could she admit it aloud that Jason had moved on long before she walked out the door?

“You know something, don’t you?” A.J. asked, noticing the distant look in her eyes.

Would she tell A.J. the truth? What if he found a way to use it against her, or worse, against Jason? She eyed him suspiciously. She didn’t really know what to make of him. On the one hand, he was a self-absorbed little liar, but on the other hand . . .

She kept seeing flashes of his humanity, his vulnerability. Could she trust him with her feelings knowing what she did about him?

 "Never mind," Elizabeth said, shaking away her moment of weakness. She didn't want to discuss Jason and A.J.'s wife anymore. She didn't want to discuss Jason period.

"You were about to say something," A.J. pointed out.

"Maybe I was, but that's past tense. I don't now," Elizabeth snapped back. She quickly regretted letting her emotions reveal her anger.

"Did I do something?" A.J. asked. "I mean, am I offending you when I talk about Jason?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Jason's no longer my business."

"You didn't answer my question," A.J. said, though he smiled at her spirit.

Elizabeth stood up from her seat. "Can I get you anything else?" she said, gesturing towards his untouched coffee cup.

A.J. shook his head, knowing that this meant the end of their conversation. "No, I'll be fine. How about you, do you need another ride?" he asked.

"No, I don't have any deliveries to make. I'm just going back to my studio," Elizabeth explained. The she picked up the coffee cup and walked towards the counter.

A.J., feeling like he was losing his control over Elizabeth, quickly ran in front of her. "Wait," he said.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked, her voice revealing her last bit of patience.

Suddenly, A.J. spotted something outside of Kelly's. Or someone. He stepped closer towards Elizabeth. "I want to make sure things are okay between us," A.J. said.

Elizabeth stared at him, bewildered. "There is no 'us'."

A.J. smiled. You gotta love her spunk, he thought. "I meant our friendship. At least I hope that's what we have. You've listened to me vent about my marriage and my brother so I see you as a friend. I hope I can be the same for you."

"My friend?" Elizabeth thought. "With friends like you . . . " But Elizabeth didn't finish her thought noticing that A.J. was standing a little too close to her for comfort. "Okay," she said to herself, trying to not panic and shove him away. "Just stick to your original plan. Don't let him know that you know he's trying to use you. Play the part he wants for you and you'll have the upper hand."

A.J. looked at her, seeing a million things pass through her eyes, but another pair of eyes had him distracted. A pair of ice blue ones burning a hole in him through the window.

Elizabeth finally managed a smile. "Okay, A.J. I am still thankful to you for letting me vent about Jason yesterday." Elizabeth felt the bad taste of her lies filling her mouth as she continued. "I'll be your friend."

A.J. smiled brightly and did something unexpected. He embraced Elizabeth in a hug and held her close. "Thank you, Elizabeth. I don't have many friends so it means a lot to me that a friend of my wife's will be my friend, too." A.J. laughed inwardly seeing his brother's anger through the glass.

Elizabeth backed up, surprised by A.J.'s gesture. "No problem," she said uncertainly.

A.J. stood back slowly, the smile still on his lips. He saw Jason leave out of the corner of his eye and grinned in satisfaction. Well, that was certainly productive. "I'll see you later," A.J. said, rushing towards the door.

"Okay, sure," Elizabeth said, hesitating because of A.J.'s strange behavior. "Good riddance," she thought inwardly.

As she watched A.J. leave, she felt a sudden chill run up and down her spine. She couldn't figure out what it was, but it certainly affected her.

She poured the coffee cup down the drain and sighed. "Well if I had been able to put something in his cup, it wouldn't have helped," she thought. "Okay, now what Elizabeth?" she asked herself. "You've got him fooled into thinking that you trust him. What are you going to do with that?"

"Elizabeth?" a voice called from behind.

Elizabeth turned around to find Lucky standing in front of the counter. Her night was just getting better and better. At least Kelly's was empty. She wouldn't be a great waitress at this particular moment. "Hi Lucky, did something happen to your dad?" she asked.

Lucky shook his head. "No, nothing new. Except I think he's spending a lot of his time with someone and not telling me."

"Why do you think that?" she asked.

"Just the way he acts. He's different. He's not trying to destroy his life anymore, but I have a feeling it has to do with a woman," Lucky said.

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said, her problems lost in the background, knowing how much Lucky's parents meant to him.

"I know my mom's in England being treated and she may never recover, but it still bothers me that he could do that to her," Lucky explained. "They're separated but doesn't he know he is hurting her?"

Elizabeth remained silent. It reminded her of her current situation. She had no right to be upset about what Jason was doing or who with, but she couldn't help it. She may have walked out on him, but she left her heart behind.

"Elizabeth?" Lucky asked.

Realizing that she had been tuning him out as she got lost in her own thoughts, Elizabeth blushed guiltily. "I'm sorry, Lucky. I don't mean to come off as a jerk. I just have a lot on my mind,"

"Jason?" Lucky guessed.

Elizabeth stared at him. "It's that obvious?"

Meanwhile, Jason was a few miles away, headed to Courtney's apartment. Courtney and A.J.'s to be honest. He couldn't shake the feeling of anger he had when he'd seen A.J. with Elizabeth that night at the penthouse, but this . . . this was much worse. He felt like he'd been punched in the gut, watching them at Kelly's.

Carly had told him not to give up, but seeing how Elizabeth had moved on and how whatever he said didn't count with her anymore, he felt helpless. He couldn't do anything to protect her from A.J. He knew A.J. was up to something, but he never knew the idiot could stoop so low. And why was Elizabeth falling for it? Elizabeth saw through most people so easily, but why was she letting A.J. use her?

This was all his fault, Jason blamed himself. If he had just told Elizabeth the truth, none of this would have ever happened. She would still be at the penthouse with him and he would be the one with his arms around her, not . . .

Jason was frozen by that image of A.J. embracing Elizabeth. His Elizabeth.

When Jason found out that A.J. had paid off Coleman to stalk Courtney, he was only slightly surprised. A.J. was weak and he only had destructive ways to solve his problems. But this, the potential ways that A.J. could hurt Elizabeth hit him a million times worse. Suddenly, Jason's excuses seemed insignificant.

He kept her at arm's length to keep her from the danger of his life, but look where it landed Elizabeth. She was out of his life but he pushed her right into A.J.'s awaiting web.

"Jason?" a female voice broke his train of thought.

Jason looked up. "Courtney? Uh, hi," he greeted. How did he get here? He didn't remember anything from the moment he saw A.J. holding Elizabeth at Kelly's to suddenly being in front of Courtney's door.

Courtney smiled. It felt good to have someone over. Ever since she had kicked A.J. out, this apartment suddenly seemed so cold and empty. Even if it was all lies, at least she had the lies to keep her warm at night. Now, she was by herself. Nothing but another victim of A.J.'s vendetta against the man standing in front of her. "Please, come in," she invited him.

Jason nodded, smiling. Maybe for a few hours he could forget his mistakes with Elizabeth. Spending time with Courtney was always a good distraction.

She was a by-the-book "yes" person. She never questioned him and she was indebted to him. He didn't really have to do anything when he was with Courtney. She did all the work. She talked and he listened. Sometimes she asked a question or two, but never anything serious. Not like with Elizabeth.

He didn't have to struggle to explain himself like he did with Elizabeth. Why? Because his answers mattered to Elizabeth. Who he really was mattered and what he said about it mattered. Not with Courtney.

Courtney wouldn't hold it against him if he didn't say the right things. Even if he did say the wrong things and it mattered to Courtney, it didn't really hurt him. He had no connection with Courtney. She was a friend, a good listener at best. Elizabeth, she . . . she was something that he couldn't even define, even if he wasn't a man of few words.

Back at Kelly's, Elizabeth leaned over the counter. "I don't know what's wrong with me," Elizabeth confessed.

"There's nothing wrong with you, Elizabeth. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be with the person you love," Lucky said.

"But I'm not supposed to love him. He hurt me. He lied to me. He let me walk away," Elizabeth admitted.

Lucky smiled. Even though what he and Elizabeth had shared was in the past, he knew Elizabeth. When she loved, she loved with all her heart. "That day at Vista Point, you said you didn't want to be hurt again," Lucky reminded her.

Elizabeth laughed bitterly. "I know! That would be the smart thing to do, but I can't seem to do anything a normal person would do nowadays. A.J. Quartermaine is pretending to be my friend to get to Jason. Can you believe it? He's pretty desperate. I am not even in Jason's sphere anymore."

Lucky raised an eyebrow. "Maybe A.J. knows something you don't."

"I doubt it," Elizabeth said. "He had his own wife stalked because of his selfish insecurities. He knows nothing about love."

Lucky nodded. He was disturbed but not surprised. A.J. had a fake body thrown in the lake when his cousin was thought to be dead for whatever reason. This was not that much different. "Is Courtney, okay now?" Lucky asked. "I mean, I remember that before you told me that Jason had been guarding her because she was stalked."

"Oh she's fine," Elizabeth said bitterly. "In fact, she and Jason are having dinner tonight."

Lucky could see clear as day that Elizabeth was far from over Jason, no matter how she pretended. "You still think that Jason has a thing for Courtney?"

Elizabeth looked at Lucky for a moment. "You know, A.J. said something earlier about that and I almost said something that could have enabled him in his sick plan against Jason."

"What were you going to say?" Lucky asked.

"A.J. asked why Jason would go for Courtney and I think I know why," Elizabeth revealed.

Lucky stared at Elizabeth. "Why?"

"Let's see. Superficially? She's a girl . . . young, she waits tables at Kelly's, lives alone in a small apartment near the docks," Elizabeth said.

Lucky still didn't follow Elizabeth's train of thought. "And?"

Elizabeth continued. "She recently had her world turned upside down. She lost one of the first real relationships in her life and she doesn't know what to do about it. He protects her and lets her be. She feels strong around him, like she can stand up against the people who are trying to make her out to be someone she's not. He listens to her the way no one else does and she stands up for him against the people who are ready to put him in jail and throw away the key. She is sweet, innocent and makes him smile. She's someone new, unlike the person he's had before who hurt him . . . badly."

"What are you trying to say, Elizabeth?" Lucky questioned.

"Simple. She's me . . . three years ago," Elizabeth finished.

Jason stood outside Courtney's door, a look on his face that he couldn't seem to break. What had he DONE?

He had come there for a distraction that was all. He had come there to stop thinking about Elizabeth standing there with A.J.'s arms around her and somewhere between the chicken potpie and the garlic bread, things went awfully wrong.

In his need to forget about the pain he had caused Elizabeth and the pain in his heart he had made a huge mistake. No, a humongous mistake.

Jason Morgan had never done something so completely spontaneous and hurtful in his short life. He felt . . . like Carly.

What was he thinking? "You weren't thinking, Morgan," he scolded himself. He sighed with anger so intense, he never knew he could be so mad at himself. He now understood how so many people he knew managed to do things that only hurt them in the end.

He walked away from the door without looking back. He didn't want to look back. If he turned around, he'd have to face a terrible mistake that he wished he could banish from his mind. He wanted nothing more than to turn back time and smack some sense into himself.

He never understood regret. Never knew why people tortured themselves for things they couldn't change.

He knew now.

What wouldn't he give just to stop what had happened at Courtney's apartment. To just change one thing so that the end result wouldn't have been so horrible. It was like a drunken state. He had kissed her, craving for the distraction he'd had when he kissed her the first time in the rain outside of Jake's. It had worked. But then things started moving quickly and next thing he knew he had made love to his sister-in-law in his brother's bed.

It had happened so quickly, he didn't have the time to react. Even in the quiet of the bedroom, his mind was on automatic. He had tried to salvage it. He had been considerate of Courtney. He had been gentle with her, even tried to ease her fears out of his own guilt. He didn't want to hurt her. Really he didn't.

Still, he couldn't suppress his instinct to run out of there. Even though the words came out the way they did, it was just a mask for his urge to simply run away. Thank god for Rosie the dog.

As soon as he came to his senses, he did everything he could to keep from acting like the men he despised, the kind that used women. But that was what had happened, wasn't it? He had used Courtney to drown out the sound of his heart breaking.

So he did his best. Nodded and smiled and tried to get out of there without hurting Courtney more than he had to. She had said some things, asked him to call her and he had said some polite things in return but he couldn't remember much besides the pull that was trying to get him out of there.

He had been in a daze on his bike ride home. The lines on the road, the only thing keeping him from riding right off into the nothingness that he felt at that moment. Normally, the power of the wind would brush away anything that troubled him, but a tornado couldn't touch this one.

His mind filled with images of what had happened and he couldn't stop it. Guilt like nothing he had known before filled the blood that ran through his veins, making him feel every small hurt that it could cause. How could he even face Elizabeth now? How could he look at her and be able to hide what he had done? She might not see through A.J. right now, but even he couldn't hide what he was feeling.

Next thing he knew, he was stepping off of the elevator at Harborview Towers. He needed to go into his penthouse. He needed to sleep away the memories. He needed to be unconscious to keep the pounding in his head from growing louder.

"Jason?"

"Great," Jason muttered to himself. A different kind of headache was not what he had in mind. "Carly, I am not in the mood to talk."

His friend stared at him. "Why are you home so early?"

"Not early enough," Jason thought to himself. "Carly, I'm tired. You can interrogate me in the morning," he said aloud.

"Okay," Carly conceded, realizing something was really bothering him.

Jason sighed and walked into his room, closing the door behind him.

Carly stared at the door, wondering what was going on. Carly knew about Jason's date with Courtney. She couldn't help but be relieved that he was back so soon, but something had obviously happened.

"Sometimes, Jason, I don't know why you think I'm the crazy one," Carly thought to herself. She had no clue why Jason was so easily persuaded to have dinner with Courtney after he'd told her that he wouldn't give up on getting back with Elizabeth. If it were her, she'd be hunting down Elizabeth to make her listen, not off on a date with Courtney.

Carly shook her head, walking back towards her section of the penthouse. "Whatever happened, it can't be good," she thought. "And I'm going to find out about it if it's the last thing I do."

Carly just prayed he didn't do anything that would ruin her plans. It was hard enough setting something up to make sure no A.J.'s or Sonny's or Courtney's would interfere, but how could she save Jason from himself?

Jason sat on the couch, his legs no longer able to carry him further. He leaned back, his hands on his knees, trying to keep them from trembling. Tears started to form in his eyes. The shock of what had happened kept the tears from falling.

He couldn't fix this. He couldn't forget it happened and he couldn't go back and change it.

His relationship with Courtney had been forever changed. How could he face Courtney now? How could he tell her that it meant nothing more to him than a way to escape the pain in his heart? He didn't want to think about how Courtney would react to all of this. She was just someone who was at the wrong place at a time when he needed something to block the incredible pain. But how ironic that his means of escape made any pain before it seem like nothing compared to the pain afterwards. She would be hurt and it would be completely his fault.

Then there was Sonny. What would he think? Sonny would not accept that Jason had used his sister. Things between Sonny and him had been tense ever since he had let Zander live. Could this be the end of his relationship with Sonny? Sonny wouldn't understand. Jason would not be able to justify what he had done to himself so how could he do that for Sonny?

Then there was Carly who he had to face in the morning. What would he say to her? Could he say nothing? He didn't really owe her any information and she'd probably tell him, "I told you so." But Carly would be wrong. He didn't feel that way about Courtney. It was just a mistake. A humongous mistake.

And then there was A.J. But Jason didn't want to think about A.J.

All these doubts and worries, they seemed so insignificant. The only thing he worried about, the only name that kept pounding in his head was none other than the woman he had given up. Elizabeth Webber. She was the only one he cared about when his greatest mistake would be discovered.

Meanwhile at Kelly's a silence rested heavily on the two occupants.

Lucky continued to stare at his ex-girlfriend. What was she talking about? He didn't know much about Courtney, but he knew Elizabeth and she was nothing like that other girl. "Elizabeth, I don't know why you think that she's like you, but even if she was, why would he settle for Courtney when he had someone like you?"

"Lucky, it's obvious," Elizabeth said, tears forming in her eyes. "Don't you see? The Elizabeth that existed three years ago never chose you over him. Never slept with Zander after turning him away. Never walked away from him when he offered her the world. Courtney, she is a blank slate. She is me without the history of hurting him and pushing him away when I should have been holding on tight. She is me without the baggage."

Lucky shook his head in disbelief. "Jason must have forgiven you for all that or he wouldn't have said that he wanted to be with you," Lucky offered.

"How did you know he said that?" Elizabeth asked, stunned.

"He must have. The way he looked at you that day at Vista Point, it was obvious to both me and Courtney that he loves you," Lucky said.

"Maybe," Elizabeth consented. "Maybe he loved me once upon a time, but he didn't want to be with me despite what he said. It wouldn't be the first time he said something he didn't mean."

Lucky looked solemnly at his friend. She looked like she was in so much pain and even he couldn't convince her to go light on laying on the guilt on herself. He watched as something flickered in her eyes. A memory of some sort. "What are you thinking about?"

Elizabeth looked upa t him, "Lucky, when I first found Jason shot in the snow that winter, I knew he was hurting from something more than a gunshot wound. When I found out what had happened, how Carly had hurt him, I felt like a piece of my own heart had been hurt. When Jason cares about someone, it's all the way."

Lucky nodded. "Like you."

Elizabeth shook her head. "He doesn't need my kind of love. The kind that is not strong enough to show me how to put him first and to keep from hurting him. What Carly did was bad, but I did it to him over and over. I hurt him when I toyed with his emotions, when I couldn't choose between you and him. I hurt him when I told him I didn't want the world that he offered me if I would just take his hand. I told him that I'd rather be with you than be free."

Lucky looked sadly at Elizabeth remembering what he had done to her. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth didn't seem to hear him. The words continued to spill out. "I hurt him when I slept with Zander. Just when we started to connect again and after I had just started to believe he forgave me for what happened with you, I went and betrayed what Jason and I had. He shut down on me and I went to Zander and made him believe we were more than we actually were."

Lucky listened as Elizabeth told him every heartbreaking thing she ever did to the man she loved.

"Even this last time, when I walked away from him, I hurt him again by using the one thing he feared the most against him," Elizabeth said.

"What was that?"

Elizabeth sighed. "He was constantly telling me that his life was too dangerous and that his job kept him from being the person I could love. He never listened when I said I could handle it if it meant I could be with him. So that night, I tore him down using the one thing he was insecure about when it came to me: the fact that he was Sonny's enforcer. The job that made his life wrong for me."

"You were hurt and I'm sorry to say it Elizabeth, but that side of his life is dangerous. Look what it has done to you. You had a bomb in your studio, you got kidnapped, shot . . . all because you were in Jason's life," Lucky said gently.

A memory nagged at Elizabeth. "He said he thought I treated it like a game. Even after I told him that being kidnapped . . . I thought for a moment that I wish I had never met him, but it was only a moment. That entire time I was there, I fought to survive because of him. I knew it wasn't a game. My life was in danger, but . . . "

"But it was worth the risk?" Lucky completed for her.

Elizabeth nodded. "There was one time when he was giving me another speech about how dangerous his life was and I can't seem to push it out of my mind."

"What did he say?" Lucky asked.

"He told me that he had held me once and watched me bleed and that he couldn't do it again," Elizabeth revealed.

Lucky sighed. "Then how can you doubt that he loves you?"

Elizabeth felt a tear fall down her cheek and she sighed. "Because instead of taking the risk of having to hold me again and watch me bleed . . . he's holding her and letting me bleed alone."

Jason stepped into his apartment. It was 8 A.M. but he didn’t just return from breakfast. He was just back from his ride. The one he went on as soon as he realized his body wouldn’t let him sleep away his guilt.

He had a lot to think about. This wasn’t the first time he had slept with someone when he was in love with someone else. Years ago, when he was with Robin, he’d slept with Carly. He rationalized that it was because he was brain-damaged and didn’t know any better. This time, what was his excuse?

He wondered if Elizabeth felt this kind of hurt and guilt after she had slept with Zander. Did she feel like the ground had slipped out from underneath her and that everything around her was crashing down? Did she fear the look on his face when she had to see him after the deed was done? Did this raw feeling of regret come over her like a tidal wave?

Maybe . . . maybe not. After all, when Elizabeth slept with Zander, she never promised him that she’d try. She never told him that she wanted to be with him. They didn’t say the things they had said at his penthouse and they hadn’t made the promises they had made yet. She told him it was a mistake, that she had done it out of fear. Would she forgive him? Because, truth be told, that was his reason too. Not the fear of physical danger, but the fear of falling into complete nothingness because he had lost her.

He didn’t regret it when he had slept with Carly. He felt bad but he didn’t want to pull himself inside out to make what he did undone. There was no doubt that he loved Robin. She had his heart completely at that time. So why was it never like this then? Why didn't he feel this burning pounding in his head?

He was the big bad mob enforcer, but he had no power over this feeling. Thinly veiled threats and 2.2 tons of pressure would not weed out this pain that kept gnawing at his insides.

Jason pounded his fist against the door, completely at mercy to the pressure of his emotions. Ice-cold, unfeeling, robotic Jason Morgan suddenly had no control.

*knock**knock*

Jason sighed.

“Jase, open up,” Carly yelled through the door. “I know you’re here. Marco called me.”

“Why are you up so early?” Jason whispered to himself.

“Because I still have to interrogate you,” Carly retorted, hearing his annoyed question.

Jason leaned his forehead against the door. He didn’t need this right now, but he couldn’t really avoid it. Besides, it was a hell of a lot easier to face Carly than it ever would be to face Elizabeth.

Meanwhile at ELQ’s office building, A.J. stood in the lobby, looking around. It was a little too early for his taste, but Ned was doing him a huge favor and he wasn’t going to mess this one up. Ever since he saw Elizabeth, he knew more than ever that he needed a better plan. He needed something to really use to maintain his hold on her and to make her trust him.

Something was off about her the night before. She had been so open with him when he had driven her home from Harborview Towers, but something had changed after that. He had to do something fast before his only means to get revenge against Jason slipped away.

Add onto that, everything he had found out when he visited Courtney the night before. He had a bad feeling ever since Elizabeth told him that his brother and Courtney were having dinner, but it still hurt when he saw it for himself. Courtney had told him that it was none of his business and maybe it wasn’t, but he couldn’t help being angry.

It was just more fuel to the fire in his vendetta against Jason. He felt stronger than ever about his need to get his brother for what he did to steal his wife away. Jason would pay, that was a promise.

“Junior, you’re here on time,” Ned commented, walking in to see A.J. staring at some blank spot on the wall.

A.J. turned around. “You sound surprised.”

“Why shouldn’t I be? How do I know you aren’t going to mess this up the way you messed up your life?” Ned asked. “You managed to screw up the one good thing that has ever happened to you besides Michael.”

A.J. nodded. “I know I did,” he admitted, “but I want to turn it around. I need your help to do that and I am really grateful that you are giving me a chance to show you that.”

“Well if it doesn’t work out, I could always fire you,” Ned shrugged.

“Ned?” a voice called out from behind the two men.

Ned turned to smile at the young man who had just entered the room. “Zander, I’m glad you could make it.”

“Thanks, Ned, for giving me a chance,” Zander replied.

“Alexis believes in you so I do too,” Ned explained.

A.J. looked from Zander to Ned. Just what he needed. Emily’s ex-boyfriend working at ELQ. Great.

“A.J., Zander is going to be working with you on this project I have,” Ned informed A.J. “It’s small, but it’s a good way for me to see if you can really cut it.”

A.J. nodded. He wasn’t going to argue. He needed this job. He knew it and so did Ned. “Okay, what is it?”

Ned handed Zander a file folder. “This is a contract we have with some properties on the docks. Take a look at it. One of the properties seems to be having a lot of problems and we need you two to check it out. See if you can solve whatever issues they are having down there.”

Zander nodded, “Okay, is there anything else?”

Ned smiled. “Nope. Let’s see if you can handle what you got before we give you more to do.”

A.J. replied, “We’ll be fine.”

“You better hope so,” Ned warned as he walked towards his office.

A.J. looked at Zander as Ned left the room. It was a little bit awkward but A.J. was willing to adapt. “So how about I look at those papers?”

Zander looked at A.J. skeptically. Something about the guy bothered Zander. “I’ll take half, and you can take half,” Zander replied, handing half the stack to A.J.

“Fine,” A.J. said, accepting the papers. Noticing Zander’s untrusting tone, A.J. hesitated. This was going to be harder than he thought.

Across town at Kelly’s, Elizabeth was busy serving her 20th customer of the day and it was only 9 A.M. It was certainly a busy morning at the little restaurant, which surprised her. It was even worse since the person who was supposed to be covering the shift with her was late.

“Where was Courtney?” Elizabeth thought.

Just then, a blur of red and blonde hair came rushing in through the door. “I’m so sorry Elizabeth. I got held up,” Courtney quickly explained, hanging her coat on the rack.

Elizabeth came up to Courtney, feeling annoyed and a tad stressed that early morning. “Fine, but you don’t have to publicize that to the whole restaurant.”

Courtney nodded, looking uncertainly at Elizabeth. Seeing Elizabeth only made her feel ten times worse. She had just finished telling Elizabeth the other day that nothing was going on with her and Jason, but now . . . things had changed. Not that she had planned it. Nor did she see it coming when she told Elizabeth she wasn’t going to cross that line with Jason. It was unexpected.

But that didn’t change the fact that she slept with Jason when she had given the impression that she wouldn’t. Add that onto the encounter she had with A.J. the night before and Courtney felt nothing but guilty.

A.J. had come to her apartment to offer alimony. Alimony of all things! The man who had paid someone to terrorize her was offering to support her even after the divorce. What was this? Courtney couldn’t figure out A.J. for the life of her. One minute he was hateful and vengeful towards his brother and the next, he acted like he genuinely believed he loved her. Courtney didn’t know what to make of it.

But she didn’t want A.J. to know that. So she had told him to butt out of her life and had sent him on his way as quickly as she could. But not before he realized what had happened between her and Jason. A.J. could see right through her and that was one of the things that scared her the most. He knew just what to say and do to manipulate her, but on the other hand, he knew what made her tick and it made her feel loved at one point in time. How do you make sense of a life built on lies?

“Courtney?” Elizabeth asked, realizing that Courtney seemed more distracted than usual.

Shaking out of her dazed state, Courtney blushed. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

“I was just saying that Penny left you this note,” Elizabeth explained, handing Courtney the slip of paper.

Courtney accepted it and read the short message. She sighed.

“Is something wrong?” Elizabeth asked, concerned.

Courtney shook her head. “Nothing important. I just needed Penny to cover for me tonight, but she couldn’t.”

Elizabeth suddenly felt guilty for being so rude to Courtney. There was something really bothering the blonde girl. “If you want, I can pick up that shift for you. I am out in 15 minutes, so I’m free later tonight.”

Courtney looked up in surprise. “You’re sure?”

Elizabeth nodded. “Of course. I still owe you for covering for me that last time.”

“Thank you, Elizabeth,” Courtney said. “I was planning on spending some time with my father.”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but envy Courtney for having a relationship with her father. Courtney had it all. A big brother in Sonny, a loving father in Mike and something with Jason that Elizabeth didn’t feel like labeling at the moment. “No problem,” Elizabeth said.

“Excuse me, Miss Webber, could I have a moment to speak to you?” a male voice asked from the stairway to the upper floor of Kelly’s.

Both girls turned to find the newest boarder at Kelly’s standing there. Elizabeth nodded. She still felt sketchy about this guy, but she had a feeling that appearances could be deceiving when it came to Ric Lansing. “Courtney, can you finish up these orders for me?” Elizabeth asked.

Courtney nodded. “Sure,” she replied, watching Elizabeth go up the stairs. “That was strange,” Courtney thought. “Just a few days ago Elizabeth was saying how much she hated this guys attitude, but now they’re what, friends?”

A sense of relief came over her for a moment. Maybe Elizabeth was more than interested in this guy. This would be good for Courtney. That would mean that one man in her life might lose Elizabeth as a viable love interest. At least, Courtney hoped so.

A.J. flipped impatiently through his stack of papers for the fifth time. This mountain of gibberish meant nothing to him. He read each line and they all said the same thing to him. Nothing.

A.J. looked up to see Zander poring over the papers carefully. A.J. hadn’t spoken to the young man for a long time, but he never thought of Zander as an office type. That made A.J. curious. “Find anything interesting?” A.J. asked.

Zander didn’t reply at first. Something in the papers must have been pretty fascinating. “Huh, what?” Zander asked, realizing that A.J. had said something.

“Did you find anything?” A.J. repeated.

“No, nothing. Just what Ned told us. This place is in trouble,” Zander explained.

A.J. shook his head. What did Zander know about building contracts? “How do you know that?”

Zander shrugged. “My family’s company had a branch in real estate and this is a typical case of bad managemnt.”

A.J. raised an eyebrow. “You mean you found time in between kidnapping and drug dealing to study real estate?”

Zander glared at the other man. “No, but I couldn’t help it. I was raised that way and lived that way before I escaped.”

A.J. shrugged. No use in upsetting Zander. “Something about this must have caught your attention,” A.J. said.

Zander hesitated. “Well, yeah . . .”

“Well, what is it?”

“This particular building here,” Zander pointed out a line in the contract.

A.J. didn’t recognize the address. “What about it?”

“It’s where a friend of mine lives and it says here, they are evicting a majority of their tenants,” Zander explained.

A.J. shook his head. Who cares if Zander’s little friends were being thrown out? They were probably delinquents like Zander. This was useless. He was getting nothing done here. “Well he probably deserves it. This text is pretty straightforward. Maybe if he paid his rent,” A.J. pointed out.

Zander stared at A.J. in disbelief. “Not that what you said deserves a reply, but she most definitely doesn’t deserve being thrown out of her studio.”

“She?” A.J. laughed. “Is she your girlfriend or something?”

Zander glared once again at the man in front of him. “No, Elizabeth Webber is just a friend who I care about.”

A.J. paused, surprised by that bit of news. “Wait, back up. Elizabeth is being evicted?”

Zander rolled his eyes. “Isn’t that what I just said? It says it right here in black and white,” Zander pointed at the paper.

A.J. couldn’t grab it fast enough. Reading the few lines Zander had underlined, a twinkle glimmered in his eyes.

“This is just what I needed,” A.J. smiled to himself. “It’s perfect.” Things were starting to look up.

Carly stared wide-eyed at Jason. She knew things were bad but she never thought it would be this bad. She pushed his arm, “Jason! What the hell were you thinking?!”

Jason glared at her. “I wasn’t, okay? I kept thinking about how Elizabeth had left and that I had hit rock bottom. All I wanted to do was forget.”

“And sleeping with Sonny’s sister does it for ya?” Carly yelled. “You can’t ever call what I do stupid ever again. You have defined a whole new level of stupid.”

Jason shook his head. He couldn’t say anything back because it was exactly how he felt and exactly what he was thinking all night.

“Geez, Jason, here I am turning myself inside out to help you and you go and do something stupid like that,” Carly snapped at him.

Jason felt a shiver down his spine. Elizabeth had said something similar to him that last night. She had turned herself inside out to gain his trust and he had thrown it in her face. And for what? To test her? To protect himself?

“What are we going to do now, Jason? If Elizabeth finds out about this . . .”

“Wait, what do you mean, if?” Jason asked.

“Exactly what it is supposed to mean. You can’t tell her Jason,” Carly warned him.

“But isn’t lying what started this whole thing?” Jason said.

Carly nodded. “You don’t have to lie. After all, she walked out on you. You don’t owe her any explanations. At least, not technically.”

Jason blinked. He was not going to lie to Elizabeth again. He hadn’t told her about Sonny and that was what hurt her. A lie by omission.

“Okay, don’t lie to her,” Carly conceded seeing the look Jason was giving her. “But there’s no reason for you to go find her and tell her the happy news,” she said sarcastically.

Carly felt torn. On the one hand she was pissed at Jason for what he did, but on the other hand, if he told Elizabeth, the young woman might never forgive him and Carly didn’t want that. Seeing Jason’s face, Carly was finally sure that there was nothing between Jason and Courtney. All she saw in his eyes was the pain of hurting the woman he loved. But Sonny wouldn’t see it that way. “What are you going to do about Courtney?”

Jason sighed. “I don’t know, Carly. I have been up all night and there is no solution to this.”

“Just tell her it was just meaningless sex,” Carly said bluntly.

“I can’t do that,” Jason replied.

“You said it to me,” Carly retorted.

Jason shook his head. “It’s not the same thing. You knew the score going in. Courtney thinks it’s more.”

Carly sighed. That girl never was very bright. “Well you’re going to have to tell her the truth. You can break it to her gently or something.” She wasn’t very good at this advice thing.

“I don’t know. I really messed up this time, Carly,” Jason said. He had never been the confused one. He never went to Carly for help or asked her advice or looked to her for a solution to the huge mistake he made. But then again, he was doing a lot of things he never had before.

Carly bit her lip. She recognized the role reversal too and she knew what kind of advice her friend would give her. “Okay, Jason. You’re right. You have to tell Elizabeth what happened and trust that what you have is stronger than the hurt that what you did has caused.”

Jason stared at her in shock. “When did you become so preachy?”

Carly glared at him but understood his defenses were up. “It’s what you would have told me. So go, go tell her and beg her forgiveness. Not that I’m sure you would deserve it.”

“But what about Courtney?” Jason asked.

Carly shrugged. “You made that mess, you have to clean it up. Be honest and gentle with her but I don’t want to be there when Sonny finds out,” Carly replied.

“He will eventually, Carly,” Jason commented.

Carly nodded knowing that was true. “Yeah, how does he do that?” Carly smiled, trying to encourage her friend. He had made a big mistake, maybe one of his first at this level of crazy, so she had to feel for him. She had never seen him so lost before. Not even after Robin.

Jason nodded, grabbing his jacket. He knew he’d have to face it somehow and he rather Elizabeth find out from him than from someone else. “Please forgive me, Elizabeth,” he silently prayed. He knew it was useless, but he hoped anyway. This could mean not only the end of any chance he had with Elizabeth but the end of him as well.

Meanwhile in a room above Kelly’s Elizabeth sat staring at the painting in front of her with a perplexed look on her face. She wasn’t sure why Ric had called her up to his room and was even more surprised when he pointed at the painting on his bed.

“What do you think?” Ric asked, watching her reaction.

“What do I think of what?” she said in reply, uncertain of why he was showing this to her.

“The painting,” Ric smiled.

Elizabeth glared at him. “I know the painting but what do you want me to say about it?”

Ric raised an eyebrow. This attitude was something that he was starting to get used to, but in a good way. “Do you like it?”

“Sure, I guess, if you like flowers and butterflies,” Elizabeth said sarcastically.

Ric laughed. “I knew I could count on you to be honest.”

“At least someone trusts me,” Elizabeth thought to herself. But why did he care what she thought? “Why do you want my opinion? I don’t really see you as a flowers and butterflies kind of guy either.”

“That’s what I mean. I need a painting for this wall. I am only staying here for awhile but I hate walls being left bare,” Ric explained as he gestured towards the empty walls.

Elizabeth stared at him suspiciously. “If this is supposed to be some roundabout pick-up line just get to the point . . . and the answer will be ‘no’, if you couldn’t guess,” she smirked.

Ric laughed again. He loved her attitude. “It isn’t, trust me. It’s just that you said you were an artist and I went to the local gallery here but all they had was this garden type exhibit. I wanted something . . . “

“More intense?” Elizabeth asked.

Ric nodded, surprised. “I was going to say that I wanted something not fluffy, but that works.”

“So what? You want me to paint for you?” Elizabeth questioned. “I am a waitress, not an artist for hire.”

Ric shook his head. “No, I know that. You told me. It’s like me with my guitar. I would never play for money.”

“So you’re hoping I’ll paint you something out of the goodness of my heart?” Elizabeth asked, although she was surprised how quickly Ric had understood her sentiments.

“No,” Ric smiled. She was making this very difficult. “You must have some of your work lying around.”

Elizabeth nodded. “And?” What was he trying to accomplish? Did he think she would be flattered that he wanted a painting from her? He never even saw her work before!

“Well, are you willing to part ways with any of them?” he asked cautiously, seeing the wheels turn in her head.

She was completely confused. This guy had to have some kind of angle. “Maybe. But you’ve never even seen my paintings. How do you know you’d like it?”

He looked at the painting in front of her. “Um, I don’t think it could be worse than this.”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but crack a smile.

He grinned knowing that he was slipping through her carefully guarded demeanor. “Since you won’t accept money, how about a favor?” He needed to be cautious with her.

“What kind?” Elizabeth asked, slightly intrigued by his proposal.

“You name it. Legal advice, a guitar lesson, dinner . . .” he suggested.

Elizabeth shrugged. It wouldn’t hurt. Especially with Luke being as crazy as he had been lately. A lawyer might come in handy. “Fine.”

Ric beamed. Success. “So when can I see some of your work?”

Elizabeth thought for a moment. “Well, you can come by my studio later tonight if you want. After I close up Kelly’s.”

Ric nodded. “It’s a date then.” Mission accomplished.

Elizabeth let that one go. She was too tired to deal with another round with Ric. She stood up and left the room, following the stairs to the kitchen. She had this bad feeling in the pit of her stomach all morning and she was starting to wonder why.

Just as she thought she could finally sit down and breathe, the bell on the door to Kelly’s rang. She looked up to find A.J. Quartermaine approaching. She groaned. Not what she had in mind tonight.

“Hi Elizabeth,” A.J. smiled.

Elizabeth shook her head. After the disaster that was their last conversation she was hoping he might leave her alone. But there was no one here for her to use as an excuse not to talk to him. “Hi,” she smiled tightly.

“How are you?” A.J. asked, his voice full of concern.

This startled Elizabeth a little bit. Okay, what was A.J. doing now? After that stunt the last time, she wasn’t up for another group hug. “I’m fine,” she replied. “Are you looking for Courtney?”

A.J. looked at Elizabeth. “She has no clue,” A.J. thought. He couldn’t imagine her reaction if Elizabeth knew she was covering for a woman who was sleeping with the man she loved. “That’s okay. I came to see you anyway.”

“What about?” Elizabeth asked, curious.

“Well, I am just about to make your day a hell of a lot better than fine,” A.J. smiled. Handing her a packet of paper, he instructed, “Take a look at this.”

 Courtney stood by the doorway from the kitchen to the dining area. She watched from the shadows as Elizabeth and A.J. were huddled over something on the counter. She suddenly felt this heat stirring in the pit of her stomach. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she knew she had to do something before A.J. and Elizabeth got any closer.

Damn, she thought Ric would finally take Elizabeth out of A.J.’s life. She had hoped that Elizabeth would see how handsome Ric was and she would move on.

Courtney was shocked. Why did she care if A.J. and Elizabeth got together? Why did it matter? She had Jason after all. Confused, Courtney walked back into the kitchen. She needed to get her thoughts straightened out, NOW.

Elizabeth gazed down at the paper. Realizing what it was, she looked at A.J. “This is the eviction papers from my building? You thought this would make me happy?!”

A.J. smiled. “No, but---“

“And why do you have them? Why are you suddenly all up in my life?” Elizabeth asked. “And how do you know where I live?”

A.J. realized that Elizabeth’s defenses were quickly coming up and he had to act fast. “No, you don’t understand. Your building is on the docks and it’s in the area near the pier.”

“And?” Elizabeth asked, still not understanding where he was going with this.

“And ELQ just bought up all the property,” A.J. explained, beaming at her.

“So you thought I’d be happy that you were evicting me instead of my current landlord?” Elizabeth asked.

A.J. shook his head. “No, what I’m saying is that you’re not getting evicted. I’m making sure that you are staying right where you are.”

So this was his angle! He was going to suck up to her to get her to do what he wanted. Well, she wasn’t going to fall for it . . . but then again . . . “Why are you doing this?”

“Because you’re my friend and I don’t want to see my friends out on the street with nowhere to live,” A.J. said, feigning disbelief.

“I wouldn’t exactly be out on the street,” Elizabeth replied. Although, she did love her studio . . .

“Where would you go?” A.J. questioned.

Elizabeth bit her lower lip. “I don’t know. My grandmother’s . . . maybe back to Bobbie’s.”

“But you wouldn’t want to if you had a choice, right?” A.J. persisted.

“No, but why would you do this for me? I mean, won’t this cost ELQ a lot of money?” Elizabeth asked. “The landlord was planning on selling the building for some developers.”

“I have one question for you. Do you have your original lease on the apartment?” A.J. said, leaning in.

Elizabeth nodded. “It’s at my studio, on a shelf with all the other important papers.”

A.J. smiled. “Great. If you let me take a look at them for you, I guarantee you’re not going anywhere. At least not while ELQ owns that building.”

Elizabeth knew this was a trick but she loved her home. She didn’t want to give it up. And if it meant she had to play along with A.J.’s schemes, so be it. “Okay. I am off right now. I can bring it to you.”

A.J. was about to nod when he saw Courtney watching out of the corner of his eye. “Actually, can I go with you? I can take a look at it and go to Ned immediately with the information.”

Elizabeth shrugged, taking off her apron. What did she care? She was too anxious about the idea of keeping her studio to even notice A.J. watching Courtney’s face fall as he handed Elizabeth her jacket and helped her put it on.

Elizabeth walked out of Kelly’s with one thing on her mind. Would A.J. use this little gesture to blackmail her? Would he somehow use it to make her do something to hurt Jason? Or was he just trying to get in her good graces?

A.J. followed Elizabeth with a smile. Courtney definitely saw them and that was definitely a good thing.

Courtney stood at the window of Kelly’s watching them walk off towards Elizabeth’s studio. She sighed. She got nowhere near becoming rational. What was this irritating feeling she kept getting whenever she saw them together? She couldn’t possibly be jealous of Elizabeth, could she?

“No,” she told herself. She just didn’t want A.J. to mess with Elizabeth the way he messed with her. He didn’t deserve anyone after what he did to her.

Courtney decided that was why she was so bothered and returned to her work. Just then, the door to Kelly’s open and she saw the other man in her life walk in. “Jason,” she smiled.

Jason looked at her. He wasn’t prepared to face her yet. He needed to see Elizabeth first. “Have you seen Elizabeth?”

Courtney was visibly upset that he had come looking for Elizabeth. Why was everyone suddenly so interested in Elizabeth? “She just left,” Courtney said. “Jason, I think we need to talk about what happened.”

Jason looked at the floor. He couldn’t discuss this now. “Look, Courtney. I have something I have to do first, but we’ll talk afterwards, okay?”

Courtney nodded, understanding. She reached for his hands and grasped it. “It was special,” she said. “It mattered to me and I don’t regret it.”

Jason nodded. He didn’t know what else to say. “I’m glad,” he said. Then he left.

Courtney shook her head. Something was off, and she couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Just then, Carly Corinthos breezed through the door with a determined look in her eye. She spotted her sister-in-law immediately and a smirk became plastered on her face.

“Hi Carly,” Courtney greeted, seeing the older woman.

“Courtney, just the person I was looking for,” Carly smiled.

“What can I do for you?” Courtney asked.

“Well, I have a proposal,” Carly said. “But it’ll take some work and it would mean you’d have to quit your job here.”

Courtney looked confused. “What? And why?”

Carly beamed. “I am starting a new club and I need a hostess. You’re perfect for the job and Sonny would love to get you out of a dump like Kelly’s,” Carly lied.

“Doesn’t your mom own this place?” Courtney questioned.

“Yeah, well, it’s still a dump compared to the new club I’m starting. Come on, you’re living alone now and being a hostess at an upscale nightclub will certainly pay more than any tips you’ll get here,” Carly persuaded.

Courtney hesitated but finally agreed. If she got out of here, maybe she’d stop running into A.J. and if she worked with Carly she might get to see Jason more often too. “Okay, Carly, you got yourself a hostess.”

“Great,” Carly said. “Come on, let’s go check out some locations.”

“I can’t just leave,” Courtney said.

“Come on, don’t pretend you haven’t done it before. Besides, what are they going to do, fire you? You’ve got a new job waiting for you already,” Carly said.

Courtney paused but finally took off her apron. “Fine, let’s go,” she said.

Carly smiled as they walked out. Good, now that Courtney was out of there, the chances of Elizabeth finding out what Jason had done from someone else were greatly reduced. If only Carly could do something to make sure the pain that Elizabeth would feel about it could be reduced too. But that was inevitable.

On the other side of the docks, Jason took the back staircase to Elizabeth’s studio. He rushed to her apartment, driven by the need to be the one to tell her to her face. But just as he got to the studio door, memories flashed across his mind.

Memories of a night three years ago where his whole world had come crashing down and he’d found out the woman he wanted to be with and who pledged to love him had slept with his best friend. Elizabeth had been the one to save him not just from the gunshot wound but from the hell that his life had become. But he had not forgiven Carly right away. And when he did, they never could go back to what they had before. Would the same thing happen with Elizabeth? Would she look at him and only see his betrayal?

But he had to take that risk. He knew it would be worse if he lied. Eventually she would find out, so why attempt to avoid the inevitable? He knocked on the door. He didn’t deserve a second chance, but maybe she would understand. She had slept with Zander and they had been able to get past that. Maybe she would understand. Jason knocked again.

But he had shut down on her after that. He had pushed her away. But Elizabeth was different. She wasn’t vengeful. She wouldn’t do things to spite him. That was a Carly thing to do.

Sighing, he realized Elizabeth wasn’t there after the fifth knock. Where was she? He wandered up the staircase. Maybe her landlord would know.

Meanwhile, at the bottom floor of Elizabeth’s building, A.J. and Elizabeth stood there searching for her keys.

“I thought I brought it with me, but I could have left it at Kelly’s,” Elizabeth said. “Oh, here it is.”

A.J. nodded. He was anxious to get the papers to Ned before the afternoon meeting. They had already wasted 10 minutes just looking for her keys.

Elizabeth closed up her purse and walked towards the door leading to her studio. A.J. followed the young woman up the staircase. He smirked at the surroundings. It was even worse than his apartment with Courtney. But obviously it meant something to Elizabeth, and if he could do something to make her in his debt, it would be a good thing.

Elizabeth stopped in front of her door, unlocking it with her key. She needed to get this door changed soon. Every time she looked at it, it reminded her of Jason. It reminded her that he had cared once upon a time.

“Nice place,” A.J. said plainly as he walked in.

Elizabeth could feel him lying through his teeth, but she didn’t make the mistake of expecting otherwise. “Thanks,” she lied in return.

A.J. looked around as Elizabeth went to find the lease. It was small. Quaint. Withdrawn. Not something he expected from Elizabeth Webber. He noticed the canvases right away and the artist’s supplies. He was mildly impressed by her art. Like her studio, it wasn’t what he expected Elizabeth would paint. Some of it looked dark and angry and others looked poetic.

“Here,” Elizabeth said, handing A.J. a packet of paper. “This is the lease my grandmother gave to me last year.”

A.J. looked at it. He smiled when he read the liability section. Just as he suspected. This could work for him. “Thanks, Elizabeth, this will work out perfectly.”

“What are you going to do?” Elizabeth asked.

A.J. took a seat on the couch and browsed through the paper. “Sit down, it’s kind of technical and hard to explain, but I want you to know what you’re up against.”

Taking a seat next to A.J., Elizabeth nodded. She would make herself understand if it meant she could keep the studio. After all, the memories in here were all she had left of Jason.

Elizabeth nodded as A.J. explained all the business language involved with her lease. It was a relief though because she had enough on her mind without having to worry about having a roof over her head.

“So you see, this way, you can still hold onto the place for at least another five years,” A.J. explained.

“But what about ELQ? They wanted to develop this area. Aren’t you sabotaging your own company?” Elizabeth asked.

A.J. nodded, confessing, “Maybe, but ELQ has dozens of other prospects that doesn’t involve making my friends homeless.”

“I told you, I wouldn’t be homeless,” Elizabeth reminded him. She had to guide him away from this plan he had that would make her indebted to him.

As much as it meant to her to hold onto the studio, she didn’t need him knowing that so he could use it as leverage against her. Or worse, against Jason.

A.J. tilted his head. “But you’d be losing the place where you can do what you love and wouldn’t that be like losing your home?”

Elizabeth was surprised that he knew that it was so close to her heart. “What makes you think this place means that much to me?”

A.J. leaned back. “You live here with barely any heat, the building conditions are horrid, the landlord obviously cares nothing about you, or that leak next to your window would have been fixed, need I go on?”

“Well we can’t all live in mansions,” Elizabeth snapped back at him.

“Would you rather I find you a penthouse then?” A.J. teased her.

Elizabeth frowned. “That’s not the point. I don’t care about big spaces or servants. I don’t need that. I just need a place where I can be comfortable and suits me. This place is just right. I don’t care about all that other stuff.”

“So you do love this place?” A.J. grinned.

Elizabeth sighed. He had her there, so she conceded, “You’re right. I would hate to lose this place. Over the years, it’s become really special to me.”

A.J. stood up. “Then it’s settled. I’ll have Ned sign off on these papers and you can sleep better at night knowing you can keep this place.”

Elizabeth followed suit and reached for her purse. “When will you know if I can officially keep the studio?”

“By tomorrow morning at the latest,” A.J. said.

“That fast?” Elizabeth questioned.

Walking towards the door, A.J. nodded. “Yeah, when it comes to business contracts, everybody wants the deal settled as soon as possible.”

Elizabeth hesitated, unsure of what to say to a man she knew was only helping her for his own interest and who she might have given the power to hurt someone she loved. “Um, thanks, A.J.,” Elizabeth said. “This place really means a lot to me.”

“I can tell,” A.J. smiled, gesturing to all the half-constructed canvases and paintbrushes. “Have you thought about doing this professionally?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “Being an artist? Not recently.”

“You’re not going to be a waitress all your life, are you?” A.J. questioned. Internally, he frowned. What a pathetic and wasteful way to live.

Elizabeth sighed. “My life hasn’t really given me the time to think about a career or planning out the future.”

“But now?” A.J. asked.

“Well, if you can get me my studio, I might just be able to start thinking about that,” Elizabeth smiled.

“Good,” A.J. smiled sincerely in spite of himself. As useful as she was to him in his plans to drive Jason crazy and get his revenge, it still felt good to have someone thank him for something. The last person who ever did that was Courtney and that didn’t last very long. A.J. just had to focus on his plans instead of his emotions or Elizabeth would end up to be just as big of a mess as Courtney had turned out to be.

Elizabeth followed A.J. out the door, locking it behind her. She hoped that giving into A.J. didn’t just cost her something more than a roof over her head.

Meanwhile, just a floor above, Jason knocked on the door of the landlord of Elizabeth’s building. He didn’t know why he would go to a perfect stranger who probably barely knew Elizabeth, but he was desperate. He had to find her before anything else happened. He had stalled too long as it was.

“I’m coming!” a man’s voice pierced the thin walls. “Hold your horses!”

Jason raised an eyebrow. He’d heard people say that phrase and he still didn’t understand it. In this day and age, who had horses?

The door opened and a short, bald man stood facing Jason with an annoyed look in his eyes. “Whaddya want?” he snarled.

“Do you know Elizabeth Webber?” Jason asked.

The man stood there for a second, racking his brain for some kind of recognition of the name. “Isn’t she that young little thing on the 2nd or 3rd floor?” the man replied, looking pensive.

Jason nodded although he clenched his fist at the way the man referred to Elizabeth.

“Yeah, sure,” the landlord replied. “What about her?”

“Well, I was wondering if you might know if she’s been around today. Or if you might know where she is,” Jason said.

The man shook his head. “Look, if they pay the rent and don’t make too much noise, I leave them alone. So I don’t know about this girl, but even if I did, it wouldn’t be for long.”

“What do you mean?” Jason questioned.

“Well, the building’s been sold to some developers. Everyone’s being kicked out,” the man said. “Too bad, but the owners were in debt and they had to pay the bills somehow. A Christmas present wrapped in a little yellow eviction notice, I guess you could say,” the man smirked.

“So you’re saying Elizabeth will lose her studio?” Jason asked, narrowing his eyes.

The man shrugged. “Yeah, her and the rest of them. But I’m sure a girl like her could work her way into another place to stay. In fact, I wouldn’t mind putting her up,” the man hinted with a sleazy look in his eye.

Before the man could blink, Jason had him against the wall, with his arm against the landlord’s throat. “Don’t talk about Elizabeth that way,” Jason said in a barely controlled whisper.

The man held up his hands, choking for breath. “Look man, I don’t know what your problem is, but if you’re so worried about her, I would think she would have told you she was being evicted.”

Jason released the man, shoving him back into his apartment. The man quickly slammed the door shut and locked it. Jason clenched his fists several times, trying to restrain his anger.

The sad thing was, the landlord was right. If he was any kind of friend to Elizabeth he would have known about this. He claimed he cared about her, but here she was, losing her sanctuary and he didn’t have a clue. What hurt most was not just that he didn’t know, but that she didn’t feel like she could trust him anymore to even ask for his help.

Jason turned from the door. Elizabeth didn’t need someone like him to mess up her life. As badly as he wanted to be with her, it would be selfish to try and put himself back in her life where he didn’t belong. She had walked away from him. She had told him she didn’t want to be a part of his life. So how soon would he finally get it?

He didn’t need to add to her problems by telling her about what happened with Courtney. It would only hurt her and she would think he was trying to throw it in her face. He couldn’t be with her. His life was too dangerous. Those were things that he had told her. So how could he explain the fact that he had turned around and slept with someone else?

He sighed and stared at the floor. Sometimes the right thing was hard to decipher. And then sometimes you just had to know when to walk away. Maybe this was that time.

After all, hadn’t he yelled at Carly to leave him alone after what she had done to him? Why would he want to put that kind of pain in Elizabeth’s eyes and make her suffer through his mistake the way Carly had tried to force hers on him?

He decided then that he would stop looking for her. Telling her what he had done would have been selfish. It would have been a way for him to relieve his guilt and he didn’t have that right. He wouldn’t lie if she asked, but he would not voluntarily hurt her like that. It was time for him to do what he had promised. He wouldn’t hurt her anymore.

Jason sighed and walked to Kelly’s. Even if he wasn’t going to tell Elizabeth, he still had to face Courtney and tell her it was over. He wouldn’t use Courtney as an excuse to escape anymore. If he had any chance of living his life, he had to at least have the strength to tell Courtney the truth. He knew it would hurt her, but he didn’t have a choice. She had to know the truth before things got worse.

At Kelly’s, Elizabeth hung her purse on the hook. The shift she was covering for Courtney would start in a few hours, but she decided she’d stop by for some lunch anyway, while she waited for A.J. to return with the papers.

“Elizabeth!” a female voice called from behind her.

Elizabeth turned to see her co-worker Penny with a panicked look on her face. “Thank God you’re here, Elizabeth. Courtney just left an hour ago and the lunch rush is coming and we are short now.”

Elizabeth looked at Penny, a little surprised. Why would Courtney just leave her shift like that? Did something happen to her father to make her leave even earlier than planned? “And you want me to help?”

Penny nodded. “Could you?”

Elizabeth shook her head regretfully. “I am already covering Courtney’s night shift. If I clock in now, it would be overtime and you know Bobbie doesn’t want us doing more than 8 hours a day. I would be doing 12 if I clocked in now.”

Penny nodded solemnly in understanding. “Thanks, anyway Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth felt bad, watching Penny desperately try to serve three tables at once while a counter full of customers waited to place their orders. Where was Courtney? Elizabeth didn’t have the time to figure out that puzzle. She picked up her purse, deciding to go elsewhere for lunch so as not to add to Penny’s already overwhelming load of customers.

Opening the door, she was stopped by a pair of broad shoulders in leather. Elizabeth felt her heart pound as she looked slowly up to see the face, but she didn’t need to see his face to know who it was.

Elizabeth stepped back in the doorway, her breathing coming in short breaths. “Jason,” she managed to speak.

In the same wavering voice, Jason whispered in return. “Elizabeth.”

They both knew what nothing felt like. At one time it was the loneliness and the emptiness that brought them together. They just never knew how nothing didn’t hold a candle to the pain in their hearts now.

When everything that you care about, everything that matters is gone, you don’t feel nothing. You feel a big gaping hole that threatens to swallow you up until you can’t breathe anymore.

Nothing was a relief. Nothing was not feeling, not knowing pain, not reacting to anything. Heartbreak was a whole other story.

When someone rips out your heart, you pray every moment for the pain to go away. You try to imagine what it would be like to not suffer, not ache, simply not feel . . . heartbreak was feeling everything that hurt and wishing you could feel nothing.

So now they stood, face to face once again, reaching an entirely new point in their lives. Could they share in their experiences? Could they start again? Could they rescue themselves from each other? If they could, this was their chance.

“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth said, slipping past Jason, doing her best to not be so obvious. Two words and they meant so much more than an apology for being in his way. But that was all they’d be until she had the courage to say more.

“Elizabeth, wait,” Jason called after her. “Please.”

Elizabeth turned slowly, unsure and unsteady. She could feel the tears rise in her eyes. That familiar sensation that filled her when her heart ached returned again. As her eyes passed his face, she yearned to be with him again and feel the comfort of being in his arms. But why wish for the impossible?

Jason approached her slowly, his hands trembling under the sleeves of his leather jacket. She looked so beautiful in the winter snow. A memory, so long ago but so near in his mind filled his thoughts.

She had been standing right at that spot and he had faced her with his back to Kelly’s. She had been so happy to see him, not knowing that he had come to end their friendship. Once again, his excuse had been the danger. She had tears in her eyes then and she had known better than he did. She had told him that she was willing to take the risk and that it was worth fighting for. He didn’t listen.

And damn if his heart didn’t break having to make her cry, but he knew no other way to protect her. So he had walked away, making her think that he didn’t care about her enough to stay. She had said it was her mistake to think he was different than any other person who had walked away from her.

She was right then, and she was right now. He had walked away from her night after night and had filled her eyes with the pain that he never wanted to see.

But back then, when he left, it was only their friendship on the line and his heart was nearly destroyed. This time, it was something beyond the words his mind could form that was at stake. Was he willing to lose that too?

“I was wrong,” he whispered, his breath coming out in white clouds.

Elizabeth didn’t answer, her body feeling oddly warmed by his words. “I was wrong too,” she said.

Jason let out a breath. “I thought that I needed to keep you in the dark to protect you. It had already cost you too much to be with me.”

Elizabeth nodded. “But you promised to try,” she managed to whisper.

His throat filled with new tears as he replied. “I know and I broke my promise. I think I was afraid. Afraid of what it meant to be with you and what it might mean to lose you.”

Elizabeth looked up it him with her eyes wet with tears. “I made promises too. I wasn’t going to leave but I did. The first test and I failed.”

Jason shook his head. “No, you didn’t. I failed. I tried to push you away again by not telling you the truth.”

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. “You were testing me?”

Jason tore his eyes from hers as he faced the floor. His entire body weakened in shame.

Elizabeth brought him back with her response. “I guess you had to.”

Jason didn’t expect her to say that. He expected her to close up again or turn him away for the selfish act he had committed. But when he finally managed to face her, there was sorrow in her eyes.

Elizabeth continued. “I turned you away so many times before. I didn’t trust you enough. I chose Lucky over you and then I slept with Zander,” Elizabeth admitted, although it hurt her to talk about the mistakes she had made. “So why would you trust me?”

“I never wanted to see you hurt, Elizabeth,” he confessed. “So I did something I didn’t have to so that when I did hurt you, it would be much less than you seeing the person I really am. It was never that I didn’t trust you.”

It was Elizabeth’s turn to shake her head. “Maybe you believe that, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve done things to shake your confidence in me. I told you how I felt about you and yet I turned away every time you gave me the chance to open up. That’s the way it’s always been between us and it isn’t right.”

Jason sighed. “I never thought you were wrong for following your heart, Elizabeth.”

“But that’s just it, I was too busy protecting it to follow my heart,” she explained. “I told you that night that I made you up in my head and part of that was the truth, but not the part that mattered. I know you Jason. You’re the man who pulled me out of nothing that summer. You took me on your bike and showed me freedom. No expectations, no reasons other than to make me see that I could be who I wanted to be. And maybe I was afraid of losing that.”

Jason listened, but his heart was being pulled tightly as he realized that she still cared about him after everything he had done.

Elizabeth pulled her coat closer as she searched for the strength to tell him what was on her mind. “You also showed me what it felt like to have someone care. Someone who would race through a gas-filled tomb to save me from dying. Someone who would stand with me and talk to me while I was bleeding from the arm. Someone who stood by me and offered me his hand even though I kept choosing another man over him. No one has ever done that for me, Jason.”

Jason clenched his fist, struggling with the truth that he still held from her.

“I am so sorry,” she said. “I have hurt you so many times and the first time you do it to me, I run away, and that was wrong of me. I was afraid too. Afraid that I had lost any chance of being with you because you couldn’t trust me or believe that I could stand by you. I yelled at you that night for putting your job above our friendship and whatever else we could have been, but it was really about me. I kept thinking about all the times I never put you first and how I took what we had for granted.”

Jason shook his head. “No, Elizabeth, you were right.”

“Please, Jason, let me finish,” she pleaded, fighting for the words to come out. There was so much that needed to be said and she didn’t want her fear to stop her. “You doing your job had nothing to do with me walking away. I know what you do, I found you shot in the snow, remember? I also know that you saved me from a bomb, a crypt and from myself.”

Jason nodded.

“What you do isn’t who you are, and the part that affects us, I accept it. I know what your job means to you and how much loyalty matters to you. It’s one of the things that I admire about you and I don’t want you to think I’d ever hold it against you. That was never a reason for me not to be with you,” Elizabeth explained.

Jason stared at her in disbelief. Was she really saying these words? Did she really accept his job?

“When we first met everyone told me how dangerous you were, but I didn’t listen then and I’m still not listening now. You told me I thought it was a game, and I don’t know if you were hurting or what made you say that after all we’ve been through, but you know it isn’t the truth. I walked away in fear that you didn’t feel the same about me anymore not because I didn’t feel the same about you. You couldn’t trust me or stay with me and I thought I had done something to hurt you so much that we couldn’t go back from that,” Elizabeth informed him.

Jason watched as her eyes wandered to a place he couldn’t reach.

Elizabeth looked back at him finally, as if collecting her thoughts. “My feelings for you haven’t changed. In fact, they’ve probably gotten stronger since you’ve been . . . away. My heart still wants to be with you, maybe more than ever. But when I told you anyone could break a heart that included me. If you still want to be with me, I want you to know that I will do things and say things I don’t mean. I’m not perfect.”

“No one is,” Jason said, his voice choked up. If she only knew.

“But I want to change. For so long, I thought that I shouldn’t have to because I was hurt by my . . . past. I thought that me having to change was a sign that this wouldn’t work, but now I know it means that it’s worth fighting for. I shouldn’t have walked away and if you’re willing to try again . . .”

Jason looked into her eyes and saw them offering him the world. He couldn’t believe what she was telling him. It was more than he had ever hoped for. She didn’t hate him for testing her. She didn’t hate him for having his job. She didn’t hate him period.

Jason reached out his hand to her face and she leaned into it the way she always did. God, how he missed the feel of her against his skin. “Elizabeth, I . . . “

Elizabeth gazed up at him, a question in her eyes waiting for the answer only he could give.

“It isn’t enough,” he whispered finally.

Elizabeth looked at him, heartbroken. She really had hurt him more than they could go back from. She had made too many mistakes, even for Jason to forgive.

Seeing the broken look in her eyes, Jason quickly added, “My job, I mean. You told me that night that you hoped it was enough and it isn’t. It never was.”

Elizabeth felt a tear fall, burning her cheek in the freezing cold of winter. He forgave her.

“I’ve made my own share of mistakes by not telling you how I feel and not putting you first,” Jason explained. “No matter what has happened to us in the past, I would never do anything to hurt you because you hurt me. It’s never about pay back.”

Elizabeth nodded. “I know.”

“The reason I pushed you away is for no other reason than fear. It wasn’t because I don’t believe in you or think that you can’t handle my life. It’s just an excuse because I really can’t imagine my life without you,” Jason said. “I thought it would be better for you not to be with me, but I was wrong. I made a decision about us for you and I shouldn’t have. I decided that we were better off apart and that was a mistake.”

“Do you want to try again?” Elizabeth implored, searching his eyes for a sign of hope.

He looked down at her and ran his hands through her hair. “I want to try with you Elizabeth. I want to be with you.”

Elizabeth smiled through her nearly dried tears. “Good, because I want to be with you too.”

Jason leaned closer, taking her lips with his and feeling nothing but the warmth of her contact. As they kissed, they both felt like something was different between them. The misunderstandings, the hurt and the mistakes could finally be put to rest. They were stronger knowing how deeply they cared for each other and understanding each other’s fears.

They knew the truth now. They wanted to be together but losing each other was their only obstacle. It was that fear that made them weak, but understanding it would make them stronger.

As their lungs fought for oxygen, they finally broke contact and opened their eyes. So many times they had seen the tears of pain reflecting back at them, but this time it was tears of healing.

Elizabeth leaned into him and rested her head against his chest as he held her. “Jason, there’s something I need you to know.”

Jason, remembering why he had come to Kelly’s in the first place, realized he had to tell her the truth now. “I do too, Elizabeth, I ---“

Elizabeth looked up at him. “No, let me say this first.”

Jason nodded his head, hearing the vulnerability in her voice.

Elizabeth sighed into his chest and then turned up to look at him. “Jason, I lo---“

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t my saintly little brother. What? My wife wasn’t good enough for you?” a male voice interrupted Elizabeth’s confession. “Well, she never was that great in bed, I guess.”

Jason froze, looking up to see A.J.’s smirking face staring at the two of them. He couldn’t move afraid to see the look on Elizabeth’s face if his eyes wandered down.

Elizabeth could barely breathe. A pain unlike anything she had ever known filled her from her feet to her throat. She knew A.J. for the liar he was, but feeling Jason’s reaction while his arms were around her showed her all she needed to know. A.J. was telling the truth and Jason had somehow failed to mention it to her.

Jason couldn’t move. His eyes were burning holes into A.J. but the rest of him was ice cold. He felt like his entire body was frozen. Their moment had gone from amazing to nothing in less than a second.

Elizabeth was standing, no longer in Jason’s arms, but not far from his reach. She had her arms gripped around her, trying to absorb what had just happened. She was so close. One more second and she could have told him the truth. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be.

A.J. grinned, glad that he had destroyed whatever he had seen happening between them. He had no doubt in his mind that they were a second away from reconciling. Good thing he was there to stop it.

And that was what Ric saw when he stepped out of Kelly’s. “Elizabeth?” he asked, seeing the look on her face.

Elizabeth didn’t react immediately, but could hear her name being called from a distance. The world suddenly seemed so dark. “What?” she asked, turning in the direction of the voice which called to her.

Ric raised an eyebrow at the two men who seemed to be having a battle of wills a few feet from him. “Is this a bad time?” he asked the young woman next to them.

The look on Elizabeth’s face was pure shock. As if she had just been shot. She shook her head slowly, “No. You wanted to see a painting, right?”

Ric was bewildered by her emotionless tone of voice and the emptiness in her eyes. “Right,” he replied.

“We should go,” she said in a far off voice. She started to walk towards her studio and Ric followed, uncertain of what had just happened.

Jason didn’t go after her, didn’t follow her, didn’t even try to stop her. She had every right to be hurt by what he had done. Just like she had been right the last time she walked away. If only he had the chance to tell her. He would have if A.J. hadn’t stepped in.

“Sorry to interrupt your happy little moment there, but I thought Elizabeth should know exactly what kind of man she was about to admit her feelings to,” A.J. sneered.

Jason clenched his fists tightly as he scowled at A.J. “Don’t act like you give a damn about Elizabeth. You hurt her to get to me, just like you do to everyone.”

A.J. shook his head and smiled. “No, no, little brother. I think you sleeping with Courtney is what hurt her, not me.”

Jason had to use all his strength not to strangle the grin off of A.J.’s face. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

A.J. tilted his head in self-satisfaction. “Don’t I? Don’t you think Elizabeth has the right to know that you were having an affair with a married woman? That you were chasing another man’s wife while she was worried sick at home at your penthouse?”

Jason’s eyes saw red. “How did you know about that?”

“She told me,” A.J. laughed. “Poor little Elizabeth. She loved you but all you could do was leave her night after night to be with another woman. How did you think it would end Jase? Huh? I have to give it to Elizabeth. She finally realized that you get nothing for worshipping at the altar of Jason Morgan. Maybe it’s not too late for Courtney.”

Jason could feel the anger and the pain boil in his stomach. By letting Elizabeth walk away, he had forced her to confide with his enemy who only listened to use that information against her.

“I feel kind of sorry for her, though. Like everyone else, she fell for your act only to be thrown away for your next conquest. Was it the challenge? You already had Elizabeth, so you had to find another activity to keep you occupied?” A.J. questioned.

“No, that’s you A.J. I don’t treat people like things to be won,” Jason growled.

“Well, either way, you sure did a number on Elizabeth and you definitely lost her,” A.J. said. “So did it feel good, Jase? Was it worth it to get to me by sleeping with my wife?”

“I didn’t sleep with Courtney to get to you, A.J. When will you get it?” Jason yelled.

A.J. stepped closer, “Then why? Why did you have to take away the one thing I loved the most when you are so obviously in love with Elizabeth?”

“I didn’t sleep with Courtney to get back at you, you moron. I did it to stop hurting,” Jason shouted.

As soon as the words came out, Jason regretted them. He didn’t need to give A.J. any more leverage. Why did he just admit that to A.J.?

A.J. looked at Jason shocked. “You used Courtney for comfort?” A.J. asked in surprise.

“What?” another asked.

Both men turned to find a shocked Courtney staring back at them.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the docks, Elizabeth was walking mindlessly to her studio. If she turned off her thoughts, that would turn off her body’s reactions and maybe, just maybe, if not stop the hurt, at least ease it away.

“What happened back there?” Ric questioned as he followed her.

Once again, Elizabeth didn’t answer him. She wasn’t there, not really. She was lost in whatever pain her heart was going through.

She wasn’t mad at Jason. She had a feeling he had been trying to tell her about Courtney, but she hadn’t let him. A part of her had been suspecting something more between him and Courtney for a long time, but she didn’t want to admit to it. Denial was a safe place to be.

She was mad at herself for pushing Jason so far away that he had found himself in another woman’s arms. Elizabeth could see he regretted it. She even felt it by the reaction he’d had when A.J. showed up. She even heard the guilt in his voice when he first greeted her at Kelly’s. She just didn’t understand until now.

Fumbling with the lock on her door, Elizabeth tried to blink away the tears, but she realized there were none. She felt them, but they weren’t there. There was just . . . nothing.

Ric reached for the keys in Elizabeth’s hand and opened the door for her. As he pushed the door open, Elizabeth walked in without a second glance at him.

He put the keys on the table and sat down on the couch. He was surprised at how small the studio was, but he could tell she had made it into a home. The littered paintbrushes and blank canvases filled the room. He turned to look out the window and noticed a small painting underneath the sill.

He looked closer and saw the outlines of what looked like a blurred view of the city of Port Charles. “What’s this?” he asked, hoping to break her out of her daze.

Elizabeth turned at the sound of his voice but her heart only broke when she saw he was asking about “The Wind,” the painting she had done for Jason . . . in another life. One where she didn’t push him away or hide how she felt to protect herself around him. A life when she didn’t run away from what hurt because he had shown her how to face the pain head on.

Ric watched as something seemed to pass through Elizabeth’s eyes. A memory maybe.

“A piece of Elizabeth Webber that died a long time ago,” she admitted.

Ric looked at her curiously. “When? How?”

“I don’t really know when,” Elizabeth thought aloud, taking a seat on the stool next to the artist’s easel. “But it died because I forgot who I was so I could recapture the past. It died because I built a cage around myself to make someone else happy. It died because I sacrificed the one thing that mattered because I was afraid of being the person he believed I could be.”

Ric didn’t understand but he had a feeling it all had to do with Jason Morgan and the other man standing with him at Kelly’s. “Does this have to do with Jason?”

Elizabeth nodded. Confiding in a perfect stranger was better than A.J., she supposed. “Before I met Jason, I didn’t know how it could be to stand up for myself and count for something. I didn’t know how to be honest with people. When I was younger I was the biggest liar, but it was to protect myself. When I got older, I didn’t lie, I pretended to protect other people. I was listening to everyone else instead of what my heart was telling me. He showed me that I didn’t have to. He accepted me for all my faults and all my imperfections and just wanted me to be able to believe in myself.”

Ric nodded, starting to get the picture. “What happened?”

“Lucky, my first love, came back,” Elizabeth said.

Ric nodded again, understanding more of why Elizabeth looked so destroyed.

“It wasn’t like that,” Elizabeth said, seeing the look in Ric’s eyes. “Jason and I, we were just friends. But I gave up our friendship because I thought I had to be someone else to be with the man I loved. I gave up the person that Jason believed I could be. I gave up wanting to be free because I was stupid enough to think that I could recreate the life I had before I lost it all.”

Ric leaned back in the sofa, listening carefully as Elizabeth explained her pain. “It’s not stupid to want something that made you happy,” Ric offered.

“But it didn’t make me happy. It made me have to pretend again, something I swore I would never do. Lucky didn’t want the Elizabeth who painted “The Wind” or the Elizabeth who liked to ride fast on the cliff road. Lucky didn’t want the Elizabeth who was friends with Jason because that Elizabeth had a mind of her own and wanted more than to just be his girlfriend. So I had to learn to pretend and hide the person I had become while he was gone.”

Ric shifted in his seat as he tried to absorb what Elizabeth was confessing to him.

“The time Lucky and I had lost changed us. I was no longer the woman he remembered and he was no longer the man I wanted to be with,” Elizabeth said. “So eventually, we broke up. And guess who was there to save me again? Jason.”

“Then what’s the problem if Lucky isn’t a factor anymore?” Ric asked.

“I’m the problem,” Elizabeth whispered. “I stopped him when we almost went too far. I told him that I didn’t want to weigh down our relationship with the pain I was feeling from what Lucky had done.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Ric said.

“But then I turned around and slept with his enemy,” Elizabeth confessed.

“Oh,” Ric stated, realizing the problem.

“He is the one man who has always believed I could be the woman I wanted to be but I kept pushing him away and choosing to be with other men,” Elizabeth said, a tear falling from her eye. “Until finally, I pushed him so far, he gave up. And then he slept with someone else.”

“Does he love her?” Ric asked. He doubted it. From the look he had seen on Jason’s face, Elizabeth had Jason’s heart. Only love could destroy a man like that.

Elizabeth looked down in her lap. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think I hurt him and he . . . “

“You don’t have to explain,” Ric interrupted.

“But I don’t know what to do now. I keep seeing him with her in my mind and every image makes my heart break a little bit more. I know I have no right. I slept with other people when my heart promised him more, but this feeling, it’s something so intense. I can barely breathe through it. To think, I did this to him countless times, I don’t know if I have a right to ask him to forgive me,” Elizabeth confessed.

“Why don’t you let him decide?” Ric said simply. “Let him choose whether being without you is worth protecting himself from being hurt.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “It’s not that easy. You don’t know what I put him through.”

“But he’s still there isn’t he? I saw him standing there. He was wrecked. I still have no clue what happened before I came out, but---“

“A.J. just announced that Jason had slept with A.J.’s wife in front of me before Jason could tell me. That’s why he was so hurt,” Elizabeth explained.

“There! Isn’t it obvious? He is hurting because he thinks you won’t forgive him for what he did, but the point is, he CARES. He still wants to be with you or else it wouldn’t cause him so much pain that you knew about him and the other woman,” Ric told her.

Elizabeth found hope in Ric’s words, but she was scared. Scared that she would hurt Jason again. But then she remembered their conversation just a few minutes before outside of Kelly’s. He had told her his fears and she had told him hers.

They were going to try again and let the past stay in the past. Wasn’t that what they had promised each other? Well, she wasn’t going to break another promise to him.

“Thank you, Ric,” she said standing up.

“For what?” Ric asked.

Elizabeth smiled for the first time since they had left Kelly’s. “For bringing Elizabeth Webber back to life, the one that saw the wind and the one who sees the truth. Thank you for showing me exactly what I have to do now.”

A.J. flinched, hearing the bite in Courtney’s voice. He wanted her to open her eyes to the kind of man his brother really was but he didn’t want it to be this way. He wanted to say it to her so that it wouldn’t hurt. Not a lot. Just enough for her to come back to him.

Jason let out a deep sigh, realizing his predicament. He was going to tell her eventually but this wasn’t the way he wanted it to be. He wanted it to be somewhere she felt safe and in a situation where he could break it to her gently. But when you make mistakes you don’t always get to choose how you dig yourself out of them.

It was now or never. She had to know the truth sooner or later.

“Jason? What is A.J. talking about?” Courtney asked, looking expectantly at Jason. She wouldn’t believe A.J., she wouldn’t. Because if she did, that meant that she had once again put her trust in the wrong man.

“Courtney, baby, you misunderstood,” A.J. said to her softly. “It’s not like you think.”

“Jason?” Courtney repeated, not looking at her husband. A.J. had his own agendas and she would never believe a word that came out of his mouth.

Jason looked at her, unsure of what to say without hurting her. Well, at least something that would cushion the truth for her.

A.J. stepped next to Courtney and put his hand on her shoulder. “Courtney, it’s nothing. We were just fighting.”

Courtney pulled away from A.J. “Don’t touch me you slimy, lying bastard.”

A.J. looked at her in shock at her outburst.

Courtney stood and awaited Jason’s defense, but it didn’t come. Realizing that Jason’s silence was confirmation of the truth, Courtney glared at A.J. “So you were right about him but don’t try to be my knight in shining armor. That act is for your brother. Man, I got to hand it to the both of you. For two people who refuse to recognize that you are blood related you sure act alike.”

“Courtney, it wasn’t like that,” Jason said, realizing that his hesitation to speak wasn’t helping the situation.

Courtney turned to him. “Wasn’t it? A.J. used me to get to my brother so he could get his son back. He pretended to be my savior, my hero so that I would believe in him and stand by him no matter what. Gullible, stupid, blind Courtney. The perfect tool for him to use in his vendetta against my brother because you stole his son from him.”

A.J. stepped closer and interrupted. “I regret every thing I did to hurt you Courtney. I was blinded by my need to hurt Sonny for taking away my son so I thought I’d take soemething from him. But it was wrong and I know that now. I should never have used you as a pawn in my stupid need for revenge. I love you, Courtney. You have to know that. I can’t take back what I did, but I can tell you that I love you,” A.J. pleaded to her.

Courtney didn’t even bother to look at her so-called husband. “No you can’t take it back and you’d probably do it again if you knew how to do it right and actually get your son back. The only thing you regret is that you got caught and I left you. Then I fell into your brother’s lying games instead of yours. That’s why you want me back, isn’t it? I’m the big shiny trophy that Jason stole from you. What is it? Are you two competing for the prize on who can make Courtney the biggest fool?!”

Jason felt Courtney’s eyes glaring at him and he had nothing to say to defend himself. She was right. He had made a fool of her by sleeping with her and making her think they were more. Every word was the truth, but why did he feel like he wasn’t the only one at fault?

Courtney shook her head in disgust. “Jason, you are a real piece of work, you know that? I really bought your hero act even though A.J. had tried it on me before. You would think I would have learned after A.J.’s lies, but I didn’t. I am a sucker for white knights, I guess.”

Jason crossed his arms, getting this nagging feeling other than guilt.

Courtney sneered at him. “I bet you must have been so happy when you got me to sleep with you,” Courtney spat at him. “A.J. married me and slept with me to get at Sonny and you did the same to get at A.J. I am sick of being in the middle of your little revenge plots and your sick desires to one-up each other.”

Jason shook his head. Courtney really had no clue. He may have lied to her about his intentions but he didn’t seek out to hurt her the way A.J. did. But then, she never did understand him.

She was in the same room when they had their conversations but she never listened. Not the way Elizabeth did. She didn’t get who he was. Just the fact that she thought he would try and do something to get revenge on someone as insignificant as A.J. said a lot. He wasn’t Jason Quartermaine, A.J.’s brother. He was Jason Morgan.

Courtney paced the small courtyard, shaking her head in disbelief. “Ever since I came to this town, it’s been one liar after another. First my mother and father, then Sonny, then A.J. and now you, Jason. The man who can’t tell a lie. But you never were that, were you? It was all a masquerade to get me to sleep with you.”

Jason had had enough. He wasn’t going to let her put all the blame on him to make her feel better for a mistake they both made.

Jason looked up at her and looked right into her eyes. “No, Courtney. I slept with you that night because we both needed to escape so we thought we’d get lost in each other. You know that. I saw it in your eyes and unlike your husband, you aren’t an experienced or even a good liar. You were looking for the same thing I was. A distraction.”

A.J. growled at that comment. “Don’t put this on Courtney. She fell for your act, but she didn’t let you use her so she could use you.”

Jason didn’t even bother to respond to A.J.’s remarks. He continued to Courtney, “You needed to be with someone who wasn’t the man you fell in love with and who used you to trade for his son. You needed to be with someone other than the man who paid a strip club owner to put fear in you so you would come running back to him,” Jason finally spoke up. “I listened to you and I protected you from A.J. and you were thanking me by sleeping with me.”

Courtney stared at him in shock. She deluded herself into thinking her surprise was because of his unjustified remarks but it was mostly because it was closer to the truth than she would admit. She knew the score, she just didn’t want to see it.

“That doesn’t mean I wasn’t wrong,” Jason admitted quickly. “What I did was wrong and if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have done it. I slept with you because I needed some way of escaping. And yes, I used you. But you used me too.”

Courtney looked to the floor, refusing to say anything to Jason.

A.J. spoke up. “I told you Courtney. When I found you the other night and I knew you had slept with Jason, I told you he was using you.”

Courtney turned to him with a smirk. “You would know, wouldn’t you A.J.? Being the expert on that and all.”

A.J. begged her to listen. “Courtney, I admitted to you that I came into our marriage as a way to get back at Sonny, but that’s not how I am now. I fell in love with you and I didn’t know how to handle that. I was afraid of losing you. I never had someone love me the way you do,” A.J. pleaded to her. “Love makes you do stupid things.”

Jason knew exactly how true that was, but even that didn’t justify anything A.J. did.

Courtney didn’t react, but her body language revealed that she was listening at least.

“I was afraid when I saw you with Jason. Jason has been the reason I lost everything I’ve ever cared about. My parents, Michael, Carly . . . they all left me in the lurch because of Jason,” A.J. said.

Courtney stared angrily at him. “When are you going to grow up, A.J.? Start taking responsibility for your actions. Your stupid insecurities about Jason are no excuse for what you did to me.”

A.J. replied, “I know, but----“

Courtney interrupted. “You knew how much I hated stripping but I did it to save you. You took that emotion and twisted it around to make me afraid for my life. You thought you were losing control of me and you had to teach me a lesson. I shot a man because you had to play the hero.”

“I was wrong, okay? I admit it,” A.J. confessed.

“Too little, too late. You think that makes everything okay? It’s all better because you feel bad?” Courtney yelled at him. “Well, I’ve got news for you. I refuse to be a prop for your ego any longer. I can’t believe I ever looked at you and saw anything but a monster.”

A.J. looked at her, helpless. She wasn’t ever going to forgive him. No amount of manipulation or planning was going to change how she felt about him now. He had wrecked the one good thing that ever happened to him.

Courtney felt tears prick at her eyes and she turned to Jason. “I guess you’re pretty happy now, huh? You got back at A.J. and you have it in your head that I knew you were sleeping with me to do it. Well, news flash, Jason, I DIDN’T. I hate A.J. and the only thing I deluded myself about was that you were a decent man.”

Jason shook his head. She was in denial and he knew it. He wouldn’t even bother anymore. It was over, whatever it was between him and Courtney. Mutual exploitation maybe?

Courtney turned back to look at A.J. who had a defeated look in his eye. She smiled cruelly, “A.J. you are pathetic. It’s no wonder everyone thinks Jason is perfect. Jason really is the golden boy. At least when he uses someone he gets results. What did you get? Revenge? Your son? An obedient and needy wife?” Courtney laughed. “No, you got NOTHING.”

A.J.’s eyes were cast downward, unable to face the hateful things that Courtney was saying to him. His perfect, angelic, loving Courtney was not the woman standing in front of him. He had hurt her too much and pushed her too far. That light about her was now pitch black and nothing he could say could change that.

Courtney faced Jason once again. “Don’t think that makes you any better than the scum that your brother comes from. You’re just a little more clever in the way you exploit people. At least A.J. feels regret. It would be too much to ask that either of you feel guilty about what you did to me, but at least he feels something. You’re just ice cold, just like A.J. warned me,” Courtney said. “But I guess, it’s all my fault, huh? My fault for being stupid, gullible Courtney.”

Jason wasn’t even touching that one. He had explained himself so Courtney could believe whatever she wanted to believe to make herself feel better.

Courtney felt a tear trickle down her cheek and she yelled at the two men in front of her. “You’re both pathetic and I hope you suffer through this endless cycle of who gets who back first all the way to your graves.”

A.J. and Jason both looked at her, each with a different reaction.

A.J. couldn’t believe how much damage his actions had done to the woman he loved. He couldn’t even recognize her now. The hardness in her voice and the emptiness in her eyes didn’t exist until he forced her to use them.

Jason, on the other hand, felt nothing. Courtney was right, he didn’t feel guilty. He felt regret, though, because what he did had cost him the one woman who ever meant anything to him in this world. But he didn’t feel guilty. Courtney was to blame too, no matter what she wanted to believe.

Suddenly, a clapping noise filled the tension in the air and all three people turned to find a short brunette leaning against the brick wall, clapping her hands together.

They all turned in amazement.

A.J. thought Elizabeth had been driven away by his earlier outburst. What was she doing back here?

Jason couldn’t move. She was back. What had she heard? Did she hate him even worse than when she left with Ric earlier?

Courtney stared at Elizabeth, wondering why the other woman was clapping.

Elizabeth stepped forward, pushing off of the wall. She smiled at all three people but turned to face the blonde. “Bravo, Courtney. You put on a really good ‘woe is me’ act. Can you teach me how to do that? Because silly me, I just can’t block out my guilt long enough to rub people’s faces in their mistakes. Do you want us to leave you alone so you can revel in how it’s everyone else’s fault but yours?”

Courtney looked at Elizabeth in shock. “Elizabeth?”

“Yes, that’s right. Elizabeth. The twit you thought would just shrivel up and disappear once you decided that you wanted Jason for yourself. I mean, poor A.J. who thought his wife was good and loyal. Turned out she’s just as big of a liar and manipulator as he is,” Elizabeth said calmly. “I’m serious, if you want, I’ll be sure to drag A.J. and Jason out of here so you can celebrate your brilliant performance as the damsel in distress. I mean, I am sure they would hate to be torn away from being your whipping boys, but we don’t want to rain on your parade.”

Courtney glared at Elizabeth. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Elizabeth laughed. “I’m sorry. Am I taking all the fun out of it? I mean, I don’t want to steal your adoring audience from you. Here, I’ll start sending out the invitations to your pity party instead. How’s that?”

Courtney stared at Elizabeth, her eyes wide and her jaw threatening to hit the floor. Where was this coming from?

A.J. turned to Elizabeth in surprise. He knew Elizabeth wasn’t meek and withdrawn, but he had no idea the blood Elizabeth could draw with just words. He was glad he hadn’t gone so far into his plan that he’d pissed her off.

Jason looked wide-eyed at Elizabeth. He had known Elizabeth to be angry and to stand up for herself, but he didn’t understand why Elizabeth was acting this way. She had walked out of here just an hour ago with a look on her face that told him it was the end. Why did she come back now? Not that he was complaining.

Elizabeth continued to Courtney, “You know, since you’re such good friends with Carly and all, maybe you should ask her how she strung along these two. At least they wanted her and not what kind of victory she would give them. She could give you a few pointers, from one manipulative blonde to another.”

Courtney didn’t respond. She didn’t understand Elizabeth’s sudden hatred towards her or why Elizabeth was using her as a punching bag.

Elizabeth added suddenly, “But wait, Carly probably wouldn’t tell you anything unless it gets her closer to Sonny. It’s why she’s so friendly with you, isn’t it? I mean, Carly has NEVER liked a woman who has come within twenty feet of Jason, but it’s no surprise since you have that unique personality trait of being Sonny’s sister. But like I said, she probably wouldn’t teach you her biggest talent because Sonny wouldn’t like his sister acting like a two-timing slut. Guess you’re out of luck.”

Courtney didn’t know how to react, but she felt herself get angry. “Why are you saying these things? Why are you being so mean to me?”

Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief. “Call me crazy but I don’t really feel the need to be nice to people who pretend to be my friend and swear to my face that they aren’t after someone they know I care about. Sorry if I don’t really sympathize with a girl who kept telling me to try harder with the man I love only to be trying to get with him herself.”

“I didn’t, Elizabeth. It wasn’t until after you walked out on him that we slept together,” Courtney said in her defense.

“And your husband?” Elizabeth taunted. “You got me out of the way, but what about him?”

“You know what happened. I found out he paid someone to stalk me,” Courtney said, tears forming in her eyes, knowing that Elizabeth wasn’t buying her act.

“So nothing happened before that? You didn’t want him at all? You just suddenly had this attraction two seconds after you found out we broke up and A.J. had stalked you?” Elizabeth smirked at the blonde girl.

Jason flinched remembering the kiss outside of Jake’s the night it rained.

“No, it didn’t just happen right away,” Courtney denied.

Elizabeth nodded. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to put out on the first date?” Elizabeth laughed. “So back to my first question. Since it wasn’t instant attraction, or so you claim, then you did have feelings for Jason all along?” Elizabeth shot back at her.

“No . . . okay, maybe, yes, well . . . it’s COMPLICATED,” Courtney managed to spit out.

“Maybe not? No? Yes? Maybe yes? It’s one or the other Courtney. Either you’re a two-faced bitch or you’re easy. Take your pick. Either way, I feel no obligation to spare your feelings,” Elizabeth said in a barely restrained voice. Elizabeth knew she was being deliberately cruel, but after hearing Courtney’s tirade against Jason, Elizabeth wasn’t going to mince words with the girl.

Elizabeth had seen how hurt Jason was about what he did and as he was trying to explain himself. All Courtney could do was complain that she was the helpless victim of his manipulations. Didn’t Courtney know Jason at all?

Jason made a mistake, that was a given, but he was nothing like the creep Courtney married. He wouldn’t purposely use Courtney for sex or try to terrorize her or use her to get revenge.

It wasn’t Jason’s fault that A.J. stalked Courtney and made her desperate and on the rebound. It wasn’t even all of Jason’s fault that Jason had comfort sex with Courtney. It takes two. Courtney could have said no and stopped it. Elizabeth had.

It was one thing if Jason led Courtney on, but Courtney knew what was going on. She was the one who kept reminding them both over and over that she knew there was something between Elizabeth and Jason and how much they belonged together.

How dare she pretend to be the innocent victim in all of this? Elizabeth thought. If Courtney felt like pointing fingers, Elizabeth would point fingers at her. Elizabeth knew Jason was too decent and noble to do it, but she wasn’t. She knew she could be a bitch when she had to, and in this instance, she did.

“You’re pathetic, you know that?” Courtney finally responded. “You lost your chance with Jason a long time ago by sleeping with other men and taking him for granted. You used him like A.J. used me, as a support for your ego. You never appreciated him the way I do. So don’t delude yourself into thinking you are Miss Holier Than Thou. You had your chance with Jason and you blew it. All you got from him were a few spare kisses after years of stringing him along. I got him in bed.”

Elizabeth let out a breath of disbelief. Courtney was a real piece of work. “Sorry if I don’t sound impressed at your bravado of being a slut. I don’t sleep with people to get them to like me so you can understand why I don’t relate.”

Courtney sneered at Elizabeth. “That still doesn’t change the fact that you never appreciated him. You walked out on him because of one little lie he told, which he did to save my brother, by the way.”

“You wish that was the reason,” Elizabeth snapped back at her.

“If it wasn’t the reason then what was it?” Courtney asked, with a fire in her eyes.

Jason’s ear perked up at that question.

Elizabeth shook her head. “You think I am going to waste my breath explaining it to you? I confided in you because I thought you were being a friend to me. Well, I’m not going to make that mistake again.”

“You confide in people when it’s convenient for you. You use people to support you and listen to your little problems. Like me, like Jason,” Courtney retorted.

Elizabeth didn’t deny a little truth in that. “For Jason, maybe. For you, don’t flatter yourself. You aren’t that much of a catch for a friend.”

“So you admit it,” Courtney said. “You never cared about Jason at all. He was just the perfect person you could use and throw away when he didn’t explain everything to you when you wanted. You didn’t care to hear his reasons at all. You just left. But that’s okay, because I was there to pick up the pieces. I forgave him for having to lie because I understood why he did. I accept him and his job, unlike you.”

Elizabeth snorted a laugh. “You think you’re some kind of heroine because you’re easy? Please. And as far as accepting . . . well, come back and tell me that after you’ve had a bomb put in your apartment, after you’ve been kidnapped and nearly die of gas poisoning. Tell me you accept his job when you’ve pulled him bleeding out of the snow and take care of him when he refuses to go to the hospital.”

“I-I would have,” Courtney said weakly. “You don’t know that I wouldn’t have.”

Elizabeth smiled. “Yeah, whatever you say Courtney. But in fact, I do. The only thing you saw when you slept with Jason was a man who wasn’t A.J. Or maybe it was that Prince Charming you’re so fond of. Either way it wasn’t Jason the person.”

“So you’re telling me in all that time you were using Jason, you actually took the time to see who he was?” Courtney said sarcastically.

Elizabeth sighed, her eyes meeting Jason’s for the first time. “I made the mistake of taking him for granted because I felt obligated to two men who I made really bad decisions with, but I saw him very clearly.”

Courtney shook her head, denying the truth in Elizabeth’s words, but feeling very upset by the look passing between Jason and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth then turned back to Courtney. “You, on the other hand, set yourself up, knowing that he didn’t love you and knowing that you were sleeping with him to forget what an idiot you were for falling into A.J.’s lies. And you said that Jason slept with you to get to A.J., but wasn’t it the other way around? Wasn’t it just so convenient that the first man you are with after you walk out on your husband is his worst enemy?”

Courtney denied it immediately. “I am not that kind of person. I am not full of hate or vengeance.”

“Aren’t you?” Elizabeth asked. “As soon as you found out A.J. was the one who stalked you, instead of feeling the pain of being disillusioned about love like any normal person, you fell into bed with your brother-in-law, the one man that A.J. despises the most, even more than your brother. What does that say about you?”

Courtney glared at Elizabeth but didn’t respond, realizing that her words did nothing to support her case.

Elizabeth looked to A.J. “I guess, I kind of feel bad for you, A.J. You thought you lost the first woman who has ever loved you, but she never did or she wouldn’t have chosen the one man you hated to move on with, and so quickly too.”

“He stalked me. I don’t owe him any explanations. He can’t make me feel guilty for what I did with Jason,” Courtney yelled.

Elizabeth returned to face Courtney. “No, you’re right, he can’t. But I guess that makes you two perfect for each other. Neither of you feels one inkling of guilt for the things you do. It’s always someone else’s fault. You’re just the not-so-innocent bystanders, right?”

“Don’t talk to my wife like that,” A.J. said, finally defending Courtney.

“Why, A.J., you find it insulting that I compare your wife to you?” Elizabeth said, in mock disbelief.

“Come on, Courtney, let’s get out of here,” A.J. said, whispering to the blonde woman.

Courtney shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Elizabeth interrupted. “I would if I were you, Courtney. Because he is probably the only person who will stand by you. He forgives you for sleeping with his enemy, so I wouldn’t take that lightly. In his own twisted little way, he loves you and that’s probably the best offer you’re going to get here.”

Courtney stared from A.J. to Jason. A.J. looked at her with hope in his eyes after all she had said to him, while Jason couldn’t even manage to look her in the eye. Taking a deep breath, Courtney took the hand A.J. offered her and followed him away from Kelly’s without another look at Elizabeth or Jason.

Elizabeth and Jason watched as the pair walked out of view before looking at each other.

Elizabeth turned to Jason, unsure of his reaction to her little outburst. She had come back to tell him that she wasn’t going to walk away again but Courtney’s little diatribe needed a response and Elizabeth got carried away.

Jason looked at her, still trying to figure her out. Every time she did something like this, he learned something new about her. Her strength and her fierce loyalty never ceased to amaze him.

Elizabeth suddenly turned shy as she noticed him staring at her. “Look, I’m sorry I tore into her like that.”

“No you aren’t,” Jason smiled knowingly.

Elizabeth tried her best to look serious, but a smile slipped through. “Okay, maybe I’m not. But I couldn’t stand her for trying to pin all the blame on you.”

“You don’t think it’s all my fault?” Jason asked.

“Do you have to ask?” Elizabeth responded.

Jason stepped closer and put his arm around Elizabeth’s waist, pulling her closer.

She looked up at him in surprise.

He looked down at her with a glow in his eyes. “I should have remembered that it was a bad idea to cross you, but I’m sure Courtney won’t forget.”

Elizabeth grinned. “She better not. Or I’ll be more than happy to remind her.”

“I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I should have told you right away,” Jason confessed.

The light-heartedness of their exchanged had quickly turned serious. Elizabeth nodded. “I know. I didn’t want to hear it though. I knew you were trying to say something, but I wouldn’t let you.”

“It