Note: This story is an alternate universe. Elizabeth and Patrick are twins, Emily is played by Amber Tamblyn and Lulu is not a shrieking banshee. Please review you likey :)

You can find more of my stuff at www.crimsonglass.

Fathers, be good to your daughters

Daughters will love like you do

Girls become lovers who turn into mothers

So mothers, be good to your daughters too

Prologue

December 20, 2005

General Hospital: Nurse's Station

There were days when Elizabeth Drake sincerely wished that she was an only child. Most of the time, she didn't mind her meddling and over protective older brother--older by exactly eight minutes a fact that Patrick liked to make the most of. There were even days when she appreciated him.

Today was not one of those days.

"You're infuriating," the brunette muttered as she shoved her brother out of her way. "How we shared the same womb for nine months without killing one other is beyond me."

The line had been uttered by either one of them no less than a hundred times in their twenty-six years but it never failed to exasperate their father who had long ago given up hopes that the twins would ever get along.

"Ellie, I don't think you're trying to see this from your brother's point of view," Noah Drake began, wondering yet again why it had seemed like a good idea that both of his children had gone into the field of medicine--Patrick following in his steps as a neurosurgeon and Elizabeth in her mother's as a nurse.

"Of course you'd take his side," Elizabeth rolled her eyes. She shoved a chart into a slot and slammed her pen down with irritation. "Why can't you just once take my side over the golden boy?"

"Because I'm the favorite," Patrick stated without a hint of teasing in his voice. He leaned his elbows on the surface of counter and towered over his shorter twin.

"Ha, in your diseased mind--" Elizabeth began hotly.

"It's so nice that some things never change."

The familiar voice was a relief to Elizabeth and she turned to find her high school best friend Robin Scorpio leaning against the nurse's station with a grin. "Robin! I didn't think you were coming back to town for the holidays."

"Neither did I," Robin admitted with a rueful grin. "But my funding fell through in Paris so…I'm home for a while."

"Maybe you should give real medicine a shot," Patrick remarked dryly. "Little more job security there."

Robin showed no reaction to the barb and merely rolled her eyes in return. "Oh, not another round of this," Elizabeth sighed. "Robin, please tell me you don't have any plans right now because I have a break and I absolutely have to escape these two."

"Actually," Robin examined her slim gold watch and pursed her lips. "I have about half an hour before my appointment with Alan. Do you want to grab some coffee?"

"God, yes." Elizabeth tossed a dirty look at her twin and her father before following her friend to the elevators. "Why are you meeting with Alan?"

"Because there's a position opening up in the lab after the new year," Robin said, raising her voice just loudly enough for her old nemesis to hear. "And he's offering me the chance to continue my research as well."

"Oh, that's fabulous. Thank God you're coming home--" Elizabeth's voice was cut off when they stepped into the elevator and the doors slid shut.

"Great, just what I need," Patrick muttered, tapping his pen restlessly. "And I'm not changing my mind about the other thing," he told his father. "Ellie has no business hanging out with Jason Morgan; I don't care what he was like before his accident."

"See I agree with you," Noah leaned towards the intern and grinned at him. "But here's the part we're going to have trouble with. Number one, Ellie is the mirror image of your mother in more ways than you think and number two, she's twenty-six years old. She's going to hang out with whomever she wants to regardless of what either you or I have to say about it."

General Hospital: Cafeteria

Elizabeth idly stirred her coffee and let out an impatient huff. "Honestly, you'd think I was still a kid in pigtails."

Robin laughed. "Well, El, that's how they're always going to see you. You and Patrick might be twins, but he's always considered himself in charge of you. Eight minutes and all." She shrugged. "But the beauty of the situation here is that you don't have to pay any attention to what Dumb and Dumber have to say in the matter. You're a grown woman and you get to be friends with anyone you want to."

"I know but it would just make it easier if they'd accept it. If only Patrick would get distracted by something--" Elizabeth broke off and smiled brightly. "Hey."

"Oh, no…" Robin shook her head. "That's not happening and it's not even remotely a possibility. A girl only makes that mistake once." She hesitated and looked away, a strange shadow descending over her delicate features. "Things are different anyway now, Ellie."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "How so?"

"It doesn't matter," Robin said briskly. She shrugged off the subject. "Anyway, I'm looking forward to being home again. It's been…too long."

"Three years is definitely too long," Elizabeth confirmed. Robin had left to attend medical school in Paris after a disastrous break up with Patrick and had never been home for more than brief visits since.

"So, tell me about this Jason Morgan. How different is he than Jason Quartermaine?" Robin asked curiously. Jason Quartermaine had been a friend of theirs in high school but a traumatic car accident had left him in a coma for months two years previous. When he'd finally emerged from the deep sleep, there had been irreparable brain damage resulting in a complete loss of memory as well as other necessary functions of life--such as emotions and he was experiencing spatial difficulties now as well.

"The only thing they share is the same first name," Elizabeth said. "There's really no way to explain it, Robin. Jason Quartermaine was very sweet and compassionate and kind to everyone he met, you know? And he never had a bad thing to say about anything. But Jason Morgan…he's all of those things but in a different way. He doesn't let anyone get close and he barely lets anyone see him for who he really is." Her words began to tumble from her lips as she grew agitated. "They look at him and they see someone who's less than they are, someone who's brain damaged and isn't a whole person--I hate the way people talk about him, especially when they talk about him to his face like he's not even there or he can't understand them--"

"Whoa…" Robin held a hand up to hold off Elizabeth's angry words. "Honey, aren't you a little too involved with this? He's still your patient right?"

"Technically," Elizabeth admitted. "But he's been out of the hospital for two years and yeah, he usually requests me when he has to come in for his checkups. But he's not an active patient and besides, he's cut himself off from the Quartermaines and he doesn't really have anyone else he can trust. Just me and…" she sighed. "Sonny Corinthos."

Robin's eyes widened. "Well, no wonder Patrick and Noah don't want you anywhere near him, Ellie. We grew up on stories about Sonny Corinthos--"

"I know," Elizabeth groaned. "But he offered Jason an honest job and he wanted to take it. I tried to talk him out of it but he didn't want to make judgments about Sonny based on what other people said. And I can't disagree with that. Sonny's always been real nice to him and he's been polite to me--"

"You've met him?" Robin repeated. "Does your brother know this?"

"No, and you're going to keep it to yourself, Scorpio. I'm not an idiot. But Jason considers Sonny a close friend and I'm not about to lose my friendship with Jason over something like this. It's too important to me."

Robin nodded. "And is friendship all that it is?"

Elizabeth's cheeks flushed. "It is for now."

"Explain to me again why I have to do this," a grumbling voice demanded as a young blonde stalked up to the stable with an irritated intern right on her heels. "Liz, will you please tell Emily that I do not do bedpans."

"Lulu," Emily Quartermaine sighed, slightly aggravated. "You're a volunteer. You do whatever you're told. And it's not even my responsibility to worry about this." She collapsed into a chair next to Elizabeth and then took a double take as she realized who her co-worker's companion was. "Robin!" she squealed. She jumped back to her feet and yanked Robin up, hugging her. "When did you get back to town?"

"Today," Robin said, drawing back to take a much needed breath. "I'm interviewing for a position in the lab. The funding I had set up in Paris fell through so I thought it might be a good time to return."

"Maybe you can help," Lesley Lu Spencer remarked, taking the fourth seat and stealing a sip of Elizabeth's coffee. She wrinkled her nose. "Ew. You never put enough sugar in here."

"Lulu seems to think that just because we're going to be sisters-in-law that I can pull strings with the hospital and get her off bedpan duty," Emily sighed to Robin.

"You're not only marrying my brother, you're marrying the hospital's biggest donor!" Lulu remarked. "If you can't pull strings, who can?"

"How did you end up bedpan duty?" Robin asked curiously. "I remember that you had to do something pretty awful to get that punishment."

"Oh sure…" Lulu rolled her eyes. "You would have to ask that. That terror on sneakers hates me."

"The terror being Epiphany Johnson," Elizabeth said wryly. "She's the head of the nursing program and Lulu has been irritating her since the day she started here, haven't you dear?"

Lulu stuck her tongue out at the nurse. "Epiphany is being unreasonable. I was late like five times. Who isn't late once in a while?"

"Five times in two weeks is not once in a while, Lulu. Now Nikolas wanted you to work here so you could get a little experience, a little responsibility," Emily reminded her.

"Overrated qualities," Lulu sighed. "Let's not talk about that anymore. Let's talk about how excellent it is that Robin is home." She looked back at the woman in question. "How happy have you made your father and your uncle? I mean, every time Robert comes in to harass my dad, he mentions you and how proud he is."

Robin sighs. "He still thinks I'm going to change my mind about medicine and go into his line of work. He says I showed a lot of promise and I shouldn't waste my talents. He's happy to have me here so he can convince me."

"Well, at least your father isn't overbearing and always takes your brother's side," Elizabeth muttered.

"Or hey, at least your father doesn't disappear for months on end without word," Lulu pointed out.

"And your father hasn't threatened to disown you for marrying a prince," Emily sighed.

"This is all true, but at least none of your fathers work for the WSB," Robin remarked. "Believe me, it's no picnic."

"Fathers," Lulu said mournfully. "Who needs 'em, right?"