Jason and Elizabeth meet while traveling on business and a tragic accident occurs that changes both of them fundamentally. How will they cope? Rated T now but will change.
Due to recent events, I hope no one is offended by the first few chapters. I started writing this several months ago.
There are some events in life that you have no control over. No matter how you prepare yourself or try to pretend that everything will be okay, when it happens to you, there is no going back to normal. Sometimes a perfect storm happens and all the fates align themselves and you are helpless to fight. You just have to go with it and pray you survive and keep your sanity.
One day, that perfect storm hit my life and it changed everything. One fateful day, that no matter what I do, can never be erased from my consciousness.
Chapter 1 – Perfect Storm
Ric looked over at his beautiful fiancé. "Have a safe trip," he said before kissing her softly on the lips. He was so in love with Elizabeth Webber that he hated being away from her to go to work, let alone out of the country.
"I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too."
Elizabeth smiled and shut the car door and went into the airport terminal. She waited patiently in the security line thinking about how wonderful the trip was going to be. Going to these kinds of events were something she always looked forward to. Art was her passion and as an up and coming artist, people were already noticing her and buying her paintings. She sold out every show and as a result, her presence was in high demand. When she got word from her agent Diane that there was a request for her to do a gallery tour in Chile, Elizabeth jumped at the chance. Ric, who was the D.A., couldn't get away so she was making the trek on her own. It was also mid-January, so it would be summer there. She loved the fact that she could wear sundresses while everyone in Rochester were practically wearing parkas.
She was just walking away from the security checkpoint when her phone rang. Fumbling for a moment, she dropped her purse and quickly grabbed it before fishing the cell phone out. "Hello?" she asked, slightly out of breath.
"I was just making sure that you made it to the airport on time," Diane said. Elizabeth was notorious for getting lost in her painting and forgetting about the time.
"I'm on my way to the gate."
"Just what I wanted to hear. When you get back, we'll talk about your next offer."
Liz grinned. "Is it good?"
"Am I wearing a new pair of Manolo Blahniks that I got half priced, might I add, from the Rack?"
"Nice score."
"I would have gotten you a pair too, but the gahnome size was sadly picked over," she quipped, purposely over enunciating.
Laughing, Liz plopped down into a seat. "So I'm a gahnome now?"
"Pretty much," Diane said before pursing her lips. "I just emailed you the latest itinerary. Call me after you check in."
"I will."
"Toodles."
Diane was like a surrogate mother to her. Her parents and brother had died in a tragic plane crash when she was five. She and her sister happened to be visiting with her grandparents when it occurred. So, what began as a visit to another state, ended in a new life and place to call home. When she was in art school, she met Diane and everything changed again. The woman had a nose for sniffing out talent and she kept close tabs on Elizabeth as she developed as an artist; making sure she stayed on the right track. So, she would always be grateful to her. In fact, she loved Diane.
The stewardess called her row number and she got up and waited to board the plane. When she got settled in, she found herself sitting next to an older lady who was very nice and gratefully really tired. Elizabeth had a lot on her mind and she really wasn't in the mood to be chatty. She was trying to figure out how she was going to fit a wedding into her tight schedule before she finally drifted off to sleep.
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Jason sighed and looked around as he spoke to Sonny. "I'm almost done. I should be home in a week tops."
"Good. "
"How's Gina?"
"She's missing you but I saw her yesterday and she looked fine."
Jason smiled as he pictured her in his head. "Tell her I miss her."
"I will."
Jason ended the call. He's engaged to Gina Cates whose brother is Jagger Cates. He met her through Stone and Robin. After Stone died, she had left town, but several years later she came back and they had started a friendship that led to love. It was hard finding someone that fit in his life, but Gina was able to roll with the punches and be supportive without being overly clingy. While he still felt like she deserved better than a life of violence, she made a choice to be with him and he was grateful because he tended to be a loner. Luckily, she got along with his family. Marriage was the next logical step.
Not paying attention, he bumped into someone as he went to open the door to a restaurant. "Sorry."
Elizabeth looked up at him. "It's okay. I should have been paying attention."
From an artist's standpoint, she'd give anything to draw him. He was a beautiful man and Jason was equally impressed with Elizabeth.
"Table for one please," she said holding up one finger.
The restaurant was packed and she wasn't even sure that they had any tables available.
The woman nodded and looked up at Jason. "Mesa para uno," he said in perfect Spanish.
The hostess smiled at Jason so brightly that Elizabeth had to fight the urge to smile. She watched them go back and forth and then Jason turned to her. "She said that they are full and have one table left for two. I told her to let you have it and then she asked if we'd possibly want to eat together."
Liz smiled. "That's fine with me—I mean if you don't mind of course."
Jason smiled. "Mesa para dos."
She nodded and grabbed two menus and they followed her to a corner and sat down.
"My name is Jason."
"I'm Elizabeth."
"It's nice to meet you."
"Where are you from?"
"Port Charles, NY."
"Really? I live in Rochester," Liz said excitedly.
"Small world."
They decided on drinks and then the waitress interrupted and Jason ordered a beer for himself and a margarita for Elizabeth.
"So, what do you do?"
"I run a coffee warehouse among other things," Jason said cryptically. "How about you?"
"I'm an artist."
"Are you any good?"
Elizabeth laughed at his bluntness. "So they tell me."
Jason decided that he loved her smile. There was something about her that was so warm and inviting. She was a total stranger to him, yet he oddly felt at home with her.
They ordered their food and drank.
"So, are you here for work or play?" Jason asked curiously.
"I'm giving a lecture at an art gallery."
"That sounds interesting."
"I hope it is. I would hate for everyone to fall asleep while I prattle on and on about light, texture, and depth."
"I can't imagine that anyone would be bored around you." Jason said before he could stop the words.
Liz blushed. "You're too kind."
"Are you married?"
"Engaged."
"Me too."
Elizabeth wondered what kind of woman Jason was engaged to. She imagined that she'd probably be blonde and gorgeous. The man was incredibly hot.
The waitress brought their food and they lapsed into a comfortable silence, and when they finished eating, they chatted some more and had a great time together. When it was time to go neither of them really wanted too.
Jason walked her back to her hotel since it was right around the corner. "Well, it was very nice running into you Ms. Webber."
"Same here Mr. Morgan."
"Goodbye."
Elizabeth smiled. "How about we just say see you later."
He looked at her quizzically.
"It's not as final."
Jason smiled back. "Okay then, see you later."
He watched her walk inside and then headed back to the restaurant to get his bike.
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Several Days Later
"Diane, did you book me on the earlier flight?" Elizabeth asked as she grabbed a pen and paper. Her last engagement had been cancelled and she was anxious to get home and paint.
"I did. You fly out at 5:30 p.m."
"You are a miracle worker."
"I know. That is why I get paid the big bucks."
Liz smiled and ended the call. She packed her bags and started to get ready to leave and then called Ric to let him know her new flight information.
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Jason sat back in the airplane seat and closed his eyes. He always did that when the plane was loading so that the person next to him wouldn't be chatty. Normally, he would have taken the private jet, but Sonny needed it so he had to fly coach. He was tired and ready to get home. Originally, he was supposed to fly out the next day, but when Maxie was able to switch his schedule, he came home a day earlier. He had to admit, while a little annoying, she was turning out to be a great secretary while she went to design school.
Elizabeth was two rows in front of him. She waited until the plane was in the air and then tried to get a little comfortable, planning to sleep most of the flight if she could. She felt the plane bank to the right and thought that was odd since it would usually hug the coast for a while, at least that was her experience when she had come to South America in the past. Looking out the window, she could see it was really cloudy which gave her pause. The plane suddenly lost altitude and she clutched the seat arms as she tried to keep down her lunch. The stewardess came on and told everyone to put on their seat belts until further notice, and that is when the plane dropped violently again and a few people screamed and got sick. Elizabeth began to pray silently and momentarily felt a hand upon hers. She opened her eyes and the gentleman next to her held out his hand, so she grabbed it and held on tightly, briefly wondering if this was similar to what her family felt before their plane had crashed so many years ago.
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The din of the plane was eerily quiet. No one was speaking and Jason could feel something wasn't right. The engines had been much louder a few minutes before, so that meant they must have lost one or both of them. He grabbed the armrests as the plane began to vibrate. A strong downward current violently dropped it down again and the people on the right side of the plane were looking out the window in shock as they realized they were dangerously close to a mountainside.
Within seconds, the right wing collided with the mountain and all hell broke loose. The dislodged wing cut through the fuselage and the plane split in half. The noise was deafening. Jason looked around wildly and then the left wing was sheared off and they hit the surface of the mountain and began to slide until the nose of the plane finally slammed into what felt like a brick wall. The force of the impact ripped several seats away from the floor of the plane, propelling some of them outside. Others either collided with each other or luggage, while many were sucked out of the plane due to their location and force of impact which was then followed by total silence.
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Jason woke up in a panic. His body ached and he had a terrible headache. Turning his head to the right, he realized that the seat was gone that had been next to him and he was momentarily stunned and it took him a moment to process what happened. The cabin looked like a tornado had struck it and the air that filled his nostrils was metallic with a faint touch of jet fuel. There were oxygen masks hanging down from the ceiling and twisted metal jutted out all over the place. He could hear a few people moaning, but other than that there was nothing but the sound of a piece of metal rapping up against the side of the carnage as the wind swirled around the plane.
He undid his seatbelt and slowly stood. The smell of fuel was making him nervous, but thankfully there was no fire. Scanning the area surrounding him, he prayed that there were other survivors. However, upon a brief inspection, it didn't seem like there were many others left. He went into what used to be a clear aisle and he came upon an older lady whose head was bleeding. Surprisingly, she reached out her hand and touched his leg as he walked by.
"Are you alright?" he asked kneeling down, momentarily relieved by her presence.
A tear flowed down her face. "My son is Alberto Diaz. Tell him I love him," she said in Spanish.
Jason swallowed hard. "Si."
He scanned her body and saw that there was a big piece of metal in her side and knew there was no hope for her. She passed out and he stood up again and cringed as a stabbing pain went through his head which caused him to grab a hold of the back of her seat, as he steadied himself for a moment and didn't move forward until it had passed. Moving some debris out of the way, he found another dead passenger and moved them to the side and that is when he got to Elizabeth's row. He felt for a pulse on her seatmate but he was dead. Elizabeth's head was slumped forward and he slid his hand under her hair and found her pulse point. To his shock, she was alive. He undid the man's seat belt next to her and moved his body so he could get to her. When he pushed her hair back, he was stunned to realize that he knew her. For a few minutes, he tried to wake her up but nothing worked, so he undid her seatbelt and carried her outside and was shocked to realize where they were as he looked up at the imposing mountain.