Elizabeth and Jason were forced apart by violence. What happens when Elizabeth changes her mind about being with him?
A/N - This is a short one (about 8 chapters – AU/AH). I might have to post two chapters on one day to fit it in before my vacation. And I know some people will criticize Liz for her scheme, but I don't care. I screwed around with the timeline a bit. Liz is 22 and Jason is 30.
Chapter 1
"Elizabeth. What did you do?" His over enunciated words seemed harsh and accusatory as she slowly approached him.
The fabric of the intricate dress she wore slid across her skin, making a slight noise until she paused, standing right in front of him. "I did what I had to."
His eyes swirled with anger, desire, and confusion. He wasn't sure whether to throttle her or kiss the hell out of her as his mind struggled to fathom the unacceptable lengths she had taken.
"Relax, I know what I'm doing."
He growled and grabbed her arm as he forced her to move around the corner where he then pushed her up against the wall. His hot breath swept across her cheek as he leaned forward. "Tell me you didn't really do this."
His tone sounded so judgmental that she tried to shove him backwards, but Jason was not having it so he tightened his grip.
"I need to hear you say it."
She looked into his stormy eyes, hoping that she hadn't taken it too far. Jason was usually very composed, and while she knew he would be mad, she wasn't expecting him to come completely unhinged. After taking a languid breath she straightened her posture and looked him dead in the eyes. "I married Lorenzo Alcazar."
His body shook as he tried to squelch his anger. Her hand gently glanced against his jaw and then her mouth dropped slightly open as his voice cracked. "Why?"
"He was going to kill you and…."
A growl came from deep within his chest. "Dammit Elizabeth! I can take care of myself."
"Can you? He took me to the docks and I watched as one of his men pointed a laser at your head. He told me that if I didn't marry him he would kill you and I couldn't let that happen. What was I supposed to do?"
"You could have come to me. I would have gotten you out of the country."
"And then what? I stay married to him for a month and then he'll give me a divorce."
Jason stepped backwards as if he was physically repelled by the whole idea. It didn't make any sense. "Why a month?"
"I don't know."
He ran his hand through his slightly long hair as a million scenarios ran through his mind—none of them good. "I can't—I can't protect you if you are living with him. Suppose he wants sex?" He appeared shocked by his own question as if he couldn't process it and didn't want to.
She took a languid breath. "He doesn't. It was part of the agreement that he doesn't touch me and he's been very nice so far."
Jason had begun to pace as the party decibel rose in the next room. He didn't know what game Alcazar was playing, but he was quite certain that he wasn't going to like it. "Is Cam with you?"
She shook her head. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. He's with Emily, but she has to go back to school. Can you take him?"
His right brow rose. "You want me to take care of Cam?"
"He likes you and you're good with him. It won't be for long and I'll sneak over to see him."
"Unbelievable. Did it ever dawn on you that Alcazar did all of this to use you against me?"
She shook her head. He was ready to punch the wall and she knew his patience was wearing thin. All she needed to do was escape before he broke her resolve and questioned her more. Thankfully, Lorenzo strode towards them with a smile on his face.
"There you are."
Jason stared daggers at him.
"Mr. Morgan. How lovely of you to attend our reception."
Jason was ready to spit nails as his need to hurt the man standing before him was consuming him.
"Talkative as usual I see. Elizabeth, we have guests that want to meet you."
"Of course. Goodbye Jason."
Lorenzo held out his hand and Elizabeth tentatively took it. He watched her sashay away and then practically tore a hole in the carpet in his haste to get out of there before he burnt the whole place to the ground.
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Lorenzo slowly danced with Elizabeth. "Do you think he bought it?"
She slightly smiled. "Definitely."
"You're taking a big risk here."
"You are too."
"Risks get my blood pumping in the morning, it's something I crave. I hope you thoroughly considered the ramifications. You think that he's worth it?"
She nodded. "I know that he is, but he's a little stubborn where I'm concerned and if I didn't take some kind of stand, it would have taken an eternity to fix us."
"So you think that this pretend marriage is going to make him see that you two belong together?"
"Yes."
He chuckled. "When you first came to me, I thought I was signing a death sentence, but I couldn't resist pulling one over on someone with Jason's reputation."
"Well, I appreciate your help."
Lorenzo looked around the room and his eyes met with Sonny's who did not look amused. "Napoleon looks like he wants to kill me."
She rolled her eyes. "Ignore him."
"As you wish…"
Elizabeth Webber was a woman to be reckoned with and he planned on enjoying every moment in her presence.
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Francis and Johnny watched Jason start picking up random things in his office before chucking them at the wall. This was bad.
"Where the fuck were you!"
Johnny shifted nervously, surprised that his boss hadn't thrown something at him. "They tricked me. When I came to pick her up at the church, it was too late."
"You should have come to me."
Johnny's head tilted. "You wanted me to leave her alone with him?"
Jason growled. "This is so fucked up."
"Lorenzo informed me that my services were no longer needed."
"Arrogant, self-serving asshole…."
Francis had never seen Jason so angry.
"I'm sorry."
Jason plopped into his chair. "She has to stay married to him for a month and then he dies. I don't give a shit what Sonny says." He had always kept Elizabeth protected and out of the business just to avoid people scrutinizing their relationship or punishing her for it. Now, every mobster would know who she was and she would be on their radar. He was half considering just throwing her over his shoulder and disappearing with her and Cam to get her out of this situation.
Francis sighed. "I know what you are thinking. I don't think that she's in danger."
"Yet…"
Johnny shook his head and before he could censor himself, he blurted, "If you had just bucked up and married her and took care of her and Cam, this wouldn't be happening."
Jason stood up so fast, his chair hurled into the wall. "I would shut up if you want to live. I'm in no mood for this conversation. I protected her the only way I knew how. She didn't want to be a part of this life."
"Clearly, she changed her mind."
Jason clenched his fist and Johnny decided it was time to zip it. This changed everything and his boss was not handling it well.
"What do you need us to do?" Francis asked.
"I need to go meet Emily who has Cam. Once he's with me, you will guard him with your life."
Both men were shocked.
"He's staying with you?"
"Yes. Emily can't watch him. She's meeting me at the penthouse in an hour."
Johnny fought a smirk. Elizabeth had come clean with him about her plans because he had held a gun to Lorenzo's head at the church and almost pulled the trigger. He knew Jason would implode when he found out and lash out at him, so Johnny had lost his temper with Lorenzo. While he thought her plan was extreme, it was also brilliant. Jason and Elizabeth belonged together. It was scary how her mind worked. By exposing herself to the business, she could prove to Jason that she could handle it and it also gave Jason time to bond more with Cam. She really hoped that he wouldn't want to change the babysitting arrangement and realize that his need to be a family with them would override his need to stay away for their protection. Thankfully, Cam was with her Grams when Elizabeth got kidnapped. It had happened a few months after Cam's birth. Jason had gone out of his mind trying to find her and while she wasn't hurt, she was emotionally scarred for a while. Afterwards, they had agreed to no contact out of fear of him being hurt. After six long months of averting their gazes and avoiding each other, she just couldn't take it. Cam missed him and so did she. Unfortunately, Jason wasn't returning her calls and had left town, so she put her elaborate plan in place.
Francis stood. "Alright, I'll start making some arrangements. We'll stagger shifts and use Milo if necessary to fill in.
"Sounds good. I need a minute."
They left and he pulled out his drawer and took out a worn picture of Liz and Cam. It hurt him to the core that she had married his enemy. He was jealous. When they had made the decision that he would walk away, he knew that someday she would move on and that it would hurt, but he had never imagined just how empty he would feel when she did. "Dammit Elizabeth. What have you done?" He closed his eyes and hoped that she wouldn't get hurt. She just had to make it through one month and then they were going to have a serious talk about the future.
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Emily curiously watched Cam who was latched onto Jason. The little boy was happy to be around him and it had shocked her that he was so comfortable with her brother. Sure, he saw him a few times when Emily babysat, but she wasn't aware of any other contact. "You sure you've got this?"
"Yeah. I took care of Michael, remember?"
She nodded. "Okay. I'm off. I'll miss you." She gave him a side hug. "Bye cutie pie," she said to Cam who grinned.
Once she left, Cam focused back on his friend and patted him on the face with his wet hand as he babbled.
Jason slightly smiled. "You're just talking up a storm."
"Ma, ma…." He repeated over and over.
"I wish she was here too." He grabbed some toys and sat them on a blanket that was laid out on the floor. "Want to play?"
Cam squealed and grabbed his stuffed bear and started to chew. At one, he was cutting teeth and slobbered a lot. When he was first born, his eyes were a little lighter, but now they were brown. He was pure Elizabeth with his curls and a smile that lit up the room.
"Da da!" Cam exclaimed making Jason's chest swell. It was the best sound he had heard in a long time. With all of his heart he wished Cam was his. Maybe it was selfish given his line of work, but it had killed him when Elizabeth had slept with Zander. He would sneak into her house at night and visit Cam whenever he could. The baby would wake up on occasion and that is how they had bonded.
"Yes."
Cam babbled as he handed Jason a toy motorcycle.
"Thanks."
Johnny walked in. "How's the little tyke?"
Cam grinned when he saw him and held his arms up. Johnny sat on the floor and let him crawl on him for a minute and then the little boy went back and plopped onto Jason's lap. He was going to be trouble when he started walking. Johnny guarded Elizabeth and Cam on and off, so that is why Cam knew him.
"He misses his mom."
"She probably feels the same way," Johnny said.
Jason knew it was killing Liz to not see him. "Can you convince her to meet me at a safe house? You'd have to drive her. I don't want Lorenzo to know where it is."
"I think that can be arranged. When do you want to do it?"
"Maybe tomorrow."
"Okay. I'll go over there in the morning and convince him to let me be on her detail again."
"Thanks."
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Elizabeth sighed. She had taken a leave of absence from working at Kelly's and was going stir crazy. Who knew she'd miss cleaning tables and getting leered at all day. Most of all, she missed her son.
"What's wrong?" Lorenzo asked entering the room.
"I miss Cam and I'm bored."
He tried not to smile because she looked so cute. "Well, why don't you follow me? I have a surprise for you."
She frowned. "What?"
"Come on."
She followed him to a room at the corner of the house. "Oh—my—God."
"You like it?"
"I love it." There was an easel and some supplies. The lighting was decent and she couldn't wait to get started. "Thank you so much."
"Consider it your faux wedding gift."
She grinned. "But I didn't get you anything."
"Trust me. You're giving me a great gift. I can't wait to see Jason's face when he finds out the truth."
"I hope he'll forgive me for doing this."
"I think that as long as you are together in the end, everything will be fine."
A guard entered the room. "There is an Audrey Hardy at the door for Elizabeth."
Liz cringed. News travelled fast. "I better get this over with."
"I'll go with you."
"I'll warn you that she won't be happy."
"Is anyone ever happy with me?"
They went into the living room.
"Grams."
Her brow was already furrowed "Would you like to explain yourself?"
"Not really."
Audrey's eyes narrowed. "Where is my grandson?"
"He's safe."
"This is insane. You have a son to consider. It was bad enough that you got pregnant out of wedlock with that thug, and then fell for Jason Morgan, but now you married a different mobster? Have you lost your mind?"
Lorenzo slipped his hand into hers. "There is nothing wrong with her mind and if you want to be welcome in our house, you need to respect her."
Audrey walked closer. "I will never accept this. Cam doesn't deserve to have his life endangered. In fact, maybe Elizabeth isn't of sound mind and I should take Cam home with me."
Elizabeth's hands rested on her hips. "You will take him over my dead body."
"A month with him and that just might happen," she said as she pointed to Lorenzo.
"I am an adult so you cannot dictate my life."
"We'll see about that."
"I think you should leave," Alcazar said.
Audrey looked offended.
"If you lift one finger to take him away, I will never speak to you again and Cam will be totally off limits. I mean it! Everyone wants to tell me what to do and I'm sick of it. What about what I want or what makes me happy? Cam is my baby, not yours."
Audrey pursed her lips and walked out.
"That went well."
Liz groaned and then sat on the couch. "Do you think she'll try something?"
"Maybe, but not right away—who knows." Audrey had looked pretty determined.
The door swung open and a furious Skye stormed into the house.
Lorenzo smirked. "Well, hello."
Skye smacked him across the face hard, making Elizabeth gasp. When she stood to defend Lorenzo, Skye fixed her with her stare. "Don't—you—move…" Turning back to him she said, "How could you?"
"Well, considering you went out on a date with Jax the other night, are you really in a position to say anything to me?"
Skye shoved him backwards. "Do you really expect me to believe that you would choose some little waif over me?"
"Hey!"
"Something stinks here. I just know it!"
"I can assure you that Elizabeth and I didn't go into this marriage lightly."
"Oh yeah? Then kiss her."
"What?"
Elizabeth bit her lip. This was going to get ugly.
"You heard me. Lay one on her since you are so hot and heavy." Skye crossed her arms in front of her and looked at them saucily.
Lorenzo fought a grin. The other reason he agreed to this farce was because he knew it would drive Skye crazy and then he'd have her right where he wanted her which is back in his bed. "As you wish…"
Liz was trying to keep a straight face as Lorenzo moved in front of her. He took her head in his hands and licked his lips. The fact that she had suddenly looked devious didn't escape him and he fought a grin. He stared at her plump lips as he went in for the kill and Skye growled and stomped away before their lips connected. When the door slammed, they started laughing.
A/N – Well, let me know what you think.