When Jason Morgan took off, leaving behind the woman he loved and their two sons, it was never supposed to be forever. But as Jason was quick to learn, one mistake, the mistake of leaving his family, was all it took to set a chain of events into motion that would change everything forever. He counted the days until he could return to them but when months became years, it was all he could hope for that even though he didn't do right by them, that at least he kept them safe. That was all that mattered until one day everything Jason thought he knew changed.

It was all he wanted to come home to them but not like this, not under these circumstances and certainly not eight years later.

A/N: While this story is mostly canon up until July 2013, it is focused on future events. When necessary, some of the past events needed to be changed or ignored. So here is what you need to know for this story to make sense. The rest will be revealed as the story continues!

~ Jake and Emily are not dead
~ Cameron is AJ's son, not Zander's
~ Elizabeth met AJ before Jason and the two were friends
~ When it comes to Nikolas' character, everything may not be as it seems (Remember he IS a Cassadine after all...)
~ There IS mention of a character death but it is none of the main characters

Main characters: Jason, AJ, Elizabeth, Michael, Cameron and Jake (Various secondary characters appear or are mentioned as well throughout)

**Through various reviews it was brought to my attention that I should inform readers outright that this is not necessarily a fic for people that love the characters of Jason and AJ. I had not done so but feel I should now, let you know upfront that Jason and AJ are both flawed characters in this story. Both have made a share of mistakes and both have done some reprehensible things. So if you are looking for a fic where Jason is a great dad and he and Liz have a great relationship which is mostly fluff, I can't recommend you read this.

However if you are looking for something with a little more substance, that involves two characters on the path of redemption, on the path of understanding and on the path of realizing their past has impacted their present more than they intended, I hope you give this fic a chance. As long as you aren't actively rooting for a character or specific pairing, and are prepared for a roller coaster ride of emotions and twists only a soap opera can provide, I can guarantee you will not be disappointed in reading this!

So please throughout this story, review, and let me know what you like, what you don't like, what you want to see. If you think I am not accurately portraying a character, let me know that too. Of course, I hold the right to change some things and likely will, but I do want to hear from the readers either way!

Other than that, enjoy the story!

(10 PM)

It was all happening so fast, such a blur.

She stood there, just watching everything, the scene unfold in front of her. And it was nothing she hadn't seen before. It certainly wasn't the first time she had been in a hospital.

But this was different. She wasn't working or watching as just any patient was brought in on a stretcher. No, this was different. This was her son.

She was unable to utter a word or offer an emotion. Later Patrick would tell her it was because of shock, because of fear.

As a nurse, she should have been prepared for this, for anything, but as a mother, it was worse than what she ever could have imagined.

No, nothing could have prepared her for what was going on because in two hospital rooms laid her two oldest sons and she was powerless to help them.

"Elizabeth, Elizabeth,"

She heard him calling her name but she wanted to ignore it, to make the pain go away. She wanted to be alone, to crawl up into a ball and just let it all end. But she couldn't. She had to be strong for her boys and for her young son at home.

"Elizabeth," he called again, this time lightly tapping her shoulder.

Knowing he wouldn't go away, she turned around even though she had just wanted to be alone. The truth was there was no one she had wanted to see, no one who could have comforted her. But when she turned around and saw it was him, she smiled ever so slightly, knowing this was one person she could never be mad at and never shut out.

She hadn't seen him in a few years as he was off immersing himself in the business. He had changed a bit, gotten taller, seemed stronger, but she still recognized him. She would always remember the way he was when it all happened, when his life changed. He could have broken but he didn't. That is when she knew he was going to be strong, always.

He gave her a small nod of his sympathies but she was unable to say a word. She could tell when she met his eyes that an unwritten, unspoken message had been sent. She wasn't ready to talk and he understood.

But it killed him that he couldn't do anything and that he couldn't be there for her now the way she had always been there for him. This was his family too, but in that moment he was just worried about her.

And just as she saw strength in him, he had always admired her as well, more than she would ever know. Even when things were down, Elizabeth had never been one to give up and he knew she wouldn't give up now.

Wrapping his arms around her, he finally spoke the first words since he first found her in that waiting room.

"The boys are strong, like their mother," he said, hoping she believed every word. "They are going to fight through this, I know it."

He tried his best to be convincing on that last part knowing that even if he was scared or worried, he couldn't let her see that. As much as she needed to be strong for Aiden and the boys, he needed to be strong for her.

"I, I know," she managed to get out audibly, despite the tears permanently frozen on her face.

He nodded and wrapped his arms around her tighter and she smiled in appreciation.

He would have no idea how grateful she was that he was there in that moment. He would never know just how much she needed him.

The two remained connected for quite some time, neither one of them wanting to end the embrace. But after what felt like hours, even if it was just a few minutes, Elizabeth finally pulled away, surprising both of them.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, almost immediately cursing himself for saying those words.

He knew that everything wasn't okay. Nothing was okay. He had hoped beyond hope that it would be but at that time, anything other than that otherwise well-meaning question would have been better said.

She could tell by the look on his face that he realized his mistake but she knew what he meant. More importantly, she knew he meant well and that he was just as confused as she was. But still, she had to say something, to tell him what had happened, even if she was still processing it herself.

"I just, it all happened so fast and," Elizabeth began to sob as she couldn't get out the thoughts to articulate a sentence. Immediately he rose to comfort her.

"How long have you been here?" he asked as he looked around the room.

He could tell it was busy, with doctors running back and forth with this device or that, this medicine or the other. He could also tell that all of the attention seemed focused on the two boys who weren't really boys anymore.

Cameron was 18, Jake 16. They were so young and he would have done anything to trade places with them and take away their suffering, to take away her suffering. But he couldn't and that killed him.

"A few hours," Elizabeth finally answered.

He could tell the toll this was taking on her, the strain it all caused. She had been there just a few hours but it was enough. Because she was helpless and because no one was giving her any answers. Worst of all, she was a nurse and because of that, she knew all of the bad things that could possibly happen.

"How did you, I mean who," Elizabeth paused, unable to collect her thoughts. She had so many questions but none of them mattered. Taking a deep breath, she smiled and instead of asking more questions, uttered just a simple, "I'm glad you're here."

So... what do ya think? What could have possibly happened to Cameron and Jake? And who is the mystery man Elizabeth is talking to in the hospital? Props to anyone if they guess it right!