Jason Morgan entered his darkened penthouse. As he closed the door behind him he leaned against it, as if asking the building itself to give him strength. He banged his head against the door a couple of times before lurching forward. He set the bottle of tequila he'd been carrying down on the corner of the desk and immediately turned to the closet where he kept it. 'It' was his box… his box of pain…
'God,' he thought 'I'm spending too much time with Spinelli.'
Walking back to the desk, Jason opened the black box slowly and averted his eyes, holding the lid against his chest for a moment before setting it aside. He reached in and flipped everything over quickly so he wouldn't see any face shining up at him. He dug in his pocket and found it. He drew it out and closed his eyes. He turned it over in his fingers, feeling the shape, and unable to stop himself he brought it to his lips. Tears welled behind the eyes that he kept closed, and he tried not to think how this object, this symbol, had found its way back to him. Unbidden the scene unfolded in his memory.
"What are you doing here?" Jason spat angrily at the woman he loved. Elizabeth looked up from the comatose Michael, startled.
"I… I wanted to see you," Elizabeth began crossing the room. She reached out to take his hands, but Jason pulled back from her as if he'd been burned. Her hands fell limply at her sides as Jason turned to stare at the intubated little boy. "I also wanted to check on Michael, Patrick says…"
"You need to leave." Jason said coldly. He was careful not to look at her. Careful, not to notice the light flowery scent wafting from her. In short, he was doing his best to ignore her, the mother of his child, the love of his life. Judging from the overwhelming need to touch her, his best was not that good. He sighed heavily and finally turned his steel blue gaze on her. Before he spoke again, everything about her registered in his mind. Her soft hair, the ivory sweater cut a quarter inch lower than normal, her heart shaped face, her milky skin, her eyes filled with tears, her full mouth… glistening invitingly as she stood before him breathless.
"I told you it was over and I meant it." Jason's voice let Elizabeth know why his nickname was Stone Cold. She searched his eyes for the love she knew was there, but was met only with icy indifference.
"Jason," she began "please let me…" the rest of her sentence was lost as he advanced on her.
"I SAID GO!" He screamed at her. Elizabeth flinched as if he had hit her. It was all Jason could do not to take her in his arms that minute, tell her he was sorry and beg her not to leave him.
Summoning strength that many men before her could not find, Elizabeth stood her ground. "I'm not leaving you." She said clearly. "You need me…" She was cut off as Jason grabbed her roughly and flipping her body around, forced her to stand over Michael, her face hovering directly over the boy. Jason held her still, his fingers digging painfully into her arms. Michael lay absolutely still, tubes and wires practically obscuring his young face.
"Look at him." He hissed softly into her ear. Elizabeth shook her head, struggling to break Jason's hold on her.
"LOOK AT HIM!" He screamed. Elizabeth protested by moving roughly against him. "Is this what you want for Jake? For Cameron?" Elizabeth stopped moving as Jason seemed to sag suddenly against her. "For yourself…" the last words were practically a whisper as he tried to contain the emotion in his voice.
Elizabeth gently extracted her self from Jason's hold and turned to face him. She backed him a few steps from Michael's bed, and gripping his hands, she moved closer, her body practically touching his. His head was lowered, and his breath was coming in harshly, showing the overwhelming emotion of the moment. She brought her hands to Jason's face and lifted until his gaze met hers. In that moment, she saw everything. The hurt, the confusion, the love, all there in an instant and then… Jason ripped her hands painfully from his face. He gripped her by the upper arm and propelled her toward the door.
"GET OUT! I. DON'T. WANT. YOU. HERE!" He yelled, punctuating every word. Fire seemed to be streaming from those impossibly blue eyes.
Elizabeth felt the tears fall, mutinous, from her eyes as she wrenched her arm from the grip of the man she loved.
"I AM NOT LEAVING YOU." She screamed back at him. "I love you… we're engaged… and…"
Elizabeth was waving her left hand in his face, the exquisite emerald cut diamond glistened before his eyes. Jason's hand shot up suddenly, and grabbed Elizabeth roughly by the wrist as she cried out in protest. Forcing her hand still, he ripped the ring from her finger, throwing it to the ground. They both watched as the ring bounced off of the wall and circled on the ground for a moment before finally laying still, so still. At that moment Patrick came rushing into the room.
"What the hell??" he asked looking from an enraged Jason to a sobbing Elizabeth. "Get your hands off of her!" he yelled, advancing warily toward the enforcer.
Elizabeth took a ragged breath, and straightening herself, she stepped away from Jason and out the door without looking back.
Jason dropped the ring in the box and quickly replaced the lid. He leaned against the table for a moment before grabbing the tequila bottle and taking a long pull from it. He had just put the bottle back on the desk when, from behind him he heard.
"Can I have a sip?"