Another Shot

Elizabeth Webber walked into Jake's, her eyes showing the fatigue of the last few months. She walked over to the bar and sat in a stool, waiting for the bartender to take her order.

Coleman looked up from drying some glasses at the woman who had just sat down. He set down the glass he was working on and walked over to her, leaning over the bar.

"Now, what is a sweet thing like you doing in a dump like this?" Coleman's eyes traveled from her face down to her chest, where they stayed.

Elizabeth looked up and glared at the man. She rolled her eyes, and let out a breath. "I'll take a Captain Morgan and coke, on the rocks." When he continued to stare at her chest, she slapped the bar, bringing him back to reality. When he finally lifted his eyes to hers, she said, in her sweetest voice, "Please."

"Yeah, sure. Coming right up." Coleman eyed her for a moment before turning around to fix her drink.

Elizabeth turned around and looked over the bar. Though it was never the classiest of places, she always felt the need to come back here. Her eyes traveled over to the jukebox in the corner, then turned to the small table sitting in the middle of the room. A small smile spread on her lips as she recalled sitting there, pouring her heart out.

Flashback
"Do you know what nothing feels like?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much where I live."

His voice echoed in her head, as if he was standing next her. She turned her head and focused on the pool table, nestled next to the stairs. A flash of her standing over the table, Jason behind her, teaching her how to play, ran through her mind.

She shook her head at the memories. She laughed and chastised her self silently.

"Webber, you must be losing it," she said to herself, turning around and leaning her elbows on the bar.

Just then, Coleman came back with her drink.

"Captain Morgan and coke for the lovely lady," he sneered, with a smile that made her want to run home and take a shower.

"Thanks. Can you start a tab?" Elizabeth tried to ignore the looks he was giving her.

"Sure thing, doll." With that, he walked away, leaving Elizabeth to drink in peace.

Her mind traveled back to her earlier thoughts. Why was she thinking of him now? Didn't she have enough going on in her life?

Elizabeth had recently lost the baby she was carrying for Jax and Courtney. She willingly went into the situation, hoping to alleviate the financial difficulties her then-boyfriend Lucky was having. After she had successfully conceived, she started having doubts about giving her own flesh and blood to someone else.

Lucky hadn't helped either. He suddenly became possessive and jealous. He hated that Jax would buy her or Cameron gifts, and was genuinely concerned for her. Eventually, she started to feel like when he was brainwashed and trying to run her life.

After Jax had caught Courtney with Nikolas in the Bahamas, he pushed for a quickie divorce, and his focus shifted unrelentingly to Elizabeth and the baby. He was constantly around, telling her what she should eat, where she could and couldn't go. It was driving her insane.

But despite all of that, she was genuinely excited for the baby to come. She realized, albeit a little late that she could never truly give her own flesh-and-blood to someone else to raise, and was secretly relieved when Jax and Courtney broke up, because then she could be the mother to her child, even if she had to deal with Jasper Jax as the father.

Fate, however, had other plans. She had lost the baby due to a car accident involving Carly.

A single tear escaped her eye as Elizabeth thought about that night. For a second time, she had lost a baby.

If it weren't for her son Cameron, Elizabeth would have thought she was cursed. But, she did have her son, and that was the only thing holding her together as of late.

She closed her eyes and pictured him, what he'd be doing at that moment. He was over at his Aunt Emily's house. She had been staying in the gatehouse on the Corinthos estate since her breakup with Nikolas.

She had tried to move on. While, she knew Lucky was secretly relieved that she was no longer carrying Jax's child, she continued with the relationship. She felt she owed it to him to really give it a shot. They had married, and for a while, things were okay. Then he started working with the undercover division, and it consumed all his time. He was never there for her or Cameron. He would make excuses, and not come home for days. Finally, she had had enough. She realized that his work was far more important than her or Cam. She cut her losses and left. The divorce was finalized earlier that day.

What was she going to do now? Jax had all but disappeared from her life after the miscarriage. Lucky was busy with his new position as an undercover cop. Her grandmother decided to permanently move to Europe, to be close to her parents. Emily was going through enough problems on her own for Elizabeth to add hers to it.

So where did that leave her?

With a long sigh, she picked up her drink and downed it.

Sonny walked slowly down the small path from the main house to the gate house. He told himself that he was just checking up on her. Just wanted to make sure she was okay. She was taking care of Cameron, and he just wanted to see that they had everything they needed.

He knew it was bull.

Ever since Emily had moved into the small house on the grounds of his estate, he'd been acutely aware of her presence. Hell, if he were really honest about it, it was before. They had bonded. They had both been through horrors that they would never fully recover from. They understood each other.

At first, he had no other motive than to be supportive. She was his best friend's sister, and that made her family. Whatever he could do to help, he would, if only for Jason's sake. But the more time he spent with her, the more time he wanted to be with her. When her marriage to Nikolas blew up after finding him in the Bahamas with his sister, she came to him. He listened to her as she told him what she saw, and he insisted she stay with him for a while, until she decided what she wanted to do. That was months ago.

After finding out about who Reese really was, he was conflicted about whether or not he should just cut his losses and move on. She had betrayed him, lied to him about who she was and what she really came to Port Charles for. Emily confessed to seeing Ric walk out of Reese's apartment, and they're exchange seemed more than "friendly." He ultimately cut all ties with Reese. While he was angry at his brother, however, he couldn't just put aside all the progress they had made in their relationship. Emily had helped him to move past it, and forgive Ric. Now they were closer than they'd ever been. All thanks to Emily.

As hard as he tried the feelings for her just continued to grow. She was understanding, she never judged. She took care of Michael and Morgan whenever he needed her to. They both were crazy about their Aunt Emily. It seemed as though it was difficult for anyone not to love her.

Love. Sonny shook his head. He shouldn't have been thinking that way about her. She was Jason's sister, and that meant she was off limits to him. He knew what it felt like to have your best friend in love with your sister. It made him so angry to think of Courtney and Jason together.

No, it was best to keep these feelings to himself. It wasn't as if she would reciprocate. The only thing she would ever feel for him is that of a big brother. Whatever thoughts ran through his head, whatever dreams he may have about her when he's sleeping alone in his bed that was all he would get.

He knocked on the door softly, feeling nervous all the sudden.

Emily was just coming out of the room after putting Cameron down for the night. She loved having him here. He was a joy.

She sat back on the couch and sighed softly, leaning her head back on the arm rest. She closed her eyes and let herself relax.

It had been such a hard few years that she felt she wouldn't make it. First Helena, then Nikolas put in jail, the rape. Then trying and failing at her marriage. Not to mention all the trouble with AJ and Michael. To put it simply, Emily was exhausted.

She opened her eyes and looked around the small living room of the guest house. She smiled softly. This was her sanctuary; her place of solitude. She had Sonny to thank for that.

Sonny. Just thinking about him made her happy. He had been a rock for her when her world was falling apart. He sat and listened and really understood her pain. He never judged or told her what she needed to do, he was just there.

He also let her into his problems, and let her help, let her feel useful again. She had been feeling useless to the people she cared about and it hurt that no one "wanted to bother her." She needed to help. She needed to feel like she was helping someone. She was happy to be there for Michael, and for Sonny.

The whole situation with Reese and Ric had thrown Sonny, on top of Carly's breakdown. She was happy to be his shoulder. In the beginning, she just wanted to be the friend he needed to get through everything, but somehow, it became so much more to her.

She sat up and reached for her drink that she left on the table before, sipping softly before placing it back down. How things changed so quickly was what was surprising to her. When what she first felt for him was a brother/sister relationship, as she started spending more and more time with him, her feelings slowly changed into something completely different. She started seeing him as a man, not just Jason's friend and mentor. He wasn't just Michael's father. He was Sonny Corinthos; handsome, caring, loyal and honorable.

She got up and started pacing the small space in front of the couch. What was she thinking? She didn't have a chance in hell that he felt the same way as her. To him, she was just Jason's little sister. He felt obligated to help her that was all.

But she couldn't help how she felt. Slowly but surely, she had fallen in love with him. The problem was, what was she going to do about it?

She was startled out of her thoughts by a knock on the door. Taking a deep breathe to steady herself, she walked over and opened it slowly. Her eyes fell upon the dark chocolate orbs that had been invading her dreams as of late. Her body reacted immediately to his presence.

For a moment, she stood there, unable to form words. Then feeling self-conscious, she spoke, her voice cracking softly.

"Sonny."

The loud engine of Jason's bike roared down the road as he flew along the cliff roads. Any time his problems came into his head, he would speed up, letting the wind carry them away.

He'd been riding for hours. It was something he hadn't done in a long time. He needed it. His life was in limbo, and he didn't know where he was going.

After he recovered his entire memory, he realized that his life wasn't what he wanted anymore. He didn't have it in him to kill any longer. He just wanted a peaceful existence.

After the mess with Ruiz, he was more determined than ever to leave the life behind. Sonny, at first, made it all the more difficult for him, wanting him to be his right-hand. After many arguments, Sonny finally realized that getting out would be the best, for him as well. It had been a hard transition, and it still wasn't completely over.

His relationship with Sam had been just one of many casualties of that transition. While she supported his decision to leave the mob, things were never the same for them. It was as though she missed the excitement and danger all around them. Though he did love her, it just didn't work out. She had recently moved out, and started working on the Haunted Star.

That left Jason all alone, again. That's how it always ended for him; alone. The life he had chosen for himself all those years ago had caused him to lose to many people. Robin left because of it; Courtney said she could deal, then turned around and constantly tried to get him to leave; Sam loved it a little too much. Now that he thought about it, there was only one woman who just wanted to be with him for him.

But he ruined that a long time ago. His job took up so much of his time and energy; he never had a chance to really explore what they could have had.

He snorted softly and shook his head. This was supposed to make him stop thinking, not bringing up past regrets. And though he tried his hardest not to, he had a lot of them.

Turning the cycle onto a side road, he decided that it wasn't helping much. There was just something missing. He drove for a few miles, pulling into the parking lot of Jakes.

Elizabeth was finishing her third glass of Morgan and Coke. She knew she had drunk a little too much, and apparently it wasn't even helping her mood. She set down the glass, along with some money, and slid off the stool. As she was walking to the door, Coleman called over to her.

"Hey precious, you want me to call you a cab?"

Elizabeth stopped walking and rolled her eyes. Turning slowly, she glared at the man who made her entire body shudder in disgust.

"No, thanks. I'll walk." With that, she turned and walked out of the bar.

As she walked into the parking lot, she heard a noise from behind her. She turned and looked directly into the barrel of a gun.

"Wh-What do you want?" She started shaking, her mind filling with a thousand different scenarios.

The man holding the gun grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him, the gun slipping down to her waist.

"You are coming with me, sweetcheeks."

Elizabeth closed her eyes as he led her to the back door of a black stretch limousine. When they approached the car, she suddenly flashed to some of the lessons Jason had taught her on the bridge. She jammed her elbow into the man's side, and as he crumbled down in a ball, she started running. Another man jumped out of the passenger side of the front seat, and started shooting at her. In an instant, she felt a flash of pain. She stopped running and crumpled down on the ground. Opening her eyes and looking down, she saw the blood oozing from her blouse. Then the world went black.

As Jason pulled into the lot, he noticed a woman being escorted, not so kindly, to a limo. Something was telling him that there was something wrong. He could feel it. He stopped the engine far enough away so he could see, but not be seen. He quietly got off the bike and moved closer.

All the sudden, he saw the man slouch down onto the ground and the woman turn toward him.

Elizabeth!

He quickly started moving toward her as shots rang out. He watched in horror as she fell to the ground.

He could hear the man on the ground quickly getting into the car, yelling at the driver to go, but not before driving right past him, not noticing him getting the plate number on the car.

"The chick is dead. Let's get the hell out of here!"

He ran over to where Elizabeth was and fell to his knees, gently moving her head toward him.

"Elizabeth? Can you hear me? Come on, talk to me. You have to talk to me. Let me know you are alright."

His hands were shaking. Gently moving a stray piece of hair away from her face, he slowly started rocking her in his arms.

"Come on, now Elizabeth. You never have any trouble keeping up your part of a conversation." He laughed shakily. "I need to hear you ramble now. I really need to hear that."

She moaned softly, her eyes fluttering open. She looked around with just her eyes till they fell on his face.

She gave a soft, weak smile. "Jason."

He sighed in relief. She was still alive.

"Hi. Elizabeth you need to stay awake okay? I need to get you out of here. I can't take you to the hospital. Whoever did this thinks you are dead, okay? They need to think that for now, until we find out who did this to you."

She tried to get up, but the pain was too intense.

"Cameron. I need to get to Cameron." She moaned and hid her face into his chest.

"Where is he?"

"Mmm…he's at Emily's. I needed to go out. I needed…forget..about my…my life…" she was babbling, he knew. It was the sweetest thing he could've ever heard at that moment.

"Okay. We'll go there then. Okay, but you have to stay awake, alright?" Jason's hand was on her face, softly caressing her cheek.

"Ja-Jason…don't leave me. Please, I need you to stay with me…pp..please, " she moaned softly.

"Don't worry, Elizabeth. I won't leave you. I promise."

He looked down at the wound, ripped off the bottom half of her blouse, and pressed the fabric into it to temporarily stop the bleeding. He then reached in and grabbed his phone, punching the speed dial.

"It's me. I need a car at Jakes right now. Elizabeth's been shot. We need to get her to safety. NOW!"

He hung up the phone and placed it back into his jacket. He tightened his hold on her, trying to keep her warm as they waited for the car to arrive.

"Just stay with me, Elizabeth. You are safe now."