Hi there! I am back from vacation and ready to roll out the next story. This one stems from two reader requests. Lilabennet asked me to make a change to Liason's history, and when I did it opened the floodgates that enabled me to incorporate a request from Twisted Musalih. Both ideas needed to be changed a little to make the story work, so I hope that's okay.

A special thanks goes out to Twisted Musalih. I tried to write the idea that was originally given to me as a stand alone story which crashed and burned. Very frustrating, but no matter what Twsited Musalih was patient and understanding. It was greatly appreciated.

Once again there are some outfits and a house to see, so give a holler if you are interested.

This is a long story, ninety plus chapters. At the moment it is not completely edited (the editing process started during my break), but we have enough chapters finished that I feel comfortable posting. There is also a mystery element to this story so feel free to leave guesses in your reviews.

Thank you Liason102, my most rockingest beta! It is always a pleasure to work with you.

Rated MA for sex, language, and violence. There is some heavy violence in this one so I will try to remember to tag those chapters for those who find it unsettling.

ABC/DISNEY owns GH. No copyright infringement is intended.


Chapter 1

"Jason!" Elizabeth couldn't believe her eyes. Her more than friend had been gone for well over a year. Now he was standing by her favorite bench on the docks smiling at her.

The day he left had been a hard one for her. At the time it felt like everyone in her life was leaving her behind. Emily had left for California the week before her brother did, although she was back now. Her grandmother had moved away from Port Charles three days before Jason left, and the older woman had made it more than clear she was not coming back. So the day he showed up at her tiny studio to say he had to go out of town on business had left Elizabeth crushed. Not that she showed it. It wouldn't have been fair to send him off feeling guilty. She knew trips to handle things was a part of the enforcer's job. He and his partner Sonny Corinthos had business interests in other place besides Port Charles.

Still she remembered every single word of that last face to face conversation they had.

"Jason, hi." Elizabeth said opening the door to her studio. She tried to keep from fussing with her appearance, and failed as she pushed her hair back. She must look a fright. For the better part of the day she had been painting, and for her that was generally a messy undertaking. "I wasn't expecting you."

"Sorry to just drop by." Jason said smiling at her. She was paint splattered, a normal occurrence, and one of his favorite looks for her. When she painted Elizabeth seemed to glow from the inside. Like she was truly alive in the moment. A lot of the time she seemed sad, and he knew what was at the root of that. Not the death of Lucky Spencer like most people suspected, but something even more personal. What made him happy was that he could make her light up like that too. A ride on the back of his Harley always left her smiling. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." Elizabeth said stepping back so he could enter the small space. Which was a mess. For the last several days her muse had not really let her do anything but paint. When that happened she knew better than to try and fight the impulse. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"No, I'm good." Jason said trying to come up with the words he would need to explain what was going on. Being close to the petite artist often left him tongue tied. It was a uniquely Elizabeth inspired occurrence. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay." She instantly knew it was something serious. She rarely had trouble reading his emotions. Which was funny because a lot of people didn't think he had any. The only time she couldn't read him was when he was in enforcer mode. He locked himself down tight during those moments, and she respected those boundaries.

"I have to go out of town, on business." Jason began explaining as he put his hands in his pocket. It was that or touch her. He always seemed to be touching her. She never backed away, like she did with other folks. Personal space was important to Elizabeth, and that she would let him close made him feel good.

Elizabeth opened her mouth and then closed it again.

"You can ask." Jason said with a half-smile.

"How long will you be gone?" Elizabeth asked her eyes on his. This morning had been rough and frankly this was the last thing she needed. In fact she had been toying with the idea of calling Jason to see if he wanted to hang out. She needed his calming presence, and honestly she needed to feel safe for a bit. Something he always did for her.

"I'm not sure. I suspect a while." Jason could see a myriad of emotions in her big blue eyes. One of which was fear. He knew why she got scared at times, and did his best to soothe her. Asking for help was not something Elizabeth did often, so when she reached out he made sure to be there. With him away, and Em too, he was worried she would be alone. So he was going to do his best to prevent that. "I'm not sure I'll be able to keep in touch while I'm away."

"I understand." Elizabeth promised. "Be careful." She requested.

"I will." Jason promised in return. "I'll try to check in as much as I can."

Elizabeth just nodded, and told herself she couldn't cry until after he left. "I know." His work had to come first.

"Can I ask a favor?" Jason already knew she was going to say yes. She was one of the few people in his life these days who was always there when he needed them to be. If he needed it, and she could do it, she didn't even hesitate.

"Name it." Elizabeth said smiling. She liked that he knew she could be counted on to help.

"Will you visit with my grandmother?" Jason requested. His grandmother was another person who was always there when he needed her to be. And she was simply the best person he knew. "I don't want her to get lonely. I went to see her earlier and told her I was going to ask this of you. She likes it when you visit."

"I like visiting Mrs. Quartermaine." Elizabeth said smiling wider. "I wasn't sure if I should go with Em away. The mansion isn't always my favorite place."

"Mine either." Jason said laughing. The rest of the Quartermaine family could be pains, excluding Em and Ned. So Jason didn't visit often either. "Lila will protect you."

"Of that I have no doubt." Elizabeth replied nodding. "When are you leaving?"

"Later today." Jason said thinking this was the first time going away on a business trip was going to be hard. He didn't really want to go, but the mess in South America wasn't going to fix itself. "I'm assigning Francis to be your guard. Milo is going to be his back up. Normally it would be Johnny or Cody, but I'm taking them with me."

"You don't have to give me a guard Jason." Elizabeth instantly protested, but she was warmed by his caring. People who were important to him got guards.

"I need you to stay safe." He said quietly, and gave up his battle to touch her as he pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I informed Sonny that if he pulls your guards, I'll be on the first flight home and he would not like my response when I got here." Things with his partner were tense at the moment. Maybe the time away would help with that.

"Thank you Jason." Elizabeth could feel that soft touch on her check in her whole body. The feelings Jason brought out in her were wonderful, and at the same time scary. While he was away she was going to do her best to move past that second part. She was determined to be stronger and in a better place by the time he came home. Maybe then they could explore whatever this was that was happening between them. "I'll make sure to listen."

"You always do." Jason smiled wide this time. "Francis was happy to get the assignment. He said he knew you would be easy to guard." She knew and liked a lot of the guys because of her job at Kelly's. She saw the crew a lot. Jason knew that a good number of the guys made her nervous, but Francis didn't. Jason also knew that Francis, and Milo, would do everything they could to keep Elizabeth safe. "I need to go home and pack, but I have time for a ride if you are interested."

"Really?" Elizabeth said smiling wider. "Do I have time to clean up some?" She at least wanted to get the paint off her face.

"Yeah." Jason didn't really have time for this. He should be getting ready to go, but for once he was going to be selfish. He wanted to feel her arms around him holding tight, and hear her screaming into the wind. He wanted that memory to take with him, because there was no guarantee he was coming back alive. The situation in South America was unstable, and Jason was pretty sure that a mob war was inevitable. So he would give himself this before possibly facing death.

"I won't be but a minute." Elizabeth said rushing out of her studio and going down the hall to the shared bathroom. It wasn't ideal not having a private bathroom in her living/work space, but right now this was all she could afford. Her grandmother sold the house when she moved, so staying there wasn't an option.

Quickly she cleaned up and returned to the studio. For some reason she had a feeling he would be gone, and a note would be waiting saying he had to cancel. That happened sometimes, his job didn't stop because they made plans. In fact it seemed to Liz that Sonny and Carly only had a crisis whenever Jason was with her. But he was there looking out the window when she returned. "I'm ready."

"Get your jacket." Jason told her. He meant the leather jacket that he gave her last Christmas. "Francis will be here when we get back."

"Okay." Elizabeth said slipping into the garment. She would love to go to the plane and see him off, but Sonny would be there. The mob boss was not a fan of hers, or her relationship with Jason. Liz thought he was jealous of the time Jason gave her. Sonny and Carly were two of the most selfish people she had ever met in her life. They got to have a life, but heaven forbid that Jason did too. After how they betrayed their friend you would think they would want him happy. The fact that they slept together was bad enough, but to still be seeing one another spoke to the fact that they really didn't care about Jason at all. "Are we riding on the cliff roads?"

"Yeah, a nice long ride before I go." Jason said holding the door open. He took a look back wanting to remember this space. One of two places that he truly felt at home. In that moment he promised himself that he was coming home, and when he did he was going to make sure Elizabeth knew exactly what she meant to him. "Ready?"

"Absolutely." Elizabeth said promising herself that when Jason returned home she was going to be ready for something more than just friendship. If he wanted to be with her, then she was going to give him everything.

Jason's smile rivaled the brightness of the sun as he stood by the bench and took in the sight of Elizabeth Webber. The last eighteen months had been the longest, and hardest, of his life. He had come close to dying on several occasions as he dealt with the Rivera organization and their bid to move in on the South American territory owned by Corinthos Morgan. That takeover bid had been stopped and one family was now completely wiped out while the other family, who had been fighting beside their enemy, had its head killed. So now he and Sonny controlled even more territory.

For ten months the battled raged, and then the work of integrating the new holdings began. The night it became clear that Corinthos Morgan was victorious Jason did the one thing he had been unable to do in all the time the fighting was going on. He called Elizabeth. She was the first person from back home he spoke to. You would think his first call would be to his partner letting him know things were now stable. Nope, in Jason's mind Sonny could wait.

She had been so happy to hear from him, and Jason smiled for the first time in far too long as they played catch up. He apologized for the long stretch of silence, and she told him not to worry about that. Francis had explained that Jason's focus was somewhere else. Then she said that she knew he would call when he could. That kind of trust left him feeling humbled, and at the same time ten feet tall.

They talked for almost four hours that first night, and after that calls were a regular thing. So much so that it felt strange when more than a day passed without them talking to each other. She had a company phone, something Sonny had grumbled about but didn't stop, so Jason didn't have to worry about her paying a huge phone bill due to the international rates.

Now he was standing here looking at her. He told himself she couldn't be as beautiful as he remembered, but he was wrong. His mental picture hadn't done her justice. "What's a guy gotta do around her to get a welcome home hug?" He said urging her to move from the spot she seemed to be stuck in.

Elizabeth didn't need another invitation. She flew from the spot where she was standing next to Francis and right into Jason's arms. Instantly the worry she had carried since he left evaporated. Jason was home, and safe. That was all she wanted, all she had prayed for since the day he walked out of her studio.

She still fit him, was all Jason could think as he held her close inhaling the unique vanilla tinted scent that seemed to linger on her skin. Back in his hotel room he had a tin of vanilla lotion, and every night he had opened it letting the smell fill the room. It made him feel close to her during the time they couldn't speak to one another.

Francis was standing at the top of one set of stairs, while Cody was standing at the top of the other. Which meant Jason could give the woman in his arms his entire focus without worrying about being disturbed. The reunion would start here, but later he was hoping they could spend some time alone. He wanted her all to himself for as much of the night as she would give him.

There was something he wanted to do. Something he had dreamed of despite the doctors saying that was a thing he would never be able to do again. They needed to talk first, but when she lifted her head and smiled up at him he was powerless against his need. Instead of talking, Jason dipped his head and kissed her.


From her hiding spot the woman watched as Jason kissed the small woman in his arms and frowned. From her coat pocket she pulled out a phone. "We have a problem." The woman reported. "Jason Morgan has returned home, and his interest in Elizabeth Webber has moved past friendship."


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