A/N: The history on the show is the same until the point where Sonny returns from faking his death. Elizabeth only stayed in town for a week afterward before leaving. She kept in contact with no one from Port Charles after that except for Audrey. I hope the rest of the story explains itself as it goes along.
Of course I own nothing about the show or characters.
Hope you enjoy the story~

Chapter One

The stars were shining brightly in the dark sky as she sat on the bench in the park and tried to relax. Returning to Port Charles after being gone for five years had not exactly been high on her to do list. But when she had received the call about her grams death, Elizabeth Webber had packed up her belongings and flown back to the only real home that she had ever known. The small port town had not changed much since she had left and she did not know if that was good or bad. However, she had changed a great deal since she had left at the young age of twenty.

Elizabeth had arrived back in Port Charles earlier this evening and had not yet spoken to anyone, but she was fine with that. Walking around her grams house and having the flashes of memories assault her had caused Elizabeth to flee to escape the overwhelming sensations. Now she was in the park, sitting at the bench beside the fountain where her life had taken a nasty turn ten years ago on the horrible Valentine Day's night. It was ironic to her that the place that caused her nightmares for years was where she had run to now.

Hearing heavy footsteps on the stone path, she glanced up and saw a familiar man come into view. When he caught sight of her and stopped to stare she almost laughed at the stunned expression on his handsome face. She could understand that she had shocked him.

"Liz?" Johnny O'Brien questioned softly.

Offering a small smile, she nodded. "Hey, Johnny. Long time no see."

"You could say that, kiddo. I am so sorry about your grandmother," he said as he slowly approached her.

Standing to receive his hug, Elizabeth kissed his cheek. "Thank you. It was quiet a shock. I had just talked with her a week prior and she sounded good. She never mentioned anything out of the ordinary."

"Where have you been, Liz? We looked for you when you just up and disappeared with no word to any of your friends."

Feeling a bit of regret at how he had worried, she pushed that aside by remembering the reason why she had left. "Sorry about that. I never meant for you to be concerned. I just needed some time. I cut all contact except for with my grams up until her death. I made her swear not to tell anyone where I was."

Noticing that she had evaded his question, Johnny raised an eyebrow. "Well I am happy that you are back."

"How have you been?" she questioned, wanting to change the topic off of her.

"Pretty good actually. I am still working and driving all the single women crazy with my reputed charm," he teased with a wink. Johnny looked her over subtly and realized that Elizabeth had definitely matured over the last couple years. She was no longer a lovely teenager, but was a beautiful woman. Her deep blue eyes stood out against her creamy porcelain skin that was flawless. Her silky brown hair now hung in soft curls to her tiny waist. She was as petite as she had always been, but she now had curves in all the right places that could drive man crazy and only enhanced her allure. "How long are you back for?" he asked after shaking his head to get control of himself.

She shrugged. "I am not real sure. None of the rest of the family is able to come. My parents are on a relief mission in some back world country, Sarah is too far along in her pregnancy, and Steven can't take the time off from his assignment with the FBI. So I am planning the funeral and settling her estate. I will be here for at least a month before that can be finished up. After that, well, I will just see where I get the urge to go."

"We will have to get together for some drinks and catch up before you take off again. I know that Francis will be thrilled to see you."

Elizabeth brightened at the mention of Francis Corelli. The older man had become a very important person to her during the time that he had guarded her years ago. "I have to say that I definitely missed you and Frannie. I would love get together with both of you and catch up."

Johnny looked and really noticed where they were sitting for the first time. "Why are you here, of all places, so late, Lizbits?"

"I was feeling smoothered at grams house," she admitted softly. "Somehow I just ended up here. It's no biggie, Johnny. It's just a place."

Not sure what he was missing, Johnny watched her carefully and knew that something was different about the young woman sitting beside him. Elizabeth had left with no warning and five years later she was back. She was avoiding talking about her recent past and sitting calmly in the spot that she had trembled to even think about years ago. With his profession and sharp instincts, he knew that something was certainly up. Hell, with all the connections that they had and used, Jason and Sonny had been unable to locate Elizabeth after she had fled. And Johnny knew how hard that they had looked for her.

"Do you want me to walk you home? You really shouldn't be out here so late. It's dangerous."

Elizabeth was unable to contain her snort. "Nowhere is safe, Johnny. I will be fine, but thanks for the offer."

Uneasy with her smirk, he looked her in the eyes and saw a flash of contempt at the word dangerous. Unsure what to think, he only nodded and stood. "Well, I am happy that I got to see you and that you are back. We will get together soon for drinks, Liz."

Standing also, she wrapped her arms around him.

"Definitely! Tell Francis I will see him soon."

"You got it, Lizbits. Be careful and call if you need anything at all."

Pulling away from the comfort of his embrace, Elizabeth smiled as she met his bright green eyes. "I will."

Johnny waited until he was out of the park before making the call. "Hey, it's me. I just ran into Elizabeth in the park. She is back to arrange for Audrey Hardy's funeral."

Silence stretched as the other man digested the unexpected news. "How is she?" he finally asked.

"Good, but also different. It's hard to explain. She has changed though, very much so."

"Where has she been?"

"I don't know," Johnny informed him with a sigh. "She evaded answering all the questions concerning the time that she was away. Actually, she didn't mention the last five years except to say that she had to get away. Also, Audrey has known where she was the entire time."

Jason sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I figured that she was lying when I asked her. Make sure that Elizabeth gets home safely and call in a guard to watch the house overnight. I need to talk to Sonny."

"Don't you think that you two should talk to her before doing all this, Jason? Liz never liked anyone making decisions for her. She is extremely srubborn," Johnny reminded him.

"I know, O'Brien. This is the fastest way to make sure that no one approaches her before we can tell her what is going on."

"Good luck with that," Johnny said with a snort. "She never mentioned either of you. I don't think getting her to listen to you guys will be all that easy. I'm telling you, she is not the same young woman you remember."