Back in Feb of this year (2010) there was a Liason Valentine challenge. I got Godfatherambs to send me the prompts so I could participate. I don't know why I was so shy about it except to say I was intimidated by all the great fanfic wrtiers participating. This is the only challenge I've done to date.. I posted in on Ambs board where is wasn't only seen by a few. No one said and thing bad about it so I finally brought it here.
This was just for fun. The challenge was to take song lyrics fans submitted as prompts for each chapter. The rules didn't say I had to have both characters in it, just that it had to be about Valentines and Liason. - hope you like it.
GLASS SHAPED HEART
ONE
Wish You Were Here by the Get Up Kids
doesn't matter anymore
at that point in my midlife
the situation stands
but hours pass like years
wish you were here
She looked in the locker room mirror surprised again to see all the wrinkles. The lines were gratefully thin and shallow but they were there. Her face was clean and the color was good, even with very little make-up. She'd stopped dying the gray a few months ago at the insistence of her boys but still wasn't used to it. The growing silver streak at her temple was distinguished, according to them. General Hospital's Head Surgical Nurse however, was unconvinced. Ever the comedians, she suspected they wanted her looking like Frankenstein's Bride in time for Halloween.
Despite three grown children her figure was still lean and shapely. She was never a big girl, so gravity had been kind to her so far. Most parts were in their proper place still. Her youngest, Ellie, inherited her metabolism though she was fairly tall. She had her father's long legs.
At 17, her daughter was driving all the boys wild with very little effort. It was her spirit as much as her classic good looks. Keeping up with older brothers made her brave and athletic but she was still girly like her mom. As a little one she could climb a tree chasing after siblings, then put on a sparkly tutu and slippers for dance class.
Leaving the restroom and walking briskly down the hall she almost forgot about the wrinkles entirely. As if the slight movement of air, as she sliced through it, ironed out her flesh and put the shine back in her still mostly auburn locks. Elizabeth felt good. Nothing ached. In her mind she was still 29 going on 30.
The day finished with an exchange of pleasantries between co-workers. Many of her peers were the same she'd worked with for the last two decades. Her friends had married and bore children but they still managed to get a Girls Night Out arranged once a month at least.
Elizabeth wasn't a party girl but she'd been single a long time and liked to cut loose every now and again. It bugged her sons that their mom was alone though Ellie wasn't as bothered by it. For the last seven years she'd had just her mom raising her and gotten used to it. Now Ellie was planning for college and would soon leave the nest. The teen only just started worrying about her mom solitude in that big house.
When Eva Lorenna Morgan was six she insisted everyone call her by her initials: E. L. M., pronouncing it 'Elm'. After a special presentation in first grade she became quite the little tree hugger dedicated to the environment. An aspiring artist now, she was still inspired by organic mediums.
Elm didn't stick with anyone but her father. The rest vacillated between E.L. (Elle) and Ellie. Since Elizabeth got to name their first, Jacob Martin, she let Jason name their daughter. He didn't want her named after anyone. He didn't want his daughter living up to someone else's image or legacy. Jason Morgan's daughter was going to grow up to be whoever she wanted to be. It didn't sneak past Elizabeth, though, that Eva Lorenna had a combination of Emily's, Lila's and her initials much like Jake Martin had Jason's.
She missed him. Elizabeth could swear there was a button in her throat that would swell at the mere thought of Jason. Having learned not to fight it, she let the lump come. The thought of his presence in her life and the void it left when he was gone still wounded her. She didn't cry any more, it had been seven years after all, but the thought of her husband still moved her in a very deep place, private from everyone else.
Her family had such a vibrant and blissful mother for those brief nine years married to Jason Morgan. The boys, Cameron and Jacob, thought if she fell in love again they'd get that Elizabeth back. Jason's Elizabeth was gone though. The part of her belonging to him perished with her husband when he died. She didn't know how to explain to it to the kids in a way that didn't sound pathetic, so she didn't try. Elizabeth just smiled politely at the men they would introduce her to and move on.
At least what remained on earth was still a happy woman. She and Jason had discussed danger so often, in a way it prepared her. He always made it sound like every minute someone could have a bead on him, ready to pull the trigger and end it all. It made her so grateful for each second she had with him. Frankly Elizabeth didn't think she'd get a year, let alone almost a decade!
Their son Jake was so handsome. He'd be just like his daddy if Jason had remained a Quartermaine. Jake could bat his baby blues and convince you he was an angle like young Jason Q was (before the brain injury) but it was a ruse. Jason Morgan's fascination with physical boundaries resided in Jake as well. A top athlete, excellent marksman and train surfer just like his father; he was constantly scaring his mother with his antics
The middle child was pre-Med at a prestigious college and getting top grades. For a minute they thought Jake was going to be an architect. His first taste of Alan Quartermaine's inheritance went into buying old buildings around the waterfront area and converting them to condos. He was 18 and quite ambitious. His creativity was astounding, making him a success. But he wanted to be a part of the Hardy-Webber-Quartermaine legacy and study medicine.
Cameron was the smooth one. He was a talker and a heartbreaker. Jason swore Cam was just like his momma. Elizabeth didn't see it. Cam never got caught making trouble; he was too grounded. It didn't mean he walked the straight and narrow either, but Cam probably never would have seen the inside of the principal's office if it weren't for Jake. Growing up, the brother's were inseparable. Jason was their hero. Rushing the paperwork, he'd adopted Cam before Eva was even born.
Her oldest was backpacking across Europe for the second time. An avid reader, he leaned more towards teaching himself than going to school. Jason was wonderful support for Cam. He didn't make him feel less than for not getting the best grades. He always taught the kids there was more than one way to measure intelligence. Over and over again Jason pointed out how smart Cam was.
Cameron Morgan wanted to be a writer. In high school Cam worked afternoons at Kelly's. Later, in between travels, he worked down at the docks in the coffee warehouses and even did a stint interning at ELQ. Cam was getting a taste of the world his way. Elizabeth was so proud of him because secretly that's how she'd always wanted to live. It wasn't an option to regret, but not taking Jason's hand the first time he'd asked her to get on his bike and run was a what-if fantasy she indulged on rainy days.
It was Friday night. Monday was Valentine's Day. The house was quiet when she got there. Ellie was gone for the weekend. Edward, their dog, was old now and didn't jump up to meet her anymore. He lay on his bed and wagged his tail. She helped him up so he could go out and do his business. Once Edward started moving around he got livelier, but with the kids all grown the dog would lay around all day getting stiff.
She took him for a short walk off leash. The cold chilled her hands and nose. Looking up she admired the way the trees on her block lined up, branches stretching out like warriors crossing swords for the King. They had the biggest house on the block and it was just a few houses down from the house she used to live in.
Elizabeth half expected a guard to be shadowing her. Sonny only kept a few men on her and the children for a couple of years after Jason passed. They all agreed, with Jason gone they weren't in danger anymore. Guards would have been welcome though. She would have liked the company.