Elizabeth has a huge secret. She runs away to Port Charles and meets Jason and he is determined to find out what it is and win her heart. And when all of the truth is finally uncovered, it's more heartbreaking then either of them could imagine.

A/N Elizabeth is 25 and Jason is 31. Neither has kids. The rest you will find out along the way. Please review and let me know what you think!

Chapter 1 – Starting Over

Elizabeth sat on the bus looking out the window. Trees and houses flew by in a continuous blur as she blankly took it all in. She barely had any money; fleeing her apartment and life to escape the bleakness it had become. Sighing, she looked down at the map and read the name of the town she had chosen to make her new home, Port Charles, NY. If there was a God, she hoped that he would bring her some kind of peace when she got there; because her current situation was really testing her limits. Normally running away wasn't an option but in this case, she felt it was a necessity. Time was a luxury and she just hoped that her family would forgive her.

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Jason Morgan looked out over the water. It had been a hard month. They had been attacked repeatedly before they finally got rid of the last threat. He was tired and just felt like something was missing in his life that he couldn't put a finger on. The monotony of the job and cleaning up Carly's messes was starting to get to him. Usually, he would take off, but Lila was sick and he didn't want to go too far. He loved his grandmother and would be sad when she passed on but it was hard seeing her in pain and he wished he had more memories of her when he was younger. That, unfortunately, would be something that would never happen though. Sighing, he turned and made his way back to his motorcycle and took off needing the speed and adrenaline that it provided him.

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Elizabeth stepped off the bus and started to struggle with her luggage. She tugged and lost her balance and fell ungracefully to the ground. A rather burly man stepped forward and his closeness made her jump.

"I'm sorry if I scared you. I just thought you needed some help. I'm Francis."

Liz was surprised at the warm smile on his face. "I'm Elizabeth." She said slowly.

"Will you let me help you?"

She looked around having no idea where she was going and then stood up. "I'm trying to get here." She said digging a piece of paper out of her pocket and then placed it into his hand.

He read the address and she saw him frown.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I don't want to scare you but it's not the nicest part of town."

She shrugged. "It's what I can afford until I get a job and some money saved up."

He studied her for a moment. There were already a few things that he could tell about the woman and one of them was she had been very hurt by something or someone. She wouldn't look him in the eye for very long and he noticed that she was very nervous and frequently looked around like she was making sure she wasn't followed.

"My car is right over there. I'm going back to town, so I can drop you off on my way over there."

Liz looked around again. She felt kind of weird getting into a car with a stranger.

"Honestly, I know what you're thinking right now and I would never hurt a woman. And to show you that, I'll pay for a cab to get you were you are going if you are not comfortable riding with me."

Liz looked up at him and he held his breath as he saw all of the pain etched in her deep blue eyes. "I'll let you take me." She said softly.

He smiled. "Good. Let me help you with those."

She let go of the bigger suitcase and followed him with the smaller one. Francis put them in the trunk and then opened the back door for her.

"Thank you." She said sliding inside. Something told her that she could trust him although that gave her pause because she really didn't trust her judgment right now.

He drove towards town. "When was the last time that you had something to eat?"

Liz shrugged.

"That's what I thought. I'm buying you lunch."

Liz started to protest.

"Sorry, but I will not take no for an answer." He said firmly.

Deciding that she was really hungry and needed to save some of her money, she finally agreed. "Okay."

"Good, we'll go to Kelly's. It's a local diner and has really good food."

He turned on the radio and they drove the rest of the way in silence. Francis finally parked the car and opened the door for her. "This way." He said walking besides her.

She looked around the docks and took it all in before Francis led her inside.

"Hey Francis." Georgie called out with a smile.

"Hey dollface. This is Elizabeth." He said sliding into a seat.

Liz smiled at the younger girl and took the seat across from him.

"It's nice to meet you. What can I get you to drink?" She asked before handing Liz a menu.

"I'll have a coke." Francis said.

"Do you have iced tea?"

Georgie nodded. "Yes, I'll be right back."

She disappeared and Liz studied the menu. "What's good here?"

Francis smiled. "Just about everything. The chili and burgers and fries are my favorite."

She smiled. "Chili sounds good."

Georgie dropped off their drinks and took their order.

"So, what do you like to do?" Francis asked.

"I was an art teacher where I used to live and I painted and submitted to galleries."

Francis smiled. "That sounds great. I have no artistic abilities myself."

Liz smiled. "You'd be surprised. You probably have more than you think."

The door flew open and Johnny O'Brien slipped inside. "There you are you big lug." He said walking over to Francis and Liz. He pulled up a chair without asking.

"Do you mind?" Francis asked.

"What? You didn't return my call and now I know why." He turned to look at Elizabeth and smiled. "Hello, I'm Johnny."

Liz smiled. She liked the accent. "I'm Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth is new in town and I am going to take her to her apartment when we are finished here."

Johnny was surprised. Francis usually kept to himself. He couldn't wait to ask him why he was helping her.

"Well, welcome to Port Charles. Where are you moving too?"

"Thank you." She rattled off the address and Johnny frowned.

"You too?"

"That's not the safest place. Why don't I come with you two and I'll make sure it's secure."

She started to object but Georgie interrupted. "Hi Johnny." She said smiling.

Liz could tell the younger woman had a crush on the Irishman.

"Hi Georgie. Can I get a number 6?"

"You got it." She said as she placed their meals down.

The two men chatted as Elizabeth listened to them and laughed. She could already tell Johnny drove Francis crazy. And it was funny seeing his reactions to the outlandish things that came out of Johnny's mouth. Georgie quickly brought Johnny his sandwich and Liz realized that she already felt good about being here. She hadn't smiled this much in a long time.

Liz got up to use the bathroom leaving the two men alone.

"What's her story?" Johnny asked curiously.

Francis shrugged. "I don't know much. I feel like she's running away from something. When I saw her she just looked so lost and hurt that I couldn't help it, I approached her."

"She seems really nice. But I do agree. There is something a little off. She jumped a few times when the door opened."

"I want to help her get started. I think she just needs someone to be nice to her."

Johnny nodded. "I'm game."

Elizabeth came back and Francis paid the bill and they went back to the car.

"I'll meet you there." Johnny called out as he disappeared around a corner.

Francis drove her there. "Now listen, you need to be careful in this neighborhood. Try not to go out late if you can avoid it, and I'm going to give you my number in case you need me to escort you."

"I'm sure that won't be necessary."

"Elizabeth, please say yes because if you don't I will worry about you."

She sighed. "Okay. But, I feel like I have nothing to give you back in return."

"Nonsense, you eat lunch with me every once in a while and we'll call it even."

She smiled. "At least it's not too far from the diner."

"It's not the distance that I'm worried about. It's who you'll encounter between here and there. I'm not trying to scare you out of your mind, but a girl can't be too careful. I think I have some mace and a stun gun at the warehouse, I'm going to bring it to you."

Liz nodded. She wasn't sure what to think. Francis parked. "These are studios aren't they?"

She smiled. "I figured that I could do art work and just get a couch to put in there."

Francis grimaced. "There's a Goodwill down the street. I'll take Johnny and we'll get you something."

"Only if you let me pay you back."

"Done."

They met Johnny and went up to the landlord's room and got the key. Liz gave him some money and then he directed her to the 2nd floor.

They went inside and she looked around. It wasn't much at all, but it would do.

Johnny looked at the locks. "I'm going to come by tomorrow and reinforce everything."

She nodded.

Francis grabbed Johnny. "We'll be right back."

Liz went over to the window and looked out at the docks. At least she had a decent view. Hopefully, she'd get some good lighting. The kitchen wasn't much and the bathroom was small, but at least it would provide her with some shelter.

About an hour later, Johnny and Francis came back along with a few other men.

"Oh my God, what did you buy?" She asked.

Francis smiled. "It's just some housewarming gifts."

Max and Cody placed the couch down. "Is this good?" Max asked her.

"Yes, thank you."

"This is Max and Cody."

Liz smiled and said hello.

Milo came in next and went to the kitchen and put a few bags of groceries down. "Hi, I'm Milo. I got you some staples. I hope I did okay."

"I'm sure they will be fine, thank you." She was overwhelmed with their generosity.

Francis brought in a few more things and put them in the kitchen. "There's a coffee maker and a toaster in here. And there are sheets, blanket, and towels in the other box. Also, here is a phone. I already programmed our numbers in there."

Liz's eyes welled with tears. "Thank you so much. I just…." Her voice trailed off as she started to cry.

"Hey, it's okay. Really, sometimes it's nice to pay it forward."

She shook her head. "Thank you very much."

"No problem." Johnny said smiling. "Francis, we have to go."

The men filed out and Elizabeth walked towards the door. Francis stopped and turned. "I meant what I said. Please call me if you need anything. I had a sister your age that got into some trouble and I lost her. So, I just want to make sure you are safe."

"I will."

"See you soon."

Liz smiled and shut the door and locked it and then started to unpack.