Anything But Mine

Things you need to know are that Alexis and Sonny never slept together and Jason left town after Elizabeth confronted him about Sonny's fake death. Their discussion ended differently here than it did on the show but that will be explained later in a flash back ;)

Port Charles 2006

She smiled as they stopped suddenly and she looked in the windows of Kelly's diner. There was obviously a new waitress in training and Bobbie was allowing her to get her feet wet by standing behind the counter and watching things from a distance. The small brunette girl, who couldn't be more than fifteen, was having a difficult time balancing the plates and delivering them to the customers. She made it to the table though, with the correct order and sighed with relief as she went to clean up another one that was just vacated. She carried the four plates and two cups as far as the swinging entry door to the kitchen before she slipped on some spilled coffee. The dishes went flying as she grabbed the counter in order to prevent herself from falling. Bobbie rushed to her side and she could see even from this distance that the girl was turning ten shades of red. The customers smiled with pity, she knew Bobbie was telling the poor girl that would be ok.

She wondered whatever happened to her innocence.

"Thinking about old times," he asked as he tugged on her hand. She smiled softly as she leaned closer to him and resumed walking, heading towards the docks.

"I use to be that horrible," she said with a soft laugh as she tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear. "Dropping dishes everywhere, screwing up tea cups and coffee mugs, attempting to make something other than brownies. It took quite a few years for Elizabeth Webber to master the art of waitressing."

"And what a fine art you made it," he said as he stopped to face her at the top step that led to the docks.

She smiled up at him, amazed that he was with her, amazed that this was still happening. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this content with her life. Reaching up to caress his cheek with her leather glove covered hands she titled her head up to receive his kiss. He always did small gestures like these, hold her hand, hug her slightly to him, and kiss her just for the hell of it. At first she thought it was a branding of some sort, claiming what was his, but now she knew it was him, all him and lord knows she was crazy about him.

"I do admit I miss it sometimes," she smiled as she pulled back. His lips tugged up at the corners and she knew it was because of the happiness that reflected in her eyes. "Dealing with the customers, the great tips, it was fun."

"You know, you can always go back…"

"No, I can't," she said tucking the nuisance hair back behind her ear. She gave him a stiff smile and wrapped her arm around his waist as they resumed walking down the stairs that lead to the docks. "I could try to go back, try to pretend that I'm Elizabeth Webber, young college woman who worked part time to support herself and live in a very tiny, very damp studio, but we both know that won't work."

He came to a halt near a bench and turned again to look at her, "Sometimes," he smiled as he played with the loose chestnut ringlet that slid out from behind her ear again, "Sometimes it seems that you'd be happier back then."

"It's not that," she said gesturing towards the empty space that led in the direction of Kelly's. "It's the innocence, what I was before everything else happened. I was happy then and I didn't have to comprise. I got what I wanted and all I had to do was pass Algebra. Now, now I have to share my time with you and some damn coffee warehouse. Very annoying."

He felt her arms come around him and she leaned up to kiss his smooth chin. Over the past two years she talked more and more about the innocence that was ripped away from her at a young age, torn away by some violent man who felt that he had a right to take it some cold February night in the park. He wanted to try and fix it for her, make it right, but even with the assurance of Tom Baker dead and never coming back to hurt her she still seemed unhappy with the way things worked out.

But he reassured himself they everyone felt that way at times, even him. At right now, this moment in his life, standing here with her arms around him, he couldn't remember the last time he felt this satisfied.

"I'm sorry that I have a meeting," he said placing a kiss to her forehead, "But you have a very big test to take and I think that you need to concentrate on that."

"I'm still thinking about the way you woke me up this morning," she grinned saucily at him, "You cannot expect a woman to forget about it that easily."

He shrugged innocently and stepped out of her embrace, "I had to make sure you were up and ready for your exam."

She laughed as he grinned at her and handed her the briefcase she forgot he was carrying, "I have a brilliant idea."

"Shoot counselor."

"Not there yet," she smiled as she reached down and squeezed his hand. "I'll reschedule my exam and you can reschedule your meeting." She saw him start to pull away, his eyes first and then his hand, but she held on firmly to that. "Please, just…"

"I have to do this," he said quietly. "And how is it going to look when you actually have to reschedule your exam. Just do this baby and you only got one year left, one year and it'll be you up there defending me."

"I'm not sure the courts will allow that," she smiled as she leaned in and kissed him again. A soft sigh escaped her lips when he took his face in her hands and pressed his warm lips against her, his tongue slid from between his lips and flicked against hers, asking for entrance.

Who was she to deny him? She wrapped her arms around him as their tongues clashed and an innocent kiss quickly developed into a passionate one that neither of them could continue.

A moan escaped her lips and a growl from his when they both pulled away.

"I will talk to you later," he went the safe route and pressed a soft kiss to her nose.

She watched him walk away; disappearing down the docks towards the Corinthos-Morgan warehouse area. Holding her briefcase against her she sighed. Could life really get any better than this?

Looking around for the bodyguard she knew was being discreet she smiled and started down the docks, "C'mon Johnny, time to get to class."

The bodyguard smiled as he stepped out of his hiding place behind some bushes and followed her. They made it no further than the rusty pay phone when she heard the first pop, then another, then another.

Something similar to a car bomb or a Chinese firecracker, but she knew it was neither of those. She was too familiar with this life, too familiar with the surroundings. Those were gunshots and they were coming from the direction of the warehouse.

"No," she said as she dropped her briefcase and took off at a run, "No!"

She felt Johnny's arms around her, holding her back, yelling that he would go check on him. She still struggled, still fought, even as she heard four more loud bangs, one after the other after the other after the other.

"Stop! Get him! Please!" she screamed, felt the hot tears tracing down her face as she fought against the strong arms of the man who was there to protect her life. He was doing his job, keeping her away from the danger and she wanted to kill him for it.

"I'll stay here!" she yelled as she stopped her kicking, "Go help him, please…."

Her cries were cut off by an explosion, a loud boom followed by a ball of fire that erupted in front of her eyes, disturbing the peaceful morning and chirping birds. She froze in Johnny's arms, unable to move, unable to breath as she watched the orange glow start to spread. Glass burst from the windows due to the heat of the blaze and other small explosions erupted throughout. She opened her mouth, tried to form a coherent word, but nothing would come out.

What do you say when you watch your life burn up right in front of your eyes?

The sirens pulled her out of her daze, the wails bringing her back to the presence and the hazy glow before her. She started to struggled again, this time she punched him, bit him, did whatever it took to let her go, to let her die with him.

But he quieted her, whispered in her ear, reminded her of everything she ever promised.

"You told him you would stay, you swore that Elizabeth," he said with conviction.

And she did. She told him she would stay out of harms way no matter what was happening to him. But this was killing her just as sure as it was killing him.

But for him she gave up the fight, she collapsed against Johnny, still crying, still screaming and asking God why. She looked at the warehouse through blurred eyes and people came to watch, came to gawk.

"Why?" she cried. "Why, God why?"

Another explosion ripped through the building, ripped right through her heart.

"Sonny, no!" she screamed.

"Would you just let her go," Johnny said in frustration, "I don't even see the point of her being here."

"She's a material witness," Mac said as he looked over at the shaken Elizabeth Webber who sat numbly on a bench with a course gray blanket wrapped around her body. She was pale and looked like death itself, but still he had procedures to follow.

"I told you what we saw," Johnny argued, "That should be enough for now." For a rare moment the man lost his temper, "This is ludicrous!"

It was, Elizabeth thought from her spot at the bench. Someone from the Red Cross had just handed her some hot steaming coffee in a Styrofoam cup. They were always there in emergencies when people were put out of their homes. She wasn't surprised they were here now, but they couldn't help her, she had just lost the only home she had really known.

She could hear the vague argument between Johnny and Mac in the distance. Johnny was the brother that Steven Webber wasn't. He protected her, was loyal to her and even went Christmas shopping with her when she knew he hated it. He wanted to shield her from all the pain that she had endured thanks to this business but they both knew that he couldn't and she loved him even more for it.

She also knew that if Sonny were here they would already be back at the Penthouse, dealing with the latest crisis that the Port Charles Mafia had dealt her and her family. Sonny was the authoritative one, when he talked people listened. Johnny was tough but no one was Sonny. Sonny would tell Mac whether he liked it or not Elizabeth was going home.

Home.

That word now make her sick.

She placed the untouched cup of coffee on the arm of the bench and stood up, walking over to the ambulance and handing them back their blanket. She really didn't need it; she wasn't injured, just numb, pure numbness. She ignored their looks of pity and made her way over to Mac and Johnny. She was tired of listening to their bickering and if he wanted to get a statement it was now or never. She needed to get back to Harborview Towers, things needed to get taken care of, the arrangements needed to be made.

"Mac, please, would you just tell me what needs to be done," she said quietly as she stood beside Johnny. She instantly felt his hand on the small of her back and wondered what she would have done without this man. She would've run into the building after Sonny and she simply couldn't have done that.

"We just need…we need to…" Mac looked at her, shaking and as white as a ghost, "You told someone everything that you saw?"

She nodded slightly and brought her fingers to her temples, massaging them lightly. A headache was coming on, one that would probably stay with her in the coming days with all that she had to deal with.

"You can go," Mac finally said, "If I need anything else, any names," he said looking directly as Johnny, "I'll be in contact."

"Things were fine," Elizabeth said as she crossed her arms across her chest, "There was no reason for this, none whatsoever."

"Liz, I know that you lo…"

"I am with Sonny," she said and then choked back a sob, "I was with Sonny but I know the life he led, I was a part of it. We knew when to expect something, this was not expected."

Mac nodded and moved away from the small woman and her looming bodyguard. He knew himself that things were quiet on docks lately. Usually a buzz started when someone wais moving in or something was going to happen but no one had heard anything. Looking towards the blackened skeletal exterior of the Corinthos-Morgan warehouse he knew that this would make waves and if something wasn't suppose to happen it would now.

"Do you want to go home?"

Elizabeth winced wondering if the Penthouse would ever be home again without Sonny. Johnny steered her towards the black parking lot of Kelly's where a newly waxed black Cadillac awaited them. She saw Francis step out of the car and make his way towards her, arms extended.

Hugs, apologizes, pity, she would have to get use to this, she would be dealing with it in the next few months.

"I need to get to the Penthouse," she said quietly as she slipped into the back seat of the car. She sighed softly as she rested her head against the leather material. She loved leather and Sonny knew that, made sure every car was detailed with it, right down to the steering wheel. "I'm needed there; phone calls need to be made."

"We'll take care of that," Johnny said, turning to look at her from the front seat. "Max is on his way over too."

Elizabeth looked at him curiously. Max was supposed to be there already. He was going to meet Sonny at the penthouse after the meeting which was lined up around three. The shots, the bombing, the fire, the interrogation, the ambulances, the people, all those things kept her on the docks till well past six o'clock. Max would've waited at Harborview Towers.

Francis, sensing her curiosity cleared his throat as he slid onto Main Street easily and made his way downtown. "He had to leave his post."

Elizabeth's eyes met his in the rearview mirror and she knew why.

"Someone had to tell Carly," she whispered.

Rain, it somehow seemed appropriate. She pressed her head against the cool glass of one of the long bulletproof glass doors that lined a part of the penthouse. Something was needed to put out the fire, at the warehouse, inside of her and rain, rain always seemed to do it.

Her favorite part of the rain was when he would take her out onto the balcony and kiss her. The drops would be pouring down from the heavens and she would stand there in his arms, his hands holding her face as he kissed her over and over and over until the lightening started to strike around them.

Something that would never happen again.

She sighed as she pushed herself away from the window and started to head towards the kitchen, wondering what type of leftovers he had for her. Although Sonny manned the kitchen she had full control over dessert, anything chocolate anyway.

Pulling open the huge silver refrigerator that she fought with him about costing way too much she stared that the lined up containers of Tupperware, each marked with a post it and Sonny's scrawled handwriting depicting the masterpiece inside.

A mobster chef, who would've thunk?

The thought of eating anything with sauce, homemade even, made her stomach do flip flops and going upstairs and trying to get any amount of sleep wouldn't do her any good either. She couldn't slide into that bed, not by herself, not without him.

So she headed back into the living room, straight towards the wet bar that contained Sonny's favorites and now hers. A beautiful crystal set with four tumblers and four large containers sat in front of her. One held bourbon, one held whiskey, one held water and one held vodka, the most expensive Sonny could fine. When she had a hard day at school, he would mix a little with her soda, help her relax.

But now, she thought as she licked her lips and turned a tumbler upright, now she was going to do it straight.

As she brought the glass to her lips she noticed a large lightening strike outside. It seemed to come straight from the sky and hit the street down below. Quickly following it was a loud crash of thunder which seemed to set off a few car alarms.

Nearly dropping the glass, Elizabeth quickly made her way to the patio doors, yanking them open and stepping outside. She ignored the rain, the thunder, the lightening. She looked around; wanting to know what brought her here, what type of sign this was from God. Then she looked down and her veins turned to ice.

Stumbling back into the penthouse, she locked the doors behind her and hurried over to the front door. She pulled it open and met the concerned eyes of Max.

"I'm going upstairs to change," she stated.

"Are you ok?" he asked worriedly.

A faint smile crossed her pale lips, "I'm ok, I'm just…." she looked down at her drenched dress pants and sleeveless tank top, "I'm a mess, I'll be right back."

Max looked at her curiously as she closed the door behind him and hurried upstairs. She quickly moved through her room, their room, looking for clothes to wear. She didn't want to think about Sonny not coming home tonight, she didn't want to think about the fact that they would never again make love on those silk sheets. She had to get changed, get out of those wet clothes.

She pulled off everything and made a damp pile on the bathroom floor. Sonny would've killed her, but she didn't care. She grabbed a clean dry pair of undergarments and then another pair of black dress pants. Sorting through her closet quickly she settled on tight, navy blue cashmere sweater that Sonny bought her last year for Christmas. He loved the way it went with her eyes.

She quickly removed all the jewelry that she had on and placed it into large armoire that Sonny had bought her just because. She smiled as she closed the door on the winking one karat diamond earrings. He told her he'd buy her the whole world one day but for now she had to settle with Port Charles, New York.

Ignoring her hair, Elizabeth stopped before exiting the bedroom. For some reason, there lay on the bed was one of Sonny's dress shirts. She smiled and picked it up, bringing it to her nose and smelling the collar. It smelled of him, slightly cologne, slightly Italian sauce, slightly Sonny.

Not knowing or caring why he would've left that out on the bed, Elizabeth closed the door behind her knowing that she would return later to change into that before going to bed on the couch. She needed to be near him without being in their bed.

But first, she had something else to deal with.

She heard the door open, the greeting from Max and the scrap of the shoes against the floor. She figured that would've prepared her as she made her way down the last few steps but her breath was still taken away as she looked into those hauntingly familiar blue eyes.

"Hello Elizabeth."

She cleared her throat and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Hello Jason."