Hopeless. That had to sum up her entire existence since she walked away from Jason in the park a few weeks back. Hopeless. The day he left, Elizabeth's life was like a sailor without a northern star to show them the way. That's what he was for her, she decided, Jason was her northern star.

Shifting herself in yet another hospital bed, Elizabeth grips the covers around her, another thing that has happened a lot more than she likes since Jason left. Landing herself in the hospital. Never intentionally, always some kind of accident or another, but still...she has seen the inside of that hospital a lot more than she likes.

Running through the incidents in her head, Elizabeth brings the sum total to seven hospital visits since Jason left town. The nurses have wondered if she was going for some kind of record. Maybe she was. She really didn't know, but she just couldn't help herself.

The first time she landed in the hospital, she had been lost in thought, staring at Lucky as he went on and on about dinner plans, that she didn't realize how tightly she was squeezing the glass in her hand until it shattered to pieces under her intense grip. Glancing down at her hand, she notes that its just about healed.

The second time, now that definitely wasn't her fault, she's sure of that much. Emily, Nikolas, and Lucky were arguing, in a playful way, about what they'd be doing that weekend. She wasn't paying attention, as usual, lost in blank thoughts, when she moved to stand up and was rammed into by a rambunctious teenager catching a football inside the diner.

Reaching up, she touched the spot on her forehead that needed stitches. With a sigh, she drops her hand, that would take a little while longer to heal. It wouldn't have been so bad if she didn't hit her head on her chair on the way down. She was knocked out instantly.

Then there was the time that she tripped over her own feet, walking with Lucky to her studio, causing her to fall head first down the stairs. Number three. Elizabeth could have sworn that he had time to catch her before she fell, but he just didn't want to risk him falling, as well. Of course, his excuse was that it all happened too fast and he was in shock after she fell.

Forgetting to use mittens when she pulled the brownies out of the oven, burned her hands pretty good with that one, making it number four. Number five, that was interesting in its own, never one to be sporty or physically fit, Elizabeth ran until her legs gave out and she went crashing into the hard asphalt. Scratched up her knees pretty good.

Six, fainting at a Face of Deception photo shoot, she had been so overwhelmed with her life that she just fainted. Not as crazy as the other instances, but it was bad enough to land her back in the hospital. She felt like Laura had overreacted, but she wouldn't tell the older woman that. No way.

Which brings her to this last incident, unlucky number seven, the only incident that would require more than a day in the hospital. She wasn't looking for trouble, had said as much when Carly got in her face, but the stupid blonde just wouldn't back off. Obviously pissed off at her for being the reason Jason wasn't in town.

Normally, Elizabeth wouldn't indulge Carly, but this time was different. Elizabeth was angry. She was seething with anger and guilt. Anger because she was letting everyone dictate her life, not really caring to speak up or stand out.

Guilt for treating Jason the way that Lucky had treated her when he first came back. Stringing him along and hurting him in the end. Yes, she's angry and guilty, but most of all she was just so sick and tired of Carly getting in her face like she had the right. So, dipping into her Lizzie persona, Elizabeth went postal on the blonde's ass.

It took all of the guards, Lucky, and even Nikolas, to pry Elizabeth and Carly apart. When the dust settled, Carly settling down from her shouts and curses, they both wound up needing a trip to the hospital. Thankfully, for both women, the stupid idea of putting them in the same room was quickly rectified.

A knock sounds at the door, putting a stop to Elizabeth's self reflection long enough to look at who has chosen to visit her now. She swore under her breath that she'd scream if it was one of her friends again. It took everything to get them to leave. Four Musketeers and what not, they wanted to be there for her. Right.

"Come in." she calls to the visitor when they don't walk in.

"Hey...its just me." an unexpected face pokes in, smiling slightly at her. "Do you mind?"

"No...not at all." she moves to sit up, smiling slightly, running her fingers through her hair to look more presentable. "I didn't expect you to stop by."

"And here I thought we had a better friendship than that." he chuckles softly, walking in and closing the door. "How're you feeling?"

"Sore." she admits. "I didn't mean to be rude, Francis, I just...I'm sure Sonny's pretty pissed that I attacked his wife."

"Sonny's my boss." Francis says simply, pulling up a chair. "Doesn't make me his servant. I'll see who I want when I want."

"I'm glad." she shakes her head, trying to relish in the fact that she still had a friend in him.

"Look, I know you've been having a hard time since...since he left." Francis looks at her expectantly. "But seven hospital visits...Elizabeth..."

"I know, okay?" she sighs, wishing he didn't bring it up. "Stuff happens and...its not a big deal."

"You getting hurt is a big deal." he counters, giving her his serious look. "I know things between you and Ja...the two of you are messed up right now...doesn't mean that you shouldn't care about your well being. What's really going on?"

And just like that, she caved.

"I hate myself." she mutters, fighting off the tears. "I hate myself for hurting him...for everything."

"Elizabeth, you need to forgive yourself." he takes her hand in his, rubbing it soothingly. "Like you said...stuff happens. You can't weigh yourself down with guilt over something you can't change."

"I hurt him." she voices, her words coming out strangled as she fights to keep the tears at bay. "He didn't deserve that."

"Maybe not." he agrees. "But he also should have understood that you were torn...he knew you loved Lucky, but he still pushed."

"Its not his fault..." she tried to defend.

"Its not yours either." he smiles, knowing that he just caught her in his reasoning. "Stuff happened...stuff you can't change...and now its on you to pick up the pieces and move on."

"How do I do that exactly?" she looks at him intently, needing to know where to go from here.

"By finally getting rid of anything that doesn't make you happy." he says simply, placing a kiss upon her hand. "I know its scary, but its something you have to do."

"I'm scared." she admits, afraid of making that step, knowing what he meant.

"Its okay to be scared." he assures her, smiling his reassuring smile. "We'll be here the whole time. We won't let you do this on your own."

"We?" she looks at him curiously, not overlooking the plurality of his vocabulary.

"Knock, knock." a voice speaks from the doorway. "Hey."

"Johnny." she should have guessed. Smiling at him, Elizabeth gestures for him to come in.

"Me and this lunkhead will be with you the whole way." Francis promises, using a tone that held complete conviction. "We help as much as we can, but its gonna be mostly on you."

"We're kind of your moral support." Johnny voices, taking her other hand in his. "So you don't get discourage and whatnot."

Looking between the two men that have stepped up to be her guardian angels, Elizabeth couldn't fathom what she could have done to deserve such loyalty from both men. Francis, he has been a very understanding friend, always ready to listen when she needed an ear. Johnny, well he was just always handy with a good laugh.

"Okay." she shakes her head, more than nervous, but accepting what had to be changed. "Hopefully I won't crash and burn."

"You won't." Francis assures her.

"Besides, even if you happen to fall..." Johnny waits for her eyes to connect with his. "We'll be there to catch you."

And in that moment, in spite of the many ways this frightens her, Elizabeth finally believed that she could do it. That she could cut her losses with things that made her unhappy and finally focus on making herself happy. After all, what good is making anyone else happy when you, yourself, are miserable?

A/N: Story number two. There won't be any major craziness in this or the other slow paced story...hopefully...which is good because I'll be updating it often. Hope you like it. Take care.

- ROCkER