First, Last, Always

News of Sonny's death has sent a wave of shock and awe through the streets of Port Charles. Almost every newspaper in the town, big business and small, has plastered Sonny Corinthos's picture all over their front pages. Articles upon articles plastered through the pages all about Sonny and his family. Some kinder articles portray him as the philanthropist with a soft spot for the yearly Nurses' Ball due to his love for the young man who was taken too soon. By the way those reporters are portraying him, you'd think Sonny had been some legitimate business man with a heart of gold.

Tossing the fifth newspaper she's read this morning onto the table, Elizabeth lets out a weary sigh, almost anxious for the funeral to be over and done with already. Since Sonny death had become a reality, she has been helping Carly plan the funeral, something that the blonde had not seen coming by any means, but accepted none the less. With the weight that now rests upon Jason's shoulders, the blonde just didn't want to add any further pressure onto her best friend, something Elizabeth had been counting on. Strange to think that Carly isn't her biggest problem these days.

Somewhere between Sonny's death and Carly's planning of the funeral, Courtney has gotten it into her mind that Elizabeth is trying to replace her as Carly's best friend, not that Elizabeth could ever see herself as Carly's friend in any context, much less in the role of Carly's BFF. Every step of the way, Courtney seems to choose the exact opposite of anything Elizabeth chooses for the funeral. She even tried to talk Carly out of one of her choices because Elizabeth happened to agree with her. It was almost as if Courtney just couldn't stomach agreeing with Elizabeth on anything.

After a much needed lunch break, she will be right back in the middle of the chaos that is planning Sonny's funeral, thankful that they only had a few more things to settle before the planning is complete. The obituary has already made it into the newspapers, ensuring that the town is well aware of Sonny's funeral date, many having called Carly to extend their condolences and assurances that they will be in attendance. She can't be certain of it, but if she didn't know any better Elizabeth could have sworn that most of them are only attending to make sure that he really is dead.

The further she gets into the planning of Sonny's funeral, the more Elizabeth has gained an understanding of Carly as a person, something she definitely hadn't seen coming. She has gained a soft spot big enough that she almost blew up at Emily when she said something negative about Carly. It wasn't like Elizabeth hasn't said something similar in the past in regard to the blonde, but she just couldn't stomach hearing it after all she's been through with Carly thus far. Though she knows the funeral is fake, Elizabeth couldn't help imagining if she were in Carly's shoes.

If she does end up with Jason for the rest of her life, she could very well find herself in Carly's shoes one day and it might not be as temporary as Carly's situation. The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if she could be strong enough to plan Jason's funeral the way that Carly has. If Jason's death is as fake as Sonny's, could she really go through the motions of planning his funeral as if he were really dead? Merely planning Sonny's funeral, she has a sense of it being real, what more for Carly, his wife, to be planning it for her not-so-dead husband?

"Hi." she whispers when she feels his lips touch the top of her head before taking the seat in front of her. "I thought you'd be too busy for lunch."

"I've got time." he says simply, gesturing for the waitress and giving his order before returning his attention to her. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah...I'm fine."

"Really?" he counters with an arched eyebrow. "Could have fooled me."

"Okay, so, maybe planning Sonny's funeral isn't as easy as I thought it would be." Elizabeth concedes. "I just can't help thinking that I could be in Carly's place one day."

"You can't let yourself think like that." he says seriously, reaching over to take her hand in his. "Its not good for you to go there."

"I know." she smiles slightly. "Its just hard not to sometimes."

"I'm here." he says, lifting her gaze to his. "We're okay. Focus on that."

"You're right." she shakes her head before taking a deep breath. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm okay." he assures. "Just need it to be over."

"I know the feeling." she replies. "Will I be sitting with you in front?"

"That's up to you." Jason says before his face grows serious. "I mean...I'd like you to..."

"Then I will." she says quickly. "I'm there."

"Thanks."

For however long it lasts, the two enjoy their lunch together in silence, allowing each other the peace they so desperately needed. While Carly will be meeting with the five families sometime after the funeral is over, Jason is running the day to day of the business and being the boss again is taking a little getting used to. While the men had been loyal to Sonny, it seems as if they prefer Jason's leadership opposed to Sonny's. If they weren't too busy leveling a threat, he's almost certain Sonny would have a conniption over it.

Agreeing to having dinner together at home later on that night, the two go their separate ways, needing to be prepared for the funeral in different ways. While Elizabeth's planning the funeral with Carly, he needs to prepare for the five families' arrival to the event. Security needs to be airtight and the accommodations need to be above reproach in order to avoid any friction between their organization and any others. The last thing they need is another threat rising up while they are still trying to deal with the current one.

"Good, you're back." Carly practically yanks her into the penthouse before tossing her a notepad. "Get started on confirming our orders for the funeral."

"Wasn't Courtney doing that?" Elizabeth questions as she flips open the book to take a look at the checklist, finding all the boxes still unmarked. "I thought she'd be done by now."

"Would I tell you to do it if she finished it already?" Carly snaps before taking a deep breath. "Just do it. Please."

"I'm on it." Elizabeth assures. "I was just confused, that's all."

"My mother's somewhere doing god knows what and Courtney's off with her jackass of a husband. Meanwhile, I'm stuck with all this crap to do and barely any time to finish it all!" Carly grumbles as she grabs the list that Jason gave her as pointers for her first meeting with the five families. "Out of all the people I thought would be helping me with this, I can't believe its you, muffin. I really can't."

Letting that slide, Elizabeth gets started on placing the calls to the various companies while Carly makes her way upstairs to her son, thankful for the time alone once she's out of the room. Typically, Elizabeth would feel the need to blast Carly back for blasting her like that, but she's come to understand that its just Carly's way of being. The way she is with Elizabeth isn't nearly as bad as she is with some of the guards, especially when they don't do what she wants immediately. She nearly strangled Ritchie when he didn't remove all the casseroles from the penthouse like she had asked him to a few hours prior.

Elizabeth had to hand it to her, though, Carly was an even better actress than she had given her credit for. Though it wasn't real, Carly plays the part of the grieving widow quite well, having everyone pretty much fooled. Hell, even the haters have been delivering pies and casseroles to the penthouse, expressing their condolences and some actually meaning it. Making her way through the list, Elizabeth tosses the notebook to the side when she finally checks everyone off the list.

"What did you expect? You wanted your sister safe, she's safe!" Jason snaps into the phone as she walks through the door of their penthouse. "I have better things to do than babysit. Johnny can handle her detail just fine!"

"I'm gonna get washed up." she says as she places a soft kiss upon his cheek. "I ordered dinner already. Should be here in another ten minutes."

"You worry about staying dead and leave the living to me!" Jason states sternly before ending the call. "Sorry about that."

"Its okay." she assures. "I've never seen you lose your patience with Sonny before."

"He's just being unreasonable." Jason sighs as he drops down onto the couch. "I'm his partner and yet he still expects me to fall right back into guard duty as if I don't have anything better to do."

"I'm sure he's just growing anxious with the whole situation. I mean, he's staying in a rundown motel under lock and key until the funeral." Elizabeth reminds him. "He probably just needs to have some sense of control."

"I guess." he shakes his head. "You said something about dinner?"

"I ordered dinner for us when I ordered Carly's dinner." Elizabeth explains. "Should be here soon. I was just gonna go wash up before we eat."

"Right. Okay." he replies simply. "I'm just gonna check in with Johnny."

"Let him know I said hi." Elizabeth says as she walks towards the stairs. "I won't be too long."

Watching her walk up the stairs, Jason lets out a deep sigh before he picks up the phone to call Johnny, needing to make sure that things are still copacetic in that area. He understands Sonny's desire to ensure Courtney's safety, but he is far past his guard duty days. Johnny is one of the elite guards in their organization and he is more than capable of protecting Courtney from any and all threats that may come her way. After checking in with the guard and hearing exactly what he thought he would, Jason sets up a makeshift dinner table for them, intent on having a stress free dinner with his girlfriend. With nothing more left for him to do until the funeral, he's going to turn it all off for the night and leave it at the door. This just couldn't be over soon enough.