The aroma of freshly brewed coffee fills the house as the Quartermaine family awakens from their deep slumber, all anxious to make it downstairs before the first batch is finished and they're forced to await the second batch of coffee, inevitably giving them a late start to their day, not to mention leaving them in a harsher mood than usual.
Being the first to make it into the family room, as per usual, Emily Quartermaine lifts the Port Charles Herald into her gentle grasp before nearly falling back into the chair behind her at the front page. Could it be possible? Could she really have returned after all these years?
"After nearly ten years, the infamous Elizabeth Webber has finally returned." Emily reads from the article. "Will she finally put this town out of its misery and confess or will we never truly know what happened that frightful December night? I don't know about you faithful readers, but I am on the edge of my seat with unimaginable anticipation."
Setting the newspaper back down onto the table where her grandfather, patriarch of the family, Edward Quartermaine, expects to find it every morning, Emily makes her way over to the ringing telephone. Glancing down at the caller id, she swiftly snatches the receiver up, anxious to get in on the latest gossip. Which, ironically, isn't all the current.
"Yeah, I saw it." Emily dishes, walking over to the wet bar to fix herself up a cup of coffee. "I can't believe it either. I mean, after all these years, you'd think she'd wipe this place from her destinations for good."
"After all this time, I thought she was dead." her best friend since childhood, Lucky Spencer, comments. "When Audrey stopped mentioning her, I just figured that was the reason."
"Its crazy, though, isn't it?" Emily responds, taking a long drink of her coffee before drowning it further in vanilla cream. "I mean, the article says that she's living in the old family's estate."
"That is crazy." Lucky shutters at the mere thought of ever stepping foot anywhere near that land. "You wouldn't catch me dead in that place."
"You're telling me." Emily couldn't even imagine stepping foot through the gates, much less through the threshold of the house itself. "Anyway, are we still meeting up for lunch?"
"Yeah, I reserved a table for the four of us at the Haunted Star." Lucky assures, truly anxious for a night out with his friends, having been stuck on the run for the last two weeks, thanks to his no good father. Thankfully, for the sake of everyone involved, his sister has taken ownership of the family restaurant. "Tell Johnny boy to be on time this time."
"He will be." she defends, knowing exactly what he meant. "I'll make sure of it."
"Uh-huh. I'll believe it when I see it." Lucky counters swiftly. "See you then."
"See you then."
Replacing the receiver back on the hook, Emily lets out a deep sigh, knowing that it was highly probably that her boyfriend will undoubtedly be late for their lunch arrangements. As hard as it is for her friends to comprehend, she loves her boyfriend, regardless of his choice in occupation. Even when the occupation currently chosen is under the label of gunman in the Corinthos Organization.
She hadn't intended to fall in love with him. Far from it. Somehow, without any indication of doing so, he found his way past her defenses and straight into her heart of hearts. She couldn't turn her back on him even if she wanted to. In spite of having no logical reason, she fell in love with him and the lasting effects is irrevocable.
Who really cares if he's late to lunch arrangements or if he can't escort her to all the great public events that she thrives in? He loves her for exactly who she is, never once trying to changer her, and she loves him just the same. Love doesn't require logic to be real and true. Her relationship with her boyfriend being no exception.
Gathering up her things, she makes a silent exit from the home, unable to handle the family's breakfast arguments this morning. With the return of the only surviving Webber paired with her ever changing standing with her friends, Emily couldn't deny the need for a friendly face and a different atmosphere. When life gets this complicated, there's only one person in all the world she can ever turn to.
"Emily." the loving voice of her brother, Jason Morgan, greets her as she stands before him, just shy of the threshold to his penthouse. "I wasn't expecting you."
"Oh, I know, I just...I had to see you." Emily couldn't really put it into words, something she evidently has in common with her older brother. "Do you mind?"
"You know you're always welcome." he assures, stepping to the side to allow her entrance to his home. "You okay?"
"Um, mostly." she voices, waiting long enough for him to close the door before continuing. "Did you see the paper?"
"I have." he answers, moving to pick up his cup of coffee from the desk, knowing he's bound to need it before delving into that particular topic with his sister. "What about it?"
"Come on, even you have to think its strange that she'd return after all these years."
"Her grandmother did just pass away." he reminds his sister. "Less than a week ago."
"I know I shouldn't be surprised that you know that, seeing as you know just about everything, but I still am."
"I keep updated." Jason lifts the newspaper up as reference before tossing it back onto the desk. "Just like I know that you have more than enough to worry about without adding Elizabeth Webber's life to the pile."
"True, but..."
"Why don't we skip the gossip and go straight to why you're really here." Jason suggests, gesturing to the couch. "Its not as easy to date John as you thought, is it?"
"Not at all." she sighs, rolling her eyes at the thoughts floating through her mind. "Lucky and Nikolas both can't understand why I'm with him. The family believe I'm only with him because he's a friend of yours."
"Are you?" Jason dares to question, finding that he really does care if his sister plans to break his best friend's heart. "Because if that's the reason you're with him, its not the right reason."
"I know that wouldn't be the right reason." Emily states firmly, not at all appreciating what her brother is insinuating. "And its not the reason, Jason. I genuinely love him. As crazy as it seems to everyone else, I love Johnny O'Brien with every fiber of my being."
"Then what everyone else believes is irrelevant." Jason says simply, in his usual way that leaves her at awe of him, the way he makes everything so simple. "The only advice I'll give you is to be honest about it all. Don't let anyone change your love for him just because they don't approve."
"Wow." Emily looks at her brother a little slack-jawed. "I don't think I've ever heard you say so much on the topic of love."
"Yeah, well, don't get used to it." he replies with a slight smile, rising to his feet to show her to the door, the usual signal that it was time for her to leave. "Just...just don't act like you're ashamed of him or what he does. As hard as it is to believe, Johnny really is softhearted."
"I know." Emily assures, leaning up to kiss her brother's cheek before stepping out of his penthouse. "Thank you, Jason. As always, you knew exactly what to say, exactly when I needed you to say it."
"Drive safe."
Making her way downstairs to her car, she quickly slides into the comforts of her memory foam driver's seat before heading off to work. With so much work ahead of her, she's desperate to get everything done before their lunch arrangement, knowing that Lucky would undoubtedly blame her boyfriend if she, too, is late for their lunch.
Rushing through the elevator, realizing that she had been driving terribly slow for someone in a rush, Emily finds herself knocking right into the woman that had been on her mind, like many of Port Charles residents', all morning. Elizabeth Webber.
"You're...her."
"Obviously." Elizabeth voices, side stepping Emily to step onto the elevator, tears frozen in her eyes as she does. "Maybe watch where you're walking next time, Ms. Quartermaine. God only knows who you'll run into."
Standing stunned at the spot, Emily watches as the elevator doors shut, never once taking her eyes off of Elizabeth's face. It was one thing to see her from afar, in a photo on a newspaper, but another thing entirely to see her up close, some may say too close for comfort.
At the barking of the head nurse, Emily rushes to time in before starting on her rounds, all the while thinking about the woman she had run into and how she didn't look dangerous in the least. Vulnerable, sure, but not dangerous. Not at all the woman that everyone makes her out to be. Strange.
Author's Note:
Much obliged by your reviews on the previous chapters. I'm uncertain of whether it is indeed as you had suggested, the Halloween, old house them, but it can definitely turn into that along the way. All depending on where the muse directs the story, but I digress. Hope to see more reviews as the story progresses. Always intrigued to hear what the readers think/feel.