AN - I kind of liked Quiz's interaction during the 1/10/13 episode, so here is a bit more of Redemption. I'm still not sure about Quiz myself, but that's because I'm not jumping quickly on any GH ship these days. Elizabeth certainly makes AJ glow, which I appreciate and she could use a few more reasons to smile.

*Made a small edit to the ending, to clarify something. It didn't change the story.

Elizabeth is listening to Epiphany talk about a new patient when she catches site of a broad shouldered man turning a corner.

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth! Nurse Webber are you listening?" She hears and shakes her head, coming back into reality.

"I'm sorry Epiphany. I was listening, I just got distracted for a moment. The patient is in room 313 and is suffering from pulmonary edema. You want me to check his O2 stats for you."

Epiphany gives her a side eyed look, "So you were. I was beginning to wonder if the Nurses Ball was still to much of a distraction. It's the only thing most of the nurses are talking about right now."

Elizabeth smiles, "And you're having a hard time reigning us all in?"

"General Hospital needed good news after all the changes this past year but does it have to interfere with my nursing staff? Just the other day, I went into the med closet for some Diazepam and found two nurses doing the two step."

Through her laughter Elizabeth says, "Isn't that better than the alternative?"

Epiphany can't resist a grin, "I guess so. Now go check on our patient. Oh and Elizabeth if you need to talk to anyone, you know you can always talk to me."

"I know, thanks Epiphany."

Elizabeth isn't sure what she'd talk about with Epiphany. How can she tell her that AJ Quartermaine kissed her on New Year's Eve and left her in tears. It wasn't the kiss but it was the kiss. She got lost in it for a moment and when he pulled away she felt such loss. Loss of something sweet and good. She mourned for Ewen and the good man he appeared to be, she mourned for Jason and lost opportunities, she mourned for her impetuous and bad decisions. Mostly, she still mourns Jake.

Elizabeth still fears that she doesn't deserve goodness in her life. She felt stronger, more worthy after her therapy sessions with Dr. Keenan but then he turned out to be psycho and now part of her doesn't trust the results of the sessions. She doesn't trust her new confidence in herself and her place in the world. She doesn't trust that the sweetness she found in the kiss with AJ is a good sign. She goes after the bad boys after all and AJ certainly has a bad boy reputation. Not only that but he does look vaguely like Jason, well at least their hair color. Hell she fell for Ewen and look how that turned out!

"Why am I even thinking about 'falling' for AJ? It was just an innocent New Year's Eve kiss, nothing more." She thinks to herself. "We're barely friends and he's to busy with ELQ and Michael. It's been three weeks and he hasn't even called."

AJ checks the balance sheet for Macumazana the business he co-owns and runs in Africa. He says over the phone to his business partner, Maiwa, "Not to shabby for the family screw-up. Another quarter like this and we'll break a million."

Maiwa asks him, "Will it finally be enough for you to find peace?"

"Yes and no. I've proven that I can do it, start a business from scratch, but it isn't the same as knowing that I can successfully run ELQ. It's not so much about proving myself to my mother or even my Aunt Tracy anymore. I need to prove it to myself. Otherwise, I'll always wonder. It would be easy to say look what I did on my own, but it's not enough. ELQ has always been the prize."

Maiwa replys, "Siku ya kufa nyani miti yote huteleza."

"There's no escaping one's fate. True my friend, true. But I'm intent on making my own fate, the one for which everyone says I'm not good enough. For now, I want to remain a silent partner in this venture. It's the only thing I have that's mine."

"Usipokubali kutia mguu majini hutavuka kijito."

AJ laughs, "That one I'm going to have to look up."

"You have not been practicing your Swahili."

"Been to busy since I've come home. Daima mbele, my friend."

"Daima mbele," Maiwa repeats their traditional sign off, always forward, and ends the call.

AJ jots down a few notes in his small black notebook, closes it by pulling the elastic binder around it and hides it inside his hollowed out copy of "King Solomon's Mines". The name may be spelled wrong but he gets a personal thrill out of hiding information in Quartermain's book.

Sometimes Macumazana is the only thing that keeps him from the bottle now that he's home. He hadn't considered how hard it was going to be having all of his faults thrown in his face by everyone in Port Charles. He can handle when his Aunt Tracy does it, it's how she shows she cares, but it wears on him to hear it from everyone else. Michael may be giving him a chance, but it's like being on pins and needles to be around him. AJ constantly worries that he'll say or do something that would push Michael away for good. Sometimes he can't help it, he has to say something or blow. He's no saint who can let the slings and arrows of his enemies fly by without firing back.

It's important to someone in recovery to have a safe haven. He has Macumazana and his mother, but he can only take so much of her mothering. She's been over-compensating from all the years when she preferred Jason and AJ sometimes finds it cloying. He also has his new friendship with Elizabeth, a friendship that he's neglected since the kiss they shared on New Year's Eve.

He wasn't expecting his reaction to the kiss. It keeps cropping up at the worst times, interfering with his plans. He is surprised at how little that bothers him, he finds himself enjoying the memory of their interlude even while he buries himself in work. He looks at the calendar and realizes just how long it has been since he's seen her. Somehow days go by more swiftly than one would think. "It's been three weeks and I haven't called. She's probably decided I'm a right proper bastard (and rightfully so) and written me off. Well I can't have that, her friendship is far to valuable to lose," he thinks as he reaches for the phone.