ABC/DISNEY owns GH. No copyright infringement is intended.


Chapter 3

Elizabeth was still smiling wide when she walked into Kelly's diner. Jason was home and they had a date to go for a bike ride. She also knew that Em was going to be ecstatic that her older brother was back. She'd been worried about his safety.

"Someone is in a good mood." Courtney smiled from behind the counter. "You know it's your day off right?"

"I know." Elizabeth said smiling back. "I'm just here to get a hot chocolate, to go."

"Alright." Courtney started fixing the drink. "So you going to share what has you so happy?"

Elizabeth looked at Francis who nodded. She wasn't sure it was okay to talk about this. "Jason is back home."

"Really? Good, I know you were worried about him." Courtney was genuinely happy for her friend. She also began to wonder if she could get out of having dinner at Sonny's. Tonight would not be good night to be around him or his girlfriend.

Getting the letter from Mike's lawyer had been shocking. Courtney had never met her father, and the first time she learned his name it was to find out he left her a house in his will. She learned she had a brother at the same time. With nothing tying her to Chicago she had packed up and moved to Port Charles to learn about the only family member she had left.

It had been a gamble, one that was bearing mixed results.

Courtney didn't like her brother Sonny, and she really didn't like his girlfriend Carly.

Her brother was a criminal. Correction he was a mob boss, and that was a lifestyle she simply didn't condone. When she showed up he had immediately tried to give her money, which she turned down. She had a house and some money in the bank so she was fine. He did take her out to fancy restaurants, which she thought was to simply show off how people catered to his every wish. She was not impressed.

Then there was Carly. Her brother's self-absorbed girlfriend who did nothing but talk about another man. Courtney swore that every other word out of the other blonde woman's mouth was Jason. She had no idea why Sonny was with a woman who was clearly obsessed with someone else.

Carly had decided that Courtney would make a great girlfriend for Jason. If the other woman had bothered to check first she would have learned that wasn't going to happen. If Courtney was put off by her brother being a criminal, then why would she date one? He was attractive, Carly showed her enough pictures, but it simply wasn't going to happen.

Especially after Courtney realized that Elizabeth really liked Jason. Something both Sonny and Carly didn't want to acknowledge. However Courtney hoped things worked out for her new friend, because Elizabeth she did like. Enough to ask if she wanted to room with her in Mike's old house.

Elizabeth said thank you, but no. She had her own space. So Courtney ran an ad to rent out the second and third bedrooms. It covered the bills, and gave her extra cash. She had two great roommates, Penny who worked here at Kelly's and Hannah Scott, a bartender over at Jake's. It was working out well.

Jason didn't interest Courtney at all, but there was another guy who had snagged her attention. She was hoping that something would come of that. "I'd be happy to cover for you tomorrow if you like." Courtney liked her job at the diner despite the fact that Sonny said it was beneath a member of his family. It was honest and that was good enough for her while she figured out what to do with the rest of her life. It had been a surprise to learn that her dad owned it. He had left it to his manager Tammy, who was now Courtney's boss and a really nice lady.

"That's really considerate of you." Elizabeth said taking the beverage. "I'm guessing that Jason will go to work. He probably has a lot of things to catch up on, so I'll come in."

"Let me know if you change your mind." Courtney told her friend. "That's on me, to celebrate your good news."

"Thanks." Elizabeth said heading to the door. "Hey Hannah." She greeted the older woman in passing.

"Hey Liz." Hannah said as she held the door open and then headed to the counter.

"What brings you by?" Courtney hadn't expected to see her roommate.

"My plans fell through so I was wondering if you wanted to hang out." Hannah said taking a seat at the counter.

"I'm going to dinner at my brother's house." Courtney said frowning some. "Want to tag along?" Sonny wouldn't care if she brought a friend and later she and Hannah could laugh about Carly.

"Sure why not." Hannah didn't have anything else to do, and to be honest she wanted to meet Sonny. She had been trying to figure out how to make that happen, so this invitation was perfect.

"Meet me back here at seven." Courtney said moving around the counter to take the order of the customers that just sat down.


Jason peeked into the front room and when he saw that his grandmother was alone he opened the door. Stepping into the quiet space he couldn't help but smile. He had missed sneaking into the mansion for these visits. His relationship with the family wasn't always easy, but it was a lot better than when he woke up after the accident. He could use the front door, but this way was more fun.

"Jason." Lila said smiling at her grandson. "Welcome home."

"Thank you grandmother." He said coming over and kissing her cheek. "I brought you these." He said handing over the box.

"Peppermints." She chuckled putting it down on the table. After Lila gave her grandson a critical looking over. He wasn't injured, which made her happy. He had been gone for a long period of time due to work, for much of that there had been no word from him. So she had worried. During her visits Elizabeth always mentioned if she heard from Jason to ease that concern. "Have a seat."

Jason did as invited. "How have you been?" He wanted to know.

"Very well, I did miss you." She wanted him to know. She and Emily were the only family members permitted to fuss over Jason. He kept everyone else at an arm's length most of the time. It didn't help that they still were occasionally displaying their unhappiness at his career choice. It was not what Lila would have picked for Jason, but she accepted that it was his decision to make.

"I missed you too." Jason told her. "I'm sorry I couldn't call more often."

"Elizabeth always made sure I knew you were doing well." Lila said her eyes twinkling. She had noticed that the young artist got easily twice as many phone calls as everyone else. Hopefully that meant she and Jason were getting closer. Some might say that Elizabeth was too young to make this decision. But Lila was sixteen when she met Edward and she instantly knew he was the one who would hold her heart. She was going to give the young couple all the support she could.

Jason had to smile at the mention of Elizabeth. "I will be seeing her later this evening. I'm glad she came to visit with you."

"Me too." Lila was laughing when the door opened and Emily flew into the room.

Jason was on his feet with his arms open by the time his sister reached him. "Hi." He said holding her tight.

"I missed you." Emily said squeezing him as tight as she could. "Don't you ever go away for this long again."

Jason just laughed. "I can't promise that. But I can promise to try and call more often."

Emily just grinned up at her brother. "Elizabeth always said when you called." The fact that her best friend and her big brother were so close made Emily happy. She was hoping they would get closer still. Like boyfriend and girlfriend closer. They would be perfect together, and they both deserved some happiness. "So where were you?"

"No comment." Jason said sitting after his sister did. "I brought you a souvenir." He handed over the second box he had carried in.

"I deserve a treat. I didn't ditch my guard once while you were gone." Emily said feeling proud of herself. "I think Sal was shocked that I didn't even try."

"He did say that you behaved." Jason had been happy to hear that. Emily was good at giving the guys the slip. Worrying about her was not something he needed. "Is everything okay with you?" He checked in.

"It certainly is." At seventeen Emily was doing great. She had battled some demons earlier in her life, but now was clean and sober. She was getting ready to start her senior year of high school and was looking forward to visiting colleges.

"Any guys I need to warn off?" Jason asked grinning.

"Yeah, because the large guy following me around says I want to have a social life." Emily just rolled her eyes, but she did notice that Jason seemed lighter somehow. "No new guys. Yet." She tacked on. "Does Liz know you are home?"

"She does. I saw her first, and I'm going to see her again when I leave here." Jason explained to his little sister.

Emily really liked hearing that. "Good, I know she missed you."

"Would you take her some of Cook's cake?" Lila requested. She knew it was a favorite of both Elizabeth and Jason.

"I certainly will." Jason agreed. "Is anyone else home?" He should at least say hello to everyone else.

"No." Emily said grinning. "And don't even bother to hide the fact that you are happy about that. Everyone should be home for dinner tomorrow night, if you are feeling brave. Bring Elizabeth to protect you."

"I just might do that." Jason figured if he had dinner at the mansion and got it over with then he could avoid having to eat here again for a few months. "Let me see what Elizabeth is doing."

"You can call and let me know." Lila said before they settled in to catch up.


"So Francis, I'm guessing this is the last day you are stuck with me." Elizabeth said grinning at the older man who had become a good friend over the last year and a half. Having him follow her around had been weird at first, but at the same time comforting.

"We'll have to see what Jason says." Francis was sipping a cup of coffee. She always brewed some for him, despite the fact that she didn't drink it. So he started bringing over coffee beans to keep her from spending money. She was the first woman in Jason's life who didn't expect the enforcer, correction former enforcer, to foot her bills. She had a full time job, and lived within the parameters of her income. Although Francis truly hoped Jason found a way to move Liz, because that Ms. Webber stuff didn't fly with her, out of this neighborhood.

"I'm sure you are ready for something more exciting." Elizabeth said putting a canvas square on the easel. She wasn't going to start a painting because she was expecting Jason, but she wanted everything ready for in the morning.

"I don't know. Stretching canvas is pretty dangerous. Milo got a nasty splinter the first time he did it." Francis chuckled. The young guard had used it to milk sympathy from his then girlfriend, calling it an on the job injury.

"Art is not for the weak." Elizabeth said grinning. She was joking with Francis, but in the back of her mind Jason's question lingered. He wanted her to be his girlfriend. "Francis, can I ask you some questions?"

"Sure thing kid." He said putting down his coffee mug.

"About the world your business is in." She clarified. "Not about the business itself."

"Okay." Francis would answer what he could.

"If I was Jason's girlfriend, what would be expected of me? I mean what would he need me to do?" Elizabeth asked the older man.

"Well." Francis said giving it some thought. "You can't ask questions, which you already know." She was really good about that. "You wouldn't be able to go anywhere without a guard. Women in our circles are more often seen than heard. It's not how Jason thinks." Francis quickly added and saw Elizabeth nod. "But it's how things usually are."

"Would I have to go to business dinners?" Elizabeth wanted to know.

"Probably a few, and you would be expected to look a certain way. You are probably going to have to move." He figured he would lay the groundwork for that now. "For the most part there wouldn't be any real changes to how you go about your daily life. The biggest negative would be more socializing with Sonny and Carly." That made her frown.

"I'm sure they will be thrilled." Elizabeth did her best to avoid the two of them. She wasn't scared of them, but she just figured the less friction from that area the easier things would be for Jason.

"Don't let them scare you off." Francis urged. Jason had already sent out a text letting everyone know of the big changes that were happening. Promotions for some, like Cody, and Jason stepping down as an enforcer. Francis was guessing that Sonny had already been put on notice about his behavior around Liz. So things were going to be interesting. Sonny didn't like to be told what to do, and Carly was going to refuse to accept that Jason still hadn't forgiven her. If he had the younger man would have called her from South America at some point. The guys had noticed that Jason hadn't.

Francis also had noticed just who Jason assigned where. Marco and Max were guarding Sonny and Carly. Both men were fiercely loyal to Jason. Something Sonny didn't realize. The older of his two bosses didn't get that by sleeping with Jason's girlfriend he had lost the respect of most of the men who worked for him. Francis was guessing the two guards main jobs were not so much protecting their charges as watching them and reporting their activities. It looked like Jason hadn't forgiven Sonny either.

So Francis would stay sharp, because he was pretty sure he wasn't getting transferred.

They both heard the engine of the Harley and Elizabeth rushed over to the window. "Jason's here."

"Wait for him to knock." Francis instructed.

"Okay." Elizabeth made herself stay by the window and let Francis open the door. "Hi."

"Hey." Jason felt like he hadn't seen her in weeks. "The door looks good."

"It was put in the morning after you left." Francis told his boss, and friend. Jason had called the crew from the plane. While there was an overnight guard who sat outside, interior security had to be considered as well. Since they didn't own the building this was the only upgrade they could make.

"Francis I'm leaving you on this assignment." Jason told his friend. He hadn't included that in his text, because he didn't have to.

"Milo too?" Francis wanted to know who was backing him up.

"Since you said he was a good fit, yes." Jason wanted the best with his girl. The meant Francis, and Milo who was trained by both Francis and Johnny. "I'll be here for the next few hours, and I'll call the overnight guard when I'm ready to go."

"Sounds good. See you in the morning Liz." Francis said grabbing his suit jacket.

"Night Francis." She said waving.

"Ready to head out?" Jason wasn't sure what he was more excited about. Having her on the back of the bike, or getting an answer to his question.

"I certainly am." Elizabeth said grabbing her coat and following him into the hall.


Thanks for the reviews!