A/N – Thank for the nice story reception and all the nice comments. Guest – I kind of get the Dylan reference because he's nice (although I think Dylan is a doormat right now), but I always felt like Jason was very tender and softer with Liz.

Chapter 3–Getting to know You

Emily is getting frantic. They had looked all over for Liz, but she had simply disappeared. Jason wasn't returning her calls, so she had called the police and reported it, but hasn't heard from them yet either, so she decided to contact someone else.

She was sitting in the hospital break room when she looked up and spotted Sonny striding towards her.

"Emily, what's going on?"

"It's my friend, Liz. She's missing, and I've tried to call Jason a gazillion times, but he's not answering."

Sonny sat across from her. "He's snowed in at the cabin."

"Oh, I don't know what to do then."

He grabbed her hands. "I will put some men on it. I'm also assigning a guard to you. Jason would be devastated if something happened to you while he was gone. I'll try to see if I can get the word to him tomorrow."

Emily breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Sonny. I really appreciate it."

He said goodbye and she watched him speak to a guard who looked young, but very handsome and then they both headed towards her.

"Emily, this is Cooper. He's going to be your guard."

Smiling she shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Ms. Quartermaine," Cooper said trying to play it cool. It's Jason sister, he replayed in his mind over and over as he gazed at her beautiful face.

"Please, call me Emily."

He smiled and then sat at another table.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

After dinner, Jason put another log on the fire. Liz is starting to come back to life a little and he couldn't help but smile as she told him a crazy story about the four musketeers.

"Sounds like you all had a lot of fun time together."

Liz smiled. "Yes, we did, but people grow up and they change."

Jason nodded. "So, why did you and Lucky break up?"

Liz sighed. "There was a period of time that Lucky was missing. At first, we thought he was dead, but then it was revealed that Helena had kidnapped and brainwashed him. So, when he finally came back, he had no memory of our love. We tried to get what we had back, but it was a struggle. We broke up because he kissed my sister and then last week, I found them together."

"I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I thought we were meant to be together, but I guess not." She wiped away a tear. "Um, when I was eighteen, I was attacked in a park and raped."

Jason's whole body tensed up as he listened to her. At this point in her life, Liz was able to talk about it without completely breaking down.

"Lucky found me and got me some help. He was there for me through everything and we ended up falling in love. So, I'll be forever grateful to him for everything he did. We were together for about two-and-a-half years before Helena took him."

"Did they ever find out who attacked you?"

"Yes, but since I didn't report it and there was no evidence, they couldn't arrest him for it. He's in jail for another crime. Actually, he's up for parole at the end of the month. I keep close tabs on him."

Jason didn't even know what to say. He is beyond disgusted that the system had failed her. "Well, that settles it then. You are definitely staying with me for the foreseeable future."

Liz wiped her face and smiled. "How is it that we've never met before?"

"I don't know, but I'm very glad that we have now."

She blushed, which didn't go unnoticed by him. He also can tell that she is very tired, so he threw two more logs on the fire and then turned off the lights. Figuring that she wouldn't want to be alone, he climbed onto the other end of the couch and laid back.

"Jason?"

"Yes?"

"Can I—" Before she even got the last words out, he raised the blanket and she laid down on his chest.

"Thank you."

"No problem…"

He held her as when he heard her breathing even out, he kissed the top of her head. "No one is going to hurt you again."

What he didn't realize is that she hadn't fallen asleep yet. Her eyes popped open and she smiled before letting herself drift off.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

The next day, Nikolas went to the hospital to see Emily. She had been working long hours and he is worried.

"Hey." He strode towards her, surprised by the harsh expression she is wearing.

She threw down the chart and walked down a hall as Nikolas followed and then led him into an empty room before facing him.

"Elizabeth has been gone for two days. Where have you been?"

Nikolas is in shock as he searched for words. "I'm sorry, I was in New York."

Emily is having a hard time keeping back the tears. "You can't bother to call me or let me know? Helena took her. I'm sure of it."

"What?"

"Well, who else would it be? She breaks up with Lucky and then suddenly she just disappears."

Nikolas runs his fingers through his hair. He can't believe that Helena would touch Liz. "This makes no sense. Maybe she just needed some time to herself. I'm sure there is a logical explanation."

Emily looked at him like he was crazy. "She never made it to her car, Nikolas. Clearly, she was taken."

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe she was taken because of Jason? She's not even with Lucky. It doesn't make any sense."

Emily swallowed hard as her ire simmered. "What the hell does Jason have to do with this?"

"Well, you are his sister and Liz is your best friend. Maybe—just maybe they were after him and thought they were taking you and got Liz instead."

Emily went to the door and swung it open. "Get out!"

"What? Wait, please Emily. Let's just talk about this."

"There is nothing to talk about."

Nik just stood there looking dejected for a moment and then moved towards her and grabbed her arms and tugged her towards him which made Emily yelp.

Cooper heard her and was through the doorway in two strides. "I suggest you take your hands off her right now," he said menacingly.

Nik looked up at Cooper and then back down at Emily and slowly released her. "This is a big mistake."

She incredulously watched him walk out and then glanced at Cooper.

"You okay?"

Before he had time to react, Emily dove into his arms and started sobbing.