Chapter Six

Morning May 4th - Office of the DA - Alexis Davis

Max knocked lightly and poked his head around the door as he opened it.

"Ms Davis can I come in?"

Alexis sitting at her desk peered at him over her reading glasses.

"Yes Max come in. Sit down. What can I do for you?"

Max sat down and decided to get straight to the point.

"Elizabeth asked me to help her get a gun yesterday, she said you agreed to arrange a permit for her. Is that correct?"

Alexis was taken aback, she considered her answer before speaking. It wasn't strictly ethical but the circumstances were extraordinary.

"Yes I did!"

Max frowned. "Why would you do that? Why didn't you tell her to go to Jason or Sonny if she was scared?"

Alexis sighed. "I did Max. She refused."

"Damn it!" he swore. "What is she so frightened of that she needs to get a gun?"

"She didn't tell you?" Alexis was surprised.

"No!" he replied quickly. "I'm worried about her. She's been through a lot recently and I don't like the idea of her being scared enough to want a gun and then trying to defend herself out of fear"

"You can't force her to go to Jason or to accept protection." she reminded him.

"I know THAT. Anyway I got the gun for her" he handed her the receipt of purchase and registration papers for the permit.

Alexis stared at them for a long moment before coming to a decision.

"I don't like it anymore than you do Max, So I'm going to do something completely unethical and tell you what she is afraid of. Her fear is not exaggerated, she is in shit load of danger and from more than one source." she frowned.

"If there is some sort of threat against her from Sonny and Jason's enemies we're in the dark. She needs to tell us what the hell is going on!" Max was frustrated with his lack of information.

Alexis tapped her pen on her legal pad and came to a snap decision. She reached for the file and handed it to Max, and continued on.

"Tom Baker the man who raped her when she was 15 and who has threatened her on many occasions since, was released yesterday against prison officials advice. That's his file, you can look at." she watched as his expression changed subtly from impassive to curious. After a moment she stated evenly "take copies if you want."

Max eyes snapped to hers "Thank you. You said there was more than one source of danger to her?" he looked back to the file idly flicking through it and as bits and pieces of information caught his eyes he became enraged. Tom Baker's file contained not only a record of his incarceration but details of Emily's stalking case and Elizabeth's rape case information.

Alexis drew in a deep breath "Yes. Helena Cassadine is also loose and on her way to Port Charles. She is after the Spencer's and by extension that includes Elizabeth and Jake Spencer."

"Fuck I wish Cassadine would let us whack that old bitch" Max roared.

"Me too Max. I left a message for Sonny to contact me. Kristina and Molly are in danger too." she informed him to which he nodded. "I'll finalize the paperwork for the gun permit and you can take it to her if you wish"

"Thank you." he answered. "Alexis? Why don't I take you to see Sonny now? I know Elizabeth doesn't want Jason to know this stuff and she is being stubborn, but he needs to know."

Alexis nodded "I agree. But I don't want to be the one to tell him."

"No! Not when I'm the one who got her the gun. But we can tell Sonny and he can tell Jason"

"Good idea. I'll get my assistant to handle Elizabeth's paperwork. It should all be ready by this afternoon. Let's go Max"

May 4th Metro Court - Same time

Elizabeth had spent a restless night, with sleep evading her. She'd turned the TV on in her room and turned the sound down to a low hum. Anything to break the eerie silence in the room. Her meeting with Dianne had left her oddly calm. She'd laid the ground work to keep Jake safe, now there was Cameron. She contemplated what to tell Steven, and finally decided that only the truth would do. She knew her brother would take Cameron temporarily while the danger existed or permanently if anything happened to her. She also knew he'd want Jake but that was already decided. Guilt flooded her when she thought of how she had kept father and son from each other. It wasn't ideal to separate her boys but she had no one but herself to blame. If she'd married Jason one of the first two times he'd asked and allowed herself to love and be happy, she wouldn't be going through what she was now.

If she had never agreed to re-marry Lucky or asked Jason to give up his son, things would be different. But she didn't, she let fear rule her and she played on long held fear of Jason's that his life would hurt her and the boys. She convinced Jason through her own fear that he was not only a danger to their son but that he also couldn't offer Jake a good life. It didn't matter that she hadn't consciously don't that, it only mattered that both had let fear rule them. She was more concerned with her cookie cutter view of life than what would make her boys happy and safe, let alone what was right for Jason and Jake. Admittedly she'd romanticized what a family life could be, after her own dysfunctional one. She hated herself. She hated who she had become. The Elizabeth Webber who found a bleeding and dying Jason in the snow and dragged him back to life would NEVER have done what Elizabeth Webber-Lansing-Spencer had done. She would never have kept Jason from his son. Where was her head ?

At 8.30am sharp her phone rang.

"It's Dianne, Elizabeth, I have an appointment to see a judge in 45minutes to change the birth certificate."

"Wow that was quick. You work fast Dianne"

"Well I called in a favor to get the appointment, but I think getting the birth certificate changed is going to take longer than I anticipated. I'm going to need you to come down here and meet with the judge as well"

"Of course. Do you think there will be a problem?"

"Well we don't have Lucky here to agree so it's going to be an impossible task unless you are here, and even then you are going to have to tell the judge the whole story." Dianne informed her gravely.

"If I could get a copy of the paternity test results would that help?"

"Yes of course!"

"I'll be there in 45minutes." Elizabeth disconnected the call and dialed Jason's Penthouse hoping that Spinelli would answer.

"TIs I the Jackal of Cyber space"

"Spinelli! Thank God" she gasped in relief.

"Fair Eliza?" he started to say, causing Jason's head to snap up and face him from where he sat on the couch.

"Don't say my name" Elizabeth interjected quickly. "Please Spinelli if Jason is there I don't want him to know it's me. I can't talk to him, I need to talk to you. Yes and No answers only PLEASE"

Jason stood and walked towards the phone gesturing for Spinelli to hand it to him. Spinelli looked warily at him and then turned his back on him.

"Yes alright" Spinelli replied in a hushed tone.

"He's there?" Elizabeth asked in a panic

"Yes"

"Don't give him the phone" Elizabeth cried….

"No" Jason reached over and tapped Spinelli's shoulder.

"Please hold for one nano second" Spinelli muttered putting his hand over the phone and turning to raise questioning eyes to Jason.

"She wants to speak to me. Give me the phone" Jason demanded.

"Ah she most assuredly doesn't want to speak to you but does want to speak to the Jackal" Spinelli replied.

"Spinelli give me the phone" Jason stated quietly.

"DON'T SPINELLI Please I need your help not Jason's" Elizabeth begged.

"Fair Elizabeth requires the Jackal's skills only Stone Cold. It must be of a cyber nature" Spinelli again turned his back on Jason "I am here fair Elizabeth"

Jason stood for a few moments and glared at Spinelli's back. This separation was killing him, he hadn't laid eye's on her since the hospital and he hated it. Any glimpse of her or the sound of her voice would have helped him. He looked down at his hands and cursed silently. Then abruptly turned on his heels and headed for the kitchen.

"Spinelli! Jason told me once that you hacked in to the hospital main frame and got a copy of Jake's paternity results. But he made you delete it. Did you do that?" Elizabeth enquired.

"Yes!" came the reply in case Stone cold snuck up and heard his end of the conversation.

"You wouldn't have happened to keep a copy?" Elizabeth asked hopeful

"Yes!" came the answer and Elizabeth closed her eyes and said a silent prayer of thanks.

"I love you Spinelli!" Elizabeth sighed in relief.

"Why thank you. The Jackal has most warm and affectionate feelings for the maternal one as well." the last was over heard by Jason who frowned.

"Can you meet me at the courthouse in 40mins with a copy of those results?" Elizabeth asked.

"I certainly can. May I ask why?"

"Your fair one is righting a wrong" she replied and hung up. Spinelli stared at the phone. He wasn't sure he heard correctly but the excitement and hope tingled through him. He grabbed for his lap top and turned for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" boomed Jason halting his progress immediately.

"I am retiring to my regrettably pink room to perform a cyber task for the fair one and then I must meet her" he replied and started for the stairs.

"What task?" Jason demanded.

"Please Stone Cold, time is of the essence and I do not want to let the Fair Elizabeth down. You are DELAYING ME" Spinelli choked out and then bolted for the pink room.

Jason swore loudly and stalked to the desk, staring at the telephone only just resisting the urge to call Elizabeth.