Title: Don't Give Up
Circa: 2006
Significant Change: Story plot takes the place of the pregnancy storyline.
Disclaim everything recognizable as thought up by those behind the soap opera known as General Hospital.

The plane ride back to town was a long and tedious venture, only one thought on his mind the entire time, getting to Elizabeth and making sure that everything was okay. The more he thought of her, the more he thought of the one night they got to spend together. Despite all the reasons why he knew nothing would come of it, he couldn't stop himself from seizing the opportunity while it was at his feet.

For one night they weren't the people that life has turned them into. They weren't anything that society has claimed them to be. In that moment, in his penthouse, in the dark, they were the two people they always knew each other to be. They were themselves. Something that just wasn't the case anymore.

It seemed that with every passing day, they've gotten further away from the people that they used to be, the people that lived for the rush of riding his motorcycle and chasing the wind. The people that found freedom on that winding road. But not that night. For that one night, during the blackout, they remembered those people. They returned to those people. They embraced those people.

Like every other time before then, the morning light brought with it reality and returned them to the people they have become. The people that worried for those in their lives and regarded others before themselves. They became the people that life turned them into, forced to leave their rare moment behind them and continue on with their lives as if it never happened.

But they both knew better. It did happen and it would always be there. Etched into their history, into the fabric of who they are, forever there for them to look back on. To remember that for a moment, for one night, they were together as one. They were in sync and there would never be regrets. Not for him, at least.

Landing in Port Charles, Jason makes his way to Sonny's place, needing to get his debriefing out of the way so he could concentrate on Elizabeth without getting a call from Sonny. What he wasn't expecting to find when he got there was Sam at Sonny's table with Molly and Kristina.

"Jason." Sam's the first to speak, rising to her feet to look at him. "You're back."

"Yeah...I just got in." Jason concedes, glancing from her to the table before settling on Sonny. "I don't have much time. Can we get this done?"

"Uh, yeah." Sonny shakes his head, realizing that Jason hasn't gone to see Emily. "I'll be right in."

"Okay." Jason looks at Sam before shaking his head and walking back inside.

Despite his best efforts, not to mention best alcohol, he's still unable to remove the image of her with Ric. Hypocritical, sure, but he can't help it. Like his moment with Elizabeth, her moment with Ric will forever be etched in the back of his mind. A constant reminder about what his choices can cause, the absolute worst example of cause and effect he has ever experienced.

"Drink?" Sonny offers when he walks into the room. "Water or soda? Beer?"

"No, thanks." Jason turns down his offer, tossing the file on his desk. "I don't plan on being here long."

"You sure you can't stay for lunch?" Sonny questions, knowing he shouldn't, but doing it anyway. "You know, Sam's been..."

"Don't." Jason says warningly. "We're not having this conversation."

"I know that for me to mention that you should forgive Sam is hypocritical at best." Sonny concedes, having been known to never forgive once betrayed. "But you and Sam are good together and..."

"I'm not going to say it again, Sonny." Jason cuts him off again, really not in the mood to hear him defend Sam. "We're not having this conversation. Not now, not ever. So, drop it."

"Okay, okay." Sonny gives up his attempt at helping either of them. "All I'm gonna say is that the incapability of forgiving someone can hinder your life more than you'd think. Trust me, I should know."

"Dully noted." Jason counters, eyeing him plainly. "Can we get this over with now?"

"Yeah." Sonny sighs, gesturing for them to take a seat. "Sure."

Once they got seated, Jason proceeded to tell Sonny about everything that happened while he was away, letting him know that he had gotten all the information that they needed and that he'd continue to run them down when the opportunity rises. Once the talk of business is handled, Sonny mentions how surprised he was to find that he had finished it so quickly.

With a shrug of his shoulders, Jason makes his way out of the house, avoiding the back patio where Sam and the two girls were, making his exit a quick and quiet one. Getting into his SUV, Jason makes his way to the hospital, having been told that Elizabeth was working her shift that morning.

While he makes his way to the hospital, Elizabeth and Patrick are locked in the argument that Patrick could have sworn he had seen coming from the moment he let Robin help out with her case. He's trying to get her to see that this was a good chance, a viable path to take, that could save her life.

"I'm so tired of having this conversation with you, Patrick." she sighs, rubbing the back of her neck soothingly. "We can go through this whole setup. We can do the biopsy and tell Robin everything...we can hold out hope that she can create a protocol that will help, but one thing still stands."

"And what's that?" he counters with an arched eyebrow, daring her to finish her reasoning.

"The chances of me surviving a brain surgery in my condition are very low." Elizabeth points out, eyeing him intently. "If, by some struck of luck, I do manage to survive past the surgery, there are still many other factors to take into consideration. I don't want to spend whatever time I have left in a hospital bed, Patrick. I refuse to."

"You're also forgetting one thing." Patrick counters seriously. "You're forgetting that this could work! Its Robin we're talking about. Between the three of us, the chances of saving you go up tenfold."

"I know my circumstances better than anyone, including you." Elizabeth shakes her head, really wishing he'd drop it, but knowing he never will. "I also know what my body can take and all the possible ways this can go wrong if I do decide to go through with Robin's idea. Quite frankly, I don't like the odds and I'd rather not die at your hands. You'd never be able to live with that and I won't let you live with it."

"You think I can live with knowing that I wasn't able to save you?"

"Yeah." Elizabeth says matter-of-factly. "You'd never be able to live with seeing me on your operating table, my blood on your hands, and being forced to call time of death."

"But..."

"I'm done talking about this, Patrick." Elizabeth pulls open the door before looking at him. "I'm sorry that I've put you in this position...if I could, I'd go back in time and choose a different doctor. If only to spare you from fighting this so hard."

Leaving Patrick to his thoughts, she gets back to work, needing to keep busy until its time for her to clock out for the day. She felt bad that she had to be so blunt with Patrick, but he had to see that it wouldn't be as easy as he wants it to be. His emotions are getting the best of him and that won't help anything. Least of all, her situation.

"Elizabeth." Jason's voice catches her by surprise as she's about to walk behind the nurses' station.

"Jason." she smiles softly, meeting his eyes. "Hi."

"Hi." he smiles slightly, unable to stop himself from glancing at her lips before meeting her eyes again. "Have you had lunch yet?"

"No, not yet." she admits, shaking her head. "I'm scheduled for my lunch hour in another twenty minutes."

"I can wait." he says simply, watching as realization dawns in her eyes. "How does Kelly's sound?"

"Sounds good." Elizabeth admits, her stomach taking control of that answer, suddenly hungrier than she had been a moment ago. "Are you sure you want to wait, though? I mean, don't you have better things to do?"

"No." he says simply, gesturing over to the waiting area. "I'll be over there. Okay?"

"Okay." she says softly, a small smile on her lips as he walks over to the waiting area to sit down. Making her realize that he was being serious and that he's really going wait twenty minutes to have lunch with her. A thought that made it almost impossible to rid the smile from her face.