Chapter Eight
FNF #66: "Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children." - Eric Draven from The Crow
While it might make him an idiot, Jason could admit... at least to himself... that he was willing to do just about anything for Elizabeth Webber. Hell, she was the very reason why he found himself suited up and counting silverware on a Friday night instead of working. Or riding his bike. Or even working on the house he now shared with his wife. But, no, instead, he was being subjected to a Quartermaine family dinner, the last thing anyone with their sanity intact would ever want to or willingly do. And all because of one little, mouthy, irresistible brunette.
Tuning out the conversation (if one could really call how the Q's... communicated... with one another conversation) around him, Jason looked at the woman seated beside him. She looked good. Really good. And he'd be lying if he said that his willingness to do whatever she wanted of him wasn't partially inspired by his attraction to her. But it was more than that. Elizabeth was certainly one of the most beautiful women he knew, but there were other beautiful women in Port Charles, ones far less complicated and definitely not looking to drag him kicking and brooding into the Quartermaine household. Yet, perhaps that was part of what drew him to Elizabeth despite the consequences of those particular traits she possessed: determination, stubbornness, and impetuosity. Tossed in for good measure, his wife was also funny and flirtatious, insightful, and, oddly enough given her other characteristics, innocent. All in all, she made him want to protect her, to take care of her, yet she also somehow made it okay for Jason to want her to take care of him, too. And that's why they were really going through with her ridiculous plan to bamboozle the Q's.
Despite everything Elizabeth might claim to the contrary, he knew that her much touted 780 million reasons to claim his parentage boiled down to just one: she wanted what was best for him. Jason decidedly doubted anything the Quartermaines could ever give anyone would make their lives better. After all, their kind of favors always came with strings attached or tax deductions. But, by going along with Elizabeth, he was now married to her, living with her, and allowing her to attempt to make his life better. Even if she couldn't see it yet, they were more married than either of the two couples they were sharing a meal with that evening.
As the butler – his name was Reginald – came up behind Jason, replacing one fancy, less than actually appetizing dish with another, Jason forced himself to turn his attention back to the table and away from his musings about his wife. Given the amount of people seated in the Quartermaine dining room and the ever increasing volume of the diners as they struggled and strived to be heard above the combined din of several contrasting topics and the inevitable notes of silver striking china, actually hearing what was being said around him was easier said than done.
Edward and Alan were competing with each other to see who could provide Jason with the most attractive sales-pitch: taking over ELQ or going to college to study medicine and one day taking over at General Hospital as chief of staff, respectively. Tracy and Monica were sniping at each other, using past mistakes to try to one-up each other on who had married the worst husband. Scratching above his left eyebrow, Jason had to wonder which side of the debate the two women wanted to come out on... or even if they themselves knew. Then their was AJ who was already sloshed and practically sliding out of his chair, and Ned was right there beside AJ, jeering him on. Finally, Chloe had Lila enthralled with her starry retelling of Jason and Elizabeth's nuptials, while his wife half-listened into their quiet discussion, occasionally nodding her head or offering a note of agreement to something her fashion designer boss had to say. It was oppressive, and unbearable, and everything Jason did not want for himself or Elizabeth, but he also knew that, at any second, it could become indefinitely worse.
"Well, at least none of our husbands ever beat us," Jason heard Monica's voice elevate over the rest of the group. Tsking, she added, "your poor grandmother, Elizabeth."
With a cut-glass goblet of sparkling water half raised to her pursed lips, Elizabeth paused, leveled a narrowed stare at the cardiologist, and then, after a tense moment, shrugged, finally taking her drink before replying. "I really don't know anything about that time period in Audrey's life."
"I guess you wouldn't," Monica agreed, nodding thoughtfully... or what Jason guessed was supposed to be thoughtfully. Really, to him, it just looked conniving. "After all, that was before she... found your grandfather."
"And well before you ever showed up in town," Tracy piped in for good measure. If those two were suddenly going to play nice with one another and work together to harass Elizabeth...
"Yep."
He had to stifle a chuckle at his wife's blunt, you've-gotta-be-kidding-me-with-this-mindless-drivel response. Or, more accurately, his amusement was stifled for him when, before he could even laugh, Elizabeth – as if sensing his forthcoming laughter – pinched his thigh underneath the table.
"Tell us," Tracy continued. "Just how exactly did you end up here in Port Charles, Elizabeth? I mean, you're from Colorado, correct." Despite her choice of words, Tracy was certainly not asking a question. "Your father moved away for college and never returned. Word was that it was because of your mother... And then one day, poof! You showed up out of nowhere. In fact, most of Port Charles didn't even know of your existence. Naturally, we knew of Steven – your grandfather's namesake despite that horrible woman who gave birth to him, and, at the time, your grandmother was already mentoring your marvelous sister, Sarah, but, frankly, your name was never mentioned."
Without giving Elizabeth a chance to answer the question put forth to her, Monica spoke up again. "Now, Tracy, you know that's not true. Audrey did tell us about how poor Jeffrey and Amanda were taken aback, their plans completely derailed when they learned they were going to have a third and, quite frankly, unwanted child."
Monica paused dramatically to take a breath, leveling Elizabeth with a knowing smirk. If it wouldn't have been for his wife's completely nonchalant attitude towards the attack being leveled against her, he would have stopped the discussion, which had taken over the entire table, from progressing. Hell, he would have grabbed Elizabeth's hand and left the dinner altogether if he didn't sense a thin veil of amusement emanating from the woman beside him.
"Then, years later, I remember poor Audrey confiding in me about how wild and willful her youngest grandchild was, fearing that it would get her in trouble. In fact, that's why your parents sent Sarah to live with your grandmother, wasn't it, Elizabeth – so that your ways wouldn't have a chance to influence her?"
"Actually, I think they shipped Sarah off so that they could pawn their parenting duties off on Audrey and skip off to Africa to save the world, one other unwanted child at a time."
At this point, Alan perked up. Jason couldn't help from rolling his eyes. Of course the man would suddenly take an interest when something related to medicine was being discussed. Did he even have a hobby... well, besides the occasional prescription drug addiction and not-so-occasional stint of adultery? "Ah, yes, that's right. They went to Africa as a part of Doctors Without Borders, I believe. Since Steven was already in medical school and Sarah came here to live with Audrey, did you go to Africa with your parents, Elizabeth? What a wonderful experience for a young person and during their most formidable years, too."
Tracy laughed, the sound anything but pleasant. "Oh, Alan, you idealistic fool. Elizabeth was dumped off with the neighbors. Her parents didn't even care enough to send her to Audrey."
He went to interrupt, to correct what Tracy had just said, but Jason knew enough about Elizabeth's relationship with her family to know that, although pieced together to sound as cruel as possible, what Tracy and Monica were driving at with their barbs towards his wife was unfortunately true. He just wasn't sure what the purpose of their attack served, especially since, if anyone was going to be on trial with the Quartermaines, it should have been him. Plus, he had just opened his mouth to say something – anything – when Monica was already charging forward, picking up the threads of the tale she and her rival of a sister-in-law were spinning, their back and forth coming across as a practiced rapport.
"But that didn't stop Elizabeth from coming here anyway, uninvited and trouble that her grandmother certainly did not need. Or want."
"I hardly think a little teenage angst can be considered trouble," Chloe dismissed. "We all go through it. Let's see..." Sounding nostalgic, she giggled, "I dyed my hair a different color every week with Kool-aid and dated this guy my parents just could..."
"Yeah, Chloe, that's not what Monica meant," Tracy mocked.
"No, Audrey would have been relieved if all Elizabeth had at fifteen was bad fashion sense. Instead, she smoked. Snuck out. Broke curfew. Dressed like a harlot. Oh, and let's not forget her worst offense..."
"Which was what," Elizabeth asked rhetorically. "The fact that I liked art instead of anatomy?"
Tracy snickered. "I wouldn't put it that way, Lizzie. Maybe you didn't study medicine, but you certainly know your way around the male body."
Several people around the table spoke at once, but it was Jason's quiet, "excuse me," which rang the loudest.
"What, didn't your wife tell you," Tracy chided, smirking. "She was quite the little whore when she first moved to Port Charles."
While he and Elizabeth weren't touching, he could still feel her tense beside him, alerting Jason to a decided shift in both the direction of Monica and Tracy's attack and the mood in the dining room. Why the two women were out to embarrass or hurt Elizabeth, he had no idea, but Jason also knew that there was nothing they could possibly tell him about his wife that he didn't already know, skewed with their disgusting Quartermaine interpretations or not. So, without a word, he reached over and slid his left hand into Elizabeth's right, stood up, and carefully pulled her to her feet beside him. Not offering an explanation or a goodbye, he started to walk away, Elizabeth following behind him.
Unfortunately, their departure did nothing to deter Monica from picking up right where Tracy left off. "Imagine, someone who went out and started sleeping around at age fifteen, marrying into this family."
Jason froze, Elizabeth actually colliding into his back. He felt her clutch her quivering fingers into his dress shirt and bury her face into the soft fabric. Slowly, he turned around to face the room, to confront the despicable women gloating across from him, Elizabeth moving with him so that she was shielded and hidden behind his frame. He knew exactly what Monica and Tracy were twisting around to suit their own cruel purposes, and, more than the fact that they were willing to throw a fifteen year old Elizabeth's rape in her face, he hated that their actions, for the first time since he had met Elizabeth, had made her larger than life personality shrink and shy away.
"That's enough," he seethed, barely restraining himself from storming over to the table and smashing everything and anything within reach. The only reason he didn't was because he didn't want to move away from Elizabeth; the only reason that he didn't bellow his contempt across the room was because he wanted to make damn sure he was the last person to ever make his wife feel more uncomfortable or scared in that moment. Or ever. "From this second on, you will never say another world about Elizabeth, because you know nothing about her."
"Au contraire, Jason," Monica argued, reclining back in her chair smugly. "I know everything about Lizzie, because Audrey was my best friend for longer than either you or your wife have been alive."
And, just like that, everything clicked. Monica and Tracy were attacking Elizabeth, because they saw her as the weak link to Jason and Elizabeth's claims. While they could do everything they could possibly think of to hurt her, thereby either pushing her away from Jason or pushing them both away from the Quartermaines, he alone was untouchable, because they knew. They knew that was Alan's son, because Audrey Hardy had not been the only one to keep his parentage a secret. In their attack, though, they had made a terrific miscalculation. Before that night, he was only going along with Elizabeth's plan because it was what she wanted, but, now, he had two reasons of his own to take down the Q's: they had hurt the woman he loved, and, at least Monica, had done everything she could to deny his mother the peace of mind which would have gone along with knowing, when she died, that her son would be taken care of, would be claimed by his father, would have a home, and a family, and a future... even if as a Quartermaine.
Game. On.
