A/: This chapter takes place in the present and move the murder mystery along. Anyways, here's chapter 9! God the OTH finale brought me to tears. Who else watched it?
sashahailee: Thanks for the review! I'm glad that you still get excited when I update my story. I loved the NOP because they finally stopped denying the feelings that have always been there. It was a beautiful moment.
DevilJolie: Thanks for the review! The NOP was Liason at its best. What I would give to have another scene like that…
Twisted Musalih: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed the update!
wencho17: Thanks for the review! I appreciate reading reviews, so I feel like I have to thank the reviewer personally. I'm starting to lean towards bringing Jake back, but I'm not sure if there's enough room in the story to bring him back. You'll just have to wait and see. There will be a flash forward scene at the end of the story. Yes, Jake and Emma could have been great as Jake is Jason's son and Emma is Robin's daughter. It would have been a full circle. Plus both child actors are the cutest kids.
lrobinson01: Thanks for the review! The NOP is my favorite Liason moment.
QUEENADDEK: Thanks for the review! Hope you love this chapter as well
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, just the storyline.
"Love that we can not have is the one that lasts the longest, hurts the deepest and feels the strongest."
Chapter 9
Mystery of You
"I should go."
"Do you have to?"
Carly smiled as Johnny pulled her back to bed.
"Yes, I need to go be with Josslyn."
Johnny gave a light kiss on the lips and released her. She caressed his cheek and got dressed.
She heard him chuckle at her naked form and grinned like a love struck teenager.
"When can I see you again?"
Carly turned around to face him.
You always said we'd meet again
You always said you'd be here
"Tomorrow."
"Can I take you to lunch?"
Johnny grinned at Carly's momentarily surprised face.
"What, are you afraid of what everyone will think?"
Carly gave him a look as he sat up.
"No, I'm not afraid. I'll take you up on that offer. Meet me at the Metro Court at noon tomorrow, unless you're chicken."
Johnny scoffed as Carly got up to leave.
"I'm the one that made the offer."
Carly grinned as she closed the door behind her and left to go home. She had a smile on her face the whole drive home until she saw red and blue lights reflecting off the trees in her driveway.
You touch the deepest part of me
The places I could not save
Just tell me why I'm so dark inside
She immediately started to panic as she jumped out of the car and ran up to her door. There were police cars everywhere and all she could think of was Josslyn.
Somewhere, I will find
All the pieces torn apart, you just left behind
In your mystery
Carly pushed the police officers out of the way until one finally stopped her.
"Get off of me!"
"Excuse me miss-"
"Where is my daughter?"
"Ma'am-"
"Don't ma'am me; tell me where my daughter is!"
"Carly!"
Carly spun around to see Jason behind her with Josslyn in his arms.
"Oh, thank God Jason."
She rushed over and pulled her daughter into her arms. She checked her to make sure she was okay.
"Jason, why are the police here?"
"Carly, something happened."
"What happened Jason?"
Jason sighed as he led Carly over to a secluded corner.
"Shawn's dead."
Carly's heart skipped a beat and her chest constricted, as if she couldn't breathe. Jason wrapped an arm around her as she pulled her free hand up to her face.
"What…how…wait…no…"
"I'm so sorry Carly."
"How…?"
"He was at the ware-"
"Why was he at the warehouse? I thought he quit working for Sonny!"
"He did, but then he came back. He was checking the perimeter with Max-"
"Is Max okay?"
Jason shook his head and that brought Carly to tears.
"They were both shot outside of the warehouse."
"Who shot them?"
"We don't know."
Carly shook her head at the news. She hadn't seen Shawn in awhile, not since…
"Oh my God…I never told him…"
"Told who Carly?"
"It's nothing."
"Carly."
She looked up at her best friend, his eyes patiently waiting for her to continue.
"Shawn, he was at Johnny's a few weeks ago, looking for me…and he told me-he told me how he felt about me…and I didn't take him seriously…I couldn't feel the same way about him…"
Somewhere I will see
All you taken from me
All you kept deep inside
"Carly, Shawn's death is not your fault."
"Yes it is! If I had told him that I liked him, he wouldn't have gone to Sonny looking for a job because he felt like he had nothing to live for."
"Carly, there's no way you could have known what he would have done."
"I should have known."
"You can't dwell on the past, Carly. You can't feel guilty for his death."
Carly wiped at her eyes and looked down at Josslyn.
"I should go put her to bed. Can you get them to leave?"
Jason gave her a small nod and kissed her on the forehead.
"I'll be back first thing in the morning."
"Okay."
Carly carried Josslyn up to room and watched her until she fell asleep. Carly soon left to go to bed, crying herself to sleep.
Elizabeth walked into Kelly's for breakfast with Cameron and Aiden in tow. Once she got them settled, she went up to the counter to order. She noticed that there was someone new behind the counter.
In the mystery of you!
The mystery of you!
"Are you new here?"
The teenager nodded as he pulled out his small notebook.
"Yeah, I'm TJ Ashford."
"I remember when I worked here; I was about your age. I'm Elizabeth Webber."
"What can I get you Miss Webber?"
"Uh, can I have two orders of chocolate chip pancakes and a coffee?"
"Two?"
Elizabeth smiled as she pointed to her boys behind her.
"Cameron loves his pancakes. I can never get him to eat anything else."
TJ smiled as he wrote down her order.
"You should tell him the waffles are good here too. There's whipped cream on top."
"Maybe I will tell him that. Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
Elizabeth smiled as she went back to her table. She fed Aiden some Goldfish until TJ came by with their order.
"One order of chocolate chip pancakes and one coffee."
TJ set the plate of pancakes in front of Elizabeth along with her coffee. Cameron expectantly waited for his pancakes, but TJ was empty handed.
"Where are my pancakes?"
"Sorry kid. We're all out of chocolate chip pancakes. How about waffles instead?"
Cameron pouted for a second until his mother gave him a look.
"Hey, I'll even add whipped cream on top, little man."
Cameron's eyes lit up and he eagerly nodded his head.
"Alright, waffles with extra whipped cream on top coming right up."
"Matt, there's something fishy going on with the Devious Doctor."
Matt sighed as he walked into the nurse's station picking up two charts on the way with Spinelli right behind him.
"Spinelli, what are you babbling about now?"
"The Jackal thinks that the Mysterious Aussie has something to do with the Evil Lisa Niles' death."
"Now you're just spouting nonsense, not that that's unusual for you."
"Hear me out, he just so happens to show up in time to save the Maternal One, but doesn't reveal his secret identity till now?"
Matt thought about Spinelli, which for once actually made sense.
"He would do that-"
"Only if he had something to hide."
Matt sighed as he knew Spinelli wouldn't let this rest until he found the actual killer of Lisa Niles and proved Maxie's innocence.
"I knew that something was off with that guy."
"The Jackal is going to go apply his 'Assassin of the Internet' qualities to dig up the evil secrets of the Devious Doctor."
Matt shook his head as he watched Spinelli run off towards the elevators.
Jason drove back to his penthouse after telling Carly the news. He hadn't expected her to take it this hard. He didn't know how close Shawn and Carly really were.
He sighed as the elevator doors opened and he walked into his penthouse. It was silent, so Sam was either asleep or out. Jason checked their bedroom, but she was nowhere to be found.
Jason grabbed a bottle of whiskey and sat down on the couch. Sonny was on his back about finding who killed Shawn and Max. Jason had a feeling that it was the Zacchara's, but he didn't know which one.
Carly would defend Johnny because she's sleeping with the enemy. Jason had warned her about the repercussions of sleeping with Johnny, but he knew it was useless when it came to telling Carly what to do.
Jason sighed as he ran a hand through his hair and went to take a drink from the whiskey bottle, then realized it was eight o'clock in the morning. He pulled out his phone to find out where his wife was.
"I shouldn't be telling you all of this."
"Maybe it's easier to talk to a stranger."
Sam dabbed at her moist eyes with a tissue. She was spilling all of her secrets to a man that Jason had asked her to stay away from. She knew it was wrong, but talking to John made things oddly easier.
"Yeah, but you're going up against my husband's partner. Isn't that a conflict of interests?"
"Leave me being a police officer out of it. I'm here to talk to as a friend, as well as listen."
Sam smiled as she sat down on the couch. John stood in front of her, wary of getting to close to her.
"My baby could be Franco's."
"But it could be Jason's."
"Yes, it could turn out to be Jason's baby, but I still have to deal with the problem of Franco being Jason's twin brother."
"Are you going to tell him?"
"No, he can never find out about this."
John gave her a sympathetic look, but he knew how badly things could end for Sam if she didn't tell Jason the truth. Sam felt her phone vibrate in her jacket pocket, and pulled it out to see Jason calling her. She immediately hit ignore, knowing she couldn't have a civil conversation with him now.
Jason sighed as he heard Sam's voicemail start. He got up to go find something to eat. Unfortunately, the refrigerator was bare. He groaned as he realized he had to go out and get breakfast. He grabbed his leather jacket and headed out for Kelly's.
"Alright Cameron, it's time to go."
"Mama, I'm not done yet."
"Cam, you're going to be late for school, and then Mommy's going to be late for work."
Cameron refused to answer her as he continued to pick at his waffles. Elizabeth sighed as she was trying to pull Aiden's jacket on while pulling hers on and getting Cameron ready to leave. Being a single mother of two was tough and she thought she had finally gotten the hang of it.
"Ms. Webber, would you like some help?"
Elizabeth turned around to see TJ helping her into her jacket. She gratefully smiled as TJ squatted down to Cameron's level.
"Hey, Cameron, my name's TJ."
Cameron nodded as he continued to pick at his waffles.
"What do you say if you finish up your waffles and get to school on time, maybe after school we can go to the park and we can play basketball, if it's okay with your mom?"
"I don't know how to play basketball."
"Don't worry kid, I'll teach you. So how 'bout it?"
Cameron looked between TJ and his mother.
"Can I Mom?"
Elizabeth sighed as she was literally watching her eldest son grow up in front of her eyes.
"Okay, but only if you finish your homework beforehand and get home before dinner."
"Thanks Mama!"
Cameron jumped off his chair and leapt into his mother's arms, giving her a hug. She smiled as she hugged him back. He raced out of the restaurant.
"You didn't have to do that."
TJ smiled as he handed Elizabeth Aiden's bag.
"Nah, it's cool. I actually like the little kid."
"I could pay you or something-"
TJ waved his wand at the suggestion.
"If I keep getting into trouble, Shawn's going to send me to military school, so I need to steer clear of it."
Elizabeth grinned as she acted the same way when she was a teenager. It seemed like a different life now.
"Well, I still appreciate you helping out."
"It's no problem, really. I get out of work early, so it's a win-win."
Elizabeth smiled as she said goodbye with Aiden in her arms. She went to open the door, but someone already did.
Jason stood in front of her with Cameron next to him. He still looked as good as ever, with his trademark black shirt, leather jacket and jeans. She looked up into his eyes, those eyes that could see right through her bullshit and into her heart and soul.
It's obvious you understand the blood that on my hands
I'm paralyzed, I can't escape
"Sorry, I uh, saw him taking off and didn't want to worry you."
"Thanks."
Jason smiled as he ruffled Cameron's hair and held the door open for Elizabeth.
"How have you been?"
"Good, I had to go into the hospital today for a post check up, but other than that I'm fine."
"How's Sam?"
Jason sighed and Elizabeth could tell something was wrong.
"I'll let you know when I see her."
"What do you mean?"
"I just got home this morning and she was no where to be found."
Elizabeth gave him a sympathetic smile.
"I'm sure she's fine."
"Yeah, I hope so. I wanted to talk to her about something but…"
Until I see your face
You're all I know
Jason trailed off, being distracted by Elizabeth. She was wearing a coat, but he could see her dark red scrubs underneath. For some reason, he always found her sexy in scrubs, it always turned him on. He took a breath and looked away from her, not wanting to give himself away.
"I heard about you getting suspended."
Elizabeth nervously laughed and adjusted Aiden on her hip.
"Yeah, well, Maxie can never resist torturing me."
"What happened?"
"I was trying to help out Lucky with his drug problem."
Jason nodded his head. He already knew the complicated relationship of Lucky and Elizabeth, he had often come between it.
"I know I shouldn't have done it, but it's Lucky so…"
"I understand."
"I should get to work, I'm already late."
"Okay, maybe I'll see you there?"
"Yeah, maybe."
Jason waved to Cameron and watched as Elizabeth walked away. It was nice seeing her again and having their conversations like they used to. Since Jake's death, it seemed like they walked around eggshells each other.
He walked into Kelly's to grab breakfast. He stopped short once he saw TJ behind the counter. Jason carefully watched him. He didn't seem like he knew about Shawn, and Jason didn't want to be the one to tell him.
Jason went to the counter, waiting for TJ to make his rounds. He looked through the menu when he heard his name being called. He turned around to see Carly rushing over to him.
Carly stopped short as well once she saw TJ. Jason shook his head at her, but her mind was already made up.
"TJ?"
"Miss Jacks?"
Carly smiled when he used her last name, not knowing that her divorce was almost finalized.
"Could I talk to you for a minute?
TJ nodded his head and put the towel he wiping a table with down on the counter. Jason intently watched them as Carly guided him to a table.
Carly held TJ's hand the entire time as she tried to hold back the tears. Jason watched TJ, who show no emotion at first, then shook his head. A tear slid down his face for the death of another father figure. Carly grasped his hand tighter, but TJ pulled it away. He stood up and said something, but Jason couldn't make out what he said.
TJ left Kelly's, leaving a sobbing Carly behind him. She looked at Jason, who then followed TJ.
"TJ!"
He turned around and didn't recognize Jason.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Jason Morgan. I was a friend of Shawn's."
Recognition hit TJ's face and he looked angry.
"Shawn went to work for Sonny Corinthos. You work with Sonny, right?"
Jason hesitated before he answered, knowing where this conversation was going to go.
"Sonny is my partner."
TJ's breath became labored as he tried to gather his anger.
"Then he's the reason Shawn is dead."
"TJ, Shawn was a good man, and died like a good man."
"Who killed him?"
"We don't know-"
"Then I have nothing to say to you. Sonny will pay for what he did."
Jason watched as the boy's eyes clouded over with numbness. Seeing TJ act like this made Jason think of the time when he woke up from his first accident, not knowing who he was.
He walked right by Jason, not even bothering to look him in the eye as tears slid down his face. Jason groaned as he went back to his car. His appetite was now gone.
Elizabeth walked into the nurse's station, checking charts. She looked up to see Matt walking towards her.
"Hey, Dr. Hunter."
Matt grinned as Elizabeth handed him his first patient's chart of the day.
"Nurse Webber, it's good to see you back in scrubs."
Elizabeth winked at him as she left to go check on a patient.
"Starr Manning?"
Elizabeth saw the young woman sitting on a bed, waiting for her check up.
"Hi, my name is Elizabeth Webber and I'm going to be your nurse today. So, how have you been feeling?"
Starr rolled her eyes as Elizabeth checked her pulse.
"If living with the knowledge of who killed your boyfriend and daughter fine, then yes, I'm fine."
Elizabeth looked at her, horrified at what she said.
"I'm so sorry to hear about that. I know how that feels."
"How could you possibly know how I'm feeling?"
Elizabeth knew how exactly how Starr was feeling.
"My son died last year in a hit-and-run."
Starr grew silent and she was now slightly embarrassed.
"Do you know who did it?"
"His adopted grandfather."
"I'm sorry."
Starr watched Elizabeth move around the room.
"Does the pain ever go away?"
Elizabeth stopped what she was doing to sit down next to Starr.
"I don't think it will ever go away, but it does seem to hurt less."
"I don't know how I'm going to get through this. I'm all alone here."
"Where are your parents?"
"Back in Llanview, Pennsylvania. I wanted to stay here for the trial of my boyfriend and daughter's killer."
"Who is it?"
"Sonny Corinthos."
Jason walked into the hospital to check in for his post check up. He went up to the nurse's station, but Elizabeth was nowhere to be found.
"Jason, what are you doing here?"
He turned around to see Matt standing behind him.
"Oh, I'm here for a check up."
Matt nodded his head as he walked into the nurse's station.
"Alright, well, it looks like I have you since Patrick…"
Jason looked away, knowing how uncomfortable it must be.
"Why don't you come back here with me?"
Matt led him to a small room.
"I'll be back in a sec."
Jason nodded as Matt closed the door behind him. He pulled out his phone and tried to call Sam again, but it went directly to voicemail again.
He slammed the phone down on the bed, furious that Sam kept refusing to answer his calls.
Matt came back a few minutes later. He ran a few tests and waited for the results.
"Well, Jason, it looks like your brain is functioning normally and the protocol was successful."
"Is it possible for me to have these weird memories?"
"Define weird memories."
"Well, I woke up one night and felt like…I don't know, this sounds stupid."
Matt looked at him to continue.
"Okay, I feel like I've been in a trance for the past four years."
"Did you have any accidents or surgeries around that time?"
"No, not that I'm aware of."
"It might just be a side effect of the protocol. If it doesn't wear off in a week or so, come back here and we can run some more tests."
Jason nodded as Matt left the room. He followed him past another room where he heard a girl crying. Jason stopped to look inside.
Somewhere, I will find
All the pieces torn apart, you just left behind
In your mystery
He saw Elizabeth comforting a young woman. Jason was entranced by how Elizabeth cared for the woman, giving her encouraging words and consoling her. He was frozen to the spot; he couldn't tear his eyes away. Suddenly, Elizabeth let go of the woman and went to get up. She saw Jason outside the room and closed the door behind her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude."
"No it's okay, I was finishing up anyways."
Jason nodded as they walked back to the nurse's station.
"She just needed someone to talk to."
"What was wrong?"
"She had just lost her boyfriend and young daughter in a hit-and-run."
"Wait, was that Starr Manning?"
Elizabeth looked surprised at Jason as she looked through another patient's chart as he leaned against the counter.
"How do you know her?"
"Oh, um, Sonny is being accused of being the cause of the accident she was in."
"Yeah, she told me that. Did he do it?"
Jason looked away, then back at Elizabeth.
"I know, I know. You're not allowed to discuss your business with me."
Jason gave her a sympathetic smile. She smiled back as he continued to stand there.
"How's Cam?"
Elizabeth gave him a look, and he just shrugged his shoulders.
"He's doing fine. He's going to be nine next month."
"Nine? Already?"
Elizabeth laughed at Jason's surprised expression.
"Yeah, I feel the same way. It seems like it was just yesterday that he was born."
"Does he know what he wants yet?"
"He's gotten obsessed with Spiderman."
"Spiderman?"
Elizabeth laughed at Jason's knowledge of superheroes, or lack thereof.
"You know, the boy who was bitten by a radioactive spider that gave him spiderlike abilities?"
Jason shook his head, having no idea what she was talking about.
"Come on, I'm sure Michael or Morgan must have mentioned him once."
"No, they weren't really interested in superheroes."
"Well, Cameron is. I can't get him to stop watching Batman in the mornings before school."
"Now I do know who Batman is."
"Everyone does, silly."
Jason smiled at their easy conversation. Elizabeth gave a cheeky smile back. He stared her, easily slipping back into his memories of when they were together. He just couldn't seem to get her out of his head. Her blue eyes were sparkling, showing that she was happy about something. Her plump red lips curved up into a smiled. Her curly hair was down today, flowing past her shoulders. He couldn't stop staring at her. He knew he shouldn't, but she had this sort of magnetic pull towards him, always making him gravitate towards her. She was wearing her dark red scrubs, and that did it for him.
Somewhere I will see
All you taken from me
All you kept deep inside
"I should, um, I should go. Sam's probably waiting for me."
"Okay, well, maybe I'll see you at Kelly's."
"Count on it."
She smiled as he waved before he got on the elevator.
Spinelli was furiously typing on the computer, knowing how close he was to the identity of Shawn and Max's killer. The computer went blank once Spinelli clicked on a file.
"No!"
Spinelli pressed more keys, but nothing happened. Suddenly, the power went out in Maxie's apartment.
Spinelli looked around, but he noticed that power was on across the street. It was dark out and he had a hard time trying to find a flashlight.
He heard a knock on the door and froze. It shouldn't be Maxie or Matt because they both have keys.
Spinelli slowly walked to the door, and looked through the peephole. Nobody was outside the door. He hesitated before he opened the door, but his curiousness won out, a fatal mistake.
He walked down the dimly lit hallway, but he couldn't see anyone. He turned around to walk back inside and ran into something solid.
Spinelli looked up at the figure, but the figure grabbed him. Spinelli tried to break free, but the figure's hold was fiercely strong.
"Sorry, computer nerd, you got too close to my secret."
Spinelli gasped in fear as he recognized the voice. He went to say something, but the figure's fingers wrapped around his throat and slowly drained the breath out of him until he was dead.
Elizabeth picks the boys up from daycare and remembers TJ's offer. She drives to the park, and walks towards the basketball courts with Cameron and Aiden in tow.
She can recognize TJ sitting against the fence. She slowly walks up to him to realize that he had been crying.
"TJ?"
He looked up and quickly wiped at his face.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bad day. Hey Cameron."
"Hi, TJ. Can we play basketball?"
"Sure kid."
Cameron raced off to the court with TJ's ball in his hands.
"Thanks again for watching him."
"Miss Webber, it's really not a problem."
Elizabeth smiled at how polite the teenager was being. She could tell though that something was really bothering him.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, well, I'm making dinner around six, so if you could have Cameron home by then. And you're welcome to stay, I'm making chicken parmesan."
"That sounds nice, Miss Webber. I'll make sure Cameron is home by six."
"Thank you TJ. And I'm here if you want to talk. No judging, just listening."
TJ nodded his head as Elizabeth waved to Cameron and walked back to her car with Aiden.
Olivia was livid with Sonny for not taking her seriously about Johnny having something on Steve. She couldn't believe she was about to do this, but she knocked on his door anyways, knowing that he could find something on Johnny.
"Spinelli? It's Olivia Falconeri."
There was no answer. She pushed on the door, and it was open. Her instincts were telling her to walk away, but something was pushing her to walk in. she opened the door and screamed.
Lying on the floor was a strangled Spinelli. Olivia looked up to see a looming figure in front of her and felt cold fingers on her throat. She tried to fight off her attacker, but the attacker was much stronger than her. She closed her eyes as the last ounce of life left her.
In the mystery of you!
The mystery of you!
"Did Jason come in for his appointment today?"
Sam was nervous, and the nurse could tell.
"Yes, he left about twenty minutes ago."
"Thank you."
Sam knew that he must be furious at her for not answering her calls, but she couldn't tell him about John. She left for the elevator, not watching where she was going and ran into Ewen.
You're all I know
You're all I know
"Dr. Keenan, I'm so sorry-I just-I"
Don't go
Don't go
Ewen reassuringly touched her arm, noticing right away that something was wrong.
"Sam, are you okay?"
Sam shook her head as Ewen led her to a private room.
"What's wrong?"
"Jason's been calling me all day and I've been avoiding him."
"Why?"
"Because I know something that's going to tear him apart."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, and I can't tell anyone."
Sam burst out in tears as Ewen hugged her, grateful for him being there for her. Jason had been distant lately and not so comforting. She felt safe in his arms because Jason was angry at her.
Somewhere, I will find
All the pieces torn apart, you filled me deep inside
The mystery of you
Elizabeth repeatedly knocked on his door, praying that he would answer. She had Aiden in a stroller behind her and prayed that she would be back home before TJ and Cameron got there.
"Elizabeth, what are you doing here?"
"Jason, Spinelli's dead."
Somewhere
Somewhere
The mysteries of you
Somewhere
A/N: There's a little cliffhanger for y'all. Sorry for taking long to update, but I had problems writing this chapter. I didn't really like how it turned out, but after rewriting it five times, I realized that it couldn't get any better. Hopefully you guys enjoyed it. Lyrics to 'Mystery of You' by Red. Let me know in a review what you thought and what you want to happen. Until next time! Viva Liason!
