Every once in a while someone comes into your life and you'll wonder how you ever lived without them. That's love.

Laying back against the wall, she places her sketch pad down upon her legs, arching them into a makeshift easel. Although the location isn't exactly where she had planned to drown herself in her art, Elizabeth had to admit that it was definitely an art inspiring location none the less. One sketch popping into mind the moment her pencil hit the paper. A sketch that definitely needed to be created.

Despite her best efforts, a small part of her mind starts to feel bad for leaving town like this without telling anyone. Even though she wouldn't have made a different choice if she had to do it over again, Elizabeth feels bad for leaving her cellphone behind. She just knew that, if she had brought it along, the thing would ring none stop and she just didn't want that. Not today.

As selfish as this may sound, she just wanted this day with Jason, without any interruptions from her life. Whatever's going on back home, it can wait for her to get back tomorrow, for today everyone will just have to fend for themselves, AJ included.

After years of being nothing but selfless, she just wants to be selfish for once. Of course, the very thought made her feel bad, but that's just who she is. There haven't been many times where she actively chose to be selfish, but she's starting to see that those moments will soon grow the longer she's with him. And was that really so bad?

Shaking her thoughts of home from her head, Elizabeth returns her focus to the sketch she's trying to create, knowing that nothing good would come of her over thinking the situation. All her life, she has over thunk herself out of doing so much, but not this time. She refuses to psych herself out about this. Not this.


Running a weary hand down his face, AJ leans back in his chair, taking a deep breath to clear his head. Every part of him knows just how over the top he was being, but he couldn't help it. From the moment he met Elizabeth, she awakened a part of him that he didn't realize existed, the protector.

Never in his life had he seen someone so broken, it seemed that she would never be whole again. Whatever problems he had in his life, his family's drama and whatnot, nothing mattered the moment his eyes laid on her. From that moment, the man he had been was changed, completely and thoroughly. All he cared about was helping her. Taking care of her. Protecting her.

Picking up a picture of the two of them, he realizes that she wasn't that girl anymore, she wasn't broken and in need of protection, but he couldn't help it. That protective side of him, the side that wishes he could wrap her in a bubble and protect her from the world, is still burning as strong as ever. If not stronger. He just couldn't stomach anything happening to her again.

From the moment that his brother entered her orbit, he has been trying to find every way to push him back out, knowing that nothing good could ever come from his world. Though he knows that his brother would never purposely break her the way that night had, AJ wasn't so sure about everyone else from his world.

For as long as he lives, he never wants to see her the way he had seen her that night. He'd never be able to survive that. Knowing that he could have stopped it yet didn't. No matter what she says, he just can't let it get that far. The way he's acting at the mere thought of it happening, one could only imagine how she'd be if something ever did happen. It just wouldn't be pretty.


Hearing a sound coming from the main part of the safe house, Elizabeth sets her sketch pad down beside her charcoal pencil set before glancing at the clock. Strange how her art can pull her away from reality so much that she doesn't even notice the time passing by.

Pulling herself out of bed, she heads out in the direction of the sound, making it into the lower level bathroom before Jason comes into view. In that moment, as their eyes meet, Elizabeth's heart nearly stops. He looked like he had gone ten rounds with a professional boxer or something.

"Sit down." she instructs, closing the toilet seat lid before helping him over to it. "You look like you're going to keel over."

"Don't sugar coat it, please." he says sarcastically, allowing her to sit him down. "The first aid kit's in the bottom drawer."

"Can I ask how the other guy looks?" she questions, kneeling down to get the kit. "I'm assuming he's worse off, at least."

"You can say that." he admits, not elaborating further. "You don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do." she says simply, setting the kit down on the sink before using a wipe to clean up the gash on his forehead. "Keep still, I don't want the alcohol getting into your eyes."

"Okay." he relents, letting out a deep breath. "This is me, not moving."

"Thank you."

Positioning herself between his legs to tend to his wound, her breath catches in her throat when his hands slide up her legs to rest on her waist. Focusing on her task at hand, she tries her best to ignore what her body was desperately trying to relay at the touch of his hands. Taking care of him was just too important.

"There." she whispers, starting into his eyes once his wound was bandaged. "Now, um...you need to take off your shirt."

"At least buy me dinner first." he says teasingly, causing her to laugh softly for his efforts. "I'm okay, Elizabeth. I promise."

"I know." she lets out a deep breath. "I just want to make sure. Okay?"

"Okay."

Taking a deep breath, he slips his hands under the hem of his shirt to pull it over his head, but finds it a little difficult with the bruising on his sides. Rubbing her lips together, she slowly reaches down to help him remove the article of clothing, their eyes meeting immediately after the shirt's pulled over his head.

"You know, I think I can get used to this." he says softly, reaching up to caress her cheek.

"Used to what?" she whispers, leaning into his touch.

"You taking care of me." he admits, smiling slightly when her cheeks get heated slightly, a light blush spreading over her face. "Thank you."

"Anytime."

Taking a couple steps back, she inspects the rest of his body, bandaging up places that needed bandaging before wiping down the rest of them to prevent infection. Elizabeth knows that this is part of his job, but it didn't stop her from wishing she could meet the guy that did this and beat him with a bat for doing this to him.

Once she was content that he wasn't mortally wounded and in need of a hospital, Elizabeth gets Jason to allow her to take him to his bedroom. Just because he wasn't seriously wounded, it didn't mean that he didn't need to rest. Despite his protests, he eventually allows her to take him to his room.

"This wasn't how I wanted today to go." he points out as she helps him into bed.

"Things don't usually go the way we want it to." she counters, meeting his eyes with a soft gaze. "At least, not for me, anyway."

"Still." he sighs, shaking his head. "I just..."

"Its okay." she cuts him off. "Its just one day...we've got a lot more ahead of us to make up for it."

"Yeah?" he questions her curiously. "You mean that?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't." she says simply, sitting down beside him, placing her hand in his. "Jason, I don't plan on going anywhere any time soon...what about you?"

"Same."

"Okay." she smiles slightly. "So, get some rest. I'll go make us some dinner."

Just as she's about to get up and walk out of the room, Jason holds tight to her hand, pulling her down upon the bed to lay down beside him. Before she could think up a protest, his lips claim hers swiftly, every part of him needing to feel her lips against his. Unable to put into words what it meant to him to have her take care of him the way she did, Jason decided to do it the only way he knew how.

"You need to rest." she whispers as their lips part long enough for them to catch their breath.

"Later." he counters, his lips mere inches from hers. "Right now, I just want to be with you."

Giving up her protest, mostly because she really didn't want it to stop, Elizabeth wraps her arms around him, giving into the kiss with all she has in her. They won't take it too far, they both know that, they weren't ready for it just yet, but they'll get close enough.

Though they couldn't describe it, they both know that something has changed between them, something good. Whatever they had wanted out of this day together, they got something more meaningful and that made it worth it.