Feeling more than a little light headed, Elizabeth sighed at the bottom of her mug. It hadn't taken her long to fill Laura in on the rest of the story, especially after a few needed tips of the Schnapps bottle. She'd almost forgotten how good it was to talk to Laura. The woman was understanding, open minded, and always had the best advice.

"So after the other night, I can honestly say Jason Morgan doesn't like me all that much." Frowning, Elizabeth wondered if it would be poor manners to ask for a second mug of coco. Looking up at the knowing smirk on Laura's face, Elizabeth blushed. "Not that I care."

Laura's eyes danced merrily across the table from her. "You hit him in the crotch?"

"I didn't mean to . . . well that's not true. I meant to, I just didn't know it was him." Fumbling with the excuse, Elizabeth felt her face grow warmer. "He's the one who broke into my house. How was I supposed to know?"

A chuckle escaped from Laura's mouth. "I wish I could've seen that." Wiping at the tears forming in her eyes, Laura took a deep breath.

"Why?" Her brows almost meeting, Elizabeth felt her face flush. "Don't you like him?"

"Jason?" Sipping from her mug, Laura stood and reached for Elizabeth's. "Ready for a refill." Not really waiting for an answer, she headed to the stove. "I love Jason. He's always been great to our family. The last couple of years haven't been kind to him though. It's made him more distant than he already was. Less trusting in a way. I think getting knocked on his ass will do wonders for him."

"You should've seen his face when he found out what Kyle Lansing had said." Not wanting to repeat the horrid words again, Elizabeth was relieved when Laura picked up on her hesitation.

"No. There's a difference between getting knocked on your ass and having a knife put into your back." Some of the humor faded from Laura's eyes. "Ric Lansing and Alexis Davis are egotistical jerks who have their heads shoved up their asses . . ." Her words faded off, and Laura looked slightly embarrassed. "You could say I have issues with them as well."

Excepting the refill, Elizabeth licked her lips in anticipation. Getting buzzed on a Monday afternoon typically wasn't her style, but the way the small amount of liquor was relaxing her tense body was a godsend. "Seeing Ms Davis put in her place was refreshing. I hope it tames her down slightly. If I have to endure another one of her lists, or suggestions on how I run my classroom I might implode."

"Don't hold your breath." The frown on Laura's lips deepened. "In fact, you may want to watch your back. She's not the most forgiving person in the world. And after today she's probably clumped you in with her dislike list."

Feeling as though someone was talking to her in code again, Elizabeth felt more than a little frustrated. "Meaning?"

"Let me give you a little Port Charles 101." Taking a steadying sip, Laura took a moment to collect her thoughts. "There's a lot of history in town. Some of the issues go back further then Luke and I've lived here, but it'll take weeks to explain that stuff. The part you need to worry about is where Alexis and Ric fit in."

"As you probably guessed, Sonny and Jason business practices are a little shady. They own a large coffee import business, and a few casinos. Luke's a silent partner in a few of their adventures. The three of them have done a fantastic job of keeping the town free of drugs. But this doesn't stop Ric or Alexis from wanting to send them to jail. At first, I really do think they were trying to do the right thing, to them at least. It's their job to put people in jail who are breaking the law."

Stirring her drink, Laura wrinkled her nose. "They're just not all that bright. After a few close calls, they started to get desperate. It didn't matter if the guys had done anything wrong, Ric and Alexis needed to pin something on them."

"A few years ago, when Carly, Jason's ex-wife, was found dead on the docks things got really bad. The coroner said it was suicide. An overdose of pain medicatio and alcohol. Unhappy with the findings, Alexis and Ric tried several different tactics to frame Jason with her murder. I can honestly say I have never seen this town in such an uproar."

"A lynch mob huh?" Knowing people liked a good uproar, Elizabeth felt a little ill.

"In a way." A ghost of a smile quirked on Laura's lips. "The wanted Ric and Alexis's heads on a platter."

"Excuse me?" Elizabeth sure didn't see that coming.

"Carly had made her own assortment of enemies, and everyone knew what Davis and Lansing were up to." Blowing into her mug, Laura took a deep sip. "Sonny and Jason give a lot back to the community. They keep drugs out of the children's hands. Their transgressions are easily overlooked as long as the people of Port Charles aren't effected. To tell you the truth the whole thing reminds me of Peter Pan."

Nearly spitting out her drink, Elizabeth fought to banish the image of Jason Morgan wearing green tights from her mind. But then the thought of Luke, clad in woman's hosiery threatened to invade and Elizabeth decided there would be less detrimental to her sanity to allow Jason to remain. Besides he had better buns then her almost Father.

"Let me guess, Alexis and Ric are the Pirates. Working hard to take down the reckless children. The harder they try, the less likely they'll succeed."

"Right. Sonny, Jason and Luke are the Lost Boys. Doing what they want, when they want. Neither side is right a hundred percent of the time."

"So what does this have to do with me?" Fidgeting in her chair, Elizabeth felt as though her brain had holes in it. Unable to process what Laura was trying to tell her she finally gave up. "Where do I fit in? You said to look out for Alexis and Ric."

"Well my little Wendy, you've unknowingly sided with Pan and his boys." Clearly enjoying herself, Laura looked years younger than her actual age. "At least to those to idiots you have."

"Ah." Getting it, Elizabeth nodded. "Either you're with them or against them."

"Now you're getting it." Looking over at the clock on the stove, Laura's eyes widened. "Lulu will be home soon. I need to start dinner."

Stretching, Elizabeth picked up her mug and walked over to the sink. "I should get going. Lucky said he'd drive me home."

"Oh do you have to?" Laura frowned. "I thought we'd have ourselves a good old fashioned girls night in. With Luke out of town, it'll give us a chance to watch a few chick flicks without his endless commentary."

"I don't know, I have work tomorrow."

"You can borrow Luke's car until he gets back." Elizabeth flushed, hating that she was forced to need help getting to and from work. After all the work she'd done to get where she was at, it was a little grating that she still couldn't stand on her two feet without the help of others. "Elizabeth, save me the trouble of manipulating you into it. The car is just sitting and it'd make me feel better knowing you weren't driving that death trap."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Laura answered with determination. "So it's settled. You can spend the night and use Luke's car tomorrow morning." Opening her mouth to argue that she couldn't possibly spend the night, Elizabeth noticed the look in Laura's eyes and knew anything she could say would fall in deaf ears.

"Fine. But only if we have munchies tonight."

His T-shirt stuck to him like glue, as he swung again at the bag. It was more than a little daunting it'd only taken two years for his body to get soft. Not that he was flabby, with a gut and love handles. It wasn't that bad. Yet. But sitting behind a desk, had dulled his reflexes. As much as he hated to admit it, so had his mind. If he hadn't dropped his guard, let himself get indulgent, Max would still be alive. He would be down at Jake's with Francis and Johnny, boozing it up and trying to catch the eye of some local.

Swinging harder than his burning muscles wanted, Jason tried to block out the anguished wail Max's Mother had let out when she was told her youngest son was dead. She'd cursed him in Italian, only to apologize to him after she collected herself. There was no reason to apologize, she'd been right to blame him.

It was also his fault that Michael had been hurt by that snotty Lansing kid. The first time he'd held Michael, he made it a goal in his life to keep the business as far away from his son as possible. That no matter what was happening in his world, the negative effects wouldn't blemish his home life. It was a damn good thing he hadn't made any promises.

Out of breath, his arms and stomach stung like a bitch, Jason grabbed the discarded towel from the pool table and mopped his sweaty face. Wanting a beer instead of the bottle of water he was pouring down his throat, Jason nearly growled when his phone broke the silence.

Wanting nothing more than to ignore the damn thing, Jason scowled at the offending object before answering.

"Morgan."

"Jase, it's Francis."

"You don't say." The corner of his mouth twitched. "Everything quiet over there?"

"Yeah. Real quiet." Francis paused briefly. "Ms. Webber hasn't come home yet."

His exhausted stomach dropped, while every possible scenario raced through his mind. None of them good. "Why the hell didn't you call earlier?"

"I'm calling now, ain't I?"

"Where in the hell could she be?"

"How should I know? I'm just covering until one of the other guys get assigned. All I know about her is that she's friends with the Spencers. Maybe she's with Lucky."

"No, Emily dragged him to dinner at the Quartermaine's." Pinching his nose, Jason let out a deep breath. The only other plausible place she could be, was over at Laura's. Looking over at the clock on the mantel, he was surprised to see that it was already past nine. He couldn't call over to the Spencer household without it tipping Laura off that something wasn't right. He'd never really called over there, unless it was to talk to Luke.

He had stopped by in the past. If he hurried, it wouldn't be too out of his norm. He could just tell her he was out already and was making sure everything was going alright with Luke gone. If Elizabeth wasn't there . . . He'd cross that bridge when he got there.

The Spencer house was definitely something Laura had picked out. Had it been left up to Luke the entire clan would've been living in some sort of tree house in the middle of the woods. They'd be using rainwater for showers, instead of the three and a half bathrooms.

Walking up the walkway, his eyes narrowed in on the Durango across the street. He had no idea who was on watch tonight, Johnny was in charge of assigning that job. Stopping at the doorstep, he eyed the welcome mat, and let himself wonder briefly what it would be like for Michael to have a home like this. With a big back yard, he could spend hours playing in. A large, comfortable house that just screamed 'Welcome Home'.

Shaking his head, clearing away the thoughts that weren't to be, and knocked on the door. Hearing approaching footsteps, he trained his features into an unreadable mask.

"Jason?" A soft smile graced Laura's face. "Come on in." Opening the door to let him in, Laura Spencer waited until he stood a few feet inside her home before shutting the door. "What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to check in."

"Luke's only been gone for a day. You usually don't drop in for your routine check up until the third day." With a lift of her brow, she was able to make Jason feel uncomfortable. "Why don't you have a cup of coffee and a piece of apple pie Elizabeth made tonight."

"Elizabeth?" Looking around the pretty sitting room Laura refused any of her family to actually use, Jason looked back to find that Laura had already moved on to the kitchen. Leaving him with no other option, Jason followed.

True to her word, Laura was pouring a hot cup of coffee, a piece of pie already sliced and on a plate. Positioning himself so he could view into the family room, Jason noticed that the TV was still on. But the room looked empty.

"So did Luke tell you to check up on us?"

Turning his head back to where Laura stood by the counter, Jason shrugged out of his jacket and placed it on the back of one of the chairs. "No. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't."

"I heard you had a pretty busy day." Pouring herself a small cup of coffee, she turned her knowing eyes on him. Pinning him in place.

"Yeah." Cutting into the pie, Jason trained his eyes on his food. Laura had a sneaky way of getting information out of him. Whether he wanted to share or not.

"How's Michael?"

"He confused, and angry. He's also worried that his teacher is going to be mad at him."

"Elizabeth? Mad at him?" Laura laughed. "I don't think she's capable of being mad at a child."

"She looked upset today." Recalling the stricken expression on her face when she'd been forced to retell what Lulu had whispered into her ear, Jason wondered why she had been so effected.

"Yes, well I'm sure it brought back a lot of memories she's tried hard to forget." A sad look shadowed her eyes. "She had a pretty rough childhood. If there's anyone who can relate to Michael, it's her."

Wondering how he was going to ask if Laura knew of Elizabeth's whereabouts without looking too suspicious, Jason eased back in his chair.

"You don't need to worry about Elizabeth feeling differently about Michael. But you don't need to take my word for it." Smiling knowingly over the table at him, Laura sipped her coffee. "You can ask her yourself. Though I'd suggest you wait until she's awake. She fell asleep on the couch about an hour ago."

Crap! He should've known he wouldn't get anything past Laura. She'd been married to Luke way too long. "She's here then?"

"Yup. Her car is broken down again, so I picked her up after school."

Sighing, Jason held back a groan. "How much did she tell you?"

"Enough to know you probably have a few guys watching her house." A dark scowl covered his face. "And before you start in on her not keeping a secret, don't. I would've plied her with enough alcohol until she spilled. I know my girl and I knew something was wrong."

"I wasn't going to say anything."

"Jason Morgan did you just lie to me?" Looking shocked, Laura blinked a few times.

"Maybe."

"I don't usually involve myself in what you boys do. Mostly because it would give me ulcers. But I'll only say this once. She's one of my children. Do whatever you need to keep her safe." Leaning forward, Laura looked straight into his eyes. "And I do mean anything."

"We'll keep her safe." With a nod, Jason picked up his fork again.

"With that out of the way." A mischievous sparkle in her eyes made him tense. "Did she really hit you in the crotch?"