Chapter 14

Elizabeth had never been busier.

Since the shooting, she had worried that the other folks in her small town would stay away from the diner. Scandal in a town of this size was rarely a good thing.

She was surprised.

V became a constant customer and a good friend. Before, they'd had little to do with each other and it was only after a couple cups of late night coffee and some of Elizabeth's delicious brownies had V confided a secret to her. "You know," V began, a slight tinge of color on her cheeks, "I have to admit… I never really thought much of you before."

"Really?" Elizabeth didn't seem a bit surprised at the comment. "What changed your mind? Was it when I decided to carry around a service revolver in my purse?"

She nearly choked on her coffee, grabbing up a napkin to cough into, V shook her head and tried not to make it worse by laughing. "No, not really… but it maybe 'did' help a little." She reached for the pot on the counter to pour herself a little more coffee. "Really, it was when I found out that you weren't lusting after Lucky." V held up her hands in the next instant when she saw Elizabeth's curious look. "Oh hey, don't even go there… but really, I never saw 'anything' like that in him and I worried what kind of a silly little thing you were if you did."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the thought, but her laughter sobered a bit as she thought it over. "Lucky and I were old friends… and it was a… 'comfort' to me when he was there after Zander died overseas. I really needed a shoulder and I thought he was there… as a friend."

After a sip of the heated brew, V set it down on the counter. "Well, I'm glad I got that straight, I'm sure glad I don't have to hit you upside your head now."

Breaking off a piece of her brownie, Elizabeth popped it in her mouth. "Me too…" she looked up at the sheriff, "I'm glad we got a chance to know each other better."

V smiled and nodded. She looked around the empty diner. "You planning on closing up a little early tonight?"

"Yeah, I think so, business has been so good lately I hardly remember what it was like to worry over making enough money to pay the mortgage."

"I've been noticing more plates from out Port Charles way lately." She watched Elizabeth closely. "Any sign of Jason Morgan?"

Elizabeth's expression sank visibly and V wished to hell and back that she hadn't said a thing.

"Elizabeth, I-"

The younger woman stood, grabbing up her coffee cup as she went. "No… hey, don't worry about it… I'm sure he's… busy."

V stood, following Elizabeth a few feet away. "It's only been a few weeks. I could call up there and see what's-"

"No!" Elizabeth blushed a little when she realized that she'd fairly shouted the word. "No… thanks, but I'm sure… this is for the best."

The sheriff wondered if the young woman realized how big of a lie she'd just told her.

Jason had never been busier.

Since he'd received the page everything had gone to hell. Sonny had gone off the deep end and done the one thing he'd never done before, and that was saying something. He'd shot someone… out in the open… in a crowded public place. And then he'd turned the gun on a police officer.

Jason was surprised.

Then again, when Jason thought about it, he wasn't surprised. As he reached for yet another warehouse ledger, Jason felt the twinge in his side from the near healed bullet wound. Sonny had been winding up to this kind of 'explosion' for awhile now. The pressure of Carly and the other women around him had never been good for his temper, but in the short time that Jason had been away all hell had broken loose.

Now, he was stuck cleaning up Sonny's mess in the only way he could… keep business going.

There was a knock at the door and Jason called back in response. "Come in."

Max stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "You 'bout done for the day?"

Jason ignored the sudden clench of muscles in his jaw. Ever since he'd returned and they'd determined, via Diane that there was no way to get Sonny out of this one, they'd been guarding him as if he was the 'Boss.' And really, he was. There was no getting out of this one either. "Yeah, sure." He sighed, weary of the idea of being driven around by someone else. "Look, Max, I'll just take my-"

Before Max said a word Jason sighed. His bike was still at the diner. His bike was still with Elizabeth.

"Never mind, yeah, I'm ready." Setting aside the ledger he stood up and gave a grim little smile as the seat bounced off the wall behind him.

"You know, Jason," Max looked a little uncomfortable but he continued on, "you could take the weekend off. It would only take a few hours to get to-"

"The other families are watching me right now. They'd see where I was going and Elizabeth and Cameron would be in danger."

Max's expression bordered on sedition. "Yeah, I get that, Jason, but we could protect them. It wouldn't be any harder than protecting Mrs. C or the boys and-"

"I don't want to see them living in fear, Max. And that's what would happen if I dragged them into my life." Jason opened one of the drawers and looked down at the handgun inside. Black against the manila folders, it commanded his attention. "I'm not going to do that to them. Not now, not ever."

Jason picked up the gun and tucked in the back of his waistband and walked toward the door, passing by Max without another look.

Max wasn't about to let it drop, but followed Jason outside and covered his exit toward the SUV parked just outside the door. As Jason got into the car Max leaned closer to him. "By the way, Milo passed through town and stopped at the diner to check in on them."

Torn between two opposite responses, Jason wanted to find Milo and break his neck for drawing more attention to Elizabeth and Cameron. "Milo!"

The younger guard stepped out of the shadows, his face a mix of emotions. "You want something, Jason… uh, Boss?"

"Get in the car, Milo."

Looking at his brother with more than a bit of fear on his face, Milo stepped inside with Jason and the SUV headed for Harborview.

Elizabeth woke up, her arm wet with drool. "Cam? Sweetheart? What are you doing in Mommy's bed?"

The little boy struggled to get up on his hands and knees as one hand rubbed at his eyes. "Waiting."

Sitting up against the wall, Elizabeth fought back a yawn as she struggled to understand her son. "Waiting, sweetie?" She grabbed for the remote to the small television and looked down into his half-asleep face. "You want to watch cartoons?"

"No, Mama." He sat up on his knees and grabbed onto her nightgown with his little hands. "Waiting for Jason." He continued on, not realizing that his mother was stunned into silence. He leaned against her for warmth, his fingers playing with the little ribbon bow on the front of her flannel nightie. "When is he comin' back?"

She moved her lips, once or twice, but no sound could be heard. Cameron leaned against her contented but she felt the galaxy of emptiness within her yawn wider and wider until she felt as though she was about drown. "I… I dunno, Cam." She swallowed her own tears and hugged her child closer. "He may… He's probably busy, honey… we'll just have to wait and see."

Cam grabbed for the remote and turned on the television, lost in the flickering images for a moment as his mother struggled with her own words and worries. What she'd wanted to tell him was that Jason probably wasn't coming back. He'd left after the text he'd received and since then she hadn't heard word one from him.

With a kiss to Cam's curls she slipped out of the bed. "I'll get breakfast, okay?"

"Sure, Mama." Cam was lost to the world of G.I. Joe, before she set foot into the kitchen.

Elizabeth stopped just inside the doorway, looking down at the couch. That had been Jason's usual seat the entire time that he'd lived with them… she sighed. "Lived with us? Whatever, Lizzy… get a grip."

Jason hadn't said a word since they'd left the warehouse and he waited until the penthouse door was closed before he turned to Milo with a single question. "How are they?"

Milo's eyes opened a little wider and he sighed out a breath. "They're… um, they're okay."

The words did little to comfort him. "Max said you stopped in."

Swallowing visibly, Milo nodded. "Yeah, I was driving back from the job you sent me on and I was passing by anyway," he looked Jason square in the eye for a moment before turning away. "She was real busy, lots of folks comin' in to eat from the road. Some local folks, too. She really didn't have a lot of time but she stopped by my table to talk."

"Talk?" Jason moved toward the table in the entry, his fingers absently moving things around while he tried to act calm. "What did you talk about?"

Milo shifted from one foot to the other, anxious and more than a bit upset. "She said Cameron keeps sleeping in her room, leaving his bed empty… she said she's glad things are getting back to normal… she said… she said…"

Jason turned a little bit to look at him. "What else did she say?"

"She told me to say 'HI' to Max and Diane… and Spinelli."

He waited for a long moment before he fixed his gaze on Milo. "Anything else?"

Jason could see Milo's worry and confusion written on his face. He was trying so desperately to say the right thing.

"Uh… no, but like I said, she was real busy, Jason and-"

"That's enough, Milo… you can go."

The younger guard sighed and took a step toward the door before turning back to Jason. "You know, sometimes folks don't say things… 'cause they really want to… but don't… trust themselves."

Jason didn't say anything in response to the younger man's words. He barely heard the words over the empty thud of his heart against his ribs.