A/N – Thanks for the comments!

Did you catch that Tiffany Hill is Carly's step-mama? You guys are pushing it with saying that Liason is in love. I wouldn't say that is the case yet. They love each other as friends and have feelings, but they haven't allowed themselves to even go there yet.

Chapter 21

Elizabeth is shaking so hard that she swears her teeth are going to break. She tries to force her body to walk back and forth but she feels ridiculously lethargic. At this point, the only thing she's thankful for is that it's not completely sealed so air is finding its way in, she just wishes it wasn't cold. Finally, she gives up and lies on the ground and her eyes flutter shut and she gives in to her exhaustion. As much as she is fighting Trevor in her mind, logic keeps prevailing and she knows she's running out of time. Her body can't take much more.

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Nightfall came quickly and while Elizabeth slept, Jason is still trying to figure out where she can be. He thought about what Susan said to him, to think like the person who took her and he started reviewing the clues.

Francis glanced at him when he suddenly stood.

"I think I know where she is. Where is the map?"

Johnny shoves it towards him. "What are you thinking?"

"They couldn't have gone far because there wasn't enough time, so they stashed her somewhere and then took off. Didn't that asshole say something about she'd be in good company if she dies and she'd be cold?"

"Yeah."

Jason pointed to a spot on the map making the other men frown.

"That's a cemetery," Johnny said.

"It fits. She'd be affected by the cold and its close."

"I think that area was checked," Francis said.

"Well, maybe we missed something. Did they check the crypts? Is there one for a Sorel?"

Johnny shrugged. "They probably couldn't get into them."

Jason picked up the phone and explained the situation to Spinelli who quickly went on a site and got some information about who is buried there.

"Stone Cold, the Sorel family has a crypt there."

"Where?"

The excitement starts to permeate their exhaustion.

Spinelli explains where it is and then the men take off, retrieving some flashlights and a bolt cutter before leaving.

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The guys rushed into the cemetery. It was hard to find the specific area in the dark, but they finally got their bearings and then explored the section that houses the crypts.

Francis read the writing. "This is it."

"The lock is new," Jason said before using the cutters to open it.

He pushed the door open. "Elizabeth?" He stepped inside and turned to the right and then gasped as his flashlight landed on her still form. As he rushed towards her, he ripped off his coat to put around her and when he sees her blue lips he almost loses it. "Elizabeth!"

Manny feels for her pulse. "She's still alive, but barely."

Jason picks her up and moves as fast as he can to the car and they get in and Johnny breaks every speed limit on the way to General Hospital. She is so cold to the touch that Jason is scared they are too late. Francis called ahead and when they pulled up, Epiphany is standing there with a gurney and Jason gently lays her on it and then watches as she's rushed inside.

Manny puts a hand on his shoulder. "You did it, now we just have to pray she makes it."

Once they get inside, Zander rushed into the room and Manny's brow goes up when he hears Jason emit a growl. Seeing the look on Jason's face, his steps falter. "Is she—"

"—still alive? Barely, no thanks to you."

"I didn't mean for her to get hurt."

Jason moved closer. "Stay away from her. Haven't you done enough damage?"

Zander's jaw jutted out in defiance. "Whether I'm around or not is her choice."

When Jason makes a move to grab him, Manny steps in between them.

"Not here…"

Jason's leer makes Zander shift nervously.

Manny leads Jason away. "You know, you'd make a great enforcer. I think he peed his pants."

"He's an asshole."

Manny grinned. "He's right though, it's her choice."

Jason rolled his eyes. "For his sake, she better want him to live."

Monica hurried towards them. "Okay, she's stable. We're trying to get her temperature up and then we'll know if there will be complications." Seeing her son pale, she quickly continued. "She's young and in good health, so that's really good. Right now, she's breathing on her own and we're giving her some saline because she was dehydrated."

"Can I see her?"

Before she could respond, Trevor and Connie rush towards them.

"Where is she?"

"Like you care…" Jason said.

Trevor glared. "We are her parents, so I demand to see her."

Carly snorted. "You have conveniently forgotten that you admitted that you aren't her parents."

"We are legally, so—"

John moved between his daughter and Trevor. "I think you need to think about what you're going to say next."

"You have no say over this."

"Actually, if you don't want certain things to come to light, you'll walk away." Carly had given her dad a breakdown of the situation on the way over and he's beyond disgusted.

Trevor moved closer. "You'll regret this."

"The only thing that I regret is that you were hired in the first place. What's it going to be?"

"We'll leave for now, but I'll be back."

Connie's fearful gaze connected with Carly before she's yanked away.

"He's going to beat her," she said.

John sighed. "Maybe we can get her alone and can convince her to leave him."

"At the point, I'm not sure she'll go."

Monica motioned for Jason to follow her and then led him to a room.

He froze in the doorway when her lifeless form came into view.

"It's okay, Jason, she's just sleeping."

Slowly, he edged towards her. "She looks so pale and small. What is that?" he asked pointing to a machine.

"That is called a hemodialysis machine. Basically, we're rewarming her blood. Through the oxygen mask, we're feeding warm, humidified air into her lungs. She was on the borderline between moderate and severe, so this is a safer way to warm her up." She pointed to another machine. "Her temperature is slowly rising. In a few hours, you'll see a big difference in her coloring."

"How long will she have to stay here?"

"It will probably be twenty-four hours. We need to make sure her organs are stable."

He collapsed onto a chair, so she moved behind him and hugged him.

"Elizabeth is a fighter. She'll be okay."

He is barely holding on at this point.

"There's a bed over there. Please lay down and rest until she wakes up. You need it."

Feeling the fatigue set in, he agreed, and Monica got him settled.

Carly moved into the room and her father stayed in the doorway. She glanced at Jason and then moved closer to the bed.

"Elizabeth, you need to keep fighting. We're here and no one is going to hurt you again. I swear if I have to lock you in the room, I will."

John and Jason fought a smile. It's just like Carly to threaten someone who is unconscious.

"You are my bestie. I need you and I want to be there for you. Please be okay."

Realizing she is crying, John moved forward and embraced her.

"She's going to be okay and then, she's getting a guard for the foreseeable future and so are you."

"Can it be Jason?"

John shook his head. "What am I going to do with you?"

Carly pulled back and smile. "You can love me to the moon and back again."

"Always…"

Jax rushed inside and Carly latched onto him.

"Is she okay?"

"She will be."

He glances at Jason whose eyes have fluttered shut and then holds his finger up to his mouth.

Carly smiled and then moved over to her friend and kissed him on the head before allowing Jax and her father to lead her back to the waiting room. Johnny and Francis are waiting for an update, so Carly fills them in.

"We put a guard on the room just to be safe," Francis said.

"Manny, you can stay with me. We'll come back in the morning," Johnny said.

"Okay."

Monica kept a close eye on Elizabeth and her son and said a prayer that Elizabeth will make a full recovery.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Hearing a moan, Jason jerks and then jumps to his feet. "Elizabeth?"

Her eyes flicker open. "Jason."

He quickly moved to her side. "You're going to be okay."

"What happened?"

Her coloring is much better. He glances at his watch and realizes it's about four hours later than when he laid down.

"I found you inside a crypt. You had hypothermia, but they warmed you up. How do you feel?"

"Tired and a little achy."

His hand brushed over her hair. "Never again…"

The emotion in his eyes surprises her.

"I mean it. I can't go through that again. No more dates…"

She slightly smiled and then freed her hand, so she can touch him.

Savoring it, he leaned against her palm.

"Are you keeping me under lock and key?"

"Yes."

"What does that entail?"

He smiled. "Spoiling you and never letting you out of my sight."

"Sounds nice, but I think I might like to go on another date."

His eyes narrowed when Zander popped into his head.

"With you…"

As his features softened, he felt her forehead.

"What are you doing?"

"Just checking to see if you have a fever."

She rolled her eyes. "I meant it."

He slightly smiled. "You really want to date me?"

"Yes. I mean—I know you're seeing someone else." She had almost died and most of the time she thought about him and how much time they've wasted playing it safe and being cowards, so she has to try now that she's getting a second chance.

Realizing she must have seen him with Eva, he said, "Elizabeth, I'm not. I—kissed her because I was upset that you kissed Zander."

"And every second of that kiss, I was wishing it was you. It was nice having someone want me and see me as a woman."

"I do see you as one. You're beautiful in every way. I just wanted you to be happy."

"You make me happy."

Monica wiped away a tear as Alan pulled her into the hallway.

"Were you eavesdropping?"

She nodded. "And I'm not apologizing for it. They are so beautiful."

Alan smiled. "I knew from the moment he brought her into the house that eventually, they'd be together."

"I need to check on her. She just woke up."

Alan peeked in time to see Jason give Elizabeth a quick kiss. "Wait a minute, okay?"

She nodded and then embraced him. "I'm just happy that he's finally happy."

"I'll never apologize for loving him, I just wish it hadn't come at AJ's expense."

"I know. Somehow, we need to fix that."

He has a sick feeling inside when he thinks about AJ. It will probably get worse before it gets better.

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The next morning, Evangeline stopped by to bring Elizabeth some flowers. Micah had told her what happened and she felt bad for the younger woman.

Liz had a few nightmares and is tired, but eager to leave. Her attention went to the doorway. "Oh, um, Jason isn't here."

Eva smiled. "I'm not here to see him. I'm Evangeline. I brought you some flowers and a little something else."

"They are beautiful. Thank you."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm tired and feel like I ran a marathon, but I'm alive."

"Well, welcome back." Eva handed her a box of chocolates.

Liz's eyes grew big. "No wonder Jason kissed you. I might too."

Eva laughed. "He wasn't thinking about me though. I wanted to meet the woman who makes him smile. He's a great guy." If it weren't for the fact that he likes Elizabeth, she'd definitely go for it.

Liz took a bite of the chocolate and moaned. "Yes, he is and I'm finally willing to see him as more than friends."

"I hope that you're happy. He's a great kisser."

Liz laughed. "I hope to find out just how good really soon."

Before Eva can respond, Jason jerks to a stop in the doorway.

Liz grinned wickedly. "Hey, look who stopped by."

"Hi."

Eva waved. "We were just comparing kisses."

Jason turned beat red making them laugh. "You think that's funny?"

"Uh, huh," Liz said before finishing off a bite of chocolate.

"And she smuggled you in contraband?"

"Yup. She's a keeper."

Eva giggled. "Alright, I have to go, but I'm glad you're going to be okay. Take care of the big lug for me."

"I will."

"Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah. This town is too crazy for me. I'm going to Europe until the trial is over, but thank you for protecting me."

"Thank you for being patient."

"You're a good guard."

"As long as he doesn't go around kissing everyone," Liz said.

Jason shook his head.

Eva gave him a quick hug and told him that she'd be in touch before waving to Elizabeth and leaving.

"She's really nice."

"Yeah. It is tempting to run off to Europe with her. You're giving me gray hair, Lansing, and this town is crazy."

Liz's jaw drops. "Just for that, no chocolate for you," she said putting her box on her tray.

"I can think of a better way to taste it."

At the sound of his husky voice, she blushes and then his lips are on her and his tongue flitted across her lips and when she opened for him, he hungrily explored her mouth as Elizabeth moaned and then threw her arms around his neck.

Epiphany cleared her throat and they broke apart. "She's hooked up to monitors, Casanova, and her blood pressure just spiked."

Jason looked at Liz and winked, making her giggle. "Do I need a lawyer?"

"Maybe."

Piph moved closer. "I'd ask you how you're feeling…"

Liz turned beet red. "I feel a lot warmer now. Can I go?"

Piph chuckled. "I'm here to try to get you moving and then we'll talk."

"I'm tired, but I'm ready."

It was an exhausting walk down the hallway and back, but she made it and the doctor signed off on her release.

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Liz is so excited to see Spinelli when they get to the house.

"I can't believe that you're here."

"You have me for two days."

She hugged him and then Jason helped her sit on the couch.

"Tonight, it's popcorn and movies."

Liz clapped. "I can't wait."

Carly and Jax dragged some blankets and pillows into the room.

"Got room for three more? We brought junk food," Delores said as she entered the room with Johnny and Manny.

Liz grinned. "Hi!"

Delores kissed her on the head. "You were missed."

"Never again…"

"You got that right," Jason said.

She sat next to Elizabeth and they chatted. Spinelli motioned for Jason to follow him and they went into the next room.

"What's up?"

"I think I found Elizabeth's mom."

"Seriously?"

Spinelli nodded. "She got married and that is why it was so hard to find her. His name is Paul."

"When are you going to tell her?"

"I figured I'd let her rest tonight and I'll tell her in the morning."

"Is she close?"

"They live in Rochester."

Jason patted Spinelli on the back. "Good job."

"Thanks."

A/N – Alright, remember, don't get excited about Liason…