When a sleeping man could intimidate you there was something wrong. To sit by his bedside for two hours analyzing how he made you feel and come up with only one word was pathetic. Pathetic but true and Elizabeth knew she needed to get over her insecurities. Something told her no matter what, Jason Morgan was going to be a fixture in her life for quiet awhile.
You've become my responsibility until we know what the hell is going on.
The fierce way he'd looked at her. His jaw tight, eyes blazing the man meant business. He also looked ready to strangle Ric Lansing last night. She'd thought Jason had been pissed at her when he'd pulled over to the side of the road, how wrong she'd been. After he'd forced Justice to go over what he'd 'overheard' while Lansing was grilling her, Jason had almost wrenched the wheel out of his lawyers hands to make a very illegal U-turn in the middle of the street. It took his friend several minutes to convince him it may not be the best idea to go barging back into the PCPD and ripping Lansing's nuts off.
She'd remained silent in the back seat. Holding her tongue while the two men argued. It seemed the safest thing to do. Occasionally Jason would ask her to repeat questions Lansing had asked. Or would have her explain why she was in her pajama's still. It took three times of going over exactly what had happened from the second she'd answered the door, until she had gotten to the station.
"If that bastard ever comes near you again. I want to know." Twisted to the side so he could look at her from the front seat, Jason's face was hard. "I don't want him near you again."
"I'm his son's teacher."
"I don't care." Sounding all of a sudden like a three year old, refusing to listen to reason Jason sat staring at her.
"Jase." Justice's tone held censor, but faded off when Jason gave him a harsh look.
"He's going to do his best to destroy her reputation. I don't want him anywhere near her. If he talks to her, or breathes near her I want to know. She's not going to harassed by that asshole."
"Then why did you use her as an alibi?" The lawyers voice was barely above a whisper, but inside the car, the words sounded like thunder.
Holding her breath, waiting for Jason's reply, Elizabeth watched as his mouth twisted into a sneer and he turned to stare out the window.
By the time they'd pulled into her driveway, Jason seemed to have control over his anger. He'd simply slipped out of the car to open her door and followed her up to the door. With out a word he'd turned on his heel and walked away.
Now, thirteen hours later, he was passed out in her guest bed. Whenever Jason Morgan popped up in her life, reality seemed to warp. Things that shouldn't be right suddenly were. Find a dead guy, cover it up. No biggie. Normal people would probably have a handful of reasons why it wasn't a sound, logical idea. Most of the time she'd probably agree with them. But having Luke and Jason walk her through the situation she couldn't help but see the sound reasons they gave, Going with the flow while they were around seemed as natural as breathing.
It didn't help how she always felt a step behind everyone else. Elizabeth had a nagging feeling Luke and Jason were professionals in manipulation. And knew exactly how she was feeling. Not that she faulted them, she just wished everyone could just give her a second to catch her breath.
None of this changed how he intimidated the hell out of her. Made her feel like the awkward teenager she once had been. Deflated her confidence each time he came within ten feet of her. Or made her wish she looked more like a woman. Taller, sexier, bustier.
Groaning at the direction her thoughts had gone, Elizabeth grabbed the book she'd been ignoring and opened it to the first page.
She had to be the most pathetic woman on the face of the earth. The man was way out of her league. She'd known it when she'd met him at Luke's the first time. Lumping him into the category with the rest of the demi-god like men she'd met. The snobby, self absorbed, skirt chasing jerks who thought they were god's gift to woman kind. The type of men who expected to be stared at. Who were able to walk into a crowded room, pick out their conquest and leave with her minutes later.
It was nice to see that Jason Morgan actually used his brain to think with on most occasions, instead of his member down south. But it didn't change the fact that girls like her, never ended up with guys like him.
Shorty, perky, and almost flat chested woman ended up with nice guys. Nice looking. Nice to talk to. Mr. Nice guy all around. Woman like her. The ones who loved children's books and enjoyed the company of children usually ended up as Soccer Mom's. Not the wife of the local crime lord.
Not like there was anything between them except her bigger than life pathetic-ness. There had been that one time after school. When he'd come to pick Michael up. She could have sworn he'd been flirting with her, but there was a time in her life where she also believed in Fairies.
"Ms. Webber?" Francis's voice carried up the stairs and Elizabeth blushed when she realized she was still staring at Jason's face. Shutting the unread book in her lap, she gave Jason one last look before heading downstairs.
Francis stood right inside the door, looking slightly uncomfortable, while holding a large paper sack. "I knocked, but - . . ."
Waiving her hand, Elizabeth gave him an easy smile. "Don't worry about it. I was, ah, reading."
"How's Mr. Morgan?" Wiping his feet on the floor mat, Francis looked up the stairs.
Scrunching up her nose, Elizabeth stared at the man, then spoke. "Do you always call him that?"
"Call him what?" His head swung around, back to her, and Elizabeth tried to read his expression. It was odd how Jason and his friends had this blank expression they wore when they were asked questions. Slightly annoying, but mostly odd.
"Mr. Morgan."
Shrugging his shoulders, Francis's large frame seemed to relax. "It's a sign of respect." Not going into it any further, he held up the paper bag that had the most delicious smell filling the small entryway. "I brought you something to eat."
"You didn't have to." Her stomach argued by grumbling loudly.
"Lucky said you like Chicken Marsala."
"No." Shaking her head, Elizabeth lead the way to the kitchen. "I like kittens and puppies. I love Italian food. I'm obsessed with Chicken Marsala."
Something that sounded like a humored grunt came from the large man, while he pulled To-Go containers out and placed them on the kitchen table. "You don't mind if I join you? If so I'll just - ."
"No, it's fine." Grabbing silverware she placed them on the table. "Something to drink? Milk. Ice Tea. Guinness?"
Francis blinked before a slow smile graced his lips and moved up to his eyes. "You have Guinness?"
"Another obsession of mine." Pausing, her mouth pinching, Elizabeth looked over at her new guest. The one who wasn't currently dreaming of Tie-dye and Care Bears. "That didn't sound right."
"No need to explain." Chuckling, Francis smiled for the first time. Pulling off his jacket and unbuttoning his sleeve, Elizabeth couldn't help but stare at Francis's shoulder holster. It shouldn't have surprised her. Clearly men who worked for the mob carried guns. But knowing it and seeing it first hand were two separate things.
"Back to Mr. Morgan, has he woken up at all yet?" Politely ignoring the way she was staring, Francis took a seat and spread his napkin over his lap.
Turning to the fridge and grabbing the beers, Elizabeth took an extra second to keep the blush from her cheeks. "No. Not yet."
"I don't expect him to for a few more hours. Or at least until tomorrow morning." Waiting until she sat down to pick up his fork, Francis looked over the table at her. "I talked to Luke and Lucky."
"How're they doing?" Seeing the slightly jerky movements the man made while bringing the bottle to his lips to drink, Elizabeth wondered if she'd said something wrong.
"They're good." Setting the brown bottle back down, Francis gave a small grin. "Luke wanted to know if you and Ms. Quartermaine had fun."
"I wouldn't exactly say it was fun. But then again Luke's always had a weird sense of humor." Unable to stop the smirk from reaching her lips, Elizabeth could almost picture Luke's sick excitement over such drama.
Sitting quietly for a few minutes, Francis picked at his meal, while Elizabeth nearly inhaled her plate. The last time she'd actually eaten had been last night. Not that a hand full of white cheddar popcorn was considered a meal.
The doorbell rang and they both froze with their forks halfway to their mouths. Francis was the first to move, dropping his utensil while getting to his feet.
"Were you expecting anyone?" Swinging his jacket off the back of the car, he pulled his arms through.
"No." Letting the word drawl out, Elizabeth's brows lowered at the man's sudden behavior. People had visitors everyday. The way he was acting was as though they were under attack. The bell rang again and she made to move for the door.
Hearing that Francis was just a few feet behind, Elizabeth felt like telling him to relax. With a shake of her head, she opened the door and immediately wished she hadn't.
"Mr. Lansing." The easy humor washed from her face, while she positioned herself in the doorway.
"Ms. Webber." His charming, oily, and totally transparent facade was back and it made her stomach roll. "I wanted to stop by and apologize for my behavior last night."
With a tight smile, Elizabeth reminded herself the man was the parent of one of her students. She just needed to accept the apology and close the door. "Thank you."
"If you could just give me a moment I'd like to give you my side of story." Taking a step forward in the attempt to allow himself in, Elizabeth held her ground and the door tightly.
"What story?" Sensing Francis just feet away, she tried to keep her eyes on Ric Lansing, who's mask was starting to crumble.
"Well I'm sure Jason's given you some kind of excuse for his conduct." Starting to get flushed around the edges, Ric took a deep breath. "Ms. Webber you're new to town, you have no idea the horrible crimes Jason Morgan has committed."
Gritting her teeth, Elizabeth wished she had the spine to slam the door shut. Instead, she fished for something to say that would get rid of the jerk on her front porch.
"He's dangerous and will only end up hurting you."
"I hardly even know him." Rubbing at her forehead with her free hand, Elizabeth knew she would only be disgusted with herself if she didn't get rid of the DA who was on a roll. "Mr. Lansing. I had a long night and right now I'm trying to get everything ready for Back to School night. Thank you for stopping by and apologizing, but I'm really busy."
Quicker than she was ready for, Ric had his hand on the door and slightly pushing it in. "If I could just have a moment of your time. What I have to say will probably save you a lot of trouble."
Trying to push back on the door, Elizabeth felt a flash of irritation. How dare he try to barge in after she told him no. It'd be a cold day in hell before she ever let someone like him into her home. He may have thought she was out of ear shot last night when he'd smeared her to Jason. Telling him she was well trained. But she heard every word.
Before she could show him just how well trained she was, Elizabeth was nudged out of the way and Francis stood nose to nose with the District Attorney. Neither man looked very happy and once Ric got over his initial shock a nasty sneer spread across his lips.
"She said she was busy fucktard."
Ric's sneer deepened as he looked over to where Elizabeth stood shaking for both anger and fear. "I bet. Does Jason know you're playing with his toys."
"Unless you've got a warrant, I suggest you leave." Francis, a man who didn't really ooze Mr. Congeniality, took a threatening step forward. Efficiently blocking Elizabeth from Ric's view. Seeing that the other man wasn't backing down, Elizabeth wondered if he had a death wish.
"I came to see Ms. Webber. Seeing that this is her house, I don't see why I should do anything you say."
"I want you to leave." Not believing the words had finally came out of her mouth, she watched as both men turned to look at her. "Now. If you ever want to talk to me, outside of your son's education, you'll need to let me know to get a lawyer."
"You're making a huge mistake." Jabbing a finger in her direction, Ric froze when a voice came from behind him.
"Better watch where you point that thing Lansing." Climbing up her porch steps, Sonny Corinthos glared at the DA. "Now listen to the lady and leave."
Ric's mouth twisted as he took a look around him until his gaze stopped on Elizabeth. Knowing when to retreat, he gave her one last hard glare before shrugging his shoulders. "Whatever. Just don't come crying to me when you realize the danger you're in."
Whistling to his car, he turned around once and gave a mock salute.