A/N: You're probably wondering why I'm posting on this story again so soon. No, I wasn't struck by a sudden burst of inspiration. Rather, some unforeseen circumstances have appeared, and my goal is to finish this story in a hurry. So, with that in mind, I'll be posting non-stop on this fic for, at least, the next week or so until it's finished. Trust me, I don't like this decision either, but, in the end, selfishly, it's what will be the best for me. Also, obviously, because of this time frame, this story is going to dramatically pick up pace. Originally, I had planned to make this a very intricate, very drawn out, very detailed story, but plans are made to be broken. Hopefully, it'll still be entertaining and cohesive. Thanks for understanding!

Charlynn

Necessary Evil

Chapter Twenty-Five
FF#285: A day late and a dollar short.

"This is completely ridiculous," Alexis huffed under her breath, her exertion blowing out her rather long, distracting bangs. In a hushed tone, she continued, unlocking her apartment's door at the same time. "Anyone who knows me, my friends, my colleagues, hell, even the man on the street corner that I buy my bagel from every morning, is well aware of the fact that I would never invite a man back to my apartment after the first date."

He wanted to retort smartly. He wanted to ask her if she had ever even been on a first date, and, if so, had it even progressed far enough for either parties involved to want to consider going back to her place, but he restrained himself. After all, in her own frustrating way, the attorney was helping him, and, if he had to play along with her vocal tirades in order to see Elizabeth, in order to protect Elizabeth, then he would. So, instead of mocking her, he calmly stated, "but you have to remember that, to the rest of the world, this isn't our first date. We've known and been seeing each other for several weeks now."

"If I concede you that point, then we'll be right back to where we started from and the fact that neither of us are, in the slightest way, attracted to one another."

Muttering under his breath, his eyes cast to the floor while his hand attempted, in vain, to pinch away some of the tension building along his sinuses, Jason remarked, "and there such things as small miracles."

The door finally popped open, revealing a pinch black interior, but, still, his date remained out in the hall beside where he was standing. "For what very well may be the first and probably the last time in our unfortunate association, I just so happen to agree with you, Mr. Morgan."

And, with that, the wordy brunette stepped forward, attempting and failing to slam the door in his face. But the action was only par for the course as far as their evening together was concerned. She had stepped on his feet repeatedly through the night, kicked him under the table as they dined, endeavored to shut his fingers in the car door, and managed to almost trip him while they were getting on the elevator to come up to her flat. Although he would never question the older woman, he had a feeling Alexis Davis had been an unpopular child growing up.

"Why is your apartment this dark," he, instead, asked. "What, did you forget to pay your electric bill on time, or did you stiff them by sending a short payment?"

"I do believe such bourgeoisie behavior would be more your style and not mine."

"I turned off all the lights so that no one would suspect that I… or, well, we were here."



Jason didn't need the sudden illumination that came from the flip of a switch as Elizabeth bathed the startlingly cluttered living room in a muted, amber light to know who had just, surprisingly, spoken. However, he certainly had not been expecting her to be sitting in the dark with one Mr. Damien Spinelli. Perhaps foolishly, he had hoped his association with the grass enthusiast had been completed.

"Elizabeth," Alexis finally gasped out. Glancing in her direction, the mob heir noticed the lawyer clutching her chest as if she had been frightened. Her next words proved his surmise. "Do. Not. Do. That. To. Me. Again."

"Forgive our Beloved and Trusted Confidant, Lady Legal Eagle, but she was just endeavoring to be stealth."

"And you? What are you doing in my home?"

"I… uh…," Spinelli fumbled with his words, glancing nervously back and forth between the other three adults in the room. "The Jackal just wished to inform the Elegant Elizabeth of a most fascinating yet worrisome piece of news that he, um, managed to gather in a rather unorthodox fashion. For you see," the book store owner continued to ramble, finding his rhythm as he toyed endlessly with his always disheveled hair, "when I heard of the oh-so-deceptive holy honing device, I felt as if my - The Assassin of Cyberspace's expertise had been challenged, so I set about to… mimic The Malevolent Medicinal One's tactics and decided to slip my own…"

"Jason," Elizabeth, mercifully, interrupted her friend's blathering. "Can we… I need to speak to you." She paused, meeting the interested attorney's gaze from across the room. "In private."

"Yeah, of course."

Prompting the older woman, she said, "Alexis."

"Right. Come on Oh Incoherent One," his date waved for Spinelli to follow her. "We'll watch TV in my room while these two sort out whatever it is they need to sort out. It could take a while, so I hope you're up to date on all your vaccinations."

"I am immunized to the max, but, routine visits to the pediatrician aside, The Jackal does not feel comfortable stepping inside of the Fair, Law Abiding One's hallowed, personal chambers. It is a place he has not walked before and would prefer to…"

"Damien," Elizabeth once again interjected, stopping the young adult in his verbal tracks. "Please. You started this whole mess, and, now, I need to finish it." That made Jason pause, but he did not have a chance to contemplate the brunette's words before she was speaking again, this time in a much softer tone. "Besides, Alexis has quite the collection of mysteries on film, a lot of the classics, and I'm sure she'll let you watch one as long as you sit on the floor, manage to not touch anything, and stay as quiet as you can."


"I shall not disappoint you," the nerd promised, bowing slightly before backing out of the room, finally leaving him alone with Elizabeth.

"So," Jason started, shoving his hands into the pockets of his dress slacks if only to prevent himself from reaching out and touching the woman before him. "What did you need to talk about?"

"I'm not going to lie to you, and I'm not going to protect Spinelli, but you have to promise me that you won't hurt him."

Taken aback by what the painter had said, he backtracked slightly, sliding down to sit on Alexis' couch. "Elizabeth, what's going on?"

"Please, just promise me."

"Alright, I won't hurt the kid."

"Okay then," she agreed, taking a seat directly beside him. Angling her legs in his direction, the future heir to the Corinthos-Morgan empire was startled when the brunette reached out and took his hands and held them in her own. "Spinelli slipped a recording device into Alexis' purse tonight, so he could listen in on your date, and, before you say anything," she stopped the words from even forming on his lips, "yes, he had me listen."

Collapsing, Jason let go of her hands, running his own fingers through his hair. "What exactly did you hear?"

"A lot," Elizabeth confessed. He could feel her watching him, but he refused to meet her gaze. "I heard my best friend reading you the riot act over the fact that you liked your visits to Greece. I listened to the tape as she conveniently flipped sides on just about every political issue that she holds practically sacred tonight simply because you happened to agree with her original stance, and I listened as you calmly, patiently even talked to her about boxing."

"And…"

"And," the artist continued, taking a deep breath, "Spinelli played the part of the tape for me where Alexis questioned you about your intentions towards me."

Jason sighed. "His recording device didn't somehow managed to hit a glitch at that point, did it?"

In a whispered voice, she responded, "no."

Swearing harshly, the blonde stood up and began to pace the length of the room. "Fuck!"



"But is it really such a bad thing that I heard you admit that you're… in love with me, Jason?" Her words had him pausing, relaxing, almost hoping, but, still, he didn't turn around. "Because, as Alexis told you, I'm in love with you, too. And all those things you said tonight to her about wanting to protect me, about wanting to make sure that your life is safe for me before asking me to be with you, about wanting a future together, they were all beautiful."

Slowly, he risked pivoting around and looking at the most unique, most accepting, most captivating woman he had ever managed to meet in all his twenty-some years. He found her smiling demurely in his direction. "So, what now, because I'd really like to kiss you, but, when I do that for the first time, your best friends are not going to have their eyes glued to a keyhole watching us."

"Well," Elizabeth suggested, crooking her finger in his direction and motioning for him to come closer. Obediently, gratefully, he obliged. "I think," she started, only to pause in order to wrap her arms around his neck, effectively pulling her own lithe body in close contact with his ever warming, every pulsating form. Languidly, she ran her skillful fingers through the long ends of hair at the nape of his neck, scratching his scalp lightly. With her lips just a breath away from his jaw, she continued, "you need to figure out a plan, and you need to do it right away."

"I can manage that." His breathing was rough and ragged, his voice husky and muted, almost unrecognizable to his own ears. "And about that kiss?"

"Hm, well, I think I'll surprise you with it, Morgan," the woman in his arms teased, her laughter rumbling through her chest, making it brush even more intimately against his own. "When you least expect it, there I'll be, and you better be ready and waiting."

"Oh, I'll be ready, but you better not keep me waiting that long."

Effectively separating their forms, Elizabeth pulled back, winking up at him. "We'll see."

Realizing the moment was over, the expected future crime boss turned towards the closed bedroom door on the other side of the room. "Alright you two," he addressed Alexis and Spinelli. "You can come out now."

"Thank god," the attorney breathed out, shoving her way past the scampering book store owner. "Your friend," she informed the petite brunette, "smells."

"Like pot," Jason added helpfully. "Listen, right here, right now," he told them, not allowing for anymore small talk. "I need to know if you're willing to help me." Amending his words and reaching for Elizabeth's hand to hold in his, he altered his previous statement. "I need to know if you're willing to help us."

"I'm already in this deep," the lawyer rolled her eyes, shrugging her shoulders pessimistically, "so why not continue to bait the mob?"


He accepted her sarcasm for agreement. "And you," he regarded the nerd in the plaid shorts despite the fact that it was barely twenty degrees outside.

"I shall not back down or cower at the face of danger or imminent death. You have The Jackal's solemn vow that he will fight for his Faithful Friend until his last breath has been extinguished, until the last beat of his life's blood has flowed tragically through his wasted corpse and out of a severed limb, until his…"

"And count Patrick and Carly in as well," Elizabeth added, silencing the younger man with a thankful smile. Facing Jason, she nodded her head just once. "We can do this – together."

And they would.