Sorry for the shortness, but my night has been busy. Hope you enjoy. Thank you so much for the comments, thoughts, you guys are wonderful! Guest, you are a doll! My muse looks forward to what you have to say. Thank you very much.

Chapter Twenty-Five

He had a few hours to wait before brunch and while going and seeing Elizabeth was what he wanted to do, he knew in this frame of mind, it wouldn't be the smartest move he made.

Demons…oh, he had his fair share. In his younger years, he wasn't only cocksure but believed that his cause was the only cause that mattered. He often wondered if that was why he and his brother weren't any closer. Sure, he trusted him enough to take care of his daughter but was it really trust and not the certainty that Port Charles was just the safest of all choices. Of course, if Robert had truly thought about that, what with the Spencer's and the Cassadine's living there, safe really was the last thing Port Charles was.

Of course, his own brother believed he was trying to kill him, numerous times. Mac had almost died by his brother's hand once or twice. Thanks to lies and misdirection's, everything in his life seemed like it was going to need to be put under a microscope.

Did the circumstances of his daughter's life have anything to do with Helena Cassadine? No matter how he turned the question in his mind, he just couldn't think of a reason that she'd target him, Robert and Anna…sure, but something about that ghost, even though she was still alive, she was going to haunt those she considered her lesser.

Frustrated with the whole situation, Mac went further back into his memory, to a moment when his actions had caused a lot of heartache. He sometimes accredited Miranda Jack's death with his change of heart, his inability to think everything he did was just. He wasn't as foolhardy as he used to be, but he had to wonder if the brashness of young adulthood could really reap this type of results.

Yes, he was a troubled young man, but he wasn't trying to hurt people, he was careless sometimes, tried to impress at the wrong times but he wasn't every heartless…He needed to talk to Elizabeth, at one time, he wouldn't have ever believed the brothers capable of such malevolence, but a traumatic loss can change even the best of people. He prayed he was wrong but feared he could be on the right track.

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"Feeling better?" Jason asked as Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom.

"Much. I don't think I have ever been tickled like that. What made you act so goofy?" Elizabeth queried.

"I could see you doubting, questioning everything, I thought it was best to get your mind off of what could go wrong or whatever and focus on something a little lighter. I can't believe I am going to quote my grandmother but, 'don't go borrowing troubles' we have enough to deal with as it is. Another nugget of wisdom from the great Lila Quartermaine, worry about today, tomorrow will take care of itself. She was fond of saying that to me when my anger got out of control, or I got fed up with the family."

"So in other words, don't rock the boat?" Elizabeth said a little peevishly.

"No, just, you just found out your parents aren't your parent's, found your father, have some faceless, nameless person, people after you, do you really want to stress about things that pale in comparison? I like you Elizabeth and I am pretty sure you like me. We're more comfortable around each other than people we've known most of our lives. I am helping Sonny to keep you safe, we are doing everything in our power to make sure the next 90 years of your life will be a lot less eventful, at least in a certain way. Maybe we'll date and find we can't stand each other, maybe we'll fall in love and live happily ever after, isn't that what girls dream about? What I'm trying to say, rather badly, is that we can't know what tomorrow will bring, if you try to plan on everything, you'll cheapen all the moments that aren't meant to be cheapened."

"So…it is what it is? That seems like it cheapens everything I've been through and still have to get through." Elizabeth said a little snidely.

"No, what cheapens anything, is expecting everything to fall apart because it has in the past. I understand, I have seen what you have been through, maybe I can't understand because I wasn't in your position but as a human being I can be outraged, I can feel contempt that you've had to suffer, but wouldn't you like to know why this has happened, why someone decided to play God with your life?"

"I never thought I'd get answers, so I guess I've just functioned on the belief that I must have been a horrible person in another life. I'm sorry, I know I am being a bitch and I don't mean to be, it's just a lot to take. I want to trust, so much so, that I am letting down guards, walls I have had in place since I was a child but you have to understand, I have seen the worst of human kind, at least in my opinion, so trying to see the best, even when it is presented in such a pleasing package, makes it hard to believe. Don't take my abrasiveness to heart; it is a defence mechanism, something I've used to prevent getting hurt."

"I won't hold it against you but I hope you won't hold it against me, when I call you on it. You and Epiphany were alone for many years, you aren't anymore, and the entire Eastern seaboard is on your side. I'm going to get Johnny to get you some art supplies; I want this nightmare man on paper. Mac has offered to help, so between him and us, we should be able to put this to bed and get you a jump start on living fully."

"Are you normally so…positive? I don't need to see if you shit skittles or something do I? No Care Bear patch on your chest?" Elizabeth asked with a straight face.

"You are a very confusing woman…Shit skittles?! What the hell?" Jason asked.

"Well, from everything that has been said, you are this feared enforcer who kills without thought or regret, emotionless, and yet, pretty much from the time we met, you've been blowing rainbow colored smoke up my ass, like everything is going to be peachy keen at the end of the day."

Frustrated and feeling the tension of not knowing, settling on his shoulders, he quickly stood, unable to sit still. "You know, you can say what you want, throw any wall up that you need to, but it isn't going to stop us from caring about you or wanting to protect you. So go ahead, be as bitchy and prickly as you want. I see what you are trying to do, but listen here little girl, I am not going to be scared off by a few words. I'm going to shower and then over to see Sonny. Perhaps with some time alone, you can examine why pushing me away is your first recourse?" Jason gave her an intense look, placed a chaste kiss to her cheek before walking a little heavier than normal into the bathroom.

"Stupid, stubborn man…" Elizabeth whispered to the room.

"I heard that, you pigheaded, acerbic woman!" Jason said through the door.

'Try working on your whispering technique' Elizabeth thought to herself as her cheeks heated with her embarrassment.

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