A/N – Thanks for the comments! – Glad you guys are hanging in there with all the action!

Chapter 36 – Fight for Love

An hour later, Patrick walked towards them just as Alice had arrived with Lila.

"How is she?" Audrey asked.

"Elizabeth has a head and neck injury from the crash along with some deep tissue bruising. I reviewed her scans, she won't need surgery but she does have post-concussion syndrome."

Jason took a deep breath. "How do you treat it?"

"Vestibular rehabilitation is probably the most affective. But lots of patients recover from the symptoms on their own after a few weeks of normal activity. If it doesn't seem like she's responding, then we'll start the VRT therapy. What we don't want her to do is develop new patterns of head and body movements to avoid the dizziness. I am admitting her so that I can monitor her condition. I'm hoping I can release her in a few days."

"Jason breathe." Monica said softly. She had noticed that Jason was holding his breath because his body had swayed.

Edward made him sit down as Patrick looked on with concern. "It's just his adrenaline levels."

Patrick nodded. "You can see her in about ten minutes. Their just getting her settled in a room."

"Thank you." Audrey said.

The idea of Elizabeth being in a lot of pain was doing Jason in. It was something he couldn't fix.

His phone rang and he handed it to Edward.

"Hello?"

"Edward, it's Manny. How is Elizabeth?"

Once Kelly calmed down, she insisted on him calling them for an update.

Edward walked away from the group. "They are admitting her. She has a concussion and vertigo. The crash injured her neck as well."

Manny sighed. "How is Jason handling it?"

"Not very well."

"We'll come by tomorrow and see her. Tell Jason to hang in there."

"I will. How is Kelly?"

"You may never get your jacket back."

Kelly smacked him on the arm.

Edward smiled. "That's okay."

"She's exhausted but I'll take care of her."

"You're a good man Manny." Edward said.

"Thank you sir."

Manny ended the call.

"Is she okay?"

"She'll probably have to stay a few days. She has a concussion and some vertigo. It could have been much worse."

"She saved me."

"And I'm very thankful for that. We'll visit her tomorrow. Maybe we can bring her a gift."

"She loves chocolate."

Manny smiled. "Then we'll get her the best chocolate they make."

"Okay."

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Jason took a deep breath. "Any word on Cody?" He asked his mother.

"He had to have surgery to relieve the swelling from the concussion and his left arm was broken. He's in the ICU but he's stable."

"Damn." Jason muttered.

"He'll be fine. I'll make sure all of his bills are covered and that he gets any therapy he needs."

Jason nodded. "Make sure you get him a cute nurse."

Edward grinned.

"You can see her now." Epiphany said walking towards them. "Two at a time."

Audrey stood up and held out her hand to Jason. He took it and they followed Epiphany to Elizabeth's room.

Jason saw her sitting up in bed. She had a brace on to keep her neck stable and he winced as he noticed the bruises on her arms from the crash.

They sat on either side of her bed, both holding her hand and a few minutes later, Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open.

"Elizabeth." Jason said softly.

"Jason?"

"It's me baby. Do you know where you are?"

"Yes."

"Audrey is here."

Elizabeth slowly moved her head. "Hi." She said softly.

"Oh Elizabeth, we're so glad that you are going to be alright."

"I'm sorry." She said emotionally.

"For what? All that matters is that you are going to get better."

She slowly turned back to Jason. "Don't leave me okay?"

He kissed her hand. "I won't. Not even Epiphany could make me to leave."

Liz smiled.

"Are you thirsty?"

"A little."

Jason got up and got her some water and then helped her so she could drink it.

"Thank you." She said softly. "How is Kelly?"

"Upset but she was worried about you. They'll come by tomorrow."

"When I woke up and saw what he was doing to her…." Her voice trailed off.

Audrey just watched them quietly.

"You did what you had to do. You saved her."

They were interrupted by Patrick. "How is the patient?"

"Tired."

"Unfortunately, you do have a concussion so a nurse will have to wake you up every two hours."

"Okay."

"You better sleep while you can." Audrey said. "I'm going to go but I'll be back in the morning. You're in good hands."

She kissed Elizabeth on the forehead. "I'm glad that you're okay."

Patrick followed Audrey out and Jason stood up and kissed her on the lips. "Sleep baby."

"Did I kill him?" She asked.

"No, but you made him suffer."

She smirked. "I guess my aim needs work."

"Your aim was fine considering you were injured. You stopped him."

Elizabeth sighed. "Sleep now." She said shutting her eyes.

Jason sat back down and laid his head on her leg. He was worried about her and he couldn't calm his mind.

Edward watched them for a minute before dialing his phone and leaving the ICU area. "How is he?" He asked the doctor who was watching Tico.

"He'll live. He's sedated and restrained. So, he won't be going anywhere."

"Good." Edward said. "As soon as he's well enough, let me know."

Edward wanted to make sure there was no way that Tico would escape. He would be tortured and then die. And knowing Manny, it wouldn't be pretty.

Alice pushed Lila into Elizabeth's room.

"Hey." Jason said sitting up.

"I know she's sleeping but I wanted to check on you too." Lila said.

"I'm fine."

"Are you really?"

Jason looked over at Elizabeth and then back at Lila.

"I know you Jason. I don't want you to run."

"I think I need her to breathe." Jason said softly. "I hate that this happened to her because of me. But, I'm so crazy about her. I feel like I'm being so selfish bringing her into this life."

"Elizabeth knew what she was getting into Jason. You need to trust her and her feelings for you."

He nodded. "How do I let the fear go?"

"You don't. You just learn to use it to protect her and yourself. It reminds you that you have something to lose and need to hold on to."

"Then I guess that's what I'll do."

Lila smiled. "Tell her I was here." She said glancing over at Elizabeth.

"I will."

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Epiphany walked into Elizabeth's room. She went to the other side of the bed to wake her; trying not to disturb Jason. But, he wasn't sleeping. His eyes snapped open and he sat up.

"Sorry." She said.

"It's okay."

"Elizabeth." She said loudly. "I need you to wake up and look at me."

She waited for a minute. "Elizabeth."

Her face contorted a little and Jason smiled. "She's not very good at the whole waking up thing."

Epiphany chuckled.

"Elizabeth, open your eyes now."

"No."

"I won't leave you alone until you look at me."

Liz muttered something indecipherable, but, her eyes finally opened and she gave Epiphany a look.

"Thank you." Epiphany said before leaving.

"If you love me, you'll barricade the door."

Jason smiled. "There is no question that I love you but I need to know you're okay."

She squeezed his hand. "I love you too."

"I was thinking, maybe in a few days, we could head to the island."

Liz smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah, I can clear it with Alan. I thought maybe it would be a nice place for you to recover. You can see a doctor there for your rehabilitation."

"That sounds nice."

"And I'm sure Skye would love the company."

"You think she'll stay down there?"

"Probably for a little while, she needed some time to relax."

"I'm willing to travel." Patrick said walking into the room. "Sorry to interrupt."

Liz smiled. "You could bring Delores."

Patrick grinned. "I like the way you think Webber."

Jason shook his head. "Would it be safe for her to travel?"

"Let's see how she's doing in a few days. A plane can mess with your inner ear, so we'll see how she's progresses."

"I'll check on you in a bit. I just wanted to make sure you weren't having any headaches."

"Besides getting awakened every five minutes, I'm fine."

"Good."

Jason watched him leave. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"I'm fine Jason. It kind of seems like a dream right now." She said watching him look down. "Talk to me." She said softly.

"I should have protected you better." He said running his hands through his hair. "All I see when I close my eyes is you lying there on that floor and it's just eating me up inside."

"Come here."

Jason looked up her. His eyes were red and threatening to spill over. Slowly, he stood and leaned over her.

"I love you and what happened was not your fault. You tried your best to protect me, but sometimes, the bad guys win."

"But you got hurt."

"I'm not happy I got hurt. But, I love you so much Jason. I choose to believe that you can protect me; that we'll protect each other the best we can. I choose you."

A tear rolled down Jason's cheek. Gently, his lips touched hers; lingering for a long moment. He opened his eyes and saw that her face was wet and he brushed away the tears with his thumb before kissing her again.

She smiled at him and blushed as he looked down at her with love. Jason smiled at her and then stood up and wiped his face.

"Are we interrupting?" Kelly asked walking into the room.

Elizabeth smiled at her. "No, please come in."

Jason saw that Manny was in the hallway so he went out to speak with him.

Kelly put the box of chocolates down on the counter and sat down. "Brought you some chocolate, how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay as long as I don't move my head that much." Elizabeth said. "Are you okay?"

Kelly shrugged. "It was a rough night. I had a lot of nightmares but Manny did all the right things."

"You're lucky to have him."

When Kelly didn't respond, Elizabeth prodded. "Talk to me."

Kelly's eyes filled with tears. "I don't know. I was just so scared between the guard falling to the ground and Tico touching me." She said quietly. "Suppose I can't handle this life? It just kills me because I love him Elizabeth. He makes me so happy. I've never had a man treat me like he does."

"So, it's just the danger then?"

She nodded.

"It scares me too but I just can't imagine my life without Jason. There will be times when it will be dangerous for me, but I'm willing to take my chances. You need to decide if you can do the same." Liz said softly. "Maybe I'm crazy for placing so much faith in him. But, the alternative is just not an option for me."

"I wish that I could be that sure. If I had been raped…."

"But you weren't. However, you were assaulted and you have a right to feel violated. What he did to you was horrible and you'll probably need help in dealing with that so it doesn't haunt you. But you are okay. They found us and we are safe now."

"I shouldn't be laying all of this on you right now. You need to rest."

"I'm fine. I would tell you if I wasn't. You can always come and talk to me. If you get scared and need someone to talk you off the ledge, I can be your person."

Kelly smiled. "Thank you. I appreciate that more than you know. It's good to talk to someone who understands. And if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be there too."

"Are you moving in on my bestie?" Emily asked teasingly as she walked up to them.

Kelly wiped her face. "You can have more than one. There's enough of her to go around."

"But she's little." Emily said.

Liz smiled. "Now girls…."

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Manny sat down and Jason followed suit. "I think she's going to run."

Jason looked over at him. "Did she say something?"

"She didn't have too. She had nightmares all night. They were bad. After one, she told me how she keeps feeling the knife slide down her body. I feel like I failed her man."

"I know how you feel."

"I just don't know how to reach her."

"Maybe she'll open up to Elizabeth."

"Is she handling everything well?"

Jason nodded. "Surprisingly well, hopefully when the shock wears off she'll still feel the same. Kelly just needs some time to process. When you come that close to something traumatic happening, it fucks with your head."

Manny nodded. "I know. I just can't lose her. When I get my hands on Tico…."

"Mind if I watch?"

"Hell no. I'm going to go all medieval on his ass."

Jason smirked at the Pulp Fiction movie reference. It was one of the few he had watched with the guys.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIi

Kelly walked out of the room.

Jason stood up. "I'm glad that you're okay." He said softly.

She gave him a little smile. "You're very lucky to have her you know."

Jason smiled. "I know and I'll never let myself forget it." He said walking back inside.

Manny stood slowly. "What do you need baby?" He asked sweetly.

Kelly fell into his arms. "Just hold me."

"That I can do."