A/N – Thanks for your comments. Enjoy the drama.

Chapter 36

The next day, Carly opened her email and smiled. The private detective she had hired had found out about Liz's parents abandoning her. So far, that was it, but she's convinced that there must be more. Throwing her not being wanted in her face is a good start. She texts him and asks if he knows where Elizabeth is and is happy to find out that she's on the docks. The more public her humiliation, the better.

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Jason gets out of his car and heads for the docks and when he finally reaches them, Sonny comes into view and nods. Jason moves past him and is jostled a little bit and then stands still next to a pole as people walk around him. The need to flee is strong, but he tries to take deeper breaths to quell his growing anxiety. Being outside in a crowd tends to remind him of that night at the café when people were strolling past his table. The deep breathing techniques are working until the crowd gets larger because of an argument nearby and he starts to lose control as a flashback pushes him back in time.

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Carly smirks at Elizabeth. "You think you're so much better than me, but you're nothing, Elizabeth." She takes a piece of paper out of a file folder and holds it up as Liz takes a few steps backwards. Carly presses forward.

"That's right. I know all about the fact that your parents hated you so much that they left you with your grandmother. It must suck to know that you are a person that not even a parent could love."

Liz is stunned as her eyes track the paper as Carly shoves it back into the folder. "You had me investigated?"

"Yup. Sucks to be you, doesn't it? Did you think you could steal my business away and there wouldn't be any consequences?"

"You are insane. I won those contracts fair and square and at least I didn't sleep with men to get them. Don't pretend you know anything about me just because of some stupid piece of paper. Although, if you talk like a slut and walk and act like one, then you are one. Apparently, you're always open for business."

When people in the crowd snicker, Carly growls as she moves forward pointing her finger as Liz backs up again, getting dangerously close to the edge.

Britt pushes through the crowd, thinking that she hears Liz's voice.

Jason eyes are glazed as he starts to panic, unable to reel it in. Sensing that he's in trouble, Sonny rushes forward just as a scream pierces the air as Carly and Liz fight over the file.

When Liz shoves Carly backwards, effectively pulling the file from her hands, she loses her balance and can't right herself. Carly dives forward to try to stop Liz's momentum, but she misses her leg and Britt doesn't reach Elizabeth in time to help her. Liz screams as Britt yells her name and she falls into the water, hitting a piling before slipping under.

"Call 911!" Britt yells as she kneels.

Jason heard Elizabeth's name and then a scream and manages to come out of his trance and runs towards the water as Sonny follows.

"What happened?"

"Liz fell in," Britt said. "I'm a horrible swimmer." She could barely tread water.

Jason is pissed that everyone else is just staring and not moving to help as he rips off his jacket and tosses the contents of his pocket onto the docks and dives in.

Sonny yells his name as he watches him disappear into the cold water.

Jason's head glances against the piling, momentarily dazing him and then he feels something on his foot. Coming up for air, Britt sees the cut on his forehead and starts to cry when he dives under again. Jason ignores the pain, and kicks his legs to go deeper. Luckily, it's not very deep near the shoreline, but the water is dark and murky and she could easily be displaced by the current.

Sonny is on his knees at the edge, just as Johnny and AJ enter the scene.

"What are you looking at?" AJ asks.

"Liz fell in and I think she was knocked unconscious. Jason went in to get her."

AJ is stunned. "No one else helped?"

Britt shook her head.

Johnny notices Carly who is crying. "Were you involved in this?"

When she doesn't answer, Britt does for her.

"They were fighting over a file. Carly was confronting her and saying horrible things and when Liz shoved her and grabbed the file, she lost her balance."

Johnny curses under his breath and then stops AJ from jumping in. "Wait."

"They might be drowning!"

"You could make it worse or get hurt."

Jason suddenly emerges and noisily gulps some air and then coughs as he struggles to hold up Elizabeth. He had already swallowed water before he reached the surface and is exhausted.

AJ lies on the docks and grabs her and he and Sonny hall her onto the docks and start doing CPR.

In all the confusion, Jason's head injury gets the best of him and he starts to pass out and slip under the surface, but Britt yelling Jason's name alerts Johnny who lies down and grabs his hands before he disappears completely and then shifts and moves under Jason's arms and yanks him up so that his head is above the water. "Help me!" he yelled almost losing his grip.

Sonny grabs Jason's torso as Johnny gripped his pants for leverage, and after a brief struggle, they hall him onto the docks and roll him onto his back.

The EMT's have arrived and AJ and Britt had gotten Liz back, but she passed out again.

Jason starts to come to after Johnny gave him some chest compressions and he's disoriented and starts to panic, seeing the café in his head and the people who were around him when he regained consciousness after the blast. Sonny grabs him.

"Jason! Elizabeth needs you, so try to focus!"

Another gurney arrives as they rush Liz to the ambulance. Seeing that Jason is conscious, AJ makes a decision and goes with her.

Mac and Dante approach. "What happened here?"

Britt tells Mac what she saw and a couple of witness offer their statements as well. Carly slowly stands and wipes her face as a few people point at her.

Dante moves in front of her. "Carly, I need to take you down to the station for questioning."

"It was an accident. She lost her balance."

"I need you to come with me."

She nods as Britt gives her a dirty look.

Jason is lifted onto the gurney.

"I'm going with him," Britt says.

"I'll follow," Sonny said, rushing to his car.

Johnny gave a statement and then called Emily.

"Hey, handsome."

"Baby, something happened."

She is in a conference room and immediately stands. "What is it?"

"Elizabeth and Carly were fighting and Liz fell into the water. Your brother jumped in to save her and they are both on their way to G.H."

Emily gasped. "I'll meet you there."

"Be careful."

She called her family and then Elizabeth's office. "Felix?"

"Hi. Who is this?"

"It's Emily Quartermaine." Edward is coming out of his office, so she grabs his arm. "Elizabeth and Jason were hurt on the docks. You need to go to the hospital."

"I'm on my way."

Edward is shocked as they step into the elevator. "What happened."

Emily told him what she knew and then called Francis who rushed to get them.

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At the hospital, Elizabeth is taken into a room to be examined and warmed up. Even though it's spring, the water is still cold. Luckily, she hadn't been under that long or it would have been harder to revive her.

AJ watches as his brother is pushed by. His eyes are shut, but thankfully, he's breathing.

Britt and Sonny rush inside and spot AJ. "Any news?"

He shakes his head. "They just took him back and they are working on Elizabeth. She hasn't regained consciousness." AJ's eyes tear and Britt gives him a hug.

Epiphany approaches them. "I should be getting an update soon."

"Thanks," AJ said.

Johnny, Emily, and Edward hurry into the room.

"Nothing yet," AJ said.

Emily hugs him as Monica and Alan head their way.

Britt and AJ explain what happened and Edward is livid.

"This is all Carly's fault."

"While I agree, we'll deal with it later. I just need to know that they are okay," Monica said.

A nurse calls Liz's emergency contact, not knowing that her grandmother passed away. Going down the list, she calls Jeff Webber and quickly realizes it's an answering service.

"You're in luck. Jeff Webber is in the states and on his way there."

"Okay."

She hangs up the phone and approaches AJ. "Hey."

"Hi, Leyla. What do you need?"

"Elizabeth listed her grandmother and father as emergency contacts. It hasn't been updated for several years. Your name is written in on the side though. I called her grandmother, but it said the phone is no longer in service, so I called her dad. An answering service said that he's already on his way here."

AJ groaned. "Okay."

Monica frowns. "I'll deal with Jeff and Andrea."

"She's not going to be happy."

"I'll call Jax and tell him that there is an emergency and to let me know when they check into the hotel. I'm sure they'll stay there since Elizabeth sold Audrey's house."

"Thank you, mom."

She gives him a hug. "You're wet."

"I'll change later."

Alan shakes Sonny's hand. "Thank you for helping them."

"I wish I could have done more. Maybe I should have jumped in."

"I don't think so," AJ said interrupting, "he could have pulled you under, and it would have been harder to get him out. You were where you were supposed to be."

Sonny nodded and then texted his girl.

Felix ran inside and is quickly brought up to speed.

Epiphany approached them. "Monica, you can see Jason."

"Can Emily come?"

"Yes."

They followed her to the bay where Jason is wrapped in a warming blanket resting. His eyes slightly open as Emily put her hand on his arm as tears trickle down her face.

"I'm okay."

"You could have died."

"She did. I—" His face slightly contorts as tears spring into his eyes. "I did it, you know? I got to her and saved her." The fact that he hadn't saved Nadea and his child, weighed heavily on him. "My head was hurting so bad, but I knew she had been under too long and when they took her from me, I was so tired and started to black out and go under the water. I couldn't get to Nadea, but I figured that if I saved Liz, then I wouldn't be a failure again."

"Oh Jason," Monica said.

"There was a light and I swore I saw Nadea. My last thought was that it's time for me to die. Maybe I wasn't supposed to survive that bomb."

"Don't say that," Emily pleaded.

"I was pulled out and the next thing I remember is coughing up water."

Monica ran her hand over his hair. "You were meant to stay with us, Jason."

"I don't want to leave Elizabeth. I need to see her." He tries to sit up and Monica pushes him down.

"You are not going anywhere. You have a concussion and we're trying to bring up your core temperature. Elizabeth is stable."

A tear fell as he studied her face. "What aren't you telling me?"

"She has a moderate concussion and she did stop breathing after she went under. AJ gave her mouth to mouth and Sonny helped him save her."

"I want to see my brother."

Monica kissed him on the forehead. "I'll go get him."

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Felix kissed Liz on the forehead. "Come on, sleeping beauty, you have to wake up. Jason is probably losing his mind right now."

When she doesn't move, he sighs as Victoria moves into the room.

"How is she?"

"She hasn't regained consciousness. She has a bad concussion and her heart had stopped before Jason fished her out of the water. They are bringing up her temperature and then we hope that she'll wake up."

Victoria sat next to him. "And Jason?"

"AJ just left to go see him. He's stable and has a mild concussion. They are warming him up too."

"They are lucky to be alive." It was on all the news channels.

"We almost lost them."

"I don't know Elizabeth extremely well, but I admire her and she is the best thing that has ever happened to Jason."

Felix slightly smiled. "I'm glad you're a big fan."

"The contest ends in another week."

"Is she winning?"

Victoria smiled. "Yeah."

"She'll hate it, but I'm so excited for her."

"She's beautiful inside and out."

There is a commotion in the hallway and then a man and woman rush into the room.

Felix curses under his breath and stands. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Webber." He had seen pictures.

They are staring at Elizabeth.

"How is she?" Andrea whispers.

Felix gives them the breakdown as Andrea slowly makes her way to the bed and touches her daughter.

Jeff is scared to do the same. "She looks so fragile."

"It's all that she-beasts fault—Carly Benson."

Jeff's eyes darken. "Where is she?"

"At the police station."

Andrea kisses Liz's forehead as she strokes her hair.

Victoria had gotten the impression that Liz didn't have a good relationship with her parents, so she's not sure what to think.

Jeff suddenly notices her. "Are you Elizabeth's friend?"

"I'm a new friend, but I'm closer with her boyfriend."

His eyes narrow. "Boyfriend?"

Felix moves to Victoria's side. "She is falling in love with Jason Quartermaine."

Jeff groaned.

"It doesn't matter what your history is with them. They are crazy about each other and she gets to make that choice."

"I read about him in the paper. I hope that he isn't taking advantage of Elizabeth's kindness and treating her like a rebound."

"You have no idea what you are talking about," Victoria said.

Monica almost growled. "Jeff Webber, in the hallway—now!"

Andrea's head jerked in her direction.

He grumbled under his breath and followed her. Once they were clear of the room, she went at him full force.

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AJ sat next to his brother's bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Mostly tired…"

"Well, I'm glad that you're okay."

"I heard about what you did for Elizabeth. Thank you for saving her."

AJ swallowed hard. "She was so pale. I thought it was too late." Tears sprang into his eyes. "I don't think anyone really knows what she means to me."

"I think I do. I'm glad we didn't lose her."

"Me too. Johnny took Emily home and Sonny's girlfriend dragged him home."

"I owe a lot of people."

"Don't worry about that. They saved you because you're important to them."

"I guess it was meant to be since Johnny didn't let me go."

AJ chuckled. "I'm seeing a bromance in the making."

Jason gave him a dirty look. "Don't make me get up."

"Like you could…"

"You saved the woman we love. I'll give you a pass."

"Love is making you wimpy."

Jason slightly smiled. "Love is making us better men. Go home to Abby and let her take care of you."

"Call me if you need me. There are some scary nurses on night duty."

"I think I can handle them."

"Famous last words…"

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Monica is livid. "You have no right to insult my son when you know nothing about what he has been through or their relationship. He pulled her out of the water and saved her life and almost died doing it. Do you get that?"

"While I'm grateful for that, Elizabeth doesn't deserve someone that has mental issues and is grieving."

"Say one more word about my son and you'll be sorry."

Hearing her distress, Alan turned around and cursed under his breath and rushed towards them with Epiphany in tow.

"He is not good enough for her, especially if the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Sleep with any brother's lately?"

The slap he receives is so hard that Jeff's head snaps back.

Felix claps his hand over his mouth as Victoria's jaw drops.

Andrea hurries towards them and Monica points in her direction.

"Don't you say a freaking word to defend him or I will take off my shoe and beat you with it."

She stops abruptly as Epiphany chuckles. The head nurse hadn't seen Monica this riled up in years.

Alan pulls Monica against his side.

"You need to control your wife," Jeff said.

"You need to shut the hell up and I won't need too."

"The only good thing is that at least Jason isn't your spawn," Jeff quips.

Monica struggles in her husband's arms. "You abandoned your daughter and left her here like she was nothing and barely contacted her. When her grandmother died, thank God my son AJ was there to help her. She was distraught and you were nowhere to be found."

Jeff sighed. "Another Quartermaine?"

"Elizabeth knows how important our work is," Andrea said.

Felix stepped forward. "No work should come before your child's needs to the extent that you leave them the way you did. She struggled and has abandonment issues because of you. You don't get to come in here and insult the people who love and care about her and act like you've never been gone; thumbing your nose like we're beneath you."

"Who do you think you are?"

"I'm one of her best friends and her business partner. I would die for her. Can you say the same?" Felix walked back into the room with tears in his eyes and Victoria gave him a much-needed hug.

"We don't have to explain our relationship with our daughter to any of you."

"Seems like she's only yours when it's convenient," Alan said.

"Come on, let's go check on Jason. I can't look at their selfish faces for one more minute," Monica said before tugging her husband away.

Epiphany crossed her arms. "Your daughter has been through hell and almost died. She needs her rest. If you upset her when she wakes up, I'm kicking you out."

After she left, Andrea sunk into a chair. "I never considered that she would hate us."

Jeff rubbed his jaw. "Maybe they are wrong."

"I thought she understood, but she was young."

He sat next to his wife. "Then we'll try to make it up to her."

"What if we can't?"

He rubbed her back. "Maybe we stick around for a while to prove it. I'll make some calls."

She wiped at her eyes and nodded hoping that their relationship can be repaired.