The Wayward Son and The Docile Daughter
Bright and early at the Quartermaine estate, their breakfast turns into a meeting of minds when Keesha is served the protection order against her, forcing them to see that this wasn't an issue that was going to go away easily. What they thought would be a cinch to win has now turned into an outright battle with their daughter switching sides and none of them able to get Jason to see reason.
"What's our next step?" Monica asks her husband, needing him to give her clarity. "This obviously sets us back in our standing."
"We'll have to touch base with his doctors," Alan says as he thinks through their options. "Make sure that they understand what's at stake here."
"Dr. Collins has already made his standing clear," Keesha reminds them. "Could you really convince him to side with us?"
"Kevin knows as well as any of us what Jason has been put through," Monica says seriously. "He knows the man our son was before the accident and the man he became after it. With the right line of questioning, he'll make our case whether he likes it or not."
As they continue their discussion on their next steps in the battle for their son, Keesha can't help but wonder just what their odds truly look like, seeing more and more evidence that things will fall on Jason's side than theirs. To think that a car accident will be the thing that takes him from her, she just can't believe that such a random thing could be the reason instead of one of the many challenges they had faced before then. If she were honest, she knows that it's not the accident that's taking him from her but a certain young brunette, a lump of salt in the wound of what's become them.
"Is there nothing you can do to stop the judge from making a ruling?" Audrey Hardy questions Scott Baldwin. "I need more time."
"If it were any other judge, I might have a way, but Judge Russo is as by the book as they come," Scott explains. "You've had since your husband's will reading to do what you needed to do. I can't stall this any longer."
"You assured me that you could stall for as long as I needed!" Audrey snaps, pacing back and forth in her living room. "My husband was meticulous. Every clue he has left has only proved to lead me down a rabbit hole."
"We've searched the estate, the safety deposit box, and the packets left behind for her," Scott points out. "Maybe we can't find those documents because he didn't leave them for her. Have you considered that much?"
"You read the letter he left for me," Audrey says seriously. "You may not know this about my husband, but he never makes idle threats. A trait he shares with Edward Quartermaine. No, if he says he left them for her, he left them."
"Well, as of this morning, the judge has everything she needs to make a ruling, putting us at the eleventh hour," Scott explains. "If you're gonna find that thing, now's the time, it won't take the judge long to deliberate."
"Leave it to my husband to make this impossible for me to stop," Audrey sighs, dropping down onto the couch. "Why he'd do this now, I...I have no words. After all these years, allowing this to come out now, what was he thinking?"
"I'll see what I can do, but I make no promises," Scott voices. "As your lawyer, I'd advise you to brace yourself for a ruling before the day's out. If he really did leave those documents, it'll probably be best to get out ahead of them, be proactive rather than reactive."
From the moment her husband was diagnosed, she knew that this day would eventually be her reality, but she never thought he'd do it like this. Their marriage was mutually beneficial, she dares to say that they actually loved each other, but their differences always proved to keep them at odds. Now that he no longer holds any risk, he has chosen to air out the past, to hell with where it'll leave her.
If Scott was the only one with access to Steve Hardy's will, none of this would matter. She could have paid him off to make that inheritance disappear. No, her husband wasn't enough with one lawyer, having two others on the back burner in case Scott fell through, putting Scott's career on the line if he chose to alter the will.
No, her husband has thought through everything, down to the last letter, making her desperation to stop this from coming to light nothing more than wishful thinking. No amount of money in the world will stop her husband's vendetta from coming to fruition, leaving her with no choice but to take the lawyer's advice and find a way to get ahead of it.
"Morning," Alexis greets Elizabeth as she walks into the kitchen/dining room. "Late start?"
"Guess I was more exhausted than I thought," Elizabeth voices as she accepts the plate, taking a seat across from her. "I don't think I've slept that good in such a long time."
"I can imagine," Alexis replies, truly feeling for Elizabeth's situation. "Listen, I know you didn't ask, but I took the liberty of looking into the state of your inheritance."
"Um, okay, that's fine," Elizabeth says, surprised to say the least that she would take that upon herself. "What did you find out?"
"Your inheritance was never tied up in litigation, it was simply being withheld," Alexis explains. "As your lawyer, I appeared before Judge Russo alongside Baldwin, forcing him to bring your case before a judge. Russo will look over the claims and make her ruling. If I know the judge, given the time it's taken you to get an answer, she'll make a ruling posthaste."
"Did he say why he was withholding it?"
"He's guarded by privilege," Alexis replies honestly. "If I had to guess, given who Baldwin is, it comes down to a paycheck."
"So, it's most likely my family," Elizabeth sighs, having guessed it was probably something to that extent. "You know, I never really cared about getting my inheritance, it just wasn't important. If I had to choose, I would choose my Grandfather every time. To know I'm only getting it because he died...to gain from that..."
"Your grandfather loved you," Alexis reaches over, taking her hand in hers. "Your inheritance is not a payment for his death. It's a testament to the love that he had for you. No one has the right to keep that from you. No one."
"Yeah," Elizabeth whispers, nibbling at her bottom lip to control her emotions, giving her hand a gentle squeeze in understanding. "Thanks."
"Eat," Alexis says softly. "I'll drop you at the hospital on the way to the courthouse."
Granting her a single nod, Alexis makes her way upstairs to get ready while Elizabeth turns her focus back to her food, her mind playing over the reality of her inheritance. All her life, she has lived by her grandfather's words, oblige her parents for as long as she's under their roof.
Fighting with them only makes things worse. For as long as she obliges them, she will have the freedom to do what she wants and it has worked. In doing what they want, she's able to do what she wants, even if they may not be aware of it. Then she met Jason and her entire mentality changed.
It was like an out-of-body experience as she told him the party line, oblige to be obliged, her own mind questioning her as far as who she was trying to convince, Jason or herself? She has lived by this rule, she's perfected it, so much so that she never once questioned their orders.
Jason's situation has caused her to look inward, at her own life, forcing her to realize that it's not a life she wants for him or anyone else. How sad is it that she despises her own life so much that she wouldn't wish it upon anyone else? Her parents have controlled every aspect of her life, forcing her to isolate herself from the world, saying that it was all nothing but a distraction.
Friends? Parties? Never. Not if she wanted a future worth living. She's destined to follow a path that will open doors for her that otherwise wouldn't be open if she didn't put her entire world into perspective. Focus on the future and only the future. Time is a commodity and every single second of her time needed to be put to use ensuring her future.
To think that the only person that she can even relatively consider a friend is the prosecutor that convicted her rapist, well, that's a sad story in and of itself. Now to find that someone in her family, if not all of them, are actively working to prevent her from gaining her inheritance and - inadvertently - her independence from them, Elizabeth has a lot to think about and a whole lot to work through, that much she's sure of.
"These are great," Jason voices as he lifts one of the books from the stack Emily set on the bedside table. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Emily smiles softly. "When you're done with these, I have loads more, just say the word."
"I hope I'm not interrupting," Keesha's voice prompts Jason's smile to fade and Emily to groan aloud. "Jason...please, I know this is a rough patch, one of the many we'll have to face through our lifetime, but I'm your fiancee. Can you not find it in your heart to at least try?"
"Jason's tired," Emily voices when Jason remains silent, turning to the girl too stupid not to walk in on her time with her brother. "I suggest you leave."
"Jason, please," Keesha walks over to the foot of his bed, pulling out the restraining order from her purse. "I know you think that Elizabeth has your best interest at heart, but she's just trying to keep us apart. She's using your condition to stake claim to something that doesn't belong to her! She's using..."
"Shut up," Jason snaps. "Before you say something you'll regret."
"Jason," Keesha pleads with him.
"You hit Elizabeth," Jason states, making his standing extremely clear. "That's something I won't forget."
"A...are you threatening me?" Keesha questions in disbelief. "After all we've been through together...you'd threaten me...for her?"
"I don't know how to say it for you to hear it," Jason replies plainly. "You...are...nothing...to...me."
"You don't mean that!" Keesha snaps. "You love me!"
"That's enough," Emily says, blocking her way from getting any closer to Jason, knowing that he'd take the chance if it was given and that's the last thing he needs right now. "I said that's enough, Keesha! Leave before I call security."
"I have every right to be here," Keesha challenges. "You don't have a leg to stand on."
"That's where you're wrong," Emily states. "I'm his family, something you're not, meaning I can remove you from this room at any given moment."
"I'm his fiancee."
"You were Jason Quartermaine's fiancee," Emily corrects. "As my brother has so eloquently put it, you're nothing to him, so, I'll only say this once more. Leave while you can still do it on your own accord."
"Why?" Keesha asks her seriously. "Jason is in a vulnerable state. You, of all people, should want what I want."
"I want whatever is best for my brother, something only he can decide," Emily states sternly. "Just because it doesn't correlate with what you want, doesn't mean it's wrong. Don't make me repeat myself."
Shoving the restraining order back into her purse, Keesha storms out of the room, in utter disbelief that Emily could be so callous. It was one thing to disagree with her, but to make such a stance against her just isn't right. Keesha has always had the Quartermaines' support, Emily is wrong to stand against her, especially when Jason needs her by his side. The hearing is her last hope and she can only hope that this latest encounter will be the thing they need to push things back into their favor. Just as she's about to get on the elevator, Alexis and Elizabeth come walking off it, sidestepping her with ease.
"I hope you're proud of yourself, Alexis!" Keesha shouts, prompting the two to stop and turn to her. "You are destroying Jason Quartermaine."
"So you people keep saying," Alexis replies plainly. "I suggest you go about your business before you get arrested for violating the restraining order."
"Hiding behind your legalities, as always," Keesha scoffs. "Enjoy it while it lasts because come that hearing on Monday, I will tell the judge that Jason threatened me. We'll see just who the judge will side with then."
"Clock's ticking," Alexis counters with ease, glancing at her watch nonchalantly. "And, if it needs to be said, I have the commissioner's number on speed dial."
"She's really a piece of work," Elizabeth comments once Keesha walks away. "They're trying to make him seem incompetent. Does she really think that telling the judge he threatened her will give her the outcome she wants?"
"She, like the Quartermaines, have lived their whole lives in a bubble, common sense isn't so common in those circles," Alexis says as they make their way to Jason's room, walking in to find Emily with him. "Tell me you were here when Keesha was here."
"Yeah," Emily confirms. "I was already here visiting when she showed up. Why?"
"Keesha's claiming that Jason threatened her," Alexis says simply. "Mind following me to my office? We can go over your testimony and you can tell me everything that happened verbatim."
"Sure," Emily says before turning to Jason. "You okay with that?"
"Yeah," Jason confirms. "I have nothing to hide."
"Okay, I'll see you later then," Emily says, turning to Elizabeth, smiling softly. "It's nice to see you again. Hopefully, the next time won't be so brief."
"Sure," Elizabeth replies, waiting long enough for Alexis and Emily to leave before turning her focus to Jason, moving to sit next to him on the bed. "Hey."
"Hey," Jason voices, sliding his hand over to hold hers, gently stroking it with his thumb. "How long you staying today?"
"How long do you want me to stay?"
"I asked first."
"I can stay till visitation is up," Elizabeth answers. "If that's what you want."
"I want you here always," Jason voices honestly, smiling softly when a slight blush creeps up her cheeks. "But I'll take what I can get."
Author's Note: Can't wait to hear what you think of this update. Sorry, this hasn't been updated as much, the muse has been screaming for the other fic, but I owed you an update. I hope you enjoyed it. Till the next one, thank you for all your support in all that I write and a million virtual hugs to you all. Take care, be safe, and know you are truly appreciated.