AN:

I'm so glad to have something knew for y'all to read. This is one of my favorite chapters of this fic. Sadly there's only a couple chapters left. I can't wait for the ending. It's defiantly not any of the endings I thought of when I started but I truly love it. I honestly can't wait for you to read it.

~Kelly~

Chapter Twenty-two

‟So what do you plan to do now?" Jason asked more than a little reluctantly. He wasn't sure what he was feeling at the moment. Foolish at the very least. It was more than obvious that his wife and best friend had tried to hurt Elizabeth. If not more. Knowing Sonny killing her had probably been the actual goal. It hurt that two people he cared about would do something like this. Although if he was being totally honest with himself Jason wasn't all that surprised.

Sonny had always hated how he felt about Elizabeth. His friend didn't even try to hide it. The older man thought he should be Jason's only focus. Interestingly enough it was a trait he shared with Carly. Just thinking about his best friend made his head hurt even more. He wondered if she knew about their plans. Jason wouldn't have been surprised. Her hatred of Elizabeth was deep and well known.

Glancing at Julian and Francis he frowned. The two men obviously had more information then he did about the attack. If Carly had been involved he wouldn't be able to protect her anymore than he could Sam. Hopefully he could at least reason with Julian. The man had to understand that Sonny was the one behind all this. His friend was driven by power and hatred. Nothing would have prevented him from going after the other man. He saw Julian as a threat to the business. Going after Elizabeth seemingly solved all of his problems as far as Sonny was concerned. The threat would be gone and he'd once again have Jason's full attention.

‟Are you sure you want the answer? Because I can promise you're not going to like it."

‟It's not we have any choice," Sam snapped back at the older man. Julian and Francis chuckled at her outburst making her even more angry. ‟You wouldn't be laughing if my plan worked."

Francis immediately pulled his gun out and pointed it at Sam. He was sick of the con woman's untouchable attitude. However Julian stopped him from shooting by say, ‟Now Francis we don't kill woman. We're far more civilized than Mr. Corinthios and Ms. McCall."

‟That's a shame. I was looking forward to ridding the world of her."

‟Yes well I have something slightly more fitting in mind." he said mysteriously before turning towards Jason. ‟What happens now is the FBI carts your wife off to jail for a very long time."

‟The FBI?" he asked trying to figure out why they might be interested in Sam this time. He knew that unlike when Spinelli was arrested there would little chance of him making a deal.

‟All things considered I don't trust the PCPD to not screw this up. Because if that were to happen... while I don't condone killing woman Ava is a different matter. Something to keep in mind if you were thinking about being even more stupid."

‟I wasn't..."

‟Save it Jason," Francis interrupted. ‟You've covered for Sam too many times."

‟You'll stay and make sure nothing goes wrong?" he asked his friend. Julian hated leaving his family but occasionally business came first. ‟I need to go check on Elizabeth and the boys."

‟Of course. I'll meet you back there."

Julian nodded at the response and turned to leave. Pausing at the door he said, ‟Jason don't think I've forgotten about your part in all this." Leaving before the younger man could respond.

‟What do you think he meant by that?" Sam asked torn between worrying and glee. Her life might be over but Jason would never be with Elizabeth again. Julian would do everything in his power to prevent it. This was almost better than if Elizabeth and those brats had died. ‟You don't think he blames you for what Sonny did?"

‟I'm sure he's just trying to scare us, especially you. Don't worry about Julian right now."

‟It's a shame Sonny isn't alive to watch you betray him for Sam of all people. And to think it was he was paranoid about Elizabeth." Francis muttered shaking his head. Apparently Sam was a better con artist than he had thought. Or maybe Jason was more gullible. That was certainly possible. Who knew how what all those year of giving in to Carly had changed his friend? What he did know was this was going to kill Elizabeth.

‟You killed Sonny?"

‟I wish but someone else got the honor. It's only fair after he ordered you to kill Johnny." Francis chuckled at the look on his friend's face. ‟A lot of us knew that Sonny was going to order you to kill O'Brien. It wasn't all that hard to fake his death."

‟And now he works for Julian Jerome? isn't that interesting?"

‟Maybe. Sonny was never going to win this war, even without attacking Elizabeth. This little miscalculation just sped things up." he said regretfully. The only reason Sonny had kept the territory as long as he had was Jason. The Cuban was too volatile to be successful in this business. Checking his watch Francis said, ‟The FBI should be here in about half an hour. Just long enough for you to say your good byes."

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*

‟There you go. All bandaged up," Matt said gently pressing the last piece of tape. It didn't take long for him to patch Elizabeth up. If it wasn't for Julian she probably wouldn't have done more than clean the wound. Trying to lighten the mood he teased, ‟Do I need to go over the instructions with you?"

‟I think I know what to do. I've only been at the gallery for a couple weeks." she said making a face. When Matt gave her a puzzled look she said, ‟I can't believe how much has changed since I quit GH."

‟Is that good or bad?"

‟Both actually. Something like Jake being alive, my dad dating Kate Howard, and you coming home defiantly falls in the good category."

‟And the bad?"

Elizabeth let out a long sigh at the gentle push. Talking to Matt about what happened was a little easier than her dad. At least he wasn't furious by the situation. ‟That's a little more complicated. I'm glad Jason is alive but I just wish... I really hate the push and pull we seem to be stuck doing. Sam would have probably continued to ignore us if he hadn't started showing interest in me again. She was content enough with having won."

‟Maybe but you would think Jason would know better by now."

‟You would think we'd all know better. At least I tried to stay out of that mess for once. Even if it didn't work."

A knock at the door prevented Matt from responding which considering what he was going to say was probably a good thing. He was certain Elizabeth wasn't going to like what he had to say. When Johnny O'Brien's head appeared Elizabeth frowned. ‟Is it safe for me to come in?"

‟I'm mad at you." she pouted at the guard. Elizabeth wasn't mad at Johnny or even her dad exactly. Honestly she was surprised her dad hadn't put a guard on her long before this. That didn't mean she had to like any of it. ‟Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

‟I think that's my cue to leave," Matt said standing up from the bed. He had seen Elizabeth mad before and wanted absolutely no part of her temper. ‟Try not to make more work for me."

‟I didn't know you and Doc were friends."

‟Doc? That's a horrible nickname. Poor Matt," Elizabeth muttered shaking her head. There was only one person who would call her friend something like that, ‟Let me guess my dad was the one who started calling him that."

Johnny laughed at the question. Julian was known for giving people nicknames. ‟You were always smarter than people thought."

‟Thanks and stop trying to change the subject. I swear you're as bad as Cam."

‟Me? I'm not the one..." Johnny denied before she interrupted him.

‟Doesn't anyone stay dead in this town?"

‟Are you sorry I'm alive?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the suggestion. ‟That's crazy of course not. I just wish my dad had said something. I swear if he's keeping anymore secrets from me..."

‟Julian just wants the best for the three of you" he pointed out reasonably. Everyone knew how Julian felt about family. Elizabeth and the boys were his top priority. If if his boss didn't always do a great job of showing it.

‟That's why it's so hard to stay mad at him," Elizabeth grumbled before letting out a long sigh. She knew how far her dad was willing to go to protect her. ‟I'm really glad your not dead."

‟Thanks kiddo. Me too. Now tell me how you ended up having a kid by Zander Smith of all people."

X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*

Ava was surprised when Kate answered the door. She didn't think the other was was this close with her niece. Or maybe she was just here to comfort Julian. Either way she approved already. ‟This is unexpected."

‟I brought Elizabeth and the boys dinner. Really it was just an excuse to check on Julian too. He sounded distressed on the phone."

‟I think we're all distressed today. What was those idiots thinking?" she muttered entering the house. The downstairs was suspiciously quiet. ‟This isn't what I expected."

‟Julian has the kids outside. Cameron is quite the charmer when he wanted something."

‟Don't I know it. The boys are defiantly Jeromes that's for sure." Ava laughed. Even Elizabeth could be charming when she wanted to be. ‟Have you seen Elizabeth? Francis swore she wasn't hurt but I still worry. I thought I'd never be glad for all of my brother's secrecy."

‟At least everyone is alight that's the important part. As for Elizabeth I think she's still upstairs. Julian asked Dr. Hunter to look her over."

‟Poor Matt. I know the last thing he wanted was to return to Port Charles."

‟It hasn't been all bad," he said coming down the stairs. Coming back to Port Charles had mostly been a good thing. Even living with Patrick was going pretty well. ‟Just don't ell Julian he was right."

‟Pfft," Ava scoffed. ‟Like my brother's ego needs any help. You on the other hand..."

‟What about me?" Matt asked getting a sinking feeling. It was never good for Ava to be plotting something.

‟I heard that there's this girl..."

‟Not you too?" he groaned shaking his head. ‟Look Elizabeth and I have already talked about this. Right now we both need some space. Especially your niece."

‟That's utter nonsense. The two of you would be perfect together. I can't believe I didn't already think of it."

‟You're not going to let this go are you?"

Ava laughed at the question before saying, ‟Don't be silly. Of course not."

‟I'll just let you discuss that with Elizabeth."

‟Men," Ava muttered as he headed towards the kitchen. ‟Like my niece has any idea what's good for her. Mean she married Lucky Spencer twice."

‟Obviously she and Matt need our help."

‟Kate I knew we were going to be good friends."