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Back in Port Charles, Cameron was holding down the fort at home. Joss came over to help, while they discussed what his mom was going through.
"I don't know what's going on with my mom, but my Uncle Nikolas took her to Paris to help get her out of the slump that she's been in. Finn has been at her constantly, trying to make her feel bad about herself. I don't like him. I really wish she'd just stay single for a while."
"Yeah but Cam, she is a grown woman. She isn't married to anyone, if she wanted to date Finn and another guy, that's her choice. Or did that change? Did they commit to one another yet?"
"No, well I am not sure. He's been kind of a bully with her, forcing her to face her truths. My mom is depressed, that much I know. She has been on a downward spiral for so long, I don't know how to help her. Jason destroyed her Joss. I think that's part of the reason why I stood behind her so fiercely when she accused Jason of killing Franco. I know it's not rational, but looking back to that time, I am positive that's why I attacked him."
"You know," Joss began. "I never really knew what happened between your mom and Jason. We already know how much my mom and your mom don't get along, but I feel like my mom might have had something to do with that. I mean don't get me wrong, I love my mom, but she can scheme with the best of them. I am sure her influence pushed Jason away from your mom."
"Yeah, I know my mom does her best to be polite, but I have overheard some of the things your mom has said to my mom when she didn't think anyone else was around. She can be belligerent for sure."
"Don't I know it. My mom doesn't think, she just acts, and then expects Jason to clean it up for her."
"Yeah, that sounds about right, from what my mom told me. I don't know, I just feel bad for her, and for Jake. He lost out on knowing a good guy, and a father. Jason was always good to me. I just wish he could have figured out how to get out of the business, or at least pull back enough to make a life with her, you know?"
Joss nodded.
"She always tried so hard, working two jobs to support me, with Jake on the way. I heard the stories. I don't like Lucky very much and I do not consider him my dad. My dad is dead. Jason could have been that, but he left too. I guess my mom and I both feel kind of abandoned. Nobody ever wanted to stick around long enough.
"I am so sorry Cam. I am sorry you and your mom suffered so much. It sounds like she never could catch a break. I am sorry for whatever my mom did to instigate the situation."
"I love you Joss. Thank you for listening to me. It's tough not having another man around to talk to, you know? I miss Franco for that. He gave good advice. Life hasn't been the same since he passed away."
Joss snuggled into Cam's side, trying to give him comfort.
"Yeah," was all that Joss could come with.
Just then there was a knock on the door, Cameron got up to answer it.
"Finn, what are you doing here?"
"Is your mom around?"
"No, didn't she call you and tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"My Uncle Nik was able to use his private jet to have her meet her mom and dad in Paris. I know she was in a rush to get going. It was last minute. Carolyn and Jeff were both supposed to join her on a quick layover before heading back out to Africa," Cam explained, letting the lie roll off of his tongue, not even flinching.
He hated the man standing in front of him. He was a bully, and his mom didn't deserve another abusive man in her life. There were already plenty of them, including Lucky."
"I guess she didn't get a chance to tell me. Okay, I will wait for her to call me. You boys behave yourselves."
Cam cringed at the comment. 'Why don't you stick it up your you know what doctor,' Cam thought.
"Yes sir," was the response he voiced to Finn.
Once Cam closed the door. "I really hate that man. I am 18 buddy, not 12. Who does he think he is? Certainly not my father. Behave. I'll behave alright," Cam seethed. "That man needs to go."
"Is that really where your mom is?"
"Yes, she's really in Paris, but not for the reason I told him. She is with Uncle Nik because he wanted to help get her out of the depression. So he is whisking her away on a trip to see Paris, then over to Italy, which has always been a dream of hers. Her and Jason were supposed to go, but that got cancelled too, along with their engagement. I just feel so bad for her."
"Do you have any idea how it looks to her, to Jake, that he can be around everyone else but our family? It's such a slap in the face. I can see why my mom is so bitter. I mean, it would be one thing if he didn't love her, but he did love her, and that's what makes it so sad."
Joss was blown away by everything that Cam was telling her. She only got her mom's version of the story. This version was heartbreaking. No wonder why Elizabeth was such a mess.
"I guess it doesn't matter anymore now. Jason is gone, and as sad as it is, I won't have to watch her pine away over him anymore, or to chase him down, only to be rejected again. It's sad to watch, and I am glad that's over with."
When it looked like Joss was going to comment, Cam cut her off.
"Don't get me wrong, I am not happy that Jason is dead, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I am thankful though, that she can eventually move on with her life. Once she acknowledges his death that is. She hasn't so far. She acts like it never happened, and until she does, I don't see her getting better."
Jason thrashed around on the bed holding his head in his hands. The pain was unbearable. It was like a lightning bolt of memories flashing through his head. Each memory made the throbbing in his head intensify.
The monitors were flashing and beeping as Jason's BP began to rise. The doctor came in to check on him. He slipped some medicine into his IV and Jason began to calm down, his body relaxing.
"That was the worst one yet," Nikolas stated.
"Seems like that might have been the rest of the memories. That was pretty intense. I hope that's the last of them. I don't think his body can handle much more abuse," the doctor explained.
"Hopefully he can get some rest. Sleep is the best medicine for him right now. We do need to get him standing for some physical therapy."
"I will get someone to come in to help out with that. Don't forget, don't mention any of this to my Uncle Victor or Valentin. I want Jason to be able to heal as much as he can before heading back to Port Charles. I am not sure what their plans were, but they are not getting their hands on him again. This family has caused enough damage. I won't allow it any longer."
Later on that day, Jason held onto the bars as he tried to walk, sweat pouring off of him. He could barely stand. He felt useless. The doctor pushed him to try and take a step. He moved his right leg slowly, and was able to take a step forward. He did the same with the left leg. Slowly but surely he was making his way to the other side. Once he got about halfway, he stopped, gasping for breath. He was exhausted.
"Here, take a sip of water."
Jason listened and took several sips before continuing on. He was bound and determined to get to the end of the bars if it killed him. He would not become someone else's responsibility.
Jason needed a gym. He would really be able to build his strength back up. He had lost some weight and wasn't as bulky as he was. Lying in a bed for 6 months will do that to you.
"I...I," Jason gasped again trying to catch his breath. "I would like a set of weights if you could."
"Oh yes, there is a state of the art gym down the hall Jason," Nikolas said proudly. "We should be able to get you in there right away. You can start working out your muscles of your upper body and then move to your lower once your legs are stronger."
"Thank you for helping me. I don't know why you are, but I appreciate it. We've never gotten along so, anyway, thank you."
"I am doing this for Elizabeth," Nik admitted, not realizing what Jason just said.
"I owe her a lot. She is one of my best friends. I helped contribute to her breakdown by pursuing her, when I know she didn't feel that way about me. We were two friends who were lost, and I helped push her over the edge. I will never get over that guilt. So this is my best attempt to make things right."
"What do you mean?" Jason asked. "I don't understand."
"Jason, I am not sure if Elizabeth has told you the state of our relationship, but Elizabeth and I were childhood friends, mostly because of your sister Emily, and my brother Lucky. We were the Four Musketeers."
"Yeah, I remember Lucky and Em being thick as thieves."
Jason hesitated briefly before continuing. He wanted Elizabeth to be the first to know, but since Nikolas seemed willing to help, he figured he should know as well.
"Nikolas," Jason waited for him to look at him. "I remember everything now."
"You do?" Nikolas couldn't believe it.
"Yeah, those headaches I was getting earlier, the memories were coming at me so fast. I guess my body couldn't handle it. Once I woke up I realized that I remembered it all."
"Oh wow Jason. Are you going to tell Elizabeth?"
"Absolutely. I just don't know how to broach the subject. I mean what am I supposed to say? Hey I remember now what a huge douchebag I was to you, sorry? Somehow I don't think that is going to fly."
"Jason, only you and Elizabeth know what you both have been through. I am not stupid enough to think that this is all your fault. To be honest, it's been everyone around the both of you that has been the problem. Sonny, Carly, and Lucky being the main culprits. Sonny and Carly are huge sore spots for Elizabeth. I won't even mention Sam. She is in another league."
Jason cringed thinking about all of the things he did to her. How many times he chose everyone else over her. No wonder why she hated him. Knowing all of the things he had done to her made things so much worse.
The only thing he knew though, was that he still wanted her. He wasn't sure if getting his Jason Quartermaine memories back knocked some sense into him, but he knew he wasn't going to give up until she gave him another chance. He would take whatever she dished out. He would deserve all of it.
"Until I speak with a doctor, preferably Patrick Drake, I am not going to even begin to speculate why I did the things I did over the years. Something caused me to block out anything good in my life. I was rotten to the people that were good to me, and chose those that betrayed me over and over. If that isn't the definition of brain damage, I don't know what is."
"Well hopefully you will get the answers you are looking for. What do you say you finish up here with your PT, I will go and talk to Elizabeth. Did you want me to break the ice and let her know you have your memories back, or do you want to tell her?"
"No, I will tell her. I want to be the one to do that. Just tell her I have something important to discuss."
"You got it. Keep pushing Jason, you will get there."
A few hours later, after a hot shower, Jason was back in his bed. He had dozed off right after PT, but now he was wide awake and ready to eat something. He was feeling a bit stronger than he had since he'd woken up. He wasn't sure if it was the PT, that exhausted him, but exhilarated him because he was making progress, or if it was simply because Elizabeth was there with him.
Elizabeth tentatively pushed the door open, and poked her head around the corner.
Jason smiled at her. "You can come in Elizabeth."
Elizabeth smiled back as she approached the bed.
"I just wanted to make sure you were decent."
"Trying to catch a peek?" Jason teased.
"No, I know what you look like without clothes on Jason."
Just hearing her talking about him with no clothes on made all the blood rush to his groin. He was surprised, he hadn't felt that since he woke up, not even morning wood.
Jason swallowed hard. "I...I..."
"What's the matter Jason, cat got your tongue?"
What was going on? Was she flirting with him?
"No...I...what is going on with you?"
"Honestly, I don't know. I had an epiphany, so to speak."
"Oh yeah, and what did you come up with?"
"I have realized that I have been nothing but a martyr all of these years," Elizabeth told him honestly.
"I've constantly put everyone else's needs above my own, and it stops now. From now on, I live for myself. I am going to take what I want."
"What do you want?"
She thought about the question for a moment. What did she want? To be happy. To be with the man she had always dreamed of having a life with.
"I've always wondered why everyone else was so happy, and I was miserable. It's because everyone else said the hell with it, and took what they wanted. Me, I chose to feel bad for everyone, but what I should have done was told everyone to go fuck themselves, and grabbed you and ran. When you offered me your hand all of those years ago, I should have taken it Jason. I should have ran away with you. So to answer your question. What do I want? I just want to be happy."
Jason had to be sure he was hearing her right.
"So, what exactly are you saying Elizabeth? I need you to be straight with me. No bull. Are you saying you want to be with me?"
Elizabeth closed her eyes to gather her thoughts for a moment. She wanted to be sure she worded things correctly. She had the habit of only giving him half truths, and that would never work if they wanted to move forward.
"Yes, I want to be with you," Elizabeth said sincerely. "I want to build a life with you, but I want to do that after you get your memories back Jason. I want you to be sure that you don't still want Sam. I can't risk my heart again."
Jason started to respond, but Elizabeth continued before he spoke.
"I want you more than you could ever possibly imagine, but things are going to have to change. I won't be second to anyone anymore. If you can't put me first, then I don't want to even try. That's about as honest as I can be."
Jason smiled. This was going to be easier than he thought.
"I remember everything Elizabeth."
"You...what?"
"I had an episode earlier. My head was throbbing, memories were flooding in at lightning speed, and I apparently passed out. When I woke up, I had all of my memories back."
Elizabeth stared at him in shock. What did this mean?
Jason grabbed her hand, and placed it in his.
"I still want you Elizabeth. I don't want to be with Sam, or Brit, or any other woman but you. I remember everything, and I still want you. Will you have me?"
Back in Port Charles, Victor and Valentin had their heads together, while dining in Victor's private suite.
"So father, since Patient X is still in a coma, what are your plans for Patient Y?" Valentin asked, taking a sip of his scotch.
Victor groaned. "She's becoming a nuisance and more trouble than she is worth."
"Do you want the guys to move her again?
"Yes, have them take her to Location C. Scorpio and Devane have gotten close a few times. I don't want to risk them finding her. We will reveal all when the time is right."
"How's the programming coming along?" Valentin asked.
"It's not progressing along as we had hoped. We need Andre, but he's in the wind."
"Damn it father. This is a nightmare. We should have left well enough alone."
"Well it's a little late for that don't you think?"
"I hate keeping this from Anna. She is getting suspicious of me. We used to be so close, and I can feel her slipping away."
"What you need to do son, is to stop avoiding her and take her out for a romantic evening. Woo your lady, or have you forgotten how to do that?"
"No, I haven't forgotten. Perhaps a night out on the Haunted Star. A little gambling and some romance. I will rent the entire boat for the two of us."
"Now you're talking son. Go get your lady. Keep her mind off of what you are up to. Our lives depend on it."
"Jason..."
"No," Jason stopped her. "Don't give me an answer yet. I want you to think about it. I know your first instinct is to run. Please don't. Please remember the good times, and only the good times. Remember how we met. Think about our rides to nowhere. Go back in time and remember Elizabeth. Only the good. Do you think you can do that?"
"Yes, I can do that. Remember the good."
"Thank you. I promise you won't regret it."
Elizabeth hoped that she didn't, but she was going to go for it because being a martyr certainly wasn't working for her. If they were going to work, she had to change her thinking.
"I love you Jason."
Jason looked at her incredulously. Clearly he hadn't heard her correctly.
"What?"
"You heard me. I love you. I don't know what's going to happen, but I wanted you to know that my love for you never waivered, even when I wanted to claw your eyes out and shoot you with your own gun."
"I love you too Elizabeth. I always have. My reasoning for pushing you away was that if anything ever happened to you, I would die. Being with Sam, I didn't feel that unbearable fear in the pit of my stomach that something was going to happen to her. She was part of the life and..."
"She was part of the life and what Jason?"
Jason didn't know how to say it without sounding like an asshole.
"If she died, I would have blinked and moved on. I don't love her Elizabeth. I hadn't for a very long time. Something happened to me in Mexico. A building fell on me and I was shot, I was hallucinating. I am not sure what happened, but after that, my feelings started changing. I felt angrier and I didn't care about anything. I went to prison for Michael for crying out loud. I was dead inside and just went through life in a daze."
"Yeah, but you still married her, and then you both had a child together. That was right before you were shot. You had to have loved her Jason, and you having a baby with her, that really was the final nail in our coffin."
"Yes, I did marry her and moved on, but so did you. Back to Lucky. So it's not really fair of you to be mad at me for having a life."
"Yes, it is Jason. You told me that if you couldn't be with me, you didn't want anyone else. Then you came back from Mexico back together with that skank. I am sorry, this is hard for me to deal with. I am going to try and get past all the shitty things you have done to me. It's not going to be easy. I don't think anything can explain that away."
"Elizabeth, if you thought it was okay for you to move on with Lucky, why would you expect me to be a monk?"
"It's not the fact that you moved on Jason, it was who you moved on with. It could have been anyone but her."
"So that's it. Is that your final word? You don't even want to try? Cause I am starting to wonder if you ever loved me at all."
"How can you say that Jason?"
"The more I think about, the more I realize how many times I tried to fight for you, and you pushed me aside for Lucky. You have forgiven every man you have ever been with but me. Why is that Elizabeth? Why am I always held up to this higher standard than everyone else?"
"I..." Elizabeth started to respond, but she didn't know what to say.
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
"Jason, that's not fair..."
Jason cut her off. "Life isn't fair. You giving my son to Lucky wasn't fair. You marrying the man who kidnapped your son, isn't fair, but you did that. You let my son be raised by a man who tormented me and many other people in town. You forgave him because he had a tumor in his brain, yet you cannot seem to forgive me and I happen to have brain damage too."
"Explain that one to me Elizabeth. You say you have a hard time understanding why I went back to the woman that watched our son get kidnapped, yet you were married to the man who did the same thing to Aiden. Explain the difference to me."
"Jason that's..."
"No, you had your say, now I am going to have mine."
Elizabeth closed her mouth, she could see the determination on Jason's face.
"Do you really want to know why I went back to her?"
"Not really," Elizabeth answered honestly.
"Well too bad. I went back to her because she chose me. You say I never put you first, well neither have you. You have chosen Lucky, Zander, Ric, Lucky again, every man on the planet before me. Maybe I wanted for once to be chosen first."
"So you married Sam to get back at me? Is that what you are saying Jason?"
"I love you Elizabeth, but you have a shitty habit of putting me last. Yes, I admit I have done the same with you, but why is your anger more justified than mine? Why do only your feelings matter?"
"You didn't answer my question. Did you marry Sam to get back at me for always choosing Lucky?"
"Yes," Jason yelled, although immediately regretting it.
"Finally, the truth comes out. So we lost Jake, and you decided that 6 months later you would get married and have a baby with Sam. Figured you'd replace the kid you lost?"
"That's not...that's not fair Elizabeth. You already had another child with Lucky. So I was never supposed to have a kid? Only Elizabeth can move on and have children?"
"That's not what I am saying Jason."
"I never got to know my son because you thought it was better that Lucky was his father. Sam didn't do that to me. She wanted me to be a father to Danny. That's the difference Elizabeth. You never believed in me enough to take care of him. You pounded that in my head so much that I walked away. I was so scared that if he got hurt, you would never look at me the same way again, so I made the sacrifice to walk away. I moved on, and did the best I could to forget you and Jake."
Tears were pouring out of her eyes. She couldn't breath. "Why her?"
"Why him?"
Elizabeth closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. She thought long and hard about what he was saying to her. She created most of this mess all by herself. She knew she wasn't being fair to him. It was just that the betrayal hurt so much.
"Elizabeth, just think about how it felt for me to watch you choose Lucky over and over again. Put yourself in my shoes just once. Think about all the times you yelled at me or chose him over me. You gave him my kid. You said I abandoned Jake, but it was you that got that ball rolling. I was sick of being alone and I wanted a child of my own. Sam was there and willing. Sorry, but you can't get mad when you did the same exact thing."
"You're right. This is my fault. I am sorry. I was so caught up in feeling sorry for myself, I never even bothered to realize how you were hurting too. I have taken advantage of you, haven't I? I really am sorry Jason."
"It's both our faults. We didn't communicate enough. I was always afraid to say the wrong thing to you, and you always self-sacrificed. If we are going to move forward, we are going to have to change that. We are going to have to live only for each other and the kids. Be honest with each other. That's the only way this will work. I am willing to try if you are.
"I will try Jason. I know we agreed to focus only on the good, but I think we needed that. I think we both held our feelings in for so long, keeping everything bottled up inside, that we don't know how to be around each other. Being honest is definitely a good place to start."
"I still love you Elizabeth. After everything we have done to each other, my love is still there, stronger than ever. I hope we can make it work this time. I truly believe we can. When we get back to Port Charles, the first thing I am doing is making changes to get out of the business for good. Maybe I will open up a motorcycle shop. Work on custom Harley's."
"That would be so wonderful for you Jason. I just don't want you to make your decisions based off of what you think I want."
Jason shook his head. "That's not what I am doing. I want this. I want you."
"I want you too Jason."
"See, I think this honesty thing is working for us already." Jason smiled.
Elizabeth took a chance and leaned in to kiss him, brushing her lips ever so softly over his.
Jason groaned and pulled her towards him, deepening the kiss. He slid his tongue across her bottom lip, begging for entrance. She opened her mouth to let him in, allowing him to invade the recesses of her mouth. He tasted her on his tongue and he groaned again, diving in, wanting more, needing more. Their tongues dueled in a rhythmic dance, both savoring each tantalizing kiss.
Elizabeth felt like every nerve ending in her body was on fire. One kiss and she felt like she was falling into an abyss of pleasure. How did he manage to bring so many feelings out of her?
She pulled back breathlessly, not wanting to get carried away. Jason was still recovering, and he had a long road ahead of him. As much as she wanted to straddle him and ride him hard, she needed to control herself.
Jason rested his forehead against hers, trying to catch his breath. His desire for her had just increased tenfold after that kiss. His cock was hard as a rock, and wasn't sure how to handle it. He hoped that she didn't notice.
"Wow," was all that Elizabeth could muster.
"Yeah, wow," Jason concurred.
Before they could say anything else, the doctor walked in to check on Jason.
"How's my favorite patient doing after the PT sessions?"
"Good, tired," Jason told him.
"Elizabeth, will you excuse us, while I examine the patient?"
"Of course, it will give me a chance to go get us some dinner. Are you hungry Jason?"
"Yes, I am starving. Surprise me. Just no soup please."
"Soup it is," she winked at him. "I will be seeing you in a little bit."
