"Elizabeth? What's wrong?" Jason watched the tear as it slid down her face, making a path for other tears to follow. He knew what was wrong, but knew Liz and to say it herself.
Elizabeth opened her eyes, and wiped away the lone tear. "I was just remembering the night of Lucky's fire. The sirens waking me up, the smoke pouring out of the building." She closed her eyes again to try to prevent the tears from escaping, but it was too painful to live through.
Jason brought his hand up to her face in a vain effort to wipe away her tears. She placed her hand over his, to keep it there. The warmth of his touch spread throughout her body, comforting her, reminding her that she shouldn't be here, with him, like this. After a moment, she lifted her face from his hand to wipe the tears away herself.
She laughed half heartedly. "I thought I had put this all behind me, the fire and Lucky's 'death'. I guess I haven't."
"I won't say I understand what you're going though, but if it helps to talk about it..."
"I woke up dreaming of the sirens. Did I tell you the sirens woke me up the night of Lucky's fire?"
Jason nodded, "You dreamt them at first, but you woke up to find they were real."
"Yeah, well I dreamt about them again tonight. They woke me up again. First time I've dreamt of them since...." she said as she rose to retrieve a tissue. "At first I didn't know where I was, but I realized Lucky was there, and everything was ok. But I couldn't go back to sleep, so I came here to paint."
Jason smiled and nodded towards the still life, "I can see that. Did it help?"
Elizabeth frowned. "Not really."
"Because it's not what you really want to paint?"
Elizabeth looked back at the painting, "Yeah, I guess. I'm not sure." Turning back to look at Jason she noticed there was still soot on his face. She reached up to wipe it away, but instead she punched him hard in the shoulder. "Why'd you do that?!!"
Jason chuckled, "Do what?"
"Run into the warehouse!! It could've collapsed on you!"
He shrugged, "I dunno. I guess I saw that nobody else was going to save Sonny, so I went in" He took her hand in his, "Elizabeth, I'm ok. I didn't get hurt."
She placed her other hand on his, "I know, but you COULD have gotten hurt, and that's what scared me." Tears started to fall again and she thought about it.
Jason smiled as he pulled her to him. Resting her head on his chest, the scent of smoke gave way to the smell of leather and sweat. She took a deep breath, to fill her nose of his smell, and to try and calm her racing heart. She could hear the steady beat of his heart, and it soothed her.
He kissed her on top of her head, gently coming it away from her face. "It's all right Elizabeth, I'm right here," he whispered. But she didn't hear him, she had fallen asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He held her as she slept, so soft and warm. Even when she sleeps she's beautiful, he thought. As if she heard his thoughts, she shifted, bringing her arm to rest around him, like he was a teddy bear. He chuckled to himself as he settled in for what seemed to be a long night.
As he rested his head on the back of the sofa, he thought back to when he came out of the fire. Carly rushing up to see Sonny. Jason had collapsed on the ground to try and catch his breath. When he finally looked up, there she was, with Lucky of course, but she was there. And the terror in her eyes was unmistakable. He had wanted to go to her, comfort her, but Lucky pulled her away. She looked back once, and the tears in her eyes drove a knife though his heart. He wished he could follow her, to see if she would be ok, but there was work to be done. Sadly, finding the mole had to take priority over Liz. So he had let her go with him. But that didn't stop him from wishing he had been there for her.
After finding Rick with Sorel, he knew he had to go back to the studio,
was drawn there by some irresistible force. He knew it was a slim
chance that she would be there, but slim chances are better than none.
So he had gone, and there she was, asleep next to him. He smiled
to himself as he drifted off to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She stirred slightly, reaching over to feel the bed, but all she felt was air. "Lucky?" she mumbled, "Lucky, where are you?" She opened her eyes and sat up with a start when she realized she wasn't at Kelly's. One name kept repeating itself in her mind: Jason. She looked to her right, but he wasn't there. Standing up to stretch she tried to remember the previous night's events.
Elizabeth walked over to the window to look out on the river, and that's when it hit her. The fire. Seeing the ashy remains of the Corinthos-Morgan coffee warehouse brought everything into focus. "I remember..." She gasped. "Jason! he went in.. " She talked herself though it, the picture becoming clearer. "But he came out." She breathed a sigh of relief. "Now I remember. He went in to save Sonny, but he came out. He's ok." She came around the sofa, almost knocking over her painting. Liz picked it up and stared at it for a moment, then it dawned on her, what had happened after the fire. The nightmare, sleep escaping her. Jason. Jason! He was here! Wasn't he? She looked around, but there was no sign that he had been there.
"I must have dreamed it," she said to herself. "Wouldn't be the first time." She set about putting away her paint and brushes when she saw it. On the table, next to the brushes she used the night before was a plastic cup half full with water, and a single white rosebud in it. She brought the bud to her nose to take in it's scent, and that's when she smelled him. His scent lingering over the studio like a haze. He was here, she thought. I didn't dream it.
Smiling to herself, she set the bud back in the make shift vase and went back to cleaning up her mess.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He had left when the sun came up. It hadn't been easy leaving her, but he didn't want to be there in case Lucky showed up looking for her. That would've been a disaster beyond compare. He didn't want to leave without letting her know he really had been there, so he risked a trip to Lila's rose garden and took a single bud that he could leave on her table. He smiled at the thought of watching her wake up, but knew it was too risky. Besides, Rick needed to be dealt with. There would be time to see Liz after that.
So here he was, sitting on top of a building, watching Rick, Carlos, and Sorel, but wishing he were with Elizabeth instead. He sighed as he watch the action, but his mind kept going back to the night before. The way she smelled, like paint and cleaner. The way she felt against him, all warm and soft. He hadn't felt this way in a long time. Not like this. He couldn't wait to see her again.
He called Sonny, to take care of the Three Stooges. Then he could see her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just as she was finishing up. Jason, she thought as her heart sped up. She walked over to the door with an expectant smile on her face.
"Hi!" She chirped as she opened the door. There stood Lucky, with a worried look on his face. Before she had a chance to say another word, he had her in a tight hug, nearly preventing her from breathing.
Liz's mind raced, trying to figure out what Lucky was doing there.
"I was so worried about you!" He said as he released her from his grip. "How long have you been here?" He came into the studio and glanced towards the sofa, noticing the blanket spread out on it. "Did you sleep here?"
Liz turned away from him to close the door, and collect her thoughts. Did he see Jason leave? She thought to herself.
She smiled nervously at him, "Yeah, I had a nightmare, sirens and all. And I couldn't fall back asleep. So I came her to finish an assignment -" she pointed at the portrait, "and when I was done, I just collapsed on the couch." She hoped she sounded believable.
He took her hand to pull her down on the sofa with him. "Why didn't you wake me up? I would've come with you, so you wouldn't have to be alone." He hugged her again, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm ok." Then she remembered the rosebud, "But, uh, I gotta get back to Kelly's, I'm probably late for my shift."
He stood up to walk her out when he noticed the rosebud. "What's this?" he asked her.
"It's from Em," she lied easily. "It's from her grandmother's rose garden. She thought it would brighten up the place a little bit." She had to look away from him so he wouldn't see the truth in her eyes.
He watched her as she folded up the blanket, and then back to the bud.
Not sure if it was the truth or not. Who else could it be from?
he thought to himself. Satisfied with her answer, he grabber her
coat and bag and guided her out the door, glancing back once more to the
lone bud....