~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Elizabeth!!" Jason sits up in his bed, sweat pouring down his face. Panting, his heart racing, he realizes Elizabeth is no longer in the bed with him. He tosses the covers to one side, making his way out of the bed. "Elizabeth!" he calls out, panic filling his heart. Just as he goes to stand up, she walks in with a tray of food.
"Jason!! Get back in bed!" She helps him into the bed, trying to calm him down. "It's a good thing the nurse didn't catch you like that!" Noticing his sweat soaked gown, she frowns. "What's wrong? Are you ok? Calm down." She sits next to him on the bed, using the washcloth to cool his forehead.
He pauses to catch his breath. "It was a dream. About you. And when you weren't here when I woke up, I freaked out. Don't do that!" he said as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to get you some breakfast." She reached for the tray full of food.
"Don't let it happen again," he teased. "Is there enough food here?" he motioned to the pancakes, waffles, toast, and other goodies the resident chef and cooked up for him. "You'll share this with me, won't you?" He looked at her expectantly.
She nodded, "It's not like I have anything better to do," she winked at him.
As she pulled up a chair, Jason shook his head, "Uh uh, up here," he pointed to the space next to him on the bed.
She laughed at him, "Down boy," she teased. "You need to eat." She fixed him a plate of pancakes. "Here. The chef has some fresh fruit too, if you'd like that." She fixed herself a plate of waffles.
He nodded, devouring the pancakes. "I didn't realize how hungry I was!" He reached for some of the waffles. "So what have you been doing here, besides watching over me like a Florence Nightingale?"
Liz cleared her throat, "Well, not a whole lot." She concentrated on her plate as she answered. "I didn't have time to pack up my paints and canvases. Sonny wanted me here as soon as possible."
Jason frowned, "So you've been sitting here this whole time, watching me sleep?"
Liz chuckled, "Well, I had to sleep too. And I've gone exploring around the beach, but I've pretty much stuck around." She took another bite of waffles before she continued, "I wanted to be here if you woke up." She looked him straight in the eye so he could see how much his sickness had scared her.
Jason finished off the glass of juice. "Elizabeth, what does Lucky have to say about this?" Remembering the kisses they had shared the night before, he hoped he hadn't jumped the gun.
Elizabeth looked at the floor. "He doesn't know I'm here," she said quietly.
"Elizabeth-"
She interrupted him, "No Jason, I don't want to talk about it right now. The nurse has some pills you need to take. Get some more sleep, and we'll talk later. You've been shot. You need to recover first. And I'm sure Sonny wants to hear from you. I'll be back in a few hours."
Jason tried to protest, but Liz would have none of it. She kissed him on the cheek before walking out with the empty tray.
He watched the nurse walk in to check his vitals. He refused the pills she handed to him, "I'm fine, bring Francis in here. Now. And a phone." The nurse merely nodded. Francis walked in minutes later, phone in hand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elizabeth sat in the sand, looking out on the ocean. A lot had happened in the past week, and she was just trying to play catch up. She was drained, physically and emotionally. Truth is, she had stayed by Jason's beside every minute of everyday, willing him to wake up. Why she couldn't admit it to him, she didn't know. She closed her eyes, remembering the kisses they had shared the night before. It isn't possible, she thought. He was just over come with emotion. We're friends, nothing more. Her mind might believe that, but her heart didn't.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Thanks Sonny, I will." Hanging up the phone, he turned to Francis. "He's flying Liz's art supplies down. I want them set up in the next room immediately. Ok?" Francis nodded as he left. Jason smiled to himself, she's gonna love this, he thought. He pressed the call button to call the nurse. "I want this out!" he demanded, pointing to the IV needle. She nodded, knowing that arguing with him would be futile. When she left, he slowly made his way out of bed and over to the bathroom. He flinched at the sight of himself. He needed a shower, bad. All of his muscles ached and groaned as he entered the shower. Turning the water as hot as he could take it, he stood under it, letting the water work out the kinks in his muscles. As he stood there, Jason slowly began to remember what had happened when he got shot...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carlos' men knew what had happened to their boss. They didn't like it one bit. Carlos may have betrayed Sonny, but that's the way the business is. Sometimes alliances need to be broken. Adrian stepped up to take over where Carlos no longer could. And he was out for blood. He told his employees to make trouble, in the hopes of luring Corinthos down there. Unfortunately for Adrian, Sonny had sent his right hand man. Adrian adjusted his plan, expecting to make an example out of Jason Morgan.
Unfortunately for Adrian, Jason arrived at the meeting with more bodyguards than Adrian had anticipated. In the end, Adrian and all his men present had been killed. Jason lost two men, and nearly his own life. At least Adrian would no longer be a problem for Sonny.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was sorry that Elizabeth had been so worried, but touched that she had come down to be with him. He thought about her and Lucky. He knew it had been wrong to kiss her while she was still with him, but he had nearly died! He didn't want to wait any longer. And she had kissed him back, so it wasn't a one sided attraction, he knew that for sure. Rinsing off the soap from his body, he stepped out of the shower feeling 100% better. Brushing his teeth and combing his hair completed the transformation. He felt like a new man as he walked out onto the patio, smelling the ocean breeze. Sure his wounds hurt, but that was a small price to pay for what they had accomplished.
"Mr. Morgan?" Jason turned at the sound of Francis' voice. "I have the package. Would you like me to set the room up?"
Jason walked with Francis to the next room, "No, that's ok. I'd like to do it myself. Thanks." He had Francis pry open the crate before he left. Perfect, he thought as he look around the room. Sunlight light poured through the windows and skylights, and you could see the ocean from the picture window. He smiled to himself as he began setting up Elizabeth's supplies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elizabeth made her way back to the villa, figuring Jason would be awake by now. She looked behind her at the man in black, laughing as she thought how uncomfortable he must be in the suit. She knew protection was necessary, but sometimes she felt bad for them.
She gasped as she entered Jason's room, finding an empty bed. "Francis!" she hollered "Francis! Where's Jason?" she asked frantically as he came running around the corner.
Before he could answer, Jason came up from behind her, "Boo!"
Liz nearly jumped out of her skin. "You scared me half to death!" She tried to be mad at him, but the smile on his face melted her heart.
"I have a surprise for you. Close your eyes." He took her hand, relishing the warmth of it, and led her to the room. Positioning her just inside the door, he stood off to the side, wanting to see her reaction. "Ok, open them." He grinned in anticipation.
Elizabeth stood in a stunned silence as she took in the sight before her. The room was beautiful, sunlight invading every corner. And in the middle of the floor was her easel, with a blank canvas begging for paint. "How did you do this?" she whispered.
Jason cleared his throat, "Well, I called Sonny, and he had Johnny run over to your studio to pack up everything. He sent it on his private jet, so it would get here quickly." He walked up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "It was the least I could do, since you dropped everything to be here for me. Besides, I have my own selfish reasons for having this here."
Elizabeth turned to face him, smiling at the look of excitement on his face, "Oh? And what reasons would those be?"
Jason chuckled, "Well, I happen to enjoy watching you paint." He pushed her towards the canvas, "So paint already!"
Elizabeth laughed, "Ok, ok." She took him by the arm, leading him to the sofa, "But you have to sit here, with your feet up. No excuses."
He smiled, knowing he would do almost anything she asked of him. He watched her as she worked. He had no idea what she was painting, but he didn't care. As long as he was able to watch her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elizabeth started to paint Jason, looking so much better than he had earlier that morning. She smiled at herself, thinking about how he had arranged to have all of her stuff brought here. She kept glancing at him lying on the sofa, smiling at her. It gave her goose bumps, knowing he was watching her every move, but they were the good kind of goose bumps. When she looked back at him to capture the way the sun lightened his hair, she wasn't surprised to find him fast asleep. Putting the paint brush and palate down, Liz put a blanket over him. Kissing him on the forehead, she went back to finish her painting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three days had passed since Jason woke up. And he felt better than ever. Of course, it didn't hurt that Elizabeth was there to dote on him, making sure he didn't over-do it, but he didn't mind. He liked being around her, even if she was still with Lucky. She made him smile and laugh. Something he hadn't done for a long time. And if felt good.
He hadn't tried to kiss her again, he didn't want to cross the boundary again. Lord knows he wanted to kiss her again, but Jason was able to restrain himself, barely.
Sitting out on the patio enjoying breakfast, he came up with an idea. "Francis?" he called for his guard.
"Yes Mr. Morgan?" Francis asked as he entered the room.
Jason looked at him with a devilish grin on his face, "We have work to do."
Francis nodded as he followed Jason out of the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Go out and enjoy the village, he had said. Maybe do a little shopping? A dress, find yourself a nice dress, there's beautiful ones all around the shops. Elizabeth didn't know what it was for, but she didn't argue. She had wanted to do some exploring, but hadn't had a chance until now. So with bodyguard in tow, she went for it.
Stopping here and there, she didn't find anything that jumped out at her. Looking at her watch, she realized she'd have to start heading back. Just one more shop, she thought to herself.
As she entered the last of the shops, Elizabeth stopped. Inside
the tiny store was a collection of dresses and handmade jewelry.
So many dresses to choose from, and each more beautiful than the other.
Finally she picked one out, very simple, but absolutely stunning.
She grinned as her guard stared, slack jawed. It was white, with
purple and blue orchids. The hem just hovering over her feet.
It clung to her in all the right places. She smiled at herself in
the mirror, knowing tonight would be the night she told him everything.