The gunshot thrust the room into instant silence. The first thing Elizabeth noticed was that something had splattered onto her face.
Blood.
The second thing she noticed was that it wasn't her blood. Her eyes widened slightly and her hand shook as a realization of what just happened came over her. The gun slipped from her fingers, colliding loudly with the flood.
At the sound of the gun against the hardwood floor, the room went back into motion. At the door, Jason pushed past Taggert, calling out to the girl who sat stunned on the floor. Sonny followed, his pace slower as he watched the unfolding scene. Taggert moved towards the body that lay a few feet in front of Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth!"
Jason rushed towards her, sidestepping fallen chairs and miscellaneous objects. She hadn't moved, hadn't even acknowledged him calling to her, and that made him worry.
He came to a sliding stop next to her, his hand reaching out to touch her. He hesitated for a moment, his mind wondering what she had been put through and if she would flinch away from his touch. The last thing he wanted to do was to make her uncomfortable.
"Elizabeth?" he tried again, his hand hovering over her shoulder. He saw the rips in her shirt and the bruises on her arms and he fought with everything inside himself not to make Jeremy Barker's body unrecognizable.
Slowly, Elizabeth's head turned towards Jason and all thoughts of Jeremy left his mind when he saw the tears that filled her blue orbs. His heart broke for her and he gently placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Elizabeth looked down at where his hand rested, a tear trickling down her cheek.
"Jason?"
She had whispered his name so softly that he'd almost missed it. Almost.
"I'm right here, Elizabeth." His hand slid up her shoulder to cup her cheek, making her look up at him again, her eyes meeting his.
"Are you real? Or am I dreaming?" Her eyes skirted over to where Jeremy was but Jason turned her head back towards him. "I'm going to wake up and be at Jake's with you, right? This is all just one big dream… right, Jason?"
Jason felt tears come to his eyes as he listened to her shaky voice. He didn't know what to say.
"Elizabeth."
Glaring, Jason looked up at Taggert, unconsciously moving a little closer towards Elizabeth. He felt her lean into him slightly and he reached for her hand, never taking his eyes off the Lieutenant. Jason's large hand engulfed her small one, giving her a small squeeze as Taggert knelt in front of the two.
Taggert's voice was soothing and calm when he spoke. "Elizabeth? Elizabeth, are you ok?"
Jason glared at the man. "What do you think? She's in shock."
"Listen, Morgan, you're lucky I'm letting you anywhere near her right now. This IS a crime scene, you and Corinthos shouldn't even be here. If fact-"
"Did I kill him?"
Both men turned quickly, their eyes falling on Elizabeth at her softly spoken words. Her eyes met Jason's for a second before she turned her attention to Taggert, tears threatening to overflow. "I…I don't want to be a murderer."
Jason brushed back some of her hair. "Elizabeth…"
"He kept hitting me, and he was yelling… and the knife… I… I didn't know what to do…"
Taggert reached out to her, stopping when he caught sight of Jason's glare. "Elizabeth, you didn't kill him… you hit him in the thigh. You immobilized him."
Tears moistened her face. "I wasn't-"
"It was self defense," Taggert said, his voice holding a tint of finality. "I saw it, Morgan and Corinthos saw it… There's no question that it was self defense."
Elizabeth started shaking. "I don't want to go to jail."
Taggert gave her a small smile. "Elizabeth, you're not going to jail. I do need to ask you a few questions, and I think it'd be best if you go to the hospital and get checked out."
Elizabeth nodded, some of the wildness leaving her eyes. She turned towards Jason, Taggert's presence forgotten.
"Jason, I was so scared."
Taking a deep breath, Jason wrapped his arms around her, feeling her burrow into his chest. "It's over now…" He bit the inside of his cheek when he heard Elizabeth sobbing against his shirt. "It's over…"
"I was trying so hard to be strong," she said, her voice muffled slightly by his chest. "But I was scared."
Jason ran his hands through her hair. "Shh… you don't have to be strong anymore."
"Don't let go, Jason… Please don't let go."
Jason squeezed her tighter. "I don't plan to."
"Sonny?!"
Carly's eyes scanned around the living room of the Penthouse. She quickly made her way towards the bottom of the stairs and called out. "Sonny! Where are you?"
Her eyes drifted towards the kitchen and a smile came to her face. "Are you cooking for me?" she called out. "I know you hate it when I sleep over at Deception, but there's just so much to do with the new add campaign and everything."
Carly stepped into the kitchen and frowned. There was no pasta boiling on the stove, there was no garlic break baking in the oven, and most importantly, there was no Sonny.
Frowning, Carly stormed out of the kitchen. She walked over to the door, yanking it open. "Johnny, where the Hell is my husband?"
Johnny's eyes darted around the inside of the Penthouse. "He had to go out of town for business."
Carly's eyes narrowed. "Business? Coffee business, or business I can't know about."
Johnny cleared his throat, knowing that it would be bad to tell Mrs. Corinthos that Sonny was out with Jason looking for Miss Webber. "I wasn't given specifics. He did leave you a note though, on the top of the dining room table."
Carly nodded, her eyes already moving towards the table, landing on the small piece of paper taped to the corner. "Do you know when he'll be back?"
Johnny shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Corinthos. I seem to be out of the loop."
Carly sighed, frustrated, as she pulled the note off of the table. She faintly heard Johnny closed the door as she read.
Carly-
Have important business to deal with. Be back soon.
-Sonny
"So do I, Johnny," she muttered. "So do I."
Elizabeth shivered as the doctor placed his stethoscope on her back, listening to her lungs as she breathed. He was a nice man, elderly, but his hand were freezing.
Jason had held her the entire way to the hospital until he had finally been forced to let her go into the examination room by herself – he wasn't family therefore he wasn't allowed in. She had heard him arguing with the nurses, even while the exam room door was being closed.
"I'm all done, Elizabeth," the doctor said, putting the stethoscope around his neck. "You've got some really bad bruises that with take some time to heal, and a slight concussion, but other than that, you seem fine. You'll need to rest to give yourself time to heal. We found a little trace of the muscle relaxant the young man forced upon you but nothing harmful. You're a very lucky young lady."
Elizabeth nodded and muttered her thanks. "Does that mean I can go home?"
The doctor nodded, giving her a warm smile. "I'm not going to force you to stay here, although I probably should. After all you've been through, you deserve to go home right away. I think the Lieutenant wants to talk to you however. Him and the other two men you can in with are in the waiting room down the hall."
Elizabeth watched the doctor leave, waiting until the door was completely closed before moving to put her clothes back on. Her shirt was ripped from all the wear and tear it'd been through, from the kidnapping to her fights with Jeremy, but she had nothing else. She felt dirty being in the same clothes for so long and she couldn't wait to get home, shower, and change.
Before walking out of the room, Elizabeth stood in front of the small mirror, studying her face. For a moment, her features softened and she could see the vulnerability in her eyes. Just as quickly as it came, it went away, and she took a deep breath.
She needed to show everyone that she was fine. That everything was fine. That everything would be fine. Because she was fine.
Slipping out of the door, Elizabeth walked down the hall towards the waiting room. The second Jason caught sight of her, he smiled, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly, just for her eyes to see. He stood, reaching his hand out for her. Elizabeth closed the distance between them and clasped her hand with his, their fingers intertwining.
"Are you ok, Elizabeth?" Sonny asked, taking a sip of the coffee he held in his hand.
Elizabeth nodded, taking a deep breath. "Some bruises, but the doctor said that will heal. He said I have a slight concussion but nothing too serious."
Sonny smiled, flashing his dimples at her. "Glad to hear it. So you're going to be ok?"
Elizabeth stiffened slightly. "I'm fine."
Out of the corner of his eye, Jason watched her. He knew she was lying and he knew why. He could tell that she wanted to relieve everyone's fears by acting like she was ok when she really wasn't.
She was pretending.
He wanted to let her know that she didn't have to pretend, but he knew she would keep pretending as long as Sonny and Taggert were there, so he kept his mouth shut. He'd take her out for a ride when they got back and he'd remind her that she doesn't have to pretend.
"I need to ask you a few questions, Elizabeth," Taggert said, stepping forward. He had been watching her interaction with both Sonny and Jason and he didn't like it. He bit his lip though. She'd been through enough – the last thing she needed was a lecture on the dangers of Corinthos and Morgan. That could wait for another day.
"I need to know what happened."
Elizabeth took in a shaky breath. She felt Jason tightened his grip on her hand and she leaned towards him slightly as she opened her mouth to speak.
"I'd like to know what happened too."
All three people turned towards the elevator, each of them having different reactions to the sight of the person in front of them. Taggert rolled his eyes, Sonny shook his head, Jason stiffened, his free hand clenching by his side, and Elizabeth froze.
Lucky's eyes zoned in on Jason and Elizabeth's hands. The hand that were clasped together. His eyes moved up to lock with Elizabeth's.
"What happened, and what can I do to make it better?"