"Oh, one day you get what you want
But it's not what you think
Then you get what you need"
--"That's the Way" performed by JoDee Messina
Written by Annie Roboff/Holly Lamar
The wind screamed around them, and Elizabeth clung tightly to Jason's waist. The whole thing was so exhilarating, such an absolute rush, that she never had time to be afraid.
Eventually, they slowed, and when she looked up Elizabeth realized that they were outside her studio. As she slid off the bike, she remarked, "Those never seem to last long enough."
"You know, they'd last a lot longer if you didn't insist on going so fast."
She laughed, and then reached up and patted him on the cheek. "Aw, poor baby, being forced to go full speed on his beloved motorcycle."
Jason laughed as well, an uncommon sound for him, and replied, "Well, it's a tough job, but..."
"...somebody's got to do it," they finished in unison.
Jason looked Elizabeth in the eye, and she felt a shiver go down her spine. "Do you want to talk about what happened tonight?"
"Don't I always?" she asked wryly.
"Yeah, pretty much."
As they headed in to the building, he asked, "You mind if I order Chinese or something? I haven't eaten since this morning."
"Why not?"
He shrugged. "I just felt like staying away from town, you know?"
"Yeah, I know. There's just one problem."
"What's that?"
"There's no phone in the studio."
He pulled a cell phone out of his jacket pocket. "The magic of technology." As he began to dial, he asked, "You want anything?"
"Um, sure, I'll have some sweet-and-sour pork."
Within minutes, the food was on the way, and they were safely ensconced in the studio, sitting on the couch, facing one another.
"Are you sure that you want to hear all this?" asked Elizabeth.
"Have I ever not?"
"Good point. I don't know why you put up with me sometimes."
"Because you matter to me, Elizabeth. What you think and feel and have to say matters to me. Don't ever forget that."
"I don't really see how I possibly could," she whispered. Then she began to speak, telling Jason how she had found Lucky waiting in her room when she returned to Kelly's, engagement ring in hand. She told him how trapped she felt, and how she didn't even know what she was doing with her life anymore. She explained how she had finally told Lucky everything that she was feeling, how she didn't want to be his whole world.
They paused their conversation briefly to answer the door for the delivery boy, then in between bites, she told Jason how hard it had been to actually end things with Lucky, how she still loved him, but she couldn't be with him right now. And when she was all done, Jason pulled her to him, and just held her while she cried.
What felt like hours later, Elizabeth straightened up and wiped her eyes, Jason's arms still around her.
"Do you feel any better now?"
"Yes, thank you. You always seem to have that effect on me."
He smiled slightly. "So what are you going to do now?"
"I'm not sure. It's not going to be easy, with both of us still living at Kelly's. And the hardest part is that I'm not just losing my boyfriend, I'm losing my best friend. I'll miss talking to him and sharing things with him.
Maybe someday we'll be able to do that again, to get past what has happened, but I know that won't be soon."
"I'm sorry, Elizabeth."
"For what?"
"I didn't mean to cause you any trouble. I know my asking you to lie to Lucky didn't help things."
"No, but I chose to do that. And I already told you, I would do it all again."
"Even knowing what would happen?"
"Even then."
"Thank you."
"For what?"
He kissed the top of her head softly. "For being such a good friend. For being you."
"You'd do the same for me, so we're even."
They sat in silence for a few moments, and then Jason spoke. "Do you want me to give you a ride back to Kelly's?"
"No, I think I'll stay here tonight. I don't want to risk running into Lucky."
"Okay." As Jason started to get up, Elizabeth stopped him.
"Please don't go. Stay here with me."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded. "When I wake up screaming in the middle of the night, I need someone to be there to tell me it's going to be okay. I think you're the only person I would actually believe."
They settled back onto the couch, spooned together, Jason's arm around Elizabeth's waist. As she drifted towards sleep, Elizabeth felt an odd sort of peace settle over her, as though she was finally where she belonged.
Long after she had fallen asleep, Jason lie awake, keeping watch over her through the night.
* * *
When she woke up the next morning, Elizabeth felt warm and safe, and more relaxed than she had in a very long time. She turned, and saw that Jason was already awake, his brilliant blue eyes fixed intently on her.
"Morning," she mumbled.
He smiled, and she decided she could definitely get used to having his smile be the first thing she saw every day.
"How did you sleep?"
"Really well, actually."
"No nightmares?"
"None at all." In fact, she hadn't dreamt of Lucky at all. Instead, there had been a handsome prince hidden in the shadows, only his beautiful blue eyes visible. She blushed, knowing that it had been Jason she was dreaming about.
"Thank you for staying with me last night. I know it couldn't have been very comfortable for you."
"Anytime. Besides, I've kind of gotten used to this couch."
Elizabeth swung her legs over the side and began to sit up, and Jason reluctantly released his hold on her. Once the connection was broken, there was an awkward pause. It was Jason who finally broke the silence.
"So what are you going to do today?"
"I'm working the afternoon shift at Kelly's. I can only hope that Lucky isn't around too much."
"Do you want me to stop by later, make sure everything is going okay?"
She smiled shyly. "I'd like that."
"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to upset Lucky."
Her face fell. "He's going to be upset no matter what. I'm not going to let him keep you away from me anymore."
Jason took her hand in his, and said softly, "I hope you know how much that means to me."
Elizabeth didn't reply, but simply leaned into him, taking comfort in his strength and his warmth.
A few minutes later, she forced herself away from him, knowing that she wasn't really ready to take a step forward yet. "I should get going, or Emily is liable to send out a search party for me."
"Do you want a ride?"
She shook her head. "No, I think I need to walk a little, clear my head."
He nodded. "Okay. I'll see you later, then." He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead, then left.
Gathering up her jacket and purse, Elizabeth followed a few moments later. As she left the studio, she paused to take a last look around, and marveled at how much had changed in the last twenty-four hours. Shutting the door with a decisive click, she set out to face the world--or at least the customers at Kelly's.
* * *
Jason made a brief stop at Jake's, to take a shower and change clothes, then headed over to Sonny's penthouse.
When Johnny announced him, Carly leapt from her seat on the couch. "Jason! Hi! What are you doing here?"
"Just stopped by to go over a few things with Sonny. Hi, Michael."
Michael, deeply engrossed in his toy plane, and as mute as ever, didn't even look up.
Carly studied Jason for a moment, then declared, "Something happened, didn't it? You look different. You look...happy."
Jason smiled briefly. "I am happy."
"Well, good. It's about time. What brought this on?"
"You're not going to like the answer."
Carly bristled. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It has to do with Elizabeth Webber."
She scowled. "Little Miss Muffett? She's the reason you're happy?"
There was a warning tone in Jason's voice. "Carly... Look, she and I have gotten...close, and, well..."
"I knew you guys were friends, although for the life of me I can't understand why, but have you forgotten that she's practically engaged to Lucky Spencer? You remember him, bratty blond kid, related to me?"
"Actually, they broke up."
Carly's eyebrows shot up. "That's news to me. So, what, Lucky finally woke up and realized how annoying she is, and now she's come running to you?"
"Other way around. Elizabeth broke up with Lucky. He proposed, she said no." He grinned. "And then she came running to me."
"When exactly did we enter the Twilight Zone, huh? Someone want to tell me that? Little Miss Perfect, Elizabeth Webber, broke up with Little Mister Perfect, to go running after you, Mister Gorgeous Sexy Mobster?"
"That's one way to put it, I guess."
"Well, I can't fault her taste, at least."
"Look, Carly, I know you guys aren't crazy about each other. But if things go the way that I want them to, I'm going to be spending a lot of time with Elizabeth. You're both really important to me. I'm not saying that you need to be her best friend, but for my sake, could you at least try to get along?"
"This really matters to you, doesn't it?" Carly asked softly.
Jason nodded.
She took a long look at him, peered into his eyes and saw his heart. "You love her." It wasn't a question.
"Yes."
"Oh, Jason. All I want is for you to be happy. It's really important to me. I owe you for so much of my happiness. I'll do anything I can to see that you have someone in your life like I have Sonny."
"Thank you."
"So, I guess this means you'll be staying in town for a while."
"It looks that way."
Carly grinned. "Well, I guess that anyone who can keep you from running off to the ends of the earth can't be all bad. I say that, of course, for purely selfish reasons."
Jason pulled her into a fierce hug. "Same old Carly. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Stay sane for more than a week and a half at a time?"
Laughing, Jason hugged her harder. Just then, Sonny emerged from the kitchen, where he had been busy making Belgian waffles for breakfast.
"Morning, Jason."
Jason broke away from Carly and turned to his boss. "Hey, Sonny."
"What brings you by this morning?"
"Jason's in love with Elizabeth," Carly broke in.
"Thank you for the news bulletin. Now what's this all about?"
"Long story," Jason replied.
"I make you breakfast, you can tell me all about it."
"Deal. As long as Carly doesn't get to help with the cooking."
They all laughed, and she swatted Jason playfully. Then she went and scooped up Michael. As a strange extended family, they headed for the kitchen.
* * *
Back at Kelly's, Elizabeth had also showered and changed, and then headed down to the restaurant, where Emily was working.
Taking a seat at the counter, Elizabeth greeted her friend. "Hey, Em."
"Elizabeth. Hi. Um, how are you?"
"I guess Lucky talked to you last night."
Emily nodded. "Yeah. He's really upset, Elizabeth. Are you sure that you did the right thing?"
"Yes. Believe me, it wasn't an easy decision to make. But things just weren't right between us anymore."
Emily exhaled loudly. "This totally sucks. It's really hard to be supportive of your two best friends when they want the exact opposite things."
"I know. I'm sorry that we put you in the middle of this. I don't want you to feel like you have to choose between us."
"Thanks. I don't think that I could, anyway. Did you...did you see Jason?"
"Yes. We went for a ride, and talked for a really long time at my studio. Then we went to sleep."
Emily's eyes grew wide. "He stayed there with you?"
"Yeah. I just didn't want to be by myself, you know?"
"Did anything, you know, happen?"
"Emily! I just broke up with Lucky. I don't think I'm ready for anything to happen."
"But you do want it to eventually?"
"I don't know. I think I might. It's all so confusing. I'm not used to having feelings like this for anyone but Lucky."
"Believe me, I know how hard it can be. I mean, I'm dating a guy that once kidnapped me! But it's worth all the trouble we've gone through."
"I'm glad that you're happy, Em, even if Zander does take some getting used to."
"Did someone mention my name?"
"Zander! I didn't think you were going to be able to stop by this morning!"
Zander gave his girlfriend a quick hug, then said, "Alexis wanted to go over my testimony yet again, but she got an emergency call from another client, so here I am."
"Oh, I'm so glad. Now you can watch me screw up people's orders."
"Sounds like fun." He turned to Elizabeth. "Morning."
"Hi, Zander." Just then, she saw Lucky coming down the stairs. "Look, I have to get to the art supply store, so I'll see you guys later."
Emily and Zander watched her go as Lucky entered the restaurant. Zander remarked, "Geez, is anyone ever going to stop treating me like I have the plague?"
Lucky spoke up. "She wasn't running away from you. She didn't want to see me."
"Why not?"
"Elizabeth broke up with me."
"Oh, man, I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yeah. So was I." At that, Lucky walked out.
Zander turned back to Emily, and rested his hand over hers. "You realize that if you ever dump me that I'm going to look just as sad and pathetic as he just did, right?"
Emily leaned over and kissed the tip of his nose. "Well, I don't want you to scare the good citizens of Port Charles, so I guess I just won't dump you."
They exchanged goofy smiles, and once again counted their blessings that they had found one another.
* * *
After picking up some new brushes and turpentine, Elizabeth felt compelled to take a walk past the boxcar. She slowed when she saw Lucky sitting there, uncertain whether she should approach him or not. Knowing that she couldn't avoid him forever, she headed towards him.
"Hi," she said softly.
Lucky looked up at her, and there were tears glistening in his eyes. "What are you doing here, Elizabeth?"
"I just felt like taking a walk. I didn't know you would be here."
"Well, here I am."
"Lucky, I know you're hurting, and I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could do to make the pain go away."
"Come back to me, then."
"I can't do that. You know that."
"Because of Jason."
"No. Because of me."
"Look, Elizabeth, I really don't want to talk about this anymore. I gotta go."
She watched him walk away, then sat down in the door of the boxcar and cried. When she looked up again, Jason was standing in front of her.
"I remember when you found me here, bleeding in the snow. I guess that's when things started to get complicated."
She nodded. "But I'm so glad I found you. Otherwise you would have died before I ever got a chance to really know you."
Jason extended his hand to her. "Come on. I'll walk you back to Kelly's."
Hand in hand they set out, both wondering what would happen next.
"Well, Oh, that's the way it is
You gotta roll with the punches
That's the way it goes
You gotta bend when the wind blows"
--"That's the Way' performed by JoDee Messina
Written by Annie Roboff/Holly Lamar
