Shattered Web Ch 3

By early the next morning, the police were already at Sonny's penthouse apartment. Across from the door, Sonny was busy trying unsuccessfully to keep Taggart from sticking his nose into "evidence" for Liz's case. Jason sat on the couch waiting for Elizabeth to come down stairs.

After dressing her from the shower, Jason had placed Elizabeth in Sonny's huge bed, and tucked her in tightly. Once he knew she was as warm as possible, he pulled a chair up beside the bed, and didn't leave her side until earlier that morning; when the pounding of the door Harold the arrival of the PCPD.

He'd watched her wrestle with nightmare after nightmare, only to wake up just enough to catch her breath, before plunging into another one. It had been a sleepless night for Jason too, as he'd tried without success to determine who could be responsible for the crime against Liz. He didn't have any answers at the moment, which was why he'd finally allowed Luke and Sonny to call the PCPD at three this morning. Luke had wanted to see what exactly was in Liz's bedroom; when he'd gotten back to the penthouse; he was to say the least a very somber Luke Spencer. That along with Jason's earlier decision prompted them to phone the police department.

Now as Jason watched the cops stumble around his best friends apartment like a bunch of idiots, he knew he'd made a mistake. They couldn't help Liz any more than he could right now, and that frustrated him to know end. He didn't know what to do, and he was starting to hate that feeling when it was associated with Elizabeth Webber.

A few months back he'd started looking at her in a new light. She was still the young woman he'd always known, but suddenly there was something new to add to the mix, something that seemed to set her apart from the rest of the women that surrounded his life. She was like warm sunshine, and the fact that she knew exactly what his life entailed, drew him to her even against his wishes. Jason knew she deserved better than him, and he wasn't going to let her get anything less than the best, even if it threw him out of the running for her affections.

Staring into the place where a blazing fire should have been, Jason remembered the first real time he'd had a conversation with Elizabeth or Lizzy as she was at Jake's. She'd been all decked out, dressed like a cheep date, looking for a score. His heart had sunk when he'd first recognized her. In that first moment, she didn't look anything like the Elizabeth Webber he knew, but from the stories he'd heard around town, this was the way she'd been when she'd first come to Port Charles; before she'd met Lucky Spencer.

Seeing her harassed by a group of men far too old for her, Jason had come to her rescue, against her wishes. He'd later found out that Liz had tried to escape into Lizzy, her old self who had not been changed by rape and Lucky's death. She'd told him so much about herself that night; even when she hadn't said a word, she was speaking too him. He recognized in her the need to fall back on what was familiar—he'd done the same thing, when he'd first awoken from the coma—tried to be what people said he should be. But Robin had taught him differently, and Jason had tried to pass her knowledge to Liz.

But she'd still been a little girl in Jake's club. It wasn't until he'd taken her home on his motorcycle, that things between them had changed, at least for Jason. Her small body pressed behind his as she wrapped her warm arms around his broad chest and held onto him for dear life. He'd sensed her apprehension at being with him, a known killer, but Jason had also recognized her acceptance of who and what he was; something Robin had always ignored to be with him. Liz on the other hand reveled in what he was, in a way glamorizing it without being unrealistic about it. She needed danger, if only to make herself feel more alive than she felt on the inside.

He'd turned his head around to ask her how she was doing, when she'd said the one word that changed the way he saw her forever, "Faster!" In her he saw himself, desperately, searching for meaning in her life without someone beside her, willing to take her life to any extreme to find something to ease the ache. Jason didn't realize it at the time, but Liz had become that for him—the person to fill the void he thought was unfillable.

In that one moment, she wasn't a little girl anymore—she wasn't even a young woman—she was just a woman, lost and searching for something. And Jason, despite everything he knew, wanted to be what she was searching for.

* * *

Liz could hear someone downstairs. Opening her eyes, she looked around her hurriedly, not recognizing where she was. Sitting up to inspect the room better, she lifted the deep burgundy conforter off of her slight body and allowed her feet to touch the plush white carpet that led out the crack of a door and into a hallway. Going to the door, Liz opened it more than it's slight crack and listened to the noise coming from down the stairs at the end of the hall.

Not knowing what to do, Liz moved down the dim hallway, to the corner that led to a staircase. Still not sure what was going on, or where she was, Liz moved to the top of the stairs and looked into the room below her.

All around the room were men, sitting and standing, talking softly, and arguing. Squatting close to the wall, Liz observed the men in the room she now recognized as Sonny's penthouse. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember why she was sleeping in Sonny's home, and even more, why there were obviously the wrong people in this room. Turning her head, Liz noticed Luke and Sonny talking loudly with Lt. Taggart.

"What do you—what do you mean, you don't know who did it! How can the whole room have nothing in it!" Sonny seemed close to screaming at the Lt. Noticing Luke was talking now, Liz creaped down a few more stairs, to try an hear what Luke was saying.

"Have you seen her room?" At Taggart's nod, "Then you know what she's been through! Don't tell me you can't help her, she's only a child for Christ Sake!" Liz could see how upset Luke was; he was visibly shaking.

Taggart took a step back and began to reply to Luke, but Elizabeth didn't hear what he said. The slight movement of Lt. Taggart had caused a baggy he was holding to come into view. Inside was a crumpled rectangle of paper with red writing on it. Without knowing she was doing it, Elizabeth took another few steps into the room and now rested on the second landing. As her eyes focused on the red ink, she felt herself begin to shake. "Lucky," it read.

Making small whimpering noises, Elizabeth felt her knees weaken, and dropped to the floor, her eyes still on the message from Lucky.

* * *

Jason hadn't heard Elizabeth enter the room, but like the other occupants, he did hear her strangled cry. He was on his feet and up the stairs to the first landing before the others realized it was Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth," he called her name softly, before taking the last step to sit beside her on the landing and wrap her in his safe and warm arms. At first she resisted, trying to push him away from her, but as his hands began to stroke her hair, and he molded his body around hers in comfort, she seemed to relax. She didn't say a word, only rocked herself gently back and forth, taking Jason willingly with her.

Taggart tried to approach, but a stern nod from Jason stopped the older man. Jason continued to run his hands through Liz's dull hair and whisper encouraging words to her. "It's ok Elizabeth, I'm here, you're safe here Liz, you're safe with me. I'm not going to let anything happen to you…it's ok…I promise."

It was the promise that caught her attention; he quickly noticed it in her immediate tension. Lifting her head slightly, she looked into his face for the first time, and seemed to study his eyes, searching for something.

Finding it, she spoke in a voice just above a whisper, "I woke up and didn't know where I was." So innocent, a child forced to run the gambit no one should ever have to even know about.

"I'm sorry Elizabeth, I shouldn't have left you in the bedroom by yourself."

She seemed to think about that for a moment, "I thought it was a dream Jason, a terrible horrible dream. Was it a dream, and I'm still dreaming? You've never held me in my dreams before."

Pulling the trembling girl closer into his embrace, Jason shook his head sadly, "I'm sorry Elizabeth, it wasn't a dream. The police are here to try and figure out who did this to you. They're doing everything they can to catch the person who did this to you, Elizabeth. But you're safe here…with me, you're safe."

He couldn't think about the second part of her statement, knowing she dreamed about him, made him that much more determine to protect her; he had to, she was such an important part of him now.

But Liz only shook her head no, and pulled away from his chest where her head had been resting and looked into his eyes. "It was Lucky, Jason, I know it was. No one else knew, no one else knew about the candles. He's mad at me Jason, mad I don't think about him all the time, mad I don't cry all the time. He want's me to know he's angry with me, he's punishing me, Jason, punishing me."

Shaking his head again, Jason pulled her back into his body and tightened his grip on her small frame, hopping by some miracle to hold her sanity together with his suddenly inadequate arms. "No Elizabeth, Lucky would never do this to you. He loved you so much Elizabeth; he would want you to be happy. You believe that don't you, that he'd want you happy no matter what it cost him."

Her long pause worried Jason and everyone else in the room. Around him he saw grown men wipe their eyes. Most of these men had known Elizabeth from not only her rape case against Tom but also the amazingly strong girl that had picked her life back up after disaster took her true love from her. These men knew what an incredible woman Elizabeth Webber was, and to see her reduced to the broken child before them, brought tears to their eyes; but also a determination to find whoever had done this, and make them pay.

"No." She soft word brought Jason back to her tiny body. Again she shifted to look into his face, "No Jason, he wouldn't want me to be unhappy, no matter what it cost him." Suddenly tears formed in her eyes, and she started to sob and gasp for breath, "Then..then who did, did this to me Jason? Why—why would they do—do this?!"

He couldn't answer her, he didn't have one, but he was going to get one, no matter who he had to kill to get it. But instead he said, "I don't know…shhhh Elizabeth….I don't know who did this, but we're going to find out. Didn't I promise you yet that we were going to find out who did this?"

Shaking her head and still sobbing, "No, no, you said, said you'd pro—protect me."

Placing a finger under her chin, Jason lifted her face to look directly into his. The slight touch of a smile tipped his lips, and seemed to calm Liz, "Then I promise you now Elizabeth, no matter what I have to do, I'm going to find out who did this to you, and make them pay…and I'm also going to protect you, I promise you. And I always keep my promises, always."

She nodded slightly, and then burrowed into the comfort of his embrace.

Taking her acceptance of his word as a good sign, Jason lifted Liz into his arms and carried her to the couch so she could be more comfortable for the hours ahead of her. Like the night before, Jason placed her on his lap, and cradled her to him. Looking back over to the stairs, he caught Taggart's eye, and motioned the man over to the couch with a nod of his head. Leaning back over the couch, Jason asked Johnny to go over to his place and get a pair of sweats and a tee shirt for Liz to wear.

Bringing his head down so that his cheek brushed against Liz's nose, he told her that Taggart needed to ask her some questions about what had happened to her, and that if she felt uncomfortable at any time, he'd stop the Lt. At her nod, Taggart sat on the low coffee table across from Elizabeth and Jason. Giving Jason a look that seemed to show a glimmer of respect, he began to interrogate Elizabeth as gently as he could.

* * *

Hours later after all the questions had been asked, and Taggart was satisfied as a man without answers could be, he excused himself, promising he and the rest of the squad would do the best they could to find out who had done this.

Turning back to face Liz at the door, who was now in front of the couch, still wrapped in Jason's arms, he asked the question that she had yet to consider. "Liz I don't think it's safe for you to go back to your house just yet, is there somewhere you can stay for the time being?"

For one split second Liz was terrified, she was not going back to her house, of that she was certain, but where else did she have to go? She shouldn't have worried, Jason, had already thought of this little problem.

"She'll be staying with me Lt. I'm sure you know all my information. If you'd like to get a hold of Liz for more questioning, or to give her an update, then feel free to go through the same channels you do for me."

In a way it was a brush off, and Taggart knew it, but the look of relief that seemed to settle over Elizabeth's face told him to keep his mouth shut, at least in front of Liz. "Of course Mr. Morgan; but if you wouldn't mind, I have just a few questions on some of those channel procedures, would you mind walking me to the elevator?"

Jason didn't hesitate, nodding his head he moved towards the door, only to find a panic sticken Liz grab onto his arm. Turning back to look into her eyes, Jason pulled her into a hug and motioned Luke, who was a few feet away, over to him. "Liz, I just have to talk with Lt. Taggart for a few seconds, I'll be right back. Luke's right here, why don't you go and sit on the couch, with him. When I get back, we'll con Sonny into making breakfast for us, he makes a mean cup of orange juice." She brought it out in him—this sense of humor he didn't know he had, but that he was willing to use to make her more comfortable.

Elizabeth looked up, and smiled at him, just a faint smile, but a smile none the less, and then moved over to Luke, who promptly pulled her into his arms and ushered her over to the couch.

Turning back to the door and Lt. Taggart, Jason noted the look of surprise on the mans' face; he'd never actually heard Jason tell a joke, or even try to be funny in general. Walking over and through the door, Jason didn't wait for Taggart to get to the elevator, just pushed the down button and waited for the attack he knew was coming.

"Can you protect her better than my men?"

The question surprised Jason, it wasn't spoken harshly, but instead as if Taggart truly cared about Liz's wellfare; which of course he did.

"My, men can take care; under any circumstances."

"Isn't that what you said about Ms. Scorpio, before that bomb went off in your car?"

"Yes, but this time I mean it."

Taggart seemed to study Jason for a minute, and was still doing so when the doors to the elevator opened. Stepping in, he reached for the "Open Doors" button and held it, he had one more thing to say.

"I really believe that you destroyed something in Ms. Scorpio. You took her for the ride of her life, and then left her high and dry. There isn't a doubt in my mind that you're a ruthless killer Jason Morgan. But I'm not blind, you'd better take care of her better than you did Robin. She was special to us, one of our own, but all the men on the force know Liz, all of them, Jason. If anything happens to her I'm holding you personally responsible, and you better believe that I won't be the only cop. You think one cop on you all the time is tough, hurt Elizabeth Webber, and I promise you, you won't know what hit you." With that Taggart released the button and the elevator doors closed taking him away from the look of understanding on the face of a killer.

Turning on his heals, still reeling from Taggarts confession, Jason entered the penthouse to get ready for breakfast. He had a lot of things to think about, all of them concerning one, Elizabeth Webber.

Chapter 4