The guard escorted Jason and Sonny to a room behind the kitchen when they arrived. They'd made it in less than twenty minutes, but just barely. There had been a license check and Taggert had thought it was interesting Jason was back in town. What would have been a seven minute drive, turned into a fifteen minute fact finding session. Jason had been so impatient that finally Sonny told Taggert he needed to contact their attorney with any questions. Sonny very calmly told him that if they hadn't broken any laws, he had no right to keep them there. Taggert promised to come see them real soon, but eventually let them go.
Jason swore as soon as they entered the room. Elizabeth was sitting in the middle of the room, tied to a chair. Her shirt was cut open down the front and her bra was exposed. Jason could see the red handprint on her left cheek and the swelling around her right eye. Blood trickled from her nose and the corner of her mouth. Jason took two steps towards her and then heard the gun cock to his head.
"No, no. Mr. Morgan, you have to learn that patience is a virtue," Stryker said from behind Elizabeth. Jason watched in disgust as Stryker reached down and stroked her cheek. "Such a pretty little thing, Mr. Morgan. You're a very lucky man."
Jason immediately closed off the sight of the man touching his wife, knowing that if he allowed those thoughts to take over, they'd never get out of there alive. "Let her go. This is between us."
"No," he disagreed. Stryker continued to trace the back side of his finger across her cheek and then down her throat. He gave Jason and Sonny an oily smile when his hand came to rest in the valley between her breasts. "This is between Mrs. Morgan and me. Something we started a few days ago in the park."
"Only cowards come after women and children." Sonny had to resist the urge to vomit as he watched the man fondle Elizabeth. But Sonny also knew that Jason was hanging onto his control by a thread. "I've thought a lot of things about you, Stryker, but I never thought you were a coward."
Stryker ignored Sonny and his fingers closed around the front snap of the bra. With little effort, the bra was opened. He pushed the cups back and took a step back to admire her breasts. "My, my. What beautiful breasts you have, Elizabeth. I can still call you Elizabeth, can't I?"
In response, Elizabeth looked at Jason and then turned to Stryker. Instead of speaking, she spit a mouth full of blood at the front of his shirt. Stryker back-handed her immediately.
Jason tried to move away from the guard, but the man had a firm grip on him. He could only watch as Stryker touched Elizabeth.
Stryker took one of her breasts in his hands and toyed with it. He strummed the nipple with his thumb until the bud tightened for him. "Tell me, did you breast feed, Elizabeth? To have two daughters, you have very young breasts."
He moved around behind her and took the other breast in his hand. He watched Jason as he fondled Elizabeth. "Mr. Morgan, you were a fool to have left her."
"What do you want?" Jason asked. He was trying to keep focused on Stryker's face, not wanting to acknowledge what the man was doing to Elizabeth.
Stryker dropped his hands and silently closed the bra for her. He pulled the shirt around her and sighed. With one last lingering touch on her face, he squatted down and used the knife from his boot to cut the ropes from her wrists. When she was free, he moved away.
"I want you to understand Mr. Morgan, and you Mr. Corinthos, that I can get to you at any time. You think she's protected? She's not. I know your weaknesses, Morgan. Elizabeth, your daughter. And for you, Corinthos, it's that whore Marie. Is she still keeping your bed warm at night?"
Sonny bit his tongue and didn't take the bait. He had a few words for Stryker and he'd say them when there wasn't a gun pointed at his head.
Stryker untied the ropes around Elizabeth's ankles and moved back. He took her hand and kissed the palm. "It was my pleasure, Mrs. Morgan."
As soon as he moved back from the chair, Elizabeth launched herself from the chair towards Jason. His arms locked around her waist and hers came around his neck. Relief flooded his body when he felt her tears run down the side of his neck. He shifted her so that one arm was under her knees, the other still locked around her waist. Elizabeth's face never left his neck. Without another word to Stryker or Sonny, Jason started towards the door.
Sonny watched as the guards moved out of Jason's way, but the man still had a firm grip on his arms and a gun pressed to the base of his neck. Sonny turned back to Stryker and knew that if he played this right, he'd be able to get a few words in with the man.
"Impressive, Mr. Stryker." Sonny's tone did not show Stryker the respect his words spoke.
Stryker's smug smile gave away how proud he was of himself. "I think so too, Corinthos. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Sonny narrowed his eyes at the other man's cockiness. If there was one thing he was sure of, cockiness was the first thing that would get you killed. "I just wanted to remind you of something Mr. Stryker."
"Really?" Stryker turned away from Sonny and walked to his desk. He began to shuffle through his papers. "What would that be?"
Sonny took a step forward. The guard tightened his grip. "Send your men away, Stryker. What I have to say to you has to be said in private."
Without hesitation, Stryker nodded his head and the four guards disappeared. As the last one shut the door behind him, Stryker looked back at Sonny. "You were saying."
Sonny walked to the older man and shook his head. "You've forgotten something very important, Stryker. And your forgetfulness is going to get you dead. Or maybe it's just because you're stupid."
Stryker rolled his eyes and let out an impatient sigh. "Don't make idle threats, Corinthos."
"Oh, I'm not making idle threats. I just wanted to remind you." Sonny took a step back and straightened his suit jacket. "It seems you've forgotten that I own this town, Mr. Stryker. You're not the first to bring an army of men into Port Charles. Need I remind you that I've seen them all back in body bags?"
"Are you talking about Mr. Sorel? Because if we are, I should remind you that Sorel killed himself. With Morgan's daughter, I believe. Besides, we know that of all the 'armies' that you've disposed of, you've never done the work. It was always Morgan. You can't run the organization without him."
"Forgetfulness, Ronan, is the first sign of old age. Have you again forgotten that until recently, I didn't know where my partner was? The street wars certainly didn't stop in his absence."
"I'm not going to comment on Morgan's sudden reemergence into the land of the living. I just know what gets to him more than anything. His beautiful Miss Webber. Oh, I forget—they're married. Sorel killed their first child and I understand that she brought a second daughter with her to Port Charles."
"If you go after her again, or her daughter, you won't live to see next week," Sonny warned.
"Don't tell me—you'll kill me?" Laughter filled the empty room. When he stopped, he reached up and wiped a laughter-induced tear from his eye. "You're soft, Corinthos. You have trouble killing flies, let alone your enemies."
"You're no fly, Stryker. You're a fuckin' cockroach. But I'm telling you, it won't be me that kills you. If you mess with his wife? If you come after his child? I won't have to kill you. Jason will. He'll cut you to pieces, then put your remains in a box and send them to your mother. Tell me, Mr. Stryker, do you really want to put your poor mother through that?"
"You son of-"
"Shut up!" Sonny ordered. He moved towards the door and sighed when he looked back at the man. "You're to stay away from Elizabeth and her daughter. You're to stay away from my attorney and Marie. You're to stay away from anyone who was important to me, or will ever be important to me. If not, then I'm going to let Jason do what I know what he wants to do. And I hope your mother likes body parts, because I'll ship them personally."
Stryker stared after the man as he disappeared through the door. His eyes followed him and watched him slip into the driver's side of a towncar. He could see the outline of Jason Morgan in the backseat and his wife huddled in his lap. Jason must have known he was looking at him, because he turned his head towards the restaurant. In all his years in this business, Stryker had received a lot of looks from a lot of people. But the coldness in Jason's stare and the hatred in his eyes told him that Jason Morgan was not a man to be reckoned with. It also told him what Corinthos said was true—Morgan wouldn't hesitate to kill for his family. And Stryker knew it would only be a matter of time before Jason Morgan came after him.
~*~
Jason crouched down in front of Elizabeth and gave her a weak smile. The left side of her face was beginning to turn an ugly purple color and he could see the outline of a hand forming there. "I'm sorry," he whispered before he applied the ice pack, wrapped in a washcloth, to her cheek. She winced and he pulled back, but never removed the cloth from her cheek.
With his other hand, he revealed another warm washcloth and began to wipe the blood from her face. He noticed the vacant expression in her eyes and knew this was the way she would deal with what happened. The entire ride back, Elizabeth hadn't said anything. Sonny and Jason had exchanged a silent conversation through the rear view mirror. They only had one thing to say to each other: Ronan Stryker was a dead man.
"You gonna be okay?" he asked. Jason removed the ice pack completely so he could continue to wipe the blood away.
"Yeah," she said weakly. "I'm gonna be fine."
He didn't say anything as he lifted a hand to her blackening eye. A lump formed in his throat as he witnessed the emotions play across her face. He knew her walls were crumbling and the emotion came pouring out. Jason shifted to his knees and pulled her down to the floor with him. Her arms locked around his neck and she cried. He ran a hand up and down her spine, trying to soothe her. The words he whispered in her ear didn't seem to help, but he said them anyway.
Sobs racked her body as she felt the release of everything she'd been feeling. Elizabeth didn't want to admit how scared she had been. She'd never allowed herself to think that Stryker was capable of what he'd done to her. She wanted to believe all people were good deep down, but knew it wasn't true. This was the second time a man had done what he wanted with her body, paying little regard to how she felt.
As her cries lessened, Jason felt her pull back. Instead of holding onto her, like he really wanted to do, he let her go. Jason remained on the floor as she moved back to the couch. He looked up at her, watched her wipe the tears from her face with the back of her hand. Everything in him wanted to do it for her, but he knew she was pulling back from him again. The steel wall that had temporarily lifted slid back in place, separating them once more. Instead of pressing the issue, Jason moved to the couch. He clasped his hands between his knees and stared at the floor. Everything he wanted to say to her, couldn't be said. No matter what it was, the thought was inappropriate because he didn't deserve to say anything to her.
"He didn't hurt me," she whispered. Amazed by the sound of her own voice, Elizabeth stood and approached the drink cart. Immediately Jason was by her side, pouring a small amount of the amber liquid into a tumbler for her. He offered her the drink and her shaky hands closed around his to take the glass. Even as she raised the alcohol to her lips, his hand remained on the bottom of the glass.
"Nothing more than a few bruises," he commented finally. "In another week, you won't even know what happened." As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew it was a lie. And from the look on Elizabeth's face, he knew she knew it was a lie too. They'd both remember this day for a very long time.
She didn't bother to call him on what he said. Elizabeth decided to just let the comment hang in the air and continued with her original thought. "That's not what I meant. He didn't," she paused in search of the proper word, "touch me before you got there." Unable to hold his gaze, hers dropped to the glass as she swirled the liquid around.
"I'm glad," Jason replied. He lifted a hand to her chin and raised her eyes to meet his. "Look at me."
Without further prompting, she held his gaze. The emotion that swirled in his eyes told her that he was truly sorry. That he never wanted this to happen. His eyes told her how much he loved her and so many other things. "I see you," she said as her voice dropped. "I see how worried you are about me. Listen to me: I'm fine. I'll be okay."
"I was so scared," he admitted. "I thought–"
On instinct, Elizabeth lifted her hand to his mouth to stop his words. "Shhh. Nothing happened. I'm here and I'm fine."
Jason wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his chest. He knew it was more to reassure him than to comfort her. He needed to know she was there. Jason needed to get the mental image of what Stryker did to her out of his head so he could deal with him in his detached, business mode.
The front door to the penthouse opened and Francis announced the Jacks' arrival. Given the events of the day, he wanted to give Jason, Elizabeth, and Sonny more time to get together, but he knew there was no way he could hold off his boss' attorney and her husband.
"Alexis and Mr. Jacks," he announced from the door. He watched as Jason and Elizabeth moved away from each other immediately. Elizabeth put as much distance between them as possible and Jason hung his head. Without another word, Francis returned to the hallway, closing the door behind him.
"Mommy!" the child in Alexis' arms exclaimed. Before Elizabeth could get to her, Isabelle was practically jumping towards her mother. When Elizabeth did get to her, her arms closed tightly around her daughter as she hugged her to her body.
Jason watched the reunion between mother and child and smiled. He had been right about Isabelle. Curly brown hair, from what he could see. The child's arms locked around Elizabeth's neck and he watched as his wife turned her face into the child's hair.
Isabelle pulled back from Elizabeth, smiling. Elizabeth knew that the child was genuinely happy to see her. She didn't stop to think that Jason was in the room and he was for the first time seeing his child—even if he didn't know the truth. She didn't stop to think of her bruised face and what Isabelle would say about it. She just wanted to hold her daughter.
"Mommy boo-boo?" Isabelle asked. She lifted her hand to touch Elizabeth's bruised cheek and smiled.
Elizabeth felt herself smiling back at the little girl. "Yes, Mommy's got a boo-boo, Isa."
"Mommy down?"
"Mommy didn't fall down, honey." Elizabeth smiled at Alexis and Jax before she went to sit on the couch. The child sat in her lap easily and Elizabeth tried to explain about her accident. "Mommy got hurt."
"Mommy cry?" Again Isabelle reached up to touch Elizabeth's face.
Elizabeth nodded her head at Isabelle and smiled warmly. "Mommy's okay, honey."
Without another word, Isabelle reached up to kiss her mother's bruised cheek,
just like Elizabeth had done to her countless times. "All better?"
The tears flooded her eyes and all she could do was nod her head. She kissed Isabelle's forehead and again hugged her to her body.
Without another word, Elizabeth stood and turned towards the stairs. Everything in him wanted to go after his wife and her child, but Jason stood as she passed by him. What surprised him the most was that Elizabeth smiled at him as she walked by.
Jax waited until he heard the bathroom door closed before he turned to glare at Jason. "What the hell happened to Elizabeth's face?" he demanded.
The blank mask descended over Jason's face and he turned to face the Australian he had never liked. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why Alexis had to marry him. Or why Elizabeth had to befriend him. Hell, what did anyone see in Jax? Jason narrowed his eyes as the names he had developed for Jax ran through his head.
Jax glared back at Jason and waited for an answer. From his previous run-ins with Morgan, he knew that he probably wasn't going to get one. But the purple bruise on Elizabeth's cheek made him think he deserved one. Jax turned to glare at Corinthos. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"
"It was business." Sonny tried to ignore the snort that escaped Jax. He looked past the man to his wife. He knew Alexis was wondering what happened and he wanted to tell her, but not while Jax was in the room.
"Tell me what happened," Jax demanded. He watched a look pass between Sonny and Jason and knew he wasn't going to get an answer from them. "Fine, I'll ask Elizabeth myself." He started to storm past them towards the stairs, but in two steps Jason was blocking his path.
"Morgan, move."
Jason crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the man. "You need to back off."
"And you need to get the hell out of my way."
Jason mirrored his moves as Jax tried to move past him.
"Morgan," he warned. "Let me up there."
"Elizabeth is my wife, Jax," he said through clenched teeth. "I'm telling you again, you need to back off."
"Alexis," Sonny said. He watched as Jason stood clenching and unclenching his fists, knowing that Jason was about to lose it. "You need to get your husband, now.
"Sonny!" Elizabeth called from the upstairs bathroom.
The room went silent and the tension seemed to fade a little bit. "Yeah?" he called back.
"Can you come up here a second?"
Without another word, Sonny moved past both men and up the stairs of his home. Jax and Jason both watched as he moved up to where Elizabeth was. The fact that she'd called out for Sonny, not either one of them, meant a lot. It meant that Elizabeth relied on Sonny more than the rest of them.
Jax didn't say anything to Jason as he went to stand beside Alexis. He could see the worry in his wife's eyes and knew she was worried he was going to cause a scene. Quietly, he took her hand in his and moved towards the door.
Sonny reappeared at the top of the stairs a minute later, Elizabeth at his side. The young woman held Isabelle to her chest tightly and was talking to her daughter. She descended the stairs and went straight to Jason. Sonny followed behind her and smiled at his friend over Elizabeth's head.
"Jason, this is Isabelle." Elizabeth tentatively held her daughter out to Jason. She didn't know what reaction he would have to her, but she knew he needed to know his daughter. It didn't matter the reason he stayed. Today had proved to her that life was too precious and she couldn't not tell Jason the truth about their child.
Slowly, cautiously, Jason took the young girl in his arms. He closed his eyes and remembered what it felt like to hold Abby, and Michael before that. Jason felt his heart open up and all the love he contained in him was poured out to Elizabeth's child. "Hi there," he said softly.
"Isa, this is Mommy's friend, Jason." Tears pooled in Elizabeth's eyes again and she smiled up at them. Sonny watched the interchange with pride. He saw Alexis reach up to wipe a tear from her eye and Jax fumed even more.
Jason took Isabelle and went to sit on the couch. Elizabeth followed along behind them and took a seat next to them. The child settled into his lap and started gurgling. When she finally looked up at him, his breath caught at the sight of her clear blue eyes. Eyes that were so familiar to him. Eyes that belong to her father.
"Da-da," Isabelle laughed, reading his mind.
Jason's heart clenched even more. He closed his eyes and listened as Elizabeth's daughter called to him with affection. 'Da-da.' How he wanted to be her father.
"Da-da," she repeated. Isabelle reached up to touch his face, much like she had done to Elizabeth earlier. Her small hand ran over his lips and up to his nose. She traced the curve of his jaw and reached up to kiss his cheek. "Da-da."
Jason wanted to believe. He did. He felt his heart opening up, hoping that he was this child's father. But it wasn't possible. There was no way, he'd been gone. Isabelle was Elizabeth's child with some nameless stranger. Someone who would have no input in her life, someone who hurt Elizabeth so much that she kept his daughter from him. His wife had obviously had her heart broken while he was gone. The man gave her a daughter and then broke her heart.
Elizabeth looked up as Jax and Alexis inched towards the door. The attorney knew it was time Jason learn the truth. She turned around and watched as Sonny retreated to his upstairs bedroom, giving them the complete bottom floor of the penthouse.
"She's eighteen months old, Jason." Elizabeth touched his arm with one hand and touched her daughter's back with the other.
Eighteen months old. Bells went off in his head. It was October 2005. Isabelle was born April 2004. Minus nine months and you have July 2003. Their wedding anniversary.
Elizabeth watched as realization washed over his face and she knew that he knew. He turned to look at her, the question burning in his eyes and Elizabeth nodded her head in answer.
"I…I don't understand," he stuttered. "I mean…how Elizabeth?"
"You know how, Jason."
"I'm not asking about that." He had a daughter. This beautiful child sitting in his lap was his daughter. Those were his eyes. "I mean…" Jason looked back at Elizabeth and turmoil clouded his usually clear eyes. "Did you know?"
The only thing Isabelle will ever know about her father is that she has his eyes.
Her name is Isabelle Hardy, after my grandmother.
What about him? Isabelle doesn't know anything about her father. He's not in the picture.
She had Isabelle. That little girl healed something inside of her. Something that broke the day you left.
I'm not talking about Morgan. From what I heard, she's the personal property of Mr. Corinthos. They've got a kid together.
I have to do what's best for me and I have to do what's best for my daughter.
I want to be a husband to you and a father to your daughter.
Jason, Elizabeth, and Isabelle Morgan. The Morgan Family.
You can't replace Abby with another daughter, Jason.
I have met your lovely daughter. Isabelle is her name, correct?
Bring your guards and your wife dies. And then I'll come after your daughter.
Da-da. Da-da. Da-da.
She's eighteen months old, Jason.
Eighteen months old.
Their wedding anniversary.
A daughter.
"Were you going to tell me?" Still holding Isabelle, Jason moved away from her. He wasn't ready to let go of his daughter, but he knew he couldn't be near his wife.
"I was." Elizabeth stood and crossed to him. She reached out to touch his arm, but let her hand drop in the air. "I needed to know if you were going to stay for me, Jason."
"But a daughter Elizabeth? A daughter." He couldn't believe this. Jason wasn't even sure how to begin to process this. "I've missed two years of her life because you didn't tell me!"
Elizabeth flinched at his words and took a step back. "Please don't yell at me when you're holding Isa, it scares her."
"When did you find out?" Jason closed his eyes and prayed she didn't know before he left. He wasn't sure he could forgive that.
"I was going to tell you the day you told me you were leaving." Elizabeth knew that there was no point in lying to him and the whole truth tumbled out. She stepped back from him completely and sat down on the couch. "I missed my period two months in a row, so I went to the doctor. She told me I was pregnant. I went home to tell you and you told me you were going away."
"Elizabeth, you should have told me."
Her tears streaked down her cheeks when she looked up at him. "Why Jason?"
"I wouldn't have left."
"And that's why I didn't tell you!" Elizabeth wiped the tears from her eyes and stood to face him. "I need you to stay for me!" She made her point by poking herself in the chest. "Not because you were going to have a daughter."
"You didn't get to decide that Elizabeth! She was my daughter, but you chose to play God and I missed two years of her life."
"You're a selfish bastard," she spit out.
"I may be. But you better get used to it. You're not getting rid of me now."
"You can go to hell." Elizabeth went to take Isabelle from him and he moved so she couldn't get to the child. "Give me my daughter, Jason."
"She's our daughter," he reminded her. "And I want you to understand this. I'm your new guard." When she started to argue, he held up a hand to silence her. "Don't even think about it. I'm your guard. I will keep you alive and I'll keep our daughter alive. There's no way I'm letting you out of my sight."
"Screw you."
"Elizabeth, listen to me. I'm going to be your guard and I'm moving in with you."
"The hell you are!" she yelled. Elizabeth flinched when Isabelle began to cry. "Jason, give me my daughter."
Isabelle's cries seemed to dissolve all of Jason's anger. He didn't argue this time and handed the screaming child to her mother. He immediately felt the loss and sighed. "I need to pick up a few things, so where am I sleeping tonight?"
Elizabeth knew she wouldn't win this argument. Jason had made up his mind and she was sure she was stuck with him. "I don't have a spare bedroom. You can put a sleeping bag or a cot on the floor of the nursery for all I care. That way you can spend some time with Isabelle."
"What about you?" he asked.
"What about me?"
"I want to spend time with you too," he admitted. Jason took a step forward and touched her cheek. "I came home for you honey."
"I don't care why you came home, Jason. You're staying for Isa." Elizabeth knew she'd never know if he was staying for her or not. Now that he knew about their child, he'd never leave, even if he wanted to.
"I'm staying because I love you." Jason dipped his head down so that he could look her in the eyes. "It wouldn't matter if there was an Isabelle or not, I'd still be here. I loved you before there was an Isabelle. I loved you before there was an Abby. I've spent my whole life loving you, Elizabeth."
"Prove it."