I looked around at the one place I had called home and meant it and felt a pang of loss. I hadn't expected for it to come so soon. But with the city rezoning the docks, this building would no longer be residential. And on top of that, someone new had bought the building and was planning to set up offices. Therefore leaving me homeless.

I reached down and grabbed the black and white suitcase and felt a flood of memories hitting me. I smiled when I realized that most of them belonged to Jason. I was fortunate that Lucky never tarnished this place. I knew the reason he never liked it. He never felt like he belonged there… and it was true. I wasn't the same Elizabeth Webber who had loved him in this place. And I could never be that girl again.

Sure, we had talked some in the last few months. I wouldn't go so far as to say we were friends… but it was something new. Something different. Something we hadn't done before. I also had the one solitary memory of Zander in my studio. Probably the biggest mistake I'd ever made. Well, second biggest. The first took place in the park…

I looked back at the place one last time before I left. I shut the big, sturdy door Jason had put up for me. I grabbed the baseball bat that was leaning next to the wall and smiled. Now, it was time to go somewhere else.

I made the ten-minute walk to the apartment complex I was moving into quickly. Well, I hoped I was moving in there. It wasn't really something I had discussed with him. I stopped briefly in front of Morgan Coffee Imports and smiled. Jason really had broken away from Sonny and I was proud of him. He was learning how to be his own man. From what I'd read in the paper, Alexis had helped him get full control of the Elm Street dock and the coffee warehouse. It was the only thing he had asked for when the assets were split.

I wasn't really sure what to think of them not being partners anymore. I'd seen Sonny a few times since his reemergence into the land of the living. I couldn't avoid him -- I found out Carly was pretty good at being a friend. Sure, she always took Jason's side over mine, but I had expected that. Carly also felt that Sonny was wrong to exclude me from their club. She was mad at him for a different reason, though. Apparently she hadn't been told about Brenda either. That didn't really matter to me, though. Point was… I was out of it. And Jason was out of it.

The elevator was broken so I climbed the stairs to the third floor. It was a small metal door. And on the other side was my whole world.

I sat the suitcase on the floor and leaned the bat against the wall. My palms were moist with perspiration – nerves, I told myself. I probably should've asked him before I showed up at his home like this. But I didn't have anywhere else to go. I certainly couldn't afford another apartment. Granted, he'd probably give me the money if I asked for it.

"Suck it up," I whispered. I took a step forward and knocked.

I clenched my fists so tight that my fingernails cut into my palms. It was taking so long that I was beginning to think he wasn't home. Great. Just great. Now I'd have to wait. "Oh well," I muttered.

And then the door open. There he stood, a dishtowel in his hands. He was wearing a red shirt tucked neatly into worn blue jeans. His eyes widened in shock. I could tell that I was the last person he expected. I should have called.

You've found hope
You've found faith,
Found how fast she could take it away.
Found true love,
Lost your heart.
Now you don't know who you are.

"Hi."

I shifted from foot to foot and finally looked up to meet his gaze. "I should have called," I blurted out.

"It's okay."

I twisted my fingers together and chewed on my lower lip. "Are you sure?"

Jason nodded. He looked down then and caught sight of my suitcase. "What's going on?"

"I…" I stopped, could feel the heat rising to my cheeks. "I need a place to stay. They're rezoning so I got kicked out of the studio, and it's going to be business only, so I don't have anywhere to live. I could go to Gram's, but she's on vacation in Europe right now. And I don't have the money to get another place. I didn't have anywhere else to go..." In my mind, I was hearing all of the things I wasn't saying. I'm here because I miss you. Because I love you. And I need to know if there's still a chance… if you can still love me too.

She made it easy,
Made it free,
Made you hurt til you couldn't see.
Sometimes it stops,
Sometimes it flows,
But baby that is how love goes.

I could tell Jason was slightly amused by my babbling. He reached for my bag and motioned towards the inside of the penthouse. "Come in."

I smiled gratefully and reached for the bat.

"What's that?" he asked.

I held it in my hand and laughed. "My version of home security."

My laughter must have been infectious because he joined in. "Come on. I'll make you some coffee."

I stopped in the living room and looked around. I hadn't ever visited this place when AJ and Courtney lived there, but looking from the brown leather couch – was that my afghan? – to the pool table he had stuffed where a dining table should be I noticed that it was completely Jason. Just the bare necessities, like always. "Where do you eat?" I asked.

He nodded to the couch and the coffee table. "Or sometimes it's leaning against the kitchen counter. Depends on what I'm having."

"When'd you learn to cook?"

A shadow passed over his face. "A long time ago. I was somebody else back then."

I followed him through the swinging doors and noticed the dishes in the soapy water. Taking a chance, I pulled the dishtowel from his shoulder. "You wash, I dry. We'll… talk."

Jason dipped his hands in the water and smiled down at me. "I'd like that."

You will fly and you will crawl;
God knows even angels fall.
No such thing as you lost it all.
God knows even angels fall.

We stood there together for a long time, him washing, me drying. He had a small dish-drainer off to the side. He told me about how he'd come to live in this place, how tense things had been with Sonny during the dividing of the assets. How he sometimes missed his friend, but he had sensed reevaluated things. He apologized to me for omitting the truth, once again.

"So…" he asked.

I looked up at him my eyes alight with new hope. "Yes?"

"There's only one bedroom. It's off the living room…"

"Oh…"

"I can sleep on the couch," he said quickly. Jason busied himself with making the coffee while I studied him.

"I can't kick you out of your bedroom," I added finally. "It's not fair. I've slept on your couch before… it won't kill me."

He handed me a cup of steaming coffee before taking his own. "It's no problem. I usually sleep on the couch anyway."

"Oh."

Jason pushed away from the counter and went through the swinging doors. "Come on. We should talk."

One word. Four letters. Talk. And I suddenly found myself with so much to say.

It's a secret no one tells;
One day it's heaven, one day it's hell.
It's no fairy tale;
Take it from me,
That's the way it's supposed to be.

I perched at one end of the couch and sat my cup on the table. I wonder if Jason had noticed I had yet to take a drink of the coffee. He knew I hated the stuff, so I wonder why he offered it. I rang my hands together trying to rid myself of the sudden nervous energy. "I wanted to… apologize."

He arched his eyebrow, but didn't say anything. I waited until he took another sip of his coffee. "For the last time… the night in the studio. I was out of line."

"You're allowed to feel how you want to. It's your life, Elizabeth. And you get to choose how you want to live it."

"I wasn't fair to you," I admitted. "I…"

"You were hurt," he supplied. I nodded in agreement. "It was the last thing I ever wanted to do. I just wanted to love you."

I smiled sadly. "I didn't make it easy for you. Never listening… always jumping to the wrong conclusions, not letting you explain. I knew what kind of work you did for Sonny… and I thought I could handle it."

"You could have handled it. I just never gave you the chance."

"I put you on a pedestal," I admitted. "I created this Jason in my mind… this infallible guy… and I was so hurt when you fell off."

"I'm not a hero, Elizabeth. I'm not a saint. I'm just a man who runs a coffee warehouse."

"I thought you were my angel."

Jason reached over and tipped my chin up so I could see him. "Even angels fall."

You will fly and you will crawl;
God knows even angels fall.
No such thing as you lost it all.
God knows even angels fall.

The tears pricked at my eyes and I forced them back down. I reached for the coffee cup and took a sip. The dark liquid was bitter and scathing. I immediately spit it back into the cup. I rolled my eyes when Jason laughed at me. "You know I hate this stuff."

"Yeah, I do." He took the cup from me and stood. "I'll get you some hot chocolate."

"Jason–" I had to tell him. I wanted him to know all of the reasons I was here.

But the door was already swinging closed before I could raise my protests. I stood and looked around the apartment. It was definitely smaller than the penthouse. The view sucked and the walls were that dull white color. But it felt like home. I knew it wasn't where I was, though. It was whom I was with. Jason was my home.

He reemerged a few minutes later, a cup overflowing with whipped cream in his hand. "Here."

I took it and happily took a sip. "Why do you have hot chocolate anyway?"

"I was hoping for an old friend to come by for a visit."

I hid the smile behind the cup. "Oh?"

"Yeah." Jason reached out to push my hair away from my face, but his hand dropped back down to his side. "I… can I touch you?"

I nodded silently.

He took the cup from me and sat it on the pool table. Pulling me closer, he ran a hand over my hair and down my neck. His large hand spanned my whole neck, caressing it. "I've missed you," he whispered.

I sighed deeply, enjoying the feel of him.

You laugh, you cry, no one knows why
Behold the thrill of it all...
You're on the ride
You might as well
Open your eyes

He tugged on my arm and pulled my body flush against his. "I lay on the couch at night… and I think about how I messed up with you. I think of all the things I've done wrong. And I can only hope that you'll give me a second chance."

"Jason–"

"Shhh," he told me. "I need to say this." Jason kissed my forehead before he moved his hand from my neck. "I messed up with you, Elizabeth. I messed up big. I forced you to leave me… and it wasn't a choice you should have made. But when I had to choose between my love for you and my loyalty to Sonny, it wasn't even a competition. You won hands down.

"I love you," he whispered. "Somewhere between now and then I started needing you and I learned that I can't live without you. I don't know if you know this, but I've come to Kelly's. I've watched you through the window, working. While I watched I'd have a hundred things I needed to say… but I was too cowardly to say any of them. I was too afraid that you would reject me again.

"Jason–"

"I'm just a man, Elizabeth–"

"No," I cut in. "You aren't just anything, Jason."

He smiled and my heart began to race. It was finally happening. We were finally getting it together. "There was never anything with Courtney. It's been you since the moment I left you behind years ago. I've been in love with you for so long that I don't remember what it feels like to not love you."

I looked up at him and tried my best to smile. The tears were flowing freely down my cheeks and he reached up to catch them with his thumb. "Why're you crying? What's wrong?"

"They're happy tears," I whispered. "My heart is so happy it's overflowing."

"Do you think you could love me again?" he asked. "I'm Jason Morgan, coffee importer. I have a small apartment… a pool table instead of a dining room table. I eat ham sandwiches and frozen pizzas most nights. And I need coffee to live."

I laughed at his last admission. Of course he needed coffee. Black. No sugar. He needed it like a normal person needed water. It was the moment of truth. The moment when I needed to tell him everything. "I'm not here because I need a place to live," I admitted. "Well, I do. It's all true about the studio. But I'm here…" I paused and slowly exhaled. "I'm here because I needed to see if you could love me again. It's been months, Jason. And we did it wrong… we both know that. But I love you and I want to be with you."

"I never stopped."

"Never stopped what?" I asked.

"Loving you." I looked down at where our bodies were touching. His hand was on my back holding me to him. "I tried." His hand stretched across my skin, caressing it. "There must have been a million times when I wanted to give up. I wanted to get on my bike and just ride away from Port Charles, from you. But I couldn't… you follow me, you're with me wherever I go. You're in my heart."

"Jason…"

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you. The night in your studio? I told you I quit because of what Sonny made me do to you… well, that's the truth. But it wasn't the only reason. I quit because I couldn't look myself in the mirror anymore. I quit because I no longer needed Sonny to validate my life. I could do that on my own. You're everything I want to be when I grow up, Elizabeth. I just wanted to deserve you."

I touched his face and shook my head. "It's not about deserving. It's only about love."

You will fly and you will crawl;
God knows even angels fall.
No such thing as you lost it all.
God knows even angels fall.
Even angels fall
Even angels fall

He started to smile then, a gentle upward curve of his lips, but soon it covered his entire face. His eyes were shining with love, and I knew it was all for me. And I couldn't remember a time when I'd been happier.

"So you'll stay?" he asked.

"For how long?"

Jason stopped. He leaned down and kissed me gently. I sighed in relief – it had been so long. "How does forever sound?"

I couldn't stop the smile as my heart jumped with joy. "Forever sounds nice. No, forever sounds perfect."

Song Credit: Even Angels Fall, Jessica Riddle.