Chapter Fourteen

Meanwhile…

Elsewhere

Ed's gaze slipped away from the screen before him and eyed his counterpart, all the while trying to hide the grin that threatened to appear. "What a dilemma, eh, James?" He asked, humor dripping from his voice. He had waited so very long for this moment. The moment where Alison would tell Rafe everything he needed to know, perhaps then some, and his son would magically regain his memory.

But Ed knew it didn't work like that. Rafe would only regain his memory when he fell in love with Alison once again. And he was so on the verge. The only thing preventing Rafe from fully exploring his feelings for Alison was Livvie.

Heaven help that girl.

She'd need it on her side if she ever planned to make it through the pearly gates. That girl was trouble, no doubt about that. She was screwed up in her ways and she needed a helpful guiding hand. And Ed was positive the only hand she was getting was a not so healthy shove from was the wrong side of the "law".

"Dilemma?" James questioned, still not taking his eyes from the scene playing out before him. "I'm not quite sure I know what you mean."

Ed turned to fully face the man beside him and noticed his face and eyes were vacant of the fear and worry he was sure would be there. "Alison. Once Rafe hears from the woman he loves-"

"Loved," James corrected, finally swinging his dark gaze into Ed's direction. "The word is loved, Edward. And the only emotion Master Rafe feels with any certainty right now is confusion. Having Alison explain to Rafe who and what he truly is will only confuse the boy more. You know that as well as I do."

A cocky smile then appeared on the man's face as he crossed his arms over the breadth of his chest. "We should just chalk this up as point for my side if Alison tells Rafe he's an angel. Because you know this can only end badly." James then leaned toward Ed with a wicked smile upon his lips, as he snickered, "And you know how much we love pain and suffering over here."

James then looked back at the screen and pointed at the figure of Alison. "So go ahead, Edward, root for her to shed some light on the subject for Rafe. We saw how your son reacted when Lucy casually suggested he might be an angel. Imagine what he'd do if he learned the truth from dear, sweet Alison that he is nothing more than a resurrected dead man."

Back on Earth

Outside the Recovery Room

"Everything?" Alison questioned in a soft voice. "You want me to fill you in on your entire past -- well, the parts you don't remember?"

A brief grin tugged at the corners of Rafe's mouth as his hands gently squeezed Alison's shoulders. "Yes. I want to relive my memories through your eyes."

Her blue eyes fell from Rafe's as she took a step back from him. "Shouldn't your own memories be best viewed through your eyes?" Once she swallowed down her heart, which shot into her throat after the decision she made, Alison sighed heavily while tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear. "God, Rafe, you don't know how much it means to me to hear you say that you trust me. I mean if I had been in your shoes and everyone tried to tell me their version of my life I'd have probably gone nuts and have believed no one."

Ripping her gaze from the ground, Alison looked up at Rafe's face and immediately recognized the disappointment staring back at her. "I'm so sorry, Rafe. I want nothing more than to tell you everything-"

"Than do it," he urged in a begging voice as he made a grad for one of her hands.

When her smaller hand was tucked inside of Rafe's, Alison sighed out, "I just can't."

His eyes danced over her face as he fought down the surge of frustration at Alison's reluctance. "Why not?"

"You have to understand that if I were to tell you about your past and you came to me because of that, it wouldn't be on my merits as someone you love, it would be like by default. I want to be with you Rafe, but I don't want you by telling you about a past you don't remember and memories that you can't recall. I want you back because of me, because you want to be with me, because you can't stand to be without me. Mostly because you fell in love with me again, not because of this magical time that means nothing to and everything to me."

Alison withdrew her hand from Rafe's, unable to look into his saddened eyes any longer, and then turned away from him. "I'm sorry if this hurts you, but I think it's for the best that you regain your memory on your own." She crossed her arms beneath her breasts while sighing. "I mean if the baby memory is any indication, you should have your memory back in no time."

He wasn't sure what to say to her. Her denying him this simple request wasn't exactly the answer he had expected. Though, he probably should have. Everyone had been negligent in telling him about his past, they all wanted him to regain his memory on his own. But why? What was so awful that they couldn't tell him about it and wanted him to learn it for himself?

"What are you afraid of?" Rafe thought aloud, unaware that he had even spoken until Alison whipped around to face him.

Her brow was pinched together and her lips were curled into a confused frown. "Excuse me?"

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that there was something horrendously wrong with him that no one could bare to speak of it. If that were the case, did he really want to remember at all? But he had a right to know and everyone, specifically Lucy, Livvie, and Alison knew this secret about his past. This secret they couldn't bring themselves to speak about for fear of what -- his reaction? That he may transform into this beast of a person he formally was?

As he continued to brood over this very fact, annoyance began to flood through his system quite rapidly. "You heard me," Rafe began, his tone mirroring how he felt. "What are you and everyone else in this town afraid to tell me about me?"

His sudden burst of anger surprised Alison. It ticked her off as well. "No one is afraid to tell you about your past, Rafe. And not everyone in this town knows everything about you. Most of this town doesn't know who you are. And the people that do know you, they know you as a slayer."

That had Rafe closing the distance between Alison and himself. "Then what is it about my past that you can't seem to tell me? What is it about me that you so desperately want to hide?"

Her arms fell away from her stomach as her hands landed upon her hips. "I don't want to hide anything from you, Rafe. That is the difference between your wife and myself. I want you to know everything there is to know about you, I want you to remember us, I want you to reclaim your memories so you can find out what a lying, and deceitful woman you are married to. She would rather you stay clueless and feed from her heaping pile of lies she's served up on the plate she laid before you."

"Then if what you say is true and you want me to know everything about my past -- then tell me the truth!"

Alison lifted one of her hands from her hips and poked a finger into Rafe's chest. "You want to know the truth?"

Rafe threw his hands into the air as he said, "Yes."

"You want to know everything that Lucy and I have been keeping from you, because we think you should learn this fact on your own?"

"Yes!" He shouted as his hands slapped to his sides.

Poking him in the chest once more, Alison snapped, "Fine, Rafe Kovich. I will tell you everything!"

At the same moment…

Inside the Recovery Room

Jack glanced down at his hands that were threaded together upon the table before him. "What about me?" He asked himself, while he gave his head a slight shake. "You know, that has been the very same question I have been asking myself since I walked over here."

Livvie's face scrunched into a look of confusion. "What are you talking about? And what do you have to do with my life, Jack? Let alone the people that love me?"

What did he have to do with her life? They made it clear to each other months ago that it was over, and Livvie drove that nail into their coffin when she married Rafe. But was she really in love with the guy or was the drive to stick it to Alison all Livvie really cared about? He might be inclined to think he was sitting here with her because he was still in love with her and he wanted her back. But how could he be with someone who had done such horrible things like Livvie had? There was just no way.

"I've got to tell you something, and I'm going to be as blunt and honest as possible." He didn't wait for any snide comment she may have had, before he rushed on to explain further. "I'm not exactly sure why I walked over to this table, I'm even clueless as to why I sat down and started this conversation with you. I guess there was just something inside of me that wants to reach out and see if you are still human."

Livvie's eyelids lowered into a scowl as she snapped, "Nice Jack. Yes, I'm still human. Flesh and blood just like you and everyone else."

Jack shook his head in disagreement as she spoke. "No, Livvie, you're not just like everyone else. Everyone else wouldn't have screwed over their best friend. Everyone else wouldn't have turned on someone that cared about them, like Lucy and me, because we didn't think Alison was capable of the things you accused her of. If anyone has been the monster you've preached endlessly about -- it's yourself."

Suddenly Livvie rose from her seat as she stated, "You know I've heard this lecture before-"

"Yes," Jack began as he too stood and grabbed one of Livvie's wrists, "but you didn't listen to a damn thing I said. Because if you had you would end this farce of a marriage you have with Rafe and tell everybody that you aren't really pregnant. Then you would beg forgiveness from everyone that you hurt and do everything in your power to make it up to them."

Her eyes seemed to darken as she yanked her wrist free from Jack's hold and hissed, "I think you have me mistaken for someone who actually gives a damn about the people of Port Charles feel. Because I'll tell you one thing, Jack, I don't care about anyone-"

Jack took a hold of Livvie's upper arm and pulled her to within inches of his face, as he breathed out, "Well, maybe it's time you started. You have a lot of sin you have to atone for, Livvie. So unless you want to spend eternity in Hell with your Uncle Ryan and the rest of your crazy family, I suggest its time you got down upon your knees and pray that God take mercy upon your blackened soul."

Something Jack said must have scared the hell out of Livvie because she began to struggle against his hold. Her eyes were wild and her voice was extremely shaky as she demanded softly, "Let go of me, Jack."

His grip never slackened as he asked, "Afraid of a life in Hell, Livvie? Or is there something unsettling about being compared to someone evil like your Uncle Ryan?"

"Stop it, Jack," Livvie breathed out. "I'm not like my Uncle Ryan, I have never killed anyone!"

Jack's shoulders lifted in a could-care-less shrug as he smirked. "No? I guess framing someone else for murder is okay then, I mean after all it has to weigh less on the conscious, right? But there is that old saying, Livvie, the getaway driver is just as guilty as the person who actually pulled the trigger. So by that right, you are just as guilty as your Uncle Ryan. How does that make you feel?"

"Stop it!" She cried out as she pulled herself back from Jack's hold.

~*~