Babble: I forgot to ask if there were any final guesses on who was doing this or not. So leave me a reply as a guess then read, or not. Either way please leave me a reply. Not much is left to be revealed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Quagmire
Part IX
~Penthouse~
Jason didn't remember the last time he'd felt so content. He couldn't remember the last time he'd woken up in bed with someone. Frowning he banished the memory when it came, it wasn't right to be thinking of one woman while lying in bed with another. Besides that morning was nothing like this. Moving slowly, he brought his arm down until it rested on Elizabeth's back. The movement was hard he could already feel the sharp pins of pain shooting up his arm as blood began to move in it again. But he resisted the impulse to rub it, not wanting to disturb Elizabeth.
Elizabeth sighed and he felt her warm breath through the thin cotton of his shirt. It was an easy breath, the same as it had been all night. She hadn't dreamed, or at least she hadn't had any nightmares and for that he was relieved. Jason stared sightlessly at the ceiling, his brain trying to piece together all the threads and come up with the name of who was doing this to her. Unknowingly, his hand began to rub circles on Elizabeth's back.
Baker had been cooperative, but he had expected nothing less. But, now, in the harsh light of day, and away from the out of control moments of rage of the previous night, he couldn't help thinking he'd missed something with Baker. At the time he had been so angry, over what had happened to Elizabeth years before and what she was going through now, that he'd simply reacted. Gone was the in control enforcer Sonny had relied on for years, and in his place was Taggert's aptly named Anger Boy.
Baker had been afraid and in the end desperate, but there had always been a hint of calculation in the other man's eyes. He needed to find out what Baker was hiding, that meant another visit to Pentonville. The only thing was he wasn't sure that another visit wouldn't turn out the same way the first had, with him beating Baker. The mere sight of Baker combined with the knowledge of what he had done to Elizabeth infuriated him to the point he wasn't sure he wouldn't kill Baker the next time he saw him. He'd come close last night. Close to snapping Baker's neck like a twig.
"It's too early for frowning."
Startled Jason looked down at a now awake Elizabeth. Too lost in his thoughts he'd missed her wakefulness. "Did I wake you?"
"Not really," she yawned and began to lay her head back down on his chest, only to stop and shift until her head rested on the pillow beside him instead.
Jason felt the loss of her warmth, and her withdrawal immediately but said nothing.
"What time is it?"
"A little after 8:00," he answered after a quick check of his watch.
Groaning Elizabeth turned on her side and buried her head in her pillow. "I hate mornings."
"I remember." Jason rolled on his side mimicking her position.
Opening one eye Elizabeth she eyed him in question.
"You hated sleeping on the hard floor of the studio, yet you complained in the morning about having to leave the sleeping bag," he reminded her with a grin.
"It was cold," she reminded him petulantly.
"Oh," he nodded. "And that's why you used to say five more minutes gram, every morning?" He teased.
"You remember far too much," Elizabeth accused him. But there was no heat behind her words. "I do have to get up, I have to go to work today."
Frowning Jason automatically shook his head.
"Yes I do, and don't look at me like that," she warned him. "I have to be there at 10:00 and I will be."
"Elizabeth we don't know who this guy is or where he is," he reminded her. He had an uneasy feeling about her wanting to work.
"And if I stay here we'll suddenly know?"
"You're safe here," he pointed out.
"Safe?" She laughed shortly. "Are you forgetting how Sorel just walked into the building and took Carly hostage, or when Sonny went even crazier than usual and walked into his penthouse with a bomb strapped to his chest?"
"What?"
"You mean you didn't know?" Elizabeth's surprise was evident on her face.
"A bomb?" Jason could only shake his head. How had that happened and he missed it? Sonny and bombs were never a good thing, what the hell had Sonny been thinking? Carly was right, everyone was right, Sonny had changed a lot since he'd left the year before.
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth's hand covered his on the pillow.
"For what?" Her touch drew him out of his thoughts.
"I thought you knew."
"It seems there were a lot of things that went on that I had no clue about," he sighed softly. Things like Emily, like Sorel, like Elizabeth faking her death, like… he never should have left.
"You're here now that's all that matters," she broke into his thoughts again.
Smiling softly Jason laced his fingers with hers. "You do that a lot."
"Do what?"
"Figure out what I'm thinking and call me on it," he admitted and could tell he caught her by surprise.
"You used to do the same with me," she pointed out. "And I can't with you very often," she let out a deep sigh.
Feeling the dart, but realizing it didn't sting quite as much as usual he merely nodded.
"If you hide from me I can't." Elizabeth murmured.
"And if you run from me, I can't." He shifted his head on his pillow, moving closer to her.
"I told you I wasn't going to run anymore," she reminded him and moved closer.
"Habit's a hard thing to break. You run, I run, sometimes it's hard to stop running even when you want too," he shifted closer still.
"You ran first," she reminded him.
"What?" Confused his movements stopped. "When?"
"You're not losing me, I'm just going away for awhile," she repeated his words from years ago, the expression on her face turned accusatory. "You ran."
"There was a lot of stuff going on back then, I couldn't stay," he explained.
"You ran," Elizabeth repeated.
"I'm not running now," Jason countered. Deciding not to waste the opportunity he had now by talking about the past he leaned closer to kiss her.
"Morning breath," she grinned and backed away.
Before he had a chance to stop her she was off the bed and heading for the bathroom. "I need to shower before work," she called over her shoulder.
Groaning Jason rubbed his eyes.
Today was going to be a long day.
~*~*~*~*~
"Jason?" Carly touched his shoulder.
Jason blinked and the memory of his bedroom faded, turning his head he met Carly's worried brown eyes. "What?"
"Are you okay?" Ignoring the conversations going on around them in the police station she shifted closer trying to shield him from the curious eyes of the police.
"I'm just remembering. I had a bad feeling about her going to work today, but I didn't really fight her on it. As usual I relied on my standard response, it's her life she has a right to live it the way she wants too, I can't make her decisions for her, no one can. I may not like her choices but I have to respect them." Jason shook his head a sneer forming on his lips. "I just realized how much of a copout that really is."
"It's not a copout," Carly hedged. "You just need to be selfish sometimes, just like you encouraged me to be."
Even in the height of his worry Carly could make him smile. "You're not going to let me forget that are you?"
"Are you crazy?" Carly smiled back and for a moment the worry eased.
"I hate to intrude when you're so obviously upset," Taggert broke in coldly.
Carly rolled her eyes and began to retort, when Jason touched her arm and shook his head.
"The lock wasn't picked. So whoever grabbed her had a key," Taggert announced.
Jason nodded he could tell at the scene that the lock wasn't picked but he let Taggert have his moment.
"No one saw anything, no one heard anything, one might think they were mob witnesses," Taggert went on.
"Back off," incensed Carly shot to her feet and ignoring Jason's frown she went on. "With the PCPD's track record why would anyone tell you anything? How many people have you declared dead only to find out they are still alive? How many times have you arrested someone for murder when the person is still alive?"
"Carly this isn't helping," Jason came between her and the cop.
"And Taggert standing around glaring at you instead of trying to find the sicko who snatched Elizabeth, is?" Carly demanded.
"Carly," Jason snapped and ran a weary hand through the back of his hair.
Seeing the fatigue and pain in his normally cold gaze Carly did her best to swallow her anger.
"Who had keys to the backdoor of Kelly's?" Nikolas asked.
"At this point you may as well ask who didn't," Taggert grumbled. "Apparently the locks haven't been changed since Ruby Anderson owned the place. Tenants, employees, former employees, they all had keys, and there's no telling how many dupes have been made over the years."
"That means Lucky was a key," Jason said softly and Nikolas shot him a warning look.
"Lucky wouldn't do this to Elizabeth. Besides you heard Taggert half the town could have had a key."
"Did half the town know what happened to her on Valentine's Day? Does half the town know she is allergic to raspberries? Does half the town know Mrs. Hardy's favorite band?" Jason shot back.
"You just want it to be Lucky because you hate him," Nikolas retorted angrily.
"That's where you're wrong," Jason wearily shook his head. "I want it to be him because if it is Lucky who has Elizabeth he probably won't hurt her, but if it's not Lucky…" he trailed off.
Nikolas didn't know how to respond to that statement so he moved away to check in with Andreas again. The phone on a nearby desk rang and Taggert moved to answer it leaving Jason and Carly alone again.
"You'll find her Jase," Carly reiterated her support.
"She's been gone for almost 4 hours now and I'm no closer to finding out who has her than I was 5 minutes after she was grabbed." Sighing, he dropped onto a rickety wooden chair. "4 hours, do you have any idea how far away she could be by now?"
"It won't matter how far away Elizabeth is." Perching on the chair beside him she rubbed his back trying to soothe. "You will find her, that is what you do Jason. You find the people you care about. You found Michael when Tony snatched him, you found Saint Robin, you found Emily, and you found Elizabeth last summer. You will find her, you're too good not too."
"This is different," his voice cracked and he took a moment to steady it. "Those other times I was the target, or I knew who took them and why. This time is different because Elizabeth was the target all along. She wasn't taken in an effort to punish me. She was taken because of what was done to her all those years ago, and it could be happening to her again while I'm sitting here in this damn…"
"Stop it. Look at me," Carly gripped his hand hard until he focused on her. "You can't think like that. Taggert said chloroform would knock someone of Elizabeth's size out for 4-6 hours, she's probably still asleep. And when she wakes up her first thought, well maybe not her first, but the one she is going to hold onto the tightest is the fact that she knows you will come for her. You need to focus on that. Don't go sliding into what ifs, remember you don't do what ifs you do facts only."
"The fact is she is missing." Jason reminded her sharply.
"Another fact is Baker, the man who raped her all those years ago, is in jail," Carly retorted just as sharply.
"That's what makes this all the more frustrating. Baker is the most likely suspect and he's in jail. So who the hell does that leave? How can I find her if I'm not sure who I'm looking for?" He clenched his fists in frustration. He couldn't remember feeling so helpless. When Michael had been kidnapped he'd had leads to follow, when Elizabeth had been grabbed it was the same. But this time he didn't have any, he was stuck sitting in the police station waiting for the phone to ring and that drove him crazy.
"You want to know who took her?" Carly asked him. "Talk to me, tell me what you know. You always help me make sense of things when I tell you what's on my mind, let me do that for you."
"You're going to help me make sense of things?"
Catching his expression Carly slugged his shoulder. "Just do it."
Rubbing a hand down his cheek he decided to play along, anything was better than the frustration that was rapidly overtaking him. "Whoever has her knows Elizabeth, he knows her habits, and more importantly he knows her history. He knows Kelly's and had access to it at one point. He can pick locks, but he's sloppy about it."
The more he talked the more his mind cleared and he was able to focus on the problem, instead of his feelings. His words grew stronger his expression slid back into unreadable.
"He also knows the hospital. He spent a lot of time setting up the attack in the morgue. He needed to have the access codes to the doors to get out, he also needed to know the morgue attendant schedule. He set the attack up to happen when it was empty because of lunch, but they break at a different time each day, so he had to know their schedule in advance."
Nikolas moved closer listening to the cold recitation of the facts. This was the Jason Morgan he was used to seeing, and for the first time in his life he was relieved to see the man.
Jason's brain raced ahead but his expression remained neutral. "He has to know Audrey Hardy in some way. He used her, because he knew Elizabeth would meet her no matter what. He also was familiar enough with Audrey that he knew her music tastes. He knows Elizabeth's medical history. Not very many people knew of her allergy, it wasn't life threatening she would just get a rash if she ate raspberries, it's a fluke I even know about it." He deliberately banished the memory of how he knew from his mind.
"He also knew how much Drano he needed to put on each piece of chocolate to cause illness but not death. He had access to chloroform, and he has to have a vehicle. No one remembers seeing anything suspicious this morning, or at any place where the attacks occurred, that means he must blend in. People may not even give him a second glance, or maybe the know him, but either way he doesn't come across as threatening, so they don't pay attention."
When Jason grew quiet Carly shook her head in amazement. "It sounds like you could be talking about someone who works at the hospital."
Both Jason and Nikolas nodded.
"I was thinking the same thing," Nikolas agreed.
"There was this doctor," Jason broke off when Detective Capelli hurried into the bullpen.
"Lieutenant I found Timothy Baker," Capelli announced loudly.
Jason shot to his feet and began to move over to them.
"Get the car," Taggert ordered.
"Jason," Carly caught his hand before he could move too far. "I'm going to the hospital to see mama, call me and let me know what you find out okay?"
"I will," he drew her close for a hug. "Thank you."
"Go," Carly ordered and watched him follow the cops out of the bullpen. That was a sight she'd never thought she'd see. "You better be alright Elizabeth, it'll kill him if you aren't."
~Penthouse~
"If you're not careful your face might freeze like that."
Confused Jason turned to look at Elizabeth who stood on the stairs. For a second all he did was stare. She was wearing black pants, and they clung to her small frame like a second skin. Her blue sweater matched her eyes, which were full of amusement at the moment. Amusement that was aimed in his direction. "What?"
"It's an expression, it means if you keep frowning like that sooner or later your mouth won't remember how to smile," she explained her expression serious.
"That makes no sense. It takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile, so if anything your body would cease frowning before it would stop smiling."
Laughing softly she stepped off the stairs and moved closer to him. The clunk her boots made on the hardwood floor, with each step she took, was familiar to him, and he realized at that moment he had missed the sound.
"You have to be the most literal person on the planet," she complained.
Shrugging but refusing to deny he took a sip of his coffee.
"I still don't know how you can drink that stuff." She moved closer and bending slightly she took a whiff of his cup and made a face.
He couldn't help but laugh at her expression. "You're not supposed to smell it, you drink it."
"I suppose," she rolled her eyes. "I hoped the only reason you drank coffee was because you own a coffee warehouse but I'm beginning to believe you actually like the stuff." She leaned her head against his arm and wrapped an arm around his waist.
Caught off guard by her moves Jason remained still and barely even breathed until he realized she wasn't moving away. Giving into temptation he tilted his head until it rested atop hers. "You don't have to go to work if you don't want to."
"I don't want too," she admitted. Her hand moved down his arm slowly, until it found his hand and she rested hers on top of his.
Jason couldn't help but be struck by the difference in size of their hands. Her hand was pale, and her fingers were barely longer than half of his fingers. He hadn't realized how small her hands were until just that moment.
"But I need too." Unaware of what was going on inside of Jason she went on. "I have to keep living my life, if I don't he'll win."
"A day off doesn't mean he wins," Jason pointed out and could have hit himself when she pulled away from him and walked to the pool table.
"I've put my life on hold so many times, for so many reasons, all of them worth it, or so I thought at the time. I don't want to do that anymore." Keeping her back to him, her focus on the table, she kept talking. "A day off is simple yes, but I'm afraid it will lead to so much more. I can't give up control again."
Jason moved up behind her and automatically reached out to touch her shoulder, hesitated, then lowered his hand and instead moved beside her. "If this is what you want I'll take you to work. Francis will be with you at all times, and I plan on being there as much as I can," he sighed and reluctantly went on. "Nikolas will probably be there too."
Tilting her head Elizabeth smiled softly in his direction. "That sounded like it hurt you to say."
"He seems to be acting like your friend and as long as he keeps doing that I won't have a problem with him. I don't like him, but as long as he doesn't hurt you, I won't say anything," he admitted painfully.
Elizabeth took him by surprise again when she moved closer stood on tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"What was that for?" He asked when she drew back slightly.
"For being the most literal man on the planet," she explained and smiled at his expression.
Ignoring her words for once he latched onto her smile. Like it was the most natural thing in the world his hand found her cheek and he drew a thumb down it. No matter how many times he touched her he always marveled at how soft her skin was. Moving closer he bent slightly, tilted her head back and lowered his lips to her.
Elizabeth pressed her hand against his lips when they were inches from hers and pushed him back gently. "Coffee breath," she confided and stepped back. "You better brush your teeth, we need to get to Kelly's."
Jason couldn't help but glare at her back when she moved to the closet. Grumbling under his breath he took the steps two at a time and headed for his bathroom. Maybe it was time to give up coffee.
~*~*~*~
"Timothy Baker?" Taggert asked at the desk.
Shaking his head Jason shook the memory away and followed Taggert down the hall. A sign in the hall caught his attention and he focused on it for a second Mercy Hospital. Hospital's again.
"He's been here for 8 days now, he only came out of his coma today," Detective Capelli explained. "Some joggers found him in the park, he'd been beaten and robbed, he had no identification on him, and only regained consciousness about 2 hours ago."
"Why the hell didn't the cops working the case catch this when I put out his picture with his APB?" Taggert demanded.
"Because they were lazy?" Capelli answered and pushed through the doors to ICU.
Jason came to a halt and stared at the man lying in the hospital bed. With the bruises on his face, he looked exactly like Tom Baker had looked when he had finished with him last night. "Are you sure this is Timothy Baker?"
"Yeah," Capelli nodded and stopped a passing doctor. "Is he your patient?" He asked flashing a badge.
"Yes Mr. Baker is my patient," the haggard looking resident smothered a yawn. "He only just regained consciousness I think you should wait to question him."
"Are you sure he's been here the whole time?" Jason asked.
Startled the doctor looked at him. "The man was admitted with a severe skull fracture, and subdural hematoma, not only has he been here the whole time, he will continue to be here for quite a while longer."
"Thank you," Capelli said in dismissal.
"Great another fucking dead end," Taggert sniped and plowed his fist in the wall.
Jason turned around and began heading back the way he'd come. Nikolas fell into step beside him.
"So where to now?"
Jason ignored him and kept walking.
"I'm going to be right here, with you every step of the way, until we find Elizabeth so you might as well deal with it. You won't stop until you find her, no matter what you have to do, Taggert still believes in his laws, so he might, but you'll be the cold-hearted bastard you need to be and won't stop no matter what. So I plan on dogging your every step," Nikolas informed him coldly.
"I'm going to GH there's someone there I need to talk too," Jason informed him tersely and heard Taggert yell his name.
"Correction there's someone there we need to talk too."
~General Hospital~
"Mama you need to rest so stop worrying about things you can't change." Carly reminded her mother and closed the door. Sighing she wearily leaned against the door. This forever-long day just seemed to keep getting worse. If worrying about Jason and Elizabeth wasn't bad enough she'd been greeted to the sight of Brenda when she'd come into the hospital. The brunette was stalking her other ex today for a change.
Stalking, poor choice of words she realized with a frown. Carly forced herself to move down the hall. She needed to find Jason. Hopefully he would have good news. She came to a halt when she recognized the man by the nurse's desk. Dr. Chris Ramsey. A smile drifted over her features as she studied the man. His casual flirtation the last few days had been just what she needed. She couldn't remember the last time a man had flirted with her, and she'd flirted back, she normally wouldn't have done that.
Carly took another step forward, she could use a little flirtation at the moment. Again her steps stalled as a flash of blue caught her eye. Frowning she wondered why the sight of it made her stomach clench. Her mind went into memory.
"The scarf is it new?"
Elizabeth fingered the light blue scarf. "Not really my gram gave it to me for Christmas."
"Oh my god," Carly whispered. She turned to look for her guard then remembered that she had ditched him as usual. She dug in her bag searching for her cell, her hand closed around it the same time she looked up again and spotted him getting on the elevator. She couldn't let him get away. Instinct that had led her into more trouble then she would like to admit kicked in and she raced for the stairwell, desperate not to lose him.
~Penthouse~
Jason and Elizabeth exited his penthouse the same time Sonny left his. Spying him Elizabeth immediately tensed and shifted away from Jason, who sighed and kept moving to the elevator.
"Jason," Sonny nodded at him before smiling at his companion. "Hello Elizabeth."
"Sonny," Elizabeth muttered.
As soon as the doors opened Elizabeth moved inside the elevator and moved to the back. Jason moved on after her and hoped that for once Sonny wouldn't say anything. He smothered a groan when Sonny did speak.
"How are you feeling today Elizabeth?" Sonny asked.
"Okay," she shrugged and began to pick at her fingernail polish.
Sonny sighed and opened his mouth to try again, then shut it abruptly and turned around to face the doors. Jason was surprised at the move, but didn't question it.
The doors opened on Parking Level 003 and Sonny stepped off the elevator. "Take care of her," he informed Jason.
Surprised Jason could only nod, but Sonny had already walked away. The doors closed and the elevator began to move again, Elizabeth shifted away from the wall until she was standing beside him. He felt her hand slide through the crook of his arm, then slide down until it reached his hand.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
Surprised he looked down at her. "For what?"
"Putting you in the middle because I'm mad at Sonny."
The doors opened and he led her off the elevator before turning to look at her. "You have a right to feel what you feel."
"I know but Sonny is your friend."
"So are you," placing a hand on her chin he tilted her head up until he could see her eyes. "I finally remembered that it's okay for me to be mad at my friends."
"You're mad at Sonny? Why?"
He could see the confusion on her face and smoothed the line between her brows with his fingers. "For changing our relationship and not giving me any warning about it, kind of like I did with you."
Elizabeth sighed, rubbed her nose, sighed again then looked up at him. "I'm not as mad as I once was."
Reaching out he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, or at least that was his intention. Instead he hesitated and rubbed the silky strands between his fingers, marveling at the texture.
"You do that a lot," she murmured.
"Do you want me to stop?" Awaiting her reply he held his breath.
Elizabeth searched his eyes for a long time before sighing and leaning into his hand. "No."
Breathing again at her soft admission, he bent slightly and angled his head seeking her lips.
A car horn blared in the parking garage, startled Elizabeth stepped back and turned around. Jason narrowed his eyes and glared over her shoulder at a sheepish looking Francis.
"We need to go," Elizabeth gripped his hand and headed for the waiting Durango.
Trailing her Jason's frown got more and more pronounced and Francis' face turned more and more red.
~*~*~*~*~
"I have news," Nikolas joined him by the nurse's desk. "Jason?"
The sound of his name banished the memory and Jason looked around the lobby of General Hospital's emergency room.
"Jason?" Nikolas asked again.
"What news?" Jason asked.
"I found Lucky. He was arrested last night in Louisiana apparently he tried to break Luke out of jail down there." Nikolas couldn't keep the relief out of his voice. Until Andreas had given him the news that it for sure wasn't Lucky doing this to Elizabeth, he hadn't realized how worried he had been that it was.
"Luke is in jail?" Jason asked in surprise.
"Apparently, and now so is Lucky, since he was arrested last night, even you can pin this one on him," Nikolas concluded.
Jason nodded and turned back to the nurse. "I'm looking for a doctor."
"Where are you hurt?" She asked and reached for a clipboard.
"I'm not, I need to speak with a specific doctor, his name is Chris Ramsey."
The nurse checked her chart and nodded. "He's on for another 10 minutes, I'll page him for you."
Nikolas waited for her to step away before speaking. "Why do you want to talk to him?"
"Every time I turn around this guy is around Elizabeth."
"And that makes him a suspect?" Nikolas questioned.
"He had access to her medical records, he works here so he knows Audrey, he had access to the morgue. And he drugs her a lot," Jason responded sharply.
"What?"
"He's always giving her drugs, something is wrong there." Jason maintained.
"I'm sorry he doesn't seem to be answering his page," the nurse announced.
"Can you page him again?" Nikolas asked his interest in Chris Ramsey just jumped.
~An Apartment building~
Carly snapped her phone shut with a frustrated sigh. Why the hell wasn't Jason answering his phone? She gave a brief thought to calling Sonny, but he was probably with Brenda so what was the point. Depressed and angry she moved up the stairs and entered the old building. She could hear him moving up the stairs to the second floor.
There was a chance she was wrong. There was a chance that the scarf she saw in his pocket was just one that looked like Elizabeth's. After all why would he take Elizabeth? It made no sense, yet at the same time it made a kind of perverse sense to her. She heard his voice on the stairs and realized he was coming back down, panicked she looked around for someplace to hide.
She spied a door under the stairs and opened it. Stairs greeted her eyes and without hesitating she moved down them, closing the door behind her quietly. His voice sounded loud in the hall and she heard an answering feminine voice, both voices drew nearer and she moved further down the stairs as quietly as she could.
The basement opened into a large room at the base of the stairs. She saw a washer and dryer on her right, as well as a clothesline set up near the back wall. The basement was remarkable clean for being a basement, but she still watched where she stepped. Looking to the left she spied a door. Curiosity had her moving closer.
The doorknob turned easily under her hand and Carly pushed the door open. She automatically searched the wall just inside the door, looking for a light switch but didn't find one. The dim light from the basement filtered inside the room, and the images that met her eyes confused her.
She moved inside the room until the string hanging off the light bulb hit her head. She reached up and yanked on the string. The fuse inside the bulb caught and the bare bulb illuminated the small room.
"Oh my god," Carly whispered once her eyes adjusted to the light. Photos of Elizabeth were everywhere, filling every available spot on the wall. She turned in a circle, spying a table on the far side of the room she moved closer. A box of Valentine's candy was on the table, along with various Valentine decorations. A can of gasoline was on the ground underneath the table and Carly could smell the fumes where she was standing.
Her eye next moved to a large trunk against the wall. It was huge and it was padlocked and she had an idea that Elizabeth may be inside of it. Carly hurried to the trunk. "Elizabeth?" She called out a little louder than she'd intended and quickly looked over her shoulder at the open doorway.
Crouching beside the trunk Carly put her ear on it listening for some sort of response. Hearing nothing she reached in her bag, and pulled out her phone. The display said no signal and smothering a curse she got to her feet and moved for the door, her focus on her phone.
"I got to call Jason."
"I don't think so." He filled the doorway stopping Carly in her tracks.
~Durango~
"You really hate this don't you?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes," Jason admitted honestly.
"I promise to be careful," she pledged and leaned against his shoulder.
Jason was a little surprised at her mood. Not only was she in a good mood, she also seemed to want to touch him. He wasn't complaining but he was a little surprised at her behavior.
"I know you will, I just don't like all the unknowns," he said finally.
"Life is full of unknowns Jason. I've finally realized that no one really plans their lives, because you never know what's going to happen, not really. You can prepare, you can make plans, you can have dreams, but you never know what will happen from day to day. From the moment you open your eyes in the morning you don't have any idea what will really go on during the day." She laughed suddenly startling him.
"What's so funny?"
"I sound like a fortune cookie," she giggled again.
"But you're right," he shifted.
Elizabeth shifted as well, lifting his arm she placed it over her shoulder and ducked under it to lean against his chest. "You're telling me that a lot these days."
He could hear the tease in her voice and smiled softly in response.
"I haven't seen that smile in awhile," she murmured.
"I haven't had a reason to smile," he answered honestly.
"Me neither."
They drifted into silence and Jason ran a hand through her hair, then repeated the process. Her breathing began to slow and he realized she was falling asleep. He hadn't realized how tired she really was, until that moment. Elizabeth jerked suddenly and the top of her head connected hard with his jaw, and both groaned.
"Ow," Elizabeth pulled back and rubbed her head.
"Ow yourself," he mumbled rubbing his painful jaw.
"Does it hurt?" She stopped rubbing her head to study him.
He immediately went to deny but catching sight of her eyes he changed his mind. "Yes."
"Poor baby, do you need me to kiss it and make it better?" She asked with a grin.
Surprised by the offer and curious to see if she would follow through he nodded.
Shifting as much as her seatbelt would let her, she pursed her lips and pressed them against his jaw. "Better?"
He nodded.
"Does anything else hurt?"
She kept her hands on his face, her lips inches from his, her eyes searching his. Again he read something in her eyes that he didn't think he'd ever see again. "Yes."
"Where?" Without waiting for his reply she brought her lips closer to his.
The car slammed on the brakes just then and the only reason Elizabeth didn't go flying was because of his hold on her, and her seatbelt.
"Sorry," Francis called into the back but kept his eyes on the road. "A kid ran out in the middle of the road."
"It's okay," Elizabeth called back and shifted again until she was sitting in her seat again.
Jason felt his frustration begin to grow.
~*~*~*~*~
"Where the hell is he?" Nikolas snapped the question.
Sighing Jason closed off the memory and shrugged. Chris Ramsey was supposed to be here, yet he wasn't. It was looking like his feeling about Dr. Ramsey was right.
"Did someone here page me?" A weary Chris Ramsey came up to the nurse's station.
"I did."
Chris turned around and his easy smile faded when he saw who had spoken. "Well here I am."
"Come with me." Jason didn't phrase it as a question he merely took Chris' arm and pulled him away.
"Hey," Chris sputtered out and tried to pull away but couldn't break the grip on his arm.
"Dr. Ramsey?" Concerned the nurse called after him before reaching for the phone.
Nikolas covered her hand and smiled charmingly at her. "Don't worry they're friends. They just have one of those kinds of relationships."
"Are you sure?" The nurse asked doubtfully.
"Positive," smiling again Nikolas took a step back and bumped into Taggert.
"Where the hell is Morgan?" Taggert demanded.
~Basement~
"Tony," Carly hissed.
Dr. Tony Jones nodded and stepped into the small room. "I knew you were here I could smell your cheap perfume."
As always when confronted with her ex, her temper spiked and as usual she led with her mouth. "Where the hell is she?"
"Who?"
"Elizabeth you sick fuck," Carly snapped loudly.
The sound of her voice made him rub his pounding temples. "Somewhere safe."
Jarred by the distracted tone in his voice, Carly took a step back before she realized it. "What are you doing Tony? You know Jason will kill you for this."
"Jason," Tony snarled the name of his enemy gave him his focus again. "Jason will never know. I've taken Elizabeth away from him. She's safe now."
"You took her because of Jason?" Carly asked then gestured at the walls. "Then what is all of this?"
Tony stepped away from the door and looked at his walls, a soft smile creeping over his lips. "It's my memories. I have such nice memories of Elizabeth. These are my reminders." Bending down he pulled an old photo from his trash. "She couldn't hold a candle to Elizabeth."
Carly recognized a photo of Courtney. "You stalked Courtney too?"
"Daisy," he corrected. "She tried to pretend she was sweet but I saw her in that bar and I knew she wasn't. She reminded me of you, but then Elizabeth came back and I knew I didn't want Daisy not really."
Disturbed at the way he was talking Carly looked to the door. She needed to get Jason, he would break Tony in two, just like he should have years ago. His attention had moved back to the photos of Elizabeth and she slowly moved towards the door.
"Elizabeth tried to trick me once too. She was always so sweet when she waited on me in Kelly's. Always so nice and helpful, just like you were at first. Remember that? Oh Tony I love pizza, I have no one, you are such a great dad, I'd love to baby-sit Lucas for you, I don't have a family…" he threw her words of years ago at her. "Teaching me to rollerblade, stepping in for Bobbie every chance you got. You pretended to be so nice, so sweet," he crumpled the photo in his hand. "Just like Elizabeth. But I discovered the truth about her long before I did you."
Carly had reached the door but his words stilled her in her tracks.
"I saw who Elizabeth was in the park one night. Valentines Day. She was dressed in red, just like a true slut, she wasn't nice, she wasn't sweet, she was liar just like you. I wouldn't let her lie to me anymore."
Horrified Carly turned to look back at him. He couldn't be talking about… Elizabeth had said Tom Baker had raped her… but it sounded like Tony had. The thoughts were confusing and terrifying.
"I showed her that night that I knew who she really was. I showed her what happens to sluts like her." Rubbing at his temple again Tony turned around.
Carly could read the madness in his eyes, and wondered how he had hid it for so long. Turning abruptly she raced for the steps. She stumbled but kept her feet and made it up three steps before the gas can hit her in the head. Stunned she fell back and crashed hard on the cement floor.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Tony loomed over her.
Dazed Carly could barely focus. Tony reached down and picked her up by the shoulders and dragged her back inside the room.
"Dr. Jones are you okay?"
Hearing his landlady Tony dropped Carly on the threshold he moved back to the stairs. "I just dropped something Mrs. Lowen. Everything's fine."
"Okay, if I don't see you before you leave enjoy your vacation," the elderly woman called down the stairs.
"I will Mrs. Lowen." Humming under his breath Tony moved back towards Carly who was trying to crawl away, but there was nowhere she could go.
"You know you brought this on yourself, just like Elizabeth did. If both of you had been honest about who you really were, I wouldn't have to punish you like this. But you couldn't do that could you?" Tony moved past Carly to the trunk against the wall and unlocked it.
Carly tried to keep her eyes open but the pain in her head was so intense it was difficult for her. "Tony don't..."
"Now you'll beg?" He laughed and began pulling items out of the trunk. "You never beg Carly you wreck people. You blamed Bobbie, for wanting you to be raised in a house instead of on the streets with her, so you came to town with one purpose in mind, to destroy Bobbie's life. You achieved it for a while, you just used me to do it. You played me perfectly. A middle-aged man, still grieving for his lost daughter, in a work in progress marriage. I stood no chance against a schemer like you, a whore like you."
"Bobbie…"
"Don't talk to me about Bobbie," Tony yelled. "She kept my son away from me because of you. By the time I could see him again, he was full of stories about his new sister Carly, his nephew Michael, and Jason. Always Jason. He was my son. Michael was supposed to be my son."
Tony moved over and grabbed her by the shoulders again, giving them a hard shake, and Carly's head rolled. "You gave me the hope of being a father again, you let me believe for almost 9 months that I was going to be a father then you took that away from me. Do you know how cruel you are?" He shook her again.
Carly's head lolled on the side and her eyes fluttered closed.
"I'm not going to lose anyone else to Jason. Elizabeth will never be with him, I won't let her. Surprisingly I was her first, even though she was a slut I was her first. That gives us a bond, and I won't let anyone break that bond."
"She hates you," Carly managed to hiss. "You raped her."
"It was not rape. It was vengeance. I saw you that night, do you know that? And then I saw her. She looked so much like you with a sweet expression on her face and her devious ways underneath." He picked her up and placed her in the trunk. "I was content with the memories and to just watch her. I knew she recognized me, I saw it in her eyes every time I saw her. But she went to Jason again, she had to be punished for that."
"Tony," she attempted to struggle but had no strength in her body and crumpled. Tony manipulated her arms and legs until she was entirely in the trunk.
"I wasn't going to see you again Carly. You have no more power over me, but I can't have you following me." Tony tilted her head and lowered the lid of the trunk.
"Tony," she gasped.
"You brought this on yourself years ago," Tony called through the chest then padlocked it. Humming again he rubbed at the pain in his temples, and pulled the string on the light bulb. Once the light faded so too did the pain. Moving towards the door he'd already forgotten the woman he'd just put in the trunk.
~Durango~
"Thanks," Elizabeth took Francis' hand and let him pull her out of the Durango. Once her feet were firm on the ground she let go of his hand and turned to wait for Jason.
"Park it in the lot over there," Jason ordered.
Nodding Francis moved to the driver's door.
"It's a beautiful fall day." Closing her eyes she tilted her head back.
Jason watched the sun play on her face turning her skin slightly golden for an instant. She opened her eyes and when she caught him staring at her she grinned at him. Taking his hand they took off for Kelly's at a slow, leisurely pace.
Habit had him scanning their surroundings and he let go of her hand long enough to move around her so he was next to the street, then picked up her hand again.
"Always the protector. I have to wonder who protects you?"
"I don't need anyone to protect me," he answered automatically. He heard Francis' footsteps behind them and breathed a little easier.
~*~*~*~*~
"I told you I don't know what you're talking about." Chris Ramsey repeated for what had to be the tenth time in five minutes.
Overloaded by the memories of Elizabeth Jason snapped, shoving Chris hard against the wall. "Where is she?"
"Where is who?"
"Elizabeth." He pressed his forearm against the doctor's throat cutting off his air supply. "You better answer me."
Chris' eyes bulged as he gasped for breath. How was he supposed to answer if he couldn't even breathe? He tried to pull Jason's forearm away but the man pinning him to the wall was like an immovable piece of iron. Black spots began to dance in front of his eyes.
"Jason," Nikolas ran in the room and tried to pull him off the doctor, to no avail. Taggert and another officer entered after Nikolas and it took all three of them to finally make Jason go.
"Back off Morgan," Taggert shoved Jason halfway across the room. Every instinct he had was screaming at him to cuff Morgan and arrest him for assault, maybe even attempted murder. But the expression on Morgan's face stopped him. The mere fact that Morgan was expressing his emotions shook Taggert. In spite of the anger boy taunt he'd always used on Jason Morgan. Morgan was very good at spilling nothing, his face was normally an empty sheet, his eyes ice cold, but not at that moment.
"He knows where Elizabeth is," Jason clung to his belief that Ramsey had her. Because if Ramsey didn't that didn't leave him anybody else. Everyone else he'd considered had been cleared.
"It wasn't Ramsey," Taggert admitted finally and left his cuffs in his pocket. "I checked him out yesterday. He was in surgery when someone chased Elizabeth through the morgue."
"That's right," Chris coughed and rubbed at his sore neck. "I had to fill in for Dr. Jones who got sick," he coughed again. "You idiot."
"No," Jason shook his head, unwilling to give up his last lead.
"Yes." Taggert snapped angrily.
Defeated Jason turned his back on the room.
"That's a pity."
Hearing her sigh he looked over at her. "Why?"
"Because I was going to volunteer for the job," she informed him.
Catching him by surprise, like she had been all morning, she rose to her toes and pressed her lips against his for a quick kiss. He barely had time to register the velvety softness against his lips before she stepped back.
"Peppermint," she licked her lips. "I approve." Taking his hand again she tugged hard to get him to start moving to Kelly's.
He made a mental note to buy more mouthwash and moved with her.
Elizabeth's image faded as the final memory played in his mind. She was gone and he had no idea who had taken her or how to get her back. He had let her down, again.
~Cabin~
Groggy though she was Elizabeth kept working on the hinge that was on the door. She'd managed to move it slightly, at least she thought she had. She had no idea how long she'd been in this room. She had no idea where she was at all, but she hadn't stopped trying to figure a way out of the room since she'd woken up.
The terror she'd felt upon awaking was still there right below the surface but she was doing her best not to give into the feeling. If she gave into her fear, into her panic, she was doomed. Her best weapon was her brain, at least that's what every self-defense instructor had told her. So she needed to be prepared.
The only problem was her brain was still a little foggy because of the chloroform that had been used on her. She had no idea if it had been chloroform, but that was what they always used in the movies so she thought it was. She focused on her task again and brought the now warped spoon up to the hinge and worked its tip under the edge and tried to push it up.
Jason would be proud of her if he could see how strong she was being. The spoon clattered to the ground and she hesitated before picking it up and trying again. She couldn't let herself think about Jason, at least not too much. Every time she did, she began to lose her focus, because she knew how worried he had to be about her, and how guilty he must be feeling. He'd blame himself for her being taken, even though it had been her idea to go to work and she didn't want that.
The room she was being held in was windowless, with only one door. A cot, a few shelves with nothing on them, a crate that had doubled as a bedside table, were the only pieces of furniture in the room. There had been a glass of water, in a plastic cup on the crate, as well as a sandwich, fruit, and a little pudding cup, with a spoon to go with it. So far the spoon was the only weapon she'd managed to come up with.
She'd wasted tons of time trying to use the spoon as a screwdriver in an attempt to take the cot apart to get to the metal bars to use one as a club. When she finally realized that wouldn't work, she'd gone to work on the hinges on the door. She was beginning to doubt that was going to work either.
The crate was rickety and rot from water damaged had rendered most of the wood useless, so if she hit someone with it, he'd never even feel it. The shelves were bolted to the wall, the cot to the floor, all she had to work with was her spoon.
"I watch Alias."
Her words of months ago came back to her and she wished she'd paid more attention to the season premiere and how Sydney had gotten out of the handcuffs in the chair.
The spoon clattered to the floor again when she heard sounds coming from the other side of the door. She remained frozen to the floor beside the door, listening hard as the sounds grew nearer. She could hear the faint sounds of humming and the noise of that made her move.
Getting to her feet she moved until she was across the room, putting as much distance between her and the door as possible. The useless spoon was once again tucked securely in her hand. Her breathing sped up when the doorknob rattled, the sound of keys clattering reached her ears. She was about to meet her kidnapper and she was scared to death.
The doorknob turned and the door was pushed open. The man who walked inside the room was unexpected, and her grip on the spoon relaxed sending it to the ground.
"I'm glad you're awake. We don't have much time."
"Dr. Jones," she whispered and knew the world had just gotten even stranger.