song
part 8: nothing can come between us
Spoilers: I don't even know at this point.
Author's note: For future reference, there is already a sequel to 'Song' being planned. 'Song' is the development of the relationship between Liz and Ric, and the as-yet-unnamed sequel will be the exploration of the impending triangle between Liz, Ric, and Jason. There will probably be no more than 5 more parts to 'Song'. Also, this one is shorter than the others. I'm not sure why, it just is.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, yadayadayada.
Rating: PG-13
Feedback: Please, I love it. I live for it, even. It makes me smile. Even if it's just a, 'Good job', I love it.
There was a day of mourning for Courtney Quartermaine, at least in Elizabeth's life. She couldn't afford to spend more time than that on someone she didn't like. She felt bad for the girl's death, and she wished she could have prevented it.
Maybe part of Jason had rubbed off on her. It had happened; it was done.
She was grabbed out of Kelly's and stabbed to death in an alley. By Lucky?
Elizabeth didn't know, couldn't say, didn't want to assume. She was sad, sad for Jason, sad for Sonny, sad for AJ, sad for all those who had cared for Courtney. She understood what it was like to lose someone you loved. Ric had gone to see Sonny, to offer his help to Brenda and Jason and to whoever else needed it.
Scott Baldwin had put the trial on hold indefinitely. Brenda and Jason would not be convicted, not yet. Things were at a standstill, until Faison or Lucky moved again.
She had to get to Lucky. That was the most important thing.
Night was quickly approaching, and she slid her jacket over her shoulders and looked at the blank canvas she had been staring at all day long. Ric had said that he would call, but the call never came. She wanted him to be with her when she left to find Lucky, but she didn't need him, not for strength.
She had strength on her own. He empowered her, gave her life, let her feel free. But strength was not something Elizabeth Webber lacked. Not now, not after everything she had been through. She just hoped her strength would hold her through what she needed to do.
It would be better without him, anyway. She needed to see Lucky without Ric.
*
She waited on the docks, and he came to her, just like she had expected. She sat on the bench and looked out at the water and wondered if she would ever get out of Port Charles, go to Italy like she and Jason had wanted. Maybe she would go to Italy with Ric.
"Elizabeth?" she heard, and she didn't turn to look at the boy she had once loved, at the man he had been forced to become. His voice was different, his face changed, his demeanor staggering. People changed, the world changed, and most of the time, they changed on their own.
Sometimes people got raped and had to change; sometimes people got kidnapped and had to change. What an interesting pair they were. The world had dealt them a cruel hand, and only one of them had made it out of the game with her shirt still on.
"Hi, Lucky," she said to him, and he sat down next to her. There was no recognition from him that he had been the one to attack her in the bathroom, like he was two entirely different people. "How are you?" she asked him.
"I'm-fine," he answered. "How are you?"
She looked at the water, as though it would provide her answer. She could just walk away and pretend that none of this had ever happened; she could just let it go, diffuse the responsibility, tell herself that she shouldn't have to care for these people-they never seemed to care for her. But that simply wasn't the person she was.
"I'm a little sore," she told him honestly.
"You been working out?" he asked.
"No, I was too busy getting attacked in bathrooms." She still didn't look at him, and he didn't answer, and that was what she had expected. He couldn't have had anything to say to that. There was nothing to say.
"You're stronger than this, Lucky," she said softly. "Don't let him do this to you."
"I-I don't know what you're talking about, Elizabeth," Lucky replied flippantly, trying to play it off, but it was too late-he had already lost the game.
"You can't lie to me. You fooled me for too long."
There was a pause, a deep breath of air, and then she asked the million dollar question. "Did you kill Luis Alcazar?"
"No," he almost whispered.
"Did you kill Courtney Quartermaine?"
"No."
She almost smiled, almost let that expression slide across her face, but she hadn't won, not yet. Lucky she could conquer, maybe, maybe she could if she pushed the right buttons, but Faison was another issue. "You haven't killed anyone, Lucky. You can break free of this."
She saw him shake his head out of the corner of her eye.
"Why Alcazar? Why Courtney?"
"He gets me, he gets Luke, Bobbie, my mother, Emily, you, and Nikolas. Alcazar gets Sonny Corinthos, Brenda Barrett Morgan, Jasper Jax, and Skye Chandler. Courtney Quartermaine gets Jason Morgan, AJ Quartermaine, and Sonny Corinthos. We get you, we get Nikolas Cassadine, Zander Smith, Jason Morgan. And now, Ric Lansing." Lucky said it in a voice not his own, a voice borrowed from someone else, words stolen from some unknown place.
Lucky was not his own person anymore. He belonged to Faison.
"Why does he want to destroy us?"
"That is what he does."
"Hasn't he caused enough pain?" It was rhetorical, and Lucky took it that way. Dominoes. A chess game. You take out one, you take out all of them, Elizabeth thought. Faison was smarter than anyone gave him credit for.
"We didn't know how to get to Ric. He thought that Alcazar would do it. And then he saw the way Ric was looking at you. And that answered his question."
"Lucky, you're the only one who can stop him."
Lucky shook his head again. "I can't stop him, Elizabeth."
"Yes, you can," she insisted, turning for the first time to look at him. Sometimes, she thought she could see the Lucky she loved in him, but mostly, all she could see was aggression and fear in his eyes. "Testify against him. Tell Scott what you know-"
"He'll kill everyone I've ever cared about, Elizabeth."
She blinked, afraid of the tears that rested behind her eyes, and she took his cold hand in her own. "He's going to do that anyway."
"I can't." He shook his head again, as though hearing voices and trying desperately to ignore them. Faison had so much control over him, and it terrified her.
"Lucky, please," she begged. "I know he's watching us. I know I'm putting myself in danger. He thinks he has absolute control over you, but you're the strongest person I've ever met. He can't take that away from you unless you let him. Helena did terrible things to you. I understand that. Do this for your father, for your mother. For Nikolas, for Emily, for me. If you ever loved me, please."
She didn't even know what she was asking him to do, but she needed him to do something. She stood up, letting go of his hand. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead.
And then she left him with his own thoughts.
*
She knocked on the door of Ric's room, knowing that he wouldn't mind if she just walked in, but feeling the need for formalities nevertheless. The door opened, and Ric stood behind it, tired and worn like he had been the past couple of days, and she was surprised at the urgency with which he enveloped her in his arms. She felt herself sinking into him, savoring his warmth and the way they just fit together.
Elizabeth Webber was falling in love, and she couldn't have liked it better.
"You're safe," he murmured into her hair, and she felt herself laughing.
"Of course I'm safe. Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, and she pulled back to look at him. He took her hand and lead her into the room, and she realized that Jason was sitting in the chair at the desk, facing them. His face, like Ric's, was worn and tired; she wondered why he wasn't in mourning with the rest of the people who had loved Courtney.
"What is this, an intervention?" she joked, but she knew, she knew from the way Ric was holding her hand, from the way that Jason was looking at her, from the way Ric suddenly seemed to let go of an enormous amount of air as soon as he had seen her, she knew that this was much more serious.
Jason held up a piece of paper, and Ric let go of her hand and sat down on the bed. "There's been a threat," Jason told her, his blue eyes bright.
She grabbed the paper from him and unfolded it gingerly. For Jason and Ric to be sitting in the same room, to be dealing with each other, she knew it had to be bad. "We both got a copy of it," Ric told her.
She didn't let the words attack her; she was too braced for it. 'Elizabeth Webber is the next to go,' it said, not in ransom letters and not typed, but hand-written. Faison was taunting them. He was saying that he could do anything, and no one could stop him.
"This is not a big deal," she said, but she felt herself shaking anyway. Courtney had been gone so fast, dead before anyone had even seen her.
And she was the next to go.
Her knees and hands shook, and as she collapsed to the floor, Ric caught her and cradled her in his arms. "We'll keep you safe, Elizabeth," Jason told her. "We're not going to let anything happen to you."
"I'll be fine," she tried to tell them, but the words didn't come out. She just held onto Ric for dear life, clinging to him, knowing that as long as she was in the circle of his arms, no harm would come to her.
It was up to Lucky now.
To be continued . . .
"I always hope that you remember
We'll never really learn the meaning of it all
What we have is strong and tender
So hold on
In the middle of the madness."
-- 'Nothing Can Come Between Us' by Sade
part 8: nothing can come between us
Spoilers: I don't even know at this point.
Author's note: For future reference, there is already a sequel to 'Song' being planned. 'Song' is the development of the relationship between Liz and Ric, and the as-yet-unnamed sequel will be the exploration of the impending triangle between Liz, Ric, and Jason. There will probably be no more than 5 more parts to 'Song'. Also, this one is shorter than the others. I'm not sure why, it just is.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, yadayadayada.
Rating: PG-13
Feedback: Please, I love it. I live for it, even. It makes me smile. Even if it's just a, 'Good job', I love it.
There was a day of mourning for Courtney Quartermaine, at least in Elizabeth's life. She couldn't afford to spend more time than that on someone she didn't like. She felt bad for the girl's death, and she wished she could have prevented it.
Maybe part of Jason had rubbed off on her. It had happened; it was done.
She was grabbed out of Kelly's and stabbed to death in an alley. By Lucky?
Elizabeth didn't know, couldn't say, didn't want to assume. She was sad, sad for Jason, sad for Sonny, sad for AJ, sad for all those who had cared for Courtney. She understood what it was like to lose someone you loved. Ric had gone to see Sonny, to offer his help to Brenda and Jason and to whoever else needed it.
Scott Baldwin had put the trial on hold indefinitely. Brenda and Jason would not be convicted, not yet. Things were at a standstill, until Faison or Lucky moved again.
She had to get to Lucky. That was the most important thing.
Night was quickly approaching, and she slid her jacket over her shoulders and looked at the blank canvas she had been staring at all day long. Ric had said that he would call, but the call never came. She wanted him to be with her when she left to find Lucky, but she didn't need him, not for strength.
She had strength on her own. He empowered her, gave her life, let her feel free. But strength was not something Elizabeth Webber lacked. Not now, not after everything she had been through. She just hoped her strength would hold her through what she needed to do.
It would be better without him, anyway. She needed to see Lucky without Ric.
*
She waited on the docks, and he came to her, just like she had expected. She sat on the bench and looked out at the water and wondered if she would ever get out of Port Charles, go to Italy like she and Jason had wanted. Maybe she would go to Italy with Ric.
"Elizabeth?" she heard, and she didn't turn to look at the boy she had once loved, at the man he had been forced to become. His voice was different, his face changed, his demeanor staggering. People changed, the world changed, and most of the time, they changed on their own.
Sometimes people got raped and had to change; sometimes people got kidnapped and had to change. What an interesting pair they were. The world had dealt them a cruel hand, and only one of them had made it out of the game with her shirt still on.
"Hi, Lucky," she said to him, and he sat down next to her. There was no recognition from him that he had been the one to attack her in the bathroom, like he was two entirely different people. "How are you?" she asked him.
"I'm-fine," he answered. "How are you?"
She looked at the water, as though it would provide her answer. She could just walk away and pretend that none of this had ever happened; she could just let it go, diffuse the responsibility, tell herself that she shouldn't have to care for these people-they never seemed to care for her. But that simply wasn't the person she was.
"I'm a little sore," she told him honestly.
"You been working out?" he asked.
"No, I was too busy getting attacked in bathrooms." She still didn't look at him, and he didn't answer, and that was what she had expected. He couldn't have had anything to say to that. There was nothing to say.
"You're stronger than this, Lucky," she said softly. "Don't let him do this to you."
"I-I don't know what you're talking about, Elizabeth," Lucky replied flippantly, trying to play it off, but it was too late-he had already lost the game.
"You can't lie to me. You fooled me for too long."
There was a pause, a deep breath of air, and then she asked the million dollar question. "Did you kill Luis Alcazar?"
"No," he almost whispered.
"Did you kill Courtney Quartermaine?"
"No."
She almost smiled, almost let that expression slide across her face, but she hadn't won, not yet. Lucky she could conquer, maybe, maybe she could if she pushed the right buttons, but Faison was another issue. "You haven't killed anyone, Lucky. You can break free of this."
She saw him shake his head out of the corner of her eye.
"Why Alcazar? Why Courtney?"
"He gets me, he gets Luke, Bobbie, my mother, Emily, you, and Nikolas. Alcazar gets Sonny Corinthos, Brenda Barrett Morgan, Jasper Jax, and Skye Chandler. Courtney Quartermaine gets Jason Morgan, AJ Quartermaine, and Sonny Corinthos. We get you, we get Nikolas Cassadine, Zander Smith, Jason Morgan. And now, Ric Lansing." Lucky said it in a voice not his own, a voice borrowed from someone else, words stolen from some unknown place.
Lucky was not his own person anymore. He belonged to Faison.
"Why does he want to destroy us?"
"That is what he does."
"Hasn't he caused enough pain?" It was rhetorical, and Lucky took it that way. Dominoes. A chess game. You take out one, you take out all of them, Elizabeth thought. Faison was smarter than anyone gave him credit for.
"We didn't know how to get to Ric. He thought that Alcazar would do it. And then he saw the way Ric was looking at you. And that answered his question."
"Lucky, you're the only one who can stop him."
Lucky shook his head again. "I can't stop him, Elizabeth."
"Yes, you can," she insisted, turning for the first time to look at him. Sometimes, she thought she could see the Lucky she loved in him, but mostly, all she could see was aggression and fear in his eyes. "Testify against him. Tell Scott what you know-"
"He'll kill everyone I've ever cared about, Elizabeth."
She blinked, afraid of the tears that rested behind her eyes, and she took his cold hand in her own. "He's going to do that anyway."
"I can't." He shook his head again, as though hearing voices and trying desperately to ignore them. Faison had so much control over him, and it terrified her.
"Lucky, please," she begged. "I know he's watching us. I know I'm putting myself in danger. He thinks he has absolute control over you, but you're the strongest person I've ever met. He can't take that away from you unless you let him. Helena did terrible things to you. I understand that. Do this for your father, for your mother. For Nikolas, for Emily, for me. If you ever loved me, please."
She didn't even know what she was asking him to do, but she needed him to do something. She stood up, letting go of his hand. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead.
And then she left him with his own thoughts.
*
She knocked on the door of Ric's room, knowing that he wouldn't mind if she just walked in, but feeling the need for formalities nevertheless. The door opened, and Ric stood behind it, tired and worn like he had been the past couple of days, and she was surprised at the urgency with which he enveloped her in his arms. She felt herself sinking into him, savoring his warmth and the way they just fit together.
Elizabeth Webber was falling in love, and she couldn't have liked it better.
"You're safe," he murmured into her hair, and she felt herself laughing.
"Of course I'm safe. Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, and she pulled back to look at him. He took her hand and lead her into the room, and she realized that Jason was sitting in the chair at the desk, facing them. His face, like Ric's, was worn and tired; she wondered why he wasn't in mourning with the rest of the people who had loved Courtney.
"What is this, an intervention?" she joked, but she knew, she knew from the way Ric was holding her hand, from the way that Jason was looking at her, from the way Ric suddenly seemed to let go of an enormous amount of air as soon as he had seen her, she knew that this was much more serious.
Jason held up a piece of paper, and Ric let go of her hand and sat down on the bed. "There's been a threat," Jason told her, his blue eyes bright.
She grabbed the paper from him and unfolded it gingerly. For Jason and Ric to be sitting in the same room, to be dealing with each other, she knew it had to be bad. "We both got a copy of it," Ric told her.
She didn't let the words attack her; she was too braced for it. 'Elizabeth Webber is the next to go,' it said, not in ransom letters and not typed, but hand-written. Faison was taunting them. He was saying that he could do anything, and no one could stop him.
"This is not a big deal," she said, but she felt herself shaking anyway. Courtney had been gone so fast, dead before anyone had even seen her.
And she was the next to go.
Her knees and hands shook, and as she collapsed to the floor, Ric caught her and cradled her in his arms. "We'll keep you safe, Elizabeth," Jason told her. "We're not going to let anything happen to you."
"I'll be fine," she tried to tell them, but the words didn't come out. She just held onto Ric for dear life, clinging to him, knowing that as long as she was in the circle of his arms, no harm would come to her.
It was up to Lucky now.
To be continued . . .
"I always hope that you remember
We'll never really learn the meaning of it all
What we have is strong and tender
So hold on
In the middle of the madness."
-- 'Nothing Can Come Between Us' by Sade