After Justice left, Jason didn't even bother cleaning up the mess. The curtains were drawn so the dying sun cast a pale glow over the room. It complimented his mood. He couldn't help remembering the first time he and Faith met after the accident. Later, he learned that she knew Jason Quartermaine but it was hard to tell during that initial meeting. He thought she was the strangest person he'd ever met. But since he'd only been out of a coma a week, he really didn't have much to go by. Once he compared her to the Quartermaines that rushed his room on a constant basis, he decided she was the most normal person he knew. There were few. Bobbie and Faith. Later, Lois, Emily, grandmother and Ned. Everyone else gave him a headache. Jason smiled when he thought back on that first day.

He was lying in his hospital bed, annoyed and angry when the door opened and someone slipped in. At first, he thought it was a nurse or doctor because she didn't start trying to make him remember things or people he couldn't. Then he realized she didn't speak to him or check his chart. She didn't go near the bed. Jason stayed quiet watching her put a basket on the dresser then turn to leave. That caused him to speak.

"Do you know me?"

She turned and looked him over carefully then laughed.

"Depends."

Her response was so odd he couldn't let that go. Only Bobbie smiled or told a joke. But he didn't think he said anything funny.

"On what?"

"On if you know me."

"That makes no sense."

"Yes it does. To me anyway."

She was confusing him but she wasn't giving him a headache so he didn't know what to think. She also didn't hoover or try to sit on the bed next to him like everyone else. Instead she leaned against the wall with her arms folded across her chest.

"I don't understand."

"If you don't know me then as far as you're concerned, we never met. Right?"

He's following this.

"Yeah."

"If you never met me, that means I never met you."

He exhales. She gets it. The only person so far who seems to understand.

"Right."

"Then that makes you someone I don't know."

Jason still isn't sure what to make of this. He has no clue why she figured that out and no one else did. He studies her silently for a few minutes and is surprised that she doesn't start talking again or ask him what's wrong. Everyone did that when he was quiet.

"Why are you here?"

"Just dropping off something for you."

"If we don't know each other why'd you bring me something?"

"I didn't know we didn't know each other until we started talking, did I?"

"That makes no sense."

"Yes it does."

"To you right?"

He smiled when he said it and didn't realize it was the first time he'd ever done that.

"Exactly."

"Ok, what is it?"

She still didn't make a move to approach him but he got the feeling it wasn't because she was scared of him or nervous about talking to him. She was just leaning on the wall comfortably.

"Stuff that smells nice. The fancy word for it is aroma therapy."

"Why did you bring me stuff that smells."

"Because its what I would have wanted someone to bring me if I were stuck in the hospital. Nothing around here smells all that great."

He hadn't thought about that. He didn't know what things smelled like until he smelled them.

"Can I see it?"

"Sure, its yours."

Faith pushed herself off the wall, got the basket and walked over to the bed but didn't sit down.

"Were do you want it?"

He pointed to the night stand. She still didn't seem nervous and she wasn't pushy.

"We must not be related."

That made her laugh harder. He wondered for a minute if she was laughing at him.

"Are you laughing at me?"

"Yes. I'm laughing at both of us."

Narrowed eyes give her the full inspection with a particularly fierce expression that he uses to get rid of most people.

"Are you trying to scare me with that look? If so, you should try another one because that one isn't working."

Then she smiled. He didn't understand her, but he liked her. Jason shrugged.

"Most people leave when I give it to them."

"I'm not most people."

"I'm starting to see that."

Then she looked him straight in the eye before speaking.

"If you want me to leave, just tell and I will."

No one did that. She was alright and it was nice talking to someone instead of being talked at.

"No, you can stay. Explain the stuff in the basket."

She didn't make a move to sit but pulled something out and held it up for him to see.

"Most guys will say this stuff is just for girls but they're lying. Different things have different smells. Like different foods taste differently. Some better than others. Experts, don't ask me who those are because I don't know, say that humans associate different feelings, memories and health with smell."

Now he's suspicious.

"You're trying to get me to remember things!"

"Ok, first, get a grip. You wanted to know what was in the basket so I told you. Second, you already said you don't remember anything. I'd be pretty stupid to make you try."

Then she didn't let him say anything before getting tough with him.

"Are you calling me stupid?"

Her tone, posture and the expression on her face said that would be a bad thing to do. He's heard stupid, brain damaged, dumb and every other word shouted out in the hallway by the Quartermaines since he woke up and didn't like it. He wasn't going to do that to her.

"No, I didn't mean it that way."

She shrugged.

"Ok."

"What's wrong with you?"

Faith didn't get that and looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't talk to me like everyone else. And you don't treat me like everyone else does."

"Because I'm not everyone else."

It made sense but it didn't.

"Why'd you say you were laughing at both of us when I said we must not be related?"

"Because we are."

"You're a Quartermaine?"

Her expression saddened a bit but he didn't understand why. He didn't ask about it either.

"My father and your father were brothers."

"So, we're cousins?"

"Yes."

"What did you mean were? Can you stop being someone's brother?"

"That's a tricky question. I said were because my father is dead."

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Nope. You asked a question because you wanted to know something you didn't. There's never anything wrong with that."

"I don't think there are too many people around here who'd agree with you."

"I care?"

Then she chuckled.

"Do you?"

"Nope."

Yeah, he liked her.

"So you are a Quartermaine?"

"Yes, but that's not my last name."

"What is it?"

"Ward."

"You married?"

"Nope. I'm a little young for that."

"What's your name?"

"Faith Ward."

"They say I'm Jason Quartermaine."

"Whom do you say you are?"

"I don't know."

She nodded and smiled softly.

"Well, when you find out, let me know."

She was definitely different from everybody else.

"You can sit down if you want."

"Thanks."

That was the beginning of their friendship. Faith spent every summer in Port Charles visiting her grandmother, Mary Mae, so she and Jason had a lot of time together. It wasn't until Faith started explaining what Edward did—what he was doing to her—that he remembered certain things from the past. He didn't like living in the mansion so he never thought it strange that she didn't want to go there if she could help it. When they hung out, he always met her down at the Gatehouse with Lois and Ned, then she'd drive them where ever they were going. It was fine with him. Some times they walked, some times they hung out at Ward House with her grandmother and the children who lived there. Faith was the one who taught him how to drive. Something that Edward learned to hate once he rode that motorcycle through the Quartermaine living room and was able to get a valet job at Luke's.

She had a way of explaining things so that it didn't sound like a lesson and it didn't make him feel stupid. Jason got up from the couch to pour himself a drink. When he saw there weren't anymore glasses he opted for a beer and headed off to the kitchen. He stood in front of the floor to ceiling window looking out on the harbor remembering another lesson she taught him. He got the meaning then. Later, when he started working for Sonny, he understood it more. Today, he just got a Ph.D.

It was hot that summer so he and Faith went to hang out in the park by the lake one day. After they sat down she started laughing at something so he followed her eye to see what it was. Ducks. He knew what they were, he just didn't know why they were funny.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because of the ducks."

"They're funny?"

"No, not really. They're free."

He got the feeling she didn't think she was but that didn't make much sense so he kept it too himself. Before he could say anything else, she took a loaf of bread out of her back pack and started crumbling up pieces, throwing them a few feet away from them.

"What are you doing?"

"Feeding the ducks."

"How do you know they're hungry?"

"I don't but that's not why I'm feeding them."

"I don't understand."

"The ducks won't just walk over here to us and I want them to. So I throw out some bread crumbs that I know they'll eat if they are hungry. To get the bread, they have to come to us."

That made sense. Why she wanted the ducks closer was still a mystery.

"Why do you want the ducks?"

"I don't actually want them. I want them near me. They're cute to look at, especially the baby ducklings and this is the only place in town to see them."

"Ok, I get it. But once they come over what happens."

"Anything I want."

"I don't understand."

"If I want to take one of the ducks I can, because its close to me now. I couldn't do that before. If I want to play with it for a little while I can, because its close to me now. If I want to ignore it I can, because its close to me now."

He got it.

"But you couldn't do any of those things until they came over for the bread."

"Exactly."

"What are you going to do with the ducks?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to look at them for awhile."

Then the summer was over and Faith had to go back to school. She wrote him and her letters were funny in that Faith sort of way. They were also interesting because she always wrote about things that happened to her, things she saw, people that did things she thought were strange, stupid, funny, or cruel. Jason wasn't a writer but it didn't seem to matter to Faith. She did tell him once that if he wanted her to stop all he had to do was tell her. That was her hook. "You have to tell me things, otherwise I won't know." He understood that. That's what he needed from other people. He didn't want her to stop because he liked hearing all the stuff she wrote about. Jason wrote her just as much. His letters were as long as his speech verbose. Didn't matter to Faith because she always responded. She kept writing after moving to Chicago. Her last letter arrived about a month ago. Jason was amazed that Gambino was her only client for the last 3 years and he never knew what she was really doing. She never spoke about work. He couldn't blame her, he never spoke about his work either.

One thing he did was write her about Carly. He never spoke to anyone else about her. Even Sonny because he didn't get her or them. Jason didn't know you weren't supposed to talk about certain things early on. But it didn't matter to Faith. At first he couldn't get that because it mattered to everyone else. Once people found out about them, it didn't go over so well. After the Tony thing and her moving in pregnant, it was worse. They judged, criticized and yelled about it. Jason could hear Faith laugh through her letters as she responded to the entire thing. She explained that she didn't have any experience in that area but if they were alright with it, it really wasn't anyone else's business. That was Faith. But her response and attitude made him call her immediately for more understanding. Their conversations were always enlightening, funny, and strange. She was never offended by any of his questions and he wasn't with her answers so he always felt comfortable saying anything to her. She had no rules or moral lectures about sex. She just never had it before. Now he understood why.

When Caroline stepped off the elevator she took one look at Loui and knew it had not been a good day on the penthouse floor of the Harborview Towers. She glanced at Justice's door and Loui shook his head nervously. She tilted her head toward her place and he shook his head again. For a few moments she contemplated going down to Rey's for awhile but dismissed that.

"Can I go in?"

"Yeah, they're all finished."

Two steps inside the door and she saw just how bad the day was. Whatever Faith said caused this amount of damage and she suspected it was a joint effort with Justice. That scared her. Justice never raised his voice, never lost his composure. Well, until Joey disrespected his little sister. Caroline didn't know what happened or what was coming but for Faith to have taken the Quartermaine name meant Edward got to her somehow and that meant it had to be bad. She knew the relationship Faith had with both Justice and Jason. If she couldn't go to them for help or protection, it was something huge.

Jason didn't turn around. He knew who it was.

"I'll clean it up later."

The last few months were bringing out different sides of both her and Jason. His reaction to the bomb in Lois' car stopped her heart. The sound of his voice just then broke it. Something was very wrong. But she also got the distinct impression that he wasn't going to tell her anything. She wasn't going to ask. Emily would be home in a little while. She didn't need to see the fallout of whatever truth her cousin came to tell if she wasn't going to learn the particulars later.

"I got it."

Jason didn't respond to that. Nor did he move again the entire time she cleaned up the mess. That meant his mind was focused on something intense. It didn't take long, all things considered, but he still hadn't moved. She didn't disturb him or try to distract him from his thoughts. Instead, she went upstairs to lay down for awhile. He'd speak to her when he was ready. And he'd work it out on his own.

The next morning Jason, Emily and Caroline were just finishing breakfast when Justice walked in. He gave a quick and very general hello to the room then motioned for Jason to follow him out. Emily wouldn't have payed any attention to it if Caroline hadn't. Neither said a word. Twenty minutes later, Jason returned then turned to Emily,

"Faith is in town. She's across the hall."

Jason didn't have to say anything else. Emily was out of her seat by the time Jason had the word town out of his mouth. She was out the door before he finished the rest. Jason didn't say anything to Caroline and she didn't ask. Five minutes later, Johnny walked in. Rey and Loui updated him on what happened after he left. He wasn't sure what Jason wanted to update him on but he had a report on Joey. He also felt he should keep that to himself unless asked about it. Johnny got the feeling Jason might decide Joey made a better target than example. Instead of speaking, he walked over to the couch and sat down to wait it out. Jason didn't make him wait long.

"Can we get at least one female guard for awhile?"

Not something Johnny, or Caroline who sat eavesdropping behind the morning paper at the table, expected to hear. It happens, its not uncommon though rare. Johnny knew who to tap.

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem but it won't be for another day or so. How many?"

Johnny was going to roll with whatever punches were coming.

"Two."

"Done. What else?"

"Personally check them out completely before bringing them in. They never worked for ELQ or anyone associated with it. They have no connection to the Quartermaines at all or they don't work here.

Faith has at least two guards at all times. She is never to be out of their sight or more than a few feet away. The female guards go into the ladies room with her, they go into a dressing room with her, they go anywhere she goes that the guys can't.

Edward or anyone who works for him is never to get near her. I mean it, not close enough to talk to her and damn sure not close enough to touch her. Let the guards know I said to do anything necessary to prevent that from happening."

Johnny nodded but was thinking this was really bad. Emily had a restraining order but she asked for that. He was loud and annoying that's all. Jason's instructions weren't about loud and annoying.

"When she goes to Ned's her guards go up to the floor with her or she doesn't go up. I'll speak to Ned about that but in case someone in the lobby didn't get the message, Faith's guards do not leave her alone. Ever."

He's still nodding to these alarming instructions because he knows there's a reason for them. That's the problem. The reason is what makes him nervous.

Jason closed his eye, took a deep breath and sat back on the couch exhaling slowly. This whole damned situation was making him more nervous and more angry. Faith was too close to Edward for him to back off. If Jason hadn't known he's been watching her, her entire life it would be one thing. Once he gets ignored or shunned a few times, he's sure Edward will try to have her picked up again so he can finally talk to her face to face. He did it before, he'd do it again. Jason's pretty sure that's when he'll try to play his hand. They need to hold that off long enough to deal with Tracy and find out what he has on Faith. Once Tracy comes to town, Jason is pretty sure Edward will definitely try to work that somehow to get to Faith. He can't hep remember Ned saying Edward breaks his toys if he can't play with them.

"If the guards think she's being followed it means she is. I need whomever is tailing her. They'll probably have a camera snapping pictures of her or a camcorder of some kind trying to get her on video. The pictures and the tapes get confiscated but I still want the person. It'll be more than one and they probably won't be together so the guards need to pay attention. They never to leave Faith to handle that. They need to call it in. Have someone available to intervene."

Caroline put the newspaper down during that last bit, propped her elbows on the table and blatantly listened to the conversation in awe. Johnny tried to keep a straight face but his jaw slipped a little on that one. One word answers were all he'd be squeaking out for awhile.

"Ok."

"No packages or mail gets delivered to Faith. Anything messengered, expressed, or coming through regular mail gets checked to make sure its clean. When that's done, Justice looks at it first before it gets to her. No exceptions. I don't care if it's a Christmas catalog or a magazine. If he's not around or out of town, I'll check it out. Anything that looks like it might be pictures or a video, get them to me fast."

"Ok."

"Anyone who tries to come up and talk to her gets stopped. The guards make sure she knows them first. Even if she does, they don't go far. The second it looks like she's uncomfortable the conversation is over and they get her away from them."

"Ok."

"She's never alone at night. The guards are close enough to hold her hand anytime she leaves this floor at night. From now on, the only Quartermaines allowed on this floor besides the ones who live here are Ned and Lois. No exceptions. No excuses. The old man doesn't make it to the lobby. Do not let someone fuck up. He never speaks to her, he never touches her, he never gets near her. No one gets near her."

Jason got up and walked back across the hall to Justice's without another word. His voice was so intense at the end it broke and that was too painful for them to hear. Johnny and Caroline were stunned. They looked at each other not sure what was going on. One thing that was apparent to both of them, this was a family matter as far as Justice and Jason were concerned. There were a lot of Quartermaine family matters to contend with now with Tracy's pending visit looming like the Sword of Damocles.