"My brother, the mobster, and my wife. Isn't this a quaint picture." A.J. voiced.

Courtney swiftly pulled her hands away and tried to quickly conjure up a story to explain.

"It's not how it looks . . ." She began but was interrupted by A.J.

"Jason, you just cannot stop until you ruin me, can you?" A.J. said, starting in on Jason.

Jason stood up from the table.

"This has nothing to do with us, A.J."

"I don't see how that is, it involves both of us and my wife."

"Courtney is Sonny's sister. My job is to protect her."

"I can handle that just fine." A.J. stated.

"Just like you have been handling it? She's getting stalked and you're just sitting around . . ."

"Stop this!" Courtney started, jumping up from her chair, "I know the two of you don't get along but you don't need to fight all the time."

She turned to A.J., putting her hand on his shoulder, "Nothing is going on with Jason. I love you. I'm married to you."

A.J. took her hand, "I know. But my brother has this way of stealing people away from me."

Jason let out a sigh of frustration.

"This isn't about Michael, A.J. This is about you and me. Why don't you come inside?" Courtney offered.

He nodded and they went inside Kelly's together leaving Jason alone.

* * * Elizabeth did not know how to feel. Not only had Jason and Courtney lied to her, but also Lucky had covered for them. To top that off, the fact that Tom was out of prison did not make her feel very comfortable in her own skin at the moment. She needed a friend, someone who could listen and lend her some insight.

She got to his door and knocked gently. He came a moment later and when he opened the door she was greeted with his surprised expression.

"Elizabeth?"

"Hi. Could I come in?" She asked, as he noticed her suitcases.

"Sure." He said, moving out of the way.

She came in and sat down in one of the vacant chairs in the apartment.

"What's going on?" He asked, concerned, as he sat down on his bed across from her.

"I know I don't deserve a favor from you, but I could really use a friend."

"Sure." He said, sincerely.

"I was wondering if I could crash here? Just for tonight . . . I have nowhere else to go besides my grams and she asks to many questions."

"This is about Jason, isn't it?"

"How'd you guess?"

He let out a sigh.

"Well, Jason has been assigned to protect Courtney, Sonny's sister. I heard a few things but I didn't really listen until I saw it for myself. Then Courtney admitted they kissed and I got upset . . . "

"And?"

"I slapped her." She paused.

"When are you going to realize that Jason is a jerk? He's not worth you getting upset over. After everything he's done to you, why do you still care about him? You've been shot at, kidnapped, and lied to."

"Because when I needed someone to listen and someone not to judge me, he was there. And through everything with Lucky he was supportive. Am I just supposed to ignore that and pretend as if it didn't happen; pretend that it didn't mean anything to me?"

"No. But you have to consider what he's done to you recently. People can change, Elizabeth. Maybe the Jason you use to know no longer exists."

She became silent. She did not want to believe that the Jason she cared for was gone. She did not want to believe that every obstacle they had overcome to be together was pointless. She wanted to believe in him. But her faith in him was wearing thin.

"But I don't understand why you came to me. Why do you need anyone?" He asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Zander . . . I am just tired of people walking all over me. God, I forgave Nikolas with all he's done to me. I forgave Lucky after I caught him with my sister. I forgave Jason for lying to me about Sonny. I'm afraid that if I stand by and do nothing then it will happen all over again. And it feels like shit to get walked all over."

"You're too nice for your own good." Zander interrupted.

She smiled, "Thank you for the compliment, but that doesn't help my current situation."

"My father once said, the best way to fight dirt is with dirt." He offered.

She looked him straight in the eyes, confused by his sudden insight.

"What I mean is, if Jason and Lucky lie, you could always lie right back."

"I'm not sure, you know how I hate liars . . ."

"Elizabeth, if you want to stand up to them your going to have to play dirty."

She said nothing.

"Well, you unpack what you'll need and I'm just going to go and drop of my rent check. And while I'm gone, think about it.

She thought about it momentarily and then smiled.

* * * Jason did not know where to go or whom to run after. Elizabeth had made her feelings clear, she wanted nothing to do with him. And despite the attraction drawing him to Courtney, she was married to A.J. Before he had a chance to even consider his options, Nikolas emerged from Kelly's.

"You have quite a nerve, Morgan. First you pin Elizabeth against Lucky and now A.J. and Courtney are battling it out in there. I don't understand, do you get off on messing up people's relationships?"

He did not have time for Nikolas and his rants. He was actually glad to hear his cell phone ring. He ignored Nikolas and pulled it out.

"Morgan."

"Mr. Morgan, this is Andrew at Pentonville. I came upon some information you might want to be made aware of."

"What information?" Jason asked, but before he could hear the answer, the phone was pulled from his hands and thrown.

"Sonny can't save you this time, Morgan." Nikolas added.

Jason glared at him with cold eyes, "Nikolas, I don't have time for this."

"Do you realize how much Elizabeth is hurting right now? Do you even care?"

Nikolas was yet again met with a cold stare.

"This is what I don't get about you, Morgan. If you care about her, like you say you do, why do you keep intentionally hurting her? Before tonight Elizabeth would never have acted the way she did with Courtney. And the reason she changed is because of you. I hope you're happy." Nikolas said harshly, then turned around and walked away.

Jason stood there for a moment, realizing that Nikolas, as much as he did not want to admit it, was partially right. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and then looked into the diner.

Courtney and A.J. were sitting down together. He looked at them for a long time, studying their movements and their habits with one another. He could see that they had a connection. He knew that the last thing that Courtney wanted was to hurt A.J. but she had, by lying to him.

He did have feelings for Courtney, but they did not even compare to what he felt for Elizabeth. He only hoped that he could find her and some rectify what he had done.

But first he had to find his phone. Andrew, the man on the phone, was Sonny's 'friend' at Pentonville. If Andrew had information for him, it meant trouble.

* * * "A.J., I know that you can protect me. I don't doubt that. But earlier today Coleman was at Kelly's and Jason just happened to come in. If it wasn't for him, it could have ended much worse."

"Coleman? What happened?"

"He was threatening to leak . . . some information out. Then he grabbed me. If Jason hadn't come . . ."

A.J. comfortably took a hold of Courtney's hand, "I'm sorry. I didn't know. It's just that when I saw you with Jason . . ."

"I know . . . but I promise A.J., you are the only man I love." She said, reassuring him.

He smiled.

Their moment was interrupted when the phone rang. She ran over to the counter and picked it up.

"Kelly's."

"Daisy, baby, it's been too long since I've heard you're voice."

"Leave me the hell alone!"

A.J. raced up and grabbed the phone, "Stop trying to scare my wife you sick pervert."

"Your wife . . . (laughing) . . . you're not the only one she's been close with recently."

A.J. looked at Courtney who was a mix of upset, confused, and angry.

"You're a liar." He said into the phone.

"If you don't believe me, ask your brother."

A.J. was silent on the other end of the line. He turned to Courtney again and saw that she was not looking towards him anymore, she was looking outside at Jason.

"Tell Daisy, I'll see her soon." The man on the other line said before hanging up.

When A.J. put down the phone, Courtney turned around. Her eyes met his and she could see that something was amiss.

"What . . . what did he say?"

"You and Jason?" He asked.

She tried to think of something but nothing came to mind. There were no customers to run to or excuses to get her out of this. She had to be honest. A.J. deserved her honesty.

"Yes. But it was just a kiss!"

He started walking towards the door.

She got in his way, "A.J. I can explain! It's not what you think!"

"A kiss is never just a kiss, Courtney." He said, and then pushed her aside and rushed through the door.

Jason was nowhere in sight. He let out a frustrated wail before knocking over one of the tables.

Courtney had followed him out, "A.J., stop!"

He ignored her and started walking away in hopes of catching up with his brother.

She called after him but he did not even pause in his pursuit. She looked around at the mess. She picked up a chair that had been knocked over, sat down, and tried to assess the situation.

A moment later she got up and ran towards the phone inside. She dialed Jason's number quickly but heard only a busy signal.

She slammed down the phone. The bell above the door jingled and she turned at the noise. * * * When Zander returned, Elizabeth had already made up her mind. She was tired of getting hurt by Jason and everyone else. She was going to get revenge, even if it meant playing dirty.

"So?" He asked, when he opened the door, "Decide yet?"

"What should I do?" She asked.

He smiled.

"When you were with Jason after you broke up with Lucky, was he upset?"

"Yes, but that's because he hates Jason . . ."

"So, if you were dating someone they both hated, wouldn't that make them upset and jealous, like you felt when you caught them with Sarah and Courtney?"

"Yes, but who am . . ." She stopped in mid-sentence as soon as she realized what he meant. "Zander, I'm not sure. I don't want our relationship to get ruined in some attempt to get back at Lucky and Jason."

"Elizabeth, it won't. We will never say that we are together, so it's not a lie. It's just that we won't tell them we aren't together."

She considered it. On the one hand, it would be sure to get Jason and Lucky upset. But on the other hand, her relationship with Zander was fragile at best.

Zander interrupted her thoughts, "Elizabeth, this is the only way as far as I can see. Do you have any ideas?"

A moment later, without any other plans formed, she pushed all of her rational thoughts aside, "Okay. I'll do it."

Zander smiled, it was exactly what he wanted to hear.

* * * Jason did not walk Courtney to Kelly's the next morning. She walked with another of Sonny's bodyguards. She believed that this was Jason's way of putting distance between them. But when she arrived, Jason was waiting. He said goodbye to Marco and they both went inside together.

"Why are you here?" She asked, confused.

"I just wanted to make sure you got here safely."

"Thank you. But you don't have to worry, I'm fine."

"Actually, that's not the only reason I came. I need to talk to Elizabeth."

Courtney looked around, "That's funny. Usually she's here long before me."

Jason looked around. The chairs were still on top of the tables and he could see a pile of plates in the kitchen. No one had been here to get the diner ready to open.

Courtney started to pull down the chairs and instantly Jason figured the culprit.

"Jason, do you think she didn't come because she was still upset?" Courtney asked.

After a few moments hearing nothing she turned to see that Jason was gone.

*** "I'm not wearing this." She said, stepping out of the bathroom.

"Why not? You look beautiful." He commented.

"Come on, Zander. I look like I should be 'hanging out on the docks' if you know what I mean."

"Didn't you say you use to dress like this?"

"Yeah, but it's been a while. And now it's just uncomfortable."

"It doesn't look uncomfortable." He said, raising his eyebrows.

"Then you put it on." She fired back.

"Elizabeth, you want them to notice the change in your personality and demeanor because of our 'relationship'. We both agreed on that."

"But I didn't think it would require a drastic wardrobe change." She said, looking down at her outfit, "I've never worn a shirt like this."

"You should considering wearing it more often." He joked.

She looked up and shot him a dirty look. Behind him on the wall she noticed the clock.

"Damn! I was supposed to be there a half an hour ago." She said, grabbing her jacket and purse.

He smiled, picked up his own coat, and shut the door behind her.

* * * On the way to Elizabeth's studio, Jason ran into Lucky and Nikolas.

"Looking for Elizabeth?" Lucky asked in passing, "She's not at her studio."

Jason stopped, "Do you know where she is?"

"No. She didn't come home last night either." Lucky answered.

"Let me guess, it had something to do with you?" Nikolas shot out.

Jason did not even respond to Nikolas.

"How'd you know she didn't come home?"

"I was waiting to apologize and I waited all night." He answered.

Jason was use to working alone and did not want the help of two men he despised. But his thoughts of what could possibly be happening to her made him change his ways. He knew that these men both cared about Elizabeth and despite their differences he knew they would not stop until she was safe.

"Elizabeth didn't show up for her shift." He voiced.

Lucky and Nikolas looked at eachother, knowing that their responsible friend wasn't likely to miss a shift unless there was a reason.

"What are you thinking?" Nikolas asked Lucky as he noticed his expression change.

But Lucky had an inkling that Jason knew more than he was letting on. Lucky believed he knew exactly what it was.

"Tom Baker is out, isn't he?" He asked Jason.

Nikolas' expression changed drastically, "What?"

Jason confirmed Lucky's suspicions without words.

"Since when?" Lucky demanded.

"I got the call yesterday.", he started, shooting Nikolas a cold glare, "But I was interrupted. When I called back this morning I found out that he's been out for at least a week."

"That would have been plenty of time to get to Port Charles from Pentonville and find Elizabeth." Lucky stated.

The three men looked at eachother and hoped they were wrong.

"Where do we begin?" Nikolas asked.

* * * Courtney was in the back as the bell jingled above the door. She was ducked down putting some pots and pans away in the cupboard and heard the laughter.

She stood up but whomever had come in was out of her line of vision. She stepped out into the diner and saw Zander and Elizabeth consorting near the juke box.

Zander noticed Courtney but she didn't notice him see her and he instantly went into acting mode. He pulled Elizabeth close and planted a fiery kiss on her lips.

Courtney was taken back by the kiss and stood there surprised. Then, as their lips separated, Elizabeth started, "Zander, what the hell?"

Courtney cleared her throat.

Zander and Elizabeth turned, only one truly surprised and the other feigning it.

"Oh, hey Courtney." Elizabeth said, then put an arm around Zander, "Didn't see ya there. When did you get in?"

"I've been here for at least twenty minutes. Where have you been?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"We were up late." Zander answered and gave Elizabeth a naughty look.

Elizabeth wanted to hit him but she restrained herself to a dirty look.

"Well, I have to work. See ya MUCH later." Elizabeth said, separating herself from his arm.

Courtney was still watching so Zander gave her a long kiss and with a wide smile left.

"So, something you want to tell me?" Courtney asked, jokingly.

"No, not really." Elizabeth said while removing her jacket.

For two seconds she had almost forgotten the outfit hidden underneath but Courtney quickly brought her back to reality when her eyes became really wide.

Elizabeth just walked casually into the kitchen and got her apron.

"Ready to open?" She asked, nonchalant.

"Sure." Courtney said, wandering what drugs had provoked the sudden change in Elizabeth.

As Elizabeth turned the sign, Courtney stopped herself from saying anything. They were talking, not fighting, and she was glad. But the less naïve side of her wondered why.