When Jason got back to the penthouse, he was not at all surprised to find
Elizabeth was not there. He assumed that she went out with Emily, Nikolas,
or perhaps her brother. He found it odd that she had not left a note,
which she always did, but just assumed he would stumble upon it eventually.
He opened the fridge searching for something to satisfy his hunger.
Months before, if he had opened his refrigerator, he would have found a six- pack of beer and some frozen leftovers from take-out that he had forgotten about. But now his refrigerator was fully stocked, organized, and none of the food was out of date. And this felt normal to him, which was a miracle in some ways. It was hard to get use to change but he did not even seem to remember the process.
He remembered back in the old days when he might have a meal here or there, if he remembered at all. But with Elizabeth around, he looked forward to meals. Especially the lunches she made some days when he would come home from taking care of some business for Sonny. She would stumble out of the kitchen looking frazzled but determined. She would have the table set with her new invention and he would hesitate ever so slightly before tasting it. He would force it down and give a slight smile as if he approved.
She would always sigh," What's wrong with it this time?"
She could read him like an open book, just as he could read her.
He would say nothing and she would look at him, her eyes tiny slits, and hit him playfully with the oven mitt. She would then take the mitt off and sample her own work. He loved to watch the disgusted look on her face. He would immediately help her throw it away as she gave him a threatening look. He had said, "I told you so.", only once and never again did he repeat it. She knew what he was thinking.
Recently, however, she would have a plate of brownies ready in case of the need for some food. They would have brownies, her only acceptable dish, and somehow Elizabeth would get chocolate all over everything, including herself. And he would, as he always did, help her get it off. His favorite memory of this was when she got it smeared on the tip of her nose and he took it off with a single kiss. They had laughed, and ate some more, and then had their "dessert".
They never much more than kiss. Jason would always remember and back away for fear that she might feel uncomfortable. Elizabeth would tell him that it was okay and they would continue. But then something always happened, one or the other would pull away, and that would be the end of it. They never discussed it.
The phone rang, interrupting his thoughts, and he shut the fridge and ran towards the phone.
"Morgan." He answered, simply.
After a slight pause, he answered timidly "This is Steve . . . is Elizabeth there?"
"No, she not." Jason answered, suddenly getting worried.
"Oh, it's just that she was going to meet me for lunch. We talked today on the phone around 11:00 and decided we would meet at Kelly's for lunch at noon. Have you heard from her, I'm starting to get worried? It's not like Lizzie to be late . . ." Steve started but Jason stopped listening when he saw what time it was, 12:45.
Elizabeth was never late. She hated being late. She always left early and always called if she would be late. Jason knew that there had to be something wrong.
"So the last time you talked to her was 11:00?" Jason asked.
"Yes."
"I'll find her." He said into the phone and put it back in the cradle.
He forgot all about lunch and was out the door.
* * *
Nikolas was not at all surprised to see Jason Morgan. He hurriedly came out of the elevator and went straight towards the nurse's station.
"Is Elizabeth Webber here?" He asked.
Bobbie, hearing while passing by, answered, "She's in room 236."
He started rushing towards the room when Nikolas made it a point to get in his way.
"It's Audrey." He said, knowing what might be going through Jason's mind.
When Jason said nothing, he explained, "Audrey got mugged. Elizabeth is only visiting. She wants to be alone."
Nikolas could see a look of relief in Jason's eyes. They both walked over and sat down on the couch in the waiting room.
"How'd you figure she was here?" Nikolas asked, intrigued.
"Her brother called and said she had not made it to lunch."
"But why here?" Nikolas asked.
"I just had a feeling . . ." Jason said, as his eyes wandered down the hallway towards the room where she was.
Despite the fact that they were separated, he could feel her pain. He could feel her guilt and sadness. But there was something else that she was feeling, something he could hardly determine. And then, all the sudden, it hit him; she was scared. He knew that it had to be something more than just Audrey's condition that made her so frightened, but what?
"I'll call Steve and let him know so he doesn't worry." Nikolas offered before getting up and walking towards the pay phone.
Jason watched him go and as soon as he was out of sight, he bolted towards room 236. He looked inside the window and saw Audrey laying down in her bed. She looked older than the last time Jason had seen her. But he did not see Elizabeth in the room.
He opened the door slightly, not meaning to intrude, but just to check to see if Elizabeth was there. Audrey stirred and then opened her eyes.
He didn't even have to ask. Audrey knew and answered him, "I convinced the poor girl to go the cafeteria. Hadn't had any lunch."
Jason sent an apologetic glance in her direction and started to leave but Audrey stopped him.
"Mr. Morgan?" She called.
He turned.
"I think I'm finally beginning to understand you." She said, simply.
He looked at her quizzically.
"I was here the night they brought you in. The anguish on the faces of those whom loved you. I know you mustn't remember, but we had shared a few conversations once. You were always a nice young man . . . that's the kind of man I wanted for Lizzie and Sarah."
Jason let out a sigh, having an idea of what she might say next.
"Why did you run away from a family that loves you so much?"
"I could not be who they wanted me to be." He offered, stolidly.
"Is that why Lizzie ran?" She asked.
"Only she could answer that, Ms. Hardy."
Jason turned to leave but Audrey called out to him again, "I see that you care about her, Mr. Morgan, but I don't want her near "your kind" of life. I don't want to come here for my shift one night and find her here."
"My business will never touch Elizabeth." He said, then turned and left.
Nikolas and Jason almost collide.
"Elizabeth doesn't need a chaperone." Nikolas quipped.
"She's not in there." Jason said, ignoring the snide remark.
"What?" He asked, spooked.
"Audrey said she went to the cafeteria to get something to eat." Jason said, a bad feeling rising up in the pit of his stomach.
He could tell that Nikolas was having the same gut reaction. Nikolas pulls out the note and explains, "Elizabeth found this earlier."
Jason looked at the cutout heart and instantly his heart fell. He opened it up and read the inscription and knew they were too late. He did not want to feel that way, he wanted to have hope that everything was fine. He wanted so hard to believe that she was carelessly eating in the cafeteria and would come back any moment, unaware of what he thought. But he knew, in his gut, that they would not find her in the hospital.
* * * I didn't want to go the cafeteria. I had wanted to stay by my grandmother's side and help her through her pain. I kinda feel -almost- obligated to do so. But she insisted that I would help her by keeping myself healthy, so I agreed.
When I reached the cafeteria, it was in the midst of the afternoon lunch rush. I lazily walked towards the long line having wished my last day of high school that I may never have to wait in such a line again. But apparently my prayers had gone unanswered.
A chill ran down my spine and suddenly a crazy thought came to mind: What if my rapist is Audrey's mugger? If HE knew who I was it would be easy enough for him to find out whom I was related to. Once he knew that he could have gone after them so that I would be forced to come to the hospital. And since the hospital was so large there were many places to hide, and watch, and wait . . .
I started nervously looking around as if I might spot him in the large mass of people around me.
"Excuse me?" A man nearby asked.
I turned, "Yes?"
On further inspection he was dressed in the typical green scrub uniform and accompanying matching cap. A stethoscope was draped haphazardly around his neck. A surgical mask lay tied around his neck but hung like a necklace.
"I'm Dr. Thompson. Are you Elizabeth Webber?" He asked.
I cautiously answered, "Yes."
"Bobbie Spencer told me to come find you, she said that Ms. Hardy said you were here. We've had to move your grandmother from the ICU into surgery. It seems that the blow she received to the head has caused some unforeseen complications."
"Is she going to be okay?" I asked.
"It's hard to tell. Do you want me to take you to her?"
"Yes, of course." I answered and started following the doctor out of the cafeteria.
I followed without hesitation the doctor and he stopped in front of a large solid wood door. I, normally, would have noticed that it was not a patient room because there was no window or number on the room, but my mind was preoccupied.
"Are you ready?" The doctor asked.
"Are you sure I'm allowed inside the surgery?"
"This is merely the viewing room, the room the surgery takes place is next door. There is a window through which you can watch." He answered, having a knack for thinking on his feet.
"I'm ready." I said, not really sure if I was or not.
He nodded and opened the door. The room was dark and he pushed me inside and followed me in. He shut the door and finally turned on the light. I could not believe her eyes. I was in a janitors closet with a man whom suddenly started to look very familiar to me.
"Did you get my valentine?" He asked, moving closer.
I started to scream hoping that anyone might hear.
"No one will hear you. This wing is hardly used, except of course, for storage." He offered.
He pulled off one of the shelves some duct tape and started towards me. I stopped screaming and started looking around for a weapon. I grabbed the nearest thing, a mop, and started hitting him with it. He snatched it from my hand and threw it to the side, out of y reach.
"You tried to fight me last time too, and lost. Why do you think you'll win this time?" He started, on the verge of laughter.
* * *
When I woke up I realized that I was no longer in the janitors closet. I could smell something in the air but could not recognize it. The room was completely dark, not even a single slice of light from underneath a door. My hands were taped together similarly to the way my mouth was taped. But I knew that HE had still not fulfilled his plan and that made me hopeful.
I leaned back and realized I was near a wall. By putting all of my pressure on it I managed to stand up. The wall was gravelly and I imagined that I might be in a basement somewhere. That did not give me much hope that anyone would find me. I guess the only way I'm going to get out of here, I have to do it myself.
I started rubbing my taped wrists against the wall in hopes of at least loosening the tape. To no avail I started moving around the room in search of any pointy object that might aid my freedom.
My hands suddenly landed on a large glass dish and I instantly became hopeful. I pushed it off the table and let it fall to the floor. I felt my feet and lower pant-legs were soaked but none of this mattered.
I bent down and got a piece of the broken glass and started working on the tape around my wrists. I could feel blood trickling down my hand but I ignored it and the pain. Focusing on my main objective I briefly entirely blocked out the pain.
My patience and persistence were worth it and I successfully got my wrists free from the tape. With one free hand I ripped the tape clean off my mouth while covering it with my other hand to block out my scream of pain. Once the pain went from a burning feeling to a throbbing feeling, I let my hand leave my mouth.
It was still completely black and I started feeling the wall for a light switch. There had to be a light switch. Luckily, I found one quickly and flipped the switch. A small red light lit up nearby and gave me enough information to discover where I was: a darkroom! I soon realized that the bin I had knocked over earlier was a glass developer tray.
I hastily opened cabinets in the darkness and searched and quickly found what I was looking for. I unscrewed the cap and waited. When HE returned, I would be waiting, prepared and ready to fight.
Months before, if he had opened his refrigerator, he would have found a six- pack of beer and some frozen leftovers from take-out that he had forgotten about. But now his refrigerator was fully stocked, organized, and none of the food was out of date. And this felt normal to him, which was a miracle in some ways. It was hard to get use to change but he did not even seem to remember the process.
He remembered back in the old days when he might have a meal here or there, if he remembered at all. But with Elizabeth around, he looked forward to meals. Especially the lunches she made some days when he would come home from taking care of some business for Sonny. She would stumble out of the kitchen looking frazzled but determined. She would have the table set with her new invention and he would hesitate ever so slightly before tasting it. He would force it down and give a slight smile as if he approved.
She would always sigh," What's wrong with it this time?"
She could read him like an open book, just as he could read her.
He would say nothing and she would look at him, her eyes tiny slits, and hit him playfully with the oven mitt. She would then take the mitt off and sample her own work. He loved to watch the disgusted look on her face. He would immediately help her throw it away as she gave him a threatening look. He had said, "I told you so.", only once and never again did he repeat it. She knew what he was thinking.
Recently, however, she would have a plate of brownies ready in case of the need for some food. They would have brownies, her only acceptable dish, and somehow Elizabeth would get chocolate all over everything, including herself. And he would, as he always did, help her get it off. His favorite memory of this was when she got it smeared on the tip of her nose and he took it off with a single kiss. They had laughed, and ate some more, and then had their "dessert".
They never much more than kiss. Jason would always remember and back away for fear that she might feel uncomfortable. Elizabeth would tell him that it was okay and they would continue. But then something always happened, one or the other would pull away, and that would be the end of it. They never discussed it.
The phone rang, interrupting his thoughts, and he shut the fridge and ran towards the phone.
"Morgan." He answered, simply.
After a slight pause, he answered timidly "This is Steve . . . is Elizabeth there?"
"No, she not." Jason answered, suddenly getting worried.
"Oh, it's just that she was going to meet me for lunch. We talked today on the phone around 11:00 and decided we would meet at Kelly's for lunch at noon. Have you heard from her, I'm starting to get worried? It's not like Lizzie to be late . . ." Steve started but Jason stopped listening when he saw what time it was, 12:45.
Elizabeth was never late. She hated being late. She always left early and always called if she would be late. Jason knew that there had to be something wrong.
"So the last time you talked to her was 11:00?" Jason asked.
"Yes."
"I'll find her." He said into the phone and put it back in the cradle.
He forgot all about lunch and was out the door.
* * *
Nikolas was not at all surprised to see Jason Morgan. He hurriedly came out of the elevator and went straight towards the nurse's station.
"Is Elizabeth Webber here?" He asked.
Bobbie, hearing while passing by, answered, "She's in room 236."
He started rushing towards the room when Nikolas made it a point to get in his way.
"It's Audrey." He said, knowing what might be going through Jason's mind.
When Jason said nothing, he explained, "Audrey got mugged. Elizabeth is only visiting. She wants to be alone."
Nikolas could see a look of relief in Jason's eyes. They both walked over and sat down on the couch in the waiting room.
"How'd you figure she was here?" Nikolas asked, intrigued.
"Her brother called and said she had not made it to lunch."
"But why here?" Nikolas asked.
"I just had a feeling . . ." Jason said, as his eyes wandered down the hallway towards the room where she was.
Despite the fact that they were separated, he could feel her pain. He could feel her guilt and sadness. But there was something else that she was feeling, something he could hardly determine. And then, all the sudden, it hit him; she was scared. He knew that it had to be something more than just Audrey's condition that made her so frightened, but what?
"I'll call Steve and let him know so he doesn't worry." Nikolas offered before getting up and walking towards the pay phone.
Jason watched him go and as soon as he was out of sight, he bolted towards room 236. He looked inside the window and saw Audrey laying down in her bed. She looked older than the last time Jason had seen her. But he did not see Elizabeth in the room.
He opened the door slightly, not meaning to intrude, but just to check to see if Elizabeth was there. Audrey stirred and then opened her eyes.
He didn't even have to ask. Audrey knew and answered him, "I convinced the poor girl to go the cafeteria. Hadn't had any lunch."
Jason sent an apologetic glance in her direction and started to leave but Audrey stopped him.
"Mr. Morgan?" She called.
He turned.
"I think I'm finally beginning to understand you." She said, simply.
He looked at her quizzically.
"I was here the night they brought you in. The anguish on the faces of those whom loved you. I know you mustn't remember, but we had shared a few conversations once. You were always a nice young man . . . that's the kind of man I wanted for Lizzie and Sarah."
Jason let out a sigh, having an idea of what she might say next.
"Why did you run away from a family that loves you so much?"
"I could not be who they wanted me to be." He offered, stolidly.
"Is that why Lizzie ran?" She asked.
"Only she could answer that, Ms. Hardy."
Jason turned to leave but Audrey called out to him again, "I see that you care about her, Mr. Morgan, but I don't want her near "your kind" of life. I don't want to come here for my shift one night and find her here."
"My business will never touch Elizabeth." He said, then turned and left.
Nikolas and Jason almost collide.
"Elizabeth doesn't need a chaperone." Nikolas quipped.
"She's not in there." Jason said, ignoring the snide remark.
"What?" He asked, spooked.
"Audrey said she went to the cafeteria to get something to eat." Jason said, a bad feeling rising up in the pit of his stomach.
He could tell that Nikolas was having the same gut reaction. Nikolas pulls out the note and explains, "Elizabeth found this earlier."
Jason looked at the cutout heart and instantly his heart fell. He opened it up and read the inscription and knew they were too late. He did not want to feel that way, he wanted to have hope that everything was fine. He wanted so hard to believe that she was carelessly eating in the cafeteria and would come back any moment, unaware of what he thought. But he knew, in his gut, that they would not find her in the hospital.
* * * I didn't want to go the cafeteria. I had wanted to stay by my grandmother's side and help her through her pain. I kinda feel -almost- obligated to do so. But she insisted that I would help her by keeping myself healthy, so I agreed.
When I reached the cafeteria, it was in the midst of the afternoon lunch rush. I lazily walked towards the long line having wished my last day of high school that I may never have to wait in such a line again. But apparently my prayers had gone unanswered.
A chill ran down my spine and suddenly a crazy thought came to mind: What if my rapist is Audrey's mugger? If HE knew who I was it would be easy enough for him to find out whom I was related to. Once he knew that he could have gone after them so that I would be forced to come to the hospital. And since the hospital was so large there were many places to hide, and watch, and wait . . .
I started nervously looking around as if I might spot him in the large mass of people around me.
"Excuse me?" A man nearby asked.
I turned, "Yes?"
On further inspection he was dressed in the typical green scrub uniform and accompanying matching cap. A stethoscope was draped haphazardly around his neck. A surgical mask lay tied around his neck but hung like a necklace.
"I'm Dr. Thompson. Are you Elizabeth Webber?" He asked.
I cautiously answered, "Yes."
"Bobbie Spencer told me to come find you, she said that Ms. Hardy said you were here. We've had to move your grandmother from the ICU into surgery. It seems that the blow she received to the head has caused some unforeseen complications."
"Is she going to be okay?" I asked.
"It's hard to tell. Do you want me to take you to her?"
"Yes, of course." I answered and started following the doctor out of the cafeteria.
I followed without hesitation the doctor and he stopped in front of a large solid wood door. I, normally, would have noticed that it was not a patient room because there was no window or number on the room, but my mind was preoccupied.
"Are you ready?" The doctor asked.
"Are you sure I'm allowed inside the surgery?"
"This is merely the viewing room, the room the surgery takes place is next door. There is a window through which you can watch." He answered, having a knack for thinking on his feet.
"I'm ready." I said, not really sure if I was or not.
He nodded and opened the door. The room was dark and he pushed me inside and followed me in. He shut the door and finally turned on the light. I could not believe her eyes. I was in a janitors closet with a man whom suddenly started to look very familiar to me.
"Did you get my valentine?" He asked, moving closer.
I started to scream hoping that anyone might hear.
"No one will hear you. This wing is hardly used, except of course, for storage." He offered.
He pulled off one of the shelves some duct tape and started towards me. I stopped screaming and started looking around for a weapon. I grabbed the nearest thing, a mop, and started hitting him with it. He snatched it from my hand and threw it to the side, out of y reach.
"You tried to fight me last time too, and lost. Why do you think you'll win this time?" He started, on the verge of laughter.
* * *
When I woke up I realized that I was no longer in the janitors closet. I could smell something in the air but could not recognize it. The room was completely dark, not even a single slice of light from underneath a door. My hands were taped together similarly to the way my mouth was taped. But I knew that HE had still not fulfilled his plan and that made me hopeful.
I leaned back and realized I was near a wall. By putting all of my pressure on it I managed to stand up. The wall was gravelly and I imagined that I might be in a basement somewhere. That did not give me much hope that anyone would find me. I guess the only way I'm going to get out of here, I have to do it myself.
I started rubbing my taped wrists against the wall in hopes of at least loosening the tape. To no avail I started moving around the room in search of any pointy object that might aid my freedom.
My hands suddenly landed on a large glass dish and I instantly became hopeful. I pushed it off the table and let it fall to the floor. I felt my feet and lower pant-legs were soaked but none of this mattered.
I bent down and got a piece of the broken glass and started working on the tape around my wrists. I could feel blood trickling down my hand but I ignored it and the pain. Focusing on my main objective I briefly entirely blocked out the pain.
My patience and persistence were worth it and I successfully got my wrists free from the tape. With one free hand I ripped the tape clean off my mouth while covering it with my other hand to block out my scream of pain. Once the pain went from a burning feeling to a throbbing feeling, I let my hand leave my mouth.
It was still completely black and I started feeling the wall for a light switch. There had to be a light switch. Luckily, I found one quickly and flipped the switch. A small red light lit up nearby and gave me enough information to discover where I was: a darkroom! I soon realized that the bin I had knocked over earlier was a glass developer tray.
I hastily opened cabinets in the darkness and searched and quickly found what I was looking for. I unscrewed the cap and waited. When HE returned, I would be waiting, prepared and ready to fight.