Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with General Hospital, ABC, or Disney
Finding the Whole
Jason Morgan and Elizabeth Webber have drifted further and further apart ever since the dreaded break up. An accidental encounter on the docks changes all of that, for they realize how much they need each other in their lives.
This starts a couple days after Ric reveals to Elizabeth about her new gallery. Sonny was never beaten or taken by Alcazar. Let's just say all the PC mob families (Sonny's, Jason's, Ric's, etc.) have been "happy" for a while and are in no immediate danger. The panic room story line will emerge eventually in the story. The story will also include Courtney and Ric, and a few appearances by other GH characters.
Chapter 4: The Walk Towards Home
Dusk arrived in Port Charles as a light breeze cooled the muggy atmosphere. Elizabeth proceeded to good old 55 Cherry Lane after a somewhat lengthy discussion with the museum curator. As if she wasn't anxious enough, the museum had managed to turn the tiny caterpillars in her stomach into full-grown butterflies. Because of her husband's extensive praise of her work, the museum made it clear they were expecting her work to be the work of a genius, of an "artiste." Not only were they expecting exceptional paintings, but many pieces of work, 25 pieces, as opposed to the 15 she had in mind. Well, at least she had a month to finish them. The young painters' footsteps stopped in their tracks, as her mouth couldn't help but curve upward to the figure before her.
"Jason, hey." Elizabeth greeted. She thought she felt her knees wobble, but quickly dismissed it. There's no way those two stunning sapphires could be affecting her, again.
"Hi." Jason smiled. He was happy to run into her, again. He never noticed till tonight how perfectly the moonlight seemed to shine on her face, highlighting her natural beauty.
"We just seem to keep bumping into each other, don't we?" Elizabeth interrupted his thoughts. Her smile never left her face while the gentle breeze prevented her brown locks from shrouding her face.
"Looks like it," he started, still mesmerized at the beauty that was standing before him, "Where are you heading?" he asked.
"Just back home. Seems that's where you're heading too." She noted.
"You want me to walk you back?" He had wanted to stop by her home or call her so many times, but it seemed awkward to just suddenly stop by whenever he felt like it. And he wasn't one for making phone calls, either. Plus, there was the fact that Ric Lansing was her husband. That little fact just ate him away inside. He did not believe the untrustworthy lawyer deserved her sweet innocence and affection.
"I'm fine, Jason, it's only a few minutes away," she said casually, when in reality she wanted him to. For so long she wanted to mend the seams of their broken friendship. Little did she know that he wanted to be the kind ear, again, the one she ran to whenever something troubled her. Her best friend, like before.
"You sure? Because you shouldn't walk alone in the dark," Jason started, trying to persuade her to listen to her.
"Well, I guess it would be nice to have some company on the way back." Elizabeth replied with a grin. 'So what if he bumps into Ric, I want to spend time with Jason,' she thought. 'Plus, neither will hurt the other if I'm there,' she hoped.
"But, only if you promise to act like Jason and not like a bodyguard," Elizabeth remarked, "I really hate walking with a silent robot." What she really hated was not having Jason as a companion, a friend. Elizabeth sighed quietly wondering why life put her in this mess. Ever since last fall, she had wished for more nights with Jason. Some nights she would kick herself for pushing him away. But she believed he would come back, fight for her as hard as she had the few times before. But he didn't, and Elizabeth had to watch her true love go after the next damsel in distress. Unfortunately, she was blonde. When Ric and Courtney appeared in their lives, everything turned sourer. That is, until last week.
"I promise." Jason chuckled and the two began their slow, short walk to the 'humble' abode of Mr. and Mrs. Lansing.
"So how's the gallery coming?" Jason asked. He wondered if Ric would be home. If he wasn't, he would make sure to ask if he could see one of her paintings. It had been too long since he had seen her gorgeous work. Her paintings just seemed to evoke relaxation, happiness, and inspiration in him.
"Pretty good, I guess. I'm kind of nervous about it." Elizabeth replied, her thumb and index finger gripping the opposite index finger uneasily at the thought of her gallery.
"You seem more than just nervous," Jason noted.
"Well, what if people don't think my work is good enough, or what if they don't like it, or-"
"They're not going to think those things." He wanted to wrap his arm around her shoulders to try and calm her, but knew it wasn't time; their slow path towards the point where they had left off was just beginning. He wished it didn't have to take so long, but he soon realized that he was still uncomfortable about the fact that she had seemed to move on without him.
"How do you know?" she asked, looking down at her hands.
"Because that's not what I think when I see your paintings. Your work is inspiring, Elizabeth." Jason replied truthfully. Elizabeth stopped and turned to look at Jason, noticing the honesty screaming out of his eyes. She smiled, grateful that he was keeping his word, why would she ever doubt it – he was being Jason.
"You're just saying that to make me feel better," she insisted as she resumed walking. Even if it was Jason praising her, she still found it hard to believe that she could provide inspiration through her paintings.
"I'm saying it because that's how I feel," he replied in a sincere, quiet voice. A momentary silence passed between the two. It had been nearly a year since Jason expressed how he felt about Elizabeth. They both understood what he really meant with those words. Even after all this time, Elizabeth still inspired Jason. Many found it hard to believe that Elizabeth could forgive and marry a man after all the horrendous things he had done. But Jason believed it, he knew how much Elizabeth could love and show compassion towards someone, as long as she believed they were honest with her. He was only upset that he had let it slip through his fingers and into the mad hands of Ric's.
"Do you want to see some of them?" Elizabeth asked, trying to break the silence.
"I thought you'd never ask," Jason smiled.
"Well, I have to bring some of them to the museum on Friday, for preliminary things and stuff like that, so maybe you could come help me then and-" Elizabeth paused, noticing the uneasiness in Jason's eyes.
"Umm, Friday that's-that's when Courtney and I are getting married," Jason informed, upset at the fact that he had to bring up Courtney.
"Oh, that soon?" she asked, trying to sound unaffected by the news.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I never-" Jason scratched his head as the two stopped walking. He punched himself inside for not telling Elizabeth sooner.
"No, it's ok, I understand." Elizabeth looked back down at her hands again, but quickly composed herself. She was moving on past Jason, wasn't she? At least that's how she felt last week. "So, are you excited?" she asked with a small grin, trying to lighten up the conversation.
"A little, I guess," he replied as they continued their walk.
"Just a little?" she asked humorously.
"Well, you know. It'd be better if it wasn't such a big deal." Jason confessed.
"Just something private and quiet," Elizabeth said, voicing Jason's thoughts. 'Something like her and Ric's wedding,' she thought. The memory of one of the happiest nights of her life brought a tiny grin to her face. She smiled at the thought of the man that she loved reciting his vows to her with so much passion and love. At that moment she realized that Ric was capable of good and of love. That is why she would not doubt him; that was why she defended him. Elizabeth knew she was the only one that could help Ric through his problems, even though she knew that a portion of her heart still belonged to another. She only wished Jason could understand that.
"Courtney told me about you and her last night." Jason said attempting to bring up the miracle that had occurred at Kelly's that night.
"Good things, I hope," Liz joked.
"Are you guys working on becoming friends?" Jason asked seriously. He wanted Liz and Courtney to get along, despite the situation they were in.
"I guess, but it all depends-" Elizabeth started slowly.
"On what?" Jason wondered. Elizabeth and he were now standing in front of the tall red door of the Lansing residence. She looked up into his blue crystal eyes, but shifted her gaze back down.
"On whether or not we can be friends again," she answered quietly, not able to look him in the eyes. She stared back at her doorway, the house that was supposed to be her home. But for some reason it had not completely felt like home until this moment, with Jason Morgan standing just inches in front of her.
"What do you call this?" Jason asked, brushing the hair away from her face and lifting it up to meet his gaze. He was a little taken aback by the comment, but mostly hurt. A portion of his heart was still mesmerized and possessed by the petite loveliness that stood before him. His whole heart broke when he realized that she believed that he disliked her. He didn't even know what it meant to hate the beautiful soul that she is.
"I don't know," she whispered, a single tear rolling down her cheek.
A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! So much has already happened on GH right now; I'm upset that I couldn't update sooner. But it's ok. Just remember that this takes place way back before Carly was taken. Sorry about the last chapter for some of you who don't like Courtney; I think it's kind of important for them to start being nice to each other. After all, it is supposed to show how much Liz wants Jason back in her life. Ok, that's all for now. Thanks again for all of the reviews!