Frozen: Broken

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Thank you to all of the reviewers. I'm glad that everyone is interested in this story! Jason and Elizabeth have been through a lot, and Jason's just reached his limit…


--- Outside Jake's

Jason walked out of the bar, more than just buzzed but certainly uncaring of the fact. After what he had seen with Courtney, his mind had been moving in tired circles, always working back to the fact that there was no way that he could go back to the penthouse. He knew exactly how that would seem to Sonny and Carly, too. Sonny would be angry that Jason was leaving his sister, would even tell him to get out of the penthouse, even if he had decided to claim it as his. Carly wouldn't take his side over Courtney's, not when they were practically sisters.

He would be lucky if he came away from all of this with his job intact. Sonny would definitely be through with the friendship, if not the partnership.

Jason walked around the docks. His thoughts were swimming in his head. He couldn't handle this too. No way could he deal with this on top of everything else. It was too much.

God, if only those fancy head doctors had known how wrong they were. He wished they had been right, that he couldn't feel anything. Then he wouldn't have to deal with this. He wouldn't have to deal with the fact his sister might be dying, with his baby dying, with losing Elizabeth. Not this thing with Courtney.

He could be emotionless. He could stop caring. In a way, he already had.

--- Corinthos Penthouse

Carly came down the stairs to see Sonny sitting on the couch with his glass of scotch, lost in thought, with a report sitting open on his lap. Business, no doubt. He wouldn't tell her a thing, even if it was something she could reassure him over. Still, she wouldn't be the woman that drove him insane if she didn't ask. "Sonny?"

He didn't move. He was still was looking at the report. His eyes seemed to be looking past it.

Sonny couldn't believe it. The man he had on Courtney had just come back. He had been aware that she was ditching her guards for a while now, but tonight his man had finally found her again. He followed without her knowing. Now, Sonny knew the truth.

And so did Jason.

"Sonny? What's wrong?" His wife tried again.

Should he tell her? Courtney was practically her sister after all. And Jason would probably need everyone he could get, even if he was sure not to admit it when Sonny discussed things with him later. Sonny sighed, he didn't even want to think of Jason now, but he knew they had to find him. He was almost afraid of the condition his friend would be in when they got to him. This might finally be it for him.

"Sonny, you're scaring me." Carly said.

Sonny turned to look at her. Her eyes bore into his and she spoke again. "What's happened? I can see it in your eyes. This is bad."

He nodded at her. "Really bad." He agreed.

"Can you tell me?"

"You'll find out sooner or later. I just don't want this to hurt the baby." He told her.

Carly's hand instinctively moved to her stomach. "It won't. Tell me. Is it Jason? Has Alcazar done something? Ric?"

"Sit down." He told her. She came next to him as he closed the folder so she wouldn't see. "Courtney has been losing her guards for a while now. Finally tonight my man was able to find her. He followed her; she didn't know he was back."

Carly nodded. She wasn't saying a thing until this was over. She needed to keep her cool for the baby. If she wasn't pregnant? Whole different story.

"She went to Lorenzo Alcazar's penthouse."

Carly closed her eyes. The man was getting too close to her family.

"He was giving her drugs. He has been for months I guess."

Carly's eyes snapped open. Okay, now it was time to talk. "What? Courtney's taking drugs?"

She nearly launched some sort of tirade then and there, but the look on Sonny's face said that there was even more to tell. "He isn't doing this for free."

Carly nodded. Of course he wasn't. It was the price that was scaring her. Somehow she didn't think it was money.

"She's sleeping with him in return for the drug."

Before Carly could open her mouth or react to the news Sonny spoke again. "Jason went there on my orders tonight. Courtney's guard said he saw it. Jason knows."

--- The Docks

Elizabeth rushed down the steps, late for a shift at Kelly's. Not, however, that it was her shift, but she still hated leaving the other waitress to deal with the rush alone. Courtney seemed to have no such problem, having called in sick for what had to have been the twentieth time.

She didn't notice the man in front of her until they'd collided. When he didn't say anything, she looked up at him, angry words on her lips. Then, she saw him and anything she would have said was cut off.

Jason.

Though she'd seen him, often at a distance without saying anything, for months since their whatever had fallen apart, he looked almost unrecognizable. His eyes and expression was something totally different. He looked broken… lost. Not words she would ever use to describe Jason.

"Jason?" she heard herself say. She was still in shock over his appearance. That's when the smell got to her. Alcohol… he had been drinking.

He said nothing. Instead he moved to the edge of the docks and looked out at the water. He had yet to mention her existence. He didn't even really seem to see her.

She slowly moved closer to him, almost hesitant. "Jason? What's wrong?" She reached up to touch his shoulder but the moment her hand came in contact with the jacket he whipped around.

"Don't touch me." He told her. He wasn't yelling or whispering, and he didn't sound angry. Instead, he sounded flat, as if nothing really mattered to him.

And that scared her more than his appearance. He had never sounded like that before. Why didn't he want her to touch him? Elizabeth stared at him, unsure what to say. Something was clearly wrong, and while her mind tried to remember the last time she'd seen the news, just in case there had been a death of someone Jason loved, she knew in her heart that whatever had brought this one couldn't have been something new.

Instead of backing away, she squared her shoulders. For the first time in months she didn't feel helpless. She could help him. She would help him.

"Okay, I won't touch you. Do you want to sit down?" she asked, motioning to the bench.

He looked like he was considering it. He moved slowly towards the bench. At least he was listening to her, but then Elizabeth heard footsteps. She turned around to see Courtney.

The blonde's face screwed up in an ugly sneer. "Jason? What the hell are you doing with Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth waited for him to speak to her, to walk over to Courtney and try to deal with the situation, not unlike she had seen him do with Carly in the past, but most of all, she waited for Courtney to see him looking so detached and rush over to find out what was wrong.

Neither one of them moved.

He just started breathing heavier. Elizabeth started to move towards him but she was stopped by a hand.

"I think we need to talk Elizabeth. Stay away from Jason. He's mine." Courtney said, sounding angry and falsely pitying as though she were winning some sort of battle that Elizabeth didn't know that they were having.

Elizabeth looked at Courtney. The blonde seemed unable to focus on her. Brushing it aside she looked her dead on. "Jason and I were talking, Courtney."

Courtney whipped around. "I knew it! You're sleeping with her aren't you? You're cheating on me!"

Elizabeth opened her mouth to tell Courtney what was really going on, but she glanced at Jason… just in time to see whatever was left of her Jason crumble and die.

Jason didn't say anything, he just stared past Courtney, as though he was no longer aware of her or Elizabeth. She knew, in that second, that she had to do whatever it took to help him heal from whatever had happened. She needed to, not only for him, but for herself.

Her life depended on his, and if she couldn't save him…

She wouldn't be able to save herself.

Emotions are running high! And don't worry, Elizabeth's will come to light soon too.

Please review!