Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story (except for Martinez), the writers of GH do. I do, however, own this story and would appreciate it greatly if you did not steal it.

                                                              

Chapter 8

      The morning sunlight cascaded down upon the two people still caught up in their dreams. Even in their sleep their thoughts were filled with each other's faces. Moments in time to where they were truly happy and a time when neither one of them even suspected that anything could go wrong.

      He could see her standing on the balcony, the sun shining in her hair and a brilliant smile plastered on her face. It was a smile that was only meant to be seen by him and him alone. It lit up her entire face and made her more beautiful in his eyes, if that was even possible.

      There was something between them that always had a calming affect on him and it seemed to be working perfectly at the moment. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest, the way it always did when she was anywhere near him. He felt like he was going to explode if he didn't have her in his arms within minutes.

      "What are you doing out there?" He asked softly.

      She tilted her head and held her hand out. "Come see."

      He took her hand and allowed her to pull him towards the edge of the balcony. There was a perfect view of the harbor from his penthouse and he always enjoyed being out here. Of course it seemed a hundred times better with her by his side.

      "Do you see it?" She asked enthusiastically.

      "See what?" He didn't understand what she was trying to show him.

      "Look Jason. Isn't it pretty?" She pointed in a certain direction and his eyes followed her finger.

      What he saw filled him with horror. There, standing on the roof of their neighboring building stood a man holding a gun. He couldn't quite make out who it was, but he knew that he had to get Elizabeth out of the way and into the penthouse behind the protection of bulletproof glass.

      "Get inside Elizabeth!" He yelled unable to get his legs to move. They seemed to be stuck to the floor and no matter how much he wanted to move he couldn't.

      Elizabeth laughed. "Don't be scared Jason. It's meant to be." She touched his face and pressed her lips to his tenderly.

       A loud boom sounded in the air and Jason was afraid to open his eyes. He knew what he would see when he did and he knew it would tear him apart when he did. It couldn't be avoided so he slowly willed his eyes to open and found himself standing alone on the balcony. The only thing left was a trail of blood leading back inside.

       He was finally able to get his legs to work and he followed the trail of blood, shutting the balcony door behind him. The feeling of cold air-conditioned air hitting his warm skin mixed with the fear he was feeling gave him chill bumps.

      When his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the interior in his penthouse and he let out a groan, seeing her lying stiffly on the floor. Blood Covered most of her body and he wasted no time in reaching her side.

      "Elizabeth, oh god. Elizabeth, sweetheart, please wake-up." His fingers made their way down to his neck and his heart almost stopped when the only thing her felt was her skin under his. There was no heartbeat, no sign of life.

      "What did you expect anger boy? Did you really think your life wouldn't touch her? It did and now she dead. It's all your fault." Jason looked angrily at a very smug looking Taggart.

      "No! She's not dead. NO!"


      Jason's eyes opened wide and he would have sat up in the bed if it weren't for the ripping pain coming from his side. He closed his eyes to regain control and keep from yelling out before turning to look at the space beside him, and letting out a sigh of relief when he saw Elizabeth lying next to him.

      "IT was only a dream." He whispered softly so he wouldn't wake her and reaching for her hand. The moment his skin touched hers he felt a calmness surround him and he was able to settle back down and rest for a few more minutes.

      Elizabeth had been dreaming as well, but her's wasn't about death or anything ugly. They were about Jason and the future they might be able to have together someday after all their troubles were worked out.

      She sat upright in her beach chair watching as Jason walked towards her. His white button down shirt was open and flying freely at his sides. She marveled at the fact that he could make the simplest clothing style or a effortless movement incredibly sexy. Just one smile sent her into space. He had such a powerful effect on her emotions.

      His eyes met hers and seemed to make him quicken his pace. The closer he got the more her expectations grew. She knew when he reached her he would take her into his arms and love her the way she'd wanted to be loved for such a long time. She was in no way disappointed when he stood in front of her and pulled her out of the chair.

      "I've been looking for you everywhere. You've been gone for a long time." He said with a smile before leaning down and capturing her lips with his. It was a powerful kiss and yet so tender a sweet. She was aching for more and almost cried out when he pulled away.

      "That wasn't very nice." She said with a flirtatious pout.

      "I'm sorry, but we aren't ready." He reached up and brushed a stray hair away from her cheek.

      "What do you mean? Are you still upset with me over what I did?"

      He shook his head. "Of course not. I don't blame you for what happened with Taggart. You were only trying to protect me and there's no way I'd be angry with you because of that."

      "Then why aren't we ready to take the next step?"

       "Because, I can't stay. I've got things to do, but I promise you…" He lifted his hands and placed then on her cheeks. "I promise you, I will be back and we will be happy together forever."

      She smiled and tried to keep herself from crying. "I love you Jason."


      Jason's eyes opened when he heard those words escape her lips and allowed a smile to grow on his face. That was the second time he'd heard her say that in the last 12 hours and both times she hadn't known he was listening. Even if she was saying it while she was sleeping, at least he knew that it was him she was dreaming about.

       He lay there and watched her for several minutes before she showed her first signs of waking up. She stretched widely and he had to grab her arm to keep it from smacking him in the face. Her eyes opened and she jerked her arm away quickly.

      "Oh Jason! I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?"

      He grinned at her and shook his head. "Nope. I'm fine. Sleep good?"

      She took a deep breath and smiled in remembrance of her dream. "I slept very well. I had the best dream."

      Jason started to chuckle, but thought better of it when he felt a catch in his side. "I bet it was."

      "What do you mean?"

      "Did you know that you talk in your sleep?"

      Elizabeth's eyes widened with fear at the thought of saying anything that went along with her dream. "What did I say?"

      Jason gave her a side grin. "You called my name." It wasn't really a lie, she had called his name, but she didn't need to know that she'd said anything else.

      "Is that all?"

      "Pretty much. I guess you were dreaming about me."

      She laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess I was."

       "I'm glad you dreamt about me."

       "You are?" She asked, turning her head more towards him.

      "Yeah I am." He hadn't noticed that he was still holding her hand until he saw Elizabeth staring down at the entwined fingers. "We need to talk soon Elizabeth." He winced and his free hand went to his side. "I don't think that time is now though. I'm ready to hear everything you have to say to me, but first could you get my medication?"

      Elizabeth jumped out of bed and held her hand to her mouth. "Your medication! I was supposed to have given you a dose two hours ago! How Could I be so stupid?"

      "Elizabeth, it's ok. Just go get it for me now and we'll talk about it later." He watched her quickly walk out of the room and smiled to himself. He was amazed at how much love he felt towards her. She brought out the best and sometimes the worst in him, but the good always outweighed the bad.

       He was also surprised that considering they'd missed his last pain medication dose that he didn't feel very much pain. He was definitely healing faster with this gunshot wound than he had with the last one; which meant he'd be up and at it again in no time and maybe, just maybe he and Elizabeth could find each other again.

Wow, I am so surprised at how many people have replied. It seems like this story is getting more attention this time around than it did before. Thank you guys so much. I love all of your replies.