QUESTIONS AND PREPARATION

Jason paced the far side of the room while Monica checked Elizabeth's vital signs. Elizabeth looked only at Monica, not daring to look at the blonde from her dreams.

'How the hell did he get here?' she thought. 'And who is he??'

"Well, I'd say you're on your way to making a remarkable recovery," Monica said, smiling at Elizabeth. "But you still need your rest so I'll go and check back on you later tonight."

"Thank you, doctor," Elizabeth said.

"I think you can call me Monica by now, Elizabeth," Monica said.

"She doesn't remember you. She doesn't remember anyone," Jason said from the corner.

"What do you mean? How do you know?" Monica asked looking at her son.

Jason gave her a level gaze and Monica whirled back toward Elizabeth.

"Do you know your name?" Monica asked.

"Elizabeth," Elizabeth replied.

"Do you know where you are?" Monica asked.

"The hospital," Elizabeth said.

"Which hospital?" Monica asked. "And in what city?"

"I...I don't know," Elizabeth said her lower lip starting to tremble.

"Do you...." Monica started to ask another question but was cut off.

"Leave it alone, Monica," Jason said, the warning clear in his voice.

"I'll go get Tony. He might have some answers," Monica said.

"No, anyone but Tony," Jason said.

"He's the best neurologist we have," Monica said. "Despite your personal dislike for him, Tony is a good doctor."

"Who is Tony?" Elizabeth asked.

"A neurologist that we have on staff," Monica said. "He's helped many patients that were brought in with head trauma and experienced temporary amnesia."

"But you," Elizabeth said looking at Jason, "don't like him."

"I don't trust him. There's a difference," Jason said.

"Don't worry about this now, Elizabeth," Monica said. "Everything will be alright."

"Don't tell her that," Jason said. "You don't know that."

"Jason," Monica started.

"No," Jason cut her off. "Don't lie to her. You don't know why she can't remember and you don't know if her memory will come back. The worst thing about being in here and not knowing anything is that you believe everyone when they tell you it'll be alright."

Elizabeth and Monica both stared at Jason.

"She still needs a neurologist to check her out and do some tests," Monica said quietly. "Tony is the only one we have."

"It's up to you," Jason said looking at Elizabeth.

"Will he be able to figure out why I can't remember?" she asked.

"Possibly," Monica said.

"Then I'll see him," Elizabeth said. "I don't really have a choice."

Monica nodded and quickly left the room to find Tony. Jason remained standing in the corner.

"Are you mad?" Elizabeth asked after a few moments of silence.

"No," Jason said.

"It's difficult to have a conversation with someone on the other side of the room," she said pointedly.

Jason's lips quirked up at the corner and he moved forward. In two long- legged strides, he was at her bedside. He sat in the chair but made sure to sit back to keep distance between them.

Elizabeth let out an exasperated sigh and then inhaled sharply in pain.

"One of your lungs collapsed during surgery. They fixed it but deep breathing is going to hurt for a while," Jason told her while his concerned eyes roamed over her to be sure she was okay.

"Okay, no deep breaths," Elizabeth said. "How did you know I lost my memory? I didn't ask who you were."

"I recognized the look on your face when you looked at me, when you looked at Monica," Jason said.

The door opened and Tony walked in. His smile faltered slightly when he saw Jason before he turned his attention to Elizabeth.

"Monica tells me you have amnesia," Tony said.

"Yes," Elizabeth replied.

"The first thing we're going to do is find out the degree of your amnesia," Tony said. "I'm going to ask you a bunch of questions to see what you do remember. Jason, perhaps you could give us some privacy."

"He stays," Elizabeth said quickly.

"Why? Do you remember him?" Tony asked.

"Not the way you mean," Elizabeth said. "But I know I don't like being lied to and he won't let you lie to me. He wouldn't let the other doctor."

"If having him here makes you more comfortable, that's fine," Tony said. "He might even be helpful."

Tony pulled another chair over and sat near the foot of the bed with a clipboard.

"Now, you woke up knowing your name was Elizabeth, correct?" Tony asked.

"Yes," she said.

"Do you know your last name?" he asked.

"No," Elizabeth said after a moment.

"Okay, do you remember being brought to the hospital?" Tony asked.

"No," she said.

"She was unconscious the whole way here," Jason said.

"Okay," Tony said. "Do you know what year it is, Elizabeth?"

"No."

"How old are you?"

"I don't know."

"Who's the president?"

"I don't know."

Elizabeth's hand instinctively sought Jason's and he threaded his fingers through hers.

"Do you know where you live?" Tony continued the questioning.

"No."

"Spell Harborview."

"H-A-R-B-O-R-V-I-E-W."

"What's seven times six?"

"Forty-two."

"Okay," Tony said. "It seems you haven't really lost the information only the ability to retrieve it. The good news is having spoken with you and reviewed all your test results, there is no physical reason for your amnesia. The bad news is that the only thing we can do is wait and see what happens."

"So Jason was right," Elizabeth said. "I might never get my memory back."

"That's possible but highly unlikely," Tony said. "Usually in cases like this, once the patient has had time to heal physically, they start to heal mentally. Now you need to rest so you can get better."

Tony quietly left the room and Elizabeth looked into Jason's eyes. Instead of finding pity and disappointment as she expected, she found sad understanding reflected in their blue depths. Somehow, despite everything, that made her feel like everything could eventually be okay.

"Why doesn't anyone ever tell you to leave?" Elizabeth asked suddenly about twenty minutes after Tony left.

"Do you want me to leave?" Jason asked.

"No!" Elizabeth said immediately. "No. It's just that two doctors have said they were leaving because I needed to rest but they didn't tell you to leave."

"They knew I wouldn't," Jason said.

"You never told me how you knew I had amnesia," Elizabeth said. "Well you told me you recognized the look but I don't know what that means."

Jason was quiet for so long that Elizabeth thought he wasn't going to explain.

"Years ago I was in a car accident," he finally said. "I was in a coma for awhile and when I woke up, I didn't remember anything. I had some brain damage and I had to relearn everything, how to walk, read, all of it, but I never remembered my past."

"How did...were you..."Elizabeth tried to ask but couldn't decide on the wording.

"I was angry," Jason answered. "It was bad enough not knowing anything, including who I was, but everyone saying they were my family or friend and how much we loved each other and that everything would go back to normal made it worse."

"Did it?" Elizabeth asked. "Ever go back to normal, I mean."

"I don't think so but I have no way of knowing," Jason said.

"But when you woke up, people were here trying to make you remember?" Elizabeth asked.

Jason nodded.

"Why isn't my family here?" Elizabeth asked. Her eyes widened as something occurred to her. "Are we related?"

"No, we're not related," Jason said. "Your family has been in and out since you were brought in. I'm sure Monica has called most of them by now so be prepared."

"Prepared for what?" Elizabeth asked.

"For a whole lot of people you don't know looking at you with disappointment," he said.

"Is that how they looked at you when you woke up?" she asked.

"Some of them still look at me that way," Jason said.

"Tell me who I should expect," Elizabeth said. "Tell me about my life." Jason hesitated so she asked, "What?"

"It's probably not going to help," he said. "People used to tell me things about my life but it never meant anything. They were just stories I had no connection to."

"But at least I'll have some clue about people when they come here," she countered.

"Okay," Jason said. "Well, you've already met Monica. She'll be here a lot since she is in charge of your care."

"Wait, I know her?" Elizabeth asked. "As more than a doctor I mean."

"Yeah," Jason said. "She's a Quartermaine and her daughter Emily is a friend of yours."

"Okay," she said.

"Emily will be here, probably with Nikolas and Lucky," Jason continued. "The four of you used to be inseparable and you're still really close. Nikolas and Lucky are brothers. Emily and Nikolas are engaged. You, um, you and Lucky were engaged a long time ago but you didn't get married."

"Why not?" Elizabeth said curious.

"I wasn't here so I don't know," Jason said.

"Okay, who else should I expect?" she asked.

"Audrey will be here," Jason said. "She's your grandmother. And Bobbie, you work in her restaurant. Um, Luke will most likely show up, he's Lucky's dad. Sonny and Carly will be here. They're your friends. And Justus, he's your lawyer."

Elizabeth was silent for a few moments before asking, "What about my parents?"

"I think they're in Europe somewhere," Jason said. "I'm sure Audrey called them but they probably won't come."

Monica walked in then and said, "It's time for your pain medication. This is probably going to make you sleep."

"Okay," Elizabeth said as Monica injected her IV.

Within minutes Elizabeth's eyes started to close and the last thing she saw was Jason.