Love, Lies and Chances
Conclusion
Docks
"I don't have anything to say to you." Jason's reply was equally cold.
"I think you do." Nikolas held his ground. "We have too many people in common to let this thing between us drag out any longer than we have to."
"We don't have anything in common." Jason corrected the assumption quickly. The last thing he wanted to do was get into things with Nikolas, especially not with Elizabeth and Brenna on the way.
"What about Emily, Elizabeth, Brenna?"
"Don't talk to me about Brenna," Jason ordered.
"There you see, we do have things to discuss." Nikolas returned easily. "You're angry at me because I helped Elizabeth leave town, and keep you in the dark about your daughter."
"You don't want to get into this with me." Jason warned him even as a part of him longed for the confrontation. A confrontation with Nikolas could provide a release for some of his anger and pent-up frustration.
"You're right I don't," Nikolas agreed. "But the fact remains we have to talk because I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be Elizabeth's friend and Brenna's godfather."
"You don't have to remind me."
"And you don't have to tell me how much you hate the fact that when Elizabeth was desperate she came to me for help."
Feeling the words hit home Jason knew that was part of what was bothering him. Elizabeth had, had a problem and she went to Nikolas instead of him for help. He shouldn't have been surprised, after all in this particular case he was Elizabeth's problem, but it still hurt. She had chosen to confide in Nikolas about being pregnant instead of him. She had shared Brenna with Nikolas instead of with him and that burned a hole in his gut. She had no right to keep him out of the loop while she let Nikolas in. And he had no doubt that if Elizabeth had ever went to Nikolas for advice about telling him the truth, Jason was positive the advice she received from the man was don't.
"You just standing there and glaring at me won't change anything. I'm not going to suddenly disappear, no matter how much you may wish it." Nikolas knew he was going to have to take the initiative. If Jason were to let out some of the anger he was obviously feeling on him it could only help Elizabeth deal with him later.
"I can still remember my first impression of you. I walked out of Luke's to go home and you were standing there speaking to someone. I hadn't even made it past you when the gunshots came." Nikolas began the memory that still haunted him in his dreams on occasion. "I hadn't even identified what the noise was, when I felt the pain. The pain hit me all at once, it stole my strength from me and all I could do was fall to the ground in agony."
Jason might have been a statue for all the reaction he was showing, but he was listening so that meant it was worth going on with his painful recollection. Cassadine's weren't used to volunteering information, but in this case it might be worth it in the end.
"Do you have any idea how humbling it is to suddenly realize you can't breathe? Breathing is the most basic function of life, the first thing we learn how to do when we're born and suddenly I couldn't do it. I couldn't take a breath and I didn't know why. And then you loomed out of the dark above me, and suddenly Luke was there." Nikolas couldn't help the ironic smile that graced his features at that memory. "The next thing I knew you were cutting open my throat while Luke was offering platitudes to keep me calm. I don't know if you can truly appreciate how surreal that was for me."
"I didn't intend on you being shot." Jason pointed out. There were times he forgot he had once saved Nikolas' life. The instinct to save had been automatic. Somehow he'd known what to do and he'd done it. He had both the knowledge of how to save Nikolas and the responsibility to save him, because the bullet had been met for him, not Nikolas Cassadine and not Joseph Barelli, his guard, who had died in that same hail of bullets.
"Your intention doesn't matter, the fact is I was shot when all I was doing was standing next to you." Nikolas reminded him. "So when I discovered you were spending time with Elizabeth I was naturally very worried for her safety, so I told her my displeasure over the situation."
"I thought you didn't like it because you had feelings for her, feelings she didn't return." This time it was Jason's turn to remind.
Nikolas saw the knowing glint in Jason's eye and knew Elizabeth had confided in him. "That was also a reason."
"Why are you going into things that happened years ago? When it has nothing to do with what is happening now?"
"It has everything to do with what is happening now." Nikolas corrected him. "My opinion of you was formed that night and it was only reconfirmed by what happened to Elizabeth after her association with you became known."
"And who was the person that announced that association?" Jason spat.
The anger Nikolas was trying to keep from showing flared at that remark, and it was directed more inward than at Jason. "Nevertheless, Elizabeth had a bomb in her studio because of you. She had a guard for a time because she was your friend. She was kidnapped because of her relationship with you. She was shot because of you. All of these things happened to her in part because of her relationship with you. Can you honestly tell me that if I were the one who caused all of these things to happen to Emily that you would want me anywhere near her?"
"I don't want you near her now." Jason answered coolly. "But it's not my choice, it's Emily's. I won't make her decisions for her."
"And I didn't make Elizabeth's choice for her," Nikolas response was equally cool. "Elizabeth arrived on my doorstep late one night desperate for help. Before that night I couldn't even tell you when I had last spoken to her, all I knew that every overture of apology had been refused by her. As you may remember we weren't getting along very well at that juncture."
"I remember you lied to her."
"As did you." Nikolas' words were cutting and he knew they hit home so he kept going to inflict even more damage. "I can still recall her eyes from that night. They were a mixture of anger, desperation, hurt, but most of all I remember the betrayal that was so visible in them. She didn't want to be there, Elizabeth didn't want to ask me for help that was very obvious. But she did ask, and I agreed without even asking what had happened to upset her. I remember reaching out to take her arm to guide her into the study and she flinched away from me. It was almost as if she were bracing herself for a blow, and in that moment I knew that this latest betrayal was breaking her in two."
Nikolas' crisply delivered recollection, had a devastating effect on Jason. The numbness he had used to cloak his heart to stave off even more pain, the anger he had been relying on to fuel him and keep him moving began to falter. It was easy for him to see her acting just as Nikolas had described, and he knew he had been the one to bring out that extreme reaction from her. Her temper that had decimated him in the Penthouse that night had lasted until she had reached Spoon Island and then it had broke and left her with nothing but the feeling of betrayal and hurt. Elizabeth had always been one to lash out in anger then feel bad and hurt later on, it seemed she had followed her same pattern that night.
"I didn't know that night what had occurred I just knew that you were the only person who could devastate her like that." Nikolas studied Jason, the statue of minutes ago was gone, now the man looked destroyed. "What happened between you two was the final straw for Elizabeth, the last betrayal in a long list of betrayals and Elizabeth couldn't take anymore. She wanted out and I wanted, no I needed to help her."
Nikolas was compelled to move before continuing the next part of his story so he moved slowly to the bench that looked out at Spoon Island and looked out at the water. The conversation wasn't a pleasant experience for him, the only satisfaction he had, if he could even call it that, was that Jason was enjoying it even less than he was.
"I made arrangements for her, and what stuff she wanted to take with her, to leave within 36 hours. I know that sometime during the time it took me to make the arrangements and for her to actually leave town she saw you again. I didn't know then, what happened between you two at that time but if it were possible she looked even more hollow, more drained, when she returned. It was as if she had nothing inside of her anymore. Six weeks later she told me she was pregnant."
"And I'm sure you encouraged her to keep the news from me." Jason's words were full of bitterness and he used that so he wouldn't fall into the pain Nikolas' words were opening inside of him.
"Actually I told her to tell you." Nikolas delivered his bombshell and knew the words caught Jason off-guard. For the second time in his life he saw Jason Morgan truly shocked and both times he had been the one to deliver the shock, he took a perverse sense of pleasure in that.
"What?" Jason knew he couldn't have heard that correctly. After everything Nikolas had said in the last few minutes there was no way he would want Elizabeth anywhere near him.
"I told her I thought she should tell you the truth." Nikolas repeated. "Don't worry that doesn't mean I wanted her to get back together with you, it just means I thought you had the right to know she was going to have your child."
Curiosity was an affliction Jason was developing late in life but he was quick to embrace it and use it to his advantage like now. "Why would do that?"
The horn of a passing tugboat caught his attention and Nikolas used its passage to stall for time. How in depth should he go with Jason? He wanted to help Elizabeth, help ease her pain, but sharing wasn't something he did very often with people he knew, much less people he didn't like. But in order to continue he was going to have share some personal information with a man who could be considered his enemy.
"Why did you want her to tell me?"
Because of the strong sense of responsibility he had as Brenna's godfather Nikolas knew he would have to share more than he liked. It was an uncomfortable feeling Cassadine's didn't share easily. "I grew up with only one parent. Technically I grew up with no parents, because Stefan was my uncle not my father. But in actuality Stefan was more my parent than anyone in the world ever was, and that includes Laura, and most definitely Stavros. Stefan loved me with all he had to give, but even with that love there was a lack in my life. And that lack was the space in my heart where my mother should have been. Alexis tried when she was on the island but it wasn't the same. The love of only one parent, no matter how strong, wasn't enough to not make me yearn for love from both parents."
Jason was surprised to hear the painful revelation.
"I didn't want Brenna to ever grow up and feel a void in her life the way I did." Nikolas' tone took on the regal, icy edge he used in business to try to calm his own stirred up emotions. The void he spoke of still existed even though he had met Laura and loved her. Laura had tried but she wasn't able to love him the way a mother should, he had never been able to measure up to her other kids, and that meant he still felt the loss. "I didn't know if you would have wanted to be in Brenna's life on a permanent basis but you deserved the opportunity to decide."
"Why are you telling me this?" Jason asked when Nikolas rose to leave.
"Because Elizabeth won't," he explained simply. "She feels tremendously guilty for what she's done, so she doesn't feel like she has the right to offer you any excuses. I suppose I could have let you continue to believe that I counseled Elizabeth to keep Brenna away from you. You might forgive Elizabeth quicker if I could be portrayed as the evil Machiavellian influence on her life, but I couldn't. As much as I may not like it, you are in my life in a peripheral way, both with Emily and Elizabeth. If you decide to hate me it needs to be for the right reasons, not for what you think I might have done to you."
"You kept her secret."
"Just like you kept Carly's." Nikolas words were chillingly delivered and earned him a glare.
That was a subject Jason would never discuss with Nikolas and it was his turn to turn away.
"There's one last thing you need to know." Nikolas had one final gift to try to give to Elizabeth. "She never stopped thinking about you, worrying about you, and feeling guilty about what she was doing to you. She had decided to tell you everything and was making plans to come back here when Audrey had her accident. Elizabeth knew she could have asked you to come to her, but she chose to come back here knowing that she would walk into a firestorm but she never once flinched." He began to walk away when a compulsion overcame him. "Did you ever flinch?"
"What?"
"When the truth came out about you keeping Michael away from his father, did you ever flinch?" Nikolas knew he had made his point and left.
Jason remained where he was unsure of what he was supposed to do with the information Nikolas had just given him, at the moment all he could do was try to absorb it.
Park
Sonny was a little surprised at her seemingly hostile retort. It appeared Elizabeth was still mad at him even though they hadn't seen each other in almost two years, and what he had done to earn her anger, hadn't even been directed at her. She was merely collateral damage not the intended victim, but apparently she didn't see it that way. "I don't know what you want to say to me, but I'm willing to listen. But first you need to know how hurt Jason is because he was kept from his daughter for so long. I realize you must have thought Brenna wouldn't be safe around him but you need to know we would have done everything possible in order to guarantee her safety."
With those words Elizabeth knew that Jason hadn't confided in him the real reason she had stayed away. She didn't know if she was relieved or sad over that fact and decided to sort out her feelings later, now was the time to focus on a long overdue conversation with Sonny.
"If there's one thing I've learned over the years is that there are no guarantees in life. A candle can start a fire in a bike shop, a person's whole life can be changed because of a simple walk in the park. There are no guarantees in the world. Being around Jason would certainly raise the risk level, but in the end all life is a risk."
"If you weren't unsettled by his lifestyle why would you stay away? Jason is a good father." The puzzlement showed on his face. He had assumed that was the reason for her staying away, after all it was a pattern with the women in Jason's life. Robin and Courtney had both left him because they couldn't handle what he did for a living, it only made since that was the reason Elizabeth had left. What other reason could there be?
"I know what a good father Jason is." Elizabeth's reply was sharp then she took a breath and lowered her voice when she realized Brenna was still awake. "In one of the first conversations I ever had with Jason he told me about Robin and Michael and how the loss of them made him feel. He felt like nothing, like he was empty inside and I could identify with that. Not long later I found him in the park right after he saw Michael and Carly for the first time after giving up his rights to Michael, I saw and felt how devastated he was. When he gave Michael up it ripped a hole in his heart that has never healed and will never heal. He gave his child up to spare him more pain and confusion. Jason put his child ahead of his own sanity, could you say the same?"
Stung by her words Sonny was reminded of Monica's accusations of a few days before about Michael and Jason. And how Jason had trusted him with his son. And what had he done since that point? Confuse and hurt Michael and eventually use him as a weapon against his mother. There was truth in Monica's accusation and in Elizabeth's recount of that time in Jason's life. He had been becoming involved with Hannah at that point so he hadn't pressed Jason for more when he should have. But he knew that if he tried to process the guilt now he would never get through the conversation.
"If you know how good of a father Jason is how could you inflict even more pain on him by keeping his daughter from him?" Sonny demanded answers to combat his own feelings.
"You want to know why, everyone wants to know why I didn't tell him." Elizabeth grumbled and stepped to the side of the stroller when Brenna began to fuss. Digging through the blankets she unearthed the pacifier and put it in Brenna's mouth to forestall the crankiness. "Do you really want to hear the truth Sonny? Because I guarantee you won't like what I have to say." Her words were more of a dare than a question.
Never being one to refuse a dare he nodded. "I would like to know."
"I didn't tell Jason because of you Sonny. You and Carly and this overwhelming and blinding loyalty he has for you."
Sonny immediately shook his head. "That..."
"Do you want to hear this or not?" Elizabeth cut him off sharply.
"Go on."
"I could have told Jason the truth, I was planning to, then I found out he had married Brenda."
Sonny flinched.
"When that happened I knew that his loyalty to you would come before anything else in his life." Elizabeth was finally face to face with Sonny and she wasn't going to stop until she told him everything. Whether he listened or more importantly heard her didn't matter she was going to clear the air once and for all.
"That isn't true," Sonny whispered, even as a pit in his stomach began to form.
She ignored his response. "Jason would have tried, god knows he would have tired to be everything Brenna needed him to be. But he would always need to be there for you, do anything for you, maybe even put your family ahead of his own. I couldn't, no I wouldn't take that risk. Brenna is my priority in life and she needed to be Jason's as well and with you around I don't think that's possible."
"You can't really believe that."
"I do." Her reply was simple and true. "Maybe I shouldn't have doubted him. All I know is I was never going to let my daughter feel like she always came in second to you. I'm a big girl Sonny and I hated that feeling there was no way I'd let Brenna feel it."
"Jason would never...." He stopped when Elizabeth began to laugh. The laugh wasn't one of humor in fact it sounded painful to his ears. The laugh sounded painful and bitter and hearing that Sonny realized Elizabeth believed every word she was saying and that shook him.
"Do you even have any idea how much Jason loves you?" Elizabeth demanded ruthlessly. "Don't you realize that you, even more than Robin, gave him the chance to have a life? I saw him when you didn't. I was there for him when he found out about you and Carly and began to question everything he knew. I was the one he confided his fears over possibly never being able to do his job again, when he didn't even know if he could look you in the eye again."
The guilt that one snowy night had caused had never fully left Sonny and her words brought the betrayal of that night back to the surface. A betrayal was the one thing he could never forgive, and he had inflicted one of the worst betrayal's, in his life on his best friend.
"He was shaken Sonny. What happened between you two was killing him not the bullet in his side. He thought he was losing his identity, losing who he was all because he didn't know if he could be around you." Elizabeth took a breath then leveled her next verbal volley at the man who could inflict pain so easily and seemingly be unaware of what he was doing.
"And even though the relationship you have with Jason now seems light years away from the friendship he once told me about, the one I used to see, it hasn't changed his feelings for you. If anything the way you treat him now seems to make him feel like he constantly has to prove himself, prove his loyalty to you. Friends shouldn't have to prove themselves to other friends and if they did it seems to me that you should be the one trying to prove yourself worthy of his friendship and respect."
"That's not true." Sonny's response sounded desperate to his ears and he didn't like that. "Jason's my friend, my brother, my family."
"You're employee, not your equal at least not anymore," she finished sadly. She could see the pain her words caused him and didn't like it. She didn't feel like she thought she would during this confrontation. She thought she would feel exhilarated after finally calling Sonny on his behavior instead she felt his pain and a sense of compassion for the man that had once been her friend. "I told you that you wouldn't like what I had to say."
"Is there more?" Sonny asked harshly. "Finish it if there is."
The order put her back up, but she complied. "Maybe if the baby had come at another time we could have worked things out. There was a time when Jason thought he deserved to have a life separate from you. There was a time that even though he considered you a surrogate father, he would stand up to you for himself and others. But that time ended sometime before I ever left. Your friendly advice turned into orders, the life he once thought he could have turned into a few hours here and there when you or Carly didn't need him to fix one mess or the other."
Tears shimmered in her eyes for what might have been. "I couldn't tell him about Brenna because I was terrified you would tell him to fake his death one day and leave her in the dark about it. Or you would tell him that he needed to leave her for her own good. I couldn't tell him the truth because I was terrified that if you ever did tell him those things he might have agreed out of his desperate need to prove himself to you."
"Do you really think I'm a monster? That I would do that to him, to you, to her," he gestured to the dozing baby.
"No you're not a monster Sonny, you're just a man. A very selfish man who tries to control everybody in his life. In the time before I left I saw how self-destructive you had become, how selfish you had become, and I searched in vain for the man who had once comforted me when Jason left town. I looked for the man who would seek me out to question me about Jason, desperate for any knowledge I could give him. I searched for the man who used to come into Kelly's to talk, for the man who once asked me to hold him when he lost his child, and I couldn't find that man anywhere. The only man I did see was an angry one who lashed out at the people who cared for him and made them jump through hoop after hoop to prove their loyalty. I didn't want to jump anymore."
How was it she had seen him so clearly when he had barely been aware that she was even around? Why did her words cause him pain? Why was he suddenly mourning a friendship that had obviously died years ago?
"And if you still can't understand, or won't let yourself understand," Elizabeth sighed as his immobility continued. "I'll ask you a question. Haven't you ever done something out of fear of what could happen?"
Sonny had a hard time not smiling at her question. He lived his life under the threat of what could happen. Of measuring one risk against another before he acted. And there were times he'd let what could happen make his decisions for him and that always led to disaster.
Suddenly Elizabeth was as weary as her dozing daughter and she stepped to the back of the stroller. "I was never your enemy Sonny, there was a time I was your friend. I was willing to share Jason with you, if that was what he wanted, but I won't ask my daughter to do that, not when the sharing would be so unequal. You can call me selfish and I'll agree, but that won't change how I feel."
"There's no chance you'll stay?"
"How can we? After everything I said how can you even ask me that?"
"I can ask because Jason cares for both of you and you obviously still care for him. If you didn't you wouldn't still be so angry at me."
"Caring was never our problem Sonny it was the day to day living that tripped us up." She checked her watch. "I'm late to meet Jason and since we're leaving today I don't want to deny him time with Brenna."
"May I?" Sonny asked and when she nodded he stepped next to the stroller and softly ran a finger down the cheek of the little girl that had quickly stolen his heart. "You've done an amazing job raising her."
She nodded in acceptance of the compliment then reached out. "Take care of your family, and ... Jason."
"I will." He promised.
Both were left visibly shaken by the meeting that much was obvious. And all Elizabeth could do was hope that he had heard her on some level. Jason was going to need his friends after they left.
Docks
The tugboat had long since steamed clear of his sight when Jason heard the stroller's approach. The time since Nikolas had left hadn't been pleasant for him. Nikolas' vivid description of how Elizabeth had acted right before leaving town kept running through his mind. It was hard to hang onto his anger when he was faced with the memory of her pain, but with the stroller's approach that changed.
"I'm sorry we're late." Elizabeth called out to alert him to their presence. The instant he turned she knew there was going to be trouble. Still raw from her encounter with Sonny she wasn't sure if she was ready for the next round so quickly. "Brenna fell asleep on the walk over, it's just one of her little catnaps she'll probably wake up in about 15 minutes raring to go."
"And are you ready to go?" Jason asked.
Elizabeth didn't even bother to pretend she didn't know he was talking about. "It will be good to get home but it will be hard to leave as well."
"Then why are you going?"
"We're going because that's where we live." She locked the stroller's wheels into place and stepped closer to Jason. It was a good thing that Brenna was asleep. If they were going to do this, they needed to do it right and that wouldn't happen if she were awake.
"You brought her here, let me meet her, let me hold her, and now you're taking her away from me, and all you say to me is that's where you live?" He wanted answers, explanations, something that made sense to him.
"I know it's horribly unfair to you, everything I've done has been unfair to you, and I'm sorry for that. But being sorry doesn't change the fact that we can't stay here." She explained, as best she could.
"So what you're telling me is if I want to see my daughter I have to give up everything else in my life and move across the country?" Jason couldn't help feeling trapped by those words. Why was he the one that was always delivered the ultimatum? Either leave everything he knew or lose someone he cared about.
"I've never asked you to quit your job. I would never ask you to do that." Elizabeth retorted angrily. "I know what your work means to you. You would never ask me to stop painting and I wouldn't ask you to walk away from Sonny. All I'm telling you is that we can't stay."
"No what you're telling me is that you still think Sonny would be a problem if you did stay." He hadn't forgotten the reasons she'd given him for staying away as long as she had.
"Wouldn't he?" Elizabeth held her ground. When he didn't answer right away she stepped away and gestured at the dock they were standing on. "Do you remember a conversation we once had on this very spot?"
Jason was surprised by the question but immediately knew what conversation she was referring too, he remembered all their talks. "Yes."
"I sat on that bench and begged you not to leave town. I begged you," she turned back to look at him. "And you told me that you couldn't stay. That too many people would be hurt if you stayed and I was one of those people. This time it's me who can't stay."
"Who would you hurt if you stay?" It was the closest he'd come to asking her to stay and they both knew it.
"Brenna and I would be hurt, and eventually so would you."
"How could staying and letting Brenna get to know me hurt her?" Angry as well as confused Jason wanted answers.
"Because Brenna would see how miserable I am here." Tears sprang to her eyes and she quickly blinked them away. Tears would do her no good, she could cry later, but now she had to make him understand and hopefully ease his pain.
"Don't you see no matter how much I would try to keep things from her, Brenna would pick up on the fact that I'm unhappy. Kids know more than we think they do, you told me that and I've come to believe it. I know our leaving hurts you. I know I'm being selfish by taking her away from you so soon, but I can't stay here. The bad memories in this town outweigh the good ones, and those memories will eventually drag me down and I'll take Brenna with me, and she doesn't deserve that."
"That's not true," he argued desperately. "You have a lot of good memories here. And even if there are bad ones as well, I'm here, your Grandmother is here, Emily is here, even Nikolas is here for you to help."
"Jason don't you realize what's been going on this week?"
"So now you're going to flinch," he muttered under his breath.
"What?"
"Never mind." He quickly banished Nikolas' words from his mind.
Elizabeth shook off the questions his words raised and asked one of her own. "Haven't you noticed that the only time we really got along and didn't hurt each other so badly this week, was when we were in my Grandmother's house?"
He shrugged. "I guess so."
"Don't you realize why that was? All of the other places in town, Kelly's, the hospital, your penthouse, Vista Point, the bridge, Jake's, my old studio, even these docks where I once begged you to stay, and where I once accused you of beating Lucky hold memories for us. All of these places, almost every place in town have old ghosts in them. And those ghosts have baggage that's not very pretty, and that baggage adds to the problem. The reason we got along easier at my Grandmother's house was because we never had any memories inside there that we needed to overcome." She explained what was all too clear in her mind. Once she had figured out what was going on and the reason for it, she realized that there was no way she could stay in Port Charles.
When Elizabeth pointed out what she meant he saw the truth in her words. Jason knew he was unique in that places didn't bother him the way they could other people. But he could still remember a time when the pain he felt made him physically ill whenever he tried to return to a bridge he once shared with Robin. With time, with distance, and with Elizabeth, the bridge had turned back into just a place for him, but for a long time it had been so much more. Hearing Elizabeth's rundown of all the places that held bad memories for her he truly realized how hard this visit had been for her.
"It's not just you Jason or the memories of the problems we had here, there's also my memories of Lucky and other people. Those memories along with some people that still live here have convinced me that it's time to make a new life, a new history, with new memories somewhere else."
"And I'm supposed to just let you go? Say thanks for letting me meet my daughter, now have a nice flight?"
Sarcasm when it came from Jason was both unexpected and very jarring, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to react to it.
"Is that what you want from me?"
"What I want doesn't matter," her answer was soft. "I imagine you'll visit to see Brenna and we'll be back in Port Charles to visit as well."
"I suppose you think that's enough for me." Could she really think he would be satisfied with just a few visits a year? She seemed to believe he had no room in his life outside of Sonny, Carly, Michael, so maybe she did feel like that.
"That's for you to decide." Elizabeth replied calmly. That was one line she vowed not to cross with him. Whatever Jason decided had to come from him and him alone. She wasn't going to encourage him, or suggest things he could do, his choice had to come from him alone. "I should probably go."
Elizabeth had only made it a step when he caught her hand stopping her in her tracks. She slowly turned and he shifted closer until they were inches apart. The chemical spark that had existed between them for years immediately came to life and they both felt the pull.
Jason's survival instincts were screaming at him to drop her hand and step away before she could destroy him again, but he ignored them when she nervously bit her lip. He'd seen her do that hundreds of times and it never failed to give him a jolt. Ignoring his physical reaction for the moment his eyes returned to hers. "You won't stay and yet you won't ask me to come with you. What choice does that leave me with?"
"One that only you can figure out." When she whispered back his hand tightened on hers and drew her closer until their chests almost touched and she could feel his breath on her face.
Observing the way her eyes sparkled with life at the unexpected move he inched closer still. "I don't think you want to leave me."
"Maybe I don't. Maybe it wouldn't take much for you to convince me to stay. It's obvious that I'm still attracted you and you to me. It would be easy to sink into the oblivion physical attraction can bring." Her tone was almost seductive, her eyes never left his, and she could tell his breathing had spiked. "But sooner or later we'd come out of that oblivion and who is to say we would even like each other then? Who is to say I wouldn't hate you for exploiting my weakness for you? Or that you wouldn't hate me for drawing you back into my arms when you are still so angry with me?"
Again it was the truth of her words that stung but also got through and he reluctantly stepped back before he could cross the line.
Elizabeth sighed in relief feeling that she had dodged a bullet and made a slow retreat as to not tempt fate. There was a large part of her that wanted to throw herself in his arms and that was the part she desperately needed to control. Thankfully Brenna chose that moment to stir. "I need to go. I'll meet you at Kelly's around 4:00 okay? That will give us time to get to the airport."
Jason blinked at the sudden shift in her demeanor. "Will you need a ride?"
Stalling Elizabeth bent to kiss Brenna goodbye. "Nikolas is taking us." She braced for the glare she was sure to receive and looked over at him but the glare wasn't there. He didn't appear to be upset at the news that Nikolas was driving them but she gave him a reason for the move anyway. "I didn't think you would want to say goodbye in an airport."
"I don't." Jason stepped next to Elizabeth and picked up his daughter. Slow to wake Brenna settled her head on his shoulder, closed her eyes, and he automatically began rubbing his hand over her back in a circular motion.
Catching the scene Elizabeth's fingers itched for her sketchpad. The scene was so tranquil. Father and daughter comforting each other, all she wanted to do was get it on canvas. She only hoped she could do it justice later on. "I better go."
"Fine."
Elizabeth hesitated at his cool dismissal then turned and hurried from the docks. She couldn't expect warmth from Jason especially not today, not when she was breaking his heart again by taking his daughter from him.
General Hospital
"Okay Mr. Man we got one more circuit around this floor and then it's back to bed for you." Carly laid down the ground rules to Michael as firmly as she could. She always had a problem saying no to her son and that was especially true now after he had almost died. She knew the feeling would fade the first time he decided to paint the furniture again, but for now it was difficult to refuse him anything.
"Aww mom." Michael slumped in the wheelchair. It was the first time in days he'd been out of his bed and wasn't having a test done. He didn't want the feeling of freedom to end.
"Don't aww mom me." Carly countered even as her steps slowed.
"Brenna's pretty cool for a girl isn't she?" Michael changed the subject in the lightning fast way kids had. "Even if she does drool."
"She's teething. When you did that you drooled pretty badly yourself."
"That's what Jason said," Michael remembered.
Carly's smile dimmed when she thought of Jason. He had brought Brenna by earlier to say goodbye to Michael and during the visit he'd barely taken his eyes off of her. She knew he was trying to memorize every detail so he could relive the memories after she was gone. The knowledge of that broke her heart. Jason was the best person she knew, the best friend she ever had, and it wasn't fair that he kept being hurt. It wasn't fair that his children were taken from him. She had done it, Courtney had done it in a sense, and now Elizabeth was doing it.
The sight of Michael's bright red hair caught her attention. She knew that if Jason could have been given a choice, and been guaranteed that Michael wouldn't have been hurt, he would still be raising Michael as his son. But that wasn't an option anymore. So many things had happened, so many things had changed, but there was one thing that remained. Sonny may be Michael's father legally and emotionally, but Jason was his father in a way that could never be explained or broken, and she still hated the pain she had caused him.
"Isn't that Elizabeth?"
Michael's question pulled her from her sad thoughts. Given a choice between being mad or being sad Carly always chose being mad. So she put on some speed and intercepted Elizabeth before she got to the elevators.
"Elizabeth." Carly called and had the pleasure of seeing Elizabeth's grimace turn into a reluctant smile when she realized Michael was with her.
"Carly," she nodded once then her smile warmed when she looked at the boy. "How are you feeling Michael?"
"Better." He began to pull on his shirt. "I got a real cool scar you want to see it?"
Carly paled at the mention of the scar her son was so proud of and stopped him before he could pull off the bandage. "The doctor said not to take it off."
Disappointed but knowing better than to argue with that tone Michael smoothed down his shirt. "You're Brenna's mom aren't you?"
"Yes." Elizabeth was surprised at the mention of her daughter. Then realized that Jason must have introduced his daughter to the boy he still considered his son and it warmed her heart.
"Jason said you're leaving today and taking Brenna with you. Is that true?"
Content to let her son handle the questioning for now Carly kept quiet.
"Yes we're leaving."
"Why?"
Elizabeth darted a quick glance at Carly who ignored the look. "Because we have to go home."
"Can't you live here?" Michael asked with all the guilelessness a little boy had. "You can stay with Jason because he's all alone now and if you're there he won't be lonely no more."
Elizabeth felt a stab of pain at the boy's words.
"I don't like him to be lonely." Michael continued on, oblivious to the damage he was inflicting on her. "I have a little brother Brenna can play with and I'll watch out for her because I'm the oldest and she's just a girl. I won't let anyone pick on her because she drools."
"Brenna would be very lucky to have you looking after her." Elizabeth squatted in front of the chair so she could look him in the eye. "I'm sorry Michael we can't stay. But you can do Brenna a favor."
"What favor?" He asked suspiciously.
"Brenna needs someone to keep an eye on Jason for her to make sure he's alright and not too lonely. Can you do that for her?"
Michael considered the request for a long time before nodding. "It would be easier if she just lived with him."
"Mr. Man I'm going to take you over to Grandma for a few minutes while I talk to Elizabeth." Carly finally spoke and wheeled her son to Bobbie who had been watching them. "Watch him for a minute will you?"
"Carly." Bobbie tried to warn her daughter off even though she knew it would do no good.
Carly turned back and found that Elizabeth had moved a few feet away to insure they were out of Michael's earshot. Her face remained calm as Carly stalked closer and that only made her angrier.
"You're breaking his heart by taking her away." Carly didn't bother to waste time with preliminaries.
"I'd break it even more if I stayed."
"What the hell do you mean by that?" Carly hissed.
"Can you see me and you living across the hall from each other?" Elizabeth's sarcasm was obvious.
"If that's what it takes to make Jason happy I could stomach it."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at that response even though she'd expected nothing less from Carly. "You'd hate every second of it."
"So would you." Carly retorted. "But I'd suffer even your close proximity to make Jason happy."
"And what if Jason decided to put Brenna first? Before you, before Sonny, even before Michael?"
"He's supposed to." Carly stated the obvious.
"I know that. The question remains would you let him do that?"
"Oh get real, would I let him?" Carly turned to look at her son and was surprised when Elizabeth countered her move until they were facing again.
"You fought with me for years over being in Jason's life. You fought with me because you thought I might be more important to him than you are. What happens, what would you do if it becomes obvious that Brenna is more important to him? Can you honestly live with that?"
"I would never keep Jason from his child." Carly's answer was quick and automatic and when the realization of what that question meant hit her mercurial temper spiked. "Jesus is that why you kept her away? Because you thought he wouldn't put her first in his life?"
Elizabeth didn't answer which was an answer in itself.
"And to think I once thought you knew Jason." Carly said spitefully and stepped closer. "News Flash little girl there is nothing, or no one Jason would put before his child. So if you kept Brenna away because of that you weren't only cruel you were delusional."
"You don't know what you're saying." Elizabeth tried to defend her choice.
"I know better than anyone what a child, his child means to Jason." Carly snarled. "And I want to make one thing perfectly clear. I'm not the one keeping Jason from his child neither is Sonny. The only person keeping Jason from his child is you Elizabeth." Knowing violence wasn't that far off Carly stalked towards her son. "If you have a brain under all that hair use it and get a clue."
"I'm sorry about that." Bobbie approached with an apology for her daughter's angry outburst.
"I need to sit down." Elizabeth whispered.
"Are you okay?" Bobbie automatically checked the younger woman's pulse.
"I think I'm having a breakdown," she stared sightlessly at Bobbie. "I must be ill because I think Carly was right."
Bobbie smiled and patted her back consolingly. "Don't worry it only happens once a year."
Kelly's
"Thanks Penny." Jason smiled half-heartedly at the waitress when she brought him his drink but soon his attention was back on his daughter. The stroller was against the wall while Brenna was settled on his lap. He hadn't realized how much he missed holding a baby until he'd held Brenna. Babies were so small, so soft, so trusting, they relied on you to do everything for them. These past few days when he was around her more often then not he was holding her. But he knew it was only a matter of time, before his arms were empty again. The clock on the wall continued to tick and every move it made brought it closer and closer to when she would leave.
Jason knew if he wanted to be around a baby he could see Morgan pretty much anytime he wanted too, but it wouldn't be the same. Morgan would never be his child while Brenna was.
Brenna's tiny fist batted at his chin when he bent his head to nuzzle her and he realized that was her way of saying she didn't want to be ignored any longer. The more time he spent with her the more apparent the differences between her and Michael became. Brenna loved an audience. She was playful and loved attention while Michael had been shy. She made friends with pretty much everyone she saw while Michael was clingy when strangers were around.
"Are you finished?" He asked when a slurping noise came from the now empty bottle. "I see you've inherited your mom's appetite." When she swung out at him again he realized Elizabeth's smile and appetite weren't the only things Brenna had inherited. "I won't mention it again," he promised with a smile then settled her against his shoulder and began to pat her back.
"Jason."
Recognizing the voice he fought the urge to groan. He didn't want to fight with her not today of all days.
"Don't I even rate a hello?" Courtney took the seat across from him. The sight of him holding his daughter had hit her hard and she had spent several minutes just watching him with her. It should have been their daughter he was caring for so tenderly but it wasn't, at least not yet.
"Courtney." Jason could see the tears in her eyes but wasn't sure what he should say so he did what he did best and said nothing at all.
"I've been looking for you everywhere, but I just missed you every time."
"We had some people to see before Brenna left." He offered a brief explanation.
"It's not right for Elizabeth to take her away from you so soon. Doesn't she know how much that will hurt you?" Courtney expressed the anger he wouldn't show.
"Don't start." Jason warned her.
"I'm just speaking the truth." Courtney continued. She had been thinking about this situation every hour of the day, she had even dreamed about it. And she had finally figured out a way some good could come from this, now all she had to do was convince him. "You know it doesn't have to be this way."
"Courtney I don't have much time left with Brenna, can we talk later?" Jason tried to move her along before a fight could start.
"No we need to talk now. Jason don't you see you don't have to give Brenna up. You can file for either full or partial custody, and you'd win Jason, you'd win." Her eyes shone with excitement, while her fingers itched to hold the little girl.
"I'm not going to take Brenna from her mother." Jason's voice was sharp and when Brenna jumped he patted her back again to calm her.
"Why not? Elizabeth is taking her away from you. You have a right to be with your daughter. Jason can't you see that this is an answer to our prayers?" She begged him. "We'd win I know we would. And once we did we'd be the family we always planned on being."
"There is no we anymore." He reminded her sharply.
"There could be, in fact there could be three of us." She reached for his hand and was surprised when he pulled it away.
"Let me get this straight. You want me to take Brenna away from Elizabeth so you and I can raise her? Do you have any idea how wrong that is?" Brenna picked up on the sudden anger at the table and began to fuss.
"I'm not suggesting we take her from Elizabeth permanently. But if we get joint custody she'll have to move back to Port Charles. Don't you see you'll be able to keep your daughter in town?"
"That's right she's my daughter. She's mine and Elizabeth's not yours." He knew his words were cruel but what she was suggesting was even crueler. "Elizabeth and I will make all decisions regarding our daughter. You don't have a say in what we decide."
The words decimated her and she recoiled from him in shock. How could he be so brutal? He knew how much she longed for a child with him. A part of her believed that the loss of their baby had helped to lead to the breakup of their marriage. But now thanks to Brenna they had another chance. Only it appeared that Jason didn't want another chance with her. The heartbreaking realization made her numb.
"Do you love her?"
"Of course I love her she's my daughter." A little girl who was very cranky at the moment because of what was going on with the adults at the table. He shifted her into another position only to have her squirm and make a noise like a squeal. It was his first real exposure to her crankiness and he knew it was only the tip of the iceberg.
"I wanted to know if you loved Elizabeth." Courtney corrected him coolly, calmly, the numbness she felt would help her get the answers that were long overdue.
"Don't do this."
"Do you love her?" Driven by the need to know the truth she repeated the question that had the potential to break her heart.
"What happens between Elizabeth and me doesn't concern you." Jason evaded and answered the question at the same time.
Stung Courtney closed her eyes. "Would we have become involved if Elizabeth had remained in town?"
"Why are you asking me this? Elizabeth did leave town. We did get involved." Between Courtney's questions and Brenna's crankiness Jason was rapidly losing his patience.
"Answer the question. Would we have gotten involved if Elizabeth were around?" She pressed.
Sighing heavily he met her eyes. "No."
With that answer the final bit of her heart broke. "Did you ever love me?"
"Yes," he answered honestly.
"But not the way you loved Elizabeth." She stated bitterly.
"Of course it was different you're two different people."
"And I came up lacking didn't I?" The numbness was rapidly being replaced by anger.
"Don't be like this Courtney." Jason didn't want to hurt her anymore than he already had.
"Why not its true isn't it?" Her voice was loud drawing attention to the table causing Brenna to cry. "Why shouldn't I tell the truth, that's what you supposedly do right? You're not the only one who can be honest."
"Shhh." He was speaking to Brenna but hoped Courtney would take the hint.
"I wondered how you could end our marriage so easily. How you could walk away like you weren't even hurt and now I know why." Her voice got even louder.
"Of course I was hurt. You were my wife, I hated that we couldn't make our marriage work." He snapped back.
"Marriage?" She snorted loudly. "We didn't have a marriage Jason. A marriage is made up of two people, two. We always had three people in our relationship, you, Elizabeth, and me. Stupid me I didn't even know she was there."
"You know that's not true." Jason got to his feet to try to calm Brenna but kept his focus on Courtney. "I tried, we both tried to make our marriage work. We were just too different, we wanted different things out of life."
"That may be true." Courtney rose as well. "But what else is true is that you didn't love me enough to really try."
Jason flinched at the truth of her words. He had tried with Courtney but hadn't been destroyed when he realized it wouldn't work out and now he knew why. He loved Courtney in a way but she was right it wasn't enough to last.
"I can't be around you," she hissed. "It hurts me to look at you. When I do I see what a fool I was."
"I'm sorry Courtney. I didn't know."
"Well you should have." She stepped towards the door then abruptly turned back. "You had no right marrying me when you were still in love with Elizabeth. That was cruel and I didn't deserve it."
"I know." He agreed. "But there's something you need to know."
"What?"
"My feelings for Elizabeth may have played a part in why we didn't last. But she wasn't the only reason our marriage failed. We didn't last because you couldn't accept me for who I am. You said you could, and then immediately tried to change me."
"And you think Elizabeth will accept you?" She demanded with a laugh. "She kept your child from you, does that sound like acceptance to you?" With that she turned on her heel and slammed her way out the door.
Jason's attention finally turned to his daughter's tears. "I'm sorry about that Brenna. Go ahead and cry if you want to."
Jag
"This is where we're supposed to meet Jason, correct?"
"Yes." Elizabeth's response was remote. "Why?"
"No reason really its just we've been sitting here for five minutes now and you've made no effort to get out of the car." Nikolas explained.
Groaning Elizabeth buried her face in her hands. "How can I do this to him?"
"Because its what's best for you and your daughter?" He offered the reasons she had given to him on more than one occasion.
"I know but..." she hesitated.
Nikolas changed tacks. "You don't have to go. I would love it if you moved back to town, so would your Grandmother and others. And Jason would be able to see his daughter more often. All you have to do is stay."
"We can't," she whispered sadly and opened the door. "Wait here."
The short distance to Kelly's was one of the hardest walks she had ever made. The knowledge that once she arrived there she would be taking Brenna from Jason's arms for who knows how long, caused her steps to slow. She had replayed things over and over in her mind and no matter what angle she came from the result always remained the same. Staying in Port Charles, at least right now, would destroy her. But at the same time she didn't want to leave Jason, and she really didn't want to take his daughter from him.
Elizabeth stopped in the courtyard to take a few deep breaths to gather her courage. She would get through this, and she would get through this without crying. She had to be strong for herself, for her daughter and most of all for Jason. After all those times she had leaned on him, she had a feeling he would finally need to lean on her so she waited a few more minutes until she felt she had control.
When the door opened Jason knew the time had come. Sighing heavily he rose and turned to face her. He could see the pain in her eyes pain he knew was reflected in his own.
"Hey there Miss B." Elizabeth waved when a wide-eyed Brenna smiled at her. "She focused next on Jason. "Hey."
Jason nodded at her and gestured to the door. He didn't want to get into things in a diner full of people. Elizabeth seemed to agree because without a word she picked up the diaper bag, set it inside the stroller and headed out the door. She kept walking until she reached the edge of the courtyard next to the street.
Elizabeth could see Nikolas leaning against the jag waiting. "I'll be right back." Going on instinct she pushed the stroller in his direction. "Will you put these things away?"
"Yes." He took them from her.
Turning back her heart stuttered when she saw Jason and Brenna standing there watching her. Keeping her eyes on him she slowly walked back to them and in spite of her vow she felt the urge to cry.
"Will you call to let me know you got home safely?" Jason forced the question out of his rapidly constricting throat.
"I'll call every day if you want me too. And I'll take pictures of her every day and email them to you. You'll finally have to buy that laptop you've been avoiding." She attempted a smile.
"God this is hard." Jason muttered.
When he buried his face in Brenna's neck tears sprang to the back of her eyes. "Yes it is."
Pulling back he stared into the eyes that were mirror images of his own. "I love you Brenna. Please don't forget that, don't forget me," his final plea was only a whisper.
Destroyed by the words Elizabeth stepped forward and covered his hand with hers to form a unit. "I will never let her forget you. How can I? Your a part of her." Vow forgotten the tears began to fall.
"She's so small, she might not remember," he whispered his concern.
"She won't always be small, and we're not leaving forever. She'll see you again I promise you that."
Sensitive to the mood Brenna began to cry and the sound tore at him. With a final kiss he abruptly thrust her at Elizabeth. Startled by the unexpected move Brenna reached out for him and cried harder.
"I can't." Breathing hard he stepped back and covered his mouth with his hand.
Elizabeth cuddled her distraught daughter and turned for the car. Tears blinded her but she kept moving until Nikolas was there.
"Let me have her." Nikolas gently took Brenna from her. Ignoring the wailing baby he opened the passenger door and helped Elizabeth in the car, then opened the back door to settle Brenna. Closing the door he looked back at Jason who hadn't moved. He looked as devastated as Elizabeth did. No one seeing Jason now would ever accuse him of being unfeeling and because of that Nikolas' pity extended to him. Knowing better than to acknowledge him, Nikolas walked to the driver's door and got in the car.
Nikolas started the car, reached over to put the car in gear then stopped. "Are you sure?"
"Just go."
Sighing at her stubbornness he put the car in gear, he hadn't even got the car up to speed when she yelled at him to stop. Nikolas immediately slammed on the brakes.
"I'll be back." Elizabeth opened the door and ran back towards Jason. "I wasn't going to do this." She announced when she came to a stop a few feet in front of him. "But I have too. You have to know."
"Know what?"
Elizabeth closed the distance between them and in a distinct change of pace she brushed a tear from his cheek. "I love you."
"I love you too," his response came on an exhale.
Though the tears continued fall she moved forward and kissed him. His arms immediately came around her drawing her closer. The kiss was different then any before. It was still powerful but also bittersweet, it was the kiss of farewell.
Breaking the kiss he rested his forehead on hers. For a long time they just stood there holding each other. Finally he hugged her once more then reluctantly let her go. Elizabeth's tears were falling as she slowly walked away. This time he couldn't watch them leave, so turning his back on her Jason reentered the courtyard.
Shaken Elizabeth got back in the car. Brenna's cries had turned into sniffles by that time and she reached out towards her mother when she saw her. "Drive."
Heart breaking for his friend Nikolas complied with her wishes.
Docks
Somehow, some way Jason made his way to the docks. The sound of water hitting the pylons gradually penetrated the fog of pain he was in. They were gone. His daughter and the woman he loved, the woman he would always love were gone, and all he could do was stand and look at the water.
They loved each other, they shared a daughter and yet they weren't together. Why weren't they together? Because he was hurt and angry with her? Or, was it because of her fears about his priorities? And were either of those reasons good enough reasons for them to not even try to work things out? She hadn't asked him to change, she hadn't expected him to change, but he knew she would like him to. She hadn't asked him to come with them, but again he knew that's what she wanted. But how could he leave when his job was here, when his whole life was here? His identity was wrapped up with his job.
That last thought nearly drove him to his knees. How could he think that? How could he believe it was true? He was more than his job, if he wasn't everything Elizabeth had accused him of was true. Hanging his head in disbelief, he wondered how had he let this happen.
There was a time when he had used his job to identify himself but that was years ago, there was more to him now. There had to be more to him than then just his work, and there was. There was his family and his family was on their way to California, without him. In that moment it all became crystal clear to him. He needed to be there with them for as long as he could. More importantly he wanted to be with them.
The decision he'd come too, the decision he had been struggling with all week, had finally been made and he was relieved. Now all he had to do was tell Sonny that he was leaving. Once Sonny would have encouraged him to go, now he wasn't sure what his reaction would be. In the end it wouldn't matter how Sonny reacted he was going to go no matter what Sonny said.
Sonny walked down the steps and came to a halt when he spied Jason standing immobile by the water. Ever since his meeting with Elizabeth he had been haunted by her words. She was wrong and she was right at the same time. The truths she had pointed out were brutal to face especially for a man who was good with selective memory. Maybe it was time for him to take care of his family, all of his family.
"Did they leave?" Sonny asked as he approached.
"Yeah," Jason's reply was harsh.
"We need to talk about that." Sonny took the first step to help.
"What do you want Sonny?" Jason turned around and there was pain etched on his face.
"You told me once that you considered me to be like your father. I need you to keep that thought in mind and listen to me now. You need to be with your family. Find Elizabeth and Brenna and go with them, get to know your daughter."
Surprised by the unexpected words Jason remained quiet.
"There was a time I needed you here, but we both know that time has passed. I won't fall apart if you let yourself live. For once you need to concentrate on fixing your own problems. It's time for me and Carly to learn how to fix our problems without you." The words were easier to say then he thought they would be.
"Why are you saying these things?"
"I've leaned on you too long Jason. Its time I let you breathe," Sonny explained. "You need to go to them. Don't think about business or how you think you need to help Carly or me. Think about yourself for once, and if you can't do that, think of your daughter. You may not believe me now but there will come a time when you hate yourself, and me if you don't take a chance and go to them now."
Jason had barely let himself hope that he would get Sonny's blessing but it appeared he had. Because of that he felt closer to Sonny than he had in years. "Are you sure?"
"Jason you once made the ultimate sacrifice and gave me your son to raise, let me try too," he choked up, "let me try to give you to your daughter."
For the second time that day Jason felt himself tearing up. "When I go I won't just leave them if you call. If it's a real emergency I'll be here for you, but I won't just come every time you have a crisis."
"It's about time you learned how not to answer the phone." Sonny smirked and held out his hand, which Jason immediately took.
"You know what this means to me right?" Jason asked his mentor softly.
"Go." Sonny ordered, then unwilling to say goodbye to his friend he turned and quickly walked away.
Airport
Good evening ladies and gentlemen we are ready to begin boarding of flight 1313 to San Francisco, with continuing service to Napa. Right now we'd like to have our first class passengers and persons traveling with small children board.
"That's us Brenna." Elizabeth tried to sound chipper and began gathering their things. She reached for the diaper bag but a man's hand got there first. It was a hand she instantly recognized and her heart leapt into her throat. "Jason?"
"Can I help?" Jason had been in such a rush to get here he hadn't had time to figure out what he was going to say to her.
"What are you doing here?" She asked breathlessly, her eye moved to the bag strap on his shoulder. "Are you flying somewhere?"
"I hope so. I have family in Napa that I want to visit."
Rocked, thrilled, concerned Elizabeth wasn't sure what to say.
"Let me come with you. I need to be with my daughter," he cleared his throat, "and you."
"What are you saying?" She let him take Brenna from her when she began to squirm.
"I'm asking you for a chance. Let me prove to you that Brenna is my priority," he saw the hesitation in her eyes. "Please."
Last call for flight 1313 all passengers should be on board or boarding now.
When had she ever been able to say no to a please from Jason? "I can't make you any promises and I'm not going to ask you for any."
"I'm only offering one. I promise you that no one is more important to me than Brenna."
Faced with the matching eyes of her daughter and Jason, as well as her sudden rapid heartbeat and she knew there was could be only one answer to his request. "We better go or we'll miss our flight."
Jason's smile was wide and the relief he felt was immense. He picked up her bags and headed for the attendant.
"Do you even have a ticket?" Elizabeth trailed behind them with the stroller.
"I bought one the day you told me when you were leaving. In fact I bought you one as well, they're first class."
"First class suits me fine, how about you Miss B?" Elizabeth addressed her daughter who yawned hugely and laid her head on Jason's shoulder. "She really is thrilled." The parents shared their first easy laugh in years.
"I can tell." Taking her hand in his they walked down the ramp to the plane.
The flight attendant watched them go then turned to her coworker when she closed the door. "Nice looking family."
18 Months Later
"We'll be there." Nikolas hung up the phone.
"We'll be where?" A woman asked from behind him.
"How do you feel about returning to the states for a wedding?" He asked and took the glass of wine she held out.
Mary looked around the French Villa they had been staying for the last two months. "I could handle that, I liked California."
"The wedding was a long time in coming," he conceded then sighed heavily.
"What's wrong?" Mary asked.
"It's nothing."
"Nikolas?" She arched a brow in his direction and waited.
"I'm Elizabeth's closest friend but for some reason she asked Luke to give her away instead of me." He shuddered at the thought.
Mary smiled broadly at his sulk. "That could be a good thing, for the wedding. You know you shouldn't glare at the groom during a wedding, I hear that's bad form. And I doubt it's proper etiquette either."
"I wouldn't glare," Nikolas felt defensive. "You just don't understand the intricacies of Jason and my relationship."
"What intricacies? You don't like him but tolerate him because of Elizabeth. He doesn't like you but tolerates you for the same reason." She reminded him.
"I see you still have a lot to learn about people from Port Charles." Nikolas responded with a mysterious smile and he was having fun teaching her.
Well my little tale is now concluded. I hoped you enjoyed the ride and weren't disappointed too badly by the choices I made with it. To remain true to this version of characters that I created there was no way they could stay in Port Charles and have a fresh start. The only way they could accomplish that was by leaving. I tried to subtly show throughout the piece the problems they had communicating in certain places, in certain ways, so the decision to leave wouldn't seem abrupt. In the end, in order to breathe, they need to go so that's what I had them do.
I also wanted to say to those people who mentioned it the inspiration for the name Brenna came from my niece. It's her name so in a very weird way I'm grateful to my brother, and you have no idea how much therapy I'm going to need after saying that.
Anyway I hoped you liked it, and keep an eye out for some other things from me, coming soon to a computer screen near you.
Steph