Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. The powers that be at General Hospital do. They just don't use them very well. There are some original characters in here as well.

Feedback: Is greatly appreciated. If you like it tell me why, if you don't, please tell me what you don't like. It's how I learn.

Author's notes: A lot of the characters on GH will be in this fic, if you don't see them right away give me time. I like fic's with a lot of characters in them, so that is how I write them.

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What If…

Chapter 6

~Elm Street~

"So do you do this a lot, Mr. Johnny?" Rory asked when they crossed over to Elm Street heading to the pier.

"Do what, Miss…?" Johnny asked the question of her name hanging in the air.

"Rory." She answered coming to a stop and looking at him, "Talk to ghosts. I mean if you do you must have some great stories to tell."

"What?" Johnny asked the confusion evident on his face.

"Well think about it, if you did talk to ghosts just think what you could learn. Think of all the blackmail information you could gather." She smiled up at him, her blue eyes dancing in mischief.

"I don't know what your talking about Miss." He said again trying to make sense of what she was saying.

"Rory." She repeated, "I would think it could be a good thing, talking to ghosts. Especially in your line of work, think what you could learn. Of course I wouldn't want them to appear to me as corpses or how they looked in death would you?" she paused looking at Johnny and bit her lip to keep from smiling, the poor man was so lost.

"Corpses." Johnny stuttered, "Miss…"

"Rory." She broke in watching a woman push a baby carriage cross the street. "No I wouldn't want to see their corpses. When I see them I would want them to appear as they looked during the happiest time in their life. Don't you think that's how ghosts should appear Mr. Johnny?"

"Rory, what are you talking about?" He asked exasperated.

She smiled triumphantly, "Just making conversation, Mr. Johnny. You see Lucky and everyone else in this town seems to think I'm a ghost, I was just getting your take on the situation."

"Look Miss…"

"Too late for that Mr. Johnny you already broke Rule #118 in the bodyguards handbook, you can't go back now." Rory interrupted him with a grin.

"Rule…What?" Johnny asked, he had a headache now, from trying to figure out what she was saying.

"Rule #118 states: Once the bodyguard, that would be you Mr. Johnny, uses the familiar name of the person he is supposed to watch, he cannot revert into formality, without the express permission of that same said person." She dictated averting her eyes so she wouldn't laugh.

He let out an involuntary laugh, then immediately caught himself and cut it off, "You are not serious, Miss" he broke off when she looked up at him, no actually it was more like when she glared at him. She raised her eyebrow and waited, "Rory," he said with a sigh.

"Of course I am Mr. Johnny." She answered with a smile that went well she thought.

"Wait why are you calling me Mr. Johnny, my name is Johnny."

"Well Mr. Johnny I haven't broken Rule #33 of the person being guarded handbook yet, that's why." She replied slipping her arm through his, trying to get him to move along. The poor man looked like he had been run over.

He shook his head slightly trying to clear his mind. He was reliving the last few minutes trying to figure out how he had lost control of the situation. He looked down at her smiling face and mischievous eyes and suddenly knew. It was all her fault. Reluctantly he let out a laugh and shook his head, "You're good."

She beamed at that, "Thank you, and now tell me what do you think of Rule #73 of the handbook. Do you guys really do that? Because if you do, I SO want to be there when you practice."

He started heading to the docks, not really listening to her, he brightened at the thought of Jason with the woman beside him. He almost laughed when he pictured Mr. In Control Jason Morgan with this spitfire beside him. Jason was in over his head, and it would be fun to watch. Her words penetrated then, and his eyes widened when he heard her describe Rule #73, he needed to get this book.

~Docks~

Jason held Emily and let her cry. He didn't try to offer her any platitudes, he just let her get it all out.

She wound down finally and took a hiccupping breath, and pulled free of him, digging into her bag for a Kleenex, "God I must look like a fright."

He studied her face, her mascara, and eyeliner had run down her face, leaving a trail of blackness, her eyes were red and puffy. "Well I wouldn't want Michael to see you right now, you'd scare him." He told her with a smile.

"Oh you." Emily gave him a half-hearted punch on the arm "Couldn't you lie every once in awhile?" She groaned rubbing her face.

"No." He answered briefly, teasing forgotten then, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She answered moving away from him to sit down on the bench again, "I guess I haven't let myself cry in a long time and I needed to. Nothing to worry about." She continued wanting him to let the subject drop.

"Em, you can tell me anything, I just want to help." Jason sat beside her.

Not this, never this. "Jason I'm fine really. I guess maybe this Rory situation shook me up more than I thought."

He sighed heavily, she wasn't going to tell him, at least not yet. He knew she was trying to change the subject so he let it drop for now, "Well it shook Rory too."

She smiled relieved that he wasn't going to push, that he never pushed. "She seems to find the whole situation funny."

"That's the way she handles things, she cracks jokes, teases, anything to draw the attention off of what she's really feeling. Her sense of humor is her defense mechanism."

She studied him, "Kind of like your silences and stillness, is yours."

'Yeah I guess so." He really hadn't thought about it like that. He just knew that when you were quiet people let you alone a lot quicker than when you answered back.

"Jason I just don't see how, you can't see the resemblance between them, and I mean their carbon copies of each other."

"I never met Elizabeth, Emily."

"Yes you did I introduced you two myself."

His head jerked up at that and he looked at her sharply, "When?" he demanded.

"When you still had partial custody of Michael. You came to visit one night when Elizabeth was staying over with me. I introduced the two of you, in his nursery, she was holding Michael."

Jason focused intently on the water taking his mind back to a time that he didn't allow himself to think about that much, a time when he was Michael's father. He had, had to close that part of his life out of his brain or it hurt too much. But he pushed passed the pain, to find the memory that Emily was talking about. He knew it would be there, because it was about Michael and Emily, they were too important to ever forget.

Finally he found it, and let out a snort and then a laugh. Emily gaped at him. "Sorry Em, but I remember now. You two weren't expecting me, you were dancing around the room, with Michael and singing, you had this green gunk all over your faces."

She colored, "Oh right."

"Sorry, but with that stuff on your face I could barely recognize you and I knew you. Elizabeth stammered out a hello, handed me Michael and tore out of the room, with you right behind her."

"Okay, I had forgotten about that." She tried again, "But what about Lucky and the bike shop?"

"She used the outside stairs, she never went inside the shop, so I never met her."

"But Kellys, Jason you ate there several times a week, and she worked there for years before she moved?" Emily asked she was getting desperate.

He sighed heavily, and scrubbed his hand over his face, here was the dicey part he thought. Finally he turned to look at her, "Since the accident, I've been able to pick and choose who I remember. Elizabeth wasn't important to me, she wasn't someone I knew from business so she didn't matter." He stood then and paced to the water's edge, "I don't remember people who don't matter, I can't."

The final words were said so quietly that she barely heard them. She knew then that she had pushed him for explanations and in doing so she had hurt him. She got up and slipped her arm around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder. "Okay you never met Elizabeth, so that's why you wouldn't prepared for the response Rory would get." She said knowing he wouldn't want her to make a big deal about what he had just said.

He smiled softly and a little of the tension in his body eased at her words. "No. If I knew I would have warned you about the resemblance, I wouldn't let you find out the way you did."

"Jason it's more than just a resemblance." She pulled away walking back to her bag. He watched her dig into her bag looking for something.

Her hand closed over the photograph, should she do this now? She knew that he had just been upset because she had made him think of things he couldn't do. She knew that he had a little trouble with photographs as well, she didn't want to hurt him again. Unsure she stood there her back to him, the photograph in her hand.

"It's okay Emily you can let me see it." His quiet voice broke into her thoughts. She turned to look at him questioningly. "You'll just have to get me started," he said with a smile easing her mind.

Emily brought the photo over to him, placing it in his hand. "It's me and Elizabeth, it was taken the night…" She took a deep breath and continued, "the night she died. I'm the one on the right, I have on a red shirt and blue jeans, I have a bandana around my head, and I'm holding up a paint brush."

He focused on the photograph and let her words wash over him. He concentrated on the person on the right, Emily because she was familiar to him. He let her words help him bring the image into his mind, and then he drew his sister into focus on the photograph. He smiled automatically at her grin, coming out of the photograph, she had paint on her nose.

Emily saw his smile, and took a breath before describing Elizabeth. "Elizabeth has on a pink shirt, and khaki pants. Her hair is piled up on the top of her head. She has her left arm slung around my shoulder, and is holding a water bottle in her right hand. Her mouth is open in a smile, Nikolas took the photo mid-laugh. She has brown hair, and blue eyes and is shorter than me."

His eyes had flicked to the other person, when Emily began to describe her, a pinprick of uneasiness washed through his system, as he watched the photograph take shape in this mind. Her hand and body came in clear first, he noticed her clothes were paint splattered. He concentrated on her face, and unconsciously held his breath, when her image cleared and he took his first look at Elizabeth Webber.

~Kellys~

Sonny stared after Lucky. He had been worried about him for a long time, and now he was more so, those last remarks were definitely a threat. He shook his head, remembering, how Rory's face had fallen when at his reaction to her, he had hurt her too.

Sighing heavily he walked into Kellys and took a seat at the table, smiling absentmindedly at Tammy when she brought him some coffee.

"Hi Sonny you want breakfast or lunch?"

"No coffee's fine. I just saw Lucky outside, how has he been?"

Tammy put the pot on the table and stood behind the chair across from him. "Not to good, I think he drinks every day now. I know that he's got to be reeling right now, what with this woman in town."

"You mean Rory?" Sonny asked.

"Yes, you saw her?" She saw his nod and continued, "My god when she first walked in here, I almost had a heart attack. I can only imagine what Lucky was feeling. I knew Lucky before I ever met Elizabeth, I knew how much he loved her, and I have watched up close and personal the hell he has been in ever since her death. I don't know how much longer he's going to hold on."

Sonny groaned inwardly at her words, "Is he still not talking to his parents?"

"No, Luke doesn't approach him anymore, but I know he keeps an eye on him. Laura comes by every week and tries to get through to him." Tammy saw someone else come into Kellys and take a seat, "Need anything else Sonny?"

Sonny shook his head and watched her walk away. He was going to have to keep a close eye on Lucky, to try to save him from himself, and from Jason if he kept after Rory.

~Docks~

He held his breath when her face came into focus, he found himself staring at a face he had long since memorized. The laughing blue eyes, that haunted him in his sleep, the smile that always made him smile, he could almost hear her familiar laugh. He let out the breath he was holding in a rush, and traced his finger over her face, "Rory." He whispered.

"No Elizabeth." Emily said sadly.

Jason tore his eyes from the picture when he really did hear her laugh, he focused on Rory, walking towards him with Johnny. His eyes went back to the picture then back to her, his eyes widened he had caught her in almost the same pose as the picture. Her mouth was open in a smile and a laugh and her blue eyes were looking at him. "Jesus." He managed before his hand tightened convulsively on the picture.

"Hi Jason, Emily," Rory called with a smile walking up to them, "Thanks Mr. Johnny," she said with a grin stepping away from him.

"You remember what I said Rory." Johnny said with a smile.

Jason's brain latched onto her name, coming out of Johnny's mouth. To say he was surprised would be putting it mildly. To this day Johnny still introduced Mike as Mike Corbin, and he was Sonny's father. He caught the teasing look on Rory's face and then he understood; she had tricked him.

Johnny's smile broke off when he looked at Jason. Ooops, he quickly put his serious look back on his face. "I'm going to get back to Sonny now. Miss Quartermaine, Jason," he started to move away and felt her eyes boring into him, "Rory," he finished reluctantly, he just new she was gloating.

Yep she tricked him, Jason thought with a shake of his head.

"Bye Mr. Johnny," Rory called after him, before turning to face Jason and Emily, her smile faded slightly, when she studied Jason she knew instantly that something was wrong.

"I was just passing through, I didn't mean to interrupt, I should be going anyway," Rory said brightly looking away from the pair out onto the water. She really loved the water. "What idiot would put such a big crane this near a dock?" she asked with a frown.

"A.J." Jason's answer was brief.

"That explains it," Rory said, then her eyes widened, remembering that Emily, A.J.'s sister was here.

"Uhhmm, I really need to go now and work off this late breakfast." She said quickly.

"Wait." Jason reached out to catch her hand.

"Yes, wait Rory, I have to go anyway. I'm late to meet Zander as it is." And won't he love that she thought darkly heading to her bag.

"Em," Jason said offering her the photo.

"Keep it, I'll get it later, bye you two." Emily said then flew up the stairs and was gone.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt. I didn't even plan on coming to the docks, I wasn't looking for you. I was just going to explore and then meet you at Jakes. But when Sonny told Johnny to bring me to you to get me away from Lucky, I didn't know I would be interr…" Rory broke off then aware of what she had said. Shoot, she moved away from him to sit on the bench, open mouth insert foot.

"What do you mean get you away from Lucky? He didn't accost you again did he?" Jason jumped in, he shoved the photo in his pocket and crossed to her his eyes raking over her for any fresh bruises. Anger, cold anger, was already seeping into his blood, into his bones.

"No he didn't hurt me. In fact, before I left Kellys he apologized for hurting me in the first place. But then when he followed me and we were alone, he got weird again, he wouldn't let me go and then Sonny showed up."

"Wait, alone, you left Kellys on purpose and then you were alone with him," Jason broke in glaring at her in a way only he could.

Who knew, that she would love the taste of her sneakers so much she would keep shoving them in her mouth? "I didn't mean too." Rory began.

He snorted.

"Well I didn't." She said getting angry at him, it wasn't her fault the man was an idiot who followed her. "He just made me mad in Kellys so I left before I hit him again. You did say you didn't want me to hit him again, so I left." She said getting up and facing the water.

"No I said I didn't want you to be alone with him." He countered moving up behind her quietly. "You know that."

She turned around to retort and found herself in his arms, his head bent down to look into her face. His eyes locked onto hers and the anger she had worked so hard to drum up evaporated. "Okay." She sighed under the pressure of those intense eyes.

She wrapped her arms around his back, her cold hands slipped under his shirt seeking the warmth of his skin, a muscle twitched in his face but that was his only reaction. "It's just, he made me mad. I asked him my name, and he said Elizabeth. It just pissed me off, the way he said it, like it was a given. Well you know I don't have the best control of my temper at anytime, and well I lost it." She finished with a smile before turning her head to rest it on his chest. "Sorry" she murmured.

Jason let his head drop so his chin rested on her head. "I'm not trying to tell you what to do Rory, it's just, I worry about you." He said running his hand over her hair.

Her heart jumped and she shivered at the excitement his words awoke in her. She hid her smile in his chest, finally she looked up at him. "I am sorry Morgan, I will try to do better," She said.

He knew that was the best he could hope for, he let his mind wander to the photograph in his pocket. He needed to show it to her.

"So are you done with your meeting?" Her hands were tracing circles on his bare back.

His muscles tightened automatically at her touch and awareness slammed into him. "Yes." He said keeping his face impassive.

"So your free for awhile then?" She asked hopefully bringing one hand around towards his chest to rest on his abs.

"Yes for a couple of hours." He answered, trying to keep his breath even when her fingers started moving slowly up his chest. Her touch, or the cool breeze off the water, caused his nipples to harden.

"So what do you want to do?" She asked with a smile.

"I know the perfect thing to do." He said lowering his voice seductively and pulling away from her, "Let's take a ride on my bike and I'll show you Port Charles."

Her smile vanished, when he took her hand leading her down the dock. "You want to go for a bike ride?"

He heard the disbelief in her voice and kept his back to her grinning widely, he was enjoying this little payback for her stunt this morning.

"Yes, you always love to ride the bike." He answered careful to keep the smile out of his voice.

"Idiot." Rory mumbled walking beside him, "All men are idiots."