Show: General Hospital
Title: Change is Good 2
Disclaimer: I own them all... really I do! Hmm... I guess it's also time to admit I'm a pathological liar.
Summary: Sequel to "Change is Good". Elizabeth and Zander's daughter, Joanna, is four years old. Liz and Jason have been married for three years but can this 12-year-old man deal with family and being two very different people? Jason and Monica have closed the gap that existed between them after his accident; how does Alan feel about being excluded from their reunion? Emily returns with a secret to tell Zander. Can Nikolas and Gia's fledgling relationship survive Gia's suspicions about her return? Carly is deathly ill and Sonny is forced to take care of the children he hasn't seen in five years. Where do Alexis and Justus fit in this equation?
A/N: Thanks for all the amazing response I have gotten for the first chapter. Please keep it up.
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CHAPTER 2
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Port Charles, March 2004, PH2
It was approaching midnight when Jason unlocked the door to his penthouse. He wasn't tired; he was filled with excess energy. It was a no-brainer who was the cause of it all. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with a hot shower, a cold beer and a quick game of pool, he thought. His mind flashed back to kissing Elizabeth on the docks and again outside her apartment; make that a cold shower.
He'd expected to come home to darkness, filled perhaps with the lingering scent of Emily's light perfume. He hadn't expected to open the door and see said sister awake in his Lay-Z Boy and staring uninterestedly at the television. Emily looked up as she heard her brother coming inside.
"Hey," he called softly, setting down the bag Nikolas had brought to Kelly's and stripping off his jacket and gloves. "Everything all right?" he continued, heading over to her.
Emily smiled at her brother softly. "Everything's fine - better than it's been for a while."
Jason arched a brow, waiting for her to continue.
"My divorce came through today... well, yesterday," she explained.
"And that makes you happy." It was more a statement than a question. One he certainly hadn't expected her to debate. "It doesn't?" he asked dubiously after a few long seconds of silence.
Em shrugged. "Part of me is relieved - it's the part of me that allowed myself to be pressured into this marriage in the first place; the part of me that betrayed Zander. I've let go of a part of myself that I didn't like very much."
"What about the other part?"
For a while, Emily did not say anything again. "The engagement's off for real. I gave Nikolas his ring back...." she heaved a sigh and wrapped a blanket tighter about her. "I hate that my love life was what defined me; made me into someone that I didn't even recognise; someone that I hated." Her brown eyes found her brother's in the dark. "So I'm glad in a sense."
Jason didn't quite understand. If she was glad, then why were tears streaming down her face? This time, there was no awkwardness as he pulled her into his arms and rocked her through her tears.
They weren't sure how much time had passed when Emily pulled away. "I want you to do something for me, Jason."
"Anything," he replied, though a certain trepidation found its way into his heart.
"Help me to disappear."
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Port Charles, July 2008, Port Charles Hotel
Emily looked out her window to the dark Port Charles Harbour. Every now and then she could see little flickers of light on the river and the white shapes of the boats bobbing on the water in the moonlight. She didn't really see them, however. She was too consumed with her thoughts of Joanna's birthday party.
Shameful as it was, she hadn't met her goddaughter before tonight. Of course Liz had sent her photos and letters via email but nothing could have prepared her for the impact of seeing Joey in person.
She looked so much like her father Emily got goosebumps thinking about it. Her heart squeezed at the child's cherubic smile and a part of her couldn't help but wonder 'What if?'. What if she hadn't betrayed her vows to her husband... what if what happened in London had never happened...?
Emily physically shook those thoughts from her head. It wouldn't do any good to think about that tonight.
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Port Charles, March 2004, PH2
Jason clearly was taken aback by his sister's request. "Disappear?" he echoed dubiously.
"Disappear." She threw the blanket from around her and sat forward, her face suddenly animated. "Well, not disappear to the point where I would need a new identity... just help me to leave Port Charles."
Inwardly, Jason was stunned. In his line of work, he wasn't surprised by many things, but he was by this. "Why?"
The light faded from Emily's eyes and she sat back again. "Too many memories here... too many obligations, expectations...."
He knew how she felt; after all he'd felt the same way when he had woken up in the hospital with no recollection of life prior to that day. There'd been too many people telling him then who he was and what was expected of him.
"I've always had a name attached to me," she continued saying. "First, it was Emily, orphan girl, then Emily the drug-addict, Emily the cripple, Emily the cancer victim, Emily, Zander's wife, Nikolas's fiancée!" Her voice had steadily risen with each example and she paused as she realised this. "I want to be just Emily for a change."
Jason remained silent and Emily felt sure that he would not help her.
"Ok."
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Port Charles, July 2008, Zander's apartment
In hindsight, when he'd gotten over the shock and then giddiness of seeing her again, curiosity had set in. He realised he had given up on anger a long time ago. What with helping Liz run her gallery, managing her career and raising their daughter, anger was an unnecessary waste of energy.
Intrigue was plentiful, however. He was intrigued by the woman she'd become, intrigued by the brand of emotions she carried about her, intrigued by the look in her brown eyes - soft and... haunted?
He hadn't wanted to put a name to that particular emotion... an emotion that clouded her eyes every time she looked at his daughter.
Zander frowned and turned to his side in bed. He couldn't help but wonder what had put that look in her eyes.
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London, June 2006
Of all the thousands of pubs scattered throughout the sprawling metropolis that was London, he had to be sitting in her favourite. Even though his back was to her, there was no mistaking that set of broad shoulders; the pale skin; beautiful hands with long, slender fingers; that unruly cap of black hair.
Emily remained frozen where she stood, one part of her screaming to turn around and run like the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels; the other part wanted to stay there and stare at this beautiful creature forever.
As if sensing that he was being watched, Zander turned around. Two years worth of emotions flashed across his chocolate eyes as he looked at her - surprise, anger, acceptance, and happiness? It was the idea that he was happy to see her that made her take that first step towards him.
What happened next was inevitable. Alcohol loosened tongues and screwed with their sanity. They didn't know who made the first move but all they could remember was warmth and nips and kisses, sighs and moans, a flash of pleasure that made one or both of them sing for their Maker... all before Zander woke up in a cold hotel room alone with the scent of their lovemaking still hanging in the air.
He'd been late getting his act together and to the airport; he'd almost missed his flight and, in the eight hours it took to fly over the Atlantic to New York City, he'd been assuaged with the memories of their night together. When Liz, through her coughs and sniffles, asked how London had been, he'd admitted that he'd seen Emily. Both she and Jason were eager for news but he'd told them they hadn't talked much - it certainly was the conversation that he remembered about that night.
Across the Atlantic, Emily's biology started playing games with her. One week had come and gone and another. The third week was fast approaching when she finally bit the bullet and bought the test.
A tiny blue plus sign.
She bought another.
And another.
And another....
Blue plus sign; two blue lines; a big fat digital 'POSITIVE' - all meaning the same thing....
She was pregnant.
Emily floated around in disbelief, in a sea of denial, of uncertainty for the next few hours. Had Elizabeth felt this way when she'd found out she was pregnant? Had she felt this cloying, suffocating fear?
Fear had gradually given away to grudging acceptance... then joy; she fell asleep with a smile on her face and her hands cradling her still flat stomach.
The pain came in the middle of the night, jack-knifing through her nether regions and jerking her awake. She muffled a cry of agony in her pillow and struggled through the haze of pain that crashed over her in waves. She barely made it to the bathroom before she felt a rush of sticky wetness between her thighs. The tears started to fall before she even switched on the light and stared at the red river between her legs.
Emily crumbled to her knees, keening as both the horrendous pain and a crippling sense of loss threatened to drown her. Her final thought before everything went black was: Goodbye, baby....
TBC...
AN: Drop me a line to let me know what you thought. I'm a review junkie, so I'm a-cravin', lol.
Cara
