What you need to know: It has been about a month since Elizabeth and Lucky almost got married just like on the show. Carly and Sonny divorced amicably and share custody of the kids. Carly never drove off a cliff but does own the Cellar. Alexis and Sonny started seeing each other about a month before the "almost-wedding" and Alexis still works as Sonny's attorney. Alexis's sister Kristina is still alive and living with Ned at the boat house. Gia and Nikolas are engaged. Emily is in California. Sarah is in Port Charles but has been there a very short time and has never seen Jason.

This originally had a song in it but I had to strip it out to comply with the new rules at always, I do not own anything connected to General Hospital.

CHAPTER 1

"We should all go out," Elizabeth said looking around the table at Kelly's where she was sitting with Nikolas, Lucky, Gia, and Sarah.

"Out where?" Gia asked always up for a night on the town.

"Well, Jakes is starting that new "Club Night" tonight," Elizabeth suggested.

"I'm in," Gia said.

"I guess that means I am too," Nikolas said.

"Sure, why not," Lucky said.

Sarah smiled and nodded. Perfect, Sarah thought. Lucky and I can finally stop sneaking around. Lizzie will see us dancing and know we're together.

"If we're going out, I need to go so I have time to get ready," Gia said.

"Let's just all meet at Jakes," Elizabeth said. "Around nine."

Gia and Nikolas nodded in agreement before heading to Spoon Island. Elizabeth returned to her shift, mentally going through her wardrobe.

At 9:30 Elizabeth strowed into Jakes wearing black hip huggers, black boots, and an electric blue tank top. The bar had a good number of patrons and the music was pumping. Elizabeth made her way over to the table where her friends sat.

"Elizabeth, you look great," Gia said a little surprised.

"Thanks. So do you, but then you always do," Elizabeth said.

"Why are you so late?" Sarah asked Elizabeth.

"It's only 9:30," Elizabeth said.

"Yeah but this," Sarah said indicating the drinks the waitress had just arrived with, "is our second round."

Elizabeth just shrugged and said, "I'm in the mood to dance. Who's coming with me?"

Grabbing her drink, Gia said, "Let's go."

The two women made their way to the mostly deserted dance floor and started to dance. Nikolas and Lucky watched them with slight amusement while Sarah fumed that they were getting attention. Sarah had the whole night planned and she was supposed to get all the attention when everyone realized she and Lucky were together.

Three songs later Elizabeth and Gia were still grooving on the dance floor when the dj switched to a slow song.

No way, Elizabeth thought. I am not having any depressing lost-love songs ruin my night.

Elizabeth walked off the dance floor and over to the dj.

"If you'll turn this crap off and play a great dance song, I'll get up on a table to dance," Elizabeth said to him.

The dj looked around the bar considering before saying, "Alright if you dance on that one." He pointed at a table several feet in front of him, directly across the room from the entrance.

Elizabeth nodded and walked over to the table. As the intro to the song came on, she got on the table using a chair as a step. She started dancing completely ignoring the fact that everyone was staring at her.

As the chorus started for the first time, something made Elizabeth look up and across the room. When she did, she was shaken to her very core. There in the doorway stood Jason Morgan. Their eyes locked and Elizabeth could see the concern in his until she smiled.

Jason stopped dead in his tracks as he entered Jakes. Even if she had not been wearing bright blue and dancing on a table, she would have been the first thing he saw. He was just that tuned to her, had been long before he left Port Charles and time and distance had not diminished that. Jason was concerned. He wondered how drunk she was and how much of a fight she would give him when he tried to get her out of there.

He knew the moment Elizabeth felt his presence. She looked up and their eyes locked. He felt her shock before she smiled. A real smile that lit up her whole face and was just for him.

As Elizabeth continued dancing to the beat of the music, Jason's breath almost stopped and Elizabeth never took her eyes off of him. Neither noticed the other patrons had ceased talking and moving to watch them. Nikolas's eyes narrowed in dislike as he watched Jason watch Liz. Lucky was practically vibrating with jealousy as he always was when those two were in the same room. Sarah wasn't sure who she was most pissed at—Lucky for paying attention to Lizzie, Lizzie for stealing all the attention, or the extremely hot guy who was watching her sister so intensely that Sarah expected Lizzie to burst into flames at any minute. Gia just looked back and forth between Jason and Liz, noting the intensity.

Well you go Elizabeth, Gia thought.

Elizabeth continued to dance and watch Jason. She crooked her finger at him in a "come here" gesture. Jason walked into the bar but stopped about ten feet from her. To everyone in the bar except Elizabeth, he showed no emotion whatsoever but she could see the amusement on his face. Realizing that he wasn't going to come any closer, Elizabeth hopped off the table.

Elizabeth made her way to Jason half dancing, half walking. When she reached him, she started using him as a dancing prop. Elizabeth saw his amusement deepen and mix with something else. Something she wasn't willing to name but that made heat snake through her body.

When the song ended, Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Jason's neck and hugged him fiercely. Jason returned the hug just as tightly but whispered in her ear, "How drunk are you?"

Elizabeth threw her head back and laughed at the question. Jason had never heard anything more beautiful than the sound of her full, open laughter. Without releasing him, Elizabeth tilted her head back so she could look into Jason's eyes.

"I'm stone cold sober," Elizabeth answered.

Jason studied her for a moment before making the slightest gesture toward the door with his head. The movement was lost on everyone except Elizabeth who nodded enthusiastically. She released him to start for the door and felt his hand on the small of her back to guide her through the crowd and she smiled.

As the two walked out the door and headed for Jason's bike, they didn't notice the crowd had followed them and stood watching. Neither of them considered how it looked when Jason took off his leather jacket and handed it to Elizabeth or when she slipped into the jacket and slid onto the bike behind him before the two took off.

Jason drove for an hour before making his way to their cliff. They got off and sat on the ground looking out over the city.

"So when did you get back?" Elizabeth asked after a while.

"Jakes was my first stop," Jason said.

"Jason! You should have said something. I would have let you get settled before dragging you off for a ride," Elizabeth said.

"I asked you to go," Jason pointed out.

"True but only because you knew I wanted to," Elizabeth said.

Jason smiled, knowing he could keep quiet and she would believe he was that noble and selfless. Finally he shook his head and said, "That isn't why."

"Then why?" Elizabeth asked her eyes clouded with confusion.

"I wanted a chance to find out why you were dancing on a table in a bar," Jason said.

Elizabeth sighed and was silent for a long time before she said, "I almost got married a month ago."

Jason tensed and his fists involuntarily balled into fists but he asked, "Would you like to tell me what happened?"

"He didn't love me," she replied matter-of-factly. "But I couldn't see that. It's funny because before the kidnapping I would have known immediately but this past year or so, someone had to point it out to me. I don't know, maybe I did see it and was just ignoring it. I was so determined to make it work."

"Why?" Jason asked.

"Because if Lucky didn't love me that day then he hadn't since he came back," Elizabeth said. "And that would have meant I made the wrong choice, that I had no one to blame but myself for how lonely I had become. Because it would have meant I made the biggest mistake of my life letting you leave without me and that I hurt you for no reason."

The last part was said so softly a normal person wouldn't have heard it. But Jason did and he reached over and took her hand in his. Elizabeth turned her head and looked up into his eyes.

"I know I hurt you and I'm sorry," she said.

Jason saw the guilt, loneliness, and sincerity in her eyes before he leaned down and kissed her gently.

"You haunted me across three continents," Jason said. "And then I saw you at Jakes, I thought I was hallucinating. But it was real and you still haven't told me why you were on the table."

"About a week ago, I accepted that it was my own fault my life was such a mess," Elizabeth said. "I know longer saw myself when I looked in the mirror and then Bobbie said something to me the other day and it made sense. I decided it was time to take my life back and to start really living again."

Jason nodded. This was the same thought process that had led her to Jakes all that time ago when he had saved her from a guy who didn't like the word no. The two sat in comfortable silence holding hands until Jason saw Elizabeth yawn.

"Come on," Jason said, standing and pulling her to her feet. "I'll take you to your studio."

Jason drove the bike to her building but when he stopped, Elizabeth made no move to get off.

"I'll walk you up," Jason said turning slightly to look at her.

"Huh uh," Elizabeth said shaking her had.

"Why not?" Jason asked amused by the half asleep woman.

"Because if I go up there and go to sleep, I'll wake up in the morning and this will all have been a dream," Elizabeth told him.

Moving with the lightning speed his enemies feared, Jason got off the bike and scooped Elizabeth into his arms. He carried her up the stairs and braced her against the wall while he unlocked her door. Jason carried her to the couch and sat down, removing his leather jacket from her while kicking off his shoes. He lifted her enough to lie on the couch with her on top of him.

"What are you doing, Jase?" Elizabeth asked without opening her eyes.

"Trying to go to sleep," Jason said.

Elizabeth's eyes flew open and locked on his before she stammered, "You don't have to…I didn't…"

"It's going to be hard to think this was a dream if I'm here when you wake up, isn't it?" Jason asked.

Elizabeth nodded mutely.

"Okay, then go to sleep," Jason said knowing he wasn't going to be able to sleep with her lying on top of him.

Elizabeth closed her eyes and fell asleep listening to Jason's heartbeat, feeling warm and safe.

At the same time inside Jakes, the bar went from stunned silence to a buzz of excited chatter.

"So anyone know who that guy was?" Sarah asked not really caring.

Two college students turned toward the table when they heard her.

"You didn't recognize him? That was Jason Morgan," the girl said.

The name sounded vaguely familiar to Sarah but she couldn't place it.

Seeing the confusion on her face, the guy said, "THE Jason Morgan. You know, Sonny Corinthos's enforcer. He's been out of town for a while. Are you new? I'm not sure exactly how long he's been gone but apparently he's back."

"A year," Lucky said.

"What?" the guy asked and attention focused on Lucky.

"He's been gone for a year," Lucky said.

"Well someone needs to tell that girl he left with to be careful. I mean I know he's gorgeous but that doesn't make up for his job," the girl said.

"Why? What's his job?" Sarah asked.

"He's a mob hitman," the girl whispered.

Sarah's head whipped around to look at Lucky, Nikolas, and Gia. "You let Lizzie leave here with a hitman?" she asked incredulously.

"Jason would never hurt Liz," Gia said receiving glares from the brothers. "Oh come on you two, you both know it's true."

Finally Nikolas grudgingly agreed saying, "He wouldn't hurt her but he could get her killed."

Gia rolled her eyes. This was the same song and dance Nikolas always did when it came to Jason's relationship with Liz.

It didn't take long for word to spread throughout the bar that the foursome new both Jason and Liz. The group decided to leave before the crowd made it impossible. Nikolas and Gia headed to Spoon Island and Lucky went back to Kellys.

Sarah went to Liz's studio. She got there just as the couple pulled up. She waited outside the building for half an hour after they had gone in before walking back to Kelly's boiling with rage. Sarah would not allow Lizzie to get away with this. Sarah was supposed to be the one who was happy and in love with the golden boy. Now this walking Greek god of a man had shown up and he wanted Lizzie! No, Sarah would make her pay for stealing Sarah's attention.

The next morning Elizabeth woke up to her bed moving and a thumping noise right under her head. Her eyes flew open and she gasped thinking she had gotten drunk and passed out on the floor at Jakes.

"Morning," Jason's sleep heavy voice rumbled from under her.

Elizabeth lifted her head and looked into a pair of ice blue eyes that she had been dreaming of for over a year.

"If I'm dreaming, don't wake me up," she said. "Ever."

Jason chuckled making Elizabeth shiver. "Are you saying you dreamed about me while I was gone, Weber?"

"It's only fair," Elizabeth said, "since you told me I haunted you."

Jason laughed again. Growing serious he asked, "So would it be okay if I stay here with you?"

"Is something going on?" she asked.

"No, this isn't like last time," Jason said. "But staying with you would be better than staying at Jakes."

Elizabeth smiled and said, "You know you're always welcome to stay here."

"With you?" Jason asked.

"I just said that," Liz said in confusion.

"No, I said with you, you said here. Those could be different," Jason said.

"Then you are always welcome to stay with me," she said.

Jason smiled at her as she gingerly got off of him and he sat up. He took her hand and asked, "What are your plans today?"

"I didn't have any," she said. "I don't have to work so I was probably going to paint."

"I have to go see Sonny but other than that I could just hang out with you if you want," Jason said.

"That would be nice," Elizabeth said.

"Then I'll see you soon," Jason said kissing her gently before he left.