Chapter 30

Alexis arrived at the hospital to find a confrontation between Taggert and Sonny in progress in front of Elizabeth's room. She could tell this was going to be a long day.

"Listen, Corinthos, I'm not letting you anywhere near that girl." Taggert was close to shouting.

Sonny was calm. "Elizabeth is a friend of mine. I just want to see that she's okay. Ask her if she needs anything."

"So you can pressure her about her statement."

Sonny couldn't help but play with him. "Would I do that?"

Taggert moved to grab Sonny jacket causing Alexis to intervene. "Gentlemen, if we could remember that this is a hospital. I'm sure the nurses would appreciate you not disturbing the patients by fighting in the hallway."

Taggert forced himself to calm down. He knew he shouldn't let Corinthos get to him, but he couldn't help it. One day, he promised. One day he was going to get the evidence he needed to send Sonny Corinthos to jail. "Alexis, what are you doing here?"

She gripped her briefcase in front of her. "Bobbie called me and told me Elizabeth wanted me present during your questioning."

"What?" Taggert didn't like this turn of events. Had Jason already gotten to her? How could he have? Jason was in jail. "Why would Elizabeth want you there?"

"Maybe she doesn't feel comfortable talking to you without an attorney present," Alexis replied. "Why don't we go in and find out what she has to say?" She gave Sonny a quick nod before entering the room. Taggert joined her leaving Sonny to wait outside.

Elizabeth's eyes were closed, but opened when the door was shut. She gave Alexis a weak smile. "Hi, Alexis."

Alexis took the seat next to Elizabeth's bed. "Hi, how are you? Are you sure you're ready to do this? We can wait a few more days."

Elizabeth shook her head then winched at the pain it invoked. "No, the quicker we do this, the quicker Jason can be released."

Taggert stopped just before he sat down. "I'm sorry. Why would he be released?"

Elizabeth didn't shrink under his scrutiny. "Because Jason didn't shoot me, that's why."

Taggert was speechless. He wasn't expecting Elizabeth to jump right into defending Morgan. "Is that right?"

"Yes, detective, that's right. Lucky pulled a gun on Jason. I tried to get him to give it to me but he wouldn't."

Taggert took a deep breath. "You want me to believe that Lucky Spencer pulled a gun on Jason Morgan?"

"Yes," she said confidently.

"Why would he do that?" Taggert couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Elizabeth asked Alexis for some water before she replied. "We had gotten into an argument earlier in the day. I went to Jason."

"Why?" Taggert interrupted her. "Why did you go to Morgan?"

"I know you don't understand, but Jason is my friend. When I'm upset, he makes things better."

Taggert didn't want to hear about how great a friend Jason Morgan was. He didn't care if Morgan gave to the poor or fed the hungry. He was a killer anything else was irrelevant. "I don't see what this has to do with what happened in the park."

"After I left Jason's I went looking for Lucky. We needed to talk about our relationship, but I couldn't find him. I called his mother, Nikolas, and Emily. No one knew where he was. I knew there was something wrong. I decided to find Jason to get his help, and I found them in the park. Lucky was crazy. He wouldn't listen to me. He kept saying Jason was causing our problems. He was going to kill Jason so that we could be together. I told him that wasn't going to happen that I didn't want to be with him anymore. That's when he pulled the trigger."

"If Lucky was firing at Jason, how did you get shot?" Taggert couldn't quite believe what Elizabeth was saying. Lucky Spencer would never have shot Elizabeth.

"I stepped in front of Jason."

"You stepped in front of Morgan and took the bullet? Are you really expecting me to believe Morgan was the innocent bystander? Lucky threatened him with a gun, and he stood by while you took the bullet for him."

The way he made it sound even Elizabeth found it hard to believe, but she didn't care. It was the truth. "Yes," she said. "It's exactly what I'm telling you. Everything happened so fast Jason didn't have time to push me aside."

Taggert couldn't think. "Why would Lucky pull a gun on Morgan?"

Elizabeth sighed. "I already told you. He thought Jason was causing our problems."

"What problems?"

Elizabeth didn't want to talk about that. She was sure he would try and use it against Jason. "Over the last few months Lucky had become very possessive. He wanted to know where I was at all times. He was suspicious of everything I did. He even accused me of having an affair with Sonny Corinthos. When Jason came back Lucky began accusing Jason of trying to take me away from him."

"Was he right? You and Morgan used to have something going," he hinted. "Maybe he thought you guys would continue now that he was back."

Elizabeth thought of the Valentine's Day kiss. "No, Jason and I are only friends. I tried to tell Lucky that but he wouldn't listen."

Looking at Elizabeth, Taggert got the feeling she was keeping something. "If you were just friends, why were you breaking up with Lucky."

"We got into an argument over the Face of Deception thing. He wouldn't listen when I tried to tell him I didn't want to be the next Face of Deception. That morning was the first shoot for the campaign. It was horrible. I realized I couldn't do it anymore."

"Do what anymore?"

"I couldn't pretend that modelling was my dream. Lucky was so happy about us working together. That's all he could talk about. Until then I went along with it even though I hated every minute of it. It was terrible. Every second felt like torture. I knew I couldn't do it. As much as I loved Lucky I couldn't do what he wanted."

"How did he feel about that?"

"He didn't think I loved him that it was my way of ending our relationship. He grabbed me and said I couldn't leave him. He said I belonged to him. I couldn't believe he was talking to me like that. It was like I was seeing him for the first time. I realized Lucky didn't love me. He just wanted to control me, so I shoved him and walked out."

"And went to Jason?"

She didn't reply. Was she helping or making everything worse? She turned to Alexis. So far she'd been quiet. Had Jason told her everything? Did she know Elizabeth was breaking up with Lucky so she could be with Jason? Alexis gave her a small smile of encouragement. "Lucky had problems. He admitted that Helena tortured him for over a year. He needed psychiatric help. Jason was only defending himself."

Taggert's mouth twitched. "I would buy that if Lucky was killed at the park, but he wasn't. He was shot on the docks. That means Jason went after him. He hunted Lucky down and punished him for hurting you."

Before Elizabeth could say anything, Alexis spoke up. "Taggert you don't have any evidence to prove that."

He smiled, "I have the murder weapon found in Morgan's room."

"With no fingerprints," Alexis countered. "Anyone could have planted the gun in Jason's room. You'll have to do better than that."

Taggert stood. "Don't worry, the investigation isn't over. I will be combing the waterfront making sure we haven't missed anything. Morgan's finally going to jail."

"He didn't do it," Elizabeth insisted.

"I'll let a jury decide that," he said opening the door. "Detective Capelli will come by tomorrow so you can sign your statement."

"Alexis, Jason didn't kill Lucky," she said. "I don't care what evidence Taggert thinks he has. He wouldn't kill Lucky."

Alexis nodded. "I know he didn't. But Taggert found the murder weapon in Jason's room. He doesn't want to believe Jason is being framed."

"I didn't help, did I?" Elizabeth was sure she had given Taggert too much information about her relationship with Jason.

"No, you did well," Alexis replied. "You told the truth but didn't go into detail about any one thing. Taggert only thinks he knows what is going on between you and Jason. He doesn't have any proof."

Elizabeth wasn't sure how much Alexis knew. "Did Jason tell you everything?"

"That you were leaving Lucky to be with him?" At Elizabeth nod, she continued. "Yes, he did. He knew I needed all the facts before I went into trial."

Elizabeth was close to tears. "It makes him look guilty. Lucky shoots me to keep me from leaving him. Jason kills Lucky in revenge. Jason could be convicted. He could spend the rest of his life in prison, and it will be all my fault."

"Hey, don't think like that. None of this is your fault."

"Yes, it is. I am the reason he is in prison." She knew how much he must hate being in jail. He wouldn't like his freedom taken away from him.

Alexis wouldn't let her continue. "No, Jason is in jail because he was denied bail. He won't be there forever. Sonny and I are working on his defence. I know the jury is going to side with him. Taggert's version of the events doesn't make sense. Any jury in their right mind isn't going to believe Jason is stupid enough to keep the murder weapon in his room. There are too many holes and I plan to make sure the jury knows about each and every one of them."

Elizabeth gave a small smile. She wanted to believe Alexis but couldn't quite let go of the doubt she had. "How is he, Alexis?"

Alexis paused. "He's going to be much better when he hears you've woken up."

Elizabeth could see Alexis was hiding something. "Please, tell me the truth. Does he hate me?"

Alexis was stunned. "Hate you? Jason doesn't hate you. He loves you. He saved your life after you were shot. He broke down in front of Taggert when he thought you were dead. He wasn't going to fight. He didn't want me there. He didn't care what happened to him. He was going to confess that he killed you."

It was Elizabeth's turn to be stunned. "Why would he do that?"

"He blamed himself because he couldn't protect you. He felt that he was just as guilty as Lucky for killing you. It was only when Taggert told him you were alive that he started to care about anything."

"Jason shouldn't love me. All I've done is hurt him every chance I get, Alexis. First I jerked him around because I thought I had to be with Lucky. I thought I loved Lucky, but I was really trying to relive the past. Now Jason is hurting because Lucky couldn't accept that I didn't want to be with him anymore. Lucky would have killed Jason because of me."

"But you saved him," Alexis pointed out. "Jason is alive and so are you. Don't let Lucky control you even when he's dead."

"He would be better off without me," she whispered.

Alexis shook her head. "No, he wouldn't. He loves you, Elizabeth. He needs you to support him through this trial."

"I don't think I can. I can't face him knowing this is all my fault."

Alexis had had enough. She gripped Elizabeth's shoulders forcing her to look into her eyes. "I want you to listen to me. Jason doesn't blame you for this. All he wants is for you to get better. You want to start laying blame, then you have to start with Lucky. He was the one who was obsessed and controlling. He's the one who pulled the trigger and shot you. Then there's Helena. She kidnapped Lucky in the first place and turned him into the man capable of hurting you. What about Luke and Laura? Lucky was kidnapped because of the Spencer-Cassadine war. Was that your fault too? No. You didn't have any say in anything that led up to this point. You are just an innocent participant."

"But I should have seen that Lucky needed help. If I had stood up for myself sooner maybe Lucky would be alive today, and Jason wouldn't be going on trial for his murder."

"You don't know that. From Lucky's actions, I don't think standing up for yourself any sooner would have done much except maybe you would be the one dead." Alexis paused to see if her point was getting through to Elizabeth. "Don't let ifs stop you from loving Jason. Don't let things you had no control over dictate how you live your life. You deserve to be happy. Don't let anyone tell you differently."

Elizabeth didn't know how to respond. Everything Alexis said was true, but she still couldn't let go of the guilt she felt. Jason was going on trial for murder because of her. How could they ever get past that to have a real relationship? She wasn't sure it was possible.

Alexis could see Elizabeth wasn't completely convinced. "Do you love him?"

She couldn't speak. She knew Alexis was waiting for an answer. She remembered the joy she felt when she realized she loved him and wanted to be with him. If she had known what was to come would she have still told him? She knew the answer was yes. For that brief period of time, they were both truly happy.

She couldn't get the words out. All she could do was nod. Yes, she did love him.

"Listen to your heart, Elizabeth," Alexis insisted before leaving the room. "It will point you in the right direction."

Elizabeth scoffed at the idea. Listen to your heart. What did her heart know? Last week she thought she was in love with Lucky, now she loved Jason. Her heart didn't know anything. How could she possibly listen to it? You didn't love Lucky, a tiny voice inside her insisted. You let your brain dictate who you loved not your heart. And you're still doing it. You're going to let guilt stop you from loving Jason. He can't love me now, she argued. Not after everything that's happened and still to happen. You don't know that.

She remembered how easily Jason had forgiven her for every hurt she had caused him. Would he be able to forgive her this time? She thought about what Alexis had said. He blames himself for not protecting her. She didn't want him to feel guilty when none of this was his fault. It's not your fault either. Deep down she knew that was true. She knew Jason wouldn't blame her for being in jail. Deep down she knew this wasn't about Jason's forgiving her. It was about her forgiving herself. She wasn't sure she would ever be able to do that.