"Carly!" Jason yelled, "Are you even listening to me?"

Carly stared at her newly manicured nails before turning her dark eyes up to Jason, smiling innocently, "I was listening to you."

"What did I say?" he asked, hands resting on his hips.

"Something about the Yankees playing…"

"Carly," Jason growled, jamming his hands through his spiky hair.

"Oh Jesus, Jas, I heard everything you said," Carly sighed, "I just don't understand what your so mad about, all I did was have a conversation with the girl."

"I told you to stay out of my life," Jason said advancing towards her on the couch, "Why is that so difficult for you? Sam is a friend of mine…"

Carly looked at him with raised eyebrows, "Who are we kidding here, Jase? She is as much a friend to you as I was back in the day," she winked at him, "And those were some pretty hot days there."

Jason's face crinkled up in disgust, "Carly, ew, stop that. And that's another thing, what right did you have to tell Sam about our past relationship? If I felt that she had a reason to know about it I would've explained it to her. She thinks that everyone in this town is attacking her."

Carly groaned in frustration, her hands slamming against the couch, "I did not attack her. I simply introduced myself and told her that she better not harm you. Besides," she grinned, "It's not like I hit her."

Jason's eyes narrowed, "Were you talking to Elizabeth?"

"Oh, Sam didn't tell you that she was there?" Carly asked standing up, "I'm surprised she didn't give you a detailed description of what I wore. Yes, Elizabeth was there, she came into the picture after Sam and I finished our discussion, at least that's what I think," Carly bit her lip and tapped her chin, "Can't really be sure how much she heard."

"So what, are you best friends with Elizabeth now? Are you two forming a plan to drive a wedge between me and Sam?"

Carly look horrified, "Oh good God no, Jason, don't ever say that," she waved her finger, "Ever again, no. Elizabeth simply bought me some brownies as a thank you for sticking it to that little tramp."

"Carly…"

Carly shrugged, "You can't tell me that she's Miss Purity."

"I don't have to tell you anything," Jason said, "This is my life and you are going to stay out of it. I also told Sam to steer clear of you and not listen to a damn thing you have to say. As for Elizabeth…"

"Oh please, Muffin face is safe from me," she said crossing her arms across her chest, "And I don't know who the hell you are trying to fool with all this Sam crap, really Jason, if you're trying to make the little one jealous, at least get someone that isn't shady and looks like she was just picked up off a street corner."

"What?" Jason asked looking confused, "No, you know what; I don't have time for this. I have to go meet Sam at Jake's."

"I think it's ridiculous that you're in love with her," Carly said as she watched him reach the door, only to stop and turn towards her. She smiled and plopped back down on the couch, examining her nails again.

"I'm not in love with Sam, we just met, we're just dating," he said moving back towards her. He knew that he shouldn't let her egg him on, he always got himself in trouble this way and it would be best to walk out and head on over to his favorite bar.

Still, the look on Carly's face had him worried.

"I wasn't referring to Samantha," Carly said beaming up at him, "And as much as I hate it," she pouted playfully, "I wasn't referring to me either, Jase."

Jason rolled his eyes and turned right back around, heading straight for the door. He was not going to get into this conversation with Carly. Tearing up Sam was her new favorite thing but he knew her old favorite was ripping into Elizabeth and he was not walking into that one.

"Running from it won't make it go away," Carly said still rubbing a scuff off of her nails, "And as much as I hate the little witch, she is the lesser of two evils," her nails done she looked back up at Jason who was torn between Carly's words and running for the hills, "At least with the Webber girl I can always hang Sonny over her head and the destruction of our marriage. She's actually showing signs of guilt about that," she shrugged and placed her feet on top of her coffee table.

"Elizabeth and I…" he started as he walked back towards her, walking right into a conversation he wanted to avoid and here he was again, trying to figure out what he and Elizabeth were to each other. It was still a complication, still something he couldn't explain, after all this time in town, after all these years, "We're none of your business."

Carly laughed, "Please, the way you two fall all over each other is ridiculous. I mean you're always helping each other out and checking up on one another."

"Yeah," he said nodding, "Odd thing, friends do that."

Carly shuddered, "I hate to think of what the two of you are like arguing, you could probably cut the sexual tension with a knife."

Jason sighed as he closed his eyes, thinking about all the times he argued with Elizabeth, thinking about the way her eyes fired up, her nails came out, her anger got her all riled up. Yeah there were moments when there was definitely some sexual tension.

"Could you not think about that in my living room please?" Carly asked shuddering.

"Why are you so concerned?" Jason asked, "Why this sudden interest in me and Elizabeth?"

"I'm not all that concerned," Carly said as she pulled her feet down and stood up in front of him, "But I only seem to have two choices here and its between Sam and Elizabeth. I don't know Sam and I don't like her."

"You don't like any female."

"True," Carly grinned, "But there's something about that girl and if you'd take your head out of your ass for two seconds you'd see it."

"Carly, you know," Jason said in disgust, turning away again.

Carly placed her hand on his back, massaging his shoulder gently, "Seriously Jase, you're distracted for a reason and I think that picking a silicone induced version of Elizabeth is not going to help you get over her, it's just going to make it worse."

Jason turned towards Carly, a sharp phrase on his lips but it died down when he saw genuine concern reflected in his friends eyes, quickly followed by some tears that Carly was trying to blink away unsuccessfully.

"I hate Elizabeth, God do I hate her, because of what she did to me and Sonny, because of what she didn't do for me and Sonny," Carly laughed through her tears, "I think she knew the whole time that we loved each other and I think she also knew that we might kill each other so she just kinda stood there in the middle and did nothing," she sniffled and looked away from Jason, "But you care for her and that's all that matters."

Jason sighed, "Carly, Elizabeth and I…"

"Have a lot of history, share a lot of pain, a lot of hurt and I know how angry you are Jason, it's in your eyes still, you're carrying it around inside of you," Carly took a step towards him and cradled his face in her hands, "And you have every right to be angry and every right to hate her but if there is some way to move past it, if there is some way, find it, don't lose your chance like Sonny and I did. Remember what you told me in the hospital, Jase? We pushed each other's buttons, we pointed the blame, we didn't realize what was right in front of us. That bond Jase, that connection. It's there, because of JJ," she smiled and brought her hands down to her side, "I'm sure it was there before then but I don't want to get into that."

"Sonny would be very proud of you," Jason said quietly, "Putting your own feelings aside and thinking about others, thinking about Elizabeth."

"If she's what makes you happy, Jason…" she let her shoulder drop slightly, "I don't want you to have to be where I am, wondering the what ifs. I want you to look at Sam, take a good, long look at her and decide if you want her or if you want her to be the Elizabeth that you fell in love with."

She watched him as his eyes changed, turned darker, as he started to think, started to wonder about the choices he was making in his life. She placed a hand on his shoulder causing him to turn those icy blues on her.

"And if it is Sam that you want, you need to start asking more questions, Jason," Carly said quietly, "Not for Elizabeth, not for yourself, but for JJ."

Jason picked at the label on the beer bottle in front of him with his thumb. He had been there for over an hour and Sam stopped by his table twice during her rounds, asking if everything was okay. He assured her it was, that normally he was a quiet person, but lately he hasn't been able to do anything but talk about himself. She laughed at that and disappeared, continuing her job as one of Jake's best waitresses.

And here he sat, contemplating Carly's words. He needed to ask Sam more questions, he needed some blanks to be filled in and he hated that Carly was the one who pointed it out. He was the enforcer, he was the one that got the job done and lately, with his whole world being turned upside down and then being handed the head honcho job of the organization he couldn't think about anything else but wanting to escape in the arms of a beautiful woman.

Would any normal man blame him?

But he wasn't normal and he didn't often escape in the arms of strange women. He never had a relationship after Robin, he had something with Elizabeth but he didn't know how to define that. Sure, he met a few women while he was traveling, all of them brunette, all of them petite and all of them with an eye color that wasn't blue.

Was that what he was doing with Sam? Was she just another version of Elizabeth, eyes having to be different so he couldn't see her face again, the visions of her while he drove her over the edge, drove her towards ecstasy? Was he trying to make Sam the old Elizabeth?

Watching her laugh with a few customers, check on a few others and fill up some more drinks he wondered how Sam was so much like the old Elizabeth. She liked hanging out at bars, she enjoyed playing pool, she always asked Jason about his motorcycle, only to be declined gently for a ride. She admired the way he lived his life, free and wild, not answering to anyone and being different from most men. She loved the way he cared for his son.

All traits of the young woman he fell in love with back in 1999.

He wished he had noticed it sooner, noticed the setup that seemed to be there in front of him. His gaze followed her as he took another sip of his beer and he contemplated Sam being sent here for a reason, maybe a decoy, a distraction, so that when Sonny was taken down and the organization was at its most vulnerable state someone could come in, like a vulture, and pick up the remaining pieces.

He couldn't return her smile when she slid in the booth across from him and declared she was on break.

"How long is your break?" he asked quietly, taking another long sip from his beer.

"About fifteen minutes," Sam asked as she placed her hands on the table, "You look upset, Jason. What happened this afternoon? You didn't have another argument with Elizabeth, did you?"

"Elizabeth," he said with a ghost of a smile, "Funny that you should mention her. I was wondering, do you know how Elizabeth and I met?"

Sam shook her head no.

"Okay, do you know that Elizabeth likes to play pool, she actually is pretty fond of Jake's," he said as he motioned to the bar with his finger, "She's pretty fond of a lot of the things your fond of."

"Jason, what are you…"

"I'm saying that you showed up here a little too conveniently," Jason said as he rested his arms on the table and leaned forward, "And that I let you get away without asking too many questions. My mind was a little fogged when you started kissing me."

"I think you've had too much to drink," Sam said as she started to pull the beer from him, "I told you that I read in the papers that…"

"That Elizabeth and I have a long sordid past," Jason said, "One that no one really knows about, Sam, not even the Port Charles Herald."

Sam bit her lip and avoided his eyes, "I don't know a lot about you and Elizabeth. I know that she was Sonny's mistress, that was in the papers, and I know that you were Sonny's partner, that was in the papers, and I know that you and Elizabeth have a child together," she leaned towards him, "Jason I started adding things up and when I saw you in the hospital with her…"

"The hospital?" Jason said, "When I saw you I wasn't with Elizabeth."

"I came by the night before," Sam whispered, "I was so worried when you ran out of there, telling me there was an emergency I just…I followed you back to the penthouse and when I saw you speeding away in the limo…"

"You followed me," Jason said quietly as he felt his fist grip the beer, "You followed me to my home after I dropped you off and told you that I would call you."

Sam nodded, "I saw you looking at her, through the window, at the hospital and I saw it in your eyes Jason. That's why I came the next day," she said rushing through his sigh, "I knew that we couldn't be together, I knew that you loved her but I wanted you to know that I still wanted to try. That's why I told you that you could make it up to me."

"Elizabeth is the mother of my child," Jason said through gritted teeth, "And I cannot help but love her because she gave me the most precious gift anyone could ever give another person. What we have shouldn't be discussed and I shouldn't have to continually answer to you or anyone else about my relationship with her."

He finished off his beer and stood up; reaching into his jeans pockets to pull out a few twenties and tossed them down on the table in front of her, "As for you following me…"

She stood up quickly, her hands going to rest on his biceps, "Jason, I didn't…"

"You know what one has to go through to gain trust from someone in this business," Jason said moving away from her, "Starting trying to gain mine and…keep away from Elizabeth."

He turned away, took the back way out of Jake's and climbed eagerly on his bike. Carly was crazy but she was wise and he knew that he was still in love with Elizabeth Webber, he just hated that he was still so damn angry with her. She had a way of healings his wounds, with the physically ones, the emotional ones, and maybe, just maybe….

He roared the engine before he sped out of the parking lot.

"Is it safe?"

Elizabeth looked up from her sketch work and smiled at Lorenzo who was poking his face around the large wooden door that led into her backyard. She waved him in and placed her book down beside her, motioning for him to take a seat next to her on the cement steps.

"You are a very brave man to come see me again," she smiled, "Thank you."

"I enjoy your company," Lorenzo said looking over his shoulder, into the open kitchen door, "More so when Morgan isn't around."

Elizabeth laughed softly, "He left earlier after we put JJ to bed," she held up the baby monitor beside her, "I decided since it wasn't that chilly out tonight I'd try to come out and sketch a few things."

"That's good," Lorenzo said, "Trying to get back into what you love. I'd rather see you doing that than say having your bodyguard delivering my gun back to me. I told you it wasn't necessary."

"What Jason did wasn't necessary," Elizabeth said, "But I'm sure you understand how he feels. He has a son to worry about and while you are not Luis…"

"I resemble him and a lot of bad times for you and your family," Lorenzo said, "And you are here giving me the benefit of the doubt. You're a very forgiving woman, Elizabeth."

"I know," she said rolling her eyes playfully, "I also know that you're not as innocent as you look. South America Arms dealer? Drugs? I'm not sure that I want that type of…"

He smiled, "I guess you use to a man that just deal with racketeering and illegal gambling. Taking on me would be a bit too much."

Elizabeth laughed, "Hypocritical seeing as the father of my child was known as Sonny Corinthos' enforcer," she smiled sadly as she twisted her fingers together, "I wasn't in this world when I was pregnant with JJ and now that he's born I can't seem to get out of it."

"I'm surprised that you and Mr. Morgan aren't married," Lorenzo said quietly, "You two seem awfully fond of one another."

Elizabeth gave him a genuine smile, "We understand one another, Jason and I have always been like there. We know just what the other needs. He's not the reason I'm here, he's not why I'm surrounded by this. Sonny brought me into this and I know that I should've turned away, I know that any sane mother would but he kept me so protected, made me feel safer than I ever felt."

"You loved him very much didn't you?" he slid his arm around Elizabeth and gave her shoulder a squeeze, "I had someone like that in my life once, her name was Sophie, I cared a great deal for her. She was horrified when she found out what I did for a living, the arms thing," he said with a forced smile, "But like you Elizabeth she was a strong woman and she stood beside me, like Sonny I didn't do what I should have done, I didn't push her away, keep her out of the business."

Elizabeth leaned over and grabbed his hand, squeezing gently, "Please, don't tell me…"

"They said it was an accident," he said quietly, "The car hit a wet patch in the road and skidded off a cliff, but I knew better, I think even the police knew better. I handled my pain differently from Luis; I threw myself into my work. I left South America to come here, settled up in Maine until I heard about Luis," his laugh was humorless, "Some said that I ran away but I knew that Sophie wouldn't want me to get revenge, that would start a never-ending war with more people dying. I just…" he shook his head sadly and looked at here, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ramble."

"I feel honored that you told me," she said with a soft smile as she reached beside her and showed him the image she was working on. It was a picture of Sonny and Michael, one that she envisioned and let her fingers work their magic.

"That's beautiful. You are very talented," he said as he ran his fingers over the sheet, "I'm looking forward to the finished product. Is that going to hang in your home?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "It's not for me."

His smile grew, "Mrs. Corinthos will no doubt love it although I'm not sure she will tell you that."

"The mistress giving the wife a present," Elizabeth mused, "Even if she can't bear to look at it I know that she'll give it to Michael and it will be something that he can keep."

"I think you get more amazing every time I see you," Lorenzo smiled at her, watching her look slightly embarrassed and turning away, "It's a wonder you didn't have suitors lining up outside your door."

Elizabeth laughed quietly, "Sonny was a rare breed and I still don't know how we wound up together. Two best friends falling in love, taking care of one another, something like that."

"It hasn't been long since you've lost him," Lorenzo said, "And feel free to have your bodyguard escort me off the premises for asking you this but I'd like to take you out for a drink sometime, Elizabeth. I'd like to spend more than a few passing moments with you."

She watched him stand up, watched him pull something out of his pocket and hand it to her. It was a little card with his business name and his cell phone number scratched on the back. When her eyes met his again he seemed slightly nervous.

She couldn't resist standing up with him, "Thank you Lorenzo and I'd love to take you up on the offer."

"I feel a but," he smiled.

"But my son is my first priority and I think that me rushing into something is not a good idea right now," she said, "You don't now how difficult it was trying to explain why Jason and I aren't living together when Sonny and me were."

He laughed softly, "Children, that was my one regret, that we didn't have any, especially as son as charming as your own," he bent down a placed a kiss in her cheek, "I shall settle for the passing moments, for now."

"Thank you for understanding," Elizabeth said, "And for being a friend."

She then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a warm embrace, feeling as if she finally had someone one her side after all these years. The feeling of joy was soon lost when she heard the roaring of the motorcycle disappearing into the night.