Elizabeth didn't even know how it happened.
One minute she was walking down the street, talking with Lorenzo, trying to avoid the scene of Jason and Sam making out on the stairs, the next she heard a car racing down the street, felt herself running towards Jason, screaming his name and then it slow motion it all happened.
Jason was hit, five bullets aimed at him, and he tumbled down the stairs, his rolling body stopped by a tree.
She couldn't get to him fast enough, she threw off her heels and hurried to him, her feet scrapping against the pavement, her stockings tearing as her knees hit the ground and she touched him all over, wanting to feel the breath coming from his body, looking for a pulse.
"Francis, get in there and stay with the kids, stay with Carly, don't let my son see this. Now!" she screamed, "Get Bobbie! Lorenzo, call 911!"
She didn't care that she was yelling at the people who always helped her, who wanted to help her now. She needed for Jason to live, she needed to make sure that he was going to be okay but there was so much blood, more blood than the last time and she counted three bullets in his chest alone.
Sam was beside him now, crying, clinging to his arm, begging him to open his eyes as Elizabeth tore at his dress shirt, buttons flying everywhere, bouncing off cars, bouncing off the sidewalk, gasping when she saw the ugly red woods, the blood that just poured out of him. She heard him gasp, heard him shudder and she was scared that this time he would not pull through.
She had to beg him to get up from the snow and she would beg him now, to live his life.
"Jason, listen to me, Jason," Elizabeth shouted as she placed both of her cold hands on his face, "Open your eyes, Jason, why are you testing me, open them!" she yelled.
Sam was still hovering, she was still hysterical and Elizabeth tired to lean closer to Jason, lean over him so that her wisps of curls were brushing against his face, like they did so many years ago. She hated that her tears fell onto his cheeks.
"Jason, please," she choked, "Help me, keep breathing, that's all I need you to do. If you want to keep your eyes closed that's fine just keep breathing."
She felt his body start to go limp, watched as the blood started to pool on the ground beneath him, heard the sirens around them as Bobbie came running out of the penthouse.
"What happened?" she asked, dropping her bag to the ground and opening it, pulling on her gloves.
"They came out of nowhere, they just started shooting," Sam choked as she pushed Elizabeth's hands aside and touched Jason's face, "Jason say something, anything, please."
Elizabeth watched as he struggled, as his eyelids started to flutter more rapidly and then he just gave up. His breathing turned shallower as Bobbie searched his wrist, declaring that she only felt a faint pulse.
"No," Elizabeth said, pushing Sam out of the way, knocking the girl onto her backside as she moved back over Jason. She was grateful that Lorenzo appeared and took the woman into his arms, restraining her from going after Elizabeth, going back to Jason's side, "Listen to me and you listen good you are not leaving JJ, do you understand me? He is not losing you Jason, not you keep fighting, you keep doing what you have to do help is on the way. Just keep breathing, damn't Jason!"
The ambulance pulled up on the street and Bobbie got up, running towards them, explaining to them the dire situation and that she was going to call the hospital and let them know a patient was on his was and wasn't likely to survive the ride.
Carly came out of the house, horrified by the scene in front of her and screamed, causing Lorenzo to turn around and release his hold on Sam. Sure enough the younger woman went back to Jason, leaned down and kissed him, her hairs brushing against his cheek, her breath whispering his name as Elizabeth sat there and stared, tears rolling down her face.
"Open your eyes for me love, let me see you Jason," Sam whispered as her hairs danced around him.
Jason blinked his eyes open and he saw the dark hair that he loved so much, saw someone hovering over him and then moving away only to be replaced by one small drop, a sprinkle, followed by another, then another until he was rapidly blinking away snow flakes from his eyelashes.
He tried to gasp for air, tried to open his mouth and say something but when his lips tried to move, blood was released from them and he heard the way his name was simply ripped from someone's mouth, tortured and pained, until his ears recognized the sound.
And before they secured the oxygen mask on him, he managed to breathe one word, "Elizabeth."
"I know you are cursing me off right now," she smiled through her tears as her two fingers played with Jason's large hand, "I know that you hate hospitals and I know that you are thinking up numerous ways to get me back for bringing you to one. And the questions they are going to ask you when you wake up," she laughed only to find herself crying again, "And that's what I want, I want you to hate me, I want you to answer questions, I want you to wake up Jason. I'm a liar, I can't do this on my own, I can't raise JJ without you, I simply won't."
She sighed as she brought his hand up to her cheek and pressed it against her face, reveling in the fact that it was warm again. He seemed so cold when they put him on the stretcher and wheeled him into the ambulance. Bobbie jumped in the back with him, leaving no argument as to whether or not it would be Elizabeth or Sam traveling with him.
Elizabeth waited for Lorenzo to run back to the cemetery to get his car. He then drover her, Carly and Sam to the hospital. Francis and Johnny joined them once Max was placed at the house with the kids who were thankfully not disturbed by the shots. Little Michael simply told JJ that they were firecrackers children set off in the neighborhood.
She knew that Michael didn't believe that for one second and one day soon her son would know the difference between gun shots and firecrackers.
"I don't want to have to explain that to him myself," Elizabeth whispered as she continued to hold Jason's hand to her face, "I know that we chose this life but I don't want to have to live it on my own. I want JJ to know you. I know I was an idiot in keeping him from you but this is no way to get me back Jason do you here me? This isn't funny anymore."
"I have to save you," she continued as she moved closer to the bed, one of her hands running along the bandage on his arm that covered up where a fourth bullet grazed him, "I have to save you for JJ and for yourself and for Carly and Michael and Johnny and Francis and Max and everyone at the warehouse, everyone on the organization, every family member that loves you that you can't stand," she sniffled as she laid her face next to his, his breathing being assisted by a respirator, "I have to save you for me. The reason I made it those four years Jason was because you were always out there, you were always okay, one day I knew, somehow I knew, that you'd get back here and that somehow we'd stumble back to something. I don't know what I'd do without you Jason."
Her fingers moved to play with his hair, the spikes now falling, some pieces hanging across his forehead and she smiled. He looked so innocent, so unlike the enforcer she knew, so like the man who said goodbye to her that one day on the docks all those years ago.
Elizabeth placed his hand back on the bed and then linked her free one with his. She entwined their fingers as she closed her eyes; enjoying this closeness she knew she could never feel when he was awake. There was still so much between them and now, none of it mattered, not when he was lying here clinging to life and she could do no more than cling with him.
She licked her dried lips, tasting her own salty tears and whispered, "I love you."
"She's been in there for over an hour," Sam said as she paced up and down the hallway in front of Johnny, Francis, Carly and Lorenzo who was standing off to the side, leaning against a wall, "Doesn't she understand that other people want to see him?" She huffed as she came to a half in front of Jason's hospital room window, "I think she actually fell asleep."
"He's in the ICU," Carly bit out, word for word; "He's not suppose to have a lot of visitors to begin with. The only reason we are up here is because Monica is his mother."
"I am Jason's girlfriend," Sam said whipping around and facing Carly, "He chose me, not you and not Elizabeth, the two of you need to learn to respect that and stop throwing yourselves at him."
"You little…" Carly started towards Sam but Johnny grabbed onto her elbow and pulled her back, shaking his head slowly. Carly nodded and agreed, moving away from the fuming petite brunette and down towards Lorenzo, "The second I get into the parking lot I'm going to scratch her eyes out."
Lorenzo chuckled softly, "I don't normally promote violence between women but her behavior tonight has been a little…erratic."
"I can't stand little Miss Princess in there," Carly said motioning to Jason's room with her head, "But she's growing on me, this one," she said scoffing at Sam, "Needs to die."
Lorenzo rewarded her with another small laugh and pushed himself off of the wall, "Never say those things around mobsters."
Carly laughed quietly and looked up at him, "She told me that you were nothing like your brother and I didn't believe her, I never do," she shrugged, "But thank you for calling the ambulance tonight and for bringing us here. You seem to have a calming presence about you."
"Some would call that intimidation," Lorenzo said.
"Yes, some could call it that," Carly said with a small smile.
"I have a feeling that you aren't intimidated very easily, Mrs. Corinthos," Lorenzo said.
Carly looked at him with raised eyebrows, "You are a very smart man."
"I have news on Jason's condition," Bobbie said as she entered the hallway, "Where's Elizabeth?"
"She's with Jason," Johnny said, "Let me get her."
"Oh now you get her," Sam snorted as the large Irish man disappeared into Jason's hospital room. Her eyes narrowed when he leaned over carefully and shook her. She moved her head and blinked up at him, obviously having been asleep. Sam watched her give one last longing look at Jason before she was ushered out of the room.
"Hey Bobbie," she said quietly as she leaned into Johnny for support, "What can you tell us?"
"I don't know how he's still breathing," Bobbie said while she smiled sadly at Elizabeth, "But he is honey and that's a good sign. He's stable, although we can't remove the machines right now, he's still not breathing normally. There was a bullet that grazed his arm and another with a clear exit wound through his thigh. We removed the other three but he's lost a lot of blood," Bobbie looked past Elizabeth into Jason's room where the man pale man rested on the bed, "A lot of blood and I'm just…" she took a deep breath, "We need to keep him in ICU until he can be removed from the breathing machines."
"You're not promising a full recovery, Mama," Carly said quietly as she stepped towards her mother, "Where did the bullets hit?"
"One of them narrowly missed his lung and another one was lodge in there," Bobbie said, "We were able to get him to the hospital in time to remove it but we also had to take a piece of his lung. The other bullet," she cleared her throat and turned towards Elizabeth, "It just missed Jason's heart. If he hadn't turned when he did…"
"If Elizabeth hadn't screamed his name," Lorenzo said from behind Carly, "If Jason didn't move towards her than he would've been staring straight ahead, straight into the gun."
"And he would be dead right now," Bobbie nodded in agreement and watched as Elizabeth paled and nearly collapsed against Johnny, "Elizabeth…"
"I'm okay, I'm okay," Elizabeth assured them as she turned to look into Jason's hospital room, "I need to…"
"I'm going to see him," Sam said pushing past Elizabeth and Johnny and heading straight into Jason's room.
"I'll get her," Francis said moving to follow her.
"No," Elizabeth said as she moved away from Johnny and gripped onto the window ledge, "No, she has a right to see him. I didn't mean to take up so much of his time."
"Elizabeth I want you to know that JJ is welcome to stay with me as long as you need him to," Bobbie said, "I know that Max is with him now along with Leticia right?" Bobbie asked turning towards her daughter.
"Right," Carly said, "And when Mama's at work and Max is busy he'll be with me," she nodded, "Don't worry about him, Elizabeth."
"Thank you," Elizabeth said as she looked away, blinked away her tears, her eyes focusing on Jason and his girlfriend who was hovering over him, "But I'm not the one everyone should be worried about."
"The invitation still stands," Bobbie said, "I'm going to call Monica and then I'm going to head home. I'll call you with an update on the boys."
"Thanks Mama," Carly said as she kissed her mother on the cheek.
"Anytime sweetie," Bobbie said and disappeared down the hall.
"Would anybody like any coffee?" Lorenzo asked, "I feel as if it is going to be a long night."
"I'll take a cup," Francis mumbled, "I'm actually going to take a walk around the hospital and see if I can borrow a few chairs from a couple other floors. I hate to see you two ladies standing around here."
"I'm fine, Francis," Elizabeth said tiredly as she pressed her hand up against the glass of Jason's window, watching as Sam settled into the same position she was previously in, so close to Jason, touching his warm skin.
"Don't pick an argument with me, Webber." Francis muttered as he started out on his quest, bringing a small smile to Elizabeth's face.
"I'm going to go with Lorenzo," Carly said touching Elizabeth's shoulder gently, "I'll bring you back hot chocolate."
Elizabeth turned and looked at her, her heart bleeding for all the damage she had done to the woman in front of her, the damage they had done to one another, "Carly," she whispered her eyes filling with tears, "I just…thank you so…"
"It's only hot chocolate," Carly said with a forced smile, "I'll get you a coffee as well, Johnny."
Johnny nodded silently, his eyes still intently focused on Elizabeth as she watched Carly and Lorenzo head to the cafeteria. She was nibbling on her lip as the tears slipped down her cheek and onto the blood stained shirt she wore.
"They'd make a cute couple," she said, moving away from, walking across the hallway, keeping her back to Jason's room, "Carly deserves some happiness after what I did to her."
"Elizabeth," Johnny said quietly, "I don't think now's the time to…"
"To what?" Elizabeth laughed bitterly, "To think about all that I've done? To think about all the damage that I created? I took her husband from her."
"Sonny made that choice as well," Johnny said, "And I didn't see Carly fighting too hard for…"
"Who would?" Elizabeth asked, "I threw her out of the penthouse, I stole her best friend Jason from her and I broke his heart and look what I did? I was with Sonny, I was making love to Sonny, I was going to spend the rest of my life with Sonny, I just…what have I become Johnny? This isn't me, this isn't who I am and I don't want to be this type of person. That should be me in there, I'm the one who did all the wrongs, I need to right them. I should be lying on that bed, struggling to breathe, fighting for my life. It's not fair."
"Elizabeth," Johnny said as he walked towards her, pulling her into his arms, trying to calm her as she struggled against him, her tiny fists punching at his chests, "Shh, Elizabeth…"
"He can't die," she cried against his chest, "Not here, not now, not like this he just can't die," Elizabeth's cries became louder as she buried her face in his chest, trying to muffle her tears, "Not Jason, Johnny, why, why? They have Sonny why the hell can't that be enough?"
"I don't know, Elizabeth, I don't know," he whispered as he kissed her hair, keeping her close against him, "He's going to be okay, you'll see. He's not going to leave JJ; he's not going to leave you."
"Why is this always about you?" Sam asked as she stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind her tightly, "That man is dying in there and you could do nothing but stand out here and cry about yourself. Johnny has to reassure you that Jason is going to live for you."
"Sam," Johnny said as he moved away from Elizabeth, coming to stand in front of her.
"He is dying," Sam emphasized, "And she is crying about her. She should be crying about all the damn damage she has done to him and get on her God damn knees so that the Lord can forgive her for what she has done. She was a horrible girlfriend and an even horrible mother for keeping that little boy away from his father all this time."
"Sam that was uncalled for," Lorenzo said as he came back with Carly, both of their hands full, "I think you should apologize to Elizabeth for…"
"For what? Speaking the truth?" Sam laughed, "Are you kidding me? She yells at Jason for hanging around with me and yet she's bedding you, another mobster and speaking of which what are you doing about this? This was an obvious hit, the guns were aimed at Jason and we have one kingpin in our midst, two bodyguards and we're all standing around here talking about the little angel."
"That's enough," Francis said dropping a chair that he brought with a loud bang, "I think its time that you left."
"I think its time that you started doing your job," Sam said.
Carly handed her two cups to Lorenzo after he deposited his on the floor, "I would be the first person to attack Elizabeth, I've done that plenty of times before," she said as her eyes slide towards Elizabeth, "But this is uncalled for. You need to go before fingers are pointed."
"Point them Carly," Sam said coming to stand before the woman, "Go ahead."
"You aren't a mob princess honey, you are a wanna be," Carly said, "And I know the person who did this to Jason, it was you, plan and simple. I also wouldn't be surprised if you were the one shaking up with the Latino stud back there and the two of you were trying to bring this town down."
"Now, wait a minute…" Lorenzo said stepping forward and stopping when Carly held her hand up.
"You think I'm the one fucking Lorenzo?" Sam asked as she stepped closer to Carly, "You think you got this all figured out don't you? It has to be that simple, me and him appearing into town so soon together, both integrating ourselves into the lives of Jason and Elizabeth, that's our motive, break them up and then the world is ours," she laughed, "How pathetic are you. I've been doing my own investigation Mrs. Corinthos and I'm sorry to tell you that you're wrong, dead wrong, and I've got a prime suspect in mind as to who turned our worlds into chaos."
Carly smirked, "I'm all ears, Sam. Who bombed the warehouse? Who shot Jason? Enlighten us Nancy Drew, give us a name."
A smile appeared on Sam's face, "Sonny Corinthos."