Elizabeth pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail and smiled. Her life, which was at one time painful and almost too bleak to live, was suddenly turning into an amazing gift that she couldn't stop thanking God for. She still couldn't believe that she was here, sitting at Lily's and she was the owner of it.

Technically she wasn't the owner. Jason Morgan was the name who appeared on paper for legal reasons but Sonny assured her that Lily's was hers, lock, stock and barrel until she decided otherwise. The trade was her shipping industries for the club that changed her life. How in the hell was Elizabeth going to say no to that?

Of course she talked it over with Jason and he made her aware that the shipping industries were going to be something that she would want to be involved in. It would give her more control over what she brought in and the money flowed a lot better in the importing and exporting business. He and Sonny however thought she should hold off on that until she actually received a college degree. They thought that something like Lily's, a club she had one time had managed, would be a great way for her to get her feet wet.

Since her birth certificate still kept getting in the way, Jason volunteered to have his name on the tax paperwork until November 1st of this year and Elizabeth couldn't be more pleased. It meant spending more time with Jason and trying to continually reassure him that she needed him in her life, with or without Accounting homework.

Going back down to the books in front of her Elizabeth laughed. She even loved the fact that they didn't balance and she was the one that was stuck here until she could figure out how to fix the problem at hand. The only way life could get any better than this would be if Jason decided he didn't care about her age and he wanted to be with her.

Elizabeth was well aware that hell was not getting cold anytime soon.

"Can I get some service around here or is the sign true and you really are closed?"

Elizabeth smiled as her old friend walked into the club with open arms. She slid off of the bar stool and hugged him tightly, pressing a kiss to his cheek and she stepped back and looked at him. It had been way too long since they were able to spend any length of time together.

"I've missed you," she smiled, "How was Miami?"

"Another goose chase," Sly shrugged as he watched Elizabeth walk behind the bar and pull out his favorite beer, "That's my girl. So, how have you been? What's with all this?" he asked taking a sip and motioning around with his finger.

"Lily's is no longer a strip joint," Elizabeth grinned as she leaned her elbows up on the bar, "It's being closed down for renovations and then it's going to be opened up as a club, a dance club, with a bar type atmosphere. We're also going to have an underage night." She grinned, "Sonny even gave me the privilege of keeping on the girls that I wanted and firing the rest. Booted that bitch face Candy out the door so fast," she laughed, "And I threw her cheap luggage after her."

"You're running this joint?" Sly asked with a grin, "I'm proud of you, Lizzie. You earned this."

"Well Jason's name is on the lease," she rolled her eyes when Sly cursed under his breath, "It has to be because of my age. Sonny is dealing with my shipping industries and I talked him into going to you for advice. I said that no one knew Alcazar's holdings like Alcazar's right hand man. Expect a phone call soon," Elizabeth winked.

"You didn't have to do that for me," Sly said quietly as he placed his empty bottle on the bar, "You've done enough. Corinthos let me stay in town because of you," he snorted, "Morgan let me live because of you."

"He's not still giving you a hard time is he?" Elizabeth asked quietly, "I can talk to him…"

"That'll make it worse," Sly said leaning over the bar and reaching for another bottle, "Trust me. I've dealt with men before, jealous men, who want to do nothing more than keep you out of their woman's line of vision."

"I'm not Jason's woman," she scoffed when Sly looked at her with raised eyebrows, "I'm not. Jason made a conscious decision that he doesn't want to be with me because of my age so we're not together, simple as that."

"Doesn't mean the guy doesn't care for you," Sly said, "Jason has made it clear to me and quite a few other people in the business that you are to not even be looked at."

"Then everyone should be treated equally," Elizabeth said, "I've seen how he treats you Sly. He overworks you, he's harder on you, he's always pushing the envelope when it comes to you."

"It's because he thinks that I'm in love with you, Lizzie," Sly said, "I would do the same thing if I thought for one minute that my girl's ex was coming into town and trying to reclaim her. It's a male pride thing. He's doing what he can to make sure I don't get you back."

Elizabeth laughed, "Sly, that's ridiculous. You and I could never go back there, there's too many painful memories for us to even try. And for him," she laughed again, "To think that you're in love with me…"

Elizabeth let the phrase linger when she noticed Sly's eyes avoiding her and his lips were wrapped around the long neck bottle taking gulps at a time. She shook her head not wanting to believe it. Sly's silence couldn't mean what she thought it meant.

"Stop sweating it out. I'm not going to reach across the bar and fondle you," he said as he put his beer back down, "And I'm not trying to step on Jason's territory."

"I am not his territory," Elizabeth said firmly, "And I wish you would have said something."

"What would you like me to say, Lizzie? I already told you I was a fool, that I made a mistake by letting you go, that you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I know you're right and I know that nothing good could ever come of us but you're…" he laughed softly, "You're too damn beautiful Lizzie and it's not that hard for a man to fall in love with you.

Elizabeth looked down at her hands until she felt Sly's fingers under her chin, kicking it up so she could look into those light eyes of his, seeing the pain and the love reflecting all at the same time. Her wonderful world didn't seem so wonderful anymore.

"I'm not waiting around for you," he said, "I know I don't have a snowballs chance in hell with Morgan around but I want you to know that you're still my friend and I want that to always remain. We've gotten each other through some rough times, Lizzie. I don't want that to ever change."

"It won't," Elizabeth said softly, "And you know that I love you, just not in the way…"

Sly nodded, "And I also know that when you open the doors I'm going to be on the invitation list and you are going to help me nab some very pretty women."

Elizabeth laughed, "You've got a deal."

"Alright," Sly said hopping off the bar stool, "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" she asked, "I have books that I…"

"Take 'em with," Sly said, "I just got a new car and I'd like you to be the first one in the passenger seat. You've got to see it to believe it, Lizzie."

"What did you get, Sly?" she laughed.

"2005 Mustang GT, custom made. The dashboard changes colors Lizzie, seats are all leather, it's pitch black. It's awesome."

"Can I drive it?"

"No."

Elizabeth frowned as she grabbed her books, "That's not a very nice thing to say to the woman that you love."

"Tough shit," Sly said holding the door to the club open for her, "Passenger seat only."

Elizabeth stuck her tongue out at him, "You're lucky you're cute."

Sly chuckled, "I'm lucky you're keeping me around."

Jason looked up from where he was unlocking his door and turned to see Elizabeth and Sly stepping off of the elevator. They were both laughing and Sly his arm looped around Elizabeth's waist as he walked her towards the door of her penthouse. He knew that he sent the kid down to Miami but the young hot head just didn't want to stay put.

"What are you doing here?" Jason asked walking towards them.

"Jason, hey," Elizabeth smiled, "Sly just got this new car and he…"

"You were suppose to be down in Florida," Jason said glaring at Sly, "I told you that business down there needed to be completed and you weren't suppose to come back until it was done."

"You need to catch up with your partner there Morgan," Sly said, "I spoke with Corinthos this morning and he gave me the okay to head on home."

"You don't answer to Sonny you answer to me," Jason said, "And I want your ass back down…"

"Jason that's enough," Elizabeth snapped, "Sly has been working awfully hard lately and I…"

"Stay out of it Elizabeth," Jason said.

"Don't talk to her that way," Sly said stepping in front of Elizabeth, "I told her that I didn't need her defending me to your paranoid ass but Lizzie takes care of the people she cares about. There's no need to be angry at her."

Jason took another step towards Sly, "Get back down to Miami, tonight."

Sly smirked, "Make me."

Jason grabbed Sly's coat and slammed him up against the wall beside them. He had his hands twisted in the man's tee shirt while Elizabeth was busy tugging on Jason's leather jacket, begging him to release the enforcer in training. He did, stepping back and looking down into the startled blue eyes of the woman he cared about too damn much.

Moving past Elizabeth, Jason headed back to his own penthouse.

"I'm sorry she's not fucking you but you need to stop taking it out on me."

Jason turned back around and punched Sly in the eye, causing the man to fall to the ground in pain before he kicked him in the ribs for good measure. Elizabeth gasped and he didn't stay around to wait and see how she would heal her former lover. He continued on to his penthouse and slammed the door behind him.

"That's what you get for being an ass," Elizabeth growled, "Now get the hell out of here and I'll talk to you tomorrow," she started towards Jason's penthouse, "There's another asshole I have to deal with."

Jason looked up when his door was thrown open and Elizabeth stepped inside, slamming it behind her. She advanced on him, her tiny hands curled into fists, one waving violently at him while her eyes flashed.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are," Elizabeth snapped, "But you have no right choosing my friends and deciding who I should or should not be hanging out with. Sending Sly all over America to make sure we don't spend time together is moronic Jason. We still talk every night on the phone and he does find ways to see me. We're friends, that's it."

"He's not good for you," Jason said quietly, "And he still has to prove himself."

"Proving himself is one thing," Elizabeth said, "Making sure that he spends weeks at a time in cities so he's not taking me out to places is another. Sly has been nothing but loyal to you and Sonny since the day he pumped bullets into Alcazar's chest. He deserves respect from you."

"He's lucky I let him live."

"That wasn't your choice!" Elizabeth yelled, "He is my friend, he is my companion and if I want to spend anytime with him that is my decision. You don't get to chose who I see, Jason. You gave up that right."

"Giving up that right didn't make it any less difficult, Elizabeth," Jason said as he moved away from her, "It doesn't make it any easier."

"I don't care," Elizabeth said, "You were the one who chose to keep things platonic between us. You were the one that decided you could break every other law except this one. You were the one who wanted to be just friends."

"We had to…"

"So stop this idiotic thing with Sly," she continued, "Don't overwork him, don't send him out of town, because if I want to sleep with him…."

"Elizabeth, this isn't…"

"I am going to," she said, "And I'm not going to explain myself to you or anyone else."

"You have no idea what you're doing," Jason said quietly.

"You let me go!" Elizabeth snapped.

"That doesn't mean that I'm not still in love with you!" Jason shouted.

Elizabeth froze. She couldn't have heard that right. Jason had never told her that he was in love with her. They had fallen into bed first, then moved in together and she knew that she had fallen in love with him but she never knew that her feelings were returned. He had hated her, he had saved her and he had killed for her but never had he admitted how he really felt. He was in love with her.

And it was killing him.

Jason watched as the emotions played over her face. He watched as she absorbed it, the words that he had wanted to say but had been unable to. At first he was afraid, afraid to love the way he did with Robin because she had left him. When he suddenly realized that it was too late, that he was already in love, he found out that Elizabeth had lied, her life was a sham and things started to spiral out of control. She was too young for him, she had lost a baby, he couldn't love her the way his heart wanted. Instead, he tried to control her life and now he was only making things worse.

She was looking at him, but still she said nothing, her dark sapphire eyes were revealing pain and also unshed tears. He had somehow managed to do it again, to hurt her without even knowing how and he hated that more than anything else in this world. He moved towards her, one tiny step and when she didn't move as well he decided that it was lost, it was over, it was time to stop fighting the war that was raging inside of him.

Moving past her, he fought the urge to reach out and kiss her. He fought the urge to pull her back into his arms as she had been a few weeks ago, comforting him, telling him lies, assuring him that none of this was his fault. He couldn't any longer. He had lost the will to fight and he was tired of the damn battle. He stayed strong, he stayed solid, he stayed the cold enforcer.

"I'm leaving town," he said quietly, "You deserve so much better than this. Goodbye Elizabeth."

The slamming of the penthouse door caused Elizabeth to jump and snap out of her revere. Jason loved her, Jason loved her like she loved him and there was a chance for them. She knew it, she felt it. It would be seven long months before she turned eighteen but she was planning on waiting for him and he was…

He was leaving. He had said goodbye. Elizabeth turned around and threw open the penthouse door running towards the elevator and almost colliding into Sonny and Lily who were coming back from a night on the town.

"Elizabeth, what's going on?" Lily asked, "Where are you going?"

"To stop Jason from making the biggest mistake of his life," Elizabeth said as the doors started to close, "And don't wait up!"

"But we were unable to save the baby."

Jason looked down over the bridge as the words repeated themselves in his mind. The words that were uttered from his mother's mouth, the words that barely reached his ears. Elizabeth had lost a baby, her unborn child, all because of him.

"That your bullet killed my child."

It did, it was a bullet meant for him that killed her child. Elizabeth had apologized afterwards for saying what she did but Jason knew that it was the truth. He didn't care how distraught she was, he didn't care that the bullet saved his life. He should have been the one to die, not an innocent baby and Elizabeth couldn't have been more right. Not after the way he had taken her.

Tears were being shed on both sides, anguish and anger mixed as their bodies mated, thrusting, rubbing, touching one another, scraping, pulling, nipping, anything to get some type of release, release from the hatred, release from the love.

"I want you out of the penthouse by the time I return."

Like an animal staking its claim Jason had slammed her up against a door and pounded inside of her until he could pleasure himself. There was nothing involved in that moment, he was giving her the world that he had lived in, a world of nothingness. Elizabeth accepted it, she took every ounce that he had given her because she thought that was the last time he would ever touch her.

And it was. It was the last time he would ever make love to Elizabeth Webber but that moment wasn't full of love, it was filled with hate, with anger, with rage and out of that bore a child who was never able to see the light of day.

Slamming his fists against the concrete that refused to break Jason felt the hot tears slid down his face. He didn't want to shed those tears. He felt that he had no right. He would gladly love to lay claim to the child that Elizabeth lost but how can you claim something that you didn't want to begin with. He merely wanted it after the fact and that meant nothing. The child was gone, Elizabeth was miserably and him being around made it worse.

He had to disappear, he had to escape. He had to make it to a place where he would never see her again. He knew though that her face would always haunt him, that the words, the memories, the moments would follow him wherever he went. Elizabeth with her charming laughter, Elizabeth with her naughty smirk, Elizabeth covered in blood, Elizabeth losing her baby.

Letting out a roar Jason pushed himself away from the wall and turned, ready to hop on his bike and drive out of Port Charles, as fast as he could, going as far as it would take him, just needing to put the physical distance between him and the woman she lived.

But it was too late, she was there, standing in front of him, tears running down her face.

"I love you," she whispered, "I love you more than you realize Jason, more than you might ever know and I want to help you but I can't. I have no idea where this is coming from. You can't…you can't lay that on me and just walk out. You can't pretend that you're hearing what I'm saying and than block it out the next day. You can't put my life back together and then walk away because it will fall to shambles again."

"I did this too you," he choked out as he stepped away from her, "That was my bullet. You said it. It was your baby, your baby Elizabeth."

"I didn't make the baby alone," she said stepping towards him and grabbing his arm, "You were in that room with me and you were inside of me and…"

"I slammed you against the door," he said struggling to pull away from her but he found himself weak, "I took you without you even asking and I had my way with you. I hated you in that moment Elizabeth. My angry seed put a…"

"Don't you dare!" she screamed slamming her palms against his chest, "Don't you ever, ever, say to me that you took me without my permission. Every moment that I had with you Jason Morgan was the best of my life. We got heated and we got passionate and we got loving and we got sensitive and whether it was in our bed or against the door it didn't mean any less to me." Her lip quivered as she wiped away her tears, "I wasn't aware that it meant less to you."

"I'm not saying that, Elizabeth," he whispered, "I would never say that."

"Then what are you saying?" she asked, "Because our baby was not created in a moment where rose petals were scattered about the bed and candles weren't lit that it wasn't worthy of your love? That's what it sounds like to me Jason. It sounds like you couldn't love our baby because it wasn't created in the most romantic of circumstances."

"That's not true."

"Isn't it?" she yelled, "Because this has been my child, my mistake since day one."

"That baby was not a mistake," Jason said stepping towards her, "Our child…"

"Then grieve damn you!" she yelled again as she pounded on his shoulders with her tiny fists, "Open up your heart and show me that you loved this baby as much as I did. Show me that this child meant something to do you."

Jason shook his head and turned away, "It's not that simple."

"No," Elizabeth cried as she grabbed his hand and pulled him back to her, "You are not going to walk away. You are going to face this."

Elizabeth reached up and wrapped one arm around Jason's neck, pulling him towards her. Her other hand took his and placed it on her stomach. He tried to fight with her but she could feel the resistance inside of him fading. He needed this closure as much as she.

"Our baby would be right here," she whispered, "And our baby would be growing inside of me if it weren't for my husband. And I'm sorry Jason," she whispered as she felt the tears spill from her eyes, "I'm sorry that my body wasn't enough to protect this child. I'm sorry that I wasn't a safe home for your baby. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"No, no, no," he cried as he pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his damp face in her dark curls, "No Elizabeth. This wasn't your fault."

Elizabeth's fingers twisted in his cotton tee shirt as she pulled back and struggled to look up at him. He was crying openly, the first she had ever seen him do that, and he didn't seem to care anymore. His eyes were naked, the shield he held so valiantly was no longer up and Elizabeth could see everything that he felt; the pain, the anger and most importantly the love.

"Then why can't you believe that it wasn't yours either," she whispered as she wiped away some tears with the pad of her thumb, "Why can't you see Jason that this was our baby, created in a moment that was passionate and real? Why can't you see Jason that this baby, had he or she been given a chance, would have loved you for the amazing father that you would have been?"

"No," he whispered as he let his forehead fall against hers, "Elizabeth…"

"Why can't you see that I'm in love with you as much as you are with me?" she whispered as she pulled him into another embrace, "If you can't see it, feel it," she pulled his hand back to her stomach, "I'm feeling it too."

Elizabeth felt his arms encircle her waist again and then she felt herself being pulled down. Jason's legs had given out from under him and he felt back against the stone wall of the bridge. He was crying, choking on sobs as he held her tightly against him. She was crying too, soaking his tee shirt as words tumbled from his mouth.

He loved her. He seemingly always did. He loved their baby. He missed their baby. He wanted to do harm to everybody and everything for the loss of their child. He wanted her close but he couldn't allow himself the pleasure of having her by his side.

He closed his eyes, he held her tight and finally he admitted that he had lost a child.