He shouldn't be here. Standing in the courtyard outside of Kelley's, hands shoved deep into his
pockets, contemplating his options before subjecting himself to a serious case of frost bite. He'd
already gone to Sonny. Telling him of the scene earlier that morning between Ric and some unknown
guy. But like usual Sonny just waived it off.
Apparently Ric had Sonny snowed. No matter how many times Jason had tried to point out that they
didn't have any concrete information on the guy, Sonny would change the subject. It finally got to the
point that Jason knew he was wasting his limited amount of time arguing. Instead he was forced to find
the information he needed on his own. Even if he had to face the wrath of hell to find it.
Taking in a deep breath, he reminded himself not to get emotionally sucked in. Without a doubt this
confrontation wasn't going to leave him with warm fuzzy feelings. It saddened him. That they had come
to this. That he should have to stand outside watching her through the windows, feeling like an intruder
in her life. It more than saddened him. It sickened .him. But things had gotten so out of hand so fast that
the damage was already done. Honestly he didn't know if there was anything left to fix.
It was now or never.
Hearing the familiar sound of the bell above the door, Jason scanned the room. Only one table was left
and by the looks of it the elderly woman looked ready to leave. At least there wouldn't be a packed
diner to witness Elizabeth cutting him to shreds.
Her laughter rang out from the kitchen. A sound that still had the annoying ability to steal his breath
away. The sound was a warm and rich. Making his groin tighten, and the hairs on the back of his neck
rise.
The swinging doors to the kitchen flung open as Elizabeth strode through. Her head lowered as she
tucked her paper pad into the front pocket of her apron. She seemed to be in a decent mood, too bad
it wouldn't last once she spotted him.
Standing his ground, he waited for the impact of her reaction. First her eyes would narrow, the edges of
her mouth tightened. Then came her Antarctic like attitude.
"Miss Foster, did you want your muffin to go today?" Looking up Elizabeth barely skipped a beat as
she spotted Jason standing just to the right of the door. Plastering a smile on her face, she turned her
attention to the elderly woman who was graciously thanking her for her kindness. She liked Miss
Foster. The woman had been coming to the restaurant for years. Every afternoon like clock work she'd
come in at three. Have a cup of tea with a muffin, then an hour later would pay her check and take
another muffin home.
Waiving good-bye, Elizabeth's smile vanished the second the door swung shut.
"Courtney's not here." Busying herself with the dirty dishes, Elizabeth kept her back to him. There was
no one else was in the diner and Elizabeth realized that since the night she'd left him at the penthouse,
this was the first time they'd been alone.
"I'm not here to see her." Taking a step forward he paused as she dumped the dishes into the tub
behind the counter with a thunderous clang.
"Well, Carly isn't down in the club either."
"I know." Scratching his chin. It was now or never. " Elizabeth I need to ask you a few questions."
" Don't know him. Never seen him and haven't seen him since." She answered without batting an eye.
His brow wrinkled as he stared at her. "What?"
"The guy from this morning. The one that went off on Ric. The one you came here to ask about." Her
answer was bland as she crossed past him to the table that had just been recently abandoned.
She had him there. "Fine. I also came to ask about Ric."
Apparently she hadn't been ready for that question. Her attention now snagged, she stopped placing
clean silverware on the table to look up at him."What about Ric?"
"Does there seem to be something ...off about him?"
Of course there was something off with the guy. He was charming, attentive and tried way too hard to
be friendly. Instead of answering him with her own doubts, Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders and went
back to setting the table. "Not really. He seems nice enough."
"Does anyone come to visit him at night?"
"As in woman?" The thought apparently amused her. "Or maybe mysterious men in dark suits?"
"This is serious Elizabeth." Taking another step closer to her, he rested a hand on the back of a chair
and looked intently at her. "He's representing me for Alcazar's murder. I need to make sure that he's
not going to screw me over."
The sound of the bell rung just as she started to speak, making her close her mouth and shift her
attention to the customer standing inside of the door. "Hello, anywhere is fine." The middle-aged man
stared at her for a moment. His face a tight mask of uncertainty. His eyes seemed to drink her in.
Frowning, Elizabeth fidgeted under his scrutiny. "Or did you want take out?"
"W-What?" His thick British voice stammered. "Oh...oh no. I..." The man took off his glasses and
started cleaning them. "Actually I came here..." The man cleared his throat and looked over at Jason's
menacing glare. "A cup of tea would be nice."
Elizabeth smiled and nodded before heading to the counter.
The man looked around before taking a seat. Jason kept an eye on him while he waited for Elizabeth to
serve the man his drink. He'd never seen the man before. Another stranger. Something definitely was
up.
"So are you new to town? Or just passing through?" Elizabeth must have also noticed the increase of
new faces. Her friendly mask was firmly in place as she walked around the counter, the teacup
balanced in one hand as she wove through the dinning area.
"Passing through actually." The stranger answered quickly. "I'm looking for someone who's been
missing for the last few years."
Jason watched from his spot a few feet away as her delicate brow lifted. "That sounds interesting. Do
you think this person is in Port Charles?"
The man smiled faintly. "You could say I've found some reliable proof."
"Well I hope that you find whoever you are looking for. Would you like anything else?"
"N-No, thank you." Nodding Elizabeth backed away. Right into the solid chest of Jason.
"Why are you still here?" Her voice contained the frost he'd been expecting.
"Ric."
"What? Oh yeah." Putting as much space between them as she could, Elizabeth busied herself with
refilling the salt and pepper shakers. "I haven't noticed anything. He seems like a nice enough guy. But I
really don't know him all that well. Besides if you don't trust him why do you have him representing
you? No don't answer that." Holding her hands up to stop him from answering, Elizabeth rolled her
eyes. "It was Sonny's idea."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He knew what she meant. Had been wondering the same thing
himself. But the way she said Sonny's name rubbed him the wrong way.
Lifting her head, Elizabeth gave a look that could kill. "Jason this is a conversation you do not want to
get into with me. Trust me."
Elizabeth took a small silver teapot and an extra tea bag over to Kelley's only customer. Signaling to
Jason that as far as she was concerned their conversation was over. With an aggravated growl Jason
stalked over to one of the stools in front of the counter and took a seat. He was here for answers and
that's what he was going to get.
~~~*~~~
"So what exactly are we gonna do?" Readjusting the strap on her carry on, Willow looked around the
small airport with trepidation. "If Tess doesn't know who she is, how is she supposed to remember
who we are?"
"Angel's contact seems to have some information on what happened to her." Buffy answered. Her
voice barely above a whisper. Ever since Angel's call that morning she hadn't been able to erase the
nightmare of graduation from her mind. She could still see Tess's face, could see her mouth moving as
she yelled to her to keep running. It was the last time she'd seen her friend before the building blew.
"I'm sure we'll be able to figure out how to help her."
"I'm still having a hard time believing she's alive. It's been four years."Shaking his head in disbelief,
Xander looked down at the ground as he walked along side of his two best friends. In the next twenty-
four hours another friend he'd thought was dead was going to be back. It was a lot to take in.
"Giles should already be here." Hating the silence, Buffy had to keep the conversation going or she'd
go crazy. "I wonder if he's seen her yet?"
"It's a good thing he was in Boston." Willow replied. "You don't think he'll approach her yet do you?
Angel said to wait until they got here and we had all the information."
"I don't know. I mean you know Giles. He'll probably search her out. But he's not really up on the
verbal skills." Xander grinned. "It's gonna be great seeing him again. You don't think he's back to
wearing tweed again now that he's back in with the Watchers."
"Oh god I hope not." Buffy groaned. "I'd hate to think that after all our hard work and dedication to
make him somewhat normal that a year back with the old crusty farts would ruin it all."
~~~*~~~
"What do you mean the senor partners sent back up?" Holding the phone to his ear, Ric paused in his
pacing. "Lilah it's just McDonald."
"Yeah, apparently you haven't been filled in one Lindsey's new pals."
"I could care less if he's best friends with Godzilla. After tomorrow it's over. We'll have the slayer on
our side. There's nothing he can do about it." Was it just this morning that he had been on the top of the
world. A promotion in his pocket and a song in his heart? Now everything was going to hell. Just
because McDonald butted his nose into a situation that had nothing to do with him.
Lilah snorted over the phone. "Alcazar came busting into the boardroom this morning. Seems that one
of his contacts there told him about your little confrontation with the former Golden Boy. Not good Ric.
The man is seriously unhinged. He's also sending some of his men out that way."
"Crap." Muttering darkly under his breath, Ric ran a hand over his face.
"You haven't heard the worst part."
"Do I want to hear this?"
"Angel and his little friends are about twenty minutes away from arriving in Port Charles."
"Angelus?"
"The one and only. Ric, I hate to say this. But you're so dead."
pockets, contemplating his options before subjecting himself to a serious case of frost bite. He'd
already gone to Sonny. Telling him of the scene earlier that morning between Ric and some unknown
guy. But like usual Sonny just waived it off.
Apparently Ric had Sonny snowed. No matter how many times Jason had tried to point out that they
didn't have any concrete information on the guy, Sonny would change the subject. It finally got to the
point that Jason knew he was wasting his limited amount of time arguing. Instead he was forced to find
the information he needed on his own. Even if he had to face the wrath of hell to find it.
Taking in a deep breath, he reminded himself not to get emotionally sucked in. Without a doubt this
confrontation wasn't going to leave him with warm fuzzy feelings. It saddened him. That they had come
to this. That he should have to stand outside watching her through the windows, feeling like an intruder
in her life. It more than saddened him. It sickened .him. But things had gotten so out of hand so fast that
the damage was already done. Honestly he didn't know if there was anything left to fix.
It was now or never.
Hearing the familiar sound of the bell above the door, Jason scanned the room. Only one table was left
and by the looks of it the elderly woman looked ready to leave. At least there wouldn't be a packed
diner to witness Elizabeth cutting him to shreds.
Her laughter rang out from the kitchen. A sound that still had the annoying ability to steal his breath
away. The sound was a warm and rich. Making his groin tighten, and the hairs on the back of his neck
rise.
The swinging doors to the kitchen flung open as Elizabeth strode through. Her head lowered as she
tucked her paper pad into the front pocket of her apron. She seemed to be in a decent mood, too bad
it wouldn't last once she spotted him.
Standing his ground, he waited for the impact of her reaction. First her eyes would narrow, the edges of
her mouth tightened. Then came her Antarctic like attitude.
"Miss Foster, did you want your muffin to go today?" Looking up Elizabeth barely skipped a beat as
she spotted Jason standing just to the right of the door. Plastering a smile on her face, she turned her
attention to the elderly woman who was graciously thanking her for her kindness. She liked Miss
Foster. The woman had been coming to the restaurant for years. Every afternoon like clock work she'd
come in at three. Have a cup of tea with a muffin, then an hour later would pay her check and take
another muffin home.
Waiving good-bye, Elizabeth's smile vanished the second the door swung shut.
"Courtney's not here." Busying herself with the dirty dishes, Elizabeth kept her back to him. There was
no one else was in the diner and Elizabeth realized that since the night she'd left him at the penthouse,
this was the first time they'd been alone.
"I'm not here to see her." Taking a step forward he paused as she dumped the dishes into the tub
behind the counter with a thunderous clang.
"Well, Carly isn't down in the club either."
"I know." Scratching his chin. It was now or never. " Elizabeth I need to ask you a few questions."
" Don't know him. Never seen him and haven't seen him since." She answered without batting an eye.
His brow wrinkled as he stared at her. "What?"
"The guy from this morning. The one that went off on Ric. The one you came here to ask about." Her
answer was bland as she crossed past him to the table that had just been recently abandoned.
She had him there. "Fine. I also came to ask about Ric."
Apparently she hadn't been ready for that question. Her attention now snagged, she stopped placing
clean silverware on the table to look up at him."What about Ric?"
"Does there seem to be something ...off about him?"
Of course there was something off with the guy. He was charming, attentive and tried way too hard to
be friendly. Instead of answering him with her own doubts, Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders and went
back to setting the table. "Not really. He seems nice enough."
"Does anyone come to visit him at night?"
"As in woman?" The thought apparently amused her. "Or maybe mysterious men in dark suits?"
"This is serious Elizabeth." Taking another step closer to her, he rested a hand on the back of a chair
and looked intently at her. "He's representing me for Alcazar's murder. I need to make sure that he's
not going to screw me over."
The sound of the bell rung just as she started to speak, making her close her mouth and shift her
attention to the customer standing inside of the door. "Hello, anywhere is fine." The middle-aged man
stared at her for a moment. His face a tight mask of uncertainty. His eyes seemed to drink her in.
Frowning, Elizabeth fidgeted under his scrutiny. "Or did you want take out?"
"W-What?" His thick British voice stammered. "Oh...oh no. I..." The man took off his glasses and
started cleaning them. "Actually I came here..." The man cleared his throat and looked over at Jason's
menacing glare. "A cup of tea would be nice."
Elizabeth smiled and nodded before heading to the counter.
The man looked around before taking a seat. Jason kept an eye on him while he waited for Elizabeth to
serve the man his drink. He'd never seen the man before. Another stranger. Something definitely was
up.
"So are you new to town? Or just passing through?" Elizabeth must have also noticed the increase of
new faces. Her friendly mask was firmly in place as she walked around the counter, the teacup
balanced in one hand as she wove through the dinning area.
"Passing through actually." The stranger answered quickly. "I'm looking for someone who's been
missing for the last few years."
Jason watched from his spot a few feet away as her delicate brow lifted. "That sounds interesting. Do
you think this person is in Port Charles?"
The man smiled faintly. "You could say I've found some reliable proof."
"Well I hope that you find whoever you are looking for. Would you like anything else?"
"N-No, thank you." Nodding Elizabeth backed away. Right into the solid chest of Jason.
"Why are you still here?" Her voice contained the frost he'd been expecting.
"Ric."
"What? Oh yeah." Putting as much space between them as she could, Elizabeth busied herself with
refilling the salt and pepper shakers. "I haven't noticed anything. He seems like a nice enough guy. But I
really don't know him all that well. Besides if you don't trust him why do you have him representing
you? No don't answer that." Holding her hands up to stop him from answering, Elizabeth rolled her
eyes. "It was Sonny's idea."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He knew what she meant. Had been wondering the same thing
himself. But the way she said Sonny's name rubbed him the wrong way.
Lifting her head, Elizabeth gave a look that could kill. "Jason this is a conversation you do not want to
get into with me. Trust me."
Elizabeth took a small silver teapot and an extra tea bag over to Kelley's only customer. Signaling to
Jason that as far as she was concerned their conversation was over. With an aggravated growl Jason
stalked over to one of the stools in front of the counter and took a seat. He was here for answers and
that's what he was going to get.
~~~*~~~
"So what exactly are we gonna do?" Readjusting the strap on her carry on, Willow looked around the
small airport with trepidation. "If Tess doesn't know who she is, how is she supposed to remember
who we are?"
"Angel's contact seems to have some information on what happened to her." Buffy answered. Her
voice barely above a whisper. Ever since Angel's call that morning she hadn't been able to erase the
nightmare of graduation from her mind. She could still see Tess's face, could see her mouth moving as
she yelled to her to keep running. It was the last time she'd seen her friend before the building blew.
"I'm sure we'll be able to figure out how to help her."
"I'm still having a hard time believing she's alive. It's been four years."Shaking his head in disbelief,
Xander looked down at the ground as he walked along side of his two best friends. In the next twenty-
four hours another friend he'd thought was dead was going to be back. It was a lot to take in.
"Giles should already be here." Hating the silence, Buffy had to keep the conversation going or she'd
go crazy. "I wonder if he's seen her yet?"
"It's a good thing he was in Boston." Willow replied. "You don't think he'll approach her yet do you?
Angel said to wait until they got here and we had all the information."
"I don't know. I mean you know Giles. He'll probably search her out. But he's not really up on the
verbal skills." Xander grinned. "It's gonna be great seeing him again. You don't think he's back to
wearing tweed again now that he's back in with the Watchers."
"Oh god I hope not." Buffy groaned. "I'd hate to think that after all our hard work and dedication to
make him somewhat normal that a year back with the old crusty farts would ruin it all."
~~~*~~~
"What do you mean the senor partners sent back up?" Holding the phone to his ear, Ric paused in his
pacing. "Lilah it's just McDonald."
"Yeah, apparently you haven't been filled in one Lindsey's new pals."
"I could care less if he's best friends with Godzilla. After tomorrow it's over. We'll have the slayer on
our side. There's nothing he can do about it." Was it just this morning that he had been on the top of the
world. A promotion in his pocket and a song in his heart? Now everything was going to hell. Just
because McDonald butted his nose into a situation that had nothing to do with him.
Lilah snorted over the phone. "Alcazar came busting into the boardroom this morning. Seems that one
of his contacts there told him about your little confrontation with the former Golden Boy. Not good Ric.
The man is seriously unhinged. He's also sending some of his men out that way."
"Crap." Muttering darkly under his breath, Ric ran a hand over his face.
"You haven't heard the worst part."
"Do I want to hear this?"
"Angel and his little friends are about twenty minutes away from arriving in Port Charles."
"Angelus?"
"The one and only. Ric, I hate to say this. But you're so dead."