Pg4

Bright and early, the moment the diner opened for business, Emily found herself practically bouncing in her seat, eagerly anticipating the conversation that was to be had that morning. Forget any gossip that Jason could have supplied her, not that he ever would, this was definitely the juiciest gossip that she could ever hope for when it comes to the people she cares about.

She's known Sarah since the moment she was adopted into the Quartermaines. Their friendship was almost instantaneous. To have known her for as many years as she has and not know that she had a sister, well, Emily's ready for all the details, every last juicy drop of it. She was just about to wave the waitress over to put in a drink order to start with when her brother-in-law, Lucky Spencer, comes walking into the diner.

"Lucky!" she says with a bright smile. "When did you get back to town?"

"Late last night," Lucky admits. "I just met up with Nik and he told me something I had to hear for myself."

"Right?!" Emily exclaims, gesturing for him to take a seat. "I couldn't even wrap my head around it when I heard it first."

"Who'd have thought the Webbers actually had that skeleton in their closet," Lucky comments before waving over the waitress. "I'm guessing you're here to get Sarah to give you all the details."

"Obviously," Emily says before turning to the waitress to put in her drink order, waiting long enough for Lucky to put in his and the waitress to walk away before continuing, "I mean, how long have we known her? You'd think that it would have come up at least once over the years, right?"

"No kidding," Lucky replies. "If it didn't come from your grandmother, I'd have never believed it."

"You and me both," Emily agrees. "I mean, there's not a single picture of the third kid and neither of them ever mention having another sibling."

"Makes you wonder, doesn't it?"

"Wonder what?"

"If there's something wrong with them," he says like it's obvious. "I mean, why else would they not want to be associated with them?"

"I never considered that," Emily mulls it over. "Guess that gives me another reason to talk to Sarah about it. What with my family trying to go into business with them and all."

"For sure," Lucky replies. "Then again, Edward's not very particular in who he goes into business with as long as there's money in it for me."

"Not if getting into business with that person leads to more trouble than they are worth," Emily counters in defense of her grandfather before glancing at her watch. "Ugh, where is she, she's never this late."

"Okay, I know she's your best friend and all, but that's far from the truth and you know it."

"Yeah, yeah," Emily shakes her head. "So...maybe she's not particularly punctual..."

"More like never punctual," Lucky counters. "It's always a wonder how she stays employed."

"Guess it helps when she doesn't necessarily need the job," Emily says with a shrug. "Plus, the Webber name carries almost as much weight as the Quartermaine name."

"You got me there," Lucky accepts before rising to his feet. "I trust you'll fill me in once you know more."

"Wait, you're not staying to hear it from Sarah?"

"I would, but I promised my dad I'd help out at the club today," Lucky explains. "One of the pipes busted and flooded the whole place. We gotta figure out how bad the damage is and what it'll take to get it back in working order."

"Ah," Emily shakes her head. "You'll let me know if there's anything I can do?"

"Thanks, but all I need is the rest of the details."

"You got it," Emily smiles, hugging him goodbye when he leans over to hug her, happily still in her seat. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Lucky replies, knowing he'll be needing it, waving slightly when he gets to the door before leaving the diner.

Emily wasn't at all sure what she was expecting would be the reason for Sarah's family basically erasing a child from their family, but Lucky's assumption sure did bring things into perspective. Honestly, what other reason could the Webbers really have to quite literally erase any evidence of the child from their lives? The more she thought of it as she waited for Sarah to show up, the more she convinced herself that that had to be the truth. It just had to be.

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Carefully untangling from Jason, she quietly makes her way downstairs to the kitchen in nothing but his t-shirt, her heart content now that she has finally made it home to him. Making a cup of hot chocolate, she makes her way to the balcony double doors, pulling them open to take a seat outside.

After years of him flying out to her whenever the chance was made available, Elizabeth knew that she had to find a way to make things easier on him, thus the decision to move back to the states was born. Jason did his best to assure her that their current situation was enough for him, that she didn't have to come back to a place that she held no love for, and that he will continue to fly out if that's what it took to be with her.

As much as she loved him for always being willing to meet her where she is, his whole speech had the absolute opposite effect than he had intended, solidifying her decision in leaving Italy. Yes, she knows he doesn't mind flying to her for months at a time, but it was steadily growing insufficient. She was tired of saying goodbye to him. Tired of playing phone tag and tired of not being with him due to distance. She wanted more for them. So much more.

"Hey."

"Hey," she replies softly, setting down her now empty cup to rise to her feet as he walks over to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he assures, pulling her into his arms before placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "Almost thought I had dreamt you were here."

"Not a dream," she smiles, reaching up to run one hand through his hair. "I'm here."

"I see that now," he replies with a slight chuckle. "Why didn't you tell me you were flying out?"

"And miss out on that look that came over you at the sight of me?" she counters. "Nah, my way was much better."

"Thanks for letting me grab a few more hours of sleep," he says as they make their way back inside, shutting the balcony doors. "Sonny had me out pretty early."

"That would be my doing."

"I kind of figured," he teases. "So, tell me, what do you want to do today?"

"Well, we both know the first stop of the day, but the rest of the day is yours to plan," Elizabeth says simply. "I'm more than ready to see this place through your eyes."

For as long as she could remember, Port Charles had been nothing but a figment of her birth family's many conversations that she merely overhead, never having been invited to visit it whenever they happened to fly there for family occasions. Being here now, she wants nothing more than to see it through the eyes of the man she loves rather than people who barely acknowledged her existence.

It didn't hurt that she would be seeing it all on the back of his main bike, the one that he has basically modified from the ground up. The bikes in Italy were one thing, quite the rush, but she was definitely eager to take this particular ride with him. Once they are both dressed and ready to go, they make their way down to the garage to where his bike is, and she had to admit it was definitely breathtaking. So worth the wait.

"Well, I'll be damned," Jake voices when they walk through the front door, a broad smile gracing her face as she walks out from behind the bar to where they are. "Something told me I'd be seeing you today after I saw this lunkhead doing early rounds."

"Jake, Elizabeth," Jason does introductions, knowing full well it was redundant at this point. "Elizabeth, Jake."

"Oh, please, family needs no introduction," Jake waves away Jason's introduction, bringing Elizabeth in for a snug hug. "Welcome home, kid."

"Thanks, Jake," Elizabeth says, returning the hug. "It's good to finally be here."

"I was just about to put some steak on the grill for lunch," Jake says as she makes her way behind the bar to pour them some drinks. "How about you guys hang out and join me?"

"We'd love that," Elizabeth voices when Jason looks to her for the answer. "If you have ingredients for dessert, I can whip us something up."

"You know me, I never turn down anything sweet," Jake says before gesturing for Elizabeth to follow her into the kitchen. "Let's see what we have to work with while lunkhead gets on the grill."

Shaking his head, Jason follows after them, carrying both his and Elizabeth's drink, knowing they were now in a world of their own the moment dessert was brought up. Setting their drinks down by the grill, Jason pulls out a couple more steaks before getting started grilling them up. Once the women have their ingredients, music is put on as they get to work whipping up the one dessert they all love, Elizabeth's mother's special recipe brownies.

Though they've only met in person for the first time today, you'd never tell from the look of them as they flow straight into comfortable conversation while baking. Once the brownies are in the oven, the two women make their way to him at the grill where they bring him into the conversation with ease. Yeah. This was it. He knew she'd fit seamlessly into his world here, but this was definitive and he couldn't be happier if he tried.

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Rushing out of her grandmother's house, she hops into her car to head to the diner, knowing full well that Emily was already waiting for her. Given her fully pregnant state, Sarah felt bad for leaving her waiting, but her alarm didn't go off and she had accidentally overslept. Relaying said reason to Emily when she finally got to the diner, finding her friend clearly having been there for quite some time, made more evident by Emily's need to use the restroom.

"Ah, much better," Emily says as she retakes her seat. "Gotta say, I almost called to cancel..."

"Again, I'm so sorry," Sarah cuts her off, trying to portray just how sorry she was. "I'm here now, right?"

"Sure," Emily smiles softly. "Besides, it gave me time to really think things through."

"Yeah?" Sarah looks at her curiously, waving over the waitress. "Do tell. What was the code red for again?"

"Well, I just learned something about your family that I had to ask you if it was true," Emily explains, turning to the waitress to put her food order in with Sarah before continuing once it was just them again, "I mean, how long have we been friends again?"

"As long as I can remember, I guess," Sarah looks at her curiously. "What's this about?"

"Exactly, we've been friends for forever and I'm only now learning that you and Steven have another sibling," Emily says pointedly. "I mean, what's that about?"

"I'm sorry...what?" Sarah looks at her in disbelief, wondering just how she was meant to play this. "Who told you I have another sibling?"

"My grandmother."

"That's..." Sarah hadn't expected that, wondering why it would come out all of a sudden. "Can I ask what brought the topic of my family up with Lila?"

"That's a long story," Emily replies and it was, too long for her to want to delve into it. "The gist of it is that your sibling is opening an art gallery in town or at least that was the information my grandfather gathered from one of his sources."

"That...that can't be," Sarah shakes her head. "There's just no way that she'd...she'd never. Not here. Not this town."

"I mean, we can go talk to my grandfather about it if you..."

"Yeah, let's do that," Sarah cuts her off, needing to know exactly what they knew. "Is he available now?"

"It's just about lunch, so, he should be heading home..."

"Good, let's go."

Emily wasn't sure what reaction she was expecting, but this definitely wasn't one of them. Apologizing to the waitress, asking her to pack it to go and that she'd send the driver to pick it up, Emily waddles after Sarah and follows her to the estate, arriving just in time to meet Edward in the foyer.

Though he wasn't too impressed with having Sarah practically drilling him about what he knew, Edward gave him the name on the lease, proving to Sarah that Emily wasn't lying. Her sister really is opening an art gallery in town. Thanking him for the information, Sarah rushes out of the estate, oblivious to Emily calling after her. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't.

Standing in the doorway, staring out as Sarah quickly leaves through the gate, her grandfather grumbling about the kinds of friends Emily keeps, Emily finds herself wondering just what that was all about. What could possibly have Sarah as frazzled as she is? Making a mental note to reach out to Sarah after she's had time to do whatever she felt she needed to, Emily closes the door, calling the driver to have them pick up the food before joining the family for lunch. Whatever that was, she has time to work through it with Sarah, but she'll leave things be for now.

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After more than a few hours of driving through the town, taking the winding road to Vista Point and back down again more than a few times, Jason pulls them into the parking lot of the building that will soon be her art gallery. She won't be starting on the place any time soon, wanting to get a feel for the town before she ever gets started, Elizabeth decides that she'll take a look at the place at least. Get a feel for the building and what it can be.

Jason, being Jason, has her wait at the doorway while he takes a look through the building, safety first. While he's inspecting the place, Elizabeth lifts up some papers that looked to have been shoved under the door, clearly left for her. Curious. Looks like some of the locals have caught wind of what this place is intended to be and have already started making bids for the contracts. One bid, in particular, catches her attention right away. Curiouser and curiouser.

"Place is secure," Jason voices as he makes his way back to her, confused by the look of amusement on her face. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," she says with a slight smirk before handing him the stack of papers, the bid he'd find most amusing lying right on top. "Looks like companies are already making bids for the contracts."

"Small town," he gives as a reason before his eyes fixate on the bid sitting at the top of the stack. "What are your thoughts on them?"

"You know where I stand."

"Yeah," Jason smiles softly, taking the Quartermaines' bid before handing the rest back to her, ripping up the bid with zero hesitation. "You're good to look around in here while I secure the outside."

"Sounds good," Elizabeth says before holding her hand out to him, explaining when he looks at her curiously. "I'll find a trashcan to throw it in."

"That's okay," Jason replies, a particularly devious look on his face. "I'll take care of it."

Softly laughing to herself as he heads out to secure the perimeter, Elizabeth shakes her head, having a pretty good idea of what he's about to do with that bid. Making her way over to a table near the entrance, she places the rest of the bids down on it before making her way through the gallery, her mind taking notes on the layout for future reference. Though she can appreciate the locals for wanting to jump in as soon as possible to take up whatever contracts she'll be dishing out for the gallery, she already knows which businesses she'll be doing business with thanks to Mario.

"Thoughts?" Elizabeth asks Jason once he's back inside with her.

"Maximus was right," Jason admits. "As far as security goes, this place is definitely secured."

"I'm glad you think so," Elizabeth smiles softly. "Because the inside definitely lives up to what I want out of a gallery."

"Walk me through it?"

"Of course," Elizabeth replies without hesitation, hugging his arm to her body as she guides him through the place, pointing out starting points for each area. "My favorite area is the second floor. With all that space, I'll be able to implement something I couldn't implement in Italy."

"The studio for struggling artists?" he asks, remembering that was something she was deeply passionate about.

"You remembered," she says though she isn't the least bit surprised that he would remember something she said offhandedly years ago. "To be able to have that with this gallery, I'm truly looking forward to when I finally get started on this place."

Seeing her face light up with hope for what this place could become, Jason can't help himself from pulling her in close and taking claim to her lips with his, moments like this bringing something out of him that he hardly ever addresses. Hope. When she talks of her dreams and all she aspires to, Jason finds himself feeling hopeful and completely engrossed by her.

He's hardly one to dream for himself, finding that he's found all he needed in the life he has now, each and every part of it has been out of his reach for most of his life. Now? Now he has everything he could ever have hoped for. The only dream he could ever want to hope for now is hers. Making her hopes and dreams come to fruition is all he dreams for and he'll do whatever it takes to make sure it comes true. Whatever it takes.

Locking up the building once they had their fill of looking around, Jason takes them back to the penthouse where he'll get started on the dinner he promised he'd make once they were together again. Lasagna. Getting home, he assures her that he had everything in hand, encouraging her to take the time to get herself settled in. Something she takes him up on. Feeling more and more at home with each luggage unloaded and stored away. Home. God, it felt good to say that. She's home with Jason. Their home. Theirs.


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Author's Note: Can the Quartermaines find a way to secure the big contracts in Elizabeth's gallery by some kind of miracle or are they crap out of luck from the jump? And what happens when Sarah pulls the rest of the Webbers into the equation now that she knows Elizabeth has put quite the claim to the town? Thanks for reading.