Mindset 21

She took the steps two at a time, jogging up to her room after a long night. Her visit with Emily Quartermaine had been quite nice. She had managed to avoid the other woman's parents and that doctor and the two of them had simply sat in her hospital room and enjoyed a bowl of hot chili. The visit cheered Emily up considerably, and she had confessed that she wasn't feeling as good today as she had in previous days.

Inevitably, their conversation had turned to her past life, and Elizabeth had listened as Emily continued to brief her on the sort of person she used to be. Apparently, she was an artist and used to waitress at Kelly's. That had explained the peculiar, somewhat nauseous feeling that had overcome her when she, Johnny, Max and Francis had visited the diner that morning. They said it was where a lot of the younger people worked and lived, but as soon as Elizabeth set foot inside, she knew it wasn't for her. The guards had taken her to Jake's after that and since she felt considerably more at ease there, she decided to stay.

Emily also informed her that she had been raped when she was sixteen years old. Elizabeth didn't know how to react to the news, and fortunately for her, Emily wasn't looking for any particular reaction. The younger brunette had apparently understood when Elizabeth had explained slowly and somewhat unsurely that she didn't know how to feel in regards to the revelations about her past because it seemed to her to be about someone else entirely. Elizabeth Webber and Elle Webber were two entirely different people, she felt, and though the news was disturbing, she believed Emily when she told her that she had moved past it and had been doing quite well.

Also, she had been engaged to that psychotic Spencer kid. Elizabeth found that personally more disturbing than the previous news. She was thankful to learn that she had called off the engagement, and then jumped into a misguided relationship with Emily's ex-boyfriend that was relatively short-lived.

And then came the most surprising news. Emily had told her somewhat hesitantly that she had then moved on with Jason and had been living with him for quite some time at his penthouse.

The news had thrown her for a loop; for some reason, she couldn't envision herself – or her old self, rather – with a man like Jason. He was solid and dependable and quite a comfort, admittedly, and she enjoyed his friendship and support. He never seemed to expect anything from her, and that was refreshing. But after hearing Emily describe their relationship…seeing herself kissing Jason, sleeping with Jason, or otherwise being with Jason just wasn't something she could do. It seemed too strange, too outlandish.

And so she had simply shrugged it off and sat back as the other brunette continued to ramble. She and Jason had apparently broken up and Jason had immediately taken up with his boss' sister, much to her own displeasure. She had moved on with a man named Ric Lansing, but they soon broke up when it was revealed that he was Sonny's brother and apparently a little touched in the head. The man had disappeared soon after and according to Emily, she hadn't been overly consumed with grief at his departure.

Before long, it was late and Elizabeth knew that her 'friend' was tired. Emily had thanked her profusely for coming, saying that it was good to have someone to talk to and something to do. Without fully knowing why, Elizabeth had found herself promising to come back soon. She had taken Emily's soft hand in her own and squeezed it firmly before slipping out the door and returning to Jake's with Francis.

The bodyguard was still downstairs, having run into a couple of the newer hires that had stopped him and asked him to have a few drinks with them. She, however, had enough fun for one night and was surprisingly looking forward to her first night spent out of the oppressive hospital.

She dug her keys out of her pocket and expertly slid them into the lock, remembering Jake telling her that it might stick a little. With a little tug, she got the door open and pushed it aside, stepping into her new place of residence. But the sight in front of her had her stopping dead in her tracks, staring into the dimly lit room as if she were sure that she was seeing things.

Letting out a puzzled huff, Elizabeth turned on her heel and pulled the door shut behind her, marching down the hall to Johnny O'Brien's room and rapping on the door.

Thankfully, the guard wasn't entertaining any female guests at the moment, and when he opened his door, Elizabeth saw only a newspaper sitting on his bed atop the covers. He quirked a brow teasingly at her, one hand falling to his hip. "What's the matter, Elle? I thought you said you weren't going to be bothering me twenty-four-seven just because you lived down the hall."

She looked up at him blandly, crossing her arms over her chest. "John, why is Jason Morgan passed out on my bed?"

The bodyguard actually had the decency to look slightly guilty, and her eyes narrowed as he scratched his head. "…He wanted to snuggle?"

He watched her hand curl into a fist, and when the little brunette took a menacing step toward him, the bodyguard quickly put up both hands in surrender. There was no doubt that he could take her, but he had never fought a girl before and didn't intend to start any time soon. "Okay, okay."

"What's he doing there, John?"

"He…had a bit much to drink," the guard responded hesitantly, eyeing her tightly clenched fists. "He found out that you were working at Jake's and he must not have liked it, because he stomped up here and sat down in your room to wait for you. Max and I tried to get him out of there, but he said he had to talk to you and he'd put us six feet under if we didn't get the hell out of there. So…we got the hell out of there."

"My heroes," she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Well? What the hell am I supposed to do? He's completely passed out! And he's so huge that he's taking up the whole damn bed!"

"What are you asking me for?" Johnny asked, looking up thankfully when Max dropped by to see what the commotion was all about.

"I take it she found him, huh?" he asked, eyeing the little brunette sheepishly.

"Yeah."

"Did you tell her he wanted to snuggle?…Ow!" The Italian rubbed his arm, angrily glaring at the young woman that had delivered the blow. "No need to get pissy, Elle."

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked again, her hands on her hip as her eyes darted back and forth between her two lunkhead friends. "He weighs three times what I do."

"Hey, don't look at us," Max informed her, holding up his hands. "We're in no rush to get our faces smashed in. Sorry, sunshine, but you're on your own."

"Don't call me sunshine," Elizabeth muttered, pushing her way past the two men and plopping down on Johnny's lone desk chair. "This is just great."

Johnny collapsed back on his bed as Max leaned against the doorjamb, his sympathetic eyes on his young friend. "Jason's…difficult sometimes," he managed with a shrug. "He's stubborn. When he said he wanted to talk to you, we knew that nothing we said would get him to leave. So we didn't really bother."

"Can I ask you guys something?" Elizabeth asked abruptly, looking at the two men. Max and Johnny exchanged nervous glances but nodded anyway, and the Italian guard slowly sat down on the beat-up recliner in the corner of the room.

"Go ahead."

"Jason and I…used to date, right?"

A strained silence followed in which both men glared at each other, telling the other to explain. Finally, Johnny spoke up. "Yeah, kinda."

She quirked a brow at him. "What do you mean, kinda?"

"It's a long story," he hedged, rubbing the back of his neck as he stretched out on his bed.

"Where am I going?" Elizabeth asked humorlessly, leaning back in her seat.

The Irishman let out a sigh, obliging her request. "Well, you first became friends one night at Jake's – you remember that, right?"

She nodded absently, remembering how Jason had briefly explained their first encounter and early friendship during her stay at the hospital. "Yeah, and then I found him shot in the snow and helped him recover."

"You basically hid him at your studio and let everyone believe that you were his whore when Nikolas Cassidine discovered you guys," Max piped up, putting up the footrest and leaning back in the recliner.

Elizabeth's brows shot up at that, but she let him continue without interruption.

"He left town a while later, and when he came back, he needed a place to hide again. He came to you and you let him use your studio." Max shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. "Look, I don't really know what happened when, but…"

"We think that's when Jason first had a hard-on for you," Johnny blurted out blandly, shrugging defensively when Elizabeth almost fell off her chair and shot him a dark glare. "All we know is that he was suddenly really pissy whenever he saw you and that Spencer kid together. Like he wanted to beat his face in."

"And I walked in on the two of you almost kissing once," Max added meekly. "I think you kind of went back and forth between the two of them before you chose Lucky, and then Jason left town."

"When he got back, you finally seemed to get things together," the other guard picked up, "but then you hooked up with that Smith puissant and Jason kind of bowed out. You broke up with him and then you and Jason started living together, but then Sonny faked his death and Jason didn't tell you, so you got mad and left his ass."

"You met Ric Lansing then, and Jason picked up with Sonny's sister about two weeks after you walked out," Max muttered, studiously avoiding Elizabeth's eyes. "Yeah, it was kinda harsh. We all thought so."

"Ric went psycho and Sonny took care of him…and Jason and Courtney got engaged." Johnny flopped back on his comforter, folding his arms under his head and staring up at the ceiling. "And that's where we are now."

"Although if you ask me, it looks like there's trouble in paradise," Max mused, kicking off his shoes and burrowing back in the comfortable recliner. "Courtney's been on the island for a while and Jason's only spoken to her once or twice, by my count. It's like he's avoiding her."

"Well, he's got a lot on his mind right now," Johnny countered with a shrug. "I probably shouldn't say this stuff around you, Elle, but…who are you gonna tell, you know? Things are getting kinda bad with Alcazar – Jason's been busy with the business end of things."

But Elizabeth was barely listening. The guards continued to talk shop, idly speculating about the upcoming meeting with Alcazar and the Five Families, and the state of the shipping routes and waterfront property. However, both men stopped and looked at her when she abruptly swung her legs off the desk and got up, promptly leaving the room and marching down the hall.

Johnny quirked a brow at Max. "Damn, was it something we said?"

When Jason Morgan awoke, he found himself stretched out on his bed above Jake's. But a closer inspection revealed that it wasn't his room – although it certainly looked very similar. The recliner, the immaculate dresser, the bookshelf laden with books…all of it looked like his. But the one tip-off was the lacy powder blue thong sticking out of the corner of the top drawer of the dresser.

With a groan, he flopped over onto his back and kept still. Somehow, he had ended up in a woman's room. He wasn't even sure which woman it was, but he hoped to God he hadn't slept with her. He had indulged in quite a few questionable pieces of tail over the past few years, and he couldn't expect his luck to hold out forever.

But the owner of the room didn't show any signs of returning, so Jason stayed where he was. Gradually, he became aware of the fact that he was still completely dressed. His shirt was still tucked into his jeans, which were still buttoned and zipped. The only change was that his socks and boots had been peeled off and probably rested near the bed.

All he had to do was get up and make it down the hall to his own room. Hell, he could even make it to Johnny or Max's rooms – they were probably already at work for the day. Slowly, he rolled over onto his stomach, peering over the edge of the bed. Sure enough, there were his socks and shoes, set neatly together by the foot of the bed.

It took him a minute to sit up and when he had, he didn't bother trying to don his boots. Instead, he simply picked up his shoes and socks and clambered to his feet, wondering if he should leave something for the mysterious boarder whose room he had commandeered for the night.

With a sigh, he fished a few bills out of his pocket and tossed them on the nightstand, more than ready to leave. His skull pounded as he shuffled toward the door, pulling it open quickly and stepping into the hall. It was morning, so Jake's wasn't that busy and he was glad for it. The faint sound of the jukebox made him wince, and Jason quietly shut the door behind him and ambled toward his own door.

Halfway there, a door in the hall opened and Johnny O'Brien stepped out, ready to report to work. He jumped back the instant before he collided with his boss, and opened his mouth to say something. But Jason immediately glared at him, silencing him, and Johnny let him pass without a word.

With a sigh of relief, he reached his own door and finally managed to ease it open. His boots fell on the thin carpet with a dull thud as Jason flipped on the lights, hoping that a shower and a fresh change of clothes followed by a pot of coffee would be enough to do the trick.

But the sight before him had him stopping in his tracks and half-wondering if he was still drunk. Snuggled under his comforter, right in the middle of his bed, was Elizabeth. Her hair was open and fanned out across his pillow, and she had rolled the sheets around herself to form a white cotton cocoon. She was still asleep and would periodically emit little sighs and mews, and Jason could only stare at her.

The memories from the night before came rushing back to him just as he was about to call out to Johnny to explain this mess. She had been at Jake's for some reason – with the guards. She had left with Francis and he had gone to her room to…talk to her about something.

That was all he remembered.

But as he stood there, more memories came flooding back – unwelcome memories. Namely, the memory of the transcripts that Benny had so hesitantly handed over to him; Alcazar's note that AJ had passed on; the conversation with Sonny. The realization that his fiancé had run over Elizabeth with her car and kept on driving.

A mask of granite descended over his features as she pulled his other pillow down to her, wrapping her arms around it and throwing one leg over it as far as her cocoon would allow. Quietly, Jason set his jacket down on his desk chair and ambled toward the bathroom, stripping off his shirt and letting it fall to the floor, forgotten, as he wondered just what the hell he was supposed to do about the mess.