Elizabeth had been sitting in the exact spot for the last two hours and nothing before her changed. There were still piles and piles of patient folders scattered around none of which she had even bothered to open. She had only been able to focus on the image of Theresa and Jason that scrolled through her mind like it was on a continuous film loop. The shrill ring of her cell phone forced her to concentrate on something other than what she had seen. Yet, when she picked up the phone and saw Jason's number she dropped it back on her desk and let it go straight to voicemail.

She knew he had taken first place in the feature that day. Even though she wanted tune out the world after what she saw, she couldn't help but flip on the radio in her office and listen to the race none the less. The rational part of her brain was screaming that Jason wasn't Billy and Theresa was a whore who like Melanie so aptly pointed out was always looking for her fifteen minutes of fame. However, Elizabeth's firsthand knowledge of the lengths Theresa Kennedy would go to get those fifteen minutes made it hard for her to not let her illogical emotions get the better of her.

It had been a red letter day for Ryan Racing with Jason taking first, Billy third and Leo sixth place. Her father should have been over the moon as his team just kept racking up the wins, mainly Jason she thought. She looked down at her phone again and saw the message indicator light blinking. Elizabeth debated whether to listen to it or just ignore it. She was torn part of her wanted to hear the excitement she expected his voice to have remembering how he promised her a celebration after the race but a larger part of her wasn't able to erase the pictures of Theresa's possessive stance and seductive manner in which she implied ownership of Jason. Elizabeth pushed but the caustic taste of bile at the back of her throat. She wasn't ready to face any of it, not her fears and insecurities, not Jason or his possible explanation. Rather than face any of those things Elizabeth opened the first folder within reach and pretended to work knowing very well that she'd be getting nothing done that evening.

"Well that face surely doesn't say first place winner," Leo joked as he gauged Jason's expression.

"I can't get a hold of Liz. It went right to voice mail."

"She's probably busy with some hospital emergency," Leo suggested.

"Yeah," he agreed. "We talked earlier about celebrating after the race…"

Leo clutched his heart as he interrupted his friend, "What, I don't rank as celebration worthy material?" He laughed playfully swatting at Jason's shoulder.

Jason chuckled as Leo batted his eyelashes in his direction. "Well, honestly you really aren't my type."

"I'm crushed." Leo feigned insult. "Seriously, let's go grab a beer and celebrate. Try calling her again from the bar. I'm sure she's just stuck at work. I could call Melanie and see where Liz is," Leo suggested.

"Melanie huh? Got her number on speed dial do you?" Jason kidded. He knew things between the pair had stalled since the race at Bristol but it was obvious that they both still thought about the other more than either cared to admit.

"No, I do not," Leo announced with far too much emphasis. "Do you want me to check with her or not?"

"Sure, whatever you need to do," Jason smirked.

Leo dug through his duffel bag searching for his phone, pulling it out immediately noticing a missed call and voicemail. Quickly he swiped the icon and instantly Melanie's distraught voice filled his ear.

"What's wrong?" Jason mouthed sensing a sudden change in his friend's expression.

"Hey can I catch up with you in a bit? There's something I need to take care of."

"Yeah sure. Everything okay?" Jason was puzzled by Leo's abrupt transformation in demeanor. His friend wasn't easily rattled but something about the voicemail he had just listened to had done just that.

"Yeah. I forgot there was something I needed to do. I'll meet up with you in a bit."

"Okay," Jason replied still perplexed as he watched Leo's swift exit.

Leo slid behind the wheel of his car and listened to Melanie's message a second time. The message basically recounted the snippet of the interview and how the camera strategically panned to Theresa at the most inopportune moment for Liz to see her hanging on Jason's car and making every attempt to insinuate herself into his orbit.

"Damn you, Kennedy," he seethed before placing a call to Melanie. "Yeah I got the message. Where is she now?" Leo asked. "Okay make sure she doesn't leave. I'm on my way."

Leo stepped off the elevator and made his way down the corridor toward Elizabeth's office. Without knocking he opened the door to the sight of the back of a black leather office chair. "I told you Melanie, I'm fine."

"That's not what I heard."

The sound of Leo's voice startled her. Elizabeth gathered her emotions before turning around to face her longtime friend. A friend she could hide very little if anything from. "She called you?" Elizabeth questioned. If she hadn't been so caught up in her own personal drama, she would have been over the moon at that idea Melanie reached out to Leo of all people. It showed her there was hope for them yet.

"Of course."

"Why?" Elizabeth feigned ignorance.

"I have a pretty good idea but how about you tell me," Leo countered.

"I don't have a clue."

"Yeah, like I'm buying that," Leo scoffed. "Spill it Ryan."

"Really Leo, there's nothing to talk about," Elizabeth assured him. "In fact, I'm really busy. I need to get back to work."

"Elizabeth, look at me," Leo instructed when she bent her head pretending to review the file in front of her. "If you think I'm leaving before we talk about what's bugging you, well girl that isn't happening."

Elizabeth brought her hand to her forehead pressing her fingers against her suddenly throbbing temples. The last thing she wanted to do at the moment was rehash the events of the day especially since she had spent the better part of the afternoon doing just that. However, Elizabeth knew Leo wasn't going away no matter how much she willed him to. Leo Jorgenson was a stubborn one almost as tenacious as she was and when he pulled up a chair and sat down she realized that like or not he was there for the duration.

"I took sixth place today," Leo finally said after the pair continued starring one another down.

"I know," she answered.

"So you did watch the race then?"

"No, I listened to it." Elizabeth pointed to the radio.

"Then you also know Jason came in first."

"Uh-huh."

"And that he called you."

"Uh-huh."

"And that we should be out celebrating right now?"

"Uh-huh."

"Liz, enough with the mono-syllables please," Leo groaned. "Melanie told me about the interview you saw, about Theresa. Are you seriously letting some television snippet that meant nothing get the better of you?"

Elizabeth didn't say a word but opened the top drawer of her desk bringing forth a half a dozen articles about Jason and Ryan Racing where Theresa found a way to be next to Jason, between Jason and Billy, or perched next to Jason's car. It killed her that she had kept them rather than shredding them on the spot but the stack splayed across her desk served to prove her point. "Tell me I'm wrong," she said.

"You're wrong, dead wrong!"

"A picture is worth a thousand words, Leo."

"I won't lie to you, yeah Theresa is using every opportunity to wiggle her way into Jason's path. But Jason's not Billy. He's not buying into her act. In fact more times than not he puts her in her place and she's forced to slink away with her tail between her legs. You're giving her too much power!" Leo hated to see the defeated look on his friend's face. It reminded him so much of the expression she wore those first few months after she found Theresa in bed with Billy. "And not giving Jason enough credit."

"I know what I saw."

"What, what did you really see? Theresa hanging round? When have you known her not to hang around the pits and garage? That's her MO."

"She wants Jason."

"And Jason loves you," Leo countered forcefully.

"Billy loved me too," she refuted.

"The hell he did! He loved your name. I'm pretty sure he loved Pat more than he loved you." It killed Leo to say such hurtful things to her but the both knew they were true.

Elizabeth wanted to be shocked at his words yet she couldn't. They were facts that couldn't be disputed. Part of her wanted to believe that some part of Billy's affections for her had been genuine at least at first, however his true love was making himself indispensable to Pat Ryan's racing team.

"I'm sorry," Leo announced feeling like a heel looking at Elizabeth's solemn expression.

"It's true," she answered softly. "I know it is. Doesn't make it suck any less," she gave him a half smile.

"I am sorry, but you can't really believe that this…that these situations are even remotely the same. Jason doesn't give a damn about your dad or Ryan Racing. He never has. He does however love you."

Deep down Elizabeth understood what Leo was telling her was true yet she couldn't shake the feeling of being sucked into a very bad dream. Everything that Theresa was doing with Jason, trying to get close to him, being where he was all of the time, making sure that she made the most of Elizabeth's absences, that's all how it had begun in her quest of Billy.

"Liz," Leo reached across the desk and took her hands in his. "You can't let Theresa do this to you. Don't allow her to make you doubt what you know to be true. Don't give her the satisfaction of forcing you into hiding."

"I'm not hiding," she countered.

"Aren't you? You didn't avoid Jason's phone call purposefully?" he asked pointedly. "You are playing right into her hands by staying away. Claim what's rightfully yours."

"You make Jason sound like some sort of trophy."

"To Theresa he is. Just like Billy was. She's only after whoever is winning."

"Or whoever is with me," Elizabeth whispered.

"That too. I'm not telling you not to be weary of Theresa. We all know what she's capable of but unlike Billy, Jason's not buying what she's selling. It doesn't matter how she much she tries to be a part of his world he's shutting her down at every turn."

"I know," she quietly agreed.

"What? What was that?" Leo put his hand to his ear feigning deafness.

"You heard me." Elizabeth swatted at him playfully smiling for the first time at afternoon. "I know Jason isn't Billy. I know he sees right through Theresa and her games but Leo, seeing her today so close to him it sent me over the edge."

"I'll bet and I'm sure it didn't help that you only saw a snippet of what happened. Of course the cameras didn't show Jason blowing her off yet again. You know as well as I do that the media sensationalizes everything. Don't let them help Theresa by believing their propaganda." Leo picked up the pictures Elizabeth and produced from her desk drawer earlier illustrating his point.

"It's hard not to. I want to be able to say that I'm past what happened with Billy and Theresa's part in it, but I'm not. I really thought I was but lately everything that's been happening has just brought it all front and center."

"Talk to Jason. Let him know what's going on, how you're feeling."

"I can't."

"Why not?" Leo was completely perplexed.

"I can't bother him with my issues especially not this far into the season."

"Man your dad really has done a number on you hasn't he?"

"What do you mean, my dad has done a number on me?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. He's brainwashed you into believing that nothing comes before his team not even his daughter's happiness. You've played into that notion over and over first by not telling Pat what an ass Billy was to you and what he did. You let Pat blame you for it all and now you're going to sit here stewing in your own turmoil instead of just talking to Jason because you're afraid it will mess with his head out on the track. That's whacked!" Leo declared. "Why can't you see you are more important than any race?"

Elizabeth let out a labored breath. She wished she could see things through the lens that Leo looked at life. Though years of being Pat Ryan's daughter and all that meant were ingrained in her and it wasn't something that it was easy for her to forget or attempt to change for that matter. "I'm trying," she finally spoke.

"You ready to get out of here?" he questioned. "I promised Jason a celebration."

Elizabeth looked at her desk and debated with herself realizing that she had wasted an entire day and didn't get a single thing accomplished. She really should stay and at least try to make a dent in the pile in front of her, however when she looked at Leo's puppy dog eyes she couldn't refuse him. "Only if we pick Melanie up on the way." She may have been dealing with her own issues but that hadn't stopped her from knowing that her two best friends were made for each other.

"If that's what it will take to get you out of here, whatever sure."

Jason sat in the booth nursing his third beer when he looked down at his watch. It'd been almost two hours since Leo dashed out of the Ryan garage promising to meet up with him later. Well it seemed like later wasn't happening and suddenly Jason didn't feel at all like celebrating. It wasn't the same without his friends, without Elizabeth. He had tried her cell a second time but got her voicemail again. Taking a final swig of his beer and throwing a ten dollar bill on the table, Jason stood up.

"Celebrating all by yourself?" the female voice cooed.

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose He could feel the heat radiating off her body, Theresa was that close. "I was just leaving," he declared edging by her.

"Oh come on now, one more drink won't hurt will it?" she pressed.

"I don't think so, Theresa."

"Jason, please," she whined sweetly as she pulled his arm bringing him closer just as Melanie, Leo and Elizabeth walked through the door.

For Elizabeth it was as if all the air had suddenly been sucked out of the room. She felt her chest tighten and she was barely able to breathe. She would have done anything to avert her gaze from the scene across the bar, yet her brain refused to comply. She stared mesmerized by the closeness of her boyfriend and her nemesis. When she finally regained control of her senses, Elizabeth turned and darted back out the door both Melanie and Leo calling after her.

Billy cut the engine and coasted into an open space adjacent to the bar. He knew his pit crew would be inside, but he hung back for a minute in his mind third place wasn't much to celebrate over. He was pissed that that afternoon he just hadn't been able to get command of the track. It hadn't helped he thought that he started the race in tenth place. Billy gripped his steering wheel forcefully until his fingers went numb. It was then he noticed the scrolling neon side on the side of the building flashing congratulations to Jason Morgan on his first-place finish at Rockingham that day.

Letting out an angry growl, Billy threw open the car without even looking nearly knocking a passerby to the ground who was running by. It was then he realized who he had just almost hit. "Elizabeth?" he questioned astonished.

"Can you get me out of here?" she requested.

Billy nodded in total shock when Elizabeth Ryan climbed into the passenger side of his car.