I did my best to do research for the stuff that's mentioned in this chapter, so I hope I'm not horrendously inaccurate.
Thank you so much for the continued support!
5
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Perth, Ontario
The glass jars shatter when Jason hears the shot, his hand already gripping his gun when he whirls around. There's no thought when he pulls the trigger, and watches crimson bloom from the clean shot to Melanie's heart. It's as if everything is stripped back to black and white. Sonny's muffled calls in the background. Melanie dead on the floor.
Elizabeth crumpled to the ground with blood oozing from her chest.
Everything snaps back into place at once, overloading his senses with a near paralyzing terror.
"Elizabeth!" His cry rips through him. His gun and the phone slip from his hands when he falls to his knees beside her. For a frantic moment, his intrinsic medical knowledge fails to surface as his hands quiver above her bleeding chest. His eyes dart around and things click. Snatching the rose cover off the end table, he folds it up, and presses hard against her wound, hoping to slow the flow of blood. In moments, her life soaks through it and pools between his fingers unhindered, coating his hands. She doesn't flinch, face as pale as freshly fallen snow. His breath comes in broken rasps, his vision becoming blurry.
"El-Elizabeth it's gonna be okay-I'm gonna get you some help—" His words tangle on his tongue, his mind a maelstrom of her - that first night at Jake's, her leaning over him to press her cheek to his forehead for his temperature, her in the leather jacket he bought her, her holding their son, the radiant shine in her eyes when she finally said yes - this woman he's known the majority of his life as Jason Morgan, and the heart rending thought that he might actually lose her spills hot tears down his cheeks.
He grabs the fallen phone with one shaking hand, nearly dropping it with his slick fingers and presses it between his shoulder and ear. "Sonny! Elizabeth's been—"
"Spinelli's already alerted the paramedics and sent your location. They should be there any minute," is Sonny's quick assurance and distant sirens emerge in the background.
He sniffles and gingerly feathers his fingertips around the side of her face in a loving caress. Trails of red stand stark against bone white. "Help is on the way. You're gonna be… you're gonna be just fine, Elizabeth. I-I promise," he tells her in a tremulous voice thick with tears.
Letting the phone drop to his lap, Sonny forgotten, he leans down and presses his lips to her forehead for a long moment, willing his love to reach her and tell her to hold on, to not leave him or her boys. Then, with a quavering inhale, he rests his forehead against hers.
The door bursts open behind him.
A stampede of footsteps rush in, then his hands are forced away as Elizabeth is lifted onto a stretcher. Voices swirl outside his head indistinguishable, his eyes unwavering on form. He drifts after her like a specter bound to her soul. Then something impedes him breaking his view as she's whisked out the door.
"What happened here sir?" A man with square features and graying hair barks.
Jason can physically feel her distance stretching from him like a tightness squeezing his lungs until he can scarcely breathe. "I need her-I need to be with her!"
His attempt to push past the cop is halted again. "We got one woman dead, another mortally wounded. You understand why we can't just let you leave without answers, right?" The cop's green eyes are harsh and unmoved as he holds his ground.
Jason tries to find his internal switch to shut down, to empty himself of emotion so everything can slide right through him with no effect. That switch keeps slipping out of his grasp and he wonders if it's because of her blood staining his hands. "Elizabeth-the woman that was shot-we were kidnapped and left in some cabin in the woods. We came here to ask to use a phone so we could go home. The woman must've been working with our kidnapper because she tried-she shot—" his throat burns and his stomach churns as he swallows, then finishes hoarsely, "I shot her before she could take aim again."
The cop looks skeptical, notepad in hand as a man from forensics walks up with Jason's gun in a sealed bag, handing it over. "You know, it's illegal to possess a firearm in Canada, right?"
Jason legitimately believes an explosion is about to detonate beneath his skin and the only way to relieve the pressure is to wrap his hands around this man's neck and squeeze. The question as to why he was left with his gun now makes sense. "Look," he growls short of spitting the word, "Elizabeth and I were kidnapped! I had no say in the god-damned matter! Take my gun-keep it! I don't give a damn! All I care about is Elizabeth. I need to be with her. I need to know if… if she's alive. Please," he pleads in the end, feeling tears bubble up and roll down his cheeks without his say so.
The cop stares at him for a few beats, expressionless before nodding to someone over Jason's shoulder. "Take this man to his girlfriend and don't let him out of your sight until we can find evidence to either corroborate or contradict his story."
Jason lets out a relieved breath from the bottom of his soul, blinking away more tears all the while. "Thank you." He doesn't wait for the cop's response as he follows a younger man out to a cruiser and climbs in.
The ride to the hospital feels like an eternity.
It gives him plenty of time to wonder if he's lost her already, if, when they arrive, he'll have to identify her body. It gets to the point where he considers just jumping out of the car and running to the hospital growing larger in the distance - surely it would be faster. The cruiser does eventually pull up to the building. The car hasn't completely stopped when he jumps out and bolts into the hospital.
He runs right up to the ER desk causing the woman stationed there to jump and stare at him with wide green eyes that drop to his bloodied hands.
"Sir, do you need—"
"There was a woman brought in with a gunshot wound to the chest not long ago... I need to-is she alive?" he begs in a fragile tone.
Her mouth opens and shuts, indecision pinching her gaze before landing on the officer that comes up beside him.
"That woman is a part of an ongoing investigation. What's her status?"
Her eyes fall down to her computer monitor and Jason experiences a rare rush of gratitude towards the policeman.
The keys of her keyboard click for a few seconds before she tucks a lock of raven dark hair behind her ear, turning eyes softened with sympathy back to him. His heart seizes up in his chest. "She went into cardiac arrest in transit, but they were able to revive and stabilize her. She's in surgery now to remove the bullet lodged in her pleural cavity. The bullet caused a hemothorax, so they're going to drain the blood within the pleural space as well. She also has three fractured ribs and a bruised right lung, but our best surgeons are on it. Barring no further complications, I'm certain she'll make it through this."
He goes nearly boneless, his fear finally relinquishing it's clawed grip around his throat. He inhales deeply, still trembling slightly. "Uh, thank you for letting me know."
The nurse's smile widens. "You're the husband?"
"That's the plan," his answer is automatic, blunt in its honesty.
She reaches behind the desk for a clipboard and attaches a few sheets of paper. She goes to hand it to him, but pauses when looking at his hands. "Um, you can clean up in the bathroom down that hall over there, then fill out this medical information on her so we can be sure to treat her to the fullest of our capabilities. And don't worry, the surgery has only just started so it'll be a few hours before they're done, okay Mr...?"
"Jason Morgan."
Her eyes round marginally before she's nodding jerkily in seeming shock.
He dips his head in a nod, turning towards the hallway previously indicated, noting the assessing stare of the cop on his way. Irritation rolls under the surface at the possibility of being brought in on his reputation alone. He's not the offender here, Renault is.
Striding past a man exiting the men's room, Jason enters. Moving in front of a sink he turns the water on cold. He watches the loose layer of blood drain down the sink diluted to a less harsher pink as his thoughts spiral, trying to find order. He said he plans to marry her. With her blood on his hands while she was in surgery for no doubt taking a bullet meant for him, he said he plans to marry her.
This is usually when the overwhelming urge to run away from her for her own good takes hold. He feels it itching under his skin, screaming at the back of his mind in a voice reminiscent of Carly.
But he's just so damn tired of running, of settling for second best when he could reach out and have what they both want with ease.
This, more than anything, is hitting home how much time they've wasted. Elizabeth very well could have died today - she had. And that would've been it. He never would've seen her smile again, or hear her laugh. He never would've seen her being the best mother he knows, or see the spark of strength flaring under her skin. He would've been living in a world of nothing again.
So he's sticking to this decision. Elizabeth was always the one fighting for them. It's about time he met her half way and put effort into the life with her he's wished for for years. To hell with anyone who believes he's making a mistake.
He said he was going to marry her. Renault made a mistake he'll pay for with his life. And after, if she'll still have him, he'll make their wish a reality.
He picks up the soap and begins scrubbing his hands.
—
Hospital ER
He filled out her forms and proceeded to pace for the next few hours, unable to remain in one place with the need to do something coursing so keenly within him. The trill ringing of a cell phone breaks up the monotony of people flowing in and out of the hospital. Vaguely, he notes the cop step away, his central focus being Elizabeth and wondering what's taking so long. It's been nearly five hours according to the clock on the pasty white wall.
"Mr. Morgan." The gravelly voice of the cop makes him still. He turns to face him, wary, but the cop isn't reaching for his cuffs. "We found the cabin and a note that corroborates your story. You as well as Mrs. Baldwin have been cleared of suspicion, just-head back home as soon as you're able."
Jason lets out a breath, slowly nodding. "Will do."
The cop departs, and he runs a hand over his face, looking back at the clock which reads just after midnight. Whispering footsteps approach him from behind and he turns to see the nurse with green eyes giving him a hesitant smile. "Elizabeth is just out of surgery. There were no complications, so with proper treatment she'll make a full recovery."
His eyes fall shut as the tension melts from his body. He looks at the nurse with bright grateful eyes. "Thank you for saving her."
Her eyes round before her smile becomes fuller. "I didn't do anything, but I'll pass on the sentiment all the same. Elizabeth is being moved to ICU where she'll need to stay for the next 24 hours. I'll take you there. It's on the second floor."
He follows after her where they take an elevator and emerge in a maze of halls - the typical hospital layout. After a few turns, they stop outside a door with a plate reading Webber, Elizabeth beside the door.
She turns to him again before he can step in. "She's going to be on oxygen therapy to keep her oxygen levels up. It's going to be a bit before she wakes up, so don't be alarmed."
He nods, thankful. "I-I really appreciate how kind you've been, uh, Nurse...?"
"Bailey," she supplies with a considering gaze. "And it's no problem at all. You've got an intimidating air about you, but I can see how much you love her."
He dips his head, nodding almost abashedly.
"Another nurse will be by every hour to cheek her vitals. I just wanted to take you here and explain a few things before I left for the day."
He meets her eyes, murmuring a soft thanks before she walks around him. He faces the door. Hand hovering over the handle for a moment, he pushes down on the cool metal and enters her room.
She looks so small.
Tucked under white sheets with tubes in her nose, she sleeps. His breathing trembles as he exhales and shuts the door behind him. He takes note of the BP readings, heart rate, and oxygen levels before finding the chair at her side and sinking into it. He collects her small hand in his, breath catching at the feel of her silken, warm skin aligning with his roughened touch again. He's been told that she would be fine and that she is okay. But seeing her, feeling her, finally drives it home. Pressing his mouth to the back of her hand in three loving kisses, he holds her skin to his cheek, willing his emotions to remain at bay and not to spill down his cheeks.
Slowly, tracing his fingers down the curve of her face that was once stained with blood, he finally speaks. "Hey. You're, um, in a-in a hospital. I didn't even catch the name, I was so worried about what would happen to you." The rhythmic beeps and soft hiss of air fill his pause. "You were shot trying to save me. That's twice in one day you've put your life on the line for me," he whispers, sweeping his thumb over her creamy cheek. He swallows thickly nuzzling her hand. "I don't-I don't get why you love me so much," he croaks then lets out a harsh breath, clearing his throat. "I guess that's just what love is. Ours is indescribable. You said something like that to me once."
She remains asleep, maybe hearing him, maybe not. But he feels content to just talk to her, always feeling wonder at the ease in which he can do so with her if he allows himself. "I know you're probably afraid I'm going to run off after this." He hums his denial pressing a quick kiss to her hand. "Not gonna happen. I'm in this for the long haul. For as long as you want me, I'm going to fight to be by your side, Elizabeth. I promise."
Time elapses while he gazes at her face transfixed, his eyes tracing her brows, her cheekbones, her jaw and cleft chin, her full lips and dark lashes finding her perfect. From head to toe, inside and out, flaws and all, she is everything he wants, so much so that it's agonizing even considering walking away again. He leans forward and kisses her forehead. "Not gonna happen," he repeats under his breath.
There's a light knock on the door as he sits back in his chair. Instead of a nurse coming in, he stands from his seat to catch Carly as she barrels into him. Her hold is tight, close to suffocating, but he hugs her back with just as much strength, inhaling her honeysuckle scent deeply.
"Oh thank god you're alright," she gasps in that wet breathless way, brimming with sincerity.
He squeezes her closer for a moment before pulling away and watching her wipe the tears from her eyes. "What are you doing here?"
She gives him a fond glare, raising an eyebrow. "Did you really think I would just stay home when Sonny told me where you were? He had to stay because of Donna and everything going on, but you better believe I was in a car after packing some things for you and—" she stops short, gaze falling on the figure in the bed. "Elizabeth. How is she?" she whispers, voice gaining an empathetic edge.
He rubs a hand over his face feeling exhaustion beginning to creep at his edges. He reclaims his seat. "She's going to make a full recovery."
There's a thud as the bag Carly was touting is sat on the ground, then the whirring of wheels as another chair settles beside his. "What happened? You guys have been missing for nearly a week."
He keeps his gaze on Elizabeth, not wanting to look away from her for too long. "It was a botched hit. Renault intended on killing Sam in front of me, but Elizabeth was the one with me at the time. We were kidnapped instead. We, uh, woke up maybe three days later, I guess, dumped in some abandoned cabin in the woods." He sighs, cradling Elizabeth's hand between his without thought. "He toyed with us. Left a note saying one of us had been poisoned and we had to find the antidote or drop dead in a matter of days."
"Oh god..."
"Elizabeth was the one who found it and tricked me into taking it because she knew..."
"She knew you would make her take it even though you were the one most likely poisoned. Jesus Christ," Carly surmised in a strained whisper.
"He knows me well enough to understand that I wouldn't risk an innocent life. He expected me to die, but if that failed, he had a woman prepared to kill us." He rubs his thumb across her knuckles, back and forth, over and over. "I let my guard down when I shouldn't have. I had my back turned when I made the call to Sonny, and Elizabeth..."
"Took the bullet," Carly finishes solemnly. "Wow, I'm going to be indebted to her for life, huh?" she tries to joke lightly, but it sounds hollow. Her hand falls over his wrist and he can practically hear her questions before they're even voiced. "Did something happen between you two? I thought she was happy with... Franco and you with Sam? I mean, Sam's perfect for you—"
"Is she Carly? Or is she the perfect fallback?" he cuts in coolly before her rant can begin. She doesn't respond immediately and he takes those seconds to turn Elizabeth's hand over and stroke his thumb over her wrist, wanting to be reassured by her pulse himself. "When I came back from that Russian clinic after realizing five years had passed, I was... shocked. Devastated. Everyone had grown, moved on with their lives. Where was I supposed to fit in? You had an answer for that of course," he says not exactly in anger, but more in resignation. Carly will always try and do what's best for him, even when that's not necessarily the case.
"Jason..."
"Sam and I don't work anymore. She's changed and I'm still the same. And yet, against all odds, I keep ending up back with her—"
"Because you're meant to be," she whispers sharply.
"Because I've never been strong enough to fight for Elizabeth!" he snaps, glaring into Carly's wet, defiant gaze before returning his eyes to Elizabeth. "I gave everything I told Elizabeth we couldn't have to Sam. A home, a family, marriage. I gave my dream to a woman I wasn't afraid to lose because it was the safe, practical choice for my life. Because I wouldn't have to worry about everything draining out of me the moment something happened to take her away from me."
"Like with Michael and Jake," she murmurs with a sniffle.
His breath is tremulous. "Yeah." He meets Carly's gaze again, seeing her frown, but she remains quiet, listening for once. "I love Sam, but I-I'm in love with Elizabeth. I want to be with her," he stresses trying to get her to understand. "And I'm going to after I kill that bastard," he growls, jaw tense as a flash of unbridled fury breaches his control before slipping back under the surface. He looks back at Elizabeth's face, peaceful in slumber. "I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks. I'm not running from her anymore." He kisses Elizabeth's hand again, done with the conversation.
"Elizabeth-she's not right for you Jason. She's whiny, and fickle, and is a damsel in distress. She doesn't understand you at all—"
"What is your problem with her? Really, Carly?" He glares at her, incensed at her never changing attitude. "Because you've hated her since she helped me when I got shot all those years ago."
Carly pouts, visibly struggling with her choice of lie. So it surprises him when what comes out of her mouth sounds hesitant and vulnerable. Honest. "She hates me Jason. She hates me and she's going to do everything in her power to get me out of your life. She doesn't understand that I need you." She touches his cheek with her fingertips. "I need my best friend."
He sighs and waits for her hand to drop. "Carly… did you ever think that if you didn't give her a reason to hate you, she'd be more accepting of you?"
"Well, no, but—"
"Elizabeth understands me better than you realize. You'll see if you give her the chance," he expresses with reverence, while looking upon Elizabeth.
"...Then I guess I'm going to have to put on my big girl pants and be the friend you deserve Jase," she says in an easy tone which he turns to, wide eyed. "I'm supposed to be your best friend which means I support you, even if I think you're making a mistake—"
"Carly," he warns, raising an eyebrow.
"I know, I know. I won't argue. I love you Jason, and that means I'm going to bite off anyone's head who tries to speak out against your relationship, including Sam if she doesn't get a clue after you talk to her," she proclaims with pride, straightening her shoulders and twisting her smile into something more devious. He shakes his head in exasperation, but smiles nonetheless. "Franco is... different," she admits after a beat in a subdued tone.
His mirth depletes, leaving him frigid. "Yeah, Sam and I-she said something to me that made me worried. You remember Manny Ruiz?"
Carly visibly shudders. "Yeah, who could forget that psycho freak." She blinks and the color drains from her face all at once. "Oh my god. You can't think—"
"I don't know." He looks back at Elizabeth, stomach twisting into painful knots. "Manny used the same excuse of a brain tumor being the reason for his behavior, but that proved not to be the case. The tumor just enhanced what was already there. I tried to talk to Elizabeth about it before the kidnapping but—"
"The moment his name came out of your mouth she snapped at you," Carly groans and rises, pacing in front of the bed with sharp thuds from her boots. "God, I know the town turned her into a pariah after what happened when we thought Drew was you, and it's mostly my fault, but choosing that man to cling to in response is just—" she growls in frustration. "And those boys. If Franco really has been pretending all along—"
"How are they?" he asks, chest tight with anxiety.
She looks at him, brows creased and eyes gentle. "Jake and Danny are fine-worried of course, but they've been staying at the Quartermaine's with Scout, Aiden, and Cameron. All of them are okay. Cameron got it in his head that he would confront Renault—"
He curses as his hand tightens around Elizabeth's, every muscle in him pulsing with terror.
Carly waves her hands, rushing to his side. "No no no, it's okay! Joselyn talked him out of it before he could even think to go through with it. She's been good for him during this."
He releases a breath, his hands shaking around Elizabeth's. "Okay." He tries to let relief ease his tension until he notices something odd about what Carly said. Looking into her eyes, he asks, "Why aren't Scout and Danny with Sam?"
She bites her lip and darts her gaze to the side. Incredulity hooks into his veins and tugs sharply. "She and, uh, Franco, of all people, apparently followed a false lead... to... Europe," she tries to say under her breath but he hears every word crystal clear.
The only thing keeping him seated as anger sears at his temples is Elizabeth's hand in his. "What the hell is she thinking?! She's on parole! She can't leave the goddamn city let alone the country."
Carly winces at his scathing tone, forcing him to take several calming breaths. "Sonny kept it under the radar. And beside, they're flying back - well, to Toronto. And then they have to drive here - I guess that doesn't really help."
"Sam should go home to her kids that she seemed so desperate to get out of prison for," he argues with a tight jaw, appalled at how careless she's been lately with her second chance with her kids. They need their mother. He shakes his head, pressing his forehead to Elizabeth's knuckles. "I don't give a damn about Franco. Looking into his medical records only proves he had the tumor, it's trying to prove he's been pretending all along that I've been struggling with," he admits, closing his eyes.
The faintest squeeze against his hand freezes his breath in his lungs.
He jolts into a rightened position, eyes zeroing in on Elizabeth's face. Her eyes squeeze tighter, her mouth pinching. His heart begins slamming against his ribs. She makes a small groan, head turning slightly in his direction. Her eyes peel open revealing a beautiful sliver of royal blue. She blinks with another groan and her eyes open wider. "J-Jason?" she breathes.
His breath rushes out and he leans forward, pressing a quick kiss to her mouth, her nose, then her forehead where he lingers with a thankful moan. He pulls back enough for her eyes to fill his vision, stroking his thumb over her cheek as sparks rush across his skin and bloom right in his chest. "You don't know how much I've missed your beautiful eyes or the sound of your voice," he breathes with an uncontrollable smile tugging at his lips.
There's a thick grogginess clouding her eyes, but he notices pinpricks of shock in their depths as a rosy flush begins to paint her face. The rhythm of the heart monitor begins to surge and an alarm blares. He lurches to his feet, eyes finding the machine. Her heart rate has skyrocketed while her oxygen levels struggle to keep up, dipping even. Panicked, he looks down to see Elizabeth's face contorting, her eyes pinched shut as she fights for her every breath.
His heart crashes through his stomach. "Elizabeth!"
The door crashes open and he's being tugged back. His focus is keen on the nurses and doctor surrounding her, watching them place a bag valve mask over her mouth and nose and begin to feed her air before he's yanked out of the door and into the hall.
"Jason! Jason, come on, you need to look at me," Carly orders, clamping her cool hands around his cheeks and forcing him to comply.
He feels light on oxygen himself, his chest a myriad of pain. "I-I don't know what happened! She was fine Carly!"
She nods calmly, combing through his hair with one hand in a comforting manner. "And they're going to get her back to that state. You'll see." No sooner than she says the words, the shrill alarm goes quiet and a calmer heart rate can be heard.
He lets out a shaky breath and Carly pulls him into an embrace. He tucks his face against her hair, holding her tighter as a tremor of relief works through him. "Thank god."
Nurses begin to empty out of the room, and he and Carly pull apart waiting for the doctor. He watches the man speak with Elizabeth for a while, watching her brows crease with obvious confusion. The doctor ultimately pats her on the arm, then exits the room. Through the window, Elizabeth's eyes find his rifle in uncertainty.
A hollowness opens up in his stomach.
The doctor crosses his hands over his stomach looking between him and Carly with an air of assurance Jason does not feel. "Mrs. Baldwin will be fine. She was merely overwhelmed upon regaining consciousness."
Carly snorts and he snaps his gaze her way in disbelief. She laughs out loud when she notices his stare. There's not an ounce of ill will in her eyes. "I would've had the same reaction had I woken up like that too."
He raises his eyebrows further, his shock intensifies as he wonders, not for the first time, what goes on in her blond head.
She whines and backhands his arm in jest. "Come on, Jason! We're all going to laugh about how you almost killed her with your lovin' one day, just you wait."
He bows his head into his hand with an exasperated sigh, one hand falling to his hip as he rubs his thumb over his brow.
"Okay, okay. I'm done. I'm sorry, please continue," Carly urges, sounding far more pleased than she should.
The doctor clears his throat. "Yes, well... it would seem the patient experienced hypoxia in transit to the hospital, resulting in—"
"Retrograde amnesia," Jason inserts in a drained tone looking up, well and truly worn to the bone.
He feels Carly turn stone beside him.
Dark eyes widen under raised bushy brows. "You know of this condition?"
Punctuating each word, he states, "I have this condition." His stare is blank afterward. He ignores the way the doctor's eyes look up, no doubt spotting the faint scar stretching up from his brow from when his head careened into a boulder because his brother was drunk behind the wheel. "I've never been able to recover the memories of the first twenty-two years of my life. Is-is hers that bad?"
The doctor's eyes meet his again. "N-no, she says the last clear memory she has is making hot chocolate at the end of her shift on Friday of last week. In fact, I'm highly certain her memories of the past week will return in time. Of course, I'll have an MRI done just to be sure, but my prognosis is positive."
Spirits lifting at the certainty that she recalls her sons, he tries to look past the pang of anguish that assaults his chest at knowing she's forgotten their reconciliation. "That's good."
Carly leans into his side, curling her arms around his in palpable support.
The doctor extends out his hand. "I'm Dr. Mark Jackson and I'll be seeing over her care here at Perth Memorial."
Jason grips his hand and shakes, then pauses. "Actually... I was wondering when it would be safe to have her transferred to a different hospital? We have to get back home."
They drop hands and Dr. Jackson rocks forward onto the balls of his feet briefly. "I'd say she'd be stable enough to move once she's out of the Intensive Care Unit."
Jason nods, keeping his focus locked on the here and now and what he can do, to keep himself afloat. "What paperwork do I have to fill out?"
"I'll have a nurse bring it to you—"
"Oh, and is there a place he can use to wash up?" Carly inquires.
Dr. Jackson blinks before sputtering a bit. "Ah, um, yes there is. If you would follow me."
Jason obliges mechanically until Carly grabs his arm, keeping him in place. "I'll keep her company and I promise not to try and jog her memory or anything," she says quickly before darting into Elizabeth's room, returning with the bag she brought.
He takes it from her, eyes falling to the strap clutched in his hand. "It's, uh, better this way - at least for now. We agreed to wait until the situation back home de-escalated." Nodding his head a few times to force himself to believe the words, he slings the bag over his shoulder and turns towards Dr. Jackson not making eye contact with anyone. "It's better this way. "
He strides past Elizabeth's window without another glance.
Yes, I know, I know. I can't stand Carly for all the things she's done to Elizabeth in the past. But I needed someone to be on both of their sides during this story. And it's about time Carly grew up for once.