Back To Life

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Dinner on the table, Jason calls the two men back inside, needing to speak to them before Elizabeth comes back out from his room. He knows that what happened wasn't at all what they were expecting, but none of them could blame her for what she did. He has handled a lot of situations, more than he's proud of, where a woman is held captive and not one of them ever reacted the way Elizabeth had. For her to put in that effort to save herself made Jason respect her that much more.

"She tried to kill me." Johnny reiterates his previous complaint. "No offence, but no one gets more than one chance to almost kill me."

"You really think the girl's gonna try to kill you over dinner?" Francis blurts out before Jason could say anything. "Really?"

"Hey, I get it, she was trying to survive, but its not like we actually know her." Johnny counters. "She could damn well kill us all in our sleep."

"She's not going to kill us in our sleep." Jason voices, though he feels absolutely stupid for having to actually say that out loud. "But if you're that afraid of Elizabeth, why don't you sleep outside in the SUV tonight?"

"Afraid? I ain't afraid. Who said anything about being afraid?" Johnny scoffs at the thought. "Whatever. If she does end up killing you in your sleep, don't blame it on me."

"Dinner's set." Jason says as he turns his back on them. "That is if you can keep yourself from getting your panties in a bunch long enough to have dinner."

"She kills a couple guys twice her size, nearly kills us in the process, and I'm crazy for being wary of the woman." Johnny throws his hands up in disbelief. "Yeah. That makes all the sense in the world."

"She was kidnapped and held captive for a year." Francis voices as Jason makes his way back to the dining room. "There's absolutely no telling what she's been through all this time. Don't you think you can cut her some slack, huh? Like you said, she was just trying to stay alive. Not even you can fault her for that."

"Fine, fine. I get it." Johnny sighs, shaking his head. "But if she does end up killing me, just know I'll come back to haunt your ass."

"Whatever you say, kid." Francis chuckles. "Come on, lets get some grub."

As they head out of the living room, Elizabeth steps out of the bedroom, watching as they walk through the door to the dining room. She knows she can't blame Johnny for thinking of her in that light, but it still didn't stop it from hurting her on some level. She knows the kind of monster she had been as she was trying to escape, but she didn't have any choice. In order to survive, she couldn't give up the fight to escape, desperately needing to believe that she could somehow find her way back to her life again. It was all she had.

~ . ~

It was late into the night when the phone snaps her out of a deep slumber. Letting out a sharp groan, she tosses her fiance's arm from her body before snatching her cellphone from the side table and making her way out to the living room. Since they announced their engagement, she and Lucky have received nothing but snide remarks and disapproval. She knows that this was part of the plan, that everything was going exactly to plan, but she couldn't help feeling bad for her fiance. He doesn't deserve this, any of this, but it was too late to back down now.

"Yes?" she answered quickly, realizing who was on the other end of the line and how dangerous it is to keep her waiting.

"Child, must I remind you of the proper way to answer a call?" her grandmother voiced icily. "Proper mannerisms are the only thing separating you from the vile miscreants this world has to offer."

"Here I thought it was the large amount of money sitting in offshore accounts." she counters swiftly.

"If I must remind you of your need to sass once more, you will find yourself right beside your mother." her grandmother states, successfully silencing any retort that may have been resting upon her tongue. "Understood?"

"Understood, Grandmother." she replies respectfully. "How may I be of service?"

"Better." the elder woman voices appreciatively before voicing the reason for her call. "Things have taken an unexpected turn. Your wedding needs to be completed by sunset tomorrow."

"Getting him to ask me to marry him was nearly impossible!" she blurts out in disbelief. "How do you propose I convince him to get married by then?"

"You are my granddaughter." her grandmother voices firmly. "Get it done."

Before she could voice any further concern over the situation at hand, the line goes dead, causing a frustrated groan to escape her lips as she slams her cellphone down onto the table. Every single time she believes that the end of this fiasco is near, her grandmother pulls the rug out from under her and causes her entire life to be dismantled. How is she supposed to move up the wedding to the next day without raising anymore suspicions than their engagement has already caused?

~ . ~

She wasn't sure why, maybe it was because he risked his life to save her and she nearly killed him or what, but Elizabeth needed Johnny to understand her. Once dinner was over, she stops him from leaving to his room, needing get it all off her chest before they all call it a night. He was wary of her, rightfully so, but he obliged her regardless.

"You're not gonna kill me are you?" Johnny questions as they step out onto the patio.

"No." Elizabeth replies. "I am sorry about that, you know? I didn't know you were there to save me."

"Yeah. I know." Johnny assures. "I'll get over it. I will. Its just not every day someone your size gets the jump on me."

"I'd like to explain..."

"You don't have to." Johnny sighs. "Really. I get it."

"I don't think you do." Elizabeth counters. "For a long time after I was taken, I had truly believed someone would come looking for me, that I would be saved. Days turned to weeks and weeks into months before finally I realized that I would have to save myself. The longer I was trapped there, the stronger that belief became, and that's the mindset I was in when you saw me in that hall. The only thing I cared about was my freedom. That's all that mattered."

"I can't imagine what that must have been like."

"It wasn't easy. Trust me." Elizabeth sighs before shaking her head. "I just wanted to explain my side and let you know just how sorry I am. If I had known..."

"Its okay." Johnny voices, a slight smile on his face. "Really...we're okay. Just remind me to never get on your bad side again and we'll be even."

"Deal." she replies with a soft smile, walking into the house when he pulls the door open for her. "Goodnight, Johnny."

"Goodnight."

"You okay?" Jason asks her when she gets to him.

"Yeah." she assures. "I'm just tired."

"You can sleep in my room tonight." he voices. "If you want."

"Sure." she replies simply. "Okay."

It didn't take Elizabeth long before she fell into a deep slumber, the day's events having taken its toll, but Jason just couldn't seem to get to sleep. Sitting up on the pullout bed, he just couldn't help watching over her as she slept. Francis's words remain frozen in his thoughts, realizing just how right he had been, knowing there was truly no way to know just what she had been through over this last year. Clearly the people that took her hadn't been too moral, its anyone's guess the kind of hell she must have been put through.

He wasn't sure when, but sometime during the night he had fallen asleep only to wake up to the sound of Elizabeth tossing and turning on the bed. From the look of it, she was having a nightmare, a vicious one at that, so, not knowing what else to do, he sits down beside her to try to wake her up. As soon as she regained consciousness, however, she grabbed Jason by the wrist and practically slammed him onto the bed as she towered over him, her other hand at his throat.

"Elizabeth, its okay." he voices calmly. "Its Jason."

"Jason?" she voices confusedly.

"Jason." he confirms. "Emily's brother."

"I...I remember." she voices once more, releasing her grip on his throat. "I'm sorry. I just forgot for a moment..."

"Its okay." he assures her as she moves off of him to sit on the edge of the bed, her head in her hands. "If its anyone's fault, its mine. I shouldn't have startled you."

"Stop doing that." Elizabeth sighs, rising to her feet to stand by the window. "Stop making excuses for me."

"Hey, look at me." Jason says as he stands behind her, waiting long enough for her to turn around and look at him. "Its not excuses. You've been through a lot. Stop beating yourself up for things you have no control over."

"I guess." she replies simply before reaching up to touch his neck with the tips of her fingers. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No. You didn't." he assures her. "Its really okay."

"What about your shoulder?" she whispers, dropping her hand to her side.

"I'm fine." he says firmly. "You didn't hurt me."

"Okay."

"Do you think you're ready to head back to Port Charles?" Jason questions as she sits back down on the bed.

"Honestly? No." she shakes her head. "After what just happened...I just need some time...a day to get my head together."

"Okay." he agrees. "The guys have to head back today, but I'll stay with you and we can head back to town when you're ready. No rush."

"Are you sure?" Elizabeth questions him, not wanting to impose anymore than she already has.

"I'm sure." Jason says firmly. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"Sure." she replies softly. "Sounds good."

"Okay." he smiles slightly. "Freshen up and I'll go put something together."

"Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think..." she voices, tapping her fingers against her leg nervously. "I don't know...do you think you could tell me about home...about the things that have changed?"

"You sure you're ready for that?"

"No." she answers honestly. "But I have to face it sooner or later."

"After breakfast then." he agrees. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"Okay."

Watching him walk out of the room, Elizabeth wasn't at all certain of whether or not she actually wanted to know what has happened back home, knowing that life didn't just stop while she was gone. Her first instinct is to ask about Lucky, about how he has been, but she's equally terrified of the answer. In a town like Port Charles, literally anything can happen and she just wasn't sure she was ready to find out just what happened to her first love.

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she grabs the towel from the closet and walks into the shower, hoping to wash away the remnants of her nightmare, begging herself to accept that she was no longer trapped in that hell hole, that she's safe.

~ . ~

Lucky wanted to believe that, given time, Nikolas and Emily would come around and support his marriage, but he knew better than to hold out hope for that. They are both stuck on Elizabeth and he couldn't blame them for that. For a long time, he had been stuck on her, refusing to move on, but then life pushed him forward and there was just no looking back. If he had allowed himself to wallow, he doubts he'd still be there, the pain and loss would have undoubtedly drowned him by then. As difficult as it is, he knows his fiancee's right and, for that, he'll give her what she wants. With all the stigma hanging over their engagement, having a private wedding just seemed best for all involved. He just hopes that somewhere down the line both Nikolas and Emily will grow to support him again.