Seventy-two hours passed by, and Patrick finally concluded the inevitable; Michael appears to be in a permanent coma.
Their lives imploded in that very moment. Carly blamed Sonny, Sonny blamed Jason and Jason blamed himself; he had allowed Sonny's alliance with the Zacchara family to lull him into a false sense of security. The three of them haunted General Hospital for days while Patrick co-ordinated the transfer of Michael's care to a rehabilitation facility. Every now and then, when Jason stalked the corridor outside Michael's room, his path collided with Monica - and every time, she passed him by with hollow eyes. He almost wished she would hit and scream or cry the way she had done after Emily's death. It would have been more bearable than the silence.
"Monica," Jeff pursued her after he witnessed the third meltdown that day. She lashed out at any patient, nurse or doctor who dared to hinder her efforts to survive another shift. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"
"Because I have patients to see," she retorted, dismissively.
"- - and you need to do what's best for your patients. You're no use to them, especially not the state you're in," he pointedly removed the water bottle from her reach; she carried it around as if it were part of her person. She swallowed the panic in her throat, her poorly kept secret outed for the first time. "Nurse Johnson," Jeff beckoned the senior nurse nearby. "Dr. Quartermaine and I will be in her office if anyone needs us." Rather than decline, Monica surrendered to his will and allowed Jeff to escort her to the privacy of her office but the addict within her rooted itself in denial and fuelled her ire.
"How dare you?" She erupted furiously the second Jeff shut the door behind him. "How dare you try to humiliate me that way?"
Jeff embraced her with a sympathetic heart. "Monica, I'm worried about you. I know how hard the last year has been."
Monica forcefully shut her eyes as visions of her final moments with Alan and Emily replayed in her memory. "Don't patronise me," she slammed a patient file onto her desk. "I am a doctor and I have a commitment to my patients."
"Yes, you absolutely do. A commitment to save lives that requires a level-head, not one that's incapacitated." Monica feigned outrage at the insinuation - if not, absolute accusation - but Jeff held steady. "Don't deny it, Monica, it's the only explanation that makes any reasonable sense; the water bottles, the irritability, all the little mistakes." She was the most competent surgeon Jeff had ever encountered, yet a malpractice lawsuit loomed on the horizon on account of her own sister-in-law. He softened his approach in the face of her defiance, "I'm not here to attack you. I want to help. You need a friend, let me be one."
"Get out of my office," Monica demanded, unaffected.
"I can't protect you," Jason whispered below the threat of tears. How many times had they circled back round to the same conclusion? His world was too unpredictable, too violent and her life was too precious. "Michael almost died - - because of me. Emily did die. This has to end," he simply concluded.
Elizabeth felt her heart physically ache at the shadow of the man she had fallen in love with. He was broken by the attempt on Michael's life, accidental or otherwise. "You're not responsible for everyone, Jason. It's not your fault," she replied, decisively. She had witnessed first-hand Carly's vicious attack upon Sonny for his failure to protect Michael, and Sonny's subsequent assignment of blame to Jason for his reluctance to mitigate the risk posed by the Zacchara family. If she could physically tie him to her and the boys, wrap them safe in their own little cocoon, she would. "Please don't punish yourself. Think about all the love you have for Michael, and what he would want for you."
Jason winced, "I can't - -"
"Jason," she placed the palm of her hand upon the curve of his cheek. "Let me take care of you." He buckled underneath affectionate kisses planted on his neck upward. He had so feared that the chaos which ensued his almost proposal would have terrified Elizabeth to the point of no return, that her love for him would dissipate when reality crashed in. "I don't want you to be alone. I love you, Jason," she buried herself into his chest. "I don't think I'll ever stop."
A cool breeze hit Jeff's face as he surfaced from his ten-hour shift at the hospital. He zipped up the front of his coat and let his line of vision fall upon the petite form huddled on a bench outside the department. With a sense of caution, he placed a hand upon her shoulder to warn of his presence. "You okay?"
Monica didn't bother to respond, but for a solitary tear that rolled down her cheek. "I - -" she croaked, helplessly.
"Come on," he tenderly brushed the small of her back. "I'll drive you home." In a comatose state, she fell into his open embrace and followed Jeff's lead to the car park.