A/N – Thanks for the comments! John's a hard case. He lost his baby and Elizabeth and never got closure or got over her, so he's persistent because he is still living in the past. It's not like he's stalking her, but he just hasn't been able to let go yet and he thinks Liz is running from the past and not being herself which is partially true. * kikimoo – Jason isn't seeing a therapist.

Chapter 28

Claudia sat back in her chair. "I love my brother, but I can tell that Elizabeth doesn't want to go there. If you're the reason for that, fine, but part of me is sad that she won't give him a chance at all. They were pretty epic back in the day."

"Well, she's a different person now."

"I'm not so sure of that. Lizzie is alive and well, she's just scared to let her out."

"Elizabeth gets to decide who she wants to be. I'll back her no matter what."

"That's very noble."

He took a swig of the beer. "Call it what you want to. All I know is that the more John pushes, the further away she'll retreat."

"You're probably right. He doesn't really come with an off switch."

Jason smirked. "And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Did you come to town to babysit?"

"I had a woman's intuition that this might not go as planned and I wanted to be there for him."

"You're a good sister."

"I try to be. I'm sure he probably thinks I'm annoying, but we stick together. We always have."

Jason glanced towards the living room. Elizabeth was pacing and he wondered if he should interrupt.

"I need you to listen to me," Liz said.

"I am."

"No you are not. John, I want you in my life. I missed you, but I'm not in love with you anymore and there will be no romantic relationship between us."

"Harsh."

"It's the truth and if you were honest, you'd admit that you aren't in love with me either. You're chasing a dream that unfortunately died years ago. Can't you let me go?"

He put his head in his hands. "I've dreamed of you so long that I don't know how."

She knelt in front him. "Look at me." As he lifted his head, she watched a tear roll down his cheek. He got up and stormed to the bedroom and she followed. "John!"

When she cleared the entrance of the room, he grabbed her and kissed her hard, completely leaving her dazed. As he ravished her mouth, she came to her senses and jerked backwards, slightly out of breath.

"Don't ever do that again."

More tears rolled down his face and he dropped to his knees. "I'm sorry. Why can't you love me again?"

She closed her eyes and touched her mouth before she started to move and then embraced him. "I'm sorry too, but it's time for us both to move on. I need too. I can't live in the past anymore because it's too painful. You will always be in my heart. Can you live with that?"

He squeezed her tighter. "I guess I don't have a choice."

She embraced him for several minutes. He was a good man, but she just didn't feel the same way she did before.

"Do you think we can be friends again someday?"

He pulled back. "Yes, because I'm not losing you again. I'm going to stay be here for you if you need me. I'm sorry that I didn't listen."

"I would really like that and I understood your motives. I'm not mad at you."

They hugged again.

"So we're good?" she asked.

"Yeah." He needed some time to let her go completely, but he really didn't want to hurt her. This time, after seeing the look in her eyes, he had gotten the message loud and clear.

Liz walked over to a mirror and fixed her hair and makeup.

"You look fine."

"He'll know," she said moving away.

John sighed. Jason was right and he had been too stupid and selfish to listen.

Jason and Claudia were in the living room.

"You ready to go?" Liz asked.

"If you are."

Claudia got up and gave her a hug. "It was good to see you. Maybe we can go shopping one day. I don't know anyone around here."

"Definitely." She liked the more kick back Claudia.

John and Claudia drove them home and once they were back in the car, Claudia grabbed his hand.

"Are you okay?"

"No, but I will be."

"Are you done?"

"Yes, but I want to be her friend. She's going through a lot. I couldn't be there for her back then, so I want to be here for her now."

"Alright, then I'll stay too. Are you going to be able to stand seeing her fall in love with Jason? Because I think that is coming."

He groaned. "Do I have a choice?"

"No."

He turned on the car. "I need a drink."

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Liz got Jason settled. "You want me to stay?"

"I'm fine. You don't have to babysit me."

She smoothed the cover she had thrown onto him. "You sound like me when I would say that Johnny."

"It's not the same thing."

"I really hope not."

"Thanks for getting me out of here. I needed a break."

She leaned over him and then kissed his forehead. He inhaled the slight scent of lavender and lemon before she whispered, "Anytime."

A shocked Jason watched her leave and then closed his eyes and fell asleep.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

The next day, Epiphany smiled as she walked into her house. "Home sweet home." She had left the hospital with much fanfare and now she was ready to put a dent in her couch.

Patrick watched over her protectively and got her situated before going to the car and grabbing several bags. Everyone had pitched and made some meals for them. They were set for a week.

She turned on the television and watched as Patrick put everything away and then he plopped down next to her.

"I didn't see a suitcase."

"It's already here."

Her right brow lifted. "You were pretty confident there."

He smiled. "I had confidence in you."

"Uh—huh."

He handed her a water bottle. "How's the noggin?"

"I have a slight headache."

"If it doesn't go away in the next ten minutes, tell me."

"You know I will."

"They say nurses make the worst patients."

"That would be doctors. I know how to handle myself."

He chuckled. "Two weeks of bliss."

"Just make sure you hide the weapons."

"Piph, I'm hurt."

"You will be if you keep talking through my soap. I'm trying to catch up."

"Who's the hot chick?"

"That would be crazy Sharon."

"You know what they say about crazy girls..."

She paused the playback and looked over at him. "No I don't. Perhaps you should enlighten me."

"Turn it back on. I want to see what happens."

"It's going to be hard not to shake my head when you're around."

"I'm being good, beside, your scowl seems to be working just fine."

She sighed and pushed play again and aside from asking a lot of questions, Patrick was being pretty good.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Johnny flipped a pancake onto a plate and handed it to Kylie.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

He handed Katherine a plate and then grabbed his.

"This is good," Kylie said.

He smiled.

"She's right."

"Can you cook?"

"You'll find out tonight."

"We're not having McDonald's, are we?"

She rolled her eyes as Kylie chuckled. "No."

"She can cook good," Kylie said.

"Then I will look forward to it, but just in case, there's a restaurant list on the fridge."

"Ha, ha."

"I was wondering if you'd like to help me out with some paperwork."

Katherine's eyes softened. "Only if it's not charity."

"It's not. I seriously need it and you can keep track of your hours and I'll pay you for it."

"Deal."

"Good. I'll bring it home tonight and explain what I need."

Katherine and Johnny gazed at each other for a moment, while a happy Kylie finished eating.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Sarah walked into the hospital and then quickly made her way to the locker room. It didn't take her mother more than a minute to find out she was there, but before she could even open her mouth, Sarah set the record straight.

"Don't say a word. I don't want to be here. I'm not talking about anything personal with you at work or I will not be able to focus."

"Sarah…."

"No. You get to talk to me when I decide I'm ready. Until then, I need you to respect my personal space."

Andrea sighed. "Fine."

Sarah smirked as she watched her mother dejectedly walk away. That wasn't as hard as she thought it would be.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Andrea sat across from Dr. Baldwin and then Jeff took the seat next to her.

Gail smiled. "I'm glad you could keep the appointment."

"Thank you for fitting us in," Jeff said. They had to cancel the first one because of Epiphany's surgery.

"Well, pleasantries aside, I understand you want marriage counseling. Perhaps you can fill me on what is going on," she said clasping her hands together.

"Go ahead," Andrea said turning slightly red.

"I caught her kissing someone in her office after the ball," Jeff explained.

"I see. And?"

"Well, needless to say, I was a little put off."

"That is understandable. Had you been fighting?" Gail asked.

"It was more like we hadn't been talking and taking time to spend with each other."

"Andrea, do you have anything to add to that?"

"No."

Her arms were crossed and Gail decided a one on one was necessary. "Jeff, can you step outside for a moment. I'll come get you."

"Sure."

He left and Gail sat back in her chair. "Now, I need to know right now if you really want to be here because your body language is saying differently."

"I'm just embarrassed." Andrea looked away before a tear could fall.

"I'm not here to judge you. I'm here to help you. We all make mistakes."

Andrea chuckled through her tears. "I'm not allowed to make mistakes."

"And what happens when you do?"

"I would get severely punished."

"Do you think Jeff is trying to punish you?"

"He wants to. Look, I know he's not my dad and I'm painfully aware that he is the wronged party. I was stupid and turned to someone else when I was angry. It's not an excuse, just a fact."

"Go on."

"I just—this is very hard for me—talking about my feelings."

"Did you and Jeff ever discuss your family?"

"Not really. He knew we had a falling out and he left it alone."

Gail got up and opened the door, motioning for Jeff to come back. He was surprised that Andrea was crying.

He sat beside her and did something that surprised even him. He held his hand out and Andrea chuckled as tears poured down her face and took it. Gail handed her a tissue.

"I want you to tell Jeff why you don't trust him enough to tell him about your family."

"You just go for the juggler."

Gail nodded. "I don't want to waste your time or money."

"It's just really personal."

"If he was holding a big secret, would you be as understanding?"

She shook her head.

"Do you think he will judge you?"

Andrea wiped some tears away. "Partly. Um—look, things happened that I'm ashamed of and I couldn't bear it if he—" She stood abruptly. "I have to go. I can't do this. I want to be with you, but I'm just not ready to talk about that. I'm sorry." She ran out of the room and Jeff closed his eyes.

"Your wife is in a lot of pain."

"I know."

"Are you willing to be patient?"

He let out a loud breath. "Yes and no. She hurt me and whatever happened doesn't excuse that."

"Maybe not, but at least you would know what drives her. You'd know why she is the way she is and she is not trying to make excuses for her behavior."

"True."

"You have a choice to make. Of course, you have reason to walk away, but I have a feeling that once Andrea truly purges her demons, you won't want to."

Jeff wiped his face with his hands. "Fine. I'll stay. We made vows and this is the worse part, I guess. If you truly think we can make it back to the for better, then I'm in."

Gail smiled. "You leave that up to me." It was going to take some convincing to get Andrea into her own therapy sessions, but Gail was determined to help them fix what was broken.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Helena walked up to Sarah and pulled her aside. "I only have a minute. I'm providing dinner tonight at Windemere. I will expect you at seven."

Sarah frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Don't be coy. I know you have seduced my son."

"I don't know what you think you know, but I really don't like people demanding things from me."

Helena pursed her lips. "Get used to it, because if you are going to be with Stefan you need to know that he has a very hard time saying no to me."

Sarah crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't even know what to say to that."

"Stefan will be there. If you don't show up, it will prove that you don't belong with him because you won't accept his family. Now, what's it going to be?"

"I'll be there at 7:05."

"Excellent. I'll make sure that the launch is waiting for you."

Sarah's eyes narrowed. "How do I know it isn't booby trapped?"

Helen's eyes glimmered gleefully. "You don't."

She watched her walk away and then pulled out her phone and texted Stefan.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Andrea ran into her office and sat at her desk and sobbed. She didn't want to go back to therapy. Thinking back to her childhood was just too painful.

Jeff entered the room. "You okay."

She shook her head no.

"Come here."

He held her until she calmed down.

"Why are you being so nice?"

"You're my wife and obviously, you need help."

"I could take that so many ways."

He smirked. "True, but I'm serious. You can't go on like this forever."

"I could try."

He pulled back. "We're not going to work if you don't."

"We've made it all these years."

"I'm not going to say that we weren't happy, but you have to know that things could have been much better."

"I know."

"I don't want this to seem like a bribe, but you can move back in if you'll consider talking to Gail and working through this. I don't have to be there. When you're ready, I'll listen."

She closed her eyes and lip quivered. "I don't know if I can."

"I know you can because you are the strongest woman I know."

She took a languid breath. "Maybe I'm not as strong as you think."

He kissed her forehead. "Will you do this for us. Please."

They stood there for quite a while as he gently held and rocked her.

"Okay." She was going to need his support.

"Thank you."

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Epiphany slowly walked towards the couch. Her equilibrium was a little off.

Patrick put his arm around her and led her back. "You okay?"

"Just feeling off."

"Okay. I want you to drink some water and have a little food."

"I'm not hungry."

"Epiphany, you've lost a lot of weight fast and your body is trying to recover. Will you at least have some broth?"

"Fine."

He made sure she was comfortable and then went into the kitchen.

"I never thought you'd have good bedside manner."

He frowned. "Why not?"

"Seriously?"

"What? I'm always smooth."

"As Exlax…"

"Whatever."

She closed her eyes. "How long before I don't feel so tired?"

"A while, but you'll gradually get your stamina back."

"Patrick."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

He slightly smiled. "You're welcome."

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Jason finished getting dressed and then went downstairs.

"Good morning," Lila said with a smile.

"Good morning. Are we alone?"

"No. Alan and Elizabeth went for a walk."

"Oh."

She handed him some juice. "I don't think I've ever seen you eat a piece of fruit."

"Why would I?"

She chuckled. "Because it's good for you."

"There are lots of things they say are good for you that are disgusting."

"Were you a picky eater?"

"I'm not sure."

"Sorry."

He put the glass down. "It's okay."

"I hear you have a preliminary meeting this afternoon with some lawyers."

"Yes."

"Are you nervous?"

"No, but I hope they are."

"Well if you need me, I'll be here."

"Thanks!"

"You seem quieter than usual."

"I just have a lot on my mind." He wasn't ready to admit that he was really starting to remember and it wasn't sitting well.

"Well, I'm a good listener."

"I know. I'm just not ready to talk about it."

"Fair enough."