A/N – Thanks for the comments! Okay, I might not be able to post again until Wednesday. I was gone all weekend and didn't have any time to write. Sorry. Hubby whisked me away and honestly, I needed it. * Guest reply on chapter 33 – Jason doesn't want Liz to babysit him. Piph needed her and she went—briefly. Jason understood. I can't imagine her not being there for her best friend. It wasn't like she left when Jason was distraught. They are all a mess lol.
Chapter 36
Jason listened to Elizabeth's message. He wanted to reach out to her, but he just needed a little more time. There was a knock on the door. He frowned and grabbed his crutches and walked over to it. "Hello?"
"It's me."
He unlocked the door and Tracy walked by him.
"I bought you some food."
"Thanks."
"Cook made it for you. You should eat while it's hot."
Her being nice to him still freaked him out a little. "Thanks."
Before she got to the door, she stopped. "Jason, call your father. Talk it out with him and then I hope you'll finally let him in. He loves you."
"He doesn't know me."
"He knows enough. You're his child. Do you think mothers know their child in the womb? No. But they still love them once they come out. It's instinctual. There are so many children in this world who don't have anyone that love them. You do. Don't throw it away."
She left and he took out the container. It smelled really good. There was a note from Alice.
"It's roast beef and potatoes. You're not keen on vegetables, so I had him leave them out. There are some cookies in the back. We miss you. Alice."
He slightly smiled and opened it. "Damn," he said. It looked delicious. He dug in and gave what Tracy said some thought.
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The next morning, Alan knocked on Jason's hotel door. He was surprised when he had gotten a phone call so soon. Jason opened the door and then stepped backwards.
Alan slowly entered the room and waited for Jason to sit before grabbing a chair and sitting across from him. "You look tired."
Jason nodded. "I've been doing a lot of thinking. Opening up to you is hard for me."
"I understand."
"I read the letter my mom left for me and it kind of crushed me. I can't hate her. I'm mad, but she's all I ever had."
"I know. You don't have to hate her Jason. What's done is done. None of us can go back. We can play "what if" forever and it still won't change what happened. All we can do is move forward."
"Mom didn't talk about you a lot. When I finally got old enough to ask if you knew about me, she told me that she told you and your family sent her away. I think I hated you from that moment. There were so many times that I wished you were there to protect us."
Alan want to hug his son, but he waited for him to get his emotions under control. "Why did you need me to protect you?"
"My mom did whatever she could to put food on the table. There were times that men weren't very nice to her. She'd have these bruises…" Jason squeezed his eyes shut. "I wanted to kill them, but I was smaller than them. We'd move around sometimes to get away if it was really bad. When I was a freshman, I started working out. I wanted to protect her." Jason sighed heavily.
"I'm sorry."
"I knew she was getting sick before she told me. She looked so pale and she was throwing up a lot. I don't think she wanted to tell me because we were a team. I'd go to school and play football. When I wasn't doing that, I worked a part time job at a bike shop, mostly cleaning up. I did whatever I could to help. We didn't have a lot. One day, she came to me and told me that we were moving to Port Charles and that you were there. I was so upset. I didn't want anything to do with you. She told me that she had to get treatment there, so I stopped fighting her. For a while, it seemed like she was getting better, but she just got worse and she tried to tell me what had gone down, but I would get so upset. None of that mattered because I was losing my mom. She was all I had." Jason broke down at the memory of his mom's death and Alan got up and hugged him.
He didn't say anything for a long time and just let Jason get it all out.
"I remember when she came to me to tell me she was back. I was shocked to see her. When she told me about you and what had happened with Edward, I was so angry that I missed out on so much time with you. She told me she couldn't take it back, but she could try to make it right."
"If I could have her back for just a minute…" his voice broke.
"What would you say?"
"That I forgive her and that I love her. She did the best she could. I can't—I can't hate her."
He kissed the top of Jason's hair. "I don't want you too. She loved you enough to bring you back here and I will be forever grateful for that and I will always be happy that I had you. She'll always be in your heart. I taped you two in the hospital one day. You didn't know I was there. Would you like to see it?"
Jason pulled back and wiped his face. "Yeah." It had felt good to be held by his dad.
Alan pulled his chair next to the bed and found it on his phone. He played it as Jason smiled. It was one of her better days and they were joking and bickering and it was music to his ears. He didn't have any videos of them, just a couple of photo albums. Now, he could hear her voice and he was so grateful. "Can you send me that?"
"Of course."
"You don't know how much that means to me."
"I think I do. I've been having Alice secretly tape my parents. They aren't going to be here forever and I know it's something I'll cherish later on as well as everyone else. Believe it or not, they are really cute together sometimes. Lila brings out the softer side of Edward."
"I'll take your word for it."
Alan chuckled.
"Can I ask you a favor?"
"Yes."
"Will you talk to Tracy?"
Alan groaned.
"I know she's a pain in the ass, but she brought me here and even had Cook make me dinner and delivered it last night."
Alan was surprised.
"I think she really feels bad and she talked me down while I was at my mom's grave."
"I guess I can stop punishing her."
"I don't think either of us thought that this day would come."
"That's for sure. Will you come home with me Jason? Just for tonight. You can go back to your apartment if you want after that, but I know Lila has been worried and so has Emily."
"I need to make a stop first."
"I'll take you wherever you need to go."
"Thanks."
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Elizabeth opened her door to leave and found Jason standing there looking conflicted. "Jason? How long have you been standing there?"
"Just a minute."
"Come in."
"I can't stay long. Alan is waiting in the car."
She slightly smiled. "Are things better now?"
"Yeah."
"I'm glad. I missed you."
"I missed you too. I don't want you to think that I didn't trust you. Sometimes, you just need to get away and think."
She touched his arm. "I get it. I'm glad that you worked it out."
He wanted to touch her so badly.
"What?"
"Come closer."
She advanced a few steps and then they gazed at each other.
"You're still beautiful."
She smiled. "And you're still hot."
He grinned. "I'm glad you think so."
"I know so." Their fingers tangled.
"Where were you off too?"
"The hospital."
"Do you have time for a kiss?"
She nodded. "I always do."
Jason leaned down and brushed his lips against hers before pressing more firmly. He tilted his head and his tongue swiped across her seam and she opened for him, loving how the stroke of his tongue could make her body tingle.
They pulled apart and Elizabeth licked her lips, almost making him grown.
"Are you going back to your apartment?"
"No. Alan asked me to come to the mansion tonight."
"Wow. Are you going to stay there for a while?"
"Honestly, I haven't thought it through. It was kind of lonely at Jake's. Maybe being alone right now isn't the best thing for me."
"Well, I think it would be good to stay there. You need to bond with them."
"True. Maybe I should just give up Jake's. I'm not sure I want to live there anyway."
"I can help you pack it up."
"Thanks."
She kissed him one more time. "Come on. I'll walk you downstairs. We meet with Diane this afternoon." He had made her day. They were back on track and she couldn't have asked for a better start to her day.
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Andrea perused the information Lila and Edward had compiled. Apparently, Gloria and her father, Daniel, had gotten into some tax issues. She studied a couple of pictures of her father. The years had definitely taken a toll on them. Her mother had clearly had worked done on her face, nothing extreme, but Andrea could tell. Her eyes bugged out at the next bit of information. Her mother had an affair. "That judgmental bitch…." There was a picture of the man. She wondered if her father had known. The next article was about that man, apparently, he had had been killed in a suspicious accident. "Holy shit…," Andrea muttered. She wondered if her father had anything to do with it or if it was her mother that had done it. She took a break for a moment, trying to digest it all. Father must have known, because just judging from the distance and angles there were pictures that looked like ones a P.I. would take. After a few moments, she made a decision and decided it was time to face the dragon.
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Elizabeth sat next to Jason in a conference room. Ric then entered followed by Sonny and their attorneys.
"Okay. Thank you coming today. I trust that you got the official documents and were able to review them?"
Alexis nodded. "I have."
Reese concurred as well.
"Good. Alexis, does Sonny have a problem with anything we asked for."
"Well, I think he was very generous upfront."
"Jason is still in recovery. He has suffered through enough pain to warrant one million dollars in damages. A jury will not be so gracious."
Liz made sure to look Sonny in the eyes.
"We'll accept the deal."
Diane smiled. "Good. Reese? We filed for a hearing, but if Ric is willing to settle…"
"This is ludicrous. Ric was working on behalf of his brother's company and therefore, said company should pay any damages."
"We respectfully disagree. He was beyond negligent abandoning the job, and as a result, not only were people injured, but care was not able to provided for patients waiting for their services. He willfully cut corners and we have a witness that will attest to that. He went against the training and policies of Corinthos Construction Company. Clearly, he must have a grievance with his brother to stoop to such lengths to undermine his authority and stellar reputation."
Alexis smirked and Ric rolled his eyes.
"Ric and Elizabeth had a disagreement and he left the premises. It didn't mean he wasn't willing to come back," Reese said.
"He took everything but the heavy equipment with him. Basically, he was throwing a tantrum and holding the project hostage until his hissy fit was finished."
Reese's eyes narrowed. "There is no need to go there. Look, he did not cut corners out of some malicious intent."
"I beg to differ. He did no due diligence in making sure that the construction was sound. He reneged on the contract by walking off the job. He had been gone for several days while my client relentlessly tried to contact him. One of his own men is willing to go on record stating that Ric told him to go with substandard materials. Apparently, he was very jealous of his brother and thought he knew more."
"Oh please. The man could be disgruntled," Ric said exasperatedly.
"Are you willing to take that chance?" Diane asked. "The hearing is in a few short weeks."
"Be reasonable. It's not like my client is super rich."
"Jason almost died. I want two million dollars."
Ric's eyes bulged out of his head. "This is insane."
"A jury could reward even more."
"I'll lose everything!" Ric said slamming his hands onto the table.
Jason gripped the arms of his wheelchair. "You deserve it. I'm willing to go as far as I need to in order to make sure that you pay. If you want to take your chance in court, by all means, I'll meet you there. There is no doubt in my mind that you will lose."
Ric stood and the chair slide backwards. "You won't get away with this extortion."
Jason smirked at him wickedly. "It's called justice."
Ric stormed out of the room and Reese shut her briefcase. "I will talk to him."
"You do that."
She left and Sonny sat forward.
"Carly says you're improving."
"I am," Jason said.
"Look, I am sorry that you got hurt. I'm not going to bail him out."
Jason nodded.
Sonny and Alexis got up.
"We'll sign and notarize the paperwork and I'll get back to you within forty-eight hours."
"Thank you."
Diane looked at her clients and smiled. "Believe it or not, we have Ric right where we want him."
"I can't even stand to look at him," Liz said.
"You really think we can ruin him?"
"I know we can. Just leave it to me."
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That evening, Patrick rang Epiphany's phone.
"Hey," she said with a smile as she stared at his handsome face.
"I have a surprise for you."
She frowned. "What?"
He turned the phone around.
"It's a pleasure to have all of you here on a Wednesday night," Pastor Eli said. "If I knew that reaching out to Sister Epiphany was all I needed to get bible study attendance up, I would have done it a long time ago."
Epiphany was shocked.
"Epiphany, you are a sight for sore eyes. We prayed thousands of prayers that the Lord would protect you and thankfully, he sent Patrick to you to do just that."
"Amen," a chorus of voices said.
Patrick smiled.
"This song is for you."
Everyone quieted and then the sound of the piano filled the room and a soloist stood and started to sing 'His Eye is on the Sparrow'. It was beautiful and Epiphany couldn't help but weep. Everyone sang the chorus as Patrick panned around the room. People waved to her and blew her kisses as she waved back. By the time it was finished, Epiphany had run out of tissues.
"Sister Epiphany, we love and miss you," the soloist said.
Patrick put the phone in front of him. "Do you want to say something."
"Yes."
He put the phone up to the microphone.
"I cannot tell you how much that meant to me. I have been struggling—feeling sorry for myself. You were just what I needed. I forgot that he was carrying me. Thank you for the reminder. I know he watches me."
"Amen," everyone said.
"Are you up to listening in?" the pastor asked.
"Definitely."
Patrick handed the phone to him and he put it on his pedestal. By the time the service was over, Epiphany felt uplifted and so loved. She decided that it was time for her and Patrick to have a talk.
The pastor walked Patrick to his car. "Brother Patrick, it was nice to see you again."
"Thank you. It felt good being here."
"You know, if you want to be with Epiphany, this will become your home."
Patrick smiled. "Is it that obvious?"
"Maybe not to her, but I have good instincts." The way the man was doting on Epiphany and how he looked at her said a lot.
Patrick chuckled. "She's a wonderful woman."
"I know. She is a blessing, and as long as you treat her like one, her love will never falter."
"I will remember that."
They shook hands.
"Give her my love."
"I will."
