Chapter Twenty-Four

Jason woke to the sound of a steady beep, seeming far off in the distance. He couldn't place what the sound was at first, not knowing many things that beeped at a constant pace. But when he fought through the fog that was weighing him down, keeping him firmly in place, Jason started at the recognition of the sound.

A bomb.

His heart began to race at a frantic speed when he couldn't move or open his eyes. He fought so hard that it caused a sharp pain to slash through his already aching head. He couldn't figure out why he wasn't waking up but figured someone had probably knocked him upside the head.

Which would explain the headache.

He commanded his arms to move, they didn't. He struggled to open his eyes, they wouldn't.

The beep began to increase, counting down the seconds before it was about to go off. He continued to struggle, fighting against whatever it was that was keeping him immobile.

When he finally pushed past the last barrier, feeling his body and mind enter the here and now, his racing heart began to ease, the steady beep sounding closer, slower.

His brow furrowed in confusion as a sterile smell hit him sharply, as the beeping sounded less like a bomb and more like a…

He was in a hospital.

Anger swept through him swiftly. He hated hospitals, hated even more that he couldn't figure out why he was there. He searched his memory for what had happened that landed him in the last place he ever wanted to be. He didn't recall any mob hits, for all he knew he wasn't shot.

The only thing that hurt was his head.

And it hurt like hell.

His hand lifted slightly from his side, rising no higher than a couple of inches. He couldn't lift it any higher, feeling drained from such a little task. He felt his lashes flutter against his skin as he tried to open his eyes, even if it was just slightly.

His eyes cracked open sighting an unclear view of the ceiling of his hospital room. Slowly, they began to focus, closing when the light of his room became too much to bare.

He opened his eyes again, blinking rapidly as he surveyed as much as he could see without moving his head. He looked to his right, seeing nothing but the closed blinds of his window, when he looked left, the vision before his eyes confused him even more.

Elizabeth sat huddled in a chair beside his bed. She looked uncomfortable but content sleeping there. Her hair hid half of her face, falling forward as her cheek leaned against the side of the chair. She had her chin resting against her fist, her elbow resting against the armrest of the chair.

He was confused as to why she was there but it felt… right that she was there.

Instead of questioning her appearance in his hospital room, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

A small smile touching his lips.

He couldn't remember how long it had been since the last time he woke up, having no sense of time.

But since seeing Elizabeth in his room, he couldn't open his eyes again. It was like he was there, listening to the happenings of what was going on in his room, but he couldn't open his eyes and tell them all that he was ok or to leave him alone.

He always heard when the nurses came in, poking at him, annoying the hell out of him.

He always sensed when Elizabeth walked in, feeling her presence before she announced that it was her

She talked a lot, though. Mostly about nothing, but he didn't care. It was good to hear her voice, to know that she was there. He never knew how long she really stayed, but he always felt it and hated it when she left. She would slowly let go of his hand, run her fingers through his hair, and then she would leave. When she was gone was when he felt truly alone.

It was after Sonny visited him that Jason began to recall recent events, confusing his mind even more.

Sonny had walked in, taking a seat by his bed, clearing his throat several times. Jason would have laughed at that, if he could have.

"You need to wake up," Sonny whispered. "I can't…I can't follow through on my promise."

There was a long pause, a silence that had unnerved Jason. "I can't do it." Sonny cleared his throat again, sighing. "I would never forgive myself if I let you die."

Something in the back of Jason's mind triggered a memory at that. He remembered asking Sonny to end his life if he didn't wake up. He had also asked him to watch out for Elizabeth.

And then the memories kept coming.

They were mostly of Elizabeth. Talking to her on the docks, taking her for a bike ride up to the bridge where they almost kissed. He remembered meeting with her constantly, confiding in her about not knowing who he really was.

There were memories of her telling him about their past, a beautiful smile always gracing her lips.

There were also moments from Jakes, Kelly's and the park that flashed in his memory.

He felt raw pain when his mind saw her lying on a hospital bed, bruised from a car accident, brokenhearted when she learned that her baby had died, letting him hold her when she cried.

The memories continued to flood him. All of them coming back to him and, if he had not been lying on a hospital bed, they would have knocked him on his ass.

It was the memory of touching Elizabeth's hand before he was wheeled away to the operating room that caused Jason to fight harder against whatever it was that was keeping him in this constant state.

It was the knowledge that he loved her and wanted to be with her that made him fight so hard that his eyes finally opened.

Elizabeth was beginning to hate General Hospital. It was quite unfortunate considering she worked there but it was the truth.

Sitting next to Jason's hospital bed, Elizabeth watched as his brow lifted every now and then. Her heart raced every time he made a little movement, thinking each time that he was going to wake up.

He never did.

She smoothed away his frown with the tips of her fingers, gazing thoughtfully at him. Her throat closed, like it always did when she looked at him, thinking about how he might never wake up. She hardly allowed herself to think that way, needing to believe that he would make it. But there were moments, when she couldn't think of anything to say, that she would think about all the possibilities of him not waking up.

There were parts of her that was ready to give up, but she wouldn't allow it. Jason was strong and he was going to wake up.

As if he could hear her thoughts, as if he was waiting for that exact moment to prove the tiny part of her that was breaking wrong, Jason's eyes fluttered open.

In that moment, she had never seen a sight so beautiful.

Her fingers continued to soothe through his hair, running along his scalp as she avoided his bandage. Her breaths deepened as she watched him wake. She wanted to cry out and hug him tight but held back.

When his eyes locked in on hers, they were clear, focused as if he had been awake for hours.

She smiled, relieved. "Hi," she spoke so soft she almost didn't hear herself.

She saw Jason move his lips then lick them when nothing came out. She reached over to his bedside table and picked up the cup of water that was sitting there, placing the straw against his parched lips.

He took several greedy sips, a man dying of thirst. He coughed a little, closing his eyes when it caused him some pain. "How long…?"

Not needing him to explain, Elizabeth looked away from his penetrating eyes, watching as her fingers moved through his hair. She locked her gaze back on his. "Almost three weeks. I was afraid you'd never wake up," she sniffed, letting a tear slip down her cheek. "But, I guess you were just really tired and needed a nap," she teased, laughing at herself.

"How do you feel?"

"Tired."

"Well, you have been pretty lazy, lying in this hospital bed for weeks," she continued with her light mood, needing to tease for fear she'd break down right then and there her relief was so great. He smiled slightly and that seemed to be her undoing.

Fresh tears gathered behind her eyes, burning them. "Are you feeling any pain?"

He cleared his throat, tried to sit up but stopped and fell back against the bed. "My head hurts and I feel weak, but that's it." He reached for her hand, linking his fingers with hers. "How are you?"

"Jason, you're the one who's in the hospital after—"

"You seem upset," he cut in gently, his thumb stroking the back of her hand.

She lowered her head, watching his thumb move against her skin. "I was worried about you. I'm just so happy that you're finally awake."

"Is there anything wrong with me?"

She shook her head, tilting it to the side. "Dr. Jones said that everything was good. They ran a lot of tests on you and they all came back with no problems. You just wouldn't wake up and Tony figured it was the stress of the operation. He also said it could have been one of the side effects."

"So I won't get anymore headaches?"

"You shouldn't according to what Tony spoke to me about."

"Good," he nodded slightly, holding her hand a little tighter. His eyes softened as he gazed up at her and just like he had done before his operation he tugged on her hand lightly, pulling her down until she sat on the edge of his bed. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me, too."

His eyes lightened as a grin tilted a corner of his mouth. "When do I get to go home?"

Laughing, Elizabeth patted his cheek, leaving her free hand resting there. "Not anytime soon. You just had brain surgery, you know."

They were both silent, not needing to speak, comfortable together. She could feel herself getting lost in his eyes, the hospital room fading away in the background, nothing else existing except for him.

"Thank you," he whispered, breaking through her thoughts.

"For what?"

"For staying with me."

Her lips quirked to the side, a devilish look in her eyes, "Like you had a choice of getting rid of me."

"I wouldn't want to."

Just when Elizabeth was about to say everything she had promised she would tell him the second he woke up, that she loved him, that she needed him and never wanted to let him go, Dr. Jones walked into Jason's room, seizing her admission.

"I see you've finally decided to wake up."

Elizabeth felt Jason stiffen next to her. She stood, turned to smile at Tony as he walked towards the bed, Jason's chart open in his hands. "He just woke up a couple of minutes ago."

"Good," Tony nodded as the nurse who walked in behind him checked Jason's IV. He handed the chart to the nurse when she finished, reaching inside his lab coat pocket for his penlight. Turning it on, Tony had Jason follow the light with his eyes.

He clicked the penlight off, seeming satisfied with how Jason's eyes followed it every which way. Placing his hands on his hips, Tony spoke to Jason. "What's your name?"

Jason sighed, "Jason Morgan."

"Do you know why you're here?"

"I was having headaches whenever I had a memory. You said I needed to be operated on when the test drugs didn't work."

Tony nodded. "Do you remember why you were having memory loss?"

"I took an experimental drug to help Michael."

"Do you remember any of the events before you took the drugs?"

"Yes."

Elizabeth had been watching the two of them, her eyes moving back and forth when each one spoke. But after Jason's last answer, she stood still, stunned, her eyes not leaving his face.

"Is anything blurry to you?" Dr. Jones continued with his questioning.

Jason shook his head lightly and Elizabeth began to feel her heart race. Her stomach felt like it was about to drop to the floor along with her jaw. "No," he sighed.

Satisfied, Dr. Jones nodded. "I'm going to order you another cat scan and run a couple more tests to make sure everything is ok and then we'll see what we can do to get you out of here in the next couple of days."

Elizabeth didn't move when Tony walked past her, leaving her alone with Jason once again. Her gaze was riveted on his and when he finally looked at her, the realization that dawned on her almost knocked her over.

Her legs felt sluggish as she walked back to his side. She stopped, not reaching out to him, not sitting down. She didn't know whether to be thrilled or upset by what she just learned. Did this mean things would change back to before…?

Her voice didn't sound like her own when she finally croaked out the words that she dreaded but needed to say. "You remember?"

Jason's eyes were soft, knowing. He looked away, grabbing her hand gently in his, watching it as he linked his fingers with hers once more. She looked down as well, mesmerized by the sight.

When he squeezed her hand, she looked into his eyes again, breathless.

"I remember everything."