Chapter Twenty-Five

Jason stood by the window of his hospital room, gazing out at the street below. There were people about, walking along and enjoying the bright day, not a care in the world. He envied them. Being cooped up in his hospital room for the past four days was slowly driving him to his breaking point.

He needed to get out of there. Fast.

The discharge nurse had come by his room earlier, telling him that he would be able to leave in a couple of hours once all of his paperwork was clear and it had been the best news Jason had heard since he'd woken up. But when she told him he needed to set a ride up, Jason's good mood had turned sour.

He knew exactly who he wanted to call, if he wasn't so frustrated with her.

Elizabeth had been by to visit him every day since he woke up, probably every day since he had been admitted. She even came by several times a day, especially when she was working. There visits were always the same. She'd start off by asking how he was doing, fussing over him constantly. She would ramble about nothing and everything.

Everything except for them and their… relationship.

Even when he tried to bring it up, she would quickly change the subject or act like she had to leave all of a sudden. She would always come back though, apologizing for leaving so quickly the last time she was there. But it never changed. The only time she had talked about them was when he had first woken up and told her he remembered everything.

His shoulders shook lightly as he laughed silently, dipping his head. She had looked so scared when he had murmured those words. Her eyes had opened wide, her mouth forming an 'o.' It confused him that she had looked so shocked… scared. It confused him so much that he couldn't help but laugh.

When she had finally gained her composure, she spoke, losing it once again. "You… I… you remember?" she stumbled over her words.

His answer was simple, straight forward. "Yes."

"Everything? Before and after…?"

It was then that he couldn't hold his smile back any longer. It wasn't a huge smile, showing off all of his teeth, but it was one of his rare ones, one he only used with Elizabeth. "I remember my life since I woke up ten years ago. And I remember everything that happened after I took the experimental drug."

She stared at him, nodding absently. "That's… that's great!" she finally smiled, looking pleased for him but yet skeptical. "I'm so happy for you. You can finally get your life back to normal."

"There are some things that have changed."

"Of course."

"What happened between us—"

She cut him off, "I know this may be a little weird for you. I mean, we hadn't spoken to each other in almost a year and then you loose your memory and we grew close again and now you remember everything," she was speaking so fast, Jason was having a hard time keeping up with her. "I just wanted to be there for you."

"You were."

"Yeah…" her voice lowered. She sounded almost sad. "I guess I was. But now that—"

"Elizabeth, I don't want—"

"Mr. Morgan," a nurse interrupted them both, "it's time for your tests."

Scrubbing a hand down his face, Jason sighed in anger. That was the last of their conversation that night and it bothered him that Elizabeth might think that just because he remembered who he was that it would change what they went through the past month.

He was just going to have to sit her down and tell her to shut up and listen to him.

He snorted. Like that would go over well with her. She'd get all feisty, just they way he liked her and maybe even…

"Jason?"

He turned just his head to look over his shoulder, his eyebrows lifting. Sam was standing there, a shy expression softening her face. She looked hesitant about entering. She smiled softly as she finally entered his room, closing the door behind her.

When he turned his entire body to stand before her, she rushed forward, flinging her arms around his neck. "I've missed you," she whispered in his ear.

He stiffened as her arms tightened around his neck. Placing his hands on her shoulders, Jason pulled her away from him, not liking what he felt in her presence. "What are you doing her?" he asked gruffly.

"I would have been here sooner," she pursed her lips. "But somebody told security to not let me see you. Can you believe that? I know it was that bitch—"

"Sam," Jason said in a warning tone.

She ignored him. Instead, she cupped his cheeks in her hands, spreading her fingers through his hair. "Is it true? You remember everything?"

He jerked his head, but she didn't release him. "Yeah."

Instantly, her eyes filled with tears. He never noticed how quickly she was able to cry until he lost his memory. He couldn't help but think of all the times she cried in front of him before, knowing how much he hated to see her hurt.

It just pissed him off now.

"I'm so relieved! I can't wait to take you home and then we can finally be a family with our little—"

"Stop." The one word was spoken with so much anger that it made her flinch. He pulled away from her, running his hands over his cheeks. "Stop… just stop lying."

"Lying?"

"I know I'm not the father."

"Is that what Elizabeth told you?"

Her voice was so bitter that his hands clenched at his sides. Hearing her say Elizabeth's name with such disgust rattled his nerves. "She didn't have to. I remember everything, before and after. You lied to me about when we conceived that baby. We haven't been together since before Michael was kidnapped. That was months ago." He also knew from Sonny that Sam's doctor wrote down the conception date for his files. It was after he lost his memory.

"Jason, you don't understand." Tears were streaming down her face now. He couldn't care.

"I understand that you tried to trap me by making me believe I was going to be a father. You didn't lie because you felt it was right, you did it because you couldn't let me have the time I needed to grasp what was happening to me."

"I was scared!" she screamed, pointing a finger at him as she advanced forward. "You wanted nothing to do with me and that hurt so much. You were ready to throw me to the side and you didn't even care how I felt. I needed you and you weren't there for me."

"I needed time," he said forcefully but didn't raise his voice. "I told you what happened to me when I lost my memory the first time and how the Quatermaines couldn't accept me and how that made me feel. You did the same thing to me. You pushed and you tried to make me remember too much. I didn't know who I was."

She licked her lips. "So… what? Because I had a moment of weakness because my boyfriend—the man that is supposed to love me—hurt me in the worst way possible, we're over and you're" she pointed at him, shaking her head, "you're the one who's ending it?"

"I'm sorry I hurt you but I couldn't remember who I was." He spoke slowly, feeling a headache form behind his eyes at her reasoning. She really did only think of herself.

"And that's my fault?"

"No," he slashed a hand through the air, squeezing his eyes shut. "But you lied and you hurt people."

"Elizabeth?" she raised her eyebrows, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Your precious Elizabeth."

His jaw ticked.

"The one who can do no wrong." Laughing, Sam licked her teeth. "I bet she's done nothing but lie to you, telling you all about her woes with Lucky, crying on your shoulder. She was using you Jason. What lies has she been spewing about me?"

Jason shook his head, narrowing his eyes. He was finally seeing Sam in a new light. She wasn't who he thought she was. Maybe she changed because of his memory loss, or maybe she was always that way and he just never noticed.

He noticed now, and he didn't have time for it anymore.

As if knowing he wanted her there instead of Sam, Elizabeth interrupted them, knocking softly at his door, a beautiful smile gracing her lips as she poked her head in. The smile fell once she spotted Sam.

"I'm sorry…I'll just—"

"No," Jason spoke quickly. "I don't want you to leave."

Both women looked at him in shock. Sam's expression leaning towards anger, Elizabeth's leaning towards curiosity.

"Sam and I are done here," he announced, meaning it in more ways then one.

Her nose scrunched as a snarl made her lips point. "You'll regret this," she whispered angrily. Stomping towards the door, Sam stopped before Elizabeth, her eyes narrowed. "I hope your happy you conniving bi—"

"Sam!"

She turned to glare at Jason once more before storming out.

"That was fun," Elizabeth snorted.

Pressing his fingers against his lids, Jason sighed. "I'm sorry she's angry with you."

"Please, she's just hurt. If she wants to blame me I don't care."

"But it's not your fault."

"I can handle Sam."

Jason nodded, smiling slightly.

"I just heard that you're about to be released," she beamed. "Dr. Jones is signing your papers right now."

"Good," he breathed, walking towards his bed where his duffle bag rested, already packed and ready to go, just like him.

"Anyway," Elizabeth frowned, "I was coming by to see if you needed a ride home."

"Yeah, thanks." He spoke shortly, causing her frown to deepen. Maybe it was because of his frustration over the past couple of days, or maybe it was because of his fight with Sam. He didn't know.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

"You seem angry."

"I'm not angry with you."

By that time, she had walked to stand beside him as he lifted his duffle bag, her hand resting on his arm. She squeezed gently when he didn't look at her. His gaze collided with hers. He felt his gut clench at the sadness he saw.

"You're upset with me about something."

Turning to face her, Jason lifted his hand, his fingertips touching her hair just above her ear. Her hair was so soft that he glided his hand forward, running it through her waves. "I'm not upset with you. We just need to… talk."

"Talk?"

Her eyes opened wide again, her mouth forming an 'o' once more.

For someone who wanted to talk to her, Jason was being awfully quiet. Neither one of them said a word to the other on the ride to Jakes. She was too nervous and he was too busy opening her window and staring outside.

When she braved a couple of glances at him every now and then, his eyes would be closed as the air hit his skin, obliviously enjoying the feel.

It made her smile.

Now, standing behind Jason as he unlocked his door, Elizabeth felt her arms and legs begin to shake she was so nervous. Would he tell her that he regretted kissing her and it shouldn't have happened? Would he push her away, say that while he enjoyed their friendship, because he was back to his old life, it was too dangerous to keep it up? Would he thank her for her help and be her friend again, like they hadn't been distant with each other for an entire year?

Or would he tell her that he had feelings for her and wanted to give it a try?

She didn't know which scared her the most. She would hate to lose his friendship and, just like the other times he tried to cut it off before, she would fight him. But it still scared her that he might try to cut their friendship off again. It also scared her beyond belief that he might actually admit to having feelings for her because she wanted that so much.

So much that it hurt.

Walking past Jason as he held the door open for her, Elizabeth set her sight on everything except for his bed. The last time they were together in that room, it was on that bed that their friendship changed completely. Well, her friendship with the Jason who didn't remember.

Ugh, it was just way too confusing.

Clearing her throat, Elizabeth turned, smiling. "So, are you glad to be home?"

The look on his face, the intensity in his eyes as he looked at her made it loud and clear to Elizabeth that that was the last thing he wanted to talk about. So much for starting slowly and working their way to the hard stuff.

"Sit," he commanded, pointing to the bed.

All of a sudden, her legs stopped shaking. Her heartbeat began to slow and her nervousness changed to annoyance. She quirked an eyebrow, folding her arms in front of her chest.

Jason sighed, walked over to the bed, sat down and then reached for her arm and pulled her down next to him. When he took her hand in his, linking their fingers and resting it in his lap, Elizabeth softened, turning her body towards his.

She swallowed as her throat became suddenly dry. This was it.

Jason cleared his throat, staring intently at their hands. When his gaze finally connected with hers it stole her breath away. His eyes were so soft, clear, beautiful.

"Things have changed," he whispered.

"I know."

"I don't think you do." She didn't speak, was too afraid to even move. Jason continued, his voice still soft. "When I lost my memory, you were the only one I could turn to."

She shook her head, unable to hold such a position. "You were able to turn to Sonny."

"After you showed me that I could trust other people."

"Jason."

"Please," he looked away then back at her. "I…I need to say this."

"Ok." She didn't know why, but there were tears in her eyes.

"You were the only one who didn't push me. You let me just…be. I began to seek you out, wanting to be around you and listen to you tell me about us. I new it then and I know it now that you never once lied to me about our past. Those talks became special to me, just like the memories have always been special to me.

"I began to…" he swallowed, blinking away tears. "I began to fall in love with you."

The air became thick, expanding around them so quickly that Elizabeth couldn't breathe.

Clearing his throat, he continued. "I had that surgery because I wanted to fight for you, even knowing the chances that I might not make it."

Elizabeth closed her eyes, a single tear slipped past her lashes, running down her cheek and landing on their joined hands.

"I-I love you, Elizabeth." She couldn't speak at first; her words were lodged in her throat. He looked nervous which most likely caused him to speak again. "I know we grew close again when I couldn't remember anything and I was different. But I thought that you felt something for me, too. It might have changed since—"

"You're wrong," she interrupted him, finally finding her voice. "You might not have remembered who you were, but you were the same Jason I had always known. Sweet and kind and gentle. Being able to spend time with you only opened my eyes to how much I've always cared about you.

"It was almost like fate threw us back together." Smiling, Elizabeth moved closer to him, using her free hand to cup his cheek, wanting to kiss him so deeply when he sighed at her touch. "I knew that something was changing between us and that my feelings for you were growing. But I was too scared to admit it. I was finally able to admit to myself that I was in love with you when you were being wheeled away and I might not ever see you open your eyes again."

Like she had done moments before, Jason slowly lifted his hand, resting it against her cheek and rubbing his thumb back and forth against her smooth skin. "Then why did you keep running away whenever I tried to talk to you about us."

"Honestly? I was scared. When you admitted to remembering everything I thought that you might want to go back to the way things were… before. I guess I just didn't want to hear the words."

He leaned forward, kissing her lightly. When he went to pull back, she wrapped her hand around his neck, deepening the kiss. They both groaned when her phone rang.

Elizabeth dug into her purse, pulling out her phone and leaning her forehead against Jason's shoulder as she answered. "Hello?"

"Elizabeth, it's your grandmother."

"Is everything ok?" she asked as she lifted her head.

"Everything's fine, dear. I was just hoping you could pick Cameron up a little earlier today. I've just been invited to Mrs. Evans bridge game and you know how much I've waited for that invitation."

"That's fine. I'll be right over."

"Thank you, dear."

Snapping her phone closed, Elizabeth looked regretfully into Jason's eyes. "I have to go pick Cameron up from Grams."

Dropping his chin to his chest, Jason looked at her through his lashes, grinning. "Ok."

She stood, Jason following right behind her. He grabbed her hand as she walked to the door, turning her towards him. Leaning down, he kissed the breath right out of her lungs, moving his lips slowly over hers.

"Do you want to come over for dinner tonight? I'm still not completely moved in to my new place so it'll most likely be pizza sitting on the floor…" she trailed off, already thinking he hated the sound of that. "You know what… forget—"

"I'd like that."

She felt her cheeks growing warm as a shy smile touched her lips. "I bet you're going to go on a bike ride until then, huh. You're probably itching for me to leave so you can feel the wind in your hair."

Jason shook his head.

"Why aren't you going for a ride? Are you still sore?"

"No," he cupped her face, leaning closer to her. "I want my first bike ride back to be with you."

Before she could speak, he kissed her long and hard, messing with her senses. When he pulled away he steered her towards the door. She was half way down the hallway, knowing he was watching her leave, when she stopped and turned around. Softly, shyly, she spoke, "I love you, Jason."

He didn't say the words back, he didn't have to. The love in his eyes as he gazed at her said enough.