Chapter Eleven
Twenty minutes later, everyone still sat around, waiting and wondering where the ambulance was. The large group of people moved closer to the couple, that is how they thought of them, it was obvious there was a connection, whether they had admitted it yet or not was something they didn't bother to question.
The hiker's emptied there packs, offering all first aid supplies they had. The shirt that Marco had been so kind to lend her, was quickly soaking up blood, that the lashes were weeping. Jason kindly enough, however odd, had removed his boxer briefs, so she would at least have something marginally covering her. Francis offered her other shirt, but as Jason point out, was pointless unless they tried to clean the wounds.
Once enough medical supplies had been found, Elizabeth used Jason's jacket to cover her front, while he and Marco began cleaning the wounds. Francis and Emanuel hovered near by, both looking for all intents and purpose, like two large teddy bears, but the worry in both men's eyes reflected what the two men working on her felt. No one questioned the strange bond, the larger men felt towards the young woman, but all could see it.
Elizabeth occasionally hissed in pain, then switched tactics and cursed enough to cause one of the He!!'s Angels to blush, with each curse that flowed from her mouth, she caused everyone to laugh, it felt strange to be laughing under such circumstances, but it also felt good to release some of the tension.
With the wounds cleaned, mostly anyway, Elizabeth tried once again to appeal to Jason's sensible side. It wouldn't look good for anyone involved if Elizabeth was taken to the hospital. There was no proof that it had been Lucky, and while she now wanted to see him pay, she knew that he was going to be slippery.
Six of the remaining group members decided it was time to head back, they would grab the other two vehicles, and if Chris and Leigh came back this way, they could all meet back here, once the vehicles were retrieved.
That left, Marco, Francis and Emanuel. Jason and Elizabeth tried to assure the large men that they would be fine, but they rebuked their claim, deciding to stay right where they were. At first Jason was leery about their sudden interest, but it was obvious they felt compassionate towards Elizabeth, absently, Jason wondered if they were looking for work. A background check would have to be done on each man, but perhaps, since they helped save Elizabeth's life, she would be more comfortable with them watching her back.
"Hey, why don't you guys jump in the car with Elizabeth and myself, you can phone and let your friends know you are coming to my place for a beer, as a thank you, and we can talk, what do you say?" Jason asked, looking at Elizabeth all the while, wanting to know if his request bothered her.
"I think that is a great idea, it is the least I owe you. All we have to do is stop at a liquor store and the beer is on me, well not literally but you know what I mean." Elizabeth said, warming up to the idea completely.
"Sure, we can call the guys a little later. Anyone have a piece of paper, just incase Chris and Leigh get here before the other guys, which is almost a guarantee, they won't worry and will just continue on home or wait for the others." Marco said, liking the idea of a cold beer.
Jason pulled a sheet of paper from his glove compartment and a pen. Marco jotted a little note, then placed it on the large rock that was maybe ten feet from the tree, he placed a smaller rock on the page, so it wouldn't blow away, but left enough of the note visible so they would see it.
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Lucky drove, there was no destination he had in mind, but he knew that if he wanted to remain living, he was going to have to lay low, perhaps for a very long time. There wasn't much he could do about his family, and while he knew they would be worried, when he came back he could explain himself, that was of course after he handled a few little problems.
As night descended, Lucky still drove. He stopped every couple of hours for Gas, but didn't linger, he had even been smart enough to withdraw as much money as he could from his checking and saving's account, as well as on his credit card, he couldn't take the chance that they could follow him if he left a trail. One clue was all they would need.
Being good at escaping people and situations, Lucky doubled back, figuring no one would think he would go back through Port Charles. He had done that as soon as he had made his first stop and withdrew the money. He had remained on back roads and side streets as much as he could, then once he was clear of the blasted city, he took the highway.
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The small group of people entered Jason's penthouse, laden down with beer and some fruity wine cooler that Elizabeth had requested. Jason wasn't too sure about allowing her to drink it, but he supposed she had been through a lot, perhaps some drinking to ease some of the tension was good.
As they were making their way back to the city, Jason placed a call to Sonny and asked him to get Dr. Thompson over to the penthouse as soon as possible, he also took a few moments to explain that Elizabeth had been found and had been injured again. This time though, Jason relished the news he was able to give Sonny, telling the older man, that it had been Lucky.
The three men had sat in silence, squished together in the backseat, not a one of them wanting to cause Elizabeth anymore distress, by making her be squished between them. So they had sat cramped and kinked the entire ride back, but not a single complaint was heard.
As soon as they placed the beer on the coffee table, and Liz placed her bag with her drinks in it down, Max rushed her, gently taking her in his arms. After a moment, he pulled back, but didn't release her, then said, "Don't you ever do that again, if you can't talk to the boss or The Boss, then you come to me, okay?"
Elizabeth laughed heartily, "I promise Max, I will come to you if I ever need to talk, and don't worry, I am not going anywhere." Elizabeth peeked at Jason, wondering what her comment would do to him, she was pleased with his reaction.
"That's right, she isn't going anywhere, she's home!" Jason said, giving Max a slight push as he carefully took Elizabeth in his arms.
"Sorry to break up the party, but I was informed my services were needed?" Dr. Thompson said as he stepped into the penthouse's open door, Sonny close on his heels.
Sonny came forward, gently grasping Elizabeth's shoulders, "You gave us quite a scare, think you can keep your promise and not do that again?" Sonny enquired, his tone was serious, but his dimples refused to submit to his stern manner. Giving up all pretenses, Sonny hugged her, but kept his hands on her arms, not wanting to hurt her.
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Elizabeth followed Dr. Thompson up the stairs and into Jason's room. While she didn't remember the doctor being there the night before, she gleaned enough information from when Jason was talking to Sonny.
"So Doc, I hear you worked on me last night, sorry to be such a pain in the…" Elizabeth began, but was politely interrupted.
"I did, but you are not a pain, in any orifice. It is my job, but I am sad to say I was required so soon. Care to tell me what happened?" Dr. Thompson asked, as an after thought, "By the way, my name is David."
"Nice to meet you David, obviously you know, I'm Elizabeth." Elizabeth said with a sincere grin.
David was shocked, this was the same woman from last night, but it was like she had done a complete three-sixty. He saw the fire glistening in her azure orbs, and the glint of her humor as well, absently he wondered how anyone could have done to her, what had been done. Although, he was sure, this was the calm before the storm, there was no way she could overcome such malevolence without some side effects, and while it was good to see the fire, he knew the coming weeks and months were going to be a proverbial he!!, on both her and Jason.
Elizabeth went into the bathroom, grabbed Jason's robe and slipped it on, then quickly pulled the other shirt off. When she was done, she walked back into the bedroom and sat on the chair, that Jason had slept in last night, but sitting on it backwards, so the doctor could sit on the bed and examine her wounds.
David kept her attention, by regaling her with odd tales, some about Sonny and Jason, but staying far enough away from the business end of the conversation, that neither Jason nor Sonny would be mad.
"Elizabeth, you do realize, you are very lucky to be alive, right?" David said, grimacing at the disaster that was her back.
"I know, I guess those hikers and Jason are my own personal guardian angels, who knew a girl could be so lucky." Elizabeth replied, shivering as the word slipped from her lips, and while it wasn't a capital L, it still held some of the same power.
"Are you alright my dear?" David asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, how much longer do you think?" Elizabeth asked, wanting to be back downstairs with her new friends and Jason.
"I am almost done, but before I do finish, think you can promise me to listen to Jason, he won't tell you something that will hurt you, he only wants to see you happy." David answered.
'I know, I just… It's hard to explain." Elizabeth answered back, looking sullenly at her feet.
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Sonny and Jason stepped into the hall. Sonny wanted more information and didn't feel right talking about it in front of three strangers.
"So, what do you plan to do about them in there, think they will stay quiet, or the rest of their group?" Sonny asked, slightly perplexed.
"Actually, I do think they will stay silent. I also have a request, of course the question couldn't be asked until we did a full background check, but I think they would be perfect bodyguards." Jason said, broaching the subject, the hard part was over, now the ball was in Sonny's court.
"Really? Jason, you don't feel like you owe them or something do you?" Sonny asked, unsure why Jason would be suggesting three men he had just met, to be guards.
"I really do, I think all three have the potential to be some of our finest guards, and like most people who meet Elizabeth, they are charmed by her, perhaps it is her innocence, whatever the reason, my big red warning flag doest flare up around them, I get the best of intentions from all of them." Jason said, hoping Sonny would at least consider it.
"Call Stan in the morning with their details, have him do a full workup on them, then and only then will I contemplate it, okay, is that good enough?" Sonny asked.
"No, but it will have to do. I really believe we would be getting a great commodity, if they agree to join our group. However, if you want more information, you can wait till tomorrow, I want to get back inside and see how Elizabeth is doing." Jason said, opening his door and striding in.
He turned around to shut the door, but Sonny was on his heels, for some reason, Sonny didn't trust them, but if Jason did and after such a short period of time, Sonny could at the very least, give them a chance.
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A.N. You guys have all been really wonderful. I know this story is different from my other one, I just wanted to thank you for your great feedback and trust that this story too will be Liason. Hopefully, this lighter chapter will make you a little happier.