Try Again

Chapter 6

A/N: Trabrasera says sorry for taking so long to update. She says 'Lizzie' was in her head and wouldn't go away, and that's not how we wanted to write Liz.

Thanks to Bryan Ferry and the Beach Boys for inspiration. Hope you like the updates.

Maxi was giving her statement to Mac. They'd been able to drag her out of the hospital after Patrick said Spinelli was going to live.

She was sitting in Mac's office. He and Alexis were in attendance.

"So, I went to get Spin's meds and some food. I was almost to the door and I heard Sonny Corinthos. He was screaming… I thought Jason was there, so I kind of hung back. Then I heard Spinelli…"

"What was Sonny saying?" Alexis asked.

"Crazy stuff… Like Spinelli was a snitch and how Spin turned Jason against him. How if he could get rid of Spinelli, he could get Jason back."

The girl took a deep breath.

"As soon as I realized Jason wasn't there, I called him right away."

Mac shook his head .

"You called Morgan first and then the police?"

Maxi shrugged.

"I figured he could get there faster. And he is some kind of Special Agent cop thing."

Mac rolled his eyes and blew out his breath.

Alexis intervened.

"What happened next?"

"Sonny was screaming, and it was garbled. I could kind of hear Spinelli." Her breath hitched. "I just stood there like a big dumb blond deer in headlights. I couldn't move."

Mac tried to comfort her.

"Honey, if you had opened that door, Sonny might have shot you."

"But Spinelli's already been through so much. I could take a bullet, I guess, like in a not too vital area."

"You're a good friend, Maxi," Alexis said, "But we need to finish getting your statement."

"I just stood there waiting. Jason was at the penthouse in like 2.5 minutes. It was a blur. He opened the door and I didn't really see what was happening then. But then I snuck in and closer to Spin. Jason had already drawn his gun and he and Sonny were doing this, like, stand-off thing. But then Sonny said he was going to fix everything and he spun around and shot at Spinelli."

Maxi took deep breaths.

"Jason fired at almost the exact same time. It was like there was only one gun shot. And Sonny was on the floor. Jason had shot him in the head."

More deep breaths.

"Then Spinelli was moaning. Jason took over. He took off his belt and had me help move Spin so he could tighten it around his leg. He was bleeding so much, his face was so white and I was so scared.

She looked at Mac.

"I mean I don't think his little body can take so much. Can I go now?"

Mac and Alexis blinked.

"Is that all?" Mac asked.

"Well, then your dumb-ass officers showed up and dragged Jason off like he was the criminal. And he tried to explain he was an agent, but they wouldn't let him pull out his wallet. I tried to explain it to Ding and Dong, but they wouldn't listen to me, and then the EMT's showed up and we went to the hospital. Can I go?"

Alexis shook her head.

"Yes, Maxi, thank you. You can go."

Maxi was off like a shot.

Liz was in a recovery room, drinking orange and eating animal crackers.

'Cause juice and cookies make more blood,' she thought irritably. 'Feelin' a little woozy.'

The door opened and Jason walked in.

"So, I hear you saved the day," he said, sitting next to her.

Liz shrugged.

"It was just plain and simple luck. I was here filling in when everything happened."

"Whatever it was, you saved Spin's life."

"It's what I do," she said, smiling half-heartedly.

"Can you leave yet?"

Liz looked up at the clock near the ceiling.

"I'm supposed to sit here for another 15 minutes, eating my juice and cookies. 'Cause juice and cookies make more blood. Did you know that?" She didn't wait for him to respond. "I didn't. And I went to nursing school and then the midwife school. And they never taught me that."

"You sound a little looped," Jason said, smiling.

"You would too if you'd just given half the blood in your damn body. Well, not that much… But a lot."

"I think I should drive you home."

"But my car's here," she said stubbornly.

"So?"

"My… my… car is here."

"Liz, stop being stubborn and I'll drive you home. In your car."

"Oh, oh, okay. Okay."

Liz picked up her juice and cookies and headed out the door, wobbling only slightly.

Jason put a hand on her lower back and followed her.

"Carly! What the fuck are you doing here?" Lucky yelled as she walked into the main cabin of the plane.

Carly gave him a 'fuck you' look.

"I'm not letting my husband get himself potentially killed looking for your slutty, barren, moronic, horse faced girl-friend."

Before Lucky could respond, Jax returned from the cockpit.

"Carly!"

"Yes, dear?"

"You stowed away?" he asked incredulously.

"Looks like…"

"But-"

"You never told me I couldn't come. And I didn't ask. Not a thing you can do about it now."

Jax looked at his wife.

"I suppose not."

"Good," she said, making herself comfortable. "So, where exactly are they keeping Sea-Biscuit?"

Lucky sputtered.

Jax just shook his head.

The car ride home was quiet, and Liz was starting to feel more like herself. While they had taken the maximum amount of blood from her, she was recovering from it quite well.

Jason handed back her keys after parking the car. She let them in and Jason stood in the doorway uncertainly.

"Where are the boys?"

Liz looked over at him and beckoned him in. He looked relieved and closed the door behind him. She took a yogurt from the fridge and sat at the table.

"Bobbie's. I left them with her when I went to talk to you, then I got called into work and she said she'd keep them."

"That's good," he said awkwardly, still standing near the door.

"You can come in and sit down."

"I don't want to get in your way."

"Jason," she said, looking him in the eye, "Come sit down. Now is as good a time as any."

"But you just-"

"I gave blood. I wasn't the one hemorrhaging-" She stopped. "I'm sorry. That was insensitive. Spinelli's going to be okay, right? Did I already ask that question?"

"Kind of," he replied, "Patrick says he's critical but stable. So, he should make it through. His system has been through a lot…"

"It's just his luck. Hit by a car and shot all in the same month…"

"He's strong."

"I certainly hope so."

They sat in silence for a few moments.

She finished her yogurt, threw the cup away and put her spoon in the sink. She stood in the kitchen a moment, then steeled herself.

"Enough with the bullshit. What's the what?"

Jason looked confused.

"Huh?"

"No, seriously Jason. We both know why we're here, so let's get to it."

"Well, I'm here because I drove you home from the hospital."

"You want me to hit you again… You… You like it…"

"No, I really don't."

She sat back at the table.

"Then let's get this over with, let's drag it all out and look at it."

"Okay, I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to interrupt. I'll answer all your questions when I'm done, as much as I can, because there are legal issues. But I'll tell you everything I can."

"Fair enough. I accept your terms."

"Okay, to start from the beginning. Ten years ago I was working for Sonny, hadn't done anything particularly violent yet. Then I was picked up by an OCTF agent, Hannah Scott. I knew who she was, I just didn't know she was FBI.

"She sat me down and told me that the mob life was not a life I wanted to live. I told her to fuck off, I could make my own decisions. Then she made some sense. Did I really like the thought of killing people who may or may not be innocent victims. Did I like the retirement plan that went with the life of being a mob enforcer. Then she said I could go back, be a criminal, get pinched and/or die or I could become an agent, work for the Feds and do some good.

"It wasn't like it was an easy decision. I still had a lot of anger in me. But I had already seen innocent people suffer during mob wars and skirmishes. I eventually accepted her offer.

"The night you found me shot, my cover had been blown. I wanted to tell you the truth from the beginning, I didn't want to… omit things. But at that point I was still unstable in my position as an agent and was still mostly thought of as a brain dead thug anyway. I didn't want to bring you into it. So, I just let you believe what everyone else said."

He paused, looking at her.

"You and I were so tight after that, but then there was all that bullshit with Sonny and Carly with A.J. and Michael. I was in the shit emotionally, and you helped me through it. And I'm eternally grateful, but there was a bomb in your studio… I couldn't justify the threat to you, so I left. I had them reassign me for more training and beef up security for you here."

"I came back and it was just as chaotic as when I left, but at least you weren't in danger. Then Carly flipped on Sonny and he got pulled into the fold, but not with the same deal. Sonny was actually an informant, not an agent. Apparently, they thought he was too much of a loose cannon to give a badge to.

"Then Lucky was miraculously back from the dead, and you seemed so happy… And all I ever wanted for you was to be happy, so I stayed away."

She looked like the top of her head was going to pop off.

"Go ahead, say what you want to."

"Yes, I was happy that Lucky wasn't dead, but if you'd asked me, I would have dropped him in a New York second."

His eyes widened, then he shook his head.

"It was too dangerous."

"You going to go back to that old chest nut? I have told you on several occasions that I am not afraid of your life. Which, as it turns out, was a big, old, fat lie."

"Not a lie…"

"A lie by omission is still a lie. You didn't give me all the facts."

"I didn't want to make it your burden."

"That's what a relationship is, sharing burdens, taking care of each other. You kept me from being able to make an informed decision which kept us apart for too long."

Try Again

Chapter 7

A/N: We have diarrhea of the word processor. So, we meant to write chapter 6 which turned into a monster that we had to break up.

We made a compromise (with each other) on some things that will play out in the next chapter. Trab just likes to kill folks and I like to mess with the characters.

Patrick and Robin were back at her/their apartment.

They'd showered and eaten and he was chomping at the bit to get it off his chest.

Robin could see the excitement in his face and threw him a bone.

"So, what's your big plan?" she asked after settling herself onto the couch.

Patrick sat on the table in front of her.

"I know how you feel about marriage, and correct me if I'm wrong, but it's all the officiousness, right? The forms and certificates and bureaucratic bullshit."

Robin thought a moment before she responded.

"I thought you were going to call me a commitment-phobe, but some of that, most of it is true."

"And the commitment phobia?" he asked gently.

Robin decided to be honest with him and herself.

"Yes."

"I want to be with you and this baby for the rest of our lives, however long that's going to be. But I don't want to force you into something that will make you miserable. Just tell me… Do you want to be with me? Do you want me in your life and the baby's? Forever? Or as long as you can stand me?" he added with a smile.

Robin's eyes welled with tears.

"It was never about not wanting you. It was me… Being scared… Being a coward…"

"Don't," he said, startling her.

She blinked and looked at him.

"Don't beat yourself for how you feel. But just try to see that it's not entirely reasonable to be afraid of us being together."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I have an ingenious plan. One that will let me have my much needed public display of commitment and you can still be unencumbered by official documents and the threat of divorce."

She smiled at him.

"Well, come on, big brain, let's hear it."

He held in suspense for a moment.

"An unofficial, document-free, non religious commitment ceremony. We just rent a hall, or go to a park or the beach and invite our friends and family and let them know that we intend to stay together for as long as you'll have me."

Robin was a little stunned.

"I don't want to push, but I really, ideally, I would like to do it before you birth our baby."

She continued to sit, thinking.

"Okay, I can live with that," she said, holding her arms out to him.

Patrick picked her up like she was a doll and took her to the bedroom.

"You know I spoil you," she said, kissing his ear.

"Thank God," he said, pushing the bedroom door closed with his foot.

"You cared for me so much, you left me alone and hooked up with Courtney?"

"It wasn't like that initially. Sonny had me guarding her, but then she was there. Proximity and availability. Anyway, you were with Ric and not talking to me."

"Which all goes back to you not telling me the truth. If you'd said word one to me, I never would have…" She stopped. "Okay. I am not going to play the blame game for this one. Ric was my mistake. But the thought of you and Courtney made me so fucking miserable…"

"It's not like I was in a particularly happy place myself. Sonny and Carly weren't making my life easy, neither were the Feds. I couldn't be with you and… She was there," Jason said unhappily. "I could rattle off reasons, but it comes down to wanting you safe. I had all these worst case scenarios running through my head after the bomb in your studio."

"I'm going to give you Courtney, because it was pretty much the same with Zander. But we need to talk about… We need to talk about that night."

Jason shook his head.

"And say what? I was cruel? I deliberately said those things to hurt you? I made love with you and when you wanted more I shut you out. I pushed you away as far as I could."

"Which is why what I did was just as cruel."

He looked at her blankly.

"Ric had hurt me, Zander was a huge mistake, and I turned to you. We had a night, and you told me it was all we'd ever have, so I… Well, the short story is I got stinking drunk the next night and had sex with Zander. But you know that. But I had a paternity test done the same time I had Jake's done."

"What are you saying?"

"Okay, I know it's going to upset you that I've known for two years, but call it a little payback…"

"What is it, Elizabeth?"

"Cameron is yours. Biologically speaking, you could quite possibly… Well, are in fact, the father of both of my children."

Jason sat open mouthed.

"What?"

"That night was filled with much… banging of the gong. And we may not have been as careful as we thought, or there was condom failure, I don't know. But you are the father of my children. And you lied for ten years, I only lied for two. Why do you think I've been pressing you so hard the last few years. I couldn't just announce that Cameron was yours, too. It would look desperate, like a game or a ploy."

"We've kept secrets… And I've kept mine, which is almost on par with yours. I can't say I blame you for not telling me. Well, maybe a little. But, I just can't get angry about it."

Liz looked relieved.

"Then, I left for a change and when I came back, eventually I fell back into the routine of being with Lucky. It's not like you were alone. There was Sam."

"I think you have the wrong idea about me and Sam."

"What wrong idea? You hooked up with a pregnant chick."

"I wasn't with her when she was pregnant," he said, blowing out her breath. "You were with Lucky and some fool had given him a badge, so I didn't want to make your life difficult with him."

"Yeah, you not being with me helped that relationship. It was doomed before it started. But I still don't understand Sam."

"Can I use the proximity and availability thing again. You know it's hard for me to say no…"

Liz blew out her breath.

"You're a whore Jason Morgan. In fact, you are a lazy whore. You just wait for chicks to come live with you."

Jason took a deep breath.

"Lucky, me, Lucky, me, Ric, Zander, Lucky, me. I'm going to go with you're a lazy whore, too."

"Oh, okay, we're doing lists. I got a list for you. Robin, lived with you. Carly, lived with you. I lived with you. Courtney lived with you. And Sam, lived with you. Yeah, you try real hard to form long and lasting relationships. You just wait for bitches to move in."

"Well, I'm a whore, fine. How do you explain climbing 15 floors in the dark? Just to talk, after you caught Lucky with Maxi. Tell me that wasn't a revenge fuck?"

"Okay, I said that I was there to talk. And I can tell you that Lucky was the last thing on my mind when I went to you. It was the sudden and abrupt realization that I was desperately and completely unhappy. Not just because Lucky was sleeping with Maxi. But because I wanted to be with you. Then we made love and you did that noble bullshit and sent me away again. So, fuck you, Jason Morgan."

"More revisionist history ala Elizabeth?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I recall that night and everything we did. And you were the one who said it was all we could have and scurried back to Lucky."

"I did not scurry," she grumbled. "Maybe I wanted you to fight for me."

"So, you were trying to manipulate me?"

"Yes, I was. We're going full disclosure, right? I did. I wanted you to go all Fred Flintstone on me and drag me back to your cave. Maybe then I would have known you gave a damn. Maybe I wouldn't have gone back to Lucky thinking he was my only option. And the impression I got was that you were unwilling to fight. You wanted to work it out with Sam. And what the fuck was that all about?"

"You are aware that she is unable to have kids because she took a bullet for me."

Liz blew out her breath.

"Do you know for a fact that bullet was for you? Maybe it was for the horse-faced bitch, she has enough enemies. But she sure as shit milked that guilt for all she could."

"She had a right."

"No, she had no right to you. I had every right to tell you those children were yours and demand… anything. Demand you marry me, put all our shit out there for the people of Port Charles, pressure you into being with me. But I didn't. And look what it got me. What do I have to do to make you realize I want you with me?! I want you in your son's lives. Do I have to start packing heat and randomly walking into gun fights?"

Jason looked at her with a new appreciation.

"What do we do now?" he asked "Is it to late to go back?"

"Yes, Jason. It's too late," she said, tears in her eyes.

Spinelli wakes up in his hospital room to arguing.

"You don't need to be here. He doesn't need his vitals taken every five minutes," Georgie said.

Leyla took a breath.

"You're just a candy-striper, it's not like you're integral to his medical care," she tossed out.

"I'm here to visit a friend, not that it's any of your Limey business," Georgie retorted.

"Um, ladies, so not about you two right now. Poor Spinelli is in the hospital AGAIN. He doesn't need to deal with the two of you fighting about who needs to be here more."

"Stay out of it," Georgie snapped.

As Leyla said at the same time, "Mind your own business."

"Not gonna! You two! Out! Now!" Maxi whisper-yelled as she pushed the women out the door.

She settled by Spinelli's bed and pulled a magazine out of her purse.

She glanced at Spinelli, hooked up to all the machines. She saw that his eyes were opened.

"Don't talk Spin, you don't have the strength." She leaned back and got comfortable in the chair, flipping through her magazine. "These new fashions suck ass, seriously. And the colors! I know it's fall but do we have to look like we're going to a funeral? And I'm totally gay."

She stopped as Spinelli's eyes widened, but he remained silent.

"I know, I know. But after Lucky and Cooper and Logan," she shivered when she said his name, "I knew something was different. And then I met you and I was thinking, 'Here's a good guy I could totally be with.' But I kept backing away, because, I wanted you to be my friend… And I just didn't feel right.

"Plus, when I was doing it with, you know, them, I was thinking about girls. Like Angelina Jolie with her hot self and pretty lips… I'm getting away from the point. I never meant to lead you on and make you think we could be together, even though I thought I wanted us to be together at some point, but I figured out what it was.

"I'm gay. I'm a lesbo. I haven't got my union card yet, which is my way of saying I haven't actually done it with a girl, but I haven't met the right one. But that nurse Leyla, hot, hot, hot. And if she wasn't straight as an arrow and crushing on you, I'd give it a try.

"Oh, yeah, Leyla has a crush on you, and so does Georgie. Try not to have a heart attack."

On that note, Spinelli fell back into unconsciousness.

TBC