Prompt: And all you are is somebody else's wife.

Part Twenty-Seven

"You shouldn't have hit her so hard."

"I didn't mean to, I just… got nervous."

"It's been hours since we took her. What if she never wakes up?"

Just then, Elizabeth's eyes began to flutter. A groan escaped her lips as her brow furrowed in pain. She opened her eyes slightly, closed them tightly as the light filtered through and made her pounding head ache more.

She heard two familiar muffled voices arguing back and forth. When she felt she could open her eyes again she did just that. When the groan escaped her mouth this time, it wasn't due so much to the pain in the back of her head but more to do with finding Sarah and Steven standing over her.

It took a while to focus in on her two older siblings, but once she did, she recognized instantly where she was.

What in the world was going on?

Sarah made a sound that border on a coo and a squeal, causing Elizabeth's hand to go straight to her head.

"Thank goodness you are awake. We never thought you were going to wake up when we brought you here. I've never seen anybody go down so fast. Well" she paused for only the briefest of seconds. "I never seen anyone hit over the head before, but I'm sure they wouldn't have gone down as fast as you." Sarah let out a little laugh; paying no attention to the glares she received to shut her mouth. "Steven hit you over the head so hard—"

"Shut up, Sarah!" The man in conversation shouted.

Sarah continued. "No one was quick enough to even catch you. Your head must hurt real badly. I mean, you did hit it again on the side of the door when you fell."

"What," Elizabeth said through clenched teeth, "the hell is going on?"

"Whatever do you mean, darling?" Elizabeth turned her head on her pillow to look at her mother rush to the side of the bed her parents replaced when she took her grams furniture with her when she moved out.

On her way to Elizabeth's side, Alesandra pinched Sarah on the arm, a clear threat for the middle child to not talk again. Sarah rubbed her arm, clearly confused at why her mother was giving her such a sour look. "Don't listen to Sarah, you know how she gets." Alesandra leaned forward to whisper, but the entire room heard her anyway. "She doesn't know her left from her right at times."

"I do so." Sarah gasped.

Alesandra just rolled her eyes, opening her mouth to speak again when Elizabeth beat her to it. "If someone does not tell me what is going on, I swear to God…"

"We brought you home."

Elizabeth closed her eyes. No way. No way in hell was this happening. She opened one eye, looked in the direction in which that grating voice that she once thought she loved so much came from and ended up closing her eyes again.

The bastard.

"I'm so glad you're alright." When his hand touched hers, Elizabeth jerked away from him, clearly disgusted by his touch. There was only one man she wanted to touch her, only one man whose voice she truly loved.

"Get the hell away from me."

Joshua put his hand to his chest, a look of mock hurt etching his beautiful face. Elizabeth didn't fall for it for one second. God, he was so… ugh! She really did hate him.

Joshua turned away from her and looked at her father. "She clearly is ungrateful for all the trouble we went through to save her."

Despite the pain in her head, the confusion of everything that was going on, Elizabeth sat up in bed. She leaned back against the pillows and looked at each member of her family and then at Joshua. "What do you mean… saved me?"

"We couldn't go on letting you live with that criminal. We had to get you back here so you get as far away from that man as possible." A sheepish smile formed his face. "It was sort of our fault that you ended up with him anyway."

Confusion etched Elizabeth's face. They had knocked her out to get her away from Jason? No. That couldn't be it. Her family was too damn selfish to do anything because they thought it was in her best interest. Just looking at each of them now proved her point.

Her mother had a fake look of concern on her face. But Elizabeth could see the annoyance at having to act like she actually cared for her youngest daughter on the surface of her mother's eyes.

Sarah probably had forgotten what she was even doing in Elizabeth's room her older sister was that dense. Steven didn't even try to hide his emotion. Pure anger and hate burned like a fire in his eyes as her looked at her. At one time Elizabeth might have been truly hurt by his hatred. But now, after experiencing what it really felt like to belong somewhere, to have people really care about her, Elizabeth didn't care how her spoiled older brother felt.

Johnny and Max and Milo were more like brothers to her than Steven ever was.

It only hurt a tiny bit to see her father look as if he was being put out at having to deal with this situation. He shook his head at her in clear disapproval and disappointment. She wondered if she could have ever made her father happy with her. But just as that thought entered her mind, she blew it right out again. It didn't matter to her anymore. Because just like the guards were like brothers to her, Sonny was just like a father to her. He protected her from the moment he met her and for that Elizabeth would always look up to him in the place that had always been void in her life.

She just hoped when she got the chance to tell him he didn't take it as an insult to think she was calling him old. He was very sensitive about that.

Smiling at the thought, Elizabeth forgot for a moment where she was until that grating voice broke through her peaceful thoughts.

"Ah, see. I knew you would be happy that we saved you." Joshua beamed.

Giving him a look that told him she thought he was the most stupid man in the world, which she did, she snapped at him. "I'm not happy that you saved me. In fact, I'm not staying here for another second."

She made a move to get off of the bed when Steven moved forward and put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her roughly down on the bed. "You're not going anywhere."

Maybe it was being surrounded by a family that didn't care about her, or the bump on her head caused her not to think. But whatever it was, Elizabeth didn't care. She jumped to her feet, pushed Steven back then punched him right in the nose. Her hand hurt like hell, but boy did it feel good to. The jerk was the reason she had a bump on her head anyway.

"Lizzie." Her mother gasped.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Her father roared.

"My God," Joshua inhaled, "You've become a heathen just like that… man."

"That man," Elizabeth grounded out, "Happens to be more of a gentleman than you'll ever be."

To that Joshua just laughed and walked out of the room. Elizabeth looked on as her mother helped Steven to his feet. Her father was going on and on about how disappointing she had become—big shocker there. Her mother was cooing over Steven as he held his nose while blood dripped between his fingers. But Sarah, she actually looked on at Elizabeth with a hint of admiration in her eyes.

"You have gotten blood all over the white carpet. Really, Lizzie, do you ever stop to think before you do something so stupid." Her mother scolded. "Look at what you've done to your poor brother."

"He deserved it."

"Now listen here young lady. You will learn to cool your temper and act like a Webber. We will not have you embarrassing us."

"You don't have to worry about that. I plan on leaving and never coming back. You won't ever have to see me again." Did he actually think she wanted to act anything like a Webber?

"That's where you're wrong. Come, dear." Jeffery motioned for his wife to follow him out of their daughter's old room.

Alesandra tried to pull Steven with her, but he wouldn't move. He stood glaring at Elizabeth. She managed to move Sarah out of the room, but only because the older sister had a dazed look on her face and allowed her mother to guide her away.

"You are going to pay for this." Steven's voice came as a muffle through his cupped hands.

"Just shut up Steven. You got exactly what you deserved."

"I wish you would get what you deserved." His hands dropped away from his face. "But no, you are going to get everything. You're going to be able to live the glorious life."

"What are you talking about?"

He went on as if he didn't hear her. "I wish you could have just stayed away but no, we had to try to bring you back. When that didn't work, I had hoped that they would let it go. But they had to try again, and now you're here."

"What do you mean, try again?"

"Are you really that stupid? Why else would someone try to take you outside of a filthy restaurant? We didn't know what happened until Joshua came back from Port Charles and told us that he saw you and your criminal. But it wasn't until our man had escaped that we found out what really happened."

None of this made sense. Her parents were behind the attempted kidnapping of her and Kristina? What? Why would they try to take Kristina?

Before she had a chance to speak her questions out loud Steven was slamming her door as he walked out. It wasn't until she heard the lock on her door turned that she realized she was trapped.

Jason slammed open his penthouse door, rushing inside. After leaving the warehouse he was anxious to get home.

It felt good to have a reason to rush home, to feel lightness in his chest when he opened his door and saw Elizabeth standing there, smiling at him with the most beautiful look upon her face.

She was an angle in his once dark world.

But Elizabeth wasn't standing there when he walked in. He thought she should be finished with her interview by now. Walking toward the stairs, Jason took them two at a time. His hope to find her in the shower—where they seemed to meet quite frequently—died when he remembered she already took a shower before she left. He peeked into his room first, then hers.

She wasn't home yet.

Walking into her room he trailed his hand along the wall as he looked around. Funny, they spent so much time in her room—his too, the living room as well, hell, any room—but he never really seemed to look around. He never had time to.

She liked clutter that was for sure. He had to admit to himself that it fit her. He was never one to identify a person to their things, probably because he never got to know someone that well or even really took notice. Even with Robin or Carly he didn't think about it. But looking around, seeing all of Elizabeth's clothes scattered on her bed, knickknacks here and there along her dresser tops. It fit her.

She was full of life, loved to look at everything and simply enjoy it. She cluttered his life with laughter and happiness just like her things cluttered her room.

Sighing, Jason shook his head, ran his hand through his hair. When did he become such a sap?

He lifted a shirt from her bed, fingered it and was about to leave when he saw a sketchpad poking out. Picking it up, Jason flipped through the first couple of pages when he realized that each page had the same image, just at different shots.

They were all of him.

It was in that moment that Jason knew.

The chirp of his cell phone broke through his thoughts. He answered, listening to the frantic voice on the other end.

The sketchpad fell from his hands.

It had been hours since anyone came into her room. She figured they had forgotten about her when the doorknob began to rattle. Taking bets with herself as to whom it might be, every one of her thoughts and reasons behind why that particular person might come in all lost.

The last person on earth she thought would enter her room preceded to walk right in as if she owned the damn house.

Carly Quartermaine waltzed right in and towards where she sat at her window seat.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, sizing the bitch up. "What are you doing here?"

"Wow, you really need to learn some manners."

"Cut the crap."

"You kiss Jason with that mouth?" She laughed. "You're not going to be kissing or seeing him ever again so I guess it doesn't matter."

"You know what Carly…" Elizabeth stood up, taking a threatening step towards the blonde.

"You think you can take me, you twit. You can't."

Elizabeth took another step forward. "What…do…you…want?"

"I thought I'd come to let you know that you don't have to worry." Carly answered mockingly. "I'm going to take great care of Jason."

"Jason won't let you near him." And neither would she, Elizabeth thought. She just had to get the hell out of there.

"God, you are such an idiot. Jason was just using you for a while. Jason loves me. Not you. You can never be to him what I am."

"You know what you are Carly? You're nothing but someone else's wife."

Carly's hand came up so fast; Elizabeth didn't see it until she felt the sting against her cheek. The same anger rushed through her body when she had punched Steven in that moment that Elizabeth didn't even think before she leapt at Carly and threw her to the floor.

Frustration, pure and simple, ran through her veins as she pulled the blonde woman's hair. She had just punched her across the face when someone was pulling her off of the evil bitch.

"Stop it!"

Elizabeth pulled out of Joshua's arms, turned around and glared at him. "Why are you doing this to me? Why won't you let me go!"

"It's simple." He answered. "You're going to marry me."

"And you have me to thank." Carly piped in.