Part Fifteen
LIII.
Thankfully, Elizabeth had only been unconscious for a few minutes. Without waiting to speak with the police who were still trying to come to terms with what had gone down in their sleepy little town and without asking for help, Jason had gotten the woman he loved out to their vehicle as quickly as possible, bypassing all the concerned questions and curious stares, and, en route to the hospital, the brunette beside him had opened her eyes, reassuring him that, no matter what, he would make sure that she was okay.
Elizabeth had been quiet, though, hesitant to talk about what had happened to her. When he had asked her if she was physically alright, if she had been injured, she had been quick to reassure him that she was just fine, but she thought it was a good idea that they went to the hospital, just in case. She knew that he would want her to be checked out by a doctor, and, despite knowing he would protest, she had asked him if he would consent to the same. He told her he refused to lie to her, and she seemed to understand that was his way of saying that he wouldn't and not to keep asking him.
But that was the last that she had said anything. While he drove on, she had curled into herself, turning to look out the window at the passing scenery without reaction or response. Her silence had nearly brought him to his knees. He needed her to need him, to reach out to him in search of comfort and support. But she didn't. She didn't ask him if they were safe now, and she didn't seem to want to know any of the details about how he had been able to get to her or how he had been able to take care of the gunman. It was almost as if those were the last things on the artist's mind, as if she was someplace else, thinking of other things, and, even though he wanted her to trust him enough to confide in him, Jason didn't press her. Instead, he focused upon the one thing he could do that would be proactive: he drove.
When they had arrived at the hospital, she hadn't put up a protest when he insisted upon carrying her into the emergency room. When the front desk nurse asked what was wrong, she never once spoke up, simply allowing him to tell her that she had been involved in the hostage situation in Dovetree and that he wanted her checked out to make sure that she was alright. And when a nurse came to take her away to an exam room with a wheelchair, she had simply held onto him tighter when he refused to let go of her.
Finally, once the doctor arrived, asking for some privacy, Elizabeth had nodded in his direction, telling him wordlessly that it was alright, that she was alright, and that he could do as the doctor requested and leave them alone. He hated being away from her, even if he knew she was safe, but the few moments allowed him a chance to call the agents who were already on their way.
The former mob enforcer had never liked hospitals. The clinical smell made his skin itch, and the bright, deceptively painted, cheery walls made him feel trapped and imprisoned. The sensations were only made worse by the fact that he had no idea what would happen when Maloney and Houston arrived. Their cover had been blown to pieces, and the one thing he had been told to do – to keep Elizabeth safe no matter what – he had failed miserably at. So, not only was he worried about the woman he loved, but he was also fearful of their future, of what the FBI would do next in order to keep them alive until they could testify against Sonny.
Thankfully, before his worries could get the better of him, forcing him to seek the solace of the fresh, clean air outside, Elizabeth's physician had informed him that he could go back in with his wife and that she would allow Mrs. Martin to give him the good news. Of course, the blonde had not hesitated in listening to the older woman's instructions. By her words alone, it was obvious that the college graduate was healthy and unharmed, and, for that, he was thankful, but, when he entered Elizabeth's hospital room and saw the regretful, almost pained expression upon her beautiful face, he had become concerned anyway. Even if she was physically alright, there was a very good chance the events at the grocery store had affected her in other ways, ways that would prove to affect them and their new relationship that Jason wasn't prepared for or prepared to accept.
Slowly, he crossed the small, antiseptic room, taking a seat on the stool already positioned at her bedside. Without waiting for an explanation, he took Elizabeth's right hand in the both of his, squeezing it softly, perfectly aware of the precautionary IV's marring her delicate skin. In that moment, there were so many things that he wanted to tell her – that he loved her, that he was glad she was alright, that he was thankful they were able to be there together, no matter what the circumstances were, but none of those things would come to his lips, and, instead, the onetime hitman found himself whispering something else entirely. "I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely, his shoulders slumping forward with the overwhelming admission. "I'm so sorry, Elizabeth."
Because his head was bowed, he didn't see the anxiety and the uncertainty that flared in the brunette's already tearful gaze. "What for?"
"For, for everything," he stumbled, grasping at thin air for a way to put his sorrow to words. Finally looking up, he met her stare, his own lighter, equally as emotional eyes piercing those of the woman he loved. "For not keeping you safe, for not going with you to the store, for not getting there sooner, for… what this life has done to you."
"Oh, Jason," she murmured, reaching up with her free hand to wrap the slender digits around his neck and pull his head forward towards her own. Once their foreheads were touching, their mouths only inches apart as their breaths whispered and mingled together, she continued. "I don't blame you."
"But I blame myself. I did so many things wrong, things that I…"
Interrupting him, she protested. "There was no way for either of us to know that our cover had been blown, and you got to me as soon as you could. I know that. As for you being responsible for me being in this life, that's just ridiculous. I was the one who befriended Sonny, I was the one who trusted him enough to introduce him to my brother, and I was the one who took what I knew and went to the FBI. You had nothing to do with any of those decisions, Jason, so you can't blame yourself." When he went to dispute her reassurances, she wouldn't allow him. Instead, she kept talking. "And the only reason that I'm safe, that I'm still alive, is because of you.
"While you might not have realized it, all those months ago when we first moved here and you were trying to tell me things that would keep me safe if ever a dangerous situation presented itself, I was listening, and I remembered you telling me how it always gets quiet right before something really bad happens. Well, that's how I knew that I had to hide this morning. Evelyn and I, we were just… talking." Swallowing roughly, she pushed the sudden, unwanted sobs away and simply focused on what it was that she wanted to say. "It was like every other time we have gone shopping together. She was harassing me about you, and I was distracted, but then I noticed how still the store suddenly was, and I panicked. I'm pretty sure that Evelyn thought I was going insane, but I was right, and the only reason that I knew enough to go and hide was because of what you taught me. You did that, Jason; you were the one talking to me inside my head, keeping me safe; you were the one that made me stay where I was and not go forward when that gunman started threatening everyone else as a way to get to me."
He wanted to argue with her, to deny her claims, but he realized in that moment that he was too selfish to do so. If Elizabeth wanted to believe that he had saved her, that he was good for her, Jason knew that he could not be the one to disappoint her. For his own peace of mind and happiness, he would allow her to put him on some ridiculous pedestal that he did not deserve, because he needed her in his life that much, and, truth be told, the fact that the woman he loved believed in him so much was gratifying. No one had ever truly had faith in him before, had trusted in him so completely, and it felt good to be someone's, to be Elizabeth's first, last, and always. So, instead of fighting her, he simply closed the distance between them, kissing her sweetly.
The embrace was light, merely a promise of future embraces, but it was enough to reassure the both of them that they were exactly where they were supposed to be. "Thank you," the ex-enforcer sighed, grateful for both her love and her trust.
"You're welcome," Elizabeth returned, cementing her statement with a gentle kiss to his lips of her own initiating. Pulling back far enough so that she could peer, once again, into his eyes, she added, "and thank you… for everything."
He simply nodded his head in acceptance of her praise.
"Will you tell me something," the petite brunette asked, suddenly nervous and uneasy. Allowing his gaze to leave her face, he glanced towards the artist's hands and found them anxiously twisting and clenching the sheets that were pooled in her hospital gown clad lap. "You're probably not going to like it, but I need to know the truth, Jason. I need to…"
"I'll tell you anything," he promised her, simply eager to put her mind at ease again… if such a thing was even possible at that point.
But, still, the woman he loved refused to look at him, and, as she spoke out of the corner of her mouth, he watched as her sharp, white teeth pierced the skin of her bottom lip, drawing blood. "How many… did anyone…?" Pausing momentarily, she at last lifted her gaze to his. "Did anyone die because of me?"
And he couldn't lie to her. Despite wanting to protect her, despite wanting to shield her from any unnecessary pain, the onetime hitman knew it would be more upsetting in the long run for Elizabeth to be lied to by him than it would be for her to face the truth, because it had taken her so long to believe in someone again, and, no matter what, Jason refused to break the bond they had, over the past few months, built with one another.
"Yes," he admitted, clearing his throat of all the emotion he felt before he could continue. "One woman died on her way to the hospital. She bled out. There was nothing they could do for her." Before she could ask any more questions, he told her everything else that he knew. "There's another woman in critical condition, but they think that she'll make it. She's going to need surgery, though, to stop the internal bleeding. The other two victims are stable and expected to make a full recovery."
"The woman who died," Elizabeth wanted to know, already fighting back the sobs that would match the tears flowing smoothly and uninterruptedly down her pale face. He wanted to reach up in order to dry the saline tracks, but Jason knew the college graduate needed the emotional release just as much as he hated having to witness her so upset. "Did she have a family, children?"
Despite being caught off guard by her inquiry, for he had not been expecting it, he responded anyway. "I'm not sure. If you want, I can try to find out for you."
"I don't know," the brunette answered truthfully. "A part of me wants to find out, but the other part of me doesn't. Can I… can I think about it and get back to you?"
"Sure." As far as he was concerned, Elizabeth could do anything and everything she ever wanted.
Before he could adjust again, the mood seemed to shift between them once more, and Jason was left to play catch up. Without conscious thought, a grin formed on his face, one to match the one he saw before him on the countenance of the woman he loved. "There's something I need to tell you, something else about why I hid from the gunman, even when he was shooting at other people."
To say that he was baffled by her strange shift in moods would be an understatement, but, at that point, the onetime enforcer was just relieved to see the painter smile again. However, before he could ask her what it was, the door behind them opened, and, without glancing over his shoulder, he knew it was the two agents assigned to their case.
"Miss Webber," Bill Maloney greeted her. "We're glad you're alright."
Without missing a beat, his partner demanded, "Morgan, get your ass out into this hallway now. We need to speak with you," and, unlike the older man's voice, Agent Houston's contained absolutely no warmth.
"It's okay, go," Elizabeth insisted, letting go of his hands and slightly pushing them away from her. "I'll either be here when you get back, or I'll be getting ready to leave. Either way, it's fine."
He hesitated but only for a moment. Sparing one last glance in the brunette's direction, he followed the two men out of the hospital room, eager to get their confrontation over with. Now that he knew the woman he loved was physically safe and, at least, not entirely emotionally wrecked, the very last thing he wanted was to be away from her, but their security had been breached, and he knew that was not something that could be ignored. However, with that said, he did not want to confront what the FBI would want to do to rectify the situation, for he had a feeling he would not like their new plans.
LIV.
"We're separating the two of you."
And there it was, the very thing he had been expecting the FBI to decree, but, at the same time, it was the very last thing that Jason wanted to hear, and, despite the futility of the action, he wasn't prepared to back down or give in without a fight. So, offering up the first argument that came to mind, he stated, "we don't even know if Elizabeth was the target." He knew it was a lie, but he was hoping that the agents weren't aware of the fact yet, because, if they weren't, that would give him more time to figure out a way around their plans.
"Don't be naïve, Morgan," Houston hissed, narrowing his gaze at the ex-hitman. "Every single victim was short, petite, and brunette, and even the preliminary reports that we've been receiving from the local law enforcement has Webber's name all over it. Literally. That gunman was after her, and the only reason that girl is still alive is because you got to him before he could get to her, however sloppy your shots were."
Sending a scorching glare towards his partner, Agent Maloney picked up the reins. "We're grateful that you saved Miss Webber's life, Jason, but your cover has been blown. Corinthos obviously knows where the two of you are."
"But he only sent one man," the blonde argued, desperate to persuade them into a different course of action. "Maybe he thought it was a long shot, or maybe the guy wasn't acting on any orders, maybe he was rogue and trying to impress Sonny by showing up at his doorstep with Elizabeth's…" Swallowing roughly, he switched tracks slightly, "… with proof that the job had been taken care of."
"Even if that was the case, in a matter of hours this entire town is going to know that you and Miss Webber are not who you've been claiming you are. Gossip like that in a place this small, it's going to spread like wildfire, so there's no way you can remain here. As for the gunman being rogue, we've already identified him, and he's one of Corinthos' men," Bill informed him. "And we both know that he was sent here alone in order to be discreet, just a ripple in the wave pond. Sonny Corinthos is too smart to send an entire army after you and Miss Webber, and he's also too smart to back down now. While he might have failed this time, he'll keep trying until he either succeeds in killing you both or he runs out of time and his trial starts. It's our job to make sure that the latter occurs."
"Fine," Jason agreed harshly, stepping away from the two agents, "but I still don't see why Elizabeth and I have to be separated. Whether it was messy or not, the only reason she's still alive is because of me," he informed them, meeting both man's gazes and challenging them to dispute his point. "Set us up somewhere else or send us out of the country, whatever you want, but, no matter what, we're going together."
Speaking up once more, Adam Houston denied, "that's not possible, and who the hell do you think you are to make demands of us, Morgan? We're the fucking Federal Bureau of Investigation. The only reason your ass isn't in jail or worse right now is because we gave you a very generous deal, so shut the fuck up, and do as you're…"
The rest of his words were swallowed as Jason lifted him off the ground and pinned him against the wall. "I don't like you, Agent Houston," he informed the cocky, sycophantic man gasping before him. "You rubbed me the wrong way when I first met you, and I know that you made Elizabeth feel ill at ease. You're an opportunist who doesn't give a damn about the people you serve; you're in it for the fame, for the promotions, for the glory. In fact, take away your badge and cut your hair a little shorter, and you'd remind me a younger, slightly less crooked version of my old partner." Shaking the agent for good measure, the retired hitman warned. "Now, listen up and listen well. I love Elizabeth, not because Jack was supposed to be married to Ellis, but because of who she is, and, if anyone is going to make sure that she remains safe, it's going to be me."
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear Bill trying to talk to him, and he could feel the older, out of shape man pulling on his arms, trying in vain to get him to release his partner, but Jason refused to do so until he had made his point. Then and only then did he allow Houston to drop to the floor, crumpling up in a cowardly heap as he fought to remain conscious.
"And Miss Webber," Agent Maloney asked, sounding genuinely interested in what the blonde had to say. "How does she feel about you?"
Looking the government official in the eye, he answered, "she agreed to marry me, for real this time, just as soon as we're free of this mess."
"And I will do everything within my power to make sure that actually happens for the two of you," Bill swore vehemently, and Jason found himself believing the older man. "But you have to do this, Mr. Morgan. You have to trust us enough to keep Miss Webber safe for you. This wasn't something I came up with, and it wasn't Houston's decision either to separate you. This came from someone higher up, someone not even you can get to or influence. I'm afraid there's nothing you, me, or even Miss Webber can do about the situation. You're just going to have to trust us like we're trying to do with you."
When it came to Elizabeth, he just couldn't do that, and he was about to tell the balding man just that when a fourth person joined their small group, speaking up and changing every single dynamic they had previously been operating under. "I wouldn't be too sure of that, Agent Maloney," the woman he loved warned, and Jason could hear the slight smirk that was no doubt quirking her lips influencing her voice. "After all," she pressed on, delivering her one and only blow necessary to dismantle the FBI's plans. "I highly doubt even the US Government would separate me from my unborn baby's father. You see, Agent Maloney, Agent Houston, I'm pregnant."
Turning around, the former enforcer smiled widely in the brunette's direction. Not only had she managed to get redressed and check herself out of the hospital without anyone's help, but she was also the smartest, quickest person he knew. While he wasn't sure what made her think of saying such a thing, he was glad she did, for she had just made sure that they wouldn't be separated, and Jason didn't think it was possible he could ever love someone as much as he loved her in that moment. Elizabeth Webber was amazing.
LV.
After three very long hours of the second degree by the agents assigned to their case, Jason was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief as he let himself and Elizabeth into their motel room for the night. While they had traveled a state away from Dovetree, Houston and Maloney had taken advantage of the car ride and used the uninterrupted time to not only question the two of them about the events earlier that day but also to demand answers when it came to their personal life. Despite the fact that neither he nor Elizabeth had offered them anything more than what had been said at the hospital, the FBI operatives had been ruthless in their pursuit of information, even going so far as to claim that Jason had taken advantage of Elizabeth's situation. The woman he loved had been quick to dispatch both men of their rather unfavorable ideas.
And, so, now, at least for that evening, they were currently holed up in a motel several miles off the interstate, one that looked quite run down on the outside, no doubt in order to repel too much attention, but was nice enough on the inside that it told Jason that the feds must frequent the building often enough to keep it equipped quite comfortably. Apparently, the façade was just that – a staged appearance to distract and deceive civilians, much like many of the safe houses he knew Sonny owned.
Tossing his jacket onto an empty chair by the one window that took up the majority of the east wall, the retired hitman immediately relaxed as soon as the door closed behind them, turning to and pulling Elizabeth into his arms, enveloping her into an embrace. He simply held her for several seconds, burying his face in her neck as she clung to him just as tightly. It was the first time that they had truly been alone together since that morning without either other people lurking nearby or the sounds of the hospital permeating their privacy, and, while it had only been a mere ten hours, for Jason, it felt more like ten years. So much had happened that day, and all he wanted to do was close out the rest of the world and disappear into the woman he loved.
Finally pulling away, he led the brunette over the bed, holding her hands the entire time even after she had sat down. Kneeling in front of her, he reached for her left foot first, removing the boot she wore and putting it aside before repeating the process with her right foot as well. Then he helped her remove her coat, tossing it onto the chair where his still remained. Standing back up, he sat down beside her, toed off his own shoes, and then twisted around to face her, finding Elizabeth to be mimicking his actions as they met in the middle.
"You were wonderful back there at the hospital," he complimented her, leaning forward to kiss her lightly. "I have no idea what made you think to tell the agents that you're pregnant, but it was brilliant. There's no way they'll be able to separate us now."
"I'm glad you think that, Jason," the college graduate started only to pause and take a deep breath, her shoulders and chest visibly rising and falling with the action, "because I am."
"You are? You are what?"
"I'm pregnant," she clarified, "for real." Rushing on to further fill in the blanks for him, she explained. "I wasn't lying to the agents when I told them that, and I'm not sure how far along I am or when it happened, but I didn't make this up just so that we can stay together. If that's a result of me being pregnant, then great, because I really don't think I could stand to be away from you, especially now, but this is not some big trick or…"
Without allowing her to finish her rambling thought, he cupped her porcelain, unbelievably soft cheeks in his rough and scarred hands, bringing his mouth crashing down on hers. The kiss was insistent and yet gentle at the same time, reverent and passionate, and, when they both had to pull away to take a much needed breath, Jason refused to allow any distance between them, instead bringing Elizabeth further towards him as he practically pulled her on top of his lap. There would be no possible way he would be able to get close enough to her that evening. Not only did he need to feel her next to him in order to convince himself that she really was alright, but he needed to show her just how happy he was with her news.
So, to do so, he made love to her mouth, sipping greedily from the unique taste of her lips, his tongue seeking and mating with her own as he worshipped her. From holding her in his lap, he moved them both so that she was laying beneath him on the bed, their bodies stretched across the width of the mattress, her long, luscious, curling hair flowing over the edge. As he memorized her flavor once again, he ran his fingers through her locks, clenching and unclenching his fingers in the wild, untamable mane as he rocked their fully clothed bodies together in a sensuous, unique rhythm only they knew the count to.
Their embrace possessed him for quite some time, but, eventually Jason needed more; he needed more of her, so, regrettably, he pulled his lips away from her own long enough to pull her sweater over her head, leaving her torso completely bare except for the delicate, sheer bra she wore underneath. Taking advantage of the situation and the fact that her mouth was finally free, Elizabeth asked, "so, you're not mad? I know we said that we wouldn't mind having a baby, but I really didn't think it would happen this quickly. I mean, six months ago, we hated each other."
"I never hated you, Elizabeth, and I really don't think that you hated me either."
Playfully glaring at him, she stated, "you know what I mean."
"I do," the former hitman conceded, uncurling his hands from her hair and bringing them back so that he could wrap them around her own that lay out to either side of their intimately connected bodies. "And of course I'm not mad. Is this the best time for us to be having a child," he asked rhetorically, already planning on answering the question himself. "Realistically, no, but if two people in love waited until things were perfect to conceive a baby, they'd never be parents.
"I'm happy that you're pregnant," he confessed, watching as Elizabeth's eyes twinkled with unabashed gaiety and excitement. In that moment, everything else around them had disappeared, and it was just the two of them, their love, and the child they had created together out of their love. "As for everything else, we'll figure it out as it comes," he told her, "because, no matter what, I will do everything within my power to make sure that you and our baby are both safe."
"And we'll keep you safe," she promised, lifting their conjoined left hands to kiss the ring he wore to both symbolize Jack Martin's commitment to his wife and his, Jason Morgan's, commitment to her. While it still was the platinum band the FBI had provided them with and not the gold one he had gotten her for Christmas, it was obvious that the little scrap of metal still meant something to Elizabeth.
Smiling down upon her, the ex-enforcer lowered his head towards hers once again, this time his kiss telling her there would be no more talking, at least for a little while. Deliciously slowly, he made love to her that evening, savoring her nearness, celebrating their closeness, and relishing the fact that all three of them were still alive.
Some time later, with only the warmth of his naked body surrounding her own to keep Elizabeth comfortable as she slept, Jason lazed the fingers of his right hand up and down the arm of the woman he loved. She was fast asleep, obviously exhausted by both the events of the days and the rapid changes occurring within her body, not to mention their passionate coupling. Despite the fact that he couldn't see the physical proof of her pregnancy yet, he knew that their child was growing safely inside her, and the fact that he now had two people to love and protect made the ex-hitman just that much more vigilant and alert. He wasn't sure if he would be able to sleep again until Elizabeth gave birth.
However, the one thing that he was certain about was that he could no longer depend upon the FBI and the Witness Protection Program to keep them out of harm's way. It had been one thing to trust the agents assigned to their case when it was only been Jason's life that he was worried about, but now the blonde had a family. He had a wife, even if he and Elizabeth weren't legally married yet, and an unborn child to shelter and love. He couldn't hope any longer that things would turn out the way he wanted them to; he couldn't hope that the trial would put Sonny away and that the Cuban's organization would be dismantled, piece by illegal piece, allowing him to eventually return to Port Charles and the few people there he still cared about. Instead, he was going to have to guarantee his family's safety any possible way he could, doing whatever was necessary to ensure that they received the chance to enjoy the happy future they deserved himself.
The first thing he needed to do in order to accomplish that was to get both he and Elizabeth away from, as she liked to call them, Frick and Frack. Considering the fact that the agents were never far from their side – hell, they had the adjoining motel room beside them, and that the building was surrounded by local officers in plain clothes, escaping from the FBI's clutches would be no easy feat, but, if there was one thing Jason Morgan knew how to do well, it was run circles around law enforcement. And, then, after they got away, there were some old colleagues that he needed to contact, men who, if offered the right incentive, could be persuaded to join with him against Sonny.
He needed someone stronger than the United States government to keep his family safe, and he knew exactly how to get what he wanted.