A/N: Hello everyone! I know my updating sucks right now, but I'm a very busy chica and life is just crazy right now. You all can thank Naomi (mssnay) for this one... (yes, you) ...because your replies and little masseges of support for this story makes me want to write an hurry with the updates. THANK YOU for your support, it means a lot. For everyone who's reading and enjoying this thank you too, it really means a lot to me. So enough with the mushy stuff. Here's the next one. Hope you enjoy it.


Chapter 17: The Letter

Three days after the party, Elizabeth was still staying at Jason's house. But he wasn't. Early monday morning, she woke up to find a very worried Eva sitting at the breakfast table. Something had come up and Jason and Francis had to leave early. She didn't have to say anything, Elizabeth understood easily that it wasn't Casino business but the other kind. The kind that was ilegal, the kind that could take their lives...

Taking a deep breath Elizabeth concentrated on the mexican telenovela she was watching, instead of panicking yet again she had to be strong for Eva and for Jason. The Puerto Rican was worried about Francis, even when she tried to deny it, she had fallen for the burly bodyguard. Eva wanted to be strong too, but she was failing miserably. Cooped up in the kitchen for the past three days, she'd been cooking all kinds of delicious food. If she kept at it, Elizabeth was sure enough going to end up bloating up like a cow by the end of the week.

Jason and Francis had come home twice over the past seventy-two hours. They've gone into the studio for a couple of hours, taken brief showers and gone back out. But not before checking on both Elizabeth and Eva before leaving. Elizabeth didn't want to feel worried about their well being, but it was difficult not to. If something happened to Francis or Jason...

"Enough of it already! You've been going around the same thing all day!" Frustrated, Elizabeth lower the volume on the tv set and dropped the control remote.

"Never been much of a couch potato."

The sweet voice made Elizabeth jump from her place and turn around. Grace and Manuel were standing in the living room with huge smiles on their faces.

"Grace!" Elizabeth ran to the older woman's open arms. They embraced tightly for couple of minutes before letting go.

"How are you doing, Elizabeth?"

"I'm fine. But don't you stand there. Come here, sit down. You too Manuel."

The three of them took a seat. Grace was sitting down next to Elizabeth and held her hand between hers.

"Is Jason around?"

"No. He's been out on business for the past three days."

"So you are alone?" Manuel asked a slight frown forming on his brow.

A smile spread across Elizabeth's lips. "I'm not alone, Manuel. You don't have to worry about me. Eva is staying with me and as you guys probably noticed there are two gurds outside."

"That's not reasuring at all. Why would he leave two young women alone? I thought he was trustworthy..."

"Manuel, will you stop. They are doing fine." Grace interrupted her husband and turned to Elizabeth.

"You must feel pretty safe here, if you stayed even after Jason was gone."

"I do. I feel safe and at peace here. It's like a safe heaven. I'm sorry I've stayed away for so long, but I can't go back there while they are there. I can't face them."

"It's okay child. We understand. They've made themselves at home and taken over as if nothing has happened. Not caring about what harm it may have caused you."

"Maybe I'm overreacting. I mean it wasn't their fault that he showed up in my house."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Manuel murmured, loud enough for Elizabeth to hear.

"What? What do you mean?" All color drained from Elizabeth's face.

"Don't mind him. He's just paranoid."

"No he's not, Grace. Manuel, what did you mean by that? Do you think... do you... think... oh my God... oh my." Elizabeth stood up and clenched her hand over her stomach. She felt vile rising to her throat and she started to shake.

Manuel stood up and walked toward Elizabeth, quickly taking her in his arms. Tears were forming in her eyes and her mouth was hanging open. Runing a hand soothingly over her back, he tried to fix his mistake.

"Child, I'm sorry I said anything. I'm just blindsided by rage. Those people don't deserve to have a kid like you. They may be scum, but I'm sure they wouldn't fall as low as to hurt their daughter in such an awful way."

A tear fell rom her cerulean orbs as she closed them and tried to breath again. Once she stopped shaking he let her go. Elizabeth dried her face and looked up.

"I don't trust them and I don't think I love them at all. Does that make me a bad person?"

"No honey, it only makes you human." Grace walked closer to Elizabeth and stopped at her side placing her arm over the girl's shoulders.

> > >

They were done. After the cleanup crew finished with the mess inside the warehouse, Jason was ready to go home.

Three days of running around staking the enemy and no sleep at all had taken a toll on him. He needed a cold shower and his cozy bed, but most of all he needed to see Elizabeth. He needed to know that she was safe.

He walked out of the warehouse and the bright sun heated his skin. He was sweating through his leather jacket and gloves. He took the leather gloves from his hands and placed them in his pockets. Cleaning the sweat of his brow with his hand he turned at the sound of his name.

"Jason."

"Yeah."

"The guys are done."

"Yeah, I know."

"Francis is talking to Saul. They have the information in place for the next bust."

"Okay. I called Sonny. He needs you and Quincy back tonight."

"I'll finish up and head to the airport."

"Thanks for everything and take care."

They shook hands and Johnny walked away. Turning away, Jason came face to face with Francis.

"It's over. Saul and Harvey are on their way. Quincy took the files and the cleanup crew is gone."

"Johnny and Quincy will be on the first plane out to Port Charles. We need to make contact with our man in Miami. Morales has been too quiet and Tony has been sloppy in his deals. Things are not adding up."

"I'll take care of that."

The older bodyguard ran his hand over his face and once he looked up, the fatigue was evident in his eyes. Before Jason could say anything, Johnny and Quincy came out of the warehouse followed closely by Marcos.

"We are ready." Quincy's cheerful expression never seem to drain and it pissed all of them of.

"How can you be smiling after the longest stake out we've had since...?" Marcos was tired and he wanted to go home.

"Since Ralf 'the Ghoul'." Johnny said with aversion.

"Damn that was long. Two and a half days inside a graveyard." Francis added.

A smirk rose on Jason's lips. "Try three and a half days in a wasteyard."

"I remember that. You reeked of blue cheese and onions for weeks." Johnny said with a laugh and making the others laugh with him.

"I think it's time for me to head home or the wife will be pissed like nobody's business."

"Tell me about it. That Barbara is one spitfire of a woman."

"O'Brian, don't let her hear you saying that or it'll be one hell of bruise on your jaw. Barbara is a die hard feminist."

"Yeah and born and raced in the business too." Francis finished.

"Take good care of her, Marcos. She's a good one." Johnny said as he hugged the older man.

"You take care too. It was a good having you guys here for a while. Q it was nice to meet you and welcome to the family." With that Marcos left.

"And then there were two."

"Oh come on. You all know you'll miss Jason the most. Those long talks and great sense of humor..." Francis joked a bit.

"Speak for yourself. You are the favorite now, leaving in his house and all."

"Are you jelouse O'B?"

"Let's just say that it has nothing to do with being near Morgan and more to do with the sassy young thing called Eva."

Francis face turned red and serious.

"Oh, he stopped smiling. That's serious stuff right there. I'm sure Eva has been cooking some sweet things for Francis." Quincy said laughing at the older bodyguard.

"Hey rookie, you better cut it out." All playfulness left Quincy's face at his bosses words. Jason's face betrayed nothing.

"It was just a joke, man. I mean Francis, I mean Mister... Sir."

Francis couldn't help but laugh at the youngest one of the group. "You'll have your hands full with this one Johnny. Try to keep him out of trouble in New York."

"Yeah, like that's going to be possible. He's a good kid, he'll learn fast."

"That wasn't funny and I'm not a kid." He wasn't smiling now.

"It's time to leave. If you guys need something you know where to find us."

They said their good-byes and soon there were only Francis and Jason left alone once more.

"I'll go take care of the Miami thing." Francis said.

"No, Francis."

"Why not?"

"Because we are going home."

> > >

"I won't be going home anytime soon."

"We understand, child."

"We do, but do you think is smart for a young girl to be living with a grown man?"

Elizabeh smiled with care and warmth. She took Manuel's old hands in her smaller ones. "I know you are worried about my well-being and my honor. But you don't have to. I'm safe here. Jason will take good care of me. He's a good man and a good friend."

"Besides she's not alone with him. I'll look out for her honor, don't you worry about it." Eva said as she walked down the stairs.

"Eva, darling. How is your grandfather doing?" Grace asked the Puerto Rican.

"He's doing much better now that grandma Teresa is there with him."

"That's good, darling. So you've been taking care of this little brat then."

Eva smiled and winked at Elizabeth. "I think she's been taking care of me instead of the other way around. You don't have to worry about her she can hold her own."

"We know she can. We've seen her do it since she came home three years ago. But Manuel and I still feel responsible..."

"You don't have to." Elizabwth said softly.

"Yes we do." Grace embraced her again, this time as a caring mother would.

"I love you."

"I love you too, child. And we'll keep an eye on the vultures until you come back."

"You two take good care."

"Come on woman. It's time to go back or they'll start wodering about our disappearance."

"You are right." Grace picked up her knitted bag and a yellow legal envelope was showing. "Oh, I almost forgot. This came for you today. I managed to get the mail before Mrs. Webber woke up. They've been pretty intrested in the mail ever since you left. This was adressed to you. I think is important."

Elizabeth frowned and took the large envelope from Grace and thanked her. The said their goodbyes and soon they were alone once again.

Elizabeth was standing in the middle of the room her eyes on the envelope in her hand.

"Are you going to open it or simply look at it as if it were written in Greek."

"What?" Elizabeth looked up to find a grievous Eva looking back at her.

"Open the damn thing already, girl. There's not much else to do..."

The door opened then to reveal two very weary men standing just inside of the house. Both girls turned around and were stunned to see them standing there.

"You are back!" Eva was the first one to snap out of it. She ran straight pass Jason and into Francis arms.

Elizabeth was still standing in the middle of the room as Jason took a couple steps closer. Their eyes met and he saw relief shining in her blue eyes. Eyes that brought peace to him.

She noticed his tensed shoulders and fatigued eyes. She couldn't help but smile. Soon she drop the envelope in the coffee table and walked the remaining steps between them. Her arms were around his waist and she was hugging him tightly. He rested his head over hers and embraced her too.

> > >

The sun was begining to set in as she finished washing the dishes. Her smile had been permanent ever since Jason and Francis had walked through the door safe and sound. They had barely said a few words after they had come home. They asked about how they were doing and if there had been news. Once they were convinced that everything was fine, both decided to take a shower. Not together as Eva had started to joke.

The girls had managed to make a delicious meal in less than an hour treating them to a very delicious lasagna, salad and garlic bread. After dinner Eva and Francis excused themselves and went for a walk out to the beach, while Elizabeth offered to pick up the table and do the dishes. Jason on the other hand had some calls he needed to make and went inside his office almost half an hour ago.

Once the kitchen was spotless Elizabeth decided to make some coffee. She wanted to go talk to Jason. About what she didn't know. She just needed to be around him, she'd been scared for him and she wanted to make sure that he was okay.

Walking toward his office slowly and almost turning around twice, she decided to knock.

"Come in." His voice was hoarse, fatigue clear even in his tone.

Elizabeth stepped inside and closed the door, careful not to spill the hot liquid on the floor. She was barefoot, so she hardly made a noise as she walked closer to the desk.

He looked up from the papers he was inspecting and found her nervously biting on her bottom lip.

"I didn't mean to disturb you. I just wanted to bring you some coffee. I thought you might like some, 'cause you always drink it when you work. And when you don't too, but mostly at night when you are in here. And since Eva is not around I thought maybe I would bring you some... coffee. I already said that didn't I?"

Jason couldn't help but smile at her. She seemed so innocent and fragile. But she wasn't fragile at all, most people would have caved at the things she's had to endure so far with her family, but she had kept strong. She was capable an independant, but still a bit shy and unsure of herself.

He dropped the pen in his hand and sat up straight. "Thank you. But you didn't have to."

"I wanted to."

He reached for the cup and took a sip.

"I'm not sure if it's as good as Eva's. But I tried."

"It's good. Really good actually."

She turned the slightest shade of pink. But he still noticed. He saw her move from one feet to the other not knowing what else to say or do.

"Well..." They spoke at the same time.

"You go ahead." As they spoke at the same time again both broke into laughs.

"What were you going to say?" He asked as he sat back on his leather chair.

"I was just going to excuse myself. You must be pretty busy."

"No. Don't go. I was just tying up some last minute things about..." He trailed of.

"Business." She said matter of factly.

"Yes."

"I won't ask what you did for the past three days."

"Good. Because even if you asked, I wouldn't answer."

"I know you can't talk about it. And I also know it's dangerous."

"It's very dangerous Elizabeth. I'm still not sure you should know about what I do for a living."

Taking a few steps closer, she sat on the chair across from him. She crossing her legs indian style.

"I know what you do for a living Mr. Morgan. You are co-owner of Corinthos-Morgan Enterprises. You own half of the coffee warehouses, including the coffee beans, and half of all the casinos and hotels." She smiled up at him.

Jason sighed and drop the empty cup on the desk. "You know I didn't mean that part of the business."

"I know. I just want to know one thing."

"And what's that?"

"I just want to know that you are okay."

Jason heart jumped from it's place and almost out of his chest. She was meeting his gaze and worry was written all over her face. Looking at her now he could see that she had been troubled by his absence and the impending danger he was facing. Her eyes became claudy with unshed tears and his throat was turned into a knot making it impossible for him to talk.

"I promise myself that I wouldn't tell you this, but I will. Because I want you to know. I was scared Jason. I... you are very important to me and I don't know what I would do if something happened to you." She finished in a low voice and tears running down her cheeks.

Jason stood up and walked towards her, kneeling right in front of her chair. He dried the tears away, but kept his hand on her face. "Don't cry because of me, Elizabeth."

A sob escaped her unpainted lips and she closed her eyes. "I'm s- sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. I'm the one who should apologize. I shouldn't have let you in. God, I'm an idiot." He stood up and walked to the window. He ran his hands over his face and sighed. "I knew it was a mistake. I mean, you are just a kid. You have your whole life ahead of you, you have plans of seeing the world..."

Her tears had stopped and she was looking at him with curiosity. He was standing with his back to her and he seemed tense.

"That night at the lighthouse... I didn't know you, but I felt a pull towards you, even though I acted like a complete jerk. And then two years later, all of the sudden you walked into my life again. I could see you were hurting. I could see it in your eyes. You felt alone and you wanted to fill that void inside of you, that nothingness with something..."

"You helped me. You made me see that nowhere wasn't such a bad place after all."

Jason turned around to face her. "I was alone too. I needed someone to talk to. Someone who didn't judge me. I needed someone who wouldn't pull away from me because of what I am, what I do."

"You are not your job, Jason. That doesn't define who you are."

"But it does Elizabeth. You are just too young, too pure to actually understand what goes around in my world. I was selfish and I'm the one that's sorry."

She stood up and walked towards him stopping just a couple of feet away. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I don't want you worried and I don't want to see you cry. But most importantly I don't want you hurt. And it will happen sooner or later if we keep this up."

"Keep what up?"

"This..." He said motioning the space between them.

"This?" She said with a raced eyebrow and copying his action. "And what exactly is 'this'?"

Silence. He looked at her and couldn't believe his eyes. The small girl that a minute ago was crying and trembling because she was worried about his well-being was gone and in it's place was standing a fiery young woman. She stood in front of him one hand in each side of her hips. He was in deep trouble, but he had to stop this madness before it went too far. His decision was made.

"Friendship." He said it in an even tone.

Disappointment was all she could feel at that moment, but she wasn't going to let him see it. It had been stupid of her to think that a man like Jason would ever want a girl like her.

"Friendship, of course. So what? Are you throwing me out of your place, giving me my helmet back and not speaking to me again. Is that it?"

"You know that's not what I mean."

"Well that's what it sounded like."

"Elizabeth."

"Jason."

"Look, you are going through a difficult time right now. It's not fair for you to have to deal with my job on top of that."

"I decide what's fair for me."

They stared at each other again.

"You are really pigheaded, did you know?"

"I prefer brat. But suit yourself."

"Okay."

"Okay what? Your gonna call me brat too?"

A small smile appeared on his lips. "Pigheaded is fine with me."

"Then what did you mean?" The conversation turned from serious to playful.

"Okay I'll stop talking now and let you go to bed. It's late."

"So the discussion is over just like that?"

"We still have a lot to talk about. But I think it could wait for another time."

"Good." Elizabeth stepped away from him and started to turn off the lights.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it seem like I'm doing? Turning off the lights."

"I know, but why?"

"Because we are going to bed." A bright red blush spread all over her cheeks. "I mean we are not going to bed together. I am. And you are, because you must be really tired. But were not going to the same bed. I mean..."

"I know what you mean."

"Good. Let's go. You need to rest."

They walked together out of the office and through the living room. Elizabeth noticed the forgotten envelope on the coffee table and picked it up.

"What's that?"

"Grace brought it to me earlier today." They kept going up the stairs and down the hallway.

"Have you opened it yet?"

"No."

"You should see what it is. It's a legal document."

"How do you know that?" They stopped in front of her door.

"Sonny's lawyer sends me envelopes like that all the time. Documents, contracts..."

"Why would a lawyer send me a legal document?"

"You'll have to open that to find out."

She turned the big yellow envelope and opened it. "Let's see."

"You should do that alone. Good night Elizabeth."

She streched a hand and stopped him. "Don't go." She took out a piece of white paper and read out loud.

"Dear Miss. Elizabeth Webber. Congratulations on your eighteenth birthday. I hope you are doing well. Here I send you your grandmother's Last Will and testament. I also include a personal letter that she wrote for you..."

Her face turned pale as she finished reading the note. She took the smaller envelope and looked up at Jason with tears blurring her vision.

"It's from my Grams."