I know its been a while but writing this last two chapters have proven very difficult. I guess I'm too attached now. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 24: Making a Decision
The soft humming crept inside her dreams and made her smile. The soft clouds around her smelled an awful lot like crisp bacon and apple pancakes. Elizabeth smiled at the beauty of being alive. As she walked barefoot down the path, she could see the faint outline of flowers, but as she knelt down to pick them up they became drops of blood in her hands. She frowned. Soon her hands were smeared in thick, red blood. Tears started to fall down her cheeks. She was crying with deep feeling, softly and soon desperate.
"No... no more blood... please."
Jason had doze off for a while, but the soft murmurs woke him up. He didn't realized where he was at first, but the sharp pain in the back of his neck made him remember. He had been sleeping in the arm chair next to Elizabeth's bed for three days. She had been in and out of consciousness. Barbara insisted that it was just a self-defense mechanism she was using to deal with the whole situation she had lived. But he couldn't help but be afraid. It wasn't normal for a person to be asleep for three days. Yeah, she had woken up a few times. Grace had used that time to give her water and some vitamins. She's gone to the bathroom in a daze, but had gone back to sleep without a word. He had been banned from her room, so he had resorted to sneaking in late at night and getting out by dawn. But today, he had fallen asleep.
He ran his hands over his eyes. It was then that he heard the soft pleas again.
"No please, no more blood... Jason... no more blood...please... Jason."
He stood up and looked at the restless figure laying on the bed. Elizabeth was talking in her sleep. Her head was moving from side to side and tears were falling from her eyelashes. She was having a nightmare. He paced closer and extended his hand to touch her, but hesitate a minute. She looked so fragile, so pale and small... he was afraid for her.
"Jason, please..."
His eyes grew wide at the realization that she was calling for him. She seemed hopeless and lonely. He moved closer and took a sit on the edge of the bed. Elizabeth moved her head to face him, her eyes still closed. Jason moved one of his hands over hers, doubting if it was a good idea to touch her.
"Jason..."
The soft call of his name was his undoing. He wasn't going to let her hurt, ever. He'd rather die than see her in pain again. His hand descended over hers and she stopped moving. He clasped her small hand in between both of his larger ones.
"It's okay Elizabeth. I'm here. It's me... it's Jason. And I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise."
The soft promise filled her with peace. She was going to be okay, because Jason was finally with her. There was nothing to be afraid of now.
Elizabeth's breathing steadied and soon her eyes opened slowly to find Jason's blue eyes fixated on hers.
Eva finished setting the table and walked inside the kitchen were Grace was finishing with breakfast. Francis was refilling his cup of coffee and lingering over the plate that held the warm bacon. She smiled as the older woman hit playfully the hand of the bodyguard to keep him from eating the slice of crisp bacon.
"Wait until breakfast it's served." Grace told Francis, while making a new batch of pancakes.
"Are we planning to feed an army?" Barbara's voice filled the room as the Doctor made her way inside the kitchen as well.
"Well, it wouldn't be necessary if someone over here wouldn't be eating the food as soon as it's out of the pan." Eva said finishing with the freshly squeezed orange juice.
"Might, mlame the muard." Francis said in between bites of butter toast.
"I rest my case." Eva said as she walked out of the kitchen and into the diningroom. Francis following close behind.
Barbara smiled and walked around the counter island in the middle of the kitchen towards the coffee. She took a cup from the cupboard and filled it to the top.
"How did you sleep, Doctor Diaz?" Grace asked as she finished with the omelette.
"Please call me Barbara, Grace. We've known each other for a couple of years now."
The older woman smiled, so Barbara continued. "I slept okay. I tried to catch up on it as much as I could. But I did checked on Elizabeth twice. Her vitals were normal. I think she's going to be waking up soon."
"I hope so. I'm worried for her. It's been almost sixteen hours since she last woke up and she needs to eat something."
"Last night I gave her another intravenous vitamin. I think that's what's keeping her."
"Is it normal?" Eva asked as she walked from the doorway, where she had stopped to listen at the other two women talk.
"I can't say I've seen anything like this before. But if her vital signs, blood pressure and heart rate were abnormal I would've taken her to the hospital myself. If she doesn't wake up on her own on the next few hours I will wake her and take her to the clinic."
As soon as Elizabeth's eyes flutter open, it was as if a huge weight was lifted from his heart. Jason sighed in relief and tighten his hold on her hand. He then moved one of his hands to trail softly along her brow. Elizabeth blinked back the sleep haze.
"Hey." He said softly.
"Hi." She said in between a yawn.
She moved her eyes around the room. It was still the same, but she felt different somehow.
Jason looked at her quiet perusal of her surroundings. She seemed lost. At least she wasn't shaking anymore. Her eyes wondered back to him. Their eyes met once again.
"H-how did I get back home?" Her voice was slow and weak.
"I brought you back after...After everything ended." Jason didn't want to go into details, not yet.
Elizabeth tried to sit up, but her arms weren't ready for the exercise. Jason moved closer and held her up against his chest as he placed the pillows against the headboard so he was more comfortable.
"I feel like I've been ran down by an eighteen wheeler truck."
Jason half smiled as her mouth twisted in distaste.
"Ugh... and my mouth tastes like cooper." He looked around, not quite sure what she was looking for.
"You want me to get you something?" He asked.
Before she could answer. Her stomach growled. Her face turned pink.
"Some food then?" Jason said holding back his smile, knowing that she was embarrassed.
"I... yeah, I'm pretty famished." Elizabeth said as she ran her hand over her face and hair finding it dirty.
"It's to be expected. You've been sleeping on and off for three days."
Her eyes opened wide. "I- what?"
"Three days and three hours to be more precise."
"No wonder I feel like dog crap under the sun." She said in a murmur.
Jason smiled again. God he was happy that she was okay and back to her old self. "I'll go look for Grace, Barbara and Eva. They'll help you into the bathroom to freshen up and then they'll bring you something to eat."
Jason turned and stood up, but before he could take a step away, she grabbed him by the wrist.
"Jason wait."
He turned back to her and found her azure eyes staring back at him. "I- I just wanted to say thank you."
"For what? I didn't do anything."
"You stood by me. You rescued me and kept me safe."
He stayed silent for a while, just looking at her and then spoke. "There's a very selfish reason for what I did, Elizabeth."
"And what was that?"
"By keeping you safe, I was keeping my heart safe."
As the words left his mouth, her heart skipped a beat and she dropped her hand from his. He saw the surprise in her expression and turned around before he could bury himself any deeper.
She walked around the table and sat down on the edge of the pool dropping her legs to the water and smiled. The water was warm and the day was beautiful. And finally everything was taken care off. Their lives were on the way of being normal. She giggled at the thought.
"Yeah, right. As if normal was even an option."
Barbara and Elizabeth laughed as they heard Eva start to giggle and murmur something under her breath. They had been lounging around the pool all afternoon. Enjoying the conversation and the nice weather. Elizabeth felt a bit weak, but Barbara said it was to expect after all the time she had been asleep. Thankfully for the past few days everything had been under control.
She took a drink from her glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and smiled. She was alive. That was all that mattered.
"The girl is in love." Barbara said in between bites of pretzels.
"I heard that." Eva said as she slid inside the pool. "But I don't care because it's true." She dove under the water and reemerged at the side nearer to the other two women a huge smile on her face.
"I remember that time. We call it the 'enchule'. It's the most amazing feeling in the word. You are falling head over heels in love and you are always smiling. The best kisses are shared and the best sex is had..."
"I know. Isn't life great." Eva said still smiling.
"It never lasts." Barbara said regretfully.
Elizabeth watched as Eva frowned and Barbara looked at the horizon. "Why not?" She asked intrigued.
Both Puerto Rican's looked at the young American at the same time. "What?" Elizabeth's face became flustered.
"Nothing." Eva said knowingly.
"Well it never lasts, because a relationship matures. Once the stars start to fade you begin to really see your partner." Barbara explain.
"You start to notice the little quirks and every little irritable habit they posses. Suddenly they are not as perfect as you once made them to be." Eva added.
"Prince Charming becomes a slub that forgets to put down the toilet sit..." The doctor said sitting back on her chair.
"... that drops his socks out of the dirty laundry basket..."
"... and speaks with his mouth full..."
"... and cuts his toenails tossing the clippings in the floor..."
"... and wears the ugliest most dirtiest shirt on sundays..."
"... and forgets to take the trash out..."
Elizabeth's eyes volleyed from one women to the other. Her amused smiled widening a little bit each time. "Okay, okay... I get it."
"Got a little carried away." Barbara said as she took a handful of pretzels and placed them in her mouth.
The younger girls looked at her strange behavior without really understanding. The doctor drank from her water bottle and sighed. "I want a mango."
"Hum, ripe and juicy..." Eva said as she moved towards the stairs of the pool.
"No. I want it green and with a little bit of salt on top."
Eva took the towel from a chair near by and looked at Barbara with a grin on her face. Elizabeth was still irked by the thought of a green mango with salt. The young Puerto Rican walked toward her friends as she wrapped her towel on her waist.
"How far along are you?"
"What?" Both Barbara and Elizabeth asked at the same time.
"You're pregnancy. How far along are you?"
"What are you talking about? I'm not pregnant." Outraged at the thought.
"Well you have to be. I had a neighbor that had cravings for the very same thing, green mangoes with salt."
"I..."
Barbara was shocked at the thought. She couldn't be pregnant at her age. Not that she was old, she was only 38 years old. But still it was a little hard to believe. She had been wanting to get pregnant for years, but she had stopped trying when it seemed impossible. Marcos and her had stopped using all birth control for over eight years. It was impossible that she was...
"Embarazada?" (Pregnant!)
Barbara felt sick all of the sudden, her face paled and she stood from her chair and ran inside.
They sat and listened at their boss in silence. Once Tony Morales was dealt with things had changed drastically. Now they had new instructions to follow.
"Francis, I need you in Miami tomorrow morning. Carlos is planing retaliation and our people down there need to be prepared. Your instructions will be there for you when you arrive."
Sonny Corinthos was not happy. They had gather that much from his words. Not much for what he said, but for how he said it.
"Marcos, I'll need the books of the casino along with a full report on the last years movements and investments by Friday."
The older man nodded. "I'm on it."
"Jason we need to talk... alone."
Jason sat back on his chair and sighed. Francis and Marcos looked at the younger man and moved their heads in disapproval.
"Anything you have to say, you can say it in front of Marcos and Francis. You don't have to punish them, they didn't do anything wrong. They were following my orders."
"Since when do you give orders to my men?" Sonny yelled. He waited a minute and tried to keep his composure. "You moved without thinking about the consequences..."
Jason interrupted his boss. "I got the job done."
"You compromised our place in the Island. You used women as part of the hit, you let your feelings guide your actions and that's not acceptable."
"That's bullshit."
Francis and Marcos jumped at the words. The older man stood from his chair and walked to the window. Jason sat straight and spoke directly to the speaker phone.
"I understand that I let my guard down when it came to Elizabeth's safety. I told you that Tony was as much her problem as he was yours. Her family tried to sell her and..."
"I know all of this. And that's enough. You almost messed up... Things didn't go as planned, but they went well as far as the outcome. You dismantled the operation in the west of the Island and dealt with the traitors in the inside of our organization. You killed one of the Morales and left the a hole in their Miami base. This could be a good chance for us." Sonny's voice was calmer.
"You want me to get down there with Francis?"
"No. You are staying out of sight for a couple of months. It's best if you stay low for a few weeks. We can't risk having you hurt. A war is on it's way and I need you relaxed and at the ready. You know how to disappear. Do it. I'll make contact with you when I'll need you."
"Okay."
"Take care of yourself in the meantime. Gentleman, I hope this is the last time something like this happens in my business."
Elizabeth was looking over the balcony, feeling nostalgic, when the phone rang. She was taken by surprise by the voice at the other end.
"Robin. It's been so long. I'm so glad you called. How are you?"
"I'm fine... actually great. I called you risking the phone been answered by Jason, because I had to tell you great news."
"Well that would be a nice change." Elizabeth said, her voice taking a somber tone.
"Hey, what's wrong honey? Is something wrong?"
Elizabeth tried to sound more cheerful. "No. No, everything is okay. Now don't make me wait for this great news of yours."
"My thesis project was accepted. They are going to give me full founding for the experiments and they are going to give me a fully equiped lab. Do you know what this means? I'm going to be able to stay in France until I get it done. Here I have all the technology I need, time and most of all peace of mind. I'm going to do this right Elizabeth and soon I'll be a doctor!"
Robin was very happy. Elizabeth smiled at her excitement. At least one of her friends was going somewhere... Her, she was just stuck in nowhere.
"That's... that's great, amazing." Elizabeth was happy. She really was, but all of the sudden her life began to feel empty. She needed something, what exactly she wasn't sure yet.
"Elizabeth, are you really okay. I don't really know how to say this so I'm just going to say it. You sound hollow, as if a part of you was no longer there. Has something happend? Is Jason alright?"
A tear ran down her cheeks even though she didn't really wanted to cry. Why was she feeling so sad all of the sudden? One tear became ten and all of the sudden she was crying with such feeling that she almost wasn't able to speak.
"I-I do- don't know w-what's wrong with me-me."
"Oh honey, everything is going to be okay. Just talk to me..."
Two hours later and more calmed, with a lot to think about and a decision to be made, Elizabeth laid quietly on her bed. She heard the heavy steps of Jason's boots on the hardwood floor of the hallway. She thought he was going to go down to his room, until the soft knock on her door made her sit up. She doubted a second, should she answer? Before really thinking it twice, she was telling him the door was open.
"Hi." He said softly.
"Hey." She said back.
Jason took a few steps inside but stayed across the room closer to the door.
"How are you feeling?"
"Good. I'm good." Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed and swept her hair behind her ear, in a nervous habit.
"I've been thinking." He trailed off as he tried to find the words.
Elizabeth smiled. He was nervous too. Somehow that made her feel more comfortable. She stood from the bed and walked closer.
"That's a very good thing. Doctors recommend that one should think at least once a day."
Jason had been looking at a very intresting spot on the wall behind her, but as soon as the words left her mouth his eyes found hers. They were twinkling in mischief. He smiled a soft crooked smile.
"Find that amusing?"
"Very." She giggled again.
He was about to reply, but the sight of her smile stoped him. "It's great to hear you laugh."
"It's great to laugh. It still amazes me that you can do that."
"Do what?"
"Make me laugh even though I don't feel like it." Her smile vanished from her lips.
He looked at her and soon the light in her eyes disappeared leaving her eyes void of emotion.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Don't say nothing. I know you, I know something's wrong."
"I've just been thinking about a lot of things. And it seems as if I have to make some choices..."
Jason frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Elizabeth moved her head as if clearing the shodows. She looked at him again with a soft smile that wasn't as big. "What are you doing tomorrow night?"
"Nothing, why?"
She didn't know where she found the courage, but a minute later the words where out of her mouth. "Would you like to have dinner with me?"
He heard the words, but at first didn't quite understand her request. "I..."
Elizabeth saw the flash of doubt in his eyes and stopped him before he said anything. "It's okay if you can't or if you have plans. I-I- I was just wondering if maybe we could... It's been a while since we've had dinner... Together I mean. Because I'm sure you've got dinner or at least I hope you had 'cause I know sometimes you forget to eat and that's not really a good thing. One should at least have three good meals in a day. You know to be healthy and I'm sure in your line of work you have to be healthy if you want to get the bad guys."
Jason looked at her expecting her to fall down from lack of oxygen. She took a long breath and looked at him again. Her face now flushed in embarrassment.
"Can I speak now?" He said walking a few steps closer to her.
"Yes."
"I would be honor to have dinner with you tomorrow night. Only if you go on a bike ride with me afterwards."
Elizabeth smiled. "You have a deal."
They stood there looking at each other. Until Eva knocked on the door.
"Hey, Elizabeth..." She saw Jason inside and bit her lower lip to keep from smiling. "Sorry to interrupt. I just came to tell you that Manuel is downstairs. He came to pick you up."
The door shut behind Eva leaving a very confused Jason behind.
"You are leaving." It was more of a statement than a question. He sounded disappointed.
"I'm staying with Grace tonight. But I'll be back tomorrow."
Elizabeth turned around and picked up her overnight bag. She was about to walk around Jason, but he stopped her.
"Have a good night today."
"I will. I've missed Grace a lot and it's time for me to go home and deal with my demons."
"If you need anything..."
"I won't."
"Okay."
"I'll see you tomorrow." She said before walking out of the room.
"See you." He said to the empty room.
