A/N: Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving! I told myself that I would get caught up on schoolwork over the break but...yeah, not so much. So, it may be a little longer than usual before I get another chance to update. But hopefully, I'll be able to soon. Anyway, thank you guys so much for the awesome reviews, and here is the next chapter!
He could see her face. She was so real, so perfect. She looked like an angel. That was fitting. She was an angel as far as he was concerned. She was right there in front of him. But when he reached out his hand to touch her...she was gone.
"Elizabeth?", he uttered in confusion. But there was no sign of her anywhere.
Suddenly, his eyes opened. He was breathing heavily, and he began to panic as his eyes darted around the room. It was cold. Dark. Isolated. Barren gray walls were enclosed around him. He was confused, and almost certain that he was still dreaming. This was a part of his nightmare just like Elizabeth disappearing. And then he saw the bars.
Oh God, he was in a prison cell. This was a dream. It had to be. Slowly, he forced himself off of the cold cement, and staggered to the bars. His hands shook as he grabbed a hold of them. There wasn't a soul in sight. This was no ordinary prison.
"No. Please no", he whispered to himself. He couldn't be locked in a cage somewhere. He had to get back to his family. They needed him!
"Help!", he yelled at the top of his lungs, desperately hoping for someone to hear him. A few minutes passed. Nothing. He leaned his head against the bars. He didn't know how long he had been in here. What he had done to get put in here. And he hadn't the faintest idea where "here" was.
Suddenly, he heard the noise of footsteps. They grew louder and louder. And finally, he looked up. And there was a face looking back at him...
Jason's eyes opened in a startling fashion. He glanced around Elizabeth's guest room, coming to the conclusion that it was just a dream. Or a nightmare, really. He wasn't back in that place. He was back home. Thank God.
After collecting himself, he made his way downstairs. He considered telling Elizabeth that he was sick or something. Anything to delay him having to reveal himself to the whole town. He didn't really have a desire to see any of them. At least not if it meant that he couldn't stay with Elizabeth and the boys. This was where he wanted to be.
"Good morning", Elizabeth said, forcing a smile as he walked into the room. She noted the look of pure dread on his face. Honestly, she was dreading this day just as much. But she couldn't let him know that.
Jason didn't speak. He only pulled her into an embrace. She didn't pull away. She didn't want to lose him all over again. There was the selfish part of her that didn't want him to remember Sam. And she felt awful about that.
"I don't want to go", he whispered into her hair. "I don't want to lose you again."
God, this was killing her. Why did life have to be so unfair to her? Elizabeth would be the first to admit that she had made many stupid choices in her life. But she had to have made up for them by now. All she wanted was to be happy. And yet, that goal now seemed more out of reach than ever.
"You're not going to lose me", she said softly, slowly drawing away from him. "I don't see any reason why we can't be..."
"Friends?", Jason offered, finishing her sentence.
Elizabeth nodded. "I think once you remember everything, you'll agree that it would be the best thing."
He let out a deep sigh. He didn't want to make this any harder on her than it already was. She had been so understanding, so kind to him. Even after all of the things that he had apparently done. She hadn't told anyone about him. But that had been under the condition that he tell everyone himself. And now, the time had come.
"I gave you my word that I would tell everyone that I'm alive after Thanksgiving. And I'm prepared to do that. But what I'm not prepared to do is give up on us. I can't do that."
She gave him a sad smile. "You'll feel differently when you see Sam again. She's your wife, Jason. She's the one you didn't give up on. Not me."
Jason knew that he would never win this argument. For her to ever believe that she was the one he wanted to be with, he would have to remember his life with Sam. And he would still have to choose Elizabeth. That was the only way he even stood a chance of getting her back.
A moment of silence passed before Jason decided to change the subject. "Are the boys awake yet?"
"Yeah", Elizabeth replied, taking note of the topic change. "They're playing in Cameron's room. If you wanted to say goodbye to them or anything."
"I don't want to say goodbye to them", he said quietly, noticing a hint of disappointment in her eyes. He took her hands into his own. "Because I don't want to leave. I know I have to let these other people back into my life. I understand that. But this is where I want to be. You're not ready to believe that yet, and that's okay. I'll wait as long as you need me to."
"Jason...", she sighed in frustration. Why couldn't he just make this easy on her?
"I'll tell the boys what's going on", he went on. "But I'm not going to say goodbye to them. And I'm not going to say goodbye to you either."
"You're leaving?", Cameron uttered, a hint of disappointment evident in his voice. Frankly, the kid wasn't all that surprised. This had happened before with his dad. But somehow, he thought that Jason would be around for a little while. At least, he had hoped so.
"Maybe. I'm not really sure how everything's going to play out just yet, buddy", Jason admitted. "But I can promise you that I'm going to come see you and your mom and your brother a lot. I just don't know if I'll be living here."
Elizabeth hated seeing the sad look in her son's eyes. He had been through this type of thing far too often. And Cam was such a great kid. She shouldn't have let him get attached to Jason, knowing that it would only be temporary. And while she hoped that Jason would be around to visit, she wouldn't get her hopes up. Maybe he would for a little while. Until he got sucked back into the problems of everyone else in town. That was probably his biggest fault. He was too loyal to people who didn't deserve it.
"How come you have to go?", Aiden asked, looking up at Jason with a disappointed look similar to his brother's.
Jason looked helplessly at Elizabeth. These kids were breaking his heart. He wanted to assure them that he wasn't going anywhere. But he wasn't sure what she wanted him to say.
Elizabeth pulled her youngest child onto her lap, and put her arm around her older one. "Boys, Jason has a lot of people that really love him", she said gently. "And they miss him very much. So, he needs to spend time with them too, right?"
Both boys reluctantly nodded.
"But that doesn't mean that I don't care about you guys or your mom", Jason said quickly. "I care about all of you very much."
Elizabeth fought back the tears that were threatening to fall. She knew he cared about them. But that didn't change the fact that she and the boys would end up getting hurt if she didn't let Jason go now. It was something that she had to do.
She walked Jason out to the front porch, neither of them saying much. Everything had already been said.
"I hate this", he finally said quietly.
"So do I", Elizabeth admitted. "But it has to be done. Things have to be made right again."
"The boys hate me now."
"They don't hate you", she sighed. "They were just starting to get used to having you around. I was too. But you don't have to worry about us. We'll be okay. You need to go focus on your family."
He took her into his arms, wishing that he didn't have to let go. "You're not going to get rid of me. I'm going to come back to you and the boys."
"We'll see", she replied, pulling back from him. "Take care, Jason."
"You too", Jason said softly, unable to hide the sadness in his voice. He locked eyes with her one more time, and then turned to walk away.
He didn't know where to go first. There were so many people that he needed to go see. He finally decided to get the worst out of the way from the get-go. So, with a feeling of dread building up inside him, he made his way to his old penthouse.
He took a deep breath as his hand traveled to the door, but he couldn't bring himself to knock on it. He didn't want to see Sam. Frankly, he could care less if she knew he was alive or not. He didn't want to be involved with her at all, much less be married to her.
He could hear Elizabeth's advice echoing in his head. "Don't shut her out, Jason. She's your wife."
Maybe she had a point. He didn't love this woman, but he had married her for some reason. He supposed that she did have a right to know that he was still alive.
But on the other hand...if Sam was anything like he remembered, he would never get rid of her once she found out.
"Just do it", he whispered to himself. "Just get it over with."
Jason took a deep breath, and rapped on the door. A few seconds passed, and there was no answer. He began to feel a bit relieved. Maybe Sam was out, and he could avoid her for a little while longer. But as he turned to leave, the door opened. He stood frozen in place, his back to the door.
"Uh, can I help you?", he heard a voice ask. He instantly recognized it as hers. He had no choice now. Slowly, he turned to face her.
"J-J-Jason?", she stammered in pure shock. And then, she collapsed onto the floor.
And so the drama begins. And as always, reviews are much appreciated :)