A/N: Please don't be too mad at our girl, she's a little confused at the moment but she'll get it together! Promised! I loved the different reactions though so thanks for reviewing; now let's see how the story plays out.

Just playing with these characters…

Chapter 23 – Relationship Counseling

-- Jason's office, Morgan Enterprises --

Jason had been the shadow of himself since he flew back from LA. What was supposed to bring him and Elizabeth back together had turned into his worst nightmare. He officially didn't understand women, or particularly the one he had fallen in love with. He had tried to comprehend her decision, without success and now had no idea how to proceed next. Reach out? Try and convince her she was making an enormous mistake or simply let things calm down for a little bit and wait, hoping she'll come around. Maybe a break was what they both needed to make it out of this black hole.

"Jasper Jacks here to see you." Jason's assistant introduced the man who followed her inside the large office.

Jason promptly stood up, leaving his conflicted thoughts aside long enough to carry out his meeting with the corporate raider. "Jax, thank you for coming so fast."

"Well I was kind of surprised when you called. And I'm not going to lie, pretty curious too."

"Please sit down." He offered the other businessman before himself settling on his imposing leather chair. "It's about the Metro Court. I am selling my shares." He told an incredulous Jax. "And I wanted to give you a first option to buy them."

"Wow, I'm surprised you're not selling them to Carly."

"She is the reason why I am getting out of the hotel."

"Oh…" Jax let out, wondering what could have prompted such an unforeseen decision.

Jason quickly enlightened him. "She just went too far this time."

"Well, look at that." Jax uttered mockingly. "Me who thought you would never see the light. But I shouldn't make fun because I myself took long before realizing how dangerous Carly really is. I always thought she was only a threat to others and that the people she loved were off limits; until I realized she only loves herself. But just out of curiosity, what did she do this time?"

"She disapproved of my relationship with Elizabeth so she made it look like I cheated on her. Of course when Elizabeth learned about it she broke up with me."

"Ouch… but didn't you tell her it was all Carly?"

"I did, but I guess it was too late; the damage was done. I'm sure it looked all too real to her and maybe she feels like if it wasn't this time it will be the next… but really I don't know. I'm not sure I get it."

"Well, complicated is the first word in the woman's dictionary. But wait, did Carly just accept to let you go without a fight?"

"Of course not. She's been stalking me; filling my voicemail of apologetic messages." Jason explained. "Security has been informed not to let her on the premises but I just wish she would give up already."

"Good luck with that because she never gives up. But at least I understand better why she has stopped running after me; she's busy trying to get you back." Jax remarked with a smirk. "Anyway, I will gladly buy you out, which will also give me an edge over Carly as majority owner."

"Good." Jason told the other man. "Hey Jax, have you heard anything from Elizabeth? I know you two work together so I was just wondering how she's doing."

"Well last I heard she was still in LA, but I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything from her." The man said standing to his feet and extending an arm towards Jason.

Jason took his hand and shook it in his. "Thanks."

"I hope everything works out between you and Elizabeth." Jax added before walking out of Jason's office.

-- Audrey Hardy's house, Santa Monica CA --

Audrey knocked on the door of the guest bedroom Elizabeth had been occupying since she had unexpectedly appeared on her doorstep the day before. The brunette had barely come out of the room since her conversation with Jason; no trips to the beach and no shopping sprees, which was highly unusual for the brunette who swore by these two activities every time she came to visit. The older woman who was worried about her state of mind knocked on the door lightly asking for permission to come in. After Elizabeth gave it to her, Audrey slowly opened the door to find her granddaughter packing the small suitcase she had brought in with her.

"Hey, packing already?"

"Yes, I have to get back to Port Charles early tomorrow morning."

"Why so soon, why don't you stay a little longer? Just a couple more days to make sure you're feeling better before getting back to work."

"I really wish I could, but I am going to Paris. Kate is already there for fashion week. And I also have to drop by EW and make sure everything's fine over there. I realize I haven't been really productive these past few days so I kind of have to make up for it."

"Hey Elizabeth… come sit for a minute, I meant to talk to you." Audrey said sitting down at the bed's feet and patting the free space next to her.

"Is this about Jason?" Elizabeth asked sitting down with a brittle smile. "I know I have been feeling really down these past couple days and I did a lot of thinking but I am still as confused as ever."

All Elizabeth had done since the break up was think about Jason and how she had ended things with him. She herself wasn't sure of what had happened, why she had panicked and told him she wasn't ready to be with him when in her heart she knew that she undeniably was in love too.

Audrey held her granddaughter's hand in hers. "Ok, I just wanted to make sure that this wasn't about your father."

"What does dad have to do with this?"

"I'm afraid more than you think." Audrey told a puzzled Elizabeth. "I know how much the affair your father had when you were only thirteen affected you. I don't think you ever really forgave him for what he did to your mom... and to the whole family."

"Grams, you know I hate talking about that and all this happened a long time ago." Elizabeth said, the distant memories flashing back through her mind. For the Webbers, the issue was treated as a deeply buried family secret that no one ever mentioned. "Mom forgave him and they never got a divorce. She basically said let's just never talk about it again, ever; and that was the end of it."

"You know, these kinds of situations are delicate and people react differently. Jeff made a horrible mistake and your mother did what she thought she needed to do to keep her family together."

"I know Grams and I don't blame her for it, but I sometimes wished she hadn't... because she was never the same after dad's affair. She turned into a very bitter woman; they both focused on their jobs, leaving us to deal with their problems anyway we could. I never understood how she could just forgive him so easily though…" She abruptly stopped talking thinking about her own past mistakes. "…until I got with Lucky."

Elizabeth stood up to face the bedroom window, both arms crossed above her chest. "I never thought he would cheat on me, and I was convinced that it would never happen to me, but it did. Maybe that's why I lived in denial land for so long; I knew something was wrong but instead of facing the fact that he was cheating on me, I ignored the signs until I had no choice but to admit the truth."

The young woman paused, drawing some air in before going on. "It's funny because for so long I didn't understand how Mom could get past what Dad did to her and just like her I ended up forgiving all of Lucky's transgressions, until the day when I stopped and realized what had happened to me. And yeah, maybe breaking up with Jason had a lot to do with all this, but the simple thought of being in love right now scares me so much."

"Opening your heart can be a very scary thing, but Elizabeth you can't let past experiences dictate your future. If you are afraid of being hurt, you'll never live anything. Think about all the great time you've spent with Jason before this falling out? Do you really think you'd be better off if you had never met him?"

The answer was easy… of course not Elizabeth thought, shaking her head from side to side. "It sounds so logical when you talk about all this, but I don't know how to leave my fears behind and that scares me even more. If I can't do that I will never be able to be with Jason in peace."

"Then don't leave your fears behind and instead use them to move forward. Prove to everyone who's hurt you that they didn't destroy your chance at happiness."

Her grandmother stood up to join Elizabeth by the window as she continued her plea. "Listen, I am telling you all this because I want to make sure you won't have any regrets. All I want is for you to be happy and if you think you'll be happy on your own then by all means, go for it. But if what you really want is to be with Jason and for some unexplainable reason you doubt yourself then maybe you should rethink your decision."

Audrey paused, watching her granddaughter's pensive reaction. "Elizabeth you are stronger than you think and from what I was able to see, this young man is crazy about you, and I'm sure you love him too."

"Oh Grams… but is love really enough? Dad loved mom, and I think somehow Lucky loved me too but they still cheated."

"And it doesn't mean Jason will!"

Elizabeth started pacing across the small guest room as she spoke. "I know that Grams, yet I can't stop thinking about what if this scam had turned out to be real or what if some time in the future Jason gets tired of me and decides to go look for someone better. I am a hot mess and he is… he is just this amazing man. I completely obsessed about this situation, which thankfully ended up being a scam, but I never want to go through that kind of pain again."

"Yes it hurt, you probably cried your heart out over this but you're still standing strong. A broken heart shouldn't keep you from loving again; instead, an ordeal like this one should make you stronger and help you realize that you can surmount anything."

A heavy sight escaped the young designer. "My heart is telling me be with him but my head keeps telling me I shouldn't… not right now."

"You know, sometimes the best decisions start from your heart, and then make their way up to your head."

Elizabeth smiled at her grandmother's piece of advice. The wiser woman was right, and she already knew it. She was supposed to be a go getter, that's how she had built this flourishing career as a designer. Letting her fears do the talking had never taken her anywhere in life. Instead, she maybe had just lost the one thing that she had always been waiting for, love.

"You're right Grams, about everything. Now I just hope I haven't ruined everything between Jason and me."

-- Jason's Office, Morgan Enterprises --

"Diane, in my office please. I meant to ask you about something." Jason said in his phone and five minutes later the fervent attorney was standing in front of him, fists resting on her hips.

"In need of my very valuable legal advice on a matter?" Diane inquired as she walked in.

"No, actually nothing like that. It's more… personal." Jason said, unconsciously scratching the back of his head.

Diane heard the uncomfortable way in which her boss spoke these words and walked forward to sit in front of his desk, withholding any snarky comments. She had always known this day would come, when he would finally voluntarily ask for her advice concerning his personal life; it was just a matter of time. "I'm listening, anything you want to ask, go for it."

Jason was surprised that his usually very talkative attorney hadn't made any mocking comments at his request before he started speaking. "Ok, um… Elizabeth and I just broke up, and well you are a woman so I thought you would be the best person to help me understand her thinking because I'm a little lost here."

"Ok, just tell me the situation and I will do my best." She said, crossing her legs.

"Alright, well she and I were doing great until Carly came into the picture and made sure to make it seem like I cheated on Elizabeth with the whole magazine disaster that I am sure you already know about."

"So it was Carly!" The woman screamed out. "You cannot begin to imagine how shocked I was when I saw this article! I couldn't wrap my mind around why you would leave a smart, talented and gorgeous woman for someone who seems to come straight out of a Vegas peep show!" Diane exclaimed, flying both arms in the air. "But how did Carly pull that off?"

"She paid Sam McCall to show up at my apartment putting doubt in Elizabeth's mind. Then she had her trick me so I would walk up to her hotel room. She offered me information on Corinthos so I went to see her and she jumped on me right when she opened the door. A photographer was there and the result is that picture."

"Well at least we have to give them that, they are good." Diane said from the side of her mouth.

"Yes, and Carly got what she wanted, Elizabeth saw the picture, and of course she became furious with me, thinking I betrayed her."

Diane shook her head from side to side, at the foolishness of the situation. "I can understand why, and for the humiliation to be complete it had to be done via a magazine. Carly really didn't go easy on our designer."

"Not at all, especially considering Elizabeth was cheated on by her ex boyfriend and for some crazy reason she is convinced that all men are like him which only made the situation worse."

"Oh… ok… that's not good."

"No, but I found her in LA at her grandmother's house and I told her everything, explained it was all a big lie. And that's where I am lost because she said that even though she believes me, she doesn't think we can be together. I don't know, it was almost like if she didn't trust herself and felt guilty for the way she reacted."

"Okay…" the redhead trailed out. "Well maybe she is afraid and is waiting on some kind of assurance that you won't turn out to be like her ex. She probably thinks this was a warning and it is just a matter of time before this mess turns out to be real."

"But I told her I don't know how many times…"

Diane interrupted him. "These are just words to her at this point and frankly what I think she needs is some time to figure out what she really wants. I think she might have been overwhelmed by this whole situation." Diane explained, trying to put herself in the other woman's shoes to give some much needed insight to her client.

Jason breathed out, running a finger along his eyebrow. "When I told her I loved her she asked me why and told me she doesn't think she can do this. She said she doesn't trust herself."

"You said what?" The lawyer asked opening her eyes wider. "That you loved her?"

"Yes I did, what's wrong with that?"

"Timing." She declared, waving a hand in the air as she went on. "You should have been more subtle instead of dumping all this on her head at once. The poor girl probably felt like she had no choice but to run the other way." Diane shifted in her chair to face Jason straight in the eyes. "Ok, you just told me she has trust issues, she thinks you cheated on her then it turns out to be a big lie, then you just want to get back like nothing happened when she feels guilty for falling in such a stupid trap, and you top it off by telling her you love her… way to add more pressure on her already overwhelmed shoulders."

"When you present things that way." Jason let out rubbing his chin. "But what am I supposed to do now? Because I don't simply want to let her go, who knows when or if she will ever change her mind?"

"I don't have all the answers Jason but what I think is that you should give her time. She sounds like a very confused young lady… but I think you shouldn't give up on her just yet. I'm sure once everything settles in her mind she'll figure out what she wants and most probably will come back to you."

"I really hope you're right Diane. Thanks for your help."

"Anytime! I always knew I would make a great relationship counselor. Do you think I chose the wrong career path?"

Jason faced her with a grin. "You're the best lawyer I have ever worked with, so don't even think about switching careers."

His phone beeped twice and the businessman answered the call from his assistant. "Just to let you know that your car is ready to take you to the airport."

"Thanks, I'll be right down." He told his assistant standing up from his desk.

"Going somewhere?" Diane asked her boss

"Yes, South Africa first, then I have a few other subsidiaries to check on before I get back."

"Well bon voyage!"

--

Next: Worlds Apart