Elizabeth spent the morning teaching Michael the basics about sketching. He's a really quick learner and it didn't take much for him to grasp the lesson immediately. She was glad to be able to take her mind off everything for the few hours she spent teaching Michael. Now that she's back in the hospital, Elizabeth couldn't help but want a distraction. Jason is handling something for Sonny and she was left to sit by her grandmother, listening to the sound of her breathing and the soft beeping of her heart monitor.
"Hey, Blaze, you should get some fresh air." Steven says softly, kneeling down beside her. "Go on, Sarah wants to sit with her."
With a shrug, Elizabeth gets up from the chair to kiss her grandmother's forehead before walking out of the room. Johnny and Marco follow close behind as she makes her way up to the roof. As she stands up there, she wonders if there is a heaven. It would make this easier if there really was a heaven for those whose time on Earth has come to an end. The thought of her grandmother going up to meet with her grandfather, it gave her hope that maybe this would be for the best.
From what the doctors say, her grandmother has been suffering for the last two years as her body slowly gave into itself. It turns out that her trip she took for those two weeks wasn't to help a patient, she was the patient and she was going for treatment. As she looked back on the last two years, Elizabeth now knows why her grandmother kept it from her. She was still getting used to the heart that they had given her and she couldn't handle anything big stresses for a long time.
If she had learnt of her grandmother's deteriorating health, Elizabeth probably wouldn't have been able to handle it. Living with someone else's heart was about all the stress that she could handle and Elizabeth knows that she would have put her focus on her grandmother instead of her own health. Running her fingers through her hair, Elizabeth couldn't help the tears that formed in her eyes. It was just too much. The whole mess with Emily, her grandmother slowly passing away, her parents coming back...it was just all too much.
"Hey, its okay." she heard Maxie say as her best friend wrapped her arms around her. "I'm here. Don't be afraid to cry. Just let it out."
"She's dying." Elizabeth voices, clinging to Maxie. "She's dying and I don't know how to deal with it."
"We're all here for you." Maxie assures her, stroking her hair soothingly. "We won't let you go through this alone."
"Thank you." she whispers, taking a deep breath. "I don't know what I'd do without, Maxie."
"You'll never have to find out." Maxie promises, pulling away to wipe away Elizabeth's tears. "Unlike Emily, I'm a real friend. I'll never turn my back on you."
"Same here." Elizabeth assures.
"Uh, Maxie, they're looking for you downstairs." Georgie says nervously from the doorway. "Elizabeth, I'm sorry about your grandma."
"Thanks, Georgie." Elizabeth smiles slightly. "I appreciate that."
"You gonna be okay?" Maxie looks at Elizabeth intently. "I'm candy-stripping for another hour."
"I'll be fine." Elizabeth shakes her head. "Thanks for checking on me."
"What're friends for right?" Maxie smirked, nudging her softly. "Call me if you need to talk, kay?"
"Count on it." Elizabeth watches Maxie walk back inside with Georgie before turning to look out at the city. "All I want is one last chance to talk to Gram...please...please give me that much."
Jason is trying to finish up with his assignment when he gets a call that his grandmother would like to see him. Checking the time, he rushes over to the Quartermaine estate, hoping that he can make it quick so he can go back to work to finish up before he heads to Elizabeth. He knows that she's taking it hard because of the fight she had with her grandmother and he just wanted to be there for her.
"You wanted to see me?" Jason questions, walking over to his grandmother.
"Yes. How's Elizabeth holding up?" Lila questions, gesturing for him to sit.
"As well as she can." Jason shakes his head. "She's taking it pretty hard."
"That's understandable." Lila concedes, wishing she could do more for the young woman. "Will you let her know she can turn to us if she needs anything?"
"I will." Jason assures, taking her hand in his. "You'd tell me if your health was failing you, wouldn't you?"
"Of course, my dear." Lila assures her grandson. "But Elizabeth's heart is very delicate, Audrey only wanted to spare her the stress."
"I understand that." Jason admits. "I just wish she'd wake up to fix things with Elizabeth. I can't stand the thought of her dying and Elizabeth carrying the hurt with her forever."
"She'll get the chance to fix things." Lila gives his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Audrey is a fighter and she'd be damned if she left this world without one last conversation with her granddaughter."
"I hope so." Jason sighs, running his fingers through his hair. "I really hope so."
Elizabeth makes her way back into the hospital, her mind completely blank at this point. The fatigue was really getting to her, but she still couldn't seem to close her eyes long enough to sleep. She was about to make her way to her gram's bedside when she was pulled into one of the rooms meant for families that have a loved one in surgery. She's shocked for a moment, but quickly relaxes at the sight of Carly.
"Since Jason's working and you never eat lunch without him making you, I thought I'd step up." Carly says simply, gesturing for her to sit. "Sonny cooked it."
Laughing softly, Elizabeth sits down across from Carly. The guards positioning themselves outside the door as the two women start to eat. She wanted to argue the point, but even she knew that she couldn't win that argument. If not for Jason she probably wouldn't remember to eat. It was kind of nice to have people reminding her about the little things while she worries for her grandmother. As they finished eating, a knock sounded at the door and soon Zander and Nikolas are walking through.
"Dessert anyone?" Zander smirked, dropping the items on the table before hugging Elizabeth. "Got your favorite."
"Thanks." Elizabeth turns to hug Nikolas. "Have either of you seen Em?"
"No." Zander shook his head. "She doesn't even know about Audrey."
"How about we eat this before it melts?" Carly comments, taking their attention off of Emily, she could see Elizabeth tensing up a bit.
"Yeah." Elizabeth smiles slightly, walking over to sit down again. "I can go for a sugar rush right about now."
Elizabeth puts Emily out of her mind, knowing that there wasn't anything she could do for her former best friend. It was taking all the energy she had left just trying to be strong for her grandmother. She didn't have the energy or the strength to deal with Emily. So she accepted what is and accepted the comfort from the friends that are still there for her. It helped a little when she found out that Robin was leaving back to Paris. Brenda had called her up after Robin left and she'd be lying if that didn't lift some of the weight from her shoulders.
"What do you want?" Jason stares at his sister with a blank expression.
"Jason, I just want to talk." Emily says sincerely. "Please."
"I don't have time to talk to your right now." Jason walks over to get his coffee, regretting walking into the diner. He's finally finished with work and just wanted to get to the hospital.
"I'm still your sister and I still love you." Emily says pleadingly. "Can't you even pretend to care that I need to talk to you?"
"Look." Jason snaps. "If you bothered to ask, you'd know that I have a lot going on right now! Not everything surrounds your needs Emily. I have somewhere I need to be and that's not here talking to you."
Jason pays for the coffee and heads for the door, but his sister's voice stops him.
"Where do you need to be?" Emily counters. "With Elizabeth? Is she okay?"
"You'd know if you really cared. Yes, you're my sister, but that's slowly losing significance." Jason says plainly. "Everyone that matters to us, knows what's going on. That should tell you something."
With that, Jason walks out of the diner. He didn't have time to play nice with Emily, not when Elizabeth needed him by her side. If Emily really cared, she'd find a way to care about what he and Elizabeth wanted and not what she thinks is best for them. Putting his sister out of his mind, Jason gets to the hospital and makes his way to the conference room where Carly said they'd be.
"Hi." Jason says softly, wrapping his arms around Elizabeth.
"Hi." she whispers, laying her head against his chest. "I really needed this."
"Sorry I had to work." Jason sighs, kissing the top of her head. "I'm yours for the rest of the night."
"Good to know." Elizabeth nestles into him, both oblivious to the other three leaving the room. "I'm just so tired."
"Monica reserved a room for you if you want to use it." Jason pulls away slightly. "You really should get some rest."
"Will you stay with me?" Elizabeth eyes him intently.
"Always." Jason smiles slightly, kissing her softly. "Come on, lets get you to bed."
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews!
Hope you liked the update. Let me know what you thought and any suggestions you may have. I love hearing your opinions.
Till next time...
p.s. all stories will be finished, it just takes a while for me to come up with good content for the chapters.