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Chapter Seventeen

Mac didn't know what to say, well, he had a few things that he'd like to say but none of them really made sense, at least to his frazzled mind. Focusing on the most important thing in that moment, Mac said, "Look, I don't know what game you are playing or her for that matter…" As he slowly moved away from the girl who had quite the grip on his back.

Jason understood his plight to an extent, after his accident, he had people telling him things that just didn't make sense, that couldn't possibly be true but he'd never had a kid come out of the blue before. "I understand Mac, this is a difficult situation…Sonny only discovered the news today. I can explain everything but please don't do anything you'll regret. Elizabeth has been through too much, I don't know if she can handle being rejected by you."

The sincerity of his voice quite possibly was the only thing to break through the fog Mac was currently engulfed in.

"How…why…What does Corinthos have to do with this?" Mac asked finally.

"Can you stop trying to get away from her for the moment, I know you are confused and need answers but please understand, besides me, she won't really touch other men, Francis and Johnny are a slight exception but…Mac…" Jason paused, how could he tell him about his daughter without causing the same outcome as he himself suffered.

It didn't take a genius to figure out why a woman wouldn't want to be touched, "I'm not saying I believe anything you say or are going to say but why, who?" So very eloquent, Mac thought to himself.

Taking a deep breath to give himself a moment to arrange his thoughts, Jason wondered if telling him anything…well, telling him what happened, was his place. The term a rock and a hard place had never made more sense to him than in that moment. "Look, I can tell you some things but this is her story to tell, whether she will or not…I just don't know. Here's the abridged version, she was abused as a child, probably from the moment she was born, on that, we just aren't sure, it continued on until she was thirteen, that is when a nurse intervened and took her…"

"Wait…what?" Mac asked.

"I'll try to get to that but…how did you not know you had a child?" Jason asked, going for the most pertinent question.

Realizing they were just going to go around and around, Mac held up his hand. "Who's her supposed mother?"

"Dominique Taub…" Jason said.

"That's not…it can't be…she died…I buried her twenty years ago." Mac said. Wondering what the hell was going on, this couldn't be happening. "What are you and Corinthos trying to pull? Trying to get a police commissioner in your pocket to make your illegal empire easier?" Mac spat.

Before Jason could respond, Elizabeth slowly began to sit up. She heard the venom in her father's voice. Realizing this, like everything else in her life was not going to be easy and quite possibly not even possible; she slowly stood up, distancing herself. "I'm sorry, this is just…wrong. I shouldn't be here." Elizabeth said sadly before turning her back on both men.

"Elizabeth?" Jason queried softly.

Fighting the lump in her throat and the immense pain in her chest, Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm ready to leave. I've learned my lesson; I won't leave the apartment again. Finish your conversation; I'll wait by the road…" She said in a dead voice.

Jason reached out to touch her but his hand barely got within a foot of her and he saw her flinch. "I won't be but a moment." Jason said to her retreating figure. He watched as she limped more than she ever had before and wondered if she'd hurt herself.

Seeing the only other mode of transportation was a motorcycle, Elizabeth shuddered. This wouldn't work, she couldn't ride that thing, she couldn't be that close to him. He'd already broken through so many barriers without even trying and as her father just proved, that was a stupid and reckless move.

XxXxXxX

Jason turned back to Mac, "You are a complete idiot. I know I took you by surprise but that girl didn't deserve that. I'll have Johnny send the file to you but for now, even if you do come to believe, I think it would be best if you stayed away."

"I didn't…Just let me…I should apologize." Mac tried to string his words together without much luck.

"I know you are a good and honorable man but Elizabeth…she's led a life that none of us could fathom. I ended up with alcohol poisoning because of her file, I think Johnny and Francis would have too, if she trusted anyone else but she doesn't so…" Jason said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was a planner, he didn't need to wait and digest things, he just did them but in this moment, it felt like every thought or idea, would be the wrong one.

"Why was she limping?" Mac questioned.

"It's in her file, along with everything she learned today…I need to go." Jason said after a moment.

"How'd you plan on proving her paternity?" Mac asked Jason's back.

Turning briefly, Jason responded, "Sonny had the people who claimed to be her parents tested and then had her bloodwork put into a database, you and Dominque…Look…" Jason said, frustrated with the whole situation. "We have no idea at the moment how the Drs. Webber's came into possession of Elizabeth or Sarah for that matter, when Miss Johnson came to us for help, we didn't know what help that would be until they got here. Realizing the whole situation stunk, Sonny started digging deeper, he hired a P.I. and so far, this is what we've turned up. I need to go, she's been alone for too long already."

When Jason reached his bike, he noticed the distinct lack of anyone nearby. Cursing under his breath, he tried to figure out which way she would have gone. The dirt was too hard packed to give any indication and he couldn't see her in any direction.

It would take roughly twenty minutes to get anyone up there to help him look, unless he went back to Mac. Torn on what was the right answer, Jason quickly moved back the way he'd just left.

XxXxXxX

Mac sat down heavily, the weight of Jason's words and the possibilities weighing him down.

How could any of it be true? How could he have a twenty something daughter and never have known there was even a possibility. His mind helpfully, or not so much, supplied, 'there was that year and a half that Dom was missing, when her 'husband' found her and took her…'

Trying to remember his last moments with her, Mac realized there WAS something different with her, something she kept trying to tell him, could that be what she was trying so hard to say?

He'd come here to mourn the loss of his precious niece and quite possibly the end of his marriage, he hadn't expected to discover something so…life altering. Stuck in a loop of doubts and question's, Mac almost jumped out of his skin when Jason suddenly reappeared.

"What do you want?" Mac asked harshly.

"Oh, you know…nothing much, just wanted to know if you wanted to help me find your daughter?" Jason said with just as much malice.

"What the hell do you mean…?" Mac began but Jason cut him off.

"Well, I could stand here and tell you or we can actually do something…" Jason said nastily. Whether it made sense or not, he had fallen for the young woman and wasting time placating this man, was the last thing he wanted to do.

Realizing he was being a bigger ass, Mac let his shoulders fall. He was a cop, an ex-agent and a sometimes father…he could deal with his issues later, first he had to find this woman. His mind, deciding now was the perfect time to taunt him, offered up, 'you felt the connection the moment you touched her, looked into her eyes…quite possibly your eyes…' Frustrated, Mac said, "Okay, how do you want to handle this?"

"Since there is no useable evidence for which way she went, why don't you continue on this road and I'll head down. I'm going to call Francis and Johnny and get them looking too. With as bad as her hip is, she can't walk long distances, so I hope she won't get very far."

Wanting to ask what was wrong but understanding they'd just be delaying, Mac nodded his head. "Should I call for police assistance? Fine, if you find her, call me please and can you also get someone to bring me that file."

"No, no police assistance, if someone gets wind that she is here...Audrey Hardy has already seen her, we cannot risk it."

Wishing he could take his own frustrations out on the man, Jason simply nodded his head before rushing back to his bike.

XxXxXxX

She knew she was being stupid, waiting for Jason would have been the smart thing but at the moment, she didn't want to be smart. Her heart hurt and having to look at more pitying looks was the last thing she wanted. She'd been pitied her whole life.

After walking for twenty minutes, Elizabeth realized that she'd made another stupid decision, maybe the most stupid in fact. She'd thought going down the hill would cut the walk in half but with her hip and the unstable ground, she was doing more damage than good. Sticking to the road could have possibly given her a chance to get a ride, but that was why she'd ventured off of it. She didn't want people to see her.

Deciding that a break was called for, Elizabeth found a small outcropping of rocks sticking out of the hills side and took a seat. "Take a few minutes, get your breath back, let the pain ease, then keep moving, otherwise I'm going to get stiff and never get down." She said to herself, hopping there was at least a little pep in her personal pep talk.

XxXxXxX

Johnny wanted to strangle both men. Jason for just blurting it out and Mac for thinking everything Sonny and Jason did, had ulterior motives.

Johnny made his way back up to Vista Point, he saw Mac's car pulling to a stop behind his own vehicle and contemplated yelling at the man, but knew at this point, it would just enflame the situation more.

"Has she been found?" Mac asked worriedly, staying close to his car.

"No…Enzo and Marco are out looking now as well but…" Johnny said, trailing off. Not wanting to be in the man's presence any longer, Johnny ripped open his front door and grabbed the file that was sitting on the seat. He didn't agree with giving him this sort of information, it was Elizabeth's choice in his opinion and…realizing he was ranting to himself, he thrust the file into Mac's slack hand before jumping back into his SUV.

XxXxXxX

Looking at the steep incline, Elizabeth was wondering if she should take her chances continuing down or should go back the way she came. Finally, it was the intense ache in her hip that forced her to retreat. The slight heel on her sandals was not helping her with such crappy terrain.

Pausing more often, it took her four times as long to ascend than it had taken her to descend. Panting and feeling the effects of no fluids, Elizabeth stumbled towards the bench. Since when was it so freaking hot in New York, she grumbled aloud.

XxXxXxX

Mac had spent the last hour battling himself. He hadn't meant to start reading the file but when he'd dropped it after the guard's rushed departure, he found he couldn't stop staring and that led to reading and now, he was beyond sickened and his heart hurt for this woman, this woman who could quite possibly be his daughter.

He probably would have let himself be lost to the images and words if he hadn't heard a voice, he wasn't sure whether to be thankful for not having had the chance to look at the x-rays yet or not but the voice offered a much needed distraction.

"Whose there?" Mac asked. A little worried that one of Corinthos goons were going to come back and beat him.

When silence was all that greeted him, Mac set the file on the bench and turned towards the sound and almost swallowed his tongue. "Elizabeth?"

"Oh goody…it's you." Elizabeth said, trying and almost succeeding in finding a little of her snark.

"I'm sorry. I don't take surprises well, please sit down, you look like your about to pass out." Mac apologized. He attempted to take a step closer but her obvious flinch was enough to make him step back.

As he moved, so did she. It wasn't until he'd taken ten steps back from the bench that she finally sunk on to its hard surface.

"Do you want me to call someone for you?" He asked softly. He could see her grimacing and a very light sheen of sweat on her skin but he noticed that even though she was sweating, she was shivering. Thinking quickly, he realized she was probably on the brink of heatstroke.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he quickly requested an ambulance to Vista Point. "Elizabeth, I realize out first meeting wasn't…great but I'm really worried you have heatstroke and it can be a dangerous condition. An ambulance should be here soon." He said softly, moving slightly closer, worried if she passed out, she could do some serious damage thanks to the hardness of the stone bench.

Elizabeth's thoughts were a little slow but she managed to say, "Call…Jason…"

Not really wanting to talk to the man but willing to for her sake, Mac pulled his phone out again and placed the call. "Jason, I found her, or rather she found me, she's back at Vista Point. She asked me to call you."

Mac listened as Jason cursed but just nodded his head in agreement with the curses when he heard the man say he'd be right there. "Umm…you'll want to meet us at the hospital. I think she has…" He trailed off as he watched in horror as her eyes rolled up and she passed out. His phone dropped out of his hand as he rushed the last few feet and caught her just as her head was about to collide with the bench.

'Could this day get any worse?' Mac wondered aloud.

XxXxXxX