I don't own ABC or General Hospital or the characters there in.
14.) The Lies in her Eyes
Jason had fallen asleep in the chair next to Elizabeth. He was alerted to a presence in the room. A middle-aged woman, with hard eyes and a serious face. Concern was etched on her features. He'd seen this woman before at his wedding to Elizabeth. He couldn't remember her name. Her eyes fell to him, but her facial expression showed that she was anything but impressed.
"Can I help you?" Jason asked.
"I'm Epiphany Johnson. Elizabeth's friend and confidant," the woman explained.
"I recognize you from the wedding," Jason said.
"Ah yes, the wedding," the woman said shaking her head, "I've gotta say given your history with Elizabeth, I'm surprised to see you here. From what I remember, there were a lot of rumors about you being less than faithful to Elizabeth. I also know that you have no interest in her. What are you doing here, Mr. Morgan?"
Jason let out a breath, "There's no way to sugarcoat this. I treated her terribly. I wasn't faithful to her. I had no intention of being faithful to her. I was led to believe she was a greedy, manipulative con-artist, who was willing to do anything to gain money and power in our business. I didn't know that she was innocent. I didn't know that she really thought our relationship was real. I regret treating her the way that I did."
"Why don't you let me stay with her for a while? She trusts me. I think she will be comforted by my presence. You can go get some rest or see to one of your many girlfriends," Epiphany stated getting a dig in for her girl.
Jason glared at Epiphany, "You don't intimidate me Mr. Morgan. I pity you," Epiphany said.
"Pity me?" Jason said.
"You had a chance with a thoughtful, kind, and generous woman, not to mention beautiful, and instead of getting to know her you threw her away for women that were less than. That woman that warms your bed now, she's an actual con-artist isn't she? There was a custody case involving Mr. Corinthos and his current wife Carly when they were briefly separated. Didn't she admit to being a prostitute and car thief? It was all over the local news stations. It seems to me that criminality is not really an issue for you with the women that you date."
"-You don't know he-," Jason started to defend Sam, but Epiphany continued.
"I know she was coming to town to divorce you. You broke Elizabeth's heart you know. I don't think you understood how much of a limb she was willing to go on just to give you chance. After everything that happened to her, she let you in for some reason. Finally, allowed herself to love someone, she really thought you cared about her. I don't know how she's survived all of this, or what kind of will it takes to keep on going but if you plan on being in her life, you should do so from an established distance. Don't confuse her. We both know that you don't love her, and right now you're here out of guilt. Don't let her fall for you again. She's been through enough, and I don't think she could survive falling for you even more only to find out that you're here because you feel obligated to her. It wouldn't be fair. She deserves more. She deserves to be loved and cherished," Epiphany stated.
"I have some things that I need to address, but I will be back. I plan to be here for Elizabeth. I'm not talking about romantically. I do need to set things right with her," Jason said.
Jason made his way down the hall. He was mystified at the previous conversation. Apparently, it was a well-established fact around the people that knew Elizabeth the best that she, to this day still had feelings for him. Feelings that he never had for her. He would have to walk a tight rope to spare her pain. She was stunning, but he wasn't in love with her. He'd be lying if he said that he was unaffected by her. There was something there, but that probably could be attributed to the fact that she was the mother of his only child. She would carry significance. She was more than likely Sonny's kid, which would mean that she would always be important, but they didn't share a deep connection, not like he had with Sam. Although, it seemed like Sam hadn't been honest with any of them. He needed to get home and talk with Sam, and find out what she knew. He would come back later and check on Elizabeth.
As Jason was walking down the hallway he saw a familiar face and stopped dead in his tracks. "Francis?" Jason asked.
"Jason," Francis said. The two men were in a standoff of sorts, "Kind of shocked to see you here."
"Save it. We know she's innocent. You should've come to us," Jason said accusingly.
"Oh please. You and Sonny had no interest in finding out the truth where Elizabeth was concerned. Don't pretend that you care about what happens to that girl."
"But we do. We know the truth now," Jason said.
"Do you? What truth do you know?" Francis asked.
"We know that she's probably Sonny's kid, who was married to me in a plot to take down our organization. That she was kidnapped as an infant, raped as a teen, and kidnapped again by Ric, Stalked, beaten. That's the general gist of it."
"You're only skimming the surface. Tell me, Jason you look as though you're leaving the hospital. You heading home, to the penthouse? Home to Sam?" Francis asked.
"What if I am? What business is it of yours?" Jason asked.
"You know so much. You do realize she's the one who actually stole your money for Ric and planted Elizabeth's fingerprints," Francis asked gauging Jason's reaction.
"I'm aware that she may have been involved," Jason stated, "But I only have your word and Lorenzo Alcazar's to go on. I plan on asking Sam myself."
"And you think she's capable of honesty?" Francis said with a disbelieving smirk.
"I do think she'll tell me what happened," Jason said.
"Well let me tell you this, if you go back to that woman knowing what she did to your wife and unborn child. I want you to promise you'll let them go. You'll have no redeeming qualities where Elizabeth is concerned. You won't be worthy of the wife and son you could have. I'm telling you this a warning. Sam is no innocent in what has transpired in Elizabeth's life and this life you think you have with Sam is lies. Don't close your eyes to it Jason."
"I owe Sam the benefit of the doubt," Jason said.
"What do you owe Elizabeth?" Francis asked, "Why isn't she worthy of at least a chance?"
"Epiphany already explained that Elizabeth still harbors feelings for me and I should keep some distance between us. I will do my best to be kind to her and not lead her on, but we do share a child so we will interact. I will address Sam and go from there."
"Please be careful with your choice Jason. If you choose Sam, over Elizabeth and Cameron. You will lose more than realize."
"Is that a threat?" Jason asked.
"No, it's a certainty. Sam's guilty of a great many things. There's just so much you don't know. Maybe you're afraid to know. Let me put it this way. Maximus is aware of Elizabeth's situation, but doesn't know that she's his granddaughter. If he finds out that you chose a dangerous con-artist over his granddaughter when you had a chance to change things, Elizabeth's love for you may not be able to save you. Although, if you choose Sam and Elizabeth remembers the part that she played in setting her up you run the risk of losing Elizabeth altogether. Elizabeth will never let you near Cameron once she finds out that Sam is the one that set her up and you're engaged to her."
"So I'm just supposed to drop Sam, for Elizabeth. Sam and I have a life together," Jason defended.
"A life built on lies. You used to value the truth," Francis said. "Sam helped Ric frame your wife, and she loves you so much that she never bothered to tell you. Why do you think that is?"
"It's something I intend to find out, but I'm not just going to end things with Sam just because you and Lorenzo say she's guilty," Jason stated.
"Fine. Just don't take too long getting to the truth Jason," Francis said then added before walking away, "because the good woman that you've been searching for isn't at your penthouse. She's laying in a hospital bed. She's taken punishment on your behalf. She deserves a real chance. She's more than earned it."
Jason went home. He honestly didn't know what to do. As he opened the door, his eyes landed on Sam who was sitting on the couch watching the television.
"You're finally home," Sam stated as she got up from the couch to greet Jason.
"Yeah, a lot has been going on the last 72 hours. I'm sorry that I couldn't make it back sooner," Jason stated.
"I heard that Carly was safe. That's really great," Sam stated as she hugged Jason and placed a kiss on his lips. Jason kissed her back out of habit, but then he heard Francis in his head, reminding him of Sam's alleged treachery and the innocent woman he was still married to, so he stopped kissing Sam.
"I need to talk to you about something," Jason said as he took Sam's hand and walked over to the couch.
Sam gave a coy smile, "Oh I know what this is about. Now that you're finally divorced we can get married." She leaned in to give Jason another kiss.
Jason backed his head away, "That's what I wanted to talk about."
"What? You are divorced aren't you Jason?" Sam asked.
"No, I'm not," Jason said apologetically.
"What? How is that even possible? You left three days ago to get a divorce. You don't come home and you're still married. To that woman?" Sam stood up angry.
"Yes, it's true. I'm still married to Elizabeth. We both signed the paperwork, but Sonny and I found out some information and we decided to hold off on the divorce."
"Wait –I'm confused Jason. Why does Sonny even get a say in your divorce?" Sam asked incensed.
"Because Elizabeth was married to me under false pretenses," Jason said, "There's a real chance that Elizabeth is innocent. We believe that her fingerprints were planted on my safe." Jason gauged Sam's reaction.
Sam looked frightened but then schooled her features, "Innocent you say. Who would plant her fingerprints? It doesn't seem plausible. You've always said that she disappeared around the same time as your money was stolen."
"Yeah, but we have reason to believe that a woman by the name of Angela Monroe flew into town and was working with Ric to steal our money, and planted Elizabeth's fingerprints."
Sam feigned surprise, but Jason caught the fear in her eyes and knew in that moment that Sam was deceiving him, "This is unbelievable Jason, but it doesn't explain why you're not moving forward with the divorce."
"Sonny and I feel like Elizabeth got a raw deal. We just want to be fair to her. She's been through a lot. We just have to wait a little bit longer before we finalize everything and then we can move forward Sam," Jason said. He was looking at Sam. This woman he loved and realized that she was somewhere else mentally.
"I have to run some errands Sam. I just wanted to come by and tell you what was going on so you wouldn't be worried," Jason said suddenly needing to be free of the woman he loved.
"You're leaving?" Sam asked confused.
"I will be back a little later. Sonny is getting Carly settled at home and I need to stop in and check on Elizabeth. She's been through a lot and as her husband, technically, I'm responsible for her medical care," Jason said.
"What am I supposed to do, sit at home and twiddle my thumbs? You're my man. Not her. What am I supposed to think?" Sam asked.
"I don't what to tell you, Sam. I'm going to be kind to Elizabeth. I want her to be alright. Just stay here where it's safe. Don't make me have to worry about you too." Jason said.
"We're not done with this conversation. You need to be worried about doing right by me. Not some con that you're married to," Sam said irate.
"I'll be back. Okay." Jason stated eager to leave.
"You better be," Sam shrieked as she stomped around the penthouse.
Jason shut the door behind him and took a deep breath. Jason was heartbroken. She was lying to him, but she didn't lie good enough to have him fooled. "Milo, make sure she doesn't leave."
"Not a problem, boss," Milo replied.
Meanwhile at General Hospital
"Ahhhh," Elizabeth sat up screaming in a cold sweat.
"Whoa, there kiddo," the man said that was seated next to her.
"Where am I? Where's Cam?" Elizabeth asked disoriented. She was often plagued with nightmares.
"You're still at General Hospital and Cam is safe with Enzo," Francis said.
"When did you get into town, Francis?" Elizabeth asked as she gathered her bearings.
"This morning. I checked in with Lorenzo. Cam is fine, but eager to see you," Francis stated.
"Thank God," Elizabeth said.
"Mac Scorpio came by again. He's wanting to speak with you," Francis said.
"Commissioner Scorpio? About Ric or my more recent kidnapping. It happens so often with me," Elizabeth stated.
"Both I imagine," Francis said.
Elizabeth shook her head, "I need an attorney. Did one ever show up the other night?"
"Yes, Justus Ward went to the PCPD on your behalf, but you were not made available to him," Francis explained.
"Figures, maybe if I was with him I wouldn't have been kidnapped," Elizabeth stated, "Do I have any clothes?"
"Why? Are you going somewhere?" Francis asked.
"I'm not staying here. I'm a sitting duck. You know it and I know it. This is the last place that I should be."
"Where do you want to go?" Francis asked.
"I need to go to Lorenzo and get Cameron," Elizabeth explained as she slowly got out of bed testing her hurt ankle.
The door opened slightly revealing an angry friend, "What you need to do is get back in that bed young lady.
"Piph," Elizabeth said through a small smile.
"Elizabeth, my friend you need to rest, and staying here will get you back on a path to healing," Epiphany argued.
"I understand all that. I just don't trust that. My nightmares are worse here," Elizabeth said.
"After what you've been through that is to be expected," Piph stated.
"I have to get with Justus. We have a great deal to go over. Especially, if at some point you'll have to give a statement or two about all that you've been through."
"I'll stay with her and make her behave herself," Epiphany said to Francis as he made his way to the door.
"Maybe," Elizabeth replied defiantly to both of her friends.
"Good luck," Francis said to Piph.
"Thanks, but I won't need it. Will I Elizabeth?" Epiphany said with a raised brow and a tilted head.
Elizabeth tilted her head, "No I suppose you won't, Piph."