It had only been two days since she broke up with Lucky, but it was already beginning to feel like a lifetime. In such a short period of time, he had gone from being the person that she thought she knew better than anyone else in the world, to someone she felt like she hardly knew at all. The fact that he had actively sought out Jason to confront him didn't really surprise her; the fact that he had punched Jason did.
The last time they had spoken had been the previous day at the boxcar. He hadn't even looked at her when he came into Kelly's the night before, and this morning when they had passed in the hall upstairs, he had actually looked away. Elizabeth felt horrible about not reaching out to him either, but she knew that any attempts she made would only be rebuffed. There was only so much pain a person could handle in a short period of time, so she decided that it was best to let him cool off for a while.
At any rate, she had a different kind of challenge awaiting her today. She was going to see Laura about the Face of Deception. Since the decision to give her the job had been largely based on the pictures Lucky had taken of her, as well as the assumption that he would be taking the rest of the photographs, she really wasn't sure that it was going to work out. Even though she had felt much more relaxed at the second photo shoot, she knew that had a lot to do with the fact that she trusted Lucky. She still wasn't sure how she would do with another photographer. Besides, she didn't think that Lucky should be forced to give up the job because he didn't feel comfortable around her. He was an amazing photographer, and if Elizabeth was honest with herself, she knew she would still rather paint than stand in front of the camera all day.
Bracing herself, Elizabeth stepped off the elevator into the lobby of the Deception offices. Elton was there to greet her exuberantly.
"Miss Webber! How wonderful to see you! Do you have an appointment with Mrs. Spencer? I don't remember seeing you on her schedule."
"No, I don't have an appointment, but I was hoping that she might have a few minutes to meet with me."
"I'll check, dear, but I'm certain that she'll have more than a few minutes for the new Face of Deception!"
"Thank you Elton."
A moment later, Elton told her to go on in to Laura's office.
Laura stood up when Elizabeth entered the room. "Elizabeth. I didn't expect to see you here this morning."
"I know I probably should have made an appointment, but..."
"Don't be silly, honey. You know I always have time for you."
"Thanks. Um, have you talked to Lucky at all recently?"
Laura shook her head. "No, not since the night of the launch party. Why?"
"Maybe we should sit down. There're a few things that I need to tell you."
Looking concerned, Laura led Elizabeth over to the sofa. "Is there something wrong?"
Liz nodded. "I don't even know how to begin to tell you this... Lucky and I...well, things haven't been going so well lately. We've been fighting a lot, and the big thing we've been arguing about has been my friendship with Jason Morgan. I don't really want to go into the details, but things just got blown way out of proportion. Anyway, we had a big discussion a couple days ago, and I tried to explain things to Lucky. He said he needed some time to think, and when I came back to Kelly's that night, he had filled my room with flowers and was holding an engagement ring."
Tears came to Laura's eyes. "Elizabeth, are you and Lucky engaged?"
Sadly, Liz shook her head. "No. I didn't accept his proposal. I'm just not ready for that yet. And after I turned him down, I--I broke up with him."
"Oh, Liz, honey, why?"
"You've seen how he is. He's just not the same since Faison kidnapped him. We've both changed so much, and I--I don't love him anymore."
As Elizabeth began to cry, Laura pulled her close and held her. "Oh, sweetie, I know how hard this must be for you."
Liz nodded. "I mean, I still care about Lucky a lot. And I guess it's not completely true that I don't love him. A part of me will always love him. But I'm not in love with him."
"I know. I know just what you're going through."
Laura allowed Elizabeth to cry for a few more minutes, and then Liz straightened up. "Thank you for understanding. I hope that you and I can still be friends."
Laura smiled sadly. "Of course we can. You know, my relationship with Lucky hasn't been easy since the fire, either."
"I know. But I guess the other reason that I came here was to tell you that I don't think I can be the Face of Deception anymore."
Laura's eyes grew wide. "Honey, you don't need to quit because you and Lucky broke up. I wanted you for you, not because you were my son's girlfriend."
"I realize that, and I appreciate that. But, honestly, being the Face of Deception isn't what I want. I know that Lucky took some beautiful pictures of me, and that was fun. But it's not my dream. My art is my dream. Lucky is a wonderful photographer. That's his dream. I don't want to take that away from him, and I know he won't want to take the pictures if I'm in them. Besides, after everything that happened, with the--with the rape, I just don't know if I can realistically be in a studio with someone other than Lucky. You saw what happened at the first test shoot. I know it will happen again. Please don't think I'm not grateful to you for this opportunity. I'm probably crazy to be walking away from this chance. But really, I was doing this more for you and Lucky than I was for myself."
Laura reached out and took Elizabeth's hand. "You really are a beautiful person. If this really isn't what you want, then I'm not going to force you. I'm disappointed, but I won't try to change your mind."
"Thank you. That means a lot to me."
"You're welcome. Now, is there any other big news you need to share with me?"
Liz laughed. "No, I think that's all for today."
"Well, good. I don't think I could take anything else! Would you like to stay for lunch? I was going to order something from the Grille."
"I'd love to, but I can't. I'm on at Kelly's in a little while."
"Alright. Thank you for telling me what's happening. If it was up to Lucky, I'd never know!"
"No problem. And thank you for understanding."
"You're welcome. Good-bye, Elizabeth."
"'Bye."
As Elizabeth left the office, tears welled up in Laura's eyes. She had had such great hopes for her son and that girl, and it hurt to see that their dreams wouldn't be coming true after all. Feeling a pang of remembrance of the time she had finally realized her life with Luke was over, she resolutely went back to work.
* * *
Carly was stepping off the elevator as Elizabeth exited Laura's office. The two women made eye contact, and Liz nodded, expecting no acknowledgement from Carly. Much to her surprise, Carly spoke.
"Elizabeth, could I speak to you in my office?"
Warily, Liz nodded. After the two women had entered Carly's office and the door was shut, she spoke up. "Look, Carly, I really don't want to fight with you. I just told Laura that I don't want to be the Face of Deception, so you should be ecstatic."
Carly's eyebrows went up. "As thrilling as that is, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. This is about Jason."
"What about him?"
"He came to see me the other day. He told me that I have to be civil to you, because he cares about you, and we're both a part of his life. Now, I would do just about anything for Jason, but this isn't easy for me. Still, when I talked to him, Jason was happy. He hasn't been happy for a long time. I never liked Robin, either, and you remind me of her. But so help me God, if you ever hurt him the way that she did..."
"Carly...he's really happy?"
Carly looked into the younger woman's eyes, and saw the same joy and love she had seen shining in Jason's. Mutely, she nodded.
"I know you don't like me. You're not my favorite person either. But please believe me when I tell you that the last thing I would ever want to do would be to hurt Jason. I don't know exactly what is going to happen with us, be he is very special to me."
"That's a start, at least. Look, Liz, I know he seems like this big tough guy, and in a lot of ways he is. But he can be hurt, and when he is, the pain stays with him a long time."
"I know. I've seen it, seen the hurt in his eyes, and I would do anything in my power to take that hurt away."
"So would I, Elizabeth. But I don't have that power with him. You seem to, which I don't understand. Guess it's just one more thing I have to learn to live with. And I will, for Jason's sake."
"Thank you, Carly. I know that you're very important to Jason, too. I promise, no matter how things are between you and I, I won't try to take him away from you. I know how that feels. That's what Lucky did--he tried to tell me that I couldn't be a friend to Jason. I couldn't accept that. I know you wouldn't either."
"Damn straight I wouldn't. Well, it seems that we have come to an understanding here. Will wonders never cease? Next thing you know Sonny is going to start sharing his feelings, instead of making me pry them out of him."
Liz laughed. "Right. I'll believe that when I see it."
Carly sighed. "Yeah, me too."
Elizabeth glanced at her watch. "As surprisingly pleasant as this has been, I have to get back to Kelly's. My shift starts in twenty minutes."
"Okay. And Elizabeth?"
"Yes?"
"Take care of him."
"I will," she answered softly.
* * *
Jason took a deep breath as he pulled up to Kelly's and removed his helmet. He had spent most of the day with Sonny, working out the details for rebuilding the warehouse. The police were still sniffing around, which was a hassle. Apparently the PCPD was having a hard time believing that Sonny and Jason hadn't set fire to their own warehouse.
In the few spare moments he had during the day, he had been thinking about Elizabeth. Truth be told, thoughts of her had started to interfere with what he was supposed to be concentrating on. Sonny would eventually get his attention, give him a knowing smile, and then direct him back towards work.
He knew, rationally, that Elizabeth hadn't been broken up with Lucky for very long. She was still emotionally vulnerable. He had absolutely no business telling her how he felt, pushing her to make a decision.
But the waiting was killing him.
The months he had been gone, he had cursed himself for not finding a way to say good-bye to her before leaving. Although he knew she understood, he still regretted it. Then, when he had finally returned, having her be the only person who knew he was in town, other than Sonny, had been such a rush. It was their secret, something that no one else was a part of. He had given her a number of opportunities to back out, and he had been overjoyed when she refused.
That's when the hope had really started to take hold of him. He had been attracted to Elizabeth for a long time; there was no question about that. Still, in the beginning, they had been just friends. She was still torn up over Lucky's death. Then when Lucky had come back and told her he didn't love her, Jason couldn't help but be a little happy about it. He knew it was selfish, and he hated to see Elizabeth hurting. So he had been supportive, even though his impulse had been to take her in his arms and tell her that she didn't need Lucky, because she had him. The first time he felt that urge, he knew the line had been crossed, and he was falling for Elizabeth Webber. He had known, too, that he wasn't what she wanted.
Since then, the feelings had only intensified. Every time he saw her, he wanted her more. It wasn't just physical, either. She had twined herself around his heart without even trying, made him feel things he had thought
himself incapable of ever feeling again.
And now...now he knew he had a chance. He had seen the look in her eyes more than once. He was so afraid to rush things, so terrified of pushing too hard and having her run back to Lucky. Sooner or later, though, the truth was going to slip out. He couldn't hold it in much longer.
Although it was past closing time, and the lights were off, Jason saw that the sign still read "Open." Putting his hand on the door, he realized it was still unlocked. Entering the restaurant, he saw Elizabeth, her back to him, her head resting on the lunch counter, clearly fast asleep. Jason quietly flipped the sign and bolted the door, then crept towards her, not wanting to wake her.
He paused for a moment just to watch her sleep, and realize yet again just how beautiful she was to him.
Her keys were on the counter next to her head, so he picked them up, then bent down and scooped her into his arms. She shifted and let out a little sigh, but didn't wake up.
Carefully, he climbed the steps with her, and struggled to unlock her door without dropping her. Accomplishing his goal, he entered her room, kicked the door shut, and laid her on her bed. Gently, he pulled off her shoes and arranged the comforter over her. Satisfied with his work, Jason placed a whisper of a kiss on her check, and headed for the door.
He had already opened it halfway when she spoke. "Jason?"
Thanking a higher power that she hadn't called out for Lucky, he closed the door and crossed the room back to her bed.
"Hey there, sleepyhead. You weren't supposed to wake up."
"I woke up as soon as you picked up my keys," she confessed. "But it was so nice that I didn't want it to end, so I pretended to be asleep."
He smiled. "Well, you had me fooled."
She blushed. "I know. Thank you for taking care of me."
Hesitantly, he reached out and brushed a strand of hair off her face, feeling her shiver beneath his touch. "Cold?"
"No...very warm, actually."
Acting on impulse, Jason sat down on the bed next to her. "So how was your day?"
"Eventful. I told Laura that Lucky and I had broken up. Then I resigned as the Face of Deception."
"Is that what you want?"
She nodded. "It was fun, and it was flattering, but it's not who I am."
"Then you did the right thing."
"I--I also saw Carly." She could feel him tense up as she spoke the words.
"What did Carly have to say?"
"She told me that you talked to her." Amused, Elizabeth watched as a faint blush crept up Jason's neck. "She warned me not to hurt you, and told me to take care of you."
Avoiding her gaze, Jason mumbled, "Carly talks to much. She didn't upset you, did she?"
"Not at all. It was actually kind of nice." She paused, considering her next words carefully. "Jason, look at me."
He met her gaze, and her heart melted even more than it already had. "I think we both know that there's something between us, Jason. I know that I just broke up with Lucky, and it's going to take some time to get past that. But I will get past it. I'm not going to run back to him. I'm sure of that. I get the feeling that you're afraid of pushing me too hard. Please don't be."
"I just don't want to ask you to do anything you don't want to," he whispered.
"Then I guess that's what I'm trying to tell you. I want you. I want you in my life, by my side, as more than just friends."
His heart soaring, Jason asked, "Are you sure?"
"Yes. And there's one more thing."
"Anything."
"I want it now. I don't want to wait until it's safe. I just want you."
Turning so that his body was facing hers, Jason took her hands in his and laced their fingers together. Slowly leaning forward, he kissed her. It was gentle and sweet, and as their lips fused, they both felt as though they had come home.
Eventually they broke away, slightly breathless.
"I guess that means that you feel the same way," teased Elizabeth.
Jason's eyes were serious. "I've wanted this for so long, Elizabeth. Until just a few days ago, I never believed that I would ever have it. It amazes me that someone as incredible as you could want me, could accept me for who I am and what I do. You were right when you said that I didn't want to push you. I still don't. We can take this at whatever pace you feel comfortable with. All that matters is that you're here, in my life, and we're together."
Smiling and crying, Elizabeth let go of his hands and put her arms around him. "Thank you. Will you stay with me here, tonight, just hold me until the morning?"
He nodded, and settled onto the bed next to her. Snuggling closer, her breathing quickly became deep and even.
When he was certain that she was asleep, Jason whispered the words he was still too afraid to tell her face-to-face. "I love you, Elizabeth."
A smile touching her lips, Elizabeth whispered back, "I love you, too, Jason."
Stunned that she was awake and even more amazed that she had responded in kind, Jason gently turned her to face him. "Do you mean it?"
"With all my heart."
He kissed her again, all the love and passion and hope that he had been suppressing for so long pouring out of him. He drew her tightly to him, and they fell asleep together, overjoyed with the realization that this was only the beginning.