Chapter Text
Jason
The sun had long since slipped below the horizon as Jason sighed and took the phone away from his ear. Frowning, he tapped the screen to delete the last voice message and put the device to sleep.
The last of seven messages.
All from Carly.
Secret’s out, he thought, staring at the lifeless phone as shadows blanketed the park grounds. During the course of those seven lengthy messages, Carly had relayed the events of the courtroom that day - from the revelation that Sasha and Michael had slept together to the bitter betrayal that he’d lied to her about the paternity and finally to the quiet awe as she relayed that Sasha had had the baby, with Michael at her side.
Mother and baby were…fine.
The way she’d said ‘fine’, a little clipped with just a touch of indignation creeping back into her tone, had clued him in like a blinking, neon sign that the miracle of birth had not been enough to let him off the hook for keeping her in the dark about her new grandchild. Jason had considered heading to the hospital to visit Sasha, but…
Carly would be there and she’d have no problem making the moment all about his lie…and how she felt about his lie.
That could wait.
Especially given that he was about to start lying to her about another one of her children.
Letting the light of the ornate, wrought iron street lamps guide his way, Jason headed off down the path in the direction of his motorcycle. He hadn’t realized how long he’d been there until Anna had left, using the light on her phone to guide the way. Now, shadows blanketed the park grounds, fading the edges of the benches and stone walkways as they wound their way through the perfectly manicured grass.
Setting aside thoughts of Sasha, Michael and the custody hearing with an ease that spoke of years of practice, Jason reviewed his conversation with Anna. What she’d told him about Dalton, what she’d asked him to do…and not do. Monitor, don’t engage. Jason shook his head. One of these days he was going to tell her that she didn’t need to constantly remind him not to kill people. Contrary to popular opinion, murder was not his default setting.
Of course, all bets were off if Dalton fucked with Joss.
Rounding a blind corner, he immediately slowed his steps as new sounds demanded his attention.
Distinctly human sounds.
Instinct kicked in as he analyzed his location. A gazebo dominated the clearing, taking up the manicured space to his left. The path forked just in front of him, one branch heading toward the lot where he’d parked his bike, the other swerving toward the gazebo in a graceful loop before joining back up with the main walkway. A small, two person table sat under a circular thatched roof, complete with a flower centerpiece and two place settings, although there was only one person there, facing away from him as they slowly returned items to a wicker picnic basket.
He’d recognize the frame, the determined set of the shoulders, anywhere.
“Elizabeth?” he called, veering off of the path without a second thought, instinct pulling him toward her as it had for the past twenty years.
Gasping, she whirled to face him, her hand fluttering near her heart, her face a mask of alarm for a split second. Then recognition dawned and her shoulders sagged in relief.
“Sorry,” he replied, unconsciously shoving his hands into his pockets. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t,” she said automatically, then shook her head. “I mean, you did, but it’s fine.” Her lips curved quickly into something that was almost a smile. “What are you doing here?”
The question was casual enough, and Jason began to cast about for a plausible excuse that kept Anna out of it, when he noticed the way the light hit her cheeks, illuminating the sheen of tears.
She’d been crying.
“Are you okay?” he asked, forgetting Anna, Carly and everything else as he moved closer. Shadowy shapes on the table began to take form - take-out boxes from Eli’s, a half empty bottle of wine, a small black velvet box…
Oh.
Damn.
“I’m fine,” Elizabeth said as she hastily swiped at her cheeks and returned to her packing. Fine. The same word Carly had used, the same clipped tone.
Jason believed Elizabeth about as much as he had his best friend.
“Really,” he said, somewhere between a question and a statement as he studied her profile. Her cheeks were dry now, but moonlight glistened off of the tears pooling against her lashes. He wouldn’t pry, but even he knew that she’d clearly been on a date - a date that involved a black velvet box - and yet here she was. Cleaning up. Alone.
“Yes, Jason, I’m -,” she stopped, yanking back her hand as if she’d been burned. She’d been haphazardly tossing utensils, plates and napkins back into the basket without really looking at them, simply picking things up at random, until her fingers brushed against the black box.
“Of course he did,” she murmured, picking up the box and turning around to study it in better light. After a long, silent moment, she sighed, leaning against the table as her arms fell to her sides. “Of course, he left it here.”
Jason raised a brow. “Lucky?”
“Running away and leaving me to clean up the mess. Just like always,” she replied, dragging her thumb over the surface of the box. The words weren’t bitter, just…resigned. Ruefully, she looked at him, eyes still shining with unshed tears. “Can you believe he proposed to me today? Back in town for a split second after fifteen years and he decides to propose.”
I can definitely believe it, Jason thought, crystal clear memories of every time he’d asked Elizabeth to marry him flashing through his mind. For all he and Lucky had disagreed with over the years, the one thing they had in common was the best thing.
“What did-did you…say yes?” he asked, hoping that the answer was a solid no with a familiar intensity that surprised him.
“No,” Elizabeth said without hesitation, flashing him a ghost of the smirk he knew so well before turning back to the table and tossing the box unceremoniously into the picnic basket. “I told him no several times, actually. It took some convincing.”
Relieved, but doing his best to ignore how much, Jason crossed his arms and leaned against the post of the gazebo. “You two have been spending a lot of time together.”
Elizabeth glanced at him, raising her brow. “You spend a lot of time with Carly, you gonna marry her?”
Jason laughed. “Point taken.”
“That’s not really fair,” Elizabeth admitted, recorking the wine bottle and returning it to the picnic basket. Facing him, she leaned her hip against the table. “Lucky is not Carly. And we have been spending a lot of time together. It’s been wonderful to have him home with Aiden, but…I can’t marry him.”
“Why not?”
“Because…,” she lifted a shoulder, her smile faltering. A tear slipped through her lashes, but she didn’t try to hide it this time, brushing it away before crossing her arms. “Because it’s a dream. A really nice, familiar dream that we had as kids and took us twenty years to realize could never be more.”
Jason frowned. “I don’t-I don’t understand.”
“Lucky wouldn’t be happy in Port Charles. Not for the long haul, anyway, and I finally got him to admit it,” she said, gazing at the clearing and smiling sadly at something only she saw there. “After I said no and he tried to convince me that it’s what he wanted, I got him to tell me the truth. He wouldn’t be fulfilled living here - no matter how much he wants it to be otherwise.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, hating that she was hurting no matter how grateful he was that she hadn’t said yes to Lucky. Again.
Some things never change.
“Thank you,” she said, smiling in a way that finally reached her eyes and eased a tightness in his chest. “I am, too. It’s been really nice having him around. And I know it’s going to be hard for Aiden.”
“Wait, he’s leaving again?” Jason asked, reaching out on instinct to lightly touch her arm. “Because you said no?”
“I–yes. It’s more complicated than that, but…in a way, yes,” she nodded, shivering a little in the cool night. Fleetingly, Jason wished he’d brought his jacket to give her before his thoughts turned to the two and a half years he’d been kept from Port Charles, from his family. Imagined choosing to leave them.
Suddenly, he was very glad that Lucky wasn’t there.
“He’s making a mistake,” Jason said, picking up the picnic basket before Elizabeth could.
“Actually, I think for the first time he’s not,” she said, letting him carry the picnic supplies as they fell into easy step next to each other and headed for the path. “He’s not happy in one place. And I think every problem we’ve ever had goes back to the fact that he was trying to be something he wasn’t. He’s not built to be the guy who stays. And that’s what I want. Someone who wants to stay in Port Charles, build a life in one place and grow old together.”
“Sounds perfect,” he said without thinking, feeling the quizzical look she shot him as the shadows enveloped them.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I think, uh…traveling is great, but I’ve had my fill of actually living in other places. Especially after the last couple of years. Port Charles is…where I want to be,” he admitted, giving voice to the thought that had been in his head from the minute he set foot back in his hometown. Even before the mission had blown up, just being back in the familiar streets had filled him with relief.
“Good,” Elizabeth said softly, her bare arm brushing his as they continued on in silence. After a moment, she asked. “What are you doing in the park anyway?”
“Avoiding Carly,” he said, offering her the easiest truth.
“Why?” she asked, suddenly animated, her eyes sparkling.
Jason hesitated, taking a moment to appreciate the way the stress had started to melt away from her features. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Come on, Jason,” she chided, slipping her arm through his as if it was the most natural thing in the world for them to take a late night stroll through the park. “I’ve had a shitty day, I deserve to know why you don’t want to talk to your bestest friend in the whole wide world.”
Shaking his head in bemusement at the sing-song tone in her voice, Jason tried to argue. “She’s not-.”
“She thinks she is,” Elizabeth insisted.
“Fine,” he chuckled, biting back a grin as they followed the path, comfortably side by side. Like so many times before, they’d found each other again. “You heard about Sasha’s baby?”
“I heard the rumors,” she said, amusement evident in her voice. “I was waiting for you to tell me about it.”
~*~
Check out chapter 2 for Elizabeth's POV!