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A/N: This wasn't quite where I expected this to go … but the muse has a mind of her own, I guess … what do you think? I love feedback - it inspires me (and my muse)!

BTW, I ran a little long on time because I was interrupted by a huge allergy attack. Sorry L

FNF #12: Confrontation and Aftermath (Hide & Go Seek, ch. 6)

Prompt: With a little help from our friends

Jason assessed the situation rapidly. Elizabeth was behind him, completely blocked from the view of the new arrival. Another car door slammed and Jason glanced at the hulking bodyguard who now had a gun trained on him. It was fortunate that Elizabeth was so petite - and that she seemed to have understood his silent mandate that she should stay hidden. He hoped she wasn't too scared, although he figured she must be. She had become very still, but he still kept a hand behind him, gently touching her arm, to reassure her - and himself - that he would protect her.

He considered his options carefully, deciding that with Elizabeth there, they were limited. The good news was, Sorel apparently thought a single bodyguard with only one gun was enough. Sorel wasn't even holding a piece himself, which meant Jason could hit the guard first and then drop Sorel before he could draw. Jason supposed there could be more bodyguards and more guns in the limo, but his gut said the two had come alone. Sorel was both arrogant and stupid enough to underestimate Jason's lethality, and if he had been alone, Jason would have just taken them both out and been done with it.

But with Elizabeth there - well, risking her safety was simply unacceptable. Or at least, he wouldn't put her at risk any more than he already had just by having her with him. Plus he didn't want her to witness firsthand the violence that surrounded him. Which meant he had to find a way to get her out of here without pulling his gun. This could get tricky.

At last, he spoke. "What do you want?"

"That's not very polite, Morgan. Where are your manners? Why don't you introduce me to your little friend?"

"What do you want?" Jason said again. He tried not to become distracted by Elizabeth, who had started to move slightly. He wondered what she was doing when he felt her small hand slip into his jacket pocket. Then she withdrew it and he heard the soft beep of his cell phone. He squeezed her arm, trying to stop her, but she ignored him and punched a few more buttons, so he quickly started talking to cover the sound. "I don't want any trouble here. Just tell me what you want and let's see what we can work out." Thank god Sorel was still standing more than 10 feet away, so he hadn't noticed anything amiss, not even when Jason heard Sonny's voice come on the line, asking what was up. Jason spoke a little louder, hoping Sonny would hear him and understand what was happening - and that Sorel wouldn't. "Listen, Sorel, you know we can't discuss business in front of an outsider, so I'm wondering what could be so important that you followed me all the way to Vista Pointe."

As soon as Jason began speaking, Sonny had gone silent on the phone. Watching Sorel's face darken with anger at having his stupidity pointed out to him, Jason really hoped Sonny had heard him and understood the situation. Sorel spoke menacingly. "I don't think you understand what's happening here, Morgan. I'm the one who decides what we do or don't talk about. And outsiders can be dealt with." Jason felt Elizabeth's hand on him again, this time at the small of his back. She was sliding his gun out of the waistband of his jeans, and then he felt its familiar weight in the hand she had pulled off her arm. The gun was still warm from being pressed to his body. It was fortunate Sorel hadn't even thought to demand that Jason show his hands.

Jason was careful not to let his expression betray anything as he considered her actions. On the one hand, it was comforting to know that help was probably on the way, and that his gun was ready to go, his finger already resting lightly on the trigger. On the other hand, this could escalate the situation significantly; things would probably spiral out of control very quickly if Sorel found out before Jason was ready. Elizabeth could get hurt.

That's not happening, no matter what.

So Jason covered Elizabeth's movements by waving his free hand and saying to Sorel, "You might want to think about that a little more, before you do something that will draw a lot of unnecessary attention to our business. You know the cops basically leave us alone unless civilians get hurt."

Sorel's frown darkened, and Jason realized that even if Sonny was coming, or sending help, he wasn't going to be able to keep Sorel under control long enough. The man was simply too unstable to keep talking for the twenty minutes, minimum, that it would take help to arrive. Sorel's voice was rising. "I don't listen to you, Morgan. You listen to me. I know my business and I don't need a punk like you telling me about anything. Now, I'm gonna give you a message for your boss, and then I'm gonna leave. And just to make sure things go smoothly during this time of transition, I'll be taking your little friend with me when I go. Now, send her over here."

"No." Jason's response was terse and definite. He could feel Elizabeth stiffen behind him, but with the gun in his hand, he had no way to reassure her without alerting Sorel.

"What do you mean, no? That wasn't a request, Morgan. It was a statement of fact. She's coming with us, the easy way or the hard way. It's up to you."

"No, she's not," Jason said again. With a smooth, lightning-fast movement, Jason's arm came up and he fired two shots in rapid succession. Both the bodyguard and Sorel dropped with successive thuds. Jason walked over and kicked the gun away from the bodyguard, glancing at the neat little holes in each man's forehead, at the shocked expression frozen on Sorel's heavy face. He thought idly that it was a good thing the guys were on the way. The sooner they got this mess cleaned up, the better.

He stood with his head bowed for a moment, steeling himself to face Elizabeth, knowing he had blown any chance he might have had with her now that she had seen the violence of his life up close. The thought made him want to kill Sorel all over again, this time slowly and painfully. Instead, very carefully, he wrapped the bottom of his shirt around the gun, wiping the barrel with it repeatedly for several moments, until he began to feel its heat slowly dissipate. He knew he was just delaying the inevitable moment when he would have to turn around and look at her while she destroyed his dreams, but he needed the time to get his roiling emotions under control. He wanted to punch something, to howl with frustration at the night sky -- or maybe just sit down and cry. But he did none of those; instead, without looking up or letting his expression change, he just kept rubbing the barrel of the gun.

Finally accepting that he owed her the chance to yell at him, he replaced the now-cool gun in his waistband at the small of his back, took a deep breath, and slowly turned to look at her. She was frozen in place and pale. He started to apologize, "Elizabeth, I'm sorry. God, I wish you hadn't seen that. I shouldn't have ever -"

But she cut him off. "Jason, stop." And then she launched herself into his arms, which came up reflexively to catch her and hold her tightly to him. "Don't ever apologize for saving my life." He breathed in the fresh scent of the wind in her hair, letting it mask the odors of gunpowder and death that he swore were always with him. He felt her body start to shake in reaction to the night's events. She said, "Jason? I feel kind of funny …" Her voice trailed off as her entire body went slack in his arms.

For a moment, he panicked, thinking she had been injured, after all, until he remembered that his two kill shots were the only ones fired. She just fainted. She's in shock. He quickly carried her to a nearby bench and laid her down gently. He stripped his jacket off and covered her with it. He had no idea how long he knelt next to her, stroking her hair with one hand, resting the other on her breastbone where he could feel the slow, steady beat of her heart, and watching the rhythmic rise and fall of her breath to reassure himself that she would really be okay. He just waited for her to wake up. He didn't hear Sonny yelling through the cell phone, which Elizabeth had dropped at some point. He didn't notice the breeze or the sights and sounds of nature around him. His entire focus remained on Elizabeth.

Until another car pulled up.

Hearing that, Jason jumped to his feet, once again pulling his gun to protect her from this new threat.