A/N - This is my first attempt at a timed writing. And the only reason I came close to finishing within the time limits is because I've been without
electricity for a couple days and could actually complete it in my head, and then this new computer seems to be able to edit all by itself - or I've
managed to vastly improve my keyboarding skills! (So maybe it really doesn't qualify, in which case I apologize.)
Prompt: Pick your poison.
Diane Miller made no attempt to hide her distain for her breakfast companion, still asking herself why she'd agreed to meet him. Perhaps it was the mere fact that he had requested this meeting at all that had piqued her, and when she'd begun to decline, he made it clear that it was in her client's best interest that this matter be handled with discretion, not in the courtroom.
She couldn't quite hide her surprise when the packet of light blue legal documents was placed on the table before her without warning, but she quickly resumed her mask of complete professionalism. The man across from her watched with open interest as she began to read the contents, her usual indecipherable face in place right up until she got to the part . . .
"You have got to be kidding me," she dropped the papers onto the top of the table and stared at the man on the other side of the table, temporarily rendered speechless by the unprecedented daring of the content.
Ric Lansing chuckled, a hollow bitter sound in the nearly empty restaurant. "I wish I were - you have no idea how much I wish this were some kind of joke." He met her eyes squarely and finished, "But it isn't."
Diane shook her head in disbelief and reached for her cup of coffee, wishing it were something stronger. She was definitely going to need something a lot stronger when her employer heard about this, and he would certainly be hearing about it. There was no way to avoid it. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at her colleague across the tasteful expanse of linen and fine china.
"Why on God's green earth would that poor woman choose you of all people to do this? Why would she choose to do this at all?"
Ric didn't take offense to her questions; they were after all the same questions he'd asked his own client; it wasn't as if his behavior had warranted any kind of a relationship with her at all. He took a brief moment to remember how her face had looked yesterday when she had arrived at his house under the cover of darkness and escorted by one of Port Charles finest. He'd seen her in many frames of mind during the past few years, but nothing remotely close to the eerily calm resignation he'd found in her delicate features when she'd voiced her wishes to him.
"I'd like to say it's because I've earned her respect and trust, but it isn't," he admitted. "Unfortunately, my other client came into possession of the very information that she's tried so hard to conceal. Lulu Spencer is desperate to hang onto Johnny; so desperate in fact, she was willing to spill the whole sordid story in an effort to get in the good graces of Anthony and Claudia, hoping they'd be grateful enough to persuade Johnny to stay with her; that they would realize she could be an asset to them with her vast knowledge of the secrets of Port Charles citizens."
"That whack job should be executed for this," Diane declared with contempt, her voice held not a trace of sympathy for the mess Lulu Spencer had made of her own life and she made none of the allowances so many others always made for the self-absorbed girl's callous disregard for the safety and security of the lives of others. "I'd help with the prosecution on that one."
"Well, she'll be at Shadybrook for a few months, and then her mental health status will be re-evaluated to see if she should stand trial for Logan's murder," Ric pointed out. "Although personally I don't think she'll ever see the inside of a courtroom again. I believe Nikolas and the Quartermaines will try to work out something for her. No doubt, she'll never be punished for it."
"And sometimes the guilty goes free," Diane admitted, oddly regretfully.
"And you should know," Ric reminded her with a rueful smirk, referencing their own legal battle a year ago that pitted them on opposite sides of a murder case.
"So should you," the woman shot back. "I've heard all the rumors regarding some of your misdeeds, both to my clients and your own family members - both by birth and marriage. And yet, you made it all the way into the District Attorney's office."
"True," Ric nodded, and then in a rare display of humility, he leaned forward looking pained. "I made choices I'm not proud of and that I can't even begin to explain or excuse, and in all probability I'll do things that same way again. But this, this I owe to her for all the times she stood by me when I didn't deserve it. She is still my biggest regret and my greatest love."
The two attorneys were quiet for a moment as they both silently searched the recesses of their legal minds for any other possibility to this situation they were suddenly faced with.
"Preemptive strike," Diane sighed rubbing a hand against her forehead in a gesture that she had no doubt unconsciously acquired from her most notorious client, realizing that this unconventional solution might well be the only safe solution; her heart felt heavy with the implication of what this would mean to both her client and the petitioner of this particular request. The small part of her that was a hopeless romantic had always hoped the two of them would find a way to work things out. Obviously, that was no longer a possibility. "Remove the reason . . ."
"We don't have a lot of time, Diane," Ric went on to say. "I want to be able to give her this peace of mind she's seeking. Johnny will keep Anthony occupied for the next 48 hours with his newfound interest in learning as much as he can about the family business, but Anthony isn't going to sit on this information for long. It's too much of a temptation to see if it's enough to let him win this war that's been brewing for months. He came here to take over the Port Charles territory, Jason is his biggest - no doubt his only - roadblock to making that a reality. Jason needs to sign those papers, we'll get them filed, handle the inevitable fallout in a quick and efficient manner, and then this situation will finally be public knowledge and also put to rest."
"Why would Johnny help Jason? If this information could potentially be used against Jason to acquire his holdings, why wouldn't Johnny want that?"
Ric didn't even blink as he answered, "Apparently, your client went against Sonny's orders to kill Johnny months ago. Johnny feels indebted to him. Truth is Johnny has virtually no interest in expanding his father's holdings. He has an unusual perspective about fathers and sons; realizes that the child doesn't get to choose the parent and the parent makes choices without realizing the fallout for the child."
Diane gritted her teeth and leaned further towards Ric, speaking in a harsh whisper. "You are asking my client to make a public record of the fact that he is Jake Spencer's biological father and that he doesn't even care about that fact."
"No," Ric countered. "I'm not asking that at all. Elizabeth is. And I really don't know how else to protect them at this point. She's right about it, all of it. He could have claimed Jake at any point in the last year and taken the necessary steps to protect her and both of her children, but he chose not to for whatever reason. Now he doesn't have a choice. The information is out there - one enemy already has it. Who knows how many more enemies either have it now or soon will have? Your client's only choice now is to make it perfectly clear to everyone that he isn't interested in being that boy's father. That Elizabeth and her children are simply of no importance to him."
"This is so not going to sit well . . ."
≈ * ≈ * ≈ * ≈
Diane was correct - her client was not happy.
Very loudly, he made it perfectly clear he was not happy; making her extremely thankful that she had suggested months ago he soundproof the office in the back of the coffee house and that he had agreed to do so.
If the visual daggers he threw in Diane's direction weren't cutting enough, there were simply no words for the utter disgust and hatred he glared in Ric Lansing's direction.
"What kind of fucking bullshit is this?" he demanded of the man. "Some perverse payback because I did - what to you this time? Saw you for the scum you really are? Took your rightful place in Sonny's life? In case you've missed it, Sonny and I aren't business associates anymore."
"This has nothing to do with Sonny," Ric replied calmly. "This only has to do with Elizabeth."
"Still pissed that she finally figured out what a psychotic ass you really are and left you?"
"Look, Jason, I don't care if you hate me. And I don't care if you feel some misguided need to blame me for this. But Elizabeth came to me for help and I'm going to help her. She always loved you - even when I was married to her. Did you know that? It took me a long time to realize it, even longer to accept it. You didn't know what you had in her all those years ago, and you apparently never will. You always came first with her, even when she didn't want you to. She tried with me, tried with Lucky, but we were never who she really wanted. If I could change things, I would. I would certainly change that Jake - that sweet, innocent little boy - is really your child, and I know Lucky would, too. Jake doesn't deserve what goes along with being tied to you."
Jason felt the stinging truth of Ric's words, but never changed expression as he turned towards Diane. "I want to see her."
"That may not be--"
"I want to see her."
Diane and Ric exchanged a glance and Diane shrugged. Ric pulled out his cell phone and made the call.
"Yeah, Lucky, he wants to see her. I know, just tell her. You will? At his office. Alright." Ric snapped the phone shut. "She'll be here in ten minutes."
"Then get out," Jason pointed towards the door.
Ric shook his head, but stepped towards the exit.
Heels clicking on the polished floor, Diane Miller made her escape, too.
≈ * ≈ * ≈ * ≈
"Jake is my son," Jason reminded her.
"I'm not the one who needs to be reminded of that," she replied quietly.
"I don't need to be reminded of it either, Elizabeth," the words were brusque; "I know it every single day."
Her sapphire eyes held his cerulean ones without blinking. There was a hurting in his orbs that she didn't remember seeing before. How long had it been since she'd actually seen him other than just a casual encounter somewhere in a public place, the hospital, Kelly's, the park?
"Maybe you do know it every day, Jason. But Jake doesn't. He will never have that chance. And in the beginning that may have been my choice, my mistake that separated you from him. But now it's your choice. Your mistake." She broke eye contact and squared her shoulders.
"Maybe it wasn't really a mistake for me. Maybe it was just the way things were supposed to be. If I had . . ." she swallowed hard before continuing. "If I had accepted that first marriage proposal, back before we even took the paternity test . . . if I had married you then . . . would you still have turned your back on us when your business became unsettled? Would you ask us to leave or throw us out? Decide the possibility of danger wasn't worth staying with us? If Jake had never been conceived - if all those things hadn't happened they way they did and you were raising Sam and Sonny's daughter as your own, would you push her away under these same circumstances? Or was she worth taking the risks just to be with her?"
Elizabeth didn't clarify whether she was asking about Sam or her daughter being worth the risks and Jason didn't ask.
"I can't answer a hypothetical--" he began.
"You can't answer a real question either!" she snapped. "You don't get to stand there and tell me it's not worth the risk to have people around you who care about you. You still see Carly almost every single day. You are out and about town with Claudia Zacchara, with that Slavic Slut that Spinelli is always babbling about, you ran around looking for Lulu to help her brother get her out of the country. You talk to Robin about her baby in public. The Police Commissioner's daughter lives in your home half the time! You are a hands-on, real father figure to Spinelli day in and day out! How did he rate higher on your list of priorities than Jake?"
"He's not higher on any list, Elizabeth. Where is all this coming from? Why now?"
She took a deep breath. "Why not now? When should I ask the tough questions? When he's fifteen - like I was when my parents just weren't around anymore and I realized I didn't have the kind of family that all the other kids did? Should I wait for something violent to happen - like my rape happened to me? How about when the person he thinks he'll be with forever is suddenly gone? Or the person who teaches him that it's alright to want more, that it's okay to live for himself suddenly walks away? And then comes back to walk away again . . ." the words trailed off and she turned to leave. "I'm not doing this with you because it won't change anything."
"Elizabeth, wait."
"No, Jason. I'm not waiting anymore and neither is Jake." Before he could say anything else she spun around and faced him again, the worry on her face apparent. "Lulu Spencer told Anthony Zacchara about Jake. I'm not going to wait around for that crazy man to force my son to stand up on a ledge while he plays some game, deciding whether Jake gets to live or die. You certainly aren't going to hop up there beside him in some grand gesture to save him because you won't be around him! I'm not ever going to be someone's victim again and my children won't either. Sign the damn papers. Let's just be done with this charade."
"How does signing away my parental rights help? I'm not his father of record anyways."
She lifted her hands to run through her hair and he followed the movement, remembering how the silky tresses felt as they slid between his fingers. In a flood of emotion that caught him unprepared, he remembered every time they'd ever been together. Every time she'd told him she loved him. Every time she'd asked for something from him other than just minimal acknowledgment.
And every time he'd refused her, believing it was the right thing to do.
Every time she said she understood and accepted it.
How had they ever gotten from that place to this one?
"Alexis has been making a routine inspection of the former DA's files to insure everything has been properly handled. She will come across the testimony from the Alcazar trial - the testimony where I committed perjury. In light of the fact she's heard some gossip around town since Lulu made her very loud and public announcement, and since Lucky and Sam plan to marry she will naturally be looking out for their interests. A paternity test was done yesterday that proves Jake is not Lucky's biological child. The original test no longer exists - I assume Spinelli handled the disposal of that for you a very long time ago."
When she saw that Jason was about to dispute her words, she held up her hand to silence him. "Just spare me. I don't really want to know why you had him obliterating that information, and at any rate, it turned out to be beneficial. At least I'm not facing any jail time now. Everyone knows what they have to do; Lucky will be outraged about the deception, Ric will be indignant and ask Alexis to file the perjury charges. She will say she can't because there's no existent proof that I knew the truth about the paternity at the time of testimony. Alexis will make a statement to the effect that as contemptible as it all is, legally there is no recourse. People will believe her both as an officer of the court and because she's the future mother-in-law of the deceived party."
Her words of explanation came easily; she'd put too much thought into this solution to not be fully prepared to see it through to its bitter end.
"Carly will throw a temper tantrum in the lobby of the Metro Court tomorrow when approached by one of the local television news crews about how you were deceived, and that you wouldn't have nurtured a relationship with a child conceived from a drunken one-night stand even if you had known about him."
"Elizabeth, that isn't-"
She continued as though he hadn't spoken. "After all, you turned your back a decade ago on your biological family, choosing to make your family with her and Sonny and Michael. She will allude to the history of mental illness in Lulu's family to prove that she's not simply taking sides for the benefit of anyone who will say she ranting just because she doesn't like me. Carly's spent so many years spouting off about being your best friend and confidant; no one will doubt her insight, especially about paternity considering your history with her on that subject. A brief story will end up on the local news in the next couple of days and the local newspapers will pick up on it also. No one expects a statement from you because you never say anything; your attorney takes care of it. And your attorney will simply say that it was an unfortunate indiscretion of which you had no prior knowledge of the outcome and that has been handled. The implication will be that I readily agreed to a generous settlement on Jake's behalf, signed away all future financial interests in both your businesses and the Quartermaines, and sought greener pastures."
Jason listened as Elizabeth recited a list of the people and their actions that would begin a chain of events that would inevitably spread the sordid gossip until the faceless, nameless people lurking just on the dark fringes of their lives would hear the news that while Jason Morgan had fathered a child, he had no emotional attachment to him or his mother. The mother who was willing to take a hefty chunk of cash and leave town . . . that was really the only part that he could hear pounding over and over again in his head.
He'd heard her list the names, people who were all ready to do or say whatever was necessary to help her secure the elusive safety she so desperately sought for Jake. She had turned to Lucky and Sam, Carly, Ric. People she didn't necessary like, but seemed to have faith that they would help her.
"I can't believe you would count on people like Ric and Sam."
"Who should I count on, Jason? You?"
"It's a complicated situation. You know that. I've never lied to you."
"No," she agreed with the barest hint of sadness. "You never did. I just allowed myself once again to think someone would choose me. My parents never did, Lucky didn't, Ric didn't, Zander didn't, and neither did you. No one disagrees that I'm better off away from Port Charles."
"You - you're really leaving town?"
She laughed, the soft sound melodic and strangely carefree in the other wise silent space, but the laughter didn't quite reach her eyes. "Seriously, Jason, do you think I'd risk staying? Risk Jake's safety? Or Cam's peace of mind? Or my own? I told you dozens of times I couldn't do this alone. I told you we were safer together than apart. I always knew the truth would come out. I remember when I thought no one knew but you and me, then discovering there were others who knew; too many for it to remain a secret, too many for Jake to ever really stay safe."
Tears welled in her eyes and she blinked them away furiously. "I just can't do it alone anymore. I've proven myself to be a lousy wife, four times over in fact. And with two children from one night stands with two different men . . . well, given all that, there isn't a lot of reason to stay in this town. By this time tomorrow, I'll have made the list of top ten whores in Port Charles."
He flinched at the self-deprecating words that rolled off her tongue so easily.
"Elizabeth, stop it. You're not a whore and you aren't a gold-digger either." His voice was husky, the tension in his shoulders as visible as that ever-present ticking of his jaw muscle. He needed to hear her say she understood. That she understood his reasoning and that she knew he truly loved her. "You know I love you, right?"
"I don't feel loved," she answered softly. "I hear the pretty words, Jason, but I don't feel them."
She turned her back and reached out to grasp the doorknob. "Just sign the papers."
"Elizabeth, there has to be another way."
"There isn't, and I'm through wishing for it anyways. So pick your poison - do this my way or let Anthony Zacchara do it his way. Either way, you're losing Jake, and you've already lost me. Goodbye, Jason."
There was nothing, audible or symbolic, to punctuate this monumental point in time save for the quiet click of the door as she pulled it closed behind her.
And it didn't matter that he remained motionless, rooted to the same spot, staring at the plane of solid steel for a very long time willing it to happen, the door didn't reopen.
Prompt: Pick your poison.
Diane Miller made no attempt to hide her distain for her breakfast companion, still asking herself why she'd agreed to meet him. Perhaps it was the mere fact that he had requested this meeting at all that had piqued her, and when she'd begun to decline, he made it clear that it was in her client's best interest that this matter be handled with discretion, not in the courtroom.
She couldn't quite hide her surprise when the packet of light blue legal documents was placed on the table before her without warning, but she quickly resumed her mask of complete professionalism. The man across from her watched with open interest as she began to read the contents, her usual indecipherable face in place right up until she got to the part . . .
"You have got to be kidding me," she dropped the papers onto the top of the table and stared at the man on the other side of the table, temporarily rendered speechless by the unprecedented daring of the content.
Ric Lansing chuckled, a hollow bitter sound in the nearly empty restaurant. "I wish I were - you have no idea how much I wish this were some kind of joke." He met her eyes squarely and finished, "But it isn't."
Diane shook her head in disbelief and reached for her cup of coffee, wishing it were something stronger. She was definitely going to need something a lot stronger when her employer heard about this, and he would certainly be hearing about it. There was no way to avoid it. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at her colleague across the tasteful expanse of linen and fine china.
"Why on God's green earth would that poor woman choose you of all people to do this? Why would she choose to do this at all?"
Ric didn't take offense to her questions; they were after all the same questions he'd asked his own client; it wasn't as if his behavior had warranted any kind of a relationship with her at all. He took a brief moment to remember how her face had looked yesterday when she had arrived at his house under the cover of darkness and escorted by one of Port Charles finest. He'd seen her in many frames of mind during the past few years, but nothing remotely close to the eerily calm resignation he'd found in her delicate features when she'd voiced her wishes to him.
"I'd like to say it's because I've earned her respect and trust, but it isn't," he admitted. "Unfortunately, my other client came into possession of the very information that she's tried so hard to conceal. Lulu Spencer is desperate to hang onto Johnny; so desperate in fact, she was willing to spill the whole sordid story in an effort to get in the good graces of Anthony and Claudia, hoping they'd be grateful enough to persuade Johnny to stay with her; that they would realize she could be an asset to them with her vast knowledge of the secrets of Port Charles citizens."
"That whack job should be executed for this," Diane declared with contempt, her voice held not a trace of sympathy for the mess Lulu Spencer had made of her own life and she made none of the allowances so many others always made for the self-absorbed girl's callous disregard for the safety and security of the lives of others. "I'd help with the prosecution on that one."
"Well, she'll be at Shadybrook for a few months, and then her mental health status will be re-evaluated to see if she should stand trial for Logan's murder," Ric pointed out. "Although personally I don't think she'll ever see the inside of a courtroom again. I believe Nikolas and the Quartermaines will try to work out something for her. No doubt, she'll never be punished for it."
"And sometimes the guilty goes free," Diane admitted, oddly regretfully.
"And you should know," Ric reminded her with a rueful smirk, referencing their own legal battle a year ago that pitted them on opposite sides of a murder case.
"So should you," the woman shot back. "I've heard all the rumors regarding some of your misdeeds, both to my clients and your own family members - both by birth and marriage. And yet, you made it all the way into the District Attorney's office."
"True," Ric nodded, and then in a rare display of humility, he leaned forward looking pained. "I made choices I'm not proud of and that I can't even begin to explain or excuse, and in all probability I'll do things that same way again. But this, this I owe to her for all the times she stood by me when I didn't deserve it. She is still my biggest regret and my greatest love."
The two attorneys were quiet for a moment as they both silently searched the recesses of their legal minds for any other possibility to this situation they were suddenly faced with.
"Preemptive strike," Diane sighed rubbing a hand against her forehead in a gesture that she had no doubt unconsciously acquired from her most notorious client, realizing that this unconventional solution might well be the only safe solution; her heart felt heavy with the implication of what this would mean to both her client and the petitioner of this particular request. The small part of her that was a hopeless romantic had always hoped the two of them would find a way to work things out. Obviously, that was no longer a possibility. "Remove the reason . . ."
"We don't have a lot of time, Diane," Ric went on to say. "I want to be able to give her this peace of mind she's seeking. Johnny will keep Anthony occupied for the next 48 hours with his newfound interest in learning as much as he can about the family business, but Anthony isn't going to sit on this information for long. It's too much of a temptation to see if it's enough to let him win this war that's been brewing for months. He came here to take over the Port Charles territory, Jason is his biggest - no doubt his only - roadblock to making that a reality. Jason needs to sign those papers, we'll get them filed, handle the inevitable fallout in a quick and efficient manner, and then this situation will finally be public knowledge and also put to rest."
"Why would Johnny help Jason? If this information could potentially be used against Jason to acquire his holdings, why wouldn't Johnny want that?"
Ric didn't even blink as he answered, "Apparently, your client went against Sonny's orders to kill Johnny months ago. Johnny feels indebted to him. Truth is Johnny has virtually no interest in expanding his father's holdings. He has an unusual perspective about fathers and sons; realizes that the child doesn't get to choose the parent and the parent makes choices without realizing the fallout for the child."
Diane gritted her teeth and leaned further towards Ric, speaking in a harsh whisper. "You are asking my client to make a public record of the fact that he is Jake Spencer's biological father and that he doesn't even care about that fact."
"No," Ric countered. "I'm not asking that at all. Elizabeth is. And I really don't know how else to protect them at this point. She's right about it, all of it. He could have claimed Jake at any point in the last year and taken the necessary steps to protect her and both of her children, but he chose not to for whatever reason. Now he doesn't have a choice. The information is out there - one enemy already has it. Who knows how many more enemies either have it now or soon will have? Your client's only choice now is to make it perfectly clear to everyone that he isn't interested in being that boy's father. That Elizabeth and her children are simply of no importance to him."
"This is so not going to sit well . . ."
≈ * ≈ * ≈ * ≈
Diane was correct - her client was not happy.
Very loudly, he made it perfectly clear he was not happy; making her extremely thankful that she had suggested months ago he soundproof the office in the back of the coffee house and that he had agreed to do so.
If the visual daggers he threw in Diane's direction weren't cutting enough, there were simply no words for the utter disgust and hatred he glared in Ric Lansing's direction.
"What kind of fucking bullshit is this?" he demanded of the man. "Some perverse payback because I did - what to you this time? Saw you for the scum you really are? Took your rightful place in Sonny's life? In case you've missed it, Sonny and I aren't business associates anymore."
"This has nothing to do with Sonny," Ric replied calmly. "This only has to do with Elizabeth."
"Still pissed that she finally figured out what a psychotic ass you really are and left you?"
"Look, Jason, I don't care if you hate me. And I don't care if you feel some misguided need to blame me for this. But Elizabeth came to me for help and I'm going to help her. She always loved you - even when I was married to her. Did you know that? It took me a long time to realize it, even longer to accept it. You didn't know what you had in her all those years ago, and you apparently never will. You always came first with her, even when she didn't want you to. She tried with me, tried with Lucky, but we were never who she really wanted. If I could change things, I would. I would certainly change that Jake - that sweet, innocent little boy - is really your child, and I know Lucky would, too. Jake doesn't deserve what goes along with being tied to you."
Jason felt the stinging truth of Ric's words, but never changed expression as he turned towards Diane. "I want to see her."
"That may not be--"
"I want to see her."
Diane and Ric exchanged a glance and Diane shrugged. Ric pulled out his cell phone and made the call.
"Yeah, Lucky, he wants to see her. I know, just tell her. You will? At his office. Alright." Ric snapped the phone shut. "She'll be here in ten minutes."
"Then get out," Jason pointed towards the door.
Ric shook his head, but stepped towards the exit.
Heels clicking on the polished floor, Diane Miller made her escape, too.
≈ * ≈ * ≈ * ≈
"Jake is my son," Jason reminded her.
"I'm not the one who needs to be reminded of that," she replied quietly.
"I don't need to be reminded of it either, Elizabeth," the words were brusque; "I know it every single day."
Her sapphire eyes held his cerulean ones without blinking. There was a hurting in his orbs that she didn't remember seeing before. How long had it been since she'd actually seen him other than just a casual encounter somewhere in a public place, the hospital, Kelly's, the park?
"Maybe you do know it every day, Jason. But Jake doesn't. He will never have that chance. And in the beginning that may have been my choice, my mistake that separated you from him. But now it's your choice. Your mistake." She broke eye contact and squared her shoulders.
"Maybe it wasn't really a mistake for me. Maybe it was just the way things were supposed to be. If I had . . ." she swallowed hard before continuing. "If I had accepted that first marriage proposal, back before we even took the paternity test . . . if I had married you then . . . would you still have turned your back on us when your business became unsettled? Would you ask us to leave or throw us out? Decide the possibility of danger wasn't worth staying with us? If Jake had never been conceived - if all those things hadn't happened they way they did and you were raising Sam and Sonny's daughter as your own, would you push her away under these same circumstances? Or was she worth taking the risks just to be with her?"
Elizabeth didn't clarify whether she was asking about Sam or her daughter being worth the risks and Jason didn't ask.
"I can't answer a hypothetical--" he began.
"You can't answer a real question either!" she snapped. "You don't get to stand there and tell me it's not worth the risk to have people around you who care about you. You still see Carly almost every single day. You are out and about town with Claudia Zacchara, with that Slavic Slut that Spinelli is always babbling about, you ran around looking for Lulu to help her brother get her out of the country. You talk to Robin about her baby in public. The Police Commissioner's daughter lives in your home half the time! You are a hands-on, real father figure to Spinelli day in and day out! How did he rate higher on your list of priorities than Jake?"
"He's not higher on any list, Elizabeth. Where is all this coming from? Why now?"
She took a deep breath. "Why not now? When should I ask the tough questions? When he's fifteen - like I was when my parents just weren't around anymore and I realized I didn't have the kind of family that all the other kids did? Should I wait for something violent to happen - like my rape happened to me? How about when the person he thinks he'll be with forever is suddenly gone? Or the person who teaches him that it's alright to want more, that it's okay to live for himself suddenly walks away? And then comes back to walk away again . . ." the words trailed off and she turned to leave. "I'm not doing this with you because it won't change anything."
"Elizabeth, wait."
"No, Jason. I'm not waiting anymore and neither is Jake." Before he could say anything else she spun around and faced him again, the worry on her face apparent. "Lulu Spencer told Anthony Zacchara about Jake. I'm not going to wait around for that crazy man to force my son to stand up on a ledge while he plays some game, deciding whether Jake gets to live or die. You certainly aren't going to hop up there beside him in some grand gesture to save him because you won't be around him! I'm not ever going to be someone's victim again and my children won't either. Sign the damn papers. Let's just be done with this charade."
"How does signing away my parental rights help? I'm not his father of record anyways."
She lifted her hands to run through her hair and he followed the movement, remembering how the silky tresses felt as they slid between his fingers. In a flood of emotion that caught him unprepared, he remembered every time they'd ever been together. Every time she'd told him she loved him. Every time she'd asked for something from him other than just minimal acknowledgment.
And every time he'd refused her, believing it was the right thing to do.
Every time she said she understood and accepted it.
How had they ever gotten from that place to this one?
"Alexis has been making a routine inspection of the former DA's files to insure everything has been properly handled. She will come across the testimony from the Alcazar trial - the testimony where I committed perjury. In light of the fact she's heard some gossip around town since Lulu made her very loud and public announcement, and since Lucky and Sam plan to marry she will naturally be looking out for their interests. A paternity test was done yesterday that proves Jake is not Lucky's biological child. The original test no longer exists - I assume Spinelli handled the disposal of that for you a very long time ago."
When she saw that Jason was about to dispute her words, she held up her hand to silence him. "Just spare me. I don't really want to know why you had him obliterating that information, and at any rate, it turned out to be beneficial. At least I'm not facing any jail time now. Everyone knows what they have to do; Lucky will be outraged about the deception, Ric will be indignant and ask Alexis to file the perjury charges. She will say she can't because there's no existent proof that I knew the truth about the paternity at the time of testimony. Alexis will make a statement to the effect that as contemptible as it all is, legally there is no recourse. People will believe her both as an officer of the court and because she's the future mother-in-law of the deceived party."
Her words of explanation came easily; she'd put too much thought into this solution to not be fully prepared to see it through to its bitter end.
"Carly will throw a temper tantrum in the lobby of the Metro Court tomorrow when approached by one of the local television news crews about how you were deceived, and that you wouldn't have nurtured a relationship with a child conceived from a drunken one-night stand even if you had known about him."
"Elizabeth, that isn't-"
She continued as though he hadn't spoken. "After all, you turned your back a decade ago on your biological family, choosing to make your family with her and Sonny and Michael. She will allude to the history of mental illness in Lulu's family to prove that she's not simply taking sides for the benefit of anyone who will say she ranting just because she doesn't like me. Carly's spent so many years spouting off about being your best friend and confidant; no one will doubt her insight, especially about paternity considering your history with her on that subject. A brief story will end up on the local news in the next couple of days and the local newspapers will pick up on it also. No one expects a statement from you because you never say anything; your attorney takes care of it. And your attorney will simply say that it was an unfortunate indiscretion of which you had no prior knowledge of the outcome and that has been handled. The implication will be that I readily agreed to a generous settlement on Jake's behalf, signed away all future financial interests in both your businesses and the Quartermaines, and sought greener pastures."
Jason listened as Elizabeth recited a list of the people and their actions that would begin a chain of events that would inevitably spread the sordid gossip until the faceless, nameless people lurking just on the dark fringes of their lives would hear the news that while Jason Morgan had fathered a child, he had no emotional attachment to him or his mother. The mother who was willing to take a hefty chunk of cash and leave town . . . that was really the only part that he could hear pounding over and over again in his head.
He'd heard her list the names, people who were all ready to do or say whatever was necessary to help her secure the elusive safety she so desperately sought for Jake. She had turned to Lucky and Sam, Carly, Ric. People she didn't necessary like, but seemed to have faith that they would help her.
"I can't believe you would count on people like Ric and Sam."
"Who should I count on, Jason? You?"
"It's a complicated situation. You know that. I've never lied to you."
"No," she agreed with the barest hint of sadness. "You never did. I just allowed myself once again to think someone would choose me. My parents never did, Lucky didn't, Ric didn't, Zander didn't, and neither did you. No one disagrees that I'm better off away from Port Charles."
"You - you're really leaving town?"
She laughed, the soft sound melodic and strangely carefree in the other wise silent space, but the laughter didn't quite reach her eyes. "Seriously, Jason, do you think I'd risk staying? Risk Jake's safety? Or Cam's peace of mind? Or my own? I told you dozens of times I couldn't do this alone. I told you we were safer together than apart. I always knew the truth would come out. I remember when I thought no one knew but you and me, then discovering there were others who knew; too many for it to remain a secret, too many for Jake to ever really stay safe."
Tears welled in her eyes and she blinked them away furiously. "I just can't do it alone anymore. I've proven myself to be a lousy wife, four times over in fact. And with two children from one night stands with two different men . . . well, given all that, there isn't a lot of reason to stay in this town. By this time tomorrow, I'll have made the list of top ten whores in Port Charles."
He flinched at the self-deprecating words that rolled off her tongue so easily.
"Elizabeth, stop it. You're not a whore and you aren't a gold-digger either." His voice was husky, the tension in his shoulders as visible as that ever-present ticking of his jaw muscle. He needed to hear her say she understood. That she understood his reasoning and that she knew he truly loved her. "You know I love you, right?"
"I don't feel loved," she answered softly. "I hear the pretty words, Jason, but I don't feel them."
She turned her back and reached out to grasp the doorknob. "Just sign the papers."
"Elizabeth, there has to be another way."
"There isn't, and I'm through wishing for it anyways. So pick your poison - do this my way or let Anthony Zacchara do it his way. Either way, you're losing Jake, and you've already lost me. Goodbye, Jason."
There was nothing, audible or symbolic, to punctuate this monumental point in time save for the quiet click of the door as she pulled it closed behind her.
And it didn't matter that he remained motionless, rooted to the same spot, staring at the plane of solid steel for a very long time willing it to happen, the door didn't reopen.
!!! I can't believe Liz would ask him to do this!!!
Although i really do like the beginning of this fic, I hope that you continue it. You did a very good job---
!!! I hope that Jason will be able to change her mind
and I hope that he does not sign over his rights- Let him fight for his family. Looking forward to the next update.
