Jason's Penthouse

"I cannot let you, Ms. Webber. It would be going against Mr. Morgan's direct orders." Johnny repeated again.

"I'm only going to get some food and clothes. I promise. You can follow me or whatever. It's only five minutes away." Elizabeth pleaded.

"I should not leave my post. I am here to watch Mr. Smith as well."

"He is still asleep. Please, Johnny!" Elizabeth pleaded, trying to use her innocent face that she had used so many times as the youngest child.

"Ms. Webber . . ."

"Five minutes. Jason won't be back for hours! Please! He can yell at me when I get back. Please."

"I told you, I have direct orders to watch over you."

"I don't think you want me to bash you over the head. And I'll do it." She threatened, knowing she would never in a million years go through with it.

Johnny knew she wasn't going to stop until he gave in.

"I hope I don't regret this." He said, moving out of her way.

"Thank you!" She said, almost jumping up and down.

"Five minutes. Be careful."

"I will." She said, smiling, as she left.

* * * Kelly's

Gia greeted Nikolas with a kiss. They sat down at one of the tables.

"Where were you?" She asked.

"I went to go visit Luke."

"Why?"

"I had to apologize. He's going to jail for Laura. He loves her so much that he would sacrifice everything to keep her safe."

"That is what you do when you love somebody." Gia said, knowingly.

Nikolas fingered the letter in his pocket.

"Have you seen Lucky?" He asked, remembering his promise to Luke to watch out for his younger brother.

"He wasn't visiting Luke?"

"No. Where else would he be?"

"The hospital, maybe. Bobbie is working. He might need someone to talk to."

"I need to talk to him to apologize."

"Okay, well I need to run a few errands. I'll meet you back here in an hour?"

"Sure."

* * * General Hospital

The nurse hung up the phone.

"Audrey is unavailable right now. Do you want to leave a message here for her at the desk?"

Elizabeth looked down at her watch. It was well past five minutes. Johnny, Jason, or both would be upset. And she didn't like the idea of leaving Zander alone for too long remembering what happened the last time.

"Yeah, could you tell her that her granddaughter Elizabeth stopped by and that I'm okay and she doesn't need to worry."

"Is that the whole message?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I'll leave this here for her."

"Thank you."

Elizabeth turned to quickly and dropped the bag full of groceries and clothing she had picked up.

"Johnny is really going to kill me." She muttered to herself, bending down to collect her items.

* * * (Still General Hospital)

"And Lucky hasn't been here?"

"No, at least I haven't seen him." Bobbie answered.

"If he does stop by would you tell him to call me?"

"Sure, no problem."

"Thanks." He said.

He walked towards the elevators and noticed Elizabeth collecting items from the floor. He had not seen her in a while and they were not on good terms.

He missed her.

He grabbed for one of the items and held it out to her. She caught his eyes.

"I can do this myself." She said, not wanting to talk to him.

"I just wanted to help." He said, trying to get somewhere with her.

"You've done enough." She said, harshly.

"Suit yourself." He said, leaving and walking towards the elevators. He pushed the button and waited.

Elizabeth finished collecting everything and looked at Nikolas. The elevator opened and he stepped in. She glanced down at her watch and put all reason aside. She got in the elevator.

The doors closed.

"Don't think this is some kind of peace offering." She said, matter-of- factly.

He said nothing. The last thing he wanted was to start something with her. There was enough tension between them without adding more to the scheme of things.

Elizabeth was content with the silence and hoped it would remain that way the whole elevator ride. She was in the farthest possible corner of the elevator away from Nikolas. She had only chosen to ride with him instead of wait for another elevator because she was late.

The lights flickered but neither took notice.

Their plans went down the drain a moment later when the lights flickered again and the elevator stopped completely.

"No." Elizabeth said to no one.

She knew how much Johnny and Jason would be worrying if she did not return soon.

* * * Jason's Penthouse

Zander woke up and came down the stairs of the unfamiliar penthouse. Although he had lived there with the previous resident for a little while he did not remember that time.

He looked in all the rooms for Elizabeth. When he could not find her he opened the door to speak with Johnny.

"Where's Elizabeth?" He asked the guard.

"That's what I want to know. She should have been back ten minutes ago."

"You let her leave?" Zander asked, knowing the severity of the situation.

Sonny and Jason exited the penthouse across the hall.

"Where does this mystery woman fit into the situation?" Sonny asked Jason.

"I'm not sure but I can go check the few leads we do have when you meet with him."

"Good idea." Sonny said, agreeing.

Then the two men noticed Johnny and Zander.

"Have you remembered something?" Jason asked, hoping for a new lead.

"No." Zander said defeated, knowing that the two men were depending on him.

"What's up then?" Sonny asked, wondering why the two men were in the hallway.

That is when Johnny spoke up.

"Elizabeth is gone."

The three men looked at Jason. They all knew how he felt about Elizabeth even though it had taken him until last night to admit it.

"How did this happen?" Jason demanded.

"I let her out to get groceries." Johnny said, regretting his decision.

"You LET her?" Sonny asked before Jason could probe the question.

Johnny nodded.

"How long has she been gone?" Jason asked, worried.

"Almost twenty minutes now. She said she'd be back in five."

Sonny hit the wall in frustration. He did not need this, especially now.

Jason found Sonny's eyes.

"Go after her." He ordered to Jason, knowing that Jason would never forgive himself if something happened to her.

Jason left.

Sonny looked at Johnny, "I'm going to get somebody else to guard Smith. You are coming with me."

* * * Kelly's

Gia did not expect Nikolas for another half an hour but her errands were done so she hoped that he would be done early as well. He was not there when she entered. She sat down, ordered, and waited.

Lucky strolled in a moment later. He sat down with her at the table.

"Nikolas left to look for you."

"I was with my dad." He said, solemnly.

"I'm sorry Lucky." She said.

"It's not your fault."

"Nikolas went to find you to apologize."

"If he doesn't believe that Luke is innocent then we don't need to have a conversation."

"But he does. It just took him a while."

"Well, it's a little too late." He said, staring down into the empty cup that sat in front of him.

"Let me call him." She said, reaching into her purse for her cell phone. She found no phone there.

She looked up at Lucky, "I must have left my phone at home. I'm going to use the payphone outside. I'll be right back."

She got up and went outside to use the phone. She dialed but by the twenty- fifth ring she figured that Nikolas was in his car driving back to Kelly's.

"Ugh." She muttered to herself.

She went to search in her purse in search of his car phone number when she almost ran into someone.

"I'm sorry." She said, looking up into his crystal blue eyes.

Jason had no time for pleasantries.

"Have you seen Elizabeth?" He asked, hastily.

"No, not for a while."

"How long have you been here?" He asked, referring to Kelly's.

"Maybe ten minutes. Why?" She asked, intrigued.

"Nothing." He said, leaving quickly.

Lucky came out as soon as Jason left.

"I just got a call from Audrey. She cannot find Elizabeth. Apparently Elizabeth left a message for Audrey at the nurse's station but left no way for her to contact her. It said, 'Don't worry, I'm okay.'"

"You just missed Jason. He just asked me if I had seen her."

"How'd I guess it had to do with him?"

Gia shrugged. "What do you want to do? Have you even spoken to Elizabeth lately?"

Lucky thought about it.

"I haven't seen her for weeks."

Gia was not Elizabeth's biggest fan but the last thing she wanted was her harmed in anyway.

"Well, Lucky, you know her the best. Where do you think she'd be?"

* * * General Hospital

Nikolas went and pressed the emergency button in the elevator it did nothing. There was no phone to call for help so he digged into his pocket for his cell phone.

He pulled it out and dialed. An error came up on the screen that there was no signal.

"Shit." He muttered.

He briefly turned to look at Elizabeth who was now sitting down in the corner of the elevator.

He turned back towards the buttons and looked frantically for a solution.

Elizabeth looked down at her watch. It had been twenty-five minutes since she left. She only hoped that Jason did not know that she was gone. He had enough to worry about without her going missing. But most of all, she was afraid that he'd blame himself and once again push her away.

The lights flickered again and this time they went out completely.

Elizabeth couldn't help traveling back to the crypt. Stuck in a small dark area with only one other person. At least when she was stuck with Zander she could talk to him. She refused to talk to Nikolas.

"Great." He muttered to himself.

"Are you okay?" He asked into the darkness.

Elizabeth was not going to say anything but she decided to speak in hopes that the darkness would not get to her.

"I'm fine." She said.

Nikolas was surprised she answered. He slowly sat down on the floor of the elevator.

"Are you?" She asked, hesitantly.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just hope that Gia realizes when I don't meet her that something is wrong. She knows I came here."

"Let's all hope that Gia is as reliable at finding you as she is with blackmailing." Elizabeth let slip out.

"Let's not do this." He said, not wanting to start anything up with Elizabeth.

"Fine." She said.

Silence filled the elevator for a long time after that. Elizabeth stayed in her corner knowing that they would send someone to find her and everything would be okay. It was like the crypt again but she tried not to let it be.

"So, why were at the hospital today?" She asked, trying to end the silence.

"I was here looking for Lucky."

"Oh." She said, not wanting to talk about Lucky.

"Luke got charged murder two. He got life in prison."

Elizabeth knew how Lucky's relationship was with his father. She knew it had to be killing him.

"Is Lucky okay?" She asked, despite everything still caring for him.

"I came here to find him in hopes I could stop him from doing anything stupid."

"Oh. So I guess you two made up." She said, feeling slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, we did."

She was not in the mood to talk about the accident or the fact that her and Nikolas had yet to reconcile.

"I'm sorry I didn't come visit you when you were in the hospital." He said.

"I understood why you didn't come."

"But it doesn't mean that I didn't care, Elizabeth. I do care."

"If you cared about me then you wouldn't have lied."

"You know that I care about you, Elizabeth. I always have."

"You stopped caring as soon as Gia needed help."

"That's unfair."

"Is it? Imagine your best friend in the world lying to you, Nikolas. I was in a horrible place then. I was trying so hard to work everything out with Lucky and then the accident. But what hurt more is that you lied, not so much the fact that Gia put me in the hospital."

"So you're saying that if we had just told you the truth then you would have forgiven us?"

"I'm saying that I would be upset but if you had told me instead of lying then we wouldn't be where we are now."

Nikolas was silent. He did not believe what she was saying.

"Nikolas, your friendship meant everything to me. I could not completely trust Lucky. Emily was gone and recovering and my little problems could never compare to what she has to face everyday. I needed you. I needed you to be the one that I could come to and that would listen and understand. But you lied. It hurt so much more than the accident."

Nikolas wished that he could see her face. He knew that she was being sincere.

"I did not want to lie but I thought I had no choice. I thought that if I told you I would loose you. The night you remembered everything I tried to justify it but to tell you the truth, I could not. I could see where you were coming from and I just let you believe that I was this horrible person. The last thing I wanted was to hurt you." He said.

"After my rape I could only depend on Lucky. He was everything. And when Helena took him you were there. And when I found him with Sarah, I needed you. But I could not go to you, Nikolas, not then. But I wanted to."

"I'm sorry." He said, on the verge of tears. He was glad for a moment that the elevator was dark.

She reached over and found his hand and held on to it.

* * * Elizabeth's Studio

Jason opened the door and looked frantically around. She had been there. He just knew it. But where was she now? Had she left the door opened and someone snatched her? Had she been shot after she left? Was she hidden it yet another crypt?

He knew he should stay focused on his search for her but his mind kept wandering to her. And his heart was threading a mile a minute in his chest.

"How could I let this happen again?" He asked to no one.

"You are placing blame in the right place, Morgan." Lucky Spencer called behind him.

He turned with the intent of leaving but Lucky would not let him. Before he could say anything or forcefully move Lucky, Gia came running in.

"I just got off the phone with Bobbie. Nikolas was there talking to her about forty-five minutes ago. And then I called Kelly's and he hasn't shown up."

"What are you saying?" Lucky asked, confused as to how his search for Elizabeth and Nikolas was related.

"What if somebody was looking to get Elizabeth and Nikolas was there? Or Helena some how wanted to go after Nikolas another time?"

"Why would you think that Elizabeth and Nikolas would be together?" A confused Jason asked.

"I don't know. They both are missing and both went to the hospital."

"Elizabeth was at the hospital?" Jason asked.

"Audrey called Lucky saying that Elizabeth left her a message at the desk but she had no way of reaching her and she was worried. And Nikolas went to the hospital to ask Bobbie if she had seen Lucky. That puts them both at the hospital sometime today."

Jason remembered that Elizabeth had told him about being shot at when she went with Zander to the hospital.

Jason moved past Lucky and Gia and ran out of the building. He only hoped he wasn't too late.

Lucky and Gia looked at eachother and then stormed out after him.

* * * General Hospital

"Did you know why I was in the hospital, Nikolas?" Elizabeth asked.

"You were kidnapped because of Jason and Sonny."

She ignored his comment and continued, "I was held in a crypt. For a while all I had was my sanity and that slowly was fading away. Then Zander tried to find me and they caught him and locked him in there with me. I knew that I was going to be found but it was taking to long. We were running out of air and I started thinking about everything I'd never get to do. . ."

"I didn't know, I'm sorry." He said, knowing how she must have felt trapped given their current situation.

"I wished so much that I could have forgiven you so that if I did die you would not think that I hated you."

"I knew you didn't."

"I forgive you, Nikolas." She said, softly.

He wanted to hug her, to hold on to her, to take her in his arms and promise her that when they got out that he would make every effort to work on their friendship. But he knew it was too soon for that. He decided just to squeeze her hand.

The silence remained a long time after, neither knowing just what to say. Nikolas knew that if they kept their mind off the situation then it would be better for the both of them, especially Elizabeth whom just got out of the crypt not so long ago.

"So, being trapped with Zander must have been an adventure." He said, trying to start up a conversation.

"He's different than you think, Nikolas."

"You remember what he did to Emily, don't you?" Nikolas said, upset that Elizabeth would defend Zander of all people.

"Yes, I remember. But he's done so much for me lately. He is actually a very good person if you give him a chance. I blew it." She said, not really talking to Nikolas but more to herself.

"Please tell me you are not defending Zander."

"Nikolas, I really do not want to fight. Didn't we just make up?"

He was silent.

Elizabeth wanted to defend Zander to Nikolas but she knew that he would never really accept Zander. But she was curious about other things and people in her life and Nikolas still knew her well.

"Nikolas, do I lead people on?" She asked, surprising Nikolas.

He laughed briefly, "You lead me on."

"What? I was with Lucky. That was all you!" She said, smiling at the memory.

"No, it wasn't just me. You totally lead me on. You wanted me to like you!"

"That's not true. I only ever wanted you as a friend."

"Whatever you want to tell yourself!" Nikolas said, trying to conceal his own laughter.

She could not see him but somehow she hit him playfully on the shoulder. But soon the conversation became serious.

"I lead Zander on when my heart was with someone else."

Nikolas was shocked at her admission.

"Tell me." He said, knowing that she only voiced her problems when she needed them resolved somehow.

* * * General Hospital

Jason instantly noticed Nikolas's car in the parking lot. He only hoped that Elizabeth's disappearance was as simple as a fuming conversation with Nikolas.

He climbed the stairs two at a time and immediately went to the nurse's station. Luckily, Bobbie was there filing some paperwork.

"Bobbie, have you seen Elizabeth today?"

"No, I haven't. Why, is something wrong?"

"Both her and Nikolas seem to be missing."

"Well Nikolas was here earlier but he only mentioned Lucky."

"Thanks." He said, heading towards the patient areas just in case.

"Audrey is down a level if you want to talk to her. Maybe she knows."

Jason considered it a good idea. He went to press the elevator button just as Gia and Nikolas came from the stairway.

"Elevators aren't working." Lucky said, "Which allows us time to talk. Why did you jump when Gia said Elizabeth was at the hospital?"

He ignored Lucky's question and considered what he said before it. The elevators weren't working? Maybe . . .

He ran back to Bobbie at the nurse's station.

"How long have the elevators not been working?" He asked, hastily.

"Um, I think maybe an hour or so. We called maintenance but they are busy with a plumbing problem on the third floor. Why?"

Lucky and Gia caught on.

"You think they could be trapped in the elevators?" Gia asked, worried.

* * * (Still General Hospital)

". . . I thought I was going to die and my judgement was a little skewed. I felt lost and he was there and he kept me sane. He helped me and he just wanted to kiss me. I let him. And then Jason came and got me out and the place exploded and I thought that it was my fault. But he was alive and when we got out of the hospital I thought it would just go back to the way it was before. We had just made a mistake. But then the night of that horrible storm the power went out at my studio and I was afraid and trapped and he found me and one thing lead to another . . ."

"You slept with him?" A shocked Nikolas asked. He knew how sacred Elizabeth held sleeping with someone. Lucky and her and been together for more than a year before they had slept together.

"Yes. It was this horrible mistake. And later Zander realized it and we split and then Jason started pushing me away for no reason. He said it was because his life is too dangerous . . ."

"Which it is." He said, interrupting.

" . . . but I knew it was something more. And last night I told him when he asked me honestly about Zander and he knew. He pushed me away because he thought that Zander made me happy. And when everything got out in the open, he still wanted me."

Of course Jason still wanted her. Jason had wanted her when Lucky was gone. Nikolas distinctly remembered walking in on Jason and Elizabeth. And when Lucky had returned Jason would not back off.

But he ignored his gut instinct to berate Jason and instead tried to help Elizabeth.

"Why would you think he didn't want you? You were together when Lucky was gone and when he came back . . ."

"It wasn't like that. We were never together." She said, shocked that Nikolas would accuse her of such.

Before he could answer her, the lights flickered and came back on. Then they heard a banging on the door of the elevator.

"Elizabeth! Are you there?" Jason's voice called.

"Yes, I'm here, Jason. I'm trapped with Nikolas."

"Back away from the door."

They both back away and Nikolas took a brief look over at Elizabeth. Her cheeks were stained with tears that had fallen and her eyes glossy. But he noticed the change when Jason's voice was heard. She lit up. And that was when Nikolas realized that he could not save Elizabeth from Jason because she was already in love with him.

He smiled but was upset for his brother that still cared deeply for Elizabeth. But at the same time he knew that he had never seen her happier.

She turned when she noticed he was staring.

"We're getting out!" She said, excited.

"Yeah, we are." He said, smiling, and took her hand.

She accepted his hand and they held on when the doors were forced opened. There stood a haggard looking Jason, secured around his waist was a belt that was holding him between the floors so he could open the stuck elevator.

She jumped into his arms, her feet no longer on the floor of the elevator and just being supported by his arms. He held her as if she was the most precious thing in the world, as she was to him. He looked down at her and then focused on Nikolas. His eyes seemed to say 'Thank you for taking care of her'. Nikolas just smiled as Jason gained a tighter hold of Elizabeth. Slowly someone from above pulled them up.

A minute or two later the belt was dropped vacant. Nikolas secured it around his waist and soon was pulled up through the shaft to the open doors and the open arms of an eagerly waiting Gia.

"Never do that again." She said, taking hold of him.

His brother Lucky patted him on the back. He looked at Lucky and then tore his gaze away to find Elizabeth. She was with Audrey and Jason a few feet away. She left Audrey's hug and then Jason wrapped a protective arm around her waist.

Bobbie tapped Lucky on the shoulder and he turned.

"It's not always going to be like this, Lucky." She said, trying to make him feel better.

He looked over at Elizabeth and for a moment saw the woman he had fallen in love with.

"She is happy. That's all I could ever wish for her." He said, just as her eyes met his.

She walked over with Jason trailing slightly behind and hugged Lucky.

"Thank you for worrying about me." She whispered before she pulled away from the embrace.

She then hugged Nikolas who had just separated from Gia.

"Of all the people I could get stuck with, I'm happy it was you."

He just smiled and hugged her tighter.

Gia separated them and looked at Elizabeth.

"I'm glad you're okay." She said, more than Elizabeth suspected.

"Thank you." She said.

Jason wrapped an arm around Elizabeth, "You ready?"

"I thought you were going to give me a lecture for running out and ditching the bodyguard."

"I'm just glad you're okay." He said, squeezing her a little closer to him.

"Let's take the stairs." She said, smiling.

~*~THE END~*~