Rayne
Chapter 1
"Shit," Liz muttered under her breath looking at the calendar, the starred day was four days ago. "No need to freak out," she told herself going into the bathroom. "Lots of girls are late, it's not even uncommon for you to be late, Lizzie."
She took out a tube of bright red lipstick and studied her lips in the mirror as she applied it.
She smacked her lips together and said, "Perfect!"
She quickly grabbed her books and bounded downstairs.
"Can't you be a LITTLE quieter in the morning?" Sarah said making a face at Liz from her perch on the couch, sipping her tea.
"Can't you be in a LITTLE better mood in the morning?" Liz mocked her. "Only the second day of school and you're already turning into your little witch mode!"
"Oh, just shut up, Lizzie," Sarah said.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not going to be late for school," Liz grabbed a bagel from the tray on the coffee table and made a run for the door.
"I know it's not school you're rushing off to get to," Sarah teased.
"Oh, you shut up, Sarah," Liz said, slamming the door after her.
I know that if I get to the front steps at just the right time, I can see *him*, she thought to herself as she went on her way to PCHS.
She made it to the school in about fifteen minutes, ran up the stairs and posed nonchalantly near the top of the steps.
Lizzie only waited about five minutes before seeing him at a distance walking up from the parking lost.
Her eyes trailed him as he got closer and closer to the school. Finally, he was at the steps, she swished her hair out of her face right as he got up to where she was.
"Hello Elizabeth," he said, noticing her eagerness to get his attention.
"Good morning, Lucky," she said, with a big grin on her face.
Lucky sorta shook his head and laughed as he entered the building. Lizzie didn't seem to notice that, *he* had spoken to her.
Second day of English, second day of slumber. Lizzie just could not keep her eyes open in Mr. Murty's class!
Of course, sleeping during class when you've had nightmares all your life during all periods of sleep is NOT always a good idea.
As Liz saw the images of the tortures of her past flash before her as she slept, Lucky heard her faint whisperings of calling out "No!"
"Elizabeth?" he said, nudging her, trying to wake her.
The bell rang, startling her awake
"Are you okay?" Lucky asked, concerned.
"Like you'd care," she made a face at him, picking up her bookbag and leaving him sitting there, mouth wide open.
"Just forget about her," Vince said, Deenie by his side. "She's not worth it."
"For some reason, I think you're wrong," Lucky said, leaving the classroom in search of Liz.
Liz ran home after school, not wanting to see Lucky, not wanting to have to hear his questions, and even more not wanting to answer them.
She went straight to her room once she reached the house and locked herself in. She stood in front of her mirror and stared at the reflection.
"What's happening to you, Lizzie?" she asked herself. "Lucky Spencer TALKED to you today, he sounded concerned about you, and you ran out? You're not supposed to do that!"
She fell back onto her bed and pulled her pillow tight around her head. She had this total feeling of helplessness as she she fell into a fitful sleep.
Sure enough, once the entire house was quiet she saw the door open a crack and he's step into the room. He'd cross the floor to her bed and gently pull back her covers and sneak his hands into her bed. What always happened next she can never really picture, but it's the same every time. She can't picture his motions, what he actually does to her, but she feels the sinking feeling inside herself at the sickness of what he does. And then he leaves. As quietly as he comes, he leaves. Liz waited, she knew he'd come, she knew there was no sense in being asleep when he came, she hated when he caught her unaware.
"Lizzie?" Sarah called, knocking on Liz's door.
Liz woke up, confused, looking around the room.
"Dinner's ready, Lizzie," Sarah said. Liz heard her leave and go down the stairs.
Liz stood up slowly and crossed to the mirror.
"Time to go face that cruel cruel world again, Lizzie," she told herself, trying to force a smile.
Rayne
Chapter 2
It was about two weeks later now, Lizzie stood looking at the calendar, the starred day was now 18 days ago and she felt a sinking feeling as she realized this. "Now is time to freak out, Lizzie," she told herself. "Something is definitely wrong."
She walked slowly to her bed and curled up hugging her pillow, tears flowing being soaked up immediately as she buried her face in her pillow.
"Lizzie!!!" she heard Sarah yell for the third time. She heard Sarah stomp up the stairs and then bang on her door. "Elizabeth Webber, come out now! We have to get to school, you know Gram won't let me leave without you!"
"Coming Sarah," she said quietly, wiping her eyes. She grabbed a twenty that was sitting on her dresser and shoved it in her pocket. Her bookbag was hanging on the doorknob, she slung that over her shoulder as she opened the door.
"About time," Sarah said, grabbing Lizzie's hand, dragging her out the door.
Lucky had watched Elizabeth all day, noticing how miserable she seemed. They had three classes together, first, fourth, and their last class. Finally, he went up to her after English, when everyone was getting ready to go home.
"Elizabeth?" he asked.
"It's Lizzie, and what?" she said with as big an attitude as she could.
"Well, it's just that I've noticed that you haven't looked very well the past few weeks, are you okay?" Lucky asked.
"What is it with guys? Why can't you just listen? Like I told you before, like you'd care! Sarah probably told you to stick your little head in my business, she put you up to this, didn't she? You don't care, you don't care one BIT, Lucky Spencer!" Liz gathered her things and was about to flee the room when he grabbed her arm. At this she jumped and dropped all her things.
"I do care, Lizzie," he said, looking her in the eyes.
She wrestled her arm away from him, but he gave it up easily. "Well, then, don't, Lizzie Webber isn't worth caring about," she said coldly, leaving the room.
He grabbed this things and ran after her.
Lucky spotted her once he was outside the school. He figured that catching up with her and risking another confrontation with her probably wasn't the best idea, so he kept a safe following distance.
He followed her about three blocks down the road the school's on before she suddenly took a turn. After that she took a turn every three or four blocks, like she was trying to lose someone, though she couldn't possible know someone was following her since she had never once looked over her shoulder. Finally she stopped and went into a small drug store.
He waited a few minutes before peering into the window, seeing that she was over in one corner looking at the boxes on the shelf, he entered and watched her from the opposite side of the store.
Lizzie looked at all the different pregnancy tests. Why are there so many? Why can't anything just be easy in my life? she thought. She read the backs of all of them before picking one she thought sounded the simplest.
She headed straight for the register, never seeing Lucky. She sat the small box on the counter and reached down in her pocket for the money.
When the cashier, who was a sorta trashy lady about in her 60s, gave Liz a strange look, Liz quickly lied, "Oh, it's for my sister." She could tell the woman didn't believe her. After she'd rang it up and Liz had paid for it, she grabbed the paper bag and bolted out of the store.
Lucky slowly walked to the front of the store to leave. When he was almost to the door the cashier said, "Hey, do you know her?"
"Uh, yeah, sort of," he said, walking over to the counter.
"That wasn't for her sister, was it?"
"Nah, I doubt it, her sister's about as much of a goody-goody as they come."
"So, do you know what's up with her?"
"No, but I'm going to find out," he said, excusing himself and leaving the store.
Lizzie practically ran home after leaving the drug store. When she got to the house, she quickly opened the door and ran up the stairs.
"Hello, Elizabeth," Audrey said from the couch when Liz was about half way up the steps.
"Oh, hey Gram, sorry, I've got a big test, so I have to go study, ok?" Lizzie lied, lying came so easy to her it was kind of scary.
"Okay, good luck on your test."
"Thanks Gram," Liz said thinking how much she could use it.
Once in her room, she threw down her books on her bed and took the bag from the drug store out of her bookbag.
She ran to her bathroom and opened the box, taking out the directions. Her hands were so shaking so violently she could hardly read them. After reading them, she followed them to the letter, then went in her bedroom to wait.
She layed down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her hand were held tight against her sides with her fingers crossed. It can turn out negative, Lizzie, it could only show one line, everything doesn't always have to be what you don't it to be she tried to convince herself.
Lizzie turned her head to look at the clock. Okay, it's been three minutes, time for the truth.
She slowly walked to the bathroom, afraid too look at the test results. She kept her eyes on the mirror, she slowly picked up the test and held it in front her, still not focusing on it. She finally allowed her eyes to come into focus on the results. At seeing the two lines, she dropped the test into the sink and sunk to the ground, weeping.
Rayne
Chapter 3
It was now about three weeks later, Liz had done her best at avoiding everyone and had also stayed home sick a lot. She felt so worthless and low now that she knew the truth: she was pregnant, he had raped her and got her pregnant.She sat through her classes attempting to be as invisible as possible, not wanting anyone to pay her the least bit of attention, after her classes she'd slip out as soon as the bell run and was always the last one in to her next class.
No one talked to her that whole day till she got to her Chemistry class, which Lucky was in.
"Hi Lizzie," he said as she sat down next to him, that seat being the only one left not taken once she got there.
"Hi," she mumbled, sinking into her chair.
"Are you feeling better? You've been gone for a while."
"Not really, like you're really concerned."
Before he could make a response, the bell rang and class began.
About twenty minutes into class, Elizabeth walked to the teacher's desk and asked him quietly, "May I please go to the restroom? I'm not feeling well."
He handed her the pass and she left as descretely as she could.
Lucky could tell when she left that she wasn't feeling well, so after about fifteen minutes after she left, he went up and asked to go check on her. Of course at first the teacher objected since she'd certainly have gone to the women's restroom, and with Lucky beging a guy, that wouldn't exactly work. Lucky assured him that if anyone could help Lizzie, he could, and finally the teacher consented.
Lucky walked as fast as he could down the hall to the restroom. Hoping that no one else would be in there, he quickly peeked in, finding it seemingly empty he entered.
He found Elizabeth sitting on the floor in the first stall, hanging over the toilet. He gently held back her hair for her as she puked, then when she was done, he stroked her head softly.
He slid down with his back against the wall and held her as she trembled.
"Lizzie?"
She looked up at him, her eyes filled with so much fear.
He held her close for several minutes, she was totally limp in his arms.
She suddenly bolted up, she stood and went out of the stall.
"Lizzie, what's wrong? C'mon, you can tell me," he pleaded.
"Lucky, you know I think that you don't really care, I've told you that a thousand times, I still think that Sarah's putting you up to this."
"Why won't you trust me? You know I like your sister, but I would never do anything for her that I didn't want to do, especially bother you, Elizabeth, I really am concerned. You've missed so much school in the past month and when you have been here, you've looked completely miserable, if you won't tell me what's wrong, then I'll just have to find out," he said.
"Lucky, this is my business, it does not concern anyone else, so just leave it alone!" she started to leave the restroom.
"It does concern someone else, it concerns the baby."
At that she stopped in her tracks, whipped around, and gave him the most vicious glare he had ever seen.
"H-how do you know about the baby?" she asked very quietly.
"I saw you buying the pregnancy test."
"You followed me? Do you have no decency Lucky Spencer? And anyway, just because I bought one doesn't mean it was for me, and if it was for me, it doesn't mean it was positive!"
"But you just admitted there is a baby."
"Okay, I admit, there is a baby."
"So..."
"So what? Do you expect me to be overjoyed that I'm pregnant? Lucky, I'm fifteen!"
"No, I never said that. What do you plan to do?"
"I can't have a child! I'm only fifteen! I can't let Gram and Sarah, or my parents find out either, so since you seem so concerned for us, either you can take me to the clinic or I can go myself."
"You're going to get an abortion?"
"You make it sound so awful, people do it all the time. And, you know, when it's the third time you've faced this decision, it really doesn't seem that hard."
"The third time?"
"Put your eyeballs back in your head."
"Elizabeth, what is going on?"
"Everyone thinks I'm the town tramp, there's proof."
"No, you're wrong, and I know you're lying, I'm a guy, I've heard what the other guys think of you, you're untouchable, Lizzie, you won't let a guy within five feet of you, that's not how you got pregnant."
"How do you know?"
"Well, I was talking to Sarah about you the other day-"
"See! I told you, Sarah is in on this!"
"Wait, no she's not, ok, just let me finish. She told me that ever since you'd come here that you'd been different than you used to be. She said that she thinks something happened between the time she came to Port Charles and the time you came here."
"What happened is none of your business, can't you get that through your thick skull? This concerns me and my baby, not you! Everything that happened is just between me and him, okay?"
"No, it's not okay, who's the father? What happened to you Lizzie?"
Elizabeth didn't answer him.
"Lizzie, you can trust me," Lucky said, taking her hands.
You can trust me. Liz saw him coming towards her bed.
"NO!" she screamed, taking her hands back with force. The look in her eyes was so scary to Lucky, she wasn't seeing Lucky at all, she was seeing her attacker. Her arms flailed in front of her as she backed away away from him.
"Elizabeth," he was confused by her actions, he hadn't done anything that he would have thought would set her off like this. "Elizabeth."
She backed up until she hit the wall. Slowly she slid down till she was sitting there in a little ball.
Lucky knelt down beside her and told her, "C'mon, let's go, I'll take you home."
"I can't go home, Gram's not on today," she mumbled.
"I was going to take you to my place anyway, I know that no one will be there and I think you need some alone time."
"You'll be there."
"Only if you want me to be."
Lucky stood and extended his hand to help her up. She took it with some hesitation.
The bell rang then, so they went back to the classroom to get their bags and books. They walked down the hall and out the doors of the school, side by side, his arm wrapped around her waist. She had surrendered to Lucky, she was letting him in.
Rayne
Chapter 4
The rain started just before Lucky and Elizabeth reached his house. They were instantly drenched by the downpour.She seemed so small and fragile in his arms as he led her to the couch and they sat down.
"Do you want anything?" he asked, draping a blanket around her shoulders.
She shook her head ever so slightly.
"Okay, well then," he said, unsure what to do. "I can either stay down here with you or I can go upstairs if you need some alone time."
When she didn't answer, he started towards the stairs.
"No, Lucky, wait," she called out.
"Yes?" he went back over to her on the couch.
"Stay here with me?"
"Yes, of course, Elizabeth...Lizzie," he said, correcting himself.
"No, you can call me Elizabeth, I like how you say it."
"Ok, Elizabeth," he said. How can this sweet girl sitting here beside me be the same Lizzie Webber that everyone has seen for the past two months?
"Lucky, I want to tell you, while I have the nerve, I want to tell you everything."
"Ok, Elizabeth, I will listen, but you don't have to tell me if it's too hard for you."
"I want to tell you, I need to tell someone or it's going to boil up inside of me and I don't know what will happen, Lucky, if I don't tell someone, it's going to destroy me."
"I'm here, Elizabeth, you can tell me, I'll listen."
"Ok, well, I guess I should start off with that you were right, I was lying with that 'town tramp' part, that's not how I got pregnant. But, Lucky, you don't know how much better it would be if that was how. I can only tell you this if you promise you will never tell another person, no one can know," she said, the pain in her eyes was hurting Lucky so much.
"Of course, this is just between you and me, your secret is safe with me."
"Thank you Lucky," she swallowed hard before continuing. "No one knows, no one knows the horrors I've been through."
At this Lucky became afraid of what she was going to tell him. He'd had no idea when he'd woken up the morning that this is what he'd be doing now, listening to Elizabeth tell him her deepest secret.
"My first memories are of him. He was a neighbor that I stayed with sometimes when my parents went away," Liz said. The way that she was staring straight ahead made Lucky see the extent to which this man had affected to her, she couldn't even look at Lucky as she talked about him. "I didn't stay at his house much, maybe a few times a year, only when this other couple that are my parents' closest friends were unavailable. But every time it was the same. My first recollection of it, I was four years old, so it probably happened before then, but I was too young to remember. It was my birthday, but my parents couldn't be there. Me and Sarah were staying with him while they were away and his wife felt sorry for me, so they threw me a little party. I was all dressed up in this frilly pink dress with white lace, with the little frilly socks and shiny shoes. My hair was all done up in pigtails, they were long and in ringlets with pink bows tied on them. And that night, it happened. It was time for bed and I was sitting there waiting for someone to put me to bed, I was exhausted from the party. He came in, it wasn't unusual for him to help me get ready for bed. 'You looked like an angel at your part today, Lizzie,' he said softly. 'Here, let me help you with your dress.' I turned around slowly, then he un-fastened the buttons. His hands, I have the most vivid memories of the way his hands felt. He put his hands on my shoulders and gently turned me around to face him. He slipped one shoulder off of my dress, then the other, letting it fall to the ground. His hands clasped near my shoulders and followed my body as he went to help me out of my tights. He kept his hands close to my legs as he pulled them down. With me standing there naked, he pulled back the covers of the bed. Then he sat me up on the bed. That was the first sign to me, at four years old, that anything was wrong with what he had done, usually after someone had undressed me, they'd immediately helped me into my night clothes, but he didn't, he sat there staring at me, a four year old. He pushed me back on the pillow and proceeded to put his hands where even I at four years old knew that he shouldn't be putting them. When he was finished he sat up, with me still laying there on the bed, and said, 'Now, you won't say a thing to anyone about what went on in here tonight, now will you?' Of couse, being only just a very young child, I said I'd keep it a secret, when you're that young, you think that all adults are right, you trust them. Why did I trust him? It wasn't just that one night, after that, every night I spent at his house, he'd do it again, just the same. Until one time, when I was ten, he came in and told me, 'Tonight we are going to try something new.' And that night he raped me, for the first time. I know I can't blame what I thought on my age completely, but I was ten, I barely knew what rape was, and I didn't think that this could be it, I'd known him for as long as I could remember. But then that became a part of my nightly torture. Twice I ended up pregnant, but I'd always found out when I was still with him, he'd take me to a clinic and I'd get an abortion. When I was sent to stay with him this summer, I'd made a pact with myself, I told myself 'Lizzie, now, you're fifteen, you can stand up to him, you can make this stop.' And the first night I was there, it happened, just like always. I didn't stand up to him, I just stared into the space beyond him as he violated me like he had all those times before. After he was gone and I could tell he'd gone to bed, I gathered my things back into my bag and snuck out, I took the money my parents had given me for spending money while they were away and I bought a plane ticket to here, there was no way I was going to endure another summer of his attacks. I thought I was free of him. But I'm not. I have a little baby growing inside of me now, because of him. I feel so helpless, I got away, but I got away too late."
"Oh, God, Elizabeth," he could hardly speak, tears had long been streaming down his face, though her eyes had only brimmed over as she finished. He hugged her close to him. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. What he did to you is awful, but you're safe now, everything's going to be alright."
"Just one problem though, Lucky," Liz said. "There is the baby."
"I know, I haven't forgotten the baby. Do you know what you want to do about the baby?"
"The other two times, he was there, he made the decision to me, he couldn't be found out. But now I can make my own decision."
"Earlier you sounded pretty sure what your decision was."
Liz shook her head, "No, Lucky, I'm not sure. This little baby inside of me," she held her hand to her belly, "This baby never did anything to deserve to be killed before she was even given a chance to live. I don't think I can do it Lucky, I can't kill her."
He could tell that she was really pleading with herself, not him. "Elizabeth, it's okay, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. This is your decision to make now."
"I know, and in the past few weeks, since I've known I was pregnant, I've been agonizing over this, and I keep coming up with the same thing, I can't kill her, she's a person, just like you and me, I can't do it!"
"Then you don't have to, I'll support you, no matter what your decision is. But, I do agree that your baby deserves as much of a chance as the rest of us."
"Thank you, Lucky," Elizabeth said quietly.
Elizabeth stood up and crossed to the window. The rain was still beating down and thunder rolled in the distance.
"There's something about the rain," she said after a long silence. "The sound of the water has always been so calming to me. Is it calming to you?" she held her hand against her belly again.
Lucky went and stood behind her.
"But, Lucky?" she asked.
"Yes?"
"How will I be a mother to her?"
"Why don't you take this just one step at a time?"
"I know, but how can this work? If I can't be a good mother to her, then I shouldn't even have her."
"You're convinced it's a girl, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am, I don't know why," she smiled, "but I just am."
"Everything will be alright, Elizabeth," he said, wrapping his arms around, placing his hands on top her her's which were held still on her belly.
"With you here for us, I think it will, for me, and for Rayne."
"For Rayne," he repeated.
They stood there, watching the water fall, in complete silence, the truth was out and the decision had been made.
~~There are times when my heart is uneasy with fear
~~The answers are nowhere in sight
~~Then I hear a sweet voice whisper soft in my ear
~~Everything's gonna be alright
("Everything's Gonna Be Alright", Deana Carter, Written by Fred Carter, Jr.)
Rayne
Chapter 5
"Elizabeth, are you sure you're ready for this?" Lucky asked him as they stood in front of Mercy Hospital."Yes Lucky, I have to take care of Rayne as good as I can, you seem more nervous than I am!"
They went in and were given a patient form to fill out, so they sat down in one of the waiting areas.
Elizabeth filled out her name and birthdate, then for address.
"Um, Lucky, can I use your address, I don't want anything sent to Gram's."
"Of course," he draped his arm around her shoulders as he watched her.
She continued filling in the information for a few minutes.
"Insurance info? Like I know that!"
"Don't worry, just leave it, I'll pay for it."
"You sure?" she asked.
"Positive."
Liz took a few more minutes to finish, then handed in the clipboard at the counter.
"So far, this isn't so bad," she smiled.
"You nervous?" he asked.
"As could be," she finished, looking up at him.
He gave her a hug and assured her, "Everything's going to be alright, I promise you."
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Lucky Spencer."
"I don't."
"Elizabeth Webber?" a nurse came into the waiting area.
"Oh, that's me," Liz said, leaving Lucky's embrace.
"The doctor's ready to see you," the nurse told her.
Liz followed her out, looking back at Lucky.
Lucky waited for what seemed like hours to him, but in reality it hadn't been too long. He reflected on how things had changed with Elizabeth over the past month since she'd opened up to him. Even though she had decided that night that she was going to go through with the pregnancy, she was still hesitant to do anything about the baby. It had taken him until now to get her to get checked out. She had given him the excuses he had expected, like that if she went to GH, her grandmother would find out, and he had finally convinced her to come to Mercy. He hadn't convinced her to tell anyone else about the baby yet.
"Lucky Spencer?" the nurse came back into the waiting area.
"Yes ma'am?" he stood up.
"The doctor is about to perform an ultrasound and Ms. Webber is asking for you to be present."
He quickly followed her to the exam room. Elizabeth smiled as he entered, extending her hand for him to hold. He sat down on a stool next to her and watched the screen as the image of Rayne appeared. Liz squeezed his hand with excitement and smiled.
Dr. West pointed at the screen and said to Elizabeth, "There's your baby, see the head, and the arms and fingers?"
Liz studied the screen before smiling again, looking up at Lucky and saying, "I see her, that's my baby."
"Dr. West, about how far along do you think she is?" Lucky asked.
"I'd say about three months, how does a late April baby sound?" she smiled.
"April showers," Lizzie grinned at Lucky.
The doctor looked confused.
"If it's a girl, her name is going to be Rayne," Lucky explained.
Dr. West smiled as she put away the equipment. "We're done for now, I'd like you to make an appointment at the desk on your way out," she said, handing her a slip of paper. "Just give that to the woman at the desk and she'll set it up for you."
"Um, I'll wait outside while you get dressed, okay?" Lucky told Liz.
Liz nodded, "I'll be just a minute." Lucky left.
Lucky waited by the door for a little while before she came out.
"You ready?" Liz came up behind him.
He took her hand as they went to set up her next appointment. After that was done, the left the hospital and headed to the Outback for an early dinner.
Rayne
Chapter 6
Elizabeth watched the children playing at the community center one afternoon in late November. She had been volunteering here for about the past month through a program with school. She sat on a bench at the edge of the room, watching a group of young boys at one end trying to shoot a basketball into the hoop and a cluster of girls at the other going for jumprope records. One of the other volunteers had noticed that Liz looked exhausted and had suggested that she sit down for a while. Liz took this and sat, pulling out a sketchbook and a box of colored pencils. She had finished a rough drawing of a girl who was twirling the rope when a woman sat down next to her. Liz, having been completely oblivious to everything except her drawing and the child she was using as her model, was a bit startled as the woman sat on the bench.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," the woman said.
"No, it's okay," Liz smiled, quickly closing her notebook.
"Don't stop your work on my account," she told Liz.
"Oh, no, I was finished," she said. "Um, your Serena Baldwin's mother, right?" Liz pointed to Serena who was taking her turn jumping rope.
"Yes, well, no, not really."
Liz looked confused.
"I'm Serena's surrogate mother, I carried her, but her mother was one of my best friends who had cancer and wasn't able to carry the baby herself, so that's where I came in. Hi, I'm Lucy Coe," Lucy extended her hand to Liz.
"Hi, I'm Liz Webber," she hesitantly shook her hand.
Serena waved to Lucy as she skipped rope. Lucy smiled and waved back.
"But even though she's not really your daughter, you still have a close relationship with her?" Liz asked.
"Yes, her father Scott, he knows how much I love her, and, for the most part, he let's me be a part of her life as much as possible."
"That's great."
Serena ran over to Lucy as soon as her turn was over. "Hey Lucy, I'm ready to go!" she said when she reached her.
"Okay, Punkinhead, go grab your bookbag," Lucy said to her. Then to Elizabeth, "It was nice meeting you, Liz."
"You, too," she said with a smile.
A few minutes after Lucy left, Liz gathered her things and signalled to another girl that she was leaving.
She went out to the bus stop nearby the community center and got on when the bus drove up a few minutes later. She rode till she got to the corner of Lucky's street where she got out and walked the remainder of the way. She jumped up the steps and stood at the front door about to knock when it opened.
"Hey Lucky!" she said suprised.
He held open the door and said, "Get in here, you'll freeze out there!"
"Wow, you gave me sorta a shock there."
"I was waiting for you, I saw you through the window."
"That explains it," she said, shedding her jacket and mittens and hat.
"How was your afternoon?" he asked as they sat down on the couch.
"Well, it was interesting," she said. "I met someone today."
"Oh, who?"
"Lucy Coe."
"Lucy?"
"You know her?"
"I thought everyone did."
"Well, I knew who she was, but didn't really know her."
"Okay, so, what happened?"
"Lucy got me thinking."
"About what?"
"Rayne."
"Like you don't think of her constantly anyway?" he teased.
Liz smiled. "I've been thinking more about her lately. Lucky, I've got to remember that I'm only sixteen. A baby is a big responsibility."
"We've talked about that before."
"I know, but all we've done is talked, we haven't made any decisions, we need to, or I need to, make them, and they can't wait forever."
"I see what you mean."
"Well, Lucy was there to pick up Serena Baldwin, you know, Scott Baldwin's daughter? Lucy was Serena's surrogate mother, so in a way, she's sorta her mother, but not really since she's really Scott and Dominique's. But Scott still lets her have a relationship with Serena, you should've seen the two of them, they have such a bond, they love each other so much. That's how I feel about Rayne, even though she's not even born yet!"
"So, what are you getting at?"
"What if Rayne could be adopted, by someone here in Port Charles, that would allow me to still have contact with my daughter? It could be possible. I know this isn't the same as Lucy and Serena, but it wouldn't be the first time this sorta thing was done, would it? I mean, there is a way that I could give my daughter the home and parents she deserves, and still be in her life, isn't there?" Liz seemed to be pleading with him.
"Elizabeth, c'mon, calm down," he said, pulling her closer to him.
Her tensed muscles relaxed in his embrace.
"Lucky, I can't be a mother," she whispered. "I can't do it."
"You can do anything, Elizabeth."
"I can't do this, not now. Someday, but right now, no. Rayne deserves better. She deserves a real family."
"You sound like you've decided, then."
"But I can't just let someone else have her and never see her again, Lucky."
"You won't have to, we'll find some way, someone that will want to raise your baby. Elizabeth, we will make this work, I promise."
"Lucky?" she said, looking up at him from where she sat nestled in his arm.
"Yes?"
"Thank you," she whispered.
He hugged her tighter as he wiped away a tear.
Rayne
Chapter 7
She saw the strip of light enter the room as he slowly opened the door.Her body tensed up as she could hear his footsteps across the floor.
"We're gonna try something new tonight," he said.
Darkness surrounded her.
She stood outside the doctor's office door as the doctor talked to him.
"Sir, this may come as a surprise to you, but your daughter is pregnant," she heard the doctor tell him. She hated that he told the doctor he was her father.
"Now Lizzie, you're gonna have to have a little operation and you'll be all better," he lied to her.
Liz sat bolt upright in her bed as she awoke from the nightmare. As her eyes ajusted to the darkness, they caught a glimpse of the calendar. December 20th. Six years ago, she had been staying at his house while her parents were on an extended holiday vacation. Six year's ago he had made her pregnant. Six years ago today her baby had been killed.
Liz stared out the window as the sun slowly rose. When it was light enough that she considered it morning, she slowly and quietly climbed out of bed and pulled on a warm sweatshirt and jeans, tugging on her winter boots as she noticed that fresh snow had fallen overnight. She took her coat off the chair and buttoned it up, securing her hat on her head and a scarf around her neck. Liz pulled her mittens on and grabbed her bookbag with her sketch pad and pencils in it. She quickly scribbled a note to her Gram and quietly went down the stairs, leaving the note on the coffee table where Gram would surely see it. She quietly exited the house and walked towards the park.
After about ten minutes, she could hear the screams of excitement coming from a group of children. When she came into sight of them, she could see a big snowball fight already underway. Liz sat quietly on a bench near the edge of the clearing and pulled out her sketch pad and pencils, looking for what child she would use as her subject. She quickly spotted a young boy and began to draw.
"Good morning, Liz," she was startled as Lucy approached her.
"Hi Lucy," Elizabeth closed her sketch.
Lucy smiled and said, "You don't have to stop on account of me, I just brought Serena over here after she begged me to bring her here to play with her friends from school."
"No, I was just about to stop," Liz said.
They both sat in silence on the bench for several minutes. Liz watched the children playing, in particular the young boy she had been drawing, he couldn't be but five or six years old, about the same age as her baby would be.
"Liz, are you okay?" Lucy asked noticing the tears streaming down her face.
She quickly wiped her face with her gloves and stood up. "I'm fine, Lucy." She walked a few feet away.
Lucy stood up and followed her and said, "No, you're not, sweetie, something's definitely wrong."
"My whole life's wrong," she muttered under her breath.
"That's not true, Liz, you're smart and you're pretty, you have a bright future ahead of you."
"Lucy, you have no idea." Liz walked away.
"Liz, what's wrong? I want to help," Lucy said, putting her hand on Liz's shoulder as she caught up to her.
Elizabeth slowly turnd around, her eyes full of sadness.
"Can I trust you?" Liz whispered, looking at the ground.
"Of course," Lucy said, biting her lip.
Liz looked up to Lucy's eyes, "I mean really trust you, as in you promise to never tell anyone anything that I might say to you?"
"What is it, Liz? I promise, whatever you say will be kept strictly between us."
They walked back over the bench and sat down. Liz took a deep breath before starting.
"Six years ago today, my first child was killed. He, or she, was killed before given a chance to ever live. I was pregnant at ten years old and the father had me have an abortion," she said, barely audible, looking at the ground in front of her.
"Oh, Liz, I'm so sorry," Lucy said, giving her a hug.
Liz barely noticed her and continued, "He's sexually abused me for as long as I can remember and that winter he started raping me. I got pregnant by him three times, that time when I was ten, again when I was thirteen..." Liz began shaking uncontrollably.
Lucy hugged her again and held Liz as she cried.
"And again now?" Lucy whispered.
Liz nodded her head as it lay on Lucy's shoulder. Lucy tried her hardest to hold back her own tears, but didn't succeed.
"Liz, um, i mean, i don't know what to say," Lucy said, straightening up and wiping her tears.
"It's okay, Lucy, it feels good just to share everything with someone."
"Am I, am I the first person you've told?" Lucy asked.
"No, Lucky's known since September."
"That's good, Lucky Spencer's a good kid."
"Yeah, he's great."
"Have you decided what you're going to do with the baby yet?"
"I decided that I couldn't kill her, she doesn't deserve that, she's an innocent person, a person just like all of us, who deserves a chance, now matter how awful her biological father is. But other than that, not really. I've been thinking about adoption, but I don't want to never see her again, you know what I mean? I'm only sixteen, I'm not ready to raise her, but she's still my daughter and I love her already."
"So that's why you were so interested in my relationship with Serena?"
"Yeah, I know my situation isn't nearly the same as you and Serena and Mr. Baldwin, but seeing you get to spend time with Serena makes me hope that I'll find some way to be in my baby's life." Liz smiled and held her hand to her belly, "She must know we're talking about her."
"You just felt her move? How far along are you?"
"Almost five months," Liz said, taking Lucy's hand and placing it where she could feel Rayne's movement.
"Wow," Lucy said, smiling, as she felt Rayne's kicks.
"Elizabeth!" Lucky yelled as he neared them.
Liz smiled and her and Lucy stood up to greet him.
"Elizabeth, you shouldn't be out here, it's too cold, it's not good for you or--Um, hi Lucy."
"Hello, Lucky," Lucy said.
"Lucky, she knows," Liz said.
"Everything?" he asked.
Liz nodded.
"Well, you and Rayne really shouldn't be out here," he said, beginning to take his jacket off.
"Lucky, we're fine, and put your coat back on," she told him, rebuttoning his jacket.
"Rayne?" Lucy asked.
"Rayne, that's her name, well, that's assuming it is a girl, her name will be Rayne," Elizabeth explained.
"That's a beautiful name," Lucy said. "Um, I've got to go, Serena needs to get home." Lucy started to walk away.
"Lucy, wait," Liz said. "Lucy, thank you."
"It was no problem, Liz, if you ever need to talk, please don't hesitate to come to me."
"I won't."
Rayne
Chapter 8
"Doc, oh, Doc, I'm so glad you're finally home, I've missed you so much!" Lucy said, running up to the door to greet him a few days later."I was only gone a week," he said, giving her a kiss.
"Well, it was a very long week," Lucy told him, helping him out of his coat.
"What's happened?"
"This girl who works down at the community center where Serena goes after school, I was talking to her the other day in the park-oh Doc…"
"What Lucy?"
"You know we've always wanted to have children and we've had problems, well, I know we've discussed other options, some, well, what do you think?"
"Adoption?"
"Well, yeah," she said, biting her lip.
"You want to adopt this girl that works at the community center? I always imagined us, if we were to adopt, getting a baby."
"No, no, no, the girl's pregnant! I'm talking about her baby, I want to adopt her baby, her daughter, Rayne," Lucy wrung her hands.
"Did she tell you she wants to give the baby up? This just all seems a little strange."
"Well, the whole situation isn't all too normal to begin with, but she did make it clear that she was seriously considering adoption. Doc, she realizes that she's too young to be a good mother for Rayne, she loves that little girl so deeply already. She told me that she wants her baby to have the best life possible and she knows that she can't give that to her, not now. But she doesn't want to never see her baby again, and I know how that is, with me and Serena, Scott took her away and I faced never getting to know her, I missed so much of her life, and this girl doesn't want to miss that, she's already lost so much in her short life. Kevin, it would be perfect if we could raise her baby, if we could be Rayne's parents, we'd have a child and Rayne's mother could still be near enough to her to see her grow up."
"Lucy, you know I'm with you in whatever you want to do, if this is what you want, then it's what I want, too."
"Really?"
"Of course. Now, first off, who is this girl?"
"Doc, she swore me to secrecy about this, I've really told you more than she wanted me to tell anyone. She's already been through so much, I don't want to make this any worse for her," Lucy's eyes welled up as she thought about what Liz had been through.
Kevin pulled her close to him and let her tears made wet spots on his shirt. "You really want to help her, don't you?"
Lucy nodded.
"Then I say let's go for it."
Lucy smiled and mouthed the words "I love you" to him before they kissed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Emily came up to Liz's locker before sixth period while Liz was trying to juggle her books into her bookbag.
"Hi Em," Elizabeth said.
"Liz…do you have a minute?" Emily asked.
"Not really, I'm going to be late for Chemistry if I don't get going."
"We really need to talk, Liz."
"Not now, ok?" she took her bag off the hook and slung it over her shoulder.
"Yes, Liz, now," Emily said, grabbing Liz's wrist.
Liz jerked back her hand.
"Is there something wrong?" Emily asked, concerned.
"Nothing is wrong," she said, starting to walk off to class.
"Liz, seriously, I need to talk to you. We can go somewhere private, this is pretty major."
"Fine, ok, I'll go with you, but if I get in trouble for being late for class…"
"Good, c'mon," Emily led Liz down the hall to a conference room, opened the door and shut it behind them.
"Now, what is it that's "SO" important?" she asked.
"Put your stuff down."
Liz did as she was told.
"Liz, um, well, there's just some important stuff I need to discuss with you."
"I got that much…."
"Liz, people are talking about you," Emily said, sitting on the table next to where Liz stood.
"Em, I don't care what people think of me, you know that."
"You really should care, at least some."
"Fine, what are they saying?"
"There's rumors about you going around, there has been for months but they've really escalated…"
"What about?" Liz said, getting obviously nervous.
"People are saying, Liz, they're saying you're pregnant," Liz turned away at this, unable to say anything. "Liz, I don't believe them, and I've tried to tell people that it's just rumors, lies. I just thought you should know this, so that you can defend yourself, I know you're not the type of person who would wind up pregnant, I know some people think you are, but I don't, you're a good person, Liz." There was silence.
"Good people get pregnant all the time," Liz finally whispered. She could feel that Em was standing right behind her. She reached backwards and felt for her hand, lifting up her sweater and placing Emily's hand on her belly, just as she had done with Lucy earlier that week.
Emily's jaw dropped open as she realized what Elizabeth was telling her. "Oh my God, Elizabeth, I'm so sorry, I didn't even consider…"
"No, it's okay Emily, you didn't know."
"Who does know? I mean, you haven't told Sarah or your grandmother, have you?"
"No, Gram and Sarah don't know. Lucky knows, and so does Lucy Coe."
"Lucky makes sense, but Lucy Coe?" "Serena goes to the community center after school where I work, I met her there, she's really a nice person, I told her earlier this week at the park." There was silence again.
"Um, Liz, if you don't mind me asking, um, how did this happen?"
"I'd rather not get into it right now, ok, I have to get to class, the bell rang at least twenty minutes ago."
"Okay," Emily said, giving her friend a hug. "If you need anything, you know I'm here for you, ok?"
"Thanks, Em," she said, picking up her books.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Liz slid into her seat at the back of the room next to Lucky.
"Where were you?" he whispered, leaning over to her.
"With Emily," she said. "Lucky, she knows."
Rayne
Chapter 9
"Emily's on her way," Liz said later that afternoon, hanging up the phone. "Ok," Lucky said, joining her on the couch at his house.
"Lucky, I'm okay, okay?" she said with a smile.
"I know you are, Elizabeth," he said, brushing her hair out of her face.
"I'm relieved that Emily knows, about Rayne, now just to let her know everything else," Elizabeth said. "Emily was telling me that people are talking about me. Lucky, have you heard them, too?"
"Elizabeth, I'd be lying to you if I said no. People have been talking about you."
"What if Sarah hears the rumors? She can't find out about Rayne, not yet. Miss Goody-Two-Shoes will certainly tell Gram."
"What others say doesn't matter. The people at school don't know you, and neither does Sarah, for that matter."
"Normally I'd say that Sarah doesn't matter, but in this she does. What if she gets suspicious and what if she tells Gram? That can't happen, Lucky, not till I'm ready."
"I know, I know," he said, as there was a knock on the door. "That's probably Emily."
Lucky got up and opened the door.
"Hey guys," Emily said, rushing inside to get out of the cold. She quickly shed her coat and hat and sat down next to Liz.
"Thanks for coming," Elizabeth told her friend.
Emily gave her a hug and told her, "Anything for you, Liz. I'm glad you want to let me in, I've known there was something wrong with you for a while, but I didn't want to pry and make it worse. I know a lot of times when I'm having a rough time, I just want to be alone."
"Well, I tried that and it didn't help. I ended up freaking out on Lucky because he was concerned and things are a lot better now that I have him on my side. I just hope that you can be as understanding as he has been."
"Um, Elizabeth, would you like me to leave you two alone?" Lucky asked.
"If you wouldn't mind, I can do this by myself," Elizabeth said. Lucky gave her a quick hug before going upstairs to his room.
"Liz, you're kind of scaring me, what's wrong?" Emily said, concerned.
"Emily, this is probably going to be a little hard for you to find out, but, I mean, I can talk about it now, so that must mean something good, right? Well, you're only the third person to find out, but still. Well, ok, I guess the first big thing you already know about, is that I am pregnant, my baby should be born in April."
"Wow, really? April? That's only in three months, you're hardly showing at all."
"I'm kinda glad that I'm not, Gram and Sarah don't know. At my checkup last week, the doctor said it looks like my baby should be born about April 29th, late April."
"That's good that you're taking care of yourself, and the baby."
"Well, it took Lucky to get me to go."
"I'm sure you would have, anyway."
"Well, this isn't really why I asked you hear, my pregnancy's not the only thing I've been keeping from people."
"Liz, it's okay, you don't have to tell me," she said as she saw her friend take in a deep breath and force back tears that were already forming.
"I told myself that I could tell you and I will. Em, people at school, those who are saying I'm pregnant, they may just be saying I'm some slut from Colorado that got herself knocked up, but I'm not. The truth is, I was raped. Numerous times. For many years."
Emily's mouth dropped open and her eyes got wide. "Who-who would do that to you? What kind of…he's not even a man, he's just scum, total scum, anyone that would do that!" Emily stood up in disgust over the thought.
"He was supposedly a friend of my parents, they would leave me with him and his family sometimes when they would go out of town. I can remember him touching me in inappropriate ways all the way back to when I was four years old. This wasn't just some isolated incident, this went on for years."
"Liz, I'm so sorry that you went through that," Emily said, hugging Liz while trying to wipe away her own tears.
"Emily, this is the third time I ended up pregnant, the first time, I was only ten years old, the second, thirteen. This time, I got away from him before I found out, the first two times, he took me to have an abortion. This time, I couldn't do it, this little baby, she's innocent, and she deserves life, no matter how awful her biological father was to me, she's my child. Does this make sense?"
"Yes, yes, I understand."
They both hugged each other again.
"Thank you for feeling that you could tell me," Emily said, drying her eyes.
"Thanks for listening."
Lucky peaked around the corner of the stairs. "Can I come down now?"
Liz smiled as she saw him and told him to come down. He descended the stairs and went straight to Elizabeth, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Thank you, Emily, for coming," Lucky told her.
"I really do need to get going, I'll see you both at school, bye," Emily said, gathering her things. Lucky crossed the room to open the door for her.
"Thanks again, Liz really needs all the friend she can get right now," he said quietly to her as she stepped outside.
"Take care of her, Lucky," Emily said as she left the house.
Lucky returned to Liz's side.
"I'm glad she knows, now," Liz told him.
"Me, too, Elizabeth," he said, holding her close to him.
Rayne
Chapter 10
A few nights after telling Emily, Elizabeth lay asleep on Lucky's couch. Lucky had even dozed off for a bit as the sun rose outside. The silence was broken a few hours later by murmurings coming from Liz.
"I'll be quiet…I won't tell…yes sir, I promise…yes, still, I'll keep still…"
Lucky heard her and tried to gently wake her. She jumped at his touch, but then relaxed.
"You're having another nightmare, Elizabeth, it's okay."
Elizabeth opened her eyes narrowly. "Lucky?"
He nodded as she sat up and melted in his embrace.
"Lucky, they're coming more and more, every night."
"I know they are, Elizabeth," he said, trying to calm her as she trembled.
There was a knock at the door. Elizabeth unclenched her hands from around Lucky and he got up to answer it.
"Um, hi Lucy," he said, after he'd opened the door.
"Good morning, Lucky," she said, looking past him to Liz. "Good morning Elizabeth. No one was home at your grandmother's house, I kind of figured you'd be here, Serena said you haven't showed up at the community center in a few days and we were both worried about you, I told her I'd come check on you."
"Thanks, Lucy," she said, standing up. "Really, I'm fine, I just wasn't feeling up to going down there."
"Are you and the baby okay?" she asked.
"We're great," she said, forcing a smile. Lucky returned to her side.
"What? What's wrong? Liz, you've been crying, what is it?"
They all went and sat down on the couch.
"Lucy, I've been having nightmares," Liz told her.
"About…him?"
Liz nodded.
"Do you have them a lot?"
"Yes, nearly every night, every nap, every bit of sleep, especially lately, constantly."
"Liz, I hope this isn't overstepping any boundaries, but have you considered talking to someone?"
"I've talked to you and Lucky and Emily," she said.
"I mean a professional."
"A shrink? No way."
"How about Kevin, my fiancée? He's great, Liz, he can help you."
"Lucy, did you tell him? Did you tell him about me and the baby?"
"No, of course not, I promised."
"Lucy, are you sure?" Lucky asked.
"I mean…um…I didn't tell him everything."
"Lucy!"
"Liz, I didn't tell him your name and I didn't tell him everything, just that there's a girl at the community center who's pregnant, that's all."
"Lucy, why? You promised!" Liz said.
"You don't know too much about me, Elizabeth. Kevin and I, we've tried and tried to have a baby and we haven't had too much luck. We finally did get pregnant last year only to lose the baby after only a few months. After we lost the baby, we talked about maybe adopting a baby someday since it doesn't look like I'll ever have a child of my own. So, after you told me you're considering adoption for your baby, I had to tell him, I had to see if he still wanted to adopt because I do."
"You want to adopt my baby?" she asked quietly.
"I didn't mean for it come out like this, Liz. If this isn't what you want, just say it and I'll forget the whole thing."
"No, no, Lucy, I-I'm speechless. This is exactly what I want, exactly what I need. Lucy, I've wanted you to be Rayne's mother practically since I met you."
"And I've wanted to be her mother," Lucy said, blinking back tears. Lucy hugged Liz as Liz looked over at Lucky with the biggest smile on her face that he had ever seen.
Rayne
Chapter 11
"You know you don't have to do this, if you can't, no one will be mad at you," Lucky told Elizabeth as they stood at the front door of the Lighthouse. Liz squeezed his hand as she told him, "You always say that. But I can do this."
"You can do anything," he told her.
"I know I can," she smiled.
***
"Are you sure she's comfortable with talking to me?" Kevin asked Lucy.
"She said she would," she said. "What, are you unsure of this?"
"I'm not really sure of anything right now."
"What do you mean? Talk to me, Doc."
"It just all seems a little sudden."
"We've wanted a baby for a long time."
"And it's finally happening. Impending fatherhood needs some time to sink in."
"So you're happy about this?"
"Of course I am," he said, kissing her.
***
"Ready?" Lucky asked again.
"Yes," she rang the doorbell.
A few moments later Lucy opened the door with a smile.
"Hi, come on in," she said, moving aside.
Kevin stood up as they entered. "Hi Lucky. Hello Elizabeth."
"Hello Dr. Collins," Lucky said, shaking his hand.
"Um..Come and sit down," Lucy said, motioning to the couch. Everyone followed her. "Would you two like something to drink?"
"No thank you," Liz said.
"Ok, Liz, would you like to get started?" Kevin asked.
"Ok, sure," she said, obviously nervous.
"We can talk back in my study," he said, motioning for her to follow him.
"I was so afraid I'd ruined everything," Lucy said once Kevin and Liz had left the room.
"Well, you almost did," Lucky told her.
"Ah, thanks for the support!"
"You promised not to tell anyone, Lucy, you betrayed her confidence. You're lucky she didn't change her mind."
"Change her mind?"
"About you."
"What about me?"
"About you being the perfect mother for her baby."
"Did she really say that?"
"Did you think she was joking when she said she had been wanting you to suggest it?"
"Of course, of course not."
"Lucy, she's thought you were the perfect mother practically since she met you. Of course, I thought she was a little crazy to think that at first--"
"Hey!"
"--but now I see what she sees, you'll be a great mom, Lucy."
"Well, thank you, thank you, Lucky Spencer."
Rayne
Chapter 12
"Today I just want to get familiar with your history, okay?" Kevin asked once they were seated in his study."Um, I'm not really sure all how much Lucy's told you about what happened to me," Liz.
"Actually, not all that much, she knew you didn't want anyone to know about it, so she pretty much kept her mouth shut."
"Then where should I start?"
"The beginning always is a good place."
That made Elizabeth crack a smile, but that smile quickly faded as she prepared herself to let another in. "One of the biggest things I don't understand is why. Why he would do this. Why this would happen to me," she paused.
"Who, Elizabeth?"
"He was a neighbor of our's, a close friend of my parents, they'd leave me and Sarah there sometimes while they were out of town for work."
"Was he the one who got you pregnant?"
She nodded, closing her eyes in an effort to hold back tears. She quickly gave him an overview of how he'd sexually abused her since she was so very young. "But this time I couldn't, this little baby deserves a chance. When I first found out I was pregnant, I was so scared. I shut it all up inside myself and if Lucky wouldn't have pushed so hard, I don't know if I would've told anyone. But then there was one day, a few weeks after I had found I was pregnant...I thought no one cared about me, that no one would want to help at all...I left class upset and Lucky came after me and he found me in the women's restroom and he came in anyway. I fought him, but he held me, he comforted me. And I still pushed him away. Then he said he'd take me home with him, that he wanted to help me. The bell rang for class and he held out his hand to me and I took it. So I went to his house with him and I told him everything. And I told him there was no way I could kill this child."
"That was a very mature decision you made."
"I knew it was the right one."
"Well--"
"Oh my gosh!" Liz said as she saw the time. "I totally forgot, I have a check-up today. I'm sorry, I really have to get going."
"It's good to see you're taking care of yourself."
"Thank you, Dr. Collins."
"Please, call me Kevin."
"Ok, then, thank you, Kevin."
Kevin and Elizabeth returned to where Lucy and Lucky were still talking.
"Finished already?" Lucy asked.
"We had to cut it short a bit because Liz remembered somewhere she has to be," Kevin told her.
"Where do you have to be?" Lucky asked her.
"You're usually the one who remembers everything, Lucky!" Liz said to him. "Mercy, remember, I have an appointment today."
"Oh, then you better get going," Lucy said, getting Liz's coat.
"Thank you," she said, taking it and putting it on.
Lucky and Liz headed for the door to leave.
"Um, Liz?" Lucy called.
"Yes, Lucy?"
"Do you know if you'll have a sonogram today?"
"Yes, I think I'm scheduled for one."
"Would you mind getting me a copy of the picture? I'd really like to get to see our little baby."
"Of course I'll get you one...wait, Lucy, why don't you two come with us? You should be there."
"Really, we wouldn't want to intrude."
"If you all are going to be this baby's parents, you should be there."
"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Lucy said, grabbing her coat and throwing Kevin's at him. "You don't know how much this means to me," she said, hugging Elizabeth.
"No, you don't know how much this means to me."
Rayne
Chapter 13
"So, how'd it go?" Lucky asked Elizabeth on their way to Mercy."Pretty good, I guess, he basically just asked me about my history and I told him. It's really gotten a lot easier with each person I've told. And then, right after that, I realized that I was due for my appointment and we had to stop."
"You think you'll schedule another session with Dr. Collins?"
"Sure."
There was silence for a few minutes.
Elizabeth could tell that Lucky was thinking hard about something. "What is it?" she asked him.
"Oh, nothing," he said, focusing on the road.
"What? Tell me," she said.
"I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"What if Kevin tries to convince you to tell Audrey or Sarah or your parents."
"I won't tell them till I'm ready."
"It's been almost six months already, you're not going to be able to hide your pregnancy much longer."
"Yea, I've been lucky that I haven't gotten very big."
"They'll notice, Liz."
"They don't pay attention to me."
"That's not true."
"Yes it is, everything's always Sarah. Sarah this, Sarah that, she's the perfect little angel that everyone loves. Sarah's always the center of attention and I'm just the other daughter. Sarah's the one with the brains, the talent, the beauty. Not me."
"I think you're beautiful."
"You don't count."
There was silence again.
"You're right, at some point Kevin will ask me about telling my family. At least I can show them how responsible I've been having check-ups and I've even found a couple to adopt my baby."
"There should be nothing for you to prove that you're responsible. This shouldn't have happened to you."
"They'll be mad I didn't tell them."
"They probably will, but they'll understand," Lucky said as he parked the car.
They both got out and looked for where Kevin and Lucy had parked. Upon finding each other, they walked into the hospital and Liz went in for her check-up. Kevin, Lucy, and Lucky waited to be called in with Liz. They attempted some small talk at first, but then just went about to reading some of the magazines in the waiting room.
A nurse walked in a while later and told them that they were ready for the sonogram.
Lucy jumped up, excited. "Oh, Doc, can you believe this, we're going to get to see our little baby!"
They all followed the nurse back to the exam room where Elizabeth was waiting for them.
Once they were all seated, Elizabeth introduced them, "Dr. West, you've met Lucky before, and this is Kevin Collins and Lucy Coe, they've decided to adopt my baby."
"Congratulations," Dr. West said to Kevin and Lucy. "Now, I'm sure you are all anxious to see how big this little baby has gotten."
All four were silent as the image started to appear on the screen. Lucy gasped in excitement.
"Doc, look, you can see all the baby's little toes, and it's fingers. She--or he--is so beatiful!"
"Sure is," he said, nodding in agreement.
"Would you all like to know the sex of the baby?" Dr. West asked.
"Yes, I would, I mean, if everyone else would like to know, too," Elizabeth said.
"Of course, Liz, if you want to know, we want to know," Lucy said.
"Everyone's in agreement?" Dr. West asked to make sure.
Everyone nodded.
"Then we have a little girl, here," she said.
Liz smiled and turned to Lucky, "Rayne, I told you, I knew it!"
"You sure did," he said, taking her hand.
"A girl! I'll be able to dress her up and do her hair and teach her about make-up," Lucy rambled.
"Don't get too carried away, there," Kevin said.
"Why don't you wait till she's a little bit older before make-up, Lucy," Liz laughed.
"Oh, Liz, thank you, thank you for this blessing for us."
"Lucy, just one condition, now," Liz said.
Lucy's brow furrowed, "What?"
"You will let her name be Rayne, right? That's very important to me, it's kind of hard to explain."
"I understand," Lucy said, smiling. "We'll be happy to keep her name as Rayne. Rayne Elizabeth Collins?"
"That sounds great. Thank you."
"Here, I've made both of you a copy of the sonogram picture," Dr. West said, handing Liz and Lucy pictures.
They both thanked her and everyone left the room so that Liz could get dressed.
"Today was a good day," Elizabeth said that evening as she lay on her bed with Lucky sitting beside her.
"It was, you were great today," he said, handing her a Hershey's Kiss.
"Thanks," she said as he began to unwrap another for her.
"You know, I've been thinking," he told her.
"Hmm? About what," she popped another in her mouth.
"You know, Valentine's Day is coming up."
"Most wasted day of a holiday if I ever saw one."
"Not a Valentine's Day person?"
"Never had a boyfriend on V-Day, so kind of stinks usually. Seeing all the other couples and all, you know."
"Well, I was thinking maybe this year we'd go as a couple."
"Go where?" she asked, looking up at him.
"To the dance."
"At school? Are you kidding me?"
"Yeah, c'mon, it'd be fun."
"Not if you're stuck with me it won't be."
"I sincerely doubt that."
"No, I'm serious."
"At least consider it."
"Maybe."
"Please," he said, giving her puppy dog eyes.
"I'll think about it."
Lucky didn't say anything for about a minute.
"Did you finish thinking about it?" he asked.
Liz took a stuffed animal and hit him on the head with it.
"Should I take that as a yes, you'll go with me?" he asked.
"You're shameless, Lucky Spencer."
"But don't you love me for it?" he grinned.
"I sure do," she said.
"So you'll go with me?"
"Of course I will."
She turned her head to face him and leaned towards him catching him off guard as she gently pressed her lips to his. They stayed locked together for a few moments till they both pulled away.
"Um, I've really got to get going," Lucky said, standing up.
"Yea, it's getting late, I need to get to sleep."
Lucky pushed up her window and climbed out onto the roof.
"Goodnight, Elizabeth," he said quietly.
"Goodnight, Lucky."
Rayne
Chapter 14
"Whatcha doing?" Emily asked, coming up to Lucky at the end of school a few days later."Just waiting for Elizabeth, she said she'd meet me here at her locker after class."
"How's she doing? I guess we just keep missing each other, I haven't talked to her in a while."
"She's doing pretty good. She has a couple that are going to adopt her baby. We also found out the sex of the baby at her last appointment."
"So? Boy or girl?" Emily asked.
"It's a girl."
"Oh! How cool! Does she have a name picked out yet?"
"Rayne, her name's going to be Rayne Elizabeth Collins."
"Collins? As in Kevin Collins?"
Lucky nodded, "Sure enough. Lucy and Kevin are going to be Rayne's parents."
"I'm glad everything seems to be working out."
"It does"
"So," Emily said, eyeing a banner on the wall opposite them advertising the Valentine's Dance. "Do you and Liz have plans for Valentine's day?"
"As a matter of fact, we do."
"Really?"
"Is that so surprising?"
"No, not really, I guess."
"We're going to the dance."
"Really??"
"No joke."
"I just didn't think..."
"That she'd want to go?"
"Yeah."
"It took a little bit of coaxing."
"I'm sure," she laughed.
"But she agreed to go."
"That's good. You'll have fun."
"Hey, would you want to help me with something?"
"Like?"
"I want to take Elizabeth shopping for a dress for the dance, I could use your help."
"You want me to go with y'all?"
"Yeah."
"When?"
"Now?"
"I don't have any other plans, sure, I just have to call home and tell them that I'm going out, wait for me here, okay?"
Emily went off to the pay phones.
"Sorry I kept you waiting," Liz said, joining Lucky at her locker.
"It's okay, I was just talking to Emily."
"Did she have to leave?"
"She just went to call home to tell them she's going out with us?"
"And where are we going?" she asked.
"Ok, my parents aren't expecting me till this evening," Emily said rejoining Lucky.
"Anyone want to tell me where we're going?" Liz asked again.
"It's a surprise," Lucky grinned.
The three friends finished at their lockers and went out to Lucky's car. They had driven fro about fifteen minutes when Liz asked again where they were going.
"Right here," Lucky answered, parking outside a small boutique in downtown Port Charles.
Elizabeth peered out the window at the store. Lucky got out and walked around to her side and opened the door for her. She took his hand and stepped out as Emily shut her door.
"Um, why?" Liz asked him.
"You've got to have something to wear to the dance, don't you?" Lucky asked.
Liz looked at Lucky. "Can't I just wear jeans and a big sweatshirt like usual?" she laughed.
"Not quite," Emily said.
"I've already had the woman here pull some dresses for you, she's expecting us, so come on," Lucky said, taking her hand again.
Liz followed Lucky into the building, followed by Emily.
"Hello, I'm Lucky Spencer," he said, going up to teh woman at the front desk.
"Hello," she said, shaking his hand. "We spoke yesterday, correct? The dresses are on the rack in the dressing area."
"Thank you," he said.
"Thanks," Liz said quietly.
"You're welcome, dears, I hope you find something you like," the woman said.
Lucky, Elizabeth, and Emily went back in the direction the woman had pointed. There, they saw a long rack of beautiful dresses. Liz and Emily excitedly looked through them, slinging their favorites on their arms.
"Here, try a few of these," Emily said to Liz.
"Okay," she said, taking the stack from her into one of the dressing rooms.
Elizabeth tried on dress after dress with no luck. Some she couldn't get zipped, some just made her look huge, and some plain didn't look good on her.
"Lucky, this isn't working!" she nearly yelled from behind the curtain.
"There's got to be something here for you," Emily reassured her.
Liz stepped out from the dressing room in yet another unsuccessful dress. "This one looks awful, too," she said, frustrated.
The woman fromt he front came back to where they were with another dress and said to Lucky, "I just finished this one, the color would look beautiful on your girlfriend, and it should be about the right size."
Lucky thanked the woman and took the dress, handing it to Elizabeth. Elizabeth quickly changed as she was growing more and more impatient.
Lucky and Emily heared Liz gasp from behind the curtain.
"Lucky, it's perfect," she said, coming out.
Elizabeth stood in front of the large mirror, turning, inspecting the dress from all directions. The color was a dark red, maroon almost, with the skirt starting just under the bustline. The skirt was made of many layers of fine tulle that made almost a romantic cloud surrounding her.
"Elizabeth, it's beautiful," Emily said.
"Ok, then that settles it, that's the one we're buying," Lucky said.
"You're too good to me, Lucky," Elizabeth said to him.
"You deserve it," he told her.