A/N – I am not a medical expert – making it up as I go along. Pardon any discrepancies.

If you're not a fan of Sarah Webber, of course you're not going to enjoy this story!

Chapter One

The lights in the elevator flickered briefly, causing Sarah to raise her blue eyes and stare warily. Her heartbeat was rapid and butterflies were moving quickly through her stomach as she approached the 6th floor, her stop. She straightened her white lab coat, pausing to make sure her stethoscope was in one pocket and her prescription pad and pen in another. Since this was going to happen, it was going to happen the right way. She'd make sure of it.

The elevator stopped at the 2nd floor and the doors opened. Sarah eyed the unknown employee standing there with mild interest. His skin was dark and he was well muscled. He looked comfortable as he stepped on the elevator, his dark brown eyes widening with surprise. "You're new here."

"Is that a question?" Sarah asked with a practiced professional smile.

"No." A bright, white tooth wide grin came her way. "I'm pretty sure I know everyone in this hospital. I haven't seen you before, although you look a bit familiar." His eyes began to assess her in more detail. "I'm Felix Dubois, by the way."

"How long have you worked at General Hospital, Felix?"

"Three and a half years." Felix couldn't place her, he decided. "Everyone here is tight, so when someone new appears, it's a big thing."

"The news around the hospital," Sarah added dryly.

"Yes. Exactly." Felix glanced at the elevator panel. "6th Floor – Pediatric ward?"

"Yes. I'm here to consult on a case. For Avery Corinthos."

"You're the pediatric cardiologist they brought in? That's awesome!" Felix's grin grew wider, if possible. "Everyone will be so THRILLED to see you. Avery being so sick has been hard on everyone."

"This is one of the beloved families in town, I take it?" Sarah didn't want to tell him she didn't think EVERYONE was going to be as thrilled as Felix suggested.

Felix paused. "Pardon me for saying this, but you have a very distinct aura about you. And I don't mean that in a nice way. If you're going to save this little girl's life, you should probably perk up. And fast. Children can sense misery and bad aura, Dr… what did you say your name was?"

"I didn't." Sarah gulped one last time as the elevator stopped and the doors opened with a flourish. With the Nurses Station desk in her line of vision, Sarah pressed her lips together in a firm line before saying, "I'm Dr. Webber, Felix. Dr. Sarah Webber ." She walked off the elevator and towards the group at the Nurses Station. She was home at last.

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"Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are." Carly sang softly as she rocked back and forth on the chair in the pediatric ICU, Avery drowsy and falling asleep on her shoulder. Avery's laboured breathing was heard underneath the pink blanket wrapped around her, and Carly rubbed her back gently, her eyes sad. Why on earth was Avery, of all people, the one to have a congenital heart disease? This sweet, innocent child ….

The door to Avery's room opened and Carly's eyes raised to see who it was. She continued to sing softly and rock, lulling Avery into a deeper sleep. Goodness knows, the little girl needed as much sleep as she could get since her illness made it hard for her to sleep. Seeing Ava in the doorway, Carly went back to focusing on Avery, completely ignoring Ava.

Ava took in the sight of her daughter tucked against Carly's shoulder and felt bitter tears fill her eyes. Avery was much closer to her stepmother than she was to her own mother. Ava wanted to rage – against something or someone, but Avery's illness had begun to seep more directly into her consciousness and made her realize she needed to place the blame where it belonged. On herself. The decisions she'd made over her life had cost her both her daughters, in one way or another. With Avery, it had cost her custody time and time again, giving Carly the time to bond more closely with her daughter. With Kiki, she'd lost the trust her daughter had in her as well as the right to be a part of her daily life. Ava exhaled a soft sigh. "No change in her condition." It was a statement, not a question.

Carly's eyes briefly flickered Ava's way and then away again. She made no move to reply.

Ava felt anger simmer within her body. She hated it when Carly disregarded her, especially where Avery was concerned. However, with sole custody firmly in Sonny and Carly's hands, Ava could do nothing but play nice. "I can stay with her for awhile if you need a break," she offered through her teeth, trying to sound more pleasant than she felt. Her arms ached to wrap around her daughter and snuggle her close.

"She just fell asleep," Carly said quietly, mimicking Ava's "pleasant" voice. "Since she's not sleeping a lot lately, I'm going to let her sleep on me as long as she can. Hopefully the rest will help."

Ava watched Carly's hand caress her daughter's soft brown hair, then move gently down to Avery's back where she started rubbing in slow circles. She should be grateful, Ava reminded herself. The love Carly poured on Avery was unconditional, and Avery obviously felt a bond with Carly as well. The very fact that Carly was willing to sit in an uncomfortable rocking chair just holding Avery while she slept showed the love Carly had for Avery. Yet the emotion that overtook all others was jealousy. She wanted that bond with Avery, wanted to be the one Avery could sleep on. Folding her arms, Ava finally nodded, pretending understanding. "I hope so."

"Why don't you go see if the specialist Sonny hired is here yet?" Carly suggested. The last thing Carly wanted was to spend any lasting time with Ava Jerome. Curling her arms more protectively around Avery, Carly finally looked at Ava. "Her plane should've landed an hour ago. She should be here any minute now."

Ava wrinkled her nose, but decided not to argue. "Good idea. I'll let you know once I see her." Ava turned around and walked back out of Avery's room. She stopped in front of the door, leaning against it and exhaling a sigh.

"Carly's in there?"

Ava opened her eyes and smiled wryly. "How'd you guess? The look of joy on my face?" The sarcasm was a welcome relief as she opened her arms to embrace her … what would she call him? Stepping back from the hug, Ava reached up and gently touched Nikolas' face. "What do I call you? My boyfriend? Paramour?"

Nikolas Cassadine chuckled and brushed a light kiss across Ava's nose. "I've always wanted to be a paramour." His fingers laced with hers as he tugged her gently from Avery's room. "Let's go see who this big shot specialist is that Sonny hired. I overheard him mention her imminent arrival."

They headed towards the Nurses Station and when Nikolas stopped suddenly, Ava's hand jostled free of his. Turning towards him in surprise, she saw Nikolas' wide eyes and mouth formed into an "O" of surprise. Ava turned her eyes towards the desk and saw Elizabeth there, looking stunned as well while Sonny was grinning widely.

"Sarah! Long time no see! You have no idea how happy I am that you're here. My daughter's life depends on you."

Sarah returned the smile, wiping her palms on the side of her pants before stepping forward. "I wish it were under better circumstances, Sonny." Her eyes moved towards the desk. "Hello, Lizzie."

Lizzie? Ava wasn't sure who this girl was, but clearly Nikolas, Elizabeth and Sonny knew her.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "You hired my sister? Did it ever occur to you to mention who the specialist was, Sonny?" She didn't address Sarah directly at all. Instead, anger flew from her eyes.

Sonny looked unapologetically at Elizabeth. "I will do whatever it takes to save my daughter, Elizabeth. If that means hiring your sister, then that's what I will do. I don't need your permission, and I'm not going to do anything less than everything I can for Avery."

"Sarah."

Looking overwhelmed, Sarah turned towards the voice. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Nikolas, but other than that, her expression did not immediately change. Taking a deep breath, Sarah suddenly cleared her throat. "Listen," her gaze travelled towards Elizabeth. "Sonny's right. You don't have to like that I'm here or even spend time with me. However, I am the doctor on case for Avery Corinthos and I will be moving forward right away on that. I'd like all her files right away so I can get caught up to speed. Sonny," Sarah turned towards him. "I'd like to meet your daughter, and her mother. Could you take me to them?"

"I'm Avery's mother." Ava stepped forward before Sonny could open his mouth. "I'm also really glad you're here, Dr. Webber. Avery is with her stepmother, " Ava briefly glanced towards Sonny, as if daring him to contradict her. "Follow me and I'll take you to her."

Sarah nodded and followed Ava down the hall, Sonny following. As they disappeared around the corner, Elizabeth gazed at Nikolas. He stared back wordlessly and then said, "The last person I ever expected to see."

"How dare she?" Elizabeth shook her head. "She better not think things will be all hunky dory with us. I haven't spoken to her in years, since … "

"Since she left Port Charles the last time," Nikolas finished quietly. "I haven't either." His gaze travelled the wall for a moment before flickering to Elizabeth. "We're not exactly in a position to judge any longer, Liz."

Elizabeth's face turned stony. "Sarah's and my relationship extends long past her history with Lucky and even with you," she hissed angrily.

Nodding, Nikolas absently looked down the hallway Sarah had vacated. "Maybe you should see what she's been up to in the past six years. Professionally, she seems to have done very well for herself."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I have no interest in spending anytime with my sister. Nor will she be spending time with her nephews either."

Nikolas sighed. "Ok, Liz. For the record, I think you're making a mistake." He walked forward and hugged her briefly. "I'm going to go see how everything's going with Avery."

"Bye, Nikolas." Elizabeth watched him leave, biting her lip and praying her sister's job would be finished quickly and Sarah could leave town and Avery be on the way to recovery before Sarah could worm her way into anyone's life and do damage.