A Walking Disaster
After Elizabeth survives her kidnapping by Anthony's goons, she must overcome her fears to take him down- and she must put her faith in Johnny Zachara to do it. Not everyone agrees that her decision is best, including her new friend Matt. Yet she must somehow make it work in order to protect herself, and her children.
Author's note: This is an Elizabeth fic, not really a couple fic. The only guarantee I can give is that she's on friendly terms with Jason and Lucky in this, she will not be romantically entangled with either. I'm cleaning up the messes TIIC left Liz with, essentially.
Events up to when Elizabeth is taken stand (except Jason now has his Jason Q memories, and left town. Sam followed)- after that, nothing. It's all this story, and what this story tells you happened in that time.
A Walking Disaster
Prologue
Her wrists hurt, and her tongue was swollen from lack of hydration. How long had it been since she was able to drink water? Eat food? Sleep? Time meant nothing. It was all endless.
Her hands were bound behind the uncomfortable wooden chair she sat on, and her ankles were bound tightly as well. She could see nothing- and somewhere in the back of her terrified mind she wondered if that was better.
She remembered Manny's hand over her mouth, the way the world rocked and rolled, as he pulled her from side to side to let her know who was in control. Her heart had been pounding, she had felt his heart pounding against her back in time with hers. His kindness, intermixed with his obvious appreciation of his power of her had left her reeling. Sometimes she still dreamed of him...wondered if he was really alive.
She remembered the walls of the crypt, the names of the dead that she feared she would soon join, the feel of Zander's mouth on hers as she tried to drown out the fear, and the panic that bubbled in her chest. The world had blurred in there, and disappeared.
She remembered the world falling when someone pushed her down the steps on the docks.
She remembered the stars rolling backwards, as Tom Baker stripped her of her childhood, and her innocence. Leaving her body had been the only option- an option she wished she had currently. It was painful...
All of that...she saw.
Maybe, just maybe the blackness was a blessing.
However her imagination took hold, and the images she conjured were some kind of sick amalgamation of every terror that she had seen before this. Her breath was labored, her heart thundering, and every part of her ached from fighting with the ropes.
Helpless. How many times was she going to be helpless?
I'm going to die like this. They aren't coming back here- I'll die of thirst. I'm already so thirsty.
She had never felt thirst like this, it burned and ached inside her, with a throbbing that let her think of nothing else for too long. Thoughts were interrupted by the need for water.
The thought echoed through her mind.
She fought with the ropes, although the continued their burning against her skin. It seared through her, but she worked on. They were a little more loose than before, she could move her wrists just a little more than she could an hour ago.
Come on, Lizzie. You can do this. You have to do this. Cam can't lose anyone else, he couldn't handle it.
She fought some more, jumping the chair up, and backwards, the sounds and feelings of it echoed pain through her head and body. Maybe there was a wall with an edge behind her. She could use the edge to help rip at the ropes, she had been working towards that goal for some time now- it had to be approaching, it had to be.. I keep ping ponging between wishing I could see, and being glad that I can't. Ugh. Coherent thought-how I miss you...
Water. I just want some water.
She tried again to jump her chair backwards, and instead found the stability of the chair compromised, sending her into a split second free fall to the floor with a loud, painful and jarring thud. It took her a moment to get composed, more than a moment if she was being honest with herself. Her head was still wringing, as she wiggled against the ropes. The ground beneath her was cool against her cheek- but not smooth. There was dirt, or something pressing into her skin.
Not. Not dirt.
Glass.
It was glass!
She let out a little breath of excitement, and let her hands feel, as much as they could, for a piece for her to use. The lack of mobility was frustrating, and she thought about giving up more than once.
When she found one, it was a "be careful what you wish for" kind of moment, because she felt the sharpness slice cleanly through her hand. It didn't stop her, she tried to cry out, but no sound came out from her parched throat.
But she worked with the glass regardless, and tried, several times, to angle it to saw through her ropes. Each time a new cut emerged on her hands, until finally her hands were free.
Free, but uncooperative. Her limbs, having been fastened behind a chair for so long, cramped up, and tried as she might, she couldn't get them to move at first. Slowly, but surely, she managed to get them in front of her, so that she could take off her blindfold. She felt the wetness on her face as she removed the blindfold, and she knew that she had blood smeared there- but really, it was the least of her worries.
Her eyes were unfocused, her surroundings blurred from lack of sight and dryness. It looked like a warehouse- there were crates stacked everywhere. She worked at the ropes on her feet, groaning in pain as she willed her cramped up body to bend forward to get to her final bindings.
Water...
Slowly, painfully, she got to her feet. Every part of her ached with thirst, hunger, and muscle tension. She couldn't remember being in so much pain- then she was hit with another flash. Her lungs feeling like concrete, every breath being excruciatingly painful- the toxin, that hurt more, didn't it? She couldn't recall. Her new pain eclipsed her memories.
Just a little water...
First she got to her knees, and on her hands, the dirt getting into the cuts, and searing pain going up through her palms, to her arms. Her eyes were beginning to focus- no windows. The glass came from a bottle. Damn. She had been hoping for a window. Whatever colors the walls used to be, they were faded into a dull, miserable gray that was peeling off to a rotted, dark brown underneath. The floor was an unforgiving, unyielding concrete. No escape there.
It was dark, she could barely see- if it weren't for the skylight in the ceiling, she doubted she'd be able to see at all.
Her throat was too dry for her to call out, her tongue too thick and rough in her mouth.
Finally to her feet, she staggered toward the door. First she tried it, and looked down to see the bloody doorknob. She tried it again. Then, out of desperation, put her full force of body weight, and slammed her shoulder into it.
Nothing.
I'm going to die here.
Stop it. How many times have you thought you were going to die, Elizabeth? How many? You've lived every time.
I'm running out of lives.
Elizabeth shook her head, and then turned around, taking a mental inventory of possible weapons, for escape tools.
About a dozen crates, the broken glass bottles on the ground, a wooden chair, some ropes...and that was it. Shit. Fuck. Damn. The string of curse words continued in her head, as she crossed the warehouse to the garage door, where they would unload their cargo.
There is no way that I can lift that door.
She tried anyway.
She broke the chair to try and make a levy to pry it open, just enough for her to squeeze out. It took a few tries, and she knew what she was being fueled by. It was desperation that drove her through exhaustion, through her dehydration, through the hopelessness that was her current situation. It was useless, the door didn't budge.
I won't give up, Cam. I won't give up, Aidan. Mommy isn't going to give up on you.
She made her way back to the original door she had tried to open. Somehow...she had to get through that door. There was a piece of wood in her hand from the chair she had broken for pieces, and she used it to slam into the knob. Vibrations from the blow went through her body, but she did it again.
When she wanted to give up, she pictured Cam's sweet little face, and her promise as a child that she would never leave him like her parents left her.
I won't let you down.
She hit it again.
And again.
Then stopped. Because she heard something outside, a noise, she heard the doorknob jiggle slightly. She heard it again. At first she wanted to call out for help- but what if it was the man who put her in here? Panicked, she dashed towards a crate, and hid behind it. Her breath was coming so hard that she thought whoever was trying to get in could hear it.
The lock released, the sound echoed through the mostly empty room.
Her hands gripped the piece of wood in one hand, she knelt down, and picked up the piece of glass for the other.
The second he emerged in the room, she rushed him- not caring who it was, not even looking. A whoosh went out from her lungs as she went, raising her arm with the piece of wood.
Instead of hitting him she felt a blow to her chest, and she went careening backwards. "Oh my God, Elizabeth!"
It was Johnny Zacharra.
She stared at him, for about half a second, then dashed past him toward the door unthinkingly. This resulted in her being swept off of her feet by another unknown assailant. She didn't think, she reacted by swinging her chair fragment at his head, then hit him again in the stomach. The only reason she knew it connected was the sound- she wasn't feeling anything anymore.
A glint of dark caught her eye. A gun. He had a gun- and it was him, the janitor. But he wasn't aiming the gun at her, he was aiming at Johnny.
Didn't matter. She swung again. She hit the gun from his hands- or she thought she did.
But then everything went black.
Walking Disaster
Chapter One
"Hey, Jake, over here." Elizabeth jogged through the field after her son, then scooped him up into her arms and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You little rascal, don't shouldn't go running off like that."
It was a beautiful summer day, with bright blue skies, and a luminous, cheerful sun. Jake was soft, and sweet in her arms. He smelled like grass, honeysuckle, and sunflowers from the field he that had been rolling around little blue shirt that matched his eyes was rumbled, with a few fresh stains on it, and his black gym shorts were just as messy. "Come on, lets go back to the lake, Jakey. Em's there with a picnic. Do you really want to miss that?"
"No! I love Em's picnics!"
Elizabeth laughed at his exuberance, and held him tighter as she started through the grass towards her position next to the lake.
Emily was smiling brightly, waving for them to join her on the blanket, overlooking the serene waters that reflected the sunlight. She was like a ray of sunshine herself, in the sweet yellow halter dress, that looked even lighter against her sun kissed skin. "Jeez you two, way to make a girl wait!"
She stood up and took Jake from Elizabeth's arms, giving him an Eskimo kiss before setting him down on the blanket. "All of our favorites better be in there, Emily."
"Of course," she gave her a 'duh' look, before kneeling down on the blanket, and reaching into the large picnic basket. "Mmmmm, ribs!"
Giggling, Elizabeth took a plate of ribs from her friend. "Now come here, Jake- I'm going to teach you how to eat ribs. You don't do it with a fork, right? Remember how daddy Lucky hates that."
"I'm going to make a big mess." Jake told her proudly, and took a piece from his mother with a lopsided grin.
"He's so like you, it's scary." Emily retorted with a snort.
Elizabeth made a face, "you don't think that's like Lucky or Jason?"
"Making big messes? Running off? Being too brave for their own good? No. That sounds like Elizabeth Webber." She responded matter-of-factly. "The longer I'm with him, the less I miss you, Elizabeth. Although, I have to admit, Cam's a little more like you than Jake is. I mean, that kid can draw- and impulsive should have been his middle name, not Steven."
"He's lucky. It was almost Emily, boy or no."
Her best friend giggled, then watched as Jake abandoned the food to go play with some trucks he had left a few feet away. " Speaking of messes, dear friend. We've been avoiding one mess in particular. "
Elizabeth chewed nervously on her lower lip, "and what mess is that?"
"Oh, I don't know. How about you sleeping with Nikolas, while engaged to Lucky?"
Elizabeth wouldn't look at her friend, "do we really have to discuss that? It's been so happy here, so peaceful. I had almost forgotten all about it."
"Is that what you want?"
"Yes." She answered quickly, "of course it is. I trashed my life, I trashed Lucky's, and I trashed Nikolas' too. Why would I want to remember it? Why would I want to go back there?" She pulled her knees up to her chest, and still did not look at her friend. "I had never felt so lost before, Em. Never."
"Why? What was hurting you so badly?"
"I don't even know."
Elizabeth felt Emily's hand on her shoulder, and finally she looked into those golden brown eyes that held nothing but peace, and love. "You do, Elizabeth. You know- but you need to admit it, you need to put it out in the open."
"Wh-why?"
"So you can move on. Not just from the guilt, but from Lucky. Your seeking his forgiveness is what got you kidnapped in the first place, Elizabeth. You've been obsessed with it, obsessed with making it all up to him."
"Not to him." Elizabeth relented, feeling tears burn her eyes. "To me. I'm making it up to me."
"Why not to him?"
"I..."
"Go on, say it."
"Wait...did you hear that?" Elizabeth stood, in an instant, "did you hear it?"
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"How is she?"
Matt looked up from Elizabeth Webber's chart to the concerned gaze of Lulu Spencer. Behind her was Johnny Zachara, the prime suspect in Elizabeth's kidnapping. They were a strange pair to see, if their history wasn't known. The dark mob prince, and the Spencer darling. She was pretty, blond, and well dressed. He was dark, brooding, in a white tee, and blue jeans. All he was missing was a leather jacket to complete the greaser stereotype.
Matt had heard the theory. The cops believed that Anthony took Elizabeth because she witnessed one of his thugs heading the drug ring, Johnny was in on this, but the son couldn't stomach killing an innocent girl, and so he went to save her- or scare her into silence.
Well, she was sure as hell silent now. Maybe forever. Elizabeth's coma had lasted three days, which mirrored her time in captivity, from their examination it seemed she had gone that long without water, or food. She was shot in the abdomen, and the blow to her head from a fall landed her in her comatose state. She was lucky to be alive, really, even if it was just barely.
So when he looked past Lulu, staring into Johnny's dark eyes he said. "Still barely holding on."
Lulu sucked in a sharp breath, and he could see pain flash across her beautiful features. From what he knew, they weren't that close- so he wondered who that pain was really for. "Why don't you go in there and talk to her Lulu, I could go in with you, if you're afraid."
"Why would I be afraid?" She asked, straightening her shoulders.
He gave her a half-smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Come on, sometimes talking to a patient helps."
He turned around to see the police guard looking back at him, but the imposing Latino officer let him pass and allowed Lulu to as well.
Elizabeth, still hooked up to the quietly running machines, letting their beeping off quietly as her vitals remained as they were, looked like a little girl sleeping. Truthfully, Matt didn't quite know her age, she looked very young though, and in this situation younger still.
"Do you think she'll wake up?"
"We don't know."
Lulu nodded, "yeah. Yeah, Lucky already told me that. I, um...I just, I don't know why I asked."
"Because you want her to." Matt responded softly, he walked up to the bed. "Hey Elizabeth, Lulu came by to see you. I thought you could use the company, it's been pretty slow today." His tone was conversational, and calm. He could see Lulu reacting to it, her shoulders lowering, and the expression on her face easing. " I checked all of your vitals, and it's all pretty good. There was a little trouble with your wound today, it's not healing like we want it to, so you get to go on another field trip to testing tomorrow morning."
"What could be wrong?" Lulu asked.
Matt turned to her, "well, any number of things, I don't want to say something, in case I'm wrong. But we're pretty sure we can take care of it with some medication."
"Oh." Lulu stepped up, "can I say something to her?"
"Sure. She can probably hear you."
Lulu nodded, "hey, Elizabeth. Maxie said Matt here has been taking good care of you. I think she's getting jealous- and we all know how that could turn out."
Matt rolled his eyes, but said nothing.
"You need to come back. Cam needs his mom, Aidan needs a chance to get to know you. I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, I'm telling you that I need you to come back because I can't help Lucky take care of those kids on my own. I don't know how. I don't even know if Lucky would survive losing you too. He's already on edge-"
"Lucky can take care of Lucky." Matt interrupted, "so don't sweat that too much, Elizabeth. You just worry about getting better, and giving your boys some serious hugs. You have some making up to do, right?" He smiled, stepped forward and played with her blanket a little, making sure that her feet were covered. "Lets let Elizabeth get her rest, okay?"
Lulu nodded, looked back once at Elizabeth, then walked quietly out of the room. When the door was closed behind them, Matt raised a brow. "If he's using again, I don't want him near this room."
"What?" Lulu turned around, eyes fierce, "what gives you the-"
"I'm her doctor." He answered succinctly, "she is my first priority. So if your brother is using, keep him out of here. Got it?"
Lulu opened her mouth to speak, then snapped it shut. She was silent for a long time, then in a low voice she told him, "he was using, but he stopped. He's...not fine but...he's not high."
"Then he can come by- I would suggest supervision."
"Like you just did with me?"
"She needs positivity right now, Lulu. She doesn't need people trying to weigh her down with their crap. As far as I'm concerned, Lucky got her into this mess. Do not look at me that way. He did. He knew if he asked her for the moon that she would have died trying to get it for him. He used that. Because addicts? They use people."
"Well, Elizabeth owed him."
"No. Elizabeth owed him a divorce, and an apology- she didn't owe him this." Matt walked past her, then Johnny, feeling resentment within him start to build. Resentment...and fear. If his new-found friend didn't come out of this soon...she may not come out at all. He couldn't let that happen. She was his patient, she trusted him. It was his duty to come through for her.
"Well, for what it's worth, I would have no problem putting my life in your hands."
"Lets hope it never comes to that."
He stopped, and looked back down at the hall where Lulu was crying, and Johnny was taking her into his arms.
He didn't really want to admit how much this case was getting to him, he didn't want to think about working in the hospital without the nurse had worked with for three years, who was just now becoming a good friend.
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"Is Lucky using again?" Elizabeth turned to Emily, brows brought together in concern, "is that what she is saying?"
Emily stood up, her gaze went to Jake, then back to Elizabeth. "I've been here with you, how would I know?"
Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest, and bent her head down, "all of this is my fault, you know. If I hadn't had that affair...Jake would still be alive, Nikolas would never have left, and Lucky never would have even met Siobhan, so she'd be alive too."
"Or maybe Cam would be dead instead, maybe Nikolas would be- that's the problem with 'what if', Elizabeth. People want to go back, they want to fix things, with no thought to what else could break."
Elizabeth swallowed hard, taking in a deep, steadying breath. "I really do love Lucky."
"But?"
"But nothing. I do." Elizabeth turned around and walked toward Jake, ruffling his hair as she sat down beside him, and picked up his toy motorcycle. She rode it around him, and he laughed, trying to catch it with his hand, but she was too fast for him. Finally she relented, and he caught it with a cheer of jubilation. "You're such a handsome guy, you know that, Jakey?"
"Yup. You tell me all the time."
"Yes, yes I do."
"Elizabeth, you're stalling." Emily was beside her, though Elizabeth hadn't heard her approach. "It won't work. You can't stay here forever."
"Because I'll die?" Elizabeth asked softly, "or because I'm returning to them?"
"That's not up to me."
"Is it up to me? Do I have a choice?"
Emily shrugged, "I don't know. I just know we don't have much time left." She knelt down and looked her friend in the eye, "I'm your best friend, I just want you to find some kind of peace, Elizabeth, that's all."
"Peace? How? You're gone, Jake's gone...I ruined things with Lucky, my friendship with Nikolas is in tatters. Tell me, how can I make peace with that?" Elizabeth stood up, she kissed her son on the head. "If I don't have much time here, I don't want to talk about this stuff. I want to spend it with Jakey, and you, eating delicious food, and being happy."
"I want you to be happy, mom." Jake looked up with his bright blue eyes, "it's why we're here."
She felt that pain she usually got right behind her eyes before the tears came. When they fell, they were fast but quiet, and she looked at a sorrowful, but loving Emily. "Can I ask again?"
Emily nodded.
"Is this always what it is like, where you are?"
"No. But it's always a good place- and I always have Jake."
"And you're happy? He's happy?"
Emily nodded, "of course. But it hurts us that you aren't." She reached over, and with a thumb wiped away some of Elizabeth's tears from her cheek. "Let me say it for you? You need to hear it."
"Em..."
"You never got over it, what Lucky did to you, the addiction, the affair- it was always there, wasn't it?"
Elizabeth was already shaking her head before she spoke, "no, no, no. I forgave him. It's over now. He was...sick..."
"He failed you." Emily went on with perseverance. "Sick or not- it was on him, Elizabeth. He checked out of all of it."She pulled Elizabeth into her arms, "I know you forgave him. I know that you did. But you didn't forget, right? It was still there- the way he let you down like everybody else did. Like your parents, like Sarah, and Steven..."
"I'm- I'm an adult, I'm over all that."
"And when did you get over that, Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth pulled out of her embrace and looked deeply into her eyes. "I grew up."
"You did- but that ache didn't leave, and Lucky just compounded it. I'm not saying that this affair with Nikolas was his fault. It wasn't. You did it. But you needed to know why, and you didn't. You accepted responsibility for it- and then felt guilt. That doesn't fix anything, it doesn't make it right. You need to know why, to understand it, so you can heal too. " She was nodding, "you need to forgive yourself, you need to stop trying to make it up to Lucky, and you need to move on."
"What if I can't?"
"You have to. You don't have a choice."
Elizabeth looked around, it was getting darker out. Jake was back on the blanket, curled up in a little ball and sleeping with a smile on his face. Elizabeth looked back to Emily. "I wanted to be loved like you. Not just like how people loved you, I wanted to someone to love me, like I loved you, Em. Unconditional. Permanent. I thought...Nikolas was the closest thing to that- we've had spats but...we always made up, we always came back to each other. He was the closest thing I had to that feeling."
Emily nodded, "I know."
"Lucky couldn't make me feel that way anymore. He used to fill me up, and I felt so important. It wasn't like that anymore though, and I should have told him that."
"You should have." Emily agreed quietly.
"He failed me. I failed him. I guess it's over now." Elizabeth looked down at her hands, "I miss Nikolas. I blamed him, some part of me did, and I pushed him away. It wasn't his fault though...he was just looking for you."
"It was his fault too." Emily said quietly, "he knew better. You both did. Elizabeth, he needs your friendship back. The three of you- you guys need each other."
"Yeah." Elizabeth felt that thick, tight feeling in her chest start to loosen. "But I don't know if I'm going back- I need to. I love you, and I love Jake...but you two are safe, and taken care of. Cam, my sweet Cam and Aidan...they need me."
"They do." Emily nodded, pulling Elizabeth into a hug, "they need you to keep them safe, Elizabeth. You have to protect them.
She hugged her friend back, desperately, squeezing as tightly as she could. "I miss you and Jake so much." She buried her head into her shoulder, "it aches...every day..."
"We miss you too." Emily whispered. "Come on, lets go sit with him- finish our picnic, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth nodded, following her friend to the picture perfect scene in front of her. Jake fluttered his eyes open, and smiled at her. "Are you feeling better, mommy?"
"Yeah." She gathered the little boy into her arms, as they sat down. "Yeah, baby, I am. I love you so much, Jake." She kissed his cheek, then his forehead, and cuddled him close to her. She didn't ant to let go, she didn't ever want to let go.
But he was reaching to the plate, and picking up some ribs, then giggling, he smeared it across Elizabeth's face. She laughed, wiped at it, and put it onto his chubby little cheek.
When he tried to retort with his own move, she put her arm up, catching his in mid throw and the messy barbecue sauce ended up on Emily's pretty yellow dress. "Oh no, you're both in for it now." She warned, reaching into her basket- only to pull out a lemon meringue pie, and take aim.
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"You're still here."
Johnny looked up to see Elizabeth's ex-husband staring back at him with what could only be described as guilt and suspicion intermixed. His hair was disheveled, his eyes glossy and red. Either he was crying or he was high, either way, it meant Johnny was about to get reamed...again. "I'm waiting for her."
"So she can clear your name." Lucky did not look pleased by this.
Johnny was not in the mood for that kind of garbage though. He had nothing to do with Elizabeth's fucking kidnapping, and he was tired of answering questions, deflecting suspicion, and explaining himself. "No, Spencer. I'm waiting for her to paint me a picture."
Lucky's arms were folded over his chest, and his eyes were narrow. "You're joking about this? She went without water for days, she probably didn't know if she was going to live or die- you think that's funny Johnny? You think the mother of my children being tortured is some kind of joke?"
"No." Johnny replied, standing up, "I don't. I think your fucking investigation is the joke. Maybe if you all worked a little harder you could have found her sooner. As it is, I found her- and what am I getting? A police tail, hauled into the station five times for questioning, and Sonny Corinthos walking around putting hits on my head. Who gets called in for the shooting outside this hospital? Me. I was the damn target."
"Well maybe you shouldn't go around pissing people off." Lucky shot back scathingly, "Elizabeth was found in a warehouse that belonged to you."
"Yeah, she was found by me."
"Yeah, because you had second thoughts."
"I don't hurt innocent women." Johnny shot back, "I had no fucking beef with Elizabeth, Spencer. I never really even spoke to her. She was never a concern of mine."
"Until I started busting up your drug ring." Lucky retorted, "until she started helping me, and she caught on to your illegal activities."
"Not mine." He walked past Lucky, towards the door of Elizabeth's room. His eyes focused on her through the window, the bruise down her cheek could be seen by him, even from the distance. He hadn't meant for that to happen- why had he pushed her away? You didn't know it was her. The silent reminder didn't really ease his conscience. "I didn't do that to her, Spencer. A guy trying to kill me did it. She saved my life, and when she wakes up, she's going to save it again by keeping me out of jail."
He said it, sounded like he meant it, but inside he wondered if she would even remember the events that transpired.
Seeing her that night...it had been a ghastly scene. She had blood up her arms, smeared on her face. She was haggard, and broken looking. Then in an instant, she was on the floor, blood was everywhere and she looked like a broken porcelain doll on the ground.
He lost ability to think right then. He shot the guy who tried to kill him, gathered Elizabeth into his arms and took her directly to the hospital.
By the time he got out of police custody his warehouse was ash on the ground. All the evidence was gone.
Deep down he knew that this was all his father's doing. Wasn't it always? And it tore him apart inside to see Elizabeth laying there, because he felt responsible. He should have taken care of his father a lot sooner...and now he couldn't, Anthony had all but vanished. He killed Siobhan, Johnny didn't doubt it, and now he was taking Elizabeth out too, while leaving him holding the bag of guilt.
"Sitting out here waiting isn't going to make her wake up any faster." Lucky said, turning to her room. "If she wakes up at all."
"She will." Johnny responded with a certainty he didn't really feel, "she has to."
Nikolas approached, Aidan in his arms- tailed by Spencer and Cameron.
"Daddy!" Cameron ran towards Lucky and jumped into his arms. The cop lifted his son and kissed him on the cheek. "Spencer and I want to see mommy. Now."
"Yes, please." Spencer added, walking up more timidly. "I drew a picture for her, like she taught me to."
Nikolas gave Lucky a meaningful look, walking past Johnny without a second glance. "I couldn't convince them that we shouldn't come. Cameron was convinced that his mother was awake, Lucky- and with Spencer there too..." He trailed off, and shrugged, "you know how they are when they are together."
Lucky put his head against Cameron's, then put a hand on top of Spencer's head, ruffling his hair a bit. The little boy tried to dodge his uncle's attempt to mess his hair up, but failed. "Stubborn, and even more stubborn as a pair. Gee, I wonder where they get it."
"She's 'wake." Cam said, his brows knitted together. Spencer was nodding, "yes, yes she is." Cam insisted.
Lucky sighed, "boys, I'm sorry- but she isn't...come on. Lets go inside..."
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"I'm tired." Elizabeth whispered, holding onto her son, who had already fallen asleep in her arms. "Aren't you tired?"
Emily nodded, "it's late. We should be sleeping."
The two ladies settled onto the blanket, facing each other, Jake sleeping in Elizabeth's arms, cuddled to her. "Thanks for everything, Em."
"What are friends for, hm?"
Elizabeth felt her eyes drooping downward, she could barely keep them open. "Em?"
"Hmm?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Elizabeth."
She couldn't stave it off any longer, sleep took her captive.
When she woke, it was to the softness of children on either side of her- combined with a dull ache in her abdomen, and brightness surrounding her, that greeted her.
It was disconcerting, and Elizabeth felt displaced- confused, and her mind was very slow moving. Sluggishly, she tried to move her arms, keep her eyes open and understand what was going on- but it seemed so hard to perform these simple tasks simultaneously.
"Mommy!"
It was Cam's sweet, gentle, excited voice. She felt little arms around her. Then another set. "Aunt Eliz'beth!"
"Nikolas, quickly, get Matt."
"I tol' you, daddy. I tol' you she was awake. Didn't I tell you?"
"C-Cam?" Her eyes were unfocused, but she held onto her son, then to the other boy, whose voice she recognized. "Spencer?" A smile began to tug at her lips, and she held them more tightly. It didn't matter that every part of her was aching, and that he was pressing onto the part of her abdomen that hurt the worst.
"You were wite, Cam'ron." Spencer said happily, "Aunt Eliz'beth is awake."
"Of course I was." Cam said, as if it were fact that he was always right. "
Elizabeth just hugged them both, feeling surrounded by their love. "Of course you were, baby." she told her son, then kissed his cheek, and then kissed Spencer's too.
Her eyes began to focus, and she saw Lucky standing with Aidan in his arms. Their eyes met over the children, and she tried to smile, knowing it came out all wrong. It didn't matter.
Cam and Spencer's warmth swept her away into a golden moment.
She was loved.
Soooooo...let me know what you think/want/feel with this fanfic :)