Disclaimer: This is purely a work of fiction, written for fun, not profit. I have nothing to do with Guiding Light, and no share in the ownership of it.
Karma
Chapter One: The Calm Before the Storm
Bill shut the hotel room door, then leaned back against it and breathed a loud sigh of relief. "We survived," he announced.
Lizzie was clearly trying not to laugh. "She was only here for two hours, Bill," she reminded him.
"Yeah, two hours, no time at all- and she still managed to get into everything, and then you put on that sing-along tape, and-"
"And you enjoyed every minute of it," she retorted, winding her arms around his waist and smiling up at him. "Don't think I didn't notice."
"She's a cute kid," he said with pretended nonchalance, but he had to smile back.
"She takes after her mom," she informed him, then leaned up and gave him a quick kiss.
He kissed her back, pulling her closer to him. "So now that we have your room to ourselves-" he began, then glanced past her. "Hey, did Sarah leave something here? It looks like there's something sticking out-"
Lizzie turned to look, then gasped and slipped free of his hold, picking up a teddy bear hiding just under the bed. "I don't believe this. I was so sure we'd found all her toys!"
"Look, maybe he hasn't left yet," Bill pointed out. "I can run it out to him, and-"
Lizzie hurried to the window, groaning as soon as she looked out. "His car's gone. I'll have to take it to Cross Creek."
"Why don't you just wait until tomorrow?" he suggested. "You're having breakfast there anyway, right?"
"We are having breakfast there, yes. But Sarah likes to have all her toys set up a certain way when she sleeps, you know, and this one…" Lizzie choked up a little as she looked at the stuffed animal in her hands, "this one is the first I got her that she likes enough to…"
Bill quickly went over to her, resting his hands on her shoulders and leaning down so that he'd be at her eye level. "Lizzie, listen to me," he said softly. "She loves you. You've missed out on a lot of time together, yes, but you have her back now, and you can see her whenever you want. Just give it some time, all right? She'll be begging to stay over here with you before you know it."
She forced a smile. "You're right, I know you're right… but it's just so hard to believe that sometimes, you know? I mean… nothing in my life ever really went right until- until I started working with your dad, and now I have everything I've ever wanted- I have my daughter back, and Jonathan and I are at peace, and I have Billy to look out for me, and I have you-" She touched his cheek, her smile becoming sincere for a moment. "I have everything. I'm just… I'm sort of afraid of that, you know? I've thought that before and then everything always fell apart, and I don't want that to happen again-"
"Don't worry." He smiled. "I'm not going anywhere, and I'll make sure Jonathan and Sarah don't even think about leaving, either." Then, more lightly, he added, "You know, Sarah may not be staying here but I know someone who would love to spend the night…"
Lizzie smiled back. "Is that so?"
"Mmhmm." He leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled free from his grasp, laughing.
"Don't distract me!" she scolded him playfully. "I need to take this to Sarah."
He put on his best sulky expression. "What about what I need?"
Lizzie laughed, patting him on the shoulder as she headed for the door. "You can wait," she assured him. "I won't be gone long, promise."
"Good," he said, following her. "Oh, and Lizzie?"
"Hmm?" she asked, pausing to look back at him. One hand was already on the doorknob.
Bill framed his left hand against her cheek, put the other on top of hers at the doorknob, and kissed her until he felt her hand go limp and start to slide free. Then he pulled back a bit and smiled. "Just a little extra incentive for you to come back soon," he told her, trying not to smirk too much.
Lizzie's laugh was definitely on the breathless side. "Okay," she said, pulling the door open and backing out without breaking eye contact with Bill. "I'll be back. Soon. Very soon."
"Good," he said, grin widening.
When she shut the door, he grabbed his laptop and went to her surprisingly tidy desk. There was always work to be done, and no point in wasting time.
About fifteen minutes later there was a knock at the door. He pushed away from the desk, already smiling. "Did you lose your key ag-" he called, cutting off abruptly when he saw that Ava was standing there, not Lizzie.
"I thought you'd be here," she said tersely, pushing past him and heading straight for the minibar. "We need to talk."
"Um, Ava, this is Lizzie's suite," he pointed out warily, not moving. "I don't think-"
"I know whose room this is, and I'm not leaving until we talk, so you might as well just stop trying to get rid of me and start listening!" With each word her voice got louder and more frantic, and Bill could see that her hand was trembling too hard for her to open the bottle of water she'd picked up.
He took a step towards her, not sure what to do. Lizzie wouldn't want her in the room, that was for sure, but if something was wrong… "Ava-"
She turned abruptly, her flashing dark eyes meeting his. "Look, I'm pregnant, all right? I'm pregnant, and it's yours."
