PART FOUR
- at Alexis' house -
Alexis had picked up the phone and dialed Audrey sometime during their conversation. Assuring the matriarch of the Webber family that her grand daughter was safe in her care, Alexis gained permission to have Elizabeth stay over.
"My gram must have thought something is strange."
Alexis smiled at her. "Her tone said as much, but she didn't question me outright…"
"That'll be saved for me." Elizabeth grimaced.
Nikolas' concern was plain in his expression. "Maybe I should take you home and we can discuss this later."
Elizabeth held him in place with a hand on his arm. "It's better if we talk about this now. If I'm correct, Alexis has a lot of other things we need to discuss."
The older woman nodded. "I always thought you were a smart young woman. We really do need to talk about a lot of things. First of all, Elizabeth, when do you turn eighteen?"
- Hours later -
Nikolas tried to move his arm to regain some feeling in it, but the moment he started to lift his shoulder Elizabeth mumbled something in her sleep and he stopped short.
The soft chuckle across the coffee table had NIkolas narrowing his eyes at his aunt.
"You have something to say?"
Alexis sat back into the cushions and shook her head. "Not really, I'm just enjoying this."
A shadow crossed his features. "You're enjoying this? I-"
"No," she waved him off, "not the whole situation with Katherine," she sighed, "this." She gestured to him sitting on the couch, a sleeping Elizabeth tucked up against his side, her head on his shoulder. "You and Elizabeth."
"She's my best friend," he interjected, "there's no one else that I could trust to understand how much this means to me."
"There's no one else," Alexis questioned, "or no one else that you'd consider… I thought you and Emily were close too."
"Well, Emily has Juan," he explained after a moment of thought, "and Elizabeth…" he looked down at her sleeping face, "Elizabeth… we take care of each other."
The young woman in question slept on against his side, her face the very picture of peace and relaxation.
"Yes," Alexis agreed, "you do."
"She stood with me during the whole affair with Katherine… she was there to make me smile when I didn't understand what was going on… she was there to show me what an ass I was making out of myself… and when I finally realized that Katherine viewed Elizabeth as a danger to our relationship I knew… I knew exactly what she was thinking."
Alexis was silent and Nikolas turned to look at her.
"What?"
Smiling, the attorney shook her head. "No, I don't think you do, Nikolas."
"I may be young," he argued, "but give me some credit to see what Katherine was thinking."
Setting down her clipboard, Alexis gave him a wide grin. "I don't think you do. You told me that Katherine had an issue with Elizabeth as your friend… that she thought Elizabeth had enough pull to get you to see that being with Katherine was…"
"Crazy? Ridiculous?"
Alexis nodded in satisfaction. "Those will do, but it wasn't just because you're friends with Elizabeth."
The young brunette shifted in her sleep, sliding down on the couch to pillow her head on Nikolas' thigh. Once she settled, Nikolas reached down and smoothed her curly hair back from her face, tucking some errant strands behind her ear with a gentle swipe of his fingers.
Alexis saw the way his fingertips lingered a bit on the high rise of Elizabeth's cheekbone before he set his hand on the younger woman's shoulder.
When Nikolas met her eyes again, he blinked a bit to focus. "Of it was because Elizabeth is my friend. Katherine knows how much influence Elizabeth has over me because of it."
Biting the cap of her pen, Alexis tried not to laugh at her earnest nephew. "Katherine wasn't threatened by your friendship, Nikolas… she sees what is right there on your face." She watched him struggle to understand. "My only question is… how long have you been in love with Elizabeth?"
- Katherine -
She woke from sleep, her stomach rebelling against her earlier meal. Stumbling to the bathroom, Katherine fell to her knees on the cold hard tile. The rush of pain paled as she lost the contents of her stomach, her hands gripping the porcelain bowl. As the burn of bile scraped her throat she continued to repeat her newest mantra silently in her head. "It will all be worth it… it will all be worth it… it will all be worth it when I'm Mrs. Cassadine."
- Alexis' house -
"Alexis," he swallowed and looked away, "that's not why-"
"Ah!" She jumped in. "But you do… you-"
"It only complicates things."
The attorney shook her head. "It makes things 'less' complicated, Nikolas. Have you told Elizabeth what-"
"She's still mourning Lucky, Alexis. She's in love… with HIM. I had thought… once I realized how I felt… that when the right time came-"
"And then Katherine announced that she was pregnant."
Nikolas nodded, a shadow firmly settling over his face. "And now, to protect my child, I'm probably ruining any chance I have… to make Elizabeth fall in love with me."
- The Morning -
Elizabeth woke up, half sprawled over something. For a moment she thought she'd fallen asleep at the studio, and managed to fall on the floor. When she opened her eyes she drew back in surprise, Nikolas was slumbering half-underneath her body. As quickly and as carefully as she could, Elizabeth got up and shuffled into the kitchen where she could hear Alexis moving around.
"Good Morning, Elizabeth." She greeted the younger woman with a grin. "Sleep well?"
Blinking for a moment, Elizabeth considered the question and slowly nodded. "Actually, I did." She looked back at Nikolas, who had turned on his side, stretching his full length out on the couch. "I'm surprised Nikolas didn't mind me crowding him on the couch."
There was a curious look that crossed Alexis' face, but she quickly busied herself with the coffee maker. "You both have a lot to do today, I thought I'd make you something to eat before Nikolas takes you on some of your errands."
- Lockland Jewelers -
Nikolas held the door open for Elizabeth and followed her into the store. When he was at her side, Elizabeth leaned in toward him. "Nikolas, you don't need to do this just because Alexis said-"
"This isn't something I take lightly, Elizabeth." Nikolas steered her toward the center case of the store and looked down into the midnight dark velvet display. "If you're going to marry me, you're going to need a ring."
Elizabeth bit her bottom lip as she perused the rings in the case. Even without looking at the price tag she knew they were insanely expensive… so much so, they probably didn't even HAVE a price tag. "Please, Nikolas…"
He took her hand in his and turned to look at her. The sudden contact of his hand stopped her voice in her throat. "Elizabeth, let me do this… to show the world how much you me- how much your friendship means to me."
A clerk cleared his throat and smiled at the young couple. "Ahh… shopping for a ring?"
Elizabeth's blush rendered her unable to answer.
"Yes," replied the young man, "I need a ring for my fiance."
The gentlemen brightened up and gestured to the case. "Well, we have the best selection of Engagement Rings in all of Port Charles, what would you like to-"
"Topaz…" Elizabeth's voice was still thin and small, "my birthstone is Topaz." She looked at the clerk. "I know an engagement ring is usually a diamond, but my sister's birthstone is April and I'd rather have something more… me." She looked back at Nikolas. "Is that okay?"
Nikolas searched her eyes for an explaination but nodded anyway. "Whatever you want… it is YOUR ring." He gave her a smile as the clerk steered them toward another case at the side of the room. when the clerk was far enough away, Nikolas leaned closer. "I didn't know Sarah's birthday is in April."
She looked up at him through her lashes. "It's not… I just… with you not working… I didn't want you to pay for a diamond, Nikolas… and really I like my birthstone. Topaz is a beautiful stone."
Nikolas smiled at her and shook his head. "Not as beautiful as you."
They were interrupted when the clerk set a few displays down before them, pointing out the various features of the rings and their settings. Elizabeth, true to her word, reached immediately for a simple silver band with a brilliantly cut oval stone, blue… not the warm orange that was also a prevalent color of topaz stones. She gazed down at the simple ring with such a lovely beatific smile that Nikolas didn't have the heart to argue when she announced. "This one. Please, Nikolas… this one."
As Nikolas walked off with the clerk to pay for the ring, Elizabeth looked at the calendar on the wall. It was Saturday morning. Less than 24 hours from the time that Nikolas Cassadine asked her to marry him. Less than 12 hours since she'd said yes. And, in a few hours, once a few key players in Port Charles found out, pretty much everyone would know… and her life would never be the same.
