I don't ABC, General Hospital or Under the Tuscan Sun, or Revenge. I also don't own any of the characters therein.
4.) Chapter 4 Seeing Things through the Video Prism: Part 2
"I've checked the outgoing flights from the Port Charles Airport and I have nothing on the manifesto for this last Saturday, using Elizabeth's name or the kids for that matter. I'm going to try JFK, and work my way out," said Stan.
"Thanks, Stan. I'm still reviewing footage." Jason said.
Video Footage PICU November 2nd 18:00 – RM 304
"I'm back," said an exhausted Elizabeth as she walked in with Cameron hand in hand, "Thank you so much for watching Aurora, Emily."
"I'm happy to help. There's been no change. The nurse just did rounds and changed her IV bag."
Elizabeth sat Cameron down on the small pullout. Children's rooms and units were different than the adults because the rooms had small couches in the room that converted to beds if need be. That was done purposefully, with the understanding that parents rarely left their children in these dire situations.
"Are you two spending the night, Liz?"
"Yeah."
"Do you want me to take Cameron? Nik and I are going to be visiting Lucky later. I'm sure Lucky would like to see him." Said Emily.
"That's very sweet of you, Em, but Lucky isn't in a good place right now and I don't want to expose Cameron to that,"Liz responded.
"Well, if you're sure?"
"Yeah, Em. I'm sure. Go take care of whatever you have to. We're just going to stay here and tend to Aurora. I picked up dinner for us on the way back, and I packed enough clothes for the next few days. We'll be ok. Once Cameron is settled, I'm going to start making phone calls. Can you do a favor for me and not mention this to Lucky right now, Em?"
"Why? I'm sure he'd want to know."
"He's not in a proper state of mind, Em. Trust me. I saw him last night after my party. He's not in a good place. Dealing with him right now is more than I can take and I would call before you visit him, because his volatility during my visit last night caused him to be placed in solitary for a while."
"Wow. I hadn't heard about that, but I guess with all that's happened today, he would be the last person on your mind," knowing that Elizabeth wanted to change the subject Emily moved on to a different topic, "Have you spoken to Sarah, yet? What about your parents?"
"I called her three times, but I got no response. I'm going to try again in a little bit. Her hours are crazy. As for my parents, I had to run home and get Gram's address book. It has the number for the diplomatic attaché assigned to Doctors Without Borders. Since they're out in the field it will be harder to reach them. Last I heard, they were working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo."
"Are you sure you want me to leave? I feel like you shouldn't be alone right now."
"Your concern for me is heartwarming, but I'm not completely alone, I have Cameron and Aurora, and you had plans this evening."
"I don't want to leave. Will you promise to call me if you need anything, Liz? I mean it."
"I will Em… and Em, thank you," Liz said giving her best friend a heartfelt hug.
"I love you, Liz! You're more than my best friend. You're my sister."
"You know I feel the same way." Liz said wiping her tears away.
With that Emily reluctantly left.
Jason's was overcome with emotion watching two of his favorite women be so kind to each other. He was glad that they had each other. Their friendship was nice to watch. It was so different compared to the people he had to deal with daily. Jason was thankful that in those moments Elizabeth at least had, Emily. Jason watched as the events of that evening began to unfold before him.
"Cam, baby, let's go wash our hands and then I will get your food set up for you to eat. Come on, Mommy will help you!"
"We gots to sing happy birthday 2 times, right Mommy? That's how long we're posed to wash our hands."
"That sure is pumpkin. You're so smart."
Jason could hear their conversation that was taking place in adjoining bathroom, and smiled. The mother son duo (trio if you counted their unborn child) emerged from the bathroom and Elizabeth set about getting Cameron's food set up on the tray that was in the room. Aurora couldn't use it yet, since she was being fed via peg tube, so Elizabeth made good use of it to avoid a mess. At least until Aurora was conscious.
"Mommy, how come Cousin Rora's in the hospital?"
"Cameron, Aurora was in a really bad car accident this morning, and we're staying here to take care of her because we love her so much."
"Oh," Cameron said as he took in that statement before continuing, "Why can't Doctor Uncle Steve take care of her?"
"Well you see Cameron, Uncle Steve was in the accident too, and he isn't able to care for Aurora, so we have to. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Cameron said as he took a bite.
"Good. How's your grilled cheese?"
"Yummy."
Liz gave a small smile to her boy, "I'm so happy you're enjoying it. Try taking smaller bites, bud," Liz said offering the boy a small smile.
Jason knew that Elizabeth was a very caring mother, but watching her mothering in action warmed his heart. It wasn't often that he got to see this side of her, and he couldn't look away. Especially, now that he knew she was carrying his child.
"Are you finished?"
"Yes, it was soooo gooood!" said the little boy.
"A child after my own heart. Would you like your dessert now?"
"Yes, please!"
"Okay, let me see here," Liz said as he dug through the bag from Kelly's, "Aha! One super big cookie, for my little cookie monster."
"Wow. I can willy eat all of it?"
"You sure can, bud. Today is a special day."
Cameron set about eating his cookie in silence.
"When you're finished eating, why don't you color from the coloring book here? I'm sure Aurora would like a nice picture from you when she wakes up."
"Okay, Mommy," Cameron said as he took a giant gulp of his milk.
"Slow down, bud. That milk isn't going anywhere," Liz said as she tried not giggle at her son. He was the only one bringing her any levity this evening, "Cameron, mommy needs to make a phone call. I'm just going to step right outside this door. The door will be cracked open if you need me ok. Whatever you do, you need to let Aurora rest, so please don't go near her bed. I'll be watching from the window, Okay."
"Yes, Mommy!" said Cameron as he offered her a thumbs up.
"Thanks buddy."
Elizabeth pulled her hair up into a messy bun, and set about calling her sister again from the hallway.
Jason, was watching Cameron color and Aurora rest. A wave of protectiveness came over Jason as he watched the two innocent children that were being effected by the violence playing out around them. Jason, hadn't met little Aurora. He'd seen her with Elizabeth and Cameron in passing, and had wanted to ask Elizabeth about the young girl, but had never gotten around to it. 'Yet another failure on my part.' Jason thought.
Despite her injuries, Jason could tell that Aurora was a lovely little girl. It was an awful shame that such a sweet little person was hurt so badly, and on purpose no less. 'Helena was definitely going to have to pay. Going after children was repugnant,' thought Jason.
It had been several minutes since Elizabeth had stepped out of the room, though from the angle of the camera he could vaguely see her talking to someone rather animatedly in the hallway.
Jason decided to pull up footage from the hallway during this time frame. It took a few minutes but he was able to pull the footage up to the time Elizabeth stepped into the hallway. Thanks to Stan's help.
Video Footage PICU November 2nd 18:42 Hallway
Liz dialed Sarah's number, "Sarah, its Liz. When you get this message call me. It's important please call me back."
Jason watched as Liz ran her hand over her face in exhaustion. Then ran her hand down her belly, as it growled. Jason smiled a bittersweet smile. 'I wonder if she had even eaten that day. She wasn't eating while Cameron ate.' She gave her belly one last pat and gave a half smile.
"Elizabeth, I heard what happened earlier and I wanted to come by and check on you," said Patrick as Liz looked up in his direction.
"Thanks, Patrick," Liz said in exhaustion.
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" asked Patrick as he swept Elizabeth into hug.
Elizabeth noticeably flinched, not in disgust, but in forgotten pain. Her back really hurt.
Liz answered, "No, Patrick. I don't think there's anything that anyone can do for me at this particular moment, but maybe tomorrow. When I know more. The morgue has to release Gram's body to the mortuary, and I haven't heard from them yet. As for Steve he just arrived at the morgue about an hour ago."
It was at this point that Elizabeth turned around to face the glass giving Patrick a gruesome image of the back of her neck. Liz had her hair in low lying ponytail most of the day. So no one saw the bruising, but now that her hair was in a sloppy bun her neck was exposed for the world to see.
"Holy hell, Elizabeth. What did he do to you?" Patrick said as he pointed at the back of her neck in a rather animated manner.
"Huh, what are you talking about?" Elizabeth asked as she tried to play off her obvious injuries.
"The horrible contusions on your neck. How did that happen?"
"I fell. You know what a klutz I am." Liz said hoping to avoid this conversation.
"There's falling and then there's being pushed, Elizabeth. You've got to stay away from Lucky. He's not safe to be around."
"I know, and I won't be staying around Lucky anytime soon. I broke it off with him for good last night."
"Did you have someone look at your neck and back?"
"I saw Kelly. She treated me. I'm fine and so is my baby."
"You're pregnant, Liz?"
"Yeah."
"Why would Lucky push you? Is he insane? Does he want you to lose the baby?"
"I would say that more than likely he would, based on our conversation last night."
"That's crazy, why would he want that?"
"Not many people know this Patrick so please use discretion, but the reason Lucky doesn't care about this baby is because it's not HIS baby."
"But, you're so faithful. How could this happen?"
"Well it didn't happen overnight Patrick," Patrick looked at her with a sly grin, "Well okay, you have me there. The act itself did occur overnight but not the demise of my marriage. It took me seeing Lucky with Maxie on three different occasions for me to finally accept that my marriage was over. I turned to a friend, and this was the result," Elizabeth said as she rubbed her belly.
"Does this so-called friend, whose name I bet begins with a 'J' know he's going to be a father and just what is he going to do about it?"
"What makes you think his name starts with the letter 'J'?"
"Oh, I don't know, perhaps, it's because you and Jason Morgan have a very close friendship. It's not just that. It's the way he looks at you and the way you look at him."
"Watch who you talk about this in front of, and yes, he said he was aware of the paternity results, but we're not going to be together, and what do you mean the way he looks at me?"
"You're not going to be together? Why not? And I bring up the way he looks at you, because he looks at you like a man in love."
"Patrick, do you remember that patient I called you back to town for this summer? The one we got arrested for operating on."
"Yes," answered Patrick.
"Well, I'm glad your recollection serves you well, because there's your answer. He loves her. They're working on their relationship."
"Yeah, but you're carrying his child."
"And he proposed to me, before he even knew if the child was his, but it wasn't out of love."
"Sure it was!" said Patrick.
"No, he did that out of obligation to the child, which is sweet and noble but he doesn't love me. It's just who he is. She makes him happy, and I love him enough not to tie him down to me out of some nostalgic sense of old fashion responsibility."
"Look, I don't want to make you upset, will you promise to call me if you need anything?"
"Yeah, I'll call you, Patrick."
"I'll bring breakfast by for you and Cameron in the morning."
"Thanks. Hey Patrick, before you go there's one thing you could do."
"What's that?"
"Keep your share of the gossip about my pregnancy and the paternity to a minimum. I don't care so much that people know, but I don't want to create a headache for Jason. He already has enough going on."
"Will do. Goodnight, Liz."
"Goodnight, Drake Jr.," said Liz as Patrick walked away.
Jason was in shock at this conversation. 'Was he that obvious when he looked at Elizabeth?' He worked hard to school his features into a block of ice. 'If my affection for Elizabeth is that obvious that everyone notices, what does it say about my affection for Sam?' he thought, 'Because no one seems to notice that.'
Liz walked back into the room and checked on Cameron. He was coloring just like he'd been asked to do.
"Mommy's has to make some more phone calls. Are you okay buddy?"
"Yeah, mommy! I'm okay."
"I'll be right outside."
Liz grabbed her Gram's address book and looked up the number for Doctor without Borders in the Congo. Liz dialed the number and walked back into the hallway. She waited while the phone rang. Finally after about five rings someone picked up.
(The phone conversation is one-sided because Jason is observing her making the phone call.)
"Hello. My name is Elizabeth Spencer. I'm trying to reach my parents who are both doctors that work with your organization."
Jason waited for her to continue as it was clear that the person on the other end of the phone was speaking.
"My parents are Jeff and Carolyn Webber. Are they available or are they out in the field?" asked Liz.
"Oh, that's good. So they're on the premises. Can I speak to Jeff please? My name is Elizabeth," she said again as she rolled her eyes, and tried to crack her bruised neck to relieve the tension.
The line was quiet for a couple of minutes before she started talking again. Jason understood that what she was about to do was an unenviable task.
"Hello, Dad?"
"It's me… Elizabeth…your youngest daughter," she said in disbelief.
"No, I'm not calling you for money," Liz said in anger as ticked her jaw and was nearly grinding her teeth.
"Would…Would…Would you please stop talking long enough for me to tell you why I'm calling. You need to sit down if you're not already." Liz said shaking her head in frustration and on the verge of tears as it was clear her dad was being short with her.
"Can I continue now?" Liz said in sarcastic voice, "Good, I'm calling because earlier today Steve, Grams, and your granddaughter Aurora were driving to Rochester and they were involved in a head-on collision," Her dad interrupted her.
"Aurora had a recital," Elizabeth continued, "Steven picked her up. Grams doesn't do long drives well." Elizabeth was interrupted again by her father as she rubbed her head in frustration.
Jason was growing frustrated as he watched her in the hallway. She pacing back and forth. Her father was ridiculous.
Liz spoke again, "I didn't drive Grams to Rochester because I had to work today. Listen, you need to let me finish… Grams and Steven didn't survive their injuries."
"No, I'm not working as a waitress anymore. I haven't been a waitress in two and half years. You would know this if you bothered to call. Is this really your response to finding out your mom and son have died?"
"Huh...I'm a nurse, dad."
"Yes, for real," she said rolling her eyes.
"Getting back on topic, If I hold the funeral at the end of the week do you think you could make it in time?"
"But Grams is your mom, and Steven is your son. Don't you think you should be here? You haven't even asked about Aurora," Elizabeth raised her voice in anger.
"She's recovering in the PICU from a pericardial effusion related to the trauma she sustained from the MVA."
"That's all you have to say, dad? She's your granddaughter."
"So let me get this straight, you're honestly going to tell me that people you don't know, matter more to you than your own son, mom, and grandchild."
"I'll tell you what. Don't concern yourself with the funerals. I would prefer it if you don't show up. I mean you've never shown up in life. Why should you show up in death? You're absolutely worthless." Elizabeth ended the call in anger.
Jason had never witnessed anything like it. 'How could parents do that?' Jason thought. He watched as Elizabeth started to cry. She leaned her head against the wall in exhaustion.
Liz looked in the window and it appeared that she was just watching the kids.
"Hey you!" said Dr. Kelly Lee, Elizabeth's obstetrician.
"Hey," said a tired Liz.
"I heard you were staying here tonight, and I wanted to come check your wounds before I head home. Let's go inside the room."
Liz followed Kelly inside and shut the door, so she could have her wounds redressed.
Jason flipped back to the other camera and sped it up 20 minutes. To where he could observe Kelly treat Elizabeth's wound. A part of him felt it was a violation to see Elizabeth like this, but for his part he had to know, 'Just what the hell had Lucky done?"
"Liz, lift your shirt up in the back so I clean those scratches and contusions."
"Okay, okay…hold your horses."
"You're the most stubborn patient I've ever seen."
"Believe it or not I can think of worse ones I've had in the past…You don't know the meaning of the word stubborn."
Liz slowly lifted her shirt up to reveal a terribly bruised back, covered in tiny abrasions."
"Oh my God, I know the second day is always worse, but this is ridiculous. You bruise terribly, Elizabeth."
"It's not as painful as it looks," said Elizabeth.
As Kelly moved out of the frame Jason could see Elizabeth's injuries as he audibly sucked in his breath. From the angle of the camera Jason was able to see the bruises as well. He could tell that Elizabeth had made light of her injuries. 'I'm going to kill Lucky. How dare him! That sorry son of a bitch,' Jason thought in outrage as he stopped the video for the evening.
Jason let out an exasperated breath, "Stan, why don't we pick this up tomorrow. I have a lot to go over and plenty of people that I need to confront."
"Sure, I'm game. So listen before we go this is what I found. I'm not sure how she left the country, but I can see that she did some banking in Switzerland on Saturday afternoon. It seems that Elizabeth received quite the inheritance from her Grandmother. Steve left his assets to Aurora, but Elizabeth is acting as her guardian and is in charge of her finances until the little girl turns 22. Steven also left some stocks to Elizabeth from a tech company called NOLCORP. Those stocks made Elizabeth a very wealthy woman, possibly in the hundreds of millions. According to what I read from his will he felt bad because his parents never bothered to look after Elizabeth. This was his way of making up for that."
"Wow, well at least someone was finally doing right by her," Jason said.
"I'll see you here tomorrow then."
"Yeah, how about we meet up about 8:30 AM?" asked Jason.
"That's fine," Stan said as he left.
Jason was not happy about the conversation that he was about to have, but his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend Sam needed to know. He really cared about Sam, but if he were honest with himself, he hadn't been in love with Sam for a long time. Seeing her sleeping with Ric, certainly didn't help build affection for her. It was time to go home and end this. For the first time in months, Jason felt a genuine sense of relief. 'I have a lot of loose ends to tie up, before I bring Elizabeth and the children home,' he thought as he exited the building.
