Part 21

"Don't come near me ever again, Elizabeth." Lulu made it to the elevators and pushed the down button. "And don't ever come anywhere near my brother ever again!"

Elizabeth stood rooted to the spot and didn't move until the doors of the elevator closed and Lulu Spencer disappeared from sight.

"Wow… that was pretty heavy." She looked up and Patrick gave her one of his patented 'Devil-may-care' grins.

She sighed and made her way back to the counter. "You think that smile is going to make me feel better, don't you."

He gave her another wolfish grin and a wink. "It's magic I've been told."

"Oh Lord, the ego in here is overwhelming." She laughed for a moment and he leaned against the counter watching her.

"I do believe that is the first time today that you've even cracked a smile, let alone laugh."

Her answering grimace told him she agreed with him. "Yeah, well…"

"You know, with the fire and everything yesterday, no one here would have thought twice about you taking a day… or even, a few days to rest before coming back."

"Yeah, well… I had to do things like find a place to live and make some money to afford it all."

"Look," he peered down at his watch and quickly ticked off the minutes, "I'm due for my break. You want to get something to eat down in the cafeteria and tell me what has you so upset?"

She closed a chart she was looking at. "You know, I'd love to, Patrick, but I've got so much to do up here… I don't think I can."

She moved to walk past him, but he caught her arm gently, holding her in place. "Okay, so you won't let me buy you food and get you off your feet."

Elizabeth gave him a quirky grin. "They're not quite so swollen today."

"Lovely picture," he groaned which got a laugh out of her again. "So, why don't I walk with you and you can tell me whatever you want and I'll just listen."

"Listen." She said the word, but heard Jason's voice in her head. "Okay. If you're sure."

He nodded and held out a hand. "Lovely nurses first."

She moved past him, her eyes rolling, "Oh brother."

Sonny Corinthos cleared the meeting in less than 30 seconds. One minute his top men were gathered around a table talking about the 'coffee' business and then the next moment the room was empty. All because Carly called.

He sat on the edge of the table. "What happened? Where are you?"

"Nothing happened, Sonny." It really tugged at her heart to hear the concern in his voice. "I'm alright. I just had… something to do… Jason's here, helping me."

"Jason, huh?"

"Yes and we'll talk about it when I get home, alright?"

There was a silence on the Port Charles end of the connection and Carly closed her eyes to listen to every nuance. Sonny spoke volumes with his silence.

"What is it, Sonny? There's something wrong, isn't there?"

He put his hand over his eyes and pressed his fingers against his temples to release the pressure. He couldn't quite get the look on Luke's face out of his mind. The man had been furious. Actually, he had been beyond furious when he'd come to see him. The man was in a black rage and if truth be told, Sonny wasn't eager for Jason to walk into the mess.

"Take care of what you need to take care of and come back home. And Carly?"

"Yes, Sonny?"

"When you both come back, have him come and see me first. It's important." He hung up the phone and sank into his chair. It didn't make sense to worry Jason now. It would be well enough to fill him in when he got back. Besides, he couldn't do anything from where he was.

"Alright, Sonny. I'll tell him." He would never hear the admission, he'd hung up long before she hung her head and blurted out. "Later."

Elizabeth cradled the cup of mint tea in her hands and came to a stop at the nurse's station. Patrick had said he'd listen, but true to form he couldn't help but interject his opinions into the conversation. While he didn't seem to grasp the seriousness of the 'secret' and the problems it was going to create for her life, he did give her a new perspective on the situation and made her smile.

"Alright. Now that I'm sure you're not going to fall apart on me today, I'm going back on my rounds and I'll see you in a little bit."

"Yes, sir."

He gave her a sour little look as she saluted him. "Nice, Elizabeth."

Setting down her cup she called over to Epiphany. "You want me to go and get Mrs. Anderson ready for transfer?"

"You'll do no such thing, young lady." Edward Quartermaine stepped off the elevator and made his way over to Elizabeth. "You can't possibly do anything that would endanger your child."

"Endanger my child?" She almost laughed out loud, but it wasn't just Edward's statement that tickled her, it was Epiphany's raised eyebrow over his shoulder. "Really, I'm perfectly capable of doing my job, Mr. Quartermaine."

He held up his hand. "Really, Elizabeth, you're family now… call me Edward."

"Edward." She repeated the name, but it didn't feel right on her tongue. It didn't feel right at all. "Thank you for your concern. I'm guessing that you heard the news from Alan."

He moved closer and took a chart from her hands. "Yes… yes, and I have to say," he gave her an impish smile, "while I'm a little upset that you didn't come and tell me first, I want to assure you that we are beyond happy at the news that you are carrying my great-grandchild."

She could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on her and it didn't sit well in her stomach. "Well, thank you for stopping by, it was very sweet."

"Yes, and she has patients to attend to." Epiphany walked up in front of them and folder her arms across her ample bosom. "So, if you'll excuse us, Mister Quartermaine, Elizabeth can get back to her job."

Elizabeth took the folders that Epiphany handed her and turned, only to feel Edward's hand on her arm. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about, my dear."

She lifted the folders up and hugged them to her chest, hoping to keep the focus from her very pregnant belly. "Is there a problem, Mr. Q… Edward?"

"Problem with your performance? No.. no... that's not what I meant, heavens no." He pointed at the stack of folders in her arms. "I'm quite aware of all the heavy lifting and drudgery that they put nurses through here at General Hospital-"

"Glad to hear it," Epiphany interjected her own thoughts into the conversation, "it's about time somebody worried about us."

"And I wanted to make sure that you were well taken care of, Elizabeth. The best doctors and ample rest before the child comes."

"I have a great doctor, Mr. Quartermaine, one that I like and trust with my life. As for 'rest' I'm not sure what you mean. I don't have much time off left with everything going on and what I do have left I would like to save for maternity leave after the baby is born. I want to thank you for your concern, but really… I need to get back to my job. I have patients waiting."

He nodded. "I do believe I understand, Elizabeth and let me say I commend you for your loyalty to the staff and your patients. I would not expect any less from you."

"You hardly know me, Mr. Quartermaine, and…"

"It's Edward, Elizabeth, and yes, I'm sorry to say that I know little about your life, but that will be corrected. Yes, it will."

"Well, thank you…"

"And to help us 'get to know' each other, I would like to see about having you spend more time with the family."

"Excuse me?" She blinked up at the older gentleman, her eyes wide with shock.

"I heard about the tragic fire last night. Alan told me all about it."

Elizabeth held her breath and adjusted the folders in hopes that it would cover the dark purple bruises that ringed her wrist. "Yes, well…"

"So, I'm hoping that you'll take me up on the offer to move into the house with us."

There's that old saying about hearing a pin drop in a quiet room, but Elizabeth had always thought it was impossible. That was until it happened to her. Edward Quartermaine just did the unthinkable. He asked her to move in with the family.

The entire world around the nurse's station was frozen in motion, as though someone was watching them on TV and had hit the pause button.

Right about now, you could have blown up the Metro Court again and no one would have moved.

"You know it would be the best idea. You and Cameron would want for nothing at all. Alice would love waiting on you hand and foot and of course with Monica and Emily in the house you'd have medical care of the best kind right there." He reached out and took her hand. "Well?"

She looked at their hands joined together and felt the walls start to close in. The thought of being in a house teeming with people, servants, and… the Quartermaines… It was too much. "No."

"That's wonderful; we'll send a car for you tonight."

"No."

"What? What was that, dear?"

She backed away, holding her folders between them like a shield. "I can't, Mr. Quartermaine. It's a sweet offer, but I can't."

She left everyone there staring at her back.

Part 22

Elizabeth stepped into Mrs. Anderson's room. In the back of her conscious mind it registered that this had been her room just a little while ago. "Good Morning, Betty. Sorry I kept you waiting."

The older woman smiled and looked back up at the television set in the corner of the room. "No problem, Elizabeth. I was just catching up on my favorite soap."

"Oh?" Elizabeth set her folders down on the table beside the bed and turned to look up at the screen. "Which one?"

"Doctors & Angels. It's very addictive, you should watch. It's sooo exciting."

Elizabeth gave a little chuckle. "Oh, I have enough excitement in my life right now."

Betty took Elizabeth's arm and sat up while Elizabeth started to rearrange the pillows behind her. "Oh, it's just an escape for me. I get so wrapped up in their lives that I forget what's going in my life." She kept her eyes on the TV even as Elizabeth set her back against the pillows and started working on the blankets. "There's this poor woman on the show... she's in love with one man, but she's forced to be with..."

"Good morning, Mrs. Anderson..."

"Hello, Dr. Drake." Elizabeth could see the affect Patrick had on the older woman, she practically beamed like a million watt bulb when he entered the room.

He caught a glimpse of the TV and shook his head. "Watching your soap again?"

She wagged a finger at him. "Don't you go judging me," she warned with a big sappy smile, "you're just gorgeous enough to be one of the doctors on the soap."

"Me?" He took the chart from Elizabeth and gave her a wink. "See? She thinks I'm handsome, what about you, Nurse Webber?"

Elizabeth held up her hands. 'You don't need me to inflate your ego, you might burst."

"Well then, let's get Mrs. Anderson moved into surgery so I can work my magic."

The older woman took his hand. "Thank you, Doctor, I'm very grateful."

He leaned closer and gave her a grin. "You just relax and in a few hours you'll be just fine." Patrick nodded his head toward the door and Elizabeth reached up to lower the bed for transfer. "What happened to your wrist?"

Elizabeth froze and wished she'd worn a longer shirt under her scrubs. "It's nothing, I hurt myself when..."

"Those are finger marks."

Mrs. Anderson turned around and gaped. "That looks painful."

"It was a mistake, really." She gave her patient a bright smile. "Don't you worry about it. It's nothing."

He gave her a sharp look and walk over to her, leaning down into her ear so Mrs. Anderson couldn't hear. "You didn't tell me about that earlier. Why not? Look, we'll talk about this later."

"No," she looked up at him, "We won't. It's over."

Taking hold of the lever, she gently lowered Mrs. Anderson down until the bed was flat. "Okay, let's get you to surgery."

Jason nodded once... his thoughts drifting off to Elizabeth even as he tried to focus on what Milo was saying.

"The shipment came in. The workers got it into the warehouse without a problem. Everything with the business is going smoothly."

"Good. Milo, I need you to do me a favor."

"Sure, Jason, anything."

"I need you to go and see if Elizabeth-"

"Jason, what... who are you on the phone with?" Carly came out of the attorney's office and leveled a look in his direction.

He covered the phone with his hand. "What is it, Carly?"

She walked over to the desk and looked at the phone. "Is that Sonny?"

Jason narrowed his eyes. She almost sounded...hopeful. "No. Milo's on the phone." Her expressions were confusing. "What's wrong now?"

"Wrong? Uh... it's okay. We've got mostly everything taken care of, after the papers are filled out, we just have to wait until the courthouse opens in the morning to file the papers and then we'll be able to go." She cast a glance over to the secretary. "If you're done with your phone call, I need you in here."

Jason shook his head, exasperated. "I'll be in... I just have a favor to ask of Milo."

"You'll be home tomorrow night, Jason. Can't it wait?"

She disappeared back into the office and Jason brought the phone back up to his ear. "Milo."

"Yeah, Jason?"

"We'll be back tomorrow night. Keep an eye on the business. Call the hotel if you need me."

"Sure...sure..."

"And do me a favor, check in on Elizabeth Webber for me."

"Elizabeth? Sure... I'll check on her."

"Start looking for her at her Grandmother's or the hospital. Thanks." Jason set the phone back in the cradle and thanked the secretary for her help.

"Elizabeth?"

She froze in the middle of the hallway, her shoulders a rigid line. Still smarting from Lulu's visit she could only wait to see what was next.

A hand touched her shoulder a second before Monica Quartermaine's face came into her view. "Are you alright?"

"Did Mr. Quartermaine ask you to talk to me?"

"Alan?" Monica looked confused as Elizabeth shook her head. "No... never mind." She took a slow breath and gave Monica a smile. "Did you need my help?"

"No... no... I have to give you a message.. I'm sorry it's taken me so long. We had three emergency open heart surjuries and a by-pass. I haven't even been home since," she looked off into space for a moment, "a few days at least."

"Yes, but-"

"You want to know why I'm chasing you down in the hallway?" She took Elizabeth's elbow and drew her to the side of the hallway. "I have a message for you, but I thought I'd give it in person. With all the emergencies around here-" She paused and gave Elizabeth a smile. "I have a message from Jason."

Elizabeth felt the world start to spin. "Jason? You heard from him today?"

"Today? No... the other day when he came to see Alan. When you were here for observation after the fire. Then, when you came to talk to Alan, I completely forgot about the message..." she laughed, "you had us at a little disadvantage... not that I'm complaining about the news." Monica smiled again. "Listen to me, I'm babbling. Anyway, Jason wanted you to know that he was called away to help a friend and when he gets a chance he'll talk to you."

"When he can."

"Yes." Monica put her arm around Elizabeth's shoulders and gave her a little hug. "And really, Elizabeth, I'm happy for you... and Jason. I hope you'll let us help you with... whatever you need."

"Need?"

"Yes,.. yes... especially when Jason's out of town, you can feel free to come over anytime and spend time with us, get to know the family. We'd love to have you over anytime."

Elizabeth nodded, her body a bit numb with everything happening at once. "Thank you, Dr. Quartermaine..."

"I'll see you a little bit later, Elizabeth."

She found herself lifting a hand to wave but couldn't get it to move at all while she watched Monica Quartermaine disappear down the hall. Jason hadn't disappeared. Her legs were numb. Jason had left her a message. Her skin felt one size too small. 'What is wrong with you?'

With her mind barely capable of creative thought she buzzed around the nurse's station, furiously filing folders left and right. It took her a few minutes to realize that Epiphany was standing right next to her. When she did, her hands stilled in mid-motion and her head swiveled to the side. "What?"

"Nothing." Her smile was almost a smirk.

"No seriously," she turned to Epiphany, "What's so funny?"

"I've never seen you work so... quickly. You're like some kind of machine. You gotta date?"

"No..." Elizabeth went back to filing, but at a slightly slower rate that before.

Epiphany gave a long rattling sigh as she walked away down the hall. "Just my luck, I broke her."

With one file to go, Elizabeth was nearly humming to herself as she ran her fingers through the file drawers .

"Elizabeth?"

She wasn't going to look. She wasn't going to even raise her head.

"We have to talk."

It took every ounce of her energy to look at him, it hurt more than she'd like to admit. "No, Lucky. We don't."

"I want to know why you're trying to hurt me like this." She dropped the file in place and turned around to look through a stack of paper. He followed her around and tried to take the paper out of her hands. She managed to pull them back into her grasp and she lifted her chin so that she could meet his eyes.

"Hurt you? I've never wanted to hurt you, Lucky."

"But," he looked about and saw the number of people walking through the room. "You slept with Jason to hurt me, because of what you saw me doing with Maxie. You wanted to hurt me and you've done it, Elizabeth"

"I didn't do that."

"What?" He nearly did a double take at her words. "You slept with him."

"Yes... yes... I slept with him, but I didn't do it to hurt you."

"Then why?" He leaned closer to her. "If you didn't want to hurt me for sleeping with Maxie, then why do it at all."

She set her closed fist on her hip and looked him straight in the eye and knew the man that she had fallen in love with so many years ago was long gone, leaving only a hulking shell. "I went to Jason that night... because I wanted to. Because, finally I was free from pretending. Free from being your rock."

He shook his head as if a fly was buzzing around him. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't know?" She bit her lip, "You don't, do you?" She shifted slightly, turning away from the elevators. "I don't want to tell you, Lucky. I don't want to hurt you, but you can't keep coming to me like this. It's not going to work."

"It will, I just need another chance-"

"Well, I'm all out of chances for you..."

"You don't mean that." He moved closer and Elizabeth backed up a step.

"I do mean it, Lucky... you have to go. I have to work and-"

"I'm trying to save our relationship." Another step and her back was against the counter.

"There's nothing left to save!"

He stopped, his hand inches away from touching her shoulder. "Don't say that, Elizabeth... don't."

"Someone has to say it. It's true, Lucky. We're done... we're over. We were over a long time ago, but I couldn't admit it to myself. I wanted so much to believe that you weren't changing... that I could still rescue you from yourself. But not anymore, I'm not going to give you that power anymore. I need to take care of myself... my children."

"You mean, Jason's..."

"Lucky, back up," her voice wavered as fear settled into her middle. His eyes were dark, almost shadowed from her vision. "You're scaring me."

"You want him. You want his baby."

"Yes, Lucky... I want him and his baby."

"If you think I'm going to sit back and watch him take over-"

"Take over? This isn't a turf war, it's my life!"

"No... it's mine." Lucky grabbed her shoulders and held her against the counter as his mouth descended on hers.