Chapter Fourteen

Awakening to the shrill screams coming from down the hall, Elizabeth hurriedly pulled her door open and rushed into the dark hallway, colliding with Jason as he exited the spare room. She wobbled on her feet and saw Francis and Johnny coming from the other bedroom with their guns out. She shook her head and held up her held as Sophie cried out again.

"It's ok, guys. Really. This is normal." Brushing past the three, she opened Sophie's door and hurried over to her daughter. Gently lifting and cradling her small frame against her chest, she soothed the hair away from her sweat soaked face. "It's alright, Soph. Mommy is right here, baby."

Piercing ice blue eyes surged open and she tightened her arms around Elizabeth's neck. "Momma! Blood everywhere, Mommy! Yous hurt."

"No, baby, no. I am fine, see. Mommy is just fine. It's ok, Sophie."

"Yous hurt!" she wailed, her voice pitching with fear.

Kissing the top of her head, Elizabeth closed her eyes to blink back the tears. "No, Sophie. Wake up, baby girl! Mommy is fine. It was just a dream. I am right here." Rocking her slightly, she ran a hand through her curls. "Shh, it's alright. Just a dream, that's all."

Elizabeth rocked with her for several minutes until Sophie relaxed in her embrace and drifted back to sleep. Praying that the nightmares held off for the rest of the night, she tucked her back into bed before placing a kiss on her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Sophie," she whispered against her skin.

Closing the bedroom door behind her, Elizabeth smiled tiredly at the three waiting men in the hallway. "She will be fine. The nightmares are pretty common unfortunately. She should sleep the rest of the night."

Francis eyed her with unrestrained curiosity but kept his mouth closed. He could tell by the look on Jason's face that he was determined to know about what they had overheard the little girl crying about. "Good night, Liz. Come on, O'Brien." Johnny squeezed her shoulder as they quickly went back to the room that they were using.

Reaching the door to her room, she was not shocked when Jason followed her into the room. The words that their daughter had been saying had caught all their attention and she knew that she would have to explain sooner or later. Sitting with her legs crossed on the bed, she looked up at him. "I'm tired, Jason. Can't this wait until morning?"

"No, it can't," he told her as he leaned against the wall. "When has our daughter ever seen you hurt bad enough that it caused reoccuring nightmares, Elizabeth?"

Shifting uneasily under his intense scrutiny, flashes of that night played through her head, making her tremble slightly. "Um, it was the night that Anthony shoved me down the stairs and I lost my son, Jason." She licked her dry lips and blinked back the tears that had sprung to her eyes. "Sophie was in the main hall with Claudia, waiting on me to take her home. The fall caused me to black out and I hemorrhaged. It frightened her enough that she has dreams about it often. Her doctor said the memory should fade over time."

Grimacing at knowing that he had brought up a horrific memory for her, he crossed the room and sat beside her. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I know that it has to hurt to remember loosing your child." He saw the tears on her face and started to brush them away but she quickly jerked away.

"I'll be fine," she told him in a watery voice. "And Sophie will eventually stop dreaming of that damn night."

"John said that when you first arrived here when Alcazar attacked you after you left Paris, that you had been shot. How long did that recovery take?" he asked, trying to get her mind off of the miscarriage that she had suffered. He figured that talking about it with him made her uncomfortable. He knew that his jaw clenched whenever he thought of her pregnant by John. Although he understood that he had no right to be upset that she had tried to move on, it still ate at him that she had been pregnant with another man's child.

Her eyes took on a faraway look as she recalled a different nightmare from her past. "Claudia and I had met when I arrived in Paris to try and find Sarah. Since my sister was away on a trip, we grew close because we were in the same hotel. I wanted to see an art show in Rome and she was heading there anyway, so I traveled with her." Elizabeth paused and smiled as she remembered all the sight seeing that she had done. "We had a blast until Luis and his men made a move outside of the gallary. Claudia was hit in the shoulder, and I was shot in the upper back on my left side, barely missing my lung. The second shot hit me in the upper thigh as I fell. Jordan and a couple of Claudia's guards moved in and got us out of there. Everything is hazy after that until I woke up here."

He swallowed thickly, knowing that he and Sonny had been unaware of the danger that had been following her because of them. "John said that you were on bedrest afterwards."

"For the next three months. The doctor was concerned that I could miscarry because of the blood loss and stress." She looked up and saw the grimace on his face and touched his arm. "Everything worked out, Jason. The rest of my pregnancy was high risk, but she was born perfectly healthy. Claudia and John insisted that I stayed here while I recovered and we just connected. They became my family and made sure that I had everything that I could need. Sophie is my miracle, Jason. She is what has gotten me through the rough patches."

Running his hand over her hair and gently pulling her closer to him, he smiled as she rested her head against his shoulder. "Sophie is our miracle, Elizabeth. I just hate that you needed me and I wasn't there. Alcazar could have killed you, probably would have if it wasn't for the Zacchara guards that were with Claudia."

"You had no way of knowing that anyone knew I was Sonny's daughter, that they would target me. I sure never expected it," she murmured sleepily. "I thought that I would be safe if I left and stayed away."

"Why didn't you tell Sonny when you found out, Liz?"

"Because it didn't matter. He didn't care about me, Jason. Me suddenly being his biological child changes nothing for me," she said with a yawn as she pulled away from him and rubbed her eyes. "I have to get some sleep, Jason. Sophie will be up by seven and raring to go."

Not wanting to rock the precarious truce that they had built, he left the topic of Sonny alone.He knew that she would have to face the fact that Sonny was a part of her life sooner or later, but he was more concerned with mending his relationship with her at the moment. "Go ahead and go back to sleep, Liz. I will get Sophie when she wakes up."

"I can take care of her. I have been for years, Jason. Being tired is part of being a parent."

Flinching at the words, he turned and looked at her. Seeing that her eyes were already half closed as she stretched out on the large bed, he shook his head and allowed himself to smile. He had forgotten how she got when she was tired. Waiting just a couple minutes and seeing that she was fast asleep, he kissed her lips softly and smirked when she moaned lightly in her sleep. While she may be fighting against the pull, he could see when her guard was lowered that Elizabeth was not completely over him either. Casting her another look, he studied her as she slept. There was no way that he was letting her go again. He was determined to make her see that they belonged together. Him, Elizabeth, and Sophie were a family, one that he was willing to fight for. If he had to stay in Italy to be with them, then he would. His life was wherever they were.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~b~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"She is fine, Sonny. You are going to have to give her time. She remembers everything from before she left. We caused a lot pain. Elizabeth is not going to just forgive you because you say you are sorry," Jason told him as he pinched his nose. Talking with Sonny was giving him a headache. The older man could not understand why Elizabeth would not just fall into line with what he wanted.

"But I am her father! She should be here instead of with that damn Zacchara family."

"Sonny, you may not like it, but they are her family. The family that took her in when we abandoned her. She is very happy here. Just give her time."

"Why should I have to give her time?" the Cuban demanded angrily. "You are over there pushing your way into her life. I don't see you just sitting patiently."

"Jesus, Sonny! Sophie is my daughter, a daughter that I did not know about! Of course I am going to see her, want to know her. You knew Elizabeth and turned your back on her without a second thought until you found out that she was yours!" he bit out, completely frustrated with his partner's selfishness.

"Like you didn't turn your back on her," Sonny sneered. "You were fucking Courtney less than a week after my daughter walked out of the penthouse. I deserve to know my grandchild too. Olivia would also like to meet her."

"I am not doing this, Sonny! You can't just bark orders at Elizabeth and expect her to obey them. It will take time to rebuild the relationship that you tossed away, if it is even possible." Seeing John approaching from his peripheral vision, Jason nodded. "I have to go. I will call you back later with an update." He hung up before Sonny could sputter a protest and turned his attention to the man that had stopped beside him.

"I see that you at least got Liz to talk to you," John commented as he leaned down to pet the puppy that was laying at his feet.

"She is still guarded, but at least she is starting to open up slowly. Sophie is amazing."

John nodded with a smile. "That little girl is definitely one of a kind. Elizabeth has done a phenominal job with her." The twinkle in his eye disappeared and he ran a hand through his hair. "We need to talk. Since you are outside at six am, I assume that you stayed here, so you know about Manny Ruiz."

Jason scowled. "I wasn't going to leave them. I don't care how many guards that you have on them."

Holding up a hand, John nodded. "I would hope so. But that isn't the issue. Do you know Trevor Lansing?"

Surprised by the question, Jason thought back and placed the familiar name. "Yeah. He was involved with Sonny's mother at one time. Why?"

"He is the one that paid Olivia to give Elizabeth up for adoption. Lorenzo's contacts said that he is also the one that sold the information to Luis and the Ruiz's. I wasn't familiar with the name, so I wasn't sure who he was."

"Dammit! He had to have known the whole time then that Dante and Elizabeth are Sonny's children."

John looked over his shoulder as Lorenzo approached and felt Jason tense beside of him. He tossed the enforcer a grin. "He looks like Luis, but is nothing like him. He honestly cares about Elizabeth and Sophie."

Unnerved by the resemblence, Jason eyed the other man silently. Lorenzo only returned the cool look before tossing John a cocky grin. "Claudia is getting ready to leave. I wanted to see the girls before we take off. Are you certain that you don't want me to stay until Ruiz is handled?"

"No. I would rather my sister not be here. At seven months pregnant, she would be an easy target. Besides, I think Morgan here will be staying for a while in Italy."

Not even sparing another glance at in Jason's direction, Lorenzo looked toward the cottage. "I am going to go say goodbye. I will see you at the house in a little bit, John."

Frowning as he walked away, Jason knew that he had to accept that Elizabeth considered him a friend. But with him being Luis' brother, he couldn't shake the mistrust. "Do your men have anything on Manny? Is he still in Italy?"

"Nothing," he spat in frustration. "It's like he is a freaking ghost. Our contact said that he was watching Elizabeth in Port Charles and followed us when we left after the funeral. With you showing up now, I am sure that he has pieced together that Sophie is yours."

"He isn't getting anywhere close to them. Not now, not ever." Seeing John wince and massage his temple, Jason lifted a brow. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Just a headache."

"You have to tell her, John. She deserves to now."

Startled brown eyes raised to look assessingly at the man that had hated him only a week ago. "I figured that you would be happier once I was not around, Jason. I know that you hate that I am close to Elizabeth and your daughter."

"I may not have liked it, but I do understand it now. I also realize that I owe you for keeping them safe all this time. When you found who she was, or who Sophie's father was, you could have exploited that to your advantage. But you didn't."

"I'm not my father," John snapped with a flare of contempt.

"I know that now, but I wasn't sure. You have to tell her, John. If you don't, she is going to hate you. Didn't you learn anything from my mistakes? Elizabeth hates to be lied to, no matter what the reason."

"Jason, I made my choice. There is no changing my mind. I just want to take care of Manny and hopefully Luis before my time is up. You can keep them safe from everything in the future. I know by the way that you looked at her, that it was far from over between you two. Just make sure that you don't fuck it up again," he added darkly as he walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~b~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey! What are you doing here so early, Lorenzo? I ought to kick your butt. You know that I love my rest," Elizabeth muttered darkly as she brushed her sleep tangled hair from her face and eyed the laughing man leaning against the counter.

"Aww, come on, Lizzie. I just wanted to tell you goodbye before Claudia and I left. I want to make sure that she gets home and is not stressed."

Her mood lightened as she embraced him warmly. She could feel Francis and Johnny enter the room and turned to smile at them. "Lorenzo, these are my friends Francis Corelli and Johnny O'Brien. Guys, this is Lorenzo Alcazar." She shook her head as they just eyed one another warily. "Stop it! You," She pointed at Lorenzo, "you had better make sure that Claudia takes care of herself. I am planning on being there when my neice or nephew makes their grand entrance."

"We wouldn't have it any other way." He looked out the kitchen window and saw that John was still talking with Jason. "I need to talk to you about something, Liz. It's important."

Following his gaze, she looked up in his eyes and saw the sadness and worry. "You know that he is sick too? Why the hell would you not tell me, Lorenzo?"

Caught off guard, he looked at her in confusion. "How did you find out?"

"I just know something is wrong, but not what." She reached over and grabbed his hand. "Tell me!"

"Brain annurysm," he said flatly and saw that she paled. "He needs the surgery, Elizabeth. You have to talk to him. Claudia and I have tried with no luck."

"All the headaches," she said softly, finally understanding just how long John had been ill. He had developed severe headaches right after she had gotten pregnant. "How much time?" she asked with a heavy heart.

"No one knows exactly, but the doctors told him that it is increasing at an alarming rate. He didn't want you to worry. But I know that you hate dishonesty. I also know that you care about him."

She hugged him again and swiped the tears from her face. "I'm gonna kick his ass," she told him as she hopped up onto the kitchen counter. "I will try my best, Lo, but you know how stubborn that he can be."

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "If anyone can convince him, you can, kiddo. I have to get back to the house. Give the brat a kiss and hug from me and Claudia. You call me if you need anything at all."

"Just be careful and take care of my best friend." She watched as he disappeared out the patio doors and looked over at Francis and Johnny. "You guys knew?"

Francis shook his head. "No. Johnny guessed something was wrong with Zacchara, but him and Jason talked privately after that. You don't look too shocked. Did you know something was up?"

"Not until last night. Jason told me that he was sick, but said that I had to talk to John about what was wrong."

"He told you that?" Johnny asked, surprised that his friend had done even that. Jason was known for not interferring in other's personal business.

Her reply was cut off as Jason came in the room and looked around. He could tell that Elizabeth was upset and looked over at his friends. Not seeing any stress or unease from their body language, he relaxed, knowing that they would noy have let Lorenzo do anything to harm or threaten Elizabeth. He was just getting to ask what was going on with he heard a squeal behind and saw Elizabeth laugh.

"Daddy! Yous here again!" Sophie launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Does this mean that yous are staying forever?"

Kissing her forehead and catching Elizabeth's sapphire eyes with his, Jason smiled. "I'm always going to be here from now on. You are stuck with me."

The sound of the phone broke through the tense silence that followed that statement and Johnny immediately grabbed it and answered. His eyes widened and he looked up at Elizabeth. "They are asking for a Miss Zacchara."

She grabbed the phone away. "This Elizabeth Zacchara. Can I help you?" Seeing Jason's eyes narrow and his jaw clench, she looked pointedly at their daughter who was still in his arms. Hearing what the last statement was that the man said, she paused and went still. "Can you repeat that please."

Hearing the door open, she turned and saw a devestated John standing in the doorway. Tossing the phone down after hanging up on the caretaker of the cemetary, she looked at him in despair. "Why?" she whispered.

He moved forward and wrapped a supporting arm around her as she wobbled on her feet. "I don't know, Liz. I am going to go look at it and reorder another monument. I'll take care of it. I need you to stay here with the guards."

"You think it was Manny that destroyed Gavin's headstone?"

Jason's attention snapped up. Hearing that their baby's grave had been vandalized made his skin crawl. Francis and Johnny both ill too. When Sophie wiggled in his arms, he sat her on her tiny feet and watched as she went over to John and tugged on his arm.

Releasing Elizabeth, he easily swung the little imp up into his arms and hugged her. "Hiya, brat."

"Uncle Johnnys, I missed you. Guess what though."

"Missed you too, Soph. And what?"

She pointed proudly to Jason. "That's my daddy. He says that he is staying forevers now, Uncle Johnnys!"

"If he is smart, he sure will," John agreed while dropping a kiss on her head before placing her back on her feet. "I will see you in a bit, kiddo. Be good."

"I'm going with you!"

He turned and shook his head. "Liz, you don't need to see this."

"Gavin was my son too, John. I am going with you. With the freaking fleet of guards that you insist that I travel with, we will be fine. Jason, Dean, Francis, and Johnny will stay with Sophie."

"Actually Francis will go with you," Jason added quickly.

John sighed and rubbed his temples. "Fine. Go change, Elizabeth. I will have the car brought down." He watched as she hurried out of the room and dropped dejectedly into a chair and closed his eyes. The pain in his head was intensifying, and added to the fact that his son's grave had been disturbed, John just felt like snapping. Feeling a steady gaze on him, he cracked his eyes and returned Jason's look. "What?"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm far from alright, Morgan," he said testily.

"I meant is your head hurting?" Jason clarified with a wince.

"No more than usual. Drop it," he said in a flat tone. John lifted Sophie onto his lap when she held out her arms again. "Thank you for your concern, but I will manage, Jason."