A/N: It's been a while so I bring you a long update that I hope you will enjoy and I promise things will begin moving along in the coming chapters.

- Chapter 20 -

"Hi Elizabeth, good to see you again."

"Hello Doctor." Elizabeth said, as she shook the doctor's hand.

"I already told you you could call me Ian." The doctor said with a charming smile intended to win over the young woman who still seemed reserved even though it was already their second visit.

"Alright then Ian."

"How have you been since last time I saw you?" The doctor asked, prompting his patient to take a seat on the examination chair.

"Pretty good… but I still feel a little tired on occasion." Elizabeth said as she climbed on the chair.

"Yes we discussed you would probably experience fatigue at times... but the drugs I prescribed should help you feel better." The doctor said then wrote in his notepad before continuing. "How about the nausea?"

"It still gets to me sometimes… it might be certain smells I don't know." Elizabeth said realizing that food was often involved when she became dizzy.

"Yes, certain foods or odors are usually what triggers the nausea but this will get better with time you'll see."

"I hope so." Elizabeth said remembering hearing the same thing during her first prenatal visit. The young woman had been uncomfortable at first having to trust a new doctor but Dr. Devlin's kindness and knowledge had quickly reassured her. He had been great at explaining to her exactly what was ahead in her intimidating new journey and after a thorough medical exam, he had sent her home with the promise to take great care of her and her unborn child.

"You seem dreamy Elizabeth, what are you thinking about?" Ian asked after he was finished writing down a few more notes.

"Um.. nothing… but I wanted to ask you something doc… I mean Ian." She corrected herself.

"Of course, anything you need to know, I am here for that."

"Well I read that we could listen to the baby's heartbeat very early on… is it something you think we could do today?" The brunette said with a large smile crafted on her face as the excitement of possibly hearing her child for the first time was building up inside her.

Ian took a second to respond as he was taken aback by the young woman's request. "Um yes, but I would recommend using a fetal Doppler on our next visit… um… you are only about seven weeks along and I would like to do it at your tenth week at least so we can be sure to get a clear signal. Today I want to focus on ordering new urine and blood tests to measure your sugar and protein levels as well as checking your blood pressure."

Elizabeth's smile had diminished with each additional word the doctor spoke. "Alright."

"Don't worry, we'll make sure you get to hear you baby next time we meet." Ian hoped to reassure his patient. "Have you gained any weight since last time?"

"Not really and I wanted to ask you about that, how many pounds should I be gaining right now?" The young woman asked.

"Well everybody has a different physiology and given you are very petite, I am not too alarmed. Just keep eating healthy and avoid the list of foods I told you about last time we met and you should be good."

"I remember, no soft cheese, deli meat, caffeine and the list goes on… and I've been reading a lot about what to expect too." She said thinking the book Jason had got her had come in very handy.

"Good…" The doctor said, slight worry in his tone.

"Is there something wrong?" Elizabeth said picking on Ian unanticipated reaction.

"No, not at all. Actually everything looks perfect. You seem like a very responsible young lady so I am not too worried about you."

"I just want to have a healthy baby."

"That's why you're here." The doctor said with a nod. "Okay, let me measure your blood pressure."

Ian carefully fitted the cuff around Elizabeth's slender arm then doctor and patient both remained quiet as he began measuring her blood pressure.

"Take a deep breath and just relax ok?" Ian said as he began inflating the cuff by repeatedly squeezing the rubber bulb.

Elizabeth nodded while a loud puffing noise took over the room.

"So how long have you known Ric?" She asked, thinking the best way to relax was not to think about the cuff compressing her arm.

"Oh, a long time and we stayed pretty close throughout the years." The doctor answered.

"That's great… it's just funny we've never met before." She said noting that Ric was a man with very few friends.

"That's because I moved to the west coast for a few years and came back four months ago."

"Why did you come back to Port Charles?"

"It's a long story… but I just needed to get away, a change of air." Ian furtively explained. "And Ric has been very helpful since I got back, he helped me settle my practice."

"I am sure…" She said knowing the lawyer was full of connections. "He must truly believe in you because he hasn't stopped telling me what a great doctor you are and that I couldn't be in better hands… that he wouldn't trust anyone else with his future son or daughter… and I did my research and I could only read great things about you."

"Thank you, I'm just glad to be here for you and Ric. I owe him so much, it's good to see I can give back by taking care of the two people he loves most in this world." The young man said before going back to doctor mode. "So your blood pressure is a little high so you need to take it easy Elizabeth."

"That's pretty much all I do, Ric won't even let me bend down to pick up a book." She griped.

"He's being overprotective, I can understand why."

"Do you have kids Ian?"

"No wife or children… I guess I'm too busy taking care of everyone else's." The doctor said with a smile.

Elizabeth gave a smile back. "How did you decide you wanted to become an OB?"

"Well there will always be babies and making sure they make it healthy is just a blessing." Ian let out a faint sigh. "Well don't you ask a lot of questions… I'm the doctor, shouldn't I be the one asking questions?"

"Of course, sorry… I'm a little too curious." The brunette apologized.

"Don't apologize, it's perfectly normal for you to want to make sure you're in good hands. I would do the same."

Ian freed her arm from the cuff before speaking. "Ok, I think we're good here, a nurse will come and help with the blood and urine sample… I'll have the results of these tests in a few days and will see you in about three weeks. By the mean time keep taking your vitamins like indicated, it is very important that you keep up with these."

"I will. Thank you doctor."

Elizabeth left the Doctor's office to reach her car that was parked outside the building and got the surprise of her door refusing to open. It wasn't the first time her very unreliable car was letting down so the battle was unfortunately very familiar to her. The brunette tried and tried to get her driver door to open in vain.

"Urgh! Open!" She yelled even though she knew her words wouldn't change much.

"I see this car is still causing you problems." Elizabeth heard from behind her and a smile quickly appeared on her lips before she even turned to face the person who had just spoken these words.

"Jason?" Elizabeth exclaimed as she recognized her good friend.

"How are you?" The young man asked.

"I'm good… I mean I'll be good once I'll finally get this stupid door to open."

"Let me…" He offered.

Jason tried gently getting the door to open and seeing that nothing was moving he hit the door panel fiercely.

Elizabeth watched closely as he went for the handle once more and saw the door easily open wide. "Thanks!"

"You should probably have this fixed." Jason told her.

"Yeah I know… I keep putting it off but it's becoming a little bit of a pain." Elizabeth said placing a flying curl back behind her ear. "So how have you been?"

"I've been good, working a lot."

"That doesn't surprise me… I hope Sonny isn't overworking you." Elizabeth said.

"Nah… I like being busy. How about you? How is everything?" Jason asked in turn.

"Good… I'm just coming out of the doctor's office and everything seems in order… the baby and I are healthy and that's all that matters."

"I am glad to hear both of you are doing good."

Elizabeth's lips curled up. "It's good to see you."

Jason smiled back as he listened to her continue. "I'm sorry, I meant to call but never got to it... And I figured you would be too busy and…"

"You know I'm here if you need a friend or someone to talk to." Jason quickly interrupted her.

"Thank you… this means a lot."

"How is life with Ric?" The enforcer asked, crossing his arms above his chest.

"It's been ok… I mean I know everything is not going to magically get back to when things used to be good but he's been great to me, it's a little like he's trying to compensate for everything that happened."

"Well he should because he put you through quite an ordeal."

Elizabeth nodded. "You are right he owes me much and he knows it. Ric and I discussed this and he knows that if he shows any signs of his old behavior I'll leave… but hopefully we won't get there again."

"Hopefully... but all you need to do is take good care of you and this baby." Jason said then glanced at his watch. "Listen I was on my way to meet Carly, she said she has something important to talk to me about but you should come by the coffee shop later so we can catch up."

"I'd like that." Elizabeth said then watched Jason rush away after they shared a lingering gaze.

"Does she suspect anything?" Ric asked Ian over the phone.

"She was asking a lot of questions today but I think we're golden." The doctor answered.

"Great… this is great." The lawyer said rubbing is chin.

"But I was a little worried about her high blood pressure… it might be a side effect so we need to be very careful." Ian warned his friend.

"I am being very careful and I already told you I won't go overboard."

"You're being careful about what?" Elizabeth suddenly asked after hearing the tail of Ric's phone conversation.

"Elizabeth you're back!" A startled Ric said while quickly hanging up the phone.

"Who were you talking to?" The brunette inquired.

"Oh… no one… just… work." Ric stuttered.

"Work… it didn't sound like you were talking legal contracts and court politics." She uttered, walking further in the room.

"Aren't you nosy today?" The lawyer said, trying to deflect her question.

"I wouldn't be if you hadn't hung up as soon as I came in."

"Don't be so paranoid my dear… I was talking about a case and how we should be careful in the way we present our arguments to the judge." The lawyer quickly made up.

"Really?" The brunette said not totally convinced.

Ric came to stand right in front of the brunette, eyes deeply fixed on hers. "Come on Elizabeth, have I done anything these past couple of weeks to make you doubt how serious I am about us and our child?"

The man had been so perfect it was disconcerting Elizabeth thought, she knew he would have tried to be on his best behavior but he had exceeded her expectations.

Ric went on talking without giving her a chance to answer his question. "I understand you still have your doubts but I am a hundred percent committed to making this work this time. I want this more than anything you could ever imagine and I won't make the same mistakes I did the first time around ok?"

Elizabeth bit her lower lip as she listened to Ric's familiar tirade and once more asked herself if she was doing the right thing, a question she had raised every day since moving in.

Ric added another layer to his speech. "We used to make a great team Elizabeth and we're slowly getting back there." He said speaking softly.

Ric then changed the subject without warning. "By the way how did the doctor visit go?"

"Um… It went well, everything's good." Elizabeth let him know.

"That's great to hear… I'm sorry I wasn't there I had this meeting I couldn't get out of."

"It's ok Ric, nothing major happened today but we might be able to hear the baby's heart beat next time." She said unable to contain a natural smile that didn't go unnoticed by Ric.

"And I wouldn't want to miss this for anything in the world." The lawyer said with a grin. "I have to get back to work, any plans for the afternoon?"

"I was going to go for a walk down Elm street… It's really nice out and I'll try to sketch a little."

"Elm Street… huh? Isn't that where my brother's phony Coffee shop is? " Ric said, not thrilled with the idea of Elizabeth hanging out in Jason Morgan's vicinity.

"Yes Perfect Blend is there and what's wrong with that?" Elizabeth declared defying him to rehash his hate for Jason and Sonny once more. But Ric seemed to have learned his lesson, avoiding even mentioning Jason's name by fear of upsetting her, even though she could tell how irritated he was with the idea of her possibly spending time with him.

"Nothing…" Ric said wanting to avoid an unnecessary argument with Elizabeth. Everything was working for the best and the last thing he needed was for his hatred towards Jason Morgan to mess up his rekindling relationship with Elizabeth.

It had been a little over two weeks since she moved in and even though she still kept her distance from him, Ric knew it was only a matter of time until she fell for him again. How could she not? He was acting like the perfect man and future father, he had morphed into exactly what he knew Elizabeth was looking for and she wouldn't be able to resist him much longer… at least as long as she stayed away from Jason.

"Nothing at all… enjoy your walk!"

It had been great to see Elizabeth after days of not hearing from her Jason thought as he entered the coffee shop. Unfortunately she was still living with Ric and still seemed convinced it was for the best, and there was still nothing he could do to change that, but the enforcer was glad to see she was well and focusing on her pregnancy. It had come as a real surprise to her but Elizabeth seemed to have embraced the idea of becoming a mother and Jason couldn't help but feel excited for her.

Jason hurried to the back office, only to see that Carly wasn't there yet. He then grabbed a folder full of coffee invoices that he began going through to kill time.

"Jason!" Carly exclaimed finally making it to the office.

"Yes I'm here, where you told me to meet you as soon as possible because you had urgent news for me. What's going on?" The man asked anxious.

And Carly didn't waste any time to break her big news. "What is going on is that I found a great girl to introduce you to!" She declared, smiling from ear to ear.

"You what?" Jason let out as he couldn't believe this was the reason why she had bothered him.

"You heard me right. I met an incredible woman that would be perfect for you!" She continued.

"So you had me rush here to meet you just to tell me that?" Jason said not hiding his aggravation.

"Yes!" Carly threw out not discouraged by Jason's lack of interested in what she was saying. "She is great you'll see, Jax just hired her to work at the hotel and all I can say is that she is exactly what you need."

"I don't think so." Jason hastily replied then walked to sit down behind the desk, ready to get some work done. "I told you I am not interested."

"You always say that!" Carly said, now herself annoyed.

"Yes, because I'm really not." Jason told her.

"Could you at least wait to meet her before saying no." Carly said, placing both fists on her hips.

"No need, because I already know I won't be interested." Jason told his friend.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn Jase? I am trying to help you here." Calry screeched.

"And that's very nice of you but I don't need your help." The enforcer said and plunged his mind back into the invoices laid out on the desk before him.

"Yes you do!" Carly loudly declared, winning his attention back. "Have you seen yourself? You look like you're mourning a relationship that never even was, with a woman you obviously barely even knew. Elizabeth is gone ok? She is with Ric now so please forget about her already!"

"How did we get to Elizabeth again?" Jason asked wondering why every conversation he had had with Carly lately had ended up with her bringing up the other woman's name.

"Because every time I want you to meet someone new you shut me down! You'd rather stay alone and miserable and watch her make a ridiculous life with Ric from a distance. What is wrong with this picture?"

"Me not wanting to meet whoever you have in mind has nothing to do with Elizabeth." Jason said, hoping his friend would finally drop the subject.

"Oh Really?" Carly said, placing both hands on the edge of the imposing desk.

"Yes really!" Jason swiftly answered.

"Then why? Tell me why don't you want to meet Olivia?"

"It's simple, I'd rather focus on work right now. Sonny needs me to make sure you and the whole territory is safe and I don't want to be distracted."

"You're so full of it! It's because you still have the hots for miss goody two shoes." Carly let out.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to talk about Elizabeth that way?" Jason warned her.

"Oh whatever… You know I'm right, and I wish you would just move on already because your fascination for her is getting old."

"Are you done?" Jason unreceptively asked hoping to put an end to the conversation.

"Oh you know I am just getting started here."

After her walk down the docks, Elizabeth stopped at Perfect Blend. She had only been inside once, before she even knew it was owned by Sonny Corinthos, and remembered the particular style the place harbored. Little round tables filled the place, each decorated with a batch of wheatgrass that she thought was very original. Elizabeth also noticed the place was not crowded at all, actually more like empty, as she only crossed path with one patron on the way out.

Regrettably Jason was nowhere in sight, which led Elizabeth to let out a disappointed sigh. It had been a pleasant surprise to run into him earlier that day as she remembered just how easy and liberating it was to talk to him. She missed her friend and would have loved to spend more time with him.

Because she was already there, the brunette decided to order a cup of tea and go on her way, until a loud familiar voice suddenly swept her and the barista's attention.

"Well… look who's here?"Carly exclaimed leaving the back office and spotting Elizabeth at the counter.

"Carly be nice." Jason told his friend as they walked to meet Elizabeth who had just picked up her tea cup.

"Hey, I didn't know you were here?" Jason asked his former roommate with a large smile crafted on his face as he walked to stand beside her.

"I just got here, I was down by the docks so I thought now would be the best time to stop by." Elizabeth answered still taken aback by Jason and Carly's sudden apparition. "This place really looks great… and your selection of herbal teas is impressive." She said after having spent ten good minutes trying to decide on her pick.

"Thanks!" Jason answered.

"Really? Really Jason you're going to just stand here and take this crap?" Carly said flying her arms up in the air.

Elizabeth simply glanced at Jason from the corner of her eye, not knowing how to respond to his hostile friend.

"I mean listen to her… your selection of herbal teas is impressive?" Calry repeated mockingly. "You have got to be kidding me! I can't believe you would show up here after everything you've put Jason through!"

"Okay…" Elizabeth let out, not knowing how to respond to the other woman's unexpected rage.

"Carly don't start…" Jason once more tried to tame his agitated friend.

"No I will start Jason." The blond woman interrupted him, not about to pass an occasion to finally tell her peace to Elizabeth. "She's been only bad news ever since you've met her and now you want me to be nice to her?"

"Carly I'm truly sorry for the job and for everything Jason has had to deal with because of me but I won't be a problem for him anymore." Elizabeth let the other woman know, thinking it was one of the main reasons why she had moved out of his penthouse.

"Oh really? Because I see you here… you are still sniffing around him when you are supposed to be back with Ric." Carly viciously threw at her.

"I invited her here." Jason corrected his friend causing Carly to roll her eyes.

"I just came to visit a friend… I am sorry but that is something I am still allowed to do." Elizabeth said, growing irritated by Carly's confrontational attitude.

"Oh give me a break!" The blonde woman added.

"Listen Carly that's enough… Elizabeth is free to come here whenever she wants to." Jason added, hoping to put an end to the heated conversation.

Which didn't work as Carly went on. "And here we go again… I can't believe how blind you are! She just wants to stay on your good side so that she has someone to fall back on if things don't work out with Ric! It's obvious!"

"Why would you think that?" Elizabeth asked, shocked by the other woman's image of her. "Jason is a good friend and I wouldn't do anything to hurt him."

"Well you have and if you hurt him again you'll deeply regret it." The taller woman lashed out.

"Carly, enough!" Jason jumped in. "Isn't Sonny waiting for you?"

"Fine I'll leave… but don't fall for her little act Jase." Carly said before turning on her heels and taking the direction of the exit.

"Bye Carly." Jason said as he watched the blonde woman storm out of the coffee house.

"Well that was brutal." Elizabeth let out with a deep breath as she wasn't excepting such an intense reaction from the other woman.

"I'm sorry… that was just Carly being Carly. Just forget everything she said." Jason apologized for his friend.

"How can I? She has a point, I brought so much drama into your life, I revived your feud with Ric, caused you a trip to jail…" Elizabeth began to say.

"I am going to stop you right there, Carly doesn't know what she is talking about."

"She is your best friend and she has your back, she doesn't put you in trouble or make your life more complicated." Elizabeth said with a heavy sigh.

Jason couldn't help but chuckle at he heard her last words. Yes she was a great friend but had put him in trouble more times that he could count.

"What is so funny?" Elizabeth asked, puzzled by the young man's amused face.

"Nothing… just don't worry about Carly, she'll come around, she always gets worked up like that… for no reason. "

"I hope so because I think Sonny and her are great and I don't want them to hate me."

"They don't hate you… Carly was just mad because she's been trying to play matchmaker for me but I won't really cooperate." Jason explained.

"Really?" Elizabeth let out with an uncomfortable smile as she couldn't help but feel bothered by the idea when she knew she shouldn't.

"Yeah but anyway…" The enforcer let out fixing her gorgeous lips, a little too intensely he realized, and therefore decided to look down so she wouldn't notice his stare. Clutched under her arm was what looked like a large sketchpad. "Are you drawing?"

"Oh this?" Elizabeth said holding the sketchpad with both hands. "Yes, I've been trying to find something interesting to sketch all afternoon but I haven't been very inspired."

"I'm sure you'll find something… I mean you were able to find inspiration on the back of my motorcycle." He said with a smirk.

"Wait I know!" Elizabeth suddenly exclaimed. "Why don't I sketch you for a second?"

"Sketch who?" Jason asked taken aback.

"A portrait, of you! That's what I want to sketch." She said dropping her Moroccan mint tea on a nearby table and taking her sketchpad and pencils out."

"Wait, why me?" Jason asked wondering what exactly was so interesting about his face.

"It was that look you had on your face a second ago, when you talked about the motorcycle ride… you can be so expressive with one little frown it's incredible!" She said dropping on a nearby chair and letting the pencil glide on the paper.

"Should I take this as a compliment?" Jason awkwardly said, observing the brunette who already was so concentrated.

"Do you have a few minutes? I promise it won't take long." She said as she kept drawing.

"Um… I guess I do…" Jason said perplexed. He sat on a chair across from her, particularly happy with the idea of spending time with Elizabeth again.