A/N: hello all, I'm back days later after i intended but you know that real life, it tends to creep up and get in the way. Anyways, on to the individual responses.
jasonandsam44- Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. What happens with Jake and Cameron comes up in this chapter as well as more on what Elizabeth was alluding to Ric.
GHJaSam4Ever- Yeah, Liz has officially gone over the edge. LOL I never intended for her to be this bonkers but it just sort of wrote itself. thanks for the review!
soapdemon34- Thanks for reviewing! it's certainly looking like Sam may just turn out to be Jake's mom. ;) Glad you liked The Krissy & Molly as well, I didn't see Liz stabbing Lucky originally but it had been planned since about three chapters before, I just had to get there.
Liz- Thanks so much for the review! Glad you enjoyed the Davis Girl moment. i wish they had more on the show too but sadly we probably won't get any with the way GH did Lexi & KeMo said she didn't even get a final scene with her. UGH... anyways, the Elizabeth situation is going to unfold a little more in this chapter as well as the next.
palmbeach- Aww, I'm glad you really liked the opening scene of the last chapter. There will definitely be more Jasam family moments coming up in the chapters after this. I knew Liz doing that to Lucky would be pretty surprising but it had been planned for a while. Thanks for the review!
jasamphoenix98- Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter & that there was more Jasam in it. There will be more focus on them in the next chapter & the ones following after that. the aftermath of what Liz did will be in this chapter.
greengirl82- No problem, I appreciate my reviewers so the least i can do is give you all a shout out. yeah I'm hoping the plagiarism thing gets taken care of soon but I guess we will see, so far nothing. I'm glad you enjoyed the Davis girl's moment and the fact that she remembers everything, there will be a Jasam convo about that coming up very soon. And yes I have a strange fandom with Liz, sometimes I like her & other times I hate her. I get to take all my hate out here. LOL And yeah Liz stabbing Lucky was pretty extreme but I decided to go all out psycho a while ago. Thanks so much for the review as usual!
Rae- LOL, "Holy Hannah" I loved that! Yes i decided to go all out psycho with her which is weird cause originally she was going to be a little whinny & a bit bothersome like I normally see her but now crazy like she is now but the muse called for it. LOL Yeah there is alot more to Claudia's story in this fic, i already have everything I want to do with her mapped out. I think it'll be interesting, and I was a HUGE Claudia fan but felt when they had the chance to redeem her some they let it go so this is more along the lines of what I would have liked to see. I do feel for little Cam though he didn't exactly see it but he saw enough. Yeah the fact that Cam is still little is funny but they tend to do that in alot of soaps, like on Y&R Abby is grown & drinking now while Kyle is like 10 when they were conceived around the same time, or how Dani on OLTL is older than Jack when she was born after. And BTW, thanks for the good vibes, they help and as always thanks for the review!
forever babe- Thanks for the review & for the poll. The aftermath of
pinkprincess007- Thanks for the preview! Glad you're enjoying the story, the start of Liz's comeuppance starts in this chapter. Ans yes, security at Shadybrook really is alot to be desired.
Now on to the story, enjoy...
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What's Found And Lost In Between Time And Darkness
"Time takes it all whether you want it to or not, time takes it all. Time bares it away, and in the end there is only darkness. Sometimes we find others in that darkness, and sometimes we lose them there again."~ Stephen King
Sam smiled as she held her daughter in her arms, gazing down lovingly at the infant in her arms. She still couldn't believe that after all these years she finally had what she'd dreamt of for so long, a baby; a baby she shared with Jason. She sighed inwardly at the thought of him, they had still yet to have a conversation about everything since she'd gotten her memories back but so much was happening and they were focused first on Destiny, and then the custody case for Jake. Even since she'd found out about Jason being his father all she'd ever wanted was for Jason to claim his son, and finally after all these years he was. She just wished it hadn't taken her supposed death or Elizabeth going off the deep end for it to have happened.
"Thank goodness I finally found her," Carly said as she stepped through the door unannounced, breaking the brunette woman from her musings. "I went up to that nursery after Sonny told me you finally," she paused to look at the woman pointedly, "put us down as family and when I go to see my goddaughter she's gone. I thought they'd lost her or that freakazoid Muffin Face had come and stolen her. You know I think I was one minute from being escorted from the building by security when a nurse I knew told me she was being roomed in."
Sam shook her head before letting out a laugh that was a bit louder than she intended, watching as Destiny stiffened for a moment before her blue eyes darted around her surroundings. "I'm sorry honey," she said soothingly as she looked down at the small child cradled against her before looking up at the statuesque blonde. "And hello to you too Carly."
"Hello Sam," she smiled before reaching out her arms, "now can I hold my niece?"
"Sure," Sam replied as she looked down at her daughter. "Destiny there is someone very special I want you to meet, your crazy Aunt Carly," she joked as she placed her daughter into the other woman's arms.
"Oh she is just beautiful," Carly said in awe as she held the tiny infant close and rocked her. "Hi, I'm your Aunt Carly and I am going to spoil you rotten." She sat down in the chair by Sam's bed, simply rocking the baby and looking down at the infant with adoring eyes. "I can't get over how gorgeous she is."
"I still can't believe she's mine," The brunette replied. "So how's Michael doing?"
"Great," she replied. "If all goes well he'll be released tomorrow. He'll still have to come back for physical therapy; his legs aren't strong enough yet to be on them for prolonged periods before he has to sit down."
"That's great," Sam smiled. "I haven't been able to go see him; I wanted to today but then they roomed Destiny in with me and I haven't wanted to leave her."
"I understand," Carly nodded as she continued to rock Destiny in her arms, watching as her lids grew heavy. "They are so precious at this age." She looked over at her friend. "Someone's getting sleepy," she let out a small laugh.
The room feel into a quiet lull for a moment as Sam felt a strange feeling wash over her, a cold chill running through her body.
"Hey," Carly looked at the other woman curiously, "what's going on?"
Sam shook her head. "N-nothing, can I have Destiny back please?"
"Sure," Carly drew the word out slowly before placing a soft kiss on the infant's head before passing her to her mother. "You sure you're okay? You look like you have something on your mind so spill."
Sam looked a bit taken aback, still getting used to her newfound friendship with the amazon blonde. "I'm fine Carly, really. I just wanted to hold my baby," she cuddled her against her, just breathing in her scent.
"Oh can it Sam," the blonde rolled her eyes, "we may have not been friends before but we've known each other long enough to pick up on certain things and now that we are friends I want to help so lay it out there."
"I just, I got this really weird feeling like my baby needed me," Sam explained. "I don't know why, I mean she's safe. She was right there but all of the sudden..." she let out a breath, "and I still feel it."
"It's probably just new mom jitters," Carly replied. "Trust me, I checked to make sure my kids were breathing when they were sleeping till they were like five," she let out a laugh. "You'll always worry about them but eventually you'll get used to it, believe me."
"Yeah," Sam nodded, "you're probably right." Still she couldn't shake the pang deep within that her child needed her, even as she held Destiny safely in her arms.
April drove down the streets of Port Charles, navigating to find her way to the address Lucky gave her yesterday. He'd invited her to have lunch with him and his sons today and she could help but feel excited over spending time with the handsome detective. Turning the corner she slammed on the brakes when a silver car swerved and almost hit her before taking speeding off down the street.
"Dumb ass," April muttered under her breath before she continued down the street and then pulled up to the address she was looking for, turning the engine off and hopping out of her rental.
She smiled as she stepped out of the vehicle, thinking about how quickly she was enamored with a man she's met so recently. She knew she should probably try to put the brakes on this crush she was feeling but she couldn't stop the giddiness that she felt at the possibility of something happening between them.
"Lucky," she called through the slightly opened doorway, surprised to see it agape. "Lucky…" April pushed the door all the way open before stepping inside, suddenly feeling a cold wave washing over her. "Lucky," she called louder this time as she made her way further into the house, a hand reaching up to finger the brown plastic square with The Virgin Mary attached to the simple string necklace around her neck before she deadpanned at the sight of a small splatter of blood on the floor.
Her eyes were immediately drawn to the ajar door heading to the basement and she grabbed the discarded child's bat lying against the sofa before rushing towards the door preparing for battle, stepping over a slightly crumpled drawing on the way. Taking a deep breath she tightened her right hand around the bat as she whipped the door to the basement open, freezing at the sight of a body lying at the foot of the stairs in a pool of blood.
"Putang ina!" April cursed in her native tongue as the bat fell from her hands with a thud before she ran down the stairs. "Lucky, oh gosh; what happened?" she reached for a blanket on one of the shelves and quickly placed it over the wound.
Lucky made a groggy noise before croaking out her name, "A-pril…"
"Shh," she said as she held the blanket over the wound, adjusting his head so it lay in her lap. "You're going to be alright," she continued to keep firm pressure on the wound with one hand while reaching for her cellphone and dialing 911 with the other. "Hello, I need an ambulance right away…"
Jason stepped out of the courtroom, surprised to see Alexis standing outside with her cellphone up to her ear. When their eyes meet she made a motion with her hand for him to wait and from the look on her face whatever news she was receiving from that phone call wasn't good.
"Thank you," Alexis nodded. "I want her found immediately and then make sure no harm comes to those boys. I won't stand for the PCPD doing their usual with this case!" she shouted before hanging up and looking up at the enforcer's questioning eyes. "She's gone…"
"Who?" he immediately stiffened. "Sam, Destiny; did Elizabeth pull something at the hospital?"
"Sam and Destiny are both fine," Alexis replied, "but Lucky's not. That crazy nurse has officially lost it. Jason, she stabbed Lucky and took the boys."
"What?" there was no hiding the fury in his eyes and when he saw Ric making his way out of the courtroom he rushed towards him, slamming the man against the wall.
"Umph," Ric groaned as his back made contact with the hard surface. "What the hell Jason?"
"Where is she?" his ice blue eyes bore into the other man as he slammed him against the wall again. "I said where the hell is she? Where has she taken my son?"
"Who?" Ric said with wide eyes before his brown orbs sought those of his ex-wife. "You're the District Attorney, are you going to just let him assault me?"
"If you're protecting the woman who has made it her life's mission to destroy my daughter's life I'm going to let him do a whole lot more than push you up against a wall," she crossed her arms over her chest. "Now where is Elizabeth Webber?"
"I don't know," he replied before feeling his body jerked forward before he was slammed against the wall again. "Damn it," he winced, "I'm seriously Alexis, I don't know where Elizabeth is. I've been calling her and leaving messages but she's not answering."
"Fine," she breathed out, "when was the last time you saw Elizabeth?"
"Yesterday," Ric answered truthfully. "Look I care about Liz, I always will just like I will always care about you."
Alexis rolled her eyes. "You can't be serious," she paused briefly as their eyes met. "Fine, fine," she blew out a breath, "if you really mean that then you'll tell me what you know because Liz who you supposedly care for has just stabbed Lucky and left him for dead."
"What?" he said as Jason loosened his grip before letting him go. "I'm not going to run," he said before the mobster stepped back but still remained close.
"She's taken off with the boys and with whatever is going through her mind right now she just may hurt those children," Alexis explained.
"Elizabeth would never hurt her kids," Ric shook his head before turning his eyes towards the man hovering in front of him. "This is your fault; you drove her to this, to that New York facility. The lengths she went to just to have your child I'll never…"
"What lengths?" Jason interrupted.
"Ric," Alexis spoke when she saw the defiant look on her ex-husband's face. "This is important. You say you care about her so help me bring her and those children back safely before this gets even more out of control than it is."
Ric stared at the woman who used to love for a few beats, realizing that this wasn't just about Jason or his hatred of him but about his daughter Molly's family. "I don't know where she is…"
"But you know something," Jason peered at him.
"If it wasn't for Molly…" he trailed off, "but this is about her family too and I need you to guarantee that you will get Liz the help she needs."
"I'll do my best," Alexis replied.
"Okay fine," he replied. "There's a cabin her family owns that she was talking about taking off to; I thought I'd talked her out of it but maybe she went there."
"What does that have to do with Molly?" Alexis said as his eyes darted away from her. "Ric, what aren't you saying? Is Molly is some sort of danger?"
"No," he shook his head, "just that Jake is her family because of Sam and Jason. That's it, it's all I can help you with Alexis."
"I will find out what else you're hiding Ric," Jason said before stepping away as he reached his cellphone and hit the speed dial while making his way out of the building and towards his SUV. "Spinelli, the Hardy's apparently own a cabin that Elizabeth may have taken off to. She stabbed Lucky and took the boys… yeah, that was good thinking, the launch... Also Ric said something about the lengths Liz went to for Jake, he mentioned a New York facility, Sam and I had samples at a fertility center, yes Spinelli those kind of samples, calm down, just relax and get me the information… thanks. " He hung up the phone and tossed it in the center console and was just about to take off when the passenger door to his vehicle was opened, his quick reflexes whipping out his gun and pointing it towards the wide eyes woman. "Alexis?"
"You really are very fast with that thing aren't you?" she said as he tucked it back in its place.
"What are you doing?" his eyes went wide as she got in and closed the door.
"I'm going with you," Alexis replied.
"No way," he shook his head. "And besides according to Spinelli she parked at the launch."
"Windermere," she watched him nod. "Well then its even better you have me along. And, I heard what you just asked Spinelli to look in to," she replied. "You think Liz stole your sample and possibly Sam's which means that little boy could very well be my grandson. I'm going with you," her eyes meet his pointedly, "or at least Natasha Cassadine is. Elizabeth Webber has messed with the wrong family this time."
Jason looked at the woman across from him, seeing the same fire in her eyes that he was sure was reflected in his own before offering her an accepting nod and pulling out of the parking lot.
Elizabeth pulled up the covers around her sons, tucking them into bed. It had been a long day and she didn't know what she was going to do next. Things had spiraled out of control for her; she felt like the world had turned against her and feared when Nikolas returned from his business trip she'd no longer be allowed to seek refuge here.
"Mommy," Cameron's voice broke his mother out of her thought, "is Daddy going to be okay?"
The nurse paled for a minute as the sight of Lucky's body lying at the bottom of the stairs flashed in her mind before she shook her head. "Of course baby, I told you daddy just had a boo-boo." Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed.
"But I heard him call you for help and we left," his trusting eyes looked up at his mother in confusion. "There was blood on your hand."
"I know baby," she tried to soothe him as she ran a hand through his hair. "But you know when you have a boo-boo even after mommy cleans it and puts on a bandage it sometimes still hurts, that's all that happened to daddy but he will be fine." Her eyes darted to the floor, practically staring through it, "Mommy took care of Daddy."
"Daddy?" Jake sat up in bed next to Cameron, his blue eyes gazing up at her.
"Daddy Lucky is going to be fine," Elizabeth offered her oldest son another smile before looking over to her youngest, "and pretty soon Jake's daddy Jason will be yours too Cam." She looked back at the brunette boy, "just as soon as he realizes Sam's lies, he'll come to Uncle Nikolas' to get us and we'll all be a family. Everything will be perfect finally."
"Daddy Lucky too?" Cameron looked at her hopefully.
She nodded, "everything will turn out fine."
She placed a soft kiss on both her boys' foreheads before standing up and adjusting their blanket once more. "Sweet dreams babies," she watched them snuggle into the covers before she exited the room and made her way to west terrace, suddenly feeling like she needed to get some air as the image of Lucky once again flashed in her head.
"I think you should leave now Liz," Lucky crossed his arms over his chest.
"Lucky," she pleaded a big tears welled up in her eyes. "Please, we've been through so much. Lucky you know me, you've known me forever. We can work this out together."
"If you mean that then go," he sighed as he uncrossed his arms. "Prove to me that the girl I found in the snow, the one I made those vows too in that church still exists; that I didn't make her up."
"Okay," she nodded before turning around and walking a few feet away from him as she dug inside her purse. Out of the corner of her eye she could see him turn back around, finishing whatever repair he was doing at the door, before yanking out the kitchen knife in her purse and rushing towards him. "I'm sorry," she said as the knife plunged into his back and he let out a strangled cry, falling forward and plummeting down the stairs to the basement.
"Elizabeth," he tried to yell but it came out strangled. "Liz," his eyes met hers as she closed the door to the basement.
Her eyes went out to the bright lights of the city buildings, her eyes immediately drawn to the Metro court and the light she could see even from on Spoon Island shining in the night sky.
"Our wedding day starts at midnight," lucky said as he handed her a cup.
Elizabeth smiled as she tilted her cup towards him, "A magic hour."
"Magic hour," he repeated with the same gesture. "I want to be with you until the clock strikes."
"Then we will toast to the first moment of the first day our future begins," Elizabeth replied happily before hitting their paper cups together before they both took a drink, looking out into the distant skyline as they lowered their glasses.
"I can see the Metro Court," Lucky paused. "It's all lit up on the penthouse floor. You think the people in the penthouse are happy?"
Elizabeth nodded, "No happier than me."
"Maybe someday we'll know how it feels," he replied.
"Hey, you don't have to promise me fancy hotel rooms," she said as he turned to gaze at her, her eyes meeting his in a loving stare. "Just always look at me the way you're looking at me right now. That's as rich as I ever want to be." She smiled softly before they leaned towards each other for a kiss.
Elizabeth shook her head of the memory, forcing herself to focus on the goal at hand: Jason. Everything she'd done had been for him and she made a silent vow to herself that no matter what she would be a family with him. As she stood looking out at the cliffs and the water surrounding the island she wasn't aware that there was another figure in the mysterious castle looking at her.
Sam watched as her friend looked up at the clock for the third time in the last five minutes. She had to admit she was anxious to hear news on Lucky's condition as well. She couldn't believe Elizabeth had actually stabbed Lucky and left him for dead. Her only solace was that now everyone in town would see Elizabeth for the calculating bitch she always knew she was, even if she herself hadn't realized the woman was completely certifiable as well.
"I know procedures like this can take a while," April shook her head. "I don't why I'm so worried."
"Because you care about him," Sam supplied.
"I barely know him," April retorted. "How crazy would that make me, all crushed out on some guy I barely met while I was on vacation. Some guy whose ex-wife just stabbed him."
"It doesn't make you crazy April. Besides," Sam paused, "you pretty much cared about me right from the beginning too. You were my friend and fought for me when I didn't know who I was. You took me in and I brought a psychopath to your home and still you've stood by me. You have an incredible heart and Lucky is finally living up to his name if he has you in his corner."
April couldn't stop her eyes from watering up at her friend's words. "Thank you," she reached her hand over to squeeze hers in appreciation. ""I don't think I'm the only one here with a huge heart."
"Hi Sam," Regina poked her head inside. "April?" she paused briefly to meet the eyes of the Asian woman. "Lucky has been brought back down to recovery and he's already awake, he's groggy but doing very well. You said you wanted to know."
"Thank you," April smiled at the cocoa-skinned woman.
"Go," Sam gave her friend an encouraging nod. "Tell him Destiny and I send our love and that Jason will make sure the boys are brought back safely."
"I will," April said as she stood up before turning to the nurse. "Can you take me to his room?"
"Sure," the bubbly woman smiled, "we nurses have to stick together." She offered Sam a warm smile before she lead April out of the room and into the elevator before they finally came to the police officer's room. "He's just inside."
"Thanks," April said with a nod before slipping inside the room quietly, glad to see his color was alreadt much improved from when they'd arrived. "Hey…"
"April," he breathed out her name, eyes brightening as he saw her. "Thanks for saving my life."
She shook her head before coming to stand near his bed. "I just called the ambulance," she shrugged, "besides it's what I do for a living."
"I bet you didn't think you'd be working on our first date," Lucky said with a little laugh before wincing at the slight pain.
"Are you okay?" her brown eyes were immediately filled with concern.
"Yeah," he nodded, "but I guess laughter isn't the best medicine just yet."
April nodded silently before sitting down in the chair near his bedside. "So this was a date, huh?" she quirked an eyebrow at him. "You definitely need to get out more."
"Tell me about it," Lucky laughed before wincing again.
The castle was dark and damp; the ominous feeling seemed to reverberate throughout the entire mansion from the moment you stepped inside. Jason Morgan was not a man who really dealt in fear but even he found Windermere creepy. If someone told him last year Alexis and he would be on the same side with Elizabeth as their common enemy he might've be tempted to pull out his gun but here he was.
"We should probably split up," Alexis suggested quietly as they made their way upstairs
Jason gave her a stern look that said he was against the idea.
"I'll be fine," she rolled her eyes after she got over the fact that he seemed to be concerned about her. "This is my family home and I know all the ins and outs, besides that mousy nurse has got nothing on me no matter how many crazy pills she's decided to take lately. Quite frankly I want this done once and for all and I'm hoping I find her first because if she sees you she's libel to drag this on forever."
He blew out an annoyed breath, remembering everything that happened the last time he listened to her but relented, not really relishing the fact that if he got to Elizabeth first he would most likely have to kill her and killing women no matter the circumstances always plagued his conscious. "She stabbed Lucky…"
"I'll stay out of sight," Alexis agreed, "and come get you if I happened to run into her, now we're wasting time."
"Fine," he ground the word out before she went left and he took right.
Alexis quickly made her way through the hallways quickly, heading up the stairway that led up to one of the terraces. She'd seen Elizabeth visiting Nikolas enough to know she enjoyed the view. Walking through the den type room that lead to the terrace, she picked up a vase as she saw the woman standing out with her back towards her as she stared out into the distance. With a determined look in her eyes she lifted up the blue ceramic as she stepped closer, bringing it down just as the nurse turned around, making the vase collide with the side of her head, Elizabeth's eyes going wide for the briefest of moments before she fell to the ground with a thud.
"Bitch," Alexis sneered over her before dusting her hands off. "That'll teach you to mess with one of my girls."