Okay I am an asshole. I'll admit. I got writers block and then I lost my internet off and on for over a year followed by a pretty nasty break up. However I moved across the country for a new start and decided it was time to finish what I started. So after a long long long wait here is the next chapter. I am so sorry for taking so long to update but life got in the way. Tears and heartbreak. You know the drill. I hope you like it. we are back in the hospital. please remember this is taking place a long time ago now. Some of the characters have grown and evolved since I started this you can expect some mind changing in the future. Not from Elizabeth or AJ. But some people have since been redeemed on the show and I feel it is best to follow that redemption. It maybe different from the way it was done on the small screen but things may have gone too far for some. People got hurt who were not intended to. So please enjoy and let me know what you think.
Lucky watched Mia ordering her drink from Mac from across the room; just seeing
her tore his emotions in two. She had on one of her cute little outfits that he adored.
Memories of their relationship flashed through his mind; how adorable she looked on the
ground covered in coffee and puppy, the way she could eat more than a linebacker but
still stay tiny, the way she kicked ass at the Halloween party. The way her eyes flashed
green fire when she was angry or how they melted into jade pools when she was sad,
how they turned to the color of a raging sea when they made love. He had loved that she
didn't demand anything from him; that they could just be together. He didn't have to be a
hero or try to live up to childhood fantasies or memories. He knew he loved Elizabeth but
he wasn't sure anymore if it was the memory of her or her that he loved. She was strong
too and beautiful. He could remember their fantasy wedding thrown for them by Nikolas
and Emily and how truly happy they'd been until he'd recklessly thrown it all away. She
kept telling him that she was with AJ; that she had moved on but he hadn't truly believed
it until two nights ago when he had brought AJ and Molly to the ER.
AJ collapsed from Lucky and Matt's firm grip. His body was convulsing so badly that
Lucky could barely hang on as they all slid to the floor. He heard rather than saw
Michael call out behind him as he came into the ER. Elizabeth knelt by AJ's head
smoothing his hair and telling him she was there. Everything was controlled chaos.
"He's convulsing" Matt called out. "We need to get him to a gurney!" Lucky, Matt and
Michael all helped carry AJ to the trauma room. Sabrina pushed Lucky and Michael
back after they had gotten him settled. Epiphany bustled into the room and started
assisting Matt who began rattle off a lot of medical jargon "Get these wet clothes off of
him. Get me an internal temp. Push a bag of warming I.V."
"Matt let me help! AJ, I'm here" Elizabeth was calling out trying to help Sabrina and
Epiphany.
"Move her back!" Matt demanded. "Damnit his core is 73 degrees we need to get him
warmer faster! I need blankets! Epiphany, monitor his heart rate and blood pressure we
could lose him to shock.
Lucky watched as Sabrina tried to move Elizabeth out of the way but Elizabeth wasn't
moving. Michael was beside her trying to talk to his father; calling out to him. Sabrina
was having no luck moving Elizabeth out of the room. She kept arguing that she was fine.
She hadn't realized that she was sobbing her eyes out.
"Elizabeth, get out of the room!" Matt shouted. Just then Lucky saw AJ lurch up and
grab on to Elizabeth.
"I love you." He gasped. Lucky was shocked. He hadn't realized. But the look on
Elizabeth's face said it all as AJ tried to tell her what she meant to him. The words were
not quite there but there wasn't one person in the room who didn't feel it. Even Matt
had stopped ordering Elizabeth out of the room. Michael had come up behind Elizabeth
and AJ grabbed his hand. "I love you, Son" He gasped out before collapsing back to the
gurney. The sound of the heart monitor was deafening in the silence that followed. Lucky
saw Alexis edging to his side from the corner of his eye.
"Oh dear God" He heard her breathe.
"Damnit!" Matt cried out jumping back into action. Lucky's focus moved to Elizabeth as
Matt and Epiphany sprang into action. While they worked on saving AJ's life, Elizabeth
crumpled against Michael who wrapped his arms around her. Sabrina was finally able to
push the two out of the trauma room before running back to assist. It was silent outside
the curtain. Everyone in the ER, it seemed, was holding their breath waiting to hear the
sound of the heart monitor to begin beeping again.
Lucky watched Elizabeth. The pain etched into her face was heartbreaking. It was finally
clear to him how very much she loved AJ. He had seen that look on her face before. The
night Jake had died. It was finally clear to him how much she loved AJ. She cried silently
clutching Michael. Lucky doubted she even realized she was mouthing the word please
over and over again. The silence was broken only by the sound of Matt calling clear to
the staff in the trauma room. The silence stretched on seeming to last for hours when only
a minute or two had passed before the tell-tale beep could be heard.
It was then that Elizabeth broke down. Great sobs of relief racked her body. Michael
held on tightly to her. Starr and Olivia rushed over to her side helping Michael get her
into a chair. Olivia handed her a bottle of water but her hands were shaking too much
to take it. Lucky stood by. There was a time in his life when it would have been him that
Elizabeth clung to. Elizabeth finally calmed down and after a few minutes Steve came
out with Molly on the way to the OR to treat her neck wound. Alexis ran over. They all
listened as Steve and Felix walked the gurney to the elevator Steve updating Alexis all the
way before telling her she could wait on ten. Steve looked at Olivia then and to his sister
before looking back to his fiancée; the question evident in the worry in his eyes. Olivia
nodded in response. When the elevator doors slid closed Alexis stood there a moment
before walking slowly over to where Elizabeth and Michael sat waiting.
"I'm so sorry." She was a proud woman but you could tell she'd been humbled by what
AJ had risked for her daughter. "I hope...I hope that AJ pulls through." She squeezed
Michel's hand and lightly tugged on Elizabeth's hair before rushing to take the elevator
to ten. She had just left when Sam and Jason rushed in. Michael stood up as the reached
them.
"Michael, What happened!?" Jason demanded.
"Is my sister okay?" was from Sam.
"I—I don't know" Lucky could see that Michael was still shaken up. They still had no
word on AJ.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Jason's worry was coming out as it often did in
anger and frustration not at Michael but at his inability to help.
"Maybe I can help." Lucky stepped in and at a grateful nod from Michael told Jason
how the events of the night unfolded; from finding AJ trying to find Molly in the freezing
harbor to Molly being taken up for surgery.
"Is AJ alright?" Sam asked. The questions began then Lucky and Michael tried to relay
as much information as they could.
"Elizabeth?" Jason asked sitting next to her where Michael had been sitting. "Elizabeth
what's going on with AJ?" Lucky looked at Elizabeth and realized she hadn't moved in a
while. She was just staring at the curtain of the trauma room. Lucky knelt down in front
of her taking her cold hands.
"Elizabeth?" He asked. She didn't even look at him. She seemed to be looking through
him as if willing the curtains to part and AJ to walk out. While two of men she had loved
at one time both tried to get her attention, she ignored them focusing all her energy on
the trauma room. Olivia tried shaking her from the other side. "Honey, you're scaring
everyone."
The curtains were finally drawn back and Matt walked over to Elizabeth and Michael.
Elizabeth stood up and with both of her ex lovers at her side it was Michael's hand that
she took. "Matt. Tell me he's going to be okay." She said.
"I don't know. It's too soon to tell. He went into tachycardia and we had to use the
paddles to get him back. His pulse is getting stronger. His body temperature dropped
below 73 and we know it was sustained for over twenty minutes. His heart rate and blood
pressure dropped severely before he went into ventricular tachycardia. Right now we are
trying to get him warm."
"But is he going to be okay?" Michael asked.
"The risk now is him going into shock from re-warming or developing a fever. A fever
would be difficult for him to fight off. He's going to be out of it." He looked Elizabeth
in the eyes and took her hands in his. "You know what this is. This is what happened to
you last year. You know what to expect. You made it through. So will AJ." Tears filled
Elizabeth's eyes but she nodded to Matt. "I am moving him to ICU; he'll be in a private
room. You can ride up with us if you want."
"Yes, yes I am coming with you." She said moving to where the gurney was being
wheeled out.
"Elizabeth." Matt stopped her. "He's going to need you and all your strength." He said
with a pointed look. She nodded and followed him to the elevator. The last time Lucky
saw her she was holding AJ's hand and telling him she wouldn't leave his side until he
was better.
The rest of them separated after that Starr and Michael to call Monica before heading to
AJ's room. Sam headed to ten to wait with Alexis for word on Molly. Olivia also went to
ten to wait for Steve and call Dante. Eventually only Jason and Lucky remained behind in
the ER. The two men who loved Elizabeth but let her go, two men who had loved and lost
a son were all that remained behind eyeing each other cautiously.
"Tell me what happened." Jason demanded.
"It was Baker."
"Why haven't you guys found him yet?" Jason demanded.
"We are doing our best. This is our best chance right now. Dante and Mia are right now
scouring the docks where AJ and Molly were. If he's there, we'll find him."
"You guys have had weeks, Lucky! This never should have happened." Jason was yelling
now. At a glare and a cough from Epiphany, he calmed down. "You guys know where he
lives where he's been attacking"
"We knew! He's changed his pattern. We haven't been able to pin down his location. No
one has." He added with a telling glance. Jason's eyes widened. "Come on. You didn't
for one second think that I wouldn't know you are pursuing this too."
"Nothing" Jason said with a shake of his head. "We can't find him either."
"Someone's got to watch out for Elizabeth and Molly" Lucky said.
"I'll take care of it. I'll put my best men on it." Jason assured him.
Lucky shook his head and reached for his tea watching Mia out of the corner of his eye.
The last thirty-six hours had been pure hell. Mia and Dante had exhausted themselves
running around the docks checking every empty building to no avail. Baker had gone to
ground. He hadn't even taken the bait of undercovers they had sent out. Nothing. Lucky
was frustrated and tired. He hadn't even been able to talk to Elizabeth since that night. He
had tried every time he had gone to see her, she was with someone; her parents, Michael,
Monica, Jason, Sam, hell even Tracey had been AJ's room with her. He knew Olivia was
bringing her food. But he hadn't actually seen her.
Seeing how very much she loved AJ had made it easy for Lucky to move past his
obsession. He had traveled the world, spent hours in a stone graveyard in Ireland trying
to find himself outside of Elizabeth. He had helped orphaned children in Africa trying to
get his mind off of her. All the traveling and running he had done and he hadn't learned
anything until returning home. His eyes trailed over Mia. Mia who was beautiful strong
and kind; she hadn't deserved what he did. He hated himself that morning he left her.
Seeing the pain in her eyes every time she looked at him told him she still cared about
him. All the places he had been, the only person who had made him forget was Mia.
Maybe that was what had scared him. He didn't know. He only knew that he missed
seeing her smile. He walked over to her at the jukebox. He noticed that she hadn't been
drinking her beer.
"Thought you'd be sleeping," he said.
"You know me better than that." She said without looking at him.
"I thought I did. Why won't you look at me?" he asked touching her arm. She turned to
face him just like he knew she would.
"Happy?" She said with a fake smile as "Someone that I Used to Know" by Gotye began
playing in the background. She smirked at him and walked away.
"Mia!" He called her name reaching for her arm. "Talk to me"
"We've said all we have to say to each other." She tugged her arm free. "You didn't want
me anymore. You wanted the perfect Elizabeth. You came here. You found out she's
happily fallen for someone else. I am not your consolation prize."
"No one said that."
"Oh Lucky" she said suddenly weary of the argument. "You didn't have to" She turned
the bottle up and finally took a swig. It hit her stomach in a bad way. She thought to
herself she should have eaten more than coffee and a fast food breakfast sandwich. She
ran to the nearest trash can with Lucky right behind her.
"Are you okay?" He asked genuinely concerned.
"I'm fine" She breathed embarrassed. She was trying so hard not to let him see how
much she wanted to throw herself in his arms. She was trying to maintain her pride and
now she was hanging over a trash can losing everything including her lunch.
"Come on," Lucky said "Let me take you home"
"Lucky, she okay?" Mac called out.
"Yeah just and empty stomach and overworked. I'm taking her home"
"I don't need your help" Mia ground out under her breath.
"You may not need it but you have it so deal" Lucky said with some heat.
They made it back to Kelly's and Lucky insisted on helping her to her room. "I don't
want you here" She said. "I don't need help"
"You never need help. This time you are going to let me help you."
"Damnit Lucky!" She stormed into her room. The sick feeling had passed. She grabbed
her towel and her bathroom bag and headed out of the room. "I am taking a shower. I
don't need your help. I expect you will be gone by the time I get back!" She slammed the
door. Not worried about the noise since she was the only one renting a room. Mia took
a hot shower brushed her hair and her teeth; wrapped the towel around herself and went
back to her room. She let out a small scream when she saw him sitting on her bed.
"I told you to leave!" she fairly yelled.
"I told you I am not going anywhere! We need to talk this out!" He said standing up and
crossing to her pulling her further into the room.
"I have nothing to say to you. You left me! You walked out!" She said moving past him.
"Why do you have to be so difficult?" Lucky demanded grabbing her shoulders pulling
her to him.
"Because I was falling in love with you, you idiot!" She yelled into his face. Shock was
his immediate response. His second response was to pull her all the way to him and kiss
her. Lost in each other's response they kissed thoroughly exploring each other intimately.
She pulled back, "I don't want this" She whimpered.
"Yes you do" Lucky said kissing her again pulling her towel free. She fought for a
second before she was clutching at his hair and then his clothes. In minutes they had
torn each his clothes off before landing on the bed in a tangle of limbs. Their joining
was fast and almost angry with a desperate edge. When they had both reached their
fulfillment, the sheets were no longer on the bed and they were panting and covered in
sweat.
"This doesn't change anything." She said getting up and reaching for her robe.
"Mia, this changes everything" Lucky said with a sigh.
"No, Lucky, this was just sex."
"Mia," he said rising off of the bed and wrapping his arms around her from behind.
"There was nothing 'just' about that." A smile briefly crossed her face before they both
stopped as their phones began to ring. Both of them answered right away each of them
talking quietly before hanging up and looking at each other.
"Molly's awake!" They said facing each other before scrambling for their clothes to get
to the hospital as fast as they could.
Across town Anna looked over at Dante as he crossed the waiting room back to her. "Did
you hear the same thing I did?" She asked. Dante just grinned, happy for his ex-partner.
He liked Mia. He believed if Lucky could get away from his past she could be the perfect
woman for him. They headed for Molly's room they needed to find out any information
they could.
Unfortunately, Molly wasn't able to tell them much and Alexis didn't let them near
her for long. Molly was weak having barely woken up after she flat-lined. Patrick had
brought her back using the same techniques Matt had used on Elizabeth the year before.
They barely talked to her for a minute when she was nodding off. Alexis told them Molly
had insisted on telling them that AJ had saved her. That he was the hero. She briefly
ran down what Baker had said to her before her eyes grew heavy and she fell asleep
which Patrick assured them was perfectly normal and healthy. Molly would make a full
recovery.
While Anna and Dante were talking about the case in hushed tones as they walked down
the hallway, Mia and Lucky were getting off of the elevator together after taking a quick
shower together to save time. The four met up and had barely said hello when they heard
someone yelling for help.
"That's Elizabeth!" Lucky said and they all took off running. Matt and Felix passed them
as they reached AJ's room. From the open door they could see the team working on AJ.
He could hear Matt calling out over AJ's yelling. The foursome stood there watching AJ
go through hell. It was heartbreaking. Anna moved to see Elizabeth on the other side of
the bed with Monica trying to calm AJ down. She went over too her and rested reassuring
hands on her shoulders to lend her strength. She was fond of Elizabeth. They had bonded
pretty tightly after they lost Robin.
"Mom, you've got to help Dad!" He said desperately. His hair was standing on end and
he was drenched in sweat. Felix was trying to keep AJ in the bed while Matt checked
vitals and issued meds. "Mom! Please. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. It was an
accident!" It was clear AJ was reliving the night he shot Alan in the back. The guilt and
torture on his face was enough to shake the heart of the strongest person. Yet, Elizabeth
remained calm. Gently brushing her hand over his forehead she whispered calming words
quietly to him. Monica was doing her best to reassure him. Dante looked at Lucky who
just shook his head. Michael brushed past the group and hurried into the room to stand
beside Monica. AJ continued to panic and rage. He finally subsided and rested his head
against the pillow.
"He's sedated." Matt said to Monica. "He should sleep soundly for a while."
"Thank you, Matt." Matt nodded and left the room. Felix walked over and quickly gave
Elizabeth a hug before following Matt out the door.
"Elizabeth," Monica said, "AJ is going to be out for a while. Why don't you go ahead and
take a walk." At Elizabeth's nod, she turned to her grandson. "I need some time with my
son. Michael, would you mind walking with her?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure." He said with a nod. "Ready?" Elizabeth nodded and walked to AJ's
bedside. She leaned down and kissed his forehead before walking out the door with
Michael. She gave Anna a quick hug and nodded to the rest of them as she walked by.
Elizabeth and Michael walked in silence for a while. They automatically wound up
walking down to the coffee stand on the first floor by the lounge. Michael got a large
black coffee and Elizabeth grabbed a chai tea.
"So Matt said you've been through this before?" Michael asked
"He's talking about a year and half ago." Elizabeth sighed resign to tell Matt about the
incident. "I went with Matt to a party in his honor for his cancer research."
"Right the one where Lisa Niles tried to kill everyone."
"Yes. She knocked me out with ether and threw me overboard. Ewen must have seen it
from Spoon Island and pulled me out. He ran off before Spinelli found me and brought
me in. I wasn't as hypothermic as AJ got but I did get the same fever and it developed
into pneumonia. When the fever had a hold of me..." She paused to take a deep breath.
"When the fever had a hold of me, I knew that Jake was in trouble. The fever had taken
me back to the absolute worst time in my life. It was like a constant nightmare. But there
were also nice dreams as well. I don't remember them but I know they were there."
"So this thing where he's reliving what happened with Alan; he's also reliving good stuff
then." Elizabeth realized what Michael was doing. She understood his need to know
that AJ wasn't only going through the hell of the worst things in his life and with AJ
Quartermaine there was a lot of bad history to relive.
"Yes, Michael," She smiled up at him. "I'm going to head to the chapel for a little while.
You're welcome to come with me."
"Starr is one her way here." He replied stopping next to her. "I'm going to go meet up
with her. Will you be okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah I'll be fine" she reached up and wrapped her arms around him. AJ's son.
The son he had fought for. She was glad that he was here. AJ needed him. He and Starr
had been by every day. Michael always took a turn by AJ's bedside talking to him about
everything from ELQ to his and Starr's growing relationship. AJ needed to hear positives
and every little bit helped. Tracey even came by and took a turn. Elizabeth had given her
privacy. She knew Tracey, while cutthroat about the family business, she also stood strong
in events of tragedy. She had even stopped by her place after Jake had died to offer her
condolences and told her if she needed anything she would be happy to help. No one
knew she had done so and Elizabeth told no one about the visit.
She left Michael to find Starr and headed for the chapel. She had spent far too many
nights in this chapel praying for far too many people she had loved. She had even been
here to pray for Ric when he had gone to South America. She had cried in here when the
bus crashed with her son and brother. She ran her hand across the white marble of the
alter and picked up a match to light a candle before falling to her knees with her hands
clasped together. She prayed. AJ needed another miracle. He deserved it. She needed
him. Michael needed him. Tears fell silently from her closed eyes and dropped to her
joined hands. She stayed there for what felt like hours before rising and heading to the
door. She turned to find Mia standing in the doorway.
"Sorry, if I startled you." She apologized stepping in the room. "I just wanted to see if
you were okay. I can leave if you want."
"No, no, it's okay." Elizabeth said wiping her eyes. She motioned Mia over and sat down
on one of the pews. "I have spent a lot of time in this room and it is always better when
there is someone with you." Mia sat down next to her. Elizabeth just stared ahead of her
to the cross above the alter. "It's easy to get lost in the pain of old memories and the fear
of the ones happening right now. When someone is with you," she looked at Mia, "it
makes them more bearable."
"We went to a church on our street. Mom is really religious. So she dragged me out of
bed every Sunday to go to service. I remember just sitting there in awe at the enormity of
everything. When I was a kid, I think it scared me. As an adult, I still go with my mom
once in a while when she guilts me into it. It's a different feeling. I am still awed but
it's different now. It's hope that I feel. I mean all the terrible things that happen in the
world and there are still people who get up every Sunday and go to church. There is still
community out there."
"You and Lucky were seeing each other, weren't you?" Elizabeth said. There was no
censure in her tone. "I know that look he gets. I saw it when I was a teenager. I even saw
it for a while as an adult, before everything went badly. He lost it a long time ago. You
have something from him that not many people do. He trusts you. He stopped trusting in
me, in us, a long time ago."
Mia said nothing just watching the woman in front of her. She was a little intimidated.
Elizabeth was one of the strongest people she had ever met and she carried herself with
such grace. Mia could see why Lucky was in love with her. She was loyal to the extreme.
The care and concern she showed for everyone in her life was amazing.
"I think you are good for him" Elizabeth said looking her in the eyes. "Since the moment
we met, Lucky has been trying to save me, from smoking, from bullets, from bad guys,
from myself. He began to resent me for it. He couldn't see that I didn't need him to save
me anymore. It just became who he was. We never knew it but our relationship was
over a long time ago, but neither of us wanted to admit it. We were so busy trying to live
up to each other's expectations that we destroyed each other. We became the worst of
ourselves."
"Lucky never told me about you. I knew he'd had his heartbroken." She laughed, then,
shaking her head. "I thought you lived in Boston. I didn't even know who you were
until he said your name in the hospital that first night. You were amazing that night. We
were all watching you interact with your brother. It was like watching a ballet. And then
when we went to the mansion and you told us your story. This painful memory that you
had pushed so far behind you had to be re-lived. I knew then that I couldn't hate you. I
wanted to. I wanted you to be awful and a tramp. But you weren't; you were someone
I would hang out with back home. You were someone I could see as a friend. Now that
this horrible thing has happened, I just wanted you to know that if you needed a friend or
anything. I can be that for you."
Elizabeth smiled. "Thank you." She grabbed hold of Mia's hand and looked back to the
alter and the candle she lit for AJ. They just sat like that for a minute. There silence was
broken when Sabrina burst in the room.
"Elizabeth, come with me there's a problem with AJ!" Elizabeth and Mia flew out of the
room. Luckily, the elevator doors were already open they made it just in time and ran out
as soon as the doors were open. They could hear AJ yelling across the corridor. Elizabeth
hurried into the room. Michael, Starr and Monica were off to the side as Matt and Felix
did their best to hold on as AJ raged. Felix managed to get one strap on him and Matt the
other. Elizabeth was able to make it beside Felix. Matt finally had a chance to look at the
readings on AJ's monitors. Elizabeth whispered soothing words to AJ.
"Jesus, look at his heart rate. He's convulsing! Push Phenol. We need to get his heart
rate down before his heart-" He stopped mid-sentence as the steady beep sounded in the
room. "Damnit! Get me the paddles!" Matt said. Elizabeth moved closer and grabbed
AJ's hand. Monica and Michael stood behind her she could hear them calling out to AJ.
Elizabeth only let go of AJ's hand when Matt yelled clear. Finally, the beeping resumed.
Monica and Michael hugged each other tightly. Matt looked over AJ to where Elizabeth
sat. Tears coursing down her cheeks, but her eyes were steady on AJ. She was holding
his hand again and rubbing her other hand on top rhythmically. He knew she needed a
minute alone. He asked Monica and Michael if he could talk to them outside and then
nodded to the rest of the people who had come into the room. He was the last one out,
turning to close the door, when he heard her quiet "Thank you."
She looked at the cot that Sabrina and Felix had set up the night before. She had barely
slept a few hours in it. She stayed at AJ's side for hours. Everyone came in to say
goodnight. Olivia brought a tray in for her dinner. She just looked at it. Sometimes she
talked to AJ. Sometimes she was quiet. She had even read to him. Her brother came in
to tell her he was starting his shift and to call for him if she needed him. Her mom and
dad called to let her say goodnight to the boys. Epiphany came in and demanded she eat
her dinner refusing to leave; she sat there holding AJ's hand until Elizabeth ate every last
bite. Then she got up and went about the rest of her evening.
Elizabeth sat by AJ's bed for four days. He raged in and out of fever. After his heart
stopped two days prior, He had raged four more times before falling into a natural sleep.
She took the opportunity to catch some rest herself. Michael took over at AJ's bedside.
She heard him talking and woke up to hear the conversation he had with Michael. She
wanted to tell him then how she felt. She was so tired she lay down next to him and fell
asleep wrapped in his strong arms. She finally slept deeply. She knew they hadn't been
asleep long when the screaming started in the hallway.
She and AJ woke up. She looked at him and he nodded. She skidded out the doorway
to see Felix lying on the floor. Epiphany was kneeling beside him. Matt was running up
beside her. Felix was reaching for the pocket of his scrubs. Epiphany followed his hand
and pulled out an eppy pen stabbing it quickly in his leg. In moment he was calming
down. Matt was monitoring him not wanting to move him.
Elizabeth had seen Mia standing by the elevator as she had come down the hallway. She
didn't see Britt until Mia asked her what she was doing. Britt was standing with a coffee
cup in her hand. She gave her the biggest fake smile Elizabeth had only seen her use on
Patrick "I'm just helping out and picking up some trash."
Mia gave her a fake smile right back and asked for the cup taking it by the edge.
Elizabeth smiled she was glad Britt wasn't fooling anybody. Mia walked over to where
Matt and Epiphany were helping Felix into a wheelchair. Mia leaned down to Felix. "Is
this the coffee you were drinking from?" she asked him. At his nod she turned to Matt,
"You might want to get this to the lab." She said handing him the cup.
Elizabeth turned back into the room, She told AJ that it looked like Felix had a severe
allergic reaction to something he drank but Matt and Epiphany were taking care of him.
"I am so glad you are here." AJ said wrapping her in his arms once again careful not to
disturb the IV in his arm. Matt kept AJ in the hospital for four more days until he was
sure that AJ was fully recovered from his ordeal. Elizabeth stayed by his side for most of
the time. Lot of other people came to visit including her parents who spent an afternoon
talking with AJ. Jeff asked his wife to take Elizabeth for a coffee so he could speak with
AJ privately. Elizabeth gave her dad a quick hug asking him to be nice before following
her mom out the door.
"I have spent a lot of time with you mother that last week and we had a long talk about
your history." Jeff said turning serious. "I am not going to say that it doesn't concern me a
little; this business of kidnapping and your marriage to a mob lord's sister not to mention
the shooting incident. But..." He said rasing his hand when AJ would have interrupted
him. "I understand that everyone has a past. I also know that you had a severe problem
with drinking at the time and that a lot of your motivation came from and
Ms Jacks and their handling of the custody of your son. I also understand that you have
spent the last several years in a respected rehabilitation center. I can only hope that you
time away has helped you put the past and your demons behind you." He took abreath.
"Also, your actions of late have been beyond reproach. The strength and support you have
given my daughter during this time have been invaluable to her." Jeff stood and moved to
the window. "Her Mother and I haven't been in her life since she was fifteen years old.
We didn't think..." He sighed. " We have been so busy 'saving the world' and helping
those who needed medical attention that we neglected our own daughter. We weren't
there for her through any of the hardest times in her life. We missed so much; not just
the good times like her weddings or the birth of her children. We always thought she
was fine. We never thought...Never considered the terrible things she has gone through.
Not just the loss of her son. But the several losses she has had to endure. Her best friends
death being one of them" He slid a glance at AJ who nodded solemnly at the mention of
Emily. "She has had a hard life. And we never made it any easier for her. It was my job
as her father to be there for her. To help her to guide her. To keep men like Ric Lansing
and Jason Morgan out of her life. It was her mothers place to help her with her dress on
her wedding day. To let her cry on her shoulder when she lost her son. WE have been
letting other people do right by our daughter for so long. And they have done an amazing
job. Elizabeth is so bright and Beautiful. And I almost missed it. We don't intend to miss
anymore. Audrey, Steve, even Laura have done their part to help with our daughter. I
don't expect that it will be an easy road. But I do love my daughter and my grandsons.
It's time."
"Sir," AJ said speaking for the first time since Jeff began his emotional speech. " I care
about Elizabeth. I know her. She is loyal and kind and forgiving. I have made so many
mistakes in my life. I missed my son growing up because I was more interested in
taking revenge than going through every legal avenue and straightening out my own life. I
understand. And If I may be so bold Elizabeth is by far the best woman I have ever met
in my life. I think she is a lot like my grandmother. Graceful and kind and with a heart
big enough for all of the people in her life who made mistakes. And if she lets me, I will
spend the rest of my life trying to make her happy and realize that she deserves it."
" I hope you do, son. I hope you do."
The door opened and the women came back in bearing coffee. The chat turned to lighter
things and when AJ grew tired. She shooed her parents out of the room and sat down
next to AJ who pulled her into his arms on the bed with him. He tucked her gently into
his sighed and thought back on the words her father had so passionately spoke. "I won't
leave you" He whispered felt her arms tighten around him. He could only hope that she
believed him.