A/N – Thanks for the comments! * Guest – I get that not everyone is going to like what I write. They weren't getting off on the torture itself. It was more about the strength of the person and how they smoldered, just like when Jason is all brooding and tense, people find him sexy or when Liz is angry he finds it sexy. If Claudia had just kept threatening Lucky and not even touched him, the rest of that scene still would have happened. The sex came from their touching not because of the act of torture itself. They are not crazed psychos who get off on hurting someone else. They are mainly turned on just being in each other's orbit, but the power of the words and body language is what did it for them. Anyway, feel free to skip what you don't like. I wasn't trying to be offensive nor did I take your comment as being offensive.

Chapter 36

Liz froze and Johnny had to hold Jason back. She spun on her heel, eyes furious and slightly stunned that he'd throw her rape in her face. Claudia, who had been listening in the next room, ran to her. Without even looking, Liz grabs a wood plank that is sitting on the table, not realizing that it has nails on one side and swung it with all her might, lodging it into Lucky's chest.

He screamed, "Bitch," long and drawn out, turning it into a sob at the end as she tried to wrench it out to hit him again, but it was stuck.

Jason grabbed her as Claudia tried to pry her fingers off the board.

"Elizabeth! You need to stop," Jason yelled, knowing her blood pressure must be through the roof.

Johnny ran and got the doctor who was there to help with Lucky.

Hearing the fear in Jason's voice, Liz let go. Her hand was bleeding and she was trembling.

"Fuck you, Lucky Spencer. And thank you for saying what you did, because I know that my husband will make you suffer even more. You are such a piece of shit! I hate you!" The fact that he would throw the most horrible day of her life in her face had momentarily wounded her.

Jason picked her up and ran out of the room and Johnny led him a few doors down where the doctor was waiting.

"I'm going to give her a light sedative. It won't hurt the baby."

"Okay." He watched as Liz stopped crying and started to relax as the doctor cleaned and bandaged her hand.

"I'm sorry." Her anger towards him had reached a fever pitch and she knew she needed to calm down.

"Shhh. You have nothing to apologize for. I can't believe he said that," Jason said.

"I need you to make him hurt. I'll rest, but I'm not leaving until you do." She wanted to walk out of the building with her man, knowing that Lucky could never hurt them again.

His lips pressed against hers. "Okay." He looked up at the doctor. "Come with me please."

Claudia took Liz's hand. "I'll stay with her."

They left and Claudia crawled next to Liz and held her. Lucky needs to die and she trusted that Jason will make him suffer.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Johnny watched Jason stare Lucky down. There were few times where he had seen Jason this angry. He swore the man was going to combust. If a glare could kill, Lucky would be dead ten times over.

Jason sucked in several long breaths, trying to regulate his breathing and focus on the task at hand—to make Lucky Spencer suffer. Like a machine, he pushed all other thoughts out of his head, calmly trying to decide what he wanted to do to the man. While he would have loved to draw this out over several days, Elizabeth needed closure tonight, so he is going to give it to her.

The doctor carefully removed the plank as Lucky cried. "It's not too deep. It's going to bleed for a while though."

"Sew them up."

The doctor almost shuddered, gone was the gentle man who had soothed his distraught wife. Jason's enforcer persona had taken over and the cold, harshness of his voice was enough to make anyone cower with fear. Even Lucky wasn't stupid enough to know he had gone too far, but he didn't plan on stopping. If he is going to die soon, then the only weapon he had to fight Jason were his words.

The doc carefully stitched up the holes. When he had taken this job, he was desperate to pay off some bills because of a lawsuit. Sonny had paid off the debt and he worked on the side to pay it off, ignoring whatever he saw while on duty. From what he could tell, Lucky is a royal asshole and he deserves whatever he gets.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Claudia rubbed Elizabeth's back. "I'm sorry."

"I shouldn't let him get to me like this."

"He brought up a horrible time in your life. You get to be angry."

The baby kicked and Elizabeth stroked her belly and then looked up to find Claudia's eyes as big as saucers. "What?"

"I—I felt it."

Liz smiled. "He's getting more active."

"Is it weird?"

"Very, but it's so worth it."

Claudia quieted.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just don't think about having kids. I'm scared I'd suck as a mom."

"You are great with Cam."

"What if I end up being like my father?"

"You won't. Claudia, you can't live in that place. Trust me, I know all about letting your past dictate your future."

She sighed. "I know, but I'm scared to dream."

Their eyes locked and Liz felt like Claudia is truly letting her in, so she is going to make the most of it.

"Jason doesn't dream at all, but he still wanted to have a life with me. You can have everything if you just open yourself up to it. Sometimes you do get hurt, but I'm so glad that I didn't stop myself from taking a chance with Jason. After all the heartache, I am loved."

"You deserve it."

"And so do you. How is it going with Johnny?"

"The sex is mind-blowing and just being with him and doing nothing is too. He's deeper than a lot of people probably give him credit for and we have the same sense of humor. He just makes me hot all the time, maybe it's his confidence and the power behind it." Her grin grew and so did Liz's.

"You are so gone."

Claudia gasped. "You're supposed to say that to him."

"I'm saying it to you. I'm so happy for you. Johnny feels the same way about you too." She gets why men want a damsel in distress, but it was out of strength that her and Jason furthered their bond and took it to the next level, not weakness.

"I've never been with anyone this long. It's scary."

"Don't concentrate on that. Just feel and let yourself go. I don't think you'll regret that."

"I hope not."

The door cracked open and Johnny's head poked through the doorway. "Do you need some water?"

Liz turned and smiled. "That would be great."

He is happy to see that she's okay.

"Tell Jason not to rush. I'm fine."

"I will."

He got her some water and then went back into the room where Lucky was currently whimpering because Jason had crushed his toes slowly and methodically.

"Elizabeth said not to rush. She's fine. When I went into the room, she was smiling."

Jason nodded and got back to work. Part of this was playing mind games and not always following through with whatever Lucky thought he would do next. "Take him to the sink."

Francis and Johnny dragged him across the room. The sink was already full. They had installed it lower so the object of their wrath could sit in a chair and be dunked.

They let Lucky gaze at the water for awhile.

"Just kill me."

"No." Jason's steely voice sliced through him as tears filled Lucky's eyes.

Slowly, the tortured man's head lifted. "Just know that I had her first."

Jason pulled his hair and thrust him under the water and Lucky's body started to twitch and then they realized he wasn't fighting and Jason pulled him back up dropped him to the floor and pumped on his chest until Lucky coughed up some water. "You don't get to decide when you die."

After a long moment, Lucky stared him down. "I'm already dead. Helena killed me in that fire. We're the walking dead, Jason. We came back and we're nothing like how we were before."

"You were just brainwashed and got your memories back."

"Not really. I was never the same. That's why I lost her. If it wasn't for Helena, I'd still be with her."

"Did you ever consider that you were never right for her? It's not like you ever chose her. Because of the rape, you helped her out of guilt. You just don't get it. Elizabeth needs someone to choose her because too many people walked away. She was a child then and now she's a woman; the sexiest and most compassionate woman I have ever met. I don't try to put her on pedestal or tell her what to do. Lucky, I just love her and accept her for who she is and that's enough. My heart will never beat again without her."

Elizabeth stood in the doorway with tears in her eyes. "I love you so much."

Jason's eyes snapped to her. "I love you too."

"Enough. He's not worth it. End him and come home to me and Cam." She knew she had said take your time, but then she thought about how hard this had to be for Jason emotionally. Lucky for so long had everything he wanted as Jason was forced to watch and accept it. In his mind, he hated that he had never taken care of the man before he could do so much damage. She just wants to hold him and love on him.

Jason wasn't nearly done, but he could tell that she was. Something had changed and he wanted to make sure that she is fine. "Okay."

The door shut and Jason nodded to his friends and they put Lucky back in the chair.

Picking up a drill, he let Lucky focus on it for a few minutes before starting.

"I hate you and it is going to feel so good knowing that I ended you and that you can never hurt my family again. I should have taken your life years ago and saved Elizabeth so much pain. I will have to live with that the rest of my life by making her happy and unconditionally loved. She won't have time to think about what a worthless piece of shit you are because she'll be too busy laughing. Goodbye, Lucky."

He lined the drill up at the center of Lucky's forehead as the man shook beneath his hand.

"No..no…no….."

The drill sputtered to life and Lucky screamed as Jason slowly pressed the drill bill bit into his skull until he and then bit was ripped out and a gun was put in its place. Jason pulled the trigger as blood splattered all around him.

His chest heaving and anger coursing through his body, he dropped the drill on the table and strode to the bathroom and slammed the door before putting his hands on the sink and looking into the mirror. He wasn't ashamed of what he had done, but still felt dirty; like he couldn't face Cameron because blood was on his hands. He turned on the shower, desperate to wash off all the remnants of Lucky Spencer. The water turned red as the scalding water battered his body and he carefully scrubbed and removed all traces of the other man. Once he was finally done, he got out and dried off and opened a compartment that housed his clean clothes. It was never easy ending someone's life, even when they thoroughly deserved it.

By the time he opened the door, Lucky's body was gone and headed to the incinerator.

Elizabeth stood before him and touched his face. "It's okay now. Come here."

He moved into her arms and let her hold him and calm the beast inside.

"I love you."

He inhaled sharply. "I love you too."

"Thank you."

He pulled back. "For what?"

"For doing what you did to protect our family. He forced your hand. You know that."

"I know."

"Then don't give it another thought. Let's go home."

He nodded and held her hand as they crossed the room. The cleanup crew had already removed the plastic that had protected the floors. When they entered the hallway, Claudia was waiting.

"I'm going to stay until Johnny gets back."

Elizabeth hugged her.

"Thank you for taking care of our girl," Jason said as Claudia smiled.

"Always."

He kissed her on top of the head and then put his arm around Liz and they went home.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Liz sunk into the bubble bath Jason had run for her. It was the perfect temperature and just what she needed to relax.

After about twenty minutes, Jason entered the room and leaned against the sink.

"You can stop worrying."

"I don't think that will ever happen."

"I'm fine. He can't hurt us anymore and that's all that matters."

"Lulu is probably going to blame us."

Liz slightly opened her eyes. "I'm not going to let her. She can think it all she wants, but I'm not going to let her yell at me every chance she gets."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"That Lucky was such a big disappointment. I know that has to hurt."

"It does, but I can't go back and change anything. I'm sure you feel the same way about Sam and Carly."

"True."

"You know, speaking of Carly, she seems like she's behaving."

Jason smirked. "I'm not going to renew my friendship with her."

"Okay, but just know that if she has truly changed and you want to, as long as she respects me and the kids, I can accept it."

"I know. That's part of the reason I love you because you don't try to control me."

"Except in the bedroom…"

He grinned.

"So, if you need to say another word about tonight, do it now because I don't want to think about him again."

"I'm done too. I just—it's a little hard for me for you to see me in my element because I'm never that person around you and don't want to be."

She stroked his cheek. "I'm actually glad you have that side because it makes you who you are and it helps with asshole exes."

"Elizabeth…"

"Jason. I love you. Nothing I see you do is going to change that. You handled Lucky and you took care of me. From the beginning, you promised you would protect us and you did. Don't be ashamed of that, not around me."

They embraced and Jason closed his eyes and then jumped when Jake kicked.

Liz grinned. "That never gets old."

He rubbed her belly and then held still and smiled when the baby moved again. "I can't wait to meet him."

"We're almost there."

He kissed her languidly, so happy that she is in his life forever.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

A month later, Claudia and Tracy are making plans as they started their new business venture. Johnny is working more as he takes over Jason's position. Luckily, Claudia is swamped too, so they were busy at the same time. They tried to have lunch several times a week and then spend several nights together, knowing that their schedules would lighten eventually. Emily and Nikolas are trying to get pregnant while Alfred and Audrey are planning their wedding for the fall. Leya and Sonny are now a couple and she is a breath of fresh air, giving him hope that love could survive.

Everyone sang happy birthday to Cam. It was several days before, but they wanted to wait for the weekend to arrive to have a party.

There is a hug bounce tent outside and a large tent to protect people from the hot sun.

Elizabeth felt like she was going to melt and had to keep going back into the house to cool off. She is ready to have the baby and it could be any day now. Because of her condition, Audrey, Tracy, Monica, and Claudia had made all of the arrangements.

Several kids from daycare came as well as Kristina, Morgan, and Michael.

Leya had brought a few of the kids from the local shelter who are Cam's age along with their mothers and Claudia and Monica had surprised them with gift baskets that blew their minds and promised to help get them into housing. Leya had been a great influence on the women who vowed to assist as much as they could. Edward used some of Lila's foundation connections to help as well.

Cam was so excited and was having a lot of fun.

Liz slipped into the house. She was quite sure she had been in augmentation labor since the prior evening, but her water hadn't broken.

Epiphany followed her. "How long?"

Liz spun around with a water bottle poised at her lips. "Huh?"

"Drink up and don't try to trick me. I've been around the block way too much."

"I'm fine. Cam is about to open presents and I just need to see his face. Jason needs to be there too."

Piph practically growled. "You have five minutes. Make him open the one from you first."

"Fine."