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Chapter 39

Elizabeth took a deep breath before heading down the stairs. This morning had gotten off to a bit of rough start. She couldn't seem to get herself moving. Jason had left almost ninety minutes ago, and normally she got out of bed then. Not today. She had been hiding under her pillow when he walked out of the bedroom. It was knowing that Max was coming to get her that had her finally moving.

She should have more energy this morning. Yesterday she had a meeting with Bernie to go over the books for her business. Elizabeth Morgan Designs, the new name under which she produced her two labels, was doing well. Okay, that was a bit of an understatement. If sales continued at the current rate she would crack five million dollars in sales by June. That would be a new personal best.

The store in Port Charles was making money, the boutique in Puerto Rico was making money, and her website was doubling their combined sales. Not to mention she was now a regular at fashion week. Her show in February had been a must get ticket. She had five months before she returned to the city for the next show and already folks were putting in requests for tickets.

Standing in the kitchen she tried to decide if she wanted to eat. She didn't have much an appetite but she would be starving by lunch if she didn't put something in her stomach now. After looking through the pantry and rejecting everything, yogurt ended up being her choice. Once she had eaten, she made tea before pouring it into her travel mug while listening to the weather. This time of year you never knew what might greet you. It had been glorious yesterday and now they were forecasting snow for later in the week.

"Coat." Liz said trying to shake off her fatigue. "I need a coat and a scarf." She forced herself to start moving from her spot by the sink. "Today might be a short one." She had to admit. It crossed her mind to just work from her home office today. What made her say no was that if she did that might lead to her giving in to the temptation of the soft couch upstairs. A nap right now would not be a short one. "At least I don't have any meetings today." She muttered slipping into her outwear as the doorbell rang. "Hi Max." She gave him a big smile despite feeling like crud.

"Liz." Max greeted her with a grin. Today was his first day back at work from his honeymoon so he was in a good mood. "How are you?" She looked tired.

"Sluggish." Liz said as she locked up. The crisp morning air felt good on her skin. She had been a little warm this morning and now she was starting to worry she had picked something up. Michael and Kristina both had colds. That was why Johnny was making it a point to stay away from Sonny right now. If O'Brien took a bug home to Cailin then Karen would hurt him since the little girl had just gotten over a double ear infection.

"Something's going around." He had heard that a few guys were out when he checked in this morning. "Maybe you should stay home." Max suggested to her.

"If I'm not feeling better by lunch then I'm packing it in." Liz promised him. She took three steps and a wave of nausea hit her. Getting back into the house wasn't going to happen, but she did manage to make it over to the hedge. She didn't have much in her stomach, but it all came back up in a rush.

Max already had the door open. "Come on back in the house and I'll get you settled on the couch." He said steering his charge toward the warm interior.

"At least I managed not to throw up on myself." Liz said as her stomach rolled again. Her first stop was the downstairs bathroom. She didn't even bother to remove her jacket before rinsing her mouth out. When she came back out Max was on the phone, no doubt with Jason. "He doesn't have to come back." She told her friend as she walked by to hang up her jacket.

"Tell my stubborn wife I'll be home shortly." Jason could hear her through the phone. "Have her stretch out on the couch." He said shutting off the computer he had only just turned on. The morning had started with a meeting.

"Not a problem." Max said as he ended the call. He was grateful he didn't get sick that often. It was a rare year if he even got the flu. "The boss is on his way back. He said for you to lie down on the couch." Having Jason back up what he had already said might make Liz not argue. "I'll get you some juice."

"Thanks." Liz didn't bother to say she was fine. She couldn't fight them both. By the time Max returned she was out cold.

"How are you feeling?" Jason asked when she woke up.

"Tired." Liz said frowning. Being sick sucked.

"You don't have a fever, does your throat hurt? Or anything else?" He asked doing a check in.

"No." Liz rolled from her side to her back so she could look at him. "I'm actually kind of hungry."

"That's a good sign." Jason grinned at her. "I stopped off and picked up some soup from Kelly's."

"Okay." Liz gave a big yawn. "I zonked out before Max came back from his trip to the kitchen." She said with a lop-sided grin.

"I know. He said that you didn't drink your juice, so I will start by bringing some in for you." Jason kissed her forehead and went into the kitchen. He wondered how much of a fight he was in for. His girl hated to be sick, and being still was not something she enjoyed. He would bring her a pad and some pencils. Working on her designs would go a long way to making this easier on them both.

"I never called the office." She said when he brought back the cold drink.

"I did. I spoke to Maxie. She said to tell you that your team has the situation under control." Jason thought his wife's assistant was nuts, but Georgie's sister ran that office like a well-oiled machine.

Liz nodded. "I have good timing. With fashion week over we are in one of the slower periods of the year." She and her team would be focusing on designs for the newest collections while Maxie handled the upcoming summer Deception ad campaign. That partnership was still going strong. Times like these were Liz's favorite because her focus was the clothing and not the business. "I have no doubt that everyone will be fine without me there for the day." Her team didn't slack off whenever she traveled so they wouldn't do it now.

The doorbell rang and Jason looked over his shoulder. He wasn't expecting anyone and the guards would only let a few people up without calling first. "Hi." He opened the door and stepped back. "Should you be here with Elizabeth sick?"

"It's fine." Nadine assured him with a grin. "I work in a hospital, which is crawling with germs, if that hasn't made me sick your wife poses no threat." The nurse practitioner was her normal perky self.

Jason closed the door and took her coat. He only asked because Nadine was seven months pregnant now. "She's in the living room." He wasn't surprised to see Cody's wife because she handled any non-surgical issues for the organization. Although she could stitch you up if it was needed.

"Okay." Nadine grabbed her bag and headed into the front room. "Hey you. How are you feeling?"

"Tired." Liz should have known her friend was going to show up.

Nadine watched as Elizabeth blinked owlishly. Her friend looked to be barely awake. "Tired, or sleepy? They aren't necessarily the same thing."

"Sleepy." Liz said switching adjectives.

Nadine got out her temporal scanner. "No fever. No swollen glands." She said doing a manual check. "Your pulse is up." She said going down her mental check list. "When was the last time you had your period?"

Liz did the math in her head. She looked at Jason who was also counting back and they reached the same conclusion at the same time. Things had been nuts this year. Not only had she done her show in New York, but for the first time ever she went to London's fashion week and then Milan's. It had been three weeks of long hours, networking, and hopping time zones. "Seven weeks."

"Are you regular?" Nadine asked her friend as a smile started forming on her face.

"I'm pretty regular, and no we aren't using anything." Liz was suddenly thinking she might not be sick.

Nadine dug out her phone. "I'm going to call and set up an appointment for you to get some blood work done. While I'm doing that Jason why don't you go to the pharmacy and get a home test." She told him the brand. "No more than two." Cody had come home with six and she had joked that she didn't have that much pee.

"Um." Jason didn't move as his brain tried to process that they might be pregnant. After they decided to start a family they agreed to not watch the calendar. They weren't going to start counting the months that passed without a baby. Kelly would let them know if it had been long enough that there might be a problem. They weren't going to stress and that approach may have paid off. "I'll go now."

Walking over he kissed his wife. She was looking at him with eyes full of love and hope. Both sentiments he was feeling as well. "I love you."

"I love you too." Liz said trying to stay calm. Jason left and she turned to Nadine. "When can I go in?"

"Today at three." The nurse practitioner look at the clock. "You have plenty of time. It was the only opening they had. Unless you want me to point out who your in-laws are?" She asked while sending a text.

"No." Liz wasn't going to be throwing her connections in people's faces.

Nadine checked her buzzing phone before speaking. "Kelly wants you to text her the results of the home tests. If you get a positive she may have you come to her office to get blood drawn." The ob/gyn had no problem being pushy on Liz's behalf.

"Are you staying?" Liz asked her friend.

"Just until Jason returns, then I'm going to go. I'm not even going to bug you for the results." Nadine was superstitious about things like that. She and Cody did have some trouble conceiving and Nadine ended up having to take hormone shots, but they were getting their chance to have a family. She hoped the same was true for her friends.

"Want something to drink?" Liz suddenly wasn't sleepy anymore, although if she was pregnant that would more than likely return.

"I'm good. I will use the bathroom though." Nadine got to her feet and waddled out of the room.

Liz just sat on the couch and tried to stay calm.

It wasn't until he was at the store that Jason realized he had left the property without his guard. Not something that he had done since Milo was assigned to him. The youngest Giambetti brother was now assigned to Alexis and Jason was being protected by Marco. It was too late to do anything about it but in the future he would make sure it didn't happen again.

He grabbed the two tests and went to the register. In no time at all he was he back at the house. He had been shaking during the round trip because his entire life could potentially be changing. They hadn't even had a late period since they started trying for a baby. So this was his first trip to the pharmacy for home tests, and more than anything he wanted them to be positive.

"I'm back." He said despite the fact that the two women could see that.

"Did you not wear a jacket?" Liz asked looking at her guy.

"I forgot." Jason said with an almost shy grin. He was excited.

Nadine just laughed. "I'm going to head out. Good luck you guys." Jason came over and helped her to her feet.

"Where is your guard?" He did note that her car was the only one in front of the house.

"Down at the gate." Nadine was being protected by Paulie these days. He was the only one who wasn't terrified by her growing stomach. "I'm not in the mood for a lecture from my husband. I'm not going out alone."

"I'll walk you to your car." Jason looked at his wife who was drinking a glass of water. "Be right back."

"I'll be right here. Put on a jacket." Liz gave him a look. Just because he couldn't feel the temperatures didn't mean he was superhuman. She didn't want him damaging his skin. "Leave the bag here."

Jason nodded before handing over the tests, and following Nadine to the front door.

She was reading the instructions when he returned. Because they had two tests and she would be taking both Jason opened the other box so that he could read the instructions as well. It was pretty simple, and the results would be hard to misconstrue. The digital read out would clearly say pregnant or not pregnant.

"Do you need more water?" Jason pointed to the empty glass. His hand was still shaking.

"No, this is my second one since you left." Liz was full. "I just have to wait for the urge to go to the bathroom to hit me." She leaned back into the couch. "I've been sitting here thinking about what this means. We might be parents."

"Scared?" Jason took her hand in his.

"Terrified is more accurate. We've never even had a puppy. I don't even take care of the plants on the property." Liz said looking at him with scared eyes. "What if I can't do this?"

"The thought that I might screw up a child had crossed my mind more than once." Jason linked his fingers with hers. "According to Sonny and Johnny that's completely normal. They both felt the same way before their kids arrived. I talked to my dad and he said that he was terrified when AJ was born, when I came to live at the mansion, and even when Emily moved in. If we screw it up we'll do it together." He said glad to know that he wasn't the only one with those feelings.

Liz squeezed their joined hands. "I don't want to be my parents." She said getting to the heart of the matter.

"You couldn't be. Not ever." Jason promised her. "Even if you were, their history is much better than my parents." He pointed out.

"That isn't necessarily true. I mean the divorces and remarriages alone are going to be interesting talks with our kids. But I think your parents were more involved in your life than my parents were in mine." Liz said giggling. Her moment of panic had come. There would be others, but she had her guy beside her. She also had her family, her true family, surrounding her. "If we have a girl can we include Audrey in her name?"

"Yes. I'm going to be praying for boys though. May as well be honest about that." Jason said with a shrug. "I'm not sure I can handle having some guy show up at my house to take my princess out on a date. Sonny is terrified that his behavior with women will be revisited on Kristina in karmic retribution. I don't remember what I was like as a teenager, but I know what I've done since waking up."

"Jason you weren't that bad as a teenager. Trust me." Liz knew about Jason Quartermaine through the rest of the family. Before approaching them Elizabeth had asked Jason if he would mind. He said that she could ask whatever she liked. "Even after the coma you never cheated on anyone, and the women you were with weren't looking for relationships either." Liz didn't think he had anything to worry about. "Neither one of us has anything to worry about where karma is concerned."

"Not from that direction." Jason said softly. "I'll do everything I can to keep you both safe. You know that right?"

"I know that." Liz leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss because he needed it. He was worried about what his business could cost them, and honestly so was she. It would be negligent to not look at what that brought into their children's' lives. They would take precautions and their child, or children, would have guards. They would do what was necessary so that their family stayed safe. She believed in him, and that wasn't going to change.

"Any urge to go to the bathroom?" Jason asked hopefully.

"No." Liz shook her head. "Which is weird because when I get nervous I normally have to go. I may have been a little dehydrated to start. I guess another glass of water won't hurt."

Jason reached into the bag and pulled out a bottle of water. "I grabbed it when I was at the store despite the fact that we have a lot of faucets here in the house."

"Okay." Liz smiled and twisted off the top.

"So are you going to make maternity clothes once your belly gets bigger?" He wanted to know. He really wanted them to be pregnant.

"Still have not changed my mind about that." She said shaking her head no. "Nor about mass producing clothes for kids. There are plenty of places to shop for both here in the city." The maternity side of fashion was actually pretty cut throat. There were three big brands and they did their best to keep it that way. Liz had been shocked at some of the stories Kate shared over lunch one day. "I may make things for myself from time to time though. Just like I made that dress for Karen to wear to the Nurses' Ball. And I don't consider that maternity because it was a custom gown." She finished the bottle of water.

"Want to watch television while we wait for your bladder to get with the program?" Just sitting here was fraying his nerves.

"Find a program about waterfalls." Liz said laughing.

"Yup." Jason turned to the guide to see what his options were.

Jason took his wife's request to heart and found a program on Hoover Dam. Twenty minutes in she got up and headed down the hall to the bathroom. Not really sure what to do he got up and followed. After a few minutes he heard the toilet flush and then water running. When she opened the door he urged her close. "So should we stand here for the next eight minutes? Or go back and pretend to watch television?"

"I don't think I can move from this spot." Liz knew it made no sense but she didn't want to go too far from the bathroom. "Besides I drank a lot of water, I may need to use the lavatory again before the results are in." She said laughing.

"Lavatory?" Jason looked down at his wife with a grin.

"School." Liz smiled at him. "We couldn't say bathroom for some reason. Are our children going to go to Port Charles Academy?"

"Public school will not be safe enough, so unless you want to hire a private tutor then PCA is the best option. I'd rather they not go to boarding school. That is a tradition in the Quartermaine family." Jason explained why he mentioned it.

"Will it cause problems when we buck that trend? I have no intention of sending my children out of Port Charles to go to school, other than college." Elizabeth was already bracing herself for some of the things the Quartermaines might expect. She was not going to let her children be pressured into running ELQ if it wasn't what they wanted.

"No, only because AJ will fight that battle first." Jason would support his brother, because he suspected there would be some big fights ahead. He really hoped he was wrong about that. With so much pain in the family's past it would be nice if they learned from that. "I also think that because our history my family won't push me as hard as they push AJ and Emily. I've proven that I will walk away. I won't hesitate to do it again to protect my children. They don't want to go through that again. I don't either." He knew that no matter what he wouldn't lose his siblings or his grandmother.

Liz bit her lower lip as a thought crossed her mind. She felt her husband's fingers under her chin and looked up at him. In his eyes she could see the unasked question of what was upsetting her. "Does it make me a bad person that I'm glad my parents aren't here? I will tell them about the baby, or possible baby." They exchanged letters, and skyped occasionally but that was it. "Not having to deal with their expectations on top of possibly dealing with the Quartermaine expectations is a good thing. I have no doubt my parents would be with your parents about our child, or children going into medicine." Liz had watched Monica and Alan try to get Em to follow in their footsteps when she was in college.

"It doesn't make you a bad person. I'm glad they aren't here either. If they irritated you I would have been happy to explain why that was a very bad idea." Jason always felt protective of Elizabeth, but those feelings would get stronger if she was pregnant.

"I'm tired just thinking about possible drama. Carly is already getting questions about what pre-school Michael will be attending next year." Liz was wondering when her friend was finally going to snap. She started laughing. "It's going to be adventure."

"Yeah. It is." Jason gave her a kiss. "At least I have a good partner."

"Please, I totally plan on hiding behind you." Liz told him laughing harder. He was just shaking his head when her watch beeped. "It's time." She was smiling up at him. No matter what the results they were going to be fine.

"Want me to go look?" Jason was actually nervous.

"We'll go together." Liz looked at the bathroom not moving. "Now, we'll go now."

Jason took the first step but they reached the sink together. Elizabeth had set the two tests down so that they would be able to immediately read the results. They looked at the one window and then at the second. Then back to the first and back to the second. "We're pregnant." He said in a hushed tone.

"I have a life we made inside of me." Liz said in that same awed tone. "We're going to be parents." She was trying to blink back tears, but it wasn't working. Elizabeth looked down and put her hands over her stomach. Jason's hand covered hers and she looked up. His eyes were sparkling with tears too. "I need to let Kelly know."

Jason leaned forward and gave Elizabeth a lingering kiss. Then he pulled her into his arms and just rested his cheek on the top of her head. He had so much joy in his heart right now he couldn't even talk. His whole world was in his arm, and that world was expanding. "I love you." His voice was raspy with his emotions. "Both of you."

"We love you too." Liz just relaxed into his embrace. Everything else could wait. Right now this was where she wanted to be.

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