AN/ This scene is all a flashback! Enjoy! Timeline is early June.
I wrote this AND the next chapter ahead and they didn't save and I'm so sad. :(
Enjoy it cause I wrote it twice.
-End of AN-
The four of them, Ava, Nikolas, Elizabeth, and Franco had all traveled to London.
Nikolas had promised Liz he would find her sister and when he got a lead he knew it was too important to not handle himself. When he told Liz about it she had insisted she would join him. Soon after Franco decided that he would accompany Liz who while not too far in her pregnancy was still pregnant none the less.
When Ava found out there was nothing stopping her from coming along as well. She had met Hayden but had no real care for her. Neutral at best. But that's not why she was coming. Nikolas wondered if it was to bother him. Franco and Liz figured it was to keep up the happy couple front both of them could see through. Ava however went because she could and because she loved to travel.
She didn't at the time know they'd be flying to London. The same way the unhappy couple had met. Thousands of feet up in the air, crossing over the Atlantic, the destination no other than London.
She remembered it all like it was yesterday. She looked over and what did she see? No other than Nikolas Cassadine. Infamous in town for being the sole Cassadine left, living in the big castle on spoon island, and being handsome. Some people had said he had been the odd one out, the good one in a family of bad apples. But when she saw the man who was declared dead sitting so smugly, she knew he was more like her. The devious one in the family of other devious ones.
Not all bad of course, she didn't know if anybody was all bad. But definitely not against breaking some laws. Not above lying either. A man of her own heart, protecting himself by whatever means necessary.
Despite spending a long time in Port Charles the pair had never crossed paths. How odd they'd end up finally meeting there? She thinks it was serendipitous. She ended up chatting with him, not only because she could gain leverage over knowing he existed but because she was drawn to him. She just felt like he was just like her in so many ways, almost. even protective. Didn't mean she wouldn't have some fun though, she was still Ava Jerome after all.
As they sat next to each other on yet another flight things were awkward. Not the normal awkward they had, but a different kind. The kind where both remembered just how wild there time together was, how they managed to grow close. They felt like different people now, and they were. But they could still feel what they felt and in a way yearn for it. Silently of course.
Liz and Franco spent their time chatting and laughing, enjoying the time together. Of course they could feel how uncomfortable The Prince and Princess in the next row were but did there best to block it out. Most of the ride was joyful and all of it spent focused on each other.
Franco and Liz were settled in and Liz was hoping she could skip the part of the flight were she would get sick. She didn't really get plane sick, but being pregnant on top of a long flight meant she was worried it would happen.
She didn't get physically sick during this pregnancy, just nauseous. Part of the reason she accounts to why she didn't notice her pregnancy until she was three and a half months along. She wasn't showing a bump and what she thought was her period she now knows was spotting.
It wasn't even her who noticed. It was Felix who brought the idea to the table, not even being serious when he did.
Liz had a shift and was more fatigued than normal.
"God, i'm out of shape." She'd said tired and frustrated putting her last binder down for the day.
"Or your pregnant." He joked.
But she didn't laugh, because she realized that he was right. She could be. She'd been feeling a little sick recently. She'd been sexually active, careful, but active none the less. She even noticed she'd gained a few pounds, but thought it could be from the stress of nursing and raising three children. Aiden's baking never helped with weight either.
She quickly went to get a blood test and pulled a few strings to get the results faster. Soon she was staring at the results and there it was. Pregnant.
She worried about Franco's reaction. She knew he loved her. She knew he loved her children. She knew he loved kids in general. But he'd always had reservations about having a biological child, terrified that his genes were cursed. She even remembers him leaving Nina over having a baby. She didn't think Franco would leave her, no, they were still them and he loved her as much as she loved him. But regardless she was scared of how he'd feel.
When she told him that day however he was excited. She felt she could finally be fully excited herself after this. She was sure Franco still had some nerves but who didn't? Especially as he never raised a child himself.
There were small moments however where they were able to talk about some serious stuff on the plan. Like how much she wanted to find Hayden. How the boys would be while they were gone. The baby. And some chatting about Nikolas and Ava.
Liz eventually dozed off, leaning onto Franco's shoulder as she let herself sleep. Franco could help but stare at her, she was so stunning. What they said about pregnant women glowing was true. He was so lucky to be with her. In general, not just here.
He wasn't here for a baby-moon, no. He was here to track down Hayden. That also meant dealing with the odd couple. This wasn't a vacation even if they could enjoy moments. This was a mission.