A/N – Thanks for reading this one. The drama is beginning.

Chapter 30

Carly handed Michael to AJ. "I have to go out of town for a while. My mother who adopted me is sick."

"Okay."

"I'm not sure how much I can call."

He nodded, glad that he doesn't have to see her face for a while.

She kissed Michael on the cheek. "Bye, little man."

As she neared the door, Michael's squeal filled the air when AJ lifted him over his head.

Carly seethed. "Soon, little man, you, me, and Jason will be a family again."

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Liz gazed at Kelly in shock. "What did you say?"

"I suspect that you're pregnant, so it's a good thing you came in for a check-up."

Liz is staring at her blankly as a million thoughts ran through her head. "We have been doing it a lot."

Kelly chuckled knowing she probably didn't mean to say that aloud. "Why don't I draw some blood, so we can put you at ease?"

"Okay."

She called for the nurse. "Have you been experiencing morning sickness, noticed any changes in your body, or experienced any fatigue?"

"Maybe a month ago I was feeling nauseous. I've been tired but I have a crazy schedule. No, I don't think anything else is different. To be honest, my mind has been elsewhere."

Kelly got everything together and drew some blood and then put it in a secure bag. After making Liz pee in a cup, she handed everything to the nurse. "Put a rush on that…"

Once the nurse had left, Kelly focused on Liz. "Get dressed you can wait in my office. Once we know what we're dealing with, we'll talk."

Liz nodded numbly as Kelly left the room. Everything is going to change now.

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For a week, Jason had waited patiently and now, they are ready to strike.

Cody nodded and then crept closer to the house that they had followed Sorel's men to. For the last three nights, they had been holed up there and it seems like they move frequently, and they still underestimated Jason's tenacity. His eyes are cold, and his focus is on his target who appears to be at a window in a bedroom upstairs.

Laying on the ground, they crawled forward and then prepared their weapons.

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Liz sat on the couch as she recalled Kelly's words.

"You're pregnant, probably around three months."

She stood and walked over the window, still clutching her prenatal subscription. "What am I going to do?" Having a baby was not even on her radar, and what will Jason think? Her eyes closed as she blinked back tears and then touched her stomach. There's a baby in there and it's blowing her mind. Grabbing her cell phone, she made a call, so she can talk it out with someone.

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Jason aimed and then fired the first shot, dropping the man near the front door at the same time Cody dropped one on the side of the house. All hell broke loose and bullets are wildly fired in their direction.

"One, two, three," Jason said before Cody sprayed the area as Jason stood and lobbed a grenade. Ducking down, they both slightly flinched when it went off.

Cody looked through his scope once the smoke cleared. "Let's go."

They left the sniper rifles and Cody donned an AR15 and Jason went with two handguns. Methodically, they took out the rest of the guards on the outside before shooing a gas projectile into the house. A few seconds later, several men poured out of the dwelling to their death and Jason and Cody headed inside.

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Tammy sat on the couch next to Liz who is crying. "Talk to me."

"I had everything planned out. I'd finish my classes and the focus on the center."

"What has changed?" She hates seeing Liz so distressed.

"I went to the doctors today and, I'm pregnant."

Tammy's eyes widened. "Oh, wow. You're not happy?"

"This will change everything and supposed Jason isn't ready?"

"Jason loves you, so I can't see him being upset."

"He is already nervous about the danger."

Tammy's eyes softened as she held Liz's hand. "That man is crazy about you. Don't you get that?"

Liz wiped her tears away. "A baby is a whole other level of commitment."

"Take a deep breath. I want you to put aside everything else for a minute. Can you be happy about the baby?"

"Part of me is, but then the rest Is scared to death. What if I screw it up? I didn't have the best childhood."

Tammy smiled. "I think that's pretty normal to feel that way, and you know everyone will pitch in. You won't be alone, Elizabeth."

They embraced as Tammy tried to soothe her.

"I'll tell you one thing, that baby will be effin gorgeous."

Liz laughed.

"Seriously, you might have to put him or her on lockdown when they hit sixth grade."

"That early?" Liz said as she retreated.

"Hell yeah. Those little hussies start early nowadays. It's better to be safe."

Leave it to Tammy to make her laugh.

"You don't want the little Lulus and Carlys of the world corrupting your son, and if it's a girl, we are not going to let some asshole sully her."

Liz cracked up. "Tammy! Don't talk about my child in the same sentence of those skanks."

Tammy watched as Liz registered what she had just said—my child.

"This is real, isn't it?"

"As real as it gets…"
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Cody kicked open the door of Sorel's room and fired, hitting the only guard left in the chest.

Sorel started to sweat as the men moved toward him.

Jason eyed him as Cody checked the bathroom.

"Part of me wants you to suffer, but I want to get home to my girl, who you tried to kill."

Sorel had automatically put his hands up. "What if I said that I'll disappear for good?"

"Oh, you will. I'll make sure of that."

The bullet rang out and then pierced the middle of Sorel's forehead.

"Let's get all the bodies in the house and then I'll turn on the stove and we'll let it blow."

Jason nodded. Finally, the asshole is dead. Hopefully, it will inspire fear and the rest of his enemies won't bother to fuck with him.

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Elizabeth waited nervously at their bench on the docks. Jason had come home after she had left for class, so she had called on her break and asked him to meet her because she has something important to tell him. She got up and paced, and then heard his boots echoing off the wood and turned. Her eyes perused him for injury and then she took off running, laughing with glee as he smiled and then caught her.

"Beautiful…" he said before kissing her passionately.

"I missed you."

"Not as much as I missed you."

"We'll argue about it later."

Their lips met again as he angled her head and their tongues mated. It was never enough, and he wished they were home so he could drive her crazy and taste every inch of her. Retreating they smiled before moving in front of their bench.

She grabbed his hands and looked at him with so much love, that it was overwhelming. Jason, I'm—"

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. One minute she was about to tell him something very important and he was hanging on her every word, and the next second, she is shoved down as Jason moved to where she had been and started to crouch when guns sounded like a canon before a bullet ripped into his chest. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as they kept whizzing by like a never-ending barrage of death.

Johnny's heart skipped a beat the minute he heard the sound that unfortunately had become an integral part of his life. His feet started moving and then his brain kicked in and he sprinted as fast as he could, knowing where Jason was headed. He couldn't run fast enough. His breathing is harsh as panic rises. The sickening sound of silence fills the air, and he wonders if they are gone, and he had just lost one of his best friends. Catching a glimpse of someone in the alley, he picks up his pace as he chases after them, hoping to even the score.

A short distance away, Liz crawls toward Jason's fallen body. "No, no, no. You can't leave me—not now."

The pain is so great that when Jason tries to talk, nothing comes out as he struggles to remain conscious.

"Please, please, hold on." She rips off her sweater and presses it on the wound. "Help! Someone, help me!"

Hearing how desperate she sounds, Johnny gives up the chase and runs as fast as he can toward them. "Elizabeth…"

Her head rises as tears trickle down her face and it stabs him in the heart as he dials 911 and barks directions into the phone.

"An ambulance is on the way."

"He's not going to make it is he?" she moans as she sobs. "Jason! Please…you can't leave us. We need you."

He can barely hear her, but he still struggles to open his eyes. Why won't they open? Why can't he see her? "Lizbeth..."

His words are slurred which makes her fear rise even higher. "I'm right here. Please fight. I can't do this by myself. Please…"

"Love you."

"I love you more."

When he stills, she knows he passed out. Her attention goes to her hands which are covered with blood. It's so dark that she gasps for air as she feels his chest still. "No…no!"

Johnny drops to his knees and feels for a pulse and he can barely utter the words let alone process it. "He's gone."

She gasps and stares at him. "He'll never be gone. He can't—"

He can see it building. Her chest heaves and she let out a scream and then sobbed Jason's name.

"Elizabeth…"

She lays her hand on her boyfriend's chest. "Dammit, Jason! Fight!" Her small hands pound on it as her body shakes. "Fight!" His blood is seeping into her jeans and she is starting to fall apart.

The strangled word dies on her lips as she stills and when she heard nothing, she stood and stumbled backward as she stared at her hands, and then she did the one thing that Johnny didn't expect. She ran.

He took off running too, scared that whoever shot Jason would find Elizabeth and finish her off.

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Jason's eyes flutter open and he's confused when he realizes that he's on a beach and there's a gorgeous sunset. He's not in Port Charles anymore. The colors are so vibrant and nothing like he had ever seen before. It's as if it was painted, and his mind immediately goes to Elizabeth.

"It's not your time, you know."

He turns and is stunned to see his mother considering he doesn't think about or remember her. "What are you doing here?"

Susan smiled. "I should be asking you that. Walk with me."

They slowly move as the sand squishes between his toes and then he got the courage to ask, "Am I dead?"

"Yes."

"I can't be. Elizabeth—she won't make it. They'll come for her and I need to protect her."

"Johnny is with her."

Panic rushes through him. "Is this it?"

"Not unless you want it to be. If you go back, something must change, Jason. You can't just taunt death the way you do, and you certainly need to choose your friends more wisely."

"I like my job."

"I know, but if you stay there, then your role needs to change. Learn to delegate, because you have too much to live for. I didn't make you a priority and instead let money be my focus. Just—figure out your priorities and make sure they are in order because something exciting is coming."

He's not quite getting what she's alluding to. His body jerks and then he falls to his knees. "What's happening to me?"

She smiled. "Know that I loved you, okay? Don't lose faith. You'll find your way out of the darkness."

The next shock makes him fall backward and he wonders what the hell is going on.

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A shadow emerged onto the docks and Carly ran toward Jason. "Help him!"

A doctor dropped to his knees. "He'll need a lot of blood." Carly had called off the ambulance that Johnny called for.

"That's fine. I'll get him what he needs, just start his heart." It wasn't supposed to be this way. Elizabeth was supposed to go down and then Carly would come to the rescue and be back in his life while hopefully, the bitch dies like she was supposed to.

The man opened a kit and used paddles to shock Jason three times before his heart started beating again.

"We need to get him to the clinic, now!"

Four men lift him onto a gurney, and they rush toward a waiting van. Carly gets in the car behind it as the doctor tends to Jason and starts treating him. A helicopter is waiting a mile away and then they'll be dropped off at the facility which isn't far. There is no time to lose.

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Johnny grabbed Elizabeth. "Stop!"

"I have to get help. He needs help, Johnny. Why are you stopping me?" She doesn't understand where the stupid ambulance is, that is why she was running to Kelly's.

She is covered in blood and his eyes prick with tears as he rips his phone out and barks directions to Max. Realizing where they are, he tugs her toward an apartment building that's a block away. Luckily, it's a quiet night because if someone sees her, they'll call the police. Her body is trembling and she's going into shock, so he quickly leads her into the building, and they go up a few flights before they get to his door.

Georgie heard the knob giggle and stood smiling. She had asked Francis to let her in to surprise Johnny since she had forgotten the key.

When the door flew open and she saw Elizabeth, she gasped.

"It's not her blood."

Elizabeth is just blankly staring.

Georgie gulped. "We need to get her into the shower."

He nods and kicks off his shoes and then lifts Elizabeth who doesn't fight him. When she had gone quiet, it worried him even more.

He put her down in the tub and then made her sit before taking off her shoes and socks and then her pants.

Georgie is struggling because all sorts of wild things are going through her mind. For Elizabeth to act like this, the blood must be Jason's. Finding her voice, she stepped forward. "I'll take it from here."

He retreated and threw Liz's pants in the trash.

Georgie got on her knees as he left the room. "Elizabeth, I'm taking off your top, okay?"

She didn't move, so Georgie finished undressing her and then turned the water on as Liz laid in a ball. After warming the water, she turned on the shower, making Liz jerk out of her stupor.

Her lashes fluttered as her gaze locked on Georgie.

"We have to get you clean, okay?"

Liz starts to shake and cry. "He's gone, Georgie. I can't—oh God, I can't do this."

Georgie fights through her tears and grabs a washcloth and some soap and starts to clean Liz's hands who watches in amazement as Georgie tried to get the blood from under her nails.

"It will never go away. I will always see it."

Her voice is so dead that a shiver runs through Georgie as she tries to hurry. Elizabeth is shaking so hard that she's scared her friend is going to pass out. After doing the best she could, she got Liz to sit up and then Georgie washed her hair as Liz stared at the bloody water moving towards the drain.

"Georgie."

"Yes?"

"Make me eat and drink okay? It's important for the baby. I'm not going to want to, but you have to make me." Her eyes are so vacant that Georgie bites her lip to keep from crying. It's not what she expected Liz to say.

Johnny slid down the door with tears in his eyes after overhearing her. He didn't think it could worse, but this is a game-changer, and he just hopes Liz survives it.