"I'm sorry Mr. Corinthos," Benny cringed, he hated having to tell Sonny this type of news.
"Johnny!"
Johnny opened the door, "Yes?"
"Get Jason. Now."
"Yes sir." He left the door open, closing it when Jason made his way into the apartment.
"He's got them, doesn't he?" Jason asked, knowing the answer.
Sonny nodded.
Jason looked at the floor for a moment, then back up at Sonny, "Louis and Tony?"
"This is all my fault," Sonny whispered in reply. "They have my wife, and your girlfriend and daughter, and it's all my FAULT," he emphasized as he shoved a vase off it's pedestal.
"Now's not the time Sonny," Jason said simply
"I KNOW!" he roared, not able to contain his fury. Walking over to the wet bar, he filled a glass full of brandy, downing it in one swallow. He repeated the process again, slamming the glass down on the table when he was done.
"Alright," he sat down on the sofa. "Here's what's gonna happen..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorel greeted them with a sneer on his face, "So good to see you Mr. Corinthos."
Sonny nodded, "Sorel. You have something that belongs to Mr. Morgan and myself."
"Ah yes. The lovely Mrs. Corinthos. She sure has a mouth on her." He watched Sonny for the slightest sign of resignation, but was disappointed when all he found was contempt and pity.
He turned to Jason, "And you girlfriend, my my. She certainly doesn't take no for an answer. But I must say, your daughter kept her in her place." His laugh was low and slimy. He enjoyed the relished in the flicker of pain that shone in Jason's eyes.
"What do you want Sorel?" Sonny was becoming increasingly impatient.
"What do I want? Mr. Corinthos, why are you in such a rush? Enjoy the beautiful night around you." Sorel intended to drag this out for as long as possible.
"Mr. Corinthos?" Sonny turned at the sound of his name. Johnny nodded to him, signaling that everything was good to go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the same time:
"Shhhh," Elizabeth tried comforting her daughter, but it was no use. "We'll be home soon, I promise." Walking around the small room they were being kept in, she bounced her daughter up and down. "Daddy will find us, I know he will."
She could see out the small window in the door, but there wasn't much to see. Just a table, sink, refrigerator, and microwave. She had no idea that Carly was on the other side of her wall.
They weren't being treated badly, but it was driving Liz crazy being stuck in the same room. And Lila hated it, it was too cold and damp, and just not her room. Elizabeth laid down on the small bed she shared with her daughter. Pulling her close, she said a silent prayer.
The next thing she knew, someone was kicking the door down in her room. Before she could realize what was going on, There were five men in her room, guns drawn. When they realized who she was, they holstered their weapons, and left the room.
As she sat up, she heard Carly scream, and ran to see what was going on.
"Carly!" she cried, running to her friend's side. "I didn't know they had you, too!" They hugged each other, understanding that this was a rescue attempt on Sonny and Jason's part.
"Miss Webber, Mrs. Corinthos? If you're ready." One of Sonny's men ushered them out of the warehouse where they had been held.
Elizabeth stopped, "Where are Tony and Louis? They were watching us."
"They're being taken care of."
Elizabeth shook her head, "I want to see them, now."
The guards looked at each other, but decided to let her go.
Liz handed Lila over to Carly, "I'll be right there." Carly watched as Liz went to face her betrayers.
She saw them by the river, a huddle of men. Elizabeth pushed her way through, finally coming upon the man who had been hired to protect her. She slapped him across the face, "That's for betraying Jason." She slapped him again, "That's for betraying me." She looked at the guards and grabbed a gun, holding it to his chest right where his heart would be, "This is for betraying my daughter. Rot in hell." She pulled the trigger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So in exchange for the safe return of my wife, and Mr. Morgan's family, you want me to just give up my territory to you?" Sonny contemplated this for a moment.
"That's right Mr. Corinthos. You just walk away, and never come back. You have my word that no harm will come to you, Mr. Morgan, and your families."
Sonny nodded, "Ok." He reached out to shake Sorel's hand, sealing the deal. It was just the distraction Sonny needed.
Before Sorel knew what happened, he'd been shot in the head. All of a sudden, men came pouring out of the area. Sorel's men gave up easily, but were shot as well.
"I changed my mind," Sonny said, before shooting Sorel one more time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't think you should have done that Miss Webber," one of the guards commented as she watched the life slip out of Louis.
She looked at the offending guard with raw fury in her eyes, "Well, you know what? I really don't give a damn what you think. This thing-" she pointed the gun at Louis, "took me, and my baby. I let him off pretty easy if you ask me." She shot him once more for safe keeping, "Anybody got something I can wipe this down with?" She grabbed a cloth, wiping the gun thoroughly, and handed it back to the owner. "Good night gentlemen."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Where are they?!?" Sonny bellowed. "They should've been here by now!" He paced the floor of the penthouse waiting for his wife and unborn child to return. He looked up at Johnny, "If anything went wrong tonight..."
"They'll be here soon Mr. Corinthos. Apparently Miss Webber requested to talk to Louis." Johnny shifted uncomfortably, anxious to get back to his post in the hall.
"Did she speak with him? They stopped her right?" Sonny didn't want Elizabeth involved with the 'accidents' the two moles were about to experience.
"I think she did sir."
Sonny sighed, "I'll deal with that later." He glanced at his watch for the twentieth time. "Where the he-" he started, but was interrupted when the door burst open.
"Sonny!" Carly came running in, right to her husband's arms.
Sonny held her close, tears forming in his brown eyes. Thank you God.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The waiting was driving Jason mad. He was usually a patient person, if he had to be, but this was torture. What if Sorel was expecting us? he thought, only making himself feel worse. I shouldn't have gone with Sonny, I should've been there to make sure Elizabeth, Lila, and Carly made it out safely.
Finally sitting down on the couch in front of the fire, he put his head in hands, forcing the tears into hiding. I knew this would happen, this is why I wanted to stay away.
He was so distracted that he didn't hear Elizabeth slip into the penthouse with Lila asleep in her arms.
"Jason."
He turned towards the sound of his name, no longer able to keep himself from crying. He stood up, but before he could go to her, she had covered the distance. Wrapping his arms around them, they sunk to the floor, clinging to each other.
"Elizabeth-" he started to say.
"It's not your fault. Jason, you're not leaving me again."
"It is my fault. And no, I'm not going to leave you."
He stood up finally, gently lifting her up, and carried her upstairs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Carly, I've been thinking."
"About what babe?" she asked as she traced patterns on his bare chest.
"I want to get remarried. In front of God. Just you and me."
"Whatever you want honey."
"Good."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Liz?"
"Hmmm?"
"Don't ever do that again."
She rolled over to look at him, "Do what?"
He pushed back a lock of hair hanging in her face, "I know you shot Louis. I can't have you doing things like that Elizabeth."
She cut him off with a kiss, "He tried to hurt my child Jason, our child. Nobody messes with my family. Nobody." She closed her eyes as she snuggled closer to him.
Family. The word bounced it's way around Jason's head. "Just don't do it again."
She sighed, "I don't plan on getting kidnapped again, so I suppose I won't shoot anybody again."
He cringed at the thought of her getting kidnapped again. "Good," he whispered, but she didn't hear him, for she had fallen asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sneaking out of bed before Elizabeth could wake up, Jason slipped across the hall, hoping his friend was already awake.
"Sonny?" he asked quietly as he peeked through the door. His reply was a heavenly smell coming from the kitchen.
He stood in the door frame, watching Sonny make breakfast. "Sonny?"
"Yeah."
"I need a favor."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elizabeth woke to the sound of Lila crying. "Jason?" she called as she pulled on some clothes. Plucking Lila out of her crib, Liz made her way downstairs. "Jason?" she called again, getting increasingly anxious. She searched the kitchen and the balcony, no sign of him anywhere. "Jason!" she shouted, making her way over to the door. Just as she reached out for the door knob, the door swung open, and Jason walked in.
"Jason Morgan!"
His head jerked up, "Elizabeth! Oh, I'm sorry! I just went over to talk to Sonny for a few minutes." He led her to the couch in an attempt to calm her down. "I'm not leaving. I promised you Liz, you and Lila. I won't leave." He kissed Lila on the forehead as she began to suckle. "I do have some things that need to be taken care of. I have to go back to Sonny's island. Just for a few days." He watched her, gauging her reaction.
"If you have to," she replied, not taking her eyes of their daughter.
He took her chin in his hand to turn her face towards him, frowning as he saw the tears in her eyes. "Elizabeth, I will be back. I swear to you. I'm not leaving you."
She smiled half heartedly, "It's just... I'm trying to believe you, but it's hard Jase. I know how much you want to protect me. And the past couple of days were difficult, I know. And I know you're thinking, 'if only.' Well Jase, I'm here, and Lila's here. And we love you, no matter what. There's no going back now."
He leaned in, kissing her softly on the lips. "I don't want to go back," he whispered.
"Good, because neither do I."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few days later:
Jason looked around, making sure everything was in order. Finally, he called Sonny.
"I'm ready."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Sonny," Elizabeth held the door open for him.
Sonny noticed the Chinese take out cartons strewn about the table and cringed, "You know Elizabeth, you're more than welcome to bring you and that beautiful girl of yours over any night of the week to join Carly and I for dinner."
She laughed at his obvious dislike of her dinner menu. "Thanks Sonny, but I think you and Carly have needed this time alone."
Sonny nodded, that was certainly true.
Elizabeth looked at him warily, "So what can I do for you?"
Sonny cleared his throat, knowing what she was thinking, but not wanting to ruin the effect of his request. "I need you and Lila down on the island for a little while."
"What happened? Is Jason ok? He isn't hurt is he?" Her imagination started running away with her.
Sonny shook his head as he sat her down on the couch. "No, no, no. Everything's fine. It's just that Jason suggested - and I agreed - that the three of you could use a little bit of down time. Get away from Port Charles, just the three of you."
"And the guards," Elizabeth joked as she calmed down.
Sonny nodded, "There's one other thing I need to talk to you about Elizabeth." He took a pause, thinking of the best way to say it. "Liz, I know you were upset with Louis, and I understand, I really do, but you can't do anything like that again. Do you understand?"
Elizabeth nodded, hypnotized by the power that radiated from Sonny's eyes. "I'm sorry, I just, my emotions got the best of me."
"I understand that, I honestly do. But I can't have you doing things like that on a regular basis."
"I won't."
He patted her hand, "Ok, so go back a few things. Jason said not to bring to much for yourself. I'll have Johnny drive you to the airport, where you'll meet up with your new guard."
They both got up, Elizabeth escorting Sonny to the door. He hugged her, "Have a wonderful time." He smiled, and she saw knowledge flicker over his face.
"Sonny? Is there something I should know?"
He shook his head as he walked out, glad she couldn't see the huge grin
on his face.