Elizabeth had been taken completely off guard when Lucky called and asked to meet her. She agreed because she knew anything was better than sitting around and waiting for Jason to call with news about Abby. Still, she couldn't figure out why Lucky would need to see her.

Instead of taking the car all the way to the diner, Andrew drove them to the coffee warehouse. He parked there and checked in with Benny and some of Sonny's other men. Elizabeth was also sure he'd called Jason as soon as he could.

The October sun was still chilly as they walked to Kelly's, but Elizabeth bundled Isabelle in covers and put her in the stroller. She hoped the small child would be asleep when they arrived to meet Lucky. She smiled softly at her daughter in the courtyard and turned to look at Andrew. "What's the plan?"

"Plan?" Andrew inquired.

"Yeah, the plan. I know Benny. And I know he didn't let you leave the warehouse without specific instructions. So what's going on, Drew?" She used her name for him to make him feel more comfortable.

Andrew couldn't help but smile at her familiarity with him. When he was assigned Elizabeth Morgan as his first charge years ago, he knew Sonny was putting his life in his own hands. He'd heard stories of how close the young woman was with his two bosses. Hell, she was married to one of them. At the time, he didn't know the story behind Jason's departure, but only knew she needed someone with her at all times. Knowing he wasn't going to win, Andrew said, "Mike Villalobos left town. Benny hasn't heard from Mr. Morgan or Mr. Corinthos yet. I tried your husband's cell phone, but he has it turned off. Don is with us for extra protection."

If the news fazed her at all, he couldn't tell. She just nodded and looked through the window into the diner. "Ok," she said when she turned back to him, "I'm not sure what he wants, but I should be okay in there. You gonna stay out here?"

"No," Andrew shook his head. "Don's gonna stay out here, I'll stand just inside the door and watch from there."

"That's not really necessary," she reminded him. "But if you want to stand around and be bored, that's your deal."

Once Elizabeth turned back towards the entranceway Don grabbed the door so she could push the stroller through. Andrew stood watching her as his mind drifted back to the night he first met her.

"Andrew," Sonny said into the phone, "I need you to come up for a minute. You and I need to talk."

He hadn't told the younger man what they needed to talk about. Instead, when Sonny opened the door he found someone who looked like he was about to face the firing squad.

"Mr. Corinthos?" he gulped.

Sonny clapped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, trying to reassure him. "Don't worry, you're fine. Come in. I have an assignment for you."

Andrew stepped into the penthouse and got his first look at the interior. It was an incredible honor to be invited into the boss' home. Very few of the guards had such an opportunity.

"Would you like a drink?" Sonny asked.

"No sir." Andrew answered him in a firm tone. This was his boss, who said he wasn't in trouble. There was no need to feel intimidated.

"I guess I should get to the point then," Sonny trailed off. His gaze lifted to the stairs when Elizabeth came down. Her usually flat stomach was forming a visible bulge. "Elizabeth, I'm glad you could join us. Just in time to meet your new guard."

"Guard?" both Elizabeth and Andrew said at the same time.

"Sir," Andrew protested, "With all due respect, I'm not a guard. I've never guarded anyone in my life. Until five minutes ago, I worked the front desk of this building."

"I know," Sonny assured him. "But I've watched you and men who I trust have been watching you for me." Sonny went to Elizabeth's side and draped an arm over her shoulder. The mobster towered over the young woman by at least six inches. "Andrew, I want you to meet someone important to me. This is–"

"Sonny," Elizabeth quietly protested. She looked up at him with eyes begging him to not reveal the truth.

"It's okay," he told her. Sonny turned back to his guard and continued, "This is Elizabeth Morgan."

Andrew's eyes narrowed at the mention of her last name. "As in Corinthos and Morgan?"

"Yes," Sonny answered him. "Of course, she's not Morgan, but she's important to Morgan."

Elizabeth sighed impatiently as Andrew studied her. She could only imagine the thoughts going through his head right now. Finally, tired of his gaze, she stepped out from under Sonny's arm and towards the guard. "What's your name?" she inquired.

"Andrew."

"Well Andrew." She smiled warmly up at him. He was a tall man, young too. She wondered for a moment if he would really be able to protect her from the harshness of Jason's world. "I'm Elizabeth. Not Mrs. Morgan. E-liz-a-beth. And if you're going to guard me, you have to call me that."

His eyes widened as the five foot two woman stared up at him with large, laughing blue eyes. "That's not procedure, Mrs–"

"No, no, no," she interrupted him. "All of the guys call me Elizabeth. Eventually you will too."

He nodded at her. Andrew couldn't help but return her smile. He had the feeling that you couldn't be around this woman and not smile. "Is there anything else, Mr. Corinthos?"

"Yes," Elizabeth answered for him. She patted her stomach where the bulge was forming. "This is Isabelle. You'll know her better in about four months. Oh, and I hope you like Buffalo this time of the year."

"Andrew?" Don asked. He watched as his senior guard looked after Mrs. Morgan. "Andrew?"

"What?" Andrew answered him. The memory of their meeting slowly faded away and he focused on the other bodyguard.

"You gonna go in?" Don tipped his head towards the diner.

"Yeah," he took a step inside before he stopped. "If there's any trouble, or anything suspicious, come get me."

Don nodded in understanding before he stepped back into the shadows of Kelly's.

Elizabeth was already at the table with sandy-haired young man when Andrew took his position by the door. She was talking to him, but he could tell she was holding herself back. Every few moments she glanced down at her watch and Andrew was sure she was checking to see how much time had passed since Jason had left. He wanted to assure her Mr. Morgan was okay, but Andrew also knew his charge would feel it if something happened to her husband. Instead, he stepped back against the front wall of Kelly's and watched.


~*~



Lucky Spencer was nervous.

After their last meeting, he was sure Elizabeth wouldn't agree to meet with him. He had a thousand things he wanted to say to her, but none of them seemed right. He wanted to ask her how she let go. Why she married Jason. He wanted to sit down and talk to her about nothing and everything for hours at a time. But it wasn't really his place anymore. He'd gotten her number from his father weeks ago and it sat on his desk until he worked up the courage to call. He'd been in the city this morning, but made the hour drive north after she agreed to have lunch with him.

When the door opened and Elizabeth pushed the baby stroller through, he stood to help her. "Hi," he said as he reached for the bag thrown across her shoulder. Setting it on the floor next to her seat, he pulled another of the chairs away so she could park her sleeping daughter. Then he pulled out a chair for her. When Elizabeth was comfortably seated at the table, he reclaimed his seat.

"Hi," she said tentatively. "What's up?"

"I wanted to see you," Lucky began.

"Lucky–"

Lucky held up a hand to stop what he knew was coming. He could almost hear her words in his head. "I don't wanna fight with you, Elizabeth. I want to understand. But most of all, I think you and I could be friends again."

"Friends?"

"Yeah," he smiled at her. "Like we used to be." Lucky nervously shoved a hand through his too-long hair and laughed when it fell back into his eyes. "You and I were pretty good friends for a little bit."

"I'm not saying that we weren't. I just wonder if too much time has gone by."

"I want to at least try," he said softly. He lifted his blue eyes to meet hers. "Can we at least talk and try?"

She didn't realize she was nodding her head in agreement until she heard yes come out of her mouth. "I'd like that."

"Me too."

Elizabeth smiled at Tammy as she set a cup of hot chocolate in front of her. The blonde woman smiled down at her with knowing eyes before she turned back to the counter. "I can't believe Tammy still runs this place," she commented absently. The awkward silence was too much for her.

"Yeah," he agreed. The young man's eyes followed Tammy back to the counter. "But it's good that she's off the streets. My dad did good helping her out like she did."

"Yeah, he did." Elizabeth met his gaze and asked, "How is he?"

"Who? Dad? Well, he's…Luke Spencer. In as much trouble as always. Of course, he hasn't been accused of murder this week. But it's only Wednesday."

Elizabeth laughed at his joke. "And the rest of your family?"

"They're doing well. Lulu's in middle school now. She's growing up too fast. Mom's running a perfume company, which I still don't understand. My mother knows nothing about fashion. Dad still owns the club. They still live in town, you should go see them if you have the chance."

"I'd like that."

The silence dragged on between them as Elizabeth sipped her hot chocolate. Taking a minute, she peeked at Isabelle and was happy the child was still asleep. She also checked her cell phone to make sure the battery was charged and the ringer was turned on. Leave it to her to miss Jason's call because she was careless.

"So…" she trailed off.

"You told me in the park that 'Lizzie Webber came out to play…' and that's how you met Jason. What'd you mean?" he asked.

She studied him for a moment, trying to figure out if he was being sincere. Finally she asked, "Do you really want to know? Or are you going to insult me some more about Jason?"

"I'm sorry about that Elizabeth. I really am. It was just a shock. Finding that guy in the park with you the other day…him pushing you down. You defending Jason. It was something new."

"Ok," she said softly. Elizabeth took another sip of the hot chocolate before she began to speak.

She spoke slowly, cautiously at first. Not sure if Lucky really wanted to hear how she fell in love with another man. While she knew she no longer loved him, she didn't want to hurt him. But the more Lucky listened, the more Elizabeth reflected on that time in her life. She no longer had to pick and choose her words. They came naturally to her.

"What about him being shot?" Lucky asked after she took a breath. "You mentioned before that he was shot."

Elizabeth fingered her engagement ring as she spoke. "Jason and I never talked much about that night. We…we danced to our song that night. Do you remember?"

"God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You," he answered automatically.

"Yeah," she nodded her head. "Anyway. I was closing up and I was an emotional wreck. Jason dropped by just to see if I was okay. He was always dropping by to see if I was okay, it seemed. I played the song for him…and I asked him the dance. I needed something. I needed to feel you. But it didn't work. Afterwards, he left and I went home. The next morning, I went out to the boxcar so I could think. When I got there, I found a man lying on the ground, pretty much lifeless. It was Jason."

"He was shot," Lucky assumed.

"Yeah, he was shot. To make a long story short, he'd just found out someone he trusted most in the world betrayed him. He let me take him back to the studio and take care of him. He stayed there for a month. It was then that I think I realized I had some feelings for him."

"What happened after that?"

"Sorel threatened me. Jason told me we couldn't be friends anymore. It didn't work. We both missed each other. He came to me about a week later and said he was leaving town. We sat on the docks as he calmly explained all of the reasons he couldn't stay. Before I knew what I was saying, I was asking to go with him."

"You left your family? Friends? How'd you do that?" Lucky asked.

"Gram didn't like it, but she told me I was old enough to make my own decisions. And my own mistakes. Nikolas…he was so caught up in his family and his stuff, I'm not even sure if he even noticed. Emily had other things going on too. I don't think I ever realized how lonely I would be if you left me. The only person I had was Jason. As he became a bigger and bigger part of my life, I couldn't imagine losing him. I didn't expect for him to say yes, but he did. We traveled a lot." She smiled as she remembered how excited Jason had been as he took her places she'd never been. "Seeing different places in the United States before we went to Europe."

"And now you're married."

Elizabeth focused on the man sitting in front of her. She smiled sadly. "I know you don't like it and I know you're still hurt. I told you once before, but I will repeat it. I love my husband. You and I can be friends, if you want. But nothing will ever happen to change how I feel about Jason."

Lucky knew her words were true. No matter how much they stung his heart, he could only wish her and Jason the best. "I hope he loves you as much as you love him."

"He does," she answered quietly. Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something and her cell phone rang. She glanced down at the screen and her heart jumped. She grabbed the phone and stood. "Could you…" she glanced down at Isabelle.

"I got it," he told her.

"Thank you," she said quickly, even as the phone rang again. She hurried into the courtyard to answer her husband's call.

"Hi honey," she said breathlessly.

"We've got her," Jason told his wife. " We've got Abby."

Elizabeth's heart nearly exploded with joy at that moment. "When will you be home?" she inquired.

"We're in the car now," he answered her. Jason shifted the phone to his other hand as he continued to soothe the child in his lap. "On our way back to the airport."

"How is she?"

"She's…it's gonna take a while, Elizabeth. Philip Scarcella is the only family she's ever known and we've just taken her from that. Abby's scared right now. We'll have to give her time."

"Okay," Elizabeth answered. "When will you be home?"

"Couple hours," he told her. "Definitely by two o'clock. Will you be at the penthouse?"

"Yeah, I'll be waiting."

"Okay." Jason listened as his wife breathed. "Elizabeth?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

She smiled into the phone. "I know Jason. I'll see ya later."

When she turned around, Andrew was standing there. Don had stepped into the building to watch over Isabelle. "He's got her," she said simply.

The guard's smile was full of relief. "That's wonderful news, Elizabeth."

Tears spilled from her eyes as her body shook with relief. "My baby, Andrew…my baby's coming home."

He opened his arms as she walked towards him and folded her in his embrace. He could only breathe a sigh of relief himself. "I'm so happy for you, Elizabeth."

"We need to go to the penthouse," she said into his jacket. "Jason's bringing her back there."

"Okay," he said calmly. "Let's go get Isabelle, then we'll go back."

She pulled away from him and smiled weakly up at him. "I'm not sure if I've ever been so happy."

Andrew gave her the handkerchief from his jacket pocket and nodded. "I know, but it's only going to get better from here."