Dangerous Liaisons
~*~ Chapter 1 ~*~
Ric Lansing closed his eyes and let the water drip down his body. Even though it was scolding hot, he still felt freezing cold. What had he done? Elizabeth would never understand this. Sleeping with Faith Roscoe was definitely the worst thing he could have done.
But this is what he's always done. Whenever he was hurt, or angry, or lost, he succumbed to the warmth of a woman. And Faith was there. So why didn't he feel warmed or comforted?
Elizabeth Webber was why. Before, he'd never been loved. He'd never loved. Plain old sex just wasn't enough when you knew what it was like to make love.
Ric grabbed the soap from the ledge at the side of the shower and began to scrub his skin vigorously. He wanted to be clean. He wanted to be rid of it. Disgust.
He was disgusted with himself. It was something new. Another side effect of love. Elizabeth had ruined him. He could never go back to the life he once lived. He was changed forever because of the kindness she'd bestowed upon him. He was hopelessly, madly, crazy in love with a woman who could, now, only look at him with the same disgust he felt when he looked in the mirror.
In his defense, Elizabeth had left him. She said she wouldn't be back. He was dying when the door closed behind her. Plus he was still buzzed from his drinking binge earlier in the day. And Faith was there. She told him she excepted him just the way.
"No," Ric screamed as he slammed his hand against the shower's wall. He wasn't going to do this. He wasn't going to rationalize his way out of this. This was one hundred percent his fault. He should have known better. He should have chased after. If he'd been running after her, he wouldn't have been with Faith.
"Goddamnit, Ric!" He fell to the floor of the shower. He broke into hysterical, uncontrollable sobs. He couldn't play the "what if" game either. All of these old tricks he'd used in his other life wouldn't work now. He was different now. He had a reason to be better. He had Elizabeth. He had to be honest with her. He had to change his life for her. If he was ever going to have her in his life again, he had to be the man she needed. He could do that. He would do anything to be the man Elizabeth wanted.
~*~
Elizabeth Webber paced back and forth, slowly wearing a hole in the floor of her studio. She couldn't stop. She was too nervous. In five minutes, she would know something that could change her entire life.
How had this happened? She was going along in life, minding her own business, and poof.out of nowhere, Ric Lansing barges in. Why did he have to grab for her drink at Luke's? Did he really have to choose Kelly's as his Networking Locale? And he just had to play the damn guitar so well. If he hadn't have done that, she never would have went up to his room. She never would have felt that.click. Because that's what it was. It was a click, and it was that day in his room that she felt it.
There was a knock on the door that pulled Elizabeth from her thoughts. Who could this be? And why did they have to be here now when she only had, she looked at her watch, four and a half minutes before her future was decided.
Her first instinct was that it was Ric, but that idea was fleeting. She saw the look in his eye when she told him she wouldn't be back. She'd just about killed him with that simple statement. She saw the pain, and the realization that he had lost. He'd lost her.
She quickly moved on to her list of friends, but none of them seemed very likely either. Emily was in rehab. Zander was by her side. Lucky had gone AWOL a few days ago. Nik hadn't been around much either. Face it Liz, she told herself, you've lost everyone. You're alone.
So who was going to be on the other side of this door? Maybe it was Jason or Courtney. Maybe they wanted to rub it in her face that they were right about Ric all along. Or, who better to do that than.
Carly.
Of all people, Carly had to be standing at her door. But there was something different about her. She wasn't her usual I-hate-Liz-Webber self. She actually had a warm smile on her face. Did Elizabeth miss something?
"Hey, Elizabeth. How are you?"
Okay, so she was going to play the sweet, innocent, we've-both-been-hurt scenario, was she? Well, this wasn't really the time. Elizabeth had far too many other things, well just one really important thing, to worry about.
"What do you want?" Elizabeth raised her right eyebrow at her uninvited guest.
Carly was clearly taken aback by Elizabeth's harsh tone. Good, Elizabeth hid her smile. She needed to be put in her place every once in a while.
"I just." Carly was searching for words. "I just wanted.are you okay? I know hearing about Ric must have been hard?"
"What do you care? You don't even like me?"
When Carly made a gesture indicating she wanted to come in, Elizabeth reluctantly stepped out of her way. Carly entered her studio. She took a quick scan of the place and the artwork before her eyes landed on a painting of Ric.
Elizabeth loved that picture best. She'd painted it right after she had returned from his apartment the first time she was there. He told her he was being honest with her. He told her he only wanted to make Jason look bad on paper, and she'd stupidly believed him. And that's the picture a stupid girl painted.
"If you're here to tell me 'I told you so,' you can save it." Elizabeth walked to Carly, leaving the door wide open for her to leave at any time now. "I know that I was a fool. But I'm not going to apologize to you for."
Carly cut her off. "I can tell that this is Ric, but." She looked closely at the painting. ".this isn't the Ric I see. You have something so.pure, almost innocent about him in this painting." She looked back at Elizabeth. "If this is the man he let you see, I can understand why you fell in love with him."
"I, uh." Elizabeth didn't know what to say. Carly was being understanding. Did she really see goodness in Ric from Elizabeth's point of view?
"I came to apologize." Elizabeth was shocked again. Carly.apologize? She really must get it.
"I don't think that you need to. Not for the Ric thing anyway. You were right." Elizabeth wasn't going to let her off that easy. "But if you want to apologize for the way you've treated me for the last.three years? I'd take that one."
Carly's smile was accompanied by a laugh. "Yeah, I really should apologize for that. But in my defense, I was still kind of hung up on Jason. I'm a little territorial."
"Yeah." Elizabeth laughed along with her. That was definitely a fact.
"But I do need to apologize to you." She wiped the giggle off of her face and became entirely serious. "I made you believe the man you were in love with was a rapist. I made you believe you didn't know him at all, but you did. You knew he could never rape a woman, and you were right. He didn't rape me."
Elizabeth couldn't believe how excepting Carly was being of Ric. "Carly, he still took advantage of you. He hurt you. He made you believe for months that you cheated on your husband and that the baby you are carrying could be his." Elizabeth looked at her painting of Ric. "That man, the one you said you could understand why I fell in love with, he wasn't real. The man I fell in love with couldn't have hurt you the way he did."
Elizabeth watched Carly's hand race to her stomach. A small smile danced onto her face.
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked.
"The baby." Carly laughed. "It just kicked."
Elizabeth slowly approached her. "Can I.?" She reached her hand out.
"Absolutely." Carly pulled her hand to her stomach.
After a second, Elizabeth felt a small bump. "Oh my god. I felt it." She retracted her hand with tears in her eyes. She watched the emotions on Carly's face. Elizabeth had to know. "Is motherhood all it's cracked up to be?"
"What?" Carly asked confused.
"I mean, is it worth giving up your life, as you know it, for?"
"Elizabeth, where is this." Carly was cut off by the oven buzzer going off. She turned her head to the noise. "Are you cooking something?"
Elizabeth shook her head. She'd set the timer as a reminder to check the tiny stick that would set the coarse of her life.
"What's the timer for?"
Elizabeth decided she couldn't do this alone. She motioned for Carly to follow her into the bathroom.
When they reached the sink, Elizabeth couldn't force herself to look down. But obviously Carly could.
"Elizabeth."
"What is it? What does it say?"
There was a long pause before Carly managed a response. "Elizabeth, you're pregnant."
TBC
~*~ Chapter 1 ~*~
Ric Lansing closed his eyes and let the water drip down his body. Even though it was scolding hot, he still felt freezing cold. What had he done? Elizabeth would never understand this. Sleeping with Faith Roscoe was definitely the worst thing he could have done.
But this is what he's always done. Whenever he was hurt, or angry, or lost, he succumbed to the warmth of a woman. And Faith was there. So why didn't he feel warmed or comforted?
Elizabeth Webber was why. Before, he'd never been loved. He'd never loved. Plain old sex just wasn't enough when you knew what it was like to make love.
Ric grabbed the soap from the ledge at the side of the shower and began to scrub his skin vigorously. He wanted to be clean. He wanted to be rid of it. Disgust.
He was disgusted with himself. It was something new. Another side effect of love. Elizabeth had ruined him. He could never go back to the life he once lived. He was changed forever because of the kindness she'd bestowed upon him. He was hopelessly, madly, crazy in love with a woman who could, now, only look at him with the same disgust he felt when he looked in the mirror.
In his defense, Elizabeth had left him. She said she wouldn't be back. He was dying when the door closed behind her. Plus he was still buzzed from his drinking binge earlier in the day. And Faith was there. She told him she excepted him just the way.
"No," Ric screamed as he slammed his hand against the shower's wall. He wasn't going to do this. He wasn't going to rationalize his way out of this. This was one hundred percent his fault. He should have known better. He should have chased after. If he'd been running after her, he wouldn't have been with Faith.
"Goddamnit, Ric!" He fell to the floor of the shower. He broke into hysterical, uncontrollable sobs. He couldn't play the "what if" game either. All of these old tricks he'd used in his other life wouldn't work now. He was different now. He had a reason to be better. He had Elizabeth. He had to be honest with her. He had to change his life for her. If he was ever going to have her in his life again, he had to be the man she needed. He could do that. He would do anything to be the man Elizabeth wanted.
~*~
Elizabeth Webber paced back and forth, slowly wearing a hole in the floor of her studio. She couldn't stop. She was too nervous. In five minutes, she would know something that could change her entire life.
How had this happened? She was going along in life, minding her own business, and poof.out of nowhere, Ric Lansing barges in. Why did he have to grab for her drink at Luke's? Did he really have to choose Kelly's as his Networking Locale? And he just had to play the damn guitar so well. If he hadn't have done that, she never would have went up to his room. She never would have felt that.click. Because that's what it was. It was a click, and it was that day in his room that she felt it.
There was a knock on the door that pulled Elizabeth from her thoughts. Who could this be? And why did they have to be here now when she only had, she looked at her watch, four and a half minutes before her future was decided.
Her first instinct was that it was Ric, but that idea was fleeting. She saw the look in his eye when she told him she wouldn't be back. She'd just about killed him with that simple statement. She saw the pain, and the realization that he had lost. He'd lost her.
She quickly moved on to her list of friends, but none of them seemed very likely either. Emily was in rehab. Zander was by her side. Lucky had gone AWOL a few days ago. Nik hadn't been around much either. Face it Liz, she told herself, you've lost everyone. You're alone.
So who was going to be on the other side of this door? Maybe it was Jason or Courtney. Maybe they wanted to rub it in her face that they were right about Ric all along. Or, who better to do that than.
Carly.
Of all people, Carly had to be standing at her door. But there was something different about her. She wasn't her usual I-hate-Liz-Webber self. She actually had a warm smile on her face. Did Elizabeth miss something?
"Hey, Elizabeth. How are you?"
Okay, so she was going to play the sweet, innocent, we've-both-been-hurt scenario, was she? Well, this wasn't really the time. Elizabeth had far too many other things, well just one really important thing, to worry about.
"What do you want?" Elizabeth raised her right eyebrow at her uninvited guest.
Carly was clearly taken aback by Elizabeth's harsh tone. Good, Elizabeth hid her smile. She needed to be put in her place every once in a while.
"I just." Carly was searching for words. "I just wanted.are you okay? I know hearing about Ric must have been hard?"
"What do you care? You don't even like me?"
When Carly made a gesture indicating she wanted to come in, Elizabeth reluctantly stepped out of her way. Carly entered her studio. She took a quick scan of the place and the artwork before her eyes landed on a painting of Ric.
Elizabeth loved that picture best. She'd painted it right after she had returned from his apartment the first time she was there. He told her he was being honest with her. He told her he only wanted to make Jason look bad on paper, and she'd stupidly believed him. And that's the picture a stupid girl painted.
"If you're here to tell me 'I told you so,' you can save it." Elizabeth walked to Carly, leaving the door wide open for her to leave at any time now. "I know that I was a fool. But I'm not going to apologize to you for."
Carly cut her off. "I can tell that this is Ric, but." She looked closely at the painting. ".this isn't the Ric I see. You have something so.pure, almost innocent about him in this painting." She looked back at Elizabeth. "If this is the man he let you see, I can understand why you fell in love with him."
"I, uh." Elizabeth didn't know what to say. Carly was being understanding. Did she really see goodness in Ric from Elizabeth's point of view?
"I came to apologize." Elizabeth was shocked again. Carly.apologize? She really must get it.
"I don't think that you need to. Not for the Ric thing anyway. You were right." Elizabeth wasn't going to let her off that easy. "But if you want to apologize for the way you've treated me for the last.three years? I'd take that one."
Carly's smile was accompanied by a laugh. "Yeah, I really should apologize for that. But in my defense, I was still kind of hung up on Jason. I'm a little territorial."
"Yeah." Elizabeth laughed along with her. That was definitely a fact.
"But I do need to apologize to you." She wiped the giggle off of her face and became entirely serious. "I made you believe the man you were in love with was a rapist. I made you believe you didn't know him at all, but you did. You knew he could never rape a woman, and you were right. He didn't rape me."
Elizabeth couldn't believe how excepting Carly was being of Ric. "Carly, he still took advantage of you. He hurt you. He made you believe for months that you cheated on your husband and that the baby you are carrying could be his." Elizabeth looked at her painting of Ric. "That man, the one you said you could understand why I fell in love with, he wasn't real. The man I fell in love with couldn't have hurt you the way he did."
Elizabeth watched Carly's hand race to her stomach. A small smile danced onto her face.
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked.
"The baby." Carly laughed. "It just kicked."
Elizabeth slowly approached her. "Can I.?" She reached her hand out.
"Absolutely." Carly pulled her hand to her stomach.
After a second, Elizabeth felt a small bump. "Oh my god. I felt it." She retracted her hand with tears in her eyes. She watched the emotions on Carly's face. Elizabeth had to know. "Is motherhood all it's cracked up to be?"
"What?" Carly asked confused.
"I mean, is it worth giving up your life, as you know it, for?"
"Elizabeth, where is this." Carly was cut off by the oven buzzer going off. She turned her head to the noise. "Are you cooking something?"
Elizabeth shook her head. She'd set the timer as a reminder to check the tiny stick that would set the coarse of her life.
"What's the timer for?"
Elizabeth decided she couldn't do this alone. She motioned for Carly to follow her into the bathroom.
When they reached the sink, Elizabeth couldn't force herself to look down. But obviously Carly could.
"Elizabeth."
"What is it? What does it say?"
There was a long pause before Carly managed a response. "Elizabeth, you're pregnant."
TBC