Babble: Well we've reached the halfway point pretty much with this fic. If anyone is interested in knowing this or not. Oh well, leave me a reply if you can.
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Betrayal, Loyalty, and Love
Chapter 9
~Studio~
Nikolas ran a hand over Elizabeth's hair then down her back in a continuing motion, then did it again, and again. The repetitive motion was calming for him, and once her breathing began to settle, it seemed to soothe her as well. The past half-hour had been the most nerve wracking of his life. Watching his friend work herself into such a state, and then having to watch her struggle to take a breath was the worst thing he'd ever seen. He never, ever wanted to feel that helpless again.
"Do you think I hit anyone?" Elizabeth asked quietly.
"When?" Nikolas looked down at the dark head that was resting on his legs.
"When I threw the case out the window. Do you think I hit anyone?"
Smirking slightly Nikolas couldn't help but hope that the worse had begun to pass. "I doubt it. They would have knocked on your door by now if you had."
"Okay." Elizabeth sat up and shifted until she was sitting beside him, her back to the wall.
"Watch out for the glass," he warned her, brushing a few pieces away.
"I'm sorry about before," she murmured.
"I'm not," he answered without thinking then tried to backtrack. "Don't get me wrong I can live without ever seeing you struggle to take a breath again. But I'm not sorry you said what you said. You needed to let things out, you kept them bottled up for far too long and they were obviously choking you."
"Still I'm sorry I lost it while you were here."
"I'm sorry you're in so much pain."
"I can handle it. I'm not going to do anything stupid," she looked around her destroyed studio, "well anything stupider."
"I'm relieved to hear that." When her head came to rest on his shoulder and she sighed, he almost let his next question go. She seemed at peace so why bring up something that may upset her again? But he knew he had too. She was his friend and it was painfully obvious to him how much she needed him to be her friend again, especially now. "About what you said before."
Groaning Elizabeth got to her feet and moved away. "Can we just forget what I said? I was obviously hysterical, I doubt I made any sense at all."
"Elizabeth," getting to his feet he took her hand before she could move away. "I just need to know about one thing."
"It's late and I'm tired," she hedged trying to back away.
Ignoring her plea he pressed on. "You said he didn't want to hear about you. I take it you mean Jason?"
Elizabeth got very still, her attempts to pull away stopped, and she looked at her feet for a long time before nodding. "Sonny told me that. Jason," her voice began to break and she paused for a minute before going on. "He doesn't care about me anymore."
Hearing her defeated voice worried him and he reached out for her, but she moved away. "Elizabeth."
"It's for the best. I can't think about Jason right now anyway. Right now I have to focus on helping Lucky and Luke. And in spite of what it looked like an hour ago, I am capable of helping them."
"I know you are," he agreed quickly his heart breaking all over again for his friend. "We need to talk about things. Luke, Helena, Lucky, you, a lot of things have happened and we need to discuss them."
"I know we do but can't it wait?" Raising her head her eyes met his for the first time. "I'm really tired. I don't want to deal with anything else tonight."
Nikolas was torn. She did look exhausted, but he knew there was a lot that needed to be said.
"I'll be fine. I know this probably won't make any sense but me losing it the way I did, I think it helped. I don't have as much weighing on my mind. Finding out I still have my friend helped too. For the first time in a long time I think I might be able to sleep," she went on.
Searching her eyes for a hint of a lie Nikolas could see none. The evidence of her tears was still on her face, but it was true her eyes didn't seem as shadowed as they had been. Still he couldn't help but feel concerned. "I don't know."
"I'll be fine, I promise. I won't do anything stupid," she pressed.
At the sight of her weak, but genuine smile he caved. "I want you to call me if anything happens or if you want to talk. No matter what time it is, you call me."
"I will," she agreed immediately and took his hand to lead him to the door.
"I will be here first thing in the morning so we can discuss things. You won't be able to put me off then," when he saw her roll her eyes he smiled. Maybe her breakdown had been for the best. She seemed to be feeling better now.
Elizabeth opened the door and he saw her focus was on the door handle and knew she was embarrassed. He didn't want that. "I'm glad you trusted me enough to talk to me tonight."
Jolting she darted a look in his direction. "I don't think I gave you any choice in the matter."
"Trust is never easily given Elizabeth. I lost your trust for a long time, I'm glad I got it back. I'm glad you're my friend. I love you and I've missed you." He told her honestly. His risk paid off when she opened her arms and let him hug her in farewell.
"I've missed you too," she whispered. "Now go," she ordered stepping back after a minute. "I got things to clean up and then sleep is calling my name."
Nikolas moved out into the hallway. "I'll see you soon."
Smiling briefly Elizabeth closed her door, turning she leaned against it, and closed her eyes. Opening them she focused on the wreckage and couldn't help but smile slightly. This time she'd actually done some damage when she decided to wreck her room. She didn't really feel like picking anything up at the moment, maybe what she told Nikolas was correct and she would be able to sleep.
Her couch seemed to be calling her and she moved towards it. She'd only taken two steps when the sound of thunder reverberated through her studio followed by a brilliant flash of lightning. Her lights flickered once, twice, then disappeared entirely. With a sigh she moved cautiously through the dark room until she reached the window that now had a gaping hole in it.
Looking up towards the sky and the dark clouds that were visible, she vaguely wondered if they'd finally get the rain they so desperately needed. Sighing, her focus shifted to the docks. When a figure caught her eye Elizabeth moved closer until her head was halfway out the window. "Oh my god."
Pulling back Elizabeth turned and ran for the door, stepping over the debris of her artwork in her haste. Opening the door a gust of wind caught it and it began to slam. Not wanting the glass to break she caught it automatically, closing it quietly, then hurried for the stairs desperate to get to the docks.
~*~*~
Francis opened the door slowly, seeing no one in the hall he opened it wider and stepped out into the hall. He heard the faint sound of a door closing off the stairwell and gave it a moment's thought. Moving across the hall he put his ear next to the door trying to hear Elizabeth. When he heard nothing from within he stepped back. She'd probably decided to go to sleep the way she'd told Nikolas she was going to do.
He wasn't sure what all had happened after Nikolas had brought her home. But he'd heard her yelling and things breaking. He'd been about ready to open the door, in spite of his orders to stay out of sight, to check on her, when he'd heard her crying and Nikolas comforting her.
Nikolas had grown up since the last time he'd guarded Elizabeth. And that was something he was glad to see. She needed a friend about now, he knew she needed a friend pretty badly, and from what he'd overheard, Nikolas was being her friend. Glancing at his watch he realized he hadn't let Sonny know what he'd overheard yet. His relief would be here in about an hour, and then he'd go tell Sonny in person. His boss needed to know that it sounded like Helena Cassadine was planning on killing Elizabeth.
~General Hospital~
"You shouldn't be here Melissa."
The blonde nurse turned and studied her boyfriend. "Neither should you Roy," she reminded him before looking back through the window at a sleeping Sorel.
"Come on," Roy took her arm to lead her away from the room and the nosy cop on the door.
"I really hate that man," Melissa muttered. "I know I'm a nurse. I'm dedicated to saving lives, but I could honestly say if Sorel coded I don't know if I would be able to do what was necessary to bring him back to life."
"That's why you're not assigned to his room or this floor," he reminded her. He had his own problems with Sorel and would gladly see the man dead, but at the moment he was more concerned about her. He didn't like the look she got in her eyes when she spoke of Sorel.
"I should get back to work," Melissa kissed his cheek. "We still on for later?"
"I'll be here," Roy agreed and watched her walk away before turning to look back at Sorel's room. Moving past Zander's room his eyes were drawn to the young man lying in the bed. He had a passing thought in going in and seeing how he was doing, but Zander's eyes were closed so he moved on.
~*~*~
Zander waited for the sound of the footsteps to fade before opening his eyes. He was tired of the way people could walk in and out of his room at will while he was stuck in bed, strapped to machines. His thoughts shifted to Sorel, as they always did, and he could hear the beep of the heart monitor began to pick up its rhythm, it doubled when his thoughts turned to Emily.
Emily was the one person in this world who deserved nothing but the best, and she was the person who was paying the heaviest price. Being stuck in this bed had finally paid off, he was able to eavesdrop on her parents and knew about her surgery. A little probing of the always talkative Nurse Amy Vining and he'd learned how close a blood clot had come to killing Emily.
Sonny had promised that he would take care of Sorel once and for all. But he didn't know if he believed him. Sonny had been making a lot of mistakes lately and because of that other people were paying the price. Emily's life was too important to risk. He'd caused her so much pain, the best present he could ever give her was to make sure that Sorel was never allowed near her again.
His eyes moved to the open door and he could see the shoulder of the police guard across the hall. Next they moved to his leash, the steadily beating heart monitor, and he began to plan.
~Penthouse 4~
"Elizabeth Webber is here to see you," Johnny opened the door after his boss had answered his knock.
"Send her in, then go ahead and leave. I'm in for the night," Sonny ordered.
Johnny nodded and stepped back to let Elizabeth in.
"Thanks," she murmured giving him a distracted smile. She waited for the door to close behind her before looking at Sonny. "Thanks for seeing me, I really needed to talk to you."
"No problem," he gestured with his arm. "Sorry about the mess, it's still being repaired."
Looking around the Penthouse she could see the aftermath of the bomb. She'd only been here a couple of times but the changes and aftermath were easy to see. The scar marks on the ceiling had yet to be painted over. And even though the smell of fresh paint was strong, she could still smell a faint trace of the chemicals the firemen had used to put out the blaze. The room was empty except for sawhorses, paint pails, and coverings, no paintings or knick-knacks remained in sight. The room increased her guilt and hardened her resolve to get through her story and tell him the whole truth for once.
"Elizabeth?"
"What?" His voice caused her to break out of her thoughts and she saw the concern on his face.
"I said would you like something to drink?" Sonny repeated. "I have some water or some wine if you would prefer."
"No I'm fine." Taking a deep breath to prepare, she plunged in. "First of all I wanted to thank you for not only seeing me, but in helping me these last few years. I know you did it mainly for Jason's benefit but you never made me feel like a burden and you've always been very nice to me so I wanted to thank you for that."
"I consider you a friend Elizabeth. As such I've never seen you as a burden, and I never will," he corrected her with a frown.
"I doubt you'll feel the same after I'm done so I just wanted to say that to you now, so you'll know how glad I am to have had you in my life for awhile." She moved away when she saw his frown grow.
"I need to tell you something. Something I should have told you a long time ago but didn't. It's going to be hard for me to say and even harder for you to hear," she turned to face him and noted his expression hadn't changed, he was just watching her. The expression on his face reminded her of Jason and that caused her heart to leap. "So if you would let me finish before you ask any questions I'd appreciate it. Once I do explain everything and answer all your questions I promise I'll never bother you again."
"Elizabeth it sounds like you think I'm going to turn my back on you. Don't you know that there is nothing you can tell me that will ever make me turn my back on you?" Closing the distance between them he placed his hands on her shoulders. "I meant what I said. I consider you a friend and I don't have very many of those, so believe me I'm not about to throw away any that I do have."
The words cheered her, a bright moment in her otherwise dark life, and they caused her to smile in sadness, if only they could be true. "Thanks. What you said means a lot, but I won't you to them."
Frowning he started again. "Eliz…"
"Please let me do this," she cut him off and nodding he dropped his hands.
Picking a spot over his left shoulder she began the story that should have come out so long ago. "The night that Lucky and Sorel escaped from jail, Nikolas and I went looking for him. After a few hours I finally figured out where he could be, we went there, and I was right. He was at the boxcar. Lucky was there, but he wasn't acting like himself, he was upset, agitated, even distraught I'd say. He wasn't making much sense. We didn't know it then, but Helena had paid him a visit in the jail and that's what had made him run."
Stepping away she put a little distance between her and Sonny before beginning the next part of her story. "We tried to get him to turn himself in, but he refused, he got crazed at the suggestion. He broke an old bottle that was in the boxcar and put the glass to his throat hard enough it broke the skin and he began to bleed. He swore that if we made him go back, he'd be dead by morning. In that minute we believed him."
Blinking away the memory of Lucky's madness she moved on. "Nikolas and I agreed to hide him, until he was calm. We were about to leave the boxcar when Sorel showed up."
She saw the way Sonny stiffened at the mention of Sorel and knew it was beginning.
"To make a long story short he threatened us, if we turned him in, he'd tell the cops that Lucky set up the escape with Nikolas and my help. I still wanted to turn him in and I guess he realized that, or he remembered me from before when Jason went after him. So he moved closer and touch…" she couldn't help the shiver that went through her when Sorel had caressed her cheek. "Anyway he threatened to have Lucky killed once he was back in jail if we didn't help him."
"All this time Lucky kept getting more and more agitated and Nikolas was having a hard time controlling him. I knew he'd kill Lucky and I also knew that if he didn't, Lucky would kill himself if he was forced back in jail, so I finally agreed to help him."
Sonny had moved to the window and she could see and feel the tension and anger radiating from him, but he didn't speak.
"After hiding Lucky, and leaving Nikolas I came here looking for you." She thought she saw him flinch at that remark and hurried on. "You see I knew if I told you, you would handle Sorel. But you were gone and the guard wouldn't even take a message. I came back the next morning but you were still gone. So I had no choice I had to go back to the boxcar again."
"I was the one he chose to bring him meals. I was about to call out to let him know that I was coming, because he was armed, when I heard a woman's voice. I heard Sorel ask her, why did you interfere? Why didn't you just let him die?"
"The woman answered with, because I have so many plans for him. Trust me he doesn't suspect a thing."
"I don't know who they were talking about, but I knew I couldn't get caught eavesdropping so I hurried back to the trees. I got there just in time, because Sorel emerged from the boxcar, then turned and helped the woman out. They talked for a while longer but I couldn't hear what they were saying. All I know is when she eventually left, she called him Daddy."
That announcement caused Sonny to focus on her.
"I know I should have told you before now, I should have told you last night when you asked me if Sorel had threatened me again. But I guess that doesn't matter now. The reason I am finally telling you is because I saw that woman again tonight. I saw her earlier, with you, on the docks. She has dark hair, and was dressed all in white, the woman you were talking too, she's Sorel's daughter." Taking a deep breath as the last of her burdens fell free she waited for his reaction.
Risking a glance at his face her heart fell when she saw the temper livid in his eyes, in his expression. She twisted her purse strap in her hands and anxiously waited for his accusations or questions but none came. "Do you want to know anything else?" She kept her eyes on her feet but asked the question after a few more silent moments had passed.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?"
She could hear the coldness in his voice and tried not to flinch. "At first it was because I couldn't find you. And then it was because people were getting hurt and it didn't seem to matter, because Sorel wasn't at the boxcar anymore. I wanted to tell Emily first but when I saw you with that woman I knew I couldn't wait any longer."
"Did she see you? Or did Sorel know you overheard them?" Sonny demanded.
"No." Unconsciously she rubbed her arm where Sorely had grabbed her that day. "He asked, but I lied and he believed me."
"Did he hurt you?"
Both the soft question and the closeness over which it was uttered startled her enough that she looked up at him. Belatedly realizing that he had moved until he was directly in front of her, she instinctively moved back a step. "No he didn't hurt me."
His dark eyes seemed to pin hers and she tried to look away but couldn't. "He didn't, not really, he just tried to scare the truth out of me so he grabbed me and shook me. I told him I hadn't seen anything and he let me go." The memory of his threats and taunts about Jason not being there to protect her this time replayed in her mind and unknowingly crossed her face.
She was amazed that Sonny had even bothered to ask. Standing here, in his wrecked home, he had to realize that if she had gone to the cops, all of this damage could have been avoided. Carly would never have been taken hostage, Emily wouldn't have been on the bus, she wouldn't have broken her back, Sonny wouldn't have brought a bomb into his home to try to kill Sorel, if she had just spoken up sooner. She had to be misreading the concern she thought she saw in his dark eyes. There was no way he could still care not after all the damage she'd brought to his life.
"I'm glad you told me," Sonny informed her quietly.
"I'm sorry I took so long." He turned his back on her and she knew it was time to leave. Moving quickly towards the door she took the handle in hand, but didn't open it, there was still one thing she needed from him. Turning she looked back at him. "I realize I don't have the right to ask you for any favors. But I'm going to anyway. I would like to be the one to tell Jason what I did."
"Why?" He asked turning to face her.
"Because if you tell him he'll have a chance to close off the anger and hide it before he sees me again and that's not healthy," she smiled wryly her own breakdown vivid in her mind. "He'll probably censor himself, his anger, because he feels he owes me for saving his life. Which he doesn't, he saved me far more than I ever saved him," sighing she ran a hand through her hair and forced herself to go on. "But if I tell him, he won't have the time to close off, he'll be able to let it out, at me, right away."
"What makes you say that?" Sonny asked. "Jason doesn't really talk when someone he really cares about hurts him, he shuts down."
Amazingly dry-eyed she smiled sadly at Sonny and finally realized that there were parts of Jason that Sonny didn't seem to know while she did. "He won't this time. You see I didn't just hurt him. I hurt Emily, I hurt Carly, I hurt you, he won't be able to stop himself from being mad. He can understand any hurt that I might have caused him, but not the hurt I caused the people he loves. He never learned that kind of forgiveness."
Her hand tightened on the doorknob and she opened the door. "See it'll be for the best if I tell him, that way if he has any leftover feelings for me, this will kill them and the break will be clean. A clean break is what's best for him. A clean break is better for everyone. I do want you to know how sorry I am, I know it's not enough, but it's all I have left to offer. That and a promise not to bother you again."
With those words she smiled once more and was gone. Not bothering to wait for the elevator she ran for the stairwell. She made it down three levels before the burning in her sides made her stop. It was done. She was finally out of secrets and this one had the potential to cost her the most. The hall smelled of the chemical fire extinguishers, and her thoughts turned to Sorel. He had ruined so many lives, and yet he was still alive, somehow that didn't seem right.
~*~*~
Sonny had been so lost in her words that it took him a minute to realize that she'd left. Frowning at the open door, he kicked it closed, he knew he should go after her, she was upset, and thought he was angry with her. But at that moment he needed to process all the information she'd given him. Francis was no doubt with her somewhere so she wasn't alone.
Moving to the window he stared out into the night and the wild rain that was finally beginning to fall. Sorel had been trickier than he'd given him credit for. But he wasn't his primary focus at the moment, Angel was. So she had plans for him. Smiling coldly at his reflection, Angel was about to realize what sort of plans he had for her, and her father.
~Quartermaine Mansion~
"Lila have you seen Alan?" Monica entered the Salon and immediately joined her mother-in-law on the settee.
"Not since dinner Monica," Lila looked up from her newspaper. "Is there something wrong?"
"No." Monica moved to the French doors and focused on the falling rain. "He was upset earlier. I wanted to talk to him."
"Upset," came a strident voice from the doorway. "Of course he was upset, he should be, and if you were any kind of mother you'd be upset as well."
Stifling a groan Monica rested her head on the windowpane. "What do you mean by that Edward?"
"Emily. You've left that poor darling girl alone for far too long. And now your trusting her care to a brain damaged criminal." Edward explained as he moved towards the wet bar.
"Oh Edward," Lila's voice was ripe with censure.
"Jason is not providing her healthcare. He is providing her support and I for one will not stand by and listen to you attack him for that." Monica's temper began to spike and she instantly slid into her defensive mother role.
"Harumph," Edward snorted.
"Edward be quiet," Lila ordered.
"No I will not Lila. I've held my tongue long enough." When Monica snorted at that remark he turned on her quickly. "It's bad enough that child had to be sent away from her family while she recovered from her injuries, while the delinquent who should be sent away has roamed around Port Charles without a care in the world…"
"Zander is in the hospital. I think he has a care," Monica pointed out tartly.
"But to give her whereabouts to another criminal. Not to mention working to save the life of the degenerate that caused her injury in the first place," he paused for breath. "It's a disgrace."
"Monica where are you going?" Lila asked in concern. "It's raining."
"I need some air Lila," she glared at Edward. "Suddenly I'm finding it hard to breathe in this house."
With that she moved out the door and away from the house. Moving along the path, that led to the drive, the rain fell hard on her Chanel suit but she didn't care, or even feel it. Edward, the bastard, had a point. She had worked to save Sorel's life when he had first been brought into GH.
She hadn't wanted to work on him, but he'd had shrapnel lodged near his aorta and she had been the only heart surgeon available. The temptation to just let him die had been strong, yet in the end the oath she'd taken to save lives had been stronger.
But now after hearing of Emily's latest setback she couldn't help but wonder if she'd made a mistake by letting Sorel live. Lightning lit the sky and when the flash died she realized something that made her uncomfortable. Alan's car wasn't in the drive.
~ICU~
Amy Vining paused around the corner from ICU and tugged on her shirt to straighten it then combed a hand through the snarls in her hair. When the lights flickered above her again, she shot them a warning look. They better not go off again, she had someone to impress. The guard assigned to Sorel's room was awfully cute, and she was determined to snare him before that witch Gabriella did. She wasn't getting any younger and her biological clock was ticking far too loudly in her ear.
Pasting a smile on her face she turned the corner expecting to see him, the smile fell from her face when she realized he wasn't there. Frowning at her chart she was puzzled, Sorel wasn't scheduled for any tests so she wondered where he was. Grumbling under her breath she moved to Sorel's room and opened the door.
"Oh my god."
The chart fell from her hand as she ran inside the room towards the guard who was lying unconscious on the floor next to the bed. She checked his pulse first of all then looked for a wound. Her expression was puzzled when she saw his open shirt, pulling on it she looked at the electrodes there. Electrode pads that should have been on Sorel's chest. She could hear the steady beat of the heart monitor, and as strong as it was she knew the guard would be just fine.
Getting to her feet she transferred her attention to Sorel. The scalpel jutting out of his chest told her what had happened, to the mobster. Knowing it was already too late, she checked for a pulse anyway, and wasn't surprised when she found none, her hand moved on to the phone. It looked like someone had decided that Sorel wasn't entitled to live. As she dialed the phone her eyes narrowed in speculation.
Who killed Sorel?
