Surprise: This one is being pulled out of cold storage as well.

Things to Remember:

This story is set about a week and a half after Catherine's wake.

Carly is pregnant, barely showing and everyone knows.

Elizabeth and Ric have never slept together.

Sonny things Jason quit over his ultimatum regarding Courtney (He didn't see 90 Degrees Past Dead Center).

Alexis is faking her illness and is in the hospital because of Luis Alcazar. Lorenzo Alcazar is not in town … yet.

Lucky is getting entangled with Summer.

Stefan and Emily have not returned to town yet.

I just wanted to remind you of the Port Charles landscape that this fic is set in. Before I blow it all to hell that is.

Plea: Please let me know what you think.

Stephanie

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dancing on the Axis

Part V

~P.C.P.D.~

Jails were noisy, dingy places. The bright fluorescent artificial lighting always bothered her. The light cast off the skin in such a way that it washed a person out enough they could pass for an extra in a zombie movie. Not that she was an aficionado of zombie movies, but no person should ever be that waxy or bug-eyed.

Elizabeth tried to shake the image her mind was creating away, but it was impossible. Morbid seemed to be the driving force of the day. It made sense didn't it? After all she was in the jail because she had killed a man. Jail was the place for murderer unless of course you were a sports celebrity, which she wasn't, so she was where she belonged.

"He's not dead," she whispered aloud then quickly looked around to see if anyone had heard. Her actions were ridiculous, she knew she was alone in the room. But the room may be bugged. At least rooms like this were always bugged in the movies or on TV. Bugged so they could pick up every utterance the suspect made. The suspect being she at the moment. She was probably being watched as well. The wall with the mirror was a dead giveaway. Again this was to observe the suspect like a bug under the microscope. It was always amusing to watch on TV but now that she was the bug she didn't find it that amusing.

She'd been in this room before, but that had been under vastly different circumstances. That time she had been the victim reporting a crime. This time she was the accused. This time she was in the dingy room because she had shot Ric Lansing in the back. Elizabeth didn't think she'd be quite so scared if it wasn't for one thing … she was guilty.

~G.H. E.R. Exam Room 1~

"Are you sure the baby is okay?" Carly Corinthos demanded for the fifth time in fifteen minutes.

"You saw the sonogram yourself, you heard the heartbeat," Doctor Ramsey explained with more patience than he was feeling at the moment. The patience came with the knowledge of who his patient was. He wasn't about to get on the wrong side of the mafia, he had enough trouble on his hands without that. "Your baby seems no worse for the wear because of your near fall into the depths of the Port Charles River."

Relieved Carly kept her hand protectively on the slight protruding mound of her stomach. She couldn't hear the confirmation that the baby she was carrying was fine enough to make her feel secure. She needed to calm down though. She had no doubt Sonny would be here soon and if she looked the slightest bit concerned she could count on being stuck in the hospital for the night and that was the last thing she wanted. All she wanted was her home, her own bed, and to smother Michael in a hug.

"The nurse will be in to finish bandaging that cut on your arm and then you're free to go home."

When the doctor headed out the door Carly could finally let herself bend. It wouldn't do for her bitch reputation if she let her fear show. Letting fear show was for wimps, for victims, she wasn't about to let herself be a victim ever again.

Looking around the small cubicle Carly was reminded of how she had gotten there. Someone had either tried to kill her, or tried to kill Ric Lansing and that someone was goody-goody-muffin-face Elizabeth Webber. The idea of Elizabeth having the guts to shoot someone was laughable. She'd held a gun once on A.J. the person she loathed the most in the world. She'd been prepared to kill him because he had caused her miscarriage yet in the end she hadn't been able to pull the trigger. Elizabeth had been able too. Even worse she'd admitted pulling the trigger to the cops. Which, if you asked her, wasn't a smart move on her part.

Getting up to pace the small cubicle Carly tried to process the last few hours. Ric had told the police that Elizabeth had been aiming a gun at her and Ric had taken the bullet to save her and her baby. According to Jason, Ric had a knife and was trying to kill her so Elizabeth had shot him to save her and her baby. Both stories sounded out there. Ric was a liar, a blackmailer but did that mean he was also a killer?

And what about Elizabeth? Elizabeth always pretended to be one of those bread and butter won't melt in my mouth types. But Carly knew better. Elizabeth enjoyed fighting with her too much to be as innocent as she tried to snow people into believing. But did that mean Elizabeth was a killer? They'd argued recently but they always argued so there was nothing new there. Why would Elizabeth suddenly go postal and try to kill her? Or if it was true Ric was trying to kill her would he try again? If he survived that is.

Carly's pacing came to a halt where it began and she sank back down on the hospital bed. Who was she to believe? If Elizabeth was right about Ric's actions she was in a world of trouble. It meant his agenda was worse than she'd thought and whatever that agenda was he'd kill to finish it. If Ric was to be believed Elizabeth had snapped and decided to kill her. Closing her eyes, she groaned. Thinking about this was going to give her a headache.

~Waiting Room~

"Is someone here for Ric Lansing?" Bobbie Spencer paused in the hospital doorway. A man of about 35, with dark blonde hair, stood up and headed her way. Seeing him, responding to his youthfulness and his good looks, vanity had her pulling the surgical cap off of her head.

"I'm Lieutenant Ross," the man held open a badge. "Can you tell me anything about Lansing?"

"We were able to extract the bullet. He lost a lot of blood but we had enough of his type on hand to transfuse him. Doctor Quartermaine expects him to make a full recovery."

"Do you know when I can speak to him? I need to get his statement regarding the shooter."

"Tomorrow morning at the earliest, he's being moved to recovery now, but he probably won't be awake for another 6 or 7 hours." Weariness had her shoulders drooping. Vanity didn't stand a chance against 12 hours straight in the operating room.

Ross nodded in dismissal. Between now and then he'd have time to dig into the world of Elizabeth Webber.

~P.C.P.D.~

Jason had always hated the police station. The dislike had been there since the very beginning when Detective Garcia had arrested him for train surfing. At the time he had been amused by the experience but the amusement didn't lessen his dislike for the atmosphere in the jail. That dislike hardened into hate when the cops had called the Quartermaine's over his objection. The P.C.P.D. had begun to remind him of being trapped in the hospital. He had the feeling of being put on display in a place that he couldn't leave. He developed a healthy apathy for the P.C.P.D. As the years passed and he spent more and more time in jail his apathy grew. Things had changed over time but his first impression of jail always lingered in his memory whenever he was in the facility.

This time was no different, he still had those familiar feelings only this time it was worse. Worse because this time he wasn't here for him he was here for Elizabeth. Watching her sit in the interrogation room wasn't right. She didn't belong there, she belonged outside, or in her studio, anywhere but here.

"You realize you're growling don't you?" A placid faced Nikolas Cassadine asked.

Shifting his eyes briefly he gave Nikolas a fulminating glare that the other man gave no reaction to. This Nikolas wasn't the hothead he had dealt with on other occasions but that didn't change the fact that he was there when Jason wanted him to leave. "You've given your statement you can go anytime."

"So can you," Nikolas pointed out.

Ignoring him Jason turned his focus back to the interrogation room where Elizabeth was sitting. They hadn't closed the blinds yet and for that he was grateful. He was relieved to see she wasn't handcuffed. Although she'd been brought to the station for questioning she hadn't been arrested … yet. It was the yet that bothered him. The yet and the officer they had watching the door.

The fact that Haggerty, the officer in question, was on Sonny's payroll didn't mean a damn when his sole purpose of being in his sight at the moment was to keep Elizabeth in the room. The thought had crossed his mind that he was the reason there was a guard on the door. Elizabeth by herself didn't warrant the attention when she wasn't even under arrest. Cops it seemed had long memories and although Garcia, Taggert and Mac were nowhere in sight someone had remembered the time he'd picked a fight with Mac in order to help Brenda escape custody.

"Do you think you should stay?"

Nikolas' question drew him from his thoughts. "What?"

"I know you and Elizabeth haven't been getting along. Would she want you here? Especially when your presence could only hurt her standing with the cops." Nikolas kept his tone bland even when Jason's glare rose another level.

"When was the last time you had a conversation with Elizabeth?"

The dart hit Nikolas hard and this time it was he that turned his focus on the interrogation room. Elizabeth hadn't really spoken to him in months. Not since she found out the truth about the car accident a truth that he'd hidden from her. Their relationship had already been strained over his keeping Lucky's lack of feeling for her during the wedding that wasn't, that when the car accident happened things had ricocheted out of control.

He'd apologized profusely to her on several different occasions and in several ways, but always with the same qualification, he had been protecting Gia. It was ridiculous and he knew it. Elizabeth never would have said anything about Gia to the cops, he knew it, and so did Elizabeth. Was it any wonder that Elizabeth had yet to forgive him? And probably wouldn't until he admitted the real reason he'd lied and manipulated her.

The real reason he'd lied wasn't to protect Gia it was because of his need to stay in control. Since all that had happened with his Grandmother and his father's miraculous return from the dead, control had been slippery for him. As such his need to control every aspect of his life and the actions of other people in his life ended up costing him everything. Gia was gone and he knew he'd never get her back. Emily, his oldest friend was who knows where, since he hadn't seen her after her accident she had been hurt enough not to keep in touch with him. Lucky was … Lucky. He was keeping secrets again, and acting a little strange, but Nikolas was beginning to think that was just how Lucky behaved now. Elizabeth wanted nothing to do with him either.

His behavior had forced the people he cared about the most from his life. As horrible as Elizabeth's situation was, he wasn't about to leave her. If helping her helped fix things between them he was in it for as long as it took. Even if it didn't fix their relationship, he'd still be there because of the important spot she would always have in his life. Besides if he left she'd have no one … no one but Jason that is, and that wasn't a pleasant thought for him.

~*~*~*~

Elizabeth had been in the room long enough that the glare from the lights no longer hurt her eyes. She'd also calmed down. Her initial panic was fading much like the shock over shooting someone had eventually passed. She didn't believe she'd ever forget the rumbling sound the gun had made or the way it had jumped in her hands as she fired, but she gradually realized she could live with the memory she could live with herself. She'd had no choice but to shoot Ric. If she hadn't both Carly and her baby could be dead.

Ric. She couldn't help but grimace when she thought of the man she'd halfway been getting involved with. Had she ever really known him at all? How could she have misjudged him so badly that she couldn't pick up the signs that he was capable of killing someone?

So are you.

The traitorous little voice reverberated in her head, Uncomfortable she shifted in her chair. Ric wasn't dead hopefully he wouldn't die, she really didn't want him dead. Even if he didn't die she still couldn't count on him to get her out of this mess with the police. After all it was his fault she was here. The police hadn't found a knife. Somehow she doubted Ric would voluntarily admit to trying to kill a pregnant woman. Carly would…

"Carly."

Her thought pattern screeched to a halt as the memory of the conversation she had overheard between Ric and Carly while she was in the closet began to play in her head. Details, ideas, even denials were falling together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and the picture that was emerging wasn't a pretty one.

Carly had one drink with Ric and didn't remember anything until she woke up the next morning with Ric groping her. She'd had one drink at a rave and didn't remember a thing until she woke up with Lucky the next morning in her studio. Emily had a drink at a rave and remembered nothing until she woke up lying next to a dead body. Emily and her experience had been similar because they had both been drugged. Carly's story sounded pretty familiar as well. She'd seen Carly drink before. One drink wouldn't bring on a blackout, not unless there was more than alcohol in it.

Another piece of the puzzle began to fit. Carly had woken up with a man with no clue how she had gotten there. Carly was now pregnant. And the man who'd been blackmailing her had just tried to kill her to shut her up. Could Ric be the father of Carly's child? Instinctively she shook her head. There was no way Ric would try to kill his own child or would he?

What about Sonny? From the sounds of it he didn't know about Carly's run-in with Ric. What would he do when he found out? What would that mean for Carly? More importantly what would that mean for the baby she was carrying. Carly was someone she didn't like and never would, and yet she couldn't help but remember the night Carly had lost her baby. After comforting Sonny she had stayed around to get her cut treated. She didn't know why but she'd been drawn to I.C.U. she had arrived in time to hear Carly's reaction to the loss of her child. Until that moment, until that wail of denial that had been ripped out of Carly, she hadn't known the blonde had been capable of feeling that much for anyone besides herself.

Now Carly was pregnant again, and even though they didn't get along Elizabeth didn't want to see a baby get caught up in this mess. It wasn't the baby's fault it's mother was a head-trip. A baby shouldn't be punished for being born, but she had the uncomfortable feeling that would be the case if Carly's secret came out.

"Ms. Webber."

The door opened and two police officers entered. One was in plainclothes the other in a uniform. Neither one of them were cops that she recognized.

"I'm Lieutenant Ross," the plainclothes officer took a seat across from her. "I need to ask you some questions about murder."

Gasping for breath her eyes filled at the word murder.

"I'm sorry," Ross, noted her reaction. "I guess I should have said attempted murder." Reaching out he pressed the record button on the tape recorder sitting between them on the table and read her, her rights for the record.

Following his movements with her eyes and half listening to the words Elizabeth was struck with a sense of longing for Taggert or Garcia. She'd gladly have borne their well-meaning lecture on who she chose to hang around with if it meant they would be the one in the room questioning her. The cop in front of her had cold assessing eyes, eyes that she didn't like. Normally she didn't make snap judgments but with him she couldn't help herself.

"Why don't you take it from the beginning?" Ross invited in a tone that was an order.

After a long hesitation Elizabeth began to speak. A part of her didn't know what was going to come out of her mouth, she could only pray that it was good enough to get her out of this mess. "I was working at Kelly's Diner. I had the 9-3 shift. By 1:30 the crowd had died enough I decided to go up and check on Ric."

"That would be Ric Lansing the victim?"

Flinching at his description she nodded.

"Why would you check on him?"

"He'd been shot a week or so before. I got in the habit of checking on him, bringing him food, things like that." Elizabeth explained relieved that she could tell the truth at least for the moment.

"Go on," Ross ordered while making notation in his notebook.

"I was heading to his door when I heard the voices. His door was slightly open. I heard two people yelling at each other, their argument seemed intense, I thought one of the voices was female although I couldn't tell for sure, not then."

"How do you know they were arguing? Could you hear what they were saying?"

The moment of truth had come quickly she only hoped she was ready for it. "No, I just heard the loud tone of their voices, it wasn't friendly. I couldn't make the words out so I have no idea what they were saying. I'd decided to go back down when the door opened and Carly stormed out."

Again he made a note, but the shorthand he was using was impossible for her to decipher. She couldn't get a read on him, she couldn't tell if he believed her or not.

"Then what?" Ross prompted.

"I headed back to Ric's room. I heard his voice again and automatically came to a stop. I didn't try to eavesdrop but in the end I couldn't help it. He was saying that the plan was falling apart, that Carly wasn't cooperating anymore. He couldn't get to Morgan and Corinthos in that way." Elizabeth's mind raced desperately trying to make things sound plausible to give him the important information and still shield him from knowing it all.

"He said he'd handle Carly. I heard that and knew I needed to leave, but it was too late. Before I could turn he opened the door. I tried to act like I hadn't heard him that I didn't see the switchblade that he was tucking in his pockets but he saw through me. Before I could scream, before I could run, he caught me and threw me in his room. My head must have hit the table or the bed because I was knocked out," she could still remember the feeling of fear that had raced through her when he grabbed her.

Ross poured her a glass of water, from the half-full pitcher on the table and waited while she drank it down in a long gulp. His expression didn't give anything away. She couldn't tell if he believed her or not, but was grateful for the water.

"When I woke up I was tied up in the closet." Closing her eyes she tried to banish the hellish memory of those hopeless moments when she'd felt like she'd been buried alive. "I finally managed to get free. When I stood up I got dizzy and grabbed at some of the clothes to steady myself, the bar holding them up came crashing to the ground on top of me. That's when I found it."

"Found what?"

"His gun. I'm not sure why I picked it up, but I did. I put it in my pocket and went to look for Carly."

"You didn't try to call the police?"

Jarred by the question Elizabeth shrugged and went back to her memories. "I only had one thing on my mind and that was to warn Carly about Ric. I saw her on the docks, before I could reach her I saw Ric moving up behind her with a knife in his hand." Her voice grew soft, almost reflective. "I don't remember taking the gun out, or pointing at him. I don't even know if I screamed a warning. The next thing I can remember was is the sound. The rumble of the bullet echoing around the dock."

"Is that it?" Ross asked after another minute of silence.

Again his question and his tone jarred her. "That's all there is. I'm vague at what happened next, I think Nikolas went by, then Jason, finally you."

"Let me get this straight," Ross turned back a few pages in his notebook. "You heard Ric Lansing threaten Carly Corinthos, he accosted you leaving you tied up in a closet, and once you got free instead of calling the police you decided to pick up a gun and stop him yourself?"

"It wasn't like that," Elizabeth cried.

~*~*~*~

"She's talking to much isn't she?" Nikolas asked the silent man next to him.

"Yes."

"Isn't there someone you can call for help?" Nikolas had tried to think of whom he could call. With Alexis in the hospital the only other attorneys he knew were the estate lawyers who would be of no help in the current situation. Elizabeth was going to need a criminal attorney and a good one at that. Somehow he thought the man next to him would have a better idea on who was a good criminal attorney.

Jason didn't bother to answer. Calls had already been made, but things were moving to slow. Sonny had been dragging his feet over replacing Alexis and now that decision was one Elizabeth could be paying for. He needed to get her to keep quiet. Even if she was telling the truth it could come back and hurt her. Cops didn't always hear the truth when it was told to them, most seemed to prefer their own version of the truth.

The door to the interrogation room opened and two cops walked out. Both Nikolas and Jason were quiet as they tried to overhear their conversation.

"What did you think?"

"She's lying," Ross stated without hesitation. "Parts of her story were true but she's definitely lying. Keep holding her, I'm going to check out some pieces of her story." Moving past Jason he spared the reputed mobster a glance but didn't say a word in passing.

"Why would she lie?" Nikolas wondered aloud.

Before Jason could answer the interrogation room door opened and Elizabeth appeared in the doorway. Their eyes met for a long minute until she shifted her attention to the officer that had come to alert as soon as she opened the door. "Could I get some more water?" She asked shyly and held out the empty pitcher.

Officer Haggerty took the pitcher from her and then darted an uncomfortable look in the direction of Jason Morgan. Giving Corinthos the heads up about a bust every once and awhile was one thing. It was a safe thing to do, no one could track him if he was careful, and no one ever got hurt. But if he was placed in the position of trying to do a favor for Jason Morgan in the middle of the police station? He shuddered at the thought.

"I'll wait right here," Elizabeth tried again. "The lights make the room so hot I'm parched."

Haggerty reluctantly headed for the water fountain out in the hall, praying with every step that she wouldn't try to escape.

"You go," Jason hissed from the corner of his mouth as soon as Haggerty moved past him. He knew if he moved he'd have five cops focused on him.

Nikolas didn't need to be told twice, moving quickly to Elizabeth he took her hand. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Elizabeth's eyes darted around the room. They were being watched but she didn't think anyone would be able to hear them if she kept her voice low. "I need to see Carly. I have to talk to her before she gives her statement."

His brown eyes flashed briefly in surprise at her odd request but instead of questioning her he merely nodded. "I'll get her the message. Now you need to do me a favor. Don't say anything more to anyone. Not until you talk to a lawyer."

"Move away from the door." Haggerty had dawdled long enough and was heading back with the half-filled water pitcher.

"Remember no more statements." Nikolas demanded before moving back to his chair. Elizabeth gave no sign she heard, she merely took the pitcher and disappeared back inside the room.

"What did she say?" Jason asked as quietly as he could.

"She wants to see Carly, before Carly gives her statement to the police." Nikolas shifted slightly aware of the eyes watching them. "You'll arrange it right?"

Not bothering to reply Jason merely rose and left the police station.

"What do you seen in him Elizabeth?" Nikolas wondered not for the first time.

~G.H.~

"Sonny I'm fine," Carly was desperate to reassure him. She had to reassure him because he was beginning to get that look in his eye. The look that meant he was blaming himself for what had happened to her. The look that also meant if she didn't deflect him she wouldn't be able to leave the penthouse without 4 guards for the rest of her pregnancy.

"You almost weren't," Sonny couldn't stop touching her. His dreams, his nightmares, the ones that came so often now, even more so since Carly had announced her pregnancy. The evil from his dreams had almost taken her from him, almost took his child from him, from them both. Somehow he had to break the cycle of losing everything just when he almost had it all.

Carly couldn't help but feel relieved that his focus remained on her and not on who had done this to her. He hadn't started speaking vengeance yet, and she hoped he wouldn't. "Can we go home please?"

"Are you sure?"

"Sonny what I want most is to hug Michael, and then crawl into the tub, hopefully with my handsome husband." Carly's tone turned soft. "Please."

Willing to please her Sonny finally nodded. Taking her hand he turned to head for the elevator. They had only taken a few steps when the silver doors opened and Jason walked through them. Without being aware of it he came to a halt. Confused Carly looked up from her purse where she had been digging for her candy stash. Puzzled when she saw his strange expression she shifted her attention looking for the reason why.

Jason had also come to a stop. He'd thought he was prepared to see Sonny again, but now that it had happened he wasn't sure what to do. Even during the height of the uncomfortableness over Sonny and Carly getting together, or when Sonny had been livid over Zander and by extension Elizabeth there hadn't been this sense of awkwardness that was there between them now. Ignoring it for the moment he focused on the woman beside him.

"Carly are you okay?"

Letting go of her husband she crossed to Jason and gave him a hug. "I'm fine, so is the baby."

Closing his eyes in relief Jason held on a moment longer. "I'm glad."

Sonny hung back to give them a minute. How was he supposed to talk to Jason now? So much had been said between them, not to mention the way it had been said. How could he move past it? For the first time in months he didn't have the knee-jerk feeling of anger he normally did when he saw Jason, instead he opened his eyes and studied his best friend without the clouding sense of anger. In that moment Jason looked weary, and that was surprising. Jason never looked tired. How long had he looked like that?"

"I need your help Carly." Jason finally got the words out.

Stunned Carly could only blink. Jason never asked her for help in fact he did his best to make sure she didn't try to help.

"Elizabeth is at the police station. She wants to see you." He stood there waiting for the explosion he knew had to becoming.

"Why does she want to see me?" Carly's tone was even and she could see the surprise in his eyes.

"Why is Elizabeth at the police station?" Curious Sonny moved closer to get in on the conversation.

Surprised Jason eyed Carly. "You didn't tell him?"

"Not yet," Carly wanted to stamp her foot in frustration but knew that would get her nowhere.

"Carly?" Sonny prompted.

"Elizabeth was the one who shot Ric." Jason informed him coolly. "She shot him because he was trying to kill Carly." His focus moved to Carly. You know that right?"

"What?" Sonny exploded.

"Ric says Elizabeth was trying to kill me," Carly reminded him choosing to her ignore her volatile husband for the moment.

"You believe that?" Jason snapped.

"Do I look like an idiot?" Carly snapped right back. "I can't stand Elizabeth but I know she wouldn't try to shoot me in the back."

Again Jason closed his eyes in relief. He'd hoped Carly wouldn't let her dislike of Elizabeth blind her to the truth, but with Carly he could never be sure of anything. "Will you see her?"

"Well…"

"You know she wouldn't ask unless it was important, especially not while she's still at the station." Jason pressured her slightly.

"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?" An irate Sonny finally got their attention.

~Kelly's~

Lieutenant Ross studied Lansing's room with a critical eye. One that had already directed forensics to photograph and get a sample of the small bloodstain on the corner of the desk. Moving towards the closet he checked it out again. The bar holding the clothes was on the ground like the Webber girl had claimed. There were also some bungee cords still looped together in a loose knot that could have been used to tie her up as she claimed. There was also an empty lockbox on the floor that could have once held a gun.

So far the evidence was verifying everything Elizabeth Webber had said in her statement, but he was still suspicious. He had the feeling that Elizabeth Webber was lying about something. And if she lied once there was no telling what else she was lying about. He was a patient person, he knew he'd figure it out eventually.

"Lieutenant I think you want to hear this." An officer paused in the open door. When the Lieutenant turned to look, she turned and gestured to the person beside him. "Tell the Lieutenant what you told me."

Ross' eyes sharpened on the blonde that moved in the doorway. "You have something to tell me?"

"I guess I do." Courtney took a step inside the room. "It's about Elizabeth," she hesitated, "and Ric."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I know what the hell is she doing? You won't believe what happens next.