Chapter Three

As Tony walked out of Elizabeth's hospital room, he marveled at the miracles he had seen in all his years as a doctor. The knife had missed all her vital organs. It had nicked an artery, and she would have died had she not been found so instantaneously, but all in all, she was an extremely lucky young woman. He walked into the waiting room, and smiled reassuringly at the crowd anxiously awaiting news. Emily and Nikolas were whispering to each other on the couch, Lucky was pacing back and forth, Tony was surprised to see Ric, leaning against the wall near the elevator, and Audrey Harding was sitting alone in a chair. She was the first to see him, and she jumped up, asking,

"Will my granddaughter be all right?" her voice quavering. The rest of the group all came to attention, watching him with first fear, then relief in their eyes.

"She will. She is extremely fortunate to have gotten here so quickly, and she'll be weak for sometime, but soon she'll be as good as new.

"Oh thank God, thank God." Audrey smiled youthfully as Lucky swept her into an exuberant hug. Em and Nikolas were beaming, and Ric looked like a huge weight had been removed from his shoulders. He took a breath, and then asked, officially,

"When do you think she will be well enough to speak to the police? The guy needs to be caught and thrown in jail as soon as possible." Tony considered.

"Maybe sometime tomorrow. She's still very weak and disoriented right now, and what she needs most is rest.

"Tomorrow then. Thank you Dr. Jones." Ric addressed the group, "Please excuse me." Without waiting for an answer, he turned and left. Emily looked around,

ÔWell, now that we know Elizabeth will be okay, Nik and I are going to go. Audrey, will you tell her we'll be by to see her tomorrow?

"Of course, Dear. Thank you so much for waiting with me." Nikolas smiled at her, "Where else would we be?" He asked rhetorically. "Goodnight everybody." Tony's beeper went off, and he said,

"Just call me if you have any questions. I have to take this. Go in and see her whenever you are ready Audrey.

"Thank you again Tony!" He nodded, and disappeared down the corridor. Audrey looked at her one remaining companion. "Well Lucky, shall we go see her?

"No. I'll come back later. I don't want to tire her out, and I think you are probably who she wants to see the most." He leaned down and kissed her cheek, "Tell her we all love her okay?" She patted his cheek.

"You're such a good boy. Liz is lucky to have you. I will tell her what you said." She took a deep breath, and walked into Liz's room.

Unseen by all, Jason came out from his position behind a large Fern. Not actively hiding, nor had he gone out of his way to draw attention. His joy at hearing that she would make a full recovery was surprisingly strong, and he didn't want his strange reaction to be commented upon. Marshalling his thoughts, he called Sonny, letting him know Elizabeth's condition, and explaining that he panned to wait until Audrey left, then go in and ask Liz what she remembered. Hanging up, he slide down onto a couch and prepared to wait.

***

Courtney knocked on the door briefly before opening the door and sticking her head in.

"Carly? You here?" A voice floated down the stairs,

"Up here!" She let herself in and walked upstairs, finding Carly in the study. "Hey Courtney, what brings you by?" Carly was ensconced on a cozy chair, reading a magazine, on the end table, a sophisticated plate incongruously adorned with Ho Ho's.

"I was just wondering if you had heard from Jason? I expected him home hours ago, and he's not answering his phone.

"Probably because he's got it turned of. He's at the hospital checking on Liz." Carly rolled her eyes, as if to ask, can you believe it?

"What happened? Is she okay?" Courtney's voice was a study of nonchalance.

"She was stabbed, gang thing. She'll be fine." A flash of something went across Courtney's face, quickly covered. Courtney nodded.

"Well, that's good. Listen, I forgot I had something in the oven, excuse me." She ran out before Carly could say anything else. Carly sat in the chair, pondering her sense of unease. She couldn't be sure, but she almost thought Courtney had looked disappointed to hear that Elizabeth would live. Carly desperately didn't want to think that of her friend, but she had survived to long trusting her instincts, and they were telling her that something about Courtney was, well, off. She made a mental to talk to Sonny about it as soon as her got home.

***

AHHHHH! What luck! The stupid bitch had survived. Courtney slammed the door as she walked back into her home. She always did. Now everything was even more tangled up. Another attack on Liz would look suspicious, but she didn't know how else to keep her from talking. Sure, no one had believed her before, but now she'd been injured, and both her ex's were in law enforcement. They would probably give her the benefit of the doubt, even if Carly wouldn't. Courtney ran her hands through her hair, tugging on the ends. She had to think. Okay, on the plus side, she probably wouldn't be talking to anyone until tomorrow at least. She would have to have some sort of complication from her injuries, like hemorrhagingÉor something. NoÉShe couldn't do that without knowing more about her injuries, and she couldn't make inquiries without it looking suspicious later. She sighed. For now, she would have to play innocent, hope no one believed Liz, cover her tracks, and take care of the problem later, permanently.

Courtney went into the kitchen to make dinner, all part of her masquerade as the loving wife. Her lip curled, she couldn't wait to get away from this whole group. Between her deal with the FBI, and one of The Families, both unbeknownst to the other, everything would go down in as "tragic, "bloody a fashion as she could hope. When the smoke cleared, Sonny's operation would be ripped apart, He and Jason, and, if she could swing it, Carly would be dead, and all at the hands of the feds. Naturally, as the grieving aunt, she would be the natural choice to adopt the boys. She would take over the territory, the riches, and most importantly, the children. It was clear that she was the best parent for them. Carly and Sonny had no idea how to take care of them. She smiled dreamily as she thought of the future.

***

It was hours later when Audrey stood up from the bedside of her Granddaughter. Elizabeth has not awoken, and Audrey decided that she wouldn't until the next morning, by which time she would be back. She leaned down and kissed Elizabeth's forehead, whispering, "I love you darling." before slipping out the door.

Moments later, it opened again, and Jason walked in. He let his eyes adjust to the dark before moving to her bedside. Even in the faint light, he was appalled to see how pale she was. He sat in the chair at the head of the bed and leaned in.

"Elizabeth? Can you hear me?" There was no response. "Elizabeth, I know you're tired, and I hate to bother you, but I need to talk to you." He sighed as she remained completely oblivious. He settled into the chair, patient as ever.

An hour later he tried again. "Elizabeth?" This time she made a small sound, and her hand twitched on the covers. "Come on, wake up and talk to me, okay Elizabeth? You have something important to say." He coaxed. She moaned, but her eyelashes began to flutter, and moments later, her eyes open entirely. She turned her head slowly, and focused on his face.

"Jason?

"Hey, welcome back. How do you feel?" She winced.

"Like someone jabbed something sharp into my chest." It was his turn to wince, the visual image like something sharp being jabbed in his. "What are you doing here, Jason?" to the point as always.

"I have to ask you a question." She took a breath.

"Ask away.

"Do you know who did this to you?

.to be continued.

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