Elizabeth picked up her pace as she struggled to follow the orderly who was pushing Lily towards the maternity ward of General Hospital. A little less than an hour ago Elizabeth was faced with the harsh reality that she had been trying to avoid for the past few months: The child that was supposed to be hers was about to be born unto the two people who loved her like their own. That was what made Elizabeth's bleeding heart all the more painful.

She remembered getting up that morning, her stomach feeling queasy. Sonny had made one of his three course breakfasts and she had barely managed to get it down before feigning fatigue and making her way back upstairs. Her stomach stopped its trembling nearly the same moment Lily had cried out. Elizabeth had jumped up, ran to check on her and found her at the dining table, gripping the edges and trying to convince her children that their mommy was okay. Lily wasn't okay, Elizabeth wasn't okay and neither was Johnny O'Brien who couldn't get a hold of his boss.

An ambulance was called for Lily due to her insistence that Sonny needed to be found. Johnny rushed off personally in search of his boss while Mike had come over to the penthouse to keep an eye on his grandkids until a more permanent baby sitter could be found. Elizabeth sat there holding Lily's sweaty hands and assuring her that everything would be fine. Lily did not look at all convinced and considering that she had two previous children Elizabeth was starting to worry as well.

Elizabeth caught the door that nearly came back in her face and watched as the orderly helped Lily out of her wheelchair and walked towards a small dresser where he pulled open a drawer and handed her one of those white hospital robes. He instructed Lily that she needed to get undressed and the doctor would be in shortly. Then he was gone, the door slamming behind him and Elizabeth was left all alone with the mother to be. She stepped forward and placed her hand on Lily's arm.

"You don't have to stay," Lily said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "Sonny will be here any minute, for the sake of his own life Sonny better be here any minute, and I'll be okay until then."

"Alright," Elizabeth said as she reached for the hospital gown and opened it, "But until then I'm going to stay with you and help you plan his death."

Lily laughed awkwardly as she tried to hold onto the bed frame and unbutton her jeans, "He just might kill me for my water breaking at the house. You know he just had those floors cleaned?"

"Lily," Elizabeth said as she bent down and helped the woman take off her shoes and then pull down her pants, "Sonny is not going to give a damn about that. Mike said that he would take care of it. He might actually kill Mike for not cleaning it properly."

Elizabeth smiled softly as she stood back up but she watched Lily hesitate with her top as she sat down gently on the edge of the bed. Elizabeth was familiar with the look that was now in Lily's dark eyes, it had been in Sonny's as well these past few months. They were concerning themselves with her and now she felt like even more of a heel.

"I'm okay," Elizabeth said quietly as she held up the gown for Lily to put her arms threw, "And the doctor is going to be upset when she comes in here and finds out that you have not stripped down. I'd rather we not have to explain why."

"I want you here," Lily said, "But I hate that it's causing you pain. I hate that you're here by yourself."

Elizabeth cleared her throat as she shook the robe in front of Lily. The woman finally got the hint and started to take her top and undergarments off. "I made it a long time in my life without anyone beside me. I can make it through this."

When Lily had discarded the rest of her clothes, Elizabeth helped her put on the gown and then tied it loosely in the back. She then pulled down the covers on the bed and Lily gently climbed in, trying to make herself as comfortable as possible while Elizabeth picked up her clothes and folded them neatly into a pile before setting them on the windowsill.

"Now, can I get you anything?" Elizabeth asked, "Some water, some…"

"Lily!"

Elizabeth jumped back startled when the hospital door slammed open. She was afraid the rude orderly had returned but Sonny and Johnny had run in panting. Johnny looking abashed for not seemingly getting to his boss on time. She felt bad for the poor bodyguard but Johnny would have taken it in stride. He knew that Sonny would not want to miss a moment of his new child's birth.

"Is everything okay? Are you okay?" Sonny asked as he leaned over and pressed a soft kiss on his wife's forehead, "The kids?"

"Breathe baby," Lily said with a small smile, "And don't take up all the oxygen in the room, Elizabeth and I need some."

Sonny sighed as he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against his wife's, "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

Lily looked up at him with concerned eyes, "Elizabeth was and I'm here safe and sound. Although I think you need to rescue Mike from the children. He'll be fine for a couple of hours but he will need to get back to work."

Sonny nodded and looked over at Elizabeth. He had wanted her to stay and be with them when they brought their new bundle of joy into the world but the pale look on her face was causing him to think otherwise. He had always intended on her being here, he never intended her being alone.

"I have a suggestion," Johnny said quietly, "I can pick up Emily. As far as I know from Lu she doesn't have anything planned for the day and I'm sure she wouldn't mind at all. I'll head back to the warehouse right after that. I know someone needs to be there."

Sonny nodded, "That's a good idea. Tell her to bring Lu or whoever she wants over to keep her company and to call my cell phone if she needs anything, it's on," he watched his bodyguard turn to leave, "Johnny thank you for hunting me down like you did."

Johnny nodded, "Anytime boss."

Sonny turned back to his wife as soon as Johnny left, "Can I get you anything?"

"Elizabeth was asking the same thing until you barged in," Lily smiled, "I actually would like to wait for the doctor and see what she says. I am a little worried," she said with a twinkle in her eye, "This is my actual due date you know. Morgan was early, Adella was late, these kids are keeping me on my toes."

"I imagine Corinthos children do that," Elizabeth said as she made her way towards the door, "I'm going to find myself a chair in the…"

"Stay," Sonny said as he reached for his wife's hand and squeezed it, "For a little while, Lily and I would like that, if it's okay with you Elizabeth."

It wasn't okay with Elizabeth. She wanted to run out of the room and never look back. She hated the scene in front of her: two people madly in love and about to have a baby that should have been hers; Jason's and hers yet they wanted her to be a part of it. Well she wanted no part of it. She wanted to sulk and sob and curl into a dark corner until this was all over.

But this was Lily and Sonny, the two people who welcomed her into their home after the very traumatic experiences in her life. They adopted her, helped her get into college and practically handed her the one business Sonny named after his wife. She had to ignore every instinct that was telling her to bolt.

"I'll stay," she said with a small smile, "I also want you to know that I'm not going to fall to pieces because he's not here. I managed before him, I can manage now." She didn't want to but she would.

"I never thought you wouldn't, Elizabeth," Sonny said as he reached for her hand as well, "Thank you for making sure that my wife got here safely."

"What are daughters for?" Elizabeth whispered.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Doctor Meadows smiled as she walked into the room with a nurse following behind her, "How are you feeling Lily?"

"The contractions are still very far apart," Lily said, "About fifteen minutes," She smiled, "But my water has broken and I am experiencing severe back pain. I thought it was best that I come in and I think that everyone else agreed."

"I'm with them," Doctor Meadows said, "Excuse me, Mr. Corinthos. I want to set up the fetal monitor and make sure that the baby is doing okay. Let's just adjust the blankets and pushed your gown up a bit, okay? These may be a little cold."

Elizabeth felt herself stumbling back towards the wall as she watched Sonny move around to the other side of the bed while they set Lily up with the monitor. She wasn't sure what this procedure was and she had just hoped that the baby would be okay. Lily then cried out and Elizabeth knew the contractions had started again. Like the wonderful husband and father that he was, Sonny was helping his wife with her breathing steps, telling her to squeeze his hand as tightly as she wanted to. It was all over in a matter of seconds and Elizabeth found herself closing her eyes, wishing that she could just have someone being strong for her, aching for those warm arms that always made her feel so safe and secure.

Through Lily's moans and Sonny's encouragement she heard it; a strange thumping noise. Snapping her eyes back open she watched the joy that was on her adoptive parent's face. That noise, the weird thumping, was their baby's heartbeat. It was their baby, the one that was given the chance to live, the one that was fighting to be born.

Feeling as if the air had gone out of the room, Elizabeth reached for the heavy hospital door and threw it open, running out of the room and escaping the walls that started to surround her.

"Sonny," Lily panted.

"I know," Sonny said as he released his wife's hand, "I'm going after her."

"Mr. and Mrs. Corinthos," Doctor Meadows said, "I'm afraid there's a problem."

Sonny skidded to a halt in his Italian shoes as Lily tried to sit up more in her bed, her face stricken as she looked at Doctor Meadows.

"The baby has a rapid heartbeat."

Elizabeth couldn't remember how she had gotten here. She ran straight out of Lily's hospital room and down the halls until there were no more turns to take. Now she found herself standing here, her arms wrapped around her waist as she stared at the plastic cribs in front of her and the dozens of babies that were nestled inside. She was standing in the middle of General Hospital's nursery ward.

She was determined to be strong, to get through this and to be happy to the people that provided her with the home environment that she had craved for the past four years of her life. Elizabeth knew that she owed them that much, but her emotions weren't agreeing with her. Her insides were torn apart, her heart was breaking and her soul was crying out for the one person who could wrap her up in a warm cocoon and keep her safe and protected. He wasn't even within a hundred miles radius.

Biting her lip to prevent the tears she stepped closer to the nursery window and then jumped back when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She felt as if a weight had been lifted from her. Elizabeth turned around and for the first time that day she had a smile on her face. It fell when she realized that the person standing there wasn't the one she was expecting.

"I'm sorry," Sly said quietly, "I didn't want to scare you. You were so lost in thought," he looked past her towards the nursery that was now at her back.

"I'm okay," she said softly, "I guess you heard."

Sly nodded as he stuffed his hands in his jeans, "Should you really be here Lizzie, by yourself? I mean, isn't this some kind of cruel punishment. Look, I'm sure that Sonny would understand if…"

"Sonny would understand a lot," Elizabeth said. "And so would Lily because that's what they do, they understand me and they forgive me but I'd never be able to forgive myself, Sly," she looked towards him with those damn tears in her eyes, "I knew this would be hard. I just…" her lip quivered and she bit down on it before she looked away.

"Have you called him?" Sly asked.

"As soon as Lily's water broke," Elizabeth said, "I know that he's somewhere upstate and his phone was out of range. I left him a message asking him to call me if he had a free minute between his meetings."

"Lizzie, you make it sound like there's a problem at the club or something happened to the shipments. Jason might not think that he has to get back to you…"

"Then he'll get to me when he can," Elizabeth said as she moved around Sly to face the wall, "He has no responsibilities when it comes to me. I'm not his wife, I'm not his girlfriend, and I'm not the mo…"

"Don't you even say it," Sly bit out, "This is not you, Lizzie. What's going on with you today?" he let out a low breath and ran his fingers through his hair, "I can't even begin to imagine how hard this is for you but the Lizzie I know…"

"I need him," she choked out before she covered her mouth with her hand and managed to compose herself, "I can't believe that I do, but I do. The last time I needed someone like this Sly I was fourteen and no one came to my rescue and to think that I'm right back there and the person that I need more than anything isn't here is just tearing me to pieces. Its bringing me right back down to the place I dug myself out of."

"You need to call him," Sly said firmly, "You need to get through to him or leave another message and tell him to drop whatever the hell it is that he's doing for Sonny and get back here to you."

"I can't do that."

"Why the hell not?" Sly asked.

"I can't put myself out there like that," Elizabeth said, "I know that Jason is hurting just as much as I am but maybe he is going to deal with it differently. Maybe he doesn't need me as much as I need him."

"Oh he needs you," Sly said before as he motioned with his head to hallway behind her.

Elizabeth turned around to see Jason coming towards her with quick strides. Her feet started moving too and she met him halfway, running the few feet between them and throwing herself into his arms, sighing as she was caught up in his embrace.

"I'm sorry it took me so long," Jason whispered against her ear as he buried his nose in her hair, "I left as soon as I got your message."

Elizabeth stepped back from his embrace but kept a firm hold on his forearms with her hands, "How did you know? I didn't want you to worry, that's why I said…"

"I know," Jason said as he brushed some of her brown locks away from her face, "I could hear it in your voice. So I got here as fast as my bike could take me. Sonny left me a message too, a little while ago, telling me that I need to come home because his daughter needed me. He explained everything in the voice mail. Are you alright, Elizabeth?" he asked softly as he cupped her cheek with the palm of his hand.

Elizabeth felt the tension melt away from her body with his touch. "I knew that you were away on business and I didn't want you to be worried."

"Elizabeth," Jason said softly, "I worry the minute you're out of my sight," he looked up when he heard someone clearing his throat and saw Sly standing a few feet from him.

"Everything's quiet," Sly said, "Johnny and I are stepping up today since you and Sonny are going to be busy. If anything drastic happens you'll be the first one I call. Em and Lu are with the kids so they're fine for now. Em said she's planning on staying the night if she has to," he shrugged as he made his way around Elizabeth and Jason, towards the exit, "I was out keeping an eye on things but I thought that Lizzie could use some company so I stopped by. I'm heading back out now," Sly threw Elizabeth a smile, "Hang in there alright?"

"Thank you," Elizabeth said quietly as she felt Jason's arm settle around her waist.

Sly nodded and turned around, heading towards the way out.

"Hey Eckert."

Sly turned back with a raised eyebrow.

"Thank you," Jason said quietly, "For making sure that Elizabeth was okay."

Sly could have told him that he did it for Elizabeth and not for Jason, but instead he forced a smile and nodded, "Anytime."

He then turned back around and headed back towards the warehouse where he knew he might be spending the night. He saw the look in Elizabeth's eyes as soon as she realized Morgan was there and Sly couldn't deny the connection between them. He knew that Jason could help her in ways that he couldn't.

For the first time since he met Jason Morgan, Sly was grateful that he was around.

Jason looked down at Elizabeth and saw that her head was turning back towards the nursery. He wasn't surprised to find her lingering around the maternity ward of General Hospital, but he was surprised to find her holding up as well as she was. He learned a long time ago that he shouldn't be surprised with Elizabeth, because she was the strongest woman that he had ever known.

"Did you talk to Sonny?" Elizabeth asked quietly as she moved further and further away from Jason to move back in front of the glass that separated her from all those beautiful babies, "Has Lily given birth yet?"

Jason shook his head as he moved towards her and placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently, "I'm sorry that I wasn't here this morning. I should have told Sonny to send Sly to the meeting. We didn't expect…"

"You can't expect things with pregnancies," Elizabeth said, "You don't expect them to happen, you don't expect things to get complicated and you certainly don't expect to lose a child," she turned to Jason as she wiped her eyes, "But God takes things away, that much I expected. I learned that lesson at the tender age of fourteen. I'm dealing with it."

"Are you?" Jason asked as he placed his hand over where she was looking through the glass, "Because it seems to me like you're doing nothing but torturing yourself," he took a shaky breath, "You don't deserve this. If you need to leave…"

"I will not run away from this," she snapped as she looked at him with glistening sapphire eyes, "But I have every right to be mad at God for what He's doing, and you can't tell me otherwise. I have no idea why you aren't mad at Him either."

Jason took a deep breath as his hands found there way around Elizabeth's arms, "Getting mad at Him isn't going to help things," he let out a long breath, "Sonny told me that the rapid heart beat happens sometimes and that's why they're going to do a cesarean section. Her blood pressure is a little high as well but that's probably because of all of the excitement."

Elizabeth blinked as she looked up at Jason, "Rapid heartbeat?"

"The baby's," Jason said, "Sonny said that…Elizabeth…"

Elizabeth struggled to release herself from Jason's grip, and when he didn't let go, but only pulled her closer into his arms, she took her tiny fists and started to beat them against his chest while the tears finally fell from her eyes.

"No, not this baby too," she cried against his chest as her fingers curled into his shirt, "Not this baby too, Jason."

Jason held her in a crushing embrace as his fingers found their way into her hair, "Not this baby too, Elizabeth. This baby is going to survive and so is Lily," he pulled away and looked down at her tear stained face, "We need to go someplace quieter. Come on."

Elizabeth let her small hand slide into his and followed him as he made their way towards one of the side stairs exit. She lost count of how many floors they had managed their way down until Jason came to a steal door that read basement. He pulled it open and lead his way past some gated boilers and other things that lurked down there. Before she knew it, she was standing in a large bathroom with numerous stalls and a few sinks.

"It's for the maintenance people," Jason said, "There's usually no one around here, but they won't bother us once they know it's me."

Elizabeth looked up at him as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "I wasn't aware that you knew that many people in the hospital."

"I don't," Jason said as his thumb caught another tear that fell, "But this is where I came when I found out that our baby had died," he looked around at the newly repaired sink and stall door, "I figured you could use a place like this more than you could use the hospital chapel."

"You always know what I need." she said quietly, "You always let me be just me, Jason. That one phone call and you just knew. That scares the hell out of me but I'm so grateful for it."

"Why?" he asked, "Why does it scare you?"

She laughed softly as she moved around him and ran her hands through her tangled her before making her way to one of the mirrors hanging above the sinks, "Because I don't know where you'll be a few months from now. I don't know where this life is going to take us anymore. Nearly a year ago I was a little girl running from a man's world and I had no intention of falling in love with you, of carrying your child and look at me now."

"You're not a little girl," Jason said watching her, "You haven't been for a very long time and those children…you can always have more children, Elizabeth. The doctor gave you the go ahead."

"That doesn't make it hurt any less."

"I know it doesn't," Jason said, "I'm not even going to attempt to pretend that it does and I'm not going to tell you that my heart isn't hurting right now because that would be a lie and I don't lie, Elizabeth, especially to you. Thirty years from now, when I look at my children, I'm still going to always remember that I lost one, that I lost your child."

Elizabeth looked through the mirror and saw him standing behind her. The pain and the tears in his eyes caused her to look down at the sink, "That's what hurts the most, that I lost your child, that I lost the only part of you that I had left."

Jason made a step towards her, his boots squeaking against the tile floor, "We lost a child Elizabeth, but you didn't lose me. I'm right here. I'm here as long as you want me," he watched her look back up, those watery sapphire eyes meeting his once again in the mirror. "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered as another tear slipped from her eye, "But I'm still only…"

"You think that matters?" he asked shrugging, "You think there's some kind of limit on love. Elizabeth," he said taking her arm and turning her towards him, "When we first got together, I thought you were only a year older, and there was still a nine year difference between us, so now there's ten, I can handle it. What I can't handle is the idea of someone else having my babies," he brushed some of her hair away from her damp face, "Or the idea of someone else fathering yours."

"That means that you'll wait for me," she asked softly as she ran her fingers up his arms, "That means that…"

"We're going to get through this together," Jason said, "And the next hurdle and the next hurdle because…" he sighed as he closed his eyes, "There's no one else for me, Elizabeth but I know that you're young and I know that…"

"I've had enough experience with men in my lifetime to know what it is that I want and what I don't want," she said with a small laugh, "And I want you Jason, today, tomorrow and every moment after that."

"If you can't go home with Sonny and Lily, if another baby's cry is too much for you," he pressed his forehead against hers, "You come running to me and we'll get through it, together, you and me."

Elizabeth nodded as her fingers found their way to his hair, "And maybe one day…"

"One day," Jason said, "When we're both ready we'll have one of our own."

"Jason Junior," Elizabeth smiled as she pulled him closer while she licked her lips, "We'll call him JJ."

"We'll talk about," Jason whispered as his breath fanned cheek, "Later."

Elizabeth sighed as his lips moved closer and she was glad that she followed Jason into this dark basement. There was no one around to stop them. No friends, no family, no witnesses. She stood up on her toes and closed the space between them not realizing that she forgot one thing. There was still Jason's phone.

He pulled back and looked down at it, "It's a text message, from Sonny."

She bit her lip as she ran her fingers through his hair, "I wasn't aware that Sonny knew how to text message."

"Morgan taught him," Jason said with a smirk as he read the message and then closed the phone, "Lily is in recovery, the baby is fine. He asked for another hour or two and then we can go see them, all of them."

Elizabeth nodded slowly, "Can we stay here? I like it here. It's oddly peaceful."

Jason chuckled, "Yeah it is," he was silent for a minute, "Elizabeth?"

She looked back over at him just in time for her lips to meet his.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Jason asked as they approached the room where Lily was settled in with her baby and husband, "We can come back tomorrow or wait until they get home from the hospital."

Elizabeth nodded and brought Jason's hand to her mouth, kissing it softly, "I'm ready, as long as you're standing right beside him, holding my hand tightly."

Jason gave her a small smile, "I feel the same way."

He bent down and pressed a kiss to her forehead before taking a deep breath and making his way into the hospital room with Elizabeth in tow. Lily was settled into the large bed with Sonny next to her, a tiny baby in their arms, wrapped up tightly in a pink blanket.

"Hey," Elizabeth choked out as she brought her hand to her mouth, unable to stop the tears this time, not even caring as they flowed freely, "It's a…um…it's a girl…"

Jason squeezed her hand and then he pulled her against his side, hugging her tightly as he felt his own eyes fill up with tears. He remembered telling Elizabeth that if he their child would have been born it would have been a girl.

"We wanted you here," Lily said tearfully as she looked at her husband, "Sonny and I wanted you and Jason to name our child but the moment we saw her, the moment we looked at her beautiful little face we couldn't, we were selfish. We named her ourselves."

Sonny moved from the bed and took the baby in his arms, bringing her towards both Elizabeth and Jason. Jason's arms came out first and held the tiny little infant in his hands, his fingers pulling the blanket away from her face.

"Meet Elisabeth Bella Corinthos," Sonny said softly, "We're going to call her Elisa."

Elizabeth choked on her tears, "You…me…you named her after me?"

"A beautiful girl named after an even more beautiful woman," Lily smiled as she wiped the tears from her eyes, "We hope you don't mind."

"I'm honored," Elizabeth said as she let go of Jason and hugged Sonny tightly, "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"I have some idea, mi hija," Sonny said quietly before he looked over at his best friend Jason, "Jason?"

Jason smiled as one lone tear slid down his face and dropped onto the soft blanket that kept the tiny little girl warm, "I think it's perfect," he smiled as he looked at Elizabeth, "Perfect."

Emily sat curled up on the couch with the remote control in her hand. Lu had been picked up about an hour ago by Johnny, who was taking her home and then heading back to the penthouse where he would keep her company until she received a call from the Corinthos'. Sonny had called and said that the baby was born but he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to leave Lily that night since she had to have the baby delivered via a cesarean section.

She sighed as she shut the television off and got up from the couch stretching. There were some arts and crafts she did with the children earlier and she figured she could start cleaning them up now and have them ready for when Lily came home with the new baby. She also knew how Sonny was about keeping his house meticulous. Mike had nearly worn a hole in the floor from making sure it was cleaned thoroughly.

Heading towards the dining area she stopped when she heard a knock on the door. She smiled thinking that it was Johnny as he did the same thing when he came to pick up Lu earlier. She pulled it open ready to tell him that he had a key but was pleasantly surprised to see Sly standing in front of her, one arm slung around his waist as he leaned against the door jam.

"I came to check up on you."

"Johnny already did so," Emily smiled softly, "And I think the phone calls made every hour on the hour were enough," she laughed, "I'd invite you in but I don't think that I'm allowed to have any boys over."

"Fair enough," Sly said with a rusty laugh as he pushed himself away from the door and removed his hand from his side.

Emily gasped as she saw the large blood spot that appeared on Sly's gray tee shirt, "Sly, what…"

"How about just a band-aid then?"

She didn't have a chance to catch him before he fell.