Pg16
Holding an icepack to her mouth to prevent swelling, Elizabeth walks into the lobby, stopping in her tracks at the sight of the last person she expected to see that day. What was her luck today, she thought to herself, as she contemplated her next move. Taking in a deep breath to maintain her composure, she reminded herself that the woman wasn't Sarah, so, hitting her was out of the equation.
"Who's that?" Johnny questions. "Threat level?"
"My birth mother," Elizabeth replies plainly. "No threat."
"You can take the side elevator," Johnny points out. "You don't have to deal with her."
"It's fine," Elizabeth replies, straightening herself out. "Just let Jason know and lay back."
"Right," Johnny gets out before Elizabeth walks away from him, muttering as he makes his way to a decent vantage point, "Because that worked out so well last time."
Elizabeth had to have imagined this moment countless times over the years since she first left their home, wondering what she'd do or say if she ever came face to face with the woman that gave birth to her but never truly cared for her. Seeing the woman after being assaulted by the woman's beloved daughter was not on the list of possibilities that's for sure. She can only hope that the woman doesn't push any buttons because she's already on the brink after dealing with Sarah and having to walk away before she can repay the woman in kind.
"Ma'am, as I've said, I can't take a hand-delivered package for occupants of the penthouse level without inspecting its contents," the front desk attendant, Gerald, repeats himself. "If you'd leave your information, I will gladly pass it on for Ms. Webber to contact you at her leisure, at which time you could hand her the package yourself, but I cannot accept that package on her behalf without inspecting it. I'm sorry."
"It's just a bunch of memorabilia," Carolyn insists. "I don't understand why you must be so difficult."
"Gerald's just doing his job, it's not his intention to be difficult," Elizabeth chimes in, defending the man behind the desk. "The only person being difficult in this situation is you."
"Ms. Webber," Gerald diverts his attention from the woman to Elizabeth. "I'm sorry, I tried to explain protocol but she wouldn't hear any of it."
"It's okay, Gerald, you have nothing to apologize for," Elizabeth assures him. "She's the one that owes you the apology."
"Is that so?" Carolyn counters with an arched eyebrow.
"Did I stutter?" Elizabeth counters. "I have no idea why you're here, but you will not come into this building and disrespect the people that work here, especially when they are only doing what they're paid to do. So, if you intend for me to entertain anything you have to say, I suggest you pay Gerald the apology you owe him or I can have you forcibly removed from the premises. Your choice."
"Very well," Carolyn turns to Gerald, putting on her most polite expression as she says, "My apologies. I didn't mean to make your job any harder than it must already be. I'm sorry."
"Adequate," Elizabeth voices, knowing that Gerald couldn't very well accept the apology nor could he voice anything he truly wanted to say. "Take a seat over there and I'll be with you in a minute."
She could see that the woman so desperately wanted to challenge her statement but thought better of it and made her way over to the waiting area that Elizabeth pointed out without complaint. Once she was out of the way, Elizabeth turned her attention to Gerald, making sure that the man was truly okay after having to deal with her birth mother.
Assuring her that he was okay, Gerald thanked her for stepping in on his behalf, having so much he wanted to say but not at all able to voice any of it. Having faced quite a few people as entitled as that woman through her employment with Maximus, she knows just what he means, apologizing once more for the woman's behavior. She may not be responsible for the woman but she does feel sorry for him having to deal with the woman on her behalf.
"Don't give me that look," Carolyn voices when Elizabeth takes a seat across from her. "If Audrey had just agreed to give you this box, we both wouldn't have to be in this position right now."
"I know it's a hard concept for you to grasp but you're the only person responsible for us being in this position, Carolyn," Elizabeth counters. "You had many more options other than Grandmother. One of which was to simply have Gerald inspect the contents of the box and leave it at that. His only concern is anything that poses a security risk. He hardly cares beyond that. Yet here we are because you wouldn't let him do his job. Plain and simple."
"Fair enough," Carolyn accepts, unsure of whether she was proud or offended by her directness. "I suppose I could have handled that better."
"You suppose correctly," Elizabeth replies. "Do I even want to know how you got my place of residence?"
"How do you know that Audrey didn't give it to me?"
"Because she knows better than that," Elizabeth says knowingly. "Audrey respects my boundaries and does what's necessary to maintain them."
"I've noticed," Carolyn admits before letting out a soft sigh. "Look, I have no other intention in being here than to give you what was left to me by your nanny..."
"Maria was more than my nanny," Elizabeth cuts her off, making her point clear. "She was my mother."
"Very well," Carolyn accepts. "Things left to me by your mother then."
"Why would she leave you anything?" Elizabeth counters. "And, more importantly, why would I take anything that she deemed was meant for you?"
"Because they aren't my memories," Carolyn says simply. "If anyone should have these, it's you, plain and simple. Will you take it?"
Something was off about Carolyn but she couldn't put her finger on it and she simply didn't care enough to dig any deeper than the woman was willing to offer freely. Taking the box from her hands, Elizabeth sits it on her lap, opening it to find a few trinkets that Elizabeth had made when she was a child along with a decently big photo album. Lifting her gaze to meet Carolyn's for a moment, Elizabeth shakes her head and shuts the box, not wanting to be vulnerable in any capacity in front of this woman.
"I'll take it," Elizabeth states plainly. "Is that all?"
"Essentially, yes," Carolyn replies as Elizabeth rises to her feet. "Can I ask what happened to your face?"
"You like it?" Elizabeth counters. "It's your daughter's handiwork. It's just unfortunate that I wasn't able to repay her for it."
"I'll have to speak to her..."
"Don't go out of your way for me," Elizabeth cuts her off. "Wouldn't want to hurt your precious angel for something as trivial as this."
"Sarah is your fath...is Jeffery's precious angel, not mine," Carolyn corrects, rising to her feet and straightening her outfit. "But that's neither here nor there. I've taken up enough of your time, more than I expected, so, I'll take my leave. I hope that box brings you some peace in your loss."
"My peace comes from the family she gave me both in life and in death," Elizabeth voices wholeheartedly. "As well as her love that lives on in every aspect of my life. That's the only peace I need."
With nothing more she could say at that point, seeing what she had already known, that she wasn't needed in this woman's life in the slightest, Carolyn smiles softly and grants her a nod of understanding before leaving the building. She understands now why Audrey insisted that she deliver it herself. For her to see just what kind of woman Elizabeth grew up to be and she couldn't be more proud. She just knows that Maria would have been just as proud, if not more so, to see Elizabeth in all her glory. It almost makes her wish she had someone like Maria in her days of youth but that was a childish dream at best.
"Hey," Jason voices when he gets to her, arriving mere moments after Carolyn left. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good," Elizabeth assures him, handing him the box that Carolyn had left. "She just wanted to give me some stuff my mother left to her."
"If it was left to her..."
"Yeah, I asked her as much," Elizabeth agrees, following him onto the elevator. "Apparently she feels that they aren't her memories to keep. She's not wrong, but still...there was something off about her that I couldn't quite put my finger on."
"How do you mean?"
"She didn't fight me on anything I said, not even when I said that Maria was my mother," Elizabeth explains. "She even made it a point to say that Sarah wasn't her precious angel when I had commented on it but she didn't elaborate any further. I don't know what it is but she just seems off."
"Will you meet with her again?" he questions. "To fill in the blanks, if nothing else."
"I don't think so," Elizabeth shakes her head. "It's doubtful that she'll have anything to say to me that I don't already know."
"Maybe," he accepts. "Maybe not."
"I'll think about it," Elizabeth concedes. "But enough of that...talk to me. What happened after I left?"
Letting out a heavy sigh, Jason puts the box down on the desk by the door before guiding her to the couch to take a seat, knowing he had to fill her in on everything that transpired after she left. One of the many aspects of their relationship that come into play is their ability to play devil's advocate, ensuring that they always see a situation from all angles. This situation was no different.
His handling of Sarah came as no surprise, Sarah's response, though, was quite an interesting take. For her to think that Jason stopping Elizabeth had anything to do with caring for her is a concept that Elizabeth had to laugh at. If not for her insisting on it, Jason wouldn't have even been cordial during Emily's health scare. It was Elizabeth that convinced him that he needed to take the burden off his sister while she was in the state she had been in.
Now, his response to Emily, on the other hand, was entirely unexpected where she stood. She understands that he doesn't appreciate that she'd stand by and allow Sarah to hit her only to defend her after it's all said and done, but she didn't expect him to set such a definitive boundary with Emily because of it.
Since it was her decision not to clue Emily in on their connection, wanting to see Emily for who she truly is and not under the guise of being Jason's girlfriend, Elizabeth plays the devil's advocate once more on Emily's behalf. Reminding Jason that Emily didn't know that they were together and, therefore, it wasn't a stab at him but at her alone.
Explaining to him that Emily was coming from a place of love for Sarah and that she was only being the best friend that she had signed up to be for the other woman. Yes, he gets to feel whatever he feels in regard to Emily's behavior, but he should also take into account that Emily's working with what she's got and all that she has is Sarah's word and the torn-up bid to go off of.
Of course, her defense only went so far because Jason pulled out the other two people from Emily's friend group who both had good interactions with Elizabeth, one of them being Emily's husband. In his eyes, Emily chose to ignore anything good said about Elizabeth and clutched onto everything bad because she refused to see anything outside of Sarah's words where Elizabeth was concerned. Fair enough. He wins this one.
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The Quartermaine house is in a tizzy as they all rush to get their things together and get to the hospital in time for the birth of Emily's first child. Having been in the middle of a board meeting, many of the family are fumbling in their attempt to switch out of business talk and into their roles in the family. The first to arrive at the hospital are Emily's parents, both having dropped everything immediately to get to the hospital, meeting up with Lucky, who remained in the waiting area to greet them when they arrived.
"You're not too late," Lucky assures them when they turn to him for answers. "She's not too far along and they just got her settled in her room down the hall on the left."
"Thank goodness," Monica says in relief, taking his hands in hers. "Thank you for waiting out here for us."
"Of course," Lucky says with a smile. "I'll let the others know when they arrive."
"We appreciate that," Alan replies. "Come on, dear, let's check on our girl."
Watching as they rush off to their daughter's room, Lucky lets out a heavy sigh, knowing the conversation that will soon take place. Quartermaines being Quartermaines, they will ask Emily and Nikolas if they were able to notify everyone, which they all know means Jason. Seeing as Jason has a strained relationship, if you can even call it that, with everyone in the family sans Emily and Lila, that phrasing is the only way for them to get any information on Jason's movements.
That conversation is the main reason that Lucky chose to be the informant on Emily's condition because he'd much rather give directions than sit in as they explain just what put Emily into labor in the first place. As much as he loves Emily, knowing the kind of person he is, Lucky would not be able to stand by in silence if they were to start feeling sorry for Emily. She holds fault for what went down and, as always, he will hold her to it as she would him.
"What do you mean he's the reason you went into labor?" Monica questions Emily when she manages to get out the words that Jason wouldn't be coming but her mind is stuck on that one factor. "How dare he put you in such a position knowing you're nearing your due date."
"Please, this isn't the time for this," Nikolas steps in, seeing that his wife was already in enough pain about it as is. "If we can step outside, I'll explain what I can, but she really doesn't need the stress right now."
"I'll stay here with her," Alan voices, knowing he truly had no place in that conversation and his daughter needed him more.
Accepting that this wasn't the best time to grill her daughter about what happened between her and Jason, she follows Nikolas out into the hall to hear what he had to say. Listening intently as he explains what happened and the moments that transpired before Emily went into labor, Monica had to admit that she hadn't seen that reasoning coming. Who would have thought that the castaway Webber child would find her way into Jason's life? Go figure. Birds of a feather and all.
Deciding that she needed a moment to regain her composure, Monica sends Nikolas back into the room before making her way to the waiting room to fill in the rest of the family when they arrive. Never in her life did she think that Alan's bastard son would find his way into the Webber family by any means. It was bad enough that his existence puts a smudge on their family but to then romantically tie himself to a Webber...she's absolutely beside herself.
"Hey, shhh, it's okay," Nikolas voices as he gently runs his fingers through her hair, trying to get her to relax as the tears fall from her eyes. "Try to relax, my love."
"He should be here," she whispers, tensing as another contraction hits. "Oh god! It hurts! It hurts so bad..."
"Is there any way you can get him here?" Alan questions as his heart tightens at the sight of his daughter in shambles. "This shouldn't be the way this baby comes into this world."
"The fallout was bad," Nikolas sighs, taking a rag to gently wipe away the sweat from her forehead. "But I'll see what I can do."
"He won't come," Emily blubbers out as she comes down from the contraction. "You didn't see the look on his face, Nik...he's so angry..."
"If it'll get you to relax and focus on this moment, I'll do what I can," Nikolas says gently. "Try to take it easy while I'm gone."
"I'll try," Emily replies before putting her breathing exercises to use.
"I'll be with her," Alan promises when Nikolas turns to him, knowing what he wanted of him. "Just get him here."
"That's the plan," Nikolas replies before leaving the room.
He wasn't at all sure what he was going to do or say to get Jason to the hospital, but he had to do something. Making his way to the waiting area, Nikolas snatches Lucky out of the crowd of Quartermaines, heading straight for the elevator before any of them could get a word in. As much as he loves his wife, her family can sure be quite the handful and he just didn't have it in him to be patient with any of them.
As expected, Lucky questions his ability to get Jason to do anything, especially given what Emily told them went down, but Nikolas couldn't think it through. Emily needs him to get Jason to the hospital and that's what he needs to do. For the sake of his wife and their baby that will soon be born, he has to do this somehow.
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Sitting on his lap, needing his strength, Elizabeth flips through the photo album with Jason, smiling softly as he tells her of the memories captured within. It's been quite some time since she's taken a trip down memory lane, never truly strong enough to look back, knowing that her mother will never get to see the life she's building. So many moments she'll never get to experience. This moment, sitting with Jason, however, is different. It wasn't just looking back but sharing herself with him and that made it easier.
"Come in," Jason calls out when there's a knock at the door, knowing it was Francis.
"Hey, just letting you know there's a large shipment coming up from Chloe," Francis informs them. "It's coming up in the freight elevator."
"Bring it in when it gets here," Jason says, nodding back when the man nods in acceptance. "Okay, so, you can't kill me..."
"What did you do?" Elizabeth questions curiously.
"Well..." Jason says as Elizabeth rises to her feet, following her suit. "Carly ruined a good amount of your clothes..."
"I remember."
"I may have put a call in to my cousin to have a whole new wardrobe put together," Jason says as another knock sounds at the door, letting the guys in with the racks of clothes. "I...didn't expect this much."
"There's a note," Elizabeth points out, gesturing to the first rack of clothes, pulling it as the guys bring in four more racks. "Jason, I had the pleasure of meeting your lovely girlfriend and took it upon myself to add a few more pieces that would simply tie the whole thing together. No need to thank me. Sidenote, Elizabeth's dress for the fundraiser should be hanging on the last rack. Your accountant has my bill. As always, it's been a pleasure doing business with you, I await your next order with anticipation. Love, Chloe."
"Leave it to Chloe to go above and beyond," Jason sighs, tipping the guys for bringing the stuff up. "Thanks, guys."
"You didn't have to go and do all this," Elizabeth points out once they're alone again. "The clothes you bought were more than enough."
"I know, but it was for both you and Chloe," Jason gives as his excuse. "Carly made up a big chunk of her profits and it wasn't fair to have her drop Carly without adding someone to her client list."
"I guess that makes sense," Elizabeth accepts, fitting herself into his arms. "As long as that's all that it is. You know that you don't have to spoil me just because Carly did what she did."
"I know," Jason assures. "I also know that I like being able to."
"Fair enough," she smiles, melting into him as his lips claim hers. "I love you...thank you for getting me a new wardrobe. I truly appreciate it."
"Enough to let me see you in the dress?"
"Funny," Elizabeth says with a hint of laughter.
"Is that a yes?"
"No," Elizabeth says firmly. "You can see the dress the night of the fundraiser."
"You sure I can't persuade you?"
"I'm sure you can," Elizabeth's gaze meets his. "Just as sure as I am that you won't."
"Come on," Jason smiles softly. "Let's get your clothes put away."
"Sounds good."
Pulling away from each other, they work their way through the racks, carrying Elizabeth's new wardrobe upstairs to the walk-in closet. Sneaking her dress in between a set of clothes, Elizabeth makes a detour to the guest bedroom closet to hang her dress in the closet there before taking the rest to the closet in their bedroom. Seeing the dress in its completion, Elizabeth was starting to feel the anticipation for the night of the fundraiser, excited for Jason to see her in it for the first time.
With the last of her clothes put away, the two of them head back down to pick up where they left off only to have their plans stopped in their tracks by the sound of the landline ringing. Glancing at each other, they consider not answering, having used up their energy with the clothes but accepting that it was just part of the territory. So, accepting that, Jason gives in and answers the phone.
"Morgan," he answers. "We're on our way. Sit them till we get there."
"Who is it?" Elizabeth questions when he ends the call, noting that he said that they'd be on their way.
"Lucky and his brother," Jason replies, ending the call. "They're down in the lobby."
"Did Gerald say why they were there?"
"No," Jason says as he grabs his jacket before handing hers to her. "Apparently they want to tell me that themselves."
"Gerald and the others that man the front desk really deserve a raise," Elizabeth points out as they make their way to the elevator. "Or, at the very least, the freedom to tell people to shove it up where the sun doesn't shine. Good lord the kind of people they have to deal with."
"I'll take that into consideration," he replies with a playful smile, knowing that she takes it personally when people aren't treated right in their place of employment. "After we see what those two want."
"Fair enough," Elizabeth accepts. "But don't think for a second I'm going to let you forget it."
"I know," he assures, nudging her slightly. "I'm on your side, you know."
"Yeah," Elizabeth confirms. "Now be on your people's side, too, big boss man."
"Yes, ma'am," Jason replies with a smirk, a chuckle escaping his lips when she looks at him sternly for a moment, her facial features softening when she realizes that she had just gone on a tangent. "I love you."
"I love you," Elizabeth says lovingly, turning to the door once they reach the lobby, walking off the elevator as she says, "I'm still holding you to it, though."
"Wouldn't expect anything less," he replies, following after her as she makes her way over to where the brothers are seated. "Lucky. Nikolas."
"Elizabeth, Jason, hey," Nikolas starts. "I'm sorry to just barge in like this..."
"No offense, but neither of us is feeling all too accommodating at the moment, so, we'd appreciate it if you just cut straight to it," Elizabeth cuts him off. "Not to mention, we were in the middle of something we'd like to get back to."
"Right, of course," Nikolas shakes his head. "Jason, after you left the club, Emily went into labor. She's at the hospital right now."
"And why aren't you there with her?" Jason counters. "You're her husband."
"I was there, but she's feeling a lot of stress over what happened between the two of you," Nikolas explains. "I know I have no place in that conversation, but it would help to have you at the hospital. Just until the baby is born."
"I get that," Jason replies. "What I don't get is why you felt the need to come here in person."
"What he means to say is that this could have been a phone call," Elizabeth explains. "Did you even try calling before you left the hospital to drive all the way over here? I'll answer that, no, because neither of our phones rang. Jason made it very clear to Emily that he would show up if it had to do with the baby. I don't see why you felt the need to come here in person when your wife is in labor."
"She didn't mention that," Nikolas sighs. "I was under the impression that Jason didn't want to see Emily at all. I didn't think he'd take any calls so soon after the argument."
"Go back to the hospital," Jason states plainly. "And don't come back here."
"Before you leave, you both see that man standing at the counter," Elizabeth says as Jason heads to the elevator to hit the button, continuing when they confirm. "He's a person. A really great person at that. The next time you find yourselves in this lobby, I expect you both to treat him with respect and dignity by answering his questions because it's his job to ask them. You got that?"
"Yeah," they both answer her, noting the glare in her eyes as she scolds them.
"Good," Elizabeth replies, her gentle features returning as she turns to Lucky. "And, honestly, Lucky, you have my number for a reason. Try using it."
"Right," Lucky smiles sheepishly. "Sorry."
"Go on, you guys should be at the hospital," Elizabeth waves them away. "We'll get there as soon as we can."
Leaving them to their own accord, Elizabeth makes her way over to the elevator, riding it back up with Jason so that he can get his keys. She knows that he doesn't want to go to the hospital because of what awaits there but he also can't stay away with his sister needing his presence in the hospital. She just hopes that Emily understands that Jason being there doesn't mean he's magically let things go. If she knows him at all, she would know that, but then again she doesn't hold too much confidence in Emily's critical thinking skills.
"You don't have to go with me," Jason voices when they get back to their penthouse. "We both know that Sarah's going to be there and you've dealt with more than enough from her for today."
"That's true," Elizabeth admits. "But you're dealing with stuff with Emily and I know it's not going to be easy for you to put that aside to tend to her. Especially if she's not even giving people the whole story about what went down with the two of you."
"I can handle my sister," Jason assures her. "Besides, there was something else I needed to tell you."
"What's that?"
"My grandmother wants to meet you," Jason explains. "I told her that I'd talk it over with you and get back to her."
"That's unexpected," Elizabeth comments. "You actually want me to meet your grandmother?"
"It's taken me some time to come to terms with the reality of my relationship with her," Jason admits. "But...yeah, I'd like you to meet her."
"Okay," Elizabeth accepts. "Now tell me how that ties into the current conversation?"
"With Emily in the hospital, the rest of the family is bound to be there as well," Jason explains. "Everyone but my grandmother."
"So, you want me to go meet her while you go to the hospital," Elizabeth pieces his thought process together. "If this is about Sarah, I know how to behave myself, you know?"
"I know, I just don't feel like you should have to," Jason replies honestly. "I'm only going to be there until the baby is born and I know Emily will be okay. Not to mention that I'd like you to meet my grandmother without the others weighing in."
"Fine," Elizabeth accepts. "I will meet your grandmother, but I'll only stay as long as things go well. One sign that we don't mesh together and I'm out of there. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Jason replies, knowing that it was highly unlikely that they don't get along. "Keep in touch through text and I'll keep you updated on things at the hospital."
"Okay," Elizabeth agrees. "The things I do because I love you."
"I love you," Jason replies, pulling her in for a goodbye kiss. "I'll call ahead and let her know you're on your way. Be safe. Keep the guys close."
"Will do."
While Jason heads out to the hospital, Elizabeth heads upstairs to prepare for the impromptu meeting with his grandmother, not at all certain if this was going to go well or not. In a sense, she should have seen this coming, seeing as she was one of the few people that Jason considers family out of the bunch, but she surely didn't think it would happen this soon.
Though she's quite certain it wouldn't be happening tonight at all if Emily hadn't gone into labor. She can only hope that meeting his grandmother will go better than meeting his sister because if she shares any sentiment with Emily about her, well, this will pretty much be yet another none starter. Only one way to find out.
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Author's Note: And so ends another update. Thanks for reading. As for the sick child, need for another baby thing, think along the lines of My Sister's Keeper. I'm not too good with medical stuff, so, just keep that relatively in mind as far as that goes. I'll try to cover it more as best I can in future updates, but that's the gist of it. Can't wait to hear your thoughts. Thanks.