A/N – Thanks for the comments! I responded to a lot of people via PM. Just wanted to be clear that Patrick directly didn't make Liz think they slept together. The doubt came because of Jason's text.

Chapter 23

They slowly made their way out as the creaking and popping which reminded them they had little time to spare.

"Almost there," Jason said.

"I can't make it. Let me die."

"No!"

The man's body is wracked with coughing and Jason can tell they need to hurry. And just when they came around the final corner, the building shook and Sonny yelled, "Run!"

That was thing Jason heard before the ceiling collapsed on top of them.

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Johnny yelled Jason's name and had to be held back. Each of his colleagues wore a transmitter so they know everyone's location.

Francis tore his gaze from the screen. "They are towards the front."

Max, Johnny, Ronnie, and Milo ignored the pleas to stop from Mac and another captain and rushed towards the burning rubble to help the fallen men while Francis directed them to their destination.

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Claudia woke up because someone was shaking her.

"Hey are you alright? What are you doing here?"

She stared at the man and then realized who he is. "You're Patrick, right?"

"Yeah. You're the lady from last night."

She groaned as she sat up. "I'm Claudia. Where am I?"

"You're in the damaged emergency room at General Hospital. I was taking a walk to do some thinking because my consult was cancelled and I heard you moan and then got you out of the crate."

She tried to get it together, trying to remember what happened. "What were you thinking about?"

"You really want to know?"

She shrugged.

"Did you ever do something that you thought was a good idea, but then you realize later that it is probably going to blow up in your face?"

She slightly smiled. "Hell yeah."

He grinned, but it quickly disappeared. "Well, I messed up big time. I basically lied and she'll probably never forgive me for it."

"You should apologize."

"Trust me, it won't be enough. I feel like a dead man walking and you have no idea how literal I'm being."

Suddenly she is struck with a memory. "Shit. I remember." She digs her phone out of her pocket, but it's powered down and she didn't have time for it to boot, so she asked for his and then frantically dialed Johnny's number. "Johnny! It's Claudia. Please call me back. Don't go in that building. I think my father did something to take you out." She ended the call and then tried Julian who is at the scene.

"Hello?"

"I think my father did something to the building. Get them out of there."

He sighed. "Claudia, it's too late. An explosion went off and we got two men trapped inside along with a civilian."

"Is it Johnny?"

"No, but he went in after them."

Claudia had stood. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Text me the address." She ended the call turned to Patrick. "We have to get out here. My father will be here and trust me, you don't want that. Can you give me a ride?"

"Yes."

They took off, just missing Anthony and his men.

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It was like all the air got sucked out of the room the minute that Jason and Sonny are wheeled in.

An EMT is crouched over Sonny trying to get him to breathe and Jason is covered with dark soot and his body seems lifeless.

Monica yelled out his name and Epiphany grabbed her to hold her back.

"Let them work on him." She glanced over at Elizabeth. "Nurse Webber, take a break."

Liz hurried to the locker room before she completely lost it. What if he died before she could explain everything? Thankfully, the examination had proven that she hadn't had sex. She is going to kill Patrick if she ever sees him again for Jason and her through this.

Sarah slowly moved towards Johnny who has tears in his eyes. She didn't care that he is covered in soot. Her lip quivered as she ran and jumped into his arms and they kissed frantically.

"If her virginity wasn't already gone, it would be," Kelly quipped.

Robin shook her head. "Incoming."

A police officer was brought in for some minor burns and after that, it finally started to settle down.

"I'm so glad that you're okay," Sarah said.

"I'm fine, but I don't know if Jason or Sonny will make it."

Just the beating their lungs took was bad enough. Sonny had third degree burns on most of his body and he wasn't sure about Jason. He had been unconscious since they found him. Unfortunately, the man they had helped had died in route.

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Claudia rushed towards Julian. "Are they out?"

"Yeah, but it's bad. They might not make it."

"Who was it?"

"Jason and Sonny…"

Claudia cringed.

"Where is your father?"

"He's at General Hospital and then he's going to the airport. He's trying to cover up evidence in the emergency room."

Julian called the PCPD and they rushed to the hospital and told security to put it on lockdown.

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Elizabeth wiped some tears away. She knows the drill. They will run a panel to determine how much carboxyhemoglobin was in his blood. If it was lower, he would be okay without much fanfare, but if it was really high, then he could fall into a coma. His airway, breathing, and circulation will be checked. It is important to make sure there is no obstruction.

Standing, she took a deep breath. Jason needs her and she is going to do what it takes to help him even if he hates her.

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When Liz entered the room, they had taken off Jason's protective gear and he was down to his boxers. Robin was wiping him down and another nurse was monitoring his O2 levels.

Jason's face is red, but there is no blistering.

"Can you help me?" Robin asked.

Liz nodded.

"He just has so much soot in his hair." Apparently his helmet had been ripped off.

They carefully got him cleaned up as they waited for test results. For now, he is stable and they hope he will wake up soon.

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Epiphany put the phone down and then gathered some of the nurses before getting on the phone to give the lockdown code. It shouldn't affect their area, but knowing it was serious, she wanted everyone to be on alert. Security guards had already moved into place and the elevators were shut down.

From the other side of the room, Johnny stood when he saw Leo and Alan walk towards him as did Milo, Max, and Francis. Exhaustion oozed from them and Alan is surprised they are still functioning.

"Sonny—I'm sorry. We did everything we could, but the burns were too bad and he didn't make it," Leo said.

The men were stunned and then Johnny dropped to his knees. He was physically and emotionally spent and barely holding on. Sarah did her best to comfort him. Sonny was like a dad to all of them. He was family.

Francis walked away and went into the stairwell and the muffled sound of him screaming, "No!" filled the air.

Mac closed his eyes. Sonny was their leader, the man that held the company together. He couldn't be replaced and then his thoughts went to Diane and it was just too much to bear.

When Francis quickly returned, Milo asked, "And Jason?"

"He's stable," Alan said. He hadn't even been able to visit his son due to the number of injured.

"Why isn't he awake?" Johnny asked.

"He has smoke inhalation, but he was also struck in the head by a beam. Francis said Sonny was covering him, like he had pushed him down and he and the other man took the brunt of the damage. His mask got knocked slightly off, so he inhaled smoke. Thank God you got to him as quickly as you did. Basically, we intubated him, and he is in a coma which sounds worse than it is, but his body is trying to heal, so it's for the best."

"You guys should go home and get some rest and tomorrow you can check up on Jason," Alan said.

"I can't do that. In our hearts, he's our brother. We can't leave him," Francis explained as he placed his hand on Johnny's shoulder.

Alan's features softened. "What if I agree to call you if there is a change? Jason would want you to rest. You've all had a bad night."

"He's right. Go home on my orders," Mac said.

One by one, the conflicted men filed out of the room.

Sarah stopped Johnny. "I'm coming with you, just let me get my purse."

He sat in a chair and waited, needing her comfort more than he wanted to admit because he didn't want to break down in front of the other guys.

Diane rushed towards Mac. "What happened?"

Johnny lifted his head and watched.

Her lip trembled when she saw the look in his eyes. "No! You are not going to tell me he is gone. Where is he?" She spots Johnny. "Do you know?" Realizing that Johnny is barely hanging on, she turns ghostly pale and grabs her stomach, prompting Piph to rush towards them and Mac swept her into his arms as she sobbed.

"Follow me," Piph said before leading him to an empty bay.

He carefully laid her down. "I'm so sorry."

A doctor rushed in right as Diane passed out.

"She's pregnant," Mac said. "She just lost the man she loves."

"We'll help her. Don't worry," Piph said tending to Diane. "She's strong and so is that baby."

"I really hope so."

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Anthony and his men quickly tried to destroy some of evidence that would take the company down. The new construction company had already shored up the second floor and removed some of the debris, but some of the shoddy beams were left and needed to go. While it won't absolve him completely, it would certainly lesson the damage.

"Where's Claudia?"

A guard gulped. "She's gone."

"What!"

The other guard held up his hand and made some calls.

"Anthony Zacchara! You are surrounded. Come out with your hands up!" Robert said through a bullhorn.

Anthony and his men paused. "Is there another way out?"

"No."

"How much fire power do we have?"

"Enough to create a diversion so you can escape…"

"Then do it."

Robert ducked as bullets started to fly and Anthony quickly moved towards the stairwell which led outside. Luckily for him, the locks let you go out, but just not in. He ran around the corner, into Liz who had been talking a walk and didn't hear the lockdown warning. When he heard a cop yelling his whereabouts, he grabbed her and held a gun to her head.

"Don't move."

Several cops moved forward. Robert is alerted and made his way outside. When the stairwell door opens again, two of Anthony's men are shot dead and there is no more noise coming from inside.

"Put down the gun. You don't want to hurt her."

Elizabeth grabs his arm because he's squeezing her neck too hard.

"You'll never make it out of here."

"If you want her to live, you'll let us go."

Elizabeth recognizes one of the cops named Jessie and holds his gaze.

"Your men are dead and your plane has no pilot."

"Then get me another one!"

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Mac is alerted about the situation and lets Epiphany know who spreads the word.

Emily is beside herself and quickly fills in her parents about everything.

Outside, Liz is wondering if she is going to make it out alive.

Anthony is moving backwards, hoping that using her as a shield is buying him time before he can make a run for it.

"I'm going to need a helicopter and a pilot for the plane."

"We can't do that," Robert said.

Suddenly, Anthony trips and loosens his grip long enough for Liz to dive to the ground and bullets whiz above her head as she screams. When it finally quieted, she is not moving and Jessie runs towards her with his gun raised. He glances at Anthony, who is riddled with bullets and then knelt at Liz's side.

"Elizabeth?" She had helped him when he had been grazed by a bullet before. He turns her over and she is unconscious. Quickly, he lifts her into his arms and rushes back towards the front and they put her on a gurney and take her inside.

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Alan and Leo take her into a cubicle to exam her.

"She's probably just in shock. I don't see any other wounds, just a scraped knee and a scratch on her forehead." Leo said.

She starts to stir and then screams, sitting up and fighting with Leo to escape.

"Elizabeth, it's Alan. You're okay."

Epiphany is watching from the doorway.

"Take deep breaths for me. You're fine and safe."

Her lips quivers and Alan hugs her.

"It's alright, sweetheart. He can't hurt you anymore."

She is shaking as he comforts her.

"I'm going to give her a light sedative," Leo said.

"No!" Elizabeth yelled.

Epiphany moved forward. "Elizabeth was drugged last night and the tests came back. It was a sedative, but it should be out of her system by now."

A disturbed Alan laid her back. "Your pulse is racing. If you can take deep breaths and relax a little, we won't give you anything."

She nodded and then closed her eyes and focused on her breathing and about five minutes later, Alan spoke again.

"You're doing well, Elizabeth. It's starting to come down."

"I was so scared."

"I know, but he's gone and you survived. Good thing he is dead because my son won't be happy when he wakes up and finds out."

Liz's eyes slightly opened. "He might not care."

Alan's brows furrowed, but he had no time to ask why because a nurse notifies him that he is needed elsewhere.

"It's going to be okay," Epiphany said before holding her hand. "Just relax and then we'll let you get up in a bit.

"Is he the same?"

"Yes."

She closed her eyes and willed herself to relax and everyone is surprised when she falls asleep.

A few hours later, she awakes and climbs down from the bed and moves towards the waiting room.

"Are you okay?" Piph asked.

"Yeah. I just need to know how he is."

"There is no change. I would really like you to go home and rest."

Audrey hurried towards her. "Elizabeth! I had driven out of town and heard the news on the radio on my way back. Are you okay?" She warmly embraces her as Liz softly cries.

"She fell asleep for a few hours. I know she's exhausted and there is no change in Jason's condition. I promise that I will call the moment he wakes up, but she needs to go rest. I made Sarah take Johnny home about an hour ago."

"I agree. Come on, I'll take you home."

Liz allowed herself to be led to the car and Audrey noted her defeated demeanor.

"What is really going on?"

"I—I can't talk about it right now."

"Okay."

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Johnny had fallen into a fitful sleep as exhaustion and worry took a toll on him, so she called Kelly to ask about an update.

"There is no change. He's still out."

"If he doesn't wake up, so many people are going to be devastated."

"You don't know the half of it. Have you spoken to your sister?"

"No. I know about the hostage situation. Did something else happen?"

"Something bad happened before. I know you're with Johnny, but Elizabeth needs you."

Sarah took a glimpse at Johnny and then moved into the bedroom. "I'll call her right now."