Disclaimer: This is purely a work of fiction, written for fun, not profit. I have nothing to do with Guiding Light, and no share in the ownership of it.

Chapter Five: The Best-Laid Plans

Lizzie smiled to herself as she finished buttoning up her shirt. Bill had spent the night with her, and for the first time in a week things had seemed normal. She'd been half-afraid that he'd be quiet and distracted again when they woke up, but so far, so good.

"You're definitely doing this wrong," Bill informed her, slipping up behind her and winding his arms around her waist. "I think you should be unbuttoning it, not-" She slapped lightly at his hands and he laughed, moving her hair aside so he could kiss her neck.

"Stop that," she said lightly, but she couldn't keep a huge grin from spreading across her face. "We do have to get to work today, Bill."

"Dad'll understand-"

"I have a deal to close," she reminded him, turning to look at him. "You're just going to have to wait until this afternoon."

"Oh, if I must," he said with a sigh. Then he quickly added, "Speaking of this afternoon, do you want to go out for dinner?"

She smiled. "Sure, that sounds great. I have to stop by Cedars to see my nana after work, but I can meet you after that."

"Works for me," he agreed, and pulled her into a kiss that, as always, left her head spinning.

"Bill-"

He smiled, his forehead still touching hers. "Come on, five extra minutes won't hurt-"

She sighed, leaning in for another kiss. "Five minutes," she repeated, though she knew perfectly well that it would be anything but.

Strangely enough, it had been deciding to tell Lizzie the truth about Ava's pregnancy that made Bill feel so at peace. Once he had decided that, he could come up with a plan to take care of the situation. He'd take Lizzie out to dinner, let them have one last evening free of problems, and then tell her after they got back to her place. He couldn't quite convince himself that she'd take it well, but he thought she'd forgive him soon enough. After all, he and Lizzie hadn't been together when Ava got pregnant, so it wasn't like she could be mad at him for cheating, and she knew that he only thought of Ava as a friend- a really hot friend, sure, but a friend nonetheless. Throwing a kid into the mix wouldn't change that, he was sure of it.

Now he just had to figure out what he was actually going to say to Lizzie.

He sat at the counter in Company after work, absently fiddling with the cup of coffee he'd ordered and thinking about Lizzie. He'd be meeting her in about an hour, and he still had no idea what he was going to say. How could he tell her this? What would be the easiest way to do it?

"There isn't one," he muttered, and laughed mirthlessly. As much as he hated to admit it, there was no way he'd be able to avoid hurting her. He'd given Jonathan so much grief for all the things he'd done and told himself and everyone else that he'd changed, that he'd never hurt Lizzie again. But this… he couldn't have come up with a better way to hurt her if he'd tried.

"What's so funny?" Jonathan asked tersely, stopping Sarah's stroller next to him.

Bill almost laughed again, just at the irony. Speak of the devil. "What are you doing here?" he asked instead, too tired to work up his usual amount of ire and disdain. "Don't you have your bar back or whatever?"

"Reva's watching the place."

"Better her than Dad, I guess," Bill said wryly. "Look, I really don't need to deal with this right now, so why don't you just-"

"Trying to walk away without getting in any insults?" Jonathan said with a laugh. "Lizzie said you were acting weird, but this-"

Bill could just imagine what Jonathan would do when he found out about Ava's pregnancy; how he'd use it to turn Lizzie against him. His temper snapped at the very idea, and he scrambled up from the stool, grabbing Jonathan by the shirtfront. "Don't you even say her name," he said very quietly.

Jonathan laughed wildly, his eyes alight with challenge. "Not here, man," he told him with a grin. "Not in front of Sarah. I have to set a good example and all that."

Bill gritted his teeth but let him go. He was right, as much as he hated to admit it- Lizzie would kill them both if she found out they were anything but completely civil to each other when Sarah was around.

"Don't think we're finished," he warned him anyway. Let it not be said that Bill Lewis would walk away from a fight.

Jonathan smiled slowly. "Oh don't worry, I won't forget."

Bill was about to deliver some witty retort when his phone rang. He flipped it open, keeping his eyes on Jonathan. "Hey- wait, slow down. Where are you?" He listened, his eyes widening. "The hosp- wait, she what? I'm on my way." He shoved his phone into his pocket, dropping a random bunch of dollar bills onto the counter for the waitress to pick up.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jonathan asked.

"None of your business," he bit out.

"If it has to do with Lizzie-"

"Get out of my way!" Bill pushed past him and was out the door seconds later.

Lizzie, meanwhile, had stopped by Cedars to Lillian, like she had told Bill she would that morning. While she was looking for her grandmother, she ran across Ava and Emma sitting on one of the seats in the hallway.

As much as Lizzie loathed Ava, she was not going to make their younger sister deal with that. So instead of paying attention to her rival, Lizzie smiled down at Emma.

"Hey, Em."

"Lizzie!" Emma said happily. Lizzie sat down on her other side, and Emma gave her a hug. "Where's Sarah?"

"Sarah's with her daddy right now," Lizzie explained, tugging on one of the seven-year-old's braids. She couldn't help feeling a small twinge of pain- seeing Emma couldn't help reminding her of their father and of how much Lizzie missed him. "What are you doing here?"

"Surprising Mommy."

"Oh, you are? Is she here for an appointment?" She glanced up at Ava.

"Yeah, she is," Ava replied, laying a hand on Emma's shoulder. It wasn't about enmity- she was clearly being protective, something Lizzie couldn't fault her for. "We thought we'd take her to see a movie afterwards, right, Emma?" She smiled at the little girl, but it looked strained.

"Right!" Emma confirmed. "Ava said she'll buy me a whole bucket of popcorn."

"Oh she will?" Lizzie asked brightly, smiling. "That sounds great. Are you sure you'll be able to eat it all? Maybe you should save some for me."

"I think we'll be fine," Ava cut in.

Lizzie frowned at her. "Are you okay? You look kind of pale."

"I'm fine," she said, gritting her teeth and quickly standing. "I-" She stopped, frowning, and grasped Lizzie's shoulder. The blonde was about to complain when she saw the grimace on Ava's face and realized that she was trying to steady herself.

Lizzie slowly stood, getting honestly concerned. "Ava?" she asked tentatively, then gasped when Ava swayed, eyes closing, and started to collapse.

Lizzie quickly caught her, wobbling a little under her taller frame, and looked to a clearly terrified Emma. "Go find one of the nurses," she told her, lowering Ava back onto the seat. "She'll be okay, she just needs someone to look at her real quick, okay?" Emma nodded and took off down the hall.

The blonde studied Ava helplessly for a moment, reached to check her pulse and then let her hand drop again. What good would it do? It wasn't like she had any medical training.

Not really thinking, she pulled out her cell phone and pushed a button on speed dial. She waited for Bill to answer, crouching down next to Ava and keeping an eye on the unconscious brunette.

"Hey-"

"Bill, it's me. I'm here and I might be late, I don't know, I might need to stay with Emma if Olivia takes much longer and I-"

"Wait, slow down," Bill told her, sounding far too reasonable. "Where are you?"

"The hospital!" she said in frustration. "Remember?"

"The hosp-"

"I know, I should have been done by now, but Ava passed out and she and Emma might-"

"Wait, she what?" Bill burst out. She blinked- he sounded full-out panicked. She knew he'd be concerned, but she hadn't expected this much of a reaction. "I'm on my way."

She would have told him that it was unnecessary but he hung up before she could get another word in. So instead she sighed and slid the phone into her pocket, turning just in time to see Emma return, Lillian right on her heels.

Lillian helped Ava into another room after the brunette woke moments later, leaving Lizzie to wait in the hallway with Emma. A short while later Lillian returned, stopping in front of them. Both of them stood up, eyes fixed on her. Even Lizzie was worried- Olivia's illness was enough for Emma to worry about right now. She didn't need her sister to be sick, too.

"How's Ava?" Emma asked anxiously, squeezing Lizzie's hand.

"Ava's just fine, don't worry," Lillian assured her. "She and the baby are both-"

"Baby?" Lizzie repeated blankly. "Wait, Ava's pregnant?"

She heard footsteps behind her and turned before Lillian could respond, meeting Bill's eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, though she wasn't sure what she'd say, but then she noticed how pale and guilty he looked and did a double-take.

"Wait, you knew about this?" she began, then recoiled as the realization finally hit her.

"I was going to tell you tonight, I swear" Bill said quickly, holding up both hands. "Lizzie, I didn't mean-"

"Oh, my god," she whispered in horror. "You're the father?"