Disclaimer: La-de-da- I still don't own it!!!!

A/N: My computer, FF, or something decided not to let me upload this yesterday, so here you go!!! The DINNER will be in the chapter after the next one, for all of you interested in seeing how THAT plays out, LOL… Read and REVIEW, please!!!

--Chapter Fourteen--

--Audrey's House--

Since Elizabeth was off that day- a rarity, to be sure- and Jason had an "appointment" with Sonny, she had decided to venture of to Gram's house with Cam and share all the wonderful bits of news she'd gotten in the past few days. Despite the fact that the rest of the Webbers- excluding, Steven, whom she'd made peace with, of course- had pretty much disowned her and wanted nothing to do with her, Elizabeth found that she was only a fraction as nervous as she'd expected to be. With everything she and her gram had been through, Elizabeth was fairly certain her grandmother would remain an ever-present force in her life.

She rang the doorbell and waited for her grandmother to pull the door open. When she did, Audrey had a huge smile on her face- she was always happy to see Elizabeth and Cam. "Elizabeth, dear! What a surprise! Come in!" She stepped back to allow her granddaughter and great-grandson entry into her home and bent to greet Cam. "Hello, Cameron!" she exclaimed, delighted to see the little boy- she had always loved children, but she thought Cam was especially darling.

The little boy, presently sitting in his stroller looking around the familiar living room and noticing several of his toys, looked up adoringly at the great-grandmother he loved so much. "Gwam!" Because, like most kids his age, he was still having trouble with that pesky "r," he garbled the name just a little but the lopsided grin and the enthusiasm with which he greeted her, melted Audrey's already soft heart and she couldn't help but chuckle.

Cam lifted his arms, signaling that he wanted out of the stroller, and waited for his grandmother to comply- he knew she would gladly lift him out and let him play. Unbuckling him, Audrey gathered him into her arms and hugged him tightly, placing a kiss on his curly mop of hair when he wrapped his arms around her neck and returned the hug, before setting him down and allowing him to play with the toys she kept for him.

"He's growing like a weed, Elizabeth!" Audrey told her granddaughter with a smile. She could still remember the troubled young teen who had first appeared on her doorstep so many years ago. There had been moments when, over the past decade or so, she'd wondered if Elizabeth would ever get over those issues she'd come with- and the many that had presented themselves over the years. She'd wondered if her grandchild would find the happiness she deserved, and if she would be strong enough to survive some of the nightmares she'd gone through. It never ceased to put a smile on her face when she saw Elizabeth these days- the granddaughter she'd grown so close to over the years was all grown up, and had made all of the dreams Audrey had had for her come true.

Elizabeth chuckled lightly at the comment- it was one she'd heard time and time again through-out her life, in reference to Steven or Sarah or herself, and was one she found herself hearing more and more lately when people saw Cam. It was true- like any toddler, he was growing quickly, and it seemed like he'd been born just yesterday and would be a teenager tomorrow- at least, that's how it felt to Elizabeth.

"Would you like some tea or something, dear? I just made a pot," Audrey suggested, already heading toward the kitchen to pour Elizabeth a cup of tea. Liz shook her head at her grandmother's back- her Gram and her tea… Some things never changed. In the years since she'd first come to live with Audrey, her grandmother had changed very little- she was so refined and proper, but caring and open.

Elizabeth took a seat on the couch, watching her son play with a truck that was just about as big as he was while she waited for Gram to return. When Audrey stepped back into the living room, it was with two cups of tea, and Elizabeth knew Gram had already made hers exactly the way she liked it.

When her grandmother had seated herself on the other side of the sofa, Elizabeth blurted out, "Gram, would you still love me if I wasn't a Webber?" It wasn't how she'd planned to start the conversation, but it was one of the key-points. She wanted- needed, really, she admitted to herself- to know that her grandmother would always be exactly that- her grandmother. After everything the two of them had been through, the idea that Audrey could leave her as Jeff, Amanda, and Sarah had… well, it broke her heart.

Audrey gasped audibly, taken aback by the strange question. She had no clue what was going on, but she could practically see the wheels spinning in her granddaughter's mind, and she immediately sought to mend the hurt she heard in Elizabeth's voice. "Of course, I would! What kind of question is that? You're my granddaughter, Elizabeth!"

"But what if I wasn't? What if Jeff and Amanda weren't my parents?" Elizabeth questioned, her tone solemn and for a moment, she felt like the lost teenage girl she'd been when she'd shown up in Port Charles.

The idea that Elizabeth might not be Jeff and Amanda's daughter only slightly surprised Audrey- it wasn't that she'd ever really suspected that there had been anything as drastic as a baby-swap at the hospital so many years ago, but that Jeff and Amanda had always favored Steven and Sarah, and Elizabeth had always been so left out, and so unlike all the rest of her family. "Elizabeth, dear," she said, taking hold of her granddaughter's hand, "let me explain something to you- regardless of who your parents may or may not be, you are my granddaughter. That term is not one that requires a blood-link, so much as love for another person. I have watched you grow up- you did, for all intent and purpose, grow up in this very house, darling! And I love you- if I want to be your grandmother, then I will be- whether you are a Webber or not."

The tone in which Audrey spoke- that, I-said-so-now-that's-the-end-of-it tone- had one corner of Elizabeth's mouth quirking upward in a small smile. She reached across the couch and hugged her grandmother, knowing in her heart that everything Audrey had just said was exactly right- love was the most important part of family. She saw that everyday with Jason and Cam, and she was so grateful that Audrey saw things that way. Of course, it shouldn't have surprised her- Audrey had been the one to teach her to be open to such things, to let others in, and how precious love is, after all- but her stomach had tied itself in knots as she'd thought about how her Gram could react.

"Oh, Elizabeth," Audrey whispered, knowing that the young woman she loved so much had been so terrified of her reaction- she was sure this all had something to do with why Jeff and Amanda had cut all ties with Elizabeth years ago, and silently berated them both for being so cruel to her dear Elizabeth. When they separated, she said in the same gentle tone she'd used so many times with Elizabeth over the years, "Now, tell me, dear- what is this all about?"

Elizabeth took a deep breath and found that the butterflies that had been flittering around in her stomach were gone, and a sense of calm and peace had settled over her. She was once more the confident young nurse, the caring mother- not the rebellious and unloved daughter. "Sarah was in town yesterday- she told me why Jeff and Amanda wanted nothing to do with me and Cam," she told her grandmother, watching the emotions play on the kind-hearted woman's face. "Their daughter and another couple's were switched, and their real daughter died shortly after. When Jeff and Amanda found out, they sent me here. They didn't want anything to do with me."

Audrey shook her head- how anyone could be so heartless was beyond her. "I'm sure, knowing Jeff and Amanda as I do, that they found out who had ended up with their daughter instead. Have you contacted your biological family yet?"

A wide grin broke out on Elizabeth's face as she remembered Patrick and Noah's reactions. "I have."

Deducing from the smile on her granddaughter's face that the conversation had gone well, Audrey prodded a bit more. "And…?"

"And I was born Isabel Elizabeth Drake, daughter of Madeline and Noah Drake." Elizabeth watched as her words sunk in, and Audrey's mouth made its way into forming a smile. Clearly, her grandmother was happy with the news.

"Noah Drake, hm? That would make Patrick your brother, now wouldn't it?" She chuckled as she remembered the times she'd caught Elizabeth stubbornly sticking her tongue out at Patrick or Patrick harmlessly teasing her. "Yes, I can see that," the elderly woman said, happy that Elizabeth's real father was someone who had already grown to love her and would never abandon her as Jeff and Amanda had. "How did they take that news?" she asked, despite the fact that she was certain she knew the answer.

"They were shocked, at first, when I mentioned the baby they'd thought had died- they had no idea how I knew about her. Then, when I told them, there were tears and smiles- but neither one of them seemed really surprised that it was me… It's like, yes, they were surprised the baby had been switched with another, and that she'd lived, but, that it was me? That part… it was like it just fit. I told you months ago that Patrick had "adopted" me as his little sister, and he's always been exactly the kind of big brother I always wanted, you know? We tease each other and comfort each other and… we're just… brother and sister. It's amazing- when we were growing up, I always felt like I was living life in Steven's shadow- and, even though Patrick is a brilliant surgeon with a huge ego, he doesn't make me feel like I have to live up to some insane standards. I can just be me, and he and Dad love me.

"And, with Dad… Well, look at me- I'm already calling him "Dad." Of course, I've been jokingly calling him that since Patrick "adopted" me, but still… It's just so much easier being a part of their family than it ever was with the Webbers."

Audrey nodded her understanding, noting the excitement with which Elizabeth spoke. Whenever Elizabeth was reminded that she was a Webber, a look of sadness and longing passed over her face, as though she wished she belonged in any other family. When she spoke of Noah and Patrick and being a part of their family, a glint of pure joy came into her eyes. Audrey knew in that moment that the glimpses she'd caught over the years- including just a few moments ago- of the troubled teen that Elizabeth had once been would never be seen again. Before her was not an unwanted or unloved young girl who always felt like she was lacking in the eyes of her family or that she had to be someone else's idea of the perfect daughter- in her place was a confident young woman who knew she was loved, not only by her boyfriend and son, but by her grandmother, her father, and her older brother. This was a young woman who had finally found her place in the world- a mother, a nurse, a lover, a friend, a sister, a daughter… A Drake.