AN:

Sorry about the lack of updates. My son is apparently not a fanfic fan. :( I do love this chapter though. I only have maybe two more chapter planned. So I hope you enjoy.

~Kelly~

Chapter Three

"I don't blame you for not believing me, Elizabeth. Especially since I haven't always been honest in the past." Ric said reaching out to take her hands. He need some sort of human contact. "How can I convince you?"

"Swear to me you're not lying."

"I swear."

Elizabeth took a deep breath before saying, "Swear on our daughter you're not lying."

The request caught him off guard. They didn't talk about the baby Elizabeth had lost. It was one of the most painful moments in his life. In both their lives. However if that would convince Elizabeth he was willing. Only because he was telling the truth. "I swear on our daughter I'm not lying."

"Okay then. I believe you." she promised smiling softly. "I should go. The boys will be out of school soon."

"Can you tell Cameron I'm sorry?" he asked softly. He had forgotten about how this was going to effect him and Molly. They were both going to be devastated. Another reason he was going to make Juliette Jerome pay.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Someone is framing you Ric and that's what I'm going to tell Cameron." she countered easily. Telling Cam wasn't going to be easy but Elizabeth believed he was innocent. Even if she and Alexis were the only ones.

"I love you."

"Ric I..."

"Shhh," he said pressing a finger to her lips. "I don't expect a reply. I just wanted you know that I love you."

It tore at her heart shouldn't repeat the words to Ric. Falling for him again would be so easy. Almost like breathing but she couldn't allow that to happen yet. Not while part of her still cared deeply for Nikolas. She needed to sort those feelings out before making any comments to Ric. Elizabeth wanted nothing between them this time. "I know."

"Go," he ordered softly mentally cursing Anna. Ric knew exactly why she let Elizabeth seeing him like this. Her plan might have worked too if he'd been guilty.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The last person Elizabeth expected to knock on her door was Nikolas. And yet there he was. Seeing him so soon after leaving the PCPD was surprising. It also made her angry. Nikolas was a big part of the reason Ric was denied bail. "Why are you here?" she asked half tempted not to let him in.

"I saw you at the hearing. I was worried about you." he said sitting on the sofa. "You shouldn't have gone Elizabeth."

She waved off his concerns easily. "Thank you for you're concern but I'm fine."

"I know you. Better than almost anyone and I know you're not fine." Nikolas pointed out gently. It was easy to see Elizabeth was a ball of nerves. All he wanted was to comfort her. "You know you can always talk to me."

"I'm doing better. Alexis and I are..."

"Alexis? My aunt? When did the two of you get close?"

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose at the question. To be honest she wasn't sure of the answer. "I'm not sure exactly. It's nice though especially now that I'm seeing Ric."

"Wait you're what? You can't be serious Elizabeth." he said letting out a long sigh. Nikolas couldn't believe that she was falling for Ric's lines again. "The man was just arrested for being a crime boss."

"I know that Nikolas."

"That's right you were there when they arrested him. In his bed." Nikolas reminded her harshly. He felt bad about hurting his friend but apparently Elizabeth needed the wake up call. "How could you defend him after that?"

"Ric says he's innocent..."

"Of course he does Elizabeth." he huffed in annoyance. "Ric's not going to admit he's guilty."

She shook her head at Nikolas's anger. Most of Elizabeth understood where he was coming from. However it didn't change how she felt. "I believe him Nikolas."

"You... you what? Have you lost your mind?" Nikolas snapped before standing up to pace the room. It was that or throttle Elizabeth. He was nearly speechless at her little revelation. "Ric has done nothing but lie since he came Port Charles. Did you forget he tried to frame me for murder? Or all the pain he's caused you?"

"I forgave him for all those things. Yes his made mistakes but they're in the past. Or they were." she finished quietly. After a tense moment Elizabeth asked, "Why did you testify today Nikolas?"

Nikolas stopped pacing and took a long look at Elizabeth. It was obvious she was on edge from all this. He wished he could say something that would get through to her. However Elizabeth was nearly as stubborn as he was. "Because it was the right thing to do. Scott remembered what happened back then and asked."

"And that's the only reason?" she challenged looking him in the eyes.

"What are you getting at?"

"You've never gone out of you way to help the PCPD before." she pointed out reasonably. Like most of the Cassadine Nikolas didn't exactly trust the local authorities. So it seemed suspicious that he was so willing to help them now. "So why now? Why do you want Ric in jail so badly?"

"I want him away from you okay?" Nikolas snapped immediately regretting the outburst. He hadn't meant to hurt Elizabeth even more. Of course it didn't help that he still wanted her to be with him. As much as Nikolas denied he was jealous of the other man. "Are you happy now?"

Elizabeth almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew Nikolas wasn't happy about Ric but this... this was beyond anything she expected from him. "Why would you do that?"

"Come on Liz. It's not like I lied or anything." he defended needing her to understand. All he wanted was for her to see the truth. "Ric Lancing is a monster. He's going to end up destroying you again. And you expect me to stand by and let him?"

"Stop it right now!" Cam yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Startling both adults. "Ric didn't do anything wrong! He loves my mommy. I know he wouldn't hurt her."