Early the next morning, Elizabeth sat alone in a booth at Kelly's, watching Cameron nervously stack and knock down a tower of blocks. With his dark head bent over, he looked so much like Zander that it nearly broke her heart. She was waiting for Lucky to come retrieve their son upon her request. Cam was starting to miss his father terribly, and Liz had things she had to take care of. Their phone conversation had been brief and strained at best, but he had willingly agreed to pick him up.

"Hey," Lucky greeted her as he slipped through the front door of the café in his police uniform. He had only worked the morning shift, wanting to take the rest of the afternoon off to spend with Cameron and Emily. They had a nice lunch at the Quartermaines planned by the lake, and he hoped that it would bring peace to both him and Em.

"Thanks for taking Cameron," she replied instantly, self-consciously running her fingers through her hair. She was dreading the inevitable question of what she was doing today, knowing that the answer would only bring anger and pain back to the surface. Before he could even ask, she decided to tackle the subject head on and reveal her plans. "I'm going to tell Jason today."

Lucky was silent for a moment, watching his son construct a cabin of green and blue plastic. "It's probably time for that. I think the secret has probably gone on long enough," he commented without looking at her. "I'm assuming that Nikolas is going with you."

She nodded in response. "For a long time, I thought it was you who'd go with me when I finally told him. I truly believed somewhere in my heart we would be able to get past this. Maybe if I had told you earlier on, you would have been able to."

"If Maxie hadn't lied about the baby, it would probably have been different. But she did, and unfortunately, you had to deal with those repercussions, too. I know that it isn't fair, but it's how I feel. I don't think you can really blame me.

"No, of course not. I know this isn't easy."

"I know it's not easy on you either," he admitted. "I'm glad that Nikolas is going with you though. He'll be there to support you, and even if I'm angry at you, I don't want you to be alone in this. I will always love you, Elizabeth, even if I don't really like you right now. You allowed me to share a life with our amazing little boy, and without you, I wouldn't be Cam's father. Being angry at you isn't going to help anyone, least of all him."

She smiled genuinely. "You truly are your mother's son," she responded. "I'm scared to tell Jason. I know he is going to be angry, and I honestly don't know how he is going to react. I'm afraid he'll want to take my baby."

"Jason would never do that," Lucky said pointedly. "And even if he did, Nikolas would do everything to help you fight."

"You should really make up with your brother."

"I will when I'm ready. For now, you need to stay out of it."

"I can't, Lucky, I'm smack in the middle of it."

"We'll be fine. I just need time. I think you both owe me as much."

"We both owe you what?" Nikolas demanded as he appeared behind Elizabeth, lowering a kiss on top of her soft hair. She reached over her shoulder for his hand and squeezed in greeting. Hoping that he understood her signal, she looked up at him and waited for him to continue. "I already apologized. I don't think I owe you anything else."

"He just wants time, Nik," she said gently, praying that it didn't turn into a scene in front of Cameron. As if on cue, the little boy came padding over and climbed into his father's lap. "You should probably go, Lucky. I'm sure you have plans."

"Yes, we're going to go see Aunt Emily," Lucky told him, earning a smile from toddler. He clapped his hands excitedly. "Go get your blocks picked up and we'll go."

"You're going to spend the day with Emily?" Nikolas asked carefully.

"She just lost her father. She needs all the support she can get, and if I can make her smile, I'll take it where I can. Spending time with Cameron will do that. I'm sure she'd love to see Spencer if you have time, too. Maybe you could go over there for a visit or something," Lucky offered. "Despite everything else that has happened, I think she'd be happy to hear from you as well. I don't want our relationship to get in the way of the friendships she shares with both of you."

"Please let her know that I'll be by in the morning to visit her at the mansion. If that won't work, have her call me and we can set something up," Nikolas replied. "And thank you for not standing in the way of our relationships with her."

"I love Emily, and I want her to be happy. If that life includes you two, who am I to keep her from that? And as for Lulu, I talked to her about that, too. She will come around, you might just have to give her a little time. She is just trying to protect me." Neither Nikolas nor Elizabeth said anything as he rose to his feet. Walking over, he scooped Cameron into his arms. "We'll see you at your grandmother's house this evening. If you need anything, please call my cell phone. We're going to have a picnic with Em at the house."

The couple watched silently as Lucky left with Cameron before saying anything. When they were alone, Nikolas pulled the empty chair closely to Elizabeth's and kissed her deeply. Pulling apart, she reached up to finger his soft hair. "I missed you last night."

"I know," he groaned huskily. "But I think Spencer was happy to sleep in his own bed last night. Look, not to rush you, but can we talk about this in the car? We have an appointment you've been waiting awhile to keep."

She grimaced before nodding begrudgingly. Allowing Nikolas to pay her small tea tab, she grabbed her coat and handbag before following him out to his sleek Jaguar. Sliding into the buttery leather passenger seat, she didn't speak again until they were on the road to Jason's coffeehouse. They had agreed to meet at his warehouse office. Finally, Nikolas broke the silence. "I've been thinking, you can't stay at Audrey's anymore."

"Sure I can, there is plenty of room there if the kids can share a room for while. With work, I really need the help, and I can't afford anything else."

"Maybe Wyndamere should be an option. That house is awful big and rather lonely with just Spencer and me. We could use a few more people to help fill it up."

Elizabeth looked at him incredulously. "We can't live together!"

"I didn't necessarily mean in the same room, Liz," he said. "But I want to help you raise this child if you will let me. I want you to be in Spencer's life, and I'd like to stay a part of Cam's life. He doesn't need a father, but I could at least be his uncle. We can all live together in the house as a family. You can stay in a separate room until you're ready. Hell, you can have your own wing. I just want you near me."

"I just need some time to think it over. We're going to tell Jason this really heavy thing, and that is all I can deal with right now. Can we talk about this later?"

Nikolas smiled and reached for her hand. "Hey, come on, of course we can. Don't worry about this, there's no pressure. I just wanted to offer you my home because it's something I really want to share with you. I want to share this life with you."

He waited for Elizabeth to reply, but she didn't. Instead, she affixed her eyes on the cold, metal coffee warehouse. "We're here."

"Yes. Yes, we are." Nikolas climbed out of the sports car and made his way around to her door. Carefully lifting herself from the seat, she gladly looped her arm through his for support, allowing herself a brief moment to revel in his mere touch. His proximity gave her a little additional strength, something she knew she'd need once she was inside. Stopping just before the door, he turned and pressed his forehead against hers. "I'm very proud of you, no matter what happens in there. You could have kept this secret from everyone, but you are telling the truth."

"I couldn't have kept it from you," she confessed, kissing him.

"Well, either way, I'm still proud. And I promise I'm going to do all that I can to help you get through this."

"Hello, Ms. Spencer," Milo greeted Elizabeth once she was inside. The bodyguard had seen her coming and going several times over the past several months, coming to know her name quite well. "Mr. Cassadine."

"We're here to see Jason. He's expecting us," Nikolas declared.

"Go on it," Milo told them, pointing to the closed office door just behind him.

Liz reached down for Nikolas' hand before entering the room. They were both shocked to see two people behind the desk, wrapped in each other in quite a passionate embrace. Blonde hair hid Jason's face as his fingers worked their way through the mass of ringlets. Clearing his throat, Nikolas attempted to announce their presence. When it didn't work, Elizabeth spoke up. "Excuse us, Milo said we could come in."

"Oh," Carly laughed, wiping her mouth embarrassedly as she pulled away. Turning to look at them, her sheepishness quickly fell away. "It's you."

"Yeah, it's us," Elizabeth countered, looking from Carly to Jason skeptically. "We have an appointment with Jason, if you wouldn't excuse us."

"Unless it's about business, she might as well stay," Jason retorted.

"Jason and I are together now."

"You're what?!?" Liz exclaimed.

"We're a couple," Carly remarked snidely, her distain for the wholesome nurse clear.

"When did that happen?" Nikolas asked, as shocked as his counterpart.

"After the explosion," the two blondes replied in unison, a giggle escaping from Carly. She finished the explanation, Jason's hand resting comfortably on the back of her neck as she perched on the edge of his desk. "Those kinds of situations tend to put a lot of things in perspective and when you realize you could possibly lose your best friend, you sort of realize just how in love you've been for the past decade."

"It doesn't make any sense," Elizabeth muttered.

"It doesn't have to make any sense," Jason said. "It just has to be, and it is. Now, what brings you two here?"

Elizabeth took a deep breath as she sat down, Nikolas posed behind her. Reaching down, she placed her hands protectively on her womb, trying to must the courage and conviction to make her final confession. "There's something you need to know."

"Maybe I should go," Carly offered uncharacteristically, causing a shocked reaction all three of the other people in the world. She couldn't help but grin, knowing they couldn't believe what they were hearing. Usually, she was the first one to put herself in the middle of a situation, especially when it came to Jason and Elizabeth. However, the battle had been won, and she finally had Jason's heart. She didn't feel the need to compete anymore, he truly was in love with her.

"No, you should probably stay," Elizabeth declared hesitantly. "I know you already know about the night that Jason and I spent together last winter." Carly nodded before glancing at Jason confusedly. "Well, shortly before that, I was still with Lucky. When I turned up pregnant, I didn't know who the father was, so I had a paternity test done."

"Right, and the results said that Lucky was the father," Carly said.

Nikolas squeezed her hand, urging her to move forward. Elizabeth smiled slightly, gratefully, before continuing with the admission. "When I got the results, Sonny ran into me outside the hospital. This freak wind kicked up and he came across them. He assumed Lucky was the father, and I let him. I shouldn't have, but I did."

"Are you saying…?" Carly trailed off.

"Am I the father?" Both women shifted their gaze to Jason. His eyes were steel grey, as cold as they had ever been. "How could you lie to me?"

"I thought I was doing what was best. I was wrong," she admitted. "A lot of time has passed, and you have missed out on a lot. For that, I couldn't be sorrier. But I'm prepared to figure out a way to make this work with you. The only thing I ask is that you not take the baby away from me."

Jason started to respond, but Carly quickly interrupted him. "Jason would never do that."

"People do things they wouldn't normally do when they're angry," Liz said.

Carly laughed humorlessly, a part of her reveling in the fact that the angelic Elizabeth Webber, someone who had judged her every move for years, was in the same situation she had been in with Michael a decade ago. "Look at my life, Elizabeth, Jason wouldn't do that."

"I need to go for a walk," Jason's finally said, his voice strained. "Carly, come on."

"Jason," Elizabeth started to protest.

"Just give me time, Liz, just give me time."