Chapter Five

Somehow Lucky had managed to fall back to sleep, his eyes had begun to grow heavy, and when by 4am Liz was still not home, he couldn't hold sleep off any longer. He pictured her at the hospital, doing anything just so she could stay away from him, the image left a bad taste in his mouth.

His sleep was not restful, he tossed and turned, the lies Elizabeth kept repeating bounced around in side his head. His mind conjured horrible visions of him doing torturous things to Liz. One outlandish nightmare had him carving her open like a Christmas turkey, to only then hand Jason his child, for in the height of the nightmare and all his nightmares, the child was always his. These nightmare images plagued him the rest of the night, but it was like he was being punished for all he had done, and must therefore submit to this twisted imagery.

By the time he awoke to the bright light of day, grabbed his first cup of coffee, and turned on the TV, he began to feel like his nightmares had come into the light of day. Liz was still not home and Cameron was busy getting dressed, constantly asking for his mother, it was enough to fray his nerves even more. Lucky wanted to get to work, if for no other reason that to get the images out of his mind, so he placed a poptart in the toaster, Cam would have to eat it on his way to Audrey's house.

Life or rather waking life did not give him the solace he wished for, the dreams that plagued him last night, stayed with him most of the day, for they did not dissolve like most nightmares often did, when brought into the harsh reality of real life.

Sitting at his desk at the police department, Lucky slowly fingered the bottle that resided in his left coat pocket. Temptation was growing harder to bear, perhaps if he just took one of the white pills, he could forget all the truths. Rodriguez glanced at him often, almost like he was trying to peak into Lucky's mind and see what was going on. But for some reason, Rodriguez never asked.

Lucky phoned Audrey to ask if Cam could spend the night, he wanted to plan something romantic with Liz, he claimed. She agreed wholeheartedly, knowing that they belonged together. In truth, Lucky had had a sinking feeling all morning; he did not expect Liz to be home, not today, not ever again.

He could see her in his minds eye, standing there with Jason's hand upon her ever-growing belly, and the next image, however unbidden, showed him Liz in Jason's arms. He had seen them hug many times before, but there was something more intimate about this image.

Moving quickly Lucky left work, heading down to the pier, his hand still playing with the pill bottle, finally he gave into temptation, when his traitorous mind offered up images of Jason and Liz in bed.

His beautiful wife, flushed from lovemaking, her hair slightly wild, but ever so sexily, and those bedroom eyes she offered without restraint to Jason. He tried to promise his sick mind that he would take only one pill, but as he was assaulted with more imagery of her and Jason, he began popping pills sporadically, until he had taken half a dozen or more.

Unable to handle the images residing inside his traitorous mind, Lucky went in search of the one person who could possible make him forget, even if it was just for an hour.

He crept up the tree to Maxie's bedroom, knocking quietly; it would do him no good to have the police commissioner catch him outside his daughter's room.

Maxie sat at her vanity table, carefully applying lipstick to her lips; she turned around at the noise coming from outside her window. Her heart sped up at the sight of Lucky. Even though it was very clear he was wasted again, she once again fell back into her old stride and opened her window, welcoming him in.

Lucky staggered into the room, almost fell if it had not been for Maxie's quickness. He took two wobbly steps to the bed and collapsed upon it. Waiting to see if Maxie would be up for what he had in mind.

A fool she was, but she could not help it, she had been in lust with him for many years now, besides he was here with her now and the house was empty, so why not. She quickly divested him of his clothes, while he tried without success to remove hers, with little care she removed her own clothes, already anticipating what her and Lucky could have. She climbed up next to him, assaulting his lips. Maxie convinced herself that they were making love, but to Lucky, she was a warm body with which he could hopefully forget for a time being.

As soon as his needs had been assuaged, he haphazardly dressed and left, he did not have the patience to coddle her feelings. But for one moment, he truly did feel bad, because her sobs reached him, even as he fell from the tree, lying dazed for many moments, but a moment was all he wasted on thinking of her and how she felt.

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Jason made record time; he ignored every posted speed limit, following his own inner speedometer. As he pulled up to the small cottage, his heart felt like it was ready to beat out of his chest. He banged the door with a fisted hand before shoving his way through it. His shoulder had administered enough force to break the flimsy lock, and thus allowed him entry. Liz's name pounded in his mind and heart.

Ric knew bothering with any other locks would just be counterproductive, seeing as how he knew Jason carried a gun, but the regular door lock served its purpose, for Jason breaking through the door, brought a smile to Ric's face. His momentary worry had been displaced by an even greater joy, because he now had the ability to take his brother off his high horse. Kill two birds with one stone, as they say and the silly fool had come alone.

As soon as he was through the door, Jason could hear Elizabeth's cries of agony and her colorful vocabulary spitting curse words at the door. It did not take Jason long to figure out that she was in labor or something far worse. He thought nothing else could kick his heart into another speed range, but that alone kicked it into another speed zone.

"You are insane Ric, what made you think you could get away with this; there is no way you are going to get away with this!" Jason said with false bravado.

He knew now, or had an inkling as to why Ric had phoned him. To begin with, he was going to play it off, as him being insane, but now Jason could see the cold vindictive man that stood before him. The poor boy who did not receive his mother's just love, he also knew that he was at Ric's mercy, because Ric now held, not only Liz's life in his hands, but also that of his soon to be born child.

Ric saw the emotions warring on his face, and knew he had Jason right where he wanted him, he also knew the myriad of emotions that Jason was now exhibiting was probably something the henchman had never before felt. He also knew that he had but a few hours to finish this first part of his plan and move it to the next level, or all could be lost.

"Jason, how good of you to come, I thought you might like to be present for the birth of your child." Ric said smirking, not really knowing if indeed Liz was in labor or not, but he did have high hopes.

Keeping his anger in check, Jason said, "What do you want, what can you possibly hope to gain by doing this, you know you will never live to see the inside of a courtroom, for your justice will be decided by those you have hurt."

Both men having temporarily forgotten the obvious were interrupted when Liz crashed to the floor, knocking the dinner tray off its precarious position on the small table, it clattered loudly as it resounded off the floor.

Ric's softer side momentarily taking hold, was honestly worried, he pushed the button to disengage the locks and opened the door.

Jason somehow got to the door quicker than Ric had thought he could, rushing to Elizabeth's side. Jason quickly reached down, praying to the Gods, new and old that she would have a pulse.

Ric's quick thinking catapulted his plan further into motion than even he could have ever planned, for just as Jason was scooping Liz into his arms, Ric pushed the button again and the door slid shut, successfully locking the two in the room together.

He had thought he would have to threaten Liz's life in order to gain the upper hand on Jason, but Liz had inadvertently played a part in her own demise.

Jason had wanted to be much quicker, but his obvious worry slowed him down. He did not even have time enough to get to his feet by the time the door slammed shut.

Gently placing Liz on the cot, he took inventory of her injuries. Nothing serious that he could see, but the cold clamminess of her forehead worried him, as did the unnatural pallor and sweaty sheen. The long wound on her belly looked bad, but not deep enough to cause any real problems.

Grabbing a bottle of water from the small fridge, Jason dampened a washcloth and began washing off her feverish brow. It took only a few minutes to rouse her, but those minutes felt like hours, his heart pounding out a tempo a good guitarist would have been want to keep up with.

Slowly her beautiful brown eyes focused on the person beside her, her first instinct was to draw away from the person who was so close to her, but when the haze lifted, she could tell that the person beside her meant her no harm, for just like she had told the baby, Jason had come to rescue them.

"Jase-Jason, is it really you?" Elizabeth's questioned.

"It is, but don't get to excited, I believe I might have made things worse, I came alone, and although Sonny knows Ric was the kidnapper, he doesn't know where we are. So in my haste to save you, I might have condemned us both." Jason said sadly.

"Don't be foolish Jase; it is because of you once again, that this baby has a chance in greeting the world. You know I think you are brave and strong and smart, but you are not a superhero." Liz commented.

Before she could say anymore, another cramp struck. Causing her to double over in pain, the worried look that besieged Jason's face hurt her heart. "Don't worry so much, we will find a way out of here, I know it."

"But Liz, are you in labor?" Jason asked, somewhat flustered. "Why did you faint?"

"I probably fainted from the pain and from the fact I haven't had anything to eat in some time." Liz said, feeling slightly guilty for having worried him. "It is possible I am in labor; it looks like your child is ready to make their entrance. And while it still may be a little early for that, I am positive everything will be okay. I have faith in you, no, we have faith in you." Liz said, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips. "However, you may be the one delivering this child, if Ric doesn't let us out, it will be the only way."

As another cramp struck, Liz thought that she was in labor, and while offering a strong outer calm, inside a hurricane stormed. Jason did not need to see her panic, for both of their sakes and that of the baby Jason needed to remain calm.

"Jason, you need to take stock of what we have in here, if this little miracle of ours decides it is time to come, then I am going to need you to deliver this baby." Liz could not help the small tremor that tinted her voice.

"Liz, I don't know about this, you need doctors and nurses, not a hired hitman!" Jason said, somewhat fearfully. "You need to eat something!"

"Well the nurse I can help you with, as for the doctor, well you were planning on being one, even if it was a long time ago. So there you have it, you have a nurse and a would-be-doctor to help get you through this." Liz said with more feeling. Not missing the look of fear that flashed in Jason's eyes, Liz gently took his hand in hers.

Jason went to the little fridge that stood in the corner, trying to decide what would make Liz feel a little better. He found a bowl full of butterscotch pudding; he grabbed that and the crackers he had spotted in the cupboard to the side of the fridge. "Here, eat this, you need it." Jason said.

"My hero" Liz said, eyeing the bowl of pudding with ravishing determination. She never even contemplated using a smaller bowl, now that there was food in front of her she realized that she was starving.

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Ric listened and watched the two interact, and while he contemplated, where he could move the two, and do so in safety, for himself of course, not his prisoners. He wondered if he had made a big mistake with allowing these two to be together, were they not a more formidable team when they were together. Having no idea if he would help or not, Ric turned to the only other person who could possibly gain something from this whole affair.

"Lorenzo, I have a proposition for you!" Rick said.

"What would I want with you, I barely even know you." Lorenzo said, careful to mind the fact that he was still playing at being brain damaged.

"Let's just say I have Jason Morgan in a locked room, with no way of escaping and his very pregnant friend Elizabeth Webber Spencer, whose baby just happens to be Mr. Morgan's. You always said you wanted revenge for Diego's murder, well now here is your chance."

A small smile touched Lorenzo's lips, he would help Ric, but he was going to help Ric right into a jail cell while the whole time he took over the torture of Liz and Jason. Already his devious little mind was working out all the fun little things he was going to do to them. And while he did not like involving children in his business, he was willing to make due with what he had; after all, it was not he who had kidnapped Elizabeth.

"You have yourself a deal Ric, where are you, I'll come to you?" Lorenzo said, suddenly feeling better than he had in weeks.

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Jason searched their small confines, not knowing what he expected to find, but disturb by what he found. In the far corner a wardrobe stood, obviously a new addition to the room. Inside were clean sheets and other bedding supplies, but on the bottom shelf. He discovered surgical implements as well as a wide array of syringes and bottles of medicines. The fridge was packed with fruits and yogurts as well as a good supply of milk, minus the pudding of course. The small cupboard beside the fridge contained bottles and diapers, formula and other baby necessities, along with a wide array of crackers. Jason felt a coldness enter his heart at the sight of all those things. It proved that Ric had had no intentions of letting Liz go.

Liz watched Jason as he moved throughout the small area; she understood the same thing that Jason had just come to realize. She also knew that they had to be moved, because when Jason did not show up with a rescued Liz, Sonny and his men would begin to search, and whether it is sooner or later, they would search at Ric's house, if this were still in fact Ric's house.

The cramping had eased off, what she had thought was labor, seemed to be nothing more than Braxton Hicks. She hoped and prayed that they were nothing more, as much faith as she had in Jason, she did want her child brought into the world by a professional.

"Jason, I think it was just a false alarm, the cramps have subsided, I haven't felt anything for the past ten minutes or so." Liz said, slightly relieved.

"Are you sure, how can you know for sure?" Jason asked, still clearly anxious.

"Well, my water has yet to break, the cramps weren't getting any closer together, they were more in my stomach, nothing reaching around back, so it looks like it was nothing more than Braxton Hicks."

Jason looked at her, trying to remember where he had heard the term before, and then he remembered where, Sam had mentioned them while she was pregnant, she never suffered them, but had read the birthing books and had mentioned what it was, trying to cover all her bases. The look of sheer relief made her chuckle, for a while there he looked like a deer caught in a vehicles headlights.

Jason slowly lowered himself on to the cot that Liz was still sitting on, he took her hand in his, just drinking in her beauty. He knew that Ric was more than likely still watching him, but his relief was as palpable and tangible as his desire, and both could easily have been cut with a knife. Gently he touched her stomach, anger welling in his eyes at the sight of the cut and the redness; softly he ran his hands over her swelled stomach, affirming for himself that both mother and child were okay. He couldn't stop himself, he slowly lowered his lips to Elizabeth's, waiting to see where she wanted to take the kiss, he allowed himself to be pulled in whichever direction she wished to take him. If they saw tomorrow or the days following and if the need arisen they could claim, the kiss was because of relief.

Slightly stunned by the kiss, Liz first started to pull back, but before the kiss could be broken, her hands found his cheeks, gently cupping them, drawing him closer. Her fingers slid up into his hair. Following her lead, Jason broke the kiss, trailing sensuous kisses down her neck and collarbone.

Liz carefully slid on to Jason's lap, maneuvering her pregnant belly just so, so she could straddle his legs, her shocked and pleasurable intake of breath alerted Jason to her discovery of his arousal. He could not help it, fear had kept him in such a state for so long, that the overwhelming joy of knowing she was safe and okay, opened a floodgate of emotions and he understood something pivotal, he was so in love with her, every part of him was calling out to her. He needed an all-encompassing relief and only she held his salvation.

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Lorenzo walked quietly out of his house, hoping Skye would not notice his absence, but knowing he could lie to cover his tail, should the need arise. Since suffering from brain damage he was capable of getting away with a lot more, it was bloody brilliant. It did not take him long to get to Ric's place, which really was not Ric's anymore, it was under an assumed name, with no connection whatsoever to him. He had to give the guy credit; Ric had done his homework on this plan. Knocking once, Lorenzo entered without the jovial greetings to enter, if there really would have been to begin with, but he did not need anyone placing him here, especially when it all went down.

"Hello Ric, aren't you looking like a sick puppy." Lorenzo said, baiting the D.A so effectively.

"Bite me Lorenzo, remember, you have as much to lose or gain as I do." Ric said with a smirk.

Lorenzo took a seat next to Ric on the couch, finally turning his attention to the TV screen, on which a very intimate moment was being shown with sound and all. Lorenzo laughed inwardly, knowing that the sight before him must be ripping Ric's guts out. As an after thought, boy those two even in a crisis know how to make things steamy. "Awe, to be young and in love, isn't it just beautiful?" Lorenzo asked, knowing he was pressing all of the D.A.'s right buttons.

"They are not in love, at least not with each other!" Ric said vehemently.

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Unable to stop, but unable to continue, Liz pulled back slowly, looking longingly into Jason's beautiful blue eyes.

"Umm, I think we need to take a rain check, as much as I don't want to, we have to have someone watching us, and that is rather disturbing." Liz said sadly.

Knowing what she said was true, any and all thought was damn near impossible with her warm body sitting so seductively on him. If she did not stop looking at him like that, he was going to take her right here and now, Ric be damned.

But even after saying they needed to stop, Liz showed no intentions of moving from his lap. It was even worse because every so often she moved ever so slightly, enveloping him in a heightened surreal heat that had the power to singe from within and burn from outside. He wondered if she knew how beautiful she was and if she knew she was driving him insane.

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"So, Ric, where do you plan on moving them, now that you have blown the cover of this house?" Lorenzo asked snidely.

"I haven't blown it, not really, this house is not in my name, and as far as I can ascertain from what Jason has told Elizabeth, he never told anyone where he was going. So for a few days we are safe here, but Sonny will figure it out eventually. But I have a plan about that as well. It is funny really, I will put her and Jason in the exact spot where she was once held hostage before. Back when we were married, she had mentioned in passing about being locked in a crypt, the crypt she was in however blew up, and while it has been rebuilt, I think putting her in the same one, would be redundant. But there are many crypts that we can place them. It will take a few days to stock them with necessities. And then whatever we wish to do with them we can." Ric said, with an overabundance of glee.

"You have been thinking this through, but you realize when we go to move them, we are going to run into a problem, because Morgan will not just sit back and be docile when the time comes to move them. If that child is his, like you say it is, then he is going to fight us tooth and nail to keep her safe and out of harm."

"I know, but there are ways of placating him and Elizabeth." Ric said.

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