Chapter Thirteen

Ric was pacing his office by the time Lucky made it to the house. All he could think about was Elizabeth and the fact she still had not called. His mind kept spinning horrible thoughts in his head. "I take it you didn't find her?" Ric said tensely when he did not see Elizabeth with Lucky. "And brought company." He said when Mac followed Lucky in.

"Why didn't you call me?" The police commissioner immediately asked. The possibility of the D.A.'s wife being kidnapped wan't something to be taken lightly.

"Because I thought I was just being paranoid."

Mac nodded his understanding. It was no secret the new D.A. was very protective of Elizabeth, not that Mac could blame him. "You think this has to do with the note from before?"

"I don't know. The note was aimed at me. Elizabeth wasn't a part of the things I did before coming to Port Charles. She doesn't even know about some of them. It doesn't make any sense to take her."

"What if this is about hurting you? Just think about it. You probably did not react to the note they way who ever sent it expected. I mean you didn't react at all. And everyone knows Elizabeth is your weakness."

"He has a point Ric." Lucky said when Ric looked ready to deny it.

"So this is my fault."

"I'm not saying that." Mac immediately denied.

"No. I am." Ric said sinking in to a chair. He hated the idea that something happened to Elizabeth because of him. The fact remained, however it might be true. Elizabeth didn't have any real enemies aside from Carly and Courtney. The two blonds were more of an annoyance than trouble.

Sonny and Jason however were another matter entirely. Ric felt so stupid for never thinking Elizabeth might be in this kind of danger. He forgot that Jason didn't think the same way as the rest of the world. He should have been more careful. Especially after the other day.

"Are you sure she isn't with Audrey?" Lucky asked trying to focus the situation.

"Yeah. Audrey is visiting Elizabeth's brother. We took her to the airport last night."

"And things between you are good? There's no chance she ran off?"

"Elizabeth wouldn't run off, not now. Dr. Meadows has been worried about Elizabeth's blood pressure. She... she wouldn't risk losing the baby because we had a fight."

"That wasn't my question."

"I know. Elizabeth and I don't fight. We may not always agree... but... it's not like that with us." Ric said struggling to explain his relationship with Elizabeth. The only time they ever really fought was when Elizabeth found out about his lies. Since then when they disagreed, it was different. Their fights almost most always ended with them making passionate love.

"So someone must have taken her." Mac concluded sadly. He could remember the young woman he had first met. He admired her strength. She was the last person anyone would want to cause harm.

"I found some bags and Elizabeth's purse in her trunk."

"So we have a time frame. Lucky call Gia and have her come down to the station. Tell her to meet us in Ric's office."

"My office? Why?"

"We need to do this by the book, especially if Sonny or Jason are involved."

"I know."

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Ric was sitting quietly behind his desk when Gia arrived. He did not want to believe this was happening. He did not want to think about Elizabeth hurt or frightened. He wanted for none of this to be real.

Unfortunately, Ric didn't have that luxury. Elizabeth needed him to stay focused so that he could find her. Once he made sure Elizabeth and their baby was safe all bets were off. Whoever had her would pay.

"Thanks for coming Gia."

"No problem. I'm assuming this is about Elizabeth." Gia said smiling when Lucky and Mac looked surprised. "Ric called me earlier."

"That was good thinking." Mac admitted. "She still hasn't come home and her cell phone is cut off."

"When Ric called I went to go look for her car. I found it at Kelly's with all her things in the trunk."

"So what can I do?" Gia asked fearfully.

"You were with Elizabeth all day right?" Mac asked pulling out a tape recorder.

"Pretty much."

"We need you to give us a statement."

"Oh god this is serious isn't it?" The young woman said realizing how bad things truly were.

"Very." Mac confirmed for the young woman. "Lucky and I are going to take your statement. Then we'll go from there."

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Elizabeth woke up and immediately realized something was wrong. She was in a windowless she had never seen before. She was unsure how she had even got there. The last thing Elizabeth remembered was walking to her studio from Kelly's.

She sat up and calmly looked around the room trying to find any clues as to where she was. The room was about the size of her studio except it had a small bathroom as well. The walls were made of a thick stone and probably sound proof. The door was a heavy wood with several locks on it. Besides the bed there was only a few other items of furniture. A small table on which sat a large stack of files and several chairs.

Once Elizabeth understood she was truly trapped, a wave of helplessness washed over her and she started to cry. Lying back down on the bed her only concern was for her baby. She did not know who had kidnapped her but the fact she was pregnant made no difference to them. She worried about what their plans were and what they had used to knock her out.

When the baby started to move around Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. The fact the baby seemed active and she wasn't cramping made Elizabeth believe that for now the baby was okay. She hoped that someone would find her soon.

Elizabeth knew Ric would be out of his mind looking for her. There was nothing that would stop him. She knew how driven Ric could be. It was one of the things she loved most about him. She also worried how far he would go. Elizabeth did not want Ric to do something he could never take back. Hopefully he would find her before that happened.