A/N: I cannot thank you all enough for your encouragement of my story. Reading your words is even making my back feel better. My company lost power today due to some really severe thunderstorms that rolled through our city. Needless to say, we got to go home – bad thing was, in order to do that, I had to walk down nine flights of stairs and 4 blocks to my car. Anyhoooo, I'm home and ready to post this next chapter for you all! Hope you enjoy it! And keep letting me know where you think the story is going – I like seeing who is right, or close.

Disclaimer: I only wish I owned it! Don't sue – I'll put them back when I'm done!

Chapter Seven

He had forgotten how badly that bullet hurt. He really could have done without reliving this experience, but, if it gets him his family, his heart, and his sons, the pain would be worth it. Elizabeth had gotten the bullet out of his leg and stitched him up. She said his fever was coming down, that was a good sign. He just wished he could stay awake long enough to talk to her about what she said in the chapel. He remembers her telling him later on that she told him this night. Now, how to get himself out of the situation he's in, so that they can move on, together.

He knows that if he wants the truth, he's going to have to tell her that he remembers what she said. He recalls her hesitancy from the first time they had the conversation after he woke up. Thinking back on it, he can see her trying to figure out if he remembers her telling him that the baby was theirs, not Lucky's. He recalls the brief battle in her eyes on whether or not to confess what she said, and the split second decision to keep quiet.

Realizing that he is waking up, it's time to decide how to handle things. There was no sense is beating around the bush, when she asks, he's going to tell her that he remembers what she said. Opening his eyes, he still feels disoriented from the fever and blood loss. Looking around, he's glad that she was able to take him to her old studio. There were so many good memories here.

"Hey."

"I really thought I was dreaming." 'I thought I was crazy,' he left unspoken.

"Yeah, so did I. I couldn't believe you were alive in that chapel." She's so unsure, does he remember, she can't tell. Does she risk asking him out right? "Do you remember what happened?"

"You were talking to me. You sounded so scared. I'm sorry that I scared you. It's still a little fuzzy, but you said something about the baby. What did you say to me?"

Her head snapped up so fast, he thought she might get whiplash. She looked slightly panicked, then as quickly as the panic set in, there seemed to be a calmness that settled over her. He might not completely remember now, but he probably would later. She didn't want to lie to him, even though she already has been for weeks now. All of the fear from the past few hours spilled over and the tears began to fall. Jason grabbed her hand before she could jump up and run away from him. "Elizabeth, tell me what's wrong?"

"I was so scared that you weren't going to make it. I didn't want you to die. I don't think I could have handled it if something would have happened to you and you weren't here anymore. You didn't know, you don't know, and I couldn't take you dying and not telling you what I should have told you weeks ago. So, I told you, hoping that it would make you hang on, hoping that it would make you want to fight to live. I told you what I've been struggling to tell you since I found out," she knew she was babbling. And she knew she was babbling because she was stalling. She still wasn't sure that she wanted to tell him, she did and she didn't.

"Just breathe…what have you been trying to tell me, Elizabeth?" he was rubbing the back of her hand soothingly.

Sucking in a calming breath, preparing for his anger, she closed her eyes so she wouldn't be able to see his anger when she finally said it, "Lucky's not the father of this baby Jason, you are." She tried to get up and walk away, but he was still holding onto her hand.

Releasing the breath he didn't know he was holding, he kept hold of her hand. He was in no condition to chase her down if she tried to run away from him, not that he would let a bullet wound keep him from trying, but he would have a lot more trouble this time than in the last lifetime when they were trapped in an elevator. Then, there was nowhere for her to run, now, she could run out of the door and he'd be hard pressed to catch up with her if she ran. "This baby is ours, that's what you said to me, isn't it?"

Too upset to speak, she nodded mutely. She still couldn't look at him. She knew him, knew he hated liars, knew he hated when people tried to decide what was best for him. She did that, she decided that it would be better for him if he never knew, never had to make the choice between Sam and her and the baby.

Even though he remembered her reasons from before, he still asked, "Why? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You weren't here. When I was finally able to look at the results, Sonny was right there, he asked me who the father was. I told him it was who I expected. Even though I meant you, he jumped to the wrong conclusion. I didn't realize at first that he thought I meant Lucky, but then he started saying that it was a good thing that Lucky was the father. He told me you weren't ready for a child, and now you wouldn't have to worry about the choices in your life harming this baby. I wouldn't have to worry about the dangers in your life affecting this baby. And you wouldn't be torn in two trying to decide how to handle Sam and me and the baby."

"So you just let Sonny and everyone else believe a lie?" he asked, getting angry all over again. It still hurt, even after all this time. He knows that she wasn't trying to hurt him, he knows that she was just scared, and he was all too aware of the things that he had done over the years, before and after this moment in the last lifetime, that made her believe that he would never put her or their son first.

"I didn't have a plan Jason. I just found out I was carrying your child, a child that neither one of us had planned on having. The night I found out, I was going to call you and tell you, but then I realized that it was something that I needed to tell you in person."

"Carly got to me first."

"And she jumped to the same conclusion as Sonny."

"When you came to see me, were you going to tell me that I was the father?"

"I really wanted to, but you already thought that the baby was Lucky's. You told me it was for the best."

"I thought that's what you wanted, for Lucky to be the father."

"I didn't know what I wanted. My husband was on drugs, he cheated on me, I never thought he would do that. You and me, we came together because we were comforting each other, over our mutual grief, we didn't plan on me getting pregnant. Lucky went into rehab, you got back together with Sam. Lucky doesn't even know that we slept together, and I know that I should have told him, that I have to tell him the truth. But, I'm afraid, Jason. I'm afraid that when I tell him, he's going to lose it and go back to pills. I've spent so long protecting Lucky, I don't know how to stop."

And that, in a nutshell, was why he never put himself out there. But, if things were going to change, if he was going to get the life that he so desperately wanted, they were going to have to do things differently; he was going to have to do things differently. Already things were changing, nothing so dramatic yet, but he knew they could have the life that they wanted, even if she didn't fully know it yet. "Elizabeth, you can't control how Lucky chooses to deal with this. It will be his choice to remain clean, or not."

"I've lived so long with always doing what I think is best for Lucky, with everyone telling me that I have to be the one to keep Lucky together. Everyone thinks that what I do or what I say, will keep Lucky from spiraling out of control. His family, his friends, his co-workers, Grams, everyone; except you. That's why I came to you the night of the blackout. I knew you were the only person who wouldn't tell me that it was about Lucky."

"Are you…..are you planning on telling him?" not really sure that he actually wants the answer.

Surprised, well not really given her history, she quietly regards Jason before speaking. "I know that I asked you to not say anything about our night together, but I can't keep this from him. I'm just really afraid of what his reaction is going to be. I don't want to lie anymore."

In typical Jason fashion, he rubs her hand to comfort her. "Lucky is in charge of Lucky's behavior. You can't keep him sober. You can't make him want to get clean, or stay clean. That's all on him."

Looking down at their intertwined fingers, she releases the breath she didn't realize she's been holding. Tears pooling in her eyes, she glances back up at Jason, who quickly puts an arm around her shoulder. Jason wraps both arms around the woman he's carried feelings for since the winter he was shot by Sorel. He can't stand to see her hurting and crying.

Whispering soothing words in her ear, the normally stoic man tries to calm Elizabeth's tears and soothe her fears. "It's gonna be okay. I promise you that."

Taking a deep breath, the pregnant mom is finally able to stop crying. She nods her head on his shoulder to let him know that she is alright. "Thank you."

"I didn't do anything."

"You always say that, and it's never true. You are always here for me. You listen to me. You let me be me."

"I just want you to be happy."

Closing her eyes, she really hates what she is about to say to the father of her baby, the love of her life. But she knows, without a doubt, that this man, the one she loves with her entire being, loves another woman.

Feeling the tension building up in the mother of his unborn child, Jason tightens his arms around her, wondering what she was getting worked up over.

"I want the same for you. And I know that means that you are working things out with her."

Rubbing his hands down Elizabeth's back, "I haven't really been able to forgive Sam for sleeping with Ric. I don't know how she's going to take it that we're having this baby together. She's so angry that you are pregnant and that I've refused to even discuss having a baby with her."

Leaning back a little, she cups Jason's cheek with her hand, noticing that he leaned into her hand, ever so slightly. "Maybe we should just decide what we're going to do and what's best for this baby."