A/N: OK, I know you all are anxiously awaiting the showdown between Elizabeth and Lucky. I promise it's coming up in the next chapter! I am so completely stoked about the eye-sex going on between Jason and Elizabeth on the show. BAM! They've still got it. Take that Jaskank! {stepping down of soapbox now}

Chapter Twenty-Four

Elizabeth has been dreading this day; she knows in her heart that telling Lucky is the right thing to do. She just can't help but worry about all the things that could go wrong. Picking up the phone, she calls her best friend. Emily had thought it would be a good idea for her to come out to Spoon Island and tell Lucky there. Her reasoning was that with her and Nic there, they could be a buffer between Lucky and Elizabeth, in case he gets too angry.

"Hey, Elizabeth, what's going on?"

"I'm nervous about today. What if this sends Lucky spiraling back to drugs? That's not fair to him or to his baby."

"Uh, uh. What's not fair is to let Lucky keep believing in a lie. You let Nicholas and me worry about keeping him in check. He's got his whole family here. Let them step in and deal with him for a change."

Elizabeth couldn't believe how supportive Emily was being. "It's not your job to take on my problems. Lucky is my problem, and I need to deal with him."

Seeing how easily Elizabeth could cave to Lucky's pressure, she says, "No way. Lucky is not your problem. You know that I love you, and I've been a big supporter of you and Lucky being together over the years. Honestly though, I think the time of Lucky and Liz is history. You told me yourself that you aren't in love with him anymore. Really, you need to shake this sense of obligation to him. I think that debt, if you can really call it that, has been well repaid. Over and over and over again. You and Lucky are just….well, toxic together now. All you do is hurt each other, it's time to let go and move on. Be happy."

Completely stunned, Elizabeth didn't know what to say.

"Hello…..Elizabeth? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm still here. Wow, I just had no idea that you felt this way."

"Seriously, you need to tell him. And I think that Nic and I should be there for both of you when that happens. And, as much as I think that Jason has a right to be there when you tell him, I agree with what you said the other day. I think it would only make things worse once he figures out where the conversation is heading."

Taking a deep breath, "Okay, you're right. I do still love Lucky and I just care about what happens to him."

"I know. Just remember you can't control him and you can't fix him."

"I'll try. I'll see you later then."

Hanging up, she finds that she still can't relax. Grabbing the baby monitor, she walks across the hall to the other penthouse, hoping that Jason doesn't have any visitors. So far, he'd been lucky, no one had realized that he hadn't left town to go riding. And the handful of times when Carly had come by, he had been across the hall with her. Like he said, he was hiding in plain sight. Knocking on the door, she stood back and waited for him to answer.

Opening the door, he took one look at Elizabeth and realized that she was having a bad day. Beckoning her inside, he saw the baby monitor in her hand. He set it down and quickly gathered her up in his arms. He knew that she was going to tell Spencer the truth about the baby later that day. He just really hopes she doesn't back out. He didn't want to have to tell her that he wasn't going to allow everyone to believe his son was Lucky's, not this time.

Holding onto Jason for a few minutes, Elizabeth begins to relax. She can feel how tense he is and figures that he is afraid that she won't be able to tell the truth. But, she's not going to do that, not to Lucky, but more importantly, not to him. Gasping, she realized where her thoughts had taken her. She just admitted it, to herself, that Jason's feelings were more important to her than Lucky's.

"Lizabeth? What's wrong?" the father-to-be asks, quietly.

Pulling back slightly, but not out of his embrace, she looks up at him. "I was just thinking that while I'm nervous about talking to Lucky today, it's more important to me that I tell the truth because of you, not him."

Stunned by her admission, he looks down at her, "I'm kinda surprised to hear you say that."

"Because up until now, I've always put him ahead of you?" she says, making it more of a statement than a question.

"No, I've always known how much you love Lucky, how much you would do for him," he tells her honestly. "More that you would admit it to me. I've always known that you care about me, though."

"Well, you've been doing a pretty good job of putting yourself out there these last few days. I guess I just thought I should return the favor," she tells him, smiling slightly.

"That's true, but I realized that nothing can, or ever would, change between us unless one of us started opening up. I can't change what happened in the past," he thinks, ironically. "But, I can try to change what happens from here on out. I figured that a first step would be telling you how I feel and see if that gets me anywhere."

Chuckling at him, "Well, we did open up to each other a few months ago, and," glancing down to her baby bump, "it seems to have worked out rather well, at least for this little one here."

Sliding his hand around to caress their child, "Yeah, I would say it did. You know, these last few days, I feel like everything is clearer, sharper, more in focus than it was before I got shot. I don't feel muddled like I did before that day."

"I guess after today, we're not going to be able to hide anymore, are we?"

"Probably not."

"What are we going to do? You do realize the whole town is going to go ape-shit when they find out that we slept together and that this baby is yours."

"Not to mention the small fact, that you are still divorcing Lucky and I'm not together with Sam."

"You know, I still haven't ever figured out why the whole world seems to fall apart at the thought of us in a relationship. It's like the whole town turns against us. I mean, a few people, I get that they have a vested interest in us not being together, for whatever reasons. But, it's like the world is going to succumb to annihilation, disaster and pestilence – it's crazy!"

"I don't know, but if I ever figure it out, I'll be sure to let you know."

Suddenly somber, Elizabeth looks up at Jason, "Are we doing the right thing?"

"For who? For them? No. For us? Yes."

"Just keep telling me that, will you?"

"Absolutely!" he agrees. Lowering his head, he captures her lips in a kiss, only to be interrupted by Cam's babbling through the baby monitor.

"Duty calls. Thank you."

"I didn't do anything."

"And you always say that," she tells him as she turns to pick up the baby monitor to go get her son up from his nap. Leaning up, she kissed him, once again, before walking to the penthouse next door.

Jason smiles as he watches his love saunter across the hall. Things are going much better in this timeline, thanks to them opening up and really talking about their feelings. The blond closes the door and goes back to work, thanking the heavens that he has been granted this second chance. He knows that they will get it right.