Elizabeth looked over at Robin, who was swaying unsteadily, even while seated. Cameron had long ago lost the battle against sleep and was resting somewhat comfortably at her feet. Lucky was off somewhere, probably with Patrick or checking on Cruz. She knew it was against hope that he had snuck off to get sleep; she would most likely have to drag him away herself for that to happen.
But Robin looked the worst out of any of them. Her features were dull and lifeless and her normally pale completion looked ghostly. Robin needed to leave the hospital and sleep or she would be no good to anyone, especially Morgan. "You doing ok there?" she asked carefully, trying to not startle Robin when she spoke.
Robin knew concern when she heard it. The last thing she wanted was for her friends to pay her attention that should have been going to the kids, to Cruz, to Bobbie, to their new daughter, Maria, to Elizabeth, to Lucky—anyone but her. She could hold it together if they would keep the magnifying glass off of her. "I'm good. Are you alright?" She asked, meeting her friend's eyes without fear.
"I'm fine. And don't change the subject. When was the last time you slept?"
"I wasn't changing the subject." Robin argued. "I just worry about you. This is stressful—"
"It is but everyone is fine." Elizabeth said, patting her stomach for emphasis. "Dr. Lansing is going to check me out just to make sure."
"When?" Robin wondered.
"In a couple of hours." Elizabeth responded while checking her watch. "He said he had to reschedule with a patient he was seeing when Bobbie went in to labor and then he'd be free to see me."
"Have you eaten?" Robin asked tentatively.
"Have you?"
"You've been here longer."
"Between Steven, Laura, and Lucky I've eaten." Elizabeth quirked an eyebrow. "Are you out of ways to deflect attention away from yourself yet?"
"Never!" Robin tried to smile but it felt hollow so she let it drop.
"Robin, you have to sleep." Elizabeth prodded gently. "Or eat something."
"I'm fine here thanks." Robin answered without emotion.
"No you're not."
"Really I am." Robin nodded. "I like feeling needed."
"I know you do, but sweetie, no one would blame you for taking care of yourself too."
"I'll be the first to admit I need a break when I actually need one."
"When would that be? When you fall over in the middle of the hospital because you're exhausted?"
"Liz, I'm okay."
"You don't look it."
"Looks can be deceiving. Really, Liz, I promise I'm okay."
"Not when you can't tell me when you last ate or slept." Elizabeth argued. "I'm worried about you."
"There's no point trying to eat. We both know I can't keep it down." Robin sighed. "As for sleep, I can't until I have Morgan back." The very thought of going home and facing his empty room sent shivers down her spine.
"And when he gets home you'll claim you can't sleep because you want to make sure he's ok. Robin you can't keep going on like this."
"I'm fine." Robin gritted through her teeth for the hundredth time.
Elizabeth knew she was close to causing Robin to explode. She could tell in the rigid way her friend was holding her body upright. Maybe she should proceed more carefully but this was Robin, her stubborn best friend who took forever to budge from a position. A fight and blackmail may be the only way to get her to take care of herself. "I don't believe you." She stated simply.
"I don't care. I'm here and I'm staying." Robin gave her a sideways look.
"Until when Robin? You can't stay in the hospital forever."
"Until everyone is released from here at least." Robin explained.
"Robin, you'll be useless to them if you're falling over."
"I'm not going home." Robin shook her head in defiance.
"Then I'm not going home either." Elizabeth said, crossing her arms. "You need someone who will make sure you'll take care of yourself and I'm volunteering."
"What?" Robin lifted an eyebrow. "Elizabeth, you're pregnant."
"And my doctor is in this hospital. They have food here." Elizabeth smiled sweetly. "If it's good enough for you, it'll be good enough for me."
"I'm not carrying a life inside of me." Robin pointed out gruffly.
"Why does everyone assume being pregnant means I can't do anything?" Elizabeth grumbled. "Again, my doctor is nearby. This means Miss Smarty Pants there would be medical monitoring. You stay. I stay."
"That's low." Robin wagged her finger at Elizabeth.
"I'm a proponent of whatever works. I prefer to think of it as intelligence."
"It's blackmail! You know how much I already love that baby." Robin whined.
"This is why you need to take care of yourself. You can't be the godmother if you're all looking like death."
"If I go home, you'll get checked out and go home too?"
"Only if I can send an independent source to verify you did in fact go home."
"What does that mean?" Robin huffed.
"It means I know you and I totally know you are planning on telling me this, seeing me leave, and then staying here." Elizabeth explained calmly. "No verification. No deal."
"Who are you going to use for a spy? In case you haven't noticed, Cruz is a little incapacitated, Lucky is taking care of you, Luke is upstairs with Laura..."
"Patrick ringing any bells? Tall, good-looking, lives with you? Totally afraid to lie to me?"
"I don't think that's going to be possible." Robin murmured.
"Why? Has he become invisible?"
"We had a fight—"
"Pardon me for interrupting but how is that a major news flash? You two always fight."
"I think you're going to have a hard time convincing Patrick to—"
"Convincing Patrick to what?" The aforementioned boyfriend interrupted coming up from behind them.
"That you'd be willing to be my verification that Robin does in fact go home and get some sleep." Elizabeth explained. "You'll do it right?"
Patrick watched Robin squirm in her chair and contemplated making her wait for his answer, but realized the satisfaction would be short-lived and unnecessary. "It's obvious she doesn't want me to."
"Nonsense." Elizabeth waved her hand. "You both need to get out of here and sleep."
Robin met his eyes after another moment of uncomfortable silence. "Will you take me home please?"
"May I come in?" Laura knocked hesitantly on Cruz's hospital room door. He looked a lot better than he had when they brought him in.
"Laura, please." Cruz slowly waved his arms toward her in invitation.
"How are you feeling?" Laura asked quietly.
"A lot better since I got to meet Maria." Cruz answered honestly.
Laura took the seat next to Cruz's bed. "Cruz, I have to know what happened." She didn't meet his eyes when she spoke to him.
Cruz took a breath and squeezed his eyes shut. He could still hear Lulu's single scream in the truly quiet times when he didn't get visitors. He was not only going to answer any question Laura had, he was going to convince her not to leave him alone. "Well you know about Audrey's stroke," Cruz assumed. "I pulled into the driveway and used my spare key since I haven't knocked, well, ever. The first thing I noticed was that the living room was empty which was strange since I know how strict Lucky is about bedtimes and Lulu should have been downstairs reading a magazine or watching TV—that's all I could think about when I couldn't find them, that something was wrong." He cleared his dry throat. "I called their names quietly at first just in case Cameron was asleep. When I received no answer, that's when I started to yell. I pushed open Cameron's bedroom door..."
"What did you see?" Laura prompted.
"I saw Lulu and a guy all dressed in black. I only know it was a guy because he spoke to us." Cruz clarified.
"What did he say?" Laura wanted to know.
"It doesn't matter." Cruz amended.
"Cruz, this is my daughter we're talking about." Laura pleaded. "Just tell me what he said."
"He asked which of us he should shoot." Cruz told her and didn't miss the shocked gasp that left her tightly pressed lips. "And he knew that I was having a baby and that Lulu is a college student which makes me think it's not a stranger."
"Agent Mahoney told Lucky there was some blood left on the window when the kidnapper broke the glass." Laura confirmed.
"Has anyone told Alexis or Robin about it?" When Laura shook her head, he muttered an expletive. "That's something they should know. He screwed up and that's going to be the quickest way to find out who's doing this."
"If the FBI and the cops have any leads, I know Mac will tell them." Laura said soothingly.
"I'm so sorry Laura." It was Cruz's turn to not meet her eyes.
"For what?" Laura asked incredulously.
"For letting him take Lulu." Cruz replied.
"Cruz, you didn't let anybody do anything." Laura insisted. "My God, you got shot trying to stop it from happening. You could be dead—"
"I still should have gotten her downstairs—" Cruz went on.
"Cruz, darling, please stop." Laura begged him, resting her hands over his.
"She wasn't hurt. The worst he did was knock her out so that he could get her out of the house without a fight. If I could have gotten up..."
"If you had gotten up, there's no guarantee you would have gotten to meet your daughter." Laura finished for him. "You did everything you could. You protected both of my babies and I don't know how to thank you." There were tears in her eyes when she said it.
"I was returning the favor for all the years you've been so good to me." Cruz tried to smile but it faltered. "You know she's strong and smart. She'll be home soon."
Laura smiled through her tears. "That is something I've never doubted."
Elizabeth was thankful for many things at this moment, namely Dillon, Lucas, and Dr. Lansing. Dillon and Lucas had offered to watch Cameron for a while when her family decided to descend on the neurology floor in one fell swoop. And it was a good thing Dr. Lansing wasn't available to see her right away, Elizabeth mused because after this family meeting she was going to need to be checked out again. Even though it had taken all three of them an unfathomable amount of time to show up at General Hospital, her parents and sister were currently acting as if they were the only three who could possibly understand what was going on. Yes they were all doctors, but it didn't mean she couldn't' help with the decisions or voice her thoughts on the manner.
Sighing she tried to look out the window as Dr. Holzman explained once again the outcomes of all the tests they had run on her grandmother. The paralysis on the right side the doctor had hoped was only a temporary reaction to the stroke had remained. While she was responding well to the medications, there were still concerns about motor skill damage and verbal skills. Months of therapy was going to be needed. Since her grandmother had suffered one stroke, the doctor had tried to explain gently, she was at an increase risk for a second stroke. In short, between the therapy needs and the medical risks, Dr. Holzman didn't feel her grandmother should live alone at the time being.
"The solution is obvious," Jeff Webber proclaimed, looking toward his wife, son and eldest daughter. It hadn't missed Elizabeth's notice her father had barely looked at her since he arrived. Apparently Jeff was trying the "ignore the pregnant, unmarried daughter" approach, she mused wryly. "Mother can't live on her own at the present time."
"Of course it's obvious. Dr. Holzman told us that much." Elizabeth muttered under her breath.
"I guess the next step is to find the best assisted care facility that can handle her needs." Elaine suggested, running her fingers through her shoulder length ash blonde hair.
"Assisted care facility?" Elizabeth sputtered out incredulously. "You want to put Grams in a nursing home? Are you serious?" She flashed her eyes wildly between her parents and felt her heart sink as she realized yes they were serious.
"It's the only choice." Her mother said in the calm voice that had always irritated Elizabeth when she was a teenager.
"Grams doesn't want to be in a nursing home." Elizabeth argued looking toward Steven to help back her up.
"Are you going to take care of her then because we're talking constant, around-the-clock care?" Steven wasn't trying to pick a fight with his sister, but expected it was inevitable with her sudden trigger temper.
"There has to be another way." She argued stubbornly. "The only answer can't be a nursing home. Grams would hate it."
"I know." Steven agreed. "But I don't know what to do. I've waited my entire life for the opportunity in Paris."
"And you're not giving it up. It's too important for your career." Jeff said sternly. "Your mother and I can't pack up and leave our practice in London."
"And my research can't be done anywhere else but Alaska." Sarah said calmly. "So there is no other option."
"I'll move back in with her. I'll take care of her." Elizabeth said stubbornly, crossing her arms above her stomach. "I did it before and I'll do it again."
Sarah rolled her eyes and flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder, snorting at her younger sister's declaration. "You obviously can't even take care of yourself Lizzie. Why would we trust you to take care of Grams?"
"Jeez Sarah, you could double for the Devil and I don't think anyone would know the difference." Steven grumbled winning a warning look from his parents that he rolled his eyes in response to.
"What? It's true. Just look at her." Sarah huffed.
"I'm going to knock you into next week." Elizabeth grumbled as she lifted herself out of the chair and started to lunge for her sister. Steven anticipated her move and grabbed her arms, struggling to hold her back while she tried to break free from his grasp. Sarah moved back further into her chair, frightened by the angry look in her little sister's eyes. Just as Elizabeth was about to break free of Steven's grip and succeed in clobbering her sister, Lucky chose that moment to come around the corner and into the waiting room.
"What the hell?" Lucky asked stunned, moving to keep his pregnant girlfriend from engaging in the blood shed she so clearly wanted to commit.
"Lucky," Steven grunted. "A little help please?"
Moving in front of the pair, Lucky placed his hands on Elizabeth's shoulders, blocking her view of Sarah. As Steven lost his grip, she fell directly into his arms. Wrapping his arms tightly around her, he could feel her begin to shake and her breathing become more uneven. "What's the matter? What's going on?" he whispered into her hair. "Talk to me."
"My sister is a bitch." She stated defiantly, her voice muffled by his shirt.
"I am not!" Sarah declared angrily.
Steven rolled his eyes. "Oh shut up Sarah. You were."
"I know all three of you know better than to behave in such a manner." Elaine began to lecture, her long fingers shaking as she pointed in the direction of her children, a disappointed look etched into her face.
"You also taught us to do the right thing by our family and obviously you don't expect us to follow that either." Elizabeth defended hotly.
Shooting Steven a confused look, Lucky questioned the only member of the Webber family that was at least capable of civil conversation with him on some level. "I'm confused."
"It's a family matter young man. None of your concern." Jeff Webber interrupted his son in an icy calm voice.
"Excuse me, but Elizabeth is my family. So I guess that would make it my concern." Lucky narrowed his eyes in Jeff Webber's direction. It probably wasn't his wisest decision to start a fight with someone who could potentially be another Tony Grimes, but it was just too easy with this guy.
"The doctor said that Grams can't live on her own for a while and we're trying to decide what to do. My parents, Sarah, and I believe that a nursing home would be best for now because none of us can provide her with what she needs. Elizabeth disagrees." Steven explained grimly.
Elizabeth looked up into Lucky's green eyes, her own eyes wet with tears. "She'd hate it. I know she'd hate it."
Ignoring the dirty looks her sister and parents threw at him, Lucky kissed the top of her forehead. "What exactly did the doctor say?"
"She needs therapy and monitoring since she's at risk for a second stroke. Living alone isn't good for her, but a nursing home can't be the only option." Elizabeth explained her voice starting to shake.
"But he never said she had to go into a nursing home?" He questioned carefully.
"No. Not specifically, but what other options are there?" Steven allowed.
Lucky bit his lower lip. An idea was beginning to form in his head and while it was a bit crazy, it didn't sound like technically it was impossible. Audrey couldn't live alone and he didn't miss the look in Elizabeth's eye. She wasn't going to let her grandmother be sent to a nursing home if there was any other option. Hell, he mused, she probably already offered to move back in with Audrey to prevent that very scenario from happening. And the more people around him right now, the better chance he had at keeping the memories at bay. "What about our home?" he offered slowly.
"What?" The entire Webber family exclaimed at once.
Elizabeth took a step back from him, stunned at his offered. "What are you saying?" she asked carefully.
"If Dr. Holzman would sign off on it, Audrey could move in with us. I remember my grandmother talking about home health nurses when she was a doctor here. They could come and take care of the medical stuff. Therapy can be outpatient. We know that from Cam's accident."
"But where would she sleep?" Elizabeth wondered. "We already started working on the nursery and Cam's room..." Her voice trailed off as she realized the state Cameron's room must be in at this moment after being a crime scene. They would have to do some serious work in that room before Cameron would feel safe in it again.
"The office downstairs." Lucky offered. "It wouldn't take that much work and I can move my stuff to the basement."
"Baby." Elizabeth sighed. "You don't have to do this."
"Considering the fact I'm pretty sure your idea is for you to move in with her then yes I do." He countered. "It's much easier to talk you out of crazy ideas if you are nearby." He teased.
"As long as there is a reason." She smiled rolling her eyes. "Are you sure about this?"
"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't."
"Then I guess we'll talk to Dr. Holzman." Elizabeth leaned up to kiss him briefly. Turning to face her family, she squared her shoulders. "Unless someone else has a better idea?"
Steven's uncomfortable shuffle from one foot to the other proved he didn't. Their parents were silent as was Sarah the Bitch.
"Then I guess we're going to talk to Dr. Holzman."